If you're not already tracking us on our new boat 'Gumnuts' why not head over to ou new site and follow our continuing adventure.
sailblogs.com/member/Gumnuts
Don't forget to select the RSS button on the top right corner so that you are reminded by mail each time we make a new post.
Or,
Simply check out our web site www.gumnuts.info which has links to the above as well as heaps of other useful stuff including our latest GPS position, technical specs, tips on places we've been to, what to bring if you sail with us etc.

GREAT NEWS, our new blog is up and running at www.sailblogs.com/member/gumnuts where you can continue to follow our journey. Our friends at SAILBLOGS agreed to change our Wild & Woolly blog to a free version and transferred the paid version to Gumnuts. Thanks guys!

We're also opening a new site called www.gumnuts.info where we'll be keeping more details of our boat, technical data, pilot info, tips, sailing notes, GPS location etc. Should be up by the ned of March.

If you are interested to buy our boat, please contact VicSail in Sydney. CLICK HERE -
http://www.vicsail.com/1504/ListingDetails.aspx

We've decided to sell our dear 'Wild & Wooly'! But, don't worry, the journey continues ... We're upgrading to a new Beneteau Oceanis 48 which we take delivery of this May in Caorle, Italy. Plans remain unchanged. Cruising Greece through June/July and heading to Turkey in August.
The new boat will be called GUMNUTS - here is an idea of the look we're after (this is an Oceanis 48).

What we love about Bari is its lack of pretentiousness ... The old town is as good as any we've seen in Europe, but with one exception - it's lived in by ordinary Italian families. Walk through the narrow steers and alleys at 8am and you'll find all the mammas making fresh pasta shells. At 3pm they'll all be sitting on their plastic chairs in groups nattering. At 8pm the whole family will be out in the street! And at any time you'll be dodging scooters :)

What better than to end our season by catching the ferry! Arriving in Bari this morning after an overnight sailing was 'déjà vu' seeing the harbour the second time in one summer. But this time from the top deck of the ferry. Great!

So, as we near the end of our 2013 season I thought we would post a map ... The two colours show 2012 (yellow line = Antibes, France to Malta) and 2013 (green line = Malta to Bar, Montenegro).

Finally we ended up on the stand, the Montenegran way ... It all worked and we're pointing NE which is where the main winds come from over winter ... As well as the odd Bora from the North.

While preparing the boat for wintering today, it was our turn to get nervous as another boat was lifted out and placed next to us ... Well, they tried to ... The crane got to the point shown and then refused to engage any further ... It's a 20T lifting crane and sounded like the gears were grumbling. So, they put it back in the water and went to get a bigger crane. It ended well, and now we have a Beneteau Motorboat for our winter neighbour.

Well, it was our big day to have the boat lifted ... And boy, what an experience. I'm sorry to say (very sorry) that Health & Safety have not yet arrived at this yard and we were somewhat horrified to watch our boat being lifted. First, we were snuggled into a gap between two other boats. "Just point the bow in here Captain" ... Where? Behind the stern of the boat you just pulled forward??? Heavens above, a young Russian family sat on their yacht and watched while we were lifted right over them! Watch out for the video I'll make and post of the whole thing ... You decide.

The forts guarding the entrance to the Bay of Kotor.

Koror is yet another city in this part of the world that has huge history, including Venetian. It seems all these Venetian heritage places have something else in common ... They all attract cruise liners! Kotor is 12 NM inland at the end of fiord like lakes the size of Lake Geneva ... Looking round a corner to see huge cruise liners like this is incredible ... But then these waters are 40-60 metres plus deep!
There's no picture of Kotor today ... You'll have to do a Google search and see the aerial shots for yourself.

Well, leaving Croatia and entering Montenegro was easy. Just make sure you have the right paperwork including Insurance, Registration and Captains Licence (like anywhere), fly the Q flag and their national flag (like anywhere) and all goes well. We asked in Dubrovnik, and even though its only another 6 NM to the SE we were told we had to check out at Cavtat as the last port prior to the border, so we did, and it was easy. Rounding Cape Osta, Zelenika is the first Customs entry port for Montenegro when sailing from Dubrovnik. We had great September weather with f4 sailing and clear blue skies ... Again!
The picture is leaving the customs wharf at Zelenika.

our friends Mike and Leanne on OORRO1 are already in Athens having made it through the Canal and the Greek bureaucracy (just). This morning they sent us a glorious sunny picture as they are about to head off as tourists. So, here is our 'reply' the view from 'Wild & Woolly' this morning :)

Wow! The '777 Harbours & Anchorages' guide to Croatian waters says Dubrovnik is 'Possibly one of the most beautiful towns in the world'. Frankly speaking we would have to agree with this statement. It's staggering in its location and architectural heritage. A walled city big enough to walk around completely (and walking the walls is a must do tourist event not to be missed) yet big enough to make it interesting. As per most of this country, Dubrovnik is steeped in History from ancient times to the present. However, it's still hard to imagine more than 2,000 bombs being dropped on this place only 15 - 20 years ago other than to see all the repairs (tastefully and as authentically as possible) completed by the local people and with the help of UNESCO. If ever you get the chance ... Go see for yourself. Amazing.

On the way to Dubrovnik we had a cracking sail. Everything from f4 and tacking to a calm and then a dead run which gave us a last chance to fly code zero (our big lightweight sail). But in the end it was getting late and blowing f6 so we called it a day and anchored in a lovely spot 15 NM north of Dubrovnik called Slano. It blew hard in the evening which bedded the Anchor well and then overnight it was flat calm - fantastic nights sleep. Next morning, forgetting it was Saturday and the charter boat changeover day we found there was 'no room at the Inn' for us at the Dubrovnik Marina ... So, we went round the corner to another beautiful spot and anchored in 11 metres at Mali Zaton.
Now, our anchor is great. We upgraded from the Beneteau supplied Delta to an Australian anchor called a SARCA Excel (link to their web site). And excel it does! At about 8pm till 9am the next morning it blew from 15 to 25 knots ... But we didn't budge an inch thanks to our Excel (and 45 metres of 8mm chain). The screenshot is from our chart plotter at about 3.30am showing the track of of our boat while at anchor (the yellow line is wind direction).

Well, it's just over three months now since I retired and we're nearing the end of our Mediterranean sailing adventure for this season. The picture attached was literally the view en route for Dubrovnik, Croatia arriving this evening.
So, hows the first three months gone by? Actually, I can honestly say we haven't had a minute to get bored. On the contrary, it's been so busy 'working' the boat, seeing new place and meeting new people, that I feel like I need to 'retire from retirement!' Would you believe (apart from new technical books and manuals) I've only had time to read one book. The other good news is that now we spend every minute together, Shiree still loves me - was there ever a doubt :)

We decided to move round to the ACI Marina tucked away under the old town of Korcula. I know it's another fairy tale picture in the collection of places we've seen in Croatia. But ... It this place really is like this! We hadn't actually planned to stay an extra two days, but when I looked at the long term weather predictions it just kept showing rain till Friday. Since we're not in a rush, we decided to wait for sunshine - 'cos we can :) we even stayed on the boat yesterday afternoon and watched a movie while the rain and thunder storm passed us by. Afterwards the light clarity is just amazing as you can see above.

We're heading south now and will soon be in Dubrovnik and shortly after in Montenegro where we'll stop for this year and put the boat 'to bed' for winter. Tonight we are at anchor right opposite a monastery on the Island of Koracula. It really is this beautiful.

This picture is going to frustrate a few people ... But hey, someone has to sit on bean bags in tree houses watching sunset drinking Mohitas with their loved one instead of being stuck in traffic after work. And it might just as well be us ...