Decisions, decisions

Biograd, Croatia

We had been sitting out a Bora in Murter, Croatia when we needed to decide if conditions were good enough to move, and dock, Berkeley East. France has the Mistral, Greece has the Meltimi, and Croatia has the Bora; strong north winds that can make the cruising life uncomfortable. For three days, we had sustained winds over 25 knots and gusts into the high 40’s. Our Croatian courtesy flag nearly disintegrated.

We decided to go to the island of Murter because it was new to us, further north, and protected from the Bora. We did not realize that the seabed was rock, so while the holding was good, BE’s anchor chain drug along the hard surface, the choice of anchorages wasn’t ideal. The bay we were in is considered to have one of Croatia most beautiful beaches and since the island is connected to the mainland by a short bridge, it is very popular. We could not see the beach because it was August and the shore was packed with vacationers in caravans, but the sunsets were fantastic.

We typically do not dock Berkeley East when there is strong wind, but we only had two days to get BE’s broken vang repaired, or we would have to wait nearly a week. We decided to move the 12 miles to Biograd Na Moru, and hold on the decision about docking until we saw the circumstances at the marina. That said, we admit that once we have made a decision to do something, we are very reluctant about changing the plan, so the writing was on the wall that we would likely dock regardless of the conditions. The charter boats were out in force, as were the red submarines, a popular tourist attraction in Croatia.

Upon arriving at the marina, we decided to go inside the breakwater, but we agreed that if the winds were a concern, we would decide to nix the docking and anchor out. As we called for assistance, a man waved us down a small finger of the marina. It was very narrow and we didn’t like it, but decided to give it a go, hoping the wind gusts would subside long enough for us to get BE tied up. As we got closer, the marinara asked our depth. When we told him it was 2.5 meters, he made a face and told us to turn around and go back to the end of the pontoon. As we began the turn, a huge gust caught BE and sent her sliding sideways down the fairway. Imagine your car skidding on ice, but your car is 54-feet long, you have one car length of space in the front, and one car length in the back, before concrete walls, and a pile of rocks at the end of the road. Berkeley East bucked and swayed, the wind had her and she did not want to turn. We tossed a line to the dockhand and said, “we’ve decided to just side tie here.”

Once we caught our breath, we got to the business at hand and called for the repairman. BE was sitting perfectly still, very comfy after heeling for the past days of Bora wind at anchor. We decided to not check the depth because at that point, we really didn’t want to know if Berkeley East’s keel was grounded. The repair went quickly and now we had to decide when to leave. The wind was forecast to come down a bit the following day, and even more the next. But we were concerned that BE might be boxed in by other boats, making the required backing down the finger impossible. As we decided to wait to decide, we watched boat after boat come into the marina and have similar challenges docking in the wind. No one got hurt which is always considered a success.

Then came “Perle,” a charter boat with an out-of-control captain. We’ve seen bad boat driving before, and we’ve heard crews screaming at each other before, but we have never, ever seen anything like this. We watched in horror as the boat hit the concrete dock on one side, then the other. Everyone was on their decks holding fenders as Perle raced toward, first one boat, then another, with the captain leaving the wheel and the throttle in forward, screaming at the dock hand, and then at a woman on the boat with such rage that we were certain someone was going to die. The captain was crazed, the woman was hysterical, and we stood stunned and helpless. Finally the wind swung Perle close enough for the woman to hand a line to someone on the dock and the boat came to rest facing Berkeley East. The wind seemed to quiet then, all we could hear was the woman sobbing. We don’t know what happened on that boat to cause such severe emotions. Cruising can be extremely challenging and one bad decision can quickly turn living the dream into enduring a nightmare.

Over dinner we tried to decide when to leave and we finally decided to look at the weather forecast in the morning. In the morning, we decided to see if the wind calmed at noon as forecast. And when the boat behind us left, we decided to go.

The plan was to spring BE’s bow off the dock to get her stern out far enough to clear a powerboat that was in the path, back down the fairway into the main channel and power out the marina entrance. The springing off went well and clearing the powerboat came off without a hitch. Then a gust caught Berkeley East and sent her sideways. Even in the best conditions, it is impossible to see and hear everything, and everyone, on a boat BE’s size. A long time ago, we decided to use headsets so we can talk quietly and calmly to each other, with one of us driving, the other one directing. “Forward, forward, forward!!! Reverse, reverse, reverse!!!! Port!!!! Starboard!!!! Rock, rocks, rocks!!!!!!! Tuuuuuurn!!! Nowwww!!!!”

We didn’t look back to see if the people in the marina had looks of terror on their faces thinking we had nearly stuffed up our exit, or if they were nodding in admiration at a well-planned, perfectly-executed departure. We decided to go with the latter.