Turkish, int’l sailors race for fastest time on Bosphorus

ISTANBUL

Sailors from around the world traversed the Bosphorus on a sunny May 28 as part of the Bosphorus Cup 2016, which marked its 15th anniversary with the event. 

Around 70 boats racing in six different categories crowding the starting line at Dolmabahçe Palace set sail at noon to compete for the best time to finish the race on Istanbul’s Bosphorus.

With a soft wind blowing from the south, the sailing yachts opted for spinnakers, making for a fast start. The boats traversed the Bosphorus up until Rumeli Hisarı, most of the time making short and fast tacks in order to get the most of the wind and get past the strong current of the Bosphorus. 

The Orient Express VI made use of her waterline length and superior sail power to take an early lead and finish the 21-nautical-mile race first on the water in a time of two and half hours. On corrected time under IRC Rating it was Team Özonur sailing the Farr 40, Renault Farr Away that took the race win by 53 seconds. Farrfara finished third overall, some 15 minutes adrift.

A team representing daily Hürriyet also attended the race, under the guidance of skipper Mert Pekiçten. The team included Alper Tarlabaşı, Ali Yağız Diri, Banu Karabulut, Veysel Kantek, Gamze Avcu, Serkan Ocak and Deniz Çiyan. 

Racing on the Bosphorus is known to be challenging with two currents flowing contrary to each other but the predominant flow being the one from the Black Sea towards the Marmara Sea. However, the S-shaped strait offers opportunities for relief when heading north, with intriguing counter-currents available to those in the know.

The Turkcell Platinum Bosphorus Cup’s last leg was scheduled to run yesterday, with the Buoy Races off the shores of Caddebostan on Istanbul’s Asian side. The Bosphorus Cup will be awarded to the team which is the overall winner, which Orient Express VI was leading with the results of the May 28 race.