Arriving in Istria

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We made the 32 mile crossing from Mali Losinj to the Istrian peninsular as planned on Saturday 18^th May. We had a good weather window of moderate south westerlies which built slowly from a gentle breeze. It enabled us to fly the cruising chute for a couple of hours before changing it for the white sails to have a romping broad reach to the point which boasts not one, but two lighthouses, both set well off shore. This did confuse us the last time we were sailing here, but now we have it sorted  we managed to end up with a perfect course to Paltana,  a bay on the western edge of the point. Unfortunately the small marina here was full and the anchorage crowded with fishing boats, so we went an extra mile to the lovely anchorage of Soline, also known as Kanalic, just to the west of Veruda.  We dropped anchor and enjoyed a warm sunny evening. 

Sunday started off well, but by lunchtime Mo was making soup, such was the change in temperature. 35 knots of wind rocked the boat and tested the anchor holding and torrential rain drenched the decks. We are experiencing  the effects of a sequence of fronts crossing over the North Adriatic, and the weather is a mix of sun, storms and showers. It is indeed lovely when the sun is out and in that time we have made fantastic progress washing and polishing Deja Vu’s topsides. She is gleaming!

Another night at anchor and we moved into the Marina Veruda Monday afternoon to prepare for the arrival of our friends Peter and Sharon Matthews on Tuesday.

Then surprise of all surprises!

As we approached we thought it strange to see a raft of Sunbeam yachts and  extra help arrived as we were deftly mooring up. Over the stern lines we were  greeted by Gerhardt Schohl, Managing Director of Sunbeam yachts.

Quite by accident we had arrived half way through the annual Sunbeam party for its yacht owners!  We enjoyed a very interesting couple of hours catching up with Gerhardt and news about Sunbeam, and proudly  showing him the newly polished Deja Vu II, looking good at 15 years old!

Dinner tonight with the owners of 18 other Sunbeam yachts and tomorrow a day of bed changing and laundry before Peter and Sharon arrive.