It was always going to be a great trip: 14 friends, two boats and six days sailing around the Croatian islands.
We arrived in Split early on Saturday morning and after a detour-ridden ‘bus’ ride we eventually made our way to the marina before exploring the Split waterfront, the local markets and Diocletian’s Palace.
Fuelled by strictly enforced International Drinking Rules, a big night in Split followed. Unfortunately for me, I struggled to remember to drink with my left hand and the Karlovačko’s (excellent local beer) disappeared by the tray load.
After a brief market shopping expedition on Sunday morning, Sail La Vie* and Tango** proudly set sail for the first of six memorable days on the Adriatic.
We were sailing as part of an 11 boat flotilla. Although we didn’t sail together, we had a lead boat, the Old Tub, who would brief the captains each day on where we were headed, particular hazards of the day etc, and organise the marina moorings each night.
Our first port of call was Bobovišće (Brač island). Being the first proper night, a social drinking session was held to mix with the other boat crews. The remainder of the flotilla were predominantly forty-something couple groups, and excluding a group of four great Scottish guys, this would be the most we would have to do with the group. We all dined at the sole restaurant in the tiny, picturesque bay before taking the party back to our boat until the early hours of the morning. To cap the night off Craig shared his first of many g-string runs down the humble town’s waterfront.
We stopped for what would become our standard lunch of salami, cheese, and tomato sandwiches at a beautiful bay called Maslinova (Brač). Despite the crystal clear water, there’s not a lot of sea life too be seen - the water depth often drops sharply to at least 30m only a few meters offshore.
That night we stayed at the marina on Stari Grad (Hvar island). After a few beers and a dinner of pizza, most settled for a quieter night after the day in the sun.
We finally managed to stay in touch with Tango on Tuesday, and lunched, swam and snorkeled together at Duga (Hvar).
We spent Tuesday night moored off Hvar town, at the Palmizana marina on Pakleni Island. We spent the early evening at a sandy beach complete with numerous sea urchins. After drinking our boats dry, we caught the water taxi to Hvar. With an hour wait on our table for dinner the majority wandered the narrow cobbled streets of the town until we found a small rustic wine bar tucked in a corner of the town. Together with Disco Stu (an Australian working on the Old Tub as the engineer) we had a few pre-dinner drinks. The green pepper steak was potentially the best I have ever tasted, and together with more g-string displays and raucous entertainment, the night was well under way.
“Carpe Diem” was apparently the place to go for the evening. The carafes of cocktails complete with sparklers went down a treat. The evening, however, proved too much for Cam, Penny, Anthony and Woods who were all guilty of a snooze in the bar.
Wednesday was a particularly good sailing day and we pushed Sail La Vie over 7 knots in fairly choppy conditions. We lunched in a bay called Stončica (Vis island), boarded the Scotsmen’s boat for a few Karlovačkos, and relaxed on a sandy beach complete with a small shack-bar.
We spent the night in Vis (Vis). This was one of the most picturesque towns we visited. We dined in a fantastic restaurant called Vila Kaliopa which is set in the grounds of a 16th Century Garibaldi Palace and enjoyed a few post dinner drinks at a local bar.
Making our way back towards Split, we lunched on Thursday at a local pizzeria on Milna (Brač). We ventured on a walk to a quiet rocky beach complete with a six meter rock jump that kept all entertained for the afternoon.
That evening a pizza dinner was held to celebrate the birthdays of Penny and Carolyn. After concluding the meal with glasses of Grappa, we made our way back to our lunch venue where we (and the Scotsmen) took over the night club. Having our own private Croatian venue was a novel experience, and the crew made the most of it - Cam and Richard in the DJ booth, Selena literally swinging from the rafters and Craig splitting his head on the death-trap dance floor.
After five days of 30 plus highs and steady winds, the weather turned on Friday and we were hit with heavy rain and 50 knot gusts. It was great fun.
Before we knew it we were back in Split. The rest of the flotilla had organised a final dinner, however, our invite had apparently been misplaced. We spent Friday night with the Scotsmen (who knew where the best time was to be had) drinking on our boat, in Split, and finally in a local night club. The 7am taxi to the airport on Saturday morning was a struggle, and made more exciting after I slept through my alarm.
It was an amazing trip. Although our sightseeing capability was restricted and we were mainly limited to short stays on the various islands, the sailing experience was excellent - I had forgotten I had a Day Skipper’s Licence.
Many thanks to Richard and Caro for organising the trip.
*Sail La Vie (40.7ft): Richie “Captain” Powles, Carolyn “I want to live on a boat” Simpson, Ian “Buffalo” Robertson, Craig “G-banger” Smith, Kerry “Cannonball!!” Woods, Philip “Are you my dad?” Chapman, Stef “Vladimir” Cammell, , Brent “Fish-eye” Burrett.
**Tango (30ft): Cameron “DJ Cameo” Peart, Anthony “Borat” Garea, Emy “the Goat” Phillips, Selena “Narco” Hedley-Lewis, Penny “Lady Penelope” McLaren and Ellen “Bruiser” Price.
[Nicknames, and plenty other parts of this blog have been stolen from Craig’s blog. Cheers mate.]
It was always going to be a great trip: 14 friends, two boats and six days sailing around the Croatian islands.
We arrived in Split early on Saturday morning and after a detour-ridden ‘bus’ ride we eventually made our way to the marina before exploring the Split waterfront, the local markets and Diocletian’s Palace.
Fuelled by strictly enforced International Drinking Rules, a big night in Split followed. Unfortunately for me, I struggled to remember to drink with my left hand and the Karlovačko’s (excellent local beer) disappeared by the tray load.
After a brief market shopping expedition on Sunday morning, Sail La Vie* and Tango** proudly set sail for the first of six memorable days on the Adriatic.
We were sailing as part of an 11 boat flotilla. Although we didn’t sail together, we had a lead boat, the Old Tub, who would brief the captains each day on where we were headed, particular hazards of the day etc, and organise the marina moorings each night.
Our first port of call was Bobovišće (Brač island). Being the first proper night, a social drinking session was held to mix with the other boat crews. The remainder of the flotilla were predominantly forty-something couple groups, and excluding a group of four great Scottish guys, this would be the most we would have to do with the group. We all dined at the sole restaurant in the tiny, picturesque bay before taking the party back to our boat until the early hours of the morning. To cap the night off Craig shared his first of many g-string runs down the humble town’s waterfront.
We stopped for what would become our standard lunch of salami, cheese, and tomato sandwiches at a beautiful bay called Maslinova (Brač). Despite the crystal clear water, there’s not a lot of sea life too be seen - the water depth often drops sharply to at least 30m only a few meters offshore.
That night we stayed at the marina on Stari Grad (Hvar island). After a few beers and a dinner of pizza, most settled for a quieter night after the day in the sun.
We finally managed to stay in touch with Tango on Tuesday, and lunched, swam and snorkeled together at Duga (Hvar).
We spent Tuesday night moored off Hvar town, at the Palmizana marina on Pakleni Island. We spent the early evening at a sandy beach complete with numerous sea urchins. After drinking our boats dry, we caught the water taxi to Hvar. With an hour wait on our table for dinner the majority wandered the narrow cobbled streets of the town until we found a small rustic wine bar tucked in a corner of the town. Together with Disco Stu (an Australian working on the Old Tub as the engineer) we had a few pre-dinner drinks. The green pepper steak was potentially the best I have ever tasted, and together with more g-string displays and raucous entertainment, the night was well under way.
“Carpe Diem” was apparently the place to go for the evening. The carafes of cocktails complete with sparklers went down a treat. The evening, however, proved too much for Cam, Penny, Anthony and Woods who were all guilty of a snooze in the bar.
Wednesday was a particularly good sailing day and we pushed Sail La Vie over 7 knots in fairly choppy conditions. We lunched in a bay called Stončica (Vis island), boarded the Scotsmen’s boat for a few Karlovačkos, and relaxed on a sandy beach complete with a small shack-bar.
We spent the night in Vis (Vis). This was one of the most picturesque towns we visited. We dined in a fantastic restaurant called Vila Kaliopa which is set in the grounds of a 16th Century Garibaldi Palace and enjoyed a few post dinner drinks at a local bar.
Making our way back towards Split, we lunched on Thursday at a local pizzeria on Milna (Brač). We ventured on a walk to a quiet rocky beach complete with a six meter rock jump that kept all entertained for the afternoon.
That evening a pizza dinner was held to celebrate the birthdays of Penny and Carolyn. After concluding the meal with glasses of Grappa, we made our way back to our lunch venue where we (and the Scotsmen) took over the night club. Having our own private Croatian venue was a novel experience, and the crew made the most of it - Cam and Richard in the DJ booth, Selena literally swinging from the rafters and Craig splitting his head on the death-trap dance floor.
After five days of 30 plus highs and steady winds, the weather turned on Friday and we were hit with heavy rain and 50 knot gusts. It was great fun.
Before we knew it we were back in Split. The rest of the flotilla had organised a final dinner, however, our invite had apparently been misplaced. We spent Friday night with the Scotsmen (who knew where the best time was to be had) drinking on our boat, in Split, and finally in a local night club. The 7am taxi to the airport on Saturday morning was a struggle, and made more exciting after I slept through my alarm.
It was an amazing trip. Although our sightseeing capability was restricted and we were mainly limited to short stays on the various islands, the sailing experience was excellent - I had forgotten I had a Day Skipper’s Licence.
Many thanks to Richard and Caro for organising the trip.
*Sail La Vie (40.7ft): Richie “Captain” Powles, Carolyn “I want to live on a boat” Simpson, Ian “Buffalo” Robertson, Craig “G-banger” Smith, Kerry “Cannonball!!” Woods, Philip “Are you my dad?” Chapman, Stef “Vladimir” Cammell, , Brent “Fish-eye” Burrett.
**Tango (34.2ft): Cameron “DJ Cameo” Peart, Anthony “Borat” Garea, Emy “the Goat” Phillips, Selena “Narco” Hedley-Lewis, Penny “Lady Penelope” McLaren and Ellen “Bruiser” Price.
[Nicknames, and plenty other parts of this blog have been stolen from Craig’s blog. Cheers mate.]
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