After a seriously long absence THE BLOG IS BACK !  The lack of same was due to some severe hacking by an automated virus.  The worm itself is rather harmless – it opens a 1 x 1 pixel invisible window but it’s enough to alert anti-virus software.

It took some time to discover and disinfect the site and regain our lost Google ground and even longer to work out how it ever got there.  Since then, the 2009 season workload had taken over and only now have we had time to reformat “the First Gulet Charter Blog” in such a way as to deter intruders of bad intent.

Water under the jetty includes;

• A very respectable 209 season with our business growing strongly despite  the global economy
• New crew as last year’s boys decided on careers that would see them stay closer to home.
• The arrival of “Gannet” a black and white kitten whose initial 30 day stay has being extended until it either learns the ropes or becomes road pizza. She looks like Charlie Chaplin and  likes yogurt  flavored onion potato chips.  Huh? Gannet was loaned to us in return for a bottle of Jack Daniels last February.  Jack is finished and Gannet is still here.
• A season of interviewing and wet-testing crew potential for the on-going Crew Placement division of Bodrum Yacht Services.  Precarious identities are fully protected (and no longer on the books). These include:

◦     One potential young captain managed to throw himself over the side following a mooring line whilst trying to prove his skill, thus seriously retarding his career, at least to the entire Bodrum harbor.

◦     A short term career by a female “captain on paper “ whose entry from the dinghy (which she couldn’t drive) to the deck of SX Timer being far less than elegant, unless forward somersaults are the new way of embarking.

For Southern Cross Timer 2009, we decided upon employment with Captain Durmus and  Chef Omer.  A wonderful combination of old world gentleman captain , fluent in French and a master at gulet handling coupled with the experienced, respected chef/sailor Omer.   Omer (Urmy)  is as much  at home topping beans and tying the pots on the stove while I live out my Sydney – Hobart race fantasies.  Omer doesn’t blink whilst coming on deck from below to haul on or release sheets, yet still serves his delicious meals to discerning clients in a quiet cove with a gentle smile.  He turned out to be the find of the year, even though our old chef of 3 years Ahmet was a hard act to follow.  His feet are firmly nailed to Southern Cross Timer’s deck.

Captain Durmus and Chef Omer

Charters on all our boats came mainly from professional class people from various states of America, Aussies, English, Spanish, Italian and Greek clients with a smattering of Kiwis including some serious sailing boat fraternity people enjoying the gulet experience. This seemed to meet with great approval from the female sector who enjoy being pampered watered and fed instead of doing all the work. The Blue Cruise always delivers!

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The last few days – although hectic – demonstrated again how rewarding this job of ours is.

Southern Cross Timer arrived in Bodrum with our Aussie friends on board and I met them at the Milta Marina fuel wharf where Captain Engin needed to top up ready for the next charter starting at 4 p.m. I could hardly see the boat past the three sets of huge grins! The question “Did we have a good time” was drowned in three people talking over each other in a cacophony of excitement.

After fueling, we took SX Timer over to park in the municipal harbor and disembarked the Aussies. We had booked them in for that night in the Butterfly Hotel. This is a particularly beautiful boutique establishment that is located on the ridge that separates Bodrum and Gumbet with fantastic views particularly at sunset.

Butterfly Boutique Hotel Bodrum

After dropping the bags there I transported them down to the Castle of St. Peter, where our good friend Bahadir Berkaya, head of the archaeology department (appointed by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism) took them on a three hour personal guided tour.

In the meantime Dina had met with the incoming clients and got their bags on to SX Timer.  As they were not due to embark until 4 p.m. we offered them the option of use of a room and amenities at the Bircan Hotel which they accepted. The two families with three teenage children that had been travelling all night were quite grateful. Tevfik, owner of the Bircan, as usual was more than helpful in this, given that his hotel was pretty much full due to the local Seker Bayram festivities in full swing.

We grabbed Engin and went off to do the provisioning whilst Ahmet got on with preparing the boat for the new guests. The gulet parked next to Timer also contained some Aussies who came over when we arrived back with the provisions and had a glass of wine and a chat.

At 4 p.m., it was time to embark a very nice group and their children who were as keen as mustard to get out and start sailing. With the formalities finished, we dropped the mooring lines and waved them farewell.

That evening David and crew came over for pre dinner drinks and then we ambled down to Gaak meyhani for dinner, another wonderful venue which overlooks Halikarnas bay.

Lunch at Chez Ersel

The following day was a trip to inspect some more gulets and then the girls took off for some final shopping, whilst I gave David a brief boatyard tour pre a light lunch in the garden at chez SCBC.

Our favorite transfer driver Hussein from Sener tourism arrived to take them to the airport so we waved farewell to yet another happy group- very satisfying!

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What better way is there to share your experiences in booking and chartering a gulet than to partake in active dialogue?   We view our gulet charter blog as a way to to become acquainted with you by sharing our gulet charter brokerage experiences over the years . 

Please feel free to contribute with your charter or booking experiences in Turkey.

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