10/4/24 Split, Croatia
Up at 0500 with high wind as predicted, but no rain, thunder or lightning. It appears that it passed to the south of us. A little more sleep and all was settled by 0830. We headed back into town to learn more about Split and Croatia. We took the tour of the Dioclanatian Palace and learned a lot about this region’s ancient history, Turks attacking and taking slaves, the Ottoman’s attacking to take more land and on into very recent history where the region was broken into so many countries. Also interesting was the famous Croatian writer Marko Maulic from the 15th century. An academic of philosophy and credited with coining the term psychology. He was prolific in his writings in the Renaissance Age. A copy of his book on the Protestant religion was found among Henry VIII’s belongings with notes in the margins and underlines in the section on what makes a good wife.
We walked through the residential areas to see better how the locals live, not a wealthy area, but vibrant and happy. Having covered a lot of the city we felt like we now had a better feel for Split. It will be interesting to see the contrast with Dubrovnik. On the way home we picked up a couple items for our artichoke on pasta dish planned for the evening. I picked up what I thought was a bottle of rum, but turned out to be a Croatian Cognac, turned out to be very tasty as a night cap with chocolate.
At midnight we were awakened by heavy rain and thunder, but it passed quickly, the night went calm.
9/5/24 Split, Croatia
Our new wake up time seems to be 7 or even 830, probably the
result of being rousted in the night. The day was predicted to be rainy with
thunder and lightning, but it looked pretty tame for the morning as we looked at
a clear sky. We decided to hike up to the observation tower out on the
peninsula while it was cool and clear. There must have been 1000 ancient steps
to get to the observation area at the peak, but worth the climb. From there it
was a rough rock path along the ridge to a very cool looking observation tower.
The tower only opened 4 weeks ago and it was free to climb (or take an
elevator) to the observation deck. The view of the Islands, harbor below and
the mountains on the mainland were fabulous. A rainbow and cumulus clouds made
it all the more spectacular. The wind was increasing, and the dark clouds were
coming in so we made our way back down the hill.
As we rowed back to the boat, we could hear the thunder and see the rain coming. I rowed hard and we made it back onboard just ahead of the downpour. We do have an outboard, but we are so close to the dock it seems silly to not row. Around us boats were coming in, but I realized they were charter boats being staged by the charter company for lack of use. I am guessing they want them off the docks so they can rent out the moorings to visitors. It also may be the first sign that the season is coming to an end.
On and off rain had us tinkering below and doing a couple
maintenance chores. Left overs for dinner and preparation to depart tomorrow
were the order of the evening. The forecast looked good for the next few days.
9/6/24 Split, Croatia
A few chores in the morning including a load of laundry
prior to our departure at 1030. The sky was mostly sunny and the breeze was
light as we motored out of our perfect anchorage and headed around Otok Ciovo
to a marina in Trogir . Our hope was that we could get a fresh can of Butane
for the stove, Split had nothing for us. On the way there we had to dodge
another sailboat, as we passed them port to port, we noticed no one in the
cockpit and they were under sail. Upon further inspection we saw that a man was
being dragged, happily, behind the boat on a rope. He waived and continued to
enjoy his swim as the boat sailed along. As we were rounding the marker at the
west end of Otok Ciovo we found ourselves being totally cut in front of by a
huge power yacht on a parallel course. Needless to say we cut the throttle and
waited for him to pass in front of us. I do not know the Croatian equivalent
for flipping him the bird, put I will need to look that up for future reference.
Another beautiful day as we motored into Trogir and easily
tied up to the dock. This was our first marina stay in Croatia, an opportunity
to put a good charge on the batteries and use their water instead of mine for a
long hot shower. The sailors were very helpful with the lines and guidance to
the nearby reception for the marina.
This is where we take one of those unexpected left turns!
They wanted our cruising vignette along with our other documents. I showed them
the Vignette that we purchased in Vela Luka upon arrival, but they said that
that was a tourist vignette, and we needed a cruising vignette for the boat.
They were very nice about it and directed us to the Harbor Masters office where
we could procure the vignette. Since it was Sunday, it would have to wait until
tomorrow…no problem.
Fat dumb and happy, we walked into town to do a little
sightseeing. I love castles and forts, so we made a bee line to a very classic
looking fort, though most of us would look at it and say castle. Kula
Kamerlenco was built in the 15th century by the Venetians. Well
restored we were able to walk the ramparts and climb up all of the towers. The
views were fabulous from every side. We continued on into the narrow streets of
the city, a fairly compact old town on an Island. Lots of great looking
restaurants tucked into little alcoves and occupying small squares. I wanted to
buy a bottle of the local wine, Babic, but we could not find a shop open on a
Sunday afternoon. Suzette asked the maître d’ at one of the restaurants where
we could find Babic wine and he literally walked us to two different places,
but they were closed as well. The Croatians are very friendly and want to help
you, best of all they speak English!
It was Sunday so it was pizza night! Our favorite, mushroom, onion and olives. A quiet night tied to a dock.
10/7/2024 Trogir, Croatia
A beautiful sunny morning, we were up and out to get our
vignette. There were already a few people in line at the Harbor Master’s
office. Each one went to the service window and each one seemed to come away
with nothing, only a long face. Well, we did the same, he wanted an original
sailing license not one printed off of a computer. I explained that they do not
issue a license any other way than digital. The license has a QR code he could
scan and check the license online and a website he could go to and check, but
he insisted he would not do that and I had to have an original. I explained
that he is basically saying we cannot sail here in Croatia, he said “I did not
say that”, but offered no alternatives.
We gathered our papers, returned to the boat and got on Star
Link to find an agent to take care of our vignette. 95 euros later, a few forms
and we were in the queue to get a vignette. Fingers crossed we will have a
vignette in 3-5 days and hopefully not get stopped along the way. We were also
in search of a fresh tank of camping gas, but no luck finding it here.
We cast off the lines
and made our way to the NE corner of Brac, Pucisca where there was an anchorage
called St. Stephen’s Church. The wind was light 5 knots from the east, on our
nose, so we motored. As we approached the anchorage it was an idyllic setting,
the small town of Pucisca on the west side and a line of tiny fishing boats to
the east. We settled in on the east side as the only boat in the little cove. A
Cat arrived and anchored in behind us and one of the tourists’ boats side tied
at the quay. Just a gorgeous setting.
We deployed the dinghy and motored into town for a couple critical items at a beautiful little market brimming with fresh vegetables that had just arrived by truck. A quick tour of the tiny harbor and back to the boat. It was cooling quickly as the sun set, so we dined below and enjoyed a very quiet night.
10/8/2024 St Stephen’s Church, Brac, Croatia
The wind was predicted to get up to 30 SE during the day and
into the evening. The day started out sunny and calm, hopefully we have a
nicely protected cove for the day as we set out to explore the town. We tied up
to the quay near the grocery store and headed up the hill into the residential
area. As we meandered through the neighborhood you could categorize the homes
as; classic stone and freshly renovated, under renovation and not inhabitable,
completely derelict ancient stone structure. There were a surprising number of derelict
homes, perhaps beyond repair, but protected by law due to the ancient status.
At the top of the hill, we heard a goat crying out and found 2 Billys and a few chickens in a little barn. One of the goats was hungry for attention and came to the window to see us. As we were leaving, he butted the door as though wanting to go with us. We walked the crest of the town and back down to the quay. We ran into a woman who was born and raised here, lived all over the world and had now returned to retire here. It was interesting to hear some of her stories, we should have invited her for coffee and a longer chat. Unique to this town is the school of masonry where people from around the world come to learn how to carve stone and be masons. At the entrance to this bay is a huge quarry where they are mining huge blocks, very fitting with the school located here.
Several tourists’ boats were coming in and offloading their tourists into the town. One boat was full of cyclists, popular here to ride on each of the islands. We walked through the pine forest out to the light house and back through the high-end homes on the north side of the harbor. Satisfied with our walk, we made our way back to the boat for a late lunch and relaxation. The wind picked up as predicted, but we were well secured and enjoyed the view of the harbor and the boats passing by. The wind probably hit 30 when the rain came in the night, but this cove was well protected.
10/9/24 St Stephen’s Church, Brac, Croatia
A sunny morning with a breeze from the ESE. Anchors up about
0900, unfurled the sails in 10-16 knots of breeze and beat our way east in the
channel between the mainland and Brac Otok. It was a perfect sail as we tacked
back and forth about 4 times to clear the east end of Brac. We turned south
setting a direct course for a cove called The Caves on the north side of Hvar
Otok. As we motored in, we found a Cat anchored deep in and we did the same.
The anchorage sits between two sheer walls of stone maybe 75 m high with
several caves in the rock.
The sun was shining, and the day was warm making for a great swim. A good opportunity to check the hull, clean the impeller on the speed sensor and check my zincs which look really good. Another Cat came in, the first Cat left, then, after a swim the second Cat left. A Bavaria 57 pulled in and anchored next to us, he was desperately trying to grab a mooring to tie up his stern, but not succeeding. My inner Port Captain came out and I rowed over to assist. They were very grateful for the help, and I was happy to have them secure and not in my swing path. They had arrived from Vis, 5 German lads.
Several other boats tried to anchor but were unsuccessful
and moved on. The cove was calm for the night, though you could hear the wind whistling
above the cliffs. We were not sure where the music was coming from, but someone
was partying into the early hours of the morning as the music echoed off the
sheer stone walls.
10/10/24 The Caves, Hvar Otok, Croatia
A lazy morning on a calm sea with an overcast sky. A good
opportunity to do a few chores and some trip planning. I was elated to see that
my Cruising Vignette had arrived by Email and we were now legitimate cruisers
in Croatia! The wind was predicted to blow up to 30 from the SE today, a good
day to hang out and explore the cove. The weather going forward looked calm
with sunny skies and high temps in the low 70s for the next week or so.
After lunch we took a long dinghy ride to explore the cove.
It was a warm sunny day so we lingered in various places to examine the sea
life, the rock formations and the flora. In the sea we could see schools of
small fish, and tiny crabs. Pondering the rocks, it was scary to think about
the violent upheaval it took to create these rock mountains. It is easy to see
how the Romans, or whoever, looked at the rocks and said these look like
building blocks. The natural layers and breaks that mother nature created must
have been quite useful. As for the flora, lots of pine trees, which we have
been told were not native. Lots of unique flowers in an array of colors but
scattered here and there.
Returning to the boat we could see the hull needed scrubbing. We broke out the tools and soap and cleaned from stem to stern…much better! Having worked up a sweat it was time for a swim. It was also an opportunity to scrub the waterline. I did not check the water temp, but it is still very comfortable. A small sailboat pulled in next to us sporting a British flag, they settled in quickly.
We were entertained in the afternoon by a couple of rock
climbers. A man and women arrived at the base of the shear face on the west
side of the cove and went for a swim. We were not paying much attention as they
finished their swim and lingered on shore. At one point it did seem odd that
the women was there alone and staring up the sheer face. By the time we took it
all the guy had climbed about 60 m up on the face and secured a rope to use as
a belay. He repelled quickly and let the women get strapped into the harness.
There was a lot of discussion before she began her ascent, hesitant at first,
but then she found her groove and climbed the 60 meters. She repelled down
quickly and when she hit the ground we applauded and whooped, she threw up her
hands in elation and appreciated our praise.
In the evening, we received another great email, this is for voting outside of the country. We were told it was sent, but we never received it. We were very happy to receive a replacement and to be able to vote! For dinner we grilled veggies for one of my favorite meals, zucchini, peppers, onion, hummus in a pita pocket. Overnight we could hear the wind up above the cliffs, but it was calm in our cove.
10/11/24 The Caves, Hvar, Croatia
Up and out by 0900, partly cloudy with a calm sea and light
wind behind. For this trip we had a fairly long run planned, 32 miles to
Korcula. As the crow flies it was only about 10 miles, but we had to go east
around Hvar, West around the Pujelsic Peninsula and east along the north side
of Korcula Otok, a great big Z. We elected to go to the marina to hopefully
take care of some business. We needed to print our Ballots and our vignette.
Equally important, we needed Butane for the stove. We have looked at every stop
and found no Butane in Croatia, yet every charter boat is using Butane. We
inquired at the charter company, but they were no help.
The wind was blowing about 15 across the mooring as we backed up to the quay, but we slipped in and tied up pretty quickly. There are always some different requirements when we check in. This time they wanted a crew list, and they wanted the Vignette emailed, they would not print it from my thumb drive. I still had the crew list that the port authority made for me in Palma, so I gave them that piece of paper. I ran back to the boat and emailed the Vignette. All was right with the world. The receptionist directed us to the library to print out our ballots for voting. Lastly, she told us that we could bring our Butane bottles to the office and she would have them picked up and refilled. Again, friendly and helpful.
Feeling relieved on several counts we walked to the library
that turned out to be a small bookstore. He happily printed my ballots in
duplicate and charged me 5 euros, bargain! We proceeded into town and checked
out a couple shops, we were looking for local olive oil and wine. We found wine
from the peninsula at the local market. The women running the market suggested
that we follow her for the best olive oil. We walked down the narrow street a
few shops and went into a restaurant. After a brief exchange it was agreed that
the women who worked at the restaurant would bring olive oil made by her
grandmother. We could pick it up tomorrow after 1200…hope it’s good.
We walked through the old town inside the protective walls.
Supposedly Marco Polo was born here so there are a number of shops, restaurants
and museums in his honor. The town is perfectly preserved and ancient, 13th
century. The sun was getting low, so we stopped at a seaside cantina and
enjoyed a sundowner, Babic wine, local to the area NW of split. Tasted like Chardonnay
matured in stainless steel vats, very nice for an aperitivo.
As we heard in our last anchorage the music played well into the night, not dance music, but more folk or even sporting chants. Hard to tell, but we may have to investigate tomorrow. Dinner and a movie tonight, Clark Gable in Mother Goose, the admiral wanted a romantic comedy.
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