With just Dee and I on board now we decided against another overnighter, opting to get into Pula after dark, where we knew the lay of the land and could anchor up easily. Or that’s what we thought.
It was a pretty uneventful sail/motor back from Venice after an 8 o’clock start, having hung around for the marina guy to show up to help us out of our tight slip.
We got to Pula on dusk and got treated to the light show on the cranes as we came in. We pulled up to the customs dock and checked in quickly and easily. Then we anchored off to the side of the jetty and went to sleep.
We woke to a knocking on the hull as the port guy told us we had to move quickly as a cruise ship was coming and we needed to give him more space. Okay, maybe anchoring wasn’t quite as straight forward as we thought.
We didn’t stay re-anchored long as we needed to move into the marina to get our newly repaired wind instrument refitted. The guys had done a good job of refurbishing our badly corroded wind instrument but couldn’t manage to thread the new cable through the mast so they could wire it all up. All they did was manage to pull the old cable out – without the new one attached. Lagoon had left a mouse line in the mast but the top of this had come loose meaning that was no use either. There was much talk of having to drop the mast, before I called a halt to proceeding after having talked to the Croatian Lagoon agent who suggested we sail down to Murter to have things attended to.
So early next morning we headed south. Murter was a bit far in one day so we stopped off in nice bay called Baratol on the island of Pasman, before getting up early to beat the final 15nm into Marina Bertina on the island of Murter, where the Raymarine guys who were recommended hung out.
We got there just in time as we had 40kt winds for the next few days. The guys managed to get up the mast and get things sorted, finishing late into the evening before the winds got too bad. It was still a bitch of a job, as inside of the mast is a bit tight in places but they managed to get the mouseline, firstly down to where the halyards exit the mast and finally down to a rather crowded exit point where all the other electrical cables exit.
In fact Murter is a bit of a find, being one of those places in Croatia where you find really good technicians. Talked to a lot of satisfied customers in the marina who had various things fixed over the years.
Murter is also connected to the mainland via a traffic bridge making it a good island to leave the boat for a bit of exploring by car.
But no time for that in our quest to get around to Sicily, before picking up Claire and Kane in Sorrento in a few weeks time. With the wind gone and the wind instrument reporting the fact, it was time to head for Vis, our final destination in Croatia.
We crossed the bridge and headed for the Santa Maria Gloriosa del Frari. As we got closer the rain started coming down in buckets and we retreated to a café for wine and cappuccino. Two drinks later, the rain abated and we made it to the church (on time). Its spectacular in its shear size and its marvellous paintings, sculptures and its pretty cool altarpiece by some dude called Titian. What caught our eye was a sculpture depicting black slaves, a quite haunting commentary on the wrongs of slavery. Good on the old Franciscan monks for taking a stand a long time ago because slavery was something the Venetians of old used to trade in.
Then it was off to Harry’s Bar. Unfortunately it had just ticked over 6pm so my shorts were a problem. So back to the boat for a shower and a change. Whilst on the Island of San Georgio we checked out the impressive yacht club we were staying at but unfortunately the season was a few weeks off and the weather was bad so the bar and restaurant was deserted.
We then had another crack at getting a temporary dingy license to cruise the canals. This time the Tourist Info Office directed us towards the City Hall and after being bounced around several offices and ending up at one that seemed to know what was going on, only to be told it was no longer a municipale responsibility but has now been transferred to the regional government, one hours bus ride away. Back at the boat, I read an email from Ellen who said a girl at another marina could organise it, but when I rang her she talked about organising it through the Tourist Information Office, but not before we were leaving. It was time to put up the white flag.
We hopped off at Salute and admired the wonderful church and then wandered the interesting streets that are found around the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. With the sun shining, it was too good a day to stay inside.
We got to Molat at 3pm and anchored in Luka Jazi. We’d picked out Molat because it looked off the tourist track and the bay on the chart looked inviting. It turned out to be a gem of a pick.
We motor sailed up from the fresh water river of Skadin back out to the Adriatic and pointed our nose North. Passed lots of yachts racing as we dodged numerous islands, large and small. We arived at Zadar at 4pm, passing the famous sea organ and headed to Zadar Marina, which at 130 euros a night (ouch) was the cheapest of any of the marinas in the immediate area. Marinas are It in Zadar – not much in the way of anchoring.
We tied up and walked into the old town where we checked out the old walls and gates, the Roman forum and some impressive old churches.
We parked and hopped on a bus/train that takes you to the top of a chain of 16 terraced lakes, joined by waterfalls, that extend into a limestone canyon. We followed the walkways that wind around and across the water, before taking the Lake Kozjak ferry that links the upper and lower lakes. After a quick lunch, we continued to explore the lower lakes until we got to Veliki Slap, a 78m-high waterfall. Luckily we left the best to last.
A Little Bit of Mischief 