Our final night in the romantic walled city of Korcula was made even more delightful when on finishing our meal and strolling through the narrow winding streets we happened upon the small square where in one corner there is a stone columned logia. We had enjoyed listening to an all-female choir singing here when we visited nine years ago and this time we were treated to the wonderful harmonising of a six man strong group singing traditional Croatian Klapa music. We stood in this medieval square, with the light of an almost full moon casting shadows whilst the complex harmony’s accentuated by the acoustics echoed and reverberated around us. It was rather like being wrapped in a silken aural blanket, the soaring chords created by the synchronised voices bringing shivers of goose bumps out on our sun tanned forearms.

A fortunately light wind was blowing us onto the dock next morning but with a bit a rope work judicious use of the bow thruster and the nautical equivalent of opposite lock we got away very nicely. Sailing around the fortified sea wall of this almost circular town brought the wind that had held us to the dock right onto our nose. We motored the short distance to Hvar and arrived in the early afternoon hoping that we could get a berth on the town quay, there are only around a dozen berths here. We were fortunate and much to Lynn’s delight we med moored in just about the same spot we had nearly a decade ago in a charter boat. It was fun to show Alec and June around this ‘St Tropez’ of the Dalmatian coast although the downside of being on the town quay manifested itself that night as the revellers in the bars deprived us of sleep.

Brac was our island of choice the next day. It is the largest of the over one thousand islands of this coast with a population of around fifteen thousand. We headed for the north east coast and a bay called Uvala Luka recommended to us by friends Boyd and Debbie. Five hours of gentle cruising around its tree clad shores brought us to the bay at 14.00 where Pipo came out to help us tie up to a mooring buoy. Very still, very quiet and very warm here, Lynn and I quickly donned swimming costumes and dived in. Lynn to swim, me to clean 120 feet of waterline! Pipo has created a restaurant out of the local white stone (which was used in the building of the Whitehouse, yes that one, really.) a pebble beach, a tender dock and bordered it all with his vegetable gardens. No power here so cooking is done in or on an outdoor range fuelled with wood. We of course dined there that evening the star of the meal being succulent whole stuffed squids. We met with a very pleasant English couple in Pipo's and ended up towing them back to their boat as their outboard had failed.  In contrast to the previous evening a soft and silent night in which we all slept like logs.

Alec and June’s last day with us, we have a leisurely start and slip from our mooring around 10.30 d setting  course for the ACI Marina, Split where I have booked a berth for a couple of weeks or so. There was no rush and with a light breeze from astern we sailed downwind under genoa docking in Split around 14.45. We said our goodbyes to Alec and June and set to with boat chores before dining aboard and retiring early. Nest day was a scorcher with temperatures over 35 degrees but there was lot to do and do it we must despite the heat. What a delight though to be able to occasionally slip below into the air conditioned luxury of Pamarzi’s interior. We dined in the Marina restaurant on a first floor balcony looking out across the marina to Split. Surprisingly the food was delicious, the recommended wine very good, the service excellent and the price reasonable – we may become regulars!