Thursday Oct 13, 2011
Split Sailing Club – Spinut Yacht harbour
After a leisurely breakfast on board we headed in the final 13 miles to Croatia’s 2nd city, Split. We decided that with the forecast of high wind the main marina in the outer bay might be a bit exposed so we headed to an inner bay which is behind the city yet close to downtown. The Spinut Yacht Harbour is home to 2 sailing clubs and we found a berth in the Split Sailing Club where we will ride out the storm. There are even 3 stern lines instead of the usual 2 so we are feeling quite secure. As with most all the Med there are no side docks to tie to – we tie the bow to the wharf or pier and use ¾” nylon lines secured (we hope) to some concrete slab or engine block on the bottom of the harbour. These stern lines are brought tight at the stern to hold us in position. As I write this the wind is blowing 25-30 knots directly against Necessity’s port side causing us to heel in the slip. But so far the lines have held well.
We can stay in this slip till Sunday when the owner is expected back and will have to move then to another spot. The Club has boats of all sizes and a large junior sailing program as well as a restaurant and some repair facilities on site. Looks like a good base for our last days. After lunch and orientation we posted the blog entries we had previously written but couldn’t get on the internet. We cleaned and repacked the dinghy to clear the deck for the predicted storm. Then we headed to town with a hand drawn map and were easily in the old city in 20 minutes walk. The day was waning and the wind was beginning to blow as predicted but we were confident we had Necessity trussed up like a chicken!
The key site in old Split is the palace/fortress built for Roman Emperor Diocletian about 300AD. It was really a walled city and contained along with his palace, a mausoleum where he was eventually buried (now a small Cathedral) as well as meeting rooms, markets and piazzas where the common folk gathered. Much has been destroyed over the centuries but, fortunately, the lower floor which was identical to the main floor has remained in tact. Luckily, over the years the subsequent residents had simply bored holes in the main floor and dropped everything – garbage, sewage, debris into the lower level filling it up and in fact preserving it for future excavations. Now the lower level is 85% excavated showing 25 foot barrel vaulted ceilings and multiple rooms which are perfectly preserved. They even found a whole room with an olive oil press inside! The basement rooms are now deemed a Unesco world heritage site. After our tour we went to Poseidon Restaurant for dinner and spied another patron having what looked like a really good steak. We ordered a green pepper steak and a turkey with Blue Cheese dinner and both were good! We have been disappointed with the cuisine in Croatia but so far, Split has been good.
As we left the Palace we learned that a music concert was scheduled for 8Pm in the old basement so we returned to enjoy a concert by the Split symphony orchestra featuring all string instruments – guitars, mandolins, lutes, cellos and ukuleles in a magnificent setting with wonderful acoustics. A senior and junior ensemble of about 20 musicians each played then joined for a spectacular finale. What a wonderful opportunity!
We cabbed back to Necessity and stepped gingerly aboard amongst the cacophony of whistling wind, clanging halyards and rocking bed where we attempted to get some rest.