19th – 22nd of November '24
Island of Sveti Ivan - Poreč - Marina Polesana, Pula
66.6 Nm
(total 83.3 Nm)
wind during the day 2 Bf, strengthened at night to 3 Bf and around noon to 4 Bf
when entering the bay at Pula, the wind strengthened to 6-7 Bf, heavy rain
sea 2 to 4 Ds
13.5 Nm combination of engine and jib
My longest non-stop sailing trip, so far. Initially, I wanted to set off around eight in the evening, but by five o'clock I was already on my way north.
The sea started to squeeze my stomach. So I decided not to cross the Gulf of Venice, but to sail a few hours north to avoid the strong wind to the south from me.
When I was about latitude of Poreč town, I changed course back to the south.
I was continuously "struggling" with the autopilot, which was malfunctioning. At first, I thought it could have been a magnetic anomaly. Later, I assessed the cause as too slow a speed, at which the boat no longer responded to the rudder.
The next day in the early evening, i.e. Wednesday 20 November, I was back at the mouth of the bay of Pula. The terrible weather had started. Strong winds from the mainland of 6-7 Bf and rain combined with wet snow came. All you „hope for“, when you want to dock.
I decided to anchor in the pool in front of the marina and wait for the wind to settle down. Which happened five hours later, around midnight.
The anchor was stuck on the seabed and could not be lifted. I dove down, but at ten meters I gave up. The anchor was approximately at 12 meters.
I untied the anchor chain from the attachment in the anchorage well, tied a rope to it and added my yellow buoy and one of the boat’s fenders. I threw it into the water and free the boat by that. Then I moved to marina and dock safely at Rhea place.
After 2am I went to bed, keeping in mind that the main task for Thursday would be picking up the anchor and chain.
