The Hann Croatian Cruise

Eveleen, sailing the coast

 Having spent one evening 2+ years ago aboard H2OBO while she was comfortably tied up in the Toronto harbour, we felt ready to fly to Croatia for eight days with Maggie and Branko as they toured the coastal islands.  While Maggie’s mention prior to arrival of “sitting on anchor” did raise questions in our minds like… “Does this mean we are not tied to a dock?” and “hmmm… so how do we board the boat exactly if she is anchored off-shore?” we boldly decided to “just do it” knowing that answers would reveal themselves as the adventure unfolded.

Linda, Eveleen and the inflatables

Branko and Branko at breakfast

Linda and Eveleen,  first taste of chibabchaha

Maggie guided us into Croatia with reaffirming emails… meet you at the bus station… no, the airport… no, the bus… no, there is no bus… but there is a station, however the buses only go one way which is the opposite direction to what you need.  Staying true to our “just do it” resolution, we flew to Dubrovnik and were ecstatic, relieved (more than a little), and comforted to be met with a giant bear-hug from Branko right at airport arrivals.  The kindness of Branko’s friend Pero (spelling?), who brought Branko out to meet us and shuttled us all to the dock, gave us an early taste of Croatian hospitality.

What followed for us over the course of the next eight days were a series of delightful discoveries and the revelation of a number of closely held sailing secrets:

Sailing Secret #1:  A dinghy is used to move people between land and boat, and vice versa.  Seriously… there is no fold-out bridge like those multi-million dollar yachts come equipped with.  And climbing from said dinghy to a very high step on the boat is required, so ladies... leave your fitted skirts and heels at home for this one and break-out the lycra capris.

We had a wonderful first day with Branko and Maggie in the charming village of Cavtat and over the course of a fine Mediterranean dinner and tasty local beer, they made mention of a “bora” wind that is experienced on the Croatian coast.  Later that night, awaking to a howling wind, the rocking of the boat, and the sound of voices, chains and the ship’s motor as the anchor was hastily pulled in and the boat safely repositioned to withstand the wind, we learned:

Sailing Secret #2:  Bora winds KNOW when sailors have land-lubber guests on board, and they blow-up out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and the next night, AND THE NIGHT AFTER THAT… and so on, and so on.

In the midst of fine friends, food and drink, the wind, even a Bora, simply becomes part of the experience and adventure of being on the high-seas (ok yes, we were in a small, sheltered bay but it’s all relative to our highly limited sailing experience).  We embraced the adventure and on our second night, came up-top during Maggie and Branko’s “night-watches” as the Bora blew and an electrical storm set alight the dry vegetation along the coastal hillside.  For several days on end, fire-fighting planes doused the flames during the day, while Bora’s fanned them at night.  We quickly came to appreciate having a sizeable expanse of water between us and the smouldering hills.

We had the pleasure of a beautiful sail up the coast to meet with Branko’s cousin’s family and again experienced a wonderful welcome, kind hospitality and a fun day on the beach wrestling inflatable water creatures and counting down to diving in as many languages as were collectively known.  After having spent the week prior to arrival in Croatia on a primarily meat-free diet, we learned:

Delightful Discovery #1:  Cured and tastefully seasoned meats are a mainstay of the Croatian diet, and Branko’s cousin is expert in making the most amazing delicacies of smoked and spiced pork loin, sausage and a truly remarkable “Speck”.  “Mmm-mm good!”
Delightful Discovery #2:  When you can’t speak Croatian and are trying to ask for wine mixed with soda water, it may result in your wine being topped up with MORE WINE.  Again... “mmm...mmm good” and simply requires added caution when later descending the steep hillsides.

The entire Croatian coastline is a beautiful blend of exposed rock, earth and greenery dotted with orange clay tile rooftops.  The walled city of Dubrovnik is a beautiful and remarkable site from the sea (yes, us ladies were all intensely talking with our backs to the coast as we sailed past “the jewel”and almost missed it, but good conversation between long-time friends was also one of the much enjoyed aspects of this visit).  We also had the good fortune of arriving while Maggie still had significant provisions on hand from Sicily - olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh pasta, aromatic garlic and local Croatian delicacies like fresh figs – which further broadened the remarkable culinary aspect of this adventure.

We’d be remiss in not mentioning a further revelation from our visit. Living on a boat requires significant conservation awareness.  Fresh water and space are limited, so one must thoughtfully consider how much of both are needed and used.  Practicing strict conservationism can give rise to a broader reflection on what one truly needs in life:  fresh water, nutritious food, clean air, a comfortable bed, and good friends.  So while faced with some of the “limits” that life on a boat presents, we also discovered that we in fact had it all... right there on H2OBO with Maggie and Branko!

Thanks for letting us share in the adventure!

Linda & Eveleen

Sailing Secret #3:  Ok I know we said all one needs is water, food, air, sleep and good friends but I'm just going to expand that needs list a wee bit... on a sailboat one also needs sunblock, a hat, sunglasses, large bottles of good, cheap beer, a ladder to climb up the side of the boat after a swim because there is no way I’m going to pull myself up into that dinghy, a step-stool to reach the coffee grinder if you’re under 5’-5”, oh and balance, one also needs good balance, if not balance then a crash helmet perhaps, and fast-drying shoes, and...

Relaxation, Boras, Forest Fires and Family

The first week after arriving in Croatia, Maggie and I spent doing absolutely nothing.  We lounged around the boat under the tarp sheltering from the sweltering sun.  The wind was mild and variable and we swung lazily around the anchorage  taking in the view.  Occasionally we went in to Cavtat to buy some food and go for a walk  We also scrubbed the hull while snorkeling, which added almost a knot to our speed.  Cavtat is a beautiful little resort town that is quite busy because it is also an entry port.  Croatian authorities are adamant that boats entering their waters check in at the nearest port and many cruisers come up from the south, so Cavtat is it.  The number of giant yachts cruising these waters is stunning.

Tiha harbour, Cavtat

Street in Cavtat

Crisp apple strudel

We were hanging around waiting for our friends Linda and Eveleen to join us for a few days of cruising.  Neither of them have ever done that before, so they were looking forward to the experience.  The first night they spent with us happened to be the first night of three that we would have Boras.  These are katabatic winds that blow down from the mountains, at times with a determined ferocity.  Farther north, Boras are known to reach hurricane force; however, we would only see winds in the 25 to 35 knot range.  The wind piped up in the evening and after watching the boat track a regular arc on our chartplotter, I felt confident that our anchor was holding, and I went to sleep.  Our cruising guide reports the holding in this anchorage (U Tiha) to be "unreliable", and so it proved to be.

At around 3 am I awoke.  I have become attuned to sounds, specifically when sounds change, and I think what woke me up was the sound of waves breaking on the shore.  We had dragged and were now much too close to land to be comfortable, so I woke up Maggie and we reanchored and everything went smoothly.  Apart from the unreliable holding, the lesson to be learned from that experience is to occasionally reset your anchor because after a week of swinging the chain could foul the anchor and pop it out or weaken its set.

The next day we moved to another anchorage in front of Srebreno/Mlini, two little towns beside each other only a couple of miles from Cavtat that offered better shelter from Boras and pleasant scenery.  Incidently, the Boras seem to come up at night and during the day they recede; strong Boras can blow continually, though, for a few days.  The next night the Bora blew again but we held fast without incident.  However, a nearby mountain was struck by lightning that started a fire.  Over the next two days, water bombers worked to put out the fire.  They put on quite a show a they buzzed us to scoop up seawater nearby.  For them it's a race against sunset because they don't operate at night during which time the Bora winds fan the flames anew, which is what happened on the third night of the Boras.

After the second night we reanchored because we swung too close to some mooring buoys.  I swam over to check the set but couldn't see the anchor in the thick weeds.  We did set the anchor by reversing on it with 1/2 maximum revs of the engine, so I wasn't too worried about the Bora expected that night.  But I had another lesson to learn.  That third night, I awoke again in the middle of the night just before the anchor alarm went off and realised that we had dragged.  Now because we have such a heavy anchor and all-chain rode, even in 30 knots of wind we don't drag that quickly, so we have time to react.  We reanchored and held fast. The new lesson learned was to always set your anchor against the direction of the strongest expected winds, or check the set by backing down on it before going to sleep.  This way, you don't have to rely on the anchor resetting itself - in our case in thick weeds -  when the wind shifts.  I suppose experienced cruisers know all this stuff, but I learn that fire is hot by sticking my hand in it.

On  day four, we headed up to Trstenik, another small resort town 40 miles up the coast.  On the way we stopped at the Orsan Yacht Club's fuel dock.  This is the only one around for miles, so it gets really busy and you have to be prepared to wait and to muscle your way in if someone tries to get in ahead of their turn.  We were early and didn't have to wait too long.  We managed to sail for a couple of hours under head sail alone in following winds and made 5 knots - thanks to the hull scraping.  We reached Trstenik in good time and dropped anchor in it's tiny harbour while my cousin and his wife and two children waved to us from shore.

Once the anchor was set, I swam to shore to be greeted warmly by my kin.  This was the first time in four years that I had seen them and only the fourth time in my life, but it felt good.  My girls had stayed on the boat because the day was long and we were too lazy to mount the outboard engine onto the dinghy.  I had a couple of beers with Branko (there are a lot of us in Croatia), his wife Sonia, Dora and Domago, and we made plans to all meet for breakfast at their rental apartment.

The next morning we were served home-made smoked sausages and bacon, home-grown eggs and vegetables and delicious white wine made from grapes grown on my cousin's vineyard.  We didn't need to eat again during the whole day that we spent on the beach.  We spent a pleasant day getting better acquainted and Maggie got along particularly well with little Dora.  They were teaching each other their own language and Dora wanted Maggie to go swimming at least once every hour.  In the evening we had a barbecue (civapcici again) together and drank a lot of my cousin's excellent wine.

I have to give Maggie, Linda and Evelene a lot of credit for being so patient with my insufficient translations over the course of that day.  I hope they had as much fun as I did nevertheless.

Today we will head back down the coast towards Cavtat taking a couple of days to get there.  On Friday, Linda and Evelene leave and move on to visit Rome and we will miss them.  Maggie and I made plans for a long visit with the family this winter in their hometown of Palesnik, which is also where my mother grew up.

All in all, it was a wonderful time, a fantastic milestone passed, and Croatia is easily surpassing our low expectations.

Branko

Stigli Smo!

We are officially checked into Croatia and anchored near the town of Cavtat.  The Grail Quest is over.  Now, here is the full story.

Cavtat, Croatia

We left Brindisi 5 days ago but it already seems like months.  We spent 4 days at the Lega Navale Marina waiting for agreeable weather.  I have almost given up trying to sail anywhere, so I was only hoping not to have to motor into headwinds for the 115 miles to Croatia.  In fact, we got just that despite a forecast that should have had us sailing.  I shouldn't complain since we never got hit by a tornado or anything close to it.  I can report, though, that all is well (for now) with the engine on the boat.

Once over, we arrived in Cavtat at 0630 to check in.  We were prepared.  We had read on Noonsite and in various cruising guides that a whole raft of documents are required: passports, boat registration, competency card, radio licences, insurance, pet passports, etc., and had read that the officials that we would have to deal with were rude and bureaucratic.  We also read that only one boat was allowed on the Customs dock at a time, which we hoped meant that we could dock along the wall.

The reality was that it is essentially a free-for-all at the Customs dock and you have to Med moor, i.e. drop and  anchor and either drive in or back in to the wall and tie off to the bollards.  Most boats here in the Med have gangways to make it easy to step off your boat onto the dock.  We don't. We have to drive in and climb over our pulpit, stepping on our anchor, in order to disembark because we can't climb through our stern owing to all the gear that we have back there.  We do have a stern anchor, a Fortress FX-37 on 40 feet of chain and 1/2 rope.  It was our first time we tried it and it worked out well, but I am glad that we didn't have to back in because that might not have worked out so well.

Once we had successfully moored, I steeled myself for my run-in with the surly officials.  One first has to meet with the Border Police.  They asked me for our passports and boat registration - that's all.  Then they sent me off to the Harbour Master's office, who also wanted to see the registration and insurance - that's all.  There I paid the cruising fees (2300 kunas for one year), received a sticker and crew list and it was back to the Border Police to get my passports back and some other official paperwork.  Before that last step happened, I told them that I had a shotgun on board and the smiles turned to frowns.  What I had read stated that unrestricted firearms would be dealt with by sealing the gun locker for the duration of the stay in the country.  Every country I have been in I have declared our weapon and in all cases my gun registration was checked and I was told not to take it out of the locker.  That is except in Bermuda, where they held the gun, the shells and our flare gun for the duration of our visit there.  The reality is that one cannot enter Croatia with firearms and we were refused entry, albeit very politely and regrets for by now I was chums with the Border Police.  They told me it would be necessary to check into another country to prove that we had left Croatian territorial waters before we could return.  Montenegro is only 20 miles away, so off we went with a promise that I made to dispatch the gun into the sea before I returned.

Montenegro cost 60 euros for a week's cruising permit, so we decided to hang around and take in a bit of the spectacular scenery.  Incidently, customs wanted to see our passports, boat registration, insurance and competency certificate.  Fortunately, Maggie had kept my Humber College Skipper Certificate and that was accepted despite the customs official barely looking at it.  I was told that one could obtain a Competency Certificate in Canada but I don't know where and doubt it is a requirement.  I did point out that I had managed to sail the boat from Canada to Montenegro which might indicate some level of competence, but that didn't seem to impress her.

We spent 3 nights in the fjord, the second a sleepless one facing gusty katabatic winds racing down from the surrounding mile-high mountains.  The Rocna performed beautifully.   The 777 Cruising Guide that we are using does not adequately deal with anchorages in the fjord.  We just picked  cozy spots and dropped the hook in about 40 feet of water.  The holding was good in mud.  Everywhere along the shore during the day, people are out sunning themselves on docks and walls, swimming, or lounging under shade trees at the water's edge.  It is a beautiful vacation area, and I highly recommend a visit.

This morning we returned to Croatia and it was another free-for-all at the customs dock.  We were twice turned away from the dock after dropping the stern anchor because we were on the other side of the "fence".   Each unmooring means I have to pull up the anchor and chain by hand while Maggie fends us off from the neighbouring boat.  The third time was a charm, assurances about the shot gun were given, paper work signed and stamped, anchor weighed, a short trip to the anchorage and here we lie.

I have taken to calling our journey to Croatia this summer our Grail Quest because there have been so many times that it seemed we would never get here.  Starting with being windbound in Spain and engine troubles along the way, hiding from the Schengen police and then being refused entry at the very last leg of the journey, it has taken us two months longer to get here than we planned and a lot more money than we cared to spend.  But we finally made it.

I hope it will be worth it.

Branko

It's lookn' pretty good!

Mmmm Croatian meat and beer - for you Elsie