07/29/2011, Atatore Bay, Losinj Island, Croatia

Adventure of the day! Why does it always have to do with anchoring? Last winter sometime, someone who had been here told me that he laughed when he saw everyone in Croatia anchored with their fenders hung onto the sides of the boat. Before he departed Croatia he had learned that those were the people that knew what they were doing. We see this all the time, the fenders out at anchor. This morning we were hanging out onboard not wanting to leave Threshold as there was a gusty wind blowing through the anchorage and it is lucky we didn't.  Suddenly there was a Benditoe, or one of those other bare boat charters out of control powering just past our bow. While Karyn got the engine started I grabbed a fender and headed forward where I could see he had hooked his anchor on our chain.  As he powered up, pulling on our chain, his yelling,female, anchor person continued to pull up their chain tighter and tighter so that just as Karyn and I got the fenders between the boats his anchor came sliding up our chain and crashed into our anchor roller. While others fended off I grabbed a line to lift the anchor off our chain. Just when it was looped around and in my finger tips the yelling, female anchor person reversed the windlass and the anchor slid down our chain out of reach. A well timed move on her part. A quick leap into the dinghy and a short trip to the bow and I lifted their fouled anchor off our chain. Now the Benditoe was sliding aft, bow swinging into Threshold, all hands shouting and pushing off saving our paint by millimeters down the entire length of the hull. The non-English speaking skipper was shouting "sequse-a-me, sequse-a-me" as he departed the anchorage never to return. The entire event could not have lasted more than a minute.
Moral: when in Croatia hang your fenders over the side when anchored. We do as of today ... but it still feels silly.

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Weather nasty thunderstorm
07/23/2011, Kapriji Island

Aside the daily arguments with the skipper of the Italian or French
boat that has anchored improperly very near us we have had a shortage of adventures since Scotland. Today's thunderstorm relieved that monotone. Morning light revealed dark threatening clouds where none had been forecast. Our anchor was set and tested in a rocky bottom which is always suspect both on the drop and the retrieval. Our stern was tied, double wrapped, to the rocky shore the night before and holding well. Karyn was foul weather dressed and ready for action while I watched the approaching storm on radar and Nathan captured lightening bolts with his camera. Soft rain and a consistent, light wind off shore  contributed to our male, relaxed stance while others worried.  We had already briefed the worst case " what-ifs" last night. This morning the steady breeze now became gusty and irregular while the lightening struck all around us. Suddenly the wind shifted 180 degrees and began to push us toward the rocks. Then it increased and Nathan, now on the bow, yelled past the whistling rigging that the anchor was dragging. Not wanting to drag sideways into the rocks I pushed the throttle of the already running and warm engine while Karyn let the shore line run out and off the transom, abandoned. For a time the wind was from everywhere and the rain was horizontal while the rarely seen rocks were ver near. Lightening crashed close by while the rain increased and visibility became near zero. While Nathan struggled to get the 150' of chain and the 88# anchor up and stowed and I tried, unsuccessfully, to keep the bow pointed into the wind. Conditions became worse. It began to hail.  It began to hail large stones the size of walnuts that stung like a sonavabich. Nathan took the worst of it on the bow while Karyn found a cockpit cushion to shield me at the wheel. Unbeknownst to all except me, I had lost control of the bow of the boat. Between the power of the wind and the anchor dragging on the bottom the bow fell off and we being blown down into the narrow, rocky, unseen, idealic cove of last evening. FULL REVERSE!, invert the compass course, back into the wind, will this work? where is the shore line?, watch the depth, watch the depth, rocks to starboard-steer to port, damn the hail on bare legs, hold the wind aft, boat speed aft? barely,  now we are moving, anchor is up Nate says, moving faster aft, depth increasing, depth increasing, slow the engine, under control, everyone is in the cockpit, more light in north, we can see those threatening rocks now....
This afternoon we are 20 miles north, in a perfect anchorage, tied to a mooring. The sun is shining while we are swimming and getting ready to go ashore to cute beach bar for dinner of grilled squid.
A perfect day for a wee dram.

Comments [5]

07/14/2011, Trogir and Split

This large bay behind Split that extends west to Trogir is a great center of industry for Croatia as well as a historic vacation/summer residence for the city dwellers. Split and Trogir are great tourist destinations that we would have visited no matter what but with the international airport that is located here iot makes a very convenient place to rendezvous with guests. Nate will be arriving after noon tomorrow for a week of relaxation, heat, sailing, swimming, and more heat. Right now this area is devoid of the charter fleet. They are all out in the nearby islands where it is a little cooler and the water is so much nicer. By Saturday that is where we will be and they will be here. What great planning!

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