Ancient Coasts

Clouds can be very happy too!

Picture was taken between Split and Hvar just before going between the islands Brac and Solta.

Before this crossing there was almost no wind to sail. After the crossing it rose to 15 – 20 knots. So the only scientific explanation for this kind of weather phenomenon is off course: happy sailing to be expected because We (the wind Gods) will turn on the wind up to 15 – 20 knots.

To be included in the next edition of the Ancient Coasts Adriatic Sailing Almanac (although I am not sure yet if I should limit it to the Adriatic alone)

Tags: almanac, Croatia, Daily Picture, Hvar, Sailing, Split, Weather

After another week of sailing arrived in the ACI Marina in Dubrovnik yesterday.

This marina is one of the most luxorious I have seen until now in Croatia. In any case the first with a swimming pool and a very cool old mansion integrated in the marina.

Next pictures uploaded and ready to be published, herewith the first…

Daily Picture

Tags: ACI Marina, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Sailing, Skyline

Yesterday arrived in Split after a week of happy sailing from Murter to Split.

Google Earth Mania

Below you will find the route we took.

Download the Google Earth File (unzip and then open in Google Earth)

Off course I had to go to the Kornati Archipel again. This time no nice little Kornatian village but took a mooring at Uvala Kruscevica this time. This very nice bay is located in Telascica on the island Dugi Otok.

The next day we cruised through the Kornati, enjoying every single moment of it. Taking enough pictures to create a bible on though I think I will start with a tripartite.

We ended up that day in Prvic. A very relaxed cosy village on the island… Prvic. The next day was my best sailing day ever. Wind of about 18 knots, sunny and tacking to Primosten, for a good dive into the water. Circa 20 miles sailing and around 10 miles distance over ground. After the cooling down on to Rogoznica using the engine. Next days to Stomorska (excellent relaxed town on Otok Solta), Trogir (you will have to visit the cathedral) and finally Split (with the palace of the Roman emperor Diocletianus).

Daily Picture

From the upperleft corner clockwise:

Uvala Kruscevica, Sailing to Primosten, Kornati Archipel (again), Rogoznica, an Italian sailing yacht close to Primosten and finally St. John in the west wing chapel of the Cathedral in Trogir.

Tags: Croatia, Daily Picture, Dalmatia, Google Earth, GPS Babel, GPS Tools, Kornati, Kruscevica, mapmania, Murter, Otok Solta, Rogoznica, Sailing, Split, Stomorska, Trogir

See above the first sneak preview of the GPS data converted to Google Earth. Once I finalized the above, I realized so much more to be done.

I would like to add the waypoints for the different cities we have sailed, further  add the anchorings, the places we have spotted dolphins and the turtle. I have to find out how Google Earth could present speed and heading. Well and why not add photos into Google Earth? And polar diagrams with speed versus direction. Ai, I need a holiday badly.

For the ones interested, the following color coding for the weeks have been used:

I tried to add a download to this post, somehow WordPress – the content management system I use – just does not cooperate. Meanwhile you can use the zoom and make a guesstimate what happened there. All guesstimates are welcome in the comments and I will try to reply to them.

Next week I will be going to Split, via the Kornati Archipel again (off course) and some places advised to people I have met.

Tags: Croatia, Dalmatia, Google Earth, Italy, Kornati, mapmania, Molat, Murter, Pula, Sailing, Trieste, Venice

Back in Murter again for some days after a long weekend sailing the neighborhood with 4 friends.

Provides me therefore with some time to do some office work again. The usual analysing of the GPS data and the geocoding of my pictures. Further I will try to make some plans for next week.  Crew yet to be found unfortunately, although almost found last minute someone. Looks like I have to exercise my single handed sailing skills. Would love to go more to the Kornati and the Island Vis. In between so many beautifull cities.

Another part of my office routines today was having coffee with a Dutch couple two boats further amongst the quay. They are sailing around Croatia for over 20 years now and learned the sweet spots from a friend of theirs sailing the 30 years before. Almost half a century experience. They lend me their pilots with all their annotations but they will be leaving tomorrow. Looks like I have to study until late today.

To finalize one Daily Picture, a picture of the Kornati Archipel again.

Daily Picture

A daily picture of the Kornati again because lucky enough we (the 5 of us) went there again and ended up in Lavsa, the bay you see in the picture above. The original plan was to go to Striznja but the dark skies with the  thunder and lightning heading to us (no worry, I get rather used to it) made me decide to find an anchoring a little bit earlier.

After the Lavsa went to Vodice and the Contrast between Kornati and Vodice couldn’t be bigger. The last being a full fledged disco village with bars, bars and… bars.

Being together with my friends made me think of Cafe Thijssen in Amsterdam again. Being asked what I would do first when back in Amsterdam, I could only think about a double espresso at Café Thijssen while reading “Het Financieele Dagblad”.

The Future

What will it be next week? Will I be sailing single handed or will I find someone to join the last minute? How will the weather develop? Will the Croatians call this the worst sailing summer officially? I know I have been lucky having lost only one day to the weather (although fled to Budapest because of it). Will I be sailing to the Island Vis next week? I will keep you posted.

Tags: A Day at the Office, Café Thijssen, Croatia, Daily Picture, Kornati, Marina Bettina, Murter, Sailing, Vis, Vodice

Picture above was taken close to Mali Losinj in the evening sun. We were heading from Pula a trip of about 40 nM. I like to call Mali Losinj the Monaco of the Adriatic, a later post will show you why… (excellent cliffhanger again ) With a sight as above, how easy it is to be very relaxed and totally at home.

Currently in Betina Murter, 4 friends around for a long weekend just sailing a little bit around. Not much more to do unfortunately. Weather could be better again. At least no Bora. A field of low pressure is hanging close above the Adriatic for some time now. Means unsettled weather, not much wind expected and chances of rain, thunder and lightnings. At least after Sunday the weather should be improving I’m being told.

Time to get a double espresso now

Tags: Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Mali Losinj, Sailing, Weather

One of the highlights of circumsailing Croatia and Venice was (or better is) the Kornati Archipel. Somehow the moonlike rawness of the islands is fascinating and very attractive.

Murter, where I did start my sailing and chartered my yacht, is also called the capital of the Kornati. For several reasons I guess.

Capital of the Kornati

Once the Kornati was owned by the nobility of the region around Zadar. The land was being used for some agriculture (mostly olives) and sheeps. When in dire straits around the 17^th century, they sold it to the peasants working on it. Most of them and their descendants living in Murter or around. Although the Kornati Archipel is a national park, most of the islands are still privately owned. I guess those people can make a quite decent living from it.

Another explanation for Murter being the capital of the Kornati is because the vast amounts of tourist boarding to make daytrips to the Kornati. Another possiblity is renting a house for a week on an island. This is called “Robinson Holidays” locally, as you will be the only one on one of the 1,100 islands. Only to be visited every 3 days by people to provide you with new supplies (food, water, etc.).

We stayed at Vrulje (see above) for the night when sailing around. It is also a privatly owned little village. One of the attractive thing of this island specific, especially for Dutch people around (including me), is that you don’t have to pay mooring fees or park entrance. Still don’t know if staying here obliges you to eat at the local restaurant. But the food (i.e. the morningfresh fish) is of such a quality you would be crazy not to do it.

Kornati Photo Album

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Sailing conditions

When we were sailing the weather was clearly turning, to the worse unfortunately.  After almost 2 weeks of sunny weather and fair winds, rain was about to come. Best was that we were able to sail the Kornati while keeping it dry. Although that evening in Vrulje it was raining cts and dogs. Clearly another experience, dining under cover.

Unfortunately the clouds were coming already in the early afternoon. In the first picture of the album above it was sunny,  though the clouds came soon to cover the blue sky. This only means I have to go back for the better pictures (what a punishment).

Only two days later Bora would strike again which made me run for Budapest.

Tags: Adriatic Sea, Archipel, Croatia, Dugi Otok, Kornati, Murter, Pictures, Sailing, Vrulje

Back in Murter again. After sailing for 5 weeks from Murter to Venice and back, highlights: First of all Venice off course. I am still a little bit flabbergasted that I have sailed to that city. Almost even impressive: Trieste, Pula and the Kornati Archipel. And what to think about the places like Molat, Luka Krijal, Vrulje and Sali in Croatia and Piran in Slovenia.

Now a week easy going here in Murter, no crew and a lot of rain forecasted for the next week. As I am writing this posts a Bora is slapping my face again. People might think she is secretly becoming my girlfriend. Not in a zillion years! But I getting used to her. Is that  a good start for a steady relationship?

Currently sitting in a restaurant and the rain pours though the roof, really, it is just no joke. Excellent conditions to do some posting about routes, ancient places and the beauty of the Adriatic, analysing the GPS data and getting the route sailed into Google Earth. I am just very happy the weathergods like Helius, Selene, Eos, Boreas, Zephyrus and Hesperus allowed me to sail this roundtrip without any real obstacles through wind and rain.

As a cliffhanger just the two above photographs as an impression what you can expect the next days. The first being the St. Marks Basilica at Venice, the second a very cosy bay in Croatia named Luka Krijal. Although both quite nice, not even close to a summary of my trip.

Tags: A Day at the Office, Archipel, Croatia, Daily Picture, Google Earth, Italy, Kornati, Luka Krijal, mapmania, Pula, Sailing, Trieste, Venice

Only a short note from Venice today, off course with a Daily Picture.

Don’t know when the next will be. Internet access in Italy is hard to find due to anti-terroristm laws. Whenever you want to access the internet it has to be registered, you have to show your ID of which a copy will be made. Off course, as Keynes would have predicted over 100 years ago, internet access is then small in supply, high in demand (maybe I’m a little bit biased in that assumption) and high in price.

Hard thing for me to accept, used to free internet in every bar as in Amsterdam and off course having mobile internet (as in Croatia). Italy, back in the future. And Mr. Future, please shine a light on Italy. But maybe it is just local politics. Belusconi, the media mogul and boss of Italy, has a rather long position in Media… From a financial as well as a more Machiavellian viewpoint.

The Italian Internet access restrictions are a things I didn’t expect on forehand. The same accounts for the high prices of the marina’s and the weather for the last 3 weeks.

Next crew will arrive in about an hour. Meeting point will be the centre of Piazza San Marco. Is the place most close to  my marina. Did I tell you that already? O wait, one more picture in the serie “A Day at the Office”.

Did you see the Campanile through the sailing yachts? (big smile here)

Next post most likely from Croatia again. If weather permits I would like to go as fast as possible to Pula.

Tags: A Day at the Office, Campanile, Daily Picture, Italy, Marina San Giorgio, Sailing, Venice

After 3 weeks of sailing, I arrived in Venice yesterday!

Found a place in the best harbour in the world on Isola San Georgio Maggiore. In the picture above just in the left corner.

If you would like to visit me, just go the center of Venice where you will find Piazza San Marco (with the campanile). Jump in the canal there, swim for about 100 metres and you are at my marina for the next four days.

After the right celebration we had time to walk a round a little bit. What an amazing city! I hope to write more about my visit and the city later. Also because I found out that the Venetians used to claim that the city was founded by refugees from Troy… How is that for sailing the trails of Herodotus and Odysseus.

The coincidence is the Biennale di Venezia is this weekend in Venice. An international cultural festivals which is organized once every to years. So a lot of exhibitions and festivities this weekend. Found some kind of afterparty last night already with live jazz and free drinks (or it was just so crowded around the bar we couldn’t find a waiter to pay).

This afternoon we will join the international opening of the Biennale with all kind of artists, politicians, celebrities and the other so important people of the world.

Why you could ask? The answer is that the opening is next to the boat.

Tags: Daily Picture, Herodotus, Isola San Georgia Magiore, Italy, Odysseus, Sailing, San Marco, Venice