A seaside view: A Message from Captain Metin
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Hasan Bayrak
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 17, 2009 00:00
DİDİM - I want to warm all of you on these cold February days by telling the heart-warming story of one of Didim’s favourite people: Metin Çakmakçı’s love of sea and his meeting with his sailboat which he calls as his lover.
Didim is a blue city, city of the seas. It is surrounded by the most beautiful of seas, yet our relations with it are not so good. The marina will open this year but we are still far from marine. We believe Captain Metin will encourage us all in this matter. He is orthopedically impaired since birth yet we expect him to teach us all freedom. Let’s first listen to his story:
"Do you believe in love at first sight? I was not so sure before it happened to me, but I did experience it. Besides, it is not over yet."
He never forgets that time: September 1994. It was a September in Didim, counting back to the end of the holiday, when you start feeling upset about the end of summer the summer loves and when the sunsets are redder. On the Altınkum beach, a group of friends were sipping their tea and waiting for their visitor, who would arrive on his yacht. One of them pointed out towards the rocks protruding into the sea over at the third beach and they saw "her" for the first time gliding slightly over to the starboard with the evening breeze. From that moment on, Metin Çakmakçı could not hear any of the words spoken nor could he take his eyes off her. He was watching enchanted her sailing to the Altınkum harbour, lowering her sails and anchoring. The anchor was dropped to the depths of his heart.
That was the day of love at first sight for Metin Çakmakçı. She was a lily white ten metre sloop, which became his dreams and only passion.
11 years after that day he realised his dream. He and his wife were sipping their drinks on a cold night of 2005, at the Marmaris Netsel Marina on his new boat. He keeps repeating to himself while telling of that day, "My boatÉ It sounds so fascinating." Millions of stars, together with the sailor friendly pole star, were sharing their happiness. He had his beer glass in one hand, and with the other hand he was stroking Göksu’s board.
Who is Göksu? Haven’t you met her yet? Haven’t you seen the beauty who sways from bay to bay with her captain Metin Çakmakçı be it summer or winter? Göksu was born in 1995; a fiber sloop of 7.5 metres.
"I had not idled since that day when the blueness of the sea became the colour of my dreams. I was learning the theory by reading the monthly magazines and the books. For the practice I was taking private sailing lessons at the Sığacık Gulf. I got my Amateur Sailor Certificate and Short Distance Wireless Operator certificate in the exams. It had come to the most important decision: To retire as soon as possible and buy a boat."
You might ask, "Okay, you had the desire and bought it. What about today?" It has been three years since he started sailing on his own boat. He is aware that he is only at the start of this pleasant occupation which also requires much experience. He says, "That is the beauty of it; I learn something new everyday. I sail on to my each little excursion with the excitement of the first day. At first, sailing to Akbük was like crossing the ocean. Then came Kazıklı harbour, Türkbükü, Turgutreis, and now a week’s holiday in Gökova Gulf is already on my agenda for 2009. I dream of buying a bigger boat (Göksu better not hear this!) and sailing the entire Agean and Mediterranean in a few years."
Captain Metin likes an Indian proverb, which he had heard somewhere years ago, his phone opens with it: "Follow your dreams, they are hope of the future" Hoping that your dreams also come true in timeÉ
"Do you believe in love at first sight? I was not so sure before it happened to me, but I did experience it. Besides, it is not over yet."
He never forgets that time: September 1994. It was a September in Didim, counting back to the end of the holiday, when you start feeling upset about the end of summer the summer loves and when the sunsets are redder. On the Altınkum beach, a group of friends were sipping their tea and waiting for their visitor, who would arrive on his yacht. One of them pointed out towards the rocks protruding into the sea over at the third beach and they saw "her" for the first time gliding slightly over to the starboard with the evening breeze. From that moment on, Metin Çakmakçı could not hear any of the words spoken nor could he take his eyes off her. He was watching enchanted her sailing to the Altınkum harbour, lowering her sails and anchoring. The anchor was dropped to the depths of his heart.
That was the day of love at first sight for Metin Çakmakçı. She was a lily white ten metre sloop, which became his dreams and only passion.
11 years after that day he realised his dream. He and his wife were sipping their drinks on a cold night of 2005, at the Marmaris Netsel Marina on his new boat. He keeps repeating to himself while telling of that day, "My boatÉ It sounds so fascinating." Millions of stars, together with the sailor friendly pole star, were sharing their happiness. He had his beer glass in one hand, and with the other hand he was stroking Göksu’s board.
Who is Göksu? Haven’t you met her yet? Haven’t you seen the beauty who sways from bay to bay with her captain Metin Çakmakçı be it summer or winter? Göksu was born in 1995; a fiber sloop of 7.5 metres.
"I had not idled since that day when the blueness of the sea became the colour of my dreams. I was learning the theory by reading the monthly magazines and the books. For the practice I was taking private sailing lessons at the Sığacık Gulf. I got my Amateur Sailor Certificate and Short Distance Wireless Operator certificate in the exams. It had come to the most important decision: To retire as soon as possible and buy a boat."
You might ask, "Okay, you had the desire and bought it. What about today?" It has been three years since he started sailing on his own boat. He is aware that he is only at the start of this pleasant occupation which also requires much experience. He says, "That is the beauty of it; I learn something new everyday. I sail on to my each little excursion with the excitement of the first day. At first, sailing to Akbük was like crossing the ocean. Then came Kazıklı harbour, Türkbükü, Turgutreis, and now a week’s holiday in Gökova Gulf is already on my agenda for 2009. I dream of buying a bigger boat (Göksu better not hear this!) and sailing the entire Agean and Mediterranean in a few years."
Captain Metin likes an Indian proverb, which he had heard somewhere years ago, his phone opens with it: "Follow your dreams, they are hope of the future" Hoping that your dreams also come true in timeÉ