Under way, eventually (a 1200+ Nm cruise around Italy)

A little update.

We spent the last couple of nights in Mali Losinj for a bit of civilization, and we also met a nice couple of Italians who gave us a suggestion on a good fish restaurant called "Corrado" - a 10 mins walk from the center of the village along the docks.
Very good indeed, I must say. Well, by Croatian standards, anyway.
Scampi carpaccio is what we would suggest to anyone wishing to give it a try.

This afternoon, we moved south a bit. Not much, 20Nm or so. Did I say that we are taking the delivery trip VERY easy? :rolleyes:
Anyhow, the place we reached is yet another anchorage right in the middle of nowhere.
Shame that Google maps doesn't show a real time satellite image, otherwise you could see us right in the middle of this bay…

This is how the place looked like, just before the sunset...
Nxj6yOgV_o.jpg


VmqNqPeX_o.jpg
 
MapisM said:
.......Very good indeed, I must say. Well, by Croatian standards, anyway.......
Click to expand...

We noticed a definite Italian influence on the Croatian coast and islands that we visited, afaik it was a part of provincial Italy (Dalmation coast), dating back to Roman Empire days, becoming more Balkan as you move inland.
 
AndieMac said:
We noticed a definite Italian influence on the Croatian coast and islands that we visited, afaik it was a part of provincial Italy (Dalmation coast), dating back to Roman Empire days, becoming more Balkan as you move inland.
Click to expand...

One of the attractions of the Croatian coastline is the fact that just about every imperial army and their dog has marched through the area and left their mark one way or another, including the Venetian empire. There is certainly a strong Italian influence in Istria in the north of Croatia with some good food and excellent wine (Mapism may disagree with that:D) but that Italian influence diminishes as you go further south

Even we Brits have left our mark with the help of the Australians. During the Napoleonic wars, the island of Vis was occupied by the British Navy and they remained there for long enough to establish a cricket club! Of course we tend to do that wherever we go. When the Brits left, cricket on the island ceased. Many years later a Croatian from Vis called Roki emigrated to Australia where he picked up a love for the game. On his return to Vis some years later, he discovered to his amazement that his home island of Vis had a cricketing history and he decided to re-introduce the game to the island. There is still a flourishing cricket club on Vis and many British cricket clubs visit the island for a game. There is a restaurant called Rokis https://www.rokis.hr/en/ owned by the family next to the cricket ground which serves an excellent lamb peka washed down with their own locally produced wine
 
Deleted User said:
One of the attractions of the Croatian coastline is the fact that just about every imperial army and their dog has marched through the area and left their mark one way or another, including the Venetian empire. There is certainly a strong Italian influence in Istria in the north of Croatia with some good food and excellent wine (Mapism may disagree with that:D) but that Italian influence diminishes as you go further south

Even we Brits have left our mark with the help of the Australians. During the Napoleonic wars, the island of Vis was occupied by the British Navy and they remained there for long enough to establish a cricket club! Of course we tend to do that wherever we go. When the Brits left, cricket on the island ceased. Many years later a Croatian from Vis called Roki emigrated to Australia where he picked up a love for the game. On his return to Vis some years later, he discovered to his amazement that his home island of Vis had a cricketing history and he decided to re-introduce the game to the island. There is still a flourishing cricket club on Vis and many British cricket clubs visit the island for a game. There is a restaurant called Rokis https://www.rokis.hr/en/ owned by the family next to the cricket ground which serves an excellent lamb peka washed down with their own locally produced wine
Click to expand...

Interesting story Mike, cheers.
 
If you go to Calvi NW Corsica there’s a citadel ,castle like in Port Vaudan on top of a natural rocky outcrop.
It looks impregnable from the sea as you approach .
We had a walk up to have a look around and low and behold there’s a bronze statue of a young man in his twenties .

It’s Nelson .

Yup of the battle of Trafalgar fame ( some years later )

What happened is when he was a young junior officer , in a war with the Fr we tried to take it head on from the sea in a conventional manner .
The defending cannons where bigger with a longer range and literally blew us out of the water as the fleet approached .
After the battle all the senior officers ,Admials etc were killed so at one point young Lieutenant Nelson found himself appointed the CO .
He withdrew what ships we had left out of range and in the night after studying the charts went a few miles down the W coast to a secluded bay landed out of sight ,unloaded the wheeled cannons ashore and the crews dragged them up the mountains overs looking the citadel .
Next morning at dawn opened fire from higher up and behind .This part was poorly defended and the Fr surrended .
In other words came through the back door via land by surprise
I think we had Corsica for quit a while 70 years from memory and handed it back to the Fr as part of a piece treaty .

Nelson was rapidly promoted I think he was 24 when he took Calvi off the Fr in Corsica .
Writing was on the wall that his lad would go far and rise up through the ranks rapidly.
A bit of canon fire splinters from a rock took an eye out too during this battle .Hence the patch .

By the time Trafalger happened from memory some 20 or so years later ( which every school kid knows about-1815 ) he was a battle hardened experienced commander .

Not sure if we set up a cricket team on Corsica too :)—- probably did ?
 
Last edited:
Deleted User said:
There is certainly a strong Italian influence in Istria in the north of Croatia with some good food and excellent wine
(Mapism may disagree with that :D)
Click to expand...
Actually, I agree to some extent, 'cause in Istria it's somewhat easy to find also IT wines, in decent restaurants. :D

Funny that you should mention Vis right after talking of wine, btw.
In fact, the island has a reputation for being home of the finest HR wineries - it's no coincidence that the opening page of that Roki's restaurant whose link you posted shows a wineyard.
Tbh, the last time we've been in Vis we weren't overwhelmingly impressed also from their wines...
But a couple of reds that we tried there were very drinkable, though I can't for the life of me remember the names!

Nice story ref. Brit occupation of Vis and cricket introduction.
Every day is a school day - I never heard of all that in a whole decade of HR cruising!
 
Sorry folks, I understand that you might be disappointed by the rather slow updates to this thread.
Otoh, slow is how both myself and swmbo like it, when it comes to cruising! :encouragement:

We spent the last few days anchored in the bay which I already mentioned in my previous post #101, because:
a) we couldn't be bothered to move somewhere else;
b) the stock of food and wine was still above critical level (just!);
c) weather has been good enough to leave the boat always as steady as if she were on the hard;
d) lastly, being reasonably far from other anchored boats, we also enjoyed a bit of naked swimming before some friends will join us, forcing us to behave properly... :D

Anyway, tomorrow we will move South towards Zadar, where the first friend will come onboard.
Another couple will follow in Split later.

In the meantime, almost in real time, just a couple of pics as a consolation for those who think that the Med is where the sun always shines and the stars are always bright. Which is not that far from the truth, actually... :cool:
...But not tonight - see below!

Though I must say that if I should choose where to be anchored during a thunderstorm, the HR archipelago would be right at the top of my choices.
Safely sheltered at all times in dead calm waters (as somewhat visible also in the pics) - couldn't have been better! :encouragement:
YGaP9SP3_o.jpg


U1Swa1Qj_o.jpg
 
MapisM said:
Sorry folks, I understand that you might be disappointed by the rather slow updates to this thread.
Otoh, slow is how both myself and swmbo like it, when it comes to cruising! :encouragement:

We spent the last few days anchored in the bay which I already mentioned in my previous post #101, because:
a) we couldn't be bothered to move somewhere else;
b) the stock of food and wine was still above critical level (just!);
c) weather has been good enough to leave the boat always as steady as if she were on the hard;
d) lastly, being reasonably far from other anchored boats, we also enjoyed a bit of naked swimming before some friends will join us, forcing us to behave properly... :D

Anyway, tomorrow we will move South towards Zadar, where the first friend will come onboard.
Another couple will follow in Split later.

In the meantime, almost in real time, just a couple of pics as a consolation for those who think that the Med is where the sun always shines and the stars are always bright. Which is not that far from the truth, actually... :cool:
...But not tonight - see below!

Though I must say that if I should choose where to be anchored during a thunderstorm, the HR archipelago would be right at the top of my choices.
Safely sheltered at all times in dead calm waters (as somewhat visible also in the pics) - couldn't have been better! :encouragement:
YGaP9SP3_o.jpg


U1Swa1Qj_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Incredible photos. :encouragement: Excellent blog.
 
not bad, not bad pics at all :D
bloody brilliant actually!
how many did you take to select the two P?

bad weather is coming our way over the w/e, might as well as it's 35+ and not the right weather for antifouling :(
Means you should be clear to move under blue skies again.

cheers

V.
 
MapisM said:
Sorry folks, I understand that you might be disappointed by the rather slow updates to this thread.
Otoh, slow is how both myself and swmbo like it, when it comes to cruising! :encouragement:

We spent the last few days anchored in the bay which I already mentioned in my previous post #101, because:
a) we couldn't be bothered to move somewhere else;
b) the stock of food and wine was still above critical level (just!);
c) weather has been good enough to leave the boat always as steady as if she were on the hard;
d) lastly, being reasonably far from other anchored boats, we also enjoyed a bit of naked swimming before some friends will join us, forcing us to behave properly... :D

Anyway, tomorrow we will move South towards Zadar, where the first friend will come onboard.
Another couple will follow in Split later.

In the meantime, almost in real time, just a couple of pics as a consolation for those who think that the Med is where the sun always shines and the stars are always bright. Which is not that far from the truth, actually... :cool:
...But not tonight - see below!

Though I must say that if I should choose where to be anchored during a thunderstorm, the HR archipelago would be right at the top of my choices.
Safely sheltered at all times in dead calm waters (as somewhat visible also in the pics) - couldn't have been better! :encouragement:
YGaP9SP3_o.jpg


U1Swa1Qj_o.jpg
Click to expand...
Looks like you are having a great trip P. Excelent! Lovely pics too.
 
vas said:
how many did you take to select the two P?
Click to expand...
Not as many as you would probably expect, V. Possibly a couple of dozens, or just a bit more.
The camera (Sony A6000) is not the latest and greatest, but is fast enough to grab the moment, if you just keep it pointed towards the storm and press the button at the right time.

I also made a clip btw, but I was thinking to put together a video at the end of the trip. Not to mention that Scubaman lately is making me rather willing to look at his videos than posting mine, which can't hold a candle to his, no matter how hard I try! :rolleyes:
 
MapisM said:
Not as many as you would probably expect, V. Possibly a couple of dozens, or just a bit more.
The camera (Sony A6000) is not the latest and greatest, but is fast enough to grab the moment, if you just keep it pointed towards the storm and press the button at the right time.

I also made a clip btw, but I was thinking to put together a video at the end of the trip. Not to mention that Scubaman lately is making me rather willing to look at his videos than posting mine, which can't hold a candle to his, no matter how hard I try! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Those pics are truly amazing! I especially like the top one showing the silhouette of the boat. That would make a very nice canvas pic.

Very well done.

As for vids, in my view anyone posting clips of topics as important as boats and cruising life need not hold a candle to anyone.
 
Another update, this time with some pics of the typical Croatian cruising environment. Not that the places where we've been so far weren't representative of the HR coastline, but the Kornati archipelago is very peculiar and pretty unique in the whole Med.

Just for the sake of updating also the non-boating part of the trip, we now have another crew member, since yesterday.
In fact, while approaching the fuel station in Zadar for filling up, we spotted one esteemed forumite completely lost, a thousand of miles away from his usual cruising grounds in the Baldricks. So, we couldn't leave him there, could we? :D :p
Long story short, off we went, after refilling.
Apropos, fuel burn so far seems approximately in line with the expectations - i.e. painfully high anyway, but at least not even worse... :rolleyes:
We spent last night exactly in this spot, which used to be one of our favorites many years ago, and still is very nice.
Btw, most boats and people were Croatian - as opposed to our memories, when the place was packed with Italian and Germans...
So, as you can imagine, there was a fair bit of celebration after the final result of the match against Russia - with several folks jumping in the water from the dock at night time, no kidding! :eek:

Interestingly, they also improved the restaurant infrastructures a lot, with a floating dock and electricity supply during the evening hours, and also the possibility to refill fresh water.
Which, just in case anyone would take it as a given, is actually beyond a luxury, in the Kornati archipelago: it's a real privilege, which allowed us to cool down the boat with some a/c with no genset running before going to sleep - totally unheard of, back in the early naughties!
The following is a pic of the place, with truly yours' boat moored in between two others, in the left side of the pic.
CL69aJAw_o.jpg


I also found an old 2002 pic - a real blast from the past for me - which shows how different the place and the mooring arrangement was, back then. Btw, the pic was taken from my previous old lady (of which only the rail is visible), while the Cranchi is our boat before her, which by that time was sold to a very nice chap that we occasionally met also afterwards, as in this occasion.
SgBBDT9b_o.jpg


From there, today we moved further SE just a bit, less than 10Nm, to Marina Piskera. Well, sort of marina, actually.
A few floating docks secured to the seabed in a narrow and relatively sheltered channel is a much better way to describe it...
But the water is as clear as you can possibly get anywhere in the Adriatic - in fact I did jump in for a swim upon arrival, right from the dock.
And it has its charme, with a restaurant which ain't bad, either.
This is a typical Kornati landscape, as seen along the route between the long and narrow islands of the Archipelago:
a9QXcU3P_o.jpg


And the following is a pic of the bay which leads to the SE side of marina...
3OCv4NjU_o.jpg


...With the boat eventually secured in the spot from where I'm typing.
Btw, spot the boat, anybody? There's a virtual mars waiting for a winner.
Just say what's the brand/model of the boat with the silly twin anchors arrangement, on the right side of the pic! :cool:
DIrA10Tq_o.jpg


Last but not least, for those interested to follow our route, these are the last two legs.
The Magenta one of yesterday was actually longer, coming from Zadar (about a dozen of miles further north from where the route comes into the map), and the red one is today's leg...
sW5YQKjQ_o.jpg


To be continued...
 
Thanks for the update. Brings back some memories as we cruised through the Kornatis several times during our time in Croatia. Do you still have to pay for a cruising permit to enter the Park? Actually our favourite mooring spot was Vrulje just SE of where you stopped. I quite liked Piskera because there was never a problem getting a berth and as you say the marina restaurant isnt bad. Shame that you have now passed Zut and one of my favourite restaurants, Festa

My guess for the boat is a Princess 23M and yes the twin anchor set up does seem stupid!
 
I m happy to reveal I was the mystery ( and very lucky) forumite found at the fuel dock.

Fuel dock does not really do it justice - it had a restaurant attached, lovely sofas outside and served beer. As soon as mapism arrived the fueler offered him an expreso. I m sure the same happens in the Solent !

Croatia so far is beautiful. Sheltered clear blue waters as you wander through lots of tiny islands. The islands themselves are a little like a moon scape with little in the way of vegetation .. or people.

At regular intervals there are restaurants with their own quay for maybe 5-20 boats like miniature marinas. The first time I saw one I kept pointing it out to Mapism who surly though l was a child seeing a mc Donald’s for the first time. I didn’t know there are quite a few of them !

Given it is July it is amazingly quiet. Anchorages have one boat in them and most pontoons are half full at best.

There maybe a reason for that .... you buy a cruising permit which has just doubled to e700 ish ( paid in Kuna) and every time you anchor a boat comes along to ask for money. This seems to be between e20 and e50

However ... we stopped for a swim on the way to this evenings marina and a boat came along. We had been there 10 min. They wanted e120! We explained staying at the marina included the fee for the National Park ( it is waived actually ) then had to lift the anchor as the wind had changed and we were close to the rocks. This resulted in an unhappy Croatian swearing about an e400 fine and the £&@& European Union ( of which they are part !). The gist seemed to be as we had raised the anchor has could not charge us .. but he could well see the only other option was the rocks !

It is a boating paradise that seems a little marred by a desire to charge the boater at most opportunities. I don’t really have an issue with this if they explain in advance what it costs and where .. which as far as we can tell they don’t.

In closing post one the cruising is simply stunning and I am looking forward to today’s travels.

Mapism is a wonderful host and his Dalla Pieta very comfortable with some of the most lovely wood panelling I have seen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top