Kaptan Kadir is a classic Turkish gulet built for the way people actually charter these waters: long lazy days at anchor, short hops under sail between coves, and a full crew keeping the whole thing effortless. Built by Turhan Yachts in Bodrum in 2004 and refitted in 2019 and again in 2023, she carries a schooner rig and enough sail to move under canvas, while her real strength is the sheer amount of deck she gives twelve guests.
Her decks are the heart of the yacht. The foredeck carries a jacuzzi set into the timber, ringed by curved seating and sunpads, so the bow becomes a private sun terrace once the anchor is down. Amidships and aft, a shaded deck runs the full beam, with a long dining table on one side and a proper curved bar on the other, both under a fixed bimini that keeps the sun off through the day. It is easy to see how a week aboard settles into a rhythm of swimming, lunch, a siesta and dinner as the light fades, all without leaving the deck.
Inside, the mood turns warm and traditional. The saloon is panelled in honey-toned timber, with a comfortable lounge, a dining table and a run of windows that keep the anchorage in view. It is one open social room rather than a series of small compartments, the natural place to gather when the wind gets up or the evening cools, and it reads as the genuinely hand-built Turkish yacht that she is.
Accommodation runs to six cabins for up to twelve guests. The cabins are dressed in the same rich mahogany with crisp linens and warm accent colours, each with an en-suite bathroom finished in stone and timber. The layout suits a large family or a group of couples sharing the yacht, with enough separation below that everyone keeps their own corner while the decks stay sociable.
A crew of six runs her with the easy competence these yachts are known for, trimming sail, tending the jacuzzi and the tender, laying tables and timing meals to the day. A full complement of water toys comes along, jet skis, a tender, kayaks and towed inflatables, staged so the move from anchor to open water takes only a moment. Provisioning and menus are handled aboard and tailored to the group, so guests plan little beyond which cove to head for next and when to swim.
Her cruising grounds are the sheltered bays and islands of the Turkish coast and the nearby Greek Dodecanese, the quiet anchorages around Gocek, Fethiye and beyond where a traditional gulet feels most at home. Progress is unhurried at a cruising nine knots, because the point of a week aboard Kaptan Kadir is the anchorage, not the passage. For families and groups who want the character of a real Bodrum gulet with the comfort of a recent refit and a generous crew, she is a straightforward and rewarding way to take on a Turkish and Greek summer. She rewards a full week aboard rather than a quick weekend, and her crew keep every part of the logistics quietly out of view.
