Scary stormy night .

[Tidewaiter2]

Sorry to hear all that Vic. I'm glad we're home at this moment.

This summer seems to be like 2014 with all the thunderstorms coming through. Last year was virtually storm free as were most of the years before 2014. I hope that 2016 is not a foretaste of years to come.

Good luck to you and Chrissie.

Richard

+100, Vic, hope all goes well, hang in there, it has been an evil season most places in Europe this year.
If it's not too much wind, it's none and fog/rain out of firehoses!
Dick

 

[sailaboutvic]

Other then the noise of the wind , and Some shouting from the Italian boat , who seen to have moved over night we had a pretty good night , considering every thing .
the thunderstorms keep its distance , the wind blow steadily as forecaster from the NE top gust we sew was 40 kts , the wind mostly stayed about 28/32 , the seas a couple of feet , has I said to someone in an earlier posting , it's a good shelter from the Bora ,
it only takes a wind shift to make an safe shelter anchorage into a dangerous place , but that can happen any time , its a risk for us who anchor dally have to take and when it happens , deal with it the best we can .

We thanks full that there wasn't many boats here and every one anchored in a way taken other boats in consideration ( other then the silly Italian ) .

It's not over yet , the forecaster is for the Bora to carry on blowing till this evening , the good news is its dropping as the day goes on .

I know some will be wondering , why our we out here went there thunderstorms forecaster , the simple answer is thunderstorms have been forecaster nearly every day for the last three weeks , this is the second one we had in that time , last one we sailed through it.
If we took notice of every thunderstorm warning we would never leave the harbour .

The other question is , why not go onto an Marina .
we feel and are safer in an shelter anchorage , then we are in a Marina or in an harbour on a concrete wall .

There a lovely blue sky , with very little clouds , sun out , the winds dropped to 15 kts and almost flat water so much better then the other night .
Time for a dip .
Thanks everyone for your kind posting and wishing us well .

 

[d4raffy]

We fly out to Croatia (Frapa) tomorrow - so glad this one is over. Pleased you made it thru. Have other friends who sat it out where you are.... Hope it doesn't follow up with a Hugo !

I have a theory about summertime sailing in Croatia - I think if the weather is too good for too long. Everybody anchors out. So the Marinas get together and slip the weather forecaster a bung to issue the famous "possibility of isolated storms 25-55kts". This makes everyone (mainly charters) scamper off to marinas and spend tons of cash ! Usually nothing shows up. But when a real Bora shows up in the mix .... all hell breaks loose.

I saw them queued 30 boats out trying to get into Frapa the other week - nothing turned up. €€€€ for Frapa ) but my favourite restaurant was full :-(

DHMZ is nearly always right - but i always take a sneaky look at Predict wind

wishing you ... Fair winds, clean diesel and good holding.....

 

[RichardS]

We fly out to Croatia (Frapa) tomorrow - so glad this one is over. Pleased you made it thru. Have other friends who sat it out where you are.... Hope it doesn't follow up with a Hugo !

I have a theory about summertime sailing in Croatia - I think if the weather is too good for too long. Everybody anchors out. So the Marinas get together and slip the weather forecaster a bung to issue the famous "possibility of isolated storms 25-55kts". This makes everyone (mainly charters) scamper off to marinas and spend tons of cash ! Usually nothing shows up. But when a real Bora shows up in the mix .... all hell breaks loose.

I saw them queued 30 boats out trying to get into Frapa the other week - nothing turned up. €€€€ for Frapa ) but my favourite restaurant was full :-(

DHMZ are nearly always right - but i always take a sneaky look at Predict wind

wishing you ... Fair winds, clean diesel and good holding.....

Aaggghhh ... don't mention Rogoznica to Vic ...... the place has bad memories for him as he recounted to me recently. :ambivalence:

Out of interest, which is your favourite restaurant? We've eaten at San Marco several times over the years but it was really disappointing when we ate there a few months ago so we need to find somewhere better.

Richard

 

[d4raffy]

Out of interest, which is your favourite restaurant? We've eaten at San Marco several times over the years but it was really disappointing when we ate there a few months ago so we need to find somewhere better.

Richard

Restaurant Siesta - better out of peak-season as always too busy, so book well ahead.

 

[RichardS]

Restaurant Siesta - better out of peak-season as always too busy, so book well ahead.

Thanks. Although we've been to Rogoznica dozens of times over the years we've never walked down that road to the marina but always headed over the causeway to the town centre. We'll aim to try Siesta when we're down there in a few weeks.
Richard

 

[LONG_KEELER]

What a magnificent but challenging experience. Thanks for sharing.

In a world that is trying to insulate and isolate us from that nasty thing called nature, it must have been quite a transcending and spiritual thing to have happened.

If you or I had been aware of all the possibilities before anchoring you would probably have been in a safe harbour somewhere eating fish and chips .

 

[Metabarca]

You suffered what is locally called a 'neverin', which blasts in from the west, often with next to no warning and which can reach gale force in just few minutes, accompanied by heavy rain. I fear them more than the bora, which can blow howlingly fast but is forecastable. A friend of mine was motoring (mainsail up) across a calm sea when he was overtaken by one and within seconds was with his mast in the water.
Here at Trieste, we are currently enjoying a gentle 18-knot bora (gusting 34) and brilliant sun

 

[sailaboutvic]

Glad it all worked out well for you and proof that modern high holding power anchors are worth it. Some questions if you don't mind: -
Did you use a snubber and if so what length, diameter and material?
Did the boat still snatch heavily or did the snubber do it job and dampen the extreme pitching?
Have you retrieved the anchor yet, was it well dug in and hard to retrieve or retrieved as normal?
What was the sea bed?

Thanks,

BlowingOldBoots

Ok I can answer your your last question now , yesterday we retrieved the anchor , the windless 1000w wasn't having any of it so we slowly drove it out , when it came up it had a lump of sand/mud which we had to scrap it off with my hands as no amount of dipping in the water and reversing , shaking or poking it with the pole would shift the last bit , at less we know now where to go next time .

The wind drop enough yesterday after noon , for us to move on ,
we had some friends to pick up and after three nights in one spot and we had enough ,
it was forecaster for the strong NE wind to return due the evening and night which it did , blowing a steady 22 to 25 kts ,
It comes a point when enough is enough the good news is there are suppose to start to drop to day as a high moves over from the West .
I wish I could say we learn some thing from the other night , other then if you have the room use has much scope as you can . If you happen to get caught out with a wind shift like we did , It can only help ,
But we knew that anyway , I need to practice what I preach .

The 9:1 scope we had in the begin worked and held us ,
We normal use 5:1 in most condition unless we know we in for a big blow .


If it's any interest to any one we did speak to five out of the six boat that was there ,
three had Rocna one had a Bugel and one a spade ' three had 10mm chain two who had 8 mm , the boat that was knocked over and drag had 8 mm and the spade , although to be honest I think it could had happened to any of us .
Two of the skipper told us , it a regular spot from them to anchor if there a Bora on the way .
what everyone agreed on , me too if it wasn't for the thunderstorm the most that would had happen was maybe some broken sleep .

We now chalk it up to experience and getting on with enjoying our time our life .
My view is still has it always have been , I'm better off on my anchor then in a harbour with a concrete wall to deal with if all goes wrong .

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Firstly, glad it all worked out OK for you, I also have my boat in Croatia and have ridden out a few Boras at anchor, fortunately however, never anywhere with a long fetch and big waves.

DHMZ is a wonderful web site, the "Adriatic Sea" forecast is excellent but I always spend some time checking out the "ALADIN/HR" and the "Marine Forecast" links. This year has been very unsettled for August IMO - I'm just back from 3 weeks in the North/Central Adriatic and my impression is that it certainly hasn't been this unsettled in August since I bought my boat in 2011.

My holiday this year involved more planning based on weather than I've ever done before and we were hit by quite violent thunderstorms at night 4 or 5 times in total, with many more passing by in the distance, one almost completely filled the dinghy with rainwater, another had us as one of the only 2 remaining boats in the southern part of the anchorage in Punat as one after another the others upped anchor and headed for the marina. The following morning I used my kedge to winch an American boat off the shallows as he accidentally ran aground - a very eventful year so far.

I'd have to disagree about avoiding marinas though ... most of the large marinas in Croatia are very well constructed and IMO are great places to wait out a storm with the most likely damage being a bit of gelcoat should fenders fail or ride up. My main objection to anchoring is the danger from other boats .... we've almost been 'collected' by dragging boats a couple of times and I'm very averse to having someone anchor up-wind of me if a blow is expected. My other problem is that if it lasts more than 2 days then I suffer from fatigue due to lack of proper sleep, and when I'm tired, the probability of a mistake or an accident rises considerably. Some people deal much better with this than me, but recognising your own limitations is an important part of keeping everything safe IMO.

One big well-set anchor with plenty of scope, windage reduced by folding down the sprayhood and bimini, and the dinghy trailed out the back on a short rope attached low to stop it turning into a kite has worked well for us so far - plus never being directly exposed to a large fetch, even if it means a few hours unpleasant motor-sailing to find suitable shelter. In waves I'd use a snubber, otherwise I just use the chain and rely on the arc of chain to provide the damping, my opinion is that a snubber helps with the snatch loads created by waves, but if it breaks the following mega-snatch can do more damage than straight chain with no snubber - so then you're into doubling up the snubber and it takes more effort to recover the anchor because the snubbers need to be removed and cleared out of the way first. Just my opinion though for my particular boat which is a 11.5m AWB where so far the bow roller and windlass have survived everything (although I do wrap the chain round the windlass winch side to prevent it popping out of the gypsy.)

Over the last few years I've collected a list of good bolt-holes should the weather turn nasty, my overall impression of Croatia is that the really awful winds get funnelled straight down the coast - gut feeling averaging NW - (Velebit is particularly bad) and that these can be shifted to anything from WSW to ESE dependent on localised geography or thunderstorms. I tend to head for places which are only open to the south (SW to SE) and reduce the fetch to as little as possible, avoiding large bays and look for sandy or muddy bottoms - rocky bottoms are too unpredictable for me.

A friend of mine was anchored in Rogoznica (outside Marina Frappa) and on the morning of the 22 August a yacht was lying on the shore .

 

[RichardS]

A friend of mine was anchored in Rogoznica (outside Marina Frappa) and on the morning of the 22 August a yacht was lying on the shore .

Now that's interesting because that bay has very well populated with mooring buoys over the last few years. Was your friend on a buoy and, more importantly, does he know whether the beached boat was on a buoy?

Richard

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Now that's interesting because that bay has very well populated with mooring buoys over the last few years. Was your friend on a buoy and, more importantly, does he know whether the beached boat was on a buoy?

Richard

My friend was definately anchored, he knew of another boat that dragged approx. 300m with the occupants asleep and oblivious, but no idea if the beached boat was on a buoy or anchored.

 

[IanJackson]

Hi Vic,
We were also caught in the Gale of 21-22/8/16. Here is what happened to us.
We were on Unije Island, Istria, Croatia, anchored just to the north of the ferry quay at Unije Town, along with 3 other boats. We had dinner in the restaurant overlooking the ferry quay. It was a very quiet peaceful evening, calm sea, hot and sunny. We believed that being on the west side of the island we would be protected from the expected strong NE wind (bora). We set our Delta anchor in 5-7 metres with 20m of cable. Just before going to bed I let out another 10m of cable.
About 1am, I awoke to sound of rain. I got up to close the hatches and found to my horror that we had swung towards the quay not as expected away from it. As I watched the a huge squall hit us. The air was filled with water and wind suddenly increased to a roar. As I watched the boat moved slowly ever closer to the quay upon which the sea was now crashing. I immediately started the engine but had no time to switch on any lights or instruments. I gunned the engine and blindly tried to steer the boat away from the quay even though we were still anchored. Jenny emerged from the cabin and quickly assessed the danger we were in; we both agreed we had to get the anchor up so we could get clear of the quay. she put the instruments and nav lights and deck light on and by now I could see the wind had was howling at 45 kts from the North, having curved around the north end of the island to get into the harbour. Jenny dressed in nightie and anorak managed to crawl to the bow and winch the anchor up while I managed to steer the boat away fro the quay and the 3 other boats anchored nearby which were briefly glimpsed during the frequent flashed of lightning. We managed to get the anchor up. Jenny was soaking wet and had her specs whipped off her face in 40+ winds.
We managed to re-anchor further out as the rain eased but the wind kept blowing 28 its plus. We sat in the cockpit, cold, wet, being bounced around to catch our breath all the while keeping an eye on the GPS to ensure the anchor was holding.
As we sat there, we saw a red distress flare go up from a boat about a mile from us across the harbour. It had been anchored but now had nav lights and steaming light on. As we watched we saw the lights tilt madly and we realised that he had run aground and the boat was on its side. We called Rijeka Radio on Ch 16 and reported what e’d seen and thought had happened. It was obvious that they were overwhelmed with emergency calls because their reply was 'can you go and help as we have a number of emergency calls and the weather is too bad to send out a boat’! Naturally we reported we were not in a position to help.
Eventually the family who were on board the boat which had gone aground managed to get off and walk ashore and to safety. We heard a number of mayday calls that night. After about 2 hours the storm abated enough for us to go back to bed and try and get some sleep.
One of the other boats anchored near us had a problem with their anchor and spent the night circling in the lee of the island until it was light enough to go on the quay and sort out their problem. Also in the day light we noticed that a small motor boat had gone aground in the night.
The weather can change so quickly here and even when you think you are safe, the situation can change in an instant.
One very strange occurrence, after Solent Clipper having sat out 40+ winds, waves breaking over the bow and the following day motoring for 4 hours to Medulin through high winds and choppy seas, we found Jenny's spectacles on the side top deck, port side! Explain that one! We are still bemused!
Ian and Jenny
Solent Clipper

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hi Vic,
We were also caught in the Gale of 21-22/8/16. Here is what happened to us.
We were on Unije Island, Istria, Croatia, anchored just to the north of the ferry quay at Unije Town, along with 3 other boats. We had dinner in the restaurant overlooking the ferry quay. It was a very quiet peaceful evening, calm sea, hot and sunny. We believed that being on the west side of the island we would be protected from the expected strong NE wind (bora). We set our Delta anchor in 5-7 metres with 20m of cable. Just before going to bed I let out another 10m of cable.
About 1am, I awoke to sound of rain. I got up to close the hatches and found to my horror that we had swung towards the quay not as expected away from it. As I watched the a huge squall hit us. The air was filled with water and wind suddenly increased to a roar. As I watched the boat moved slowly ever closer to the quay upon which the sea was now crashing. I immediately started the engine but had no time to switch on any lights or instruments. I gunned the engine and blindly tried to steer the boat away from the quay even though we were still anchored. Jenny emerged from the cabin and quickly assessed the danger we were in; we both agreed we had to get the anchor up so we could get clear of the quay. she put the instruments and nav lights and deck light on and by now I could see the wind had was howling at 45 kts from the North, having curved around the north end of the island to get into the harbour. Jenny dressed in nightie and anorak managed to crawl to the bow and winch the anchor up while I managed to steer the boat away fro the quay and the 3 other boats anchored nearby which were briefly glimpsed during the frequent flashed of lightning. We managed to get the anchor up. Jenny was soaking wet and had her specs whipped off her face in 40+ winds.
We managed to re-anchor further out as the rain eased but the wind kept blowing 28 its plus. We sat in the cockpit, cold, wet, being bounced around to catch our breath all the while keeping an eye on the GPS to ensure the anchor was holding.
As we sat there, we saw a red distress flare go up from a boat about a mile from us across the harbour. It had been anchored but now had nav lights and steaming light on. As we watched we saw the lights tilt madly and we realised that he had run aground and the boat was on its side. We called Rijeka Radio on Ch 16 and reported what e’d seen and thought had happened. It was obvious that they were overwhelmed with emergency calls because their reply was 'can you go and help as we have a number of emergency calls and the weather is too bad to send out a boat’! Naturally we reported we were not in a position to help.
Eventually the family who were on board the boat which had gone aground managed to get off and walk ashore and to safety. We heard a number of mayday calls that night. After about 2 hours the storm abated enough for us to go back to bed and try and get some sleep.
One of the other boats anchored near us had a problem with their anchor and spent the night circling in the lee of the island until it was light enough to go on the quay and sort out their problem. Also in the day light we noticed that a small motor boat had gone aground in the night.
The weather can change so quickly here and even when you think you are safe, the situation can change in an instant.
One very strange occurrence, after Solent Clipper having sat out 40+ winds, waves breaking over the bow and the following day motoring for 4 hours to Medulin through high winds and choppy seas, we found Jenny's spectacles on the side top deck, port side! Explain that one! We are still bemused!
Ian and Jenny
Solent Clipper

Hi Ian
Just another day In a sailors life , haha we know just how you felt .
We heard you was in Croatia , we near split for the next few days before sailing over to Italy , if your this way let us and we try and meet you .
Vic

 

[RichardS]

Hi Vic,
We were also caught in the Gale of 21-22/8/16. Here is what happened to us.
We were on Unije Island, Istria, Croatia, anchored just to the north of the ferry quay at Unije Town, along with 3 other boats. We had dinner in the restaurant overlooking the ferry quay. It was a very quiet peaceful evening, calm sea, hot and sunny. We believed that being on the west side of the island we would be protected from the expected strong NE wind (bora). We set our Delta anchor in 5-7 metres with 20m of cable. Just before going to bed I let out another 10m of cable.

One very strange occurrence, after Solent Clipper having sat out 40+ winds, waves breaking over the bow and the following day motoring for 4 hours to Medulin through high winds and choppy seas, we found Jenny's spectacles on the side top deck, port side! Explain that one! We are still bemused!
Ian and Jenny
Solent Clipper

That sounds like a really bad experience Ian. I've been sailing in Croatia for years but I've never heard a Mayday call, never mind several. The glasses thing sounds like the silver lining that is supposed to accompany every cloud, apparently even Bora ones.

We were anchored in Medulin during the mid-July bora/thunderstorm and it's a great place right up in the NE corner ..... really thick gloopy mud and no fetch in any direction. First time for me there but I'd always make for it in future if I was within reach and a storm was forecast.

Richard

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Hi Vic,
We were also caught in the Gale of 21-22/8/16. Here is what happened to us. .....

We were in that exact same anchorage on the Friday night, 19th August, boat was fortunately safely tucked up in Veruda on Sunday night - there but for the grace of God .....

Had a very similar experience when anchored in Uvala Soline next to Veruda Marina. Had a line ashore and an anchor out due to the volume of boats and a thunder storm squall hit us from the side just past midnight. The anchor let go but fortunately re-set and we settled about 4m from the rocks, shore line and anchor holding solid thank heavens. Started the engine, abandoned the shore-line and motored out to recover the anchor. 45 mins later it was as if nothing had happened .... recovered the shore line with the dinghy and went to my berth in the marina thoroughly shaken up and swearing never to anchor with a shore line if "isolated thunderstorms" are forecast again (which is quite often in the Adriatic.)

My go-to anchorages are Medulin as Richard described, Punat, Uvala Prklog near Rabac, Uvala Sveta Fumija on Rab, then Uvala Vogniska or Uvala Potkujni on Unije at a pinch. If the weather is going to be really foul, the first four have wonderful dense mud bottoms.

 

[IanJackson]

Thanks for list of 'safe anchorages', also thanks Vic for your blog on anchorages in Croatia. We found it really useful this year.
We're currently in Novigrad, have to be out of Croatia by 1 September. Will spend a few days in Slovenia before heading up to Monfalcone. What are your plans? Are you coming up this way, it would be great to meet up.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Thanks for list of 'safe anchorages', also thanks Vic for your blog on anchorages in Croatia. We found it really useful this year.
We're currently in Novigrad, have to be out of Croatia by 1 September. Will spend a few days in Slovenia before heading up to Monfalcone. What are your plans? Are you coming up this way, it would be great to meet up.

We also leaving some time this week heading from Italy first then Greece to do a refit on a second yacht email us and we tell you about it , I would email you but we had an load of email address disappair in Internet space .
Say hi to Jenny .

 

[Metabarca]

Hi Ian,
what marina are you booked into in Monfalcone? My boat's in Trieste but I live nearer Monfie. Perhaps meet up for a beer if you need any local info?
Lucian

 

[bikesherpa]

Sorry to hear all that Vic.
That Sunday night I was safely moored at Marina Trogir, just few miles north of where you were in Kastela. I had spent the entire prior week at anchor, but that night a passing cold front was forecasted and therefore I decided to take secure shelter. Under that condition, it is quite likely during summer months in Dalmatia for convective storms to develop. We call them "Neverin" and they mostly blow wind from the West (although direction changes).
I always keep a watch on the rain and convective storm forecast on this site
http://www.wetterzentrale.de/en/top...gfs&var=4&run=0&time=3&lid=OP&h=0&tr=3#mapref
This summer, they seemed to be quite accurate in predicting major storms.