Today we are leaving for Dubrovnik, which is known as the Pearl of the Adriatic. A rich and powerful city state until 1806, the proud city once known as Ragusa has a population of over 120,000. Structural damage suffered during the siege of 1991 and 1992, at the hands of the Yugoslav People's Army, has been repaired and visitors once again flock to this tranquil place.

The trip was expected to be around 6 1/2 hours so we needed to be gone by about 8.30. I slept up on deck again last night, because it was cool, and Cheryl doesn't stop hitting me in the ribs when I snore too much. (so I am now getting a little tender). I woke up about 4 am to the smell of the bread being baked at the little bakery up the road. So I was happy when the Jo went shopping and brought some croissants for breakfast. They were truly fresh and delicious. Anyway Brian was itching to make a move, and we could see the Thompsons were not out of bed yet. Their boat is so fast they can afford to sleep in!.

The chap from the restaurant was there to help us depart. I was up front doing the bow rope, and Pete and Ray were doing the stern ropes. (and the girls were pretending to look beautiful) Brian moved the boat out and everything went so smoothly. I stood up on the deck after detaching the bow rope to see the man at the jetty jumping up and down, and waving furiously. I thought the locals were such nice people, so friendly, we have never got this treatment at the other places we have visited. Then I heard Brian yell out with a matter of urgency in his serious tone of voice. "The other mooring line!" Oh ****! I had forgotten the other mooring line on the bow. Brian quickly reversed the boat to slow it down, and allow me to untie the line. I can tell you now we would never beat the Thompsons if we had to drag the restaurant behind us! :) Anyway, I sorted it (if I didn't no doubt I would have been made to walk the plank). We were away. As we sailed through the islands, we passed a super yacht called Le Grande Bleu. This is one of the grandest yachts I have ever seen. Even the yacht and speed boat they carried around was bigger than the one we were in. Please google it, you will understand what I mean.

After we passed the yacht, I decided to go down stairs and do some bookwork, then catch up on some sleep. Ray was skipper for the day, and it was good to see him feeling much better.

I finally surfaced about 11/2 out of Dubrovnik, just in time for a great lunch the girls had prepared. Roz made this beautiful salad that I hadn't tasted in years. Everybody loved it. Ray was still at the helm, and doing a sterling job. (the fact I had such a good sleep demonstrated he wasn't as rough as our normal skipper)

It wasn't long before Dubrovnik was starting to appear on the horizon. The scenery was really quite stunning. There is a very large suspension bridge in Dubrovnik, which is visible from many miles around. You could also see an extremely large cruise ship moored in the port.

The ACL Mariner in Dubrovnik is under the bridge and up the river. This a very large mariner and very modern. It wasn't long before we had reached it. The trip up the river is simply awesome, with steep mountains on 3 sides. Not long after we moored, the Thompson's arrived and moored alongside. We finally out gunned them! Good work Ray, you will have to skipper again!

After we settled in, and helped the Thompsons tie up, we all decided we would go for a swim in the pool that was located in the mariner opposite the bar. It looked absolutely beautiful, and given the fact it was so hot and muggy we couldn't wait. One by one we hopped in, and all you could hear was the loud protests and profanities of how cold it was. I thought this mob were a bunch of wooses so I just jumped in. No word of a lie, this is the coldest water I had ever been in. However I thought I would do a few laps, and warm up. But eventually I had to get out, and when I did, my arm and legs had swollen up quite badly, and they were very sore and itchy, I was also unsteady on my feet. Finally I took a seat in the bar, and Cheryl went and got some antihistamines we had on the boat. As it turned out, if you google it, the condition arises because of the extreme change in body temperature. It could have been much worse, e.g. heart attack, or an anaphylactic fit. I felt better after about an hour, but I will not go near the pool again!

Whilst I was sitting in the bar, everybody came over to stop and see how I was, which was nice. Eventually they were all in the bar, having a few quiet ales. Time passed and a decision was made to have a meal and go to bed. In doing so, I needed Cheryl's credit card to do a couple of things, and it was MISSING! Cheryl knew she had it, and the last time was when she gave to Dianne at the bar, as Dianne had forgotten her purse. We could not find it anywhere. Cheryl was already having a bad day losing her earing, (which we finally found) then diving into the pool with her good sunnies on (which I had to retrieve because the water was too cold for her!) and now the Credit Card. I went to look for it, without success, an announcement came over the PA system to advise it had been found. A lady had found it, and handed it into the Mariner Office.

Brian and Dianne had decided to take us out to a restaurant they found last time we were here. It was a short walk from the mariner along side of the river. We had sat down and ordered our meals when Stuart and Heather and Ray and Jenny turned up. As Heather was sitting down to the table, a wasp stung her just under the eye, but behind her glasses. Her natural reaction was to try and brush it away from her face, and in doing so tossed her glasses into the river. These were not only her good glasses, but they were also needed. Heather was in a bit of a state, because the wasps sting badly, and her face was swelling up. Whilst everyone tried to assist her, it did put a bit of a dampener on the night. However every comic has it's hero. Ray Ray (Ray LeGuire) rode in on his white horse and offered to get the glasses out of the river. That his official story, but the unofficial story is he hadn't had time for a shower before he left, and Brian and Stuart said he needed a bath because he was a bit on the nose.. Ray, Ray being the champion he is, stripped off to his undies in the middle of the restaurant, and hopped in the river to get the glasses. (and no one in the restaurant even batted an eyelid. Then again he us hardly Mr Universe!) When Ray, Ray hit the water, you could see the grimace on his face. It was even colder than the swimming pool! There will be no funny business in that household for a few months. We spotted the glasses, and Ray,Ray was so close to getting them, but alas they fell back into the water. It was decided we would come back in the morning when it was lighter and try again.

Everybody seem to have a great meal. Not long before we were about to leave, this very luxurious looking motor boat came up the river with a deck full of men singing in beautiful harmony. They were so good. They pulled in to the restaurant mooring, and after a rousing applause and encouragement, sang another song. Again, it sounded so good, and is simply something we would never see. After receiving another applause they sat down to enjoy their meal.

We left the restaurant on a high, which was good given Heathers unfortunate mishap.

Well it is about 1.30 am and still very hot and muggy. I must go to bed, as tomorrow is a big day. We will discover Dubrovnik.