Coleman Sailing Trip 2017

Well, the sailing season is well and truly over.   I am sitting on our easyJet flight back to London.   The last week has been very good.   Even the weather improved.   The skies finally cleared and the sun shone in the afternoons making it pleasantly warm.   Of course as soon as the sun went down it got cold and by morning it was only 14C in the cabin, so heating was used on a regular basis. We basically spent the last week being sightseers.   We even got ourselves Venice travel cards which last for 5 years and reduce the cost of a vaporetto ride from 7.5 euro to 1.5 euro.   You pay for the card, but make up the cost after 9 journeys.   So we felt like real residents.   We did a few things we never did before.   In particular we went to the Biennale.   This is the alternate year international art festival held in Venice.   The art was all very Avant-garde, and generally not great, but the atmosphere was lovely and it is h...

The weather certainly did improve today.   The sun has been shining all day and it even felt warm.   With the better weather my view of the marina has improved.   The best thing is that we have found toilets and showers only 50 yards away!   They are a bit tired, but we had heard that.   They seem perfectly functional and certainly will make our life a lot easier. We have decided to spend the day sorting the boat out.   We start at the marina office where we try to get a further discount for being a member of the Cruising Association.   As we suspected because we got a 10% discount on the bill for a Boat Show special they are unwilling to give another discount.   Fair enough.   We speak to someone about the maintenance work we want done over the winter.   We need to send him an e-mail with the full details and he will get in touch with the appropriate tradesmen. I do a load of laundry.   Not a roaring success.   Their ...

Well, we made it here, but it hasn’t been clear sailing, so to speak.   We woke up to a totally grey sky and it was cold.   For the past few days although it has been cold the sun has been shining and bringing some warmth.   Without that it was miserable.. The weather forecast didn’t show rain but looking at the sky that seem rather optimistic.   Nonetheless we set off.   We are anxious to get to Venice as that has been the goal throughout. We left the marina just before half past 9.   I didn’t make any lunch.   I didn’t have enough bread to make sandwiches and we thought we might get in by say 2:30, time for a late lunch.   The trip was cold and boring.   It was persistently grey with no wind all the time.   There was even the odd spot of rain, but nothing to worry about.   As expected we just motored.   At about 2pm we got to the turning to go into Venice.   I don’t know what we expected, but it wasn’t what we g...

So it was today we left Croatia.   It was all very simple.   The office at the end of the pontoon opened at 8am.   We had had our cereal and decided to have coffee under way.   Richard went there as they opened and was back all finished within 15 minutes!   So we rushed off and slipped our mooring at 8:15. The weather has been much the same as before.   Cool, not much wind and sunny.   Richard did put the Genoa up for an hour or two with the engine (which gained a third of a knot) but generally it was the usual motor all the way.   The only problem was that the sea was a bit lumpy.   It was coming at us from the side so we were corkscrewing.   So I took a pill.   I don’t need to worry about running out now.   We only have one more day of sailing! We had to go 30 miles, so it was a bit of a slog.   At about noon, or a bit later I suddenly felt very tired and fell asleep in the cockpit.   This isn’t unusual on ...

It’s my birthday.   However, it is not going to be a day of celebration.   We didn’t even manage to get a bottle of champagne aboard to make any festivities. So we left port fairly early, about 8:30.   We didn’t have far to go to get to the last port in Croatia to sign out and go to Italy.   The weather forecast is for settled if cool and slightly cloudy conditions.   It certainly has been cold.   It was 14C in the cabin this morning when we got up.   We put both the boat and fan heaters on!   In the cockpit the sun shone enough to stop us freezing, but we were both wearing our fleeces. There was little or no wind, and what there was eventually went on the nose.   So it was another day of motoring.   Other than the fact that Richard plotted us a course which almost took us into a ridge of rocks, nothing eventful happened.   (There was a gap but safety first!)   One curiosity did occur.   When Richard finally put h...

We have stayed here today because we seem to have time.   This place is a bit odd.   It is clearly just a beach resort, but there are nature reserves you can go to on tourist boats.   We don’t think private boats are allowed. We have found that in this part of Croatia most of the tourists are German.   German cars abound and all the locals speak German.   In fact there is not much English spoken here.   We have had some language difficulties because of that. It has been cold and we have been putting layers on and taking them off all day.   I did some shopping.   I found a butcher and bought some meat.   I also bought a very expensive piece of cheese.   It cost over £10 for about 6 ounces.   It is a hard cows cheese with local black truffles.   We had a taste and it is very nice. The big excitement was over our insurance.   We got an e-mail from the Cruising Association saying that the Italian authorities had r...

We woke early and checked the weather.   It looked OK to go.   We didn’t rush and left our mooring at about 9:30.   The sun was shining but it was rather cold. We had a long way to go to get out of the harbour, so we put up the sails.   The forecast was for some strong gusts, so we left in the reef from the last sail. Well the wind started at a 4, but soon was gusting strongly up to a 6.   I was not a happy bunny because we were going into the wind initially and we were heeling a lot.   At one state Richard asked me to let the main sheet out, but I couldn’t do it.    The damn rope has been acting up and won’t go through the clutch.    This means you have to lean over the coach roof and push the rope through to make it move the sail.   Today we were heeling so much (not quite gunwales in the sea) that I couldn’t reach to pull the rope without moving to a position where “I was sure” I was going to fall over and go out of the cock...

We did the town fully today.   Richard’s app on his phone says he walked 15,055 steps!   I usually do 20% more than him (short legs) so it is no wonder we are tired! The town is interesting and the Amphitheatre is huge.   We saw lots of Roman bits among Venetian and other structures.   The weather has even been nice.   It was sunny and by the afternoon quite warm.   Of course the afternoon breeze coupled with the sun going down has made it cold at night.   We have had the fan heater on! I got two loads of laundry done (at a cost, nearly twice what I was paying in Greece), so that is up to date.   We hope the settled weather lasts until we get to Italy.

We did get up early and managed to leave by 7:30!   The sun wasn’t up yet, but it did come.   The port we stayed at is at the end of a long harbour.   Richard found there was a shortcut to get in and out and wanted to try it.   So I went below to make breakfast and sandwiches for lunch when there was a terrible banging noise.   As Tom Cunliff once said “We all know what it sounds like to hit a rock”.   Well I do and I knew that is just what happened.   Richard had put us aground on rock in this so called short cut.   Luckily the keel was fully down and by taking it up and going in reverse (only done when I shouted to go backwards) we got off.   There were a few moments of tension when Richard wanted to proceed down this route and I knew we would not.   So Richard avoided a full mutiny and went back to the usual route which we came in on.   We had hoped to sail but to start with there was absolutely no wind.  But ...

I didn’t post yesterday because nothing happened other than it rained!   It rained all Sunday night and right through Monday until teatime.   There was also a warning of very strong winds gusting 30-50 knots!   So we didn’t go anywhere.   The only vaguely interesting thing was that the marina drove us to the local shop to get some food and waited for us to finish and drove us home.   Also when it finally stopped raining Richard cleaned and put away the dinghy. It was very windy from early evening well into the night.   I was getting worried that we would never get away and never make it to Venice on time.   But we were pleasantly surprised this morning to find that the sun was shining.   The weather report was still for winds gusting up to force 6, but wind or no wind we had to go.   The forecast was even worse for Wednesday with winds of over 30 knots. We set off with the just the Genoa up.   The wind was blowing a 5 gusting 6,...

The forecast this morning seemed OK.   There was suggestion that there might be a light shower, but nothing too bad.   So we decided to set out as soon as possible.   We left our nice mooring at 8:15 and set out to go to what looks like a delightful anchorage which is really a passage between two islands.   It is only 25 miles away and we should get there by lunchtime, so I haven’t made anything to eat under way, The day starts out nice enough.   The wind is very light, but from behind.   So we put up the sails in the hope that it will help us get a bit more speed on.   All seems to be going well until about noon, when the sky turns a very funny shade of Wedgewood blue and we can see rain coming out of the clouds in the direction we are going.   Perhaps the original view that Sunday was going to be wet and windy was right after all. Seeing this Richard suggests that we change course.   He has identified a marina on an island 15 miles...

When we got up this morning the sun was shining and it seemed a lovely day.   Richard looked again at the weather forecast.   As it has said all along, today would be sunny and settled with little wind.   But the forecast for tomorrow had changed.   There were no more suggestions of strong winds or rain. In the circumstances we decided to revert to our original plan and go to Sali which is the main town on the island of Dugi Otok in the Zadar Archipelago.   It is a large group of islands, many of which are unoccupied.   Sali has a town wall to moor to.   Richard was a bit worried because the books say the harbour is not protected from an Easterly wind, but the forecast doesn’t show that will be the case. So we set out. As ever, there is little or no wind.   Richard tried to put up the Genoa, but gave up after half an hour.   It was so settled I was able to make lunch under way.   We arrived in Sali at about 2:30pm.   There ...

The anchorage last night was really lovely.   In the end there were 10 boats in the bay.   Had the weather been warmer and allowed us to swim it would have been perfect.   In the morning we were a bit shocked to see that the temperature in the boat was only 14C.   So we put the heating on for a few minutes to just top up the warmth.   I went up to the cockpit and found it was actually warmer there especially with the sun shinning.   But the water temperature was only 17C. We set off just before 9am.   We hoped that we might be able to sail again, but no.   The usual conditions applied.   Little wind and what there was, was on the nose.   So it was back to motoring for the morning.   Last night we contacted a marina 25 miles away and booked a space.   We were persuaded to pay to reserve because it is Friday and the charter boats come in.   Not sure it was necessary, but better safe… The trip was pleasant if boring....

Yesterday the lady in the Marina reception suggested that the weather today might not be suitable for us to leave.   But we woke up to sun for the first time in days and the forecast looked good.   We hadn’t planned to go far.   Richard identified an anchorage on the mainland which is only 14 miles away and is free! So we set off.   The plan was to stop at the fuel quay and fill up on diesel.   We are down to half a tank, which isn’t a problem in itself, but I worry where we will find suitable supplies on the way.   However, when we got there a superyacht was taking up the whole of the quay and said they would be there for another half an hour.   So we gave up and left. As we left the harbour it seemed like there was sufficient wind to sail and not on the nose!   So we put up the both sails and shut off the engine.   It all started comfortably enough.   The sea was very flat and comfortable.   The wind was blowing a force 4...