Week Sailing in Croatia

[Troy]

Neither wife nor I have ever been sailing and so we jumped at the chance of something new when it presented itself. Having been cooped over for a year now, since our return from Thailand, we needed some space and this was an ideal opportunity. We planned the holiday with another couple who had been sailing before. The husband was a qualified skipper and the wife had been on a monohull in the Atlantic but was horribly ill and didn't fancy it again. This paved the way for a week on a 42' catamaran with a hired captain and hostess.

Initially, the plan was to drive down to Trogir, as it is only a day's drive away from Munich, but the Covid restrictions put a stop to that and we decided to fly instead. The biggest problem with booking the holiday ended up being the rigmarole of getting PCR tests and the entry forms.

Flight was just over an hour but we went from wind and rain to sunny blue skies making it feel like we'd crossed half the world. The airport at Split is quite small and located only 10 minutes or so away from Trogir Marina.

I found a map on the internet of the area to make it easier...



The boat rental is from 17:00 Saturday to 09:00 the following Saturday. There is a possibility to get the boat earlier but it costs...

We didn't plan a route beforehand, left it to the captain to decide depending on the wind conditions. Actually, I'm not sure where we went exactly, I'll have to look it up as we go along. Main thing was to try and sail as much as possible rather than using the engines.

Anyway, here's the boat...



Barney Rubble heading for trouble...

There are two good sized cabins in each hull with smaller, triangular, bunks in the front portion. Since there were only the two couples the skipper and hostess had good cabins and the front ones were used to store the luggage. Two women need lots of luggage even for just a week!

This is our rear cabin...


There was a small wardrobe and cupboard for clothes and an en suite bathroom. The difference between the rear and forward cabins was the bathroom. The rear ones had a toilet, sink and separate shower. The forward ones don't have the separate shower and you have to use the space in front of the sink. I thought it was comfortable enough and there is a massive amount of space when comparing to a monohull.



Steering position is good and sailing is set up for one man use although it is a lot easier with two. I forgot to take a photo with it all powered up so you can see the map and GPS. There is also an autopilot to maintain heading, which is convenient when setting the sails.



Easier enough for the wife to sail and use the phone without hitting anything.

[Troy]

As I mentioned, we picked up the boat at 17:00 and used the engines to motor out of Trogir to find a nice restaurant by the sea. The first thing that struck me was how close you can park one of these to the shore.



Out with the dinghy and off to dinner...



Good food and a lovely calm sea made it a very good night's sleep.

The next day brought enough wind to sail all morning. We managed 6 - 7 knots with a 12-18 knot wind. However, wifey made a mistake by popping to the loo downstairs while we were crossing the waves. She ended up feeling ill much of the morning and we switched to the engines to calm her down a bit.



So, while the men wanted to be sailing like a monohull, the women would have cut the trip very short indeed. The catamaran is a lot more stable and after the first day Mrs Troy was feeling much better and wasn't ill again for the rest of the trip.

Getting her to start fishing might have had something to do with it...



I've only processed a handful of photos so far. I'll put some more up when I get time during the next week or so....

...I'll end with a butterfly that joined us on our trip, aptly named a White Admiral...

[havnfun]

That looks fantastic, except for the boring lilly white legged bloke reading a book LOL, Just joking, Looks like it was a "great escape", and a nice place to be, Grats.

[Joe 90]

That butterfly is a good omen mate.

Looks like a fantastic trip, very jealous.

Did you get sea sick?

What did you catch?

Thanks for sharing.

[Saint Willy]

Looks fantastic, what was the approx cost for a week to charter?

[hallelujah]

A beautiful part of the world.

[naptownmike]

That looks like a great experience.

[Backspin]

Croatia was my favorite country before discovering Thailand. The atmosphere around the med is tough to beat. It's cheap too but that was 2004 when I was there

[hallelujah]

The atmosphere around the med is tough to beat. It's cheap too but that was 2004 when I was there

True dat. Play your cards right and it can still be done at a reasonable cost while getting the very most out of the local experience.

[HuangLao]

A beautiful part of the world.

Indeed it is.
The Dalmatian coastline is renowned to be one of the most spectacular, drawing yachties from all over - most fashionable for the last generation or two.

[hallelujah]

Indeed it is.
The Dalmatian coastline is renowned to be one of the most spectacular, drawing yachties from all over - most fashionable for the last generation or two.

And as if that's not enough, the ladies are absolutely stunning too.

[Edmond]

#movingtoCroatia

[Troy]

Did you get sea sick?

What did you catch?

Only the wife was sick, and only for the first day, she stopped taking sea sickness tablets on day 3. The boat is stable and the sea was pretty calm most of the time. The maximum wind speed we had when sailing was just over 20 knots and we didn't even need to drop to first reef. I have never been sea sick although I was a little queasy going to the Isles of Scilly many years ago (that can be a rough ride on a small fishing boat!)

Didn't catch any fish but had a lot of fun trying...

Looks fantastic, what was the approx cost for a week to charter?

We took a 2020 Lagoon 42 charter with water maker for €5000 with additional costs for skipper, hostess, fuel and mooring fees. Mooring fees can be expensive at the marinas but we were moored on buoys and anchor, which is much cheaper. Obviously it's much cheaper if you share between 3 or 4 couples rather than just the two. Plenty of choice of monohull and catamaran and different sizes depending on your needs.

Anyway, second day was moored on a buoy at Vis Harbour (island on the bottom left on the map).



This is the marina, but we took a buoy similar to this Bali and used the dinghy to get to shore for some fresh supplies.



Nice and calm water here rather than on the Marina, which is close to the ferry port.

We tucked in the corner close to the church.

[Troy]

A couple more days sailing and then we were warned of some strong Northerly winds during the night so we moored in a southern bay on Paklinski, walking distance from Marina Palmizani. Our catamaran was dwarfed by the catamarans and motor yachts that arrived during the evening...



Several restaurants and bars in the bay



Some big motor yachts sheltering too ...



...and plenty taking shelter for the night.



This is Marina Palmizana with the entrance on the North side of the island. The winds and waves had picked up quite a bit by the time we walked over and there were a few boats having some fun getting to the harbour entrance.

[Saint Willy]

So basically the same price as almost 20 years ago… Bargain! And as you say, sharing can reduce costs. Thanks for posting. There’s some beautiful scenery there.

[thailazer]

Looks like you were on a Lagoon 410. Great boat, and I've chartered those in the BVI a few times in a past life. Sailing is always good fun, and you have some great photos.

[panama hat]

Simply stunning . . . and a very interesting part of Europe - I'm surprised you didn't mention the fantastic Croatian cuisine!


My brother and his wife did a 10-day trip like yours for their 15th wedding anniversary - flew from Germany to Brisbane and then sailed the Great Barrier Reef with crew . . . (idiocy is that they are both vegetarians . . . all that lovely seafoooooooood!)

Just dreamy

[AntRobertson]

Very nice!

Croatia isn't the first place that comes to my mind when I think sailing but that shows what I know I suppose.

[cyrille]

you didn't mention the fantastic Croatian cuisine!

'Yummy', by any chance?

Just dreamy

Umm...

Looks like a fantastic break, Troy.

Just don't tell the missus she's got a nice tan, eh? I don't make that mistake anymore.

[Switch]

An excellent travel thread Troy. Thanks for sharing.

[Troy]

A couple more places to show ...



This is Hvar from the sea with the medieval castle on the left and the later (Napolean) one on top of the hill on the right. We passed by and moored on a buoy in the next bay and took the dinghy to look around the town in the afternoon.



Took a taxi to the medieval castle and walked back into town from there. Great weather every day and not too many people because of Covid making it a really nice trip.



This is the town end of the Marina...



...and this is the other end of the promenade looking back towards the castle. The waves were pretty choppy in the Marina as the wind picked up towards the evening but it was much calmer in the cove where we stayed.



The next place is Milna on the island of Brac, which is one of the oldest towns in Europe...



Lovely place



and back to Trogir, which is also worth a visit.



Lots of little back streets inside the walled town and full of restaurants.



Oh! and every other shop is an ice cream parlour...



We took a ride into Split on the last evening for dinner, which was nice. Lots of people out having some fun on a Friday night and it was easy to forget about Covid.

We had an excellent week and it is well worth a visit. Covid meant it was not too crowded and early June meant it was not too hot and there was some wind for the sails.

[Klondyke]

This is Hvar from the sea with the medieval castle on the left and the later (Napolean)

Do they still advertise in Hvar that there is (almost) no rain on the island? Otherwise they would return the cost of the sojourn...

That was advertised 50 years ago when I was there on one-day trip from Split. Actually, it did not rain that day.
Almost all tourists on the overfilled boat with us were sea-sick, unlike my pregnant wife enjoying the sailing... (perhaps being pregnant is a good precaution against sea-sickness?)

[cyrille]

Great way to travel that area.

[Edmond]

Damn that look nice.