What a week. I’m not sure I’ve ever packed quite so much into so few days and that is saying something, given my track record. Filming a new six-part video series in Croatia with Tom Chamberlain, Olivia Simpson, Zoe Dupuy and Mirna Jakšić for Sunsail and the RYA had sounded straightforward enough on paper. It became a running joke almost from the start that each day felt more like three. Between the outfit changes, the island-hopping, the shifting scripts, the varying weather and the different focus of each episode, we hit the ground running and barely stopped. The goal was to showcase everything that Croatia and its 1,200 islands have to offer sailors, and it is fair to say the country delivered.
We began in Marina Agana, and the transition from airport to anchorage was wonderfully swift. Just twenty minutes off the plane and we were slipping our lines. First stop was Šešula Bay on the eastern edge of Šolta - a beautifully tucked-away inlet, safe and secluded. We ate at a local restaurant looking out over that sparkling Adriatic water, mooring buoy included at no charge. A fine start.
From there we made the long passage to Vis, the most westerly of the Dalmatian islands. An upwind passage, but banking the difficult miles early was always going to pay dividends later in the week. Vis is steeped in history and famously served as the film set for Mamma Mia, which prompted no shortage of enthusiasm from me in particular. The island is peppered with an underground tunnel system, and we found a wine tasting below ground, learned about the island’s remarkable past and I came away feeling I had barely scratched the surface of what Vis has to offer.
Then on to Hvar which is dubbed the sunniest spot in Europe, and it is not difficult to see why the reputation has stuck. Most people associate Hvar with its busy town, but we headed just around the corner to Starigrad, the old town. A UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in Europe, it carries its history lightly combining ancient vineyards, a relaxed pace, and that wonderful sense of many cultures having converged there over the centuries.
We took full advantage of the best weather window of the week to drop anchor in Nečujam Bay on Šolta. Paddleboards and snorkelling kit came out. We swam, we floated, we simply enjoyed being somewhere rather beautiful.
On the final day, heading back to base, we stopped for lunch in Uvala Vela Borovica. Dolphins cruised past with what I can only describe as impressive laziness, as though they were doing us a favour by showing up. The sun was shining and there was a general mood of happy exhaustion around the table. The reality is that 1,200 islands is an almost preposterous amount of coastline to explore and we barely made a dent. I will be back – of that I am certain. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the Cruising in Croatia series; I think it will have a few of you quietly opening a browser to look at flights.
A quick change of bags at home and the next challenge was the IMA Tre Golfi Maxi Regatta in Sorrento aboard Tilakkhana II. Mixed results, if I am honest. Some good moments to build on and a few things to work through. That is racing; you rarely get everything right first time. The important thing is to regroup, learn and come back stronger. Porto Cervo in September for the IMA Rolex Maxi Worlds is firmly in the diary.
I did, for once, resist the urge to rush straight to the airport afterwards. Annemieke Bes, Tamara Echegoyen and I spent a day exploring Pompeii and climbing Mount Vesuvius. Standing at the top, looking out over the Bay of Naples, the same view we had been sailing past all week from the water, was a genuinely humbling moment. And with the America’s Cup heading to Naples next year, it also had me thinking ahead to what that vantage point will look like with the fleet below. That is very much something to look forward to.
