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.

June sailing - part 3

Before we left Olib on Sunday, 21st of June, there was still plenty of time for snorkelling. The stable summer weather has started, with high temperatures and the obligatory afternoon Mistral, the W-NW wind. So it made sense to wait till the wind started to blow before sailing South.

Snorkelling in Olib is a great joy for me, I don't think I could ever get tired with it. And the sea has warmed up quite nicely, so I was able to stay in water for almost two hours without getting cold. 

In the sandy part of the bay, around our boat, I've seen several Golden anemones (zlata vetrnica or Condylactius aurantiaca).

This year I've seen unusually many Gilthead sea breams (orada or Sparus aurata), occasionally they were even following me while I was snorkelling.

At almost all my snorkelling expeditions here I was seeing the sepia ink in the water, but the sepias themselves managed to remain hidden. But this time I finally found one - a Sepia (sipa or Sepia officinalis).

And this is the same one, from different side and after it changed its "outfit", which took only few seconds.

I finally also found another Tentacled blenny (rogata babica or Parablennius tentacularis), this time it wasn't shy at all...

...so I made several nice photos from all sides. Yes!

I like how delicate and pretty the Snakelocks anemones (voščene morske vetrnice or Anemonia viridis) are, swaying in the water with pink lipstick at the ends of its tentacles.

I had to make another photo of Black goby (črni glavač or Gobius niger), this one made such an effort in presenting all its fins.

Here is another Sea snail, the marine gastropod mollusk (priraščeni polž or Vermetus spp.), this time in darker colours.

I noticed several bouquets of Neptune grass (pozejdonka or Posidonia oceanica), some were laying on the sandy bottom as carried there by wind and waves and some were already rooted into the sand. I don't think I was seeing them in previous years. Maybe new area of Neptune grass is emerging?

But I was seeing the Little Neptune grass (kolenčasta cimodeja or Cymodocea nodos) already here before, here it grows in lines. It is supposed to be the pioneering see gras that prepares the bottom for other grasses, also for the endangered Neptune grass.

In the early afternoon it was time to lift the anchor. Wind just started and there was enough of it for nice sailing.  On our way we passed this interestingly shaped rocky outcrop (čer), called Hrid Funestrala. I'm sure there must be some good snorkelling around it.

There were more boats on the water than the week before. We decided to sail to bay Brgulje on Molat again, at least there would be plenty of space for anchoring there.

After a calm night with not many neighbours I went snorkelling. We had to wait till afternoon for the wind to sail on anyway. And with the heath wave we were having, the best way to cool down was in the water, as deep as one could go.

I wasn't expecting much, but still saw several pretty sights. I found this Red squirt (rdeči kozolnjak or Halocynthia papillosa).

Don't be fooled by the gentle look of the Brown comber (volkec or Serranus hepatus), it is a ferocious hunter.

I also found several decent sized European flat oysters (ostriga or Ostrea edulis).

This Cylinder anemone (peščena roža or Cerianthus membranaceus) looked much prettier than the one I saw in Olib, at least it had all its arms.

I saw a lot of Date shells (morski datelj or Lithophaga lithopaga), also many empty ones.

Red-mouthed goby (rdečeusti glavač or Gobius cruentatus) was literally posing for me, with all its fins on display.

This Painted comber  (pirka or Serranus scriba) tried to confuse me with placing itself head down on the rock edge.

This is how the castle of the Common octopus (hobotnica or Octopus vulgaris) looks like from surface...

...and here is the octopus from up close. Of course I was very thrilled to have found one. 

I actually saw one already in Olib, but it disappeared deep into its hole faster than I was able to make a photo.

I also saw this pile of Murex shells (čokati volek or Hexaplex trunculus), maybe they were gathered to mate and make an egg cluster.

And soon I found another octopus castle...

...and here the octopus tried to hide deeper in the hole and even tried to cover itself with the empty shell. 

I was over the moon, three octopuses in couple of days! They might be the reason for so many empty Date shells here.

In early afternoon we sailed on. We sailed along the island Ugljan and saw the remains of old fort Sveti Mihovil.

Near to the fish farms we saw some Common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (delfine or Tursiops truncatus) again, and two were right next to our boat. But for some reason I wasn't able to make any decent photo, this is the best one, and even here there is only a lighter shadow of a dolphin visible below the two patches of foam. 

We wanted to anchor near Ždrelac, where we anchored a week ago, but the NW wind was too strong and the waves too big for this exposed anchorage. So we continued sailing and ended in bay Žinčena on Pašman. It was already quite late and after a dinner and a beer we went to bed.

The night was not very calm, NW wind was blowing long into the night and towards morning the NE wind, burja, took over. Luckily is the anchorage very protected and we had no waves. The bay itself is very pretty, and it wasn't too crowded. But there is no GSM signal there, so we sailed on in the middle of next day. 

We sailed to island Žižanj and anchored on the SE side. While there was still strong NW wind in the afternoon and evening, there was not much NE wind forecast for the night. In the evening we had a pretty sunset. And we were alone in the anchorage.

Night was luckily calm, the weather forecast was spot on, as the day before. But every day was hotter than the previous one and we were in the water several times already before noon. Two Grey herons (sive čaplje or Ardea cinerea) flew onto the shore and were probably catching fish...

...and after some time flew to the next fishing spot.

In the early afternoon we sailed on with the NW wind. We saw this pretty lighthouse on the way...

...and we anchored the boat just around the S corner of Murter near small island of Hrbošnjak in front of Jezera.

In the evening several fishing boats were returning into Jezera port, and all had a big entourage.