Limerence Update #67

June-July 2005

Croatia - Dubrovnik to Korcula

The country of Croatia lies on the northeast side of the Adriatic Sea. Since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, and Croat independence, the country has been bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Much of the country is mountainous mostly covered with forest and pasture. Croatia’s crowning glory is a thousand islands strung along the coastline, making it a cruising sailor’s paradise. There are still shadows cast from the Serbian Croatian war, and we discovered a highly nationalistic people undergoing radical changes. In the past ten years, Croatia made a huge investment in tourism, and the rebuilding of public and privately-owned buildings damaged during the conflict, with the goal of working toward admission to the European Union. We found the people to be very sincere and welcoming to us as Americans, partly because of our support during their war.  

We left Siracusa Sicily in mid-June and found ourselves flying north up the east coast of Italy with winds of 20 knots from the south, and a large following sea. We decided not to stop at any of the shallow harbors along that coast, and so motor-sailed forty hours to Santa Maria di Leuca on the tip of the “heel” of Italy. After resting for the night, we moved on to Otranto Italy, another 30 miles up the coastline. Otranto is a charming traditional Italian fishing port that has turned itself into a summer beach community. We enjoyed spending time in the small marina with cruising boats Octopus, Iona, and Vagabond of Bosham. The winds blew hard from the north, and created such a “sea” that the locals came down for a look at the surge. We waited almost a week for a calm weather window to cross the Adriatic to Croatia. We rode our bikes, explored the old fort and walled city, and shopped the produce markets. Finally, on the full moon of June, we cruised overnight to Dubrovnik. The seas were calm and we experienced a brilliant red sunset, and at dawn, a flaming sunrise.

Otranto Italy	Waves produced by north winds	Sunrise at sea in Adriatic

Cruising into a strange port in a new country produces a nervous anticipation. We have our GPS, our guide books, pilot books, charts and fellow cruiser’s information. Everything still looks different than you expect!!! We cruised by the red tiled roofs of the walled city of Dubrovnik in sparkling sunshine. We were so thrilled and excited!! Dubrovnik had been (until the war broke out in 1991) one of the top international tourist destinations of Dalmatia. During an eight month period in 1991-92, the city suffered relentless bombing by Yugoslav troops. After the Erdut Agreement of 1995, UNESCO and the European Union set up a commission for the reconstruction of the city. It is a jewel. The old port in the city is only for local fishing boats, ferries and tour operators. We had to check into the country in Gruz – a few miles north.

Dolphins bring good luck!	Gruz Croatia - entering port

The port of Gruz is busy with cruise ships, ferries, sport fishing boats, and pleasure boats bobbing on moorings. It was a buzz of activity at noon. We were a bit confused as to where to dock at the busy port, but finally spied the “Q" on the customs building and tied up to huge black tires hanging from a concrete wall. We were flying our yellow “Q” flag which means we are awaiting check-in procedures, in addition to our Croatian courtesy flag.  An officer immediately came to Limerence and gave us paperwork to fill out, and instructed us to stay aboard.  Within two hours our passports were stamped and we were checked into the country, after paying our fees for a three month cruising permit. Now we were allowed to go out of Gruz and motor several miles to the ACI Marina servicing Dubrovnik.

We motored up the river. The scenery was stunning with steep mountains on each side covered with pines and cypress. The air smelled so clean! Attendants waved us into the dockage area and met us to tie up our lines. What courtesy! We checked in with our Croatian cruising permit and settled in for a few days. It was a pleasure to find that the marina not only had a laundry, but a swimming pool! We also discovered that it’s a home base for charter services like the Moorings, Sunsail, and others. These waters are perfect for chartering and are not overcrowded. The Croatians are well organized with many marinas and safe harbors, tour operators, restaurants and grocery stores catering to cruisers.  They are ecologically sensitive and make it easy to be a tourist in their country.

Church on river in Dubrovnik	ACI marina pool - Dubrovnik	Dubrovnik Croatia

The same afternoon we arrived, our old friends, Karen and John from Windsong surprised us by tapping on our boat! They were anchored up the river. The next day other friends, Suzie and Doug on Selsum, motored into the marina. After spending several months in Croatia, both couples are returning south. We enjoyed a reunion with all as they passed on information to us about what we "must" see and do in Croatia!.

We visited the city of Dubrovnik three times during that week. We hopped the city bus at the entrance to the marina and rode about 20 minutes to the gates of the city. The symbol of Dubrovnik, the “walls”, offer splendid views from the guards’ walkway. They were built in the 10^th century and are almost 6,400 feet long. There are various entrance gates and crooked cobblestone streets leading throughout the warren. We poked our heads into churches, city buildings, and galleries. There are many choices of restaurants and cafes suitable for people watching and soaking in the atmosphere.

Dubrovnik main street	Big Fountain of Onofrio	Tourists learning about war damage

The sounds here in Croatia are so different! We mostly hear Croatian, German and Austrian, spoken. The Croatian words are incomprehensible to "western" ears! To say “please” is "molim vas". To say “goodbye” is "dovidenja". We are fortunate that many Croatians speak English, and most menus are partly in English. The grocery store is a bit of a mystery. . . good thing for pictures on products! And, the trendy dressers with bare midriffs and sparkly t-tops as seen in Italy and France are not to be found in Croatia! On the other hand, nudity is common on boats. It seems when soaking up the rays, many people enjoy au-natural and are very comfortable about their bodies. You can always tell an American boat. . . they have swimming suits on!

People watching in Dubrovnik	Tranquil Croatian harbor	Dubrovnik cafe

To explore the islands of Croatia, we picked up a guide book called “777 Harbours and Anchorages - Eastern Adriatic”. It is full of advice and charts to help navigate from place to place. That book combined with electronic and paper charts, notes from fellow cruisers, and guidebooks are helping us find our way. We have anchored in a few small harbors and villages so far. Leaving Dubrovnik we motor-sailed to the island of Lopud. When furling in our jib in gusty winds, we wrapped it partially backwards around the front stay and struggled for a few minutes freeing the mess. Whenever something like that happens we say "shakedown". . . which means we are still getting used to sailing again! We dropped anchor in the pretty little village harbor, but rolled back and forth uncomfortably during the night.

Our weather forecast was for very high winds, so we made for tiny village of Slano on the mainland, which has a completely protected harbor. After about ten hours, the winds hit combined with a lightening storm. Doug sat up most of the night keeping an anchor watch. The wind was steady at 25 knots and gusting to 45 knots. It was very intimidating, but our double anchoring system held us tight. We use a Bruce anchor as our main, and then attach a Fortress anchor with 10 feet of chain to the shackle of the Bruce. The Fortress drops first, followed by the Bruce. The Bruce digs in and the little Fortress lies on its side waiting to be called into action. After that three day “bora” we pulled up both anchors caked in clay and mud. We always dive on the anchors after they are set to check that we like the position. We also set our GPS anchor alarm which has never failed us. Makes us sleep better.

Reminders of War	Limerence at anchor

Most of the weekend was blustery and we stayed put in Slano. We were pleasantly surprised on Saturday night when 15 local dance groups presented a display of the folk dances of their region. We were able to dinghy the short distance to shore to watch the dancing. The winds abated for a few hours! Our friends on the power yacht Pastiche motored into the harbor also, and we had a cocktail on board and heard about their experiences in Croatia. We met Reed and Judy in Roma and will see them again because they are going to Turkey also.

Croatian folk dancer	Croatian family band

The weather calmed down and next we sailed 20 miles up to the island of Mljet. We anchored in the national park in a village called Luka Polace. Surrounded by a dense pine forest and anchored in crystal clear waters, we enjoyed a couple of tranquil days. The village was very friendly and we rented a tiny red Volkwagen for an afternoon. We drove to a nearby lake and took a small shuttle ferry to a Benedictine monastery on an island. There are photo opportunities at every turn, as Croatia is a most picturesque country!

Rent-a-Volkswagen in Polace	Benedictine monastery

After ten days on the "hook" we were ready for the conveniences of a marina! We motorsailed again to Korcula. We weren't prepared for such a lovely place with red-tiled roofs, ancient stone buildings surrounded by steep stone walls and moat. It rivals Dubrovnik! The marina is adjacent to the city so it is an easy five minute walk into town. The views were stunning and we settled in for a few days. A marina doesn't have the privacy of an anchorage because you are inches from the boats on each side of  you. However, we have been lucky and not experienced a "party" boat next door! That would be torture because we go to bed early!

Korcula City	Korcula Main Gate	Korcula views

We stayed an extra day in Korcula to see a presentation of the "Moreska" dance. This is an ancient sword fighting battle between two tribes over the hand of a fair maiden! There were eight men dressed in black, and eight dressed in red, and they dueled with real swords that sparked when they dueled. It was exciting to watch the program. The dance only takes place in Korcula and has been performed for over 400 years!

Korcula Folk Dancers	Moreska Dancers

In our next update we’ll tell you more about Croatia as we head north to Sibenik, Skradin and the National Park of Krka. We intend to spend the summer here and start our cruise south at the end of August. By the way, some of you have asked "who" does the writing for our website? The answer is Judy does the writing, and Doug does the editing and publishing! Thanks again for staying in touch, and signing our guest book! We love to hear from you.

Fair winds friends,

Doug and Judy 

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