We are back in the fjord but exploring a bit we didn't visit last time. Herceg Novi is a busy resort area with an interesting old town to explore.
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Today we left Croatia and sailed back to Montenegro. It was only a short hop , About 17 miles.
Our last night in Croatia was quite exciting. We were anchored near Cavtat and at about 8pm we had a sudden wind squall of about 35 knots. There were 6 or 8 yachts at anchor and many began to drag their anchors. We had a large catamaran drag down on us, the skipper got his engine going with about a metre to spare before he hit our bow. One boat dragged onto the rocks, the owners were ashore. We sat tight and after an hour the wind just stopped and we then had a calm night. The boat on the rocks got rescued all be it with some nasty scraps along the side. We have been having some problems with our engine getting too hot and so our task when we arrived back in Montenegro was to find a mechanic to help us. When we went to check in on arrival I asked the officials if they knew anyone. One of them called a local boat yard who came around in their boat, took us back to their place, fixed the problem and said we could stay in their dock for the night, all for 100 euros. When you consider the local marinas charge 40 to 60 euros a night it all worked out well. We like Montenegro. Our time in Croatia is almost over, we leave in the morning back to Montenegro then a few days later on to Corfu Greece.
Croatia has been a mixed bag for us, some great places but also some less great. The weather has also been mixed with lots of rainy windy days and even thunder storns. Right now we have thunder and lightening and heavy rain. Very glad we came to experience a bit of Croatia. The first anchorage was at Malo Lago. An abandoned navy base complete with old crumbling buildings, a network of tunnels in the hills and even a submarine bunker. A very sheltered anchorage and our favourite so far. The second was at Skrivelna Luke. Not much to see and very windy. We anchored near the little marina and spent the day watching the charter boats crashing into each other in their attempts to dock. We are sitting in the marina in harbour of Milna on the island of Brac, Croatia. All day it has been blowing 35 knots gusting 50. We are all lined up stern to the dock Med style which means a line off your bow attached to a big concrete block on the bottom and lines off your stern attached to the dock. The wind is coming side on so we are healing over quite enthusiasticly to each big gust. There is also a comforting howling and banging of the wind whistling through all the rigging.
Our solution to this was to triple secure the boat to the dock, tie down anything that might blow loose then hire a car and bugger off for the day. An interesting drive though I will confess a highlight of our day out was to come accross a Lidl supermarket. It's evening now and still blowing like .... alot. The boat is covered in fine red sand (they call it a Sahara wind) however it is forecast to drop overnight. I hope so as we may fall out of bed if this keeps up. On the bright side we are in a marina and not out sailing in this so very happy about that. I took the following photo to illistrate the scene but it turns out trying to take a photo of wind is not entirely sucessful due to its somewhat invisible nature. You may just have to apply your imagination. The forecast for the next few days is a bit stormy with winds up to 50 knots. So we have made a rare visit to a marina to get some shelter and do some land time. We are in the town of Milna on the island of Brac. Apparently the Romans used to keep their ships here (in the olden days) due to the excellent shelter. Here are some photos of our recent travels.
We have been having a bit of weather over the last few days with more forecast. Strong SE winds with lots of rain and thunder storms. A bit exciting. We have come to the town of Vela Luka on the town wall, our first night of paid parking since we arrived in Croatia. The forscast is a bit windy overnight.
We have been island hopping slowly heading north through the many islands along the coast. We are seeing more boats the further north we go, many of them charter yachts. In many places you have to pay even to anchor but so far we have not had to pay partly because we like to choose out of the way anchorages and a couple of times because we were away from the boat when the fee collecting man came around. The forecast for the next week or so is not so good with strong SE winds and some rain. Time to get the playing cards out. We sailed up yesterday to Cavtat where you clear in through customs etc. The officials here have a reputation for being a bit grumpy but they were very helpful and friendly.
Cavtat is only 5 miles from Dubrovnik so we got the bus in this morning for a look around. A very beautiful old walled city but jam packed solid with tourists (like us). Now we are anchored near a wee island just out from the city, probably stay here tonight and then head north a bit This morning I went back to the dentist. I had to have 3 roots removed from a back molar. I have to go back tomorrow to finish off. Overall not too bad and quite cheap. I can recommend Montenegrin dentistry for anyone needing major work done.
After I finish with the dentist tomorrow we will make tracks for Croatia, probably leave Friday morning. We will come back through on our way back to Greece in a month's time. |
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October 2019
CategoriesWelcomeCheck out what we have been up to lately. Most of it is even true. |