OF CHARTERING
the world. That was enough impetus to cross the pond and a few more seas to reach Croatia with my sailing buddy Chuck Dell’Ario last September for a one-way charter from Split to Dubrovnik. We chartered from a small local company called SunLife (www.sunlife.hr). We were pleased with their service as well as the quality and price of our boat, a 2006 Elan 384 Impression monohull named Navis. This being our first visit to the former Yugoslavia, we felt trepidation about language, currency and navigation. All our worries were for naught as the staff of most businesses were multilingual. We fared better with kunas (the Croatian currency) than euros, and navigation was line-of-sight. We attempted to speak Croatian (albeit feebly), but even the locals admit that their language is “very difficult and has too many letters.” We Americans are lucky that much of the world speaks English. Day temperatures hovered in the mid-80’s, and the nights cooled for very
comfortable sleeping. Winds were light in the morning and picked up to 10 to 12 knots in the afternoon. Much of Europe enjoyed a warmer and drier September than usual. In fact, the only rain we saw for 14 days was on our second morning. It lasted for just over one hour. We were in shorts or bathing suits day and night. It was charter heaven. We departed from Split, a large, beautiful, ancient walled city, and zigzagged our way southeast through Croatia’s famed Dalmatian archipelago, exploring a different island every day. Some of the highlights were: • The seductive city of Trogir protected by its Kamerlengo Castle. • The quaint town of Milna on the isle of Brac (one of our favorite stops, where we bought some local olive oil, wine and grappa). • Zlatni Rat (Golden Cape), one of the most
Another day, another amazing destination. Chuck prepares to get underway at the coast town of Milna on the isle of Brac.
ROD WITEL
Every port along the coast seemed to be torn from the pages of a storybook. Left: Marco Polo's bust. Right: Rod strums a tune.
famous beaches in Croatia (also on Brac). • The spectacular blue caves on the island of Bisevo (our westernmost port of call and a must-see). • The notorious party town of Hvar Town on the island of Hvar with its obligatory 87-meter climb to Fortress Spanjol, which overlooks the harbor. • The tourist Mecca of the fabled walled city of Korcula (home town of Marco Polo). • The island of Mljet, its National Park and salt water lakes. • And finally the great walled city of Dubrovnik, which no one should miss if they are ever to visit Croatia. Our daily routine usually consisted of breakfast on the boat before strolling the small farmers' markets and bakeries to gather fresh provisions. Mid-morning we’d cast off and motor or sail until early afternoon, when we’d find an idyllic cove where we would anchor for lunch and a swim in the warm, blue Adriatic Sea. If you are used to snorkeling the Caribbean or South Pacific coral reefs, you’ll be somewhat disappointed in the Adriatic, as there’s not as much to see underwater. Anchoring proved a bit difficult as the sea bottom is a combination of rocks and grass and our boat had a Danforth anchor — not a good combination. We did have an all-chain rode, however, which helped in the deep waters that surrounded all the islands