Lots of Winds and Dolphins in September

Dolphin in Kvarner

 I looked forward to my new professional crew Andrea and Robert. They boarded Sea of Joy on Saturday September 10th in Marina Izola Marina. After a welcome prosecco we bought supplies in Trieste and had a traditional Slovenian dinner at Gostilna Doro. Sunday morning we left Izola, rounded Savudrija lighthouse, and declared entry in Umag. With nice westerly winds we sailed south along Novigrad, Porec, Vrsar, and anchored finally in Uvala Grota south of Rovinj for a swim, pasta and a peaceful night. 

Sunrise south of Rovinj

Before dawn next day we lifted the anchor and motored south. At sunrise we set sail and continued west of the Brijuni islands. With fair, but varying winds we passed Porer lighthouse and crossed the Kvarner Gulf. Incredibly often Andrea and Robert spotted many dolphins accompanying our boat. 

Sunset at Susak

After some 50sm and 10 hours of slow sailing we anchored in westward Uvala Porat of Otok Susak in splendid turquoise waters. We enjoyed a relaxing swim, a beautiful sunset, a nice pasta with vegetables, and a quiet night.  

Happy Crew

After a long morning swim and a rich breakfast we practised some MOB manouevres and moored alongside in Susak harbor, welcomed by the friendly harbormaster. We took a hike to the lighthouse and the upper village with its cemetery and beautiful church. After stepping down to the lower village we had a nice lunch at Sansegus. As the weather forecast warned us about increasing southeasterly winds we left Susak and motored westward to find shelter in Luka Unije for the night. Even here some dolphins came right into the bay. 

Evening in Luka Unije

Before sunrise, to make proper use of the strong southeasterly, we set our genua only and crossed Kvarner Gulf at a nice speed around 7kn. We passed Porer lighhouse at 9am and continued west of Briunji island to Pucini lighthouse west of Rovinj. Finally we took shelter in the small bay north of Vrsar behind Otocic Cavata. Weather forecast promised max 22kn southerly wind with up to 2.5m waves, which should prove no problem for our sturdy boat tomorrow.

Screenshot Grib Forecast

Thursday 15th after some breakfast we started early northwards with genua on 1st reef only.  It was fascinating sailing with strong 30kn winds from behind. As a precautionary measure we put on our life jackets and secured ourselves to some strong fittings of our boat. We reduced the genua to 3rd reef and shortened it further when the ship electronics warned us that we surpassed windspeeds of more than 40kn. As we had to declare exit from Croatia anyway, we decided to sail into Umag. Luckily we passed the shallow entry into the harbor. Somewhat exhausted and tired we decided to spend the rest of the day and night in ACI Marina Umag. After a short celebration with some prosecco we got some sleep. In the evening Andrea and Robert found a nice restaurant in the city and brought some sweets, which we enjoyed late at night.

Andrea Sailing

Next morning the wind slowed down but weather forecast warned us about some Bora starting in the afternoon. So we bunkered diesel, declared exit and sailed our last leg with slow winds to Izola, where we arrived at noon just before strong northeasterly winds started to blow. During a thunderstorm with torrential rain we celebrated our save return with a good dinner at Gostilna Sonja.

Map of Track

We sailed 40h and logged 180sm in 6 days. 

You may download our track in gpx-format or view it directly on GoogleMaps