CENTRAL CROATIA AND PRIMOSTEN

Envoy is now at Corfu Island, Greece.

When cruising, not every anchorage is stunning or special but just a convenient stop-over along the way, and from Stari Grad we cruised 28 miles to one of these - Rina on the island of Mali Drvnek, offering good shelter, clear and clean water and few other boats.
Next stop was special though - the picturesque village of Primosten, and with a gale warning in force for additional security we picked up a mooring costing 255 Kn (about NZ$57) per night. Although the mooring line looked in good condition, for extra safety I dived five metres to attach an additional heavy line directly to the very large concrete mooring block.

Primosten from seaward

Envoy on mooring in Primosten just outside buoyed swimming area

Frank and I used the RHIB and our 25 litre jerry cans to collect some fresh water from a tap on the wharf – although we have the water maker, it’s much quicker to get water from shore if there is supply available, especially with the extra usage of four people on board.
Primosten is interesting to wander around, and the girls also enjoyed some shopping. Frank and I aren’t great shoppers and the girls say we’re a bit of a hindrance, so we found a taverna and drank some ice-cold beer instead!
Stunning colours at a fruit and vegetable market in Primosten

One innovative taverna offers tables in shallow water to “cool your heels”, but there seemed to be no takers

One night after dinner ashore we saw a street parade of Croatians in traditional dress, and followed them to a stage in the main square where they performed some traditional Croatian songs, although I have to say our attention span was a bit short.
Croatian street parade in Primosten

Later we enjoyed drinks in Envoy’s cockpit listening to great live rock music from the Legends Pub on the waterfront – now that’s music more to our liking.

Primosten’s Legends Pub has great live music

So far we’ve only seen a few beaches as we know them in New Zealand. Most of the beaches are stony, and in many places there are no beaches at all so people sunbathe on the rocks. Where there are sandy beaches they are mostly covered in hire deck chairs with tavernas playing awful loud music.

Primosten bathers enjoy swimming from the rocks while there is a sandy beach in the background

TECHNICAL – While on the mooring at Primosten we dismantled and inspected Envoy’s windlass components, as the chain wasn’t free-falling correctly - we prefer to allow the anchor to free-fall (in a controlled way) as it saves wear on the windlass motor. Once we cleaned up and greased the clutch bores and facings it worked fine, One of our two domestic fresh water pumps has stopped working. This is not a major as we have two interchangeable pumps, so are now using the other one.
ENVOY LOG as at 10 August 116 days spend aboard and 876 miles cruised for 171 engine hours.