We are now in the vicinity of Split where we will pick up Jim and Tracey next weekend. This is new territory for us, so we have time to explore.
Our first stop is another restaurant recommended by the skipper on the boat next to us in the marina. It is on the island of Scolta which is the smaller sibling of the island of Brac both of which lie a few miles south of Split. We were going to do a little island - big island two-day trip but the schedule of the Yacht Week flotillas takes them to Brac about now, so we’ll give that a miss.
Sesula is a pretty little bay with a restaurant set on the hill above it. Here we encounter yet another variation on mooring. There are buoys but they also have a line ashore. So you pick up the buoy as usual but then have to run the same line to the stern of the boat and tie off there. Weird but effective. The second variant is that we have a neighbor on the buoy. After we tie up, another boat arrives and rafts up against us. We hold them in place and the buoy holds both of us in place. They’re going to have to leave before we do or we’ll have a Siamese twin for our next sail. They are a nice Swedish family but we don’t chat much after the initial pleasantries.
The restaurant is lovely with friendly and attentive service. We both feel like meat tonight and Lori has boneless chicken thighs and I have stewed deer neck. Both are excellent and we enjoy our meal as the sun sets over the bay.
It seems almost that Split represents just that - a division between the big islands of the south and the much smaller islands of the north. The character of the islands has changed also. In the south they are often quite green (except where the bora blows), but here they are much more rugged and barren. They are not without charm, but it is the charm of remoteness and the sense that the only thing that shapes this place is nature itself.
We sail at about six knots to the island of Kaprije. This is one of the islands that lie off the coast of Sibenik. It has only one village and no cars. The village ambles along one edge of a perfect little bay. Its physical connection with the outside world is by means of the two ferries that dock at the little quay twice each day. People come down to the ferry with boats, wheelbarrows and little hand tractors to take their goods from the mainland back to their homes; tourists with suitcases walk to their little apartments.
We are parked on the town quay and so get a first hand view of all this. There are a couple of restaurants in town but the simple-looking one by the harbor has been recommended. And rightly so. It is by no means fancy but the tuna pate was excellent and my scallops served in the shell were fresh, juicy and perfectly cooked. After dinner, we strolled along the bay and were interested to see that each little house had its own little jetty and mini-harbor for their boat. The sea is just that fundamental here; it is transportation, sustenance and in many cases livelihood.
By the time we get back to the boat, the music has started, Somebody on a little motorboat has an accordion and is playing. People on the other boats obviously know the songs and are singing enthusiastically. It is strange to be sitting in the near dark listening to people sincerely make music and entertainment in much the same way as they have done for hundreds of years. - no contrived pandering to tourists here. The sense of community is very strong.
The next morning we head north into the Kornati islands. These islands make up a national park that is treasured for its remote beauty. There are a few hamlets out here and habitation is almost entirely seasonal. Anchoring is restricted to some small marinas, restaurant moorings and a very few bays. Close attention is paid to maintaining the environment.
The weather is pretty much dead calm and we motor past the bare little islands to the ACI marina at Piskera. We have never been the first sailboat to arrive in a marina. We are today. There are three power boats and all the rest of the pontoons are empty. We park and ask is this is normal. Apparently not, but no explanation is forthcoming. Maybe it’s just the time of the week; charter boats will be in their base today changing crews.
By the late afternoon, there are five sailboats in the marina. Next to us is a jazz septet from the Czech Republic. They have brought their instruments and play stylish jazz standards until dinner time. They have been playing together for almost seventeen years and are clearly very comfortable entertaining anyone who cares to listen. It is great fun and oddly the music seems totally in keeping with ther ugged terrain around us. We eat on board with a live music accompaniment.