Phantom readers

Since we left the Summer Amy on the Hard in Croatia this year there have been over 10,000 page views in the United States?

I'd love to know who you are and why you are reading it, but most of all I'd like to thank you for reading it. It makes it all the more worthwhile writing it given it was primarily only done for my family's benefit.

Thanks,

Greg, Sally and the kids.

Baotic Marina - Trigor. Wintering the Summer Amy - The last post

We called on the way in to Baotic and were directed to a good spot only 100 meters from the facilities. We were quickly followed by that southerly.

One night on the boat, the next two before Sal flew home in an amazing apartment overlooking the marina. Brand new, super luxuries, we were the first to use it.

A schmick marina, 'the hard' where they put boats when they take them out of the water is pristine, a little like airside at the airport. A large area of flat, clean concrete, nothing lying about or out of place. It was hard to imagine where they would put us with me still living on the boat.

A special restaurant had to be found for our final dinner which was to be accompanied by a bottle of Henchke's Hill of Grace 2008.

Don Dino's in Trogir was chosen via Trip Adviser and on arrival we asked if it would be ok to drink our own wine. No problem and it was duly decantered at our table.

The last two seasons we have always tried to drink our special bottle with steak and it has always been disappointing, the steak that is. Croatian lamb had proved its worth on many occasions, so lamb it was. An outstanding success.

Frantic last minute packing. I have no idea how we got it all in nor where all this 'stuff' came from but Sal and the kids were fully loaded by the time the took off.

Tuesday the 4th clocked around and we were ready. Sal and the kids in a taxi, me one more night on the boat in the water before she got hauled out.

So far, the only crane capable of taking the Summer Amy out of the water is a 200 ton travel lift. She only weighs 6 ton but its her width that makes that necessary.

I went into reception on Wednesday the 5th and asked what time the haul out was scheduled for. She made a call and pointed to a small fixed crane not far from where we were standing. I explained that it was a catamaran, that the crane she was indicating was not going to do the job.

"See the guy at the crane in the red cap, he's waiting for you now."

I wondered over, they were hauling a smaller motor yacht out at the time. Mr Red Cap asked me to have my boat alongside in thirty minutes. "This crane?" I asked. "Why not?" was his response, "This thing can haul Lagoon 450's" which are a touch larger the ours.

Ok. Luckily there was no wind because it seemed I was going to move the boat short handed. ie; on my todd. Thirty minutes and the boat was alongside. They loosened the outside shrouds (the cables that hold up the mast) so they didn't catch on the upper superstructure, swung the crane with huge belts sliding beneath the boat and into place.

Then up and out, a trailer ready to move her into her winter spot.

The man with the Gurney was on hand to blast the bum clean. I'm not sure what brand of anti fowl they used in Lavrio before she went into the water this season but it was untouched looking like it's about to go back in.

When I asked the guy where they were going to put it, I really didn't believe him. I'd be living aboard, cooking, cleaning, scrubbing, spraying. Music so I could hear it wherever I am on the boat. "Are you serious?"

To explain. This planned spot is the entrance quay to the marina. It is ten paces from the Gloribar pub, twenty paces from the Yacht Club swimming pool and club house. Fifty paces to reception and the ablution facilities... In other words, Piccadilly bloody Circus.

Luckily she was set much higher up than usual so I can see all around but those on the ground cannot see in. (I just measured it because I'm a dick but the deck is 3.5 meters up - then another 2 meters to the water)

I do need to be a little mindful getting on and off though. It's freaky.







Well that is it folks. This is the final post for 2016. It has been a blast and so unlike season 2015 which was so unlike season 2014. As I'm sure you've contemplated, it is not all beer and skittles but there has not been a single moment when I've thought, I'd rather be at work.

From Athens to the Cyclades and through the Corinth Canal. Revisiting fave spots like Gaios and Kalami Bay before Albania, Montenegro and Southern Croatia. Over 1000 nautical miles, 46 stops, 110 hours per engine and way more motoring than sailing this year.

Just over 19,000 page views of this blog. Thank you all for making the task worthwhile. Bye!

Supetar - the final stop before we really must go.

I thought I'd drop a map in to give you an idea of our Croatian playground so far. We have now 'done' these islands, so next season we can head north without feeling we've missed something, although of course we will have missed heaps.

Supetar is on the northern shores of Brac, we arrived at 3:10pm on Thursday the 29th and there was only one spot in the harbour we were interested in. 

It was just the way it was shaped and open to the north that nagged. Mr Wavey Arms indicated where we should moor.... probably the worst spot on the wall. I waved back and indicated I was not happy and pointed to where we would be happy and he simply obliged. I'll say that again... He simply obliged! That never happens. These guys wear a uniform you know. We ended up alongside just out of the way of any wash from the frequent ferries. 

Kids on skate boards, jobs piling up for the folks, more in our minds than in reality so we hired a car and asked what was worth seeing. 

Beaches were off the menu, it was too cold. A visit to the Olive Oil museum? Ho hum... it was on the way to the must do lunch venue, Konoba Kopacina so why not. 

It was worth the visit. Olive oil was very hard yakka back in the day and the museum owner is a descendant of the people who used this very equipment. A snack and welcome drink before we got going, it is 15 Kuna per head but only if we thought it was worth it.

The olives are poured into the wooden shoot on the left. It has a small hole at the bottom so that as this very heavy stone wheel is pushed around it crushes the olives that role out of the hole into its path and the paste drops into the stone trough.

The paste is then shoved into these circular hemp netting bags, placed one on top of the other and squashed in this ancient Italian press. One again requiring an enormous amount of strength and endurance. When the pressing was happening, they worked in shifts and slept on platforms above.

That oil is known as the first press or cold press and it went to the priest and the teacher, both held in similar esteem back then.

Water is boiled in this purpose built stove. The hot water is then poured over the netting bags which helps to release the remaining oil known as second or hot press and is for the rest of the population.

The oil and water separate in the vat. The oil, being lighter than water floats and is scooped into goat or sheep skins like this one for transportation by donkey. 

The water, a scarce commodity on Brac is released via a stopper and simply runs out into the veggie garden.

End of lesson folks. Cherry Brandy was produced with home made cake or fresh bread to dip into cold pressed olive oil. We were happy to donate, the guide was so engaged it felt as if we were his very first visitors.... he'd been at it every day for months.

Then lunch at Kanoba Kopacina, famous for their lamb on a spit. Our favourite. A lovely spot high in the hills, an inside table in the warm September sun right next to the kitchen where everything is cooked over coals. 

Lamb on a spit with roasted vegetables and house red. Bliss. 

After they'd eaten the kids found a cozy spot inside with wifi while Sal and I really enjoyed a sumptuous long lunch.

Home. Nanna nap. Woke at 8:00pm still stuffed, fed the kids and watched a movie. The kids to bed by 10:30 but having had such a great nap we were wide awake so we watched another movie. At 1:00am we decided to take a walk... as you do. Not a soul anywhere as if the whole place had been abandoned. Eerie.

After half an hour or so we were returning to the boat when we noticed the boat parked behind us had started its motors, crew members pacing the quay?  Waiting for somebody at 1:30am?Drug deal going down?

We ensconced in the shadows of the car hire park to observe. An ambulance turned up. 

This boat was about to take a patient across to Split at this time of night. Old, young, injury, heart attack? We speculated.

The patient finally emerged from the Ambulance and so many tubes. 'Old man, heart attack' was our selection. Accompanied by an elderly lady with suitcase and shopping bags. Sally swears they covered his face but I didn't see that. The boat left very slowly and headed out. 

Exciting place is Supetar but the next day we really amped it up. Yes, the semi submerged submarine! 

You now know we are flat out of imagination. We'd seen so many of these in the Adriatic and would not be seen dead in one, but there it was, we'd not tried it and the kids might like it... and what the hell else is there to do here?

Descend the stairway into the hull which has large underwater windows. There were swarms of small fish as we entered and then realised they were being fed bits of bread from above...






Once we got going it was a moonscape. We counted seven tires, innumerable sea slugs, two jelly fish and nothing else at all. As Will's body language reveals, it was utterly riveting.

That's it family, we're done here. We contacted Baotic Marina to see if we could arrive a day early and miss the looming southerly. They obliged and so at 11:40 on Saturday the 1st October we embarked on the final voyage for 2016

Milna on Brac and thoughts of home....

It was the 28th September. We had chosen Baotic Marina in Togir to winter the boat. Torgir is just up the road from Split and where we were in Primosten is just a few miles north of there. So do we go north a little more and check out some recommended spots, or do we go south and do a better job of Brac. It is the third largest island in Croatia and all we'd seen was Bol and Slatni Rat the beach but it never really feels right to back track.

The trump was the wind. Things were predicted to be good until a couple of days before we were due to get back in Togir. Then a strong southerly was predicted so it would be better to be pushed north by the southerly than bash into it from the north.

At 1:20 on the 28th September, we headed south toward Milna on Brac, a place recommended by Jake and Danni and once again, a good pick.

We got placed in a great spot and the quay was ideal for skate boarding...

Have I ever told you that the job I least enjoy is getting the kid's bikes off and on to the boat. Awkward, heavy and lots of moving parts in a small space....

Warm September sunshine.

Sal popped off for a wonder, the kids for a skate and I forget what I got up to, but whatever it was, I'm sure we all enjoyed the mini break.

The kids returned with news of a supermarket, the garbage bins and a cool Wifi Cafe. Sal with; "everything is closed but will open shortly and, I have found dinner." We did then get hustled at the boat for another restaurant that also sounded good, but Sal stuck with her pick.

Sundown. Time for a promenade.

First stop was literally a 'hole in the wall' winery.... (Do you think we have a problem?) It's ancient, tiny and its harvest time. You can see the wine and skins fermenting in the open barrels, The aroma small is the place and it is all done here by people who really look the part. The taster is poured from the vat. Your choice of wine purchase is poured from the vat.

Olive oil? Right where it is made, scooped from the stone trough into your choice of bottle size.

All it was missing the table, chairs and savory plate to suit the wine but we cannot have it all all the time now can we?

Dinner was awesome. We will never know how good the other place would have been but this one would have been hard to beat.

Strange, but from what we'd heard, we were not expecting great food in Croatia. Well talk about dropping my guard, can't get enough of it.

Milna is looking a little forgotten. Even though we're at the end of the season it was more than that. We discussed staying a couple of nights but get somewhere bigger where we could hire a car and check out the rest of the island was the decision.

We've come to recognise that it's like that at this stage. The end of the season is only days away, treading water, don't want to end it but thoughts of home and all that entails beckon.

Hard to stay in the present.

Unless your a kid....

Primosten - Fond farewell and time running out

Everywhere we go in Croatia the ports are jacked, the towns are ancient modern, the place is spotless and it is expensive. Hard to get used to that bit. Primosten is no different although we did jag a wall mooring once again, the Marinero (new name for guy who works the marina) even over turned a 'Reserved' sign so we could moor.... We pleaded for a spot for the McAuliffe's but to no avail, they arrived a little later and had to be content with a buoy out in the bay which meant their dingy had to come down.....again.

Dannie found the place to eat that night and if I remember rightly, the kids got pizza and a movie while their parents went to the Mediterrani. Great pick for a restaurant, another, all be it more sedate night with our new yachting buddy's. We assume Jake was relieved he only had his family to get to bed by dingy.

There was a dingy incident however, the girls did decide to take the dingy for a spin, got half way around to the beach and the engine conked. They did manage to get it going again but it was now a long way from home... No worries, Jake will fix it! "you coming Greg?"

Only a couple of things about this spot I've not come across...

An amazing cemetery with amazing views,

bronze sculptures which I liked, shame about the lighting.

and waterside benches that are solar powered recharge stations.

Otherwise a couple more shots of the town itself although you might find yourself thinking..."haven't I seen that shot before...?"

























The McAuliffe's brought breakfast in the morning, Jake having promised to show us how to make perfect poached eggs. They also arrived with armfuls of fresh bread and pastries. Yumm and guys.

The eggs were indeed perfect and the secret.....? Well I can keep those.

By 11:00 they were gone, four very sad kids still getting the hang of saying goodbye.

Uvala Tatinja - Mooring madness and a BIG night

Only 20 miles to Uvala Tatinja on Solta, an island north west of Brac. This was where we decided to rendezvous with Jake and Dannie, Zoe and Lucas McAuliffe of the Sea Smith, the only other Aussies we have come across with kids on a boat since we began this caper.

Uvala Tatinja is a fairly well protected crack in the rocks with four buoy moorings belonging to a lone restaurant "Lonely Paradise" where if you moor you are obliged to eat.

Sal called ahead, booked two of the four buoys and dinner for four. 'Lamb under the belle', otherwise known as 'The Peka' ...... Sorted.

We arrived about an hour before the Sea Smith who had sailed from the north. A brisk wind blowing straight into the bay as we approached we were directed by the owner of the place toward the yellow buoy which looked like it was a few feet from the rocks at the crack's end and with the wind there was "no way in hell buddy".

You can see the buoys I'm talking about in this shot.

The closer we got, the more sure I was that this would not be a wise decision. We chose the red buoy one short of that and the protesting began from the shore and finger wagging at Sal from the balcony of the restaurant. I eventually put my foot down declaring "I am the captain of this boat, it is our boat not a charter and I am not putting her on that buoy"

Sal at this time feeling quite ill at the thought of attaching us to a buoy after our recent disaster at the Blue Cave managed to get us connected and we got settled to the annoyance of the owners.

The wind died down a little and the more it did the more possible that impossible buoy began to look. If we did not move then Sea Smith would not have a mooring as it was not only very close to the rocks, we were informed it would have been too shallow for their draft.

We bit the bullet and very gingerly disconnected from our buoy, pirouetted and with the wind behind us picked up the other buoy letting the breeze spin us around to face into the wind and hopefully not onto the rocks. Slowly she came around and finally settled literally 3 feet from the rocks.

I took two lines ashore off the stern so the boat was anchored on three points and would not move no matter what the wind did.

Sea Smith arrived, moored and all was good with the world but for our relationship with the owners, our dinner hosts for the evening.

The kids were united on the paddle board and on their dingy, the water out of this world, so clear.

This is off our port stern. Scary!

Parental bliss with the kids non-electronically engaged, Hendrick's (Sal's new fave tipple) and tonic, sun setting and almost time for dinner.

We were hoping our relationship with the hosts may have thawed since we ended up on the right buoy and thus proving them correct.

Such a short hop from our boats to the restaurant it was somehow decided that we use Sea Smith's dingy as it was already in the water and no need for a motor, ores would suffice.

We all went up, the food arrived and it looked the whole nine yards. The 'Peka' is an ancient Croatian feast taking hours to prepare and not to be missed.

Jake then kindly rowed the kids over to our boat where Will got them sorted with a movie and the parents were left to total and complete irresponsibility.



The manager and his wife, the finger wagger, served and entertained until the owner and his wife joined us, out came the home made poison up went the volume and the piss taking began. The owner mimicking me and my "I'm the Captain" speech, Sal mimicking the finger wagging from the balcony and all of us falling about laughing when Dannie disappeared?? Jake becoming anxious went and found her. It seemed the home made tipple had tippled her over the edge.

This was when Jake the total hero saved the day. Rowing Dannie home and putting her to bed. Then over to our boat to put our kids to bed, collect his kids, row them back to his boat putting them to bed and finally, a good few shots and much laughter later coming to collect a very unsteady Sally and Gregory, rowing us back to our boat and almost having to put us to bed then finally home to bed himself. What a hoooot!

A slow start the following day had us on a three and a half hour sail north to a mainland port of Primosten for one more night with the McAuliffe's

Bol on Brac and Zlatni Rat

Seven miles. You could swim it so we left Vbroska at 1:30 and slime lined into Bol at 2:40. Hard to get comfortable in Bol harbour because it is totally open to the sea. A south west wind and its all over, not to mention the catamaran ferry the powers right across the face sending in a fat swell. A really helpful guy assisted our docking and assured me that all would be fine. It was.

Bol is as we have come to expect of Croatian towns so you get that, what Bol is about is the stone and Europe's 3rd best beach.


The promenades, the buildings, the sculptures, the sea wall are all made of the same stone. It is hard but doesn't feel it and blemish free. It makes everything look like it is freshly scrubbed.

Even the local wine label pays homage to the stone... although its kinda hard to read.

No matter, it will always be recognisable.








....and then there is Zlatni Rat, the beach... Voted Europe's 3rd best beach, as an opinionated Australian when it comes to beaches, it's hard to imagine this beach would come anywhere near your average Australian beach.

A beautiful tree covered smooth paved 4km ride, so smooth that I towed the kids all the way on their skate boards waving and smiling as we went like a couple of little rock stars.

A weird geographical phenomenon the beach stretches 500m straight out into the sea. It is made of small smooth pebbles, the water is crystal clear, cool and inviting.

For seating there are choices:
Bring your own mat.
Hire a sun bed and brolly.
Sit at a raised table with tall chairs.
Drag a huge bean bag to a short table.
Find a couch in the shade of a rockin' bar.

The beach is huge and uncrowded, the bean bags came from a place with a DJ with great taste and for the kids there was the most amazing water park.

We all agreed that despite our Australian attitude to European beaches, this experience would be hard to beat anywhere.

Brac is one of the largest islands in Croatia so we had planned to sail to a few towns and anchorages, hire a car and explore but then we were contacted by Jake and Dannie our Ausie mates on the Sea Smith with kids..

Brac will wait. We decided to meet them at Uvala Tatinja, an anchorage on Solta Island 20 miles away. It was a great decision although not a very healthy one...