It’s Time to Sail – We’ve Had the BEST Time In Split

The Adriatic waters are bath warm and have been nudging 30 degrees.   The cicadas have been beating out their rhythmic ticking and musical song daily, from dawn to dusk,  accompanying the brightly hued sunrises and sunsets that deliver our visual postcards which are banked into our memories.  We have quite simply, been having the best of times – but again it’s time to set sail.

For the first time ever we have hosted and shared our live aboard life with friends.  Ann, Rich and Alex hail from England and we’ve had a wonderful week for all the right reasons.  They  were our first live-aboard guests and did a sterling job crewing and sailing for a week.  It was extra special because it was a celebration for 16 year old Alex passing his final GCSE exams.  Live-aboard days are simple consisting of jumping off the bow, snorkeling countless times a day, meaty burek with cold beer, and fruity cider-ish evenings. All peppered or course with lots of chat and laughter.  We sat out a squall and walked an ancient wall, visited an old village and enjoyed the texture that having guests, introducing them to other sailing friends, and sharing brings.  They toured some Game of Thrones venues and taught me a new card game – “President”. 

Of course, whenever there are guests we get to share music and it was a joy to receive some well considered music from our guests, which always also provides the chance to share some good ol’ kiwi classics which of course included some “Hello Sailor” which is appropriate for kiwi’s who cruise.

For our girl Waiata it was somewhat of a home-coming, seeing as Split was her first home port and where she came from when she was delivered to us. She has had the best time cruising in these aqua waters and performed well in every respect – including her power and water making prowess that have been part of her upgrading since we bought her.   Now Sailing Waiata is four years old and of course, she has a much different name to what she had back then. 

After cruising this part of the Adriatic, it’s time to lift the anchor, raise the sail and wave farewell to Split. Fittingly, we sail past the magnificent palm tree fronted government building that houses the Croatian Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, a scientific institution established for the investigation of the sea. For more than seventy years they have  conducted scientific research with a view to every aspect of the sea and contribute to the European global ocean observing system.   The fabulous building has captured my gaze on every occasion that we’ve passed it and the photo probably doesn’t do it credit.

… And as we passed right on queue, one of her research  vessels sailed by.  They do good work. Work for the future. Research for the benefit and health of oceans for future generations. Applause for them!

So today we start our sail south again, taking our time as we jaunt around the islands heading down toward Dubrovnik. The Inter-island ferries dash to and fro at high speed and we have a glorious sail south with some wing on wing downwind sailing – some of our UK sailing friends call this a ‘goose wing’s.

We had planned to spend the night in Pusisca which as you can see from this video was a peaceful and pretty location. We anchored, swam and enjoyed the pleasant cove …

… that was until an un-forecast wind came up at a rapid rate of knots and we hurriedly upped anchor and sailed around to the bottom south eastern corner of Brač for respite.

So we enjoyed a rapidly setting sun as we raced to our next safe harbour, where we managed to anchor just before dark. Where did we go to next? Read my next blog.