Sailing Croatia

Our flight from Rome to Split, Croatia took less than an hour - like the flight from Manchester, NH to Baltimore, MD which we used to do regularly when Dream Catcher was in the Chesapeake. After an easy stroll through border control and customs the view as we walked out the front door of the airport took our breath away. The beauty of the ancient architecture, high mountains and arid landscape was so unique to us. This was just the beginning.

First stop by taxi was the Brown Beach Hotel - a new boutique hotel with pool, spa, restaurant and bar all on site in a renovated Cigar Factory, owned by Brown Hotels of Germany and Israel. This was just an overnight stop for us before we boarded our sailboat with a group of friends. It was a short walk through the town of Trogir - billed as one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia - where we would gather with our crew mates. But first, we enjoyed a bit of relaxation, a great dinner and the stunning views.

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Walking out of the Split airport

The front of the newly built Split airport - the new economy is all about tourism!

The pool and view at the Brown Beach Hotel

Brown Beach Hotel - the structure was an old cigar factory

Dining Al Fresco

Old guy at the bar!

Octopus for dinner - quite good!

And whole fish for Greg!

The next day, we strolled across the bridge to the little island that is part of the town of Trogir and met our crew mates, enjoyed the alleys and architecture of the island, and tried to learn a few Croatian words.

The Promenade on the little island in Trogir

One of the many church steeples on the island

Walking the alley ways

The view of cruise boats as you cross the bridge to the little island

Outside the Cathedral of St Lawrence

Inside the Cathedral of St Lawrence 

Trogir is the prettiest little town!

Another dinner spot with crew - fish stew with prawns

The Croatian Flag

By early afternoon, we all gathered for lunch - meeting new and catching up with old friends. Four of us were from the States and had sailed together in the Bahamas and New England. Five of us were Canadians and sailed together in the Bahamas and on Lake Ontario. It was an instant bond and the beginning of a great week of camaraderie, laughter, teamwork, discovery and joy. Sailors!

While planning the trip we decided to hire a Captain. None of us knew the area, none of us spoke the language, and to charter a boat in Croatia you must have a Captain's license. During our charter week we learned a lot about med-mooring in various ways, the necessity to call ahead (preferably in Croatian) to secure a slip, and how to find places where anchoring is a good option. The customs and terrain in Croatia are very different from the USA or Caribbean. A chance meeting highlighted this: we were on a water taxi to town on our final evening in Trogir when we met a group of incoming sailors on their first charter night. Their captain was a friend of theirs and he eagerly asked us for any information about places to go, who to contact for marinas, and more. We could tell him very little during our brief ride. When we departed our crew all looked at each other and knew that this group was in for tough week! If our captain didn't arrange our nightly dockage we'd be anchoring in very deep water too far from shore many nights.  In fact, our captain arranged many dinners and excursions that we would never have known about without him.

We had also decided we didn't need a cook, since several of us like to cook. Plus we figured we would dine out most nights, so we just had to worry about breakfast and lunch foods.  Thankfully, crew member Nancy volunteered to plan a menu and prepare a shopping list.  Each couple pitched in the equivalent of $200 US to use for our kitty for the week.

There are ATM's and exchange booths all over Trogir, so we each gave our portion to Nancy after turning it into Kunas - the Croatian currency. Then, Nancy, Sharon, and Greg did some recon early on our first day to figure out where to start. We walked 15,000 steps that day. In Trogir there was a good sized grocery store a short walk from the little island, and an open air farmer's market around the corner. After finding the essentials at the grocery store, we picked up local cheeses, meats, vegetables, fruits and some jams and olive oil at the market. We also had a choice of three Croatian Pekare (bakeries), where we found croissants and many other wonderful baked goods. So fun! While this was going on other crew members gathered everyone's luggage and hopped on the water taxi for transport to the boat, about a mile from Trogir town.

Finally by about 4pm, we were able to board the boat and start to get organized.  Our Captain was already onboard doing his equipment check.  His name was Jozo Sorić, he had a Croatian Category C license, and a good command of the English language. The boat was very comfortable - a Saba 50 Catamaran built by Fountaine-Pajot called Waterloo. It had six cabins, each with its own head.  Some were larger than others and the men fashioned a game of chance to decide who got which cabin. Everyone seemed happily satisfied with the outcome and we all unpacked and settled in for the week.

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Captain Jozo at the helm

Front deck area of the boat

Back covered deck area - and relaxed crew!

Inside the luxurious main cabin

Galley (that big block in the middle is frig and freezer,
plus another frig behind it

Standing at the SLIDING DOOR! of the main cabin looking aft

Helm and stairs to aloft

That's us in the middle

Boat name is Waterloo
(by the way, Mama Mia! Here We Go Again was filmed on the islands of Croatia)

We enjoyed our first dinner in Croatia at a beautiful open air restaurant within Marina Baotić, the large marina complex. We decided that instead of everyone pitching in for dinner each night and trying to split the tab, we would each pick up one night, keep track of the amount, then settle up with everyone at the end of the week. In fact, we kept a spreadsheet of every group expense and settled up at the end. It worked very well!

Sunday morning dawned a beautiful day and after a quick run to another local Pekara for fresh bakery goods and coffee filters, we were away from the dock for our first day of sailing.  Within the first 24 hours, the entire crew was rejoicing the value of having a Captain; so much less stress, worry and having to pay attention.  All we had to do was follow orders - pretty easy for most of us.  And as the week went on we all said how different the trip would have been without Jozo - none of us knew the language, none of us understood the unique mooring technique.  Another oddity in Croatia - no one uses a VHF radio. Instead they all use cell phones to communicate. We wondered about critical situations we've been involved in when a VHF was essential to hail another vessel. A few times we noticed Jozo on the bow waving his hands at an oncoming sailboat and telling whoever was on the helm, "Don't worry, we have the right of way!" In addition to the normal jobs of a Captain, the local knowledge of ours led us to many wonderful experiences that we would never have had without him.

Our daily routine turned out to be this: wake up late, leave our mooring around 8:30am, after coffee (the generator had to run for 15 minutes for us to use the drip coffee maker), motor or sail out to a tranquil bay for breakfast, a swim, snorkel or paddle board. Then we'd sail to another quiet bay and drop the hook for lunch. Each night we picked up a mooring in a quiet spot or docked in a small town. Tough huh? After a day or two of this our Captain figured out that we liked quiet, natural anchorages and small out-of-the-way towns. He suggested quiet spots that always offered one unique and especially good restaurant that prepared a meal or fish in a uniquely Croatian manner.

Our first night was spent moored in a quiet little cove that was just beautiful in the town of Milna on the Island of Hvar. Two guys in a small boat assisted us in the mooring process, which was absolutely necessary (who knew?). This was all very complicated to us and we were grateful for the help and direction from Jozo and the hands. The dock hands came back in a small launch at dinnertime to gather us and take us around the bend to restaurant Konoba Kotin. Our server brought us a large platter of fresh, uncooked fishes from which to select our dinner. We chose the one we wanted by size and by their suggestion for a good meal. We chose a plump Sea Bass. Then we discussed the preparation method. Our choice was the one most unique to the area: Salted Sea Bass. This method involves placing the whole fish in a high-walled pan, covering the entire fish with about an inch of salt cake - bottom, top and sides. The salt cake is made with salt and enough water to make it like white concrete. After cooking for about an hour the server presented it to the table, then pounded the salt off with a wooden mallet, filleted the fish and placed it on a platter for all. It was succulent, flavorful and delicious!

Coming into our anchorage area

Riding over to the restaurant from the cove

Passed this campground on the way to the restaurant

Cathy, Trevor and Nancy climbing the stairs to the restaurant

Greg in front of the restaurant 

The fish offerings for the evening

The salt encrusted fish

Uncovering the fish

The next morning, after our now-routine paddle board and swim, we motored around to the west end of the island of Hvar and into the town of Hvar, same name.  This is a beautiful Croatian island town with more commerce and historic sites than many smaller island towns. And what views!  The main attraction is a castle high above the hill on which the town is built. Every house, shop, road and path is built with the same white/beige limestone. Tile covers every roof. And the soil is very full of rock chips. The paths through the town are very steep and often include stairs or ridges to aid your ascent or descent. You need them!

We all climbed hundreds of feet up the hill to the old castle at the top and enjoyed the views and cool breeze. After our descent we visited the main square and did some grocery shopping and found another Pekara for the following morning's breakfast.  It would have been nice to have more time in this town, but we hopped back onboard around noon and off we went to the island of Vis.

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The vegetation 

Entering the harbor to Hvar Town

Half the crew riding to town (we couldn't all fit on one trip)

Chrisy and the town below

The harbor

Cathy and Chrisy

Hvar Town

Scenes around town

Nancy on the stair climb

Hvar Town - photo credit Chrisy and Roger

Each time we moored we got better at the routine. Help from either a man in a skiff or on the dock is a requirement. The hand on the dock would retrieve the lines from below the surface that were attached to the dock at one end, and attached to the foreward mooring or anchor at the other - one line on each side of the boat. He'd hand the lines to the crew and the crew would cleat them to the stern of the boat. Then the crew walked the lines foreward to the bows keeping the line in hand. Each side was then fastened to the forward cleats, keeping the lines taught between the mooring/anchor and the bows.

By the end of this process, bow and stern on both hulls were secured fore and aft. The crew got pretty good as the week went on. Still on our last mooring the starboard line got caught in the prop and stopped the engine. Since Greg was manning that line at the time he felt responsible, so he went into the water with mask and snorkel and worked with the Captain for about an hour to get the line off the prop. Finally he had to remove the prop shaft zinc in order to accomplish it! Another memorable learning experience!

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The mooring process begins

The foreward ball

Getting closer

Here Jozo is in the dingy to assist in retrieving and securing the forward section of line

It takes awhile - but then - it's a big boat!

Next afternoon we moored in the main harbor of the island of Vis, another beautiful spot. Jozo arranged a special dinner in a hilltop restaurant for us. So, after enjoying afternoon cocktails we dingied ashore, hopped into a van, and were driven all the way up to the top of the island (several hundred feet elevation and curvy roads) and dropped off at Konoba Golub (Konoba is the Croatian word for tavern) in the village of Podselje. Our experience began in a small room resembling a wine cellar where we learned about and sampled homemade Grappa - much like the Italian version, only most samples were flavored. All of these were homemade by local families and infused with cherries, walnuts, and many more fruits. If you've ever tried Grappa you know it's a very strong potion!

Our server seated us on a beautiful patio overlooking a spectacular view and and poured us excellent Croatian wine as they prepared to serve our meal. Throughout our trip we were constantly amazed at the high quality of the local wine.

Captain Jozo told us about their specialty "Peka".  Made in a special pan (also called a Peka) it is slow-roasted meat or octopus with potatoes, vegetables, olive oil, wine and herbs. In order to prepare it the restaurant needed to know our choice hours ahead and how many in our party - it was all made to order. We ordered lamb and veal, shying away from octopus that our captain recommended.

The method of preparation was so interesting. They used a purpose-built open air oven filled with coals. The food is placed in the Peka, set down onto the hot coals, covered with a dome-shaped lid with a metal rim to hold more coals, then completely covered with more hot coals. After this multi- hour cooking process the meat and veggies came out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The meat just falls off the bone. The wine-infused fresh olive oil and herb sauce added to the wonderful flavor. It was so good!

Our host sharing his love of  Grappa and offering samples!

Peka in the oven after removing the top, which you see on the left covered in coals.

Lamb Peka and potatoes, served and savored

The beautiful restaurant and setting

Scene from the table

Our table

Our gang!

We returned to the island of Hvar the following day and tied up to the quay in the village of Jelsa.  This offered us the benefit of plug-in electricity and cost about $100 US.  Some of us chose to visit Vina Tomić, one of the most renowned wineries in the country for a wine tasting.  (Again, thanks to Jozo!)  There are two world renowned Croatian winemakers. Tomić is one. The other is Grgich. You may be familar with Grgich Hills Vineyards in California. Grgich is hugely famous for being one of a few select winemakers represented at a definitive competition between US and French wines in the 70's. Tomić is the other big Croatian winemaker.

As noted earlier we found almost all Croatian wine that we tried during the week to be much better than expected. They do not export much Croatian wine, but Vina Tomić is trying to grow this effort.  We had a very informative lecture from Antonia, our guide, who spoke very good English. We learned about the terroir, the aging process, and got to taste four varieties in a gorgeous wine cellar.  Each variety of wine was paired with a small, beautifully prepared hors d'oeuvre. The Opolo Nobile 2018 Rosé with a cracker and tuna paté topped with an olive; the Beleca 2018 white with cow's milk goat cheese in oregano and olive oil; the lighter Plavac 2016 red paired with salty Pag cheese; and the best Plavac Mali 2013 red paired with salty salami. All were fabulous. Later that night we opted for a simple meal of salad and pizza!

Greg, Roger and Kim at the winery

Vina Tomić tasting room

Scenes along our walk

The next morning, we rented bicycles for a couple of hours and rode along the water's edge to the little village of Vrboska. After enjoying baked goods and coffee at a small Pekara, we headed back to the boat. It was delightful!

Scenes along our ride

This was a relaxing day with afternoon naps and enjoyment of the views.  We sailed from Jelsa on Hvar, around the eastern end of Brać.  The views were amazing, both of the island of Brać and the mainland. We pulled into the tiny little village of Povlja that had, yet again, an amazing restaurant.  No trek was required to Restaurant Pipo as it was just across the quay. We felt braver than before and ordered sea bass and octopus Peka, which also came with an added bonus of mussels. Our Captain joined us for dinner this evening (his favorite - octopus) and we all had a lot of laughs and enjoyed the excellent cuisine.

Cathy on the bow

Some peaks are 6,000 feet above sea level

The incredible scenery! 

Restaurant Pipo

The gang at dinner at Pipo - "Živjeli" the Croatian toast meaning long-life!

Fancy Bread - a gift from the restaurant next morning

Bread deliverer, line handler, all around friendly guy!

Thursday dawned cloudy, breezy and drippy.  But, before we left, Nancy made us crepes with cream cheese, apricot or strawberry jam, and sliced bananas.  So yummy!

We all donned our jackets and shoes and braced for a spirited sail. It was time to secure the boat for the forecasted 20 knot winds, gusts near 30, rain and spray. There couldn't be anything flying across the deck. Since the days until now were very benign, we were all stoked for some sailing!!  It was great!

By late morning, the wind abated a bit and we pulled into the large city of Split to fuel up.  Waiting our turn at the industrial fuel dock, we quickly filled both tanks, paid up and were off in less than 20 minutes - go crew! A short motor over to Bobovisća Bay put us back on the island of Brać. The harbor was crowded and we had to wait in line for a half hour to get into the dock area and our allotted spot. This was where we got the line caught in the prop. That night Nancy made dinner for us onboard. It gave us a chance to clean out the frig and use our odds and ends before we left. She did an amazing job! It was all creative and tasty. A crazy charade-like game ensued, thanks to Chrisy, and we all enjoyed great laughs.

Harbor entrance to Split

Split

Fueling Up

Greg and Nancy mixing up crepes

The next morning we walked into town, climbed the hill for another great view, and enjoyed some local coffee and pastry before heading back to Trogir.  We had time for a delightful lunch stop in another little bay, then joined the growing parade of boats heading back to our marina.

Our last night's mooring

View from the top of the hill

Our ride coming for us

Some time ago we heard that sailing in Croatia is some of the best sailing in the world. The marina was huge....almost 500 boats. And this was just one marina of many we spotted along our sail. One day on the water Sharon looked round and counted 40 sailboats within her view. They turn those boats around pretty fast. There were Germans, English, Croatians, Spanish and others all speaking their native language as you walked down the dock. Truly an international experience!

We all packed our bags that Friday night and prepped for an early Saturday morning departure. After a quick shower we headed out on the water taxi back to the little island of Trogir for one more dinner together. What a great group!

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Trogir

The gang

Kim, Chrisy and Roger

Roger and Nancy

Kim on the bow

A beautiful home in Bobovisća

Nancy and Lynn

Trevor and Sharon 

Nancy and Roger

Some of the views

You could moor, but no anchor

Greg and Trevor - working hard at the helm

Photo Credit to Kim

Chrisy's Yoga pose - you go girl! 

Nancy on the bow - photo credit to Roger and Chrisy

Greg and Sharon enjoying the day - photo credit to Roger and Chrisy

Photo credit to Roger and Chrisy

Sharon and Nancy on the water taxi

Lynn Trevor and Nancy

Nancy "hauling" anchor

A lunch stop

Marina Baotić at dusk

Evening sky on the water taxi ride

A great week was had by all!

We said goodbye Saturday morning, until we meet again.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the week, the sailing, the boat, the experience, the food, the scenery, and most especially, each other!

After we split up Greg and Sharon strolled the beautiful little alleys of Trogir once again, enjoyed a yummy breakfast, found a few wonderful souvenirs, and finally caught a cab to the airport.

The flight back to Rome was quick and easy.  This time, however, we waited almost an hour for our bags, then found our way to Avis where we rented a car for the next few days.  We had reserved a hotel near the airport that, when viewed in person was not a keeper, so after a bit of a scramble we found another, the Hotel Mercure (which used to be a Marriott Courtyard).  The room was just ok, but had to be much better than the one we reserved. The pasta dinner was amazing! Ah, Italy!

The next morning, we checked out and headed north to Tuscany.  More on that in our next post.

'Til then -