Getting a taste

We were very lucky to be invited by our friend Zeljko, from the Croatian Yachting team around to his family home again where his wife and himself cooked us an amazing meal of Traditional BBQ (no gas-we had to cut the wood and have a few home brewed wines watching it burn down)pork, beef and fish along with Octopus which Shelly wasn't that keen on. He then took us up to the look out point at the highest point of the Hills looking over Split which was amazing. We are blown away by him and his Families Hospitality.

After many a day waiting for some form of work to be completed there came a time when we had to leave the marina. OK, we had paid for the Month and the month was up and so we had to get out of Dodge so to speak. :)
The Watermaker and Solar Panels are all up and running and doing everything I had hoped for with 50 litres of Fresh Water being made an hour from the water maker, and the Solar Panels when we tested them on a cloudy day, returning 16 amps.

                             The Echotec Watermaker, neatly installed under the front Berth.

We have had some 'teething' issues with some of the gear on board along the way as can be expected and now the Computer for the Electronic Nav Gear needs replacing amongst a couple of other things and won't be here for a few days. So the decision was made to get out and spend some time around the beautiful Islands of the Croatian Coast and go back to Karstela when they arrive.

I put the Gennaker in the sock this morning and test flew that in the Marina and can't wait to give that a good airing. The weather was great and we had a good sail out to Milna and anchored close in and had a quick bite to eat. Another check on the weather and we decided to move to another bay a bit more sheltered from the South Easterly that was predicted to come up through the night.

We picked a little bay where we could get close in and had plenty of depth and had Dinner on the back of the boat and watched the sun go down.

Looking forward to getting out to Hvar tomorrow and getting that Gennaker up!

All dressed up and no where to go

We have been living on the boat at Karstela Marina for 4 days now and the work is slowly progressing on the Solar panel support and the Bimini and Spray Dodger. The water maker is on board but still in parts, hopefully it  should be in and working  by the weekend.
We had to rerun the 2nd reefing line with another this morning as the one supplied from Germany was around a metre short and we couldn't get the main all the way up when I tried to the other day.
Falshator is ready for her maiden sail but we are pinned in at the Marina as the weather is not playing party. Its been blowing 40 plus knots here the last day or so and we had wicked thunder storms last night, the forecast is for more of the same tomorrow, so looks like the inaugral sail is on hold for a bit. Even though we are held securely by the four corner bollards, we are at present sitting on a 10 plus degree list just from the windage on the bare Mast and the Lazy Bags and the howling noise from the wind through all the Marina Yachts rigging is not exactly soothing. But thats all part of the game! :)

We have enjoyed the time aboard and have spent the last few days just getting to know the boats systems and Shelly has enjoyed playing house and setting her up.
When the box turned up from New Zealand and we moved the stuff from the Apartment out to the boat, we both wondered where the hell everything was going to go, but she has swallowed up everything with ease and there is still plenty of empty voids.  We have been down shopping for more odds and ends and getting her set up they way we want her inside.
I'm impressed by how much stowage there is on board and anticipate that when it comes to the longer legs, there will be plenty of room for supplies.

Below are a few shots of the inside

Zeljko, one of the Croatian Yachting team, took us for a tour of Salona and we ended up at his house in Klis. We met his family and had special treats of home made Smoked meats and Anchovies and Capers in his own Olive Oil, all washed down with his home made wine which was superb. He also makes his own Whiskey and Liquers, a talent handed down by his Father and from generations prior. The family have lived in the same family home for over 500 years and it just oozes History.
He gave us a couple of bottles directly out of one of his Barrels and we will leave them for  a special occasion.
His wife has offered to cook us some Octopus, which Im dying to try but Shellys not that keen for some reason :)

The old shopping bag on wheels! Ideal for walking back with supplies from the local. :)

Day tripping

The weekend came upon us and there is still not a lot happening on the boat due to items that still haven't turned up. (I think it would have been quicker to mount the outboard to our box of personal goods and motor it up here myself!)
So we decided to get out of Split and see some sights.
The Fortress of Klis is an amazing castle/Fortress that was built originally in the BC era. It is situated on a high ridge way up in the mountain ranges with 360 deg views taking in Split and the Sea area around it and all areas coming into Split by land as well.
How they built this is beyond belief as it is on a very narrow ridge and has sheer drops all round. It had been a sight of numerous take overs, especially by the Turks. The French even had their flag there for a bit, but now rests firmly in Croatian hands. Could not get over how we were so high up on a ridge there and there were water wells everywhere.
It now has a thriving community built below it on the slopes and is well worth a visit.

                   Sitting on one of the wells!


From there, we drove some 2 hrs up to Krka National Park which has the pictureous Waterfalls that they used for Milling flour and the Mills still stand and are part of the park attractions. It dates back to the Roman era who established a Military camp there. It was also the place of the first Hydro station back in 1895 generating power so Sibenik had power before many other European Cities did.
The stairs to the top which are a sight of their own, were a challenge for us not being in exactly tip top fitness, but we managed it without any heart attacks. Another great place to see, and the drive back through the country was interesting to see how people out there live their lives.

She's in the water!

Finally today we got the boat into the water! After all the waiting around, the crane arrived and we had very little time to paint the remaining hull spots where the supports had been with anti foul. The boat was lifted off the supports and it was a flurry of action. Shelly performed the ceremony with the breaking of the Bottle of Champers (which we had brought all the way from NZ, compliments of friends Robyn and Stuart) and a little speech. Then she was in the water with Vicko on board starting the engine. He stopped momentarily and waved his hands around frantically, then disappeared down stairs. A crease of the old worry line developed on my forrid, but then he came up with a beaming smile yelling in his broken english - "Its Ok, No leaks!"
He proceeded to drive Falshator out of the crane dock and turn her around and bring her in Bow in. In another flurry of action, the Mast was wheeled up beside the boat, a sling wrapped around it and within 5 mins the mast was in.
Shelly handed me another Bottle of the fizzy stuff with which I climbed on board, popped the cork and spilled some over Falshators Port and Starboard forward sides, -another thing we had to do according to Google. Then everyone on board including the Mast boys had a celebratory drink to the new boat.
We then had discussions with local Contractors on building the Solar Panel support off my drawings. Its proving to be a bit of a challenge with the language barrier and the fact that they hadn't built anything like it before. The area caters for the huge Charter business, so no need for Solar Panels and Water makers. Which by the way there is still no sign of the water maker or our Box with the Solar panels in it. We just have to adapt the Split philosophy on this- Hey, no stress, it will happen!

Ok, back to my pizza and the $3.00 bottle of red wine :)