The voyage of the boat Rüyam, which was brought to Istanbul from New York in 1952, is one of the most unique stories of amateur sailing. This adventure was published as a book with a special design by Naviga.
It is widely agreed that amateur sailing in Turkey started with Sadun Boro, and especially with his voyage around the world between 1965-68. However, a sea adventure that took place 13 years before that should not be overlooked: The Atlantic crossing of the cutter named Rüyam.
Rüyam sets sail from New York to the Moroccan port of Tangier on Wednesday, June 18, 1952, under the command of owner and captain Haşim Mardin and first mate Nihat Bekdik. The crew consisting of 14 people is made up entirely of amateur sailors, except Nihat Bekdik, a former naval officer. Among them is Vedat Abut, who made many contributions to Turkish sports and was the first Minister of Handball Federation of Turkey. Abut, as a columnist for Cumhuriyet newspaper, joins the crew of Rüyam to cover this trip.
Rüyam's voyage does not go like a dream. Storms, broken radios, depleted rations cause a lot of trouble for the crew. So much so that by the end of the voyage the boat requires repairs. But after a voyage lasting 17 days, 22 hours and 50 minutes, Rüyam manages to reach the Mediterranean coast on July 8 and anchors in Istanbul on July 29. Thus, a Turkish flagged boat completes the Atlantic crossing (albeit in reverse) for the first time. This is such exciting news that President Celal Bayar and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes personally attend the ceremony to welcome Rüyam and award Haşim Mardin with an elegant trophy.
10 bottles, each containing a message from the Cumhuriyet newspaper, are thrown into the waters of the Atlantic as the voyage begins. On July 21, 1952, a Turkish carpet is presented as a gift to a Moroccan fisherman that found one of the bottles after a letter sent to the newspaper from Tangier, Morocco.Rüyam's story has many more delightful details like this. You can now read them in a book.
Vedat Abut's daughter Sermin Abut has also made significant contributions to this beautiful story published by Naviga under the editorship of Tûba Noyan and Ayşegül Bakış. One of the interesting aspects of the book, titled New York'tan İstanbul'a: Kotrayla Atlantik Okyanusunu Geçen İlk Türk Yelkenlisi Rüyam'ın Seyir Defteri (From New York to Istanbul on A Cutter: Voyage Book of Rüyam, the First Turkish Sailboat to Cross the Atlantic Ocean), is that it is a direct reproduction of Vedat Abut's handmade sketchbook. In other words, instead of reordering the texts, the interior page design of the book was made using clippings from the album Abut had created for himself. This gives the book a sincere and natural feel. Turning the pages and reading the texts takes you back to those times, and you get the taste of a complete serial.
Having crossed the Atlantic, Rüyam leaves the Port of Hamburg, where she underwent repairs in 1960, and while sailing towards the Mediterranean, she breaks down in the Bay of Biscay, drifts ashore and overturns. They cannot cover the rescue costs because they have no insurance, so they end up selling her to a Greek individual. Despite this dramatic ending, the story of Rüyam continues to be remembered as a source of inspiration, and her book adorns the bookshelves of sailors.