The 26th International Bodrum Cup Regatta sets sail from Bodrum Peninsula to the neighboring Greek islands and back this week for the largest sailing festivity in the Mediterranean in over a quarter century.

The Bodrum Cup, which has been organized by the Era Bodrum Sailing Club since 1989, is a wonderful way to close out the summer season in a festival-like atmosphere with a series of entertaining events. Held annually in the third week of October, this year the 26th International Bodrum Cup Regatta begins on Monday Oct. 20 and runs until Saturday Oct 25. Not only can sea and boat-lovers take part in the wide variety of events organized for the festival, but also it is possible to join the race aboard one of the many participating vessels.

During this six-day sailing and socializing event, more than 100 wooden yachts and over 1,500 participants are expected to take place in the regatta, which will kick off from Bodrum Peninsula on Monday after which they will make their way to a series of Greek islands before returning to Yalıkavak and then Bodrum.

Turkey’s most exquisite wooden boats, gulets, which are famed for Blue Voyage tours, as well as tirhandil and other style sailboats, will be joined by IRC mega yachts and catamarans as a first in the competition’s 26th year in categories for the two-continent race.

The regatta, consisting of five stages covering a total distance of 75 nautical miles, will begin and end in Bodrum. The route will include Kalimnos, Leros, and Yalıkavak, and will terminate with the Yalıkavak to Bodrum leg. For this year’s events for the regatta, a very unique floating city, aptly named Bodrum Cup City, will be set up on a floating platform that will be surrounded by 150 yachts anchored side by side in Gümbet. The 500-square-meter floating city will have a concert area, café and stands selling local handicrafts that Bodrum was once known for, such as sandals, sponges and jewelry. With the surrounding yachts creating a surface area of over 1,200-square-meters, an audience of 2,000 will be able to take part in the floating city events aboard accompanying boats.

Among this year’s fleet will be the Buyuk Yunus, which is vying for a Guinness Book of World Records title for being the sole wooden yacht to compete consecutively for 25 years. Guinness officials will also be coming out to this year’s races to verify the record. One of the most attention-grabbing vessels that will be at this year’s Bodrum Cup is the Rhea, a 113-year-old wooden boat that British electrical engineer David Ross has sailed in the regatta consecutively for the past 15 years.

The most significant vessel that will be a part of the regatta, however, is the Wellabled, a boat designed to facilitate unhindered movement for the disabled as a social responsibility project to enable the disabled to enjoy the sea and sailing.

The annual Bodrum Cup yacht regatta is a special celebration of the end of the sailing season that brings together sailors, yacht owners or potential owners, sea and environment lovers as well as tourists, expats and locals. Come check out this oldest and biggest sailing event in the Mediterranean in our own backyard of Bodrum for a fun time and to meet great people amid some of the most beautiful boats in the world to end the summer right.

 

 

 

Source Daily Sabah

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