Inebolu and Caylioglu Toronto, Canada Aug. 15, 2003 We weighed anchor at 0830 on June 22, departing Doganyurt, that pleasant town with such considerate townsfolk. Weighing anchor is easy with our new electric windlass. Judy does most of the anchoring now as all she has to do is flick a switch and monitor the chain as it goes in or out. The electric windlass allows us to anchor in deeper water than before we got it, for now if the anchor doesn't hold first time, it is no problem to haul it up and try again. Before if it didn't hold, I had to haul it up hand over hand, an exhausting evolution especially if it took two or three tries, hauling up 60 to 100 feet of 3/8th inch chain. We were reluctant to anchor in more than 15 feet of water, but now we can anchor in deeper water with no concerns. We still have to be gentle with the windlass, as it will slip if it has too much pressure on it. If the anchor is solidly embedded in the bottom, rather than using the windlass to free it, once the chain is hanging straight down, Judy will secure it, and I will put the engine in gear and move ahead to dislodge the anchor from the bottom. We got new 10mm chain to ensure it fit the gypsy, as our old chain was North American and would not fit as snugly on a metric fitting. We still have the 200 feet of old chain serving as forward ballast up underneath the vee berth. I would like to sell it if I could, as I don't need that extra ballast. Out on the water we actually had a west wind which permitted us to sail for the first time in the Black Sea! Well… for a couple of hours. Around 1030 we went inshore and checked out another incomplete harbour at Zarbana. The breakwater was complete with the opening (41 59.03N, 033 37.2E) to the northeast. It was a sandy bottom with 20 feet (6 metres) depth throughout, and right up to the north mole. The south shore was sandy beach, but still carried 10 feet (3 metres) to within 20 feet of it. The southwest corner was silted up a bit and the northwest corner had rocky shoals. There were no jetties, finger docks, bollards or cleats. No lights were installed at the entrance. It has potential for a resort condominium close to nearby Inebolu, but nothing is built around it at present. An hour later and we were alongside the industrial/fishing harbour of Inebolu, just inside the dusty southeast pier (41 58.7N, 033 46.2E). We did not plan to stay the night there, but wanted to take a dolmus up into the mountains to Kastamonu or Kure. Our Black Sea Pilot indicated the city of Kastamonu is reported to be an interesting one with a castle, old Ottoman houses, mosques, baths and capital buildings. It was here in 1925 that Ataturk made a speech banning the fez, to distance Turkey from the influence of Islam. However to go there would have been a 90 minute bus ride each way, and so we took the shorter trip to Kure. The trip along narrow mountain roads in this minivan was an interesting experience. The scenery was spectacular, with lush tree-clad mountainsides, deep ravines and wide valleys with sparkling steams. Then we noticed overhead lines and gondolas stretching up the slopes and across several valleys. At first we thought they were ski lifts, but soon saw they carried hoppers, about the size of large garbage skips, used for transporting coal from the mountains to the harbour and possibly other sites. These aerial lines stretched for miles up and down the mountains, and considering the steep winding two lane roads, transporting the coal in this fashion made sense. As it was, we saw several lumber laden trucks slowly negotiating the mountain roads. Kure itself is a mountain town supporting the nearby coal mines and quarries. It is an old hillside town with some modern buildings, indicating a healthy economy. We wandered around for a half hour, then caught the next dolmus back to Inebolu, again enjoying the drive through these lovely mountains. In town we bought a few supplies and sent some E-mail before heading back to Veleda. We left by 1800 for Abana, 12 miles further along the coast. Although there was no wind, we hoisted the main to reduce the roll from the swell that was coming abeam of us. This is a characteristic of the Black Sea; there is often a swell long after the wind has died. On entering the breakwater at Abana, I wanted to give the rocky outer breakwater a wide clearance, but managed to run solidly aground on the silted sandy bottom extending from the inner mole, covering over two thirds of the opening, and providing a spectacle for the fishermen on the breakwater. A local fishing boat hauled us off, and when we were about to anchor, indicated we should go alongside on the northwest pier. The pilot indicated a wreck and fish tank in that location, but neither was sighted. It was another dusty concrete fishing dock for a small community, and we didn't bother going into town. Leaving early next morning, we hugged the rocky north breakwater as we departed to stay away from the silting around the southeast mole. Again we hoisted the main to reduce rolling as we motored up to Caylioglu, 23 miles onward. Here we had an interesting experience with some fishermen, which I wrote up at the time while it was fresh in my mind. June 23, 2003 Here at Caylioglu (41 57.8N, 034 30.2E) we anchored in the southwest corner of this large sparsely inhabited harbour for privacy and to be able to go in for a swim and a wash. Judy wanted to go over to the fish farm mentioned in our pilot, hoping to get some fresh salmon, and so we launched Sprite to go ashore. Alas, the fish farm was not operational, but we motored down the long dock to a fishing boat that had just arrived with a couple of people in wet suits. We communicated with them with a variety of gestures and Judy's limited knowledge of Turkish, and our common interest in diving and the sea, to find they dove for a whelk type shellfish or sea snail. They used a "hookah" hose with pressure air from a surface compressor on board to a regulator at the end of the long hose, rather than individual scuba tanks. They had a few net bags of these shells, which looked like smaller versions of the conch that we enjoyed over in the Bahamas. We were invited to bring Veleda alongside and to share a meal of this delicacy with them. The outer spiraled shell is a dark moss green with only two or three spirals, fewer than conch. There is a "trap door" operculum covering the opening, protecting the organism and moisture inside, but thus allowing them to be kept for two or three days out of water. To release the meat, the shells are steamed for a few minutes with sea water, then the operculum can be removed and the meat extracted. The organism is solid rubbery meat, about the size of a small fist with a couple of appendages for its one extended eye and its mouth/digestive tract. Once removed, the entire organism is rubbed and washed in salt water then rinsed again with more sea water. Our Turkish divers/fishermen then chopped them up preparatory for a stew (chopped, soaked in salt water, squeezed and rinsed again in fresh). We enjoyed eating some raw slices as the meat was being diced. We supplied a couple of tomatoes, onions, a green pepper, some garlic and a lemon for the co-operative meal. The empty shells had a shiny orange/red interior surface that one of the gentlemen washed out carefully, possibly as a receptacle for the stew. I am writing this as it is being prepared and will describe the final dish after we have eaten. Mmmm! Lovely! It was a savory stew with the vegetables (onion, garlic, pepper, tomato) and eight sea snails chopped up for the five of us. The shells were not used as they were souvenirs for someone else. We enjoyed visiting with the fishermen, then a military minivan rolled up to the dock and four armed soldiers and two officers with side arms emerged, all in camouflage army fatigues. The junior officer came over and we welcomed him with hand shakes and offered to take him over to Veleda, just astern of the fishing boat. The senior officer did not involve himself, but was preoccupied on his mobile phone and went off to the defunct fish farm building. There was no problem with the officer who came to Veleda. We showed him our cruising log, and described where we had been and where we were going. He spoke no English, but all was OK. He returned our papers and said he would be back as the van headed off to the defunct fish farm to collect the senior officer. We went back to our fishermen friends for tea. The officers went off in the van a few minutes later without stopping to say goodbye. About half an hour later another minivan showed up with four armed soldiers and a white-uniformed naval official with 4 stripes on his shoulder boards. He was the Harbourmaster from the nearby city of Ayancik. We took him over to Veleda and asked him onboard. We showed him our passports and he looked only at Judy's to find the current Turkish visa, and didn't bother looking at mine. We jollied him along with his minimal English about where we have been and how we like Turkey. When we told him of spending two winters in Kemer, he indicated he had been harbourmaster there for a while and knew our friend Hasan. He sat down and had tea with us and the fishermen, and continued a friendly talk about ports on the Black Sea and where we were going in the fall. He gave us his name and phone number and that of one of his friends who is the harbourmaster in Kusadasi, where we will be going in September. He signed our log book and allowed us to take a picture of him (with a couple of armed guards in the background). He stayed for about an hour, able to translate a bit for us with our fishermen friends, and enjoying the opportunity to talk with us and, we suspect, to justify his time away from Ayancik on harbourmaster's business. If ever we have any problems he will be a good referral. We enjoyed our fishermen friends who gave us a bag of about 15 sea snails. I was invited to go gathering more sea snails with them next day, but I did not have a wet suit and did not want to spend a whole day on such an expedition. We had them over to Veleda where they were impressed with our simple amenities such as a toilet, running water, and refrigeration. They live on their small boat in fairly simple surroundings. The skipper gave us the name and phone number of his parents in Trabzon and his mobile phone number if we had any problems. After getting some local knowledge from them with our charts, and declining an invitation to their boat for more tea, we turned in for the night. Next day we waved them goodbye as they left and we wandered into the rustic hamlet (two cars, twelve donkeys, fifteen fishing boats, seventeen houses and a mosque). We stopped by a tree bearing green/maroon clusters of small berries, we think a type of mulberry. A local farmer saw our interest in them and plucked a few for us to taste. We had had some last night at the fish boat, and wondered how they grew. They are sweet clusters of juicy berries hanging from large trees. The gentleman shook hands with us and placed his right hand across his chest in a respectful greeting, and invited over to his garden where his wife was working. We noticed his small plot of garden with a gravestone in the back of it. We could not communicate much as we did not have our Turkish/English dictionary with us and so bade them thanks and a respectful goodbye. Very friendly people! The town had only dirt roads, several old Ottoman-era derelict houses, a number of simple shacks, but also several new duplex houses with balconies for multiple or extended family habitation. We were impressed by the extent of the harbour breakwater and dock facilities. The large outer breakwater with a road running its length was about a kilometer long, and the concrete dock wall in the inner west end was one or two acres of concrete, brightly illuminated with incandescent lights, with about two hundred metres of dock wall with many mooring rings and heavy ship bollards. The fishing boat and Veleda were the only vessels alongside. We have been impressed with the large secure harbours for such small communities here in the Black Sea. They are large enough and empty enough that anchoring in the harbour is quite acceptable. 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