So the first part of the journey is done. Most British yachts have to do some kind of VAT shuffle every eighteen months to ensure they aren’t importing their boat into the EU and hence have to pay VAT. We don’t think this is a problem for us since our VAT was paid in Malta, part of the EU but we will keep records just in case. But we wanted to go to Montenegro anyway and we had to meet up with friends so lots of good reasons to go.

We have had a nice few days in Montenegro and vow to return to see more of the country. For now though, we have to go back down the river and turn North towards Dubrovnik. We have checked out by noon, which is basically the reverse of the order we checked in but it is 35 miles to Dubrovnik and the wind will not be helping us much. We want to check in and then go on to anchor somewhere rather than go into a marina and daylight may be an issue so we need to get moving.

With the lack of wind we will be motor sailing and with this lack of wind, it means the apparent wind will be quite close to the bow since we are generating most of it by using the engine to power us through the water.

As we head out of the river we have Croatia on the northern bank and Montenegro to the south. We turn to the north protected by the old batteries that used to protect this coast and we are on our way. The wind is westerly so it does help us a little and with a full main and close hauled stay sail, we are making good progress at over six knots as we fly by a catamaran struggling along at 3 knots, they won’t get to Dubrovnik until the early hours at that rate.

We have heard stories of the Croatian authorities fining boats for entering their waters before checking in. Our first available port of entry would be Dubrovnik but we are staying a little way off shore and definitely not travelling between some of the islands and the shore, which apparently really gets their goat and can only be forgiven by a €200 donation. The coast here is becoming a familiar but still spectacular view with huge tree-covered mountains and hills plunging into the water. It seems a million miles away from a flat east anglia that has been home for so long.

The trip up is a single tack and with very little company after we pass the catamaran. At one stage a police motor launch goes past us, hopefully we are far enough off shore and already flying our Q flag to demonstrate we are on our way to a port of entry which should placate them.

As we approach Dubrovnik, maria mentions that it is 17 years since we last visited when we were on a cruise ship touring the Adriatic. At the time we had dreamed of doing these kind of tours and finally we have got there, if only for short trips at the moment. However, this is a completely different approach and for the life of us we don’t recognise anything.

As you approach Dubrovnik you are directed to the port at Cruz where the Croats have helpfully put a huge yellow “Q” on the building so you know where you are going and the harbourmaster, immigration police and customs are all there. Once again, Maria gets to sunbathe while I check us in to Croatia. As you approach, you can see that this is still set up as a commercial dock with bollards every twenty metres for you to tie onto. We normally like to get a mid line on first so that clearly isn’t possible. There are also big black rubber bumpers that stick out half a metre, I guess you don’t want to touch those or you get a big black mark on your hull. Maria gets mariadz nice and close to the dock but it is still very difficult to lasso the bollard and I miss, twice! I am going to need to develop a better technique for this… fortunately the police have come to greet us and one kindly takes a line and passes it back to me and the stern is tied on. That means that maria can use that line to bring the boat in tight to the dock and I can get the bow line on.

Once settled, I can get to the harbour masters office to start the check in process. Maria has already booked and paid for the tourist tax on line so I have the vignette, or cruising licence to pay. To check in I need the ships registration, proof of insurance and the crew list – which helpfully is documented on the Montenegro vignette since the only copy I had was electronic. Once these formalities are complete, I can go to the police and get our passports stamped as returning to the EU. This is easy and he also needs the ships registration, the new Croatian vignette and the crew list. The final stage of this is the temporary resident forms since we are in Croatia for more than two days. While these are being completed I can pop over to the customs office who, like Montenegro, are not too bothered and just want to see the crew list and vignette. We are then all done, really efficient and friendly. Although they seemed to be more friendly to Maria, waving to her as we left. So the moral of the story is clearly to take a pretty girl with you.

After releasing the lines, we come off the dock in our standard sideways motion and then Maria can turn us around and we head out the couple of miles to the anchorage we have chosen for the night, U. batala near Zaton. This is not far from Dubrovnik but seems another world.

There are a few boats anchored but lots of room and we decide to anchor in the middle of the horseshoe bay near to the village. Even here it is over 10 metres deep and although we are not expecting any bad weather I still put out a fair amount of chain so we can be safe. Normally I put out a buoy attached to the anchor, this helps us to understand the position of the anchor and hopefully informs others thinking of anchoring too. After our unfortunate experience at Portimao last year, where someone picked it up, the buoy is now clearly marked as mariadz anchor. Anyway when we anchored in Montenegro I had forgotten to put it on, but I remember this time. However, as the buoy goes in the water there is a knot in the line and it sits directly above the anchor but just below the surface of the water – typical.

U. batala is surrounded by a horseshoe of tree lined hills/mountains and has a nice restaurant on the sea front. So we decide to drop the rib and eat there this evening. We are offered a menu but then told that there is fresh fish: Bream and Bass. It looks wonderful and is cooked with some vegetables and filleted at the table, wonderful with a lovely drop of white wine from one of the local islands. We will need to visit that island and stock up.

We get back to the boat and have a chill in the cockpit before going to bed. When we awake in the morning, there has been rain overnight. The climate seems a bit strange because of the high mountains, it can be pouring down with rain one minute and then the next it is bright sunshine. Still we weren’t ready for it and the cushions and covers are soaked. Oh well, they will dry during the day.