Korčula and Šćedro

Between the 15-17th of May we found ourselves briefly back in Warsaw so I took the opportunity to order a few bits and pieces for Zefi and Dor. Amongst the monkey bars and hammock was this little speedboat -received on the condition he'll be good for a year.

We had a hassle free flight to Dubrovnik where we stayed the night in a little hotel close to the ferry.  We caught he 8am catamaran back to Korcula -keen to get Dragonfly out of the overpriced marina we left her in.  While we were away Nickola the mechanic had been working through a list of jobs.  He carried out an engine service but couldn't solve the ongoing alarm buzzer.  He lubricated our steering and rudder, replaced our gas hose and tried his best to get the water maker going.  Sadly our dreams of remote desalination will have to wait until we are closer to a main dealer, though to be honest we can probably survive without it.  He also purchased a new dinghy for us so we said goodbye to our old one and gifted it to the local children's sailing school.

We spent some time walking the streets of Korcula and visited the town museum, this allowed Nickola a chance to finish the jobs.  Then we hopped onboard and motored a couple of inlets to the West of the town to a bay apparently called 'Tony'.  It was a relief to be on anchor again and a chance for Theodore to test out his boat.

We had a calm, quiet night and were the only boat on anchor in the bay.  The next day we set off without an exact destination but with the intention to cover some ground.  In two weeks we will have Julia's cousin Magda and her family onboard and need to collect them for Zadar airport further North.  The winds brought us to a little island just South of Hvar called Šćedro.

We arrived slightly weather beaten to a tiny sheltered bay with two yachts already moored.  We managed to squeeze in between them and successfully carried out our first line to shore mooring in living memory with an audience looking on.  Despite missing the sandy patch, our anchor and line held fine as gust of 20 knots bothered the bay.

We discovered that hammocks and wind don't mix but as soon as the breeze died down it was put to the test.

Julia's natural history lessons involved urchins and star fish.

Otok Šćedro turned out to be a slice of paradise and the most beautiful bay we've anchored in so far.  We all swam in the crystal clear water and the children 'dug for gemstones' in the loose stoney banks.

We had the bay all to ourselves in the morning so I took the opportunity to dust off my old drone and view the scene from above.

We hiked across the island to see the northern side. Julia and I used to hike a lot but as is often the case now, we were followed by two moaning, complaining children which detracted slightly from the experience.  We found refreshment (luckily) at the lovely Amfora restaurant.  Best of all the owner gave us a lift back to Dragonfly -saving us a long hot hike with heavy kids on our shoulders!

Back to our shiny new tender and a bay filling quickly with boats. After a smooth operation releasing our line and anchor without any shouting we were away!