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SOUTH EAST CRUISING SCHOOL
Hrvatska Chronicles
Croatian September 2004 edition
Compiled by South East Cruising School reporter, Ozzie St
George.
Accounts
of 2 trips undertaken by South East Cruising School crews around the Dalmatian
Islands of Croatia
Week one - Sep 4th to 11th - Pat
King, Leo Kinsella, Ivan Alcorn, John O Gorman & Charlie. "Party Animals" (2 crew members
couldn't make it out for various reasons - Ansis Dimiters and Colm
Connaughton).
Sun 5th - This intrepid crew of hardy men
set sail from the ACI Marina, Dubrovnik after a lesson in rip off merchants
(taxi and charter company). Almost immediately, Leo decided to test the
alertness of his crew by "dropping" his camera overboard, but alas
Ivan sank it with a good reverse thrust on the engine!!!
Once over his loss, we made
our way in pleasant conditions to Okukije, Mljet Is, tying up beside
fellow Wicklow resident, Theo Phelan and
crew, at the Maestral restuarant berth.
After testing some other shoreside hospitality, we dined well in the
restuarant. Leo made up for his loss by purchasing Linda's hand made olive oil
as a souvenir. Ivan and John made a long night of it in Konoba Camara, sampling
beer and shrimps buchara, served by 2 local characters.
Breakfast delivery
Mon 6th - What a way to wake up - a quick
splash and breakfast delivered to your boat by a little old lady in a rowing
boat with fresh croissants and figs - yummie. We set off early for Korcula
Is, dealing with a few blasts of the notorious Bora (NE wind) en-route.
After some exciting sailing and interesting pilotage, we anchored for lunch off
Badija Is, with some nice "natural" scenery close by. A ramble
around the island set us up nicely for a relaxing evening ashore in Korcula.
Alas, that wasn't to be - the marina was full and we found refuge in Luka
anchorage, before dining aboard. After a few pleasant pints in town, 3 of the
crew returned to find the Bora up to its tricks again and our boat dragging its
anchor. After several early morning attempts to re-anchor and a fruitless
search for an alternative berth, we finally settled into a sheltered berth well
away from our original location. Pat volunteered to go looking for the missing
crew and finally had them back aboard after 5.30am.
Tues 7th - Already this was a bad hair day
and it got worse for us. After 2 days at sea, we had exhausted our water supply
and badly needed a refill. After a long lie in, we arrived at an almost empty ACI
Korcula marina, looking for a 2 hour stop, to water up and buy some
provisions. We were refused entry and advised to try the harbour facilities.
Unfortunately, ferries were constantly coming and going and again, we tried the
Marina. After protracted negotiations, we finally got permission to dock, only
to fall foul of the Marina monkey after a "slip of the
tongue" by me, for which we got our marching orders. We had achieved what
we needed, water and shopping, at no marina charge, so we won in the end!!
Viganj Monastery and shoreline
He actually did us a
favour, as we would never have found the little dock at Viganj across
the channel without him. After some navigation exercises, we berthed alongside
for lunch, which turned into a very long and enjoyable evening ashore. The
local store keeper/harbour master, Johnny, came aboard for a chat and a beer,
filling us in on the local property market and tourist features. The Carmela
bar/cafe is well worth a diversion to sample its unique ambience, sitting right
on the waters edge with a romantic circular seat on stilts over the water. Some of us rounded off the night watching a group of locals
playing a late night game of "boules" beside our boat.
Crew 1 have lunch at anchor
Wed 8th - We set off next morning with a
nice tail breeze, for which we popped up our spinnaker - what a fabulous sail we had all along the north coast of
Korcula Is. When the wind died, we tackled a tricky channel for pilotage
practice - phew, it had my heart beating fast, but we got through safely. After
another spinny run, Ivan berthed us stern-to in Vela
Luka in a tricky crosswind. An Austrian boat, "Puddle Dancer"
made several attempts to berth stern-to at high speed and we all waited for the
crunch, which came on about the 5th try - not a pretty sight and totally
unnecessary.
We had an enjoyable fish
meal ashore, followed by a night-cap. Again, some of our crew had a sleepless
night, thanks to the bloody Bora!, fenders needing re-laying several times.
Ubli, Lastovo Is. thru the trees
Thur 9th - Waking up eventually to yet
another beautiful day in the Dalmatians, we set sail for Lastovo Is and enjoyed
a pleasant breeze giving us a steady 5.5 knots all the way. The beauty of this
remote former military outpost was stunning and each corner we turned, brought
more delights. The wonderful anchorage of Velji Luka with its 4 hideaways of Ubli,
Kremena, Jurjeva and Pasador, all presenting a totally different but
special little piece of heaven. We moored stern to at Jurjeva Luka in an
area formerly used as a military barracks, with abandoned tunnels and buildings
all over the place, partially hidden by the trees.
Sunset off Lostovo Is.
After an extended lunch, we
hauled anchor and popped 5 miles around the island to Shrivena Luka,
arriving in the dark. Berthing up beside the hotel, we had a wonderful night on
board, watching the stars in a sky almost devoid of light pollution - magic.
Fri 10th - For our last full day aboard, we
hoped to make it to Mjlet National Park, but the Bora had other ideas, forcing
us to alter course down the west coast of the island. The wind eventually went
into the north west (Maestral) and we hoisted the spinnaker yet again, enjoying
a fast and invigorating downwind blast. Nightfall saw us arriving in Sipanski
Luka, where we dined in the Restaurant More (Sea), attended by a
very friendly girl called Iris. Afterwards, we enjoyed a lively night in the
little bar beside the ferry (literally berthed outside its door), boogying into
the early hours on table tops.
John getting his move on, Baldo and Iris in centre
Sat 11th - After sending a shore party to
retrieve one of our crew, we made haste for Dubrovnik, cleaning the boat
en-route. A final lunch aboard continued the high standards set during the week
and our final trip came to an end. After a bout of shopping in the Old Town, it
was off to the Airport to get the next crew.
Week 2 - Sep 11th to
18th - John Mc
Monagle, Joe Peters, Jane Jameson, Roisin Curley, Odran Buckley, Seamus Kirwan,
Ivan & Charlie. "Culture Vultures"
After a quick introduction
on board, we went to the Old Town of Dubrovnik for a meal at Proto
Restaurant - beautiful setting and good value. Afterwards, we were entertained
to a free concert by the Croation Philharmonic Orchestra, a real treat. What a
fabulous introduction to the ancient city of Dubrovnik (formerly the Republic
of Ragusa for 700 years).
Sun 12th - With our new crew, we spent some
time familiarising everyone with the sails routine, slowly making our way to
our evening land fall. An afternoon stop for a swim and lunch on Kolocep Is
broke the journey, before continuing on to Sipanski Luka again. This
time we had the company of 4 or 5 other Irish boats (mainly members of Royal St
George Yacht Club). Another meal with Iris and gang, followed by listening to a
local musician playing his accordion accompanied by 4 singers, performing
Croatian folk songs - most enjoyable. This lovely little place has already
become our spiritual home in Croatia.
Mjlet National Park - beautiful place
Mon 13th - We cast off early to try to get
to the Mjlet National Park, making land fall around lunchtime in Pomena,
motoring most of the way. After a bit of haggling, we got a good deal on 8
bikes and headed off to explore the Park. What a beautiful and unspoiled
treasure - 1st stop was a ferry ride to the monastery on a small island,
followed by a bike ramble along the western shore of the enclosed sea lakes. We
cooled off with a swim before returning to Pomena for food. A beautiful
experience.
Tue 14th - Another light wind day saw us
making our way towards Lastovo again, this time anchoring in a very dodgy
channel at Mladine Is. To say we were lucky to avoid going on the rocks is
putting it mildly. We had a most enjoyable swim and lunch, before weighing
anchor. We arrived into Jurjeva Luka, tying up alongside the small pier, with a
small flotilla of Zagreb University Sport Students joining us after dark. After
eating aboard, we ventured over to Pasador Most, where we were entertained by
an Austrian professional Folk Musician (plays with the Casanovas).
The girls relax - tough life
Wed 15th - Finally after 3 days, the wind
decided to join in our fun and we had a very brisk sail all the way up to Vela
Luka, every body having a go on the wheel, testing their nerve in a bracing
breeze. Berths in the harbour were full, so we anchored out, cheekily returning
after dark to tie up on the fuel berth. An excellent meal - huge platter of
mixed fish - washed down by a premium local white wine (Marco Polo Pocip), set
us up nicely for one the highlights of our trip. A Turkish Ice Cream vendor,
Mehmed, entertained us immensely with his repertoire of tricks, taking a
particular shine to Ivan! As we say in Ireland, he was great craic.
Thur 16th - We had an early start to vacate
the fuel berth and took advantage to get ourselves over towards Korcula. Having
enjoyed our little visit the previous week, we introduced a new crew to the
simple pleasures of Viganj for a short lunch stop and ice cream at Carmela
bar/cafe.
Employing undercover
tactics, Ivan took our Elan 40 into the CAI Marina, Korcula, under the
direction of our "enemy", with me staying out of sight to avoid
another confrontation. Boy was it worth it.
Elusive Korcula Town - Marco Polo's birthplace?
Korcula is called the jewel
of the Adriatic Islands and this ancient town certainly lives up to its
billing. Old town walls, towers, churches, museums, tiny streets and charming
buildings, Korcula has it all. After exploring the ancient delights of the
town, we dined in the renowned restaurant Adio Mare, enjoying our first
non-fish meal ashore. Cocktails in the Tower rooftop bar rounded off an
enjoyable experience before winding down with a few late night-caps.
Roisin in charge in F5 Bora
Fri 17th - Having managed to avoid the Bora
all week, it finally came to haunt us next morning. Exiting the Marina was
tricky and sailing now had a real edge to it, Roisin revelling in the gusty NE
5/6 blowing. We enjoyed a fast lively sail down to Okuklje, where the quote of
the week was uttered by Joe. An Austrian boat, which had been alongside in
Korcula, followed us in and the crew went for a swim. On exiting the water,
they stripped down to birthday suits for a shower on the afterdeck. Joes
attention was drawn to the naked woman 50 yards from him and his acid comment
was "I've seen her face, why would I want to look at her arse!".
After a pleasant lunch we weighed anchor and made for our home from home -
Sipanski Luka.
Sipanski Luka - scene of much good fun
Berths were all taken and
Ivan tried to wangle an alongside mooring on an Australian charter boat, only
for the skipper to kick us off as we tied up. We politely left, letting him
stew in his own annoyance for being rude to us. Despite the fact that their
tiny restaurant was already overworked with loads of Aussies, Iris and Baldo
made us feel very welcome by giving us a table. A few more drinks to help us
sleep, came with the offer to our crew of a skinny dip from a Brazilian girl,
who had spent 4 months on the island. Needless to say, the offer was accepted,
but she had disappeared with some of the local young bucks. Back aboard, a
midnight swim seemed like a good idea and most of the crew bravely ventured
into the dark waters.
Sat 18th Next morning hangovers abounded,
but they were softened by the arrival alongside of our Aussie skipper, who
wanted to apologise for his behaviour the previous evening - a small slice of
humble pie. Joe gratefully accepted it on my behalf and we hauled anchor for
our final trip back to Dubrovnik. Our crew feverishly cleaned the boat from top
to bottom, which was much appreciated by Miho and Katja, the charter company
agents, who also ran us to the airport later.
Crew 2 of Antonio with Miho and Katja
A must do was a final visit
to Dubrovnik Old Town and what an enjoyable experience that turned out to be. A
walk around the city walls and a stroll through the streets has no equal with
anywhere else I have visited.
Old town Dubrovnik - magic place
Croatia is a beautiful
country and is well worth the effort to get there. We'll be back soon.
Prevailing wind in the Adriatic - Bora - (N E and
can be strong)
Also - Sirocco
- (S E - can last for days)
- Mistral - (N W -
stable weather wind)
Places of Interest
Dubrovnik -(formerly the Republic of Ragusa!) - an imposing
walled city, built on a small isthmus whose centuries old atmosphere has
remained virtually intact, a beautiful city well worth exploring. It has World
Cultural Heritage status - on a stroll from one city gate to the other, you
will meet the Romanesque and Gothic to the high Renaissance to Baroque.
Korcula town - most precious jewel in the Adriatic.
Small and extremely well preserved, it is a small town with St Marks Church and
the Bishops Palace with its museum.
Split - Its well preserved Roman Architecture is
interlaced with several later periods. No doubt it is the busiest city on the
Croatian Adriatic coast and the liveliest old timer amongst all Croatian
cities.
Mljet Is, National Park (SW Croatia) - most
seductive island in the Adriatic, with deep bays/lakes and the remains of
Benedictine monastery.
Croatia has 1000 islands, 66 of which are
inhabited - making a sailing holiday here a special experience. The superb
beauty of the islands of Brac, Korcula, Hvar and Vis is a very good
excuse for exploring this area.
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