Sailing with the Treleavens

Biograd is where a fleet of 24 charter cruising yachts come together for 7 races over 2 weeks, our destination Dubrovnik 120 miles down the coast. The rally (it soon becomes the Americas Cup ) is run by Trevor Joyce's Mariner
Boating Holidays and has 134 people here from Australia to have the adventure of sailing as a fleet, meeting in the evenings for dinner and on lay day's time to explore on there own the beautiful Islands..

Day 1 is a race to the Kornati Islands, an 18 miler tacking in and out between the baron cone shaped islands, to the ACI Marina on the island of Piskera. The line up of yachts at the start is spectacular against the old town and blue skyline. The fleet comprises the blue yachts, the Grand Soleil's and Comets from 56 foot to 40foot and the white yachts Beneteau's and Jeanneau's from 52.2 foot to 37 foot. We in our Beneteau 473 have 4 other identical yachts to rate ourselves against. On board we have Judy Van Geldren and Natalie Walton from Sydney.

Perfect race conditions and we are 3rd over the line and win on handicap. Cadiz has never raced before and considering we have a lot of stuff on board we are very surprised how well she went. If Ian wrote this he would tell you its skill but I will tell you it's the all girl crew. Cocktails and dinner overlooking the yachts in the marina at sunset, it doesn't get much better.

Day 2, Lay Day and a 30 mile sail to Primosten, our next race start line. Calling into two beautiful bays for a swim we drop anchor with Bob and Sue Fraser and Trevor and Maggie Joyce's yachts rafting along side. Its all great fun till we all start to drift back on to the rocks, but with all that skill on board, we are on our way again. Finally our spinnaker gets an airing, now a little smaller, but it holds together.

Race 2 and not a lot of wind around, we head for Trogir. It's a close shave past a couple of islands, with a bit of rock watching in the bow. We are 7th over the line and 2nd on handicap. After an amazing dinner of cured ham, mussel and squid ink risottos, platters of meats and then fish, its prize giving time again and the cellar is filling up with Croatian wine as prizes.

Day 4, Lay day and walk the narrow stone lanes of Trogir.The view from the old Venetian Fort of this wonderful town covering a small island was spectacular, with all our fleet tied up to the town dock. In the afternoon we find the bay of Krknjas on the island of Veli Drvenik and spend the evening surrounded by crystal clear green water and our buddy party yachts, Trevor and Bob. Rebecca Hayter, editor of Boating New Zealand and Brian Watson join us for the rest of the Rally.

Race 3 and a bigger handicap, its find some wind. A very slow start but we find a breeze near the land and get 1st over the line, 4th on handicap. ACI Marina on the island of Saint Klement is fabulous amongst the pine trees and another great dinner overlooking the bay.

Day 6 Lay day, we cross to Hvar with the Saalfeld family (from RSYS) and Bob Fraser's crew on board. Some climb to the castle and others just need to sit in the sun and watch the passing parade and eat more food and drink more wine. The afternoon is spent in the bay of Soline and we are stern to in the clearest water to date. We can see quite clearly the weed like grass 12 meters below us.

Race 4 is to Korcula and it's on the nose with a 12 mile beat in 12 knots of breeze, the strongest to date. We all have to work hard and Ian is getting very serious now. I am in trouble as I would like some photos but we are in trouble at the start line and there is no one else to take it out on. We recover well and finish 3rd and 1st on handicap. We are having very close racing with Bobs Team on a Grand Soleil 46.3 and Bill Whiskers Team on an identical yacht to ours, a Beneteau 473.

It is great to catch up with so many sailing colleagues from Sydney and drink many a wine at the great functions after each race day and resailing the days event a 100 times.
We need the lay days to recover from both activities.

Stay tuned for the next week of racing.

The Kornati Islands are an internationally protected group of islands 150 miles north from Dubrovnik. The park is 36km long and 6km wide and is made up of 147 islands all coned shaped and baron, set against blue sky and water. It's almost boringly beautifully.

It's always a highlight if the local market is on your doorstep as it was in the main marina in Dubrovnik. It's fresh, cheap and what's in season is what you get. The old lady from the mountain village is selling her goat's cheese (very important to know the difference between baa and maa) olive oil and herb vinegar, to the young man selling fresh strawberries that look great on top but rotten on the bottom.

A few boats along from us is another Sydney Yacht from the CYCA, Jose de la Vega's Dreamtime, skippered by Dave Hill.

Blowing quite hard with clouds starting to build, we head out with Liz and Heinz to the island of Mljet. There's a chill in the air now and as the sky is looking very grey ,we take shelter in Okuklje cove. Suddenly it takes us by surprise and its winds of 40 knots with lots of lightning and thunder. All the boats are dragging anchor and so are we. Then came the rain and getting wet doesn't matter, it's a welcome relief, we have had no rain since May. Very short lived, cleared the air and next morning another bright blue day with a great sail to the Mljet,Polace National Park Inlet.

A very beautiful area with lush green pine trees to the clear waters edge and many rocky craggy bays to anchor in. Obviously a favourite with the very big cruise boats and when night came, on went their lights and it became fairy land. A highlight that evening is the local fisherman coming along side and selling us fresh crayfish, which Heinz cooked to perfection. The salt water lake with its Monastery set on an island in the middle is worth a visit by ferry.

Our next ports are Korcula, Hvar and Trogir with there contoured walled small old villages built at the end of a peninsular, not like other countries where they built there villages inland to protect themselves from pirates making it very different and interesting.

The one thing I remember years ago is seeing a poster on Croatia and it showing a beach that points out into the sea with lots of people on it. As I haven't seen a beach since I got here we have to find this one not far from Hvar on the island of Brac. It's a perfect day and we anchor in perfect blue water and get invaded by 8 young Aussies and Nzs off another charter boat backpacking around Europe. A swim ashore and its white pebbles not sand.
We overnight in Lucice on Brac, a remote bay where you pay to pick up a mooring but they do deliver to your boat next morning fresh bread and pastries.

There's no comfort to read when walking on the island of Zirje, stick to the paths as there are still mines around. Needless to say we do stay overnight with Heinz treading very gingerly whilst attaching the stern line ashore.

The Korneti Islands are a National Park to encourage marine life. Resembling a lunar landscape, conical brown and bare it is one of the most recognisable places on earth from space. Following a locally produced Croatian pilot containing charts of 777 harbours and anchorages we discover beautiful sheltered bays, Stupica, Smokvica and Luka Zut all with a restaurant selling their own caught fish.

Liz and Heinz where great company, with Heinz never leaving the wheel enjoying this magic cruising ground.

Now in Biograd, every one is gathering for Trevor Joyce's Regatta. Taking 2 weeks we have 7 races ending 180 miles down the coast to Dubrovnik With 24 yachts competing its going to be hectic on the start line especially as the local wind ,the Bora has just come in getting up to 40 knots. I hope John Messenger, Peter Sorensen and Bob Fraser remember they are on holiday.

It was very sad for us to hear that John Bonao died. John was the helicopter pilot that Ian Mainsbridge used to photograph most of the yacht races, and a great friend and supporter of our company. We shall miss his zest for life.
 

Always leave the best to last. We are now in Dubrovnik, Croatia and get the feeling we won't be disappointed. Arriving after a night sail from Brindisi in Italy, the sight from the water is fantastic. Surrounded by pine trees and rocky waterfront, the mix of the old walled town and new but uniformed stone houses with orange roofs is magical. This place was at war only10 years ago and was badly damaged, but now with International aid they have restored it to its original glory.

A week ago we returned to Corfu with Ian and Karina after a few days of going troppo around Paxos and Antipaxos. This place will always be a favourite and I can still taste the orange honey marmalade and olive oil too good to be true, at $10 a bottle.

Corfu has great nautical shops, the cheapest yet, and a very good place to winter your boat. The local market was also very cheap and convenient to the boat.

Ian has a train to catch in Brindisi, Italy so we are on the move and motor all the way in glass like seas. A night stop on the island of Erikousa 30 miles to the north of Corfu and an early start, in fact its pitch black ,but we have 80 miles to go in no wind. Calling into Brindisi on the way to Croatia is only 30 miles out of our way, so makes a good stopping Port.

Although mainly a transit ferry town for the Adriatic we are pleasantlysurprised and enjoy being back in Italy. Brindisi is on the east coast on the heel of the boot. The Pilot book says to lock everything to the deck which we do, but have no problems. In fact we enjoy our free stay on the wall very much.

We have a Sunday to explore the Province of Puglia which is flat, very fertile and famous for its produce, wine and cooking. Hiring a car, clearly Ian has missed driving, its 130 kms an hour down the highway to Lecce, known as the Florence of the south. The numerous Churches and Cathedrals are elaborate, looking like wedding cakes but its Sunday and deserted. I would very much like to spend more time here and explore the narrow marble streets, eat at the local restaurants offering local cuisine and shop at all
the designer shops that are now closed, well planned by Ian. What is open is the famous café Alvino and its granita di caffe, mushy frozen espresso coffee with lashings of cream on top, it's simply delightful.

Ian is keen to get behind the wheel again and off we go through country lanes surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Our next destination Oria with its elaborate painted dome Cathedral and Castle is a very old pretty town. Lunch is a highlight of our day here at Fuori Porta at the stone arched entrance to the town. It's very local and our order of antipasto comes on 10 plates, all very fresh, delicious and very Italian. Thinking that was it, along came the mussels, scampi and cherry tomato fresh pasta, with a local rose wine which they are famous for, it's a gastronomical experience.

Driving onto Ostuni, locally called the bright white town, sitting on a hill over looking the flat green fields to the blue Adriatic Sea. A very picturesque old town with a steep climb to the top. Around this area are the unique Trulli buildings best described as an up side down ice cream cone. Constructed of stones and painted white it's a mystery as to when they were built and for what purpose. They are now used for houses, every room has a cone.

The one thing that impressed me from the tourist brochures was the caves in the area that contain the religious paintings. I have never seen anything like this before, and they are 1000 years old (secXI ) so we go in search of them, literally. Even though the brochures tell us they are here, it is a navigational nightmare trying to find them? On a back road in the middle of no where we finally find Cripta di Biagio. In the side of a small hill is a cave and it is truly amazing. Small communities lived here in the caves and only the church was painted elabratory telling the story of the Bible.

An exhausting day, but well worth it and of course the car is full of wine. Finishing off with a pizza in the Windsurf Pizza Bar opposite the boat, they sure do know how to make a pizza here. Translation into English creates a few laughs, Gorgonzola Pizza became  Gynecologist Pizza.

The southern part of Italy is always known as the poor part and we did find this on the west coast but here on the east coast it certainly isn't and we will be back, where only local tourists visit.

Ian and Karina get the train to Venice and we sail out to Croatia in head winds, a 130 mile crossing. Formalities are strict but we have no problems and are soon tied to the main port marina. A permit costs E 235 for twelve months with no restrictions on leaving Croatia and returning. The main port has limited berths but is much handier to the town than the ACI Marina. It still continues to amaze us but the super yachts seem to get bigger, in fact one beside us even had the local pilot on board to dock her, (100 metres long). 
The old port is now closed to Yachts.

Today we walked the medieval fortress wall which totally encloses Dubrovnik; looking down on this living historic old town, with no traffic other than pedestrians.

Liz and Heinz from France join us today for 10 days and we plan to sail our way to Split passing through the islands.