Bıcır Mehmet and Benli Ali: The duo that never left the seas of Ayvalık

Two captains of the seas, one calm, the other windy, two old friends... We wanted you to get to know these two special people, symbols of the captain tradition in Ayvalık.

Görkem Baygın, Setur Marinas Ayvalık Front Office Representative

Let's start with Captain Bıcır (Mehmet Yanmaz)... He has been fishing since he was 11 years old, and the sea has been his home for 47 years. "Experience", he says, "is the mirror of captaincy". The reason why he loves being a captain so much is the endless blue of the seas and childhood in the blue. For him, captaincy means "respect, love and most of all trust" as well as knowledge. He passed that trust test many times, and when he failed, he raised the flag of rebellion, saying "I'm out of here now". Bıcır Kaptan cannot begin to talk about himself until he has had a few glasses of raki. And when he does, his "own self" is heard in every sentence: "I fantasize about America", he says, "and Somalia is in my dreams".

The memory he laughs the most is that one day a boat guest asked for sea urchins. The captain couldn't dive because he had short of breath. He asks for help from a stranger. "If you can't get a bag of sea urchins out of the bottom, they will fire me," he says, and manages to get the man to get a bag of sea urchins out.

Let's talk about Benli Ali (Ali İncecik)... Having worked on fishing boats since 1985, Benli Ali stepped into Ayvalık Marina in 1996 and made his name in the marina with his championship in the fish tournament. Since then, he considers everyone in Ayvalık as part of his family.

For our Captain Benli, who is almost the exact opposite of Bıcır Mehmet, maturity and authority are the sine qua non of captaincy. There may be flexibility here and there, but the rules of the boat are absolute. According to him, when you go out to sea, you must protect not only the sea but also those on board.

Captain Benli loves night sailing. According to him, the most dangerous area from Zonguldak to Hatay is always off Kefken Island. He always checks the engine room of the boat on the day he is going to sail. This is like breathing for him. Although he used to say, "I can swim to Cunda from here," he now prefers to be above the water rather than under it. He even says that no one will ever let him into the sea again.

His favorite food on a cruise is pasta. Benli Ali adds behind his sincere smile that alcohol keeps a sailor sober and that it is difficult to sail without consuming it. At least he and Captain Bıcır agree on this.

These two characters have an ancient friendship that goes back many years. Even though they are at odds nowadays, no one around here can imagine them apart. Bıcır Kaptan says of Benli Ali, "I haven't spent this much time even with my wife, I think we will die together". "Longing will make our friendship even more beautiful," he adds. For Benli Ali, the most laughter-filled moments with Bıcır are their dances after having a drink.

Having survived most of the dangers at seaside by side, these contrasting characters have already become the symbols of Ayvalık Marina. Around here, we know them as captains of many years, but if you meet them one day, you will be struck by their unique characters and their nicknames that suit them so well.

Photographs: Görkem Baygın