The Good and the Bad

Posted at 2:19 PM, Apr. 30, 2008

It saddens me to report that one of this blogs keenest supporters passed away on Monday 21^st April.  Our dear father and father in law had an all too brief battle with cancer. Fortunately we were with him during his  last few days at Lake McQuarie, north of Sydney.

Jack has always been a great supporter and hugely interested in our sailing adventures and exploits. He made several posts to this blog over the last 3 years and was an avid reader of our news. I was sitting at his computer a few days ago and had occasion to look at his large world atlas. Inside I found pages of notes and markers where he had been following our journeys so he clearly enjoyed the history, geography and our experiences. It made me think that we need to post google earth photo’s on the blog to help family and friends see just where we actually are. I know he will be watching us as we continue the journey back to New Zealand.

                       Jack and his girls (Di and Pam)

The good news (and on a very positive note) is that we leave the New Zealand autumn in just under two weeks to return to Sukosan, near Zadar, in Croatia to retrieve Savarna and then head south through the Greek islands and then across to Turkey arriving at Marmaris in  mid July.

2007 Season Wrap - up

Posted at 7:35 PM, Dec. 7, 2007

We left Sukosan in a hurry (as always so what’s new) after a lot of work to winterise the boat so missed a blog close off for the year. Now well back into New Zealand, summertime and with the holiday season nearly upon us.

So this post is to put up a few photo’s and close off for the year. The 2007 season for us was the  third season for us on Savarna since we left the Hanse yard on the Baltic in June 2005. And this season is probably the least miles we have covered starting in Malta, then Sicily to Italy, across to Croatia, up and down the coast of Croatia and then across to Venice and back to Sukosan just south of Zadar.

                                  Savarna on the quay at Splitska, Otok Brac

The length of time we have spent in Croatia reflects the quality of the cruising, the friendliness of the people, beautiful clear waters and great weather. We avoided the peak months of July and August and found that while there were always quite a few boats around it was never a problem getting a berth, no overcrowded anchorages and by and large no problem getting a restaurant table.

                            The famous cafe in Primosten (a must visit place)

We have enjoyed all our sailing in the Med to date with a wide variety of cultures, architecture, food and wine, people and geography. But I would have to say from a pure sailing perspective we have been spoilt in Croatia and I can understand why the charter boat industry is so huge here. The water, the sailing and the people are fantastic but on top of that it is one of the few places we have visited to date where you are not forced into a marina most nights – there are 1205 islands and hundreds of anchorages. It is great to have the choice of a night in town on a marina or town quay somewhere or in an isolated bay with only one or two other boats around.

                                 National costumes - Mali Losinj 

The Hanse agents in Croatia as elsewhere are very helpful and I think a tribute to the Hanse company that they have selected agents who do answer emails and provide a good after sales service. In Sukosan we have left Velimir a list of jobs needed to be done on the boat including having a new bimini made. I think on the Baltic bimini’s are a relative rarity as they go for the fully enclosed cockpit set up. Consequently I have never been happy with the bimini and when the whole frame twisted this last season, and it always fills with water when it rains, we decided it was time to start again. I gather it is nearly finished so we are looking forward to seeing the photographs – I have had a couple of clear panels made for it also which will make sailing with the bimini up a good proposition.  We have sent the sails off for a clean and a check on all the stitching and they will be stored off the boat by Velimir. We are also having additions made to several of the lockers to provide more secure stowage as we start to think about the ARC and then the Pacific crossing. Sukosan is a large marina and with all the services around plus Velimir (the Hanse agent) it seems like a good place to get this work completed and appears to be reasonably priced.  Also seems like an area of teak is lifting on the foredeck  so having that repaired plus installing some shelving in the bottom of all the heads lockers and the rest is really small maintenance stuff like revarnishing the companionway steps etc.

                                             New specs in Venice 

Our Croatian cruising permit expires on 27 May 2008 so we plan to get back to the boat probably around mid May. We may go back to the Mali Losinj area which we thought a lovely part of Croatia and then across to Italy and down via the Puglia region across to Corfu and then cruise the Ionian. Number 2 son Richard, Sarah and two grandchildren join us in Corfu early June for a couple of weeks which will be a fantastic experience for them and as number one son Jason, Emma and their two children have recently relocated to London we expect to see them on board during the season at some stage also.  We will head through the Corinth canal to Athens and across to Turkey via the Cyclades. At this stage we don’t know where we will stop off in Turkey, where we will probably winter for 2008/9, so if anyone reading this has any recommendations we will welcome them. Planning hasn’t even started yet so I will need to get some charts out soon to at least appreciate where places are although having read the Swagman and the more recent Olive Oyl blogs on Turkey all I need to do is put locations to the names which will be a good start.

                                            And into the sunset 

Overall a great seasons cruising, a slow start weather wise which was a shame for our early visitors from Australia and New Zealand who had visions (as did we) of swimming off the boat amongst the Croatian islands. But instead delayed in southern Italy.

Cheers

Keith

Alice on Venezia

Posted at 10:21 PM, Oct. 12, 2007

Last week we sailed to Venice.  Venezia, the sinking city of love, sinking into the sea, all that gold and ruby and emerald and diamond that glitters on the church's alter ( very rich church). 

                                 San Marco Piazza and THE church

 The marble walls and floors swirled my eyes into a dream.  The houses were damp and dark, in shadow all day – but I think it was the shadowy damp old smell gave every corner of every street we walked down a feeling of unexplainable excitement, excitement for what was around the next corner, and the next and the next, unexplainable because every alley way looked pretty much the same, but still, the excitement was a constant tingle …...

Everywhere- Masks.  All glittering colours, all expressions, and the more I looked at them the more they enticed)))))))))) me to look at every mask that glanced my way   and there were many, so many, and they all glanced my way, I felt dazzled and dizzy after walking walking walking…..(so much walking, my feet were aching).

                              Pam looking, looking, looking............!!!

Ah, Venice, venezia, the city of love, she is mystical and enchanting, reds and golds and marble and mosaics………Now I have left it seems almost like a dream.   Its one of those hazily magical places, in sight and in memory, to shape her image in your minds with words is impossible……I hope Ive written enough just to tickle your imagination……..

Love to all

Ali

Rovinj to Sukosan

Posted at 7:04 PM, Oct. 9, 2007

Saturday can only be described as a bad day on board Savarna – the AB’s beaten! All I can say is that I am glad I am not in NZ as the papers, TV and Murray Deaker will be going for blood! I did see that Jock Hobbs announced the NZ Rugby Board are going to conduct an enquiry why we lost. I can tell them the answer quite concisely – we coach the intuition out of the players (when they use GPS’s fixed to players arms in training to evaluate who went where and why tells me that). I also wonder about the average IQ – how many players can think for themselves after being coached to respond in a prescribed manner.

Anyway enough of the World Cup – Fiji did well and on board we are backing the Springboks for a southern hemisphere win.

Currently motoring the final 45 miles into Sukosan. After arriving into Rovinj in Istria early evening Friday we anchored off for the night and then went onto the Customs wharf to complete the clearance formalities. I think it took longer to arrive in this time than it did when we arrived initially back in May at Dubrovnik. We availed ourselves of the wharf facilities for a few hours and had a look around the town and lunch at a local café. It is a lovely town and very much like Primosten in that it is a town built on a headland with the buildings right to the waters edge all around the perimeter. Unlike Primosten it is not quite an island and nearby the main bay is attractively finished with walks, a sandy beach, nice hotels etc so we can well see why this area is so attractive to visitors from adjoining countries.

Late Saturday afternoon we headed southwards planning to go down the coast to the town of Pomer (about 25 miles) at the bottom tip of the Istrian peninsula.  Headed off with storm clouds to the north which soon overtook us giving us heavy rain (only the second instance of daytime rain since we have been here this trip) and 30 knots on the beam. Fast but very wet sail – for me at least on the wheel!

                                   Wet day on the handlebars

Anchored off in the large bay with Pomer at its head – pretty shallow so we were well off the town and got an overdose of wind all night. Not bad though as it is the one and only rough night we have had.

Sunday with the wind a steady 40 knots we headed SE for a 30 mile run back to Mali Losinj. Fine day but a solid heavy wind so relatively a lot more pressure than the previous day - we had about 20 miles across open water and then in the lee of several islands. Wind started at about 60 degrees apparent, climbing high on course to put some in the bag, so fast sailing with two reefs and about 40% of the self tacker out. About half way across the wind went back another 10 degrees which gave fantastic sailing as the angle then was just enough to catch the waves almost continuously – averaging around 9.5 knots and went past several other boats like an express train. Pulled into the marina at Mali Losinj after a 3.5 hour sail. Probably the best sail of the season – and didn’t want to spoil it with the autopilot.

                       Savarna back in Mali Losinj - stopped raining.

Mali Losinj is a beautiful island and the town is just delightful. Monday morning it was a public holiday and we were woken by loud music on the nearby quayside and later there was local dancing in all the ceremonial costumes etc. There are a number of towns on the island and lots of anchorages and we are seriously thinking of spending a few days here again next year and using this as a stepping off point to cross to Italy.

                        Quayside Makli Losinj - Savarna in background

Today (Monday 9^th) we stopped off for lunch in a narrow passage between two islands and picked up a mooring buoy off the town of Ilovik, on the island of the same name and Otok SV Petar on the other side. Had a swim and cleaned up around the waterline and Pam started the washing machine up. – again a delightful spot and well worth more than the couple of hours we spent there.

We will be into Sukosan at around 2100 hrs tonight and then clean the boat up before departing back to NZ later in the week. Croatia has been a fantastic cruising ground and basically there are three main areas. Firstly the southern islands out from Dubrovnik and up to Kremik, secondly the central Adriatic area from Kremik north including the Kornat group and Dugi Otok and then the northern Adriatic area from Mali Losinj north including Istria. With hundreds of islands it would be very easy to spend two weeks in each area without then doing

it all justice.

Weather wise we have found the forecasting pretty poor. But reading the Pilot it does describe the influencing factors and points out the difficulties in accurate forecasting. June, July and August seem to be very settled  months but outside that storms can brew quickly. We have used three weather sources this year – www.eurometeo.com/english ,  www.weatheronline.co.uk and www.bbc.co.uk . It is not unusual for the first two to have completely contrasting forecasts so in the end while I look at both sites I prefer the synoptic weather maps published by the BBC. The eurometeo site is useful as if one signs up (it is free) it is possible to drill down into the local coastal towns and from that deduce whether the wind is backing or veering. Apart from the weather sites the barometer remains the best guide on board and it proves invaluable.

Main alternator has just packed up so having to revert to the genset to keep the house batteries up to run the instruments. At least it is still under warranty!

Cheers for now

Keith

Rovinj (Croatia) to Venice to Rovinj

Posted at 10:29 AM, Oct. 6, 2007

Well we have just completed three nights in Venice (found plenty of Merchants!) and undoubtedly one of the highlights of our journey to date. I have said that Pam and Alice have to write up the blog for our stay there as the entry definitely requires an overdose of creative and artistic writing.

                          San Marco Piazza - Basilica San Marco

Having done the amphitheatre at Pula, taken on board a few provisions and had  a look around the town we decided that it didn’t warrant a second night at a below average ACI marina amongst smells emanating from the nearby ship building yard. We needed some diesel for the passage to Venice and despite supposedly open all day the diesel jetty was devoid of human activity although the Customs office was open for 24 hours. So late afternoon we decided to head further north up the coast to Rovinj, which has a great write up, and only about 16 miles up the coast. An uneventful  motor sail and finally anchored off in the bay at the southern end of the town. Following morning (Tuesday 3^rd October) we were tied up at the Customs wharf shortly after 0800 hrs and the first in the Customs office and then Police offices to clear out of Croatia. Fuelled up and then  had a 7 hour motor for the 55 mile passage to the Porto di Lido  entrance to the Laguna di Veneta. So calm we didn’t even get the main up – got slighty excited at one stage when a 3 kt  NW “sprung” up at 20 degrees apparent but even that didn’t last. This part of the Adriatic (the Gulf of Venice) is not very deep with the greatest depth at around 35 metres so I can well imagine that an uncomfortable short steep sea would set in if it was blowing hard. The last few miles into the lagoon entrance into Venice we only had depths of around 9 metres.

Venice sits on an island in Laguna di Veneta that is about 25 miles long, parallel to the coast and probably no more than 7 or 8 miles wide. There are three entrances to the lagoon, the main one leading to Venice being Porto di Lido. We had not made any berthing arrangements and were hoping to get into one of the private yacht club marina’s on a berth vacated by a member while away sailing. The Imray Pilot in my opinion is not very helpful around this part of the Adriatic and for the yacht clubs it does not mention depths or phone numbers. Fortunately we were able to source the information from www.noonsite.com ( a great sailing resource site) and started calling them as we got close. The best option is on Isola San Giorgio Maggiore that is just across the water from San Marco Piazza – but to shallow for us as we draw 2.8 metres and the max depth there was only 2.5 metres. We also tried Isola di Sant Elena also close by the city but again defeated by our draft. It is also possible to tie up (for free) between the posts at Punta della Salute which is right next to the entrance to the Grand Canal – but the Pilot correctly says that would be like sitting in a washing machine.

So we ended up at Marina di Lio Grando north of Venice, in the lagoon and a 40 minute ferry ride in. The Pilot described it is a quiet place and they sure got that right. Only about 20 yachts there, one German boat in transit and the rest small permanent berths. So the idea of zooming through the Grand Canal in the dinghy while totally possible did not eventuate. Every morning we had quite heavy fog and an early rain shower on one morning but still warm weather.

                                         Gondola action!

Got into the marina and then straight into Venice on the ferry for our first look around – stunning, and to find a place for dinner from the thousands of choices available. Interestingly the canal map of Venice is a bit like the London Underground route map – there are ferries and water taxis everywhere not to mention the piano accordionists serenading couples out for their pre-dinner gondola rides. I last visited 36 years ago but would have to say that I could not really remember it in any detail  - but you can well imagine that Pam and Alice were spellbound! It is an extraordinary, vibrant  and beautiful city – particularly once you get away from the tourist areas. But as one might imagine heavily tuned into the tourist scene and on occasion some quite unhelpful attitudes. The buildings, churches, paintings and sculptures are amazing.  We had one great meal in a local Trattoria we stumbled across and two pretty average ones!

                                          At the local Trattoria

And of course masks everywhere!

                                          Venetian masks

Within the lagoon there are a couple of other islands we visited apart from Venice. There is Burano the home of lace making (yes a purchase made) and then Murano the home of Venetian glassware.  Both well worth visiting and Burano is still a small working town supported by fishing as well as lace making – the houses are brightly coloured as the photo below shows.

                                         A canal view on Burano

Have taken dozens of photo’s so will have to be discerning as to what we actually keep. Walked every day for miles and miles, if that is possible, and got the late ferry back to Savarna anywhere between 2300 hrs and midnight.

Good to hear from you Stria - unfortunately we will miss you in Venice - maybe passed you in the fog?

Today Friday 6^th September we are motoring yet again back to Rovinj (or as the Italians say Rovigno) for the night and this visit a look around the town. It is absolutely flat calm with not a ripple on the water and we have had a heavy fog all the way across giving us about a 2 mile visibility and at least with some blue sky and sun directly above. Running with radar on and channel 16 open for the day!

Arrived into Rovinj at 1730 hrs after motoring at 8 knots for 7 hours and missed clearing Customs as they had closed at 1700 hrs. Anchored off in the very attractive bay and went ashore for a much needed beer!

That’s it for me and I will pass over to the creative and artistic talents of the females on board for their views of Venice!!

Cheers

Keith

Kornati's to Rovinj (Istria)

Posted at 9:19 AM, Oct. 2, 2007

It is now Sunday night 30^th September and we are anchored in the bay at the Istrian town of Pula in right in front of reputedly one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world and the sixth largest ever built. With changing times it is now used for concerts and opera  - rather than by the gladiators! 

                       The ampitheatre in Pula - from Savarna at anchor

                                            Inside the ampitheatre

The Istrian peninsular has an interesting and fascinating history with remains of a 5^th century BC Illyrian earthworks here, then a Roman settlement was founded here in 44BC and construction of the amphitheatre started around 41AD by Emperor Claudius. Pula was under Venetian rule from 1331 to 1797 then under Austrian rule (during which time it became the major Austrian naval dockyard), then under Italian rule until, when, after World War 2 it became part of Yugoslavia. If looking at the atlas Istria is in the far north of Croatia with Trieste nearby to the north and about 70 miles across to Venice, and bordering Slovenia to the north.

The town of Pula is pretty uninspiring although it does have some great Roman monuments e.g. Hercules Gate (built 1^st century) and a temple to Emperor Augustus which still stands fully roofed. 

                      Alice and Pam posing in Pula (note the big hips!)

 On Monday 1^st October we up anchored  and relocated to the ACI marina for a planned 24 hours. We found the marina pretty run down and after doing the monuments thing we left around 1730 hrs and motored a further 15 miles up the coast to Rovinj where we are currently anchored having got in here about 2000 hrs. We will use this as a stepping off point for the crossing to Venice provided we can get some diesel and clear Customs out of Croatia.

Folllowing our night in Brbinj on Dugi Otok we motor sailed (with a 8-10 knot headwind at about 25 apparent) the 40 miles further north to the town of Mali Losinj on Otok Losinj. We found this to be a beautiful anchorage and stopped overnight on the town quay at the head of pretty much an enclosed body of water that mean’t it was almost a lake. We are also noticing the different architecture in the north where we presume there has been a more Austrian/Italian influence over the years.

                                        Departing Mali Losinj

The town quay price for us was 220 kuna which was much more realistic than the 370 kuna per night the guys charged us at Rogoznica. The bars and café’s were only metres again and we found an excellent restaurant on the other side of the quay from where we were tied up for dinner. The following morning a Hanse 400E arrived probably to take on provisions as we were also doing. Just as we were casting off one of the guys came along and said I read your  blog and you are going to Venice (as they were also). So if you guys read this we hope to catch up in Venice or maybe put a posting on the blog. Since I put a web counter on the blog in late April nearly 5,000 people have visited the site – so obviously plenty of sailors, armchair sailors and others read the blog – or all our family and friends log on several times every day.

An overnight at Mali Losinj did not do the place justice and we hope to stop in again when we head south back to our berth at Sukosan in a week or so.

From Mali Losinj we had yet another motor sail (with a light headwind yet again) to Pula – another 35 mile passage. Earlier today we had a call from Michael Dunlop who is chartering for a week out of Kremik but he was in Hvar which is about 160 miles south of where we now are so unfortunately we will not catch up with them. The other big news of the last couple of days is that we managed to land a very decent sized tuna on the passage to Mali Losinj which will last several dinners – the first of which was had last night at anchor in Pula. The biggest tuna we (Pam) has caught in our Med travels so far.

Weather remains pretty reasonable although a few days ago we had a couple of nights of heavy rain and a temperature drop of 10 degrees overall – but back to normal now thank goodness.

That’s all for now – will post again from Venice.

Cheers

Keith

PS posting this on Tuesday morning en route to Venice

Hvar To The Kornati's

Posted at 9:38 AM, Sep. 30, 2007

Will start by picking up where I left off last Sunday (23 September) in Hvar town, After two previous visits and with a calm harbour, absent the usual roll, we adjourned to the quayside and caught up with Sue Warren, who had son Jake out from London for a few days  and her mother over from NZ for a couple of weeks. Spent a pretty casual day partaking of both caffeine and alcohol as well as some food on a lovely sunny day and catching up with Sue’s activities since we had last seen her in June. It was also the day of the AB”s v Scotland and we heard that a local bar was going to place a TV outside for that game and also the Australia game. In the event we had got the times wrong and late afternoon we decided to head over to the nearby island of Palmezana and anchor in the same bay we had a couple of months before. Sue had booked us a table at the restaurant up off the beach but we ended up at Toto’s again for a pizza. Still no sign of Edward the blonde waiter!!

Monday 24^th we picked up a nice breeze, under genaker for a while, for a sail across to Otok Solta and again anchored in the bay at the NE end of the island at the town of Maslinica. Again a repeat visit and again a pleasant overnight stay followed by coffee with local bread and cheese ashore the following morning. Tuesday headed north, stopping off in a small bay for lunch and then with a worsening forecast had a good sail on to Rogoznica. Previously we have anchored off around the back of the island but with a fair amount of easterly we were able to go stern to at the quayside in the village of Rogoznica itself. Ended up being here Tuesday and Wednesday nights with plenty of wind and some rain also. – so we were in a good spot and close to all the action in the town, if that is how one can describe it!. Annette and Marco departed the Wednesday evening back to London.

The following morning (Thursday 27^th) we headed off for the Kornati island group and had a 40 mile sail up to Otok Lavsa and picked up one of the moorings in the bay - a small island on the eastern side of the two large islands in the Kornat group.

                             Typical settlement on Otok Kornat

There are four main islands in the Kornati group which run on a NE to SW axis and at the closest point only 11 miles offshore. The southern most and largest island (Otok Kornat) is around 18 miles long and less than a mile wide and fringed with dozens of island on the eastern side. Otok Lavsa is a few miles up Otok Kornat on the eastern with a very sheltered bay, laid mooring buoys, one restaurant and what looked like some sort of dive centre. The eastern  (inshore) side of Otok Kornat looked from the chart to be bereft of much in the way of decent anchorages while the eastern side has literally dozens of islands and narrow passages through and around which to sail – and all in relatively flat water.

The Kornati islands are devoid of vegetation pretty much and the Pilot descries the islands as looking like a moonscape – and the photo below gives some evidence of this (of course everyone knows what a moonscape looks like!)

                       Motoring through one on the passages between islands.

While sailing up the almost fiordlike  passage to our planned anchorage at Otok Lavsa. Picked up a buoy and went ashore to the sole restaurant for a beer and back to the boat for dinner. The buoy’s were marked as being for the use of the restaurant so we figured a beer would be sufficient. Four other yachts in the bay only – seems to be a lot quieter up here than further south.

While motoring up through this area we were confronted with a “water” plane landing and taking off until finally it did lad about 100 meters off our stern as can be seen from the photos.

                           Water plane landing not far off the stern

 The Kornati islands were burn’t off initially by shepherds a few hundred years ago so they could graze sheep and goats and then eventually the rest destroyed in a 40 day fire in 1850. So it seems a bit late for the “water” plane.

                         Dropping the load - not on us thank goodness

Friday the 28^th no wind to speak of and motored northwards through various narrow passages between dozens of islands and finally emerged at the pass between Otok Kornat and Dugi Otok  - this island also running on a NE to SW axis and about 25 miles long. We picked up a mooring buoy in the narrow pass between the islands for a lunch stop and a swim. The pass is only about 20 meters wide at its narrowest with a restaurant on the Otok Kornat side. A handful of yachts around but again pretty quiet. After going through the pass we motored up the eastern side of Dugi Otok to the very small and unspoilt town of Brbinj – very deep and sheltered bay with laid buoys and lines ashore to pick up also. A storm passed through on way up to Brbinj  - we missed the rain but got 25 knts on the nose. Flat water so motored through it.

                                     An abandoned Kornat castle

We are heading north to the area known as Istria so will make another posting soon.

Cheers

Keith

Suksosan to Postira (Brac)

Posted at 3:54 PM, Sep. 25, 2007

Currently Sunday morning 23 September, everyone a bit seedy after a very late night on the town in Hvar. In fact as I type this some haven’t yet put in an appearance. Have just moved onto the town quay, time for a caffeine hit – very busy and the hottest day we have  had yet  (27 degrees). Sue Warren about to join us also as co-incidentally she is back on the island having been in London for the last couple of months since we were last here.

                     Southern 2 weeks sail plan for September

After leaving Sukosan last Monday we had three pretty cool days, sunny but with the Sirocco (SE wind) blowing hard. Sailed down the inside of Otok Pasman via the Zadarski Kanal to exit near Biograd. Stopped off for lunch and then sailed another 15 miles, past Otok Murter to the village on Otok Kaprije which is a pretty little town and well sheltered from the Sirocco. Tuesday morning had a small problem with the genset so decided to sail across to  Kremik marina and try and get an engineer on board. Had a 25 mile sail bang on the nose, 30-35 knots but with two reefs in and about 60% of the jib rolled away we trucked along at around 8.25 knots so a satisfying sail. Lots of charter boats around in all sorts of strife trying to cope with the conditions. Got onto the marina there for the night but no luck with finding an engineer. Wednesday sailed the 30 miles further south to Split – got a berth on the marina and got the genset attended to -  not a major. Weather starting to improve i.e. less wind, bit warmer etc.

Thursday Annette and Marco arrived on board after Pam, Alice and I had got some more provisions on board and wandered around Split. Weather getting better and we had a pleasant motor sail across to the town of Postira (population 1,500) on the northern coast of Brac late afternoon.. This was the town that Marco’s parents had left (she at the age of 18) 70 years ago to come to NZ.  And this was Marco’s first visit for 27 years so we had the welcoming committee on the town quay. There is a fish cannery here that is owned by the Simunivich family of Auckland (this is apparently where they come from) and the story gets some credence as they own the excellent restaurant Bracu south of Auckland on the Bombay hills. Unfortunately the harbour is relatively open and during the evening the Bora (NW) wind started to blow so shortly before midnight we headed back up to Split and anchored in the harbour for the night.  Friday weather improving even more and again a motor sail back for the 12 miles across to Postira, anchored in the harbour and escorted up to one of Marco’s cousins house (Denko and Gita)  for a very Dalmatian lunch with about 15 relatives in attendance.

                 The view from Denko's deck Postira - Otok Brac

Fantastic hospitality, wine made by the family, olive oil also made by the family and local fish cooked on an outdoor fire - sitting on the deck looking back across to the mainland on a fine sunny afternoon with Marco rediscovering the language and little English spoken. After a very fine lunch we were then taken for a tour around the village while various of the relatives debated or seemed to argue as to which house we were going to visit next.  Each house we visited seemed to necessitate a welcoming glass of grappa! If time had permitted I am sure we would have seen most houses in the town.

                  Marco's extended Postira family (Marco 3rd from right)

 A very tidy village, appeared to be quite prosperous with new houses (built of course in the traditional style) costing around USD400,000.

So early evening Friday 21^st saw the breeze building again so this time we motored up the coast a mile or so and anchored in the western arm of the bay at the small village of Splitska. The breeze swung around 2300 hrs so we up anchored and nosed slowly up to the town quay to the delight of the locals in the bar who lined up quayside to help us tie up.

 Saturday morning the café/bar tables and chairs were at least 1 metre from the boat so it wasn’t far to adjourn to partake of our pastries and their expresso as can be seen below!

We then motored back to Postira for lunch with one of Marco’s cousins, Darko who is an historian and author. They were all very sad to see Marco leave had a most enjoyable time with the many cousins and their families. Darko presented marco with copies in Croatian of two of the books he had written - one on Otok Brac the other on the history of Postira dating back to 1337. He said he will send us the english versions when published in a couple of months time.

Late afternoon with a freshening NW we sailed the 25 miles up the northern coast of Otok Brac and then across to Hvar to anchor in a calm harbour for a change. Weather getting better every day, calm, settled and very warm again! Dinner ashore at the well regarded restaurant Macondo up off the square.  After dinner adjourned for cocktails to Cape Diem the famous bar on the waterfront for a few hours – we went back to the boat while Alice night clubbed the rest of the night away. After all this is called the Canne of eastern Europe.

The charter boat scene is still very busy and we are seeing more boats around now than we did in June. Water temps like an Auckland early summer – bracing! All well on board and all systems aok.

Cheers for now

Keith

Back in cruising mode

Posted at 8:28 PM, Sep. 17, 2007

It is now Monday evening 17th September and we are anchored in a smaill very enclosed bay on Otok Kaprije after leaving Sukosan earlier today. Autumn has definitely arrived and while shorts and t-shirt during the day as soon as the wind gets up it cools down. We arrived back at Sukosan after the all to familiar 36 hour door to door transit time via London. Picked up a rental car at Zadar airport and were able to drive into Zadar and find a couple  supermarkets open so we could provision up the boat in readiness for a departure the following day. Velimir had done a great job with the boat and the teak decks and stainless work were sparkling so saved me a job - he had also arranged to put some shelving in the after heads cupboards, serviced the stove  which wasn't up to Pam's requirements, completed yet some more work on the stern door, arranged for an engine service etc. So we are in good shape.

We are heading south to Split and will arive there Wednesday night to meet up with friends coming in from NZ for a weeks sailing.om Thursday. We will then cruise around the southern islands and then depending on the weather will go up to Venice for a few days and the  cruise back to Sukosan via Istria which we are told is a lovely part of Croatia.

Thats all for now!

Cheers

Keith

Alice signs off

Posted at 2:06 PM, Jun. 28, 2007

Well, how do you finish a blog that has been two months of absolutely wonderful adventures?  From Malta to Italy and all around Croatia – lets just say – we will be back in September for more!  It has all been wonderful – the scenery of blue clear waters and rocky little bays, special little villages, old stone cities, friendly locals, delicious food and wine, buzzy night life and of course the delightful company of all of our friends who shared it with us – so much laughter has bubbled thru the waters every day we’ve been aboard, it has been an absolute pleasure.  Here in Sukosan, with a little pang in our hearts and regret to be leaving, we are readying Savarna for marina life.  Wow, what a special boat she is, gliding thru the waves so smoothly as we sail and providing perfect space for the most luxurious holiday I have ever had!!!  We are looking forward to more sailing in September so tune in then for more of “The Yotblog adventures of Savara!!!”  Dah-dah-dah danana!!!

                             A self taken shot atop the citadel at Hvar

Love to everyone

Alice

Otok Iz to Sukosan

Posted at 8:32 PM, Jun. 27, 2007

On Otok Iz we found a delightful anchorage at the south eastern end in an uninhabitated bay partially protected from the south by a small island. We anchored alongside a few other boats but with no swinging room on anchor so took a line ashore to hold us as did the other boats. Had some South Africans on a charter boat next door who firstly admired Savarna and secondly got the news from us of the All Blacks/Springboks test a few days earlier. One of the guys had visited NZ many times as a director of Caltex.

                                 Fairly typical coastal view - no sandy beaches here!

Early morning awoke to yet another brilliant day but with quite a bit of wind developing from the south which contrasted with the NW forecast. One by one the boats peeled off out of the bay leaving us last to leave. Had a good sail on the wind across to Otok Ugliana and stopped in a sheltered bay at the NW end along with quite a few other boats for the usual swim and lunch. An Austrian guy from a nearby yacht swam over to see where we were from and to compliment us on the boat. We have been suprised by the number of Austrian yachts around (which we have not seen elsewhere) as somehow we do not associate Austria with sailing  - but as it does border Croatia it is to be expected.

Late afternoon rounded the northern end of Otok Ugliano and had a good 10 mile sail on the wind in up to 25 knots into Sukosan with Alice on the handle bars most of the way! Great way to finish up the current 2 months sailing.

Marina Dalmacija is the biggest marina complex in Croatia and it is huge - about 1400 boats but the fairways and isles are so big that it is about a 3 kilometre walk from one side to the other. The place has its own beach, several restaurants and bars around its perimeter and also several good facilities blocks. A pretty impressive operation. Two haul out yards and at least 4 travel lifts of 30 and 50 ton capacities.

We have been very well looked after by Velimir Mestrovic of Royal Yachts who are the Hanse agents in Croatia. He has organised us space on one of their berths on a pier very near his office. They also look attend to all maintenance required, run the motor, air and clean the boat etc. A pretty slick operation overall and no doubt facilitated by them also running some charter boats of their own/

Nicki and Richard departed yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 26 June) for Split and then on to Rome after a dream two week run of perfect weather, temps up to 42 on one day but pretty hot for the whole two weeks.

Today we rented a car and drove into the nearby city of Zadar for a look around. Again an impressive walled old town but Zadar was one of the cities most bombed in the Balkans war and a lot of restoration being undertaken and still much to do. We had a beer with Valimir tonight and a bit of a discussion about the war and clearly the country is still building economically and the basis for foreign exchange earnings is tourism. But it is a relatively hard place to get to - ferries from Italy, an expensive local airline, no extensive rail network, buses average and roads being built flat out.

                                                  A daily view!

Tonight Pam and I drove Alice to Zadar airport where she flies Grenada in Spain to meet up with a friend (via London) before returning to the boat at some stage. So for us it is clean up time, dropping heaps of gear to the very good laundry  - and still to retrieve the dinghy which got wedged under the pontoon during last night on an incoming tide. It has been virtually 100% summerged all day and I have been waiting for the big bang as it explodes but with an outgoing tide now we may salvage it yet - all I can say is good on Zodiac they obviously make strong dinghies. Can now report safely salvaged and no damage.

Off now to dinner in the nearby town of Sukosan and then fly back to the NZ winter tomorrow afternoon.

So signing off until September - but with very fond memories of Croatia - a fantastic place to sail and lovely people in our experiences. The other interesting fact is that Sukosan is 44 degrees north and yet wonderful continuous good weather and very warm water - not bad for a place that is further north than Dunedin is south. And it doesn't snow here in winter!

John and Sue if you read this have just seen you have arrived in Dubrovnik so we have missed you guys by a few days - enjoy Croatia (I am sure Sue will after reading her blog entry) and all the best for the rest of 2007 and the ARC - will follow your blog with interest and who knows we may get that beer together one day!!

Cheers

Keith

Otok Vis to Otok Iz Croatia

Posted at 8:15 PM, Jun. 24, 2007

Nearly a week since the last blog posting – imagine a casual week with water temps 27 to 28 degrees, water crystal clear, sky – no clouds in sight, sun blazing for 12 hours a day, sea breezes 5 to 15 knots, sailing every day sliding along quietly at 7 to 8 knots, islands everywhere (only 1205 of them), people generally nude on boats and beaches (shame about our prudish anglo-saxon upbringing), dozens of attractive small fishing villages with all the houses and buildings in stone, thousands of miles of stone walls in lieu of fences dating back 100’s of years, a sophistication unexpected, friendly people everywhere, great markets (fish and produce), good English spoken everywhere. All in all a fantastic week !

                                     A typical Croatian island house

A bit more detail. Left off last week about to head around to the town of Vis on the island (Otok) of the same name. Good sail back to Vis and anchored at the neighbouring town of Kut a few hundred metres away – found our Australian  friends from Hey Jude already there. Dinghied ashore and walked around the village of Kut and then around to Vis itself. The town quay completely.full with charter boats. More stylish restaurants (palm trees, courtyard settings etc) than we have seen anywhere before. We were pretty impressed with the sophistication demonstrated - buildings being beautifully restored everywhere, towns clean and tidy.

Next day (Monday 17^th motored down to the SE end of Vis and across to a nearby island Bisevo and dinghied  into the famous Blue Cave photographed below.

Well worth a visit but must be in the morning while the sun is at the right angle to the entrance and shines through the submerged side entrance. From here motor sailed back up the western side of Otok Vis and then across to Otok Solta just to the NE of Otok  Brac. Called into the northern village of Maslinica – to shallow to get onto the town quay so anchored off and took a stern line ashore to a concrete bollard – no-one said anything so we stayed the night.

A pleasant small village with a fantastic 5 star hotel right on the waterfront, and unusual for what we have seen of Croatia to date lovely gardens, watered and manicured! Restaurant prices very reasonable compared to what we have seen elsewhere. Nevertheless we had dinner on board but got tempted into a few healthy local beers ashore.

From Otok Solta we motor sailed to the mainland town of Primosten – described as a languid holiday town.  Primosten is on an island connected to the mainland by a causeway – it is very similar to North Head except has winding alleys and green shuttered old (dark interiors) stone houses leading to the Church of St George at the summit. A neat place and a must see! We pulled into the town quay for the night thinking we had the end and therefore quiet berth only to find a whole flotilla of charter yachts turned up and they managed to get angled berthage on the end – so we were surrounded by several boat loads of Poms. But enjoyable company. We walked around to Konoba Papec (on the northern side) where the owner who was born in the house serves local wine (Babic) and sells pre-dinner snacks comprising goats cheese soaked in olive oil, beer and local vino served from wooden barrels. A must do and heavens knows how he makes any money. Afterwards we had dinner in the main square (a good meal and reasonably priced except the fish) and watched a folklore performance by locals of dancing and singing. 

 Our Aussie friends (Ralph and Jude) from Hey Jude also turned up for the night but as they are now heading back south we will not see them again - this trip at least!

The next day it was a quiet sail and an anchor behind a deserted island for lunch and a swim and then a motor up to Sibernik and the 8 mile passage up the river to Skradin at the edge of the Krka National Park. At least 10 days since we had been here but a must see for Nicki and Richard and well worth a second visit. Also gave us a chance to explore the old town of Skradin which had a pretty cursory look over on our first visit. Again a must see – again. Got up there early evening, stayed overnight and then did the National Park the following day before then heading downstream to Sibernik where we berthed and explored the old town.

                           Skradin from the ferry to Krka National Park

Late afternoon then motored out to the nearby island of Zlarin where we overnighted in the town at the  northern end. The last few days we have wandered  our way northwards visiting, anchoring and swimming at a number of islands of which there are dozens to choose from. Heaps of anchorages and quiet starlit nights.

                                 Stone roof houses at Primosten

Have managed to get an online subscription to an America’s Cup site and have watched the first two races on-line. Great to see the score at 1 all at this stage – looks like a closely fought contest ahead with nothing much in it in terms of boat speed. Only marred by learning that out house in Auckland was burgled over the weekend.

Tonight anchored in a delightful bay with a few other boats on the island of Iz a few miles away from Sukosan where we will head into tomorrow to wrap up our berthing arrangements for the year.

                                                  Are we relaxed?

Cheers

Keith

Rogoznica to Krka National Park to Split to Vis

Posted at 4:34 PM, Jun. 17, 2007

It is now Sunday 17 June and the spell of fine, hot weather with good sailing breezes continues and without the daily thunderstorms. Currently sailing from Otok St Klement which is just off the town of Hvar across to Otok Vis a passage of about 13 miles. Nice on the wind sail with an 11-12 knot westerly.

After leaving  Rogoznica on the mainland on Sunday 9^th we had a good sail up to the small island of Zlarin a short distance off the town of Sibenik on the mainland. Anchored in a small bay for a late lunch and then motored across to Sibenik which is another fortified town dating back to 1066AD – it is a mile or so from the sea and we proceeded for another few miles up river to the town of Zaton where we anchored in the river in a very small inlet with about 20 metres clearance all round for swinging.

 From here it is another few miles up the river to the Krka National Park and the charts showed several overhead power cables with the lowest showing a 30.5 metre clearance and our mast is 27 metres!  On Monday 10^th we explored up river by dinghy to check out the cables and found that the lowest cable had been removed and there was only the towers left standing. So back to the boat and motored up river for a mile or so through a canyon and then broke out into a large lake several miles across – crossed the lake and then a few more miles up river until we came across the small town of Skradin – where we anchored although there is a small marina there also. At this point probably about 8 miles from the sea and quite spectacular scenery. From here we got a ferry up to the Krka National Park – a brilliant series of hundreds of waterfalls as can be seen by the photos below. I think a must do! We spent pretty much all day there.

                                   Lower waterfalls at Krka National Park

Met a kiwi guy there on a Bavaria 49 (Phil Duhs) who is also cruising in Croatia this year. Late that afternoon we motored out of the river system and back across to the island of Zlarin where we anchored in the same bay again and the only boat there. A huge electrical storm passed directly overhead during the night, thunder like you’ve never heard before but by morning all clear again for a pre-breakfast swim. From here we had a bit of a drifter of a sail, from on the wind to genaker to a beam reach to motoring for the 30 odd mile run back to Split where we picked up Nicki and Richard on the night of Tuesday 12^th June.

Had a late night walk around Split followed by shopping at the market the following morning, took some more diesel on board (over $4 a litre here) and then early afternoon set sail for the 10 mile run across to the island of Brac. Stopped in at the delightful little town of Bobovisce at the western end of Brac for a very late lunch and a swim and then motored around to Milna a short distance away and ended up anchoring off the entrance to the town with a few other boats – another very calm night.

Thursday 14^th sailed around the western end of Brac and down the south coast to Dugi Rat, which appears to be a sand peninsula (bit is actually stony) which is written up as the most famous beach in Croatia.

Anchored off for lunch and a swim and as the westerly wind filled in during the afternoon eventually sailed the 10 miles across to the town of Vrboska on the northern coast of Otok Hvar. Motored up to the town quay but it looked a bit shallow for us so anchored off in the bay a mile from the town for a swim, an on board BBQ and another calm night.

Friday 15^th had a very pleasant sail under genaker to the western end of Otok Hvar and called into Stari Grad to fill up with water and get some provisions. Then had a good sail on the wind around to Hvar town and found ourselves amongst the first few boats in what was a race coming across from Split (good fleet with about 40 boats). Held our own pretty well in 17/18 knots apparent – all dropped anchor in Hvar town, S.E. blowing in and clearly was going to be an uncomfortable night at anchor but as Alice was pretty keen to get some nightlife action that is where we stopped for the night. Hvar town is called the Canne of Croatia. Dinner ashore at a great local restaurant up an alleyway off the main square.

The Australians off Hey Jude (Ralph and ude) the Bavaria Vision 50 that we had met in Split were in Havar town so it was great to catch up with them again. Ralph was the Bavaria agent in Australia and having sold out they are now enjoying their new boat.

Watched the start of the Split Yacht Club Saturday race around the islands (sounds just like Squadron weekend) and then motored across to St Klement island a few miles away and found the most delightful bay (with 22 yachts at anchor) – Uvalu Vinogradisee, beautiful clear blue water and went ashore at Toto’s for dinner. Well worthwhile and Olive the blonde waiter Edward was no-where to be found.  Hey Jude were also in the bay and the other Australians we had met in Split with the Benetau First 50 turned up having raced out on a Benetau 40.7 for the weekend.

So today a nice sail across to Otok Vis and now anchored in a small bay on the south side but will sail around to the town of Vis tonight.

The island was first inhabited during the stone ages and has been a producer of wine for 2000 years. It was also the island that Tito  used as a base to strategize with the partisans during the war and was only opened to the public in 1989.

Just had a call from Jason in London and tried to tempt him into flying over for a few days before going back to NZ  but that didn’t work.

Cheers

Keith

Hvar to Rozognica

Posted at 4:03 PM, Jun. 10, 2007

Having arrived in the town of Hvar on Otok Hvar late afternoon Friday 1 June we anchored in the middle of the harbour, texted Sue Warren that we had arrived, and then had a beer while watching the fun as various boats arrived to position themselves on the town quay (which was really rock and roll territory with almost spreader to spreader rolls and impossible to sleep). Bit of rain fell and Sue arrived for an aperitif on board before heading out to a wonderful dinner at a quayside restaurant. The meal was first rate  - we had been warned that fish meals were expensive in Croatia and this was no exception. Hvar is one of the party towns in Croatia and despite looking no luck and we concluded that it is still too early in the season.

The town is dominated by a huge citadel (see photo) and the piazza is the largest in Croatia with Gothic and Renaissance palaces on either side. A lovely town, well preserved and no cars allowed in the old town.

                     Looking from Savarna across to the imposing Citadel

Weather still pretty average, not overly warm although sea temperatures now around 21-22 but cool in the evenings. Saturday 2 June saw us retain our relatively comfortable position in the harbour and not get tempted to move onto the quay for rock and roll. Looked around the town in the morning and in the afternoon Sue drove us pretty much around the island finally stopping for a swim and then a few drinks on her balcony in the town of Stari Grad about 15 kks from Hvar where she lives.

                        Alice and Sue on the steps to Sue's apartment

Up anchored Sunday 3 June with a far better weather outlook and motored over to the nearby Pakleni islands for a look around and then headed around to Stari Grad but first stopping for a few hours at Uvala Vira on the north coast for lunch and a swim. Finally got into Stari Grad onto the town quay early evening and Sue joined us for an on board dinner of chilli prawns and a few local wines. We enjoyed Stari Grad, it is a lovely old town and not as fast paced as Hvar. We provisioned and watered up again the next morning and then spent the day anchored in a peaceful bay called Luka Tiha within the large bay where Stari Grad is at the head of. Late afternoon had a lovely sail on the wind across to the next island of Brac about 8 miles away.

                          North coast of Otok Hvar looking Otok Brac

Brac is the third largest island in the Adriatic (out of about 1200) and we anchored on the south side in Uvala Osibova -  a delightful bay surrounded with a number of holiday homes. Very deep and as we were the only boat there we took the middle of the bay ( and only room for maybe two more boats) but when swinging we were often only 20 metres from the shore. Takes a bit of getting used to when the shores are all rock and deep straight off the land.

Brac is among many of the islands that have over the centuries quarried a white stone that has been used in the construction of various palaces and cathedrals around Europe and notably part of the White House in Washington. The following day after a late start we had a good sail right through to Split only about 10 miles in from Brac. Ever since we had sailed up to Brindisi I had been uneasy  about the motor as Dean will recall and by the time we got to Brac I had decided that we must have picked up some bad diesel in Siracusa and this had partially blocked the injectors. Got into the Split on Tuesday night 5^th June  and anchored off before going into the hugely overpriced marina the next morning. Was fortunate in finding some good engineers on the marina who after various tests confirmed that my diagnosis was correct. That in turn necessitated getting new nozzles getting sent down from the Yanmar agents at Pula in the north of Croatia – then found out Thursday was a public holiday and they would not arrive until Friday morning. Anyway it all happened according to schedule and by Friday late morning we were ready to go and I was about EUR800 worse off. So we had an enforced couple of days at Split but it proved to be a delightful place – the old town is delightful and dominated by Diocletian’s palace ( a Roman Emperor) in about 300AD – much of the palace still stands today and the old town is within the palace and is right on the waterfront which has also been carefully refurbished over the last year. A vibrant place.

      The Split waterfront with the cathedral in Diocletians Palace prominent

A couple of Australian boats in the marina so a late night on Savarna and a few sore heads the next morning worked off with a swim at one of the local nearby beaches. Alice got a couple of dates/tours with local lads and saw more of the night life than Pam or I. Had a delightful dinner ashore one night at Serims in the street of the same name just to the north of the old town. Weather by this time has improved significantly at long last – warm days moderate breezes but late afternoon thunderstorms and lightening along the coast.

Leaving Split we sailed about 14 miles up the coast to Trogir which was highly recommended to us. Anchored off in a nearby bay for the night and then anchored off the town this morning. Trogir is on an island and there are still many medieval houses, narrow streets and alleyways and of course numerous churches.