Tuesday 26th June

The temperature suddenly shot up when we reached Istria, to the extent that doing anything was an effort, so the air con came into play and the screens went up on the side windows to try to bring the heat down in the saloon. After a night in port, during which time we got a new battery for the generator, we were glad to get back out to sea where there was at least a bit of a breeze. We meandered along the coast to a lovely anchorage and then spent half of the afternoon in the water, as five minutes in the sun meant you needed to get back into the sea to cool off! We debated staying at anchor for the night but in the end went into Pula as we wanted to fill the tanks and then check out of Croatia by the following morning. The approach to Pula is past a broken down breakwater, half of which is now under water, and then up a long channel, and once you get to the port, the first thing that you see is an incredible Roman amphitheatre dominating the shoreline. The next thing you notice is a truly disgusting block of flats right on top of the marina! The only consolation is that the flats will be gone in another decade or two, whilst hopefully the amphitheatre, which was built and in use around the time of Christ, will still be there in another two centuries time. It was dusk by the time we had fuelled up, moored up and made our way into the town to see this Roman construction and it really was amazing. You can go down into the tunnels beneath the theatre and get an idea of what it must have been like for those waiting to "perform". Terrifying. When we came back up, the sun had gone down and hundreds of swallows were flying through the arched colonnades, it was an awesome sight. In the morning, we moved to the Q berth as instructed, in order to complete the check out facilities, where we moored beneath the prow of an enormous sailing cruise ship! The sea, when we came out of port, was just perfect - barely a ripple to disturb the surface, and the trip we had across the Adriatic was one of the best ever, to the extent that, eight miles out from land, we stopped Zaffina and jumped in! An amazing experience! Eventually land came into sight on the horizon - Italy (which was just as well, as that's where we were aiming for!) We sailed Zaffina into the lagoon and up to a marina opposite the island of Burano, where the Marinero was blowing kisses to me even before we had her tied up! It was still so hot that once everything was sorted, we put the bathing ladder down and swam in the lagoon. We knew we had to complete the arrival formalities, so got a taxi into St Mark's in order to visit the customs office. When eventually we found it, the staff were remarkably disinterested in us, to the extent that we wondered if we were in the right place. We were. Eventually someone looked at our passports, glanced at Zaffina's papers and sent us on our way without stamping or noting anything...all in all, a complete waste of time! Still, we were in Venice, and that was all that really mattered. We stopped for a drink at Florian's (which cost the same as dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine the previous evening in Croatia) before returning to the marina and a very good meal in a restaurant overlooking the lagoon. And then the next day, we achieved our ultimate boating dream...sailing Zaffina into the centre of Venice, past St Mark's Square, the Doges Palace, the Campanile, Santa Maria della Salute and San Georgio and over to the one, solitary berth outside the hotel Cipriani. What an experience! I was a bit apprehensive about tying up to those mooring posts so typical of Venice, but Frank brought her alongside so neatly that getting the ropes in place wasn't a problem. One of the pool staff was on hand to take the stern ropes and within minutes we were made fast, and hugging each other with delight as we surveyed our breathtaking surroundings. We had to take a room in the Cipriani (no great hardship really) but on Frank's instigation, we were presented with a silver service dinner in the cockpit of Zaffina, two staff from the restaurant on hand to attend to our every need. It was quite fun watching them negotiate getting onto and off our Azimut, as the tiny pontoon was in an awkward situation for boarding, but they both managed with aplomb and we had a sensational evening. Our two days in pole position passed all too quickly, doing the usual tourist things which mainly involved just strolling around the streets of the city. There can be few places so vibrant and colourful as Venice, and it is lovely to consider the history of the place and to realise that although the merchandise and fashions may have changed over the years, the ambiance and activity has remained the same here throughout several centuries. The Grand Canal was as busy as a motorway but far more entertaining to watch and St Mark's Square proved as awesome as ever, particularly when viewed from the lofty heights of the Campanile. On our final night in Italy, we dined at the Cip's Club, a decking terrace overlooking the Guidecca Canal and directly opposite St Mark's Square - wonderful - and then strolled along the edge of lagoon after our sumptuous dinner. Before leaving Venice we had one more task to perform: get some photographs of Zaffina in this auspicious location. Easier said than done! I cast off our ropes and whilst Frank held her in place, jumped off the boat and ran round to the front of the hotel, where I hopped on their taxi and went out into the lagoon. Zaffina was waiting in front of San Georgio and as we approached, Frank brought her over in front and then alongside us, so I could snap merrily away and also take some video footage. The boatman was a little disconcerted when I told him that I wanted to jump from his boat back to ours, but once we were out of the main stream of the lagoon he brought her close enough for me to make the transition (a rather inelegant belly flop manoeuvre over the side, I'm afraid) and then we were on our way, retracing our footsteps back towards the Adriatic in the knowledge that we had just had a boating experience we would never forget. Umag was a disappointment. Being back in Croatia was no hardship but the rudeness of the policeman on duty when Frank went to check in was beyond anything we had experienced in this lovely country and after being given the third degree, there seemed no point in sticking around and instead we put back to sea straight away and found another anchorage for the afternoon. The night was spent in Novigrad, a pretty, colourful little town with an excellent new marina - and exceptionally friendly staff! One of the ports we really wanted to visit was Rovinj, a town not dissimilar to Korcula which was one of our favourites last summer. When we approached in the early evening, the wind was starting to rise and there was a queue of water traffic heading for the marina. The Marinero indicated that we could go on the outside quay, but seeing the amount of movement there, we declined, asking instead if there was anything inside. There wasn't, so we went over to try the town quay, but that too was full so we turned back to the marina, only to be told that there was now nothing available for us, inside or out. As there were still a bunch of spaces, that seemed unlikely, but unable to argue, we instead went to pick up a buoy. The fates were against us; the buoy had such a narrow ring on the top that the knot connecting our rope to our buoy catcher got entirely jammed, and it wasn't until the buoy catcher snapped that the tension was released and we were able to get our rope back - but not tied onto the buoy. At that point we gave up, went a couple of miles south and found a perfect anchorage where there was next to no wind and where, in the end, we had a lovely, peaceful night on the hook! Rovinj was too good to bypass altogether, so in the morning we returned to the scene of our altercations and this time managed to get a rope round the buoy before taking the dinghy into town. It was worth the hassle! Rovinj is such a pretty place and we were glad that we had made the effort to get back there for the morning. The afternoon saw us heading down the Istrian coast and across to Cres, one of the larger islands but with very little habitation on it as it's pretty barren. We anchored in a gorgeous cove and swam to the pebbly beach but, having decided in the early evening that we would stay for the night, we had so many problems in trying to get a line to shore that we finally gave up and went into the marina, refuelling en route. I think it was really all a ploy so Frank could get to watch the England game, but it really wasn't worth the effort, especially as we were the only English supporters among a restaurant full of Italian fans! If only someone else had taken those penalties! And then yesterday morning we left Cres and had about half an hour on a glass calm sea before we turned around the northern point of the island and hit a blast coming up the west coast of Krk from the Velabit Channel - the windiest part of Croatia (and possibly Europe!) Fortunately we only had about half an hour of blow before the sea miraculously turned back to glass before we reached Rab and found another glorious, glorious anchorage for the afternoon. Another blow was due through last night so we moved into Rab Town where we managed to secure a berth on the quayside, between the fishing boats and water taxis. Last night turned out to be tournament night - Rab vs San Marino in a crossbow firing competition! It was quite a spectacle, with all the competitors plus half of the town processing in medieval costume before the games, which themselves made fascinating viewing with the crossbows proving incredibly accurate. We eventually wandered off for dinner at a delightful restaurant in a courtyard adjacent to our mooring, to round off a pretty perfect boating day. Oh, and it rained in the middle of the night, but it was sunny again when we woke up!

Sunday 17th June 2012

Could somebody please tell me where the last week has gone? Our night at Skraddin was followed by a perfect night at anchor in the river; there's something special about being in an anchorage where you can't see any buildings, power lines or other signs of man's intervention with nature. An unseen cuckoo sang out as dusk fell and the water calmed to absolute still, whilst we sat in the cockpit eating our dinner and savouring a glass or two of rich red Croatian wine. An early start the following morning took us into Sibenic, where various jobs were due to be done on Zaffina. The forecast was for Monday to be ok which it was and Tuesday to be fairly awful, so rather than stay on board, we got a taxi 270km down to Dubrovnik and collected the car, which we left there a month ago. Although it was windy, the weather wasn't bad at all (until later in the day), to the extent that the last 50 or so km in a taxi without air conditioning was pretty vile! It was a different story on the way back, when we put the roof down for most of the journey and had a fantastic drive back up towards Split. Sadly Frank got clocked doing 95kph in a 50kph zone...but a very kindly police officer let him off with a minimal fine and a warning not to exceed the speed limit in built up areas again (and an inference that they didn't really care elsewhere!). The heavens opened just before we got back to Sibenic and the last few miles were through a torrential downpour, but we were happy to be back on board and glad that we now had the car close at hand. Once we had sorted a garage on Wednesday morning, we set off back to sea. A quick stop to refuel delayed us a bit and then the weather was so lovely that we decided to stop at the entrance to the Krka River and drop the anchor for a while. The "while" turned into an overnight, but again it was a gorgeous situation and as the sun went down the wind dropped away completely, making it another memorable evening for us. We've been wanting to explore the Kornatti Islands since we hit this corner of Croatia, having read and heard a lot about them. The general consensus is that you either love them or hate them, and so at about 8 o clock on Thursday morning we pulled up the anchor and set off over a perfectly calm sea, with just a few early yachts and a local ferry for company. Our course was leisurely, weaving around a couple of islands further south until we entered the Kornatti National Park. The islands are generally quite stark, with an unusual beauty. Some of them have a reasonable amount of greenery covering them, many are almost barren, and others have splodges of foliage and look as if they've been spattered with green paint. On some of the larger islands within the group, trees and houses cluster together at the water's edge, providing green oases within an otherwise harsh landscape. Some of the ports looked delightful and we earmarked a few to revisit in the future. We kept our speed down and weaved between the islands, eventually choosing a spot in which to drop the anchor and while away the afternoon. While we were there, the park rangers came and charged us for being in the park - an uncomfortable 750kn (about £80) which we thought was pretty steep for one night. They were obviously embarrassed but it, and clearly felt the charge was excessive as they purposely dated the ticket for the following day so that we could stay two nights for the price of one if we so wished! We spent the evening in an almost deserted marina - clearly other boaters are also finding it an expensive place to visit! After breakfast the next day, we continued our journey through the Kornatti, until we reached the north end of the island group, where again we found a place to drop the hook. The sea is getting noticeably warmer (I read somewhere recently that it's up to 22 degrees now, but that obviously varies around the coast) and with the weather getting warmer and warmer, we're diving in more often just to cool down. We debated whether to stay at anchor through the evening, but as we wanted internet access, opted instead to head to a nearby port, where there was another small marina. However, once we got there, it seemed daft to pay for a marina when we could instead tie up at one of the nearby restaurants and enjoy the facilities for free provided we ate at their premises. What a choice we made! Festa turned out to be one of the best fish restaurants in Croatia, and we had an absolutely fabulous (if expensive) meal. We will return! And that brings us to yesterday, when we made the longest trip so far this year, leaving southern Croatia behind, and travelling 80 miles or so to Istria in the north. It was a great trip. The sea conditions were pretty perfect, at least for the first 4 hours and the last hour wasn't bad, albeit a bit bumpier, and the route, winding around islands and through channels, was fascinating. When eventually we got to Istria, we decided to go into an an inlet for the afternoon before moving on into port, but enjoyed it so much that we stayed for the night - a good decision, as there was barely a breathe of wind and the scene when we woke this morning was sheer boating perfection! Just after breakfast, I noticed a visitor. A pigeon was perched on one of Zaffina's side rails...and a few minutes later, it flew through the window into the saloon! After a while, I managed to shoo him out of the door, but he absolutely refused to leave the boat and in the end, we had to close the cockpit door to prevent him going back inside! Our new friend spent the entire day with us, and even when I picked him up and threw him into the air, he simply flew around in a circle, landed back on the flybridge and then hopped down the steps back into the cockpit! Pigeon eventually departed late this afternoon, after Frank had ushered him onto the diving platform, shortly before we too departed and made for the same marina we avoided yesterday. And apart from picking up a lazy line around the prop (not a good thing) on the way into the berth, things are going pretty darn well. Long may it continue!

SATURDAY 9TH JUNE 2012

Cruising north from Hvar to Skradin was an interesting experience. Last summer we spent the entire season between Dubrovnik and Hvar, where there are quite a few islands, but nothing like the number further north, and on this trip really we started to get an idea of quite how many there are around here. Apparently, Croatia has approximately 1,100 island scattered along the coast and they range from tiny little blobs, not much more than rocks really, to large islands featuring a number of towns, villages and ports. We kept the pace down for most of the journey as the sea conditions were lovely, although Frank couldn’t resist a quick blast up to 30 knots just for the sheer pleasure of flying across the water. However, fuel consumption at 30 knots is a completely different animal to fuel consumption at 10 knots and a quick glance at the read-out persuaded him to drop our speed back down fairly quickly! Skradin is situated several miles up the Krck River, the entrance to which is guarded (or was, in times gone by) by a fort situated right at the river mouth. The trip up river was gorgeous and varied, and once we were out of the breeze of the open sea, the temperature rose dramatically, especially when we passed between towering rocky canyons where no wind could penetrate– it must be absolutely scorching there in the heat of the summer. After the canyons, the river widened out into a fjord-like area with a number of inlets and anchorages, before narrowing again and winding between more cliffs to our destination. Turning the last corner and suddenly seeing Skradin for the first time was one of those special boating moments. It is a pretty little town with a church tower, topped with an onion shaped dome, rising above the red roofed houses along the waterfront. A number of gulets were tied up along the quayside, and we were shown into a berth in the marina opposite, a great place to watch the comings and goings along the quay. A couple of swans drifted past Zaffina, and then a couple more, all searching for a tasty morsel and obviously aware that the visitors here are a good source of food! The swans will actually stretch up from the water and take bread from your hands if you lean over the side of the boat with an offering – but you have to be careful because they get a bit upset when supplies have gone and are likely to try to bite your hand instead – or your feet if you’re feeding them from the pontoon! A couple of the pairs of swans had young with them, fluffy cygnets swimming between their parents and on one occasion, when the swim had obviously got too much for one of the youngsters, we saw a baby perched on the back of an adult swan, tucked safely between the soft white wings and enjoying a free ride! The reason for coming to Skradin was to see the waterfalls, so after an night in the marina, we hopped on a tour boat and ventured up river. You aren’t allowed to take your own boat any further than the marina, but the tour boats depart every hour and the service is free, although you do have to pay to get into the national park that features the falls. And it was worth every penny! The waterfalls were just fabulous, and although we thought we’d seen everything within minutes of arriving, after a little walking we realised that they’re actually very extensive, with tiers and tiers of falls going back up the river like an elaborate, watery wedding cake. We took the boardwalk path around the park and it was absolutely delightful – beautiful butterflies and dragonflies everywhere, the air full of birdsong and the croaking of frogs and wild flowers along the pathway. The frogs were fascinating – they were everywhere, but so well camouflaged that you had to search diligently before you could even spot one, and then you’d realise it wasn’t just one but three of four nestled up together. And boy could they make a racket! Our guests selected a restaurant for the evening where we had a great meal sitting on an upstairs terrace and sampling a fair amount of the local Bibich wine, which the waiter proudly informed us was grown just two miles away. He also told us about the hard winter they'd had and we think (but we're not entirely sure) that he said that wolves came down from the mountains and attacked some children. Sadly Frank didn't hear this exchange properly and when the waiter had finished his sorry tale, he smiled broadly and said something along the lines of "well, that's nice"!! From Skradin we again turned to the north, meandering between dozens of islands until we reached a totally natural and beautifully sheltered anchorage at Dogi Otok or long island. Within minutes of dropping the hook in splendid isolation, a small boat motored up to us and demanded payment as we were anchored within the national park! They charge per adult on board and we paid up happily as it was well worth the donation to keep the park maintained in its natural state. With the weather still unsettled and another blast due in a few days, we only spent one night at Dogi Otok before turning back towards the south. A swim to the shore after lunch on board the following day resulted in Charles treading on a sea urchin, so we put into the quaintly named Marina Bettina for the night so he could have the spines removed at the local hospital, and then set off again the next morning. As we approached our destination, the very well sheltered Marina Frappa, Charles was driving the boat whilst I was keeping a beady eye on him. Frank had gone below when we noticed a small yacht with two people on board which was obviously in difficulty. They waved us down, and I brought Zaffina around whilst Charles went to drag Frank back onto the flybridge to negotiate us alongside, so we could throw a rope to the floundering yacht. Surprisingly, we managed this feat without too much difficulty and then towed the yacht a couple of miles back to the shore from where it had been blown out to sea. We awarded ourselves a Blue Peter Badge for Lifesaving and continued to Marina Frappa. As predicted, the wind came up and up, and we were extremely glad to be in such a sheltered berth. The marina was modern and very well appointed, complete with hotel, night club and swimming pool. Sadly, although it was by now the beginning of June, none of the above were open for the season yet! We did find a very good restaurant though, and ordered the local speciality of veal under the bell which we had hoped to enjoy sitting under the stars. Until it bucketed down with rain! Thunder and lightning provided the music and light show for the evening, and by the time we were ready to walk back to the marina, the rain was coming down so hard that we had to ask the proprietor for a lift back. He willingly obliged but only had room for 4 in his car, so Tim and Charles walked back shaded by our two flimsy umbrellas and performing an impromptu "Singing in the Rain" en route. With time running out for our guests, we had to start heading back towards the mainland, but first detoured around the island of Solta, popping into a delightful marina called Maslinica. It was so delightful that after a afternoon at anchor off Brac, we returned there for the night. When Charles and Liz went out for a stroll they discovered that the castle overlooking the marina was in fact a fabulous boutique hotel with just six bedrooms - the owner had originally converted it for his own use before deciding to open it as a small hotel - plus a terrace overlooking the water and swimming pool in the courtyard. Beautiful! Maslinica is probably one of the most beautiful places we've seen since we set off from the UK 3 years ago, and we'll certainly be going back there. Rather than returning to Split, we opted to go to Trogir for the last night with Tim and Annabel and Charles and Liz, and we were lucky enough to secure a berth on the waterfront. The trip across from Solta was lovely, with a leisurely few hours at anchor en route, and Trogir is a beautiful old town with tiny winding alleys and small squares. It also has a fabulous green market just outside the town walls, perfect for anyone wanting to stock up on board! At this time of year, the fruit, flowers and veg are just fabulous, rich, ripe and plentiful and the market stalls are each a work of art, with produce piled high and arrayed in all the colours of the rainbow. Our last supper together was in one of the small squares within the old town, a restaurant that had been recommended by the people at the hotel at Maslinica, and we had a good meal accompanied by copious amounts of very good red wine. Not for the first time, we were the last people to leave the restaurant, and as we were about to wend our way, we noticed a guy who looked a lot like Pavarotti (although more alive...) and naturally, we demanded that he should sing to us! However, when he obliged by belting out La Donna e Mobile, we were completely flabbergasted. Not only did he look like Pavarotti, he also sang like the great tenor. In fact, he turned out to be South Africa's most celebrated opera singer, Johan Botha and we were privileged to have an impromptu private performance! Sometimes life is stranger than fiction. Our guests departed in the morning, and even that was an adventure! The taxi failed to arrive and when Frank called the driver, he was told that he couldn't, after all, do the pick up! Frank ran in one direction, Tim in another. Tim secured a taxi and our four guests piled in as I ran off to try to find where Frank had gone. Our goodbyes consisted of a quick wave at a departing taxi! After a blissfully still night at anchor near the Fort at the mouth of Krck River, we went into Marina Mandolina for some work on the dinghy yesterday and then with yet another blow due, we came back up river to Skradin last night and here we are, with the swans swimming around Zaffina again, and tapping on the side of the boat when they don't get fed much to Frank's annoyance!