After a week enjoying Split’s beach, we left to start our highly anticipated MedSailors vacation. Once we arrived in Trogir (note to self go back to Croatia to visit this town) we met our yacht a.k.a. Marot a.k.a. home for the next week. Next, we met our crew mates, four Aussie’s, two Kiwi’s, and an English skipper. Following introductions, we were briefed on the boat about general rules, a little safety, tour details, and a very intimate discussion about defecation on a boat with a pressurized system that had the potential to explode (likely in someone’s face) if not kept orderly.
After all the dirty details were taken care of we quickly set sail for the open waters of the Adriatic. Upon exiting the marina, something began knocking below deck. Our skipper determined it was a rouge pot not in its proper place. He asked me to hold the wheel while he dipped below for a moment to handle the clanking.
I obliged. The moment my hands touched the wheel I manged to let the boat do a complete donut before the skipper could sprint back on deck.
It was not done on purpose mind you. When he let go of the wheel, we began to turn at an exceedingly quick rate. Having never steered a boat before, but recognizing one of the worst way to sail is in circles, while at the same time knowing that some of the worst accidents happen when people overcompensate while steering, I did what I though was best. I put my hands on the wheel and allowed us to continue our spin around the drain.
When our skipper realized what was happening, while we were also trying to get his attention to come back up to the boat, he darted back up confused as to why we were going in circles. He righted us, everyone made jokes at my expense, and we set back on the proper course. Only days later would anyone admit that I didn’t turn the boat that way, that in actuality we had started our quick turn before I got a hold of the wheel.
We spent the rest of the day and evening getting to know our new international company and getting accustomed to life on a yacht.
The cruise days can be summed up by saying we were either swimming or eating. Occasionally we sailed. Most of the time we were powered by motor.
The scenery was amazing. Our days were spent swimming and playing in the crystal clear water. Our nights were spent in different cities and villages.
One of the first nights was in Hvar. This city was known for its wild party atmosphere. The party yacht companies (cough cough Yacht Week cough cough) spend multiple nights near the island. Our company only spends one night there and it was enough. The evening started out innocently enough with a hike to the local fortress. This provided amazing views of the area.
After our hike we had a drink at a beachside bar. It felt like we were living MTVs Spring Break. Music blaring, drinks flowing, and lots of mingling. I loved it.
The next party was after dinner at the Kiva Bar Hvar. This is where all the yacht people go to have a good time. Sweet Home Alabama was sung, more drinks were flowing, and fire codes were surely being broken. I also loved this.
It was a mess. A pretty good time, but a mess. The rain seemed to make everything especially sloppy.
Night three was in Vela Luka, another adorable little town on the coast.
Night four was in Korcula, probably my favorite town among the islands. We enjoyed sunset cocktails from a turret of some ancient castle/fort. Who would pass down a cocktail bar in a turret? Our dinner that night was “on our own” so we enjoyed an Asian street food dinner. All other nights restaurants are decided for you and you eat with the other members of your crew. We enjoyed the company from our boat, but we didn’t always enjoy the food.
Korcula was a nice change and our meal was one of the best in Croatia. For a nightcap, we watched Croatia pull out a win over Spain in the Euro Cup. This was a huge win for the country and everyone was out and excited.
Night five was a little different because when we got off the boat, we headed for a national park, Mljet . Not as beautiful as Plitviče , but we were able to go for a swim. Our crew rode bikes around the park, took a few swim breaks, avoided the sea churchins (sea urchins that live near the monastery in the middle of the lake in the middle of the park) and took in how lovely the island of Mljet was.
Night six, our final night. The day was one of our favorites on the boat. By now we had gotten to know everyone relatively well and they were all pleasant people. We really enjoyed spending time with them. We had celebrated two of our crew’s birthday and by this day we were all soaking up our last full day on the water. During lunch our skipper would stop the boat and cook lunch for us. We used the time for swimming.
At our last lunch break our skipper found the most remarkable bay for us to swim in. We liked the bay so much that together we begged our Skipper, MedSailors Captain and anyone that would listen to let us stay there to swim the rest of the day away. It wasn’t in our cards so after an enjoyable swim we made our way to the other yachts to have a paddle board race. By now our boat was unified in one goal – win the paddle board race and make all the other yachts wish they let us stay in our perfect swimming hole.
We lost…
We spent the rest afternoon having a dance party on the front of the yacht. The party continued once we arrived in Šipan. Collectively we were a mess and carried that on to the wee hours of the morning. There was accidental body slams, behind the bar djing, drinking from trophies (not ours of course we lost the race by a long shot), singing and most importantly a USA chant that was not started by the resident Americans. It was a great way to end our week long yachting adventure.
Our final day on the boat, the waves were a little rough (not to mention the night before) which made for a difficult morning, but we managed to make it to Dubrovnik and then said our goodbyes to our roommates for the past week.
We enjoyed the company of our boatmates over the last week. We got to know each other and we were were sad to see them go. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. The scenery is unparalleled. The people we met were lovely. I don’t think there is a better way to see the island towns of Croatia. We would go back in a heartbeat.
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