During the last two weeks of August we had stunning weather, we made the most of our middle Adriatic cruising the islands off the Zadar coast, they are endless. There’s not much anchoring here, the locals have found a source of revenue by filling beautiful bays with mooring buoys for which you pay various amounts and there’s usually a konoba or two at the head of the bay with a simple painted board “Fish, Meat, Calamari. Grilled”. They have a huge wood fire out the back and all meals are cooked there. Wine is red, white and if you’re really lucky, rose, sold by the half or full litre.

 

 

 

We sailed south to Primosten, where we’d had nights in past years, then discovered mainland bays heading north.

 

 

 

As we entered the bay of Mirine we saw huge, ugly jellyfish, the first this summer. The locals assure us they are benign but there is no way we would enter the water with them. Inside the bay Sunday day trippers were lining the shore and happily swimming, thankfully the jellyfish were leaving as we arrived. There is an impressively well-preserved fortress wall from this bay over a hill to the next. It was built in the 15^th C to keep out the Turks and in later years acted as a barrier for plague victims. A very sound anchorage with no facilities, heaven.

Sibenik again, this time by yacht and tied up to the town quay next to super yachts. We rarely park in such public places but there is something special about being right in the centre of this spectacular city at the foot of the World Heritage St James Cathedral, reputedly the crowning architectural glory of the Dalmatian coast. Juraj Dalmatinac, a Zadar native, was appointed to increase the size after 10 years of Venetians architects from 1431. The Gothic-Renaissance style is built entirely of stone from the islands of Brac, Korcula, Rab and Krk. The world’s largest church built entirely of stone without brick or wooden supports. Finally finished in 1536.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The island of Zut has two sheltered bays with restaurants providing free mooring buoys as long as you eat in their establishment. We had a night in each. Uvala Hiljaca had aquamarine water and an excellent restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come September there was a ten degree drop in temperature just in time for our first guests since June! Terry’s sister, Margie, and Lizzy and Tony Dyson.

 

 

 

 

 

The weather report for the week had been dire but each day saw the sun appear, we could mostly sail and spent each night either at anchor or on a mooring buoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We re-visited many of our favourite bays and islands, cooked on board or sampled more “Fish, Meat, Calamari. Grilled”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not until the last day our 700 litres of water ran out. The first time we have missed the “out of action” watermaker. Guess it’s what everyone does when they’re camping, bathe in the sea and no hair wash for a week!!

 

 

Having waved our guests off at Marina Kornati, Biograd, a strong sou-easterly dried the four loads of washing, safely hung in the cockpit rather than the foredeck, before the next bout of westerly storms bombarded us for 36 hours. It’s cooler here than Sydney now….time we came home!