Sailing from Krk to Kornat and back - part 5

In the evening we returned to a small bay next to new ferry harbour, right to the West of the lighthouse.

At first glance it doesn't look like a good anchorage, water is quite deep and the bay not very big. We checked it with the mask, bottom is sandy and offers good holding, there are no rocks right up to the shore and the pine trees smell heavenly. Late in the evening we even saw an owl. We were alone there, I don't think there would be space for another boat. Only some fishermen boats came by in the evening and the night was very peaceful.

In the morning some of us were in the water at sunrise, others enjoyed the early sun.

After nice breakfast we sailed towards West and had to say goodbye to my brother's family.

We had an appointment later in the day in Stara Baška on island Krk. I was surprised how much colder the water there was, only 23 deg C, around island Rab it was around 27 deg C. It must be because of all the fresh water springs that are on and in the sea around island Krk.

In the afternoon we sailed on to Vela luka, we tacked (zig-zaged) against Burja (N-E wind), that was blowing through Senj strait (Senjska vrata). It is really amazing how strong the wind here can get, even in nice sunny weather and very little wind everywhere else.

I like Vela luka very much, also because it's so protected. OK, it is much nicer late in the evening and in the morning, during the day there are many power boats bringing tourists to the beach, and it can get noisy and boats create big swell. Another reason why I like it are the sheep, that come to the beach from the hills in the evening. Before that they are "shouting" loudly to one another over the bay and it echoes from the rocks and the hills. There must be a spring or two of fresh water somewhere, because they all converge to the same spot on the beach. One day we will actually dinghy to the beach and take a look.

Next morning I quickly jumped into the water, before the hordes of tourists started arriving. Bay is not too interesting, but I still found some nice things.

I like this sea urchin, that tried to camouflage itself with everything that was available - from Feather star (Morska lilija) to empty shells.

This is a Red anemone (Rdeča morska vetrnica), it can be found in very shallow water, here I found it attached to the rocky wall that was dropping into the sea.

It was our last day of our holiday. We decided to make another stop in Luka Srščica before we returned to Klimno. There were quite a few boats there already.

Of course I went snorkelling there, I wouldn't miss the last snorkelling opportunity. First thing I noticed as I swam across the bay, was that there were no Fan mussels (Leščurjev) any more. I distinctly remember seeing some before. Soon I find the reason for that - a pile of empty Fan mussels shells - so they were eaten, despite being protected.

As I swam along the rocky East shore I found this Black Scorpionfish (Škarpoč). He tried to blend into the surrounding rocks, just to be left alone.

And yet another Red Seasquirt (Rdeči kozolnjak ali Morska breskev)

All the fish in the bay were very nervous. This one - it is one of the Wrasses (Gnezdivka) - was pressed into the ground and frightened swam away when I came close.

On our way back to our buoy in Klimno we saw the funniest thing - cows cooling down in the sea. I probably mentioned that it was really hot most of the time, up to 35 deg C, but I haven't seen anything like this before.

We had some nice Easterly wind on our way back and the sailing was good. Shortly after we left Luka Srščica a butterfly landed on our boat, obviously seeking some shelter from the wind and opportunity to rest. First it landed on the winch.

Then he decided that on the bench next to me is a better place to rest. It was a good opportunity to take a close look at him. It was a Red Admiral (Admiral).

He was sitting there rather motionless for quite a while and we were getting worried. Was he too tired to fly away? Captain had a brilliant idea - maybe he is thirsty, let us give him some watermelon. For quite a while he didn't move, didn't show any interest in watermelon that was right in front of his nose. But after some time he finally started to eat it. Yes!

We were long tied to our buoy in Klimno before he flew away, he was with us for almost an hour. What a nice finish to our vacation.