Croatia (with photos)

After Venice we spent a couple of nights anchored back at Rovinj, exploring the town and continuing our pattern of swimming and relaxing. This Venetian town's network of alleyways is best visited in the evening once the heat of the sun has subsided, and there is plenty of atmosphere as the cafes, restaurants and shops fill with tourists.

Rovinj by night


From Rovinj we travelled south, covering over 400 miles to Corfu in 12 days to meet family in Corfu. It involved several overnight journeys, visiting some beautiful places on the way. We stopped only briefly between Rovinj and Split, since we had explored the area on our journey north. A climb up the hill on Ist rewarded us with fantastic 360 degree views of the surrounding islands. We revisited a lovely anchorage on Dugi Otok before continuing on past the Kornati Islands. We reached Split under sail (goose winging for the first time) and endured another uncomfortable anchorage in the harbour while waiting for fuel (the ferries create a great deal of swell). The girls and I jumped ship and wandered through the old town. The setting is very impressive, as the streets wind through Diocletian's Palace (Diocletian was a Roman Emperor who built himself a palace on the Dalmatian coast to retire to). Venetian mansions and a revamped pedestrianised waterfront of chic cafes completed the scene.

Split's not-so-calm harbour waters


Diocletian's palace


The tunnels beneath Diocletian's Palace


From Split we continued south past Hvar to Korcula, another island with a beautiful Venetian peninsula town. This journey gave us our most exciting sail yet, where after a flat calm start the wind got up to force 5-6 and we hit 9.5 knots on a beam reach with full sail up. Picture the scene, Louise at the helm, Colin poised with camera to capture the magic speed on the instruments, Isla enjoying the cool breeze through an open hatch in the saloon. Wait a minute - did someone say OPEN hatch? If only we'd remembered to close it before hitting the wake of a superyacht passing at speed in the narrow channel which we drove into, sending water crashing over the foredeck and consequently into the saloon. Instant low from our previous high!

We searched long and hard around the area for an anchorage with good holding, trying several bays, but the strong winds which gave us exciting sailing meant we needed to find a solid protected anchorage. Finally we found good holding in Uvala Luka, the bay closest to Korcula Town, and the busiest anchorage we've seen on our trip to date. Exploring the town early (ish) the following day was a joy, the narrow winding streets giving glorious views to the sea and the spectacular mountains of the Pljesac peninsula.

Korcula Town seen from the dinghy


Enjoying the views from Korcula Town


South east of Korcula lies Mljet, an island which is predominantly a National Park. The crossing was hot and still, so we cooled off in the water by swimming from a line off the stern. Mid-swim we were overtaken by Mystere yet again, who gave us a wave as they beat us to the beautiful, peaceful anchorage of Ploce which is made up of several islands lying in a crystal water. The pine forest extends down the hillside to the rocky shore here, as on many of the islands we have seen through Croatia and we shared our chosen spot with hundreds, or maybe thousands, of humming secadas.

A mid-passage swim


Views of Mljet




On our way to Dubrovnik we visited Trsteno, a small town with a picture postcard harbour and wonderful botanical garden. We were fortunate that it was a very calm morning so we could leave the boat anchored in the exposed bay and go ashore to explore. And what a wonderful morning we spent wandering through the charming lanes where cottage gardens were laden with ripening fruit and vegetables. The gardens were a delight, beautifully maintained and providing cool leafy shade to explore. These are Croatia's oldest botanical gardens, created by an aristocratic family in 1502, parts of it were destroyed (and later restored) during the 1990s war and a subsequent fire. In the same town are a majestic pair of 400 year old plane trees. After taking far too many photos and stocking up on local produce (figs, tomatoes, grapes and a jar of tasty lemon jam), we set off for Dubrovnik.

Trsteno harbour


Trsteno's gardens




A 400-year old plane tree, with Isla for scale (if you can spot her climbing the trunk)


We had been eagerly looking forward to Dubrovnik as one of the highlights of the Adriatic, an elegant Medieval town with impressive city walls and an old town with real wow factor. Our friends on Islay Mist recommended anchoring in the river (they spent a week there and had found good holding) so we headed there, deciding to take water from the marina first. Little did we know that this would lead to our closest call yet. We took advise from the fuel berth as to where we could tie up for water but, just as we were manoevering in, 2 marina employees called us to halt. This unhappily coincided with a sudden gust of wind and from nowhere 20 knots pushed us towards the boat we were planning to tie up behind. A dramatic push off from Colin which saw him briefly leave Skyran so as not to loose grip of the other boat and full speed ahead by Louise saw us safely away with nothing damaged except our pride and previously blemish-free boat handling record.

Having narrowly escaped disaster we abandoned the river location, deciding instead that we should spend our last night in Croatia in view of the old town. We couldn't get a good holding in the bay where several other boats were anchored, only succeeding in pulling up our anchor full of weed (and making us wonder just how well anchored the other boats were). Instead we tucked inside the island of Lokrum where there was good holding (we also took a stern line to shore) and enjoyed the views of the town and the large superyachts in the bay (complete with floating hot tubs!).

Lokrum


The centre of Dubrovnik is incredibly well preserved, though needed renovation after it was under seige during the 1990s war. There is so much more to explore than we managed in our brief time here. We decided against wandering the 2kms of old town walls - the risks to our backs of lifting up the girls to peer over the walls for every view was too high (that and the 2km at toddler speed taking all day). The first evening we soaked up the atmosphere in the cooler temperatures. It was the final day of the city's summer festival so we were treated to a free concert as the orchestra warmed up for their grand finale (which was after the girls' bedtime).



The next day we were up early to explore before the heat of the day and catch the first cablecar up the mountain to take in more of the views. The original cablecar had been destroyed during the siege; fortunately for us it had reopened this summer, shiny and new, allowing fabulous views not only of the city but the islands stretching away to the north. Also on Mount Srd is a Napoleonic fort and fantastically Communist communications tower which looks like a 1950s space rocket.

View from Mount Srd to Lokrum



Our sightseeing included calling in on the pharmacy of a Franciscan monastery. Established in 1317 it is apparently the oldest pharmacy in Europe. I couldn't resist buying their botanical face creams with anti-ageing properties (for the accelerated ageing I've experienced while sailing with the girls, I hope it works!).

With Dubrovnik being such a popular destination it was no surprise to see Mystere approach and anchor closeby (the sailing superyacht first seen in Venice). This was to be our last encounter - as each vessel lifted its anchor later that day, Mystere headed north and we south to Cavtat. It was coincidental to have shared the same schedule from Venice to Dubrovnik, given that they can travel twice our speed.

Cavtat is another pretty harbour and the southern most port to sign out with customs. We had heard that it could be busy but we were lucky, the harbour wall was relatively quiet and the process didn't take too long. Our time in Croatia was over and it was time to move on to Greece, we had a good weather window for the 2 day/night crossing to Corfu. It felt sad to be sailing away but the happy memories we hold of our time here are too many to count and we had the whole of Greece to look forward to.

Venice

Our passage north from Pula to Rovinj was straightforward and we anchored in the bay for the afternoon. Rovinj is blessed with a beautiful setting, the old town was once an island but became connected to the mainland by a causeway during the 18th century as the town grew. It also has a beautiful bay surrounded by parkland. We spent the afternoon relaxing, swimming and playing on the (rocky) beach before setting off for Venice.

We had booked two nights at a marina within the Venetian lagoon on the island of Certosa and so, in order to get the best of our time there and to time our arrival with the tides, we decided to travel overnight and arrive in the morning. Checking out of Croatian customs at 7.30pm was straightforward and the overnight passage passed smoothly.


Leaving Rovinj

The next morning dawned a stunning sunrise and through our sleepy haze we excitedly anticipated reaching the lagoon entrance.


Sunrise (red sky at morning, shepherds take warning)


Entrance to the lagoon


There is a strong tidal flow in the lagoon, this is the first time we have had to consider tides during our time in the Med.

Our first stop was a cruise up the main waterway passing St Marks Square. Unlike 007, who was working on his laptop when he arrived by yacht in Venice in Casino Royale, we needed all our concentration to watch the other boats and negotiate our way through. Terrifying and exciting (terrifyingly exciting) and exhilarating sums up the feeling of steering a safe course through the myriad of different boats sharing the same waterways (at least for me, Colin took it all in his stride). The variety of boats ranged from kayaks, gondolas, vaporettos (waterbuses), cruise ships, ferries, and all the other private boats, water taxis and working boats. Everything in Venice travels by boat - the refuse and recycling collection, ambulances, dredging boats, and so on. All this traffic makes the water pretty choppy. The collision regulations rule of passing port to port doesn't apply in these busy waters and, just like driving in Tunisia, a more fluid approach was the best way to negotiate around everyone.


Travelling through the lagoon


View towards St Marks Square (this one's for you, Fee!)


Super-yacht Mystere moored by St Marks Square (more about her later...)


Happy skipper


Too much excitement for Maggie

Due to the shallow depths of the lagoon there are waterways marked out by wooden posts. We found our 'turn-off' from the main route (I held my breathe as I made the left turn across the main route with a ferry and several speedy water taxis bearing down on us, though needn't have worried, there's room enough for everyone), and headed to Marina Vento di Veneto on Isola di Certosa. The marina has a wonderfully peaceful setting only 500m from St Marks Square, yet is away from the churning waters of the main 'drag'. After settling in we headed off on the next vaporetto to explore some more.






We took the girls up the Campanile to get the stunning 360 degree views of the city, marvelling at the wonderful secret rooftop gardens and beautiful architecture surrounding us. When it came time to leave, and as we waited at the front of the queue for the lift down, the bell hovering just above our heads started to slowly swing. Surely, I thought, they don't actually chime the bells while there are people up here? But oh yes they do. At 7.30pm. The bell swung back and forth chiming and chiming, on and on like an apocalyptic cinematic scene. My thoughts returned to Maggie and her shrill hysterical screams and sobbing when we watched cannons and muskets being fired in Malta, and I anticipated her meltdown. Fortunately she just about held it together and the lift rescued us just in time - Maggie wide-eyed and clinging to me for dear life with her entire body. (By chance we happened to be in St Marks Square at the foot of the Campanile at 7.30pm the next day and I thought about the tourists crouched below the ringing bells sharing the same experience).


The Campanile


Those bells


Fantastic views

Safely back in St Marks Square we were treated to the dulcit tones of a busking soprano singer and cellist who were travelling from Italy to Edinburgh solely on the donations of their audiences.


Classical busking

As the adrenaline rush from the bells subsided we thought we'd visit the port officials as the pilot book was a bit vague as to whether we needed to report into the country (having arrived from a non-EU country). But all we succeeded in doing was confusing the officials at the entrance who spoke little english and thought that we had arrived by ferry and were looking for a hotel. And so typically of the friendliness of Italians they even tried to suggest where we might find one!
The following day the weather turned ugly. We found ourselves in the midst of a powerful thunderstorm while on a vaporetto and so we abandoned our plans for the day when the rain was particularly torrential and stayed on board for a bit of a tour. The vaporetto route took us to Murano, a separate island within the lagoon famous for its glassware. Some of the glass is exquisite, some bizarre and some highly imaginative. Taking the girls into a couple of these shops was more than our nerves could take (don't touch ANYTHING). We had some fun at [museum modern art] on Grand Canal. There is a lit floor in the entrance with changing colours and pop music playing, running around on that was enormously exciting for the girls.


Murano

The weather forecast showed more thunderstorms so we decided that we'd stay another night in the marina, and spent our unplanned third day having a relaxed time. We found a playpark with amazing views by the canals, and wondered the streets some more. Our lunch at a popular local cafe was shared with Luna, a hungry looking dog with no obvious owner but clearly known by and popular with everyone else in the cafe.


Face to face with Luna, who only had eyes for our sandwiches

Sunday dawned bright sunshine and so with sadness in our hearts (but relief for our bank balance), we left Venice and headed back across the Adriatic for Rovinj. The water is extremely shallow even once you have left the lagoon, averging around 30 metres depth. As a result the recent stormy weather had created a choppy sea and it was a lumpy bumpy motorsail east. We were making good speed, averaging 7 knots, when a large yacht with a very tall mast appeared on the horizon and sped past - Mystere which we had seen on our first day. And she was there again on the quay, attracting crowds come to stare at her, when we finally arrived back in Rovinj at 7.30pm, exactly 4 days after we had left (and just as those bells would be chiming again). Our long-weekend in Venice was truly wonderful and unforgettable.

Views of Certosa