Sail Croatia

Arriving on the Saturday morning and finding a sea of boats waiting to take on the Croatian waters I scanned them all for mine. I was so surprised to find that it was the beautiful Eos.. perfectly sized with 3 decks, wooden railings and floors, areas for relaxation, deck chairs and dinning room. It was more luxurious than I had expected, that is for sure, and I felt a little out of place in my Dunlop Volley s.

We sailed the Croatian coast from Split to Dubrovnik over 8 days, with 40 people on board and 6 crew members. There were people from all over the world including Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, France and Italy. There were people of different ages and backgrounds and in different places in their lives but it wasn t long before we all were getting along, sharing a card game or discussing our lives. Unexpectantly we became one great big family and this made the trip even more enjoyable.

Over the 8 days we stopped in at Makarska, Mljet National Park, Hvar, Korcula, Dubrovnic, Bol and Split. We saw a great deal of the coastline which changed from small rolling hills to rigged mountains over the week. The vegetation went from sparse, dry shrubs to dense small forests. We enjoyed the sights of bustling cities, small harbours and quiet beaches having to explore these stops along the way.

Days would begin with the boat pulling out of the harbour where we would spend the night, I would often go up to do some yoga on the top deck and really salute the sun! This would be interrupted by the breakfast bell that would sound from the second deck, and sleepy people would appear to enjoy a spread of juice, cereal, bread, tea and coffee... on special days we would have eggs of some sort as well. Mid morning we would pull into a cove and swim off of the boat, I enjoyed jumping from the decks railing early in the week that progressed to diving from the second deck by the end of the week.

It would be then time to relax and read your book or play some cards, which would often be interrupted again by the dinner bell, which included a 3 course meal. Afternoons would be spent once again swimming off of the boat, sometimes to the nearest beach to explore the local towns. Following another relaxation session we would dock at the harbour for the night and leave to boat to explore the town or city that we had arrived in. Enjoying a dinner off of the boat before re boarding to bunk down in my private room!

Sounds terrible doesn t it! Well I can officially say that the worst part of the trip was getting sunburnt on the Li Lo! I have never felt more relaxed in my life!

Peter, an aussie guy, organised a Surf Carnival or Olympics one swimming stop which was a real highlight. Teams were organised and prises were given for various events such as Li Lo racing, swimming around the boat and the Chug a Lug in which the boys had to down a beer out in the water and then race back to the boat. My favourite was the dive from the second deck which I competed in. This was a great event and watched with envy from other boats anchored nearby.

Korcula and Dubrovnik were the highlights for me as I loved the old town feel that they had- which included narrow cobbled streets, green shutters, vines hanging down from walls, people sitting in the streets enjoying a coffee and cigarette and children playing together. The Croatian way of life is fantastic and people are very relaxed and social appearing to know each other in small towns and often gather to share seafood catches. An integral part of their lifestyle is the ocean, I loved this about this country. If you are looking to relax, enjoy a swim and watch a sunset then Croatia is the place to go!