Semi Off Topic: Croatia sailing trip

[tjspiel]

I just got back on Sunday from a sailing trip in the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia.

It was described as almost a sailing nirvana:

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and for a couple of days it was. But lucky us, we experienced a multi-day weather event called a "Jugo" and it was more often like this:

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which made for exciting sailing but also a near mutiny from those in our group of 19 who were more prone to sea sickness. So instead of visiting 6 islands in 7 days, we only got to 4. We stayed on one island 3 days due to weather. On one of those days no boat was going anywhere. Gusts were up over 50 knots.

But the trip was never meant to be entirely about sailing the Dalmatian Islands are a fantastic place to visit. Though we had a least some rain on most days, we also had periods of sunshine on almost every day with two days being absolutely perfect.

From a sailing standpoint, it was a mixed experience but we did learn some new tricks like "stern to" docking which is how they get the maximum number of boats into a marina:

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If people are curious I'd be happy to explain the technique in more detail but the basic idea is that there are rings on the pier that your stern lines are run through (always two) and there are bow lines that are permanently anchored in front of the boats and run back to the pier via "lazy lines". The guys at the dock who assist with the process pull up on these lazy lines as you back in so you can snag them with a boat hook and work your way with them up to the bow.

The pics above are all from the trip and I'm one of the tiny people in two of them.

[Brian N.]

All-in-all it appears that you enjoyed the trip. What make of boat did you sail on? How did it sail?

[tjspiel]

All-in-all it appears that you enjoyed the trip. What make of boat did you sail on? How did it sail?

I did indeed enjoy it Brian and watching the forecast ahead of time we kind of knew what we were getting into though it's not what we had envisioned when planning the trip.

We had three Beneteau Oceanis 35.1s and an Oceanis 46.1.

They were well appointed and had really nice sailing characteristics. I've been on a 34 foot S2 and these seemed much bigger in terms of available space. One of days we had winds consistently in the 24 to 30 knot range and though we got pushed around by the waves a bit, they were pretty well mannered overall and we never felt out of control.

But they were set up as charter boats and the focus was on ease of sailing. The sails were not large, there was no traveler. For the most part you could handle the main without a winch. That was true on the 35 but maybe not the 46.

[Riggerdood]

Sounds like you had a little of everything Tom? Nice boats anyway!

Ah, "Med Mooring". It's also the favored method among small boat sailors in FL, when anchoring to a beach that has a steep drop off underwater. Makes for much easier getting on and off the boat.

[tjspiel]

Makes for much easier getting on and off the boat.

It would be hard to do without a swim platform but overall it worked well enough. It meant carrying a gangway/gangplank with us everywhere though. On a beach I imagine you're just jumping into shallow water?

It definitely beats anchoring further out and having to take a dinghy into shore.

[Riggerdood]

Yes, I see the gangways in the pic. Only option there with no dock fingers, and I suspect they don't want those expensive Beneteaus any closer to the seawall! Oh, I meant to ask what kind of tidal range is there where you were?

Yes, the best beach anchoring in FL is where there is "deep water" close to shore, so you can back right up to it w/o your keel hitting bottom, but you can still hop off the stern onto shore. Most of the cruising grounds in FL, such as the East coast ICW, Charlotte Bay area, Santa Rosa Sound, and others have very little tidal fluctuation. One glaring exception is the 10,000 Islands area, where tides are 8-10 ft or more. There are great beaches to anchor to, with deep water right off the beach, but beware the falling tide. How did I find this out? The hard way, of course! West side of Panther Key, and my personal "walk of shame" ... ;~P

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[tjspiel]

Yes, I see the gangways in the pic. Only option there with no dock fingers, and I suspect they don't want those expensive Beneteaus any closer to the seawall! Oh, I meant to ask what kind of tidal range is there where you were?

Yes, the best beach anchoring in FL is where there is "deep water" close to shore, so you can back right up to it w/o your keel hitting bottom, but you can still hop off the stern onto shore. Most of the cruising grounds in FL, such as the East coast ICW, Charlotte Bay area, Santa Rosa Sound, and others have very little tidal fluctuation. One glaring exception is the 10,000 Islands area, where tides are 8-10 ft or more. There are great beaches to anchor to, with deep water right off the beach, but beware the falling tide. How did I find this out? The hard way, of course! West side of Panther Key, and my personal "walk of shame" ... ;~P

Oh no!  At least you didn't have to get your feet wet getting in and out of the boat.

We were told we didn't have to worry about tides but there was a noticeable change in the gangway angle on some days.

[Riggerdood]

Well, since the DS only weighs about 575 lbs, I just corralled a few of the guys to help me carry her to the water's edge. Much better than waiting hours for the tide to come up!

It never ceases to amaze me how tides fluctuate so much across different areas though.