The Turquoise Coast earns its name honestly — the water here is so clear that in places you can see your own anchor resting on the seabed thirty metres down. That is why the bays empty of engine noise feel almost unreal, and why you will want to stay in them long past sunset.

Fethiye sits on the site of ancient Telmessos, and the Lycian rock tombs carved into the cliff above town are more than two thousand years old. You can anchor below them, look up at the facades lit gold at dusk, and understand why sailors have been stopping here for millennia.

Göcek is nicknamed the Turkish Caribbean for a reason — dozens of pine-covered islands packed into a small gulf, each with its own sheltered anchorage. Locals will tell you the smart move is to arrive in the late afternoon, when the day boats head home and the whole bay belongs to you.

A catamaran does not heel and does not roll. Your morning coffee stays in the cup, your guests stay in a good mood, and the skipper gets to look like the calmest person on the Turquoise Coast. That stability is worth more than any brochure photo.

Turkey has more than 8,000 kilometres of coastline, and the stretch around Fethiye is where the mountains drop straight into the sea. Sail it once with a crew who knows the bays, and you will spend the next eleven months planning your return.