The guests of some marinas come not to sit but to stay. Maybe they like to spend more time on the shore, on the boat than at sea. This is exactly why they are the actual owners of the marina.

 

Eda Selçuk, Setur Finike Marina Front Office Representative

 

They are sailors who have lived on the boat for a long time. Although they have a house, they still choose to live on a boat. They call a bay or marina their home, but the entire world is a home for them. They wake up every day meeting new people. They don't give up on this life, because they are in love with the sea and their homes in the sea.

 

 

Setur Finike marina has such a feature. A considerable number of sailors have preferred Finike to live on a boat for many years. The marina has become the meeting point of long-distance yachtsmen and people living on a boat. Every week, regardless of summer or winter, there is a barbecue event at the yacht club on Sunday. In summer, when the people of cold countries return, yoga activities and bridge begin. These events are organized so that the newcomers do not feel alienated. That's why every event is also a welcoming ceremony.

 

 

Aylin Clarmo is one of the people who live on a boat in Finike. With the effect of the pandemic, they decided to settle in Finike, to where they used to come for technical maintenance only with her spouse Jan Göran. Ms. Aylin also has an interesting anecdote that makes people envy living on a boat. While working as a diving instructor in Kemer, at the end of the season, upon someone's request, she gave up returning to Istanbul and lived on a boat for a while. One day she would use the shower at the marina. She organizes all her care products nicely. But just at that moment, another yachtswoman passes by, wrapped in her pareo, with a single shampoo in her hand. The woman takes her shower and walks away, saying "goodbye" to Ms. Aylin. Ms. Aylin looks at her materials in front of her and also at the woman. She asks herself, "What am I doing for God's sake?" This event was enough for Ms. Aylin to change her perspective. "One becomes materialistic while living on land," she said. “But when you live on a boat, you realize that the real luxury is the feeling of having a glass of wine against the view.” Thus, the story that starts with a request turns into a lifestyle.

 

According to Aylin Clarmo, the main difference of Finike is the warmth of the people. Of course, among the reasons for her choosing this place are the fact that these places are an agricultural paradise, the beauty of the climate, and there're many places to see. The fact that the marina is a sheltered marina and a meeting point for long-distance yachtsmen also makes her happy. While telling all this, she greets a friend whom she missed the opportunity to meet with in Sicily and met here later on. Ms. Aylin also has the following observation:

Looking at land from a boat is always more enjoyable than looking at a boat from land.

 

 

Simon Haydok, one of the remarkable personalities of Finike marina, has seen many countries (he says "many many") with his boat, to whose building he contributed. What he also said about Finike is that people are very helpful and friendly. Mr. Simon also made many friends in Finike. He was visiting the homes of local business owners, and they were coming to his boat with their families. Mr. Simon says, "There are people from many countries in the marina, not just from one country. I love the colorfulness of this place." He believes that whatever he can do in a fixed house on land, he can do at sea. He saved his main sentence for last: "Boat life feeds the free spirits."

 

 

Although the inhabitants of Finike are devoted to this small settlement, their hearts are as wide as the world, their dreams are as limitless as the seas. It is a great pleasure to host them at the marina.

 

Photographs: Eda Selçuk