Istanbul, Thessaloniki to be on Bodrum Cup’s route in 2023

BODRUM

The route of the Bodrum Cup will be Istanbul-Thessaloniki-Bodrum next year, the event’s organizer has announced.

“We are proud to have provided benefits to our country and society with all the events, projects, studies and valuable collaborations we have established,” Süleyman Uysal said.

“As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Bodrum Cup and the 100th anniversary of our Republic, we are excited to sail in Istanbul and Thessaloniki next year,” he added. Türkiye was declared a republic in October 1923.

“We will continue to create more value in our country with our upcoming organizations.”

More than 150 yachts, 1,500 sailors and 10,000 visitors participated in the organization, Uysal informed.

The final stage of the cup, which has been held in the Aegean province of Muğla’s Bodrum district for 34 years, has been completed.

While the champion of the races was Hızır 1, the team also won the “challenge” category. STS Bodrum in “gulet” and Zargana in the “cruiser” categories were awarded.

Thanks to its celebrating third championship in a row, Hızır 1 also became the owner of the regatta flag.

In addition to Bodrum’s wooden boats, performance boats and catamarans also participated in the races, which were held in five stages between Kissebükü, Gümüşlük and Bodrum on a route covering a total of 75 nautical miles.

The event was organized in a bid to increase awareness about KADES, a mobile application launched by the Interior Ministry that enables women to notify security forces for immediate help.

During the Çökertme-Kissebükü stage of the tournament, held between Oct. 15 and 22, one of the participants, doctor Nihan Eren, 49, died of a heart attack on the boat.

Upon the call for help, the Bodrum Marine Rescue boat, accompanying the fleet, arrived at the scene with paramedics. Then, the sea ambulance of Bodrum Marine Rescue also arrived at the scene.

After the first intervention on the boat, Eren, who was transferred to the land ambulance on the beach and was taken to the hospital, could not be saved.

Meanwhile, a 90-year-old man, Emin Buldanlı, who has been participating in the races since 1989, told Demirören News Agency that he applied to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

“We have one more attempt. I am now 90 years old and competing as a licensed sailor. The record belongs to a Greek who is 91 or 92 years old. If God gives a fortune and gives life, I will take that record from him,” he added.

The Bodrum Cup, which aims to introduce the young generation to sailing, provides engineers with the opportunity to demonstrate the performances of their newly produced yachts.

Over the years, neighboring Greek islands have started participating in the cup, which is one of the rare regattas in the world where yachts can compete with their guests, contributing to the convergence of the people of both sides.