Sunday, July 26, 2015
Is the anchor holding? I thought to myself. The boat felt like it was swaying too much. Oh wait, we're moored. Every night we were anchored I woke up afraid the anchor might have slipped. This was a running fear of mine, even though we've been fine so far.
2:00 A.M. I looked outside. It was drizzling. Time to start closing hatches. It was too hot in my cabin with everything closed, so I slept above deck in the cockpit using two towels as blankets and a life jacket as a pillow, if it continued to lightly rain. A couple minutes later, the rain stopped, so I opened up the hatches again and went back to sleep. Some time later the rain resumed, except this time it began falling harder. Terry must have heard the rain as well, since he came on deck to help me close hatches again. This was the first time it rained on us since the trip began.
A few more hours of sleep and everyone was up with the sunrise. We started to drive into the port of Stari Grad just to check it out.
"The dinghy is filled with water," Terry told me as he looked behind the sailboat. Apparently the plug came off the dinghy, allowing water to fill into it.
"Loop around, let's see if we can find the plug."
It didn't help.
"Why don't we just take off the motor, since we can't find the plug," I suggested. The motor only added more weight as it dragged behind the boat.
"Found it!" Terry exclaimed. "Good idea to take off the motor. I wouldn't have been able to see where the plug was attached if I didn't move it."
Problem averted. We continued toward Stari Grad, which literally translates to "Old City." Quite a cute town. It was clearly built up with med mooring berths, but still had an old world feel to it.
As mentioned in a previous post, almoat all the berths we saw in Croatia were for med mooring. I have to say, this style makes an area look much prettier and well-maintained, in addition to being able to squeeze in more boats. More difficult to berth? Yes. But whether the pier is empty or not, the area is still more attractive than loaded up with pilings and docks, as you often see in the U.S. After a quick look around and some snaps of the camera, we continued our journey.
"Eight knots of wind in the bay!" It jumped up to thirteen knots in the sea. Being able to sail a close-hauled position with the boat moving at four knots yields some decent heeling.
Lunch is simple, consisting of bread, sausage, Gouda cheese and peaches. Keeps well on the boat and easy to prepare.
The plan for today is to sail overnight to Zlarin, near Šibenik. Since we have a fair distance to cover and an open sea to sail for most of it, this marks the best route for an overnighter. You don't want to worry about depths and islands when you're far enough out at sea.
We tacked back and forth a few times. I could see and count about seventy sailboats on the water. Between the influx of kids on boats from Yacht Week and the prime time for vacation, sailboats dotted the horizon all around.
I decided to rest my eyes in the shade provided by the bimini.
"That boat is getting really close," I heard in my half-slumber. I looked up. We were on a collision course with another sailboat.
"We're both on starboard tacks, but we are leeward, and they are windward," Terry told Alicia, who was at the helm.
When two sailboats approach each other, the boat who is sailing with the wind hitting the starboard, or right side of the boat, has right of way, and maintains course. It's on a starboard tack. When both boats are on the same tack, the boat further away from the direction of the wind has right of way, and maintains course.
We heard a whistle. An older man yelled to us, trying to convey that they weren't going to move, and that we should.
"Maintain your course," Terry told Alicia. We closed in about a boatlength from the other boat.
"Leeward! We're leeward! You have to move!"
It didn't help. Alicia tacked to avoid a collision. The unfortunate thing about the boating community is that it's pretty easy to get a boat, if you have the money. Chartering a boat is more difficult because someone is lending you their property, so they want proof of your ability. But even still, people can be either careless or ignorant of rules on the water and still be in possession of the helm.
After getting back into relaxation mode on the boat, Alicia and I made dinner. I stir fried potatoes, garlic, and onions, and Alicia prepared a tuna salad. We also added some tuna pate with toasted bread to the mix.
Sailing towards the sunset during dinner only added to the experience of eating a prepared dinner on board.
"All ships, all ships, all ships. Split radio, Split radio, Split radio. Gale warning..." was broadcast on the VHF radio.
We closed the hatches and cleaned up before any winds picked up. They reached eleven knots from eight knots during dinner. Terry took the midnight shift at the helm. I slept on the cockpit bench, with my lifejacket clipped onto the lifeline, and Alicia rested in her cabin, until the 3:00 A.M. shift. I always like sleeping in the cockpit. Fresh air and much cooler than down below. Plus, if Terry or Alicia needed help in a hurry, I was there.
By 3:00 A.M. the wind went back down to five knots and left nothing but a trace an hour or so later.
Time to motor.
At 6:00 A.M., I took over and the other two slept. The night turned out to be pretty easy. Another safe journey.
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