"Piano, Piano, Piano" - these versatile words of wisdom were drummed into us by our skipper as we cruised our way around the Croatian coast last week.
The Trip
Our trip involved a group of us spending a week cruising on a yacht around the northern coast of Croatia. We left from the port town of Pula, spent a few days working our way to the south and then returned and spent a couple of days further north. A typical day would involve setting off mid morning and cruising for a few hours before finding a nice spot for a swim (or as Willy would say - to 'make swimming') and lunch. Once we were feed and watered we would continue on, typically to a small bay in reach of a good local restaurant for fresh seafood in the evening.
The Skipper - Willy
Our skipper for the trip was a slightly crazy Croatian - Willy. Our charter operator had forgotten to book a skipper for us - so Willy stepped in a very short notice (ie none). Willy had a liking for fast yachts, great food, drinking beer and relieving himself off the back of the boat (the latter two of which he did with amazing regularity). He was a great skipper, a bit of a character and his love of food and knowledge of the coast meant we were spoilt to a great week of boating. [Willy - slightly worse for wear after a long day of sailing... and beer]
His favourite word was 'piano', which we quickly learned could be appropriately used in almost any circumstances - drinking, manoeuvring the boat, when planning the day, during storms - you name it. Translations into English include easy, chill, gently and relax. Good stuff - and now also commonly used by those of us on board.
The Crew
The crew was comprised of 4 couples, all friends - although not everyone knew everyone at the start of the trip. We had a great time and plenty of laughs.
Willy let us get involved in the boating and by the end of the week our tacking had reached the "That's Great" standard - I can assure you, quite a compliment coming from Willy.
The Boat
Our yacht was a 49ft Bavarian. Her name was 'Summertime Girls Pula'..... the latter being a reference to her home port - rather than the magnetic effect she had on woman. It was nice spacious boat... albeit not quite as manoeuvrable as Willy might have liked.
The Trip
Our trip involved a group of us spending a week cruising on a yacht around the northern coast of Croatia. We left from the port town of Pula, spent a few days working our way to the south and then returned and spent a couple of days further north. A typical day would involve setting off mid morning and cruising for a few hours before finding a nice spot for a swim (or as Willy would say - to 'make swimming') and lunch. Once we were feed and watered we would continue on, typically to a small bay in reach of a good local restaurant for fresh seafood in the evening.The Skipper - Willy
Our skipper for the trip was a slightly crazy Croatian - Willy. Our charter operator had forgotten to book a skipper for us - so Willy stepped in a very short notice (ie none). Willy had a liking for fast yachts, great food, drinking beer and relieving himself off the back of the boat (the latter two of which he did with amazing regularity). He was a great skipper, a bit of a character and his love of food and knowledge of the coast meant we were spoilt to a great week of boating. [Willy - slightly worse for wear after a long day of sailing... and beer]His favourite word was 'piano', which we quickly learned could be appropriately used in almost any circumstances - drinking, manoeuvring the boat, when planning the day, during storms - you name it. Translations into English include easy, chill, gently and relax. Good stuff - and now also commonly used by those of us on board.
The Crew
The crew was comprised of 4 couples, all friends - although not everyone knew everyone at the start of the trip. We had a great time and plenty of laughs. Willy let us get involved in the boating and by the end of the week our tacking had reached the "That's Great" standard - I can assure you, quite a compliment coming from Willy.
The BoatOur yacht was a 49ft Bavarian. Her name was 'Summertime Girls Pula'..... the latter being a reference to her home port - rather than the magnetic effect she had on woman. It was nice spacious boat... albeit not quite as manoeuvrable as Willy might have liked.
The Places
Along the way we would visit islands, small towns and fishing villages and beautiful bays. Probably the highlights in terms of the places we visited were Cres Island (to the south of Pula) and Rovinj (to the north). Cres is said to be the closest thing to an Italian fishing village outside Italy. Colourful pastel houses line a crowded little harbour. The town is filled with restaurants, cafes and old woman selling olive oil - a nice spot to restock after a few days sailing. Rovinj is said to be one of the last true Mediterranean fishing ports. It is popular with Italian tourists - so is a mix of cosmopolitan eateries, but with the feel of an operating fishing port. An old church is perched on top of a seaside hill and below it the old town is built on the slopes of the hill. Cafes and bars sit on the edge of the rocky coast and artist's galleries line the narrow cobbled streets.
We also visited numerous incredible little bays,islands and villages. Set in the iridescent blue waters of the Adriatic they are are beautiful sight.
The Germans
The north of Croatia seems to be a hotbed of naturalist activity. As a result many boats passing by were skippered by nude men with their other half lying (equally nude) on the fore decks - more often than not, not a pleasant sight! Similarly the rocky coast is lined with sunbathers who are maximising the area they have exposed to the sun's rays. The naked sailing was particularly prevalent in yachts sailing the German flag, and thus this became known as 'going German' - an activity that (to my knowledge) did not take place on the good ship Summertime Girls Pula. [The crew -enjoying cards and Pimms... not German]
The Food and Drink
Willy had a great appreciation for food and knew all the right people in all the right places. We ate in a variety of restaurants... small family run places in villages, a little seafood place in a fishing village (where Brad Pitt had also visited) and more mainstream tourist spots in the bigger towns we visited. What didn't change was that each place specialised in fresh seafood. Typically Willy would order whatever was fresh - and we were rarely disappointed. The most interesting dish was the fresh Scampi.... which were eaten raw (while still moving!) and then the bodies taken away only to be recycled into a sensational Scampi pasta dish. Another highlight was an octopus and potato dish which was melt in the mouth. Yum! [Choosing dinner.... fish again!]
Drinkwise we were pleasantly surprised by Croatian reds and whites. Less delicious was their form of 'grappa' - a digestive that sometimes tasted like meths - although was more pleasant when combined with coffee or infused with honey.
The Storm
We were very lucky with the weather and enjoyed warm sunny days and light winds each day. The one exception was a freak storm in the middle of the week. Late in the day we were at an island about an hour from the mainland 'making swimming' when the winds suddenly got up and were gusting to 50-60 knots of 'apparent' wind. Twice we attempted to return to the mainland when the winds had seemingly dropped as quickly as they had arrived and twice we were forced back by steep 3-5m waves. The very strong winds came up suddenly 3 times, each time from a totally different direction - quite freakish - and not seen before by Willy in his 35 years sailing in the area. The third time it came up boats in the bay where we were sheltering started dragging their anchors and Willy decided it was necessary for us to motor back to the mainland. After an hour of hairy night navigation (and with a flare sighted behind us) we were safely back in port - quite an exciting evening! The next day we learned that 3 boats had been washed onto reefs that night and 15 people needed to rescued.... a bit of a news event for the local papers in an area where sailing is a way of life. [Right - Calm before the storm...]
The Experience
All in all it was a great trip. We had a fantastic time and we returned a bit browner, very relaxed and with some new friendships formed.
Along the way we would visit islands, small towns and fishing villages and beautiful bays. Probably the highlights in terms of the places we visited were Cres Island (to the south of Pula) and Rovinj (to the north). Cres is said to be the closest thing to an Italian fishing village outside Italy. Colourful pastel houses line a crowded little harbour. The town is filled with restaurants, cafes and old woman selling olive oil - a nice spot to restock after a few days sailing. Rovinj is said to be one of the last true Mediterranean fishing ports. It is popular with Italian tourists - so is a mix of cosmopolitan eateries, but with the feel of an operating fishing port. An old church is perched on top of a seaside hill and below it the old town is built on the slopes of the hill. Cafes and bars sit on the edge of the rocky coast and artist's galleries line the narrow cobbled streets.We also visited numerous incredible little bays,islands and villages. Set in the iridescent blue waters of the Adriatic they are are beautiful sight.
The Germans
The north of Croatia seems to be a hotbed of naturalist activity. As a result many boats passing by were skippered by nude men with their other half lying (equally nude) on the fore decks - more often than not, not a pleasant sight! Similarly the rocky coast is lined with sunbathers who are maximising the area they have exposed to the sun's rays. The naked sailing was particularly prevalent in yachts sailing the German flag, and thus this became known as 'going German' - an activity that (to my knowledge) did not take place on the good ship Summertime Girls Pula. [The crew -enjoying cards and Pimms... not German]The Food and Drink
Willy had a great appreciation for food and knew all the right people in all the right places. We ate in a variety of restaurants... small family run places in villages, a little seafood place in a fishing village (where Brad Pitt had also visited) and more mainstream tourist spots in the bigger towns we visited. What didn't change was that each place specialised in fresh seafood. Typically Willy would order whatever was fresh - and we were rarely disappointed. The most interesting dish was the fresh Scampi.... which were eaten raw (while still moving!) and then the bodies taken away only to be recycled into a sensational Scampi pasta dish. Another highlight was an octopus and potato dish which was melt in the mouth. Yum! [Choosing dinner.... fish again!]Drinkwise we were pleasantly surprised by Croatian reds and whites. Less delicious was their form of 'grappa' - a digestive that sometimes tasted like meths - although was more pleasant when combined with coffee or infused with honey.
The Storm
We were very lucky with the weather and enjoyed warm sunny days and light winds each day. The one exception was a freak storm in the middle of the week. Late in the day we were at an island about an hour from the mainland 'making swimming' when the winds suddenly got up and were gusting to 50-60 knots of 'apparent' wind. Twice we attempted to return to the mainland when the winds had seemingly dropped as quickly as they had arrived and twice we were forced back by steep 3-5m waves. The very strong winds came up suddenly 3 times, each time from a totally different direction - quite freakish - and not seen before by Willy in his 35 years sailing in the area. The third time it came up boats in the bay where we were sheltering started dragging their anchors and Willy decided it was necessary for us to motor back to the mainland. After an hour of hairy night navigation (and with a flare sighted behind us) we were safely back in port - quite an exciting evening! The next day we learned that 3 boats had been washed onto reefs that night and 15 people needed to rescued.... a bit of a news event for the local papers in an area where sailing is a way of life. [Right - Calm before the storm...]
The ExperienceAll in all it was a great trip. We had a fantastic time and we returned a bit browner, very relaxed and with some new friendships formed.
