Thursday 20th June, our first stop to clear immigration into Croatia was at Novigrad where we admired the old church and sampled some Croatian beer.
On our way in we suffered complete instrument failure which was worrying. Nigel even had to resort to reading the manual to identify that the main fuse had decided to blow. The next morning Nigel and Peter set off in search of a new fuse. The chandlery had closed but amazingly the local electrical store stocked exactly the right fuse. It was duly replaced, local wine in plastic bottles purchased and we were ready for the off. The next few days saw us making miles down the Istrian Peninsular calling in at Pula for some culture and shopping and then the quiet anchorage of Soline for some swimming.
Our next stop en route to Split was Mali Losinj where we moored up in time to shelter from the storm that had been brewing after the long heat wave. We revisited the WWII constructed tunnels and out buildings, all now in a sorry state of dilapidation, but had clearly provided an outlet for some rather good local graffiti artists.
A fresh sail took us from Mali Losinj to Molat to overnight on Tuesday 25th June and then we journeyed down Dugi Otok to its southern edge where we moored up in the town of Sali. By this time Mo was having a serious dental problem that needed attention, and being warned off the resident dentist by the locals, Mo and Sharron took the 6am ferry into Zadar to visit a dentist kindly recommended by one of our English friends in Sukosan. It had been a bad night for Deja Vu as a strong North Easterly had sprung up, blowing straight into the harbour of Sali, bouncing the boat rather viciously. Frenetic night time activity of all the crew to move the boat forward to avoid the rudder grounding on a ledge in front of the wall, ensued at 3 am. Ther wind never died down that night and in the morning was gathering in strength.
With Mo and Sharron in Zadar, Nigel and Peter set off in the remnants of the gale for a 30 mile sail to the mainland port of Vodice which was the agreed rendezvous with Mo and Sharron who had planned to reach it by bus from Zadar. Dental treatment painfully received, Mo, with multiple antibiotics to take, could only get better!
Vodice was rather fun. A busy tourist resort but which had some interesting old backstreets and a fine line in religious artefacts including two very striking depictions of Christ crucified, no doubt left over from Easter, and a plethora of bars and restauraunts. The Marina facilities were good and we all enjoyed long showers, before the excellent Hornsby omelettes.
From Vodice we travelled to Vinisce, a lovely anchorage near to Trogir. The next day saw us in Trogir where we said farewell to Peter and Sharron who had been great crew and fun to be with.
Midnight on June 30th saw fireworks unleashed over Trogir and there were reports of parties all over Croatia, especially in Zagreb, as Croatia finally joined the EU. Unfortunately Angela Merkel and other EU heads of state were too busy to attend the celebrations. Shame on them! Makes you wonder whether the whole European project has gone stale.
On to Split on July 1st, where we anchored in the bay and visited dentist for a check up and hairdresser, topped up on provisions and headed south, stopping our first night in Lucice, a pretty bay on the south coast of Brac. Good moorings.
Deja Vu 
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