Superyachts in Monaco

Wednesday saw the four of us head to Monaco via the very pictuesque Cap Ferat ( home to Somerset Maughan for many years), Villafranche- Loubert and Eze. It is a coastal road cut into the rock with the odd short tunnel. The med below is clear and green.

After negotiating the long subterranean tunnel to find parking in Monaco we hit the Monaco Superyacht Show (Only boats over 20m on display!) It was a bit of fun trying to get an invite on board to a rubber neck but Bryan did well. There were boats with sticks and my favourite was a modest 30 m real yacht made in aluminium by Van Hoek in Holland with a full wooden deck and coach house in the traditional style. The detail was very tasteful and not just for show...clearly the owner had sailing her in mind. The agent enthusiastically told us that there was another hull, just waiting for a buyer!!! A lovely Kiwi deckie showed us over another monster yacht Cinderella 4, from Ireland. She had an engine room and an engineer. Bryan was blown away. It was fun seeing the opulent interiors of some of the big stink boats with their gold plated bathroom fittings. They hire out for no less than 20,000 euro per week! It was all too much so we went celebrity sighting at the casino and home. Thn Tursday was our last day so Cait and I had a shop in Nice and we headed off home to Melbourne....30 hours and 6 degrees.

Tuesday on the Cote D'Azur

Whilst the poor love had to go to work, Mel, Bryan and I checked out the towns in the hills behind Juan and Cannes. I went by bike but Mel had to endure the nerve racking ride in the Renault Twingo with Bryan taking on the navigation (Bob, the GPS voice, seemed to be in conflict with the road signs), the maniacal motor cyclists, the parking and the manual drive with gear stick in the right hand. We checked out the very old and cute Biot, a town of glass blowers and souvenir shops. The local food market was on and we tried deer sausage. I bonked out at Vallbonne, a very pretty village amongst lots of leafy villas whilst Bryan and Mel went on to Grasse where the perfume factories are and did a tour. By the time I reached the Centre Ville of Grasse which was very high on a very big and very steep hill I wasn't interested in perfume or how it was made. Just icecream. We then met up again in Cannes for another gawp at the wonderful classic yachts then back to Antibes for a memorable dinner with Caitlin at the Restaurant Vieux Mur (Old Wall). This was a real delight. It was on the wall looking out to sea. It was a warm,balmy night, the big yachts moored in the harbour were swinging gently , and the food was wonderful , traditional French. I had pidgeon and the others beef. Caitlin chose the wine and impressed us all with her command of the lingo. Bob even got us back to Juan in one piece.

Monday in Juan Les Pins

Monday was a day of great celebration. We walked in the heat up and over the hill to Antibes where Caitlin is living to meet up with her before she started work at 3pm. Bit of late start though then Bryans feet got blisters causing much complaint about the distance. We made it to the Place de Gaulle and met Caitlin who is looking very sophisticated, got tour of her room at the accommodation then went to the Garden Cafe for petit dejeuner. Frogs were the theme and they have some live ones ....not for comsumption. Caitlin lives in the old part of Antibes enclosed in a wall with trendy arty shops. We then headed further to the Port Vauban to see the "Millionaires Row" of superyachts, hung out , ate icecreams, checked out the superyacht training school and picked up the hire car and a bike for yours truly while Caitlin went off to work. I then road to Cannes and found that they have a Classic yacht Regatta on. The yachts were in and moored by the afternoon so I was able to drool over all those classic lines, varnish, brightwork and polished brass. When I got back the siesta was over and we walked into Juan for a meal. Caitlin came over to stay the night after work.

Split to Nice ...A Lost Day

Sunday 20th September was a day of waiting. Waiting for the taxi to Split Airport, then at Rome waiting and more waiting for the plane to Nice which was supposed to take off at 9-15 but eventually did so at 11-15. By then we had tried out every food dispenser and checked every airport shop in the vicinity. bryan happily oblivous , was ensconced in the Stig Larson thriller. We arrived in Nice after midnight and Caitlin had gone to bed and Stephan the hotellier of the Villa Nina had waited up. The taxi driver had his own troubles as the GPS in the taxi took us somewhere out of town first! The hotel is old, funkily refurbished, near the beach and close to where Caitlin is working. It is roomy compared to the boat.

A Day in Split

Split was founded in the 4th century when a guy called Diocletian retired from the Roman public service and built himself a waterfront palace, complete with Egyptian and Greek columns. Its been used since then as a framework on which to build a cathedral, lots of shops,hotels, museums and residential accommodation. Its a bit of a rabbit warren but thats its attraction. Split is also a busy ferry port. Plan is to climb the hill for the view at dusk the have a big dinner with champagne....too hard

The Home Run to Split

Sad, sad, sad it had to end. We refueled at Trogir but due to the fuel mans erratic opening hours missed the opportunity to revisit our favourite town. We swam at a cove on Ciovo Island then headed back to th Kastela Marina in daylight. No sooner were we in than a diver inspected the hull and the defective headsail was whipped off for repair for the morrows charter. That was when the trouble started. Jen had her ipod on and Midnight Oil provoked a bout of deck dancing, the rest of the wine had to be finished then Bad Kate came out from under the whisky bottle, someone turned up the music, Bryan insisted that his personal physicians examine his chest to confirm the recovery from his chest malaise , someone turned the music up and there was more deck dancing THEN a very large , grumpy Swedish man came up behind me and yelled very loud TURN THE ***MUSIC DOWN and proceeded to lecture me on marina etiquette. He was asked to join but didn't take this very well. screamed as I got a terrible fright. Bryan just said ..."told you so" but it took the wind out of our sails and we sat down to contemplate the many smart rejoinders we could have made then ate the remains of the peaches in Contreau and went to bed.

Zlarin to Vinisce

Headed south again , this time in much better weather with plenty of east in the wind so we could sail close hauled. Wind about 15kts when the clew blew leaving the headsail useless. On with iron headsail. Cant say I remember much as I had a power nap that lasted all morning and by the time I woke we wereomorred up in this illegal marina in a pretty cove on the mainland round the corner from Trogir. Only problem was the lazy line got wrapped round the prop and I had to dive to free it. That woke me up. Rest of the crew then had their siesta (C/- of the early morning shutdown of the Colins party at Zlarin) the a bit of a walk and swim, bit of pasta and peaches with Contreau and we all hit the sack.

Sibenik to Vlarin

We set off without breakfast which caused grave disruption to routine. The plan was to get as far south as possible as sadly the days of sailing were running out and we were far to the north. It was overcast for the 3rd day in a row and the (totally unreliable) weather forecast said that the wind would shift to the west from te south east where the "Jugo" had been blowing for a few days. The winds have names and the evil strong NW wind is the "Bora", The wind from the south West, which makes people crazy is the "Sirocco". We pulled in to the tiny town on Zlarin island , from whence the man who invented the Maglite came. The huge wharf was sheltered from Mr Jugo so breakfast was eagerly awaite After excellent pancakes (opinion of others, not just the writer) we set off intending to head to Roganisca to see the Class 1 marina with underwater restaurant. Mr Jugo has other idea and after fully reefing , with gusts of 40kts on the nose and suggestion of returning to Zlarin was easily a consensus. Bernt Paezwold , capt. of the beautiful Beneteau First 47, "Seven" was again there in his green crocs to take our lines. We also saw the most amazing Dutch boat , a one off 30m aluminium ketch with pilothouse, satellite TV , wooden tender, and a galley with granite benchtops..."very thin" the owner assured us , to keep the weight down, "and she really sails!" The wind howled and from time to time it rained but we read, Jenny and Sue went on a leg tearing hike. First, we dropped in on Renato at the Zlarin Yacht Club and he kindly gave us a Zlarin YC burgee for RBYC. The after ripping our attractive legs on feral blackberry bushes, we found the old villa of Sues dreams to renovate and we had a great chat to Bernt and Antya whose daughter is coming to Australia for 6 months. We also met the "partyingest" sailing club in all Europe, the "Colin's Yacht Club" of Prague. 29 boats in the flotilla pulled up and partied till basically dawn. Jenny is joining as soon as she gets back as they do this Croatian thing with racing and drinking every year ....no more Airlie or Hammo...far too passe.

Skradin to Sibenik

From Skradin we travelled back up the gorge to Sibenik. This is a big industrial town on a lake separated from the sea by St Anthony's Channel. This was the first time in 2 weeks we had seen traffic and traffic lights. We got a berth right in town on the wharf , got the obligatory coffee/icecream and headed up to the fort atop the hill. From there we cold see ut to the islands we had sailed to. The sun descended with truly speccie views. We then had a wonderful meal in Restaurant Pelegrin in te old town walls next to the cathedral where the church choir was practicing. A memorable dessert called memhudjet was shared. It was a sort of tiramisu but better.

Skradin The Krka FAlls

In the morning we set off in a boat with hundreds of other tourists , up the river to the lower falls. They are unique due to the limestone which is porous and to which vegetation adheres.."karstic falls". They are basically hairy with green vegetation. The national park has been well done and is clean with informative boards in English. You can catch boats further up river to lake ,one of which has a Franciscan Monastry on an island in the middle. There is a hydro power station , not currently in use , which was the first in the world and second to one in the U.S...so there! Bryan is lifting a turbine . There is also a working flour mill and washing machine.

Primosten to Skradin

The skies threatened , thunder thundered and rain rained in the part of the world reputed to get minimal rain but navigator Jen and Captain Rob got us there. The worst weather seemed to pass to windward while we headed north up the coast then into the Krka River , past a huge fort ..relic of 2 centuries or more then to the large city of Sibenik the up to the Krka National Park thru winding gorges, under two massive bridges to Skradin. This is a very cute little town...aren't they all? with boats that take yu to the falls The marina is huge here and very full today as sailors flee the weather out at sea. Watching people come into the marina and park their boats is amusing as it must have been for them watching us as Bryan took over the backing and tried to ignore the harbor masters intructions to park elsewhere.

Stari Grad to Primosten

This was by far the best days sailing. The wind , which varied between 10 and 20 kts was following and shot us north along the coast to the coastal town of Primosten. For some it was just too relaxingfor some . The old part of town on a former island hill with a church and graveyard on top looking over the blue Mediterranean. We discovered another Australian boat with crew from Mentone. After dinner at the Konoba Dalmacja we listened to the town badn play Frank Sinatra favorites and ate icecream....the icecream is v good.