And after a zillion loads of washing, our next guests arrived! Actually, we managed to squeeze in a couple of lovely nights at anchor whilst we were still on our own, off the island of Sipan just a stone's throw from Dubrovnik. A deep inlet close to the village of Sipan gives great shelter and was the perfect place to drop the hook and this time when we put a line to shore, it was a far more manageable swim than my previous marathon effort.
Someone had recommended a restaurant in Sipan, so we booked it for our second night here and turned up in the dinghy to find we had the best table, in the corner of the terrace right over the water - gorgeous. The meal was pretty gorgeous as well! No menu - the waiter just came and asked if we wanted meat or fish and when we opted for fish, course after course was presented to us, including tuna carpaccio, a risotto to die for, octopus meatballs and a mouthwatering bass. Before we left, we booked a table for two nights hence and spent the interim looking forward to it!
Our next guests arrived on Friday, so we pottered back to Cavtat, where we had a rather awkward arrival, to pick them up. As we needed to fill the water tank, we were allowed briefly on a berth between two superyachts, but as we reversed back into position on the anchor, we ran out of chain and had to start the whole procedure again, all this with the entire crew of both the aforementioned massive craft looking on. Not good! Of course, by the time we were onto the second manoeuvre, the wind was blowing and Zaffina was continuously being pushed towards one or other of our neighbours, much to their horror. Eventually we got into place and it was with considerable relief that we were finally tied up.
Our guests arrived whilst I was out doing a quick supermarket sweep, and as soon as we were all on board and the water tank was filled (at a cost of £50!!) we were back out to sea and heading towards Sipan again. We spent the first of another two nights there in an inlet we'd visited with our previous visitors, where there is nothing but an abandoned hotel on the shore, and the second night back near the village where together we all enjoyed the meal Frank and I had been eagerly anticipating for two days.
New batteries were due to be fitted on Zaffina, so we took ourselves into Dubrovnik Marina on Sunday night in anticipation and all was carried out quickly and successfully on Monday morning, leaving us the rest of the day for a visit to the city. Even having seen it before, we were still bowled over by the beauty and majesty of this walled citadel and we discovered another fabulous restaurant for lunch with views over a busy little port where the tourist boats arrive and depart. In the evening we dined in one of the lively squares, songbirds swooping overhead and crowds milling about throughout the meal.
It was back to Cavtat (now known as Satnav)over a bumpy sea the next day. We attempted to get back on the private mooring which had proved so useful a couple of weeks ago, but it was impossible to lift the rope required to attach Zaffina's stern and in the end we had to abandon our attempt and instead drop the anchor in a bay close to the port. It wasn't as sheltered as we had hoped and the wind was constant, so what had promised to be a relaxing day on the water turned into quite a noisy, breezy one. Our guests left early the following morning but, with no spaces available in the marina and the sea too rough to make a dash down to Montenegro, we stayed put and endured a very forgettable 18 hours of rock and roll. The wind finally abated some time during the night before last and early yesterday morning we went back into port in order to complete the tedious check out facilities (we asked if we could go ashore in the dinghy to do the paperwork but no, we had to move Zaffina and tie up briefly on the quayside, which turned into another saga when the anchor chain started to play up!)Finally we were on our way and within a couple of hours, entering the Boka Kotorska and approaching Porto Montenegro. The further we went, the more the wind came up again and we were glad that we had set off so early in the morning; it wasn't until we got into the fjord that the water flattened out until it was silky smooth for our approach into port.
And here we are, back in Montenegro and giving Zaffina a good clean inside and out. The weather is still extremely hot - we read that Croatia has had the hottest first half of July in the last 100 years! - although there's a bit of cloud around and there was a shower at some point during the night. Fuel in Montenegro is less than half the price we'd have to pay in Croatia so as soon as the forecast is good (more gusts predicted over the weekend), we'll book up to refuel and then head back north. Since we were last here just two weeks ago, amazing changes have been wrought on the quayside. About eight new shops and several bars have opened in buildings which were still under construction a fortnight ago, a rough area has been transformed into a small park complete with dozens of fully grown trees, the yacht club and swimming pool have opened and a bakery is almost ready to start baking! Now all that's needed is a few superyachts to provide the custom to keep everyone in business, but they all seem to have disappeared! Guess we'll just have to do our best!!
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