Bloodpressure

Rab on Rab island.

Last week I have not been feeling well. My bowels were very upsad, so I decided to stay in Rab for 3 days. Around eight o'clock in the evening, I was resting, I suddenly heard a very loud sirene. It really startled me! I went on deck to see what was happening. I could not really see something special. But the sirene kept sounding. Hmm...what's going on? Like I wrote a couple of posts ago, the bora (a malicious wind from the north, normaly force 7-8 bft.) But on Rab they make the bora extra scarry. If bora winds are expected, they sound the sirene as a bora alarm. It was already dark, me not being 100%, it all becomes a little scarry. The wind was not to bad, but with al the excitement I did not sleep to well.
 The next day I decided to go sailing again. To Mali Losinj on Losinj Island. The port is very well protected in a large bay. But the entrance to that bay was on the other side of the island. To make life easier for people that arrive from the Rab side, they have dug a channel to enter the bay.

The channel is located near the arrow.

The channels is 7 meters wide, Madame Curie is only 3 meters 10, so that should fit easily. They open the bridge, that crosses the channel only twice a day, at 09:00 and 18:00.So you have toe make sure you are on time. Around 4 o'clock I arrived, assuming there would be a quay I could wait. But no, there was no quay so I sailed around a bit for an other two hours. When the wind and waves are coming from behind, al of a sudden, 7 meters does not seem so much!

7 meters wide.

Around 6 o' clock people started to gather around the bridge, but I could not recognize a person who would operate the bridge. At around 10 minutes after six I could see a man in a very loud shirt starting to close the barriers manually, and manually start to turn the bridge. With very wild arm movements he signaled me that I could pass through the bridge.With my heart racing, sweaty palms I started steering through the channel.
Seven meters, wind and waves, it is really very tight!!! By now at least 20 people were standing near the bridge to see if things would go wrong. Everything went fine, I did not hit the quay, but this has been the most stressfull thing I have done together with Madame Curie!

Relieve on the other side of the channel!!!

I was completely hyperactive when berthing in the marina in Mali Losinj. I had planned on leaving the next morning through the same channel, but this was a once in a lifetime experience. The next moring I walked to Veli Losinj, a cute town just a few kilometers away, and left the bay sailing through the normal entrance. Much better for my bloodpressure.

Bay on the route to Veli Losinj.

Veli Losinj