Latest from Dalmatia 43:02N 17:02E
Rubicon
Sun 16 Aug 2015 10:05
BTW, Gradina is on the north side of Vela Luka bay. It is the only place in Croatia where we have been asked for a fee to anchor. Apparently the Port Authority of Vela Luka, the town, has been given rights. 100 kuna later, we decided, what the heck, this is a great place, and we were happy to be there and didn't let having to pay a small fee (about 20 dollars Canadian) bother us. There are also about 10 mooring balls in place that we weren't expecting.
If you look up cruising in Croatia, there is a lot of complaining about having to pay to anchor, so we thought we were going to have to fork out frequently for the privilege, but that hasn't come to pass. When you enter Croatia, you are now given an official list of where you will be charged, and many spots are more north than we ventured. No one tried to charge us without authority. We have four cruising guides, two written by English/British people, "The Adriatic Pilot" by the Thompsons, and "Croatia A Cruising Companion" by the Nashs, one by the Italians called "777 Harbours and Anchorages" covering Slovenia through Albania, and one by Braslav Karlic, a local Croatian, called "The Best Adriatic Anchorages". We have used them all, and each has it advantages and disadvantages. None are updated for 2015, and we found more mooring balls in suggested coves than you would gather from reading the guides, making anchoring in some of them, such as those of
Kakan (Borovnjak Islands), Zirje (Mala Stupica), Vis (Stoncica and Vis Town), and in the small coves of Luka Tiha of north Hvar Island less than optimal if not impossible for a typical sailboat. I also had the impression that we would be stopped frequently by the police or coast guard, to ensure we were legally in the country, but we have only been asked once for our documents while on the boat since we purchased Rubicon. That happened on a quiet weekend day when we were anchored in Jakljan bay within a week of our arrival in Croatia. They looked at our crew list, passports, other Croatian documents and took a photo of Rubicon as they left.
Last night was quite humid, and there was a spectacular light show, with the clouds lighting up every few seconds. You could imagine why the ancients thought the gods were fighting in the heavens. The morning brought windy weather and a forecast warning of wind gusts from the SW up to 30-40 knots. The wind started to pick up to 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 and then mayhem ensued when a smallish motor boat ( i.e. not a super yacht!) arrived in the anchorage, tried to anchor too close to a sailboat and hit it! Then it started dragging backwards and almost hit us. We were screaming at the guy to get lost, and if Vlad hadn't put the boat in gear and maneuvered (under anchor in our swinging circle) just out of the way of the guy, it would have been a much sadder day for us. He finally hauled up his anchor and left. Thankfully!
That brings up another fact of life when cruising. When you are at anchor, every time someone new enters the bay, you get up, watch them enter, and stare them down if they are thinking of anchoring too close to you. Very occasionally a few words must be exchanged. At least that is what we do. And I have a feeling we aren't the only ones. The German man ahead of us has been very vocal with other boats ensuring they aren't going to interfere with his home. Many live aboard cruisers have their life savings invested in their boat and all of their worldly belongings are on board, so one can understand why some intensity might be released at times.
Finally, it seems that the front has passed, the wind is dying and the air is humid once again. Time to take stock, and have lunch. Except the gusting has returned, so our plans might need to be reconsidered......