Croatia National Parks and heading south

Photos:

Matelot in Zaton
Our American Friends Denis and Roxan in our anchorage at Skradin
Richard looking very trim
...many others....

Am blogging from on board Matelot on roaming so had better log off!....


Monday 1 September 2008

Croatia – Pag to Jacinovo via Velebitski Channel

We take until 3.00 pm to depart Pag – shopping for some provisions and catching up on internet although we still have the feeling that our internet connection was very rushed and we did not contact everyone we wanted to. However, the blog is updated.

Pag is famous for its cheese made from ewe’s milk and for the sea salt produced here. We stock up on both plus some fresh meat from the butcher – our first stock up since we left Isola.

Today we motor out of Pag harbour as there is absolutely no wind – not a breath. The stillness combined with the amazing lunar landscape make for some incredible photo opportunities as the soaring cliffs and peaks towering over us are mirrored in the sea below. Our Sony DSC-W50 is a fantastic camera but a wide angle lens would have been able to capture the stark grandeur of our surroundings in better perspective. The memory of motoring out through the headland and back into the Velebitski Channel will be stamped in our minds forever. The different shades of brown bare hills – scraped clean by the winds which normally howl through here, the wind generating turbines sitting on top of the ridge to our starboard, gently ticking over when normally they would be frenzied. We are alone on this stretch of water today. We have read that between October and March this stretch of water is the most dangerous in the world. We are awed by our surroundings.

We motor the approx 18 NM south until it is time for us to turn to starboard, leave the Velebitski and pass under a high bridge between two headlands, to an almost landlocked sea called Ljubacki Zaljev which cuts Pag off from the mainland. The bridge is 30 meters high and although we look up all the specs on Matelot we cannot find out how tall the mast is. We feel sure that it is not that tall, so we go ahead. The opening is very narrow and we can feel the current pulling at the hull as we enter the canal. Some people stop their car high above to watch us go under and wave to us. As we pass underneath we can see a windblasted tumbled down ruin of an ancient castle on the hill to our starboard but we cannot stop and admire it.

We have chosen an anchorage from our reference book called 777 Harbours and Anchorages and we are still motoring an hour later when we turn to port into our anchorage half way across this expanse of water. It is called Jasenovo. Off to port there is a low, barren looking islet with a solitary stone building on it – a very old church complete with bell tower, stone walls and olive trees in the garden surrounding it. We wonder how people come to church here in this isolated place. We have seen one other yacht all day – going the other way – and we are alone again on this anchorage. It is so very still, punctuated by the seabirds calling, and our own noises on the boat. We dine outside in the cockpit and sit there until the light fades, watching the mountains which are some distance away now, change colour and gradually fade into darkness. As night falls we both tuck up into bed around 9pm and despite not feeling tired, we are both quickly asleep.

Tuesday 2 Sept 2008

The hatch over our head lets in the first light of day, with a light sprinkle of rain. We are soon up to catch the breeze we can see in the flags above (We have 5 flags on our port side flag halyard – RNZYS (Royal NZ Yacht Squadron), SSANZ (Short Handed Sailing Association of NZ), the Rebel Rouser drinking flag, Isola Marina and Venice). On the starboard side we carry the flag of the country we are visiting, in this case Croatia. We have a large New Zealand flag flying on our stern.

It is cooler this morning and we have our sweatshirts on for the first time. We are heading south towards Zadar but are in no hurry so have the sails up to catch whatever comes our way. We motor clear of the islands and are soon sailing on the wind in a light 6 knot true wind, making around 5.5 knots boat speed. Dolphins appear both to port and stbd and we see fish working up ahead. The bimini is folded back for the first time as we are sailing under cloud cover. There are still no other yachts in sight – just a few fishing boats here and there and we suspect we can see a group in the distance dynamiting for fish as there are lots of puffs of smoke where they are working. We hope our dolphins are not heading that way.

We lay right across towards the islands of Sestrunj and Molat and then take another long board back towards the Zadarski Kanal (channel). Somehow the day slips by and at some stage the sun comes out and the wind freshens. By 4 pm we are laying down through the passage between the mainland and Ugljan and Pasman, passing by Zadar and Biograd to our port. We stop briefly at Sukosan Marina to fuel up, add water and buy our ticket for Kornati National Park. We would like to stay and explore Zadar and Biograd as there is a lot of history in this area, but time is limited and we need to move on. We need to be in Greece by early October. We once again follow our 777 book and discover an amazing anchorage right on the south eastern tip of Pasman Island. It is a tiny lagoon with deep water and sloping rocky shores. We drop our anchor and then reverse up and take a line ashore as we do not have much swinging room in here. Once again, we have it all to ourselves, except for the wasps which have gone to bed by the time we have our dinner outside.

Wednesday 3 September 2008

The weather report is okay for today but by tomorrow will be deteriorating with SE wind strengthening and will stay that way for the following 3 days until Sunday. It looks like there is a bit of a blow on the way, maybe the much talked about Sirrocco. Despite this, we decide to head out to Kornati National Park right on the western side of the Croatian Archipeligo because we do not want to miss it. We depart early and eat breakfast on the way.

We take the whole day sailing up the eastern side of Kornati with the island of Zut to starboard, passing through the narrow shallow passage on the northern end going west around 2 pm. We can see much more wind up ahead on the outside or western side and are not disappointed when we find the wind suddenly freshens and we roll in the gib a little. For a while, we are flying. However, soon we are motoring again south east (right on the nose) down the outside through barren looking remote islands, past wild and rugged sheer faced cliffs which are spectacular to view with the sea crashing up against them.

We read that once these islands were covered in forest - about shepherds in the 17th century who burnt off the forest to make pasture for their sheep and the accidental forest fire which destroyed all the vegetation and burned for more than 40 days.

There are 220 sq km in the Kornati National Park, less than one quarter of that being land, the remainder ocean. 89 islands provide 238 km of coastline.

We find a passage SE into a more sheltered bay starting to think about where we will spend the night. We investigate several anchorages but find none of them very satisfactory and are just about to depart Kornati and head east when we settle on a piece of flat water surrounded by islands, including Otok Ravni Zakan. It is a great spot and we relax and swim in the crystal clear water and enjoy our evening there, amongst 5 or 6 other yachts. The wind is howling overhead.

The Park Ranger pays us a visit and clips our 24 hour pass, so that is that – we must leave tomorrow – we were planning on moving on anyway. The 24 hour pass has cost us 250 Kuna (approx Euro 35)! If we had not stopped and purchased it in advance we could have purchased one from the Park Ranger at a cost of 400 Kuna…

Thursday 4 September

Overnight the wind comes up and sleep is not that easy with the boat noises. The morning dawns and the wind is howling. The forecast says 8-18 knots. We set up the No 1 reef in the main and head out from the protection of the Kornati Islands. We want to be back on the mainland by tonight as our next stop is Krka National Park. We have a fairly boisterous sail across to Sibenik in winds reaching 29-30 knots at times. Matelot as usual performs extremely well. Today it is like Picadilly Circus out here. We have never seen so many yachts out but do note that we are the only ones sailing on the wind. Everyone else seems to be going the other way. What do they know that we haven’t twigged to yet?

Sibenik is on the mainland nestled behind the protective islands of Sepurine and Zlarin. It is set on the Krka River and is accessed via a natural canal which we enter with some relief as we are soaked to the skin by the time we arrive. It is good to be on flat water again and the canal a natural haven which opens out into the large harbour in front of Sibenik. Unfortunately the wind is again doing its worst in here and we have to stop and pick up some tickets for the Krka Falls. Our first attempt at berthing on the town quay is quickly aborted as the wind blows Matelot sideways on to the concrete wall in a matter of seconds. We are saved by several burly bystanders who push us off and barely miss having a steel mooring ring rammed through one of the flush windows in the hull. Our nerves are rattled and we head for the marina at the head of the bay, berthing without problem and with some relief. This is our first marina since we left Isola and we make full use of the facilities!

Friday 5 September

Richard has a few aching muscles this morning, not surprising considering yesterday’s activities, so we decide to catch the bus into Sibenik to do some shopping. We have a great morning at the excellent outdoor food markets, buying some wonderful smoked ham – see photo – and a garland of dried figs and laurel leaves. The fruit and vegetables are fantastic and not expensive and there is olive oil packed into recycled soft drink bottles for sale everywhere.

The old town is very interesting dating back to Roman times and before. It has been repeatedly invaded over the centuries, most recently by the Serbs in 1991 – the country of Croatia was not liberated until 1995. By midday Richard is not feeling great and seems to have a gastric complaint, so we decide to book in here for another night as the SE wind is still howling up the harbour without any sign of easing at this stage. The boat has had the once over with lots of small maintenance jobs being completed, plus a good hose down, so we are feeling ready to move on the next morning.

Saturday 6 September

Our destination today is further up the Krka River to the town of Skradin and the Krka Falls. We are not sure what to expect but have been told it is well worth a visit so we are off the marina by 11.00am and motoring the further 8 NM up river. It is an interesting trip as we pass under bridge and sight the small town of Zaton on a fork off to the left. We will visit that one on the way back. The river widens out into another very large harbour which we cross and take a further winding course a few more miles, pass under another bridge and suddenly we are in the small town of Skradin. This is as far as we can go in Matelot and we anchor across the harbour close to an American Southerly 11 metre yacht in an idyllic spot surrounded by greenery, rushes and flat calm emerald green water, complete with white swans. We are ready for our swim by then and do not hold back. The water is quite warm in a layer below the surface in some patches and not too salty. We decide we are anchored over a hot spring.

We don’t waste too much time as want to get on a ferry and up to the Krka Falls this afternoon. We time it right as we tie up the dinghy on the town wall – there is a ferry leaving. It takes a further half an hour of travelling up river before we are dropped at a landing and walk to the falls. It is quite a surprise to find the immense size of the waterway which tumbles over high cliffs and finds its way down the valley in a series of steps with falls at each one – a total of 8 falls, dropping 49 meters. We walk for 2km and at every turn there is yet another emerald green large pond, teaming with fish, overgrown with vegetation down to the water’s edge and lots of plants growing out of the water too. We read that the species of plants, reptiles, birds and animals which live here are numerous, many of them threatened, including several types of tortoise, snakes, wolves and otters. Some of the plants which occur naturally here – wild iris, campanula, viola – the list is endless, are plants we cultivate in our gardens in NZ. It is like a garden of Eden and we can truly recommend this place.

We get to know our neighbours Denis and Roxanne on the boat near to us and have a very pleasant time on Sunday catching up with them first of all on our boat and then on theirs! The day drifts by and we are enjoying this very much.

Monday 8 September

Regretfully we both know we must leave Skradin. It has been an idyllic anchorage and we will come back here for sure.

We motor out around 10.00 am bidding farewell to our friends – we will catch up with them in the next town of Zaton on the way back to Sibenik. We anchor mid stream in the small blind end of an inlet and visit this sleepy little town with a mission to find the group of men sitting under trees drinking schnaps. That is where we are told we will find the good olive oil for sale. We are not disappointed and are offered a shot glass of oil to taste! We manage a sip each and enjoy the distinct fresh taste with peppery after tones. We take 1 litre in a recycled glass bottle and some fresh bread then decide we will not stay as the wind is now blowing fairly fresh from the NE and will blow us easily to our next destination further south - Split.

We have yet another amazing sail. This time we are having a broad reach in a NW 18 knot breeze and our wake stretches out behind us as we skim easily southwards. Eventually we manage a very controlled gibe and head south east into Split, but it is getting dark, so we stop and anchor in a small sheltered bay 10 NM short of our destination. The hills around us are a patchwork of small stone walls which are probably centuries old and we wonder at the effort it must have taken to place each stone and at the same time clear the rocky unforgiving ground for some sort of cultivation.