Deja Vu’s re-rig by Sunbeam Yachts went well, according to plan and on schedule. New stays, spreaders, fittings, wind instrument and refurbished genoa furling gear had all been installed and set up, under the excellent expert supervision of Sunbeam’s director Manfred Shoechl and we were ready to leave San Giorgio and the sweltering 30 degrees C, mosquito-ridden river marina.
We stocked up with a variety of Italian goodies at the nearby supermarket we had pedalled to via the cycleway running alongside the busy dual carriageway, and we awaited the arrival of Farnham friends Peter and Sharron Hornsby. They duly arrived in time for seafood pasta at GiGi’s, unpacked in the comparative cool of late evening and were ready for their onboard safety briefing before our departure at 9am on Thursday 20th June. Farewell to Northern Italy this time round.
We made it into Italian waters on Saturday June 1st after a good sail from Umag. Crossing the Gulf of Trieste was quite hazardous with lots of floating logs and tree parts around, presumably washed down the Italian rivers. It gets quite shallow in the northern most part of the Gulf and acts as an anchorage to many ships waiting to go into the port of Trieste, so we navigated around quite an array of vessels to find the small buoys marking the channel into Porto Buso, which was the gateway to the Lagoon and eventually mainland Italy.
Hoisting the Italian flagLagoon
The flat rough ribbon of land that was Porto Buso was littered with a few trees and a couple of derelict buildings and beyond this the lagoon stretched three or four miles across to the actual mainland of Italy. It was surreal motoring through the narrow channel, dredged to about 6 metres with the surrounding water being very shallow indeed. Channels across the lagoon, marked with red and green buoys were actually signposted…Grado and Trieste one way, Murano the other. We went straight across and into the River that led us up to Cantieri Marina San Giorgio, where Sunbeam yachts have their yard.
It was all very rural in one direction but we passed ship yards and signs of industrial activity in another before reaching the Marina and finding ourselves a berth to tie into. We were faced with stern-to moorings with tall posts which Mo had to lasso ropes onto to hold the bow! Nigel moored up perfectly but Deja Vu had to breathe in as the berth was obviously meant for less beamy boats. Ashore we found very little English was spoken by the locals so were grateful to meet Gigi in the Marina restaurant who helped us with some of the translations. We had to wait until Monday for Pierre Angelo to turn up for work to get any sense at all out of the Marina officials, as fortunately for us he spoke quite good English. We feel as if we have discovered the only other nation with the same application for language learning as the English!
We have met a lot of other Sunbeam boat owners as it is a very popular and convenient place for the Swiss, Germans and Austrians to keep their boats, being only a three or four hour drive to their homes. We were even invited to a German couple’s launch party for their shiny new Sunbeam 42 which took place on the same pontoon we were on. Champagne and canapes at 1600 was very pleasant!
Safira Launch partyParty on the Pontoon
We have been here now for 4 days and return to UK on Wednesday 5th June. We have noticed a stark contrast between what we have been used to in Croatia and what we find in this relatively sleepy Marina. Admittedly they are not used to visitors, especially not English ones, but there is a very ‘demani’ attitude where nothing seems to matter. How this contrasts with the relatively teutonic approach of the Croatians!
The marina has a pleasant swimming pool which was very welcome after the bike ride into the town of San Giorgio, about 4 km away. The purpose was to replace an empty gas bottle. A mission duly accomplished after a few wrong turns.
We are here in San Giorgio for Sunbeam to replace the rigging on Deja Vu II whilst we return home for a couple of weeks. At last on Tuesday Manfred from Sunbeam yachts duly appeared and confidence that the rigging job might eventually get done improved. Time will tell, we leave tomorrow for home!
This next blog entry is being written from the main cabin of Deja Vu, 1030am on Friday 31st May. The torrential rain started yesterday, continued through the night and still pours down. We have literally battoned down the hatches, grateful for being in Umag Marina with power to run our fan heater (it is 10 degrees) and the computer!
Going back a few days, we spent a couple of nights in Rovinj, the first of which was sleepless due to being on a Marina berth totally exposed to the unexpected south westerly winds that lashed through overnight. The stern lines of the adjacent Swedish boat broke during the night and we were up most of the night checking and tightening our lines, laying more lines and increasing the fendering. We moved early in the morning to a more sheltered berth inside the marina and then set off to enjoy the lovely town.
Sharon and Peter enroute to RovinjLovely Rovinj town
Rovinj really is one of our favourite places with fascinating architecture, plenty of interesting artisan shops and real Croatian restaurants as well – as the traditional tourist markets. We revisited some of the treasured places we had discovered with Sue and Dick last September and can confirm that the Prosecco is still good and the walls of Number 13 opposite our position sitting on cushions on the street steps, have been repaired!
A Prosecco momentHouse in RovinjGood Croatian lunchSunset on Rovinj
On Tuesday 28th May, we said goodbye to our friends Sharon and Peter who had shared a happy week with us, and set sail to Porec, about 10 miles further up the Istrian coast.
We had briefly visited Porec last year and were keen to spend more time exploring ashore. We sat Deja Vu on a buoy behind the harbour breakwater to gain most shelter and took the dinghy ashore for the day. Rather disappointed this time round, perhaps it was the cool, windy weather, but the pretty streets seemed spoiled with tourism and we were hustled at every doorway to buy, eat or drink, none of which were top of our agenda.
Busy Porec streets
We found the deserted back streets much more to our liking, they contained most interesting buildings and varied facades.
Backstreets in PorecFacades in PorecDesirable residence in PorecGreat event location
It was not long before we were back in the dinghy with some provisions to spend the rest of our time there on board.
We freed our lines at 9am on Thursday 30th May and encountered a very confused sea to make the trip up to Umag, 13 miles further north, very uncomfortable.
Threatening skies between Porec and Umag
The harbour of Umag is very sheltered and grateful for a Marina berth, we cleaned up before going ashore to explore. The bikes came into their own to cover the two miles distance to the town but it was not long before we were pedalling back ahead of more black threatening clouds. The town is poor and depressing, the old parts of the town dwarfed by ugly concrete blocks, relatively new, but old and in poor repair long before their time. So here we are on May 31st, waiting for a break in the clouds to get out and about again.
Umag skyline in a rare burst of sunshine
Our plan is to check out of Croatia from here tomorrow 1st June and sail across the Gulf of Trieste to Porto Buso and then up to the Sunbeam Yard at Cantieri Marina San Georgio di Nogaro. It will be our first excursion into Italy.
After our surrealexperience meeting up with the Sunbeam Yacht rally in Marina Veruda, we spent an afternoon cleaning up the boat before Peter and Sharon arrived fresh from the Stansted to Pula Ryan Air flight. It is tobe their first sailing adventure, so we hope for fair winds.
Peter and Sharon just arrived at Marina Veruda
Wednesday 22nd May we headed round to Pula, a short hop as the crow flies but a journey we extended in perfect sailing conditions to introduce our new crew to the rudiments of boat handling. We close hauled, tacked, took a broad reach, turned onto a run and enjoyed a great sail, with Sharon proving herself to be a natural on the helm. This and a perfect anchorage for lunch convinced our visitors that sailing was indeed a brilliant activity!
Sharon in chargeWarm sailing!
We approached the Marina in Pula with the backdrop of the famous Roman Amphitheatre, 6th largest in the world.
Pula Marina with Amphitheatre in background
Once again we enjoyed exploring Pula with its exquisite Roman remains, quaint streets and impressive bronze of James Joyce, once a resident here. We also restocked our fruit and vegetable supplies in the colourful local market.
Market in PulaPeter and Sharon in PulaThe AmphitheatreExploring Pula old town
As forecast, various storms came through one after the other with high winds, plenty of rain, thunder and lightning and we ended up stayingput for 3 nights until a suitable weather window presented for us to travel further north. Whilst we waited for the weather to improvewe rented a car and took a quick tour of Southern Istria visiting some lovely villages and towns including Vodnjan, Svetvincenat and Labin. Unfortunately it rained torrentially most of the day and whilst sheltering in a cafe in Vodnjan, a hail storm brought the ambient temperature down to 9 degrees!
In Labin we braved the elements and ventured forth clad in several layers of waterproofs and under our umbrellas, to explore the labyrinth of narrow streets awash with rain water.
Exploring Labin
The streets climbed up the hill to afford a view towards Cres where we could see foaming sea swept up by the gales raging across the whole area. We found a warm restaurant in Labin and enjoyed a long lunch. The return journey was drier, thank goodness, and we stopped off to see the Kingdom of Festini Cave, an unusual and totally uncommercialised attraction hopelessly signposted within some sort of farm complex but when we finally found it , it was well worth the detour.
Southern Istria
Saturday dawned dry and offered a half day weather window to move on, so we took it, sailing 20 miles north on a close reach to Vrsar. Another lovely sailing day with some much needed sunshine! Peter took the helm and looked very much at home!
Peter at the helm
The forecast is still promising storms, cool and unsettled conditions, but we hope to make Rovinj our next stop.
We made the 32 mile crossing from Mali Losinj to the Istrian peninsular as planned on Saturday 18th 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 sortedwe 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.
Anhorage in Soline
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 experiencingthe 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!
Mo relaxing after the polishing
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 andextra help arrived as we were deftly mooring up. Over the stern lines we weregreeted by Gerhardt Schohl, Managing Director of Sunbeam yachts.
Raft 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 proudlyshowing him the newly polished Deja Vu II, looking good at 15 years old!
Nigel and Gerhardt
Dinner tonight with the owners of 18 other Sunbeam yachts and tomorrow a day of bed changing and laundry before Peter and Sharon arrive.
We lefthome with rude haste following the choral concert that Mo had taken part in, and after all the rehearsals, the build up and the performance, the music lingers in the mind for several days!
Arriving at Sukosan on Sunday May 12th we had half a day to check all the sea cocks and do last minute jobs. Deja Vu was launched on Monday 13th May. The usual formalities of registration were completed in Zadar, the shopping done, so we freed our lines midday on Tuesday 14th May and headed north.
Heading north from Sukosan
We motored into a headwind to gain some distance then sailed the last few miles into a tiny village of Lucina on Molat that boasted a good harbour wall to tie up to. The sailing season has not yet got going,so it was quiet and the mooring free. We enjoyed a pleasant stroll around the seemingly deserted village, found a war memorial that dominated the centre square and we were most impressed by the very lush vegetable gardens we saw everywhere. That night we ate on board, but did support the local economy by visiting the adjacent bar!
War memorial in LucinaProductive gardens in LucinaDeja Vu alongside in Lucina on Molat
With bad weather forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday we pressed on, on Wednesday, travelling 30 miles with the cruising chute set to Mali Losinj. The weather was fair and rather warm so we make the most of the sunshine and stretched out as the boat sailed past the islands of Molat, Ist, Premuda and Ilovik to Losinj.
Cruisng chute run to Losinj
We are no strangers to this island having visited it twice last year, so knowing the ropes, we anchored up in a small bay for a swim and a shower before ending up in the town marina late afternoon. The water temperature was 19 degreees, and Nigel braved a reasonable swim, but Mo deemed it far too cold for more than a body dip! A familiar stroll around the pretty town revealed a lot of construction work that has been done to improve the harbour wall, and, most importantly, new facilities in the form of a shower block for us sailors!
Arrival at Mali Losinj town marinaMo enjoying a warm eveningLooking across to the town
As forecast, strong gales came through Wednesday night and are blowing hard this Thursday morning as I write. In the shelter of the harbour our anemometer has logged 40 knots of wind, so much more out at sea, coupled with high seas. Happy to be safely tied up here, we shall probably have a lazy day on board, may catch up with some reading!
Rain and gales on Thursday
We expect to be here until Saturday when it looks like we may have a weather window to continue north to the Istrian peninsular. More on that next time.
We enjoyed a warm spell as we set to work getting Deja Vu ready for the 2013 season.
Deja Vu under wraps in April
The propeller had not been set up correctly last year, so Mo stripped, cleaned and greased it and assisted with the very technical reassembly required to set the pitch just right.
Re setting the propeller
The heads needed some attention, so new hoses were fitted.
Nigel fixing new hoses
A new solar panel was wired in and what a challenge that was! Sunbeam are very good at making wiring changes very difficult and it was a triumph of lateral thinking that brought success to that project. The new panel is flexible so it is likely to be mounted in a variety of places to give us the trickle battery charge that we need .
A visit to Kod Guste and Josos, meeting up with friends John and Paul, made the 4 working days very enjoyable and productive!
April 2013 and planning is underway for this year’s sailing trip. We are looking forward to escaping the extreme cold that has ravaged the UK through March and still shows no sign of lettng up. Croatia may not be much better, but it can’t be any worse! We fly out on April 11th for a 4 day maintenance trip and an opportunity to visit the local supermarkets to stock the boat. Mo has been given the task of cleaning up the engine and repainting it. This is likely to mean her morphing into very small spaces which may not agree with the bad back that has plagued her for several months. She is ever hopeful that the intense physio and exercise program she has been undertaking will have prepared her for all of this. One thing has become clear that once on board and sailing, exercise must be taken very seriously – something our more mature years has made very necessary!
Nigel has the skilled tasks of wiring new electrical kit, replacing one of the cabin windows, servicing the heads, looking to fit a foot pump so that we can get water if the electric pump ever fails and he has other plans which Mo is sure will involve removing the headlining in all of the cabins. Not something to look forward to and it may mean that they decamp into Joso’s, the local hotel, for the duration.
The plan so far is to rejoin Deja Vu II mid-May, after the Choir concert Mo is taking part in, and head north to Istria. We have arranged to meet up with Sharon and Peter Matthews in Pula on May 21st and introduce them to the delights of sailing! We will head north to Slovenia and then on to Trieste in Italy, where we leave Deja Vu in the safe hands of the Sunbeam yard for a rigging refit. Whilst that is being done, we will head back home in early June, when we are looking forward to going to our god daughter, Emma’s wedding.
We left Iz on Tuesday 25th September in brilliant sunshine with little wind and motored south towards the island of Zut, calling in on the port of Sali on Dugi Otok, just to take a look. Strong South Easterlies were forecast and Sali, open to the south, would not have been an ideal choice to seek shelter on this occasion. But it looked like a pleasant enough town and we will certainly stop there to explore another time.
A glimpse of Sali on Dugi Otok
The island of Zut has an isolated marina, no village but a couple of restaurants with visitor pontoons to tie up to. Not much to do here other than swim and walk, which we did as weather permitted.
Zut Marina & restaurants
We spent 2 days here whilst the strong winds blew through, but as we had Nigel’s birthday to celebrate, we made the best of our time! One day on a marina buoy and one day on a restaurant pontoon in the most sheltered part of the bay. We climbed to the highest point around, risking getting blown away, but were rewarded with great views of the Kornati islands to the west.
Nigel's birthday morning swimDeja Vu on Restaurant Sandra pontoon, ZutBirthday drinks at Restaurant SandraBlown Away!View from the top, west to Kornati islands
As the winds were forecast to moderate on Friday 28th we sailed 12 miles to Biograd. We still had nearly 30 knots of wind and were well reefed for the beat south alongside the island of Pasman.
There seems to be a pattern here of a few windy days followed by one of calm and the next day was no exception. We had to motor north towards Sukosan and we decided to spend our last night ‘at sea’ at anchor off a tiny island off the town of Prekko on Uglan. We went ashore and walked around the island which was home to the monastery of St Paul. It had beautifully tended gardens which looked like Eden, with fig trees, vines, pomegranates, lemons and lots of vegetables growing profusely.
Island off PrekkoMiniature in the Monastery grounds
Now we are back in our Marina at Sukosan. 3 days to clean up, take the sails off and do all the usual chores and maintenance.
This September we have been as far north as Slovenia. In 4 weeks we have travelled 373 sea miles, and we have experienced more unsettled weather and strong wind conditions than is normal for this time of the year! No real complaints though. Deja Vu II has looked after us well and we have been extraordinarily lucky to have had a great time with good company and trips to some really lovely and interesting places.
With Deja Vu II put to bed for the winter, we look forward now to going home. We fly back on October 3rd.
It was an unusually cold wind, but a sunny day, Friday 21st September, when we arrived at the Bay of St Ante on Silba. We were all alone in a bay littered with mooring buoys, it was quite eerie, and there was only a reef separating us from the open sea. We went ashore in the dinghy and walked the 2 miles into the village..it took exactly 24 minutes as the boatman we met had told us it would.
Walking on SilbaRefreshments in the village on SilbaDeja Vu II alone in St Ante Bay
We cooked on board. It was a lovely sunset, a calm and very dark night with no light pollution displaying a heaven full of stars! Quite cold.
Nightfall off SilbaSupper aboard in St Ante Bay
We woke to a strong southerly wind, coming from the direction we wanted to go, and rough seas. A beat it was for the first couple of hours and then we motored through the narrow gap north of the island of Molat to turn south again towards Dugi Otok. We were surprised that many mooring buoys had been removed from sheltered bays..it was beginning to feel like the end of the season!
We fetched up in Bribinj, a favourite village affording shelter on Dugi Otok. Once again it was deserted. We picked up a buoy for the night, cooked on board and then enjoyed a warm lazy morning on Sunday 23rd before heading off to the island of Iz. It is thankfully much warmer now..about 25 degrees C.
Veli IzOther boats!
People at last! We found plenty of charter boats here in this pretty town, in the small marina, and here we stayed through Monday as there was too much wind from the south to contemplate travelling south.
Captain Nigel on Iz
Another chance to get the bikes out and explore. We cycled a couple of miles along the coastal walkway to Drage and back into the headwind!
DrageStrong southerly winds
A calmer day is promised for Tuesday when we are planning to go south to the island of Zut.
Deja Vu 
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