BAŠKA, CROATIA – Joining Leg Two is Vilja, a Finnish acquaintance that spent a week aboard Geja back in 2010. We’ll meander further up the Dalmatian coast from Zadar to the island of Krk. Vilja is the only girl to have hoisted Geja’s anchor, and she may
need to again as my only crewmate this coming week.
(Saturday, July 19) Spent the morning doing the usual pre-leg preparations, namely hosing down the boat and filling the water tanks. Got going at noon with Lissa still on board from Leg One – there are some options for her to return to Zadar by ferry tomorrow. Or so I thought. As I double-checked the ferries, it seemed that her Sunday ferry didn’t exist anymore. Luckily there was still time to get her to a 4:00pm ferry today on some obscure island, allowing
some time for a swim/lunch break on the way.
Lounging much too long for lunch, we reached Lissa’s destination just as her ferry did, leaving barely enough time for her to hop from Geja to the ferry. After a few deep exhales, Vilja and I continued on, enjoying a few easy tacks on the way to the cozy town of Bozava. Usually a spot here would be difficult to come by, but most charter boats are just getting their week started today, so there are few to compete with. Once moored, an
elderly local that spoke several languages except English invited us up to his residence to sell us tomatoes. His cellar was full of wine and rakija as well, which we sampled and bought. Such a nice experience to interact with a local in this way! His wine was a nice treat tonight as we just lounged aboard Geja in this peaceful little place.
(Sunday, July 20) We were in no great hurry this morning, firing up the motor at 11:30am. We motored in flat calm towards the island of Ist, borrowing a buoy for the customary lunch/swim stop. Then had some easy sailing further north, eventually dropping anchor at Silba. We managed to watch a live stream of a pole dancing competition on Vilja’s iPad before paddling to shore for dinner. A
super pleasant place Silba is, we grabbed a seat at a great restaurant selling delicious skewers hanging from a little hangman pole.
Back on the boat, an annoying wind had built in our absence, kicking up some chop. There is supposed to be some unstable weather tomorrow, and this anchorage is pretty open. Hopefully things won’t get out of hand during the night.
(Monday, July 21) The night was pretty uncomfortable, and by sunrise we were rocking and rolling in the anchorage. Unhappy that I’d chosen such an exposed anchorage, and fearing that the weather would only get worse, I decided to take advantage of the non-threatening skies and get going already at
7:30am. About halfway through the 2 ½ hour jaunt over to Novalja on the island Pag, a cold rain came pouring down, but the winds behaved and remained from aft the whole way across. Regardless, I was very relieved to finally drop anchor in the reasonably protected bay at Novalja.
After some rest and an indoor breakfast, we rowed ashore at around 3:00pm to explore one of Pag’s highlights – Croatia’s most notorious after-beach party at nearby Zrce Beach. Just as our shuttle bus left for Zrce, a little
squall blew through the harbor with some nasty wind gusts. I looked back, confident that Geja’s anchor would hold.
Zrce was eerily deserted, understandably so with the gray, cool-ish, and rainy weather. Otherwise it would be packed, with massive afternoon parties in its open-air nightclubs. Instead we found packs of Italian teenagers, seemingly on a school trip, rocking out in the indoor section of Aquarius. I did notice how nicely the various clubs had been remodeled over the winter.
After some dinner and wine on board, I crashed out for a power nap. The plan was to row back into Novalja tonight for some socializing. But despite Vilja’s best efforts, I just wouldn’t budge from my bunk. In the v-berth we stayed, making our own party. At least we could hear the music from shore.
(Tuesday, July 22) Another cool, gray morning – what’s wrong with the weather this summer? Without stepping ashore, Vilja and I left the mooring in Novalja under threating skies for Rab, but it turned out to be a calm three-hour motor voyage. The sun reappeared as we pulled into port, rafting up to one of several excursion boats along the quay. Had a great stroll around the impressive old town before paddling across
the harbor to the marina showers. Opened up a bottle of sparkling wine tonight, which led to a very late dinner in town. Luckily a couple of casual eateries here serve dinner at midnight. Spain this isn’t.
(Wednesday, July 23) When rafted alongside an excursion boat in Rab, you must detach from them for their 9:30am tour departures. Once they pull out, you can reclaim their space along the quay. I really like this arrangement in Rab, being moored right alongside the action as opposed to staying in the expensive ACI marina on the other side of the port. At lunch
in town, Vilja and I both died laughing at a passing child whose t-shirt said, “The Devil makes me do it.” Non-English-speaking parents sometimes buy the most inappropriate clothes for their children!
Under sunny skies but with unstable weather still in the forecast, we debated about our next stop. Finally we settled on Zavratnica, a small fjord-like canyon at the foot of the nearby Velebit Mountains, a spot I’d wanted to spend a night in since my first and only stay in 2009. We sailed the eight miles slowly but eventfully, pulling into Zavratnica
just as the day tourists were clearing out. It’s a really magical spot, with steep barren cliffs lining the narrow 600-meter long inlet. We dropped anchor with a stern line to a bollard ashore. It’s a “protected landscape,” complete with a park ranger. He thought that the weather might get funky tonight, though my weather models suggest that we should be fine.
As darkness fell, the place became quite spooky. With no other sign of human life or even a single visible light anywhere, the wildlife began to rustle. Secure just a boat’s length from shore, the strange sounds of movement on the nearby paths freaked both of us out. But having an
anchorage to oneself in Croatia in the high season is a treat, and the pitch-blackness did allow for some awesome bioluminescence viewing.
(Thursday, July 24) What an amazingly calm and peaceful night! And thanks to the steep cliffs in this “fjord,” the sun didn’t begin to bake Geja’s decks – and cabin – until mid-morning. Until 10:30am, Vilja and I had the place to ourselves. What an absolute treat to wake up there. I whipped up a pancake breakfast for the occasion.
I could’ve easily remained here for a second night. It’s that beautiful, and there seems to be plenty of nature to explore on shore. But with Vilja’s flight home tomorrow, there was no choice
but to get going. We had some drama as we hoisted anchor at 3:00pm. The engine’s intermittent starting problem was being more stubborn than ever. As Vilja manually hoisted the anchor, impressing a neighboring boatload of tourists, I fought to get the motor going. Finally, when combining both starter and house batteries, the diesel turned over. But as we pulled away, I noticed that all electric items on board had shut down. The fuse from the house battery had popped while starting the motor. With Vilja hand
steering up the coast, I re-wired the house battery, bypassing the busted fuse for now.
We hugged the mainland coast, motoring along in dead calm conditions. Most of the Adriatic coast is covered in trees, but here the fierce bora winds of winter strip the land of vegetation, leaving a dramatically lunar landscape. As we neared the island of Krk, we veered away from the coast, pointing the bow to the holiday town of Baška, new territory for Geja and
the final stop of this leg. Baška is apparently off of the beaten path, as it wasn’t really clear where visiting yachts are supposed to moor. Eventually a friendly port official guided us to the outer quay, seemingly the only transient boat in town.
Baška is a pretty town, full of vacationing families, many German-speaking. Some party people gathered at night in the main beach bar, as we did after eating a horsemeat pizza. We crashed pretty late, despite Vilja’s early departure by bus in the morning.
(Friday, July 25) At early o’clock I escorted Vilja to the bus station, concluding a sweet ride up the coast from Zadar.
Despite one weather hiccup, Leg Two was a most memorable leg. The weather stayed much cooler than usual, meaning mid-20’s instead of low-30’s, which I didn’t mind at all. Vilja was a super crewmate, bringing along the same endless positivity and enthusiasm that she brought to Greece back in Leg Four of 2010. She did end up hoisting Geja’s 20kg anchor, still the only girl to have accomplished this.