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| hazy Dubrovnik |
After shopping for our maps and supplies we depart Orsan YC about 9.30am and head straight for the fuel station. Will fill up taking 110 litres. Since we commenced our trip we have motored for 36 hours. We then head across the harbour and tie up outside the Police and customs departure office to get our paperwork stamped and approved to leave Croatia. We also have to visit the Harbour Master, this process takes about 30 mins so we are heading out of Dubrovnik about 10.30am.
Greg has prepared our sail plan to Greece and once we clear the headland our course is 160degrees S SE until we hit International waters, out first way point. By 1300hrs we have only seen three boats all in the horizon traveling north most likely to Mljet. 22Nms SE of Dubrovnik we take down the Croatian flag as we are now in International waters.
Next heading is 130degress SE. Just as we leave Croatian waters a large pod of dolphins swim with us bidding us farewell. These ones are really playful and are jumping a lot over our bow enjoying themselves.
At 1445hrs we take our next heading of 165degress and plan to stay on this course until day break tomorrow morning around 0500hrs. It’s the next waypoint where we turn into Othoni Greece. ETA midday 21st August.
Later in the afternoon we are joined by some more dolphins that swim with us for some time. They like to scratch their back on the hull of the yacht.
At 1600hrs we lose sight of the mainland due to the haze, apparently there is a bad fire in Bosnia causing all the soot and haze.
At 1700hrs we are 24 Nms off the mainland and we have already passed Montenegro and are passing by Albania. There are two patrol boats making themselves known to us but still keeping their distance. Only 12 more hours to go on this heading yeh!!!!!
By 2000hrs I’ve had a refreshing shower off the back of the yacht and get ready for my shift. Greg had to replace the stern light as there appears to be a lose fitting. All we can see is the horizon line, there is no mainland and not a single ship in sight. The new moon is setting so we even lose the moonlight for the trip. Lifejackets are on the deck and the sun has set. Another pod of dolphins join us and stay with us for about 20 mins. They seem to be having fun.
At this heading there is a cross swell which makes the trip uncomfortable. We take 1 hour shifts on the helm as the auto pilot does not handle this swell really well. It’s really hard work and all our muscles are stiff and aching. It’s going to be a long night, imagine being blind and steering a yacht, that’s what we are doing. It’s is soo black we can’t see a thing in front of us, just hope all the electronics are accurate. We can’t determine the sea from the sky unless we see a cruise liner in the distance, there is really no one out here.
The swell continues to bother us so we change course to give us some relief on the helm. It’s about 2200hrs and I’m using the autopilot for my shift now. Greg is trying to catch an hour's sleep on deck. Every five mins or so there is a rough set of swell that hits us, so strong you nearly roll out of the cockpit lounge wen sleeping.
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| 50 winks |
It’s going to be a long night of darkness. I’m not used to night sailing like this and I don’t like it!
The odd cruise liners passes us by in the distance, otherwise it’s just Greg and me and the ocean.
Dawn breaks at about 0500hrs and we are still 10Nms from out final way point as we lost speed once we took the headsail down before dark.
At 0600hrs we head for our final destination, bearing 147 degrees SE. We have about 50 Nms to go!
We have been taking our bearings every hour and checking the engine temperature and oil gauges, everything has worked really well. At 1030hrs we work out how far we have travelled in 24hours. We have travelled 160Nms at a average speed of 6.66 Nms equivalent to just over 13 Kms per hour.
At approx. 1130hrs we are finally in Greek waters and 12 Nms away from our destination. Greg launches the Greek flag and a yellow flag indicating we have not cleared customs. Essentially it means our boat is dirty. Our plan is to rest at the first Greek island of Orthondi and then clear customs at Corfu on the 22nd August.
It’s still really hazy and for the first time in about 24hrs we can finally see the mainland of Albania and what we believe to be Orthondi our final destination in the distance. It’s great to have a reference point to aim the yacht at. Since 0630hrs we have only seen about 2 ships.
By 1100hrs we have left the Adriatic Sea and entered to Ionian Sea, and in Greek waters. The depth is about 1000 Mtrs and water temp over 27 degrees. Can't wait for a swim! We arrive at Orthondi at about 1300hrs and there is no safe anchoring left to we have to head for the next small island of Erikoussa. We are able to find a safe anchoring and are so pleased to be able to rest for a while.
This trip we travelled 190 Nms and since we left Marina Kremik we have travelled 409 Nms, over 800Kms.
The water here is sooo blue and we are really keen to take a swim to cool off. We are going to take some well earnt RnR.
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| happy Captain |
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