End of the sailing season in Croatia? 15-20 August

Today we went to Rijeka to discuss with the Furuno representative the repairs needed on Belisama to change the autopilot display and reset the network, which has been down for a couple of weeks now, forcing us to sail with Navionics on the mobile phone. Much to our surprise, Furuno told us that they would not be able to work on the boat as they close after the 15th of August to give their staff a rest at the "end of the sailing season"! No problem, we can wait another 2 weeks. 

But is it really the end of the sailing season?

First boletus of the season in Učka National Park area

First sign that boletus can grow nicely in Istria. What else...?
In the spring we had made some explorations to find good areas for mushroom picking, but we were not successful because the trees in the Istrian forests tend to be small, making it difficult to explore. From Rijeka, however, we decided to take the old mountain road back to Pula for some sightseeing. And soon we were stopping in areas that looked perfect for mushroom picking. And indeed, we found porcini in every spot. These were too old for picking, but they indicated a particularly good area for picking. Here is a place to start you are interested. But check the local regulations for picking and only pick what you know, as we came across some Amanita phalloides (death cap), one of which could kill anyone who tried to eat it.

Secondly, the period around 15 August is well known for observing the Perseids, resulting in a meteor shower of shooting stars. This is due to the fact that the earth is passing through the debris (ice and rock) left behind by the 1992 Comet Swift-Tuttle. So it is not actually the "stars" that are shooting towards the Earth, but the Earth "shooting" through the debris floating in the area. They are most prominent in the second part of the night, when the dark face of earth is facing the direction of the earth rotation. When I was a child, we would spend nights laying down in the yard to watch them. It was indicating for us the end of the summer vacation approaching. At anchor in Sveti Andrija we were able to see several, and I was very excited when I managed to get one on film (see below).

Shooting star on the top right edge?

But then I was very disappointed to find that a few minutes later I had the same shooting star! It was actually a reflection of light on the starboard shroud!

Thirdly, we noticed from our terrace that the position of the setting sun has shifted significantly to the left since the summer solstice at the end of June.  

Setting sun from the terrace: left on 20 August, right on 24 June.

Fourthly, when we attempted to equip our new house with office desks, we got messages that they were "out of stock" in the two IKEA closest to us. A clear sign of the end of the summer vacation and preparation for the start of the new school year is approaching. 

Certainly, these are signs of the end of the summer approching, but the weather conditions remain perfect for sailing, with high temperatures and alternating land and sea breezes through the day, making for some fine sailing in the coming weeks.