Greek Islands here we come!

Arriving at Montenegro, we motored up the Estuary to Kotor which seemed to take an eternity. The Estuary/Harbour is one of the biggest in Europe. On the way through, you can see old Submarine enclosures that are dug into the surrounding Hills, remnants from a previous era.

The Port Authorities at Kotor were the best we have dealt with to date and were very welcoming, we even stayed tied up to the main Wharf there longer than we should have but no one seemed to mind.

Kotor is situated right at the end of the Estuary/Harbour and is surrounded by steep high hills and I could see remnants of some remaining snow on one of the highest points. I’d say it must get bitter here in the Winter and the Bora wind comes down off the Hill sometimes reaching speeds over 200 km/h. We anchored overnight just in front of a derelict Hotel (Hotel Fiord) which looks like it was built around the time just prior to the civil war in the 1990s, The timing could not have been worst for the new venture and it was a shame to see it in the state it was. Someone had put a lot of thought into it with Tennis Courts and nice grounds at one stage.

The next day we motored out and went to Bar which is further south. We arrived at the Marina there and what is becoming a common theme, no one answered the VHF. We finally got hold of someone off a phone number after circling around for a while and got tied up for the night.

Bar had an area on the Foreshore for Families to come, eat and play and it was good to see so many people there using it. There were Families everywhere and the facilities were great, especially for the Kids.

We left Bar, heading for Corfu on our first decent long trip which would take us 26 hrs. Along the way we had some fun when just off the Albanian Coast at the closest point (5 NM) around midnight on a Moonless dark night, we lost our depth data and the alarms were going off every 45 secs. Then the Auto pilot played up and was out 30 degrees which had us heading towards land. On top of  that the Shallow Water alarm started to sound. By my reckoning we were in 450 meters of water and 5 miles off the shore, but being so dark uncertainty entered my head and I shot down below to take a fix on where we were on the Chart just to check we were we I thought we were.

Then Shelly yelled out that according to the AIS there was a ship in front of us,  it gave me details of a large tonnage ship directly in front of us. Bloody Hell, all this going on and now we are going to get run down by a massive ship that we couldn’t even see! Turned out it was a yacht called Tainui from Australia which we called up on the VHF and they were just on the inside of us and confirmed also our position. All was correct so we set the course and continued on steering off the Boat Compass and taking Hand held GPS coordinates to back up occasionally. Then the auto pilot and depth data came back on line on their own for some reason. Technology can be a good thing but can’t be relied upon.

We reached Corfu at 10 am and the common theme of the Harbour master not answering the VHF raised its head again. Do they have some aversion to picking up a VHF radio perhaps?

 We sandwiched Falshator into the old town Inlet besides an English couple and proceeded to get checked into Greece.

What an unbelievable experience that was, it took 3 hrs  and much walking to collect many stamps and signatures on bits of paper and dealing with not very cooperative people to put it nicely, before we got our Transit log and were all done, just what we didn’t need after 26 hrs of sailng and being awake!

So it was back to the boat and a couple of beers with the English neighbours. We decided not to stay there as they were dredging the entrance and the water was not good so headed out and anchored just out of Gouvia Marina for the night for some much needed sleep.

The next day we were in the Marina and caught up with the German couple we met in Dubrovnik as well as a couple from Switzerland who had a Hanse 445 too. We had a night of progressive drinks at each others boats before heading off to Dinner at one of the Mariners restaurants and had a great meal and more drinks that went on for a bit and we got to bed at 2 am. Thought this boating life was supposed to be relaxing!
We spent a day exploring Corfu township and its history and even had a ride on a Horse and Cart while checking it all out.

After a couple of days in the Marina, we were off going south and stopped at a little bay called Mongonisi on North Paxoi Island which is a great little spot.

We anchored there and went ashore to the local bar as you do and were joined by a Norwegian couple who were anchored next door to us. They were doing a similar thing to us and had spent a year on their boat and were on their way home to spend time with their family. The next morning we had coffee on their boat and he showed me some good spots to see in the Greek Islands for our travels. We left the Norwegians and Mongonisi and headed for Levkas. The Gennaker was hoisted and we had an excellent sail all the way down to Levkas doing 8-9 knts all the way.

   The Gennaker attachment stretched after all my nice splicing-bought in Croatia, made in Taiwan :)

The sails came down and we prepared to enter the Northern entrance to the Levkas channel. This was a pretty unnerving experience as it was blowing nearly 20 knots at this stage and I was not 100 % on where the channel was which is only shallow at the best of times. It wasn’t where the Pilot book said it was nor the Charplotter so I had to navigate it just by the colour of the water and the odd little red buoy that was there. The shallow depth alarms were going off again as we gingerly entered in and a few more grey hairs appeared but we made it in. Then we had to wait 15 mins for the Bridge to open which opens on the hour every hour. There was a narrow channel of 6 meters depth in the middle and 1 meter on the sides, so I spent the 15 mins going in reverse and forwards as there was too much wind about to sit and wait.

The Bridge siren was set off at the top of the hour and a portion of the bridge was raised. This was only 6 meters wide so care had to be taken going through with only 700 odd mm clearance either side of the boat.

It was a small journey up the canal till we got to the basin by the marina where we had arranged to go onto the finger that is run by the local Volvo specialist.

Once again there was no water and we backed the boat into a 3 meter space pushing the other boats aside with the alarms going off for shallow water and the depth gauge reading 2.1 meters, at a draw of 2.25 meters we were sitting in the mud. After the experiences of getting in and getting tied up and finally relaxing, the beer tasted pretty good!

Going South

Korcula was beautiful but it was time to keep moving and we headed down to the Island of Mjet where we tied up to a Dock outside a family Restaurant called Marans. The water was crystal clear and even though it was still a bit on the cold side for us old softies we both had to venture in. I donned my mask and ventured under the boat to make sure the Keel, Rudder and sail Drive were still there, all accounted for and looking good. Then it was up and a quick fresh water solar shower before a drink on the boat and then off to have a great dinner at Marans where Shelly said the Shrimp cocktail was up there with the best.

The next morning we cast off and motored out and set sail for Dubrovnik. The wind was on the nose so we were hard on with around 12 knots and steaming along at a steady 6 knots.
The wind increased to 20 knots and we reduced sail but still kept a steady 7-8 knots. I am pleased with the performance, the boat likes to be hard pressed and never feels uneasy on the Helm.

                                         Little Falshator all sign written up :)

After staying the night in a bay just NW of Dubrovnik we headed up to the ACI marina which is towards the end of the estuary that has a constant flow of Fresh water coming down it.
The Marinas are getting dearer the further we seem to go with Dubrovnik charging 87 euro (NZ $140) for a night and then they charge you extra to wash the boat down! Still the facilities there were good, with Fuel, Showers, Laundry, Supermarket and the bus right outside.
We were in good company with a father and son in their boat from Austria on one side of us and a German couple and some English on the other side. We had  the Austrians for dinner one night and had drinks with the others. I take my hat off to Allan the Englishman who was 70 and sailing his boat back towards England, he had been sailing for over 50 years and looked a picture of health, especially compared to this broken down 50 something year old.

After getting the Ray Marine specialist for the area to check out more 'teething problems' which also took forever to get done-3 days, we were off to the Harbour master and Immigration to clear out of Croatia and making for the Kings Wharf at Dubrovnik, which is right in the hub of Dubrovnik and we tied Falshator up to the Pier there along side the other Cruise ships that were there.
Once there we were told that they were too busy with the Cruise ships and to proceed down to Cavtat to clear out there. Now Cavtat is about 1 hr down the coast from Dubrovnik and Id heard that its not the easiest to get processed there. The wharf staff at Dubrovnik told us we had plenty of time as they worked till 3 pm on a Saturday at Cavtat and assured us that all would be good, so we motored the Hour down the coast. We got there around 1.45 pm and I radioed in, but got no reply. so we anchored in the bay and I rowed the boat in along with our Papers, only to find that the Harbour master only works till 1 pm and had gone home and they didn't work Sunday at all. So here we are in Cavat (which is a beautiful spot to be stuck for a couple of days!) and still waiting- I don't think Croatia wants us to go!

On our way!

After what seemed like forever, we are finally on our way and after fixing a few Teething problems with the Boat, we are now enjoying her.
The Watermaker is making 50 litres an hour and has a great taste to it. The Solar panels are doing their job as well, and even on a cloudy overcast day have sailed the boat on Auto Helm all day, and along with the Fridge and Nav Gear on they kept plenty of charge in the House Batteries.

We have been visiting the outer Islands from Split with some great Anchorages as well as spending some time in Milna and tying up to the Dock at Hvar which was an experience in itself backing the Boat into a small gap with no bow thruster and amazing how they packed all the boats in there. Spent the night having a few "quiet" drinks on the boat with some Germans that were parked next door to us which didn't finish till 4 in the morning. Had to get out of there as it was not healthy on the Liver :) Not a cheap exercise though staying on the dock there and paying the Port Authority  620 kuna (NZ $135) for the berthage, but hey when in Rome...

From there we stayed in a bay at Orebic Peninsula  for the night and are at present in Korcula which is famous for where Marco Polo came from and is beautiful. The history of these places never ceases to blow me away