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Published: April 25th 2008
Pirate threat thwarted
They were going to be no match for the crew of the good ship PaulinaHello from Korcula Town on Korcula Island
Sorry we have not blogged for some time, I think in fact it is the longest blog break of the trip. Simple fact is we have been unable to get decent internet access since we left Trogir and arrived in Korcula Town.
So, just to jog your blog memories, we last wrote to you at length from Trogir which was on the mainland just north of Split. Our last day/night in Trogir was spent bunkering down out of the cold and wet and we left very early on the morning of the 16th heading south for the Island of Vis. The girls were still asleep and Debs and I got underway as we had a 30+ nautical mile passage ahead of us.
We had a terrible fright with a yacht flying the jolly rodger came near us but fortunately when they saw Alsy in his boxers, pirate hat and eye patch also displaying his jolly rodger they left in a very big hurry!!. As it turned out, the passage across to Vis was not one of our most pleasant by any means and we encountered really messy confused sea conditions for
Alsy and his jolly rodger
Who wouldnt be frightened of that sight!! most of the way across. The wind was certainly not in our favour and we didn’t arrive in Vis town until quite late in the afternoon.
We had originally planned to head to Komiza on the west coast of the Island and then head over to the Island of Bisevo but the sea, wind and weather conditions did not favour that plan at all. Bisevo has a sea cave, naturally called the Blue Grotto which is meant to be pretty specky between the hours of 11.00am and 1.00pm with the floor of the cave illuminated by the overhead sunlight.
As we arrived in Vis town, the weather improved and the sun was shining. We hooked up to the town wharf enabling electricity and water supplies to be on tap (pardon the pun). There were no toilet and shower facilities supplied so the price was quite a lot cheaper than the ACI Marina type facilities. At least with power and water we are able to shower on board and much of the time our onboard shower is a darn side better than the shore based facilities.
We had a walk around the village and made some inquiries about
facilities and decided to rename the village ‘two days’ because everything we asked for was going to be available in two days time, obviously when the villagers hoped that more tourists were going to arrive.
The south east wind, called the Jugo by the locals, pronounced ‘Yugo’ blew up in the night and made the town berth quite an uncomfortable spot to be. The following morning we spoke to a delightful British couple, Steve and Maggie White, a couple whom we were going to spend a lot more time with. They had moved their boat, ‘Rassy Lady’ a beautiful 39’ Halberg Rassy over to another part of the town and into a much calmer berth. The Halberg Rassy is a yacht made in Sweden and their quality is simply very superior.
We thought we might make a run for Komiza hoping to see what is supposed to be a very nice fishing village and then make a dash for Bisevo. We motor sailed back to Komiza hoping the Jugo had not created too much swell in the harbour but after about a two and a half hour passage we were very disappointed to find that the harbour had
Vis Harbour Berth
2nd night in calmer conditions a pretty ordinary swell coming into it and one that was not going to suit an overnight stay. So there was only really one option left and that was to head back to Vis and take up Steve and Maggie’s offer of berthing next to them for the night.
We sailed and motor sailed back to Vis and to the other part of the town berth and hooked up for the night. It was a great berth, completely protected from the Jugo which tends to build up as time goes on. It is a bit like our southerlies back home, ugly wind which brings with it ugly sea conditions, cold weather and tends to make one feel a bit p*#@ off with things after a couple of days of it.
The upside was we caught up with Maggie and Steve that night in the only Kanoba (local restaurant) at the berth. We had some coffee and local grappa which just about made Deb’s eyes roll 360 degrees!!!. Steve is a retired British Airways Pilot and Maggie was also a Pilot in a previous life and they have been sailing in their yacht for the past 10 years and
have spent the past three years cruising around Croatia. They were heading south to Greece and fortunately for us, their next few days passage plan included areas that we were pretty keen on visiting as well.
The next morning we made plans to make a passage over to Vela Luka, a town on the western side of Korcula Island, again another 30 + nautical mile passage. I think Steve and I both had similar plans of a nice long offshore ‘race’ we were both pretty keen to get the boats and crew ready and get going.
Well the race turned into a complete non event after about 2 miles as the wind dropped right off and we ended up motor sailing all the way to Vela Luka. We had drinks and nibbles on board Rassy Lady with Steve and Maggie before heading back to our ‘home’ for an on board dinner and an early night. The passage over was pretty tiring, even though we motor sailed, as the swell was the biggest we had encountered on the trip so far and trying to run with it with it’s confused state was bit frustrating to say the least. The
upside of the trip over was that I think I’ve found my future off-shore long-passage sailing companion. Layni couldn’t get enough of the big swell. While Nik and Debsy were doing well coping with the pretty big swells Layni was absolutely revelling in it. The bigger the better!!!!
We were woken during the night to the sound of rain so we decided to call a lay day. Layni had desperately been seeking another Bratz doll all trip to add to her one and only doll she had on board. We had only spotted one or two since we had arrived in Croatia and their prices were way over the top. As she had been such a little trooper since we left Sukosan I decided to go ashore and see what I could turn up. Lo and behold I found the only Bratz doll on the Island (and I suspect in all of southern Dalmatia) and the bonus was the price wasn’t too bad, as compared to the few others we had seen. So back I went to the boat armed with Yasmin the Bratz Adventure Girl. Well if it didn’t win me the father of the year award from
our youngest on board, I don’t know what would!!!! It was like all her Christmas’ had come at once and she has had the time of her life with her little family since then.
The day went pretty slowly, Nik and I went for a walk around the village and she went to the travel agency come internet café we found at the last minute. Armed with a few Kuna to log on and check out what her friends had been doing was short lived when the power went off and the office closed before power was restored at 11.30am. All in all it was a pretty laid back sort of a day. Debs and I went for a walk along the foreshores and were wondering what was going on with the incessant sound of car horns blowing continually in the distance and getting louder as it was obvious the cars were getting closer. We assumed, very wrongly, that there must have been some major sporting success being heralded throughout the island.
There was a convoy of about five cars, brightly coloured balloons and streamers, billowing in the wind, tied off from bumper bars, door handles and wherever
else they could find a secure point. A Croatian National flag was being held out one of the windows and what else could warrant such a display of national pride and excitement? The truth be known, it was a five car convoy on their way to a wedding, complete with bride, maid of honour and very, very proud family members. They roared up and down the streets around the village, horns blaring, flags waving and the young bucks hanging out of the cars cheering and waving to the crowds.
They pulled up not far from the boat and started a foot procession, we believe, to the local church, the bride and bridal party being led by a very enthusiastic flag bearer. Debs commented about the odds of any Australian wedding party being led along the streets by a jubilant Australian flag waving family member, a sight we don’t think we will see when we get back on home shores!!! Not long after they obviously arrived at the church, the bells started to toll and either the electronic gadgetry or physical input worked overtime in heralding the newly formed union on the island of Korcula.
Well we had to
join in the celebrations and we went to dinner with Steve and Maggi who were equally bemused by the local wedding customs as we were. We shared some great pizzas, salad and some domestic wine and restaurant Nautica which had been very heavily promoted by our resident harbour master when we had berthed up. Sure enough, whilst we were enjoying the local fare, our resident harbourmaster sidled up to the bar and enjoyed a few (heavily subsidised we suspect) local beers. His recommendation was fair though as the meal was good, both in taste and value. The surprise of the night was when they brought complimentary grappas before the start of the meal. The waiter placed down five glasses, one in front of each adult and one in front of Nik. HE turned to Layni apologetically saying, “Sorry, we can’t give alcohol to anyone under 18”. Needless to say the glass in front of Nik was very quickly relocated to Al’s place leaving Nik looking quite chuffed she’d been mistaken for an 18 year old!!! Quite scary really!
We discussed our passage plans with Steve and Maggi over dinner and whilst the option of heading around to Korcula old
town on the north eastern side of the island was appealing, Steve and Maggie’s previous visits to the island of Lastavo also had a lot of appeal. Debs and I considered our options and decided the most diplomatic thing to do was wait until we left the harbour in the morning and see which way the winds blew. Lastavo was off to the south east and Korcula old town was off to the north east.
We woke to a beautiful sunny morning and a gentle wind blowing down the harbour. We cast off with the girls still sound asleep and we sailed very gently away from the town berth and down the harbour. We were having a very pleasant little early morning sail thank you very much until the very large and unforgiving car ferry started to bare down on us. Engine on and dramatic alteration of intended course got us out of the collision path and back into safer waters.
After the ferry dropped off and picked up cars and passengers and headed back out of the harbour, we could get on with doing as planned and continued our polite sail out to sea. With the wind
favouring a passage to Lastavo, our course was altered to the south east and off we headed, this time with a new helmsperson at the wheel. Debs took over, first of all with a bit of time under motor getting used to the boat under power and then with full main and headsail, she had a taste of light wind sailing.
The wind was only blowing about 5 knots true and to her credit, she kept the boat moving along at between 3.5 to 4 knots, a very, very commendable effort with so little wind. With such light conditions and a bit of tide against us, the time came to make way with a bit more speed so the engine was kicked into gear and we motor sailed for some time until the wind started to improve. We were able to turn the motor off and enjoyed our best sail of the whole trip all the way to Lastavo with about 12 knots of true. The boat absolutely loved the conditions and we were sailing along very happily at about 7.5 knots at about 32 degrees apparent. There was very little heel and little or no swell and it
was really champagne sailing with the very green and very beautiful Lastavo Island getting larger and larger under the brilliant sunshine we were relishing in.
With much regret, we had to drop our sails and motor in through the reasonably narrow passage into the anchorage where we, mistakenly, thought we would find a berth along a sea wall. The passage narrows to just a few metres and full navigation through the passage is blocked by both shallow water and a bridge joining two sections of the island. We dropped the anchor and Layni and I went ashore in our inflatable, the first time we had actually used it all trip.
There was nothing but houses on the north side where we were but there was an incredibly strong and very irresistible smell of meat being cooked on a rotisserie coming from near the bridge. We literally followed our noses and came upon Hotel Solitudo, a quite large hotel and in-house Kanoba that was undergoing some major renovations.
Apart from the hotel and a few houses near the sea, there was nothing in the way of markets / shops which turned out to be some distance around the
bike time on Lastevo Island
using Steve and Maggies fold up bike bay. We spoke to the resident manageress and to our misfortune we were told that the suckling pig that was being tendered to very lovingly was only for the workmen who were hard at it at the time; obviously a bit of a reward for the hard work on a Sunday. We were able to be compensated however with the offer of fresh seafood and fresh meat should we care to dine at their fine establishment later in the evening. I thought if there food was half as good as the suckling pig smelt it was going to be worth the additional work of taking the boat around the other side of the island and coming back into the hotel berths on the sea wall.
So back into the little inflatable, up anchor and away we went around to the other side of the island. I think Debs was very conscious of the look in my eyes when I was describing the sight and smells I had just witnessed. Lastavo is very heavily vegetated as compared to a lot of the other islands we had been to and it was just one of those places that had a really
good feel to it. The lady at the hotel was very laid back, the people working around her were very friendly and it was just a case of nothing being a problem. The weather just added to the delightful setting and by the time we hooked up to the sea wall, the sea temperature was showing a very warm 16 degrees C with a glorious hot sunny afternoon.
Time for a swim the girls decided. Layni being the most sensible one of the whole crew, pulled out the only wet suit that anyone had bothered to pack and suggested her big sister might like to pump up a bit and join her for the inaugural dip of the trip. I think the photos say it all in regards to Nikki’s reaction when she hit the water. Needless to say, she didn’t stay in any longer than was necessary to get to the swim ladder and get out of there!!! She was very brave however and continued to make Layni’s day by jumping in a few more times. Layni made good use of the mask I had bought for those simply dreaded fears of a prop entanglement and played spot
the fish that were mingling about under the boat hoping for a few off casts of day old bread. Layni’s little wet suit obviously made all the difference because she was in and out quite a number of times.
We spent the afternoon lazing about the deck soaking up some gamma rays and Layni was in 7th heaven, sipping on a tropical juice, lazing back on the upturned inflatable, bathed in the sunlight, warming the little bones that he been chilled by the sea water not so long before. An added bonus for Layni was the arrival of Maggi and Steve on their unique fold up push bikes and she very happily accepted their offer of a ride on these amazing pieces of equipment. They literally fold down to nothing but offer a really solid ride and are just the ducks for cruising boats as a very efficient and very healthy means of getting around.
After a while we opted to head to the hotel for showers but mine host was most apologetic that the regular showers were out of action due to the major renno’s that were underway. We had no qualms about using our on board
shower but she very kindly gave us a room in the hotel that still had the water connected.
We met Maggi and Steve at the ‘beer garden’ outside the Kanoba and enjoyed a few drinks while we waited to have dinner. We were requested to wait until 8.00pm for our dinner as they had to serve all the workmen their dinner first. Well I have to say it was worth the wait. Maggi and Steve had told us that Croatian beef was excellent and we had been literally hanging out for some red meat for some time.
Without doubt we had the best steak that I have ever had. It was a very large eye fillet, about the size of a very large piece of scotch fillet. It had all the tenderness of eye fillet but the flavour was simply incredible. So a great steak, salad, chips, char grilled veg and a carafe of local red added up to the best meal of our visit to Croatia thus far!!!
We headed off to bed in total bliss only to be awoken to the sound of wind starting to pick up through the rigging. Even though we were
in no hurry to leave the island, we should have paid more attention to the manner the dreaded Jugo starts to build up. Debs and I had decided the night before to head off early to the nearest village and buy some provisions from the market that opened between 8 and 11.00 and I am happy to report that Debsy did jog a substantial part of the way of the 3 kilometre trek to the market. The wind wasn’t too bad but the direction it was coming from should have sounded some alarm bells.
We started to make our way back to the boat laden with bags of shopping and were very fortunate to be picked up by the maitre ‘D’ of the Hotel Kanoba on his way to work. By the time we got back to the boat, the wind had really started to build. Maggi and Steve had left the sea wall and made their way around to the original anchorage we had pulled up to, to get some protection from the incoming weather.
We had literally left our run too late and it was too risky to try and move the boat in the prevailing
conditions. Fortunately we had, as part of our berthing practice, put springers on as well as a bow and stern line and the boat was very secure but was getting a bit of a toss around in the wind and chop that was being created.
Our darling host, I think as a bit of a consolation, told us that we could stay the night for free, we didn’t have much choice really as we were not, at that stage in any position to go anywhere at all but her generosity was really appreciated. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon just keeping an eye on the boat and adjusting fenders as the tide fell as the day progressed. There was little else to do except hope that the forecast of the wind to shift to the south west was a valid one and wait it out.
Sure enough the wind changed and the clouds started to disperse and the sun started to shine again. Maggi and Steve came over in their inflatable to say hello and after Steve helped me out with a couple of bits of repair to the boat, they readily accepted our offer
of dinner with us and a bit of Alsy’s soon to be internationally famous chicken and veg soup. Fresh soup, fresh bread, freshly grated parmesan cheese and a couple of bottles of local red all added up to a bloody good night. The winds had eased right off to nothing and our plans of making way to the Island of Mjlet the following morning seemed like a perfectly good way to end our visit to our most favourite island of the trip.
Debs and I had decided to away early, let the girls sleep during what we had thought was going to be a very pleasant reach over to our next choice of islands. We ended up aborting the passage after a couple of miles as the wind went from 15 knots to 20 knots to 30 knots in an incredibly short space of time and looked like blowing out much harder which in fact it did, gusting to 40 knots. At least we made a new personal best boat speed of 10.6 knots.
The swell was building just as rapidly and it was going to be a very ugly passage indeed if we had continued. One of
safe and sound
a cruising yacht using the WW2 gunboat bunker our reefing lines jammed tight and it was not the place to be so we headed back to the sanctuary of the bay we knew well. We made it into a very sheltered bay just outside an old WW2 gun boat bunker where a very smart skipper had taken refuge and cleared our reefing lines and settled the boat and crew down.
We tied up to a very safe, secure and calm berth and after a while went over and did a bit more shopping and came back and made a huge batch of delicious pancakes. I have to say Debs and the girls were simply sensational in sea conditions that were total crap, coupled with a bit of a complication with the reefing lines, could have made a lot of people absolutely lose it. We spent the rest of the day taking it easy, exploring the old WW2 tunnels before our youngest decided it was time for a bit of Fit Factory ah la Personal Trainer Layni in charge.
It rained quite heavily during the night and we were not sure what the next day would bring but sure enough when we woke up the sun was
out and it looked like it was going to clear up to be a pretty nice day. We listened to the marine radio reports and pretty smooth and favourable sailing conditions were forecast for our passage back to Korcula Island and up to Korcula old town.
We motored out of the bay and the conditions favoured a full main and headsail so the crew set about getting the sails up and getting the boat moving along under very pleasant conditions. As fate would have it the wind went from about 10 knots down to 2 knots so the old iron spinnaker came out once again and we motor sailed the whole way to Korcula some 30 odd miles away.
At least the sea conditions were favourable and it was a very easy and laid back passage. The younger members of the crew have utilised a section of the mattress that is used to make a double berth in the saloon and bring it up on deck with their pillows and take life very easy thank you very much, laying back taking in the sunshine where possible. Debsy is not one to let them rest too much and has
been very diligent using the passage time to run on board maths and spelling classes, I think there might be a bit of residual school maam lingering from a past life!!!!.
At least with the motor running we are able to use the autopilot without sacrificing any battery charge and it is pretty easy sitting back keeping watch which you have to do as there is so much rubbish in the water. Fish trap and fish net buoys tend to be around headlands and reefs but there are plenty of other little ‘traps’ to keep one on one’s toes as you make way, trees, tree branches, plastic bags, old mooring buoys, logs and timber all add up to a bit of an obstacle course at times.
We motored up to the ACI Marina at Korcula and were looking forward to what the marina guide book described as on shore laundry facilities. To say we needed to do a serious clothes wash was an understatement but after making inquiries with the reception our hopes were a bit dashed when we were told it was 250 Kuna, about $63.00, per bag of washing and if there was a mixture of
clothes then each bag would be charged individually!!. So off to the local shops for another plastic bucket and some washing powder and Debs prepared herself for a few hours of hand washing.
After that we grabbed a shower and freshened up and went for a bit of a walk around the V.O.M.T.O.T.S.S (The addition of the M is for medieval). After seeing Dubrovnik and Trogir I wasn’t expecting Korcula to be all that different but I am very happy to say she is. There are very few shops and most of the old town is taken up with very small and I mean very small apartments and houses all contained within the walled fortifications.
On the eastern side of the town is a lovely long section which has tables and chairs catering for the handful of restaurants and the one coffee shop that front the waterside facing the sun. We had dinner in the old town in a very quaint little restaurant (pizza again!!) and decided to explore the town in more earnest the following day.
Thursday the 24th brought absolute sunshine and warmth and was the perfect morning to get stuck in and finish getting
the washing done. Debsy rolled up the sleeves and got stuck right into it and there was a bit of a production line happening with Debs washing and rinsing and Nikki and I wringing out and hanging out. We had every spare bit of space on the deck taken up with weeks of clothes that had been worn just once too many times. Letting the clothes dry in the sunshine and nice breeze was a bit like seeing Christmas presents under the tree; just couldn’t wait to get hold of them and feel and smell the joy of clean, pleasant smelling clothes. Ahh the simple pleasures of life.
We did our little tour of the town following groups of tourists who had offloaded from the quite large ferry boat that arrives every Thursday from Dubrovnik. We found an incredible Museum in the heart of the town that was the Old Bishops Palace and a whole range of antiquities had been collected and donated by a Bishop some years ago. Sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci just some of the incredible items on display.
We were fortunate that the museum guide was born in New Zealand and spoke great English
even though she returned to Croatia when she was just one year old. I think she had a bit of affinity with the visiting Aussies and she took a great deal of time taking us through and describing the various exhibitions. A group from the ferry arrived and we thought she would need to attend to them but she more of less told us that these groups arrive every Thursday and she was happy to let them wander about and continued her personal tour with us. She also explained to us that the 25th of April is St Mark’s day in Korcula so we obviously had double reason to celebrate Debsy’s birthday the following day.
The town is quite small so it does not take all that long to see the sights on offer. We made plans to head to one of the restaurants on the foreshores for Debsy’s birthday rather than make little piggies of ourselves (much to my disappointment!) and I felt like a bit of time out and went for a nice long walk, some kilometres up along the island while Debs and the girls had some time doing Mum and daughter stuff. I think they
call that secret mum and daughter business. We had a pretty casual dinner on board looking forward to the weather report coming to fruition of a clear sunny day, one of Debsy’s strongest birthday wishes.
April 25 - Happy 50th Birthday Paddo, congratulations old boy.
Well the Birthday Gods were smiling as we woke to the best morning’s weather of the entire trip, not a cloud in the sky, the barometer showing it’s highest reading thus far, really warm and of course really sunny. The old town looked a treat, bathed in the morning light. There was no need to rush the morning and after Deb opened her cards and little gifts we sat around having coffee and making plans for lunch. We opted to miss breakfast and make up for it at our chosen lunch destination and we were certainly not going to be disappointed.
We opted for some steak and seafood and Debs and Layni had the grilled fillet and I totally pigged out and had the steak with a very large side order of grilled scampi. It was total decadence and one that I savoured every mouthful of. The setting was sensational, sitting in
the sun, overlooking the Adriatic and in one of the nicest streets we had, in my humble opinion, encountered in all of Croatia. We washed the meal down with a bit of local red and finished the meal with some great coffee and grappa.
Well we technically finished the meal but not the feasting and we walked to the nearby ice cream shop for Debsy’s choice of birthday cake - big scoop of yoghurt flavoured ice cream. We sat in the sun and Debs read her book while Nikki, Layni and I played a very aptly called game of ‘piggy in the middle’ with a ball that Layni had bought just after lunch.
While we were down by the harbour wall, a small local fishing boat came in and unloaded its catch. I was of the mistaken belief that there were no decent fish left in the med and was I to be put in my place very smartly. They unloaded a tub of a type of snapper that would have made any fisherman back home totally green with envy including one that would have had to top the scales at 20kg at least. With class A fish
selling for 500 Kuna ($125.00) a kilo in a restaurant, the two fishermen seemed very chuffed with themselves for their morning work.
We spent the rest of the day just lazing around talking to the crews of our neighbouring boats, one a very friendly group from Montreal in Canada and the other,
a delightful couple from Britain who were also making their way down to Greece in the same fashion as Steve and Maggie.
We have spent some time going over the weather reports and making plans for our passage tomorrow and it looks like the weather deems that we will head for the town of Hvar on the island of Hvar. We will provision up a bit later after getting some semblance of appetite back again after lunch and hopefully head off for a really nice days sailing. All being well we should be able to get a bit more internet as we head north and will be able to keep blogging a bit more often.
Debsy sends a big thank you for all of the birthday text’s and messages, they mean a lot to her and she (and the rest of us) love hearing from
you all. Keep well, miss you all.
Blog ya later, Alsy
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Megan
non-member comment
BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES
Hi Everyone, happy birthday Deb, sounds like you had a perfect day. I love reading all your blogs as it looks and sounds all to unreal. Only what you would see on the movies but you guys get to experience this in real life. Half the places you visit I wouldnt no even existed. Got a bit of a fright the other night walking along the beach and lights were on in the Sparks household, thought you guys were tricking and came home early, but Julie told me you had people staying, thank god for that, I thought they were squatters. Anyway, better get back to work, catch up with more blogs later. Love Megan Lawrence Aden and Brie xoxo