Hvar to Trogir

Last Branko left off, we were storming some fort in Hvar town,  this is after having walked from our anchorage on the north side of the island, through hot sun, paved roads, traffic and not a cafe in sight...no wonder we decided to forgo the 'event.'    And, as we walked into town,  we noticed a nice trail that wound its way to the 'fort' from the town side, with flowers, benches and drink sellers - now if we would have gone that way for sure the fort would be ours now.  

Hailstorm

Alas no pictures of scenic Hvar town, nor said fort. Hvar is a pretty town,  with beautiful views to the little islands we had just come from (see previous post.)  

We shopped for food and took the campground bus back to our boat.   The bonus of where we stayed is that the campground across the bay had showers (for free and hot and clean), washing machines (Yea!), little cafe, beach and boat launch area, oh and a bus that (for a fee) went back and forth to Hvar.

The following day we ended up having to stay put on the boat,  due to weather - hail in particular,  and lots of it.   But being Branko,  he made snowcones out of hail 8-)

Hailcone or hailball anyone?

Refreshing!

We left Hvar the next day,  and sailed 10 or so nautical miles across to the island of Brac.  The sail was brisk and lovely - we had only the head sail out and were moving at 6 knots, but it was cold.








  Because of the wind direction, we decided to stay overnight in a little bay off the town of Bobovisce.   We took the dinghy into town and had a walkabout - we needed bread so the owner of the market came over and opened her store so we could make some purchases.   We are still in the 'off season' so things are not too busy and stores are not always open on the little islands.

Look Sun, and me!  Bobovisce, Brac

Bobovisce harbour

The day before yesterday we set sail for Trogir on the mainland.   Again the sail was excellent,  full main and genoa we averaged 7 knots, and before we knew it we were anchored just outside the town.    Trogir stands on the Greek foundations of Tragurion, but civilization has inhabited this area since the stone age.   The Venetians took over Trogir in 1420 and the city stayed under their rule until 1797.   Trogir is a UNESCO site, so ya all know the 'old city' has been refurbished and looks wonderful - it has a different feel from the other coastal towns we have visited, feels more,  well, Venetian perhaps?

Trogir harbour

Clock tower,  Trogir

Trogir

Martello tower, Trogir

UNESCO entrance, Trogir

Little pup with bone - Trogir

Branko is working on the boat today,  figuring out the watermaker problem.  Its been raining,  again,  so its a good day for boat chores - plus we want to visit Split (just a bus ride away from Trojir) for pleasure and possibly for boat repair parts on the next sunny day, or at least semi-cloudy/rainy day.

Mag

How to Defend a Fortress

After another semi-restful night here in Luka Vira on the island of Hvar, our resolve to storm the Napoleonic fortress in Hvar was firm.  The anchorage here isn't great because it is deep and not a lot of swinging room, so we tied our stern to shore and put our anchor out ahead of us - with some difficulty.  We had set up for southeast winds during the day but were expecting north winds - on the nose and pushing onto shore - overnight.

Stern tied to shore, Hvar

Anchored stern to shore, Hvar

The boat lies only about 50 or 60 feet from a rocky shore, so if the anchor let loose there wouldn't be much time to react.  It was another night of anchor watch.  It all turned out to be fine at around 1 a.m., and we got some sleep.

Morning came and our objective was the fortress. Armed with comfy shoes, hats, suntan lotion, some money, sunglasses, our Android tablet and other sundry gear, we marched the 5 km. across the island to the fortress that overlooks the town of Hvar.  The walls encircling the town and which are part of the fortress have stood in one form or another for over 7 centuries, but as it turned out they were completely unnecessary.

When Maggie and I arrived at the foot of the walls, we realized we had forgotten our camera: now there would be no photographic evidence of a successful siege.  When we approached the gates and read that there is a $5 fee to enter, well, we refused to enter.  What was the point if we didn't have a camera to take scenic pictures?  There was also a pictogram forbidding anyone from climbing on the wall.  So we trudged off toward town, defeated.  Nobody had cameras back in the day when wars were fought over this patch of island, so all they had to do was charge a fee to enter, and the problem of sieges is solved.

Fortunately, the town is gorgeous which took the sting out of defeat.  Sorry, no pictures.

Branko

A Rough Night

For those of you who think our water hobo life is all sunshine and fun adventures, let me set you straight.  There is a price to pay: things break, plans go awry, and nature doesn't always co-operate.  Take last night for example.

It was our second night there, the first had been without incident.  But yesterday afternoon, a current appeared in the channel where we were anchored, probably due to the east winds blowing water towards Hvar Island through the channel.  The north winds were blowing against the current, so at anchor the forces on the boat are working against each other.  The wind blows the boat against the current, and the current pushes the boat upwind.  The hydraulic force of water will act differently on each different hull design, which means that each boat in the anchorage will lie somewhat differently in the same conditions; whereas normally, without current, they would all lie downwind at the end of the anchor chain all facing upwind.  H2OBO chose to lie beam to the wind and the other beam to the current and sail in circles around the anchor.  As a result, we re-anchored half a dozen times yesterday to get our spacing right and to get good holding on the gravel bottom (sand of course being the best).

Satisfied with our efforts, we watched a movie and went to sleep.  Around midnight, with my hobo senses tingling, I awoke to find that we had dragged our anchor when the wind swung around and intensified.  The overcast sky blocked the moonlight, so the anchorage was very dark as we weighed anchor and dropped it again.  Fortunately, there were fewer boats there after an exodus cleared the anchorage - likely due to the forecast for poor weather; otherwise, maneuvering in the dark would have been tricky.  Luckily, the anchor bit into a patch of gravel and weeds and held tight for the rest of the night, but, of course, you only know that after you have been up all night watching your position relative to shore and other boats drag and re-anchor.

With daylight, we picked up our anchor and moved to another spot that offers a sandy bottom and shelter from the winds that is just around the point from where we were.  We ask ourselves why we didn't think of that yesterday and save ourselves that rough night, but we don't come up with a good answer.

Branko

Sail to Hvar

Sailing by Kortula

We left our anchorage near Korcula with the intent to move to an anchorage in Loviste, which is at the end of the Peljesac Peninsula that we heard was a good spot.  But when we got out into the Korcula Channel, the wind was so nice that we decided to keep going onto Hvar, the next scenic city that is also on an island, the island of Hvar, and boasts its own hill top fort.  It's a 35 mile jump

The gennaker at work

We were sailing on our headsail alone through the narrow part of the channel between Korcula Island and Peljesac, but the wind slackened a bit, so we broke out the gennaker.  The last time that sail saw action was when we crossed the ocean, and it needed a good airing out.  The sailing was beautiful as we passed the mountainous coastline and small islands in the channel.

With only nine miles to our destination and the afternoon waning, the wind died and we motored to our anchorage, which is nestled among some islands that lie off the town of Hvar. Here we will lie until some foul weather passes and we can dinghy over to the old city and storm the fort.  Aarrgghh!

Branko

From Sea to Sky

It was a big day for Maggie and me today.  We energetically set off to catch the ferry from Korcula to Orebic, a resort town across the Korcula Channel, to climb a mountain(?).

That is where we got to....

after starting from there.

The whole trip took us 5 hours and we climbed up about 700 meters.  Some of it was fairly arduous, but none of it was on all fours.  The good news for me was no heart attack, but I felt close a couple of times, so it looks like I might be around for a few more years.

Mountain flowers in bloom

The mountain flowers are in bloom among the cedar trees and the breeze from the sea combines to make an indescribably fragrant scent.  The view was magnificent, and we got some much needed exercise. Afterwards when we got back to the boat, we had a refreshing saltwater bath in the sea from the dinghy.  I must say that I am most likely giving all Canadians a reputation for being avid nudists here in the Med.

We don't look exhausted.

Korcula Island across the channel.

Somebody put a church on that island...but they forgot to tell the Pope that nobody lives there.

Look at me...I am going bald!

 It was a great day, and we have a good forecast to change our neighborhood tomorrow.

Branko

Onward to Korcula

A couple of days ago, Maggie and I went for our first swim of the season.  The water was 61 degrees Fahrenheit, but it did not seem that bad.  This was while we were still in Polace, Mljet.  We had spent a week there while repairing the dinghy, but we finally got off the boat and went for a  nice hike to see a bit more of the beautiful national park that we were anchored in.  A refreshing swim was just the thing to do afterwards.

Miljet National Park - west side

Polace - Miljet NP

The next day we said goodbye to the park and sailed - yup, sailed - to Uvala Luka, a small cove just around the point from the old town of Korcula.  That was yesterday.  Late in the afternoon, we made the short walk over to the old town and had a look.  It is beautiful; today we are going back for a longer excursion.

Kortula - half a turret, now restaurant

Kortula - view into a home

Kortula harbour

Kortula - outside the city gates

I also have to now figure out why our watermaker has decided to stop working after taking the whole winter off.  I guess that's life on the waves - it has its ups and downs.

Branko

How I Just Relieved Your Boredom

While we have been lying at anchor here in Mljet, waiting for fair winds to carry us onward, I decided to relieve those of our dear readers who, when they read this blog, are only interested in the beautiful things that we see, the interesting people that we meet, the terrifying storms and near ship-wrecks that might on occasion happen to us, the culture curiosities that we encounter and, in short, everything but the technical crap that is a part of our every day life on board.

For those of you who are interested in the technical crap, please follow this link to our new blog, humbly entitled How To H2OBO.

Branko

40 Miles from Dubrovnik

We are now tucked away at anchor in the Polace Bay on Mljet island.  This is a national park at the end of a twenty mile long island.  It looks beautiful from the boat, but we might have to wait a day before we get to shore because of some expected moderate winds tomorrow.

Yesterday we were in Sipanski Luka, one of our favorite anchorages and towns and we did some chores that entailed me going up the mast and Maggie doing the hard work in getting me
 
 

there.  I had to check the condition of the rigging and re-rig a couple of halyards.  Everything was fine, and I got some great photos whilst up there 60 feet above the water.

Branko

Starting our Dalmatian Cruise 2013

The Welcoming Committee

Maggie waiting for the bus in Zagreb

We just spent our first night at anchor, and it was glorious.  We are in front of the ACI marina, on the Ombla river, where we kept the boat over the winter.

View at anchor

Our Home Afloat

When we arrived in Zagreb, we were greeted by my family who spent a few hours with us before we boarded the bus (no panic this time) back to Dubrovnik.  The next week was spent getting the boat ship shape for the commencement of this year's cruising season along the Dalmatian coast.

Night scene at anchor

The plan this year is to head northward along the coast, making short day trips and anchoring among the 1200 islands.  We plan to do a lot of sight-seeing and hiking, and we will enjoy the leisurely pace that we will set.  This will be the first year when we are not undertaking an epic journey, like traveling down the eastern North American coast, crossing the Atlantic, or crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

By late summer, we hope to be anchored in Venice and spend a few weeks there before we head back south to our wintering grounds - perhaps in Sicily.  Depending on the what happens with Croatia's entry into the European Union in July, we might sail through  Croatia again.  Otherwise, we would travel along the Italian Adriatic coast..

But I am getting ahead of myself for we can never tell what the future brings.  We aren't even sure when we will weigh anchor and move on.

Branko

My First Visit Back to Toronto

 After my harrowing bus ride to Zagreb, once I got to the airport there everything was smooth flying back to Toronto. While it took two years for us to get to Croatia, it only took half a day for me to return to our origin. What an age we live in.

I was greeted at the airport with big smiles from Terri, Drew and Maggie. I stayed with Terri and Drew for the next month, and they graciously set us up with our own bedroom and computer. My other friend, Guy, lent me his spare car for the duration of my visit, so I was mobile and able to get stuff done. Toronto is a large city, and you need a car to get around. I stayed at Guy's house for the last week.

Being so well equipped, I was able to undertake more errands than I had planned. Visiting friends, sourcing boat parts, renewing documents, doctor's appointments, banking and a little work on Drew and Terri's boat left little time for just relaxing, but I managed to fit that in, too.

I was often asked how it felt to be back, and it is difficult to describe. I couldn't say that it was good to be back home because my home is the boat, wherever it is, and I couldn't say that I miss the city or the stuff in it. But I can say that I miss my friends. I am not very good at keeping in touch, but that doesn't mean I am not often thinking of you all. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity, and, please, come visit us soon.

Here are some photos.

Some things have changed since we left.

Branko