There was a brief storm overnight in Split which passed over quickly and we set off to sail to the tiny island of Clovo which has a narrow channel and a bridge to the mainland.
The westerly wind was blowing quite hard after the storm so there were a line of boats waiting to get into the small marina opposite the 13th Century town of Trogir. A yacht in front of us swung into the marina in front of us and we realised they had rudder trouble and we watched with bated breath as they skillfully manouvered into a berth.
The marina guy beaconed to us to get in beside them on the end of the jetty where a big boat like Affinity could fit in. We also skillfully berthed her our crew being now fully trained and ready for any action needed. There was a big yacht opposite us flying an Austrian flag and the skipper called out "well done Aussies". He came over later and said he wasnt surprised we were able to berth so easily as he knew Aussies were great sailors. He had spent 3 years living in Melbourne some years ago and had a great time.
Later we met up with him for a coffee and he told us he is retired now and comes down to Croatia every year and knows all the "spots" to go. His knowledge of the more remote islands was excellent and he even told us which restaurants to go too and how to find them as they are tucked away in little bays. Usually they are people who live on the islands all year round but open their homes as restaurants during the summer seasons and the food is all caught, grown, slaughtered and then cooked by the family.
Our position in the marina is fantastic imagine waking up and looking out your porthole and seeing a 13th century castle and town glistening in the rising sun, the church bells ringing and then being able to cross the little bridge and explore the narrow winding street and eat the delicious flood. Bren and Jan Hubble told us about this place as they visited it last year on a sailing rally with other members of the Hillarys Sailing Club. They rated it "the jewel of the Adriatic" and we found it to be one of our favorite places to visit in Croatia.
While wandering around the town I came across a hairdresser who was not busy and took the opportunity to have my hair cut, shampood and conditioned. The colour I left as the lady was Serbian and did not speak any English and I spoke no Serbian of course. However, it was very pleased with the result and we managed to find out quite a bit about each other with the use of charades. We ended up new best friends with kisses and hugs as I left.
Stan had been wandering around checking the place out while I was at the hairdressers and took me back to a little cobbled street where there was a For Sale sign on a very delapidated building. As we were looking at ilt and imagining what it would take to renovate such a building a man stepped out of a doorway opposite and said in perfect English "are you interested in buying Madam, I am the owner selling this property". He then proceeded to tell me it was E2,500 per square metre, not cheap! Stan kept nudging me and saying "go on as him for a listing" I could just see the advertisement "Renovators worst nightmare".
After a nice afternoon rest as the wind had dropped and it was quite hot again, we all got our glad rags on and met up for dinner in a delightful restaurant in a courtyard setting surrounded with old buildings that all looked like the Gingerbread Man's house. The atmosphere is very Austrian and the food was a lovely mix of Austrian, Italian and with Croatian service all very nice indeed.
TROGIR TO SKRADIN
After 3 days in this delightful corner of Croatia we decided to push on even though the wind was blowing from the north, right where we want to go, as it will be a fairly long haul to Skradin via Sibenik and in this wind stopping in Sibenik would be very tricky.
We arrived outside Sibenik mid afternoon but it would have been unadviseable to stay there in such a stong wind. The trip up a very long gorge was very interesting and being out of the wind was great. There are two massive single span bridges to pass under and according to the pilot book these were both very badly damaged during the War of Independence but are all repaired now so tourists can get by car to the Krka National Park one of their major tourist areas.
Our entry into the small marina was again spectacular. Not much room for a big yacht in fact there were no spare berths at all. Several other yachts had given up waiting and had gone off to anchor for the night back up the gorge which is not easy as the water is very deep and not good holding. We were just about to do same when we spotted a yacht leaving a berth, most unusual at sunset but our well oiled crew jumped into action and we squeezed in our usual professional manner.
There was a couple on the jetty and they took a great action photo of us which they presented to us all in colour and on a postcard as we were settling down for a sunset drink. We all brought 5 copies each at only $2 (equivelent) to send home. A very enterprising pair they do this all the time and have a nice little earner!
