Scaling the Wall in Croatia

2013 07 09
 under sail somewhere north of Split and South of Sibenik

Somewhere on the Coast North of Split
Looking West (Into the Adriatic)

Finally we are finding tranquility in the HR (Hrvaskat Republic or Croatia as we know it).  It has been slow to arrive.  A difficult entry with Port Police at Cavtat, serial encounters with locals where the only point was theft by them from us and intense crowds of tourists built a wall of negativity between the HR and us.

After two weeks we have scaled the wall.  We avoid heavily touristic areas preferring quiet anchorages; we do not do business with Croatians unless necessary and then with our eyes open and our mouths at the ready to object and our feet ready to walk away. 

The scenery here still works magic.

Evenings have generated good times with boaters from all over Europe - Slovenia, Germany, Italy, UK.  But contact with Croatians is limited.   We figure this is a bit of a reaction to the tourism economy.  Bahamians too hold their economically important guests in contempt.  The tendency is to view foreigner visitors as just a source of money to be squeezed and discarded.

The sailing is nice, very North Channel Great Lakes except there is 300miles of it.  And the water is salt.  And everybody speaks Croatian.  And all the flags are foreign.

You know, it is nothing like the Great Lakes but the views remind us of home.

Our plan was to use Croatia as an Anchorage as we made our way north to Venice.  So far this has worked in spades and our accommodations each night have been grand.  We hope to see more on our return from Venice.

In the Land of the Hrvaskats - Unburdened by Worries of Refrigeration

2013 07 08
Lumbarda, Korcula, Hrvatska Republic

While in Montenegro our refrigerator quit.  It was a slow death preceded by days of the compressor running longer and longer during each cooling cycle until finally it just ran nonstop.

There was a leak of refrigerant somewhere in its copper tubing but this could not be found nor the refrigerant replaced.  Our much loved fridge was created in the era of R12 refrigerant, now widely reviled as a major cause of ozone layer thinning, cancer in rats and paedophilia.  

Short of it is that we cannot, despite herculean effort, lay our hands on any R12.  The new  refrigerant, R134, which does not thin the ozone layer or threaten the immune system of our increasingly fragile test rats, does not mix with R12 or so I read.  R134 may however still be guilty of inducing paedophilia; the jury is not yet in on that.

So for now we travel with no fridge.  This has not proved fatal.  When death of the old system was imminent we just cooked what was in the freezer and ate the cooked food on a slightly different schedule than originally planned.  This amounted to maybe four days of meals.  Had we lost everything in the freezer it would just not have mattered that much, except of course for the smelly cleanup that would have ensued.

Contrast our "small fridge" problem with a "large fridge" problem.  A boat we travelled with until a few days ago also had trouble with cooling.  Their ice maker broke.  Days later their generator failed.  This boat was stricken.  

A lovely catamaran sailed by two generous and exuberant Californians this boat had a large  fridge with freezer, a large separate freezer and an icemaker.  To keep all of this volume cold the generator ran several times a day.  When the genset quit the only charging was the main diesel which needed hours and hours to kp the batteries supplied.  This couple had months of food on board.  Loss of the freezer would have been very expensive.  

To keep the batteries up to acceptable charge levels the skipper was rising at 0430 to start his diesel for the first of four charging sessions.  It was grim.  Fortunately this boat was able to obtain repairs to the genset at Porto Montenegro.

Thinking on it we are happy we did not succumb to the lure of such "amenities" as big 
freezers and multiple fridges.  Our friends were held captive by their generator and now 
travel with a unit that has been repaired but not properly.  Such worry to have to deal 
with and all that food at risk.

Sometimes travelling "poor" has distinct advantages.

We can replace the  fridge efficiently with a new compressor and evaporator from Germany.  Made by Waeco, a German company, the parts are readily available from our trusted German mailorder house found at www.SVB.de.  Amazingly the parts are much less expensive than in North America.

Croatia, despite being in the EU,  has not rationalized its customs laws and procedures yet although the various departments have all issued stacks of announcements of the new efficiencies.  In consequence our Croatian supplier of fridge stuff, the very efficient Frigomarine D.O.O. of Zagreb must regretfully charge me almost 50% more than if I purchased the same products in Italy or Slovenia.  We really like the guys at Frigomarine and recommend them if you need parts while in Croatia.  However they must live with the regulations imposed by their government and so it looks unlikely that we will do business.

For the next six to eight weeks we travel with no refrigeration, not the horror story you might imagine.  Bread, cheese, sausage, cured ham, eggs do not require refrigeration if consumed in a reasonable period after purchase and so we shop more often and make less use of bargains than we once did.  

Before we leave Croatia to return to Syracusa or Almerimar in Spain we will arrange for purchase of the new fridge parts from Germany and they will be in Sicily to greet us.

Purchasing Note:

When purchasing items in Europe you are usually best served out of Germany.  Their prices  are less than any EU country including the UK.  Shipping costs from Germany are reasonable and the Germans deliver on time.  This is one of the good ways in which Germany emulates America.

What Do You Do on a Sailboat on a Sunny Croatia Day? The Laundry of Course.

2013 07 07 
Lumbarda Marina, Lumbarda, Korcula, Croatia

It has been about three weeks since we have had access to water and electricity.  This means  no laundry done in that period.  It also means we were down to just about the last of the hundred gallons in our forward tank so it was time to replenish.  We like to keep the fifty gallon midship tank in reserve.

This wondermachine cost only €35 in Morocco and
does 5 lbs of laundry at one go
All the sailing women are fascinated with
and envious of Connie's washing machine

Getting water and doing laundry around here means taking a slip in a marina.  In Croatia this is a very expensive proposition usually costing in the range of €100 per night.  Not something we invest in lightly.  

We were overjoyed to find a marina in our neighbourhood, the island of Korcula, which cost only €50.  Immediately we sought a slip and here we are.  

Tactics were the usual: anchor off the marina the night before and then go in early so you gain benefit of the entire day of marina living: in this case 220 volt electric and fresh water.

The Machine Washes but not Dries -
Wringing Out and Hanging is Manual Labour

Connie got out her trusty washing machine, a delightful hardworking machine purchased in Morocco last year for only €35.  Here is my wife hard at the laundry.

While she does this I complete boat maintenance and if I finish early I trudge into town with the grocery list and make sure we have enough stuff to sustain us for the next week or two.

Croatia groceries are quite expensive compared to any country we have visited in the Med.  Quality is good however.  We hope the pricing issue is because we are in a touristic area and that when we get somewhere less so that prices will come down.  Problem with that is: we cannot find anywhere on the coast that is less touristic.

With labour done we would normally spend what was left of the afternoon in a cafe.  Due to the high cost in Croatia even cafe living is off the schedule.  If the fridge were working we could enjoy a cold beer.  Oh, well.  

Gotta love that easy cruising life.

Montenegro - Why You Should Go There for at Least a Week

2013 07 07

Lumbarda, Kucola, Croatia

This only costs €40 a week.

Nothing but mountains, protected bays and fjords and inexpensive but good quality cafes will greet the sailor who approaches the daunting coastline of Montenegro. The hardy of spirit will be rewarded.

People are friendly, officials courteous and efficient and the scenery spectacular in a way that is really second to none in the Mediterranean.

How to Enter

Sailing into Montenegran waters a sailboat will call on channel VHF 14 to “Bar Radio” and

The Entrance to Bar Harbour (that cracks me up)

announce that it has entered the country. No one will answer. You will then call on VHF 16 and be told to switch to channel 14 where someone will answer.

The monitors of Bar Radio will assign the sailboat a port at which the boat must conduct its entry procedures. Bar Radio, manned by friendly competent personnel, will ssigns the next port or entry which is enroute to the sailboat's announced destination, in our case Bar.

Bar is a port on the southern portion of the Montenegran shoreline and, if you are lucky, you will be assigned to it for clearance.

Wealthy visitors might be assigned to clear in at Porto Montenegro, a superyacht facility built by Canadian Peter Munk. Services at PM are a cut above the common weal but since we cannot afford them we have no idea about them.

Needless to say, if you have the money you want to clear in and then stay at Porto Montenegro.

At the other facilities: Bar, Zelenika, Kotor you tie up at the customs dock and approach the well identified customs facility. Colours are Blue and White. You check with the port police who are on station in the port and then, in order you attend the following:

Harbourmaster

Bank (to pay fees and taxes)

Harbourmaster to obtain your vignette

Port Police

Customs.

It is a lot easier than it sounds and at both Bar and, on our way out, Zelenika, everyone was friendly and helpful. There is even a sign posted advising visitors that if they are treated rudely by police or officials they are to report the matter to a government website.

Fees, Prices, Currency

Our boat, which is under 12 metres in length, was charged €40 for a one week permit to ply Montenegran waters and we were assessed a standard €5 entry tax.

Montenegro pegs its currency to the Euro and Euros are used and accepted freely. Bank machines in Montenegro dispense Euros which is cool to know.

Prices here are well below Italian and Greek prices for food and drink. The local cheese and sausage is very very good.

Diesel fuel is €1.22 a litre, less if you can arrange duty free.  It can be a hassle to arrange but even at €1.22 you can't beat the price.

Cafe prices in Risan were €3.30 for a good sized glass of decent white wine and a 500 ml beer. In Kotor, a tourist trap, the same beverages cost about €5.

Stock Up in Montenegro Before Heading Off to Croatia

Having only been in Croatia for a week now there is no question that you should fill your boat to the gunnels with fuel, meat and cheese in Montenegro. Everything in Croatia is hideously more expensive than in Montenegro or Albania or Greece or Italy.

Anchoring and Sailing

Jaz: After clearing in at Bar we continued under sail to a little bay at Jaz, near to Budva, a tourist trap. Too near as it turned out. A good anchorage but full of holidayers and jetskis and people having fun, many of them hard bodied topless models. It was so unnerving we could only stay two days. Good holding for your anchor, good scenery both mountain and hard body. No services.

I think this is a shot of Jax but maybe not.  If so then
Budva on right and Trsteno on left

Trsteno: Just west of Jaz is a second bay with the little village of Trsteno at its head. None of those holidayers having fun are to be found in Trstena. Water is a bit deeper here but holding is good and it is very private.

Gulf Of Kotor: This is why you go to Montenegro. The Gulf of Kotor is an immense

Somewhere in the Gulf of Kotor
Just nestle up to a mountain and drop the hook

mountain walled gulf containing several cities and offering great scenery, good services, good provisioning and more. Just go there. It is not to be believed.

Risan: We were particularly taken with the tiny Port of Risan in the North East lobe of the Gulf. Here there are good cafes, old Greco Roman ruins to walk about if you have not already seen enough old useless broken stuff and a good grocery and post office. Good holding on a shelf at the head of the bay, anchor in 30 to 40 feet, protection from all prevailing winds.

Kotor: This town which anchors the Gulf is one of those famous walled cities. It is a fascinating walk around and you can anchor off the marina in soft mud. Kotor is crowded with tourists or so we thought until we broached the walls of Dubrovnik old town. Pretty much a rip off but not as bad as Dubrovnik so if you want to see a good walled city pick Kotor.

We also anchored one night at Port of Kotor across from the municipal marina. This had adequate protection with good holding but the anchorage is across from the large cruise ship dock and the next morning the habourmaster chased us off because he had two big ships coming in. No fault to the harbourmaster who was gracious and professional but it is a risk. Besides who wants to spend more than one night in a tourist trap?

Porto Montenegro

If you have lots of loose cash about your person you can treat yourself to a night or two at Porto Montenegro, a luxury marina for superyachts. To give you an idea of the company you will be keeping the marina offers duty free fuel and advertises “additional discounts for purchases in excess of 50,000 litres”.

This very well run marina seems to offer repair and refit services not otherwise found in Montenegro and I am sure nothing they do is underdone.

Why Only a Week?

When purchasing an entry permit from the Harbour master the basic unit of stay is the week. You buy a fixed number of weeks of stay starting at 1.

One week was enough for Connie and me who are touring full time.  Had we come here on vacation to relax from our busy jobs a month would not have been amiss.

Boarded by Thieves in Albania - This Time We Did Not Lose Our Dinghy

2013 07 07

Korcula, Croatia

Faithful readers will recall that we have trouble keeping dinghies on board our sailing yacht. For whatever reason the average lifespan of a tender runs to no more than two years for us. We have over the years tended to buy cheaper and cheaper dinghies, the last such purchase made last month to replace a dinghy lost to unfortunate waves.

The new dinghy is a winner. Being cheap it is also small and light which means we haul it on board every night with no effort. This consequence of being inexpensive saved us the loss of our new dinghy only a fortnight after we acquire it. Here is what happened.

Anchored just off the northern border of Albania, protected by the river delta formed by the river dividing Albania and Montenegro we took our beds early after a full day of sailing and motorsailing. Night fell gently and before retiring we looked for a while at the lights of nearby Velipoje, a resort town for apparatchiks in the old stalinist dictatorship that used to keep an iron grip on things around here.

Sleep came easily but did not last.

At 2345 (quarter to twelve), Connie and I were rudely awakened by a loud noise coming from the boat. Since we were asleep it would be silly to describe the noise but we both understood clearly something had struck our boat and struck it hard.

Sleep does not linger in such situations and we were fully alert and on deck in seconds. Nothing to be seen immediately. No foreign object near our boat, no sign of motion.  A wispish mist did not help our search.

Then, the gentle splash of a swimmer. And then, in the far mist, a small guarded light held by someone standing in a boat, being shone intermittently as a guide to ... well we figure to a lone swimmer who had launched from the very boat shining the light.

Some stupid ass swam to our boat and tried to climb aboard using the anchor chain. Not much of a waterman he was unaware that we keep our anchor chain generously snubbed, ie. We always secure the chain to a deck cleat using nylon line leaving the chain loose where it leaves the windlass.

The swimmer grabbed the chain and tried to climb. This brought four to six feet of chain raining down on his head. Poor baby. Suffering a hard knock to the head and having made a very loud noise and hard knock on the heat Knowing we had been alerted he took off trying to swim quietly to avoid detection. He almost made it.

With the aid of the binoculars we now knew there were three intruders and we knew where they were.  I stood quitely on deck pointing directly at their boat. Using binoculars they were quite clear to see. I wanted them to know they were blown.

I maintained this stance for probably half an hour my arm moving with them as they tried to surreptitously move out of sight. It wore at them. Being thieves they sought the protection of darkness; confrontation was not their thing. These were sneak thieves not bandits prepared to take what they wanted.

The intruders returned to shore and built a fire. Connie and I took up a watch in the cockpit, nothing defiant, just steadfast, or so we hoped.  We watched and we made sure they knew we were watching.

Finally the wearing broke.  They began yelling to each other and, unmistakably, yelling insults at us.  About 0200 the three of them moved off back towards Velipoje. We maintained our watch in the dark of the cockpit.  

At 0230 the inept young men returned, easily spotted by the small flashlight they continued to shine to light their way.  These were not high class thieves.  

When they had returned to their initial landing spot Connie brought up the 3 million candle power spot and I hit them with the beam of the spot and kept it on them for a good two minutes. It would have been longer but the battery was dieing on our lantern and I did not want to give any sign we were less than fully prepared.

Of course we were fully prepared: to run away. Had the little testosterones made any move towards our boat we were off.  Our plan to haul anchor and run away was settled early on.  Before that however we were prepared to do what we could to keep them off.  Having raised children we were well armed psychologically.

Finally about 0400 the trio departed for good. We returned to our beds our sleep interrupted and our stores of adrenaline squeezed dry.

Analysis

We figure the thieves were not watermen of Albania, just disaffected youth seeking a thrill. They were used to easy prey and likely they did not fear consequences of an Albanian system which their parents controlled. Consequences of boarding a boat that was waiting for them exceeded their courage.

As Connie says “It could have happened anywhere”.

We still have our dinghy.    

Sailing Albania

2013 07 07
Anchored on the Island of Korcula, Croatia

Really, You Don't Want to Sail This?  Are You Suuure?

Albania is a much maligned sailing destination. We spent a week here and enjoyed it immensely.  Our recommendation is to sail Albania. 

Officials are welcoming, prices are low, the coast is interesting and, if you keep an eye on forecast wind conditions the anchoring is safe. If you travel a bit about the interior by car or bus you will enjoy thrills and scenery never before enjoyed.

Here are our impressions from a week spent along the coast of Albania.

Our Only Caution: Watch Your Depth Sounder Not Your Charts

The charts are not terribly accurate.  In many cases they are not even guidelines.  In the south this does not matter as the coast is mountainous and bottoms drop off precipiously.  In the north however the coastline becomes marshlike and the bottom shelves, in some cases for miles offshore.  If you have sailed the Bahamas Banks then you will be familiar with sailing full speed in ten feet of water.  In Velipoje our chart indicated we were anchored a half mile offshore in 50 feet of water. Actual depth was 8 feet and had been for 500 metres.

Officials and Clearing In/Clearing Out Procedures

In Albania a yachtsman does not clear in in person.  Rather he hands his documents, passport, Certificate of Registry, insurance documents to a port agent. The port agent returns in half an hour with clearances and stamped passports.

Clearing Out: You must clear out of every port in Albania into which you have cleared. Contact the agent an hour before departure and he takes care of it for no additional chartge.

For this service (clearing in and out) the agent charges €50 in most cases although I have heard of one fellow in Vlore who is asking €60.

Sarande At Night

You should contact the agent before reaching port so he can meet you on the dock and guide you to your docking slip where he or she will help with lines. After clearing in the agent will assist with directions, travel arrangements and suggestions for things to see and do. In all a reasonable service even if it is forced upon you.

The fly in the agent ointment is that you must clear in and out of every port. If you wish to visit Sarande and Vlore and Shenguin you will pay three agents three separate fees.  This limits your number of city stays and if you have to choose we strongly recommend Sarande which is interesting and safe and offers good provisioning and transportation hub.

Boating Supplies and Hardware: None to speak of.

Restaurant Meals: Crew on Meredith dined out every evening. A full meal with two drinks each generally cost $20 to $25 for two people. These were full meals with appetizer but no dessert purchased at waterfront hotel restaurants.

Fuel: €1.35 a litre well below the Italian price of €1.82. These were honest litres not Greek minitank litres.

Fresh fruit and vegetables: in abundance at the fresh market and from street vendors located about every 100 metres along every street.

Grocery: The large grocery in Sarande was fully stocked. Prices were below Italian and Greek prices. Selection was good in all areas.

Hardware: There is a lot of construction going on in Albania so most hardware is available in good quality and quantities at prices below Italy and Greece. We used a hardware store in Grijokaster which was as well stocked as any Big Box store in North America.

Haircut: My haircut cost $3. Connie had a cut, style and wash for $10.

Anchorages

The only anchorage offering all round protection is likely on the island of Palermos. If conditions give you traditional north winds you have many more anchoring possibilities.

Grama: Unique and visually striking this anchorage is well worth a night or two.

Himare: Nothing too dramatic but pleasant anchorage off a beach. Decent protection from the north and east though south south east. No protection South through NW.. We chose Himare over Palermos as it seemed to us more attractive and it had no military helicopters buzzing us every twenty minutes.

Dirjake:This is a huge and striking pine forested salt marsh. Unexpected lowlands after two days of sailing along the striking mountain ranges of the Albanian coast. Good protection from north around to SSE. From here you launch a dinghy cruise of lagoon and forested coast.

Anchorages we tried and were less pleased with:

Palermos: This island anchorage offered good protection which we did not need the day we passed it by. Formerly a restricted military area the prohibition against anchoring has been removed and in fact no permission was needed at all. Someone should have told the military for as we approached the island a military helicopter took to the air and flew ever tightening low altitude circles around us. Since we did not need the protection of Palermos we just kept on going. It seems the military is less willing to tolerate reduction of Stalinist control than the government. What else is new.

Velipoje: This lovely anchorage is right on the northern border between Albania and Montenegro. A river acts as the natural delineator of the border and this river has formed a delta which provides good protection from waves from the north and north west through south south west.

Good holding but littered with rocks and maybe some construction waste.

Our only night in this anchorage we were boarded by thieves just about midnight. The thieves were thwarted but he experience was disconcerting. In the end it cost us a night's sleep and all of our adrenaline reserves but had our dinghy been in the water it would have been gone.

Docking:In Sarande the dock we used had electricity and water. It was free for two days and cost €10 per day after that.

Safety and Security

In Sarande we did not feel insecure anywhere at any time. We walked the backstreets, mingled with the people, did business on the streets.  We took minibuses around the countryside with no problems and nothing but good experiences.  

While sailing and anchoring we did not feel insecure and we were quite taken aback by the attempt of the youths in Velipoje to board our boat under cover of darkness. My wife, Connie says the event could have happened anywhere and I suspect she is right. This was not a concerted effort by practiced thieves rather it was more an expression of boredom and frustration common amongst youth in most modern economies.

This isolated event will not prevent us from returning to and enjoying Albania in future.

Some Port Agents we recommend:

Sarande: Agim Zholi, agimzholi@yahoo.com (port agent)

00355(0)692566576

Orikum: contact Marina Orikum, marinaorikum@hotmail.it

00355695350233

Vlore: Roven Troqe, 00355(0)694785551

Festim Skenda 00355(0)692107927

Albania and Montenegro Well Worth Visiting

2013 07 02

Zaton Veliki (Dubrovnik), Croatia

Whirlwind travels with no internet so here is a summary.  Details may follow.  Who knows?

Albania: loved it even though we were boarded by thieves in Velipoje. 

Montenegro: Loved it.