Friday, August 4, 2017
We arrived in Santa Maria di Leuca on the heel of Italy in the evening the day after leaving Dubrovnic and then day sailed via Crotone and Rocella Ionica ( pizza is sold by the half metre) along the foot of Italy before crossing to the wonderful city of Siracusa. We felt G&A-M HAD to spend a day in Siracusa – and it's a great place to arrive late at night as the bay is reasonably easy to enter, there’s lots of room to anchor and the ground is great thick mud so the anchor digs in and holds solidly. Another reason for not leaving the next morning was that the engine didn’t start! The previous Volvo engine just had a simple key – turn the key to start. Simple. Now Volvo has an electric start panel and a black box computer. And gremlins. We’d had a previous experience of this problem so I’d bought a replacement start panel so I could unplug the installed panel and plug in the new panel. But that made no difference – the gremlin appears to be in the black box not in the start panel electrics. So the technical solution is to get a really big screwdriver and short across the terminals of the solenoid switch to bypass the start electrics. Started! Well actually on second attempt as it only worked if we didn’t first press the start button on the panel but just switched, waited for the pre-heat then shorted the terminals. If we pressed the start button, then it seems as if it didn’t start with the button the clever computer closes the system down so that then trying to short the solenoid doesn’t work (although maybe moving on to short the starter itself and bypass the solenoid as well as the switch might have worked. Anyway, I hate overcomplicated, unnecessary electrics).
Dinner in style at Crotone Marina
So we had a wonderful lazy day in Siracusa, great food (Siracusa has great restaurants as well as great historic sites) and a trip to the market in the morning before heading to Malta. Very little wind so we motored sailed all the way (80M!) with Mario, a member at the Royal Malta Yacht Club, on Jannisah for company on the crossing. Entering Grand Harbour at night with its impressive forts floodlit is always a special experience and it was great to be back on our berth by 2145 Monday night in time for a wee dram to celebrate our safe return on the balcony.
Finally it was time to head back to Malta and with Graham and Anne-Marie aboard we left the ACI Marina near Dubrovnic (after re-fuelling at 0700 – in fact we were moored up on the fuel dock before 0700 waiting for them to open so we could leave as early as possible but of course the fuel attendant arrived a little late and then they found there was no electricity.....), checked out of the Customs and Immigration office in Gruz (the commercial port) by 0900 and were on our way to Italy.
We’d not left Dubrovnic immediately G&A-M arrived as a storm was forecast overnight – and given the rain, thunder and lightening during the night we were glad we’d waited. The delay in re-fuelling and checking out also probably worked in our favour as the swell had still not died down and we had a very bumpy exit from Dubrovnic. During the course of the day the swell subsided and the wind built to give us a good sail but during the next night more storms (unforecast) came through and we were treated to some heavy rain and more thunder and lightening. With a full main up the quickest easiest reaction when the storm arrived quite suddenly was just to drop the main (with thanks for our lazyjacks/UK Sails sailbag which gather the sail so no-one has to go forward to the mast and the Ronstan batten cars which make it easy to drop the main even downwind). And sailing downwind under jib alone turned out to be really pleasant, relaxing and more easily managed! H says we should do this more often!).
Nick and Lindy joined us at Trogir for the next leg to Dubrovnic. This was a get up and go trip every day but we did find some lovely bays to swim in and we visited Korcula town though, like Hvar, was completely swamped with tourists.. Lynn and Simon came aboard in Dubrovnik for a few days sailing around the southern islands, particularly Mljet . We had variable winds over these two weeks but still some very enjoyable sailing and we visited some beautiful islands and anchorages. The historical highlight for me in this area was not the walls of Dubrovnic (now apparently most famous as a location for GofT) but the walls around Ston. The narrow shallow channel up to Ston was also a memorable experience! Everyone was very quiet as Helen read out the depth while we sought the deep (well 3m anyway) water channel between the mud banks of the river. We draw 2 metres so not a lot of room for manoeuvre.
JULY RAB TO MALTA
Southbound! Left Rab and returned to Zadar via, Cres, Molat, and Preko. Suzie joined us in Zadar for the next leg to Trogir (near Split). Some of the best sailing of the whole trip – 20knots downwind is perfect for ALMA and as Suzie knows the Sweden 45 very well, we could relax and leave her to sail the boat. Visited some idyllic spots and some crazy places – especially Hvar which seemed like the Adriatic’s answer to Ibiza. But we were able to watch the Lions final test match against the All Blacks in a bar there so we put up with the 16 to 21 year old yuppies.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Life in Rab
As the winds generally were SE for the week we cruised northward broad reaching downwind (most enjoyable point of sail for us - and disproving Helen’s theory that we always seem to be bashing to windward! **but see below) most days through the islands until we reached Rab which is a lovely small town with a good harbour - and of course shops, wifi etc etc! So now enjoying a few days ashore sightseeing, catching up with jobs etc and waiting for a storm to pas through. Then we’ll begin our journey south. Over the next 4 weeks we plan to cruise south via Zadar (where Suzie will join us), then Split (Suzie departs and Nick and Lindy join), Dubrovnik (another crew change - N&L depart and Simon and Lynn join). From Dubrovnik we plan to return via Italy to Malta with friends Graham and Anne-Marie aboard. Looking forward very much to sailing with friends and continuing to explore the coast and islands of this beautiful area.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen
* I like to record this in the blog in case I don’t remember in a few years where we’ve been!!
** except now that we’ve gone as far north as we can on this summer’s cruise and now need to start heading south, the wind is going to be ……yes of course a strong southerly!! F6/7 today so waiting for it to subside a little - forecast F4/5 tomorrow.
So what did we miss most? We were able to manage our water, fuel and electricity use carefully, provisions ran a bit low but we were happy to eat simply, we were more than happy not to get newspapers to read about the ongoing political turmoil/squabbles and wars, but we did miss emails/whats apps etc from family and friends - away from “civilisation” (albeit only for a few days and not far away!) its very clear whats most important in life.
A great benefit of this area is that there are so many islands, most days we can choose where we go based on the wind direction**. The downside is there are also so many rocks, shoals etc around that there’s a lot of careful navigation/pilotage to do. Some passages between islands are quite narrow and had only a metre or so under the keel so careful nav work required.
Skradin to Rab
A very different and interesting week in the Kornat national park and nearby islands. We headed out from Skradin, down the spectacular Krka river, after a little incident with a charter boat which lost control as it left the pontoon in strong winds and hit our bow taking a chunk out the gelcoat - managed to patch it up by hanging over the bow as Helen mixed the gelcoat filler and passed it down to me - repair doesn’t look to professional but it will do the job until we get home. Anyway, just an example to explain why we dislike sailing where there are lots of charter boats!!
We set off fully provisioned, fuel and water topped up, batteries fully charged etc as we knew we’d probably not find any shops, not be able to get water, not have shore power electricity for the week in the outlying islands - many are uninhabited and the few that are, only for the summer and with only a very few houses and a restaurant or two in the popular bays. Some wonderfully unspoilt places and a lovely raw, bleak beauty (almost a moonscape). Just for the record*, we visited Smokvica (Lovely restaurant Piccolo and great walks/views), Kameni Zakan, Kornat (Vrulje), Levrnaka (U Lojeni) (beautifully quiet unspoilt anchorage), Dugi Otok (Bozava), and Premuda (Krijal).
Saturday, June 17, 2017
WEEK 3
Zadar is a great town - interesting history, numerous good bars and restaurants (we’re impressed at how Croatia seems to be developing a good quality tourist industry and how successfully the country has rebuilt since the war in the early to mid 90’s). Great place too for catching up with jobs - managed to get laundry done, found oil and filter (at another marina) and changed oil, got gas refilled, and good for provisioning.
We bought a permit to visit the Kornati national park but on our way decided we couldn’t miss going up the Krka river to see the famous waterfalls. Dramatic river - not often we get 10 miles inland on ALMA! Skardin is as far as we can go as there’s a low bridge immediately upstream but ferry boats go from there to the National Park. The water falls are nice (but for me, once you’ve seen a few waterfalls…..) but we enjoyed even more the beautiful scenery, the peacefulness of the river (we went early morning on the first ferry - as we returned it was not at all peaceful around the entrance to the park and the lower falls - hardly room to pass on the walkways through the forest as thousands of cruise ship passengers were lead along from one photo spot/cafe to another) and the wildlife (have never seen so many fish in a river) and a special treasure at a monastery, an original of Aesop’s fables from 1487. Sadly the monastery also had a display of photographs of the destruction of churches in the 1990’s war. Ironic when the monastery also displayed a 1672 decree of Sultan Mehmet promising the Fransiscan monks safety.
Now waiting for a storm to blow through as gusts up to 50 knots forecast - hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to head out for a week in the Kornati islands.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen
Over the rest of the week we had some great sailing northwards through the islands to Zadar. Extraordinary how even on the smallest islands sometimes there are remarkable items of interest. On Prvic we learned about the 16th Century Croatian scholar and scientist Faust Vrancic who wrote in 1595 about parachutes and how tidal power could generate energy. He also found time to compile a 5 language dictionary. Equally wonderful was hearing a choir singing (unaccompanied) one evening as we passed the church. We sat in the evening sun listening - a moment of special peacefulness in a mad world.
WEEK 2
After the excitement of the Champions League final, we had a very quiet day motoring from Bari to Vieste which sits on the tip of the spur jutting out from Italy’s east coast into the Adriatic. Vieste is a popular seaside town but also has a couple of interesting historical sites - the Chianca Amara (bitter stone) where thousands were beheaded when Turks sacked the town (not recently) and nearby the pilgrimage site of Monte Sant’Angelo which marks the end of the Route of the Angel from Normandy via Rome to the Adriatic. The most important fact for us was that Vieste offers the shortest crossing to Croatia.
Our crossing was uneventful except for the numerous fishing boats we had to avoid - even one which reversed directly towards us after we’d altered course to pass well behind. At least most fishing boats now have AIS so we get early warning, but info on their course and speed is irrelevant as they change at random! Anyway it was a good example for the new crew (Andy, Doug and David) why ALMA’s sailing Rules of the Road are to avoid everyone.
We crossed to the nearest Croatian island, Ubli, and arriving at 1930 were lucky to find the police office open and we checked in. However, we had to wait until the next day to pay our tourist taxes to the harbour master. Ubli is a port of entry and Croatia requires one to check in at the first port. However, Ubli is a very small port and when both ferries and the police boat are in harbour overnight there’s no room for anyone else. The port police didn’t want us to stay on the arrival quay in case another boat should arrive to clear in or out but we moved to the floating pontoon for the seaplane service which were assured had ceased ops (and anyway wouldn’t be arriving at night!).
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Matt left us on Friday to return to Malta. We had a day sightseeing with John and Cathy (Locorotondo with its ivory stone paving and white buildings) and Alberobello to see the amazing Trulli houses) before they left on Saturday morning and we had a morning for laundry, shopping and cleaning before Andy, Doug and David arrived at lunchtime for leg 2 to Zadar. Only time for a quick tour around Bari (capital of Puglia) particularly the (slightly edgy) medieval labyrinth with numerous churches including the Basilica di San Nicola housing (apparently) the relics of Father Christmas. Time also for a great lunch opposite Castello Svevo, a wonderful combination of Roman, Norman and medieval construction. We could not leave on Saturday night as I was certain Helen would want to watch the Champions League final. We found a bar with the game on tv (not too difficult as probably every bar in town was showing the game) and serving pizza (although I think the chef was also watching the game as the pizzas took a couple of hours to arrive - we had to make do with beer, wine and nibbles). The atmosphere was extraordinary - every kid in the town was either a Juve supporter or if not, prepared to support anyone but Juve and they were all in the bar having pizza and drinking red bull or equivalent it seemed to keep their energy levels (and noise) up. A goal resulted in deafening celebrations, tops off (all football strips of course) and either standing on the chairs/tables or running around the bar area and into the street. Wild.
Great start to the summer.
best wishes
Iain (Mingus) and Helen
Santa Maria di Leuca is a useful overnight stop but sadly the cost cutting in Italy seems to be resulting in deterioration in parks, monuments etc. John and Cathy climbed Mussolini’s steps but sadly weeds and shrubs are now appearing and much litter.
We had another good day’s sailing on Wednesday heading up the east coast and the day’s sightings included a turtle, a sunfish and shearwaters (not sure on details!). But not a successful day fishing - Matt lost two lures! Despite having a very neat bungee system to absorb the shock load. (we should have a good rod and reel - will add to the “buy” list).
Stopped Wed night in Brindisi on the town quay and walked up the steps leading to the Via Appia and the famous Roman column (only one remains as apparently they gave one away to a neighbouring town in return for its help in a plague). Interesting to think of the many great figures in Rome’s history who travelled through Brindisi. Wonderful restaurant recommended by the marinero (we felt we deserved a treat having made such good progress).
The wind deserted us on the last day of this leg and we motored most of the way to Bari. Only a few dolphins sighted and we caught no more fish. However as it was a quiet day, we did repair the aft toilet (a top priority). We thought we’d solved another of John’s puzzles but our solution didn’t pass the scrutiny of the judge.
Also seemed to be a good area for fishing - Matt lost a lure with 11kg breaking load! - and we saw more dolphins.
Arrived Crotone 1810 Monday and met up with crew of Escapade who we’d seen in Siracusa (Will and Kate are friends of Barry and Kath, skiing/sailing friends of ours, who have just crossed from Bermuda to the Azores). The sailing world is well connected!
From Crotone we set off Tuesday 0600 planning to day sail around heel of Italy as after two overnight sails we were ahead of schedule. Breeze arrived mid morning and we had a great sail and a successful day’s fishing. Matt caught ALMA’s first ever tuna - fresh sashimi and tuna steaks for lunch. More dolphins and our first ever sighting of a whale! Even solved one of John’s brain teasers (keeps us all occupied on a long sail!). Great day.
We arrived off Siracusa early Sunday morning and as Siracusa is such a very special place we made a small diversion to let John and Cathy have a couple of hours ashore to see the old centre of Ortigia and especially the Duomo and the Church of Santa Lucia with Caravaggio’s wonderful painting of her burial.
Continuing on our way we made the crossing to the foot of Italy - a very busy shipping area with boats heading into and coming from the Messina Straits as well as travelling along the coast to/from the Adriatic. Quite a few course alterations required to keep us clear (our Rules of the Road are to try and stay well out of everyone else’s way!). As well as the normal cargo ships, ferries, fishing boats and passenger liners, we had a submarine and a warship for company in this area - probably there because of the G7 summit at Taormina.
ALMA TRAVELS 2017
Destination Croatia. We planned to leave a little later this year for our summer cruise - partly to allow more time to get both the boat and ourselves ready but also to ensure the weather had settled for the summer. Last year our first week had been wet, cold and windy!
So on Saturday 27th May, John and Cathy arrived late morning from the UK and after a few hours sightseeing, with Matt also on board, we set off late afternoon for Bari. We had a good overnight crossing of the Malta channel (much of it motoring but some sailing in a light breeze) and the only event of note was a pod of dolphins suddenly “torpedoing” the boat and surprising John! Quite a surprise when sailing quietly along to suddenly have a lot of splashing around the boat!
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