The Catamaran Adventures of Noel and Ceu

Arrived in Croatia!

Current Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Current Position: 42 40.28 N 018 7.26 E Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 193 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

Well, we made it to Croatia!

We left Corfu in pretty calm conditions with both the jib and mainsail up, just about making 3.5kts. After a little while the wind disappeared totally and, when our speed dropped to zero we did put on the motor for about an hour.

Sunset as we are leaving Corfu, bound north

Sunset as we are leaving Corfu, bound north

Then, as expected, the wind started to fill in from behind. Since the main blankets the jib when the wind is astern, there is no point in having both sails up, unless you can persuade the jib to fill on the opposite site of the boat to the main, so called wing-on-wing or goose-winged. Since the jib alone is easier to handle if the winds pick up, we dropped the main. And that was how it remained for the rest of the trip.

Pretty soon we were getting gusts up to 30kts, and were surfing down the 1.5 to 2m waves at up to 12kts, with an average speed of 7-8kts. Our new water generator was working fabulously so that, with the wind and water generators combined, we were getting plus 12-14 amps in the middle of the night – despite the demands of the fridge, autohelm and navigation lights.

One of the waves in 25 - 30kts winds that we caught for some surfing!

One of the waves in 25 – 30kts winds that we caught for some surfing!

But the wind was dying again and by the afternoon our speed was, once again, zero. The forecast was for ongoing light wind, so after drifting for about half an hour, we then motored for another hour at low revs, just to keep us moving. By the time we finished our pineapple chicken with rice the wind was filling in from starboard and before long we were back at 4-5kts with the engine off and just the jib up. Through the night there was some light rain and distant lightning, but nothing exciting back home. The seas have settled down with just small waves now. It is almost a full moon at the moment, so the night is bright, even with the high level cloud cover. There has been minimal shipping traffic.

We arrived at Cavtat at 9am for a 5kt overall average and checked in with no difficulty. Prices have gone down since Croatia joined the EU, but even so we had to pay 1638 Kuna (about $300) for a tourist tax and cruising permit, but both last for a year. They also told us that all the fuss we have heard about people trying to charge one for anchoring have been resolved in a court, and no they can charge ONLY for mooring balls, no matter how close you might anchor. It seems that joining the EU has brought some sanity to here!

That's us on the right, tied up to the immigration dock at Cavtat, Croatia (space for one boat only) while we are checking in

That’s us on the right, tied up to the immigration dock at Cavtat, Croatia (space for one boat only) while we are checking in

The weather is iffy. A low is passing by, and gales with thunderstorms are expected, so having checked in we decided to move up to Dubrovnic and anchor in the river there, where it is nice and sheltered – but with quite a bit of current flowing.

So now we are having lunch and trying to decide what the plan is. We seem to have internet through the marina, next to which we are parked, so that is a plus! But we do need to sort out a 3G internet connection somehow.

It was a good trip.

Leave a Reply