To Pula, 23 June 2023

Well, there we are. Yesterday Belisama arrived safely in Pula after an odyssey of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km) spread over the last 4 seasons. In total, the conveyance will have lasted 247 days, an average of 26.3 nm per day, corresponding to 5 hours' sailing every day. 

It sounds tough when expressed in raw numbers, but it has been a pleasure all the way through amazing waters with fantastic support from 19 crew friends who joined on different legs, some more than once. Thanks to all of you! I have to admit that I slowed Belisama down in the last few miles so as not to arrive in port too suddenly.

In Uvala Przine, 22 June 2023

We spent the day very quietly in Uvala Przine as the forecast was for no wind at all until the middle of the night. I started diving with my tank to remove the piece of rope tangled in the propeller that I had noticed yesterday. There were a lot of saddled sea-bream around the boat and they were very curious about me. These seabreams (Orada) are small but delicious and I managed to hook one with a piece of bread on a hook, using the Rusquet technique from Marseille!

This done, given the exceptional level of heat around here, we spent the day on the water trying to cool down!

To Uvala Przine, 21 June 2023

Lavdara to Ilovik has been a 44 nautical mile trip along the islands of Dugi Otok, Molat and Premuda. We are still experiencing high pressure weather with winds predictably driven by the sun, resulting in light land breezes at night and weak sea breezes during the day, requiring extensive use of the engine to keep our schedule ahead of the announced bora episode next Saturday.

 Our dinner guest in Lavdara...

An additional few encounters along the way...

To Lavdara, 20 June 2023

Today, on our way to Pula, we sailed 34 nautical miles to the north-west. For the last few days the temperatures have been very hot and the winds have been "solar", meaning low intensity and coming from the direction of the sun all day. When you are under time pressure, you have to rely on the engine to keep up in such circumstances.

Such a long period of hot temperatures can only lead to an episode of bora, as the high temperature of the sea water calls for some cold winds to come down from the surrounding mountains as katabatic winds, called bora in Croatia...

Split to Šibenik, through Uvala Vinisce, 18-20 June 2023

We left Split around 14:00 after a crew change for Uvala Vinišće, a 22 nautical mile trip from Split given the tacking. After a very quiet night there, we continued north-west to Šibenik, with a swim and lunch stop in Primošten, a 28 nautical mile trip.

On the way, we will have other interesting encounters...

Uvala Kasjuni to Marina Kastela, Split, 16-17 June 2023

Uvala Kasjuni is a very good anchorage in Split, with winds from the north and east. There is a bit of rolling due to the frequent ferry traffic, but it gets quiet at night. There were about 10 boats in the bay when we arrived at 15:30, but all but one had disappeared by sunset. All in all, a very good place to enjoy the Adriatic before heading to one of the 100€/night marinas for a crew change. The Uvala Kasjuni anchorage does not appear in either the Imray pilot book or in Navionics. Only Navily provides input from sailors who have used it in the past and recommend it.

Kasjuni bay from Belisama deck...

A quiet stopover before Split? Well not quite...