Sailing in The magical Med

It happened every time. As our plane banked low over our holiday island, my gaze would lock on to the unobtainable: a flawless semi-circle of turquoise, edged in the cleanest, whitest sand you ever saw. No high-rise, no low life. The perfect beach. Heaven on earth. And apparently inaccessible.

Then our resort, plucked six months earlier from some glossy brochure for its promise of ‘authentic local flavour’, would rush up to envelop us. Mile upon mile of local concrete, bouncing my thoughts back to that little Eden glimpsed only minutes ago through the tiny window. How to get there? Walk? Hire a car? The not altogether satisfactory answer would more often than not turn out to be by water taxi from the resort (on the hour, last return 5pm), and the reality that the charms of this particular beauty spot had not remained invisible to all but me.

Then I hit on the answer. If I wanted to find my own paradise I would have to sail there. In a yacht. And I wouldn’t need to provide my own.

One of the biggest operators in the flotilla and yacht charter business is Sunsail, whose packages to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and in fact worldwide, provide ample scope for making dreams come true.

Our family of four explored Turkey’s breathtakingly beautiful Lycian coast. This is a spidery scrawl of bays, beaches, islands and inlets, sheltering some of the loveliest anchorages known to man.

The connections ran seamlessly, from UK take-off  to strolling up the gangplank of our home for the next fortnight, a gleaming Gibsea 33, in about eight hours.
We were thankful we had opted to use Sunsail’s online service to have our boat provisioned ahead of our arrival, leaving us free on our first evening to unwind over a beer rather than trail around a mini-market.

We covered daily passages of around 10 to 25 miles. Navigation was mostly line of sight and typically in light to middling  breezes, tending to build in the afternoon. A major delight was dropping anchor at lunchtime in one of any number of hideaway bays which look as lovely in reality as they do in the brochure. But being in Eden doesn’t stop the tummy rumbling (sailing makes you very hungry) and all too soon it’s time to have a last lazy dip, hoist the sails and glide off in search of dinner and entertainment.

The stage for this, as the lighting man flicks the switch to bathe the backdrop of hills and islands in the orange and gold of a low evening sun, is charmingly set. A rickety wooden pontoon rambles shorewards to a rural arrangement of chickens, goats and a donkey. Centre-stage, as if it had been there since the world began, is a restaurant whose style is Extreme Rustic. Somewhere in the wings is a basic shower and other amenities. The ambience is unpretentious and the restaurateur an instant old friend. And from somewhere offstage the food just keeps flowing. A temperamental generator provides low-key illumination, and failing this, the tucker tastes just as good by candlelight.

Starters in this part of the world are known as ‘mezes’, often flaky pastry rolls stuffed with cheese, spinach or meat and deep-fried. Main courses include charcoal grilled meats and fish or stews. Imported wines are hard to come by, but local cover versions, even in this Muslim country, are available everywhere. Some stopovers are on an altogether higher level of sophistication. From Ekincik, across the bay from Marmaris, you can leave your boat for a river trip up the Dalyan River to see ancient tombs carved into the cliff face and have a mud bath, or sail across to Marmaris itself, whose westernised seafront masks an imposing medieval walled town.

The spectacularly placed restaurant at Ekincik is cantilevered high over the bay like a film set and proudly displays blown-up photographs of visiting superstars tucking into their mezes. Yes, I’ve eaten at the same table as Dustin Hoffman. And Sting. And I bet the food tasted just as good for them.

Early into the fortnight, at the end a bracing sail through what is often the breeziest section of the cruise, is Datca itself. It’s a large town by local standards, with opportunity for topping up on  provisions and cash. Night life here is recognisably western European, great for the younger crew members and the young at heart.

Make a voyage of discovery, drop anchor in the crystal-clear waters of your very own Bay of Dreams, and let your troubles just float away...

Call 0870 770 6322 for more details and quote
Or visit www.sunsail.com

18 December 2006