The Crew of Mediterraneo

Susan Lynch

 

Shirley Woodson

Dolly Turner Dixon

Denise Alston

 

Cheryl Green

 

Bertina Suber and Cheryl Green

 

The Captain, Gary Dixon

 

 

The crew onboard Mediterraneo

 

 

 



Time to Go!

September 14, 2013

Everyone awoke rather early.  People scattered to the bathhouse and got ready.  We managed to commandeer a cart so that the luggage could be taken up to the dock.  The charter staff came onboard to do the checkout of the yacht.  All was well.  We noted that we had no issues with anything during the entire seven day charter.

 

Before we left Sibenik a week prior, I had made arrangements with a local van driver to take everyone to their destinations.  Three of the crew were going to stay in Split and then go to Dubrovnik, one crew member was meeting a friend in Sibenik and taking the train to Istanbul, another crewmember was going to Split and Dolly and I were going to the airport to depart for Barcelona, Spain.  I had contacted the van driver the night before and we arranged a time for the pickup.  He was on time!

 



Waiting for the van

 



We took our last ride through the Croatian countryside and started making our drops.  We got everyone to their locations and Dolly and I were the last to be delivered to the airport.  What a time we had in Croatia!!!!!

Returning Home

September 13, 2013

This would be our last day at sea.  Our destination was to Marina Mandolina in Sibenik.  As we eased out of the marina area, we noticed there was a good breeze.  We were going to get a good last sail in!  We got out into the Adriatic and there were plenty of boats most of which were heading north toward Sibenik. 

We got the mainsail unfurled and set and then the Genoa was set.  We were rolling!  Great wind and it was on a great point.  We were moving along nicely.  Each of the crew stood a watch at the wheel for a time.  Everyone was having a great time.  We had a good heel going and we were making great progress.  We did not want to deal with bringing the boat into the marina in low light.

We wove our way between the islands and we could see after a while the town of Sibenik in the distance.  We were nearing the end of a great sailing day.  We got up into the entrance to the Sibenik harbor and charter docks.  We had to fill the diesel fuel tank, so we headed to the fuel dock like everyone else.  We got in line and waited our turn.  Finally we were pulling into the dock.  The attendant handed me the hose and nozzle and I began filling the tank.  I can't remember how much it took but we were finished in about 10 minutes and we gracefully pulled away from the dock and toward the marina.  

 

The marina was about five minutes or less away from the fuel dock.  I called the marina and found out our slip assignment, however, we could not find it right away.  As it turned out, it was the same slip we had left from.  I backed the boat down the lane and carefully put her in the slip using the bowthrusters.  The charter team was out and assisted with tying the boat to the dock.  We were back!

 

As is the tradition with Sojourner trips, the last night is the Captain's dinner.  Just a thank your for sailing with Dolly and me.  We decided to go to Stari Grad for dinner.  We had a great time and the food was quite tasty.  Our server was incredible.  He took care of our every need.  All was well. 

We retired to the boat to spend our last night before we all went our separate ways the next day.  The crew and captain were busy packing and getting ready to vacate the boat by 0900.  We drank some champagne and laughed and recounted the events of the past week.  Everyone voted to do another charter to Croatia soon.

 

 

The Perfect Storm

September 12, 2013

We got our coffee, tea and breakfast that morning after a good night's sleep.  As you might guess, there was more singing by some Swedes in the slip next to us the night before, but they retired early as well.

We pulled out of the slip and headed out of Milna to get out on the Adriatic Sea.  It was a little cloudy and the breeze was good. We

were looking forward to a good sail today, but we wanted to get out of the inlet first.  We were going to attempt to rendezvous with Royalty at another island if we could.  As we were exiting the inlet, which was a rather large bay, we were hit with a progressively intensifying squall.

We turned away from it and headed back deeper into the inlet.  We spotted what we thought was an opening and a creek or something on the island of Brac.  The wind was intense, but Captain Lynch and I managed to get Mediterraneo into the creek.  There were several other boats in the same location seeking shelter.  We explored a little and found a good place to drop anchor.  It was a very good spot.  

We were probably there about an hour.  During that time, we ate and enjoyed some fellowship.  Of course, an anchor watch was in order, but it was well grounded in about 30 feet of water.  We were holding tight!  While waiting for the storm to abate, we discussed where we were going to be for the night.  We decided two things--we would go to Kremik, near the town of Primosten and that we would probably have to motor or motorsail quite a bit.

We finally left and started out again.  The wind had fallen off to almost nothing and the sun was beginning to be visible.  We took off motoring and motoring fast.  Our chartplotter expert figured out a course to get us to Kremik the most direct route and we set the autopilot and dashed on.  The trip north to Kremik was uneventful.  We passed several other boats heading north.  We even had to navigate through a race that was happening on our way.  Everyone stood a watch during this trip to Kremik.  

Somehow we motored past the entrance to access the marina and went into Primosten.  We called the marina and were told that we had to travel back south for about two miles and then turn to port to enter the bay into the marina area.  We were told there was a sign pointing us to Marina Kremik.  Well, the sign was so far back in the entry bay that you needed binoculars to see it from the sea.  We got in and found our slip after a little bit of effort and docked the boat.  It had been quite an interesting day.  We settled in, cooked some dinner and sort of relaxed.  Some of the crew went to the bathhouse and showered and the rest just chilled.  It was a good day!

Anchors Aweigh

September 11, 2013

The next morning I awoke to see a gorgeous 5 masted sailing vessel rounding the point into the bay near Hvar.  She was so beautiful and majestic.  She flew the Croatian colors.

 

Five masted Croatian Sailing Vessel

 









One of our crew has worked on tall ships and she was enthralled by the boat.  So was I!

We aweighed anchor and took off for the island of Brac.

It was a pleasant leisurely sail to the entrance to the innards of the village of Milna.  We had a book that had the call stations to communicate with the marina.  We called on the designated channel and at first got no response.  We did get a response saying, "Come to the back".  There was a marina directly in front us and we thought  were where we were  supposed to be.  We were told to turn the corner and come back.  There would be a man in red shirt directing us where to dock. 

 

After a bit we saw a man in a red polo shirt blowing a whistle and waving frantically to us.  We figured what he wanted.  He wanted us to follow his direction.  He directed me to come to a space on a floating dock near the walkway.  I backed us up and thanks to bowthrusters I was able to get almost there.  I finally got it where he wanted us.  By the way, he spoke no English.

 

He handed me a lazy line and we got that cleated on the port side.  Then he started waving at another lazy line.  None of us understood what he wanted.  He jumped onboard and he cleated that lazy line on the starboard side.  Ah, they use two lazy lines here!

 

The crew dispersed to get land showers and just to look around.  I took the boat documents to the marina office and paid the fee.  I returned to the boat after inspecting the bathhouse and relaxed.  I encountered a black male with a crew of what sounded like Germans.  He was indeed a German.  We talked for a while and then he was off with his fellow crewmembers.

 

The sky was getting a little cloudy and then it got rather dark.  It began to rain, heavily at times.  Dolly returned to the boat after a shower and wanted to go out to eat.  I told her I was going to shower and  then we could eat.

 

She had identified a restaurant in the village and that's where we went.  It was still raining and we could not eat in the alfresco section.  We were in a very nice room with only two other couples.  The food was quite good and eventually Dolly and I were in the room alone.  We left and returned to the boat.  The rest of the crew was enjoying fellowship and talking.  We joined in for a while and then everyone went to bed.

 

The village of Milna





Island Hopping

Off to Another Island

September 10, 2013

Vis is a beautiful island!  However, we were considering going to the island of Korcula until Capt. Rob told us that from where we would make landfall on that island was at least a fifty mile sail.  That's a bit much for a vacation sailing adventure.  We decided to scrap that plan and go to Hvar with the crew of Royalty.  It was a short hop from Vis to Hvar.

This morning, we arose as we had and the activity in the kitchen had begun.  Coffee was made, water was boiled for tea and fruit and yogurt were also available.

We departed from Vis and headed to Hvar, a supposed playground of the rich and famous.  The short trip was uneventful and we made the sail over rather quickly.  We entered the cove and began to look for the village.  As we got further into the cove, we noticed a cruise ship anchored further in.  Also there was a 4 masted schooner at anchor there.

Of course there was other marine traffic as well like really slick looking tour boats and fancy and expensive motor yachts.

We approached the harbor of the village.  We slowly rode around looking for space on the quay.  There were none!  We thought something had to be wrong, but there were no spaces.  We decided to attempt to pick up a mooring.  The wind was rather brisk, but we knew we could do it. 

Well, it's not like a mooring in the BVIs.  Here you pick up the mooring and then you have to secure the stern to the land--a tree or perhaps another anchor.  We still thought we could do it. The truth is, it's a lot more challenging than we thought.  We found a mooring, but the boat hook would not fit in the eye of the pennant.  We opted to just anchor.  We got that done and settled in for a while.

We thought there were water taxis, but we wrong there.  We had a dinghy, but it was a little small for a crew of 7 without someone getting wet.  Five of the crew managed to flag down a boat and the captain consented to take them in.  Dolly and I stayed on the boat.  The crew returned and we hung out and chatted about what they had seen.  They said the village was gorgeous.  Soon all turned in for the night.

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

September 9, 2013

The sun awakened most of us and the crew started moving around getting something to eat.  Our next destination was Vis, another island about 15 nautical miles away.  Royalty pulled out as we were awakening.

 

We completed our breakfast and it was time to get underway.  After a near grounding (we were very close to the bottom), we eased through a narrow cut and back into the Adriatic.  The wind was fresh and we put the boat into the wind and got the main unfurled.  Next we pulled out the genoa and we were sailing and sailing well.  We tweaked the trim of the sails a little and one of our crew took the helm.  She was having a ball!  We hit 7.5 knots of speed and were really flying.

 

After about 4 hours we had approached the island.  We looked for the opening to the harbor and checked the chart and the chartplotter to make sure we were in the right area to enter the harbor.  We got the sails furled and started our approach to the harbor.  One good thing about the Adriatic Sea is that the water is quite deep and the islands are well marked.

 

We eased into the harbor area and spotted the place we wanted to dock.  They do Mediterranean mooring here which is stern to the quay and the bow pointed out. There are no pilings to delineate the spaces. I told the crewmember that was at the helm to do it.  She was a little skeptical and declined.  

 

I had done Med mooring in Greece in 2003, but had not had to do it since.  In Greece, we deployed the anchor off the bow about 50 feet away from the quay and then backed down to the quay.  Here in Croatia, that was not necessary.  They had what they called "lazy lines" which are attached to the quay but are led forward to the bow.  They are attached to the sea floor to secure the bow.

 

Where we were going to pull in was not acceptable to the dockhands and we were directed to a particular space.  He communicated that we did not need to deploy the anchor and to just back in.  All fenders were put in place and the process was begun.  Fortunately, the boat had bowthrusters and that made coming in a lot easier.  We got to the quay and secured the stern lines.  We were then told how to work the "lazy line".  That done we sort of settled back to relax a few moments.  We are really "shoehorned" into this place as another boat began their move in to our starboard side.

The quay in Vis

 

 

I left to go to the Harbormaster's office.  I had to take the paperwork that was given to me at the charter office.  I took the documents to the office and they gave me instructions about the bathhouse and gave me two magnetic keycards. 

 



 

I returned to the boat and Royalty was beginning their move to dock on the quay about five boats down from our position.  Our crew had dispersed to explore the village.  I saw one of our club members, Carroll Green, who was a crewmember on Royalty.  We talked for a while and then we went our different ways.  I returned to the boat and relaxed for a short period.

 

I went back up to Royalty to meet the rest of their crew.  Captain Rob informed me that he was having problems with his mainsail.  He said that Sunsail had made arrangements for a technician to come to the boat and remedy the problem.  Carroll said he saw us approaching them and then we just zoomed on by.  While there I had some snacks and eventually returned to the boat.  I was told that everyone was at a little restaurant getting a bite to eat.  I went to the bistro and joined the rest of our crew.  Food and drink abounded.  We came to a consensus that we would invite the crew of Royalty to join us later for wine and cheese.  The crew then dispersed to shop for goodies for our guests.

 

The crew of Mediterrane

 

Enjoying food and libations in Vis

Carroll and Dolly

 

 

The crew returned just as the crew from Royalty was arriving.  Another of our club members, Paula White, was a member of the crew of Royalty.  We all mingled for an hour or so and then dispersed.  We had gotten an offer from a young woman to eat at a very attractive restaurant. It had begun to rain a little later and everyone scrambled for raingear.  I had to borrow a parka from Paula because I had left my poncho in the baggage I had left at the charter office.

 

We were told that the restaurant was very close.  We started walking and it seemed like a lot further that we had been told, especially in a driving rain.  We took shelter in another restaurant during the downpour.  A short walk later, we were at a very picturesque restaurant overlooking a part of the harbor.  It was still raining!

 

The food was delicious and we all ate hearty.  It was our crew and one member of the crew of Royalty.  We had great food, fellowship and libations.  The rain abated and finally stopped and we left after thoroughly satisfying our hunger.

 

The quay was still busy.  People were walking and shops were open for business.  We went back to the boat to settle in.  Oh, there was one scary incident where a crewmember left her purse with her passport in it at the restaurant.  They returned and it was there and they retrieved it.  Whew!!!  All is well.  We sat around for a while and then everyone turned in listening to some Europeans' club songs being sung by the crew of the boat next to us.

 

 





Let's Shove Off!!

September 8, 2013

We all awoke, went to the bathhouse and returned to the boat to get a little bit to eat.  Most except me were having coffee or tea.  I opted for some OJ, bread and yogurt.  Shortly, after completion of our breakfast, we cast off from the marina.  We needed to get moving because we were supposed to rendezvous with Captain Rob Chichester and his crew who were leaving from Kremik, about 30 nautical miles south of us.  We eased on out and it was such a beautiful day.  We were underway!

We got out of the Sibenik harbor area and turned to port to get out into the Adriatic Sea.  Our trip was uneventful as we motored along and got a good course charted.  One crewmember decided to get the chartplotter to do the work for us.  I had pulled out my handheld gps and set a route for us to take as well.  We set the autopilot and began to cruise south.  

It appears that Sunday is the day of the week that the charter companies start their charter boats.  There were numerous boats out as we traversed southward.  There was some wind, but we opted to continue motoring so that we would arrive at a good time.  I hailed the other boat, but got no response.

After about 4 or 5 hours, we arrived in the area.  We cruised around looking for the other boat, Royalty, but to no avail.  After cruising around for about an hour we finally made contact with Royalty.  She was a little bit behind us.  Eventually, Capt. Rob and Royalty arrived in the area.  He brought the 50 footer in and dropped anchor.  We were going to raft up, but later chose not to.  We dropped anchor and settled in for the evening.

Two of the crew swam over to Royalty and visited with that crew for a while.  In the meantime, dinner was started.  Our crewmembers returned and dinner was served.  We sat around in the cockpit drinking beverages and talking.  A good day!