Friday the 16th of February marked our very first day sail here in Croatia, a concept that we came up with a few months ago over a few rakija with friends, and something that we have been determined to make happen. Nick and I are Wellington sailors through and through. And when the bura blows it’s icy breathe through the cobbled streets of the old town here in Split, we feel like the sea is calling us to play. And having not been out on a boat since October, we were concocting all sorts of plans to get back out on the water. Talking to many of our friends, expats and locals alike, there seemed to be lot of interest and enthusiasm surrounding the idea of getting out on the water before the summer crowds descended on the city! Especially given the mild winter weather we have had here in Split thus far. The stunning bright, clear winter days seemed to beckon us all out to sea. And thus, with incredible support from fellow expats, we were excited to see our concept finally come to life on Friday last week.
Up bright and early Friday morning, we picked up our yacht Harmony from Kaštela and brought her alongside on the Split Riva as the day broke, gloriously sunny and clear. Everyone was wrapped up warm with eyes sparkling as they boarded Harmony, and we set off. Our itinerary was simple: We aimed to arrive in Stormorska, Šolta in time for lunch at a konoba called O’ La La and then we were free to make our way back to the Riva by nightfall. And boy oh boy did we enjoy having the sea pretty much to ourselves. There wasn’t a lot of wind to be had. So of course Nick did a bit of wind chasing to be able to do a bit of sailing. We did some hoisting, some unfurling, some winching and a lot of helming! Wine was drunk, songs were sung and catchy beats were boogied to. Words simply cannot adequately capture the energy that we were lucky enough to have on board in truckloads. So let me show you through the eyes of the wonderful photographers that we were lucky enough to call friends and guests.
HUGE THANKS AND PHOTO CREDITS GO TO SOME VERY TALENTED MEMBERS OF OUR DAY SAIL CREW: RICHELLA REIĆ, FRANK ADELHARDT, MIRELA RUS AND TERRY RUEBUSH OF 3 GRAY GOATS PHOTOGRAPHY