Category: Adventures

On Sunday morning, Mercier retraced her course through the Krka River and wended her way north.  We decided to go to a very small island, Tribunj on our way to the Kornati Islands.  Tribunj was built in the 16^th century by people from inland Croatia, fleeing the Saracens.  It is a very, very small island dedicated to Saint Nicholas who looks after wives, fishermen, children and the poor.  The town is famous for its famous donkey races.

Although you can stay on the town quay, you are only inches away from the restaurants, so we went to the marina proper – Marina Tribunj. We were very impressed by this marina:  great showers, a laundry which means fresh clean towels and a massage chair.  It is heaven to walk into the large reception area and sit in the massage chair which rubs your back and kneads your shoulders.

Having just left Skradin, we see that we need to by a National Park ticket for the Kornati Islands. Of course, it was available for purchase in Skradin.   If you are cruising here in Croatia, it is valuable to purchase the pass prior to arriving in the Kornatis.  In 2013, it is Kuna 500 if you purchase the National Park pass before arriving and Kuna 1200 if you pay upon arrival.  Marina Tribunj wasn’t on the list but did have the pass, so all was well.

Even in small Tribunj, the crew can find excitement.  In the evening, the sunset was amazing and we were joined by our neighbor, a film maker from Finland, here in Croatia to do a documentary for sailors and armchair travelers.

After laundry and provisioning, we left the tiny town of Tribunj and motored out to the Kornati Islands. We see dolphins this morning, so we are very happy.  Our first stop was Smokvica, a beautiful harbour for lunch and a swim.  Within minutes of the anchor resting, the National Park rangers were there to check our ticket.  The water is getting cooler; it says 24 degrees but Gaila and Lesley yelp as they jump in.

Happy Birthday to Graham Sommerville for the 5^th, coverage is questionable in the Kornati Islands.

Wandering around the waterfront of Vis and Kut, we see pebbly, sea urchin riddled beaches. We thought it was interesting that instead of the crowded beaches of Bondi or the Jersey Shore, we saw solitary swimmers and sunbakers. We saw people in silent contemplation of the landscape and vistas.

Vis is a beautiful old town on an island near Hvar.  Vis is just 60 miles to Italy and like Italy, Vis has been inhabited since about 3,000 BC.  It is an island of wine growers and fishermen.

As we wandered around, we were enchanted with the azure blue of the water against the old stone buildings and the internal courtyards glimpsed through an open door.

Kut is a nearby village from which the town of Vis originated after merging with the village of Luka. Vis seems to be built on many levels, so we walk up and down hills and stairs and out towards the mouth of the bay.  We see a few sun bakers becoming part of the scene, adorning the view of boats and pebbles.

We were having a late lunch on Mercier and fellow Aussies, Gloria, Allan and Bill came by to say hello. They are also sailing Croatia and have come from Adelaide.  We chatted for awhile and realised that both Gloria and I are transplanted Americans thriving in Aussie soil for many years. They wandered off to their own lunch in a cafe in Kut and we wandered around looking at beautiful old buildings, gardens and churches. Exploring the back streets, we see a few more buildings of interest.

We left Korcula early on Friday, thinking we would head over to Vela Luka for a nice anchorage. Well nice in every wind except a western Maestral.

Of course, as we are sailing the wind comes in strongly from the west, so we reassess our home for the evening.  777 harbours and anchorages is a book about sailing in Croatia and the Eastern Adriatic.  The authors suggest Scedro Island as a lovely place to hide from a Maestral. We are looking for a nice quiet anchorage and so we select the bay of Carnjeni.  As we approach, we mistake the bay alongside called Borova, which is very small and filled by the large cruiser that inhabited it.  The autopilot guides us to Carnjeni and we find a beautiful anchorage; remote, enticing, a small beach at one end and shrubs and pines filling the shore. So natural, in fact, that we were barely finished anchoring before the boats was gently swarmed by bees and wasps. They weren’t aggressive but it was still disconcerting to have bees walking on the boat and on us.  We think they like salt. Needless to say we ate indoors with screens covering every opening and our friends stayed with us til about 8:30pm, when we could finally venture outside.

The bees were back in the morning.   After a quick swim, we motored out early to Hvar, along the south of the island, looking at the vertical agriculture and viniculture. At St Nedjelja, the winemaker understands the thirst sailing generates and has put in a jetty.  Sailors can moor up, taste his wares and retire to their boats on the dock.

We sailed passed the beautiful city of Hvar, on our way to the ACI Marina at St Klement.  We checked in and then took a water taxi to Hvar.

777 calls Hvar lively; it seems to me a great understatement. Hvar is lovely, crowded and frenetic as soon as the sun sets.  There are dozens of  tour boats, several ferries, many buses and each bring hordes of men and women ready to have fun. During the day they may go to historical sites, climb to fortresses and see the art in Cathedrals. After dark they swarm rather like our bees over the streets near the town quay and around the beach walk.  The energy is palpable.

In fact, James and I managed to have a bit of social life in Hvar, luck would have it that Lauren Knight-Smith was going to be in Hvar and we managed to meet up for dinner.  Lauren has been travelling in Croatia for two weeks so she had great information on places we haven’t reached yet. It was great to catch up and hear about her plans.

We also managed to catch up with Dennis and Bosjana and their daughter Caroline, as Sarayu managed to get a great mooring in Hvar Town Harbour. It is great to reconnect and hear about the ports they had been to and the adventures they had been having.

We opted for a quiet day on St Klements, a walk around the island brings you to  gorgeous Palmizana bay, a rocky beach and several interesting restaurants.

After our energetic walk, we came back to a marina filling up with the party of The Yacht Week, the marina only a third full at lunch time was absolutely overflowing with the boats in this regatta – there are 50 of them crewed with 18 to 30 year olds.  We think it may not be so quiet tonight, but perhaps more lively.

When the Commodore and Sandy Lawson give you advice you take it.  They told us we should see Ston and Polace, so we did that yesterday.

From Kobas, we turned left and anchored Mercier at the entrance to a narrow channel at Broce. We had spoken to crew of a motor yacht the night before and they advised leave the boat at Broce and go up the channel about a mile in the zodiak and we would be in Ston. The channel is 3 metres deep but silts up and that was too fine a match for Mercier’s 2.5 draft.

We followed the narrow channel past a few holiday houses, rounded a corner and saw the great wall of Ston lining the hilltop over the village reaching out to the nearby village of Mali Ston. When I saw the stairs going up to the wall, a sigh of relief escaped me.  With Mercier at anchor back at Broce, James wouldn’t suggest we climb the steep stairs or walk the 5.5 kilometre walk around the perimeter.

Wiki says that this wall was built as a second line of defense for Dubrovnik and also as a defense for the precious salt pans which was a large commercial enterprise then and is still making salt today.  The wall was completed in the 15th Century and the fortress town not only had protection, but was fully plumbed.

Miljet is a very long island and we had headwinds on the way there, but the day was warm and sunny.  We made it to Polace in a few hours, it was like being in a very large Refuge Bay with small anchorages up to the main bay.

Here are a few photos, more about Polace tomorrow. If you want a challenge, there is a marathon in Ston.

Sunday saw us go to Dubrovnik Old Town for a last look, on our way into town however we counted five cruise ships and started making alternate plans.  We thought we might go to some of the newer parts of Dubrovnik and since we had heard about the Orsan Yacht Club thought we might have a nice lunch there.

In the evening after exploring, lunching and doing a bit of shopping in New Dubrovnik, we went back to the Marina and swam in the cold refreshing pool, which is filled with water from a nearby mountain river.  It is so cold but so refreshing.

We leave the next day for Kolocep, one of the Elafiti Islands just off Dubrovnik for a swim.  We motored over to the bay of Slano before deciding we will continue on to Kobas a small fishing village with stern to moorings for the “guests” of the restaurants.

The cooking seems to be done in a massive outdoor over with the vegetables from the garden and fish, scallops, shrimp, sea urchins, mussels and oysters locally sourced.

There are three restaurants here and we pick the one with the deepest moorings: Niko’s Croatian food aka Konobas – Ribarska Kuca Niko. The bread was the best we have had in Montenegro or Croatia, coquilles St. Jacque were very tasty and the fish platter was lovely. We also had a very nice cheeky white chilled to perfection. In Italy you may pay E100 for a marina, in Croatia you pay E120 for marina and a two course meal.

We have enjoyed all the emails about places to go and restaurants here in Croatia.  We are looking forward to catching up with Lesley in two weeks and maybe we will see Lauren before that. The Godson is departing for Australia without a visit this time, but we still love him.