Day 4 The Course Starts

An Early Start in the Marina

We woke up early, around 7:15am. I got dressed and made the short walk to the shore facilities. The water was perfectly still and the light over the marina was beautiful, so naturally I hurried back for the camera before breakfast. 

Breakfast consisted of finishing off the sliced loaf Ros had bought so that it did not go to waste. Thankfully, it turned out to be rather good bread, especially with strawberry jam. 

Soon afterwards, our instructor Tadek arrived and explained the plan for the day. Shortly after that, Steve and Judy from Sailing Fair Isle appeared ready to film, although there was one immediate problem — the cabin was far too dark for useful filming. They wisely decided to disappear until after the lengthy safety briefing.

Meeting the Crew Properly

During our first discussions, Tadek had already worked out everyone’s experience level. 

John and Emily had previously completed their Day Skipper course some years ago but had not really used the skills since, so they were effectively on a refresher course. 
Rosamund and I, despite never having stepped aboard a yacht before, had both completed our RYA Level 1 sailing courses, while I had also completed Level 2 and we both held Powerboat Level 2 qualifications. That meant Tadek could skip over some of the absolute basics and move more quickly onto the things we genuinely did not know.

Whipstaff

Then came the paperwork where we effectively signed our lives away, filling in emergency contact forms and declaring medical conditions. 

I had nothing particularly exciting to declare, but Ros felt it was important to mention her inability to consistently distinguish left from right, or indeed port from starboard. 
Once the paperwork was complete, we moved on deck to identify all the various systems and safety equipment. The most memorable item was undoubtedly the whipstaff — the emergency steering system — which appeared to require the strength of three Olympic rowers to move. 

We located the liferaft and were carefully informed why we ideally never wanted to use it. We discussed flares, emergencies, fires, flooding and every possible disaster scenario imaginable. By the end of the hour-and-a-half briefing, we felt simultaneously safer and slightly more nervous.

Preparing Petra III for Departure

Once the briefing finally finished, Steve and Judy returned to film us preparing the yacht for departure and interviewing Tadek on the foredeck for their documentary series. Our first practical task was removing and securing the gangplank. Steve had the drone in the air to record our departure.

John and I managed this successfully. Then we prepared the stern for departure, warmed up the engine, and released the mooring lines in sequence. Tadek demonstrated how simply changing throttle settings could swing the bow one way or another with remarkable precision. 

My first official duty was standing on the bow as lookout while we manoeuvred out into the busy marina channel.

Wrestling with the Fenders

Next came the fenders. 

These had to be removed from the side of the boat and carefully secured in the sail locker. Some people simply threw them in. Tadek, however, believed in doing things properly. 

This involved lying flat on the deck and reaching deep into the sail locker to tie each one individually to the ladder rung below. It was surprisingly awkward and an excellent introduction to the glamorous world of yacht crew work.

Under Engine Towards Lunch

With the drill completed, we motored through the main channel towards Fumija, a small island north of Čiovo — the very island we had unsuccessfully tried to drive to a few days earlier. 

The journey lasted about an hour and a half and covered around five nautical miles under engine power.

Lunch spot - To Anchor in the shallow part off of Fumija 
 
43°28'53.15"N  
16°14'12.74"E  
as opposed to what it said in the Ships Log 43​°30'25.4"N 16​°016'10.306"E which placed the boat somewhere on a hill in ​Čiovo

Learning to Anchor

At Fumija, we learnt how to anchor properly. This became my responsibility. I lowered the anchor chain while carefully counting the coloured markers every ten metres. 

One finger meant 10 metres.
Two fingers meant 20 metres.
Three fingers meant 30 metres.
And finally four fingers signalled 40 metres of chain deployed. 

Meanwhile Tadek explained to John and Emily how to reverse gently against the anchor to ensure it was properly dug into the seabed. 

Lunch was simple but perfectly acceptable — bread, cheese, ham and, in my case, what can only be described as an industrial-strength slice of lettuce.  

Raising the Anchor Again

After lunch it was time to recover the anchor. 

This involved hauling the chain back aboard while signalling to the helm which direction the chain was leading so the boat could remain positioned correctly above the anchor. 

Indicating “the chain is behind us” using arm gestures took rather more practice than expected.

First Time Sailing Petra III

Heading towards the island of Šolta and the harbour of Maslinica, the wind began to build slightly and it was finally time to hoist the sails. 

The weather looked threatening enough for wet weather jackets, although in the end it never actually rained. 

We turned head-to-wind and learnt how to raise the mainsail using the winches and rope jammers. Emily bravely stood at the mast manually hauling sail while I worked the lines back in the cockpit. Eventually I was promoted to using the electric winch for the final tightening. 

The sequence of ropes, jammers, cleats and winches felt confusing at first, but slowly started to make sense.

Learning to Tack

Once underway under sail, we practised tacking repeatedly. 
Everyone took turns:

• Steering
• Releasing the jib sheets
• Grinding the winches
• Pulling the sails across

Even with the mechanical advantage of the winches, it was hard physical work. 

By now the clouds had vanished completely and the Croatian sunshine returned in full force.

Arriving at Maslinica Marina

Our overnight destination was the marina at Maslinica. 

Unlike a town quay, marinas cost more, but they came with excellent shower and toilet facilities — a trade-off nobody objected to. 

Before entering harbour, we practised what Tadek called:

• Fenders
• Tenders
• Senders
• Boat hooks

Fenders had to be rigged correctly using clove hitches. The tender dinghy had to be moved forward rather than towed astern. Stern lines had to be prepared and coiled for throwing. Finally the boat hook was made ready to grab the submerged lazy lines. 

Steve and Judy chose to anchor outside the harbour, but we headed into the marina stern-first under the guidance of the marineras. 

Ros and I handled the ropes while John and Emily steered under Tadek’s supervision. Once the stern lines were ashore, I collected the lazy lines and secured the bow to stop the yacht drifting. 

And somehow, remarkably, we ended up safely moored.

First night stay Maslinica  43°23'52.03"N  16°12'22.55"E  

An Evening Meal with Sailors and Cats

Maslinica was quiet this early in the season and many restaurants remained closed. That left us with essentially one realistic dining option — unfortunately not the culinary highlight of the holiday. Most of us selected breaded chicken and chips, which appeared to be the safest option on the menu. 
The evening included:
Steve and Judy from Sailing Fair Isle
Barry from Adventures of an Old Seadog
Jane, a wonderfully chatty journalist who had reported during the Serbian conflict years earlier
Michael and his catamaran trainees
Our crew from Petra III
   
Some of the group enjoyed local beers while others sampled rather better wine than the previous evening. Meanwhile, around seven or eight cats wandered around the harbour hoping for scraps from unsuspecting sailors.