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Quick links: 01
- Split |
06 - Split/Sail
| 10 - Sail... Mljet
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14 - Dubrovnik cont'd |
18 - France |
21 - Cycling |
25 - Cycling cont'd |
29 - Villa cont'd |
32 - The Rest
Day 06 - Saturday
We woke up late since the early birds (Linda and Wayne) didn't wake up.
Then we (except Lisa) were off to the big hill (Marjan Peninsula) north
of the Palace. It was a fairly long and steep climb, but well
worth it. We got so see a panorama of the waterfront and even
other parts of Split. After a cold beer, we were down the hill for
ice cream and the walk home.
After
 packing, we were picked up by Drago who drove us past Trogir to
Marina Agana to meet up with Simon our skipper of the Lazy Penelop.
We were a bit early, and the boat wasn't ready, therefore we had an hour to kill, so we went for snacks.
I had mixed salad of cukes, tomatoes, cabbage, radič, and of course
calamari. Upon returning to the yacht, Simon welcomed us
aboard, showed us to our cabins and we were off for dinner. I had
mixed salad of cukes, tomatoes, cabbage, radič, and of course calamari (non breaded for a change). Of course pivo's are required with all
meals.
Then back on the yacht for safety instructions, mingling and bedtime.
It was hot and stuffy down below. I got up at 3am to get off the
 boat to go for a pee at the marina heads, after which I returned and
slept in the cockpit for an hour. During this nap, I witnessed
thunder and lighting about 30 km's away and never got closer than 20.
After going back to bed, I noticed it raining around 5am. The first rain they had here in three months.
Day 07 - Sunday - Day 1 of sailing
After a great breakfast by Simon on board, and more safety instructions,
specificaly
life jacket and harness use, short wave and flare, life raft etc, we were off for Sveti Klement in the
Pakleni islands located across from Hvar town which is on the island of Hvar.
I had signed on for sailing
 training, so I was raising the main sail, moving
the fenders, tying various knots (such as the bowline knot, which I tied
with my eyes closed under Simon's orders and watchful eye) (yes a test). Wayne
steered for a bit. Then it was time to raise the Genoa.
During our trip, we could see the fortification and church of Trogir,
the mountains in the background and fog and clouds and rain in our path.
We dropped anchor (Lisa worked the anchor) in a small bay with
surrounding town for lunch. Simon did up a great Croatian lunch.
Various artery busting meats, small kipper-like fish, green and tomato
salads, fresh bread, cheese, et al. Very very nice! Felt
like I was home in mom's kitchen.
Did it rain - yup - and at times in buckets. Wayne and Linda at
times looked green, they've had better days. LOL. Unlike the
last time I got caught in  rain when I was rushed to sea in preparation
for my surprise 50th (a few weeks ago), I was prepared. Waterproof
coat. Didn't get wet, didn't get cold. The whole time,
Nevenko did his usual, stayed down below. I relieved Simon at the helm.
We never had reason to tack, we did travel and speeds between 2 and 8
knots. When we docked, it was time to raise the anchor line, lower
the sails, tidy up the sheets and various lines, and honker down for the
night. Lisa worked the lines to the wharf. Off for a warm
shower.
Dinner tonight really good. I had mixed salad of cukes, tomatoes,
cabbage, radič, and of course calamari. The wine, locally produced
on this tiny island was spectacular, and this was their first year in
production. We bought an extra bottle to take on board. Thus
ends our first day of sailing. I'm really looking forward to
larger winds, faster sailing and an evening sail if we get lucky on a
calm and starry night. |
Day 08 - Monday - Day 2 of sailing - Destination Hvar
After another great breakfast ala Simone, we were off for Hvar. We
anchored offshore and tendered in for the afternoon. It
was
a great little town. The likes of Tom Cruise and Kevin Spacey have
been known to hang out here and enjoy the lively nightlife. We
climbed the hill to the fortress above. Seems every town has a
fortress atop a hill. The view was
 spectacular.
When we returned to the bottom, after seeing several bike tours entering
town , we stopped for pizza and a pivo, did some walking and browsing,
and were ready to be picked up by Simon.
We then set sail for a point along the route to Korčula
so that we could get there earlier tomorrow. A small cove
sheltered from the sea. A place to honker down for the day.
Since we were not in a marina, first task was for someone to grab the
line and swim for shore where it would be wrapped around and tied to a
tree using the bowline knot. Well, Wayne's the better swimmer, but
he was knot paying attention when we were learning the bowline. So
he was to drag the line while I tagged slightly behind for the knot
tying. The bowline, the most useful sailing knot, works like this.
Grab the end of the line in your right hand, and a point 2 or 3
feet down the line in the other. |With your right hand, reach over
to the other hand and give the line a clockwise twist so that there is
now a loop in it. Call this a hole. Now  take
the end, call it a rabbit, pull it up the loop from the bottom.
The rabbit comes out of the hole. Then take the rabbit and go
around the other end of the line (call it a tree), and then back down in
the hole. Pull on the rabbit and the tree, presto. As you
remember, I tied it with my eyes closed. And now I was required in
this operation for my brains, unlike Wayne for his swimming. So
into the water I jumped, down I went under the surface, didn't expect
that, yet not sure why, and off I went. Wayne followed and passed
me. On shore, I tied the line around the tree using the bowline
knot. We now had one point secure. Our main anchor would not
catch, the sea bed was very weedy, grassy and not wanting the catch the
anchor. Simon used the alternate anchor and presto we were secure.
I suggested that Simon go inspect my knot. He did.
Then we all got back in the water for a nice swim. The water was
great. The weather today was fine. There was some cloud,
some sun (especially in Hvar where they brag it gets more sun than
anywhere else), and no rain as we had expected. But not much wind
for sailing.
At dinner in a family owned "diner" (there were only two eating
establishments in this cove), where we all had pork chops and
salad and beer, we also (some of us) downed some nasty moonshine called
travovitsa, not ŝlivovitce. And then
back in the tender and off to sleep.
As we dozed off after midnight, the sea got rougher. And rougher.
And then the wind started to blow. And howl. And then rain,
very hard. I heard Simon go above to check on things. Seems
one of the other boats in the cove got loose and collided with another. Did not properly set his anchor, and did not double up by tying up to
shore. We were fine. We were tied to the shore. Oh,
did I mention our knot held perfectly? And did I mention Simon on
my request went over to it after we were secure earlier in the evening
(on my request) to check my work? And did I mentioned he retied my
knot? Yep. Don't know why, mine could have held? LOL.
Anyway, except for the noise, the rocking of the boat and ocean was
still plenty easy to sleep through, not bad at all. All night you
can hear a noise sounds like tiny firecrackers going off. We are
told that is the sound of small critters, mussels, etc feeding on the
stuff on the bottom of the boat and on the rocks along shore.
Cool. |
Day 09 - Tuesday - Day 3 of sailing - Destination Korčula
We woke up to sunny skies, a bit
cool, but nice. We untied the
line, pulled both anchors and were off. When the sun came out, it
was hot, when it went behind a cloud, it cooled off. To our port
side, was the mainland and the mountains. I don't think I would
have appreciated hw tall they were without the clouds. Large dark
and high puffy clouds, hiding some of the peaks. Giving hint to
the sheer height of those mountains.
We tried to sail, we did for a while, we even jibed a few times (since
the wind was on our backside). But there just was not enough wind.
So back on came the engines and we pushed on toward our destination.
You
should
check a map, the town of Korčula on the
island named as such, is so close (maybe a kilometre) to the mainland
which extends out as a peninsula for miles and miles.
Anyway, the sail in was spectacular, the view from the sea is not to be
missed. We sailed across the front of the town and around back to
the marina. Very cool. We docked, showered and were of to
explore the town.
Similar to Trogir and many of the small towns we saw in the Dordogne
region of France. Each town with its fortification, usually near a
hill, and the town square around the Catholic church. Here to we
saw many cyclists with their tour groups.
Tonight we went for pizza. The gang thought it funny when I
ordered mine. I asked if I could order a custom pizza and so
ordered "the vegetarian pizza with meat and hot spices". What's
wrong with that? Finished the evening off with a tri (pronounced
"tree" with the rolling of the 'r') scoops of limon (lee'-mun) sladolat
(slaw'-doh-late). A cup of tea aboard and off to bed.
Go to Day 10
|
Quick links: 01
- Split |
06 - Split/Sail
| 10 - Sail... Mljet
|
14 - Dubrovnik cont'd |
18 - France |
21 - Cycling |
25 - Cycling cont'd |
29 - Villa cont'd |
32 - The Rest
|
