Sailing Greece - Part 1

Njivice, Sunday, 28.4.2019

In the evening, when the sailboat was filled with all the necessary supplies, the tanks filled with water, Timy sailed from the safe harbor. With a light bora wind with a few small raindrops, he slowly sails south.

Monday, 29.4.2019

On the way through the Senjska vrata, the wind strengthens to 30 knots, but the direction is very favorable as it blows half astern, which allows for fast sailing at a constant speed of over 7 knots. It has been raining heavily all night, and I am dressed as if I were conquering Mount Everest, not sailing to warmer places to the south. The waves are big and foaming strongly.

In the morning hours, when the sun had already risen in the sky, the wind subsided and finally died out, with the help of the engine Timy continued to motorize.

A maestral started to blow half astern, which was again favorable for sailing with the mainsail and spinnaker raised. Timy rushes towards Vis, where the first landing is planned, in the rays of the sun.

The course is unchanged the whole time, the wind speed is constant, 70 NM to Vis. Rain is coming from the Italian side again, it has cooled down, I expect Vis in the morning hours.

Tuesday, 30.4.2019, 00.00

The wind has strengthened again, Timy is rushing over the tops of the waves, the maximum speed measured by GPS is 10.4 knots.

The wind has calmed down and completely stopped, the sails have finally rested, and the engine continued its mission.

Anchor dropped in the bay in front of the town of Vis, time to rest.

Arrived in Vis, where we first filled the tank with fuel. Timy has sailed 186 NM so far. Tied up at the customs pier, followed by check-out at the offices. Now she can leave Croatian waters.

Start from Vis, accompanied by a strong mistral, followed by large annoying waves, rocking the boat strongly. With the second shortening of the mainsail and genoa, he rushes on his way again. The weather is clear and the sun is already very hot, which is already noticeable on the skin, so it is necessary to use sunscreen.

Since it is still April according to the calendar, it is clear that the nights are still cold, almost winter equipment is needed, the wind has calmed down a bit, and the sailing speed has dropped to 3-4 knots.

Wednesday, 1.5.2019

Yay, long live the first of May!

The wind is gone and Timy continues with the engine again. As befits, it is also my time to catch a tuna :) The tuna measured 55cm and was just right for a tuna steak, which ran well. To my surprise, I also experienced two jet planes flying very low, about 100m 2, next to the sailboat, Timy was shaken by the violent noise. A pod of dolphins joined in and for a good half hour they followed right next to the hull, under the bow, and it was nice to watch them playing with each other, especially when they showed their hulls above the water surface.

Shipping traffic has increased and more attention needs to be paid to safe navigation. For the first time, I also experienced a night visit from dolphins, and I realized that when I was sitting in the cockpit, I heard the sound of water and then an exhalation, to my surprise what it was, it was dolphins. They wished me luck again and showed me a safe path between ships and oil platforms.

Thursday, 2.5.2019

Timy sailed into the Strait of Otranto, this is the part between Italy and Albania. In the distance, the peaks of Albania can be seen, Corfu is still about 70 NM away. The sun is shining brightly. The mistral is blowing at a good 10 knots, speed around 4 knots, sea temperature 16.6 degrees.