Week 1: Croatia (89 nm)

Our first week underway allowed us to properly assess Serenity First’s sailing abilities and the realities of life at sea. We covered 89 nautical miles (abbreviated as nm(s), which are equal to 1.1 regular miles) and sailed from Vis round the North coast of Hvar and then down to Korcula. Changeable winds and limited familiarity with the boat kept us on our toes, but our biggest takeaway was the reliable and stable behaviour that Serenity displayed, which gives us a lot of confidence for the bigger challenges ahead.

Recovering in Vis

The calm conditions and protected harbour that is Vis Town mean that we slept very well through the whole night, which was gratefully received given the stress of the previous climactic day. We were eventually awoken around 8:30 by the arrival of the ferry, which was a bit surprising as the man who chose our spot on the town quay for us had assured us that the adjacent ferry quay wouldn’t be an issue. He was correct about the very limited waves created by the ferry, which are the normal problem for boats parked nearby; however, the limited space in Vis harbour had created a different ferry experience for us and our fellow sailors. Instead of turning around outside the harbour and then slowly reversing in, the ferry captains preferred to enter the harbour still at cruising speed before hand brake turning onto the quay. It was a very impressive manoeuvre, but required revving their engines really hard, which resonated through our hull and gave the experience of an impending swarm of locusts.

We were happy to get up though as it gave us an opportunity to explore Vis, which is very pretty town. We had decided to spend a full day and second night here to give us some time ashore and also allow us to undo some of the self inflicted damage for the VAT reclaim, the most painful part of which was reinstalling the battery bank. Past experience made this job much easier, as we tag teamed depending on whether the job needed reach and strength or flexibility and finesse (can you guess who’s which?), but we were very relieved to do this job for what should now be the last time!

There were around ten yachts on the quay with us, primarily German all-male groups, although there were also three Sunsail teaching yachts and we enjoyed watching them go through all their parking practice. Despite the presence of these tourists, the town itself was still asleep with only a handful of businesses open. We recalled the response of a Split resident who, upon hearing we were going to Vis, remarked “you should avoid the fish as it will have been caught last year” – this now seemed less of a joke and perhaps well informed advice.

Our second night in Vis was much less peaceful as a minor squall (that we knew was coming), blew through and caused us to nearly get blown back onto the town quay. I hadn’t given much thought to our mooring the first night as it was so calm, and then didn’t think to recheck it in light of the changing weather conditions. Having to get up at 2am to set a new bow line is a very effective teaching mechanism, and I’m fortunate my ‘Spidey Sense’ awoke me before any damage was caused. The squall also brought another dousing of the dirty rain that undid all of my prior cleaning efforts, but the wind had at least subsided enough the next morning for us to set sail and look for a place to test out our newly installed oversize anchor for the first time.

Entering Vis Town at dusk

HMS Confident Ferry makes another loud arrival

Vis Town was recently renovated, perhaps with the funding from Mamma Mia 2

Lots of space on the town quay made it a good place for parking practice

The cemetery around this church seemed to be overflowing with gravestones

Sailing around Hvar

We decided to explore the less touristy / glamorous northern side of Hvar, which is better known as a party island centred around the Hvar Town on the south side. Unfortunately our plans to cover a solid 30nm to the town of Vrboska had to be reassessed when the forecast of 15 knots of wind (perfect for yachties) never emerged. Instead, we got an inconsistent 5-8 knots and rolly seas, which left Laura feeling a bit green. My decision to change course for a much closer anchorage received Neptune’s blessing by way of our first dolphin sighting on Serenity (we were too excited to remember to take a photo…), and Laura’s spirits quickly recovered such that we could spend a couple of hours fitting our new sails. They went on far easier than expected; however, folding up the old ones on deck without enough space to properly lay them out was both a mental and physical workout that justified multiple evening beers.

The forecast the next day was for limited wind, but there was enough to tempt us to try our new sails and see if this time we could make Vrboska. I was excited to share every sailor’s joy of unrolling crisp new sails for the first time with Laura, and these certainly didn’t disappoint us. We ended up making over 5 knots of boat speed in winds that never exceeded 10 knots, which mean we reached Vrboska with plenty of time to explore. The guide book informed us that Vrboska was known locally as “Little Venice” due to the number of bridges in the town, which was perhaps a bit overstated but we still enjoyed our walk that unearthed four (all?) of them. We also found time for a walk around the headland the next morning, which was meant to include a nudist beach but the slight drizzle probably kept them at home. Instead we came across an abandoned restaurant where the toilets were open and oddly clean despite having the feel of the Walking Dead… clean public toilets are now a frequent topic of conversation between us so I imagine this may come up again.

Our next stop was the fishing town of Sucuraj and this time the light winds exceeded even our new sails abilities to catch them and so we resorted to motoring the four hours round. We found a gloomy, almost deserted town the first afternoon that was made worse by the having to moor side-on to the incoming waves (in contrast to the promised arrangements in our sailing guide), and no facilities other than speedy WiFi at a nearby cafe. However, the next day we we awoke to clear blue skies and the whole feel of the town was transformed. The friendly harbour mistress assured us that wind was on its way and helped us dodge the ferry as we set sail for our next destination on a new island.

Sailing to Korcula

The harbour mistress was proved duly proved correct and our sail to Korcula was without doubt our best one yet. The wind was strong enough that we had to reef the genoa (make the front sail smaller), with the end result that we were making a commendable 6-7 knots of boat speed upwind without really trying. The second half of the journey was even better as we changed course to get the wind behind us, which tends to be most sailors favourite point of sail due to a combination of easy, comfortable and fast sailing. As we approached our final destination, we came across some local kitesurfers and windsurfers who decided to show off by seeing how close they could get to us, which was great fun once we had confirmed they weren’t out-of-control beginners. Then we were rounding the historic walled Korcula town, which I believe can only truly be appreciated from the sea. With no time to explore it that day, we tried our hand at anchoring in the convenient but narrow bay, but our skills weren’t quite up the challenge. After the third attempt still left us at risk of swinging onto another boat, and with the light fading, we aborted and went round to the next bay where we discovered a far better location next to a Franciscan monastery.

Anchoring can be one of the most rewarding parts of sailing since it gives you space and quiet at zero expense, but often comes with an increased mental burden due to the risk of the anchor slipping whilst you are asleep. Laura and I had decided to solve this problem using the patented Aust approach and choosing an anchor far larger than was recommended for our boat. We’ve nicknamed him “Springsteen” since he is of the Bruce design, and reaped his benefit in Korcula as he didn’t move an inch despite strong and changeable winds. This left us fresh to explore Korcula town the next day, although we ended up testing the limits of our inflatable dinghy and my driving skills somewhat in order to get there and I was forced to make amends for Laura’s soggy bottom by getting her a peanut butter flavoured ice cream and promising to improve my outboard maintenance skills. The town was well worth it though and it offered a suitable climax to the end of our first week afloat, rejuvenated after nearly three months of graft by confirmation of what was now coming down the track. We look forward to sharing more with you next week.

Our first experience of blue skies and wind at the same time

Nor really sure who has right of way here…

…so we just sailed straight through them!

Korcula Town from the sea

Our secluded anchorage by the monastery

We parked the dinghy in an abandoned salt water swimming pool

Entrance to the old town

The return dinghy trip from Korcula, and this time the outboard lasted the whole trip

Marco Polo was born in Korcula Town