Anchors Away

Jul 29, 2013 446 0 0

Central Daimatia, Croatia

A big part of the cruising life is the search for ideal anchorages. Small, isolated bays where you can enjoy peace and quiet. During the August cruising and charter boat season, these bits of paradise can be difficult to find. Croatia is better than most countries, as there are a lot of islands with thousands of places to drop the hook.

Quiet secluded anchorage at Mala Luka on Veli Drvenik

Still, there are some “must see” anchorages where you have to share the space. We try to avoid the crowds by anchoring as far out, and in as deep of water, as possible. But cruisers, especially charter boaters, have a “herding instinct” that tells them “if you see another boat at anchor, anchor close to it.” Consequently, we spend a lot of time watching other boats anchor. Over the years, we have learned different ways to ward off boats that want to anchor too close to Berkeley East. One friend taught us the “stink eye,” when one eyebrow is raise as high as possible with the eyeball bulging, effective in very tight conditions. Another cruiser liked “bitch wings,” accomplished by standing on the bow with both hands on the hips looking very frustrated at the offending boat. Last year, we often saw the “Italian method,” which involves a lot of yelling and hand gestures. And then there is the very subtle hint that you think someone is too close – lining your boat with fenders.

View of crowded anchorage from Toto’s Restaurant at Vinogradisce on Otak Sveti Klement

Berkeley East squeezed in tight quarters at Sesula on Otok Solta

A lot of the anchorages in Croatia are very deep, which means dropping the hook in deep water and tying BE’s stern to shore.

This is a very delicate, and sometimes difficult, process, especially with just two people aboard, or in crowded situations. It requires one person to drop the anchor while the other person backs the boat into position, then someone jumps off the back with a line tied around their body and quickly swims to shore to tie the line around the closest rock, as the other person maneuvers the boat and tightens the line. With just the right winds and waves, this can be a very comfortable way to anchor, but if the wind or waves shift, as they often do, you will find your boat being pushed sideways or onto shore. And if conditions are bad enough, you might need to make a quick escape which means one person jumps off the back of the boat, swims to shore and unties the line, jumps back into the water and holds onto the line while the other person drives the boat forward away from shore, towing the person in the water. We have tried a variety of methods and, while it is not our preferred way to anchor, we are getting pretty good at it.

We have anchored at more than 25 different places since we entered Croatia, and have many more to go. Some have nice little restaurants, maybe even a store, but at most there is little or nothing to do but relax, read, swim and watch other boats anchor. Each anchoring experience is unique, as are the other cruisers that we meet at anchor. We have shared drinks, dinners and stories with people from around the world, people we would never have met if they hadn’t anchored in the same place we were. The information that we gain from these interactions helps shape our travels, and impacts which anchorages we will go to next.

Peaceful anchorage at Uvala Zukoza on Otok Hvar looking across to the highest peak on Brac and the famous beach at Boi

Sometimes our anchoring neighbors bring their helicopter

Beautiful anchorage at Uvala Tarsce on Otak Sveti Klement

We need to be careful about where we anchor, by day this is a nice beach club, at 2:00 am the private party started and played loud music until sunrise

Sometimes we anchor for lunch, then move on to a more protected spot for the night. On the North East tip of Dugi Otak, we dropped the hook and snorkeled on an Italian cargo ship that ran aground in 1984