The problem would sort itself out. Our destination was just over an hour away, a small cove called Kargili. In 1960's at least 80 boats like this one plied the seas in search of sponges. 5 or 6 divers would live on the boat for five months of the year, leaving their families behind on the shore. These days, very few remain.
Sponges are scarce.
The expanding tourist industry promises greater profits for boat owners, and the hard work and long periods at sea discourage most mariners from this pursuit. This boat, the Ciflik, is perhaps the last sponge boat in the Bodrum area. Nautral sponges have become obsolete with the advent of syenthetic sponges. They are a luxury item, and few understand the difficulty undertaken to obtain them. Mehmet Cakir is one of the senior sponge divers in Ciflik, a village close to Bodrum.