Exploits of Captain Ginger (1-13 June 2018) Our three day stay in Preko Marina on the island of Ugljan had been a pleasant one. A time to catch up on domestics and boat maintenance. The accumulator tank on the fresh water pump had split over the winter due to frost and a new one had been shipped to await our arrival. The marina staff were helpful in getting modifications done to the bracket and the new tank is now fitted and working. Here we met with fellow Cruising Association members. Stuart, Laura and Marjorie onboard Three Stars, a fifty-five foot Trader and had drinks and meals together ashore. Malcolm s flight was cancelled so he stayed an extra night and the following day we were joined by Kevin and Andy. The next leg to Split is a relatively short one, planned so we can spend time cruising the many islands in that area with fairly short day sails, taking advantage where possible of the wind direction to get the best sailing. After provisioning the boat we set sail on Thursday 31 May to sail around the northern tip of Ugljan and spend the night at Pavlesina a small sheltered cove with only two other boats. Went ashore for a walk and later a BBQ on the back of the boat. The next day we had a lazy start and sailed to Barbinj on the island of Dugi Otok for a lunch stop and in the afternoon to Sestrunj. We were the only boat in a tiny cove where we anchored and took a line ashore, tied to a rock a perfect setting. Sestrunj The following day we had a good sail to the island of Iz and moored to a buoy of the restaurant Baroni, where we had a meal, a free mooring, use of their swimming pool and showers good value!
We walked along the coast to the next village and had an ice-cream, returning through the wooded hillside, visiting the local church on the way and finally back onboard for a swim. The meal in the evening was excellent, sat on the terrace overlooking the bay. Kevin was so impressed he s going back later to stay in their apartments. We wanted to visit the National Park at Telascica so the next day sailed to a small bay on the south of the island of Lavdara which is close to the entrance to the park. Just a small cottage and a landing for the summer tripper boats so a quiet night and just a short hop to the park the next day. Entering Telascica we stopped at Mir half way up the lagoon for lunch and to visit the inland salt lake surrounded by wooded hills. Within minutes of arriving we were approached by a warden to pay the 500 kuna daily entrance fee. Walked the three kilometres around the lake which was interesting with information boards at intervals but was not tempted to swim in the lake which looked muddy and murky! Moving on we went to the head of the Bay and picked up a mooring buoy for the night along with three other boats. Kevin has brought his drone so in the evening he flew the drone and took pictures of the area. Telescica National Park courtesy of Kevin s drone The following morning we landed by dinghy, walked to the ridge and along to the Fort at Grpascak, built in 1911 it served as a lookout point for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. It was connected to other forts by telephone and messages were passed using morse code by flashing light, which takes me back to my days as a Signalman in Royal Navy in the 1950 s! The next day we sailed to Zut and a large bay on the NW of the island. Here we berthed on the Festa Restaurant pontoon where the mooring was free although we had to pay for
water and electricity. The shock came in the evening when we paid our bill for the meal and learned the hard way there s no such thing as a free mooring We left late morning the next day and headed for Murter, a reasonable sized town, as we needed to replenish our food supplies and anchored in a large bay with room for many boats. It has a long seafront with not much behind it but a pleasant town square and a choice of supermarkets so it suited us well. It was also a time to catch up on domestics and do a bit of boat cleaning. Ready to move on, we left the next day only to get as far as a large bay on the west coast of Murter when the wind died on us so we motored into a bay and anchored off a large campsite. By this time it was getting late, so time to open the bar and relax in the evening sun before having a BBQ. We landed on the beach early the next morning to walk across the saddle of the ridge to the opposite coast then along to the opening bridge between the island of Murter and the mainland. We had hoped to go through this channel but the water is not deep enough. Bought croissants for breakfast then back across the island, much steeper and wider here, to the opposite coast and along the coastal path to the boat, in total about six miles. Walking on Murter
After breakfast we weighed anchor and set sail for Trebunj on the mainland, a pretty little resort town where we sat and had coffee overlooking the bay and explored the area. Unfortunately the Harbour Master told us we could not stay on anchor, despite the charts indicating we could, so we moved on to Vodice about a mile along the coast. This is a lively resort town and was host to a two-day Croatian pop festival starting that evening. After dinner we went ashore to see the concert and mingle with the crowds. As we sat in a café the skies darkened and we sat through a torrential thunder storm which fortunately didn t last long and we were not too bedraggled by the time we returned onboard. The rain lasted on and off all night and well into the next morning so we woke to a cold grey day, not what we expected or wanted! We sat the morning out and as the skies cleared set off in the early afternoon to head a little further south before deciding to go into St Antony s Channel, leading to Sibenik and the Krka waterfalls. Guarded at the entrance by the St Nickolas Fortress built by in the 16th century to prevent Turkish boats from reaching the port. St. Nicholas' Fortress was armed with 32 cannons. However, its imposing appearance and size were a bigger threat to the enemy than cannons ever were. We chose to anchor in the large bay next to the castle which had a jetty on which we could land and walk the causeway to the fortress. St Nickolas Fortress with the bay where we anchored to the right The following morning, we walked inland around Lake Solina and a nearby small forest, good to get ashore for a bit of exercise before setting off again. We had a strong wind from the west so once clear of the entrance sailed south under the Genoa for Rocogniza. There are two inlets, the first with a marina and little room for anything else, the other much larger with a bay at the end where we anchored. In the evening we walked into town which is situated on a small island reached by a causeway and sat having a drink, people watching as charter boats arrived to moor on the town quay.
After a peaceful night we motored across the bay to pick up a mooring buoy and go ashore for provisions then on our way once again. A beautiful day but no wind so we had to use the engine get to a lunch stop in a small bay (nicknamed the Blue Lagoon) on the island of Drvnik. A pleasant spot but quite busy so a couple of hours later it was time to move on to Solta and the small village of Stormorska. Here we met up with Anne and Dave onboard Alyssa for drinks and a meal ashore. Unfortunately, I managed to get a rope around my propeller when berthing but Kevin dived down and cleared it. The following day we had a short trip to Agada Marina for crew change, a meet of fifteen Cruising Association boats and after two weeks cruising laundry and cleaning! Best wishes Trevor Zadar to Trogir