|
|
Monday, August 13th, Arbanija, Ciovo, Croatia
.jpg)
We've planned on being at this exact location
on this exact date for the last five months. It is amazing when I think of
how much that has influenced all of our decisions during that timeframe.
It is a thrill to be here and know that it all worked out beautifully. We
made the absolute most out of our time in Italy, and look forward to returning
after a few months exploring Croatia.
The past week was mostly spent making our way
here. We were awakened at 7am on Tuesday morning by a loud car horn.
The Guardia Costiera was clearing us off
the wall. The wind and sea had mellowed significantly, as forecasted, so we
dropped the anchor in the harbor while we cleaned up a bit. Tying up to a
dock is always a messy proposition for the boat. Dirt permeates
everywhere. After a quick swim, we decided to make our way to Brindisi, a
40 mile trip. We were keeping our eyes on the forecast and figured it
couldn't hurt to get that much further towards our destination.
It was a quick stop. We filled up on gas
and found a free spot on the seawall right in front of another American boat.
Al and Sally helped us tie up and offered us all sorts of tips on Croatia.
They had just come from there. They asked if we had bought a "777" guide
yet. We had heard from others that this is THE cruising guide for the area
and were keeping our eyes out for one. In a wonderful gesture of trust,
they offered to loan us theirs on the condition that we mail it back to them
when we are done with it as they might come back to the area at some point.
The winds seem to be mostly out of the
northwest down the Adriatic Sea, which of course was the direction we were
heading. The forecast had been calling for a few days of southerlies and
we had been planning on riding that wind up to Split. Leaving Brindisi on
Wednesday at noon, it was only a 27 hour trip, and the first ten hours were
beautiful sailing. Unfortunately, the wind died after that and never came
back strong enough to sail, so we puttered the rest of the way to the island of
Vis, the closest point of entry. We tied up to the dock in the city of
Komiza flying our yellow "Q" flag for the first time since entering the EU over
a year ago. Everyone has to stay onboard until you clear into the country
through the appropriate authorities. In this case, Joe had to visit first
the harbormaster where he bought our cruising permit for Croatia and then the
police. Once all the paperwork was done and our passports stamped, we
lowered the "Q" flag and raised the Croatian flag from our starboard shrouds.
.jpg)
The harbormaster didn't open up until 6pm so we
had some time to rest up after the overnight sail. We had Croatian
neighbors who were very friendly and helped us get our lines adjusted. We
wound up having to drop all three of our anchors in order to keep ourselves off
the wall in the gusts. That made for a bit of work when we took off at
first light the next morning, but at least we slept soundly and worry free.
Sailing between the islands on our way to Ciovo,
we saw more boats out cruising than we had seen at any one time in a long time.
Thousands of islands litter the coast and attract boaters from all over Europe.
It reminds us a little of the Virgin Islands. The weather has been a
little unsettled, with huge thunderstorms marching across the sky. It
seems to have cleared up as of yesterday afternoon and the forecast is calling
for blue skies and mid-80s for the rest of the week.
Francois, Lisa, Jake, Eddie, Max and Francesca
arrived at Palm Tree Villa at noon on Saturday. We were anchored right
outside their door waiting for them. Lisa's brother, Chris, and his wife,
Sue and daughters Olive and Ruby are vacationing with them for the week.
Everyone was a little wiped out from traveling on Saturday, but we had a great
day of swimming and eating and hanging out yesterday. We are taking
everyone out on Zia today. We'll take lots of pictures.
.jpg)
I did put together a couple
new photo pages from our time in
Italy. Night passages are great for getting caught up!
Next Entry>>>>>>>>
Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
|
|
|
|
