Stormy Start in Slovenia - Smooth Sailing in Croatia

In June in Marina Izola Felix Yachting mounted our new Propeller, a brand new Maxprop Easy 4-blade E90 18" and accurately applied two layers of Antifouling of Seajet 034 Emperor white. Peter from Supreme Sails refurbished our Sprayhood and inserted new plastic windows. I scrubbed the deck and all teak parts while my wife Ilse thoroughly cleaned the interior of our boat.

So we were ready to sail when our son Matthias arrived with our grandson Jonas on Thursday, July 7th, 2022. We first motored to Koper to refuel at a price of 1.80 Eur per liter diesel. Then we sailed to the pleasant bay of Strunjanski Zaliv and anchored carefully. Weather forecasts announced a maximum wind of 20 kn. But at 18:00 suddenly strong gusts arrived and a thunderstorm began. Our boat rocked in brutal high and irregular waves. We recorded max wind of 48 kn. Woefully we had to witness a boat moored at a buoy with nobody on board suddenly cutting loose and finally smashing on the rocky shore. Our heavy plough anchor fortunately held tight. After two hours everything was over and we had a simple meal with cooked potatoes and tea.

Next morning we crossed the border from Slovenia to Croatia and declarrd entry in Novigrad. To the harbormaster we payed the yearly "boat arrival notification fee" of 662.- Kuna in cash and the tourist tax we paid online per person on the new web page. With smooth westerly winds we sailed further south and anchored in Uvala Sv. Martin for two placid days of swimming and snorkeling.

On Sunday 10th we moved 6 sm to the crowded bay west of Funtana, got our dinghy ready and bought some bread in the nearby village. As we noticed a small leak in our dinghy we looked also for a proper glue, but could find none. Also in Marina Vrsar, where we motored next day, no glue was available. Monday evening we had a typical Croatian dinner at Konoba Kod Luce. After buying some food next morning we found a place to anchor in the crowded bay east of the small isle Cavtat north of Vrsar.

Wednesday we sailed northwest with nice southeasterly winds into Uvala Tarska in Luka Milna, where we spent a quiet night at anchor. Early morning when the quarry north of Luka Milna began to work loudly with a lot of dust we motored into Novigrad, declared exit and sailed back to Slovenia. Near the Bay of Piran we saw some dolphins, took a final swim and moored our boat back in Marina Izola. We celebrated our small cruise with a fine dinner at Gostilna Doro 

We sailed 25h and logged 78sm in 8 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. 

Swimming in Slovenia with young crew

After spending some nice days in Marina Stella with my wife Ilse, our daughter Sophie and our grandchildren Valentin, 4 years and Louise, 9 month, we decided to sail for a swim to Slovenia. On Tuesday, August 10th 2021 we set sail, motored to Lignano and then set sail  southeast to Strunjanski Zaliv, where we anchored at our favorite place for 3 days. 

In very nice weather we all did a lot of swimming and paddling and cooked nice meals on board. 

August 13th we returned into Laguna di Marano and spent a quiet night at anchor near canale Cialisia. 

Next day we motored back at high tide to Marina Stella and enjoyed a very nice dinner at Al Cacciatore.

We sailed 11h and logged 60sm in 5 days. 

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.