23 September 2015

There is a new place to tie up in the Izmir Bay (Position 38° 22’N, 26° 52’E).

Marina:

Still a work in progress. There is neither electricity nor water pier side, and if you need to take on water, you can call for a water truck (+90 532 654 9130) and he can deliver up to 10 tons of water. I believe the local municipality is building it with some government help. Details about when they will be open are very sketchy as they are already a year behind their advertised opening date.

But the price is good. Currently free while they continue to outfit.

No med mooring here. Have to side moor. All agree the bottom is fouled with fishing gear and other debris. Therefore, cannot attest to how well the bottom will hold. There is a ramp at the end closest to the entrance but I question how a travel lift will be able to use it without getting its wheels really really wet!

The “marina” looks like it will protect you from nearly any of the weather this part of the world will throw at you. The seawall is high (2 meters) with rocks on the outside 4-6 meters deep. The depth of water where I am is at least 2 meters under my 1.6-meter keel.

I will not bother you with phone #s as each and every time we called, they said there was no room. The place was nearly 95% empty when we got here on Sunday.

Town:

There is a medium size grocery store just about 200 meters from us, and a daily fresh fish market to the east of us just opposite that store. You can buy the fish you want from the sellers, and go behind them to a row of restaurants that will cook it for you for a nominal price.

Twice a week there is a farmer’s market in town, about a 10 -15-minute walk from us. Along the way there are a few bakeries and I believe two places that make fresh bread all day long.

There are plenty of restaurants, many catering to cooking up fresh fish. The restaurant right across from the marina serves a mean chicken kabab and probably lots of other great dishes. We ate there once and the bill, less alcohol, was about $12 for two, with a doggie bag of leftovers.

Public Transport into town abounds, and a metro / light rail system connects the town to the airport. Public transport requires the use of a card that one has to buy, but with that, transfers within 90 minutes of its first use to any system (train, metro, ferry, bus) is included.

So this MIGHT be a good place to meet and greet guests.

Elsewhere:

Further to the west are two nice spots to anchor: Urla and Çesmealti. Both also have city walls where one could, in theory, tie up to, but there is never any room. We have been asking on and off for years to spend a week at either place at their wall, all with negative results. We went there today to both places and there was not a space to be had. Both towns are active in summer, and active most weekends in the Fall and Spring when the weather is nice.

Lee

MV LeeZe