Three renowned Pirates: AA,PP,MD & young blood David Beeching of Dungeness B descended upon the unsuspecting villages of S.W. Turkey in late September 2009, armed with 4 handsome Prijon sea kayaks. Not having the inclination for raping & pillaging that time, we contented ourselves with cruising from West of Marmaris to South of Bodrum for 6 action packed days at a rate of 4 hours paddling daily.

Captain Andrew had arranged with an Anglo Turkish company  “Alternatif Turizn” to provide the kayaks, greet & transport us to &  from Antalya Airport, make a mid week transfer across a long peninsular & book 6 different hotels. They also provided a map with instructions in lieu of an accompanying guide.  The company cared for our suit cases & our luggage was stored inside dry bags inside fairly water tight holds.

The coast line consisted of deep inlets with only an occasional coastal plain. Our views were of steep hills covered with hardy Mediterranean shrubs to bare rock & scree. During our 45 minute transfer on day 5 the scenery was of pine trees & bee hives. The sun shone every day with temperatures around 25 degrees C. The wind regularly increased  in the afternoons so we tackled headlands in the mornings.

Our retractable rudders were deployed just twice to counter the wind. Enemy craft observed were big yachts, attractive Turkish “gullets” & assorted gin palaces. Our night accommodation were 6 simple sea front hotels & one camp site by a lonely restaurant. It was a joy to just beach the kayaks & waddle into the hotels with most of our gear. The evening restaurant meals were fair to good. The final one at the spectacular  resort of Akyaka being the best.

Captain Andrew carried a 4 man tent for the 1 night under canvas as well as the primus stove. First mate PP carried most of the safety equipment which was happily unused.  We made 2 stops daily for a brew up & snorkelling. The water was clear & clean & we saw about 13 different species of fish & a squid.

The incident which caused the greatest alarm was when 5 semi wild goats on a desert island with a ruined Greek chapel took a keen gastronomic interest in our spray decks. Fortunately they were distracted by a group of Eastern European girls who alighted from a tourist galley to feed & photograph them. The most surprising sight was a replica of Copenhagen’s mermaid outside “English Harbour”.

To summarise we considered the week to be a very civilized way of travelling by kayak-despite our name.        

Mike Downing.