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The return from a cruise is always attended by a
touch of melancholy at the approaching end of
the journey. Sailors with a bit of experience use
several ways of keeping up the good feeling until
the very last day. Don't think of wine or some
similar resource, because alcohol is supposed to
reduce our ability to remember. And a cruise,
whether short-lived or several weeks long, has to
prove its success by staying in our memories a
long time.
Our proposal is very simple. The return should
be planned along a course that we have not yet
sailed. If we return to Opatija coming from the
south somewhere, the Gulf of Kvarner provides
yet another itinerary to use. It takes us along the
eastern coast. The only fact that we have
particularly to bear inmind travelling along this
route is, of course, the bora. If there is a bora, a
strong bora, then we have to give up on this
itinerary. And if there is a really strong bora, for
sailors whose destination is Opatija, the best
thing to do is stick to our itinerary number one.
Of course, back to front. It is somewhat longer,
but a great deal more comfortable.
If the forecast doesn't predict a strong bora, if we
come fromthe south, the best thing to do is to sail to
the northern cape of Rab, take one more swim on
the already described sandy beaches of Lopar, and
thendecideonthecontinuationof the journey.
If we are overtaken by night somewhere near
Kalifront Point, and we don't intend to take a
night voyage, it is best to point our bow from
Kalifront at the lighthouse on Sorinj Point (B Bl
3s 10 m 6M), and sail along this line until we see
the lighthouse of the ACI Marina at Supetar Bay.
There is a red lighthouse (C Bl 5s 7m 4M) at the
head of themarina pier.
The approaching end of a cruise is usually
attended by a sense of urgency as well. Unlike
the careful and patient planning in the days
before the cruise, now decisions are made in a
hurry, insufficiently grounded on facts. If we are
caught by a bora, we will say, so what? Just a few
more miles, and that's it. But winds and the sea
do not follow the human logic of haste. The
shortest line by a chart is not always the fastest.
What is more, at sea, staying a few hours, or a
whole day, in a haven, often means arriving
faster than any hurry.
The northwestern coast of Rab gives us a whole
host of lovely bays in which waiting for better
weather does not look like a waste of time. Each
of them is incised deeply into the shore of Rab,
thus protecting us from the bora. Unlike the
sandy beaches at the northern end of the island,
here the coves are all stony at the beginning, and
forest-fringed, being decked with a little beach
only at the head.
The first of these bays (coming in from the
south), even if it is not the most beautiful,
achieved fame thanks to the King Edward VIII.
In 1936 he took a skinny dip here, and this
unexpected action is held to be the start of
naturism on the island. Of course, people had
swum naked even before. In pre-historic times
for, example. But the tourist industry in Rab
made hay out of the presence of the English king.
This bay is called Kandalora, and it is right
alongside Frkanj Point.
Looking at the chart, wemight think that each of
these bays is just like another. But we can identify
them according to certain characteristics. We
can recognised ifnata Bay, for example, by the
chapel on the western point. If we don't feel safe
at anchor here, we can shift to Veli al Bay. There
is a fifty metre long pier here. At the very end of it
there is a depth of about 4 metres, although it is
mostly filled with the craft of the locals.
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ITINERARY 4
Rab - Baška - Vrbnik - Bakar