A dream becomes true!
I am pleased to be able to tell you today about the greatest adventure that I have been able to experience so far. It actually all started 45 years ago with my father’s first sailing adventure.
When he was little, my grandfather took him on a sailing boat (Corsair) owned by his uncle on Lake Chiemsee (Bavaria). According to the stories, a great storm arose, which they conquered together, and from that moment it must have happened to him. Since that moment he has been on the water as often and as long and as much as possible. Unfortunately, my dad got sick for many years and could no longer do sports, including sailing.
But at some point he felt better and better and finally well enough to fulfill his childhood dream: to sail across the sea.
In the beginning there was a big heat!
It was incredibly hot when we fetched our charter boat. 36 degrees and no shadow far and wide. So we had to take a swim break in the pool of the marina first, where there was no shade, but refreshing water! After a short break we were fit enough to repack our luggage. In the evening we were all happy to be finally on board of our first large charter yacht and to begin our adventure!
Our Bavaria 36 in the ACI Marina Rovinj Marina Veruda, Pula, Sundown Start the engine and out to sea …
The next morning we finally went to sea! My job was to haul in the fenders when setting it down, my mother controlled the huge steering wheel and my father untied the mooring lines. These are thick lines that are tied to the bottom and the jetty in the sea. You can find them here in every port. Eventually my dad took the helm and my ma and I went to the bow of the ship (front). I was supposed to watch the starboard side (right) and my mom the port side (left) of the boat as we maneuvered through the ships in the harbor. After we hadn’t thought of a fixed destination for the first day, we drove north, because we really wanted to see the most famous city of Istria, Rovinj.
After a short stretch with the engine, we set sail for the first time, which was more difficult than expected. The furling system of the main sail jammed (probably occurs on older charter yachts), which involved a lot of effort and effort in sailing. But that fits for a real adventure.
Our first night – Barbariga
Our first night – Barbariga
After sailing back and forth a little to get to know the boat, we finally dropped anchor for the first time. To do this, put the tip of the boat into the wind until it comes to a standstill and drop the anchor. After it was 4 meters deep at that point, my father told us that we needed 30 meters of anchor line and I checked the markings on the chain. Then my father drove the boat backwards a little to “pull in” the anchor, which worked amazingly well and smoothly! Finally we fixed the emergency anchor at the stern (rear) and then we could finally take the dinghy (dinghy) to the shore, where we had a great clam meal on the beach. The Istrian cuisine is incredibly delicious!
The Istrian cuisine
I just let the pictures do the talking and wish you a good appetite!
Escape from storm
After a delicious breakfast on board we pulled in the anchor and set out to make a few “blows” over the sea and let the wind and waves take us away. Unfortunately the waves exaggerated a bit and so we soon sought shelter. We also quickly found a bay near Rovinj to anchor at. What we didn’t know – the bay was only half as safe as we thought, and soon the harbor master asked us to moor in the port of Rovinj, which of course we did.
The big storm did not materialize, but we had incredibly beautiful impressions of Rovinj and the ACI marina.
The marina is a mixture of port and 5 star hotel and opened in 2019. The night for charter yachts was correspondingly expensive (125 € / night) but the view, service and location make you forget the price quickly – paradise doesn’t come for free everywhere.
Limski Fjord and scallops
The trip to Limsky Fjord on the 4th day of our boat trip was one of the most beautiful and relaxing days of this vacation. With a light wind we drove past Istrian beaches into the famous fjord. It didn’t take long before we were surrounded by forests and stone walls, in which even a “pirate bar” was built!
Otherwise, the fjord is used to grow the world-famous scallops – the only place where they occur naturally! St. Jacob had other surprises in store for us, but more about that later …
At the end of the fjord there is a small pier with two restaurants and a small market, which was closed due to Corona.
Both restaurants have great food if you love seafood like I do. However, the harbor master also has his opinion and gourmets should ask him where he likes to eat …
Sailing and corona
Of course, this vacation was different from any other. Although port facilities and restaurants were open, we always wore a mask when we were in narrow, public areas. Basically, of course, you are among yourself on the boat – which made us all feel good. Nevertheless, we first did a corona test on the way home, which luckily was negative for everyone.
The day before the last day
A cloudless, bright blue sky accompanied us out of the fjord the next morning. It was supposed to be our last day of sailing and it was a near perfect day. We rolled out the sails again and went out to sea. After we really wanted to see dolphins, we kept an eye out for returning fishing boats, which are almost always accompanied by dolphins. Unfortunately we had no luck with it, but a wonderful sunset from our last anchorage, the bay of St. James.
Fateful hours in St. Jacob’s Bay
The last Friday
On the last evening before the return trip to the charter port, we had a great meal on board our “Lena”, homemade pasta and seafood, there were fresh vegetables and we felt at ease like rarely. Satisfied and fed up, we read a little more, our sleep ritual, only to fall tired into bed and fall asleep – sea air really makes you very tired …
Suddenly I heard a loud beep in quick succession. My father was already up and looked where the sound was coming from. After he had removed a fuse and put it back in again, luckily the sound was over and we were able to fall asleep again. Less than two minutes later the same tone. So again the fuse out, back in and …
.. Nothing…
… absolutely nothing.
We had a complete shutdown on the ship, the entire electrical system failed, which meant that neither the engine, radio, refrigerator nor anchor system could be operated. Of course, the sockets were also without power, as we later found out, the engine was damaged and the batteries in our boat were no longer charged. But we didn’t know that at that time and so we fell into our bunks, without electricity, helpless and dog-tired.
Morning hour- problem hour
After waking up, my dad went upstairs to start the engine. But like the day before, he had no chance. On the way to the anchor winch, my pa slipped so badly on the front deck, which was still wet from the night, that he could barely walk! Since the engine no longer started and we couldn’t get into the charter port on our own, we finally had to contact our rental company.
Which became the next problem when there was no electricity for hours! After a LONG search my mother found a power bank with some “juice” and so we let the mechanics of the charter company come. These were there quickly, and quickly finished again. They knew the problem with their “ship engines” and had everything quickly repaired.
Hunger and thirst
Not only did so much happen that day, it was one of the hottest of the whole summer. As already mentioned, we were without electricity for about 12 hours at this time, i.e. the fridge was also no longer refreshing. Almost unimportant to mention that that morning the gas was off and my parents neither got coffee nor were they able to conjure up something to eat. Somehow we got back to the charter port alive and well after the whole adventure and I still remember that we were happy but also sad that our sailing adventure is already over.
As a comforter we had a wonderful chocolate cake and it has never tasted as good as that afternoon!
That was my report from our sailing adventure, should you be planning something similar, here my
Top 5 To Do’s for kids on board
- keep a lookout to make it easier for dad to navigate through „bottlenecks“
- Fendermaster – Fenders in when taking off and out when come back
- putting an a SUP and a snorkling set are a great addition to the dinghy on board
- Since Internet connection via mobile data is almost always possible near the coast so – dont leave your tablet etc. at home. And yes, the Switch is also allowed to come with
- Helmsmann Trainee (under the guidiance of the Captain).
I hope you enjoyed the travel report about our first sailing-adventure!
Have a good time and stay healthy,
Hug and Kiss,
Jano
