PULA, CROATIA – After beginning this season’s cruise with two all-girl crews, my good buddies Sven and Mats are hopping aboard for Leg Three. We’ll meander around the northernmost Dalmatian coast this coming week on the way from Baška to Pula, an area that I last explored in 2009.
Sven will re-take his lead from Lukas as most frequent Geja crew, while Mats will join for just the second time, sticking around for three consecutive weeks.
(Friday, July 25) Just a few hours after leaving Vilja from Leg Two at the bus stop here in Baška, I returned to fetch Sven from his bus arrival (Mats will arrive in the area on Monday). We chilled out all afternoon, swimming at the boat and even unfolding the bikes for a little ride around town. Despite the warm and muggy conditions, Sven came down with
the chills, maybe due to his late night out in Rijeka last night. With Sven wiped out by the flu-like bug, I ended up exploring Baška by night on my own. I didn’t mind the “night off,” actually. I just parked myself at a café along the main promenade, people watching while catching up on my various digital inboxes.
(Saturday, July 26) Sven woke up refreshed and healthy after some needed rest. The plan was to leave Baška today, although the weather forecast included some scary language about thunderstorms and strong winds. But under clear, sunny skies,
we set sail at around 2:00pm after a grocery run. Motored around the southern tip of the island of Krk, poking Geja’s bow into various little nooks along Krk’s barren, wind-blown coast. At 4:30pm we pulled into the harbor of Krk, the island’s main town. Like Baška, Krk Town is new territory for me. After five summers of being based in the Adriatic Sea, it’s great that undiscovered places remain.
The port officials in Krk, though hard to locate, gave us a sweet spot in the middle of the action, meaning great people-watching and great photo opportunities
under the church belfry. The neighboring boat here is a Swedish-owned cruiser whose owner has crossed many oceans. Sven and I strolled the pretty town for a couple of hours, doing a little reconnaissance of the late-night party scene. It is Saturday after all.
We returned to the boat at 8:00pm to get ourselves cleaned up for the night when a crazy thunderstorm rolled through. Showering on board takes place outdoors in the cockpit, and there’s no hot water. With the cold, blowing rain, I just couldn’t get
myself to soap down outdoors. We just lied there, confined indoors, for two more hours while the rain poured and poured. At least the boat was getting a thorough rinse. I finally braved the elements, stripping down in the cockpit for a shower.
With an enormous beach umbrella in hand, we found some gyros in town before heading to Catacombs, an awesome multi-chambered subterranean bar. But it was only 11:00pm, and Catacombs was still pretty empty. With some time to kill and the boat just 75 meters away, we went back aboard
for some drinks. While imbibing, an even nastier thunderstorm hit, confining us again to Geja’s cabin. At 12:30am, the rain lightened up enough for us to venture back out, but our overall strategy backfired. Catacombs was now even more empty than before. But we heard music in the distance, and followed the sound to a small dance club. The indoor space was full of people, and cigarette smoke as well. We eventually made some Slovenian friends on the outdoor terrace before calling it a night after 4:00am.
(Sunday, July 27) Another sunny morning, another scary weather report. We decided to trust the sky more than the forecast, departing lovely Krk by 1:00pm. We motored north in calm conditions, pointing towards the east shore of the Istria peninsula. Sven had heard about a Sunday night
party in Mošćenička Draga, so we tied up along the quay there. While waiting to find out if anyone minded how we moored, some nasty waves began to bash Geja against the quay. Fenders and dock lines were given a workout while Sven and I did our best to hold Geja away from the concrete pier. Meanwhile, an excursion boat was attempting to tie up just ahead of us, coming dangerously close to Geja’s bow. We really didn’t need the added excitement. A local said that an oil tanker must have recently passed by in the distance, causing the waves. As soon as we could, we detached and continued up the coast in search of a more protected harbor.
The Istria
peninsula might remind one of a lake in the Alps, with steep lush hillsides plummeting into the sea. The deep shoreline leaves little opportunity to anchor, and there are few harbors suitable for boats, even of Geja’s modest size. While motoring up a coast, some folks in a little powerboat waved us down. Assuming their boat was disabled, I announced, “United States Navy to the rescue!” They indeed had motor problems and needed a tow. We were happy to pull the friendly Croatian couple to shore, exchanging phone numbers before undoing the tow line.
Sven and I continued on to the little port of Ika, though the accommodations were pretty funky. The pier wasn’t very hospitable, and the anchorage was a mess of mooring
buoys, many unoccupied. Obviously Ika isn’t often visited by yachts in transit. We finally grabbed a buoy with the blessing of a local that assured us that the mooring could hold Geja’s weight. We launched the dinghy in anticipation of going ashore in the evening, but somehow we just crashed out on the boat after cooking dinner. The promised bad weather never did materialize.
(Monday, July 28) Mats finally arrived this morning, completing this leg’s crew. Instead of having him find his way to today’s destination, Opatija, Sven convinced
me to take Geja into the industrial harbor of Rijeka to fetch Mats from his airport bus. I was reluctant – the sailing guide says that small yachts aren’t really welcome there – but it turned out to be a cool detour, the port run down and lined with Soviet-esque architecture. There was indeed some space for sailboats, but Rijeka is not a popular stop for pleasure craft. After a quick touch’n’go, the crew was complete.
We hugged the shore while motoring to nearby Opatija where I had a reservation in the marina of the fancy Hotel Admiral. Despite the cooler-than-usual weather, we
hopped in the water on the way at Mats’ request. He did note that the weather he’d just left in Sweden was warmer than here. Opatija has a very un-Croatian look, still resembling the Austrian holiday town that sprang up here in the 1880’s. Many of the grand old villas remain, and a super-nice 12km promenade lines the shore.
Skies were overcast when we pulled into the hotel marina at noon today. I’d been watching the weather forecast pretty closely, as 50mm of rain are expected tomorrow, with almost as much on Wednesday. The marina guy confirmed that the weather should be getting pretty crazy, so we may be stuck here for more that the two nights that I had planned.
We took an afternoon stroll around town, checking out the sights and eating lunch. Opatija is a very Riviera-esque town, conjuring thoughts of Monaco more so
than your typically medieval Croatian town. The contrast is welcome. It isn’t exactly a destination for singles, though, so we found ourselves in the hotel fitness center in the evening in the absence of any after-beach action.
At dinnertime we were picked up by Luka and Dara, the couple we rescued at sea yesterday. They were excessively grateful for the tow, and wanted to take us out. The three of us piled into their car and we ended up in Rijeka for dinner. A cousin joined there, and we had a great tour of Rijeka’s old town. In hindsight, I would’ve
enjoyed mooring Geja there for a night. It had its share of sights and offered a sense of authenticity, its service industry catering mostly to locals given the lack of tourism. How lucky that we had met such interesting and friendly locals, an interaction that I experience far too seldom in this country.
(Tuesday, July 29) As promised, the weather turned to shit this morning. We awoke to an impressive rainstorm, thunder seeming to boom just overhead. The weather remained unpleasant for most of the
day. Mats made a workday out of it, utilizing the comfortable hotel lobby. Sven was understandably annoyed, as it seemed that much of his one-week stay would be a rainout. I decided to tackle some boat projects. Convinced that Geja’s starter battery was causing my occasional engine-starting woes, I sought to take up Luka’s offer to drive me around town to various marine stores for a replacement battery and some other needed parts.
True to his word, Luka, with Dara, picked me up and we drove all over Rijeka, succeeding in knocking out my entire shopping list. We even visited a hypermarket for some inexpensive bike and galley-related purchases. What a luxury
to have such easy access to such a variety of shops! On the way out of Rijeka, we dropped off Dara at her parents’ place. I was invited in to say hi, and soon found myself sitting for a family dinner. We ate so much tasty food, much of it originating from the family farm. Even the olive oil, wine, and schnapps were homemade! It was a truly special experience with some amazingly hospitable people.
Back at the marina, the boys and I reconvened and headed out for dinner. We strolled past the most romantic dinner terraces, assuming that the prices would be sky high.
Strangely, one of the most fancy places in town had very average prices, so the three of us grabbed a table and dined in style. For being the high season, the restaurant and its magnificent hotel were operating far under capacity.
Remembering a good party scene in 2009 at the bar Hemingway, we checked it out but found little going on. Seems like Opatija has lost its luster among both tourists and residents of nearby Rijeka. Wandering back towards the boat, we popped into the tacky Colosseum disco near the marina. There was some action, but despite the somewhat
weird vibe, we decided anyway to give it a shot. I ordered a round of drinks, and somehow the bartender managed to overcharge me. After so many seasons in Croatia, I should be wise enough not to get duped. The vodka-Red Bulls went to waste anyway as we turned in before long, hoping that the weather allows us to sail off tomorrow.
(Wednesday, July 30) Woke up to gray skies but a less intimidating weather forecast. We got moving – me in long sleeves and pants – south out of Opatija. Midway
through today’s sail the sun came out, along with some breeze, and we got that summer feeling back for the first time in a few days. We even had a little open-water swim stop along the way. Seas were calm enough that I ducked below and knocked out a boat project, the installation of two more USB charging ports. Too many iAddicts on board these days.
After six hours underway we pulled into the town of Cres on the island of the same name. Sven and I spent a night here in 2009, and I’d been longing to return since. It’s a particularly cute place with pastel colored historic buildings encircling most
of the harbor. Just after getting our lines secure, a rainstorm pounced on us, but it was short-lived. With TripAdvisor’s help, we sought out a well-rated restaurant for dinner. But maps and addresses don’t gel well digitally in this little vacation village, though we did get a grand tour of the surrounding area. Ended up just dining at a little place near the boat.
Despite the poor party prospects in cozy little Crez, we did some boozing on board anyway in anticipation of a trip to the town bar. The last three nights were relatively
mellow, after all. While pouring drinks, one of the crew discovered a new Tinder match, one that was located within a kilometer of us. After some chatting, we learned that there was more than one person, they were Estonian, and they were at the town bar, just 75 meters, as the crow flies, from Geja. Talk about Tinder efficiency! We finished our drinks and wandered over to the bar to find our new friends, two Estonian girls backpacking around Croatia. The conversation became livelier as the drinks flowed, and the party later moved aboard Geja. Interesting what mobile technology enables these days.
(Thursday, July 31) This morning the girls paid a visit to the boat with backpacks on their backs, having just checked out of their apartment. In proper backpacker style, they had no idea where to go next. They had hardly even taken a bus during their trip, preferring to hitchhike around. We invited them to join for part of our sail today, which they accepted. Myself a wanderer, I can appreciate the excitement of spontaneous travel. Our new friends were most appreciative, thrilled to be aboard a sailboat, even one as modest as Geja.
Started off the day with sunshine and good wind, but ended up with only sunshine. As we skirted the west coast of Cres, we pulled into a bay that has a swim-in cave.
Kinda deep for anchoring, I circled while the others swam in. Further south we left the girls in Martinscica, a small settlement that seemed to at least have a road. Turned out to be a cute place, actually, with a nice new quay. We continued on, dropping anchor in Ustrine, a super-quiet bay with no facilities on shore. Just what we needed after last night’s partying. Sven cooked up his famous Thai dinner, his signature dish every time he joins Geja.
(Friday, August 1) Nothing like waking up in a calm anchorage! There was a steady breeze during the night, but nothing that the anchor couldn’t handle. Did some
swimming this morning after whipping up my signature pancake breakfast. Despite the cool-ish weather, the water is still 26C, two degrees above my minimum. Hoisted anchor and full sails at noon as a perfect wind pulled Geja away from Cres, back towards the Istria peninsula. Approaching the southern tip of Istria, the wind swung against us, forcing is to beat our way up the peninsula’s west side. Sven was eager to spend his final night in the town of Pula, but it was out of range. After seven tacks, we dropped anchor in a bay called Banjole at 7:45pm, having sailed 35 miles, almost door-to-door, from this morning’s anchorage.
Banjole is a very pretty and well-protected bay, unfortunately dominated by a tacky resort hotel. They weren’t shy about pumping house and hip-hop music at happy
hour, but it was just a tease. This is a family place. We anyway paddled in for dinner. Not wanting to eat resort food, the front desk pointed us towards some nearby restaurants. Comically, we couldn’t figure out how to exit the hotel. Eventually we found our way out to the backstreets and up to an eerily quiet outdoor restaurant. Another mellow evening…
(Saturday, August 2) … and another peaceful night at anchor - such a luxury to feel so well rested. Better yet, even though we’ve had sunny skies for several days in a
row now, temperatures remain comfortable. I’m not big on heat, and hot is the norm around here.
Left the anchorage in Banjole just after 8:00am for the leg-ending 10-mile stretch to Pula, pulling up to the fuel dock by 10:00am. The diesel tank was far emptier than I’d expected – somehow fuel consumption has been quite a bit higher than usual so far this summer. Kinda strange, since engine performance and exhaust color have seemed otherwise normal.
With the marina staff absent, we helped ourselves to a berth in the ACI marina. It has an awesome view of the nearby Roman arena, of which Mats, Sven, and I took
a mid-afternoon tour. It’s an impressive place, one of the best preserved of the ancient Roman amphitheaters. Our visit ended on a sour note, though. A middle-aged German fellow that we’d earlier seen jogging through the arena came to us, frantically asking for help. His wife had tripped on some stairs, completely snapping her leg just above the ankle, leaving it dangling in a nasty way. It was pretty nauseating. There was little staff in the arena to deal with her, so the three of us carried her to the exit and helped her into a taxi.
Sven left Geja later in the afternoon, ending his one-week stay. Mats will stick around for another week. Replacing Sven will be Rob and Christine, and only a few hours remain to do laundry and prepare Geja for new guests.
Sven, Mats, and I had a memorable Leg Three, despite the occasional bad weather. Sven was his usual commando-like self, up to any challenge. Mats was chill as always. If they would only put their smartphones down more often, though Tinder did pay off handsomely in Cres.