Hardstanding in Turkey

[finikeyachting]

One of the best harstanding facilities and reasonable prices in Finike Setur Marina.

[chuckr]

We are in Kusadasi and wintered over here in the water in 2015/2016 and we thought it was great and wrote it up for a magazine. We left to sail the Black Sea in April and signed up for a slip before we left and left a deposit.

when we got back we were surprised by the lack of boats. We have asked a number of people and they tell us between 50-85 boats left here and went to Greece for hard storage. The yard that was packed last year is almost empty. The largest chandlery closed so there is a small one and right now we are ordering our parts though one of the contractors in the yard. there is only one other liveaboard here and they have been here for over 20 yrs and the boat never moves.

If I were you I would take a hard look at eastern Greek Islands where a lot of boats are wintering now and not in Turkey.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by chuckr

We are in Kusadasi and wintered over here in the water in 2015/2016 and we thought it was great and wrote it up for a magazine. We left to sail the Black Sea in April and signed up for a slip before we left and left a deposit.

when we got back we were surprised by the lack of boats. We have asked a number of people and they tell us between 50-85 boats left here and went to Greece for hard storage. The yard that was packed last year is almost empty. The largest chandlery closed so there is a small one and right now we are ordering our parts though one of the contractors in the yard. there is only one other liveaboard here and they have been here for over 20 yrs and the boat never moves.

If I were you I would take a hard look at eastern Greek Islands where a lot of boats are wintering now and not in Turkey.

Yes, this winter I cannot leave the boat in Greece where I intended too because they were completely full with boats that used to stay in Turkey.

The relations between EU and Turkey are becoming tenser every day. There is a political reason for that related with the admittance to Turkey to EU that is not viewed as possible now. The Turk government makes black mail saying that he is going to send to Europe 3 million refugees and EU says that as Turkey is not a viable candidate to EU they are going to cut the funding they have been receiving.

If things become more tense and menaces passes to acts it is possible that part of the Turkish population starts to see with very bad eyes westerners, specially rich ones. It is good to remember that Turkey is not a dictatorship and that the Muslim government they have as a majority support by the population.

Some days ago under big EU pressure the Turk parliament withhold a proposal of legislation that basically said it was alright a man to rape a women if after that he married with her. Just to show what kind of country Turkey is becoming.

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by Polux

The relations between EU and Turkey are becoming tenser every day. There is a political reason for that related with the admittance to Turkey to EU that is not viewed as possible now. The Turk government makes black mail saying that he is going to send to Europe 3 million refugees and EU says that as Turkey is not a viable candidate to EU they are going to cut the funding they have been receiving.

If things become more tense and menaces passes to acts it is possible that part of the Turkish population starts to see with very bad eyes westerners, specially rich ones. It is good to remember that Turkey is not a dictatorship and that the Muslim government they have as a majority support by the population.

Some days ago under big EU pressure the Turk parliament withold a proposal of legislation that basically said it was alright a man to rape a women if after that he married with her. Just to show what kind of country Turkey is becoming.

Another unfortunate, biased and full of error posting Polux..
The only thing which is correct is that all of marinas in Greece even Montenegro are full of yacht, mostly running away from Turkey. I had a chance to chat with some sailors in Kotor/Montenegro a month ago. They were complaining about Turkey because they started paying 2-3 times more than what they used to pay for their berthing as many boats from Turkey ended up there..

Regarding yr statement about the relation between Turkey and EU + the law that was withdrawn has nothing to do with the reality, Turkey never received anything from EU being not a member. Poor members like Greece, Portugal, etc have received huge funds instead. (Greece over 500 Billion € since its membership excluding the funds for the recent bailout)
Turkey was promissed 6 bio € for hosting 3 mio refugees and so far received only 300 million from EU while has spent over 15 bio USD out of his pocket.
Regarding the law you mentioned, this was not the EU but local public opinion and strong opposition/protests that forced the government to pull off.
As you probably know, the european parliament has decided with vast majority that the negotiation with Turkey should be cut off. You will see that the next week when the member states pesidents will come together , they will deny this voting and will decide to carry on negotiations.
It's sad to see how the values of Europe (demaucracy, human rights
etc) has eroded at the expense of increasing faschism / racism in Europe..
As a result of this and ongoing economical crisis , 10 years ago % 70 of turks were in favor of joining EU, today this ratio is below 40 %.. Why should we be going where everyone is trying to get out ? So, nothing to worry..

Yr toughts about the turks that will see the rich foreigners with bad eyes is ridiculous. This has never been and will never be an issue in Turkey. I know that there are many people abroad who don't like our president and refuse to spend time in Turkey just for that. The thing that they are missing is that this president and his party is getting the least vote (and support) in the coastal side/ cruising part of Turkey . (20-25% only vs. 55-60 % for the rest of the country)
Anyway, this is a cruising forum and let's stay away from politics. Pls stop making comments about the things that you are not familiar with and not fact based.

Cheers

Yeloya

[Polux]

Originally Posted by yeloya

Another unfortunate, biased and full of error posting Polux..
The only thing which is correct is that all of marinas in Greece even Montenegro are full of yacht, mostly running away from Turkey. I had a chance to chat with some sailors in Kotor/Montenegro a month ago. They were complaining about Turkey because they started paying 2-3 times more than what they used to pay for their berthing as many boats from Turkey ended up there..

Regarding yr statement about the relation between Turkey and EU + the law that was withdrawn has nothing to do with the reality, Turkey never received anything from EU being not a member. Poor members like Greece, Portugal, etc have received huge funds instead. (Greece over 500 Billion € since its membership excluding the funds for the recent bailout)
Turkey was promissed 6 bio € for hosting 3 mio refugees and so far received only 300 million from EU while has spent over 15 bio USD out of his pocket.
Regarding the law you mentioned, this was not the EU but local public opinion and strong opposition/protests that forced the government to pull off.
As you probably know, the european parliament has decided with vast majority that the negotiation with Turkey should be cut off. You will see that the next week when the member states pesidents will come together , they will deny this voting and will decide to carry on negotiations.
It's sad to see how the values of Europe (demaucracy, human rights
etc) has eroded at the expense of increasing faschism / racism in Europe..
As a result of this and ongoing economical crisis , 10 years ago % 70 of turks were in favor of joining EU, today this ratio is below 40 %.. Why should we be going where everyone is trying to get out ? So, nothing to worry..

Yr toughts about the turks that will see the rich foreigners with bad eyes is ridiculous. This has never been and will never be an issue in Turkey. I know that there are many people abroad who don't like our president and refuse to spend time in Turkey just for that. The thing that they are missing is that this president and his party is getting the least vote (and support) in the coastal side/ cruising part of Turkey . (20-25% only vs. 55-60 % for the rest of the country)
Anyway, this is a cruising forum and let's stay away from politics. Pls stop making comments about the things that you are not familiar with and not fact based.

Cheers

Yeloya

What I posted had nothing regarding politics. Just warning fellow sailors regarding changes in Turkey and possible consequences. I only referred the political context to explain the situation.

I am not interested in discussing politics with you neither this is the place but I cannot let pass absolute inaccuracies like the one at bold above. It seems you don't know much about that. Yes Turkey is not a member and has received since 15 years ago pre-accession assistance and founds from the EU.

"Turkey has been receiving pre-accession assistance from the EU since 2001, under the Turkish Financial Instrument. Funds are programmed on an annual basis under National Programmes for each year. As from 2007, this pre-accession Financial Instrument for Turkey has been replaced by the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) which provides pre-accession assistance for both candidate and potential candidate countries.

The novelty of IPA is that it introduces financial support in new areas.
IPA is structured on 5 components and will continue to provide pre-accession support to Turkey in the same manner as under the Turkish Financial Instrument. The novelty is the introduction of pre-accession financial support in environment, transport, regional competitiveness, human resource development and rural development managed on the same principles of structural funds. Under IPA, Turkey will also continue to benefit from Community Programmes which are partly financed under IPA. "
Which are the Priorities?

[OzDean]

Hello All, Hard to ignore the politics when it effects everyday lives, there are different points of view to consider, at the end of the day most of us just get on with our lives and hope the politics will sort itself out. Re the hard standing considerations, I have the following feedback. I have just returned from a couple of weeks in Antalya where I was working on my boat whilst it was up on the hard stand. Whilst there I contacted a local bicycle shop via their facebook page and hired a push bike from them, no paper work required, got to know Antalya very well, thanks to that bicycle. I even managed to replace my clamp ammeter which I had bought over from Australia. It failed at the most inopportune time. I am going to follow that up with Projecta. As an example of the Turkish hospitality, when I was seeking a new sink mixer and plumbing parts to replace the ones that had worn out, one of the local workman (fellow called Hakan who manufactured my winter cover and other various bits and pieces, did an excellent job) Hakan drove me around the local suppliers to get plumbing parts. On the morning when I had an early flight out of Antalya, Hakan was taking me to the airport which worked out brilliantly because I slept through my alarm and would have missed my flight to Instanbul and then back to Oz if Hakan had not banged on the boat and woken me up. I have heard similar reports of amazing support and hospitality from the Turkish locals for sailors while cruising around Turkey, this is particularly relevant because my wife and I were cruising with our 3 kids. I echo the comments re Finike, Kemer, they were great places to stay. This support from the Turkish locals is the same sort of support we would offer to an authentic visitor cruising Australian waters, as well has have them around for a BBQ with some prawns. Some feedback I do have for the Turkish locals is to work out what level of money your cruising sailor customer is willing to spend, as it may not be an endless resource. There were a few awkwards moments early on while I explained to local workman (through translators) that I was not always going to spend the level of money they were seeking and the alternative was that I would perform the work myself, where I could or not at all. We usually met in the middle, although I have would liked to contribute more to their local economy. We also thought Kusadasi we great, left the boat there while we did some inland trips. Sad to hear the marina business there is suffering. We will have our boat TANGA up on the hard stand in Antalya for some time yet before I can organise the funds/time for the next trip which would be west across the Med.

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by Polux

Yes, this winter I cannot leave the boat in Greece where I intended too because they were completely full with boats that used to stay in Turkey.

The relations between EU and Turkey are becoming tenser every day. There is a political reason for that related with the admittance to Turkey to EU that is not viewed as possible now. The Turk government makes black mail saying that he is going to send to Europe 3 million refugees and EU says that as Turkey is not a viable candidate to EU they are going to cut the funding they have been receiving.

If things become more tense and menaces passes to acts it is possible that part of the Turkish population starts to see with very bad eyes westerners, specially rich ones. It is good to remember that Turkey is not a dictatorship and that the Muslim government they have as a majority support by the population.

Some days ago under big EU pressure the Turk parliament withhold a proposal of legislation that basically said it was alright a man to rape a women if after that he married with her. Just to show what kind of country Turkey is becoming.

I will try to stay away from politics but wow so many statements in here that we find totally wrong. The only correct part is the cost and boats are leaving in droves and it is hurting the local marine industry but it has little do with politics - it is financial.

As for the rest - well we are in Turkey and live in Turkey for our 2nd winter. Last year we sailed the entire north coast of Turkey along the Black Sea and found the most incredible friendly people we have ever experienced.
There is no dislike for the "rich westerners". We walk everywhere and no issues and in fact a lot of glad you are here. the people are gracious and truly generous. I took a computer in to try and get it fixed they must have worked a couple of hours and could do nothing and gave it back to me and a sorry we can not do what you want - charge zero - and that is typical.

you should spend a bit less reading the news and bit more waiting to see what really happens -- noise verses reality -

the one thing we are doing is hiring the locals if we can afford it to do jobs we normally would do ourselves just to keep them a bit employed and that is wrong as the marinas have run the boats out of Turkey and workmen have moved on to other jobs to feed their families

[Polux]

Originally Posted by chuckr

I will try to stay away from politics but wow so many statements in here that we find totally wrong. The only correct part is the cost and boats are leaving in droves and it is hurting the local marine industry but it has little do with politics - it is financial.

So, lets see:

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
Yes, this winter I cannot leave the boat in Greece where I intended too because they were completely full with boats that used to stay in Turkey.

True.

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
The relations between EU and Turkey are becoming tenser every day. There is a political reason for that related with the admittance to Turkey to EU that is not viewed as possible now. The Turk government makes black mail saying that he is going to send to Europe 3 million refugees and EU says that as Turkey is not a viable candidate to EU they are going to cut the funding they have been receiving.

True. Regarding the funding see post above, the rest I heard on a discussion between several members of the European parliament, from different political parties.

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
If things become more tense and menaces passes to acts it is possible that part of the Turkish population starts to see with very bad eyes westerners, specially rich ones. It is good to remember that Turkey is not a dictatorship and that the Muslim government they have as a majority support by the population.

True in what regards Turkey to have a government supported by Muslim population, a government that mixes religion with politics and that has becoming more fundamentalist on their measures. The rest is a matter of opinion based on my personal knowledge of Turkey.

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
Some days ago under big EU pressure the Turk parliament withhold a proposal of legislation that basically said it was alright a man to rape a women if after that he married with her. Just to show what kind of country Turkey is becoming.

True, even if Yeloya without disclaiming that was a measure proposed by the government, says it was withhold by popular pressure. That was not the opinion of those European parliament members and his hard to understand how a population that supports clearly that government would have been against a measure that was proposed by it as it is also difficult to understand how that population did not oppose the arbitrary firing of 24 000 teachers, 1577 University Deans, and to 2745 Judges.
Turkey's post-coup purge: the numbers

What I saw when I was cruising in Turkey, not a long time ago, was a country about to explode, with a small minority of rich western style population and a huge majority of very poor deeply Muslim population. The government were already pro Muslim but the Army was pro Western.

It exploded through a failed attempt of the Army to control political power.

Now Muslim influence, in what regards every aspect of the society, is increasing, controlling the web, firing the ones that don't think like them.

Regarding my experience cruising in Turkey I had find on Touristic places a very strong western influence and a very helpful atitude and friendly welcome. On rural Turkey I found out that every women and child took sea bath fully dressed and that the atitude of the locals towards me and my wife had nothing in common with the one on touristic places.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by Polux

So, lets see:

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
Yes, this winter I cannot leave the boat in Greece where I intended too because they were completely full with boats that used to stay in Turkey.

True.

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
The relations between EU and Turkey are becoming tenser every day. There is a political reason for that related with the admittance to Turkey to EU that is not viewed as possible now. The Turk government makes black mail saying that he is going to send to Europe 3 million refugees and EU says that as Turkey is not a viable candidate to EU they are going to cut the funding they have been receiving.

True. Regarding the funding see post above, the rest I heard on a discussion between several members of the European parliament, from different political parties.

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
If things become more tense and menaces passes to acts it is possible that part of the Turkish population starts to see with very bad eyes westerners, specially rich ones. It is good to remember that Turkey is not a dictatorship and that the Muslim government they have as a majority support by the population.

True in what regards Turkey to have a government supported by Muslim population, a government that mixes religion with politics and that has becoming more fundamentalist on their measures. The rest is a matter of opinion based on my personal knowledge of Turkey.

Originally Posted by Polux View Post
Some days ago under big EU pressure the Turk parliament withhold a proposal of legislation that basically said it was alright a man to rape a women if after that he married with her. Just to show what kind of country Turkey is becoming.

True, even if Yeloya without disclaiming that was a measure proposed by the government, says it was withhold by popular pressure. That was not the opinion of those European parliament members and his hard to understand how a population that supports clearly that government would have been against a measure that was proposed by it as it is also difficult to understand how that population did not oppose the arbitrary firing of 24 000 teachers, 1577 University Deans, and to 2745 Judges.
Turkey's post-coup purge: the numbers

What I saw when I was cruising in Turkey, not a long time ago, was a country about to explode, with a small minority of rich western style population and a huge majority of very poor deeply Muslim population. The government were already pro Muslim but the Army was pro Western.

It exploded through a failed attempt of the Army to control political power.

Now Muslim influence, in what regards every aspect of the society, is increasing, controlling the web, firing the ones that don't think like them.

Regarding my experience cruising in Turkey I had find on Touristic places a very strong western influence and a very helpful atitude and friendly welcome. On rural Turkey I found out that every women and child took sea bath fully dressed and that the atitude of the local


s towards me and my wife had nothing in common with the one on touristic places.

We spent a year visiting Turkey and kept the boat in Kusadasi. We had a wonderful time there and we're treated well wherever we traveled but there is no question that people in the coastal areas were quite European in their attitudes while the inland people were not. Can't say they were rude but also wouldn't describe them as overly friendly either. R

[Polux]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

We spent a year visiting Turkey and kept the boat in Kusadasi. We had a wonderful time there and we're treated well wherever we traveled but there is no question that people in the coastal areas were quite European in their attitudes while the inland people were not. Can't say they were rude but also wouldn't describe them as overly friendly either. R

I want to leave clear that I am not saying that Turkey right now is not a relatively safe place. Only saying that things are changing fast in Turkey, that I don't like the changes and that there is reason (in my opinion) to think that more changes will happen.