We are ever so slightly hung over from our drinking and dancing the night before. Today is Nicky's birthday. She loves the smarties, bracelets and dress we have bought her. Happy 25th Nicky! Before we leave Korcula, we need to pick up the birthday cake we have ordered. We are pulled up in the tender by the marine police for speeding. They say it is a 4 nautical mile zone, however, everyone is flying along faster than 4 nautical miles an hour, the area we are in ...

Our problem with the steerage is still with us. Paul is consulting N.Z. and England, Luca in Croatia and Austria, to find a solution to a large problem. In the meantime Paul and Niels are trying to find an even more temporary, patch-up solution. Niels uses and O-ring and has been able to put the hydraulic hose together so we can get to Korcula, an island closer to the mainland. We get there without incident and anchor at the north end of this very long island, a...

The island of 'Miljet' is only and hour and a half cruise from Dubrovnik. The island is 35kms long and 3kms wide. It is a national park with lots of small wooded islands and channels in the north west corner. We pass the 80 metre yacht 'Athena' that was parked next to us in Aukland for the BP christening. We anchor near the small town of 'Polace'. Everybody has to pay a per head fee to stay here, but you get a fee bus and boat road to the monastery island which ...

We have a walking guide today in the old town of Dubrovnik. What a stunning place surrounded by 3kms of fortification wall built in the renaissance period. At that time is was an independent state but aligned with Venice. Our first impression when arriving by sea is that this was a very powerful maritime port. It's history starts in the 7th Century A.D., when the Slavs wipe out the Roman city of Cavtat. By the 12th century Dubrovnik had become an important tradin...

From Berlin we flew 'Jat Airlines'. From there we go to 'Kotor' Montenegro which is a beautiful old small town on Kotor bay, surrounded by high rocky mountains. We are staying at a small recently renovated hotel in the old city 'Hippocampus" meaning seahorse. The owner is an architect and has done a superb job in rebuilding and decorating this very old building. There are no cars in the old town as the streets are too narrow. You can walk the entire old city ce...