Underway

June 16, 2009

We all successfully assembled in the town of Marina on Saturday, departing more or less on time Saturday afternoon and had a nice sail to Maslinica on the island of Solta, about a 2 hour sail. Winds were somewhat light but freshened nicely during the mid sail. Maslinica is a small, picturesque town. As we attempted our first Med mooring (securing to the pier by backing in stern first), we heard music & singing from across the marina. This continued until about 10 that night; ‘turned out it was a small bar with a large group of mostly young people, filling the bar and spilling out onto the pier by the waterfront. Singing, drinking beer and flirting, they were accompanied by a makeshift ensemble consisting of a sax, an accordion & a guitar. Actually, they didn’t sound half bad, arguably attributable to talent, but more likely to the beer. This continued thru the sunset; it didn’t bother us since we all descended on an outdoor cafe across the marina from our boat for fresh-caught seafood and Croatian wine.
Provisioning has turned out to be more of a challenge than we had hoped for. We went on a scouting trip to a grocery store in Split before we got under way & were mildly encouraged. But Maslinica, which the guides said had a “supermarket”, but it was really more like a 7-11. We picked enough for breakfast & lunch for the next day & then departed for Milna, on the western tip of Brac. This was another picturesque but larger town, where we stayed Sunday night. Here we found most of what we needed, albeit after going to 3 or 4 different stores. We were then treated to a gourmet repast prepared by our on board chef, Yvonne.
Illness and injury have also struck, afflicting several, including 2 of our 3 captains. These have included falls resulting in cracked ribs, one broken arm, one bruised ego, one ruined camera, two cases of high fever, one strep throat and one skin rash (finally attributed to using strange new razors & skin products). Fortunately, we are well staffed with medical expertise; as part of our entourage, we have Chip, an MD with 30+ years of experience, at least 2 RNs, and a nurse practioner who is also a licensed acupuncturist. She & Chip have been in high demand.