Saturday, September 16, 2017

Rainy Cruise to Venice

My old sailing friends Gusti and Richard came on board on September 4th 2017 and we decided in unison on a trip to Venice. So next morning we set sail across Kvarner Gulf, rounded Hrid Porer, and turned into Fazansky Kanal north of Pula and east of the Brijuni archipelago, where we finally anchored at Uvala Peroj




Early next day we continued north, visiting Rovinj, VrsarPorec, Novigrad and finally moored in ACI Marina Umag, where we had a surprising good dinner at Restoran Lido. At 6:30 next morning we declared exit and left Umag during some thunderstorms with convenient NE winds. Early in the afternoon we entered Venice through Porto Lido and moored at my favorite place at Compagnia della Vela in San Giorgio Maggiore across from Piazza San Marco.





In rather strong rain we made a long round trip with the Vaporetto and enjoyed dinner at al storico da Crea. The following day we used the Vaporetto a lot travelling to Lido, Treporti, Burano, Murano and San Michele. In the evening we were enthusiastic about a dinner at Osteria Trefanti.







After an early morning stroll through the sleepy district of San Marco we set sail northeast along the sandy coast, entered Porto Santa Margherita di Caorle, and moored at Darsena dell’Orologio. We had dinner at Il Brigantino. At night we experienced thunderstorms with strong SE winds and heavy rain, which continued throughout next day. In the afternoon Richard was adversely affected by respiratory distress. An emergency doctor who arrived at once transferred him to Ospedale di San Donà di Piave. There it was decided to transport Richard back to Vienna, perfectly organized by the Austrian Automobile Club ÖAMTC. On account of the perfect cooperation of all  professionals involved I am happy that Richard is now in good health in Vienna again.

Because of strong onshore winds and heavy rain Gusti and I had to stay for another day in Caorle, where we walked in stormy weather along the Lungomare and had very good pizzas at Ae do Rode. On September 9th we were able to leave Caorle and with second reef and gusty 7 bft winds we reached Umag, where we declared entry and moored in the ACI Marina in heavy thunderstorms.



In the evening we walked to the old center of Umag and had a nice rustic dinner at Konoba Kaleta. Next morning we sailed south along the Istrian Coast and anchored in Uvala Banjole. Next morning we rounded Hrid Porer and with comfortable southwesterly winds sailed north to Cres, where we finally moored at out berth in ACI Marina Cres. We celebrated the finally positive completion of our eventful cruise at Restaurant Riva.

We sailed 51h and logged 264sm in 7 days.

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Saturday, September 2, 2017

Sailing Round Northern Croatian Islands

My experienced crew Eva, Evi and Ilse came on board on Saturday, August 26th 2017. From Cres Marina we set sail south, stopping at sandy Uvala Zanja for a swim into the famous Blue Cave. In the evening we anchored in lonely Uvala Radiboj and cooked fish with couscous. At 9:00 next morning we motored through Osor Channel and sailed with light winds to the south coast of Cres, where we anchored in Uvala Meli, enjoyed a walk in the woods and swimming in turquoise waters.







Under cloudy skies and westerly winds we sailed to Otok Rab next day, where we moored in the city harbor and had a nice dinner at Konoba Rab. Again with sunshine we sailed south through Barbatski Kanal and then northwest along the Velebit Channel. Strong easterly winds pushed us into the westerly bay off Lopar, where we anchored finally having a nice swim and crispy salads for dinner. On August 30th we sailed north to Krk and then west along the south coast of Otok Krk. With slight winds we rounded Otok Plavnik and anchored in Uvala Sv. Juraj.


After a visit to Krk town next morning we sailed east to Opatija, where we moored in ACI Marina Icici. We walked along Franz Joseph Promenade to Opatija, where we had a trendy dinner at Restoran Ruzmarin. Heavy rain and thunderstorms woke us next morning. After noontime we set sail south through Kvarner Gulf and finally moored in ACI Marina Cres, where we had a nice dinner at Konoba Roza.





We sailed 33h and logged 148sm in 6 days.

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Saturday, July 29, 2017

Enjoying Croatian Waters

After Josip from Marizo Cres mounted three new hydraulic tubes for our autopilot and refuelling our tanks we left Cres marina on Tuesday 18th July afternoon for a quiet night at anchor in Uvala Nedomisje. My grandson Jonas with his parents Isa and Matthias enjoyed his first swim next morning and then we sailed south to Martinscica harbor, where we moored at the town quay and met Anna, a friend of Jonas, and her parents. We had a nice dinner at Gostionica Koralj. Next day we took Anna and her parents on a short cruise to the west bay of Otok Zeca for a long swim. In the evening we attended a barbecue party at Anna's holiday home.










Friday 21st we sailed south to Otok Susak, where we took a buoy and spent a sunny day swimming. Next day we sailed to Luka Krivica, where we anchored and took a line to the narrow shore. There we spent two more leisure days in clear waters.

On Monday 24th weather forecast announced some thunderstorms, so we tried to get a mooring place in Mali Losinj, but at noon the harbor had not one free place.





So we sailed with nice southerly winds further north to Uvala Ustrine, where we anchored securely in the north bay. In the evening a heavy thunderstorm arrived as forecasted. A motoryacht with dragging anchor crashed into our boat, but besides a bent railing stanchion nothing was damaged. For the next two days we enjoyed swimming in this beautiful bay and finally went back to Cres marina where we celebrated this leisurely cruise with a fine fish dinner at Restaurant Riva.

We sailed 25h and logged 102sm in 9 days.


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Sunday, July 16, 2017

Relaxing Short Cruise

Together with my sister Gabriela and her friend Herbert I came back to Cres by car on Sunday 9th July 2017. Next morning after bunkering some supplies we set sail south with weak westerly winds and anchored near Osor in quiet Uvala Radiboj. Next morning at 9:00 am we passed Osor channel southwards, rounded the south coast of Otok Cres and finally anchored in Uvala Meli. We swam to the sandy beach and had a nice walk in the dense woods. In the evening we experienced a violent but short thunderstorm with 8 bft gusts.

Next day at noon we passed the harbor of Veli Losinj, motored though the crowded channel between Otok Ilovik and Sv.Petar and spent the night at a bouy in Luka Krivica. Next morning with choppy northeasterly winds we set sail at first reef and tacked north with nice speed to Uvala Ustrine, where we anchored in the quiet north bay. The autopilot ceased working - all hydraulic fluid was gone. We decided to repair it when back in Cres Marina.

On Friday we continued sailing north with 6 bft northeasterly wind and 2nd reef with Herbert at the helm heroically fighting the gusts. West of Rt.Pernat the wind suddenly ceased and we ended this cruise moored save again in Marina Cres. Herbert helped me change the hydraulic cylinder with some tricks known only by a mechanical engineer. But then we found that one of the hydraulic tubes was also broken and I decided to have all three of them replaced. We celebrated our relaxing cruise with a fine grilled turbot and some Malvazija Istarska wine at Restaurant Riva.

We sailed 21h and logged 101sm in 6 days.


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Sunday, June 25, 2017

Exploring the Highlights of Croatian Waters

Thursday, June 8th 2017 afternoon my wife Ilse and I set sail with light northwesterly winds from Cres Marina to the west coast of Otok Losinj. In the evening we anchored in the beautiful Uvala Tomozina and cooked delicate spaghetti aglio e olio.












Next morning we motored further south and found a mooring place in the small harbor of Otok Susak. We walked around the long sandy beach, took a refreshing swim and explored the extraordinary sandy landscape and visited the village and cemetery on the sandy hill.  At last we enjoyed a nice dinner at Hotel Sansegus.







At dawn early next morning we continued south first with no wind along the west coast of Otok Premuda and Otok Molat. Afternoon we sailed with weak westerly winds along the east coast of Dugi Otok to Sali, where we moored in the nice harbor. We took a long walk around the village, visiting old churches and looking for a good restaurant. We found Konoba Marin well hidden in a picturesque backyard and had a good dinner with local specialities: grilled rolls of zucchini stuffed with goat cheese, truffled home made pasta and a good red house wine.

We were happy awoken by a a nice westerly wind with 5 bft next morning. So we sailed  with first reef south through Kornati islands, along Otok Zirje, passing Hrid Mulo with a nice speed above 7 kn. For a quiet night we found good shelter in Uvala Vinisce anchoring in front of Restaurant Kupinica where we had good antipasti mare and pizza.

Next morning we sailed between Veli Drvenik and Otok Solta into Pakleni Kanal and took a buoy in Vela Garska near Konoba Mareta, where we enjoyed swimming and savoured fish from the grill. Tuesday 13th we visited  crowded Hvar harbor, took a relaxing swim in the bays of the Pakleni islands and in the afternoon continued to Otok Scedro, where we moored at the small jetty in front of Restaurant Kod Ive in the southern end of Uvala Lovisce. We walked across Otok Scedro to have a first orienting look at Otok Korcula. The nice couple of Kod Ive served us exceptional fish and good local wine for dinner.

After a refreshing swim we started on our last leg to Korcula, where we moored at the ACI Marina. In the afternoon we visited the beautiful old town. We savoured remarkable local dishes at Restaurant Aterina for dinner. Next morning we went uphill for some provisions and left with light rain to the gasoline station in the next bay. In the afternoon we rounded Rt.Raznjic and spent the night at anchor in Uvala Przina after cooking some pasta con verdura.

Against nice northwesterly winds we tacked along the south coast of Otok Korcula next day and then to the south coast of Otok Vis, where we took a buoy in Uvala Rukavac in front of Konoba Dalmatino, where we had very good grilled branzino and salad. The next day was a wonderful sailing day with ideal easterly winds pushing us northwest to Otok Zirje, where we took a buoy in Uvala Tatinska. Dinner at Konoba Stubica was very bad, fat from the freezer, and we had to pay extra for the buoy!

During the night the wind grew stronger, so we started next morning with a small bora up to 7 bft and third reef. When we approached the eastern Kornati Islands, the wind was down to 4 bft, so we had a nice sail to our favorite island Otok Levrnaka, where we moored at Konoba Levrnaka. After a refreshing swim and a good hike around the island we enjoyed our favorite dinner: raw fish antipasto and dragonhead brodetto.

Next day we motored through Mala Provesa and then tacked all along the east coast of Dugi Otok and finally anchored in Uvala Podgarbe south of Otok Molat.












The following day we motored nearly no wind south of Rt.Zaplo and then along east side of Otok Molat and Otok Ist. At noon we took a refreshing swim in Luka Sv. Ante south of Otok Silba and then continued to Ilovik, where we took a buoy in the canal. We visited the cemetery on Sv.Petar, took a hike to a peak of Otok Ilovik and had a good dinner at Konoba Oliva.





Wednesday 21st we continued north to the west side of Otok Rab, visited Supetarska Draga and anchored in the sandy bay east of Lopar. We enjoyed the sandy beach and a croatian dinner at Konoba Ankora. Next morning we explored the sandy beaches in the north of Otok Rab and continued north to Otok Krk, where we visited Baska and Silo, and finally spent the night at anchor in sheltered Klimno bay.


Next day we sailed under the famous bridge north of Otok Krk, visited Bakarska Vrata, motored with no wind alongside ugly Rijeka, and finally moored south of Opatija in ACI Marina Ici. We enjoyed a long walk on the "Kaiser Franz Josef Promenade" and had a very good pizza at Bistro Venezia offside the touristic tracks.



The last day of our cruise we sailed alongside Lovran and Moscenicka to Brestova, where we crossed the Kvarner to Otok Cres and finally moored back in Cres Marina.


We sailed 104h and logged 532sm in 16 days.
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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Short Cruise to Classical Italy

For some serious sailing I started with my old sailing companion Kurt from Cres Marina to Pula on Monday May 15th 2017. We visited some sites in Pula and ate Pljeskavica and pizza at Konoba Jupiter. Next day we went to the market for some fresh fish and vegetables, and did some sightseeing visiting the famous arena and the impressive fort.




In the afternoon we declared exit at Pula customs and sailed through the night with nice northeasterly winds to Rimini, where we moored in the marina early morning.







After a refreshing stroll at the beach we went to the city center across Ponte d’Tiberio and visited many historical buildings. A very good fish dinner we had at Osteria delle Storie di Mare.












Next morning we sailed to Ravenna, where we moored in the marina and took a bus to the center. We visited all the famous sites like Appolinaire in Classe, Douomo e Battisterio Neoniano, Basilica di San Vitale, etc. Dinner we enjoyed at Riesling Griglia e Cucina in Marina di Ravenna.



Early morning at 5:30 am we left Ravenna for the long sail north along the Po delta to Chioggia, where we moored in Darsena di Saline and had an inspiring dinner at La Taverna. With heavy rain we sailed inside the laguna thru shallow but navigable Canale di Pellestrina and Canale di Malamocco right to Piazza di San Marco where we moored at Compagnia di Vela south of San Giorgio Maggiore around noon on May 20th.





The next two days we spent with intense sightseeing and heavy walking using a very convenient ACTV two days ticket on the vaporetto. Fabulous food we found at Al Storico da Crea, Al Timon, and Osteria Al Squero.




After the obligatory visit to Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale we left Venice through Porto di Lido heading for Novigrad, where we declared entry to Croatia. We spent the night at anchor in Uvala Mirna. Next day we sailed south along the coast of Istria, looked at Rovinj which looked like a forbidding construction area at that time.




In the afternoon we passed Hrid Porer, crossed the Kvarner with nice northeasterly winds and finally spent a quiet night at anchor in the west bay of Otok Zeca. On Wednesday 24th we returned to Cres Marina, where our nice trip ended after we enjoyed a traditional lamb dinner at Konoba Bukaleta.

We sailed 66h and logged 340sm in 9 days.

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