Black Sea Tales

We last caught up with Jono Dunnett on his round Europe windsurf adventure as he landed in Istanbul. Here he picks up the story as he continues his epic voyage, venturing further into the Black Sea along Turkey’s coastline and into Georgia. Read on as Jono reflects on his journey.

- Jono Dunnett

Intuition, and a willingness to read meaning into the appearance of dolphins, had persuaded me that a winter break was advisable. There had been various things unsettling me: the potential for very harsh Black Sea weather, the leaky condition of my drysuit, a worn out connection between board and sail, and the unresolved problem of how to sail the heavily transited Bosphorus Strait without getting arrested. So, from Istanbul I skipped back to the UK, to see family, and also to preserve sufficient time on my visa for the sailing ahead. The break gave time to consider that whilst reaching Russia remained the goal of the sailing, it didn’t provide a sense of closure to the journey. And I was still having persistent daydreams about the possibility of ending the journey where it began, at Grense Jakobselv on the Norway-Russia border. Was there a viable river / sea route through Europe back to there? Perhaps. But I conceded that I didn’t have the appetite for the uncertainty such a trial would involve. This liberating admission spurred some research. Then I stumbled upon the EuroVelo cycle network, and in particular EV13, the Iron Curtain route, which goes from southern Europe right up to Grense Jakobselv. If the shoe fits…

I also heard from Edhem Dirvana, a Turkish sailor and fantastic guy with connections to the coastguard, press and navy – result! - Bosphorus permissions sorted. Then a replacement drysuit, fin and extension arrived, and I’d run out of reasons to wait. Before getting hooked on the easy life, it was time to do cold Turkey.

BOSPHORUS