Adriatic Sea. June 30, 2018 — Isabelle & Pierre

On June 30, we flew to Brindisi, Italy to meet our friends Andrea N. and Nick M. and sail on Nick’s boat to Croatia. Before getting on board, we spent 3 days near Bari to discover the Puglia region. This region is famous for its Masserie. A Masseria is similar to a Hacienda in Spain or a Plantation in the United States. It is a rather large farm complex, where the land barons stored their food and possessions from the 16th to 18th. Masserie also served at the time as a line of defense against attacks from invaders. Nowadays, most Masserie have been converted into luxury hotels. We stayed at the beautiful Masseria Torre Maizza.

It is such an enchanting place, we could have easily stayed there enjoying the pool, the restaurant, the grounds and never get out. But our curiosity took over and went on to discover the area and found interesting places to visit like the trulli of Alberobello: a Unesco World Heritage. Trullis are remarkable examples of mortarless construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. They feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs.

We went an evening to Polignano a Mare, a charming town, it is believed to be the site of the ancient Greek city of Neapolis of Apulia.

Back at home, in Miami, the Soccer World Cup frenzy had kicked-in and the kids were going to watch the game France vs. Argentina. The excitement was building up as France kept on winning and was heading toward to the finale…

We met Nick and Andrea in the Brindisi Harbor and boarded Rosy Pelican, a 1973 Swan 44 designed by Sparkman & Stephens. She was built for the Irish team competing in the Admiral Cup and has enjoyed an impressive racing career. Rosy Pelican is probably one of the most exciting boat Pierre ever sailed. Nick had made multiple improvements and completely refitted her including modern electronics. It’s a cliché, but she is really better than new - A real beauty!

We sailed across the Adriatic from Italy to Montenegro, an uneventful night crossing under light wind and calm sea, we had plenty time to admire the stars. We arrived in Montenegro the next day in the afternoon and relaxed in the bay of Kotor.

From Montenegro we sailed to Dubrovnik, the wind had picked-up and Rosy Pelican was showing her true nature…

Dubrovnik, another UNESCO World Heritage has been restored in the 90’s, after the break-up of Yugoslavia. The old city is of breathtaking beauty and the extent of its fortifications is amazing. Walking the fortified city, one can still feel what its inhabitants must have experienced under the extended siege during the Balkan War, not so long ago!

We had fun taking pictures of each others, Nick needed a picture of him for his new book!

Sailing the Dalmatian Islands is definitely a good plan. The area is unfortunately known for its light winds during the summer. However, we were very fortunate to enjoy beautiful blue skies with unusual stronger winds, between 15 and 20 knots during the day and calm at night. The ideal conditions.

For the following several days we sailed from Island to Island.

Mljet