DAY 1: Kremik to Piskera ACI

Sunday, May 25th, we have spent our first night at the Sunsail dock in Kremik, a small port west of Trogir. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that Lola is BRAND NEW, as in we are the FIRST crew to use her. As a Cyclades, she is without a traveler or a rod boom vang, but she does have a Raymarine C80 chartplotter. The Navionics card is incompatible with the unit, but I can use it with the Raymarine software on my laptop. Another major improvement is that we have a genuine refrigerator that will make ice ALL OF THE TIME!

Bruce, Lynn, Walter & I had our chart briefing Saturday afternoon folllowed by our boat brief, so we are ready to depart for ports heretofore unknown. While briefing, the crew completed phase 3 of provisioning (phase 2 having been the Konzum in Trogir). The 4th & final phase will be in Primosten, "around the corner" to the north from Kremik.

The Croatian pennant bearing crests of the 5 counties. You may continue to see the red & white checks as team Croatia progresses in the World Cup.

Lola's layout with ample room for the 5 of us for our 2 weeks.
The first two thirds of our route to Piskera ACI. "ACI" is an acronym for Adriatic Croatia International Club, a network of marinas with which we became all too familiar. Can you say, "Kuna, kuna, kuna"? That's Croatian for $$$.
Aquafile & Mango Tango ride at anchor as their crews complete phase 4 provisioning.
Good bye Primosten.

Mango Tango underway.

Aquafile underway.

The Lola crew awaits their fish dinner in Piskera.

The Aquafile crew is joined by Kate & Cathy in their search for Walter.

Stern tied to the dock in Piskera.

Tomorrow we will walk the island in the morning & then sail the 8 nm to Telascica...

Croatia 2008--Two weeks from Kremik to Dubrovnik

This is neither a travelog nor a ship's journal--it is simply a daily collection of images and observations from our recent trip to Croatia. Croatia lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic across from Italy. You will see a strong Venetian influence in the architecture.

Sixteen Seattlites booked three monohulls for a two week bareboat charter through Sunsail out of Clearwater, Florida. You will learn more about skippers Bruce Connel & Lynn Bain on board Mango Tango, a Beneteau 423, Walter Friesen on board Aquafile, a Beneteau 393, and me on board Lola, a Beneteau built Sunsail (Cyclades) 43.

From many routes & itineraries, 15 of us converged on Trogir on the evening of May 23rd. Paul, who was in Sibenik, would meet us on Saturday in Kremik, where we were to board the boats.

You can see from this photo how patiently they were awaiting Cathy's & my arrival in Trogir. By the time we arrived from the Split airport, they had finished dinner and we were on our own. We are such a close knit group.

This is a 180 degree panoramic shot from the lift bridge over the Trogirski Kanal.

The view of old Trogir from Walter's hotel skylight window.

The first of 4 phases of provisioning, this in the Trogir farmers' market.

The centar (Croatian) Cathedral in old Trogir.

Lunch on the lawn in Trogir. Do you see the grocery bags?
Picked up in Trogir, we have loaded all our gear and provisions on the boats and enjoy our evening dinner together in Kremik at the Sunsail base.

Tomorrow, May 25th, our first day on the Adriatic...