Day 1 – The Journey Begins (At a Completely Unreasonable Hour)
The holiday was always planned in three acts:
Two days exploring Croatia, seven days becoming “Competent Crew”, and then three days recovering from whatever happens on the boat.
Naturally, it all began at 2:45am… which is not a civilised time by any definition.
I don’t remember going to sleep. My wife insists we managed about an hour. I remain unconvinced.
As I staggered out of bed, I suddenly remembered I had left some batteries in my father-in-law’s garden. Because clearly, that’s the sort of thing one deals with in the middle of the night.
Torch in hand, I went on a mini expedition, retrieved the batteries, and returned just in time to meet our taxi.
Our driver was cheerful (far too cheerful for that time of day) and immediately pointed out that Hemel Hempstead turns off its streetlights at 1am.
This meant he had been navigating using guesswork, house lights, and optimism until he spotted me wrestling luggage on the driveway.
Airport Adventures
The airport experience was surprisingly smooth. In fact, thanks to my walking stick (which suddenly became a VIP pass), we were ushered through the fast-track lane like minor celebrities.
At one point, a helpful airport assistant even produced a wheelchair — not for me, but for our luggage.
Frankly, this should be standard practice.
Security was its usual mix of confusion and mild suspicion:
Cameras? Fine.
Breathing machine? Also fine.
My wife? Subject to an entire science experiment involving swabs, scanners, and foot analysis.
Eventually, we made it through and settled into the departure lounge for a well-earned sit-down.
From seat 13F, I had a perfect view over the wing as we took off slightly early.
The flight itself was spectacular:
London disappeared beneath a blanket of cloud
France drifted by quietly
Germany made an appearance, complete with an industrial plume punching through the clouds
Then came the Alps, with snow-covered peaks rising like something out of a film
Finally, we tracked down the Adriatic coast and descended into Split.
Whilst most passengers slept and talked, I took out the Geiger Counter On the ground the readings are 1-2, but as the plane rose higher and higher the meter reading went up, when the reading were greater than 20 counts per second, the alarm went off, and I had to quickly silence the alarm.
Landing was smooth. Getting off the plane… less so.
Being near the middle meant we were among the last off, which deposited us neatly into a very long queue for biometric passport scanners.
The scanners, unfortunately, had other plans and were failing enthusiastically.
After a prolonged stand, a human being intervened (always reassuring), stamped our passports properly, and we were through.
At baggage reclaim, there was exactly one case going round.
Ours.
Next challenge: find the hire car.
After wandering through what felt like several kilometres of signage, we discovered a row of small rental offices. Our booking, helpfully, did not say which company it was with.
Cue emergency phone call to the UK.
Thankfully, Paul was awake and confirmed:
Budget (which is Avis in Croatia)
The paperwork was handled by a very pleasant gentleman who also managed to extract a small fortune in insurance fees from us.
Still, we now had a Renault Captur (automatic, thankfully) and set off.
Within minutes, the car began loudly protesting that the back seat belts weren’t fastened.
After a brief roadside stop and some luggage rearrangement, peace was restored.
Lidl… But Not As We Know It
Our first mission: find food.
We located a Lidl… eventually… after going the wrong way first.
Expectations: modern supermarket.
Reality: Lidl as it was about 20 years ago.
Still, we secured essentials:
Bread
Tuna
Croquettes
Something vaguely pancake-like with ham and cheese (not recommended)
We drove over a new bridge to a nearby island (
Čiovo) and found a small beach.
It was 25°C. For Brits, this means:
Shorts immediately
Shirt optional
Dignity secondary
We sat down for lunch and quickly realised we had forgotten:
Plates
A knife
Solution? My trusty penknife/screwdriver.
Tuna was opened. Rolls were constructed. Survival achieved.
After lunch, I lay in the sun for 30 minutes, turned over to “even things out,” and successfully imprinted the pattern of Croatian stones onto my back.
At around 2:15pm, we recorded our first video introduction to the trip.
Out came the PMR Sailing gold T-shirt, and with my wife behind the camera, we officially began documenting the adventure.
We then drove the short distance to our accommodation… a typical Croatian Road. Each house had extended the road. All different widths - all slightly but not much larger than the car. We arrived ... or so we thought.
A helpful lady informed us that “Apartment Kate” was already occupied.
Brief panic.
Then clarification: wrong sister.
A few metres down the road, we found the correct apartment and were warmly welcomed.
The apartment was excellent:
Fully equipped kitchen
Washing machine
Enormous bed (large enough to lose a spouse in)
After a short rest (and several fizzy drinks), we walked into Trogir, a place we last visited over 20 years ago.
We crossed the familiar bridge into the old town and found:
Palm-lined waterfronts
Rows of impressive yachts
Restaurants eagerly inviting us in
It’s early season, so every restaurateur was keen for business.
We politely declined (already had food plans) and continued exploring. This was a mistake.
The first photo was from 20 years ago. The scenery had not
changed much, but the size of the town had more than doubled and a new bridge.
We finished the evening with ice cream. Unfortunately, after years of homemade ice cream made with real fruit and cream, this version appeared to contain… neither. Still, it was cold, sweet, and rounded off the day nicely.
Before bed, we checked in with home.
Paul had been running the business and reported:
Students happy
Parametric equations being taught (bravely)
Minor reliance on Wolfram Alpha over ChatGPT (I’ll let that pass…)
And so, after one very long day:
We had travelled across Europe
Picked up a Car that had the steering wheel on the wrong side.
Successfully navigated Croatian supermarkets
Filmed our first content
And survived airport security
We had bought some knives, plates and a Tea Towel
