Sailing with the Treleavens

Summer 2004 in the Med is over.

Six months, 3900 nautical miles travelled, 544 engine hours and 6 countries visited, our Eastern Med 2004 season is over. We still love each other and occasionally don't talk but all in all, it's a great experience to share together. A lot of our friends also joined us, which has been fantastic.

This last week we visited the islands of Pag and Rab north of Zadar. Even though the weather has improved, the tourists have gone and it is a very deserted place. Returning to Zadar, we discovered a very impressive town, full of history and the best shops we have seen in Croatia. The Romans built the town on a peninsular but many invasions later Zadar still has a lot of its original architecture. A must visit is the religious museum beside the Cathedral run by the nuns. How such art work can survive the wars, especially the heavy allied bombing at the end of the 2nd world war, is a tribute to the nuns who hide this priceless collection every time invaded.

Milan and his family live in Zadar and were very hospitable showing us the highlights of the area and then spent the next day on the yacht with us. It has been fascinating hearing the story of the recent conflict first hand. In Australia we were oblivious to what really happened.

Next year we will definitely travel north to Venice before sailing back to the western Med, Sardinia, Corsica, Italian Riviera, French Riviera, Balearics and out through Gibraltar to the Canary Islands. Destination, the Caribbean meaning 11 months on the yacht. The Atlantic crossing of 2800nms will take lots of courage on my part.

We wake on our last morning on board to a very thick fog, something we have not experienced since the Straits of Gibraltar last year.

Cadiz is now out of the water, high and dry in Marina Dalmacija, Sukosan, 5 miles south of Zadar. The largest marina in Croatia, it has 1200 marina berths and a further 1200 dry berths on the land. It is very professionally run and we are very happy wintering Cadiz over here after considering so many other options.

Austria

High in the Austrian Alps, a stark contrast to our last six months, we have now slept in a bed, showered with continuous water and pressed a button to flush the loo. We are spending a few days with old friend Penny and Gerhard who have recently purchased a Guest House Restaurant Bar in Dienten in the Hochkoenig Valley near Saltzburg. What a fantastic area, where there is a T- Bar in the back yard just waiting for the season snow.
 

The temperatures are rapidly dropping with the Bora wind hitting us, fortunately while we are tied up in Split Marina.

The past week coming back up the coast with Jane and John has been very pleasant with little wind and what there is, has been on the nose. We have now travelled this coast 3 times and 3 times we have had it on the nose, just our luck.

Finding new bays to swim and have lunch never seem to disappoint us, as they are all isolated and beautiful. A bright orange star fish is found, and such a find in these dead waters is rare. Jane and I discover herbs and delicious wild figs ashore while John prepares a gourmet lunch, but the uninvited wasps move us on very quickly.

Our best lunch to date in Croatia was at Hannibal's in Hvar, carpaccio fish, Scampi and grilled squid were delicious. Also very good was Boban in Split, as we sailed into Split John received a SMS message from Sydney to tell us of the restaurant, isn't technology great.

Asking the taxi driver what Split is famous for, he replied spit roast lamb, black wine and someone else's wife. You can change to white wine if you like but can't change the wife.

The old town within the walls of the fortified Roman Dioclerian Palace are a great example of late Roman architecture, about AD 300. Now the main commercial port in Croatia and also the main sailing centre. While we were there, the national optimist class racing was on and it was great to see so many young girls and boys competing even in these conditions. It was also great to catch up with Borut, the Musto agent here who we have known for years.

Jane and John get the ferry to Italy and we intend to only stay one night in Split .It turns into two as the bora wind is here for a few more days. Don't mind the wind but the sudden cold change has taken us by surprise.

Sunday we leave and Ian is in his element in this wind, and sail 35 miles in 4 hours, and I am in my bear suit keeping warm. Finding a sheltered bay on the island of Tijat for the night is beautiful, no swimming, too cold. Next day another great sail, according to Ian, to Biograd. Why is it that everyone around us has only one sail up with a big reef and we are charging along with both sails set and a small reef, but we are first into the marina. (I think Ian is still racing the abandoned races from the Croatia rally).

John Messenger left us with the latest copy of Sydney Afloat and we did have a laugh about the Anchoring Tips. In the Med the safety swing would just not apply. A recent harbour comes to mind at Hvar where you free anchor, put out all fenders and hope you all move at the same time. There are 30 yachts in a small bay at anchor and the night we are here its no wind and you just wait for a bump. Also in the bay stern to, thank goodness, is Independence one of the largest super yachts.
A surprise visitor to the yacht was Josko Grubic and wife from the days of Anaconda 2. Josko was born in Split and this is his first visit back here and was amazed at the great cruising ground. At 80 he would still love to come here and own a boat and probably will.

We are now in Kornati Marina Biograd ,Croatian base for The Croatia Yacht Rally taking the opportunity to prepare Cadiz for wintering over. We have decided not to go to Venice; it can wait till next year. Have decided to explore the islands just north of here and then haul Cadiz out of the water and head home to Sydney in 2 weeks time.

Day 8, Lay Day, is spent in Korcula Marina, and everyone adventures out into this bell shaped walled town and fish bone streets. Our night is spent with Bob's crew along side in a bay over looking a monastery with the mountain range behind. As the sun goes down we have cocktails in the bow and watch a beautiful sunset.

Race 5 to the island of Mljet, is abandoned and we motor across in no wind.

Day 10, Lay Day, and the bikes are out, we are in Pomera. Our crew hire a car and explore the island and we cycle around the lake and lunch in a lake side fish café. A highlight to our day is a very old lady who wants to give us some golden peaches that smell amazing. On asking for her photo she straightened her black scarf and gave me a gummy smile.

Race 6 Ladies skipper day and its not going to be me. Rebecca takes the helm in little wind but its slow and only 7 boats finish, 3rd over the line and 3rd on handicap. Ian learns the pressures of how hard crew work is when he wakes up very sore from all the grinding the next day. With all the boats moored up to one restaurant, its presented very well and a fun evening followed.

Day 12 is spent in the inlet of Ston and visit the old Roman salt pans which are still in use and the high very narrow wall built by the Turks to protect at the time this very valuable commodity. This is the area for oysters and mussels and we have a great lunch with the guidance of Milan the rally race director who has now joined us.

Race 7, the final race to Dubrovnik, and there is high hope of the Bora wind from the North East arriving at last. We start in light winds on port gybe right on the committee boat and do a Chris Dickson gybe on the start line in front of Mark Gray and Fast Eddy, the only yacht to start on starboard. It is well executed, but sorry Mark, getting these caravans to perform; you have to pull out all stops. The wind dies and another race is abandoned with us leading.

Dubrovnik is stunning and the last supper is over looking the lit up walled town from the Hotel Excelsior. We achieve the lowest points for the rally but being the only owner yacht, provision is made for a charter yacht and the next lowest points went to Bill Whisker from Perth on another Beneteau 473.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, making new friends and acquaintances. To quote John Messenger most people had been racing all winter and they came to cruise whilst the only racing we have done is beating charter yachts into the marina.

We became the medic yacht, spare parts centre and our deck compressor dive gear was well used. George Girdis was so impressed he is going to buy one for Marloo.

Thanks to our crew, Rebecca, Brian, Judy and Natalie for helping us to perform so well. Ian loved catching up on all the New Zealand yachting gossip from Rebecca and almost learnt how to speak New Zealand again.

A special thanks to Bob and Sue Fraser, Bainy and Annie, Andrew and Sandy, for being such great rafting up companions,  and John Messenger and Margo for filling up our yacht with left over grog and food.

Jane Waters another old Christchurch friend of Ian's and John have joined us for a week sailing back up the coast to Split. Moored along side us in Dubrovnik is Mirabella 111, at 40 metres, a bit bigger than us. Our first night out is in Luka on the island of Sipan.We spy an Aussie flag and moor stern too along side, only to be joined by another flying a CYCA flag . It is a Beneteau 50 owned by Helen Lovett and Damien Moloney doing something similar to ourselves.

The English yacht on the other side moans about the Aussie invasion saying he has had to put up with it for the past week.

We are now heading back up the coast and if the weather holds we will get to Venice 250 miles away.