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Trip Report #7-2003: More of CroatiaFiled from Pula, Croatia44 53.3 N 13 47.7 ESeptember 8, 2003
Photo: Early morning at Rat Kamenjak, Medulinsky Zalin, near Pula Dobra Dan, Family & Friends: The last few weeks in July found us poking around the islands of the Dalmatian coast and heading generally north. We have thought so many times that this is one of the most beautiful and convenient cruising grounds. There are marinas available, but we found that there were so many safe, beautiful anchorages, that it was rarely necessary to go into a marina. And, given the choice, we much prefer swinging at anchor. The Kornati National Park, a group of islands in the Zadar archipelago, was set up to protect the marine life and to prevent housing development in the area. Used in the past as a holiday resort by affluent Romans and as a home to the Venetian fleet, the islands were bought by the inhabitants of Murter at the end of the 19th century to be used for grazing their sheep. Murter shepherds burned off the trees in order to plant grazing fields and built stone walls to provide pens for the animals. The islands are virtually uninhabited now. They are eerily devoid of vegetation and comprised mainly of stony ground, limestone sinkholes and underwater caves. They are surrounded by the clearest, cleanest turquoise water, and the sere landscape is surprisingly beautiful. We sailed through the islands, on our way to Telascica on the southern tip of Dugi Otok.
Photo: Lopatica in the Kornati Islands Dugi Otok is a very long island with many beaches and bays. Telascica is a long natural harbor on the southern end of the island and is part of the National Park. The bay has many wooded areas and is being reforested after a devastating fire in 1995. As we sailed into this huge bay, the pine woods, rocky islands and cliffs reminded us of Maine. There are mooring balls in several different parts of the bay, but we chose to go to the very head of the bay, where we could find water shallow enough in which to anchor. There were quite a few other boats anchored, including Seascape, Good Company, Star of the North and Invictus.
Photo: The anchorage at Telascica After we were securely anchored, two delightful German children came by in their kayak, a brother and sister, ages about 10 and 6, and asked if we would like to trade. They had a large jar of crunchy peanut butter, which is not sold here, or anywhere in Europe that we know. While Tom chatted with them, I looked around for something that they might consider worth trading. I found a large tin of some very special cookies filled with chocolate and asked if they would like that. They could hardly contain their excitement, looked at each other in a very conspiratorial way, then giggled and said they thought that might do. And the deal was done. The two little traders went back to their boat for milk and cookies. There is a charge for staying in the park, whether one takes a mooring or anchors. Two park rangers came by in a boat, collected 40 kunas (about $6.10) per person and gave us a ticket, which was good for 2 nights in Telascica and 1 night in the southern Kornati Park. We thought it was a bargain and had a wonderful time here catching up with friends. In the evening and again in the morning, a grocery boat came by with fresh fruits and veggies, fresh bread, cakes and doughnuts, wine, beer and milk. We had plans to make a quick trip back to the US at the beginning of August to attend a family event and had been looking for a marina to safely leave the boat. The marinas in Croatia were totally booked at that time and were extremely expensive, even if we could find a berth. During the past several years, we had been communicating by email with a fellow Valiant 40 owner, Giorgio Guiliani, who is a neurologist in Ancona, Italy. He offered to arrange for us to stay at his sailing club for the time we needed. Giorgio met us on our arrival and helped us to tie up on the finger pier, and then invited us to dinner with his friends, some of whom spoke English very well. It was a joyous evening. We enjoyed wonderful Italian food, al fresco, in the midst of the old, beautiful city, and in the company of some wonderful people. In addition, the commodore of the club, Roberto, arranged some paper work for us so that we could get back into the country, and he drove me into the city to the central market. We were certainly made to feel welcome and we'll never forget it.
Photo: Tom, Paola (Giorgio's wife), Giorgio and Roberto
Photo: Giorgio with his boat, Talia, in Ancona, Italy
Photo: Talia, Valiant 40, hull number 240, beautifully restored and maintained by Giorgio
Photo: Giorgio's friend, Viviana, serves dinner in Ancona
Photo: With Giorgio & Paola & friends in front of the Teatro, Ancona On our return from the US, we met our friends, Mark & Luann, in London, and flew back to the boat in Ancona with them. We arrived at the boat late at night, had a quick supper and "crashed", sleeping late the next morning and recovering from our long flight. Mark, Luann, and I then went into the central market, while Tom stayed behind to prepare the boat for a night sail back to Croatia. We stopped to have a capuccino in the square and then gathered up lots of good Italian cheese, sausage, veggies, bread and wine. The weather was extremely hot and after our chores were finished, we all took a cockpit shower to cool off. We set off from Ancona at about 6 pm in light wind. After sailing away from the waves near the Ancona coastline, the sea was calm enough to enjoy a nice dinner of pasta and sauce with a salad. There was a full moon all night long and Mars was brightly visible in the sky. The wind continued very light and kept heading us away from the course, but the balmy night and the sailing were so pleasant that we were reluctant to turn on the motor. We finally did begin motor sailing in the wee hours of the morning and made our way into the bay at Telascica, our first stop in Croatia.
Photo: Mark & Luann on the boat in Croatia.
Photo: Luann at the helm, steering through the Kornati Islands From Telascica, we sailed through the Kornati islands and made our way to Zlarin, a charming, uncrowded anchorage with a small town and lots of summer visitors. After dinner on the boat that evening, we walked around the small town enjoying ice cream cones. Soon after we went to bed that night, we could hear loud music coming from what must have been huge, powerful speakers on the beach - music that continued until 4 am. Mark was very tempted to get into the dinghy and join the party - his spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak - must be getting old - like the rest of us!
Photo: The harbor at Zlarin, Croatia We left Zlarin after a liesurely breakfast - we were pretty much awake most of the night - and sailed into the Krka river, past Sibenik to Skraddin, for a trip to the Krka Falls. As we approached the first bridge on the river, a bridge that is 20 meters high in the middle, we spied a group preparing to do some bungee jumping. Just after we passed under the bridge, the jumper was launched and it was interesting watching him bounce and then being retrieved. It seemed like a long time to be held upside down and we all decided that it would not be on our to-do lists.
Photo: Bungee jumper dangling from a bridge across the Krka River As we made our way up the river, we raced another boat going our way. He zipped off ahead of us and we noticed that his crew, 2 women, were sitting on the platform of the sugar scoop, dangling their feet in the water, that he was virtually single-handing, and that he had much less water line than we do. A crushing defeat! We anchored at Skraddin and took the tour boat to the park, hiked up to the falls, stopped for a beer and got back to the tour boat just as it was pulling up. Excellent timing. We had dinner that night in Skraddin at a great restaurant called Bonaca's. The grilled squid was excellent, as was everything served. We'd go back there in a minute.
Photo: Mark & Luann at the Krka Falls After a stop in Sicenica, we anchored on the east side of the bridge at Trogir and walked in the medieval town, viewing the sites and enjoying the ice cream.
Photo: Mark in relaxation mode. Blue Line ferry plies the water in the background. We anchored in Split and Luann & Mark had some free time to explore the old city here. They were to leave at 11 pm that night on the overnight Blue Line ferry to Ancona, like the one in the photo above. They were booked into an air-conditioned cabin with bath and would, hopefully, be able to get some sleep on the way back. They would then have the next day to explore Ancona before leaving on a Ryanair flight back to London for their connecting flight to the US. Before they left that night, they treated us to an excellent dinner in Split in a restaurant with a good view of the bay.
Photo: Peg, Mark, Luann & Tom in Split (They're carrying their luggage - all of it!)
Photo: Mark & Luann at the ferry terminal, leaving Split After we left Mark & Luann at the ferry, we went back to the boat and sat in the cockpit, where we watched the ferry leave for Ancona. We had enjoyed our week with them and the boat seemed very empty after they left. Our next report will come to you from Venice! 73s,88s,love & hugs- Peg & Tom aboard s/v Starboard Home
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