21.12.2007 - Cruising with Cantal Marine in the Adriatic Sea

In our experience, it’s needless to say that your Linssen voyage on the Adriatic Sea will be full of unforgettable moments. You’ll enjoy a comfortable cruise, with hardly any engine noise, resembling the charm of sailing yacht gliding over the water. Your boat is comfortable, spacious and luxurious.

The Linssen luxury charter fleet from Cantal Marine d.o.o.

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  The decks are covered with the finest teak to add to your enjoyment, because most of the time you will be on one of the decks of your “little ship”. All our boats are equipped to meet the highest level of convenience: they all have electrical anchor winches, bow thrusters, and autopilot and navigational equipment for easy and no-stress manoeuvring. For additional comfort and protection from the Mediterranean sun, they also all have a bimini top and a cabrio, a settee on the aft deck as well as a dinghy to go ashore wherever you feel like it. For early spring or late autumn cruises, all boats are equipped with a heating system.

Famous painters

Don’t forget that Linssen Yachts are displacement cruisers. In keeping with Linssen’s well-known slogan “Slow down… and start living!”, we should add that there will also be no petrol stress either, because fuel consumption at cruising speed is almost frighteningly low. If you see an old fisherman in his ancient wooden boat, don’t be surprised if he stares at you and “your” Linssen and gives you a friendly wave. After two successful seasons chartering our smallest Linssens, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, to satisfied customers, our fleet is expanding by five more yachts from the Grand Sturdy series. We will then have seven Linssens available in 2008, ranging from the 29.9 AC up to the Grand Sturdy 470.

For those of you who want to travel in a fleet of equal yachts, we will have three Linssen Grand Sturdy 29.9 ACs available at our base in Pula. Rembrandt and Van Gogh will be joined by M. Jama (a famous Slovene painter). In addition, we will be adding another new boat to our fleet, named after the Slovene painter B. Jakac. This will be a larger and more comfortable Linssen Grand Sturdy 33.9 AC.

Another addition to our fleet will be the two sisters of the Grand Sturdy Mark II series, which offer a level of comfort that is well known and greatly appreciated by Linssen connoisseurs. Both models, the Linssen 410 Mark II (Mondriaan) and the Linssen 430 Mark II (Monet) will be ornaments to our fleet of six based in Pula. The Linssen Grand Sturdy 470 that we have available is based in the marina of Koper, in Slovenia. All three yachts have highly sophisticated equipment and numerous accessories that will make your stay on board even more pleasant. Of course, we must add that the additional length and higher level of comfort and convenience also increase the value of the boats as well as their charter fee.

Our charter yachts in the 9 series and the Grand Sturdy series offer you comfort and all the necessary nautical, household and safety equipment as well as insurance and licences and a care-free stay on board. If you are inexperienced at operating a boat yourself on the Adriatic Sea, we will arrange a skipper for you, naturally one who speaks your own language and will take you wherever you desire to go. All you need do is to let us know your wishes and we will be glad to assist you in any way.

Slow down and start living – with us! At your service! Cantal Marine - Ljubljana. Mitja, Peter and Bojan

In the blue waters of the Croatian Islands – Kornati National Park

(Yacht logbook – travelogue and navigational story of a week on Rembrandt)

The Kornati archipelago – the most indented island group in the Mediterranean – is situated in northern Dalmatia near Zadar. The archipelago comprises 140 almost uninhabited islands, islets and reefs and covers just 70 square kilometres. South of Kornati National Park, there is another jewel of a nature reserve: Telašcica Nature Park. It encompasses spacious and deep Telašcica Bay on the neighbouring island to the north, Dugi Otok (“Long Island”).
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Our REMBRANDT, a Linssen Grand Sturdy 29.9 AC, was ready to depart. We calculated miles to be sure how long it would take us and consulted the weather forecast. We had to travel 80 Nm from our homeport Porto Volme in Pula to reach the entrance of this natural jewel. We planned our trip so that we could visit both parks at the end of August, in one week. Our wish was to see a lot and enjoy a real summer holiday, to swim in the clear Adriatic, and not to “drive” most of the time. The temperatures were as they should be in late summer: the atmospheric temperature was 28°C and the sea around 25°C almost everywhere.

Sunday

(weather forecast: wind NE 2-3B, sea 2) On Sunday morning we started our noiseless engine and untied the ropes. The large bay of Kvarner lay ahead. Crossing it was no problem for our small Linssen Grand Sturdy 29.9 AC. I have to admit the weather conditions were excellent, almost no waves, and a sunny and calm sky. Crossing the most exposed part towards open sea took only a few hours, a total of not more than 17 Nm. After 36 Nm of sailing, we met our boat’s twin sister, another Linssen named VAN GOGH, also heading south. In the afternoon we arrived in Mali Lošinj, where there are lovely fish restaurants, bars, and even wireless Internet. Marina employees will help you moor the boat. We had dinner in a small domestic fish restaurant, where the food was tasty and inexpensive. But we wanted a more peaceful place and we were anxious to go on the next day.

Monday

(weather forecast: wind E, NE 2B, sea 1-2) We sailed southeast towards our next destination. On the way, we passed a large number of small bays, good hideouts in bad weather conditions. We passed Ilovik, Silba, Olib, Škarda, Molat and other beautiful, small, unspoiled green islands with only a few inhabitants. We made a few brief stops to swim and to pay short visits. Today we planned to reach the north of longest Croatian island, Dugi Otok. In the afternoon, after 33 Nm, we arrived in the large bay of Pantera, which is a safe place to moor, protected from winds. We took our dinghy to reach the restaurant on shore and had a fabulous meal.

Tuesday

(weather forecast: wind N 1, sea 1, sunny - no warnings) In this atmosphere we did not need alarm clock to wake us up. It was a sunny morning and the water couldn’t have been bluer and clearer. Our first deed of the day, even before breakfast on board, was to have a swim.

We had to sail along Dugi Otok today, approximately 22 Nm to get to the entrance or passage between Dugi Otok and Kornat Island. Sailing east along “Long Island”, we saw some interesting old military facilities, such as abandoned tunnels for the former Yugoslavian navy. Boats caught by rough weather outside can simply sail into them and wait.

In the afternoon we reached the heart of Kornati South National Park and North Telašcica Park. Entering this area made us feel as if we had arrived in a new world. It is an area of unspoiled nature, with small islands all around with their tiny bays. Very rarely are they inhabited. The few houses offer the best fish in authentic domestic restaurants. There is no water and no electricity, just nature and the “Robinson Crusoe” way of life. In the early afternoon we arrived in the small bay of Vrulje, somewhere in the middle of Kornates. This was our final destination and most southeasterly point of our trip. Hospitality and an after-dinner farewell drink ensured that our dreams that night were nicer than ever.

Wednesday

(weather forecast: wind NE 2B and evening S 3, sea 2-4; next 24 hours: increasing S wind)

Time was definitely passing too quickly. We were in the second half of our vagabond existence, passing along the islands of the Adriatic. The next morning we made a short turn into the bay of Telašcica Nature Park. If you really want to experience nature, you must stay there for couple of days. It has a long, deep and safe bay, beautiful and quiet, with some small islands in the middle. On the other side of the bay across the southeast cape of the island is a small town, Sali, where you can get food, water and fuel. Today’s plan was to sail north as far as possible because the forecast had announced approaching bad weather in the days ahead. We adjusted our schedule to avoid crossing the open sea of Kvarner Bay in bad weather.

Thursday

(weather forecast: wind S 3-4B, sea 3-4 increasing; next 24 hours: increasing S wind)

After sightseeing and having breakfast in Mali Lošinj, we started up our Linssen again. Outside it was quite windy and the sea was becoming heavier. Rembrandt was going much faster than usual, but the wind force and the sea did not bother her at all. Her weight and hull form cut the waves coming up to 2.5 metres like a sharp knife. We had the feeling that nobody could stop this yacht. In four and a half hours we were in Pula.

Friday

(weather forecast: wind S turning into NE 3-4, sea 1-2; warnings: thunder storms).

We changed our plans. We were just a few miles from our homeport and we had the entire Friday left before we had to leave Rembrandt. We decided to cruise to the famous Brioni islands. They were very near, one and a half sailing hours from Pula. Brioni were Tito’s islands and only used for state protocol purposes. Today both main islands are protected and unspoiled natural reserves and open to the public. The weather was good enough to go out on our boat and in the evening we were back in our homeport in Porto Volme. We had a final farewell dinner in one of the many very good fish restaurants in the neighbourhood. Any additional comment would be too much. I’m sure you wouldn’t believe me anyway!

This article is just a brief glimpse and written in the form of a travelogue, so that you can get a feel for navigation and life in this area. We were a crew of 3 and we sailed just over 200 Nm comfortably on this trip, without any rush – an average of 33 miles a day. Rembrandt's average speed was 6.3 knots and average fuel consumption was less than five litres per hour. So if you sail up to five hours a day, you can reach almost any point in the Adriatic you wish on a Linssen, with plenty of time left over for other delights.

(key to logbook details in the text: wind speed 1B (Beaufort): 1-3 knots, 2B: 4-6 knots, 3B: 7-10 knots, 4B: 11-15 knots; wind directions E: east, N: north, NE: northeast (called Bora), S: south (called Jugo); sea levels-waves 1: 0-0.1 m, 2: 0.1-0.5m, 3: 0.5- 1.25m, 4:1.25-2.5m, etc.).

Comfortable, safe and no rush – it makes sense. Slow down and start living! Just the way we like it!

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Text: Bojan Žvanut
Photos: Nenad Dragic, Bojan Žvanut

Information:

Cantal Marine d.o.o.
info@cantal-marine.si
www.cantal-marine.si