Dugi Otok & the Kornati Islands August  29 - 31, 2001 After another 68 mile overnight motoring from Pula, we slowly circled a sunken wreck off the north end of Dugi Otok (meaning Long Island). It looked as if it hit the rocks at full speed, as it was quite high out of the water at the bows. Dugi Otok is 24 miles long, but only 2.5 miles at its widest. The southwest facing coast is steep-to with cliffs, offering little shelter, whereas the northeast facing coast is lower with shallower bays and harbours providing good protection. We went into the big bay at the northwest tip called Luka Soliscica, which is divided into an inner and outer bay, both quite large and with good anchorages. We went into the innermost bay called Zaliv Pantera, which has three good anchorages, north, central, and the southern one just beyond the town of Veli Rat. We picked up a mooring in the central bay (44 08.8N, 014 50.1E) near two other boats, both of which left before dark, giving us the whole little bay to ourselves.  There was a small charge for anchoring or picking up a buoy in this area and perhaps any place in Dugi Otok. However it was only 4 kuna per metre and an additional 4 kuna per person, which for us came to 56 kuna (about $10.50 Canadian). It was a small amount which could be seen as irritating, especially when anchorages that charge are not all identified in the Pilot, and thus can be frustrating for those seeking a secluded free anchorage for a few days. However, the locals need the money, and if it gives them the incentive to lay secure buoys, pick up boaters' bags of garbage, and provide garbage skips to protect the environment, well and good.  We dinghied a kilometre down to the village of Veli Rat to buy some groceries. There we found out that the wine and some beer bottles had a separate deposit charge which would be refunded when returned, but, only with the original sales slip and to the same store from which purchased. This is a common practice in many grocery stores along the Dalmatian coast. In some of the larger communities and ACI marinas there were recycling bins for paper, glass, plastics, and other materials. We have found most towns and cities quite clean and safe. In the afternoon, Barb and I went for a dinghy ride and explored a peninsula and the mysterious stone walls that seem to dot the harsh, rocky, dry landscape for no apparent reason. We had noticed these walls and piles of stone all over many uninhabited islands, with no sign of human habitation or abandoned buildings whatever. My Judy came up with the suggestion that dry stone wall building is a human instinct, for its own sake, not necessarily for any practical purpose. Up in Scotland we were impressed by the lengths of stone walls in the deserted highlands, but there we would see also the abandoned remains of the crofters' houses and barns, and knew the walls were for sheep and marking off property limits. Here, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, and going nowhere, but may have been for sheep or terracing for olive trees, both long abandoned, or for marking off property boundaries. I was impressed by the amount of human labour required and the harsh conditions in which the people must have lived throughout the centuries to construct such, both in Scotland and here in Croatia. Next day, August 30, we motored down (SE) the inner coast of Dugi Otok 30 miles towards the Kornati Islands. Enroute we noticed two large man-made tunnels on Dugi Otok (44 06.7N, 014 58.3E), but unfortunately did not detour to examine them more closely. We still do not know their purpose, whether they went through the island to the other coast for small boat transit, or some defensive construction dating back to WW II. They were not mentioned in any of the Pilots or books on Croatia. We turned left (SW) at the southern tip of Dugi Otok, wending our way between the islands of the Kornati archipelago, and four miles up (NW) into Luka Telascica, still on Dugi Otok. This long picturesque inlet was part of Kornati National Park, but is now separated into its own Telascica Nature Park, as it is on Dugi Otok and not, strictly speaking, part of the Kornatis. On the southern entrance the hills on all sides had a dry desert-like quality of light sand-coloured terrain with occasional patches of scrub brush, and outcroppings of striated layers of jagged rocks, stark against the cloudless clear blue sky and indented by the azure blue Mediterranean water. Further up the inlet the hills and islands were more scrub covered, and with the ubiquitous stone walls, as well as some signs of human habitation and olive trees. We anchored in the northwest end, sheltered behind a couple of hill-dominated islands (43 55.5N, 015 08.3E) by 1530.  After we were visited by the local fee collector (cost was 40 kuna per person for a total of 160 kuna, about $30 Canadian, but included a second night free in Kornati National Park), I sent the three women off in Sprite to check out a small local restaurant, giving me the peace and quiet of Veleda to relax, read, and do some writing on the laptop. They didn't return for over two hours and were enthusiastic about going to the restaurant for a late supper, as they had made reservations there. The supper was most enjoyable as you will read later in Judy Johnson's account.  Next day, a fresh fruit and vegetable boat came by, from which we purchased a good range of fresh food and fresh-baked bread. It was an open small local fishing boat, loaded down with boxes of produce, at not unreasonable prices and good quality. Then Barb and I went off in Sprite to explore some islands and their stone walls. The closest had a couple of stone houses unoccupied, and was terraced with olive trees in the lower portions. As we reached the top of the hill, we had a fantastic panorama of the north end of the inlet, with the three small bays and a dozen or so boats anchored in them, including Veleda, of which we took pictures. I have shots of Veleda at anchor and alongside a number of exotic locations and settings. When back in Canada over the winter, I want to organize my pictures into a series of slide presentations of different aspects of our voyages. Looking southwards we could see down the length of the inlet, and noted the way in which the southern slope were more barren. It is also interesting to see the wind ripples on the water as they curve around the different headlands, and make intricate patterns across the water. One can almost imagine wind nymphs blowing with bulbous cheeks to stir the waters into different directions. Maybe they are the ones responsible for Murphy's Laws of contrary winds? The next island we saw a donkey manger, a shack of sheet metal roofing supported in a crevice in the rocks to provide shelter. We saw the donkey higher up on the hill standing complacently under the shade of an olive tree. That was the only sign of habitation on the island, other than miscellaneous meanderings of stone walls. The third stop was a hill on a peninsula which we had seen a van cross onto. We were curious where the road ended and so landed to climb up to the road. Bad idea! The terrain was scrub brush between up-thrust strata of rock formations. To negotiate it we had to jump from rock outcropping to outcropping. If we had missed a jump, we could have broken a leg or sprained an ankle. We couldn't put our weight on the small bushes, as they were rooted one or two feet between the rock crevices. Half way up, we decided to give up. It wasn't worth the risk of a major injury. Back on Veleda we weighed anchor at 1530 and headed out the inlet and down to Uvala Sipnati on Kornati (Otok Kornat) only 7 miles distant. We picked up a mooring buoy and gave our receipts for the previous night, entitling us to the mooring free of further charge. We didn't bother to launch Sprite, and just enjoyed a leisurely supper. However the sky was darkening and just after sunset a fierce storm blew through for about an hour, with constant winds of 35 knots gusting up to over 60 (our wind speed indicator pegs at 60), and veering back and forth by 50 degree shifts. We saw another boat dragging, but he soon had his engine on and clawed his way to windward to relocate in the lee of an island a mile upwind. I started Veleda's engine and kept it at slow ahead, manoeuvering to keep us head to wind, for fear that the buoy might drag. The rain pelted down and the wind howled fiercely for about 45 minutes before settling down for the rest of the night. More inclement weather and mishaps in the next logs.
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