A few years ago we were at the Istanbul boatshow giving a talk for the wonderful Gezgin Korsan. The ‘Sailing Pirates’ are a group of keen cruising sailors who took their hospitality seriously, taking us out to the oldest fish restaurant in Yezilkoy, on the western reaches of this great city. They sail mostly locally around the Turkish coast and Aegean islands and were keen to know what we thought of Turkish marinas.

There is of course a long-sailing tradition here, and local nautical clubs have been running for almost as long. Historically, people would keep their yachts in fishing harbours, or on club moorings in sheltered bays. One of the first purpose-built marinas here was in Kusadasi on the Aegean coast, which opened in 1979. More soon followed, and now there is a well-established marina network all around the coast.

Now, almost without exception, all these marinas are absolutely 5 star. You are welcomed by uniformed marineros in a RIB who then assist you into your berth, mooring lines are attached and you have barely lifted a finger.

Water and electricity is a given. Wifi too. Shower and toilet facilities are often of a standard you would love to have at home – all marble and glass with quality fittings. Technical services are usually good, and the people are unfailingly friendly and helpful in our experience. What’s not to like?

The Turks took the high-class marina model and built it perfectly. And throughout the Mediterranean, they are not alone. In recent years marina prices have risen far above inflation all around the show.

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But here’s the thing: Do we always want or need a 5-star marina and its top dollar price? It’s easy to say, and likely to raise many questions of viability, but speaking personally, a 2-star marina – say with fewer facilities and a lower service level – would suit us just as well most of the time.

A typical fishing harbour with a few yacht berths provides an ideal mooring place on a day-to-day basis. But these are tending to become fewer and farther between.

It seems the Sailing Pirates agreed – but more than this they suspect that they are being priced out of somewhere to keep their yachts. And it isn’t just them. We are all too aware of rising costs everywhere, and marinas are no different. In recent years there has been a trend towards superyacht-level services – and berths.

Private equity groups are investing in marinas and turning them into high-end ‘destinations’. In many ways it is not surprising – demand for super- and mega-yachts is sky high, and they need to find somewhere to park them. And they can afford to pay without querying the bill. Ideal customers, in other words.

Where once we could find a decent marina that didn’t break the bank, they are all now tending towards charter bases and megayachts. When one night in a marina costs about the same as a night in a hotel in central London, it ceases to be a spur-of-the-moment decision, and more likely to precipitate a visit to your mortgage adviser.

There is much talk of the ageing demographic of cruising sailors, with younger people happy to use the charter market – with none of the costs and time needed in keeping your own boat – to get their cruising fix.

Of course, there are still harbours and boatyards catering for us dinosaurs of the sailing world and certainly we spend many days at anchor out of choice, but are the days of the ordinary owner-cruiser numbered?

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