WHERE ARE WE ANNE?: LAYING DOWN THE MILES

Rogoznica to Dubrovnik 110 nautical miles.

Three days, 13th August to 15th August 2013

Rogoznica to Soline Bay, Palmizana to Zaglavac Bay, Peljesac to Dubrovnik

A late start leaving Rogoznica after we enjoyed showers, washing clothes and then spread out on various sorties. Bill and I went looking for gas refills and hardware items with limited success while Linda and Anne did a resupply operation at the supermarket to return with that bright smug look of success that only two women can share when they have both bought two dresses each at bargain prices on the way back from the supermarket.

Not much wind so a motor sail to Soline. Turns out, about 50 to 60 other vessels had the same idea and were packed in to all the good spots over several bays on Palmizana which is near the popular spot of Hvar. We arrived late about 7.00pm and had to nose about for a bit before settling on a spot with suitable mix of depth, bottom, shelter, ambience and best separation from others. We deferred to Bill's experience and he delivered. Anne put in sterling work as glamour deckie and anchor person. Distracted with welcome sundowners and then dinner, we didn't even get around to a swim.

We are, in the end, on a mission to get south to Greece so Bill and Linda can reunite with their yacht Lati. For that reason we have to motor and put in some long days chugging to get the miles behind us without the side trips. We left Soline Bay early on the 14th at 6.50am after a heavy dew and motored south in still air despite the Bora forecast for later.

We passed by Korcula, a popular, atmospheric island and town. The sort of island you would definitely explore with more time. Marco Polo was born there in 1254 and remains their explorer poster boy. There was a mile or two only of good local wind through the narrow strait between Korcula and the island of Peljesac. The local windsurfers knew it but once past Korcula it was all over.

After 48 nautical miles we were looking for an anchorage. We made a drive by into Trstenik and then just south, a pretty little surprise find of a bay with no one anchored in it save for the obligatory nudists getting sunburnt. Well actually there was one yacht, but they left just as we anchored and had jumped in for a swim in particularly clear water.

A note on the nudity meter. It was bouncing around with registrations all day, going through all the zones from very pink heading for painful sunburn, tanned leather look to just plain showing off. It is working overtime and often needs the glass tapped to dislodge the needle from the extreme end and get it back on the scale. This is because it is still set to the Australian Standard where it hardly does any work and has yet to be recalibrated to the European standard when I'm sure it will behave more sedately. Coming from a country where we spend our lives avoiding excessive exposure to the sun, it takes some adjusting to seeing people who are absolutely nuts about getting as many rays as they can squeeze in.

Arrived Dubrovnik. More as time allows for next post.