Sailing

We have arrived in our charter base in Marina Kaštela around 11.00h and had a coffee there waiting our yacht to be ready at 13.00h as agreed with charter base. We also did some small last minute shopping for the things that we realised we are missing. Of course, we managed to visit 3 different stores to get all of this “small” missing things, that we could simply order with another food to be delivered on our sailing yacht. First we solved out formalities in charter office, as crew list - tourist tax etc. We have also rented 2 SUP (Stand Up Paddle boards) and one donut (water toy). Girls in the office were very friendly and helpful. Paperwork was done very quickly and smoothly. We just almost forgot to pay provisioning. After 13.00h when our yacht- Oceanis 48 was ready, we had a short briefing by one of technicians about basic things/ using electric toilets, changing valves, position of fuses and switches, and a yacht handover. This was really pain, since it is aired our third time with the same yacht, and we would like to go out as soon as possible to reach Hvar- Pribinja bay- before the...

SAILING DIARY- Introduction One week, 170 miles, Oceanis 48 and most beautiful islands in Croatia First let me introduce myself and our small crew. I am mid thirties , holiday sailor- always sailingwith smaller groups (OK except once a year for a team building sailing regatta). My role is trip organiser, cash manager, and co- skipper (one who is catching mooring ropes). Captain is my husband, with over 20 years sailing experience, early 40ties, keen sailor and knowing sailing area very well. He is excellent sailor, also sailing in regattas. Crew are our two teenage boy and my best friend + 3 small dogs. We have been sailing together - same crew now already 5 times or more, and more or less almost always in same period - end of June— first week when school is finished- and week in which we have 2 bank holidays. Our crew is quite lazy and not willing to help with moorings, but therefore they are washing the dishes and making sure our boat is tidy :) We have booked Oceanis 48 from Kaštela- 5 cabins/ 3 heads layout and this will be our 3rd time sailing out for the 7 days with the...

We have started to pack ourselves already 2 days before our sailing trip. As every year I am in sort of panic that I will forget to take with me something important! I have packed tons of bikinis, shorts, shirts, flip flops and also one pair of Gaastra sailing shoes, just in case of bad weather- although outside is 30 + degrees for last couple of days. Grabbed some light sweater and leggings, and packed SPF 50, 30, 10, 6 and no factor :) Kids have packed their bags by them selves (soft bags only)- of course I have had to remind them to pack enough underwear- otherwise they would have forget something for sure. Me and my friend went to shopping mall to buy cheese, prosciutto and similar, and heavy things as water, milk and other we have ordered in advance to be delivered on our boat (provisioning service). Yacht provisioning service is great stuff- for some small fee usually 20-60 EUR charter company delivers previously ordered food on your yacht, and everything waits for you already stored in your boat lockers and refrigerator. I always use this service for ordering heavier things as water, milk, beer, and it...

In our original sailing trip plans we have planned to sail directly to Lastovo island, bay Skirvena Luka (40 nautical miles) in our 2nd day, since we really like this beautiful island. Lastovo island is quite far away from other islands, and most of the sailors are including Lastovo only in 2 week route when starting from central Dalmatia- Split region. As every sailor knows, when sailing, you are never able to plan exact route- you always need to consult the weather forecast, and to check dynamic wind charts - best for Croatia on www.meteo.hr. During morning wind was only getting stronger, and sea was even in our bay very rough, we decided to stay longer in Pribinje bay, and to have another lunch here - food was so delicious!There were several boats next to us, including 2 big sailing catamarans, once motor yacht and mostly sailing yachts, but most of them decided to move somewhere in the morning, despite of the weather conditions, and in the meantime 2 very noisy crews with terribly loud music arrived with large Lagoon catamarans. During our early lunch (13.00h) we decided to move further in beautiful bay Dubovica - south side of the...

Day 3 - Monday- woke up so happy since weather forecast was finally better! We had a coffee in Milna- just next to the sea - tables and chairs are like one meter from the sea. After some small shopping (captain forgot to take razors after visiting shops and online shopping) and getting things from the bakery, we sailed directly to Lastovo island- to the bay of the Skrivena Luka. I’ve made again booking for jetty this time, via MySea app, to make sure we can come later in afternoon without worries for the mooring spot. This time we would like to moor our sailing yacht for the pier, so dogs can go outside by themselves, not barking from dinghy as last few days/ when they want to go out. Skrivena Luka is beautiful and offers great shelter for almost all winds- but finally, now it was already almost calm. On our way to Skrivena Luka, Lastovo, we had some wind for light sailing and Oceanis 48 sails very nice. Our sailing yacht was bit slower because of towing big dinghy, but usually it sails very nice. In Skrivena Luka we already had lunch last year, and came back to...