Friday, March 26, 2010
Road Trip and leaving Rovinj!!
Dobar Dan everyone.....
Well we are finally heading back South (towards the sun hopefully). Memories of the hurricane strength winds we experienced in Pula are fading and we are starting to enjoy better weather. Our surroundings are gradually coming to life as restaurant owners, apartment owners, marina owners etc start to gear up for summer. Shops are being painted, boats are being cleaned up and launched and we are finally starting to see a few other mad people on boats, however no English speaking ones yet!
We stayed in Rovinj for over a week. We put Shirley Valentine into the marina there and had a few days away on a road trip which was probably one of the most entertaining I have had in my life!! We left Rovinj around midday after mooring the boat securely and picking up the hire car. We then headed to the Limski Kanal, just north of Rivinj. We wanted a boat trip, however none of the tourist boats were working and we had to make do with sightseeing from land instead. There were some lovely market stalls and we bought a massive smoked goats cheese (Craig reckons it's the best cheese he has ever tasted) and some blackberry wine for 'our blood!'. Amazing what a salesman will tell you, isn't it. The Limski Kanal was beautiful but it was very hazy so we didn't get many good shots.
We then headed to Llubljana (where we didn't find Ikea, however didn't get lost this time) and then up to Lake Bled in Slovenia. We had wanted to visit there from Koper, however didn't make it due to the weather. We booked into a really nice hotel at a very reasonable price and had a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant.
In the morning we went exploring. The area is absolutely breathtaking with the lake, an ialand with a beautiful church, a castle, mountains etc etc etc. You get the picture! We found a boat trip to take us to the island (shared with one Italian couple) and spent a lovely half an hour pottering around. The church (The church of Mary the Queen) has the most amazing interior I have ever seen. We then returned ashore and found the Blejski Grad (castle) which towers over the town of Bled. We found a monk who let us bottle our own bottle of wine for $15. He has met Jennifer Hawkins when she came to Croatia to do a Getaway show!
After this we decided to pop into Austria. We went through a tunnel, travelled for 7,865 metres and........ we were in a different country! We travelled East through Austria for a few hours. There was still a lot of snow around and the scenery was breathtaking. We then headed South again, back to Slovenia through an amazing (I am running out of suitable descriptive terms to try to paint this picture) mountain pass. The road was full of hairpin bends and although clear of snow there was still piles of snow at the roadside. Beside us there were mountain streams flowing with the aqua marine colour that you get with limestone. Then we saw the REALLY high mountains.
Heading back to Croatia, we crossed the border and stayed the night in Rijecka which seemed a bit more like a happening kind of place. We stayed in an amazing hotel (probably about a 5 star equivalent) which is so unlike Craig that I had to pinch myself. The luxury was sooooo nice!
The following morning we headed back to Rovinj and found Shirley Valentine safe and well. We unpacked and went to explore the possibility of a laundry that we had heard about. We stripped beds and found every possible thing that needed washed as laundry is still a bit of an issue due to the weather. When we had traipsed there fully laden, we found it was shut but opened early the next morning. We left the marina and went back to our favourite anchorage.
Then next day it rained cats and dogs and we had a very lazy day on board, playing games and reading. On the Tuesday, we once again dragged our hoards of laundry into town and were told that it would be ready at 5pm. The laundries here do the work for you (of course, it costs much more.... but appeals to my lazy nature!) and you just drop off and pick up! We pottered around town and explored some more, had lunch and then went back and picked up beautiful piles of clean clothes. We almost got it on board dry, apart from one pile which got slightly damp.
We prepared for leaving the next day, stowing the dinghy and tidying up.
At 0600hrs the next morning we were ready to leave and upped anchor. We did a short trip round the harbour to say goodbye to Rovinj. I think I left a little of my heart there, it was such a beautiful place! We wanted to head south for Veruda, near Pula to get the Volvo engine serviced. We motored for a few hours, and wouldn't you know it... just as we entered the bay, the wind got up. We put up the sails and had a great sail for a few hours in about 20 to 25 knots of wind before heading into an anchorage east of Veruda.
Yesterday we headed round to the marina and booked in for a few nights. We found the volvo dealer, however he was a bit shitty with English speaking people as he had been mucked around by one the day before and wasn't very helpful. As we speak, we are sitting on deck waiting to see if he can fit us in today! If he can't, we are heading off tomorrow to head further south to a place called Mali Losinj which means we are leaving the mainland and heading to the islands. We did another big shop yesterday in Pula so that we are well provisioned before we leave and will fill up with fuel etc in the morning.
Ah well, I think it is beer o'clock. Will talk to you all soon.
xxxx Craig and Lesley
Well we are finally heading back South (towards the sun hopefully). Memories of the hurricane strength winds we experienced in Pula are fading and we are starting to enjoy better weather. Our surroundings are gradually coming to life as restaurant owners, apartment owners, marina owners etc start to gear up for summer. Shops are being painted, boats are being cleaned up and launched and we are finally starting to see a few other mad people on boats, however no English speaking ones yet!
We stayed in Rovinj for over a week. We put Shirley Valentine into the marina there and had a few days away on a road trip which was probably one of the most entertaining I have had in my life!! We left Rovinj around midday after mooring the boat securely and picking up the hire car. We then headed to the Limski Kanal, just north of Rivinj. We wanted a boat trip, however none of the tourist boats were working and we had to make do with sightseeing from land instead. There were some lovely market stalls and we bought a massive smoked goats cheese (Craig reckons it's the best cheese he has ever tasted) and some blackberry wine for 'our blood!'. Amazing what a salesman will tell you, isn't it. The Limski Kanal was beautiful but it was very hazy so we didn't get many good shots.
We then headed to Llubljana (where we didn't find Ikea, however didn't get lost this time) and then up to Lake Bled in Slovenia. We had wanted to visit there from Koper, however didn't make it due to the weather. We booked into a really nice hotel at a very reasonable price and had a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant.
In the morning we went exploring. The area is absolutely breathtaking with the lake, an ialand with a beautiful church, a castle, mountains etc etc etc. You get the picture! We found a boat trip to take us to the island (shared with one Italian couple) and spent a lovely half an hour pottering around. The church (The church of Mary the Queen) has the most amazing interior I have ever seen. We then returned ashore and found the Blejski Grad (castle) which towers over the town of Bled. We found a monk who let us bottle our own bottle of wine for $15. He has met Jennifer Hawkins when she came to Croatia to do a Getaway show!
After this we decided to pop into Austria. We went through a tunnel, travelled for 7,865 metres and........ we were in a different country! We travelled East through Austria for a few hours. There was still a lot of snow around and the scenery was breathtaking. We then headed South again, back to Slovenia through an amazing (I am running out of suitable descriptive terms to try to paint this picture) mountain pass. The road was full of hairpin bends and although clear of snow there was still piles of snow at the roadside. Beside us there were mountain streams flowing with the aqua marine colour that you get with limestone. Then we saw the REALLY high mountains.
Heading back to Croatia, we crossed the border and stayed the night in Rijecka which seemed a bit more like a happening kind of place. We stayed in an amazing hotel (probably about a 5 star equivalent) which is so unlike Craig that I had to pinch myself. The luxury was sooooo nice!
The following morning we headed back to Rovinj and found Shirley Valentine safe and well. We unpacked and went to explore the possibility of a laundry that we had heard about. We stripped beds and found every possible thing that needed washed as laundry is still a bit of an issue due to the weather. When we had traipsed there fully laden, we found it was shut but opened early the next morning. We left the marina and went back to our favourite anchorage.
Then next day it rained cats and dogs and we had a very lazy day on board, playing games and reading. On the Tuesday, we once again dragged our hoards of laundry into town and were told that it would be ready at 5pm. The laundries here do the work for you (of course, it costs much more.... but appeals to my lazy nature!) and you just drop off and pick up! We pottered around town and explored some more, had lunch and then went back and picked up beautiful piles of clean clothes. We almost got it on board dry, apart from one pile which got slightly damp.
We prepared for leaving the next day, stowing the dinghy and tidying up.
At 0600hrs the next morning we were ready to leave and upped anchor. We did a short trip round the harbour to say goodbye to Rovinj. I think I left a little of my heart there, it was such a beautiful place! We wanted to head south for Veruda, near Pula to get the Volvo engine serviced. We motored for a few hours, and wouldn't you know it... just as we entered the bay, the wind got up. We put up the sails and had a great sail for a few hours in about 20 to 25 knots of wind before heading into an anchorage east of Veruda.
Yesterday we headed round to the marina and booked in for a few nights. We found the volvo dealer, however he was a bit shitty with English speaking people as he had been mucked around by one the day before and wasn't very helpful. As we speak, we are sitting on deck waiting to see if he can fit us in today! If he can't, we are heading off tomorrow to head further south to a place called Mali Losinj which means we are leaving the mainland and heading to the islands. We did another big shop yesterday in Pula so that we are well provisioned before we leave and will fill up with fuel etc in the morning.
Ah well, I think it is beer o'clock. Will talk to you all soon.
xxxx Craig and Lesley
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Haircuts, handwashing and Bill Bryson's opinion on blow up dolls!
Hi everyone. Well, we are finally experiencing the type of Meditteranean that we hoped for! We in a beautiful part of the world called Rovinj in Croatia. Definitely worth a look on Google Earth if you are that way inclined!!
I had fruitful trip home to Scotland for three nights, during which I managed to get a new laptop, some 'real' clothes (as opposed to boat gear!), some books written in English (enough to do me for a good few months) and a TOASTER for the top of the gas stove. I was sooooo excited by the last purchase I nearly hugged the shop assistant. It took me a day to travel there (the plane flight to Zagreb was cancelled due to snow and instead I had a 4 hour bus trip through the Croatian landscape in metres of snow - what a blow), and a day to travel back. Have now totalled 13 separate flights since we left Australia......
Anyway back to Shirley Valentine and my darling husband, who spent 3 nights in the Marina at Pula in dead calm weather waiting for me to come back and sorting out the boat.
We left to head North (I know, we are supposed to be heading South!) to return to a little place called Rovinj which we had been told not to miss. Our informants were spot on as this is fantastic. The weather is slowly getting warmer and the whole town is preparing for the summer season; almost like it is gradually coming back to life. People are everywhere, painting, varnishing, cleaning restaurants, streets etc etc. It is a great vibe.
We have had our top temperature so far today of 14 degrees which is lovely. We are sitting in a street cafe eating a ridiculously cheap meal at the moment and sneaking an equally ridiculously cheap alchoholic beverage. The sun is out and we are gazing out over the harbour which is full of small boats up the church at the top of the hill in the old town. Adorable!
I finally plucked up the courage to cut Craig's hair with our $10 clippers this morning and so far he is still alive (only a select few know my fear of cutting hair!!!) and it doesn't actually look too bad if I say so myself. I have just had my hair cut for $15!!!
What is really expensive however is internet access and telecommunications. We now have a Croatian phone and I will post the number next time I blog.
Washing clothes is becoming increasingly difficult. We are still wearing 3 or 4 layers most days so we have a lot to wash. I arrived at Mum's house in Scotland with a bag full of dirty laundry (isn't that what kids are supposed to do!) which I managed to get done. The advertised laundry in Rovinj is closed for the winter (so much for pilot guides once again!) so I had to tackle a massive handwash yesterday while the weather was warm enough to dry things. Shirley Valentines safety rails are covered in our knickers etc etc. Hopefully everything will dry before the weather turns.
We are getting much more savy about watching the weather, however by all accounts we were actually in quite a good place during the Bora. Where we originally were in Monfalcone got winds of up to 200km/hrs (cyclonic force) where we only got 120 - 130kms/hr in Pula. Boats at the marina in Monfalcone had sails ripped etc etc so we were fairly lucky that the only casualty was our dinghy outboard. We also were lucky that we had an anchor more than twice the recommended holding strength for our size of boat (a Kobra).
About the Bill Bryson thing.... We have both been devouring Bill Bryson's travel guides which we are currently addicted to. Craig belly laughs every couple of minutes and was particularly taken by a critique on different types of blow up dolls. He is happy that someone else is as debaucherous as he is! :-))
Anyway, better go. Good to talk to you all again and will chat soon. Hope you are all well!
xx
Lesley, Craig, Shirley Valentine and Costas (our new name for our dinghy!)
I had fruitful trip home to Scotland for three nights, during which I managed to get a new laptop, some 'real' clothes (as opposed to boat gear!), some books written in English (enough to do me for a good few months) and a TOASTER for the top of the gas stove. I was sooooo excited by the last purchase I nearly hugged the shop assistant. It took me a day to travel there (the plane flight to Zagreb was cancelled due to snow and instead I had a 4 hour bus trip through the Croatian landscape in metres of snow - what a blow), and a day to travel back. Have now totalled 13 separate flights since we left Australia......
Anyway back to Shirley Valentine and my darling husband, who spent 3 nights in the Marina at Pula in dead calm weather waiting for me to come back and sorting out the boat.
We left to head North (I know, we are supposed to be heading South!) to return to a little place called Rovinj which we had been told not to miss. Our informants were spot on as this is fantastic. The weather is slowly getting warmer and the whole town is preparing for the summer season; almost like it is gradually coming back to life. People are everywhere, painting, varnishing, cleaning restaurants, streets etc etc. It is a great vibe.
We have had our top temperature so far today of 14 degrees which is lovely. We are sitting in a street cafe eating a ridiculously cheap meal at the moment and sneaking an equally ridiculously cheap alchoholic beverage. The sun is out and we are gazing out over the harbour which is full of small boats up the church at the top of the hill in the old town. Adorable!
I finally plucked up the courage to cut Craig's hair with our $10 clippers this morning and so far he is still alive (only a select few know my fear of cutting hair!!!) and it doesn't actually look too bad if I say so myself. I have just had my hair cut for $15!!!
What is really expensive however is internet access and telecommunications. We now have a Croatian phone and I will post the number next time I blog.
Washing clothes is becoming increasingly difficult. We are still wearing 3 or 4 layers most days so we have a lot to wash. I arrived at Mum's house in Scotland with a bag full of dirty laundry (isn't that what kids are supposed to do!) which I managed to get done. The advertised laundry in Rovinj is closed for the winter (so much for pilot guides once again!) so I had to tackle a massive handwash yesterday while the weather was warm enough to dry things. Shirley Valentines safety rails are covered in our knickers etc etc. Hopefully everything will dry before the weather turns.
We are getting much more savy about watching the weather, however by all accounts we were actually in quite a good place during the Bora. Where we originally were in Monfalcone got winds of up to 200km/hrs (cyclonic force) where we only got 120 - 130kms/hr in Pula. Boats at the marina in Monfalcone had sails ripped etc etc so we were fairly lucky that the only casualty was our dinghy outboard. We also were lucky that we had an anchor more than twice the recommended holding strength for our size of boat (a Kobra).
About the Bill Bryson thing.... We have both been devouring Bill Bryson's travel guides which we are currently addicted to. Craig belly laughs every couple of minutes and was particularly taken by a critique on different types of blow up dolls. He is happy that someone else is as debaucherous as he is! :-))
Anyway, better go. Good to talk to you all again and will chat soon. Hope you are all well!
xx
Lesley, Craig, Shirley Valentine and Costas (our new name for our dinghy!)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Update on the "Bora"!!
We have had news since I wrote the last blog (minor disasters and the Bora) that the winds on Tuesday night broke all records for the area. The Bora was particulary bad in the Trieste area, however in Pula reached speeds of 65 to 70 knots. Around the corner from us, boats were sunk and a wooden boat was flung from the water up onto the road! Thank goodness we didn't venture round the point!
To make you feel better Mum and Mum... this is particularly unusual weather for this time of year. The Bora blew for a total of 6 days, bringing with it sleet and snow on Wednesday which is virually unheard of for this time of year .......
Anyway, I am in Scotland tonight after doing 4 countries in one day to get here due to the inclement weather in Croatia which mucked up my flight schedule. Craig reports that he in snug and warm in the marina in Pula on Shirley Valentine with the new electric heater which he has bought in an almost flat calm sea!!!! Typical!
See ya.... Lesley
To make you feel better Mum and Mum... this is particularly unusual weather for this time of year. The Bora blew for a total of 6 days, bringing with it sleet and snow on Wednesday which is virually unheard of for this time of year .......
Anyway, I am in Scotland tonight after doing 4 countries in one day to get here due to the inclement weather in Croatia which mucked up my flight schedule. Craig reports that he in snug and warm in the marina in Pula on Shirley Valentine with the new electric heater which he has bought in an almost flat calm sea!!!! Typical!
See ya.... Lesley
Minor disasters and a record breaking Bora!
Hi everyone... I actually wrote this on Wednesday however haven't been able to upload it till now. It is a bit long winded, however it was a really steep learning curve for us and I really wanted to share it. Yachties... would love some constructive criticism.
This is unfortunately not a very happy blog today, however we did want adventure and I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth!
We ended up not going ashore at Umag due to the weather (and the fact that we were too lazy to blow up the dinghy in the cold!) and left there in reasonable winds on the 5th of March after spending two nights there at anchor. We had a 6 hour sail / motor down to Pula in some of the most confusing wind patterns that we have both ever seen. The winds started off at around 20 knots and we thought we were going to have a great sail straight down the coast. A couple of hours later the wind suddenly swung around 180 degrees and then droped away to nothing in the space of about 30 seconds. This trend was repeated a few times more and we had the sails up and down over the next 4 hours so often that even thery were getting confused!
We got in Pula in Croatia around 4pm and motored into the harbour with about 25 knots of wind on our nose. I convinced Craig to blow up the dinghy as I really wanted to get ashore and stretch my legs and have an explore. We had a lovely time pottering around the town and had a nice and surprisingly cheap meal in a restaurant way too posh for us!
After getting back on board that evening, the winds started to increase and we had a fairly unsettled night. We were convinced that the anchor was dug in though with the normal amount of chain for the depth that we were anchored in, so we weren't too worried. In the morning I asked Craig to go on deck (I always get the poor soul to do the dirty work in the cold!!) to check the wind speeds. As soon as he popped his head up on deck he yelled out to me that we were dragging our anchor. We were actually already half way out into the harbour and with the depths that we were now in the anchor wouldn't even have been touching the bottom. When Craig pulled it up there was a fishing net wrapped all around it.
We anchored again and this time put out heaps more chain and sat on the anchor with the engine in reverse for ages making sure it was dug in. We stayed on the boat for a good few hours to make sure that everything was fine and then pottered ashore again that afternoon to explore the nearby Roman ampitheatre in Pula which is the 6th largest and one of the best preserved Roman ampitheatres in the world!!! (Don't you just love tourist blab!)..... It was amazing, however it got me wondering what the roman's wore under their togas in the winter?
Over the next night and the following few days the wind conditions started to deteriorate even more until we were getting regular gusts of 40 to 50 knots. Our anchor seemed to be holding fairly well, however we took the precaution of putting out a second anchor which wasn't much fun in the strong winds. As usual though, I got the comfortable end of the stick (why else do you have a man on board?). We were pretty well stuck on the boat, however we did manage ashore on Monday to do some shopping.
The winds here are the the infamous Bora which gusts from the North East mainly in the winter time. We had seriously underestimated both it's strengty and persistence and had made the bad mistake of not getting updated and accurate weather forecasts.
Last night was awful (Tuesday). We had phoned the nearly marina during the day to ask if we could move in there however they wouldn't let us in because of the bad weather. The winds seemed to be increasing every hour. We took it in turn to stay awake all night to do an anchor watch to make sure we didn't drag again. at one stage, Craig went on deck to check the lines and discovered that the winds had flipped the dinghy over and our new outboard had been immersed. This is really not good for outboards and not surprisingly it refused to start this morning! We were both then out in sleet and strong winds while we deflated the dinghy and took it below. What fun!!!
This morning (Wedneday) we phoned the marina again and they told us to come around to the town wharf. After a few stuff ups as we weren't sure where they wanted us to go (we got chased by a policeman at one stage), and a few small battle scars on poor Shirley Valentine, we finally got tied up alongside the town wharf. We couldn't have done it without the help of the sailors from the marina who were fantastic. They chastised us for not reading the weather better though, which in the circumstances is fair enough in my opinion.
We really have underestimated the Bora and we certainly won't be doing that again I can tell you!
We are now going to have a hot shower and try to get the outboard fixed. I am flying to Scotland tomorrow morning, mainly to buy a computer but also to pick up a few other things that we can't find here. It will be nice to get a break from the cold weather. Craig is staying with Shirley Valentine (the other woman!?!) and we now have a proper weather forecast which is indicating that the winds will ease tomorrow.
Anyway, going to go and get clean and warm now.... Talk to you all soon. Take care.
xx
Lesley
This is unfortunately not a very happy blog today, however we did want adventure and I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth!
We ended up not going ashore at Umag due to the weather (and the fact that we were too lazy to blow up the dinghy in the cold!) and left there in reasonable winds on the 5th of March after spending two nights there at anchor. We had a 6 hour sail / motor down to Pula in some of the most confusing wind patterns that we have both ever seen. The winds started off at around 20 knots and we thought we were going to have a great sail straight down the coast. A couple of hours later the wind suddenly swung around 180 degrees and then droped away to nothing in the space of about 30 seconds. This trend was repeated a few times more and we had the sails up and down over the next 4 hours so often that even thery were getting confused!
We got in Pula in Croatia around 4pm and motored into the harbour with about 25 knots of wind on our nose. I convinced Craig to blow up the dinghy as I really wanted to get ashore and stretch my legs and have an explore. We had a lovely time pottering around the town and had a nice and surprisingly cheap meal in a restaurant way too posh for us!
After getting back on board that evening, the winds started to increase and we had a fairly unsettled night. We were convinced that the anchor was dug in though with the normal amount of chain for the depth that we were anchored in, so we weren't too worried. In the morning I asked Craig to go on deck (I always get the poor soul to do the dirty work in the cold!!) to check the wind speeds. As soon as he popped his head up on deck he yelled out to me that we were dragging our anchor. We were actually already half way out into the harbour and with the depths that we were now in the anchor wouldn't even have been touching the bottom. When Craig pulled it up there was a fishing net wrapped all around it.
We anchored again and this time put out heaps more chain and sat on the anchor with the engine in reverse for ages making sure it was dug in. We stayed on the boat for a good few hours to make sure that everything was fine and then pottered ashore again that afternoon to explore the nearby Roman ampitheatre in Pula which is the 6th largest and one of the best preserved Roman ampitheatres in the world!!! (Don't you just love tourist blab!)..... It was amazing, however it got me wondering what the roman's wore under their togas in the winter?
Over the next night and the following few days the wind conditions started to deteriorate even more until we were getting regular gusts of 40 to 50 knots. Our anchor seemed to be holding fairly well, however we took the precaution of putting out a second anchor which wasn't much fun in the strong winds. As usual though, I got the comfortable end of the stick (why else do you have a man on board?). We were pretty well stuck on the boat, however we did manage ashore on Monday to do some shopping.
The winds here are the the infamous Bora which gusts from the North East mainly in the winter time. We had seriously underestimated both it's strengty and persistence and had made the bad mistake of not getting updated and accurate weather forecasts.
Last night was awful (Tuesday). We had phoned the nearly marina during the day to ask if we could move in there however they wouldn't let us in because of the bad weather. The winds seemed to be increasing every hour. We took it in turn to stay awake all night to do an anchor watch to make sure we didn't drag again. at one stage, Craig went on deck to check the lines and discovered that the winds had flipped the dinghy over and our new outboard had been immersed. This is really not good for outboards and not surprisingly it refused to start this morning! We were both then out in sleet and strong winds while we deflated the dinghy and took it below. What fun!!!
This morning (Wedneday) we phoned the marina again and they told us to come around to the town wharf. After a few stuff ups as we weren't sure where they wanted us to go (we got chased by a policeman at one stage), and a few small battle scars on poor Shirley Valentine, we finally got tied up alongside the town wharf. We couldn't have done it without the help of the sailors from the marina who were fantastic. They chastised us for not reading the weather better though, which in the circumstances is fair enough in my opinion.
We really have underestimated the Bora and we certainly won't be doing that again I can tell you!
We are now going to have a hot shower and try to get the outboard fixed. I am flying to Scotland tomorrow morning, mainly to buy a computer but also to pick up a few other things that we can't find here. It will be nice to get a break from the cold weather. Craig is staying with Shirley Valentine (the other woman!?!) and we now have a proper weather forecast which is indicating that the winds will ease tomorrow.
Anyway, going to go and get clean and warm now.... Talk to you all soon. Take care.
xx
Lesley
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Italy to Croatia!! On our way at last!
Hi everyone.... It is so good to know that people are enjoying our blog and are following our adventures. It is great to be able to keep in touch this way and to share everything with you all.
We are now in Croatia and we finally feel that our adventure is really beginning. It almost feels as if the umbilical cord has been cut and we are free to make our own way in the world. It is both daunting and exciting not to know where we are going to be tomorrow, never mind this time next week.
We completed the fit out of Shirley Valentine at Monfalcone, Italy on Monday. We had been hanging around waiting for a replacement VHS radio to be sent to us as there was a problem with the MMSI numbers on our initial radio and it had been recalled. We spent the weekend touring around the lagoon areas near Venice in our hire car and visited some beautiful (but extremely quiet) seaside towns. There is actually something quite miserable about seaside towns when they are shut up for the winter, but the upside is that there are not many people around! The highlight was visiting Lido de Jesolo where I went on a high school trip. Couldn't for the life of me remember which of the 6000 hotels we stayed in though!
We were also waiting for a new computer to arrive which my lovely son had purchased for us in Australia. When it didn't show up, he did some digging and discovered that Australia Post had changed their policy and no longer post lithium batteries, so we are now back to square one as the computer has been returned to Milton! Don't you just love Australia Post!! Makes you wonder how all those people get to board aircraft with their laptops all the time.....
We were going to head to Croatia on Tuesday however the weather forecast wasn't the best and we anchored in our favourite little spot in Bazino de Panzino (forgive the spelling please..) which previously has been nice and quiet although still fairly industrial. Someone forgot to tell us however that they had turned on a factory nearby and there was oodles of noise all night! Spring must be coming at last.... Craig spent the morning pottering around, returning the hire car, paying our bills and checking out of Italy at the airport (we have needed a stamped crew list every time we have left a country so far and it is really important also for getting in to your next port of call).
We left Monfalcone early this morning in around 20 knots of wind. We are still getting our confidence up with Shirley Valentine and we gradually increased sail area until we were under full sail. We had a fantastic sail for about an hour and a half until the wind died away to nothing and we had to turn the engine back on. We also crossed our first traffic separation zone (with about one ship in site!).
We arrived in Umag, Croatia just after 1pm and went ashore to book into the country. Tying up to the wharf was a bit nerve wracking as it was very solid stone with nothing to buffer us if I stuffed up. Thankfully we tied up without a hitch. We first of all went to the police station at the end of the wharf and dutifully had our passports stamped etc. We thought that we were able to stay in Croatia for as long as we liked, however even though we had to pay for a 12 month cruising permit, we are only allowed to stay for 90 days out of every 180 days, just like Shengen countries. So much for pilot guides once again...... Ah well, I am really learning just to roll with the punches which is surprising for me as I really like to get my own way (all of the time!).
After our interview with 4 policemen and women (no cavity searches though) and our trip to the harbourmaster for our cruising permit we pottered over to pick up a mooring (which we also did without a hitch!). My sailing instructor (you know who I mean Stephen Crockett) would call this beginners luck........
We are now sitting on the mooring in fairly substantial rain. Craig is insisting that we have to fix the sail up. I am obviously not keen 'cos it is raining and I am a girl, however this is a boat and I guess I should expect to get wet every once in a while! We plan to blow up the dinghy (not literally of course!) tomorrow and go ashore and have an explore. The Bora (the local strong wind) is supposed to come through tonight, so hopefully we will be secure. We have heard dire stories about people being taken off cruise liners in local waters 'cos they are having a heart attack in 120 km winds (people love to tell you these stories, don't they!).
On the language front, I was getting very impressed with myself with regards to the amount of Italian I was learning (about 6 words!). Now we are in Croatia and I have to learn from scratch again. I keep saying Bon Jorno (sure that spelling is wrong!!) and chio, chio and getting blank looks. I already know 2 Croatian words though so things are looking up!
Well, have to go... will post some more photos tonight if I can. Talk to you all soon. Take care of one another and I hope everyone in Australia is OK with the heavy rain..
xx
Lesley and Craig
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