10/25/2024 Viliki Maharac, Mljet Otok, Croatia
Sunshine and calm in the morning as we lingered over coffee
and a weather check, sunshine, light wind and seas for next few days. We
gathered our ground tackle from the shore and readied the boat for the short
hop across the channel to the Elafitski Otoci, a chain of islands that stretch
from the south end of the Peljesic Peninsula to Dubrovnik. We landed in Slano Bay,
on the mainland. It is a large well protected bay where we easily found sand in
about 6m of clear water in front of a group of homes.
It is always entertaining to speculate on the goings on as you watch from afar. (Speculation, Suzette is a master speculator) We watched as Grampa dropped a heavy sealed bag of something in the water from the dock. It got away from him, so he summoned a grandchild to bring a rake to fish out the floating bag. It turned out to be a bag of potatoes that he rinsed in the saltwater and proceeded to segregate into crates by size. Along comes a young man with a baby in his arms and they head up to Grampa’s house for lunch. We presume this is the son or son in-law. We later see the young man with the baby gather the grandchildren and go meet mom who has returned to the house with groceries, just two doors down from the grandparents. Dad was working in the yard watching the kids while mom put the groceries away and changed. They went back to visit Grampa and Gramma. (end speculation).
The water was about 72 F, it makes you realize that even in relatively warm water your body temp can be brought down after time, and you could get hypothermia. I was happy to lie in the sun and soak up the warmth.
10/26/24 Luka Slano, Croatia
Another quiet night and sunny morning. We readied the boat
and pulled the hook about 1030. The bottom was a very fine silt and mud, I
watched as the chain revealed itself from the silt cover and patiently waited
while the boat gently worked the anchor free, it was sucked down into the mud.
We motored out with no wind heading SW between the mainland and the Elafitski
Otoci toward Kolocep Otok and the Green and Blue Caves.
On the way I noticed a super-sized resort next to an old
town with a beautiful church and a classic castle perched on the cliff. This
was the town of Lopud. We diverted to take a closer look. The resort was huge,
next to it was a hotel/condo that looked like the stern of a modern-day cruise
ship. We rounded the island to the outside of the chain and continued on to
Kolocep.
It was easy to find the caves, there was a fleet of small tourist boats parked at the mouth of the caves. We found a spot near the blue cave and anchored below the cliffs in 15 m. We motored over to the caves in the dinghy and tied to shore. There were several boats here at the Blue Cave, but they were just finishing their snorkel and left the caves to us. We put on our fins and masks and dropped in. I am a little claustrophobic, so I do not get that excited about cave diving, but some things you just have to do. The entrance to the cave was about 1’ above the water and 10 m below the surface. Swimming through the opening, it took a moment for the eyes to adjust, once inside there was a space about 2 m above the water and 5 m in diameter. The ceiling above the water was devoid of any growth and worn smooth by wave action. Underwater were an array of purple Bread Crumb Sponges and orange corals, a large Long-limed Starfish in the brightest orange color, but no fish. Outside the cave the wall was equally covered in sponge, coral and star fish. Lots of fish swimming about. Satisfied with our dive we clambered back into the dinghy for a short motor back to the boat. I have not brought my underwater camera equipment to Europe, so I apologize for there being no underwater pics…you will just have to look them up in your fish book!
We motored the boat around to the NE side of the island and anchored in Luka Kolocep. It took us a while to find a patch of sand and enough depth to anchor in the shallow bay. We also needed to stay out of the ferry’s way, it arrives at the half hour. We settled in and were soon tested as the ferry came and went, all clear. Today’s chore was to wax the top sides, which we knocked out quickly. Lots of tripper boats coming and going, people on the island at the restaurant and the beach club. We are only 5 miles from Dubrovnik, so it is no surprise that there are still lots of tourists coming here. Dubrovnik is the Rome of Croatia, very popular tourist destination.
The days are getting shorter and shorter, but the nights are
still filled with music from shore until all hours of the morning. As
previously experienced the music seems to be more folk like and there seems to
be crowds singing, maybe another wedding, very fun.
10/27/24 Luka Kolocep, Kolocep Otok, Croatia
Up early with the sound of boats getting underway. Day light
savings today here in the EU. My 0700 turned out to be 0600! A slow start,
which has become the norm, and we were anchors up at about 0930. It was a short
motor into Marina Frapa Dubrovnik, our home for the next few days.
No wind so the med moor was simple, the sailors were very helpful. This is a first-class marina, fixed and covered concrete pontoons, plenty of power and water pedestals, office, restrooms and bar at the head of the pontoon. We had the boat squared away in no time and Suzette had already changed into a dress. She said it was Sunday, and we should go promenade along the quay. I guess I better dress! Fortunately, Suzette makes me look good no matter what I am wearing because they are looking at her not me!
We walked the entire west leg of the harbor and scouted our stores for tomorrow and a restaurant for tonight. An important stop was the Harbor Masters office to confirm how we check out of Croatia and the EU in a couple days. 3 stops, Customs, police and harbor master, all in the same building. Hope my paperwork is in order.
We started the evening at the Marina bar with Negronis. Suzette was watching the bar tender experiment with making drinks in a container that was usually reserved for making whipped cream using a CO2 charger. She inquired as to what he was up to and the next thing we no he is filling a glass from the dispenser, a high pressure Negroni. He served us one to sample, it had a unique taste as it had been shaken and pressurized to chill it, no ice required, very fun.
For dinner we went down the road a bit to a restaurant
called Orkas, ironic is it not? We enjoyed the view from the second floor and a
delicious dinner, Dubrovnik Ceviche, grilled tuna over vegies and a Pumpkin
stuffed ravioli. I am not liking this time change, now its dark at 1700!
For being in the big city of Dubrovnik it was amazingly
quiet overnight.
10/28/2024 Marina Frapa, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Up early as a result of the time change. Another calm sunny
day in Croatia. We had lots of errands to run so we wasted no time getting
ready to go. On the way out of the marina we noticed the sailors lugging a
bunch of scuba tanks, so we inquired about where to fill ours. He came back to
us and said give us your tank and we will get it filled. I love these people
and this marina.
The critical stop was at the print shop in order to print
our forms that we needed to vote in the US election as an Overseas Voter. The
forms printed, we needed to figure out how to fax them to the OC Registrar’s
office to vote. Yes, Fax! We were laughed at several times as we asked a few
people where we might be able to fax something. The consensus is that we need
to scan in the docs and use an online fax service. I will need to inquire with
the OC Registrar to see if this is OK.
Many stops in order to find most of what we were looking for,
Solar Store, Hardware, Marine store, lock smith, another hardware, grocer, open
air market…you get the idea. We spent several hours walking around the city to
visit all of these places. Back at the boat I had parts so now I could fix a
few things. Suzette cleaned the cockpit cushions. With such an early sundown we
were relegated to the cabin for dinner and a movie.
10/29/2024 Marina Frapa, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Our first priority was to vote. I had reached out to the
Registrar to make sure an online fax would be acceptable. She responded with a
yes and also gave me an email address that I could use. We had Mariaja, in the
front office, scan in our forms and ballots. We spent a long time talking to
her and learning a bit about the way of life here in Croatia. School is
mandatory up to 8th grade; it is free up to 12th grade.
They have a system for college that I like, finish high school in the top 30
percent and go to the University for free. The university is 3 years for a
bachelor and 2 for a master, the master is at your expense. She has a bachelor
in political science, a master in business and did an exchange student program
to the US and Australia. She noted that people in Croatia are not happy with
their government and felt that things were better economically and otherwise
prior to Croatia gaining independence. She was concerned for the Croatian kids
today because they are inheriting family homes and making a living renting them
out, no real work involved. The service positions here are filled by Philippinos,
Serbs and Bosnians because they are willing to work. As with all the Europeans
she is concerned about the state of the world under a Trump presidency.
Back to the boat to email our votes for the election. For the afternoon we rode our bikes to the Old Town of Dubrovnik and became tourists. There were quite a few people filling the streets and alleys considering it is the end of October. I cannot imagine this with the heat and crowds in the summer. Tourism accounts for 20% of Croatia’s economy, and they charge a lot for everything. I guess someone had to pay to rebuild this place after their war of independence. To walk the city wall was 35 euros each! The city is incredibly beautiful, it is perched on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic with a back drop of dramatic mountains. We walked the city taking in the churches and buildings dating back to the 15th century. The city is so well restored it is as if we have catapulted back in time. Clinging to the outside of the south wall are a couple bars literally over hanging the sea.
We stopped in a Winery, Skar, to taste their wines and have a small bite. The women who waited on us was more than happy to talk with us at length, we were the only ones in the place. It turned out that the actual winery, where the magic happens, is located just outside of our marina. I did not recognize the white grape, but the Rose and Red were from the Plavac grapes grown on the Peninsula. She treated us to an older red that she had on hand and it was aging well. Next was a round of Grappa, thought they call it a name I did not catch. I had a grass-based version and Suzette’s was orange based. Both smelled fabulous, but Suzette’s also tasted great, very smooth. Nothing like spending the afternoon at the wine bar then getting on your bike to ride home in traffic. We survived!
Upon our return we checked in with the office to see if our
document had arrived and it had. Once again all was right with the world. A
quiet night contemplating the stars.
10/30/2024 Marina Frapa, Dubrovnik, Croatia
A lazy morning before a bike ride to pick up engine oil. Not
knowing what would be available in Montenegro, I knew we had resources in
Dubrovnik. I am not really sure where the day went, we continued to chip away
at today’s list, cleaned and polished the cockpit and prepare for an early
departure tomorrow.
I had hoped that the new filter for the water maker would
arrive today so I could install it and use it on our last long leg south.
Checking the tracking info, I was shocked to see that it was not scheduled to
arrive until November 5th! Plan B, check to see if the Marina will
receive it for me even though we will have left the marina, confirm that I can
rent a car in Montenegro and drive back to Dubrovnik to pick it up and try to
get it expedited to arrive sooner. The marina was happy to receive it and said
they would email us upon its arrival. The rental is available and we can drive
back to Dubrovnik, easier for us to cross the border than the boat. The
expediting was requested, but probably will not occur. Evidently there was
terrible weather in Spain that held up the package. There is a song by Eric
Stone, It’ll be Ready Tomorrow, that keeps playing in my head. Fingers crossed.
It was a noisy night, we had not had significant wind in
many days, but it blew hard overnight.
10/31/2024 Marina Frapa, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Up at O dark 30 to get underway. The wind was still strong
blowing 15 knots on our port beam. With no other boats on our port side we had
no buffer. Thankfully the bow thruster is strong, we slipped away safely. We
were just going across the channel to Customs to check out, but with the wind
blowing off their quay it was a bit tricky. Add to that that this dock is
really set up for ships, huge black rubber bumpers on the quay and a large
distance between bollards. We managed to land between the big black bumpers and
tie up.
The check out was easy, Port Authority, Customs and Border
Police. We were given very strict instructions, when you leave do not stop
anywhere in Croatia along the way and go outside all the Islands. Yes sir.
Documents and passports stamped we were on our way.
Of course, about the time we were ready to unfurl the sails the wind died and we motored SE to Montenegro. The sea was fairly calm, 1-2’, we are in the open sea, not behind islands. The sun was shining, and we were shedding layers in no time. At about noon we were crossing the border and radioed into VTS to state our intentions. They welcomed us in, we motored into the Bay of Kotor to the Customs dock in Zelenika. As we approached Zelinika we saw no sign for customs, but we did see a small building in a fenced off area with a Montenegro flag flying. We radioed VTS to confirm the location.
Like Dubrovnik the quay is geared toward ships, but we
managed to get ourselves safely docked between the big black bumpers. Unlike
Dubrovnik there was no help on the quay and the wind had picked up to blow us
onto the quay. A woman in the little blue building checked my passport and
directed me down the street to the Port Authority. 20 minutes and 30 euros
later I had my vignette for the boat and stamps. Back to Customs and Police
where they were a little slower, but 30 mins later and no fees…good to go. We
lowered the Q flag and hoped that we would not be outlaws in Montenegro. My
favorite sound these days is the Kerchunk of a stamp on my documents😉.
We motored deep into the back bay of Kotor. There is a large
bay then a narrow channel back to the smaller back bay. The mountains rise up
quickly all around you with little hamlets sprinkled along the shore. We made
our way all the way to Kotor before turning around. The sun was already blocked
by the mountains at 1430. Heading north we found what looked like a good spot
to anchor back in the sunshine. We had oyster beds on one side and private
homes on the shore behind us. We settled the boat and drug the sailing cushions
to the fore deck to enjoy the sun before losing it over the mountain.
The wind was predicted to be from the north at 15, we thought that we had a protected spot. It turned out that the wind must be accelerating down the mountain giving us more than 15. As the boat sailed on its anchor, we could hear the chain dragging across the rocks below. This had us up and on anchor watch from about 2330 to 0230. Convinced that we were not moving I managed to sleep for a while, the admiral Did not.
11/1/2024 Bay of Kotor, Montenegro
Up early, the wind had quieted, but I was still hearing my
anchor on the rocks. Fortunately pulling the anchor was easy, with no issues of
being stuck on the rocks. We did pull up a wad of line attached to something,
but we managed to cut it loose. We continued our tour of the bay checking out
the two island-bound churches. In the larger bay we were taking in the immense
Black Pearl sailing vessel. We later found out that the boat belonged to a now
deceased Russian oligarch and is the subject of a court battle between the ex-wife
and the Oligarchs daughter. Evidently, he left everything to the daughter and
the ex-wife wants some of it.
We arrived at our new Marina, Marina Lazure, around 1130 and checked in. An easy med moor between two huge power boats. It looks like a first-class marina for the winter, secure docks, good sailors and good protection, I think we will be happy here. After lunch we checked in at the office. This turned out to be a lengthy process, partly due to lots of paperwork and partly due to our extensive list of questions.
As the name of the marina intimates, Lazure, this a luxury
resort. First stop was the spa to book massages, I miss my standing message
appointment when we are traveling. Next stop, of course, the grocery store. We
did not need much, especially since we are trying to finish off all the food
before we left, but we always need fresh fruits and vegetables.
At the boat we started to meet the neighbors, Ray and Helen
from Australia, here for the winter having arrived from Greece. It turns out
that Patrick and Christine, the couple we met in Viete, are on our pontoon for
the winter. We started to get the lay of the land.
We walked the beautiful promenade as the sun was setting,
happy to have reached our final destination and to be enjoying great weather.
Meals are becoming increasingly creative, but great. A very quiet night to
catch up on the lack of sleep for the last two nights.
11/2/24 Marina Luxure, Montenegro
After an extraordinary sleep it was time to get to work. I
cleaned the dinghy and stripped the lines from the boat. Suzette cleaned the
stainless steel and vacuumed the bilges. Satisfied with the mornings work, we
enjoyed lunch out in the cockpit on this beautiful sunny day. In the afternoon
we went for a long bike ride. First, we headed east toward Porto Novi, but we
quickly ran out of bike path, so we turned around. They are not very bike
friendly here or in Croatia. We headed west toward Herceg Novi, the old town.
The ride was much more pleasant on the seaside promenade. It was Saturday, with lots of locals and probably some tourists out for a stroll. The day was warm and sunny, enticing a few beach goers as well. You know you are in the Old Town when you find Fort Mare Fortress looming high above the waterfront. We locked up the bikes and continued on foot. We heard shouting, either a sports event or a political rally. It turned out to be the National Water Polo Team practicing in the covered pool. I did not find a way to see them play, in the summer the pool is not covered.
We waded into the water at one of the concrete beaches and
sat for a bit sooth our feet. Water temp is still 22 C. We walked the waterfront,
such a pleasure to see families out enjoying the beautiful day. Going home we
took the high road and enjoyed scenic glimpses out to sea. There are some
beautiful homes and estates here.
Returning to the boat we decided that it was time to clean and put away the bicycles. On the dock we ran into Patrick and Christine, friends from Viete. Lots of talk, but the sun was setting so I needed to finish up more chores. We finished cleaning the bikes and rolled up the inflatable dinghy.
Grilled veggies over pasta never get old. Suzette concocted
a great olive oil sauce. A bottle of our favorite Italian wine rounded out a
great meal.
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