We had a
wonderful five-weeks aboard our new yacht, S/Y “MISSI.” Judith and I saw some
delightful new places and visited some spots from our previous two years in
Croatia. Our base is in Šibenik and our home port is D-Marin Mandelina Marina,
where we have an annual berth.
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| D-Resort & D-Marin Mandelina Marina |
We had
hired a very able skipper and captain for the year; Tilen is young but
professional; and knows the Adriatic well. A hostess also joined us for the
stay; Cornelia. She is a talented chef, creative at provisioning MISSI wherever
it is that she stops and counted upon during our berthing, mooring or anchorage
for her able hands on deck.
Rather than
give a chronological, day-by-day account, I’ve decided to group the post into
three parts: daytrips from Šibenik and life in the marina, an eight-day trip
southwest and another multiday journey northeast. But first I’ll start with
some lessons learned.
Lessons Learned:
Several times each day it sank in that I’m
seventy years old. Despite all the electric winches, self-tacking systems,
roller furling, and out-of-this-world instrumentation and navigational aids
boating remains a physical activity. You need flexibility in your neck to see
the top of the mast and the wind vane, agility and balance to move about, leg
strength to get out of the water onto the transom, coordination to ease out the
sheets in a strong breeze without losing a finger, good stretch to reach for a
bouy with the boathook, finesse in a tight stern-in docking in a brisk
crosswind – you get the picture. I thought of myself as fit for my age, and I
still think I am. But I’m seventy; no getting around this fact.
I also
learned that sailing isn’t like riding a bike – it doesn’t automatically come
back. I needed to relearn balance, the helm and the weather and the wind – which
is a very local affair. I remember being able to sense the wind and see the
weather, but I lost it. I had to remember the feeling of steering into the wind
– the sensation of wind in your face, equal tingles on each ear. I easily lost
sense of its direction under pressure. Being rusty doesn’t half explain what
I’m trying to say.
Finally,
MISSI is a big boat – 32 gross tons, 62.7 feet long, 17.6 feet at the beam and
a mast 90 feet above the waterline. She carries a mainsail of 1,030 square feet,
and a light-wind Code 0 headsail of 1,710 square feet. The irony is that to
have the room, comfort and conveniences one wants you need a yacht of this
size, but it almost assures that the dimensions, complexity and maintenance
make it totally unrealistic to handle with just Judith and me.
I wrongly
thought that this would eventually be a private, “Judith and me” experience –
it will never be. We need a crew, but thankfully have found a surprisingly good
pair in Tilen and Cornelia. It will be different than what was in my mind;
however, the sensations of being at sea are more than I could have imagined. And
Tilen has freed me from the ongoing maintenance and day-to-day headaches of
managing MISSI. We’ll see how it goes.
Šibenik and Day Trips:
We arrived to
Šibenik from an overnight in Split on the 4
th of July – sort of my
yachting Independence Day. Šibenik is well situated for us, and D-Marin Mandelina
is regarded as the best marina in Croatia. The city has much history, dating
back almost 1,000 years. Its inner bay drains the Krka River basin and is
connected to the Adriatic by the narrow two mile St. Anthony’s Channel - well
protected from most weather and wind.
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| The Channel Can Get Tight! |
Our berth,
#16 on “G” dock, wasn’t quite ready, so we temporarily tied up at the guest
pier and Judith and I continued our stay at the adjacent D-Resort Hotel. There
were two days of final provisioning and other chores to be done (like getting
the wine fridge stocked).
On the 7th we moved onto MISSI and had our first day trip to nearby Otok (“island” in
Croatian) Kakan, stopping for a great lunch prepared by Cornelia (one of many!)
and a swim before motoring back to the marina. Dinner was aboard; we had a very
restful night’s sleep in our wonderful master cabin.
To acquaint
you geographically, as you leave St. Anthony’s Channel there are several
pleasant islands one or two hours sail away: Prvić, Tijat, Kaprije and Kakan (our
first outing) to the north; Zamajan and Žirje (the furthest out) dead
ahead; and Zlarin, south. By the end of the month I was comfortable navigating
this very busy section of the coast.
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| Šibenik and its Surrounding Islands |
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| More Confusing on a Nautical Chart! |
Other trips
were to Tijat, Žirje and Zlarin; and further afield to the very charming
town of Primošten. Each spot was unique and unforgettable.
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| Primošten |
By way of
example, I’ll relate one of our two stops in Tijat, in the lovely cove Luka
Tijascica. At times the cove can get filled up with boats, but the atmosphere
is never claustrophobic – the water is very clear. Onshore there is a great outdoor
restaurant, Spirito’s Summer Place, with an almost Caribbean carefree feel,
presided over by the amicable and bubbly Grega, it’s manager. Great fresh fish
from the grille, nice wine list, hip music and cheeky décor define the
experience. And the potatoes with truffles – ah.
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| Judith & Tilen at Spirito's |
These close
by islands accommodate the mood you wake up to; whether you want a buzzing place
like Tijat or a chill out in a private secluded bay like Zlarin’s Magarna Cove
– each within a two-hour sail. The sea is pure and clear, temperature averaging
25°C,
or 77°F – excellent for just diving in.
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| What a Swimming Pool! |
We had a
few days where some scheduled maintenance was needed, so we took two daytrips
to Krka National Park. We drove to nearby Skaradin and took a small ferry to
the base of the lower waterfalls. These picturesque cascades are formed by
limestone deposits combining with microorganisms – the structure is called
travertine. The first outing had us climbing the path up through these streams
and pools of the Krka River. Another day we went further north and visited the
Manojlovac Falls, the ancient Roman settlement of Burnum and Krka Monastery and
catacombs.
Judith and
I had visited Šibenik before, so we were familiar with the old town; centred
around the imposing Cathedral of St. James. Started in 1431, it is unique as it
is constructed only of the dry assembly of custom carved stone slabs. While in
port we availed ourselves of several meals in town. The most notable spot is
Pelegini, a lovely one-star Michelin restaurant near the cathedral.
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| Terrace at Pelegrini |
I mentioned
earlier that the marina is well protected. Even so, we experienced two strong
weather fronts moving through, the Bora from the north and northeast. For almost an hour each time, MISSI strained
on her lines and heeled perhaps 10 degrees just from pressure on the mast. Winds
gusted to over 100 kilometres in driving rain. One gains a certain respect
for this unforgiving force of nature; the second storm damaged over 140 yachts
along the Croatian coast.
Our Trip to Vis and Southwest:
After
morning coffees in Vis Town, MISSI was underway to Dobri Island on the southern
side of the Paklinski Chain – another sumptuous lunch and swim. That evening we
took a berth in Palmizana ACI marina on Paklinski’s largest island of St. Klement.
Tilen and Cornelia freshened up the yacht and Judith and I shared a nice bottle
of a Provencal ros
é, “Whispering Angel” as I remember, at Toto’s. Dinner was
also at Toto’s, a hip spot 300 metres walk south across the island and facing
Uvala Vinogradise, as usual, packed with boats.
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| Judith Found Her Spot |
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| View from Toto's |
Up again to
another nice Cornelia prepared breakfast, we headed further southeast to Vela
Luka on the western end of the big island of Korcula. Staying outside the busy
port, we anchored in Uvala Plitvine for the night. It was a quiet and peaceful
cove, more so because we had some strudel made by Tilen’s mom – habit forming!
Up early,
breakfast and a morning swim, we motored with little wind to Lastovo Island and
Zaklopatica Cove. It was a challenge to find a good spot for MISSI, but we
finally secured buoys to our bow and stern to avoid too much swing. Dinner was
ashore at Augusta Konoba, the owner picked us up so no need to pull out the Williams.
It was another fun alfresco spot – a good meal interrupted by unexplained canon
fire and screeching children. The final entertainment was an out of proportion Russian
yacht trying to squeeze on to the very tiny dock. A phalanx of adults and children
stormed the restaurant and we were displaced. But another glass of wine in our
cockpit restored the peace.
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| Zaklopatica Cove - Lastovo |
By now I
hope you are getting the picture. Wonderful but healthy breakfast, perhaps a
morning swim, motoring or sailing to a new spot, sometimes with a lunch and
swim interlude, and finally anchoring, mooring or tying up in a marina toward
sunset – not a bad life. Waking up to one view; falling asleep to a new one.
But back to
the trip. We delayed leaving Lastovo hoping for a favourable wind but were
disappointed. We motored most of the way to Mljet Island and the small town of
Pola
ĉe,
part of Croatia’s national park system. It is a spacious and picturesque bay.
We dropped anchor and had dinner in town at Konoba Antika – a nice grilled
seabass for four.
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| Mljet Island - Polaĉe Cove |
The next morning,
we were off to the far eastern end of Korcula and Korcula town; we put into the
overcrowded ACI marina. I was anticipating dinner at Dimitri Lesic’s Michelin
starred restaurant and it did not disappoint. Wonderful food, beautiful setting!
The morning before we left, I met a charming Italian man from Padua; he had a
stunning old wooden ketch, the “Bel Ami,” that I later learned was the boat used
in “Mama Mia II.” This affable old man was 86 and still sailing, and his wife,
91. So Judith and I certainly have a chance!
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| Tilen, Cornelia, Judith and Dan - Demitri Lesic's Terrace |
Mid-morning,
we were off again, working our way back northwest to our home port of Šibenik.
Our destination was
Ŝĉedro Island, a small isolated spot south of the much
larger Hvar Island. This was the most pristine spot of our entire trip –
magnificent. We anchored but also ran two lines to shore. Swimming was perfect
in wonderfully clear water. Tilen got some drone shots but they could not fully
take in the majesty of the place. Cornelia made a great pasta carbonara.
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| Ŝĉedro Island |
In the
morning I swam out to retrieve the shorelines and we were off to
Ŝolta
Island and Maslinca Marina on its northeast corner. We had visited last year,
its an upscale place in a protected horseshoe shaped bay. We saw Salma Hayek
and Owen Wilson here, shooting scenes for their upcoming movie “Bliss.” Oddly,
they declined my invitation for drinks on MISSI. In lieu of this, Judith, Tilen, Cornelia and I had a
nice dinner at Restoran Sampjer, nestled on a hilltop overlooking the town.
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| Restoran Sampjer - Ŝolta |
In the
morning we had a long leg ahead of us back to home port, about 32 nm. It was a
good sail in a strengthening breeze until we reached the eastern tip of Zlarin
Island. The wind became unsettled in direction and was gusting over 20 knots. I
hacked bringing in the headsail and tripped the electrical breaker on the roller-furling system. This required a trip below to the panel, all the while MISSI a bit unstable. Things
turned out alright, but Judith had a scare as I fought to keep MISSI into the
wind while Tilen maintained his cool and dropped the main sail. Back in the marina we stayed
on the guest pontoon until the wind settled. For me, a not so auspicious end to
a lovely eight days. Judith and
I stayed that evening at the D-Resort Hotel for a night off the yacht; Tilen
and Cornelia worked hard cleaning up MISSI from her days out of port.
Our Trip to the Northeast:
On 29 July with
left Šibenik with the intention of sailing to Pasman Island, but the weather on
route changed so we decided to tuck into Marina Hramina on Murter Island. We
had had a quick overnight trip to the island earlier in the month; staying on
anchor. Today we also dropped anchor for lunch and a swim; but then retreated
to the safety of the marina. We had a very tight berth and a difficult docking
in a strong crosswind. We made it nonetheless and had dinner at Murter Fine
Food Restoran in the old town.
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| MISSI off Murter Island |
In the morning
we continued to Pasman Island’s Landin Cove, on its southeast side. We arrived
early and had a nice day of swimming, sun and relaxation. Meals were onboard
and delicious. The wind remained strong from the west – gusting to 20 knots.
MISSI was
finally in need of some fuel, despite her 1,000 litre diesel storage capacity. We
rounded Pasman Island and headed northeast up the shallow channel between the
island and mainland. We made a lunch stop at the “heart-shaped” Galesnjak
Island, and also had a dip. Afterward, we continued up the channel to Sukošan
and the D-Marina Dalmacija, filled MISSI’s tanks at the fuel station and tied
up to a guest pontoon for the evening. Dinner was on the marina’s beach at the
chic Portus Restaurant. Still, the marina was not as elegant as D-Marin Mandelina.
After
breakfast and a walk, we were off back southeast down the channel, passing
Biograd na Moru and anchoring in Crenva Luka for lunch, swimming and some sun. It
was then south to the Kornati Island chain an Otočić Ravni Žakan – more swimming and
sunbathing. Dinner was onshore at an upscale spot, Konoba Žakan. Some more
wine in the cockpit and it was off to another dream filled sleep.
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| Konoba Žakan |
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| Leaving Problems Behind |
By ten we
left, returning to Šibenik in a light drizzle; lunch was onboard. The following
morning Judith stayed ashore and Tilen, Cornelia, Tilen’s step-father Robert
and I went out for a day of practice: raising sails, tacking, jibing, reefing,
lowering sails and more; only stopping for a quick lunch. It was a good day for
me – repetition is the key.
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| Practice - Practice - Practice |
Postscript:
It turned out
to be all I had imagined and better. Regret is corrosive, especially as you get
older, and not doing this would have gnawed away at me. It was a bit crazy to get
this yacht, but I honestly believe it was one of the better decisions I have
made. We left MISSI on August 5, heading back to Budapest. I missed her as soon
as we reached the highway. Here’s to many more happy days…
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| To Judith - Thanks for Coming Along! |
