Cruising in Croatia

A couple of weekends ago I had the chance to visit my parents on their yacht in Croatia. They live the tough life by spending the European summer cruising different parts of the Mediterranian. Since they are doing the Adriatic this year I took the chance to return to Croatia to cruise with them in the central part of the country where I hadn't previously visited.

It was wonderful to see Mum & Dad, since I only get the chance to see them a couple of times a year. I boarded in Zadar, and we cruised a number of islands including Dugi, Pasman, and the Kornati National Park. The weather and sailing conditions were perfect, with brilliant sunshine, sea breezes and 30 degree temperatures every day.

Days were spent sailing from place to place, and we'd typically moor near a lone restaurant in an isolated bay, where we'd be served delicious grilled local fish & seafood, and drink substandard Croatian wine (thankfully I replenished the boats' vodka supply from Russia).

The islands we were sailing around were beautiful, and varied greatly in topography and foliage, from the barren rocky islands of the Kornati with the steep cliffs on their seaward side, to the pine forests of Pasman.

The water was crystal clear blue, with visibility down tens of meters. Snorkeling for sea life was not particularly rewarding, but I did manage to find some carved stone remains which I steadfastly maintain must have been Roman.

It was the first time I'd had the chance to Mum & Dad's gorgeous yacht, which is very spacious, and they've built custom-designed systems for everything, from the decktop hammock, to the full-boat sunshades!

Not only was it great to hang out with Mum & Dad, but it was a nice change from the frenetic pace of Moscow, and a chance to catch up on some sleep after my birthday weekend the week before!

The photos from the trip can be found here.