The history of amateur sailing is full of captains who do not follow anyone's steering wheel, who do not hesitate to risk their lives to realize their ideas. It seems that one of the meeting points for these crazy sailors is Setur Yalova Marina.

Ayşe Akdoğan, Setur Marinas Yalova Front Office Representative

Sailing around the world in a handmade "inflatable trimaran" with no electricity, shower or toilet and repeating the route of famous Russian sailors of the 19th century such as Krusenstern Iván, Kotzebu Otto and Golovnin Vasili... Two Russian sailors, Evgeny Kovalevskiy and Stanislav Berezkin, have embarked on such a crazy endeavor. On July 1, 2021, we hosted them in Yalova on the third year of their voyage, which they started from St. Petersburg.

The sailors have already broken several world records with this project they call "Russian Ocean Way". During their voyage, they are not only breaking records, but also filming their journey for educational purposes while conducting scientific research on behalf of the Russian Geographical Society. They are also launching an online project for children called Ocean Lessons.

So far, everything sounds good. But when our sailors cross the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic and Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean, nine months into their voyage, they lose the boat to three cyclones and two major storms. With no boat, no money and no equipment, they were found by Chilean Rescue Teams. But they do not give up on their goal! They decide to continue their journey with another inflatable boat they found on Easter Island, but this time a catamaran model. On September 6, 2023, this time they were attacked by sharks 400 miles off Australia. Thanks to Australian rescue teams, they made it to Brisbane. But once again they lose everything. This time an Australian businessman comes to their aid. He gifts them the steel boat they are still using. So the journey begins once again and they reach Yalova via Puket, Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Marmaris.

On July 11th, the sailors departing from Yalova marina will first stop at Sinop port. There they will take their international departures and set sail for Russia, following the Don-Volga rivers to complete their world tour in St. Petersburg. Thus, they will have seen more than 30 countries and covered 32 thousand nautical miles!

Let's talk about Yalova's other madman... Victor Michael Love is one of those people who embraced the sea towards the age of 70. No one who sees Love's Edna, which was built in Bristol, England, thinks that he is on a Mediterranean cruise. Because the golant gaffer-type Edna is more of a boat to be used to go from Fenerbahçe to the Princes' Islands.

Golant gaffer is known as one of the boat models preferred by those who want to build their own boat. It is an easy to maintain, solid hull, rigid boat. It is highly maneuverable under power and can turn within its own length. It has a spanker rig (i.e. the main sail looks more like a square than a triangle) and is made of cedar planks. It is so close to the water level that you can put your hand in the water while sailing. Her engine is a 10-horsepower, single-cylinder Yanmar GM10. But all this is not enough to make you feel comfortable enough to go out on the open sea.

Love, who is originally an architect but also plays the trombone, has been at sea since 2017. He started his journey in France, sailed along the Canal du Midi and landed in the Mediterranean.

He traveled to Italy, Corsica, Sicily, Tunisia and Malta, returned to Venice and then traveled through Croatia and Albania before arriving in Greece. Last year, he followed the Datça, Kuşadası, Çanakkale route and ended up in Istanbul. After taking a breather in the thermal waters of Yalova, he plans to return to Greece and park Edna in Poros, as he did in 2020.

Love, who says she has never been lonely, explains the fact that she has been able to sail on the open sea with such a boat without any accidents with only one thing: Pure luck!

We were honored to host these sailors in Yalova, who are an inspiration to all of us and who do not deviate from the route they believe in. We hope that Evgeny and Stanislav's courage and Victor's luck will rub off on all of us!

Photographs: Victor Michael Love