The first turn with only the two of us

The first turn with only the two of us

We intend that the boat will never be without Prosecco - or any other type of bubbly wine. That's why we drive to the nearby Prosecco Region and fill up our stock.

As soon as the weather and the wind are to our liking we leave our sheltered berth. I could use some more hands, but apart from a squashed fender and a lot of heart pounding (at least for my part) we did quite good.

The wind points to Slovenia and we head for Piran.

This is a good decision as we are able to find a space in the little harbour. This might not be possible later in the summer.

So we take the opportunity to visit this little city.

Unfortunately next morning it is raining, but we don't feel bored. There is always something going on. The mooring line of our neighbours is wound around the rudder of their boat. We show them, but they don't believe it. When they want to leave they have a hell of a problem. One of them has to dive several times to loosen the line, no fun in the dirty and cold water of a harbour. Eventually they succeed and the next neighbour is the "Astrea of Attica" with her very British crew - very distinguished, but very nice.

In the evening a thunderstorms gets up and the harbour master warns us after the Tramontana comes the Bora. We take a second mooring line, but the night is very restless.

Since the weather is still not very nice we decide to stay here another day.
There is a small seaquarium -- everything is small in there: very small sharks, very small morray eels, very tiny octopussies...

We can hear a strange noise on board -- it crackles. The search keeps us busy but we are not able to find the source of the noise…

It was worth waiting for. In the morning we have blue sky and sunshine. The wind blows us with high speed to the Brijuni Islands.

Even while berthing the wind is quite strong. The mooring line is very heavy but eventually and with help from the land side we are tied to the quay.

The archipelago of Briujni was cultivated by the Romans in the 2nd century BC; they built villas and 'pompous' residences. The islands became, together with Pula, the favourite holiday spot for the Romans. In 1331 the Venetians built the small harbour and exported from here marble, salt and wood. In the 18th/19th centuries the place was totally deserted because of malaria. In 1893 Brijuni was bought by a rich industrialist and when the bacteriologist Robert Koch wiped out the malaria it became an exclusive holiday resort. From 1947 until his death it was the official residence of the Yugoslavian president Tito. They all knew where it is nice and beautiful. In 1983 it became a Croatian National Park.

Nowadays it has a strange mixture between being taken care of and looking scruffy with the old communist charm. There are bicycles for rent and on your bike you can discover the place.

There are only ruins left from the Byzantine and Roman times. The safari park with its zebras and lamas doesn't really fit but otherwise we like it a lot. The fees for the landing stage are horrendous, but we can shower in the hotel and use all the hotel facilities. And besides it is our 34th anniversary!

We still hear this crackling noise inside the boat below the waterline…

Our next destination is the little island of Unije where we have been on our last trip. On the way we practise sailing manoeuvres.

There is no problem with that, only the berthing makes me nervous. But it works out perfect at the buoys in the little bay.

This time there are some more boats here but there is space for all. The water is crystal clear and the temperature now is now 21 degrees. For spoilt Saudi blood it still feels very cold. Rainer prepares our Zodiac and its motor.

Late in the afternoon we drive to the opposite coast and take a 15 minute walk over the hill to the little village of Unije. It has 85 inhabitants, 240 houses three restaurants and a little harbour.

But we like the place where we are much more, even though we can still hear this strange crackling noise….

A few weeks ago we were filled with enthusiasm for the marina of Vrsar and the service there. That's why we go there again and hurray, perfect berthing this time! Of course we wander to the little restaurant on the hill. We are known there now but this also means we have to drink Slibovice. But never again….

Today there is no crackling, maybe it has been a ghost and left…

It is only a little hop to Porec. We find a place right in the city harbour. The tourists walk along the mole and look at the boats and the people on them. But it is also the other way round, we also "watch people". In the afternoon our English friends from the beginning showed up as well, their time in Istria is also coming to an end.

Porec is THE tourist city of Istria. A lot of buildings from ancient times are still preserved like the street pavement of the Roman Parentium and the Euphrasius Basilika, one of the most beautiful Byzantine buildings of Europe.

We clapped our hands too early, as the crackling noise is there again. May be we should ignore it….

Thanks to the modern navigation you can take a bearing from miles away. This makes it very easy for the way back. We are too early to motor through the lagoon and we have to wait at the entrance for the high tide. Correct, we have to use our anchor for the first time. Means Rainer throws it and I have to steer backwards. I can't even do that while driving a car…. But we have time enough to practise…

For a short moment - hectic again by berthing. It would have been perfect if Rainer would have taken OUR berth from the beginning and if I would have tied on the correct line to the correct place…
But we are back safe and sound without any scratches.

And by the way, the crackling ghost has disappeared. It must have been the little animals in the quay walls…

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