August sailing - part 1

On August 16th we went sailing again. I drove to Skradin with our friends, Captain was already on the boat.  After loading the boat with lots of food and drinks we sailed to Zmajan, where we went for a swim and had a nice dinner.

After a calm night we checked the weather forecast and decided to sail North. In the late afternoon we anchored between small islet Mimonjak and mainland near Murter. While there were many motor boats around us during the day, only one more sailboat stayed in the bay for the night. We had a beautiful sunset in the evening.

Next day we sailed on towards North. We made first stop in the channel between SE edge of Žut and small island of Žutska Aba. We went for a swim and I finally went snorkelling. There were still plenty of Gilthead sea breams (orada or Sparus aurata) around, just like in June.

And I was again very happy to have found an Octopus (hobotnica or Octopus vulgaris).

The Tubular sea cucumbers (navadni brizgač or Holothuria tubulosa) were still mating, they were standing upright and they were releasing the milky substance into water.

And there were also the clusters of eggs (the almost translucent balls) of one of the Bristle worms (črva mnogoščetinca).

While the place was quite pretty and the water clear and blue, there was lots of NW wind and the place didn't seem suitable for staying over night. So in the afternoon we sailed on to the island of Žižanj. We had one more pretty sunset in the evening.

After a calm night we sailed further North. We chose anchorage near Ždrelac for the night, as there was SE wind forecast for the night. In the protected part of the anchorage there were several boats already, obviously other sailors were also paying attention to weather forecast. But it didn't feel crowded.

Next morning we sailed on right after the morning coffee, we wanted to make a good use of SE wind that was blowing. While sailing by on fish farms we even got a quick glimpse or two of several dolphins, there wasn't enough time for photos. We were quite fast and didn't stop at the Muline on NW end of Ugljan as originaly planed, but sailed on to N side of Ist. It was very windy, but the bay is well protected against waves. After a great dinner we had a pretty peaceful night.

Next day was cloudy and windy and crew used it to climb up the hill to the church. I have been up there several times and was much more interested in snorkelling. Despite not ideal light there was lots to see. I found this Pigtooth coral (kamnito nakovalce or Balanophyllia europaea).

Only on my computer I saw that a Red-black tripplefin (rdeči sprehajalček or Tripterygion tripteronotus) was sitting next to Red sponge (spužva žilavka or Spirastrella cunctatrix).

I also found the pretty Red tube worm (Pisani pokrovčkar or Serpula vermicularis)...

...and this Red algae, in Slovene named bledi grmiček (Amphiroa rigida).

The neon blue fishes are young ones of an only Mediterranean coral fish, the Mediterranean chromis (črnik or Chromis chromis).

I was surprised to see the Cardinal fish or Morski kraljiček (Apogon imberbis) here, I haven't seen it this high North before.

This is a Peacock wrasse or Lep (Symphodus tinca), the female.

And here is a close up of a Brown kidney sponge (ledvičasta spužva or Chondrosia reniformis).

This is probably the prettiest of my photos made in this bay, this jewel like beauty is a Daisy anemone (sončna vetrnica or Cereus pendunculatus).

Here is a duo of Red-spotted horseshoes (apnenčasti cevkar or Protula tubularia).

And this lovely upside-down face with blue lips belongs to Tompot blenny (velika babica or Parablennius gattorugine).

I also found several Beadlet anemones (rdeča morska vetrnica or konjska vetrnica or Actinia equina).

The weather stayed cloudy during the day and the wind strong. So we decided to stay in this bay. And I decided to go snorkelling again in early afternoon. I swam all the way across the bay to see what is on the other side. First exciting thing that I found was this small moray eel or rather its tail, it is a  Mediterranean moray (murena or Muraena helena).

I had to wait a while to also see its face.

In this part of the bay there were plenty of Mediterranean fanworms (spalancanijev cevkar or Sabella spallanzani) around.

This pretty Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (knez or Coris julis) male was unfortunately dead.

And finally I again met plenty of Pointed-snout wrasses (dolgoustka or Symphodus rostratus).

This is a Sea snail, the marine gastropod mollusk (priraščeni polž or Vermetus spp.).

I couldn't resist the blue eyes of this Striped hermit crab (obročkasi samotarec or Pagurus anachoretus).

This is a small Mediterranean cone (sredozemski stožec or Conus mediterraneus).

There were also some Spiny starfish (bradavičasta morska zvezda or Marthasterias glacialis) there.

This is another Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (knez or Coris julis), this time it is a female and alive.

After I came out of the water, clouds started to break and we quickly changed our plans and prepared the boat for sailing and left the anchorage. We sailed along East side of Ist ...

...and then along Molat to the bay Uvala Pržine. It looked very pretty and calm and we had another beautiful sunset in the evening.

June sailing - part 4

The night was calm, with not many neighbours and even those few were quite far away. Around noon on Friday, 26th of June, I went snorkelling. I have already snorkelled here in the past years and it wasn't great, so I wasn't expecting much. But this time it was really nice. 

The area is quite different from that in Olib, here there is some sand in the deeper water, where we anchored, and then there are rocks all the way to the small island. On the sandy part I found this Red starfish (ognjenordeča zvezda or Echinaster sepositus).

Under the rock there was a Brown encrusting sponge (rjava skorjevka or Hemimycale columella).

And also among the rocks there was an Octopus (hobotnica or Octopus vulgaris) with red eye. You can't imagine how happy I was to have seen so many in these last days.

I also found this pretty Violet sea urchin (belobodičasti morski ježek or Sphaerechinus granularis).

When I photographed this Yellow Prickly-Sponge (skorjasta žveplenjača or Aplysilla sulfurea) I didn't really know what it was. It attracted my eye with its bright colour. Only when I was searching through my books and internet I found out, and also that it was my first one.

This handsome guy is an European seabass (brancin or Dicentrarchus labrax), I don't see them very often.

There were surprisingly many Giant gobies (skalni glavač or Gobius cobitis), and all were quite big and plump, but not in the mood for posing.

This is one of the pretties algae, the Forked ribbons (ploščata razcepljenka or Dictyota dichotoma).

I know I photographed anoder such pair not long ago, and here it is once more - the Red spotted horseshoe (apnenčasti cevkar or Protula tubularia) on the left and Red tube worm (pisani pokrovčkar or Serpula vermicularis) on the right.

Between the rocks there were small areas of sand and there I found a small Flounder (morski list or Arnoglossus spp.).

On the rocks there were plenty of Mermaids cups (apneni dežniček or Acetabularia acetabulum).

This is a smallest Purple sea urchin (vijoličasti morski ježek or Paracentrotus lividus) that I saw, and probably also most unkempt one as well.

I'm really happy with this portrait of Tompot blenny (velika babica or Parablennius gattorugine), look how big smile it has on its face, you can even see its teeth!

And here are two Red-black tripplefins (rdeči sprehajalček or Tripterygion tripteronotus), you can choose which one you like better - this one with its pretty black head...

...or this one with all its fins on display. I wasn't able to decide.

Here is another pretty algae, the Pink dragon's breath (lepa halimenija or Halymenia floresia).

This Beadlet anemone (rdeča morska vetrnica or konjska vetrnica or Actinia equina) looks like it is made of leather.

I finally also saw several Warty crabs (kosmeji or Eriphia verrucosa).

I just had to make a photo of this Mistery blenny (jelenka or Parablennius incognitus), just look at this posing!

The Peacock wrasse (lep or Symphodus tinca) was true to its Slovene name - in translation it is "the handsome one".

I snorkelled for almost two hours and was quite cold at the end, which was perfect for the hot weather. The temperatures got even higher in past days, and there was an explosion of all kind of insects, mostly the annoying ones, like wasps and flies. Even some Bumblebees (čmrlj or Bombus) came to the boat, this one was resting on Tomazs finger.

In the middle of the day this old pretty sailboat sailed by.

We lifted the anchor in early afternoon, without the exact plan. We decided to check the nearby bays and to see how nice and anchoring worthy they were, and we chose to anchor in the second one we checked, the one between small islet Mimonjak and mainland, not even a mile away from where we anchored the previous night. There were two other boats in the same bay and occasionally one or two smaller motor boats. The afternoon wasn't very calm, the NW wind was blowing into the bay and the waves were getting annoying. But even more annoying were many wasps. But in the evening both the wind and the wasps were gone and we had a peaceful night.

Next day, while waiting for the afternoon wind to start, I went snorkelling again. The bay is mostly sandy and not very interesting, so I swam all the way to the rocky shore. There I met this pretty Rusty blenny (babica papagajka or Parablennius sanguinolentus).

Under one of the rocks I found the Stinker sponge (snopasta hrapavka or Ircinia fasciculata). I still don't know if it really stinks.

Here is another Tompot blenny (velika babica or Parablennius gattorugine), it was posing for me for quite a while and I had a hard time choosing the prettiest photo.

Even here there were plenty of Gilthead sea breams (orada or Sparus aurata)...

... and Golden sponges (spužva žveplenjača or Aplysina aerophoba).

Also several Red tube worms (pisana pokrovčarja or Serpula vermicularis) were hiding under the rocks. The left one has its lid or operculum on display, it is a small round thing above it, with which it closes its tube when it retracts its fans. You can also see its tube above it, attached to the rock.

I also saw several Spiny starfish (bradavičasta morska zvezda or Marthasterias glacialis).

And every now and then I have to make a photo of this handsome fellow - the Sharpsnout seabream (pic or Diplodus puntazzo).

Here is another pretty algae - the read algae (topovejnata lavrencija or Laurencia obtusa). But it is not only pretty, it is also full of useful stuff, there are several studies going on that are trying to evaluate its efficacy in fighting the stomach cancer.

I met this guy, the Striped red mullet (progasti bradač or Mullus surmelutus), already on my way back to the boat. It was way bigger than red mullets that I usually see and to which it is very similar. The striped red mullet has longer barbels (or goatee or beard) and striped back fin.

In the early afternoon we sailed off in direction South. We first made a short stop in a small bay Zelena on the East side of island Tijat, but after a short swim decided to move on. Then we anchored near the SE tip of island Prvič for lunch and a swim. And then it was time to return to marina. Next morning I returned home and Tomaz stayed on the boat.