42 34.8N 18 12.8E

Cavtat  7^th  – 11^th  June

We motor sailed in a fairly flat sea to Cavtat from the Boko Kotorski  (27 miles) passing the very deserted rocky coast line with little sign of habitation until we were closer to Cavtat. On arrival the customs quay was full so we waited for an hour and eventually managed to squeeze onto the very end – stern to having dropped the anchor about 25 metres out. The quay was crowded with large and very large super motor yachts two of which were clearing customs which had caused a back log of paperwork! The harbour office was about 200 yards down the quay amongst a plethora of bars and tavern. The officer was charming and most helpful – he apologised for the delay and processed our papers very quickly. Then it was off to the Port Police and Customs who were not quite so friendly as I was told I should have gone to them first! However the necessary paper work was stamped as were the passports and after an hour I was back on the boat and we headed across from the quay to an anchorage. We had been told that the buoys were not good to use as they had not been well maintained. Our first night was uncomfortable as the swell was coming straight into the bay so the following day we moved to the other side of the peninsula and found several buoys here one of which we picked up. These buoys are technically free but the local consortium in the town have laid them  and maintain them a small boat collects the rubbish daily and the charge is 10 Kuna per metre for as many days as you care to stay so for us it was 120K and we stayed 4 nights. This bay was more sheltered and less busy with boats coming and going. The only real hassle was the ribs that went back and forward to the huge ‘gin palaces’ anchored some distance off the town especially at night when they were collecting clients/ owners from dining ashore – usually at speed and after we had turned in!!! No consideration for others at all!

We really liked the small town of Cavtat with its two waterfronts and buzzy café life. Being able to swim off the back of the boat was lovely and the sea temperature has risen now to 25C.There was a good supermarket opposite the post office and a fresh fruit and vegetable open market across the road from this. We took the bus to Dubrovnik which was as expected busy but most interesting. Exploring the small alleyways and the larger plazas and peeping inside the numerous churches all of which were lovely. We had a light lunch at one of the many restaurants; we shared a plate of local produce Serano type ham, cheese, olives and tomatoes followed by a large bowl of mussels in wine all washed down with a local beer. The bill was most reasonable at 160 K. about £20 which we thought was brilliant considering where we were! Our return journey was via the ferry which took us to several small ports on the way to Cavtat. We were interested to view these as potential future anchorage or mooring options but on closer inspection that none were really suitable unless the weather was very settled.  We decided to leave before the strong northwest winds started and so set off for Dubrovnik early on Tuesday morning.