Wednesday 30 June 2010 Iž to Vela Panitule

Wednesday 30 June 2010 Iž to Vela Panitule 25nm

It is nice to sleep on a boat when there is just a little movement to rock you to sleep.  We awoke to another beautiful day and witnessed the marina come to life as the people rose from there berths.  We ate some breakfast and then went for a walk to buy some bread.  It appeared that everyone else had the same idea.  

Sandy waiting for bread

We then readied the boat and motored out of the little harbour.  We are experiencing usual summer weather systems at the moment, calm in the morning 

Calm seas in the morning

and then a good sailing North West wind in the afternoon.  We motored our way south and toward Kornati National Park.  Kornati is a group of islands that had been denuded of trees in years past and are now a spectacular wonder of Croatia.  The rock formations are amazing and the photos don't show the scale of the surroundings.  

Not too deep here!!

On the way to Kornati we had to pass through a narrow channel, with water so clear you can see the bottom as we glided through.  Ivan has been such good value to have on board,  he has become a good friend.  His local knowledge earned from sailing in these waters from his childhood is incredible.  We witnessed a bit of poor seamanship when as we just entered the channel another boat coming the other way entered as well so it was a bloody tight squeeze and the depth sounder showed 20cm under the keel.

We made our way past a big lighthouse that stood on the entrance to the Adriatic Sea proper. 

Still motoring

Old ruins on the hilltop

As we made our way to the open sea we were expecting a little wind as it was now about 11am but it was not to be for another hour or so, so we kept motoring.  I tried to convince Ivan that we could duck over to Italy to have a coffee but he said the boat wasn't registered for offshore.  It's only about 80nm after all :)

As it was now lunchtime and we were hungry we headed back into the islands to find an anchorage to have a swim and make lunch.  We found a spot and set the anchor in a nice bay, put the ladder down and dived off the boat, water temp 24degC.....very nice.

During our swim the wind picked up so we headed off down wind 

Heading downwind

just so we could come back to windward to get some real sailing in.  The wind picked up nicely 10-14 knots and we had a great time.  Actually when we went to reef the headsail the clam cleat that secures the furling line wouldn't hold so we had some fun trying to jury rig that.  It all worked out and we had some great sailing. The wind had picked up to about 15knts so we were having too much fun and forgot to take any pictures of the action.

The marina we are staying in is on a small island, Vela Panitule, with floating pontoons to secure the boats to.

  Again, once we had completed the motions of securing the boat, Ivan said “You know the procedure”, so off we went for a couple of celebratory drinks.  It is a small marina consisting of a bar/restaurant, corner store and the marine amenities.  However there is also another restaurant across the small stretch of water on another island (Piškera) which is famous for the quality of their fish as they catch all their own.  

  

While having pre-dinner drinks Ivan gave them a call and arranged for them to pick us up in their dinghy.  Before settling down for dinner we took a quiet stroll around the surrounds that included a deserted restaurant, a church once used as a hospital in WWII and the distant tinkle of sheep bells .  

The church

The sign tells about it's use as a wartime hospital

The restaurant

The meal was superb as was the wine which is why we didn't get to write any blog that night.  

We finished at the restaurant and they taxied us back to our boat in the dinghy.  On the pier an English fellow asked us about the restaurant and dinghy service and I think he was a little disappointed to hear how good it was as he ate at the only other restaurant – again we were thankful to have insider knowledge!  After our indulgence we fell into our bunks planning for a good nights sleep.  The mosquitoes had other ideas!!  It was a pleasant but balmy night which meant we had to leave the hatches open and as they hadn't any screens the mozzies had a feast of their own at our expense.