Sea of Joy Starts New Season 2023

As Sea of Joy is for sale now, we wanted to make sure everything is working ok.
After servicing the motor, changing oil, oilfilter, dieselfilter, and gearbox-oil we mounted 2 new V-belts and a new impeller.
For the stove we mounted a new gas pipe and a new regulator.

On Wednesday, May 25th my brother Andreas and I started south via Piran into Umag in Croatia, where at the harbormaster's we payed the boat arrival notification fee for 2023. It amounted to 87.60 Eur and is valid until 2023-12-31.
As Croatia is now member of Schengen there is no need for European boats to declare entry or exit anymore.
And the currency is now EUR, so it is much easier to sail in Croatia alltogether.

 

With nice northeasterly wind we sailed south, passing Novigrad and finally anchored in Uvala Sv.Martin, where we enjoyed the fine weather for 3 days swimming, working and reading.

Sunday 29th we sailed back north and without declaring exit for the first time we left Croatia again, rounded Savudrija lighthouse and moored again safely at our mooring place in Marina Izola. Everything worked fine and contentedly we had a nice dinner at Gostilnja Doro in the quiet village-center of Izola.

We sailed 11h and logged 50sm in 4 days.
You may download our track in gpx-format:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wQkrrUuzorVctUZuxaGg6vyzECFPqQAM/view?usp=sharing
 or view it directly on GoogleMaps:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1OjrMbOpXDnOQ6SNMCyZ4kX6i5aws1oo&usp=sharing

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

Moving from Marina Stella to Izola

A boat has to sail on. So we decided to move our boat to a new location.

In May 2022 my son Matthias and I aroused our boat out of its winter sleep in the quiet Marina Stella, removed a lot of biological filth, and mounted a new starter battery. Early morning on Friday 13th May 2022 at high tide we we motored south on river Stella to the Laguna di Marano, passed Lignano and set sail to Izola, to our new mooring place for the next year.

With slow southeasterly wind we passed Grado and crossed the large bay of Trieste into Slovenia. Assisted by the friendly crew of Marina Izola we moored our boat and had a nice dinner at Oh My Grill with a nice shrimp soup and the typical pleskavicha sa sirom.

We sailed 6h and logged 31sm in 1 day. 

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

Short Cruise to Venice in a Temporary Corona Low

A short look at the current Corona situation in the northern Adriatic told me: it's time to sail! So my next crew arrived in Marina Stella on Friday, 9th July 2021: my sister Gabriela, her friend Herbert and my nephew Nikolaus. On Saturday we bunkered food and drinks, had a nice traditional dinner at  Al Cacciatore. Sunday we left Marina Stella 2 hours before high tide and took course to Venice. With nice southwesterly winds against us we first motored and then had to tack. In the evening we entered the Venetian lagoon through Porto Lido and anchored finally in Canale San Felice in a quiet and beautiful space. We roasted a nice Bistecca alla Fiorentina with potatoes and salads on the side.

Next morning we motored to Burano, Murano, San Michele, took a left turn at Fondamente Nove, continued to St.Elena and via Giardini we finally reached San Marc's Square and moored at a beautiful spot in Compagnia della Vela at Isola San Giorgio Maggiore. The very nice marinero helped us with the lines an than we had a rather unfriendly welcome by the new appointed Swiss manager. Anyway we enjoyed the nice view for the next 2 days and explored Venice in detail: We took the Vaporetto for a lot of trips, had some tasty Cicchetti at Al Squero, visited the old Jewish Ghetto and a lot of churches on the way, returned to Piazza San Marco with a stop at Gelato Fantasy. 

In the evening we had a delightful dinner at Al Giardinetto Da Severino: Sarde in Saor, Pasta con Grancchio, Sogliola Meuniere, grilled Seppioline. Early next day we visited Mercati di Rialto, had some Cornetti at Farini and spent some hours with wonderful paintings in Galleria Accademia. For refreshment we had some exceptional Tramezzini at Bar alla Toletta and then we took the trip via Arsenale to the famous statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni and visited Basilica dei santi Giovanni e Paolo. We took the Vaporetto to the cemetery of San Michele. Dinner was at al Storia di Crea, with a nice view over the lagoon, but not as good as in the last years. In the night we experienced some lightning and thunder. Apart from wearing masks in museums, restaurants, shops and vaporetti we experienced no Corona-based constraints whatever. 

On Wednesday 14th we left Venice via Porto Lido with some westerly winds and a remarkable swell. When the wind eased away we motored into Laguna di Marano and anchored at our favorite place. We cooked gnocchi with roasted vegetables and parmigiano and enjoyed a quiet night. At noon next day we motored through canale Cialisia and finally moored in Marina Stella. We celebrated our cruise at Al Pescatore with a sumptuous fish dinner with roasted mussels, Spaghetti Vongole, Anguilla and Rombo.

 

 

We sailed 21h and logged 113sm in 5 days. You may download our track in gpx-format or view it directly on GoogleMaps. 

Easy Sailing after a long Pandemic Winter

As Corona Lockdown measures were relieved end of May 2021 and we had our two vaccinations, my brother Andreas and I decided to check on S/Y Sea of Joy and to try a first little cruise in the Northern Adriatic. So we arrived in Marina Stella by car from Austria with no interference or regulatory control on Wednesday, 26th May.

After intensive cleaning the boat internally and externally we checked navigation equipment and started the motor: everything worked fine at the first attempt. Perfectly happy we celebrated at Antica Osteria ai Tubi with large plates of crudi di mare.

Sunday 30th May we left Marina Stella, motored down Fiume Stella into Laguna di Marano at high tide with no problems in shallow Canale Cialisia, passed Faro Rosso in Lignano and sailed with moderate winds to Grado, were we moored in the town harbor. Strolling around the city we saw a lot of happy people enjoying fine spring weather and fresh air. We had an exceptional fish dinner at Ristorante Zeromiglia di Grado which is professionally operated by the Cooperativa Pescatori di Grado.

After buying some fresh sogliole from the cooperative's shop next day we left Grado with nice westerly winds and sailed into the port of Monfalcone, checked Banchina Lamiere for a mooring place in vain and finally anchored in our favorite place Bachino di Panzano west of busy Fincantieri shipyard. We fried slowly our sogliolas, enjoyed some Prosecco and spent a quiet night.
 

 

Next morning we motored to Duino with no wind, passed Grignano with famous Castello Miramare and continued to Trieste, where we moored in Marina San Giusto. We had a nice fish snack at the nearby Eataly, took a long walk through the busy city, had a nice aperitivo at Gran Malabar and completed the evening with a tasty classic Triestinian dinner at Trattoria Mara.
 

 On Wednesday 2nd of June we crossed over into Slovenjia, bunkered diesel in Izola and anchored for two relaxing days in Strunjanski Zaliv, where we swam in clear waters and cooked a well-aged Bistecca Fiorentina with some potatoes.

Slight westerly winds took us slowly back to Lignano with no health-checks whatever. We crossed Laguna di Marano three hours before high tide and reached our permanent mooring place at Marina Stella. We spent some more days in the marina with some servicing, visiting exceptional Trattoria Alla Nave in Marano and Al Pescatore in Precenicco, and bought some Prosecco near Treviso at Vini Pavan wine cellars.
We drove back to Austria with no complications and an easy-going corona check after the border (a young soldier just asked us if we were vaccinated and we only had to nod). So up to date we can summarize, that we experienced rarely no Cornona-based constraints in the northern Adria and therefore expect a nice sailing summer.
 

 

 

We sailed 20h and logged 95sm in 6 days. You may download our track in gpx-format or view it directly on GoogleMaps. 

From Laguna di Marano to Otok Rab returning with young crew

My wife Ilse and I wanted to sail from Marina Stella to Croatia to pick up our daughter Sophie and her two sons Laurenz and Valentin from Otok Rab.

After filling in the requested forms we left Marina Stella with high tide and declared entry in Umag. The friendly policeman told us, that the harbormaster's office is closed, but we could pay our taxes next day in Novigrad. So we spent a quiet night in Uvala Dalija and visited the harbormaster - a very nice woman - in Novigrad and paid 672 Kuna tourist tax for 15 days and the yearly boat arrival notification fee of 662 Kuna, together around 180 Eur. With very nice westerly winds we sailed south to Medulin, where the wind finally ceased and we anchored in Uvala Bijeca.

Luka Krivica

Next morning good wind continued and we sailed over the Kvarner Gulf, continued south of Otok Unije to Luka Krivica on the southwesterly end of Otok Losinj. We took a buoy, attached a landline. Soon a heavy thunderstorm cleaned our boat very efficiently. We enjoyed the quiet Luka for two nights and then motored east to Uvala Meli in the southeast corner of Otok Cres, where we spent another day and night enjoying the clear waters and the wild deer wandering around. 

On Monday, 27th July we continued east to busy Rab harbor, where we had to wait for an hour to fill our gasoline tanks. In the afternoon we motored into Supetarska Draga, where we moored in the ACI Marina and had a rich fish platter at Restoran Vojko. Next day our daughter Sophie together with Laurenz and Valentin came on board and we anchored in the nice bay south of Otok Maman. In the morning we motor sailed with weak winds back to Uvala Meli, where the children enjoyed Stand-Up-Paddling and swimming.

Our grandchildren dreamed of visiting Otok Susak, so we sailed there next morning and moored for 2 nights in the new harbor. They enjoyed the sandy beach and we enjoyed good food at Sansegus and Konoba Barbara. For the next days weather forecast looked like getting a bit grim, so on Saturday,  August 1st we crossed the Kvarner Gulf, spent the night at anchor in Uvala Bijeca and continued northwest alongside Istria to Novigrad next day. Because we expected thunderstorms during the night we took a mooring in Marina Nautica, had good dinner at Konoba kod Kristijana, and enjoyed safely two heavy thunderstorms during the night.  

Next morning the weather forecast reported a small time window for a safe sail across the Adria to Italy, so we declared exit in Novigrad harbor and sailed with nice winds and heavy clouds back to Lignano, where we entered Laguna di Marano just 1 hour after high tide and moored safely back in Marina Stella, where we observed heavy thunderstorms. People reported a tornado roaring from Lignano beach to Grado. We celebrated our safe return for the next days at Ristorante Da Michele, Agli Angeli Ristorante, and Da Boschet.

 

 

We sailed 292sm in 54h during 14 days.

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

Easy Sailing to Venice Lagoon in Corona Times

When my grandchildren together with their parents came on board, we decided to take it easy and visit Venice and Chioggia. We left Marina Stella at noon on Thursday 9th, July 2020 and anchored in the Laguna Marano at our favorite place. Early next morning we left the lagoon and sailed to Porto Lido, where we had to wait, because they tested the MOSE flood prevention system. So we anchored east of the Lido inlet and went for a swim. In the evening we entered the lagoon and anchored in Canale San Felice.

Next day we visited Burano and Murano, passed San Michele cemetery and finally took a mooring at Compagnia della Vela at Isola San Giorgio Maggiore in front of Piazza San Marco. 

The next two days we visited Venice with only half as many tourists as usual and had nice meals at Ristorante Altanella, Bar alla Toletta and Trattoria Ai Cacciatori.

After getting fresh vegetables, prosciutto, bread and cheese from Rialto market we left San Giorgio Maggiore on Monday 13th, and anchored west of Isola Poveglia, where we had a good swim, gnocchi with two dips and enjoyed a quiet night.

Next morning we motored southwest inside the lagoon to Chioggia, where we took a mooring at Darsena Mosella for three nights. Our grandchildren enjoyed the beautiful beach and we savored good food at Pizzeria Antichi Sapori, Minerva, and Il Ristoro.

On Friday 17th we left Chioggia back northeast and had to tack against easterly winds. High waves took their toll on the crew, but finally we moored in Caorle at Darsena dell'Orologio and had a fine dinner at Ristorante il Centrale. Next day we sailed northeast with nice southwesterly winds and quiet sea and finally anchored in Laguna Marano at our favorite place. We baked delicious pancakes and enjoyed a quiet night. 

To get back with high tide we lifted our anchor next morning at 8:45 and moored at 10:00 at Marina Stella. We took a refreshing swim in the marina's large pool and enjoyed an exceptional dinner at Ristorante 900 all'Isola

With our young crew we sailed 148sm in 33h during 11 days.

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

Sailing only in Italian waters poses no problems at all now; no official procedures necessary, but fewer people and boats on the way. Italians are very disciplined wearing masks in all restaurants, shops and offices.

 

 

Late Start into the Sailing Season

Due to the Corona Virus I had to postpone maintenance work on S/Y Sea of Joy 4 times. Until June 16th, 2020 it was just not possible to travel to Italy because of excessive measures of the Austrian Government. They wanted to keep all inhabitants in Austria to increase tourism revenues, violating the European Right to Travel freely. (see my Corona-blog in German).

Marina Stella is located in the river Stella in Friuli Venezia Giulia, where the ratio of new infections per inhabitants was way lower than for instance in Vienna, Austria in June.

Finally on Monday, 22nd I started the engine and motored 2 miles upstream to Marina Stella Shipyard

My boat was lifted gently by my skilled friend Luca operating a 100 ton travellift assisted by the reliable mechanic Erwin.

He cleaned the hull thoroughly and next day after drying artful painter Andrea applied a layer of antifouling Trilux 33 to the clean hull.

 On Wednesday I checked all seacocks, anodes, and repaired a wire for the electric toilet. The MaxProp propeller was greased, antifreeze was checked and motor oil and filters were changed. Thursday noon Sea of Joy was lifted back into the river Stella and I moored her back at her usual place in Marina Stella Porto Titiano.

I was happy to find that most good restaurants are fully open again, for example:
Ristorante Cigno

Al Pescatore

Agli Angeli

On Friday, June 26th, I cleaned off the long winter's dirt and now S/Y Sea of Joy is ready for the new sailing season.

End of June 2020 SeaHelp warns about accidents on shoals in the northern Italian river Stella.
Here is the position of the shoal.

Sicily to Croatia

The season started for Sea of Joy in Licata, Sicily, with the usual maintenance works: antifouling, paintwork, changing the propeller shaft seal, cleaning and greasing the MaxProp and finally changing all internal electrical lights to LED.

We decided to visit Croatia again and so we reserved a mooring place in ACI Marina Cres for June 2016. My friends Gerhard and Kurt came on board on Saturday 21st May to help me sailing our boat to Croatia. We planned to sail quickly in three legs to Montenegro, visit Kotor Bay and then sailing slowly north along the best sites in Croatian waters.

At noon of May 22th we were ready to set sail from Licata and did a short first leg to Marina di Ragusa, where we had a rather mediocre pizza at Ristorante Miramare .



Next day we left early east and at the SE end of Sicily we decided to cross directly to Calabria because of nice strong winds from astern. In the night volcano Etna was very active, wind and waves got rather strong and squally, changing directions very often.

Near Spartivento the wind stopped and we had to start the motor again, but in vain: after checking the diesel supply pipe and the prefilter I found them clogged by black slime - a clear sign of the infamous diesel bug.
Those are microbes clogging the filters in the fuel system unpredictably. There are numerous reports, where the engines stopped suddenly in wrong moments. Thanks to a new crazy European law requiring taxed diesel fuel to have a "bio" content the whole sailing community has this problem now. I changed all filters and cleaned all pipes, but I was not able to get the engine running again.



With strong northerly winds we sailed to Roccella Ionica, anchored under sail in front of the harbor. Then we contacted the helpful harbor master and when winds calmed down a friendly fisherman came with his strong boat, took us alongside and towed us into the harbor. Next day a helpful technician got the engine running again not without warning us, that this could happen anytime again...

We rented bycicles and rode to the center where we had a nice dinner at Bio Ristorante Amal.

Next day we took on our next leg and arrived after 22 hours in Santa Maria di Leuca. We visited the city and the famous light house and had a marvelous dinner at the well-hidden Trattoria Boccondivino.

On May 28th we sailed with nice southeasterly winds north via the straith of Otranto into Montenegro, where we arrived after 30 hours in Tivat, cleared customs with no problems, and got a mooring place in Porto Montenegro.
We had craft beers and steaks for dinner at The Black Sheep

Next morning we sailed round the beautiful bay of Kotor, moored in Kotor, climbed up to the Castle Of San Giovanni and enjoyed the wonderful view over Kotor Bay. Then we had our first typical dinner at Ponta Veranda: Pleskavica, Onions, and cabbage salad.

Early next day we declared exit in Tivat and sailed northwest into Cavtat, where we declared entry, cleared customs and payed the yearly Croatian fees to the harbor master. Then we continued along the walls of Dubrovnik to Celo Bay at Kolocep island, where we anchored and savoured pancakes with apricot jam.













With rather strong southeasterly wind we sailed next day into Lastovo, where we anchored in Mali Lago Bay and cooked spaghetti with tuna.

June 2nd we sailed to Vis, replenished our supplies, ate at Dudo Restaurant, and visited the famous Lion of Lissa. In the afternoon with no apparent reason we had to leave the city quai and moved to Kut in the east of Vis bay and moored there.

Nice winds brought us next day into the bay of Sibenik, where we visited the wonderful city in light rain. In the afternoon we continued through long fjords to Skradin, where we moored in the marina and had a remarkable good dinner at
Konoba Dalmatino.

Early next morning we visited the Krka falls and then sailed back to Sibenik and onwards Uvala Zincena on Otok Pasman, where we anchored and fried a nice steak with potatoes.

From Pasman we sailed next day through the Kornati archipelago and continued to Ist, where we moored at the village quai. At Lako Cemo we enjoyed lamb chops grilled to perfection by a nice grillmaster on a sophisticated barbecue.

On June 6th we sailed further north through Ilovik channel and finally moored in Marina Mali Losinj. We had a nice walk round the beautiful city and had a fine dinner in the nice garden at Konoba Hajduk.

At 09:00 next day we wanted to sail through the turning bridge at Mali Losinj, but it was broken. So we sailed round the southern end of Losinj and east to the  beautiful Uvala Meli in the southern end of Otok Cres, where we anchored, enjoyed a nice swim in crital clear waters, and savoured two nice brancinos prepared in our oven.

Finally on June 8th we had to tack against northerly wind along the east coast of Cres, rounded Cap Jablanac and then the wind ceased. While we had to motor again the engine stopped 3 miles north of our destination - the diesel bug hit us again. I cleared the fuel lines again and bled the diesel pump in the secret ways I learned thwo weeks ago from the nice Calabrian mechanic and so we reached our final destination ACI Marina Cres in the evening. We had late dinner at Konoba Roza and slept very good in our boat safely moored in nice surroundings.

Next day I scheduled a date with the Volvo mechanic on site for a full motor service and cleaning of both tanks and then we went back home to Vienna.

We sailed 186h and logged 972sm in 17 days.

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