Trip on Aremiti starting 2014-07-01
Newsletter from Aremiti on July 2014 , Skipper Chris Wallace First Mate Julia Wallace.
This month’s plan, on leaving Croatia, involved going slightly off the beaten track to
cruise the coasts of Montenegro and Albania, which are more often than not bypassed by
cruising yachts moving between Croatia and the Ionian Sea - just over 200 miles as the
crow flies, though our actual route was 333 n miles. We had expected this phase to be at
the rough and rugged end of cruising and we were right - neither country is particularly
well set up for yachts and there is a dearth of ports and anchorages, in comparison with
the multitude of perfect bays and islands of Croatia. Conditions for sailing for the
whole of this month were somewhat trying. The supposedly prevailing winds from the
north, which we had anticipated would waft us gently southwards down the Adriatic,
failed to materialise at all. Instead conditions were generally unsettled - usually a
light southerly airflow - but sometimes strong and stormy with hours of torrential rain.
Forecasts from the various sources available were often contradictory or just wrong.
Despite all this, we enjoyed a fascinating month accompanied by our friends Ralph and
Ellen who were particularly keen to explore Albania.
A gentle motor along the coast on a glassy sea, watching Dubrovnik recede behind,
brought us to the entrance to the Bay of Kotor - and into Montenegro.

From Kotor we continued southwards to Sveti Stefan, to anchor behind the picturesque
15th century fishing village turned up-market hotel. Situated on an island connected by
a causeway to the mainland it should have provided perfect shelter from the prevailing
winds, but in the unsettled conditions, some uncomfortable rolling spoiled the otherwise
idyllic situation. This is an extremely popular beach resort, largely populated by slav
and Russian tourists.
Next to Ulcinj, right on the southern border of Montenegro along a dramatic coastline of
folded mountains, silhouetted islands – and terrible tourist developments. We were
tempted there by its unusual history as a pirate stronghold. During the 16th century the
Ottomans turned a blind eye as pirates from Malta, Tunisia and Algeria made it their
base and the guide books talked of an exotic oriental atmosphere - it seemed too good to
miss. We anchored in the minute and alarmingly shallow bay, surrounded by a beach of
holidaymakers frolicking under the gaze of a minaret. However, although the fortified
old town, high on a promontory at one side of the bay looked enticing, we found a bland
restoration in the form of restaurants and holiday apartments – quaint paved alleys but
no atmosphere. Given the dicey nature of the anchorage we resorted to Plan B and
returned to Uvala Valdanos
- a likely looking bay we had identified a few miles to the
north. There, as it turned, out we spent a delightful evening swimming off the boat
followed by a memorable meal at the beach restaurant, chatting to the charming manager
Aslan about the history of the derelict former naval holiday camp there – most of it
still off limits to the local populace.
We then had to retrace our wake a little way back north in order to clear out of
Montenegro at the large port of Bar. The marina here provided a useful pit stop after a
week of anchoring - re-fuelling, provisioning, cleaning and taking on water, etc. Bar
itself while not a highlight, appeared to be an up and coming commercial centre. At this
point the weather took a serious turn for the worse with a forecast for strong winds and
high seas from the direction of our next destination 55 miles away. Not wanting to hang
around in Bar and with our Montenego cruising permit expired, our indecision was fuelled
by inconsistent local knowledge and advice. Caution prevailed, Plan B emerged and we
stayed in Bar for an extra day before finally departing Montenegro for a closer port –
the right decision as we later heard.
Albania - known to itself as Shqipëria – felt like a mysterious destination, having suffered its notorious isolation over so many years. The country is slightly smaller than Belgium, though with less than a third the population (3 million). Though dramatically scenic (mountains cover 70% of the country), the coastline of 190 miles (as the crow flies) is inhospitable for small boats - very few ports, off-lying shoals at the northern end and no secure anchorages until the far south near the border with Greece. A law banning privately owned boats has only recently been repealed and there are no facilities for yachts apart from one marina. Not surprisingly given its history, formalities are required in every port and apparently complex and onerous enough to require an agent - though we did suspect that agents’ fees were probably money for old rope.
We enjoyed a rare and excellent sail the 36 miles into Albania and the port of Shengjin
- our Plan B destination.
From Shengjin we sailed and motored the 40 miles to Durres.
Having left in a deluge, the
weather improved though squalls caused more showers, the lowering skies highlighting the
startlingly luminous turquoise water. Here we had our first sightings of bunkers ashore
- there are said to be 60,000 bunkers in Albania - though fortunately no longer manned.
Founded in 7th century by Greek colonists from Corinth, Durres is Albania’s largest port
and second city.
Here we were directed to a high concrete wharf beneath a crane where,
ahead of us, cargo ships bringing grain from Russia and Ukraine were being unloaded.
Leaving the port involved passing through a police checkpoint - which made for a good
feeling of security. Durres itself was a busy town with Greek, Roman and Byzantine
archeological ruins to inspect, and also the pink summer palace of King Zog. Durres was
a good safe place to restock and generally observe port operations - downsides were the
rats scampering along the quay at dusk and an almighty squall one evening which left the
boat covered with black sand blown off the quay. We spent 3 nights here which enabled us
to travel inland to the capital Tirana and then on to Skanderbeg’s stronghold and museum
at Kruja.
Tirana's museum of history consolidated our growing knowledge of Albania -
from Bronze Age Illyria, through periods of Greek and Roman rule, then Serbian and
Ottoman rule before independence in 1912 and the later monarchy of King Zog. Communism
under the increasingly hardline Enver Hoxia followed the 2nd world war until 1990. It
has been a hard history. Jazzily painted tower blocks demonstrate attempts to cheer up
the look of the place. Our impression of Albanian was of friendly people, proud and glad
to have thrown off their isolationist and communist past and to be living in an open
society. English was widely spoken particularly by the young – keen to practice on us.
From Durres we made our longest passage of 61 miles to Orikum - the one and only marina
deep in the Gulf of Vlore. This was a little haven of comfort and tranquillity. From
here we travelled inland to visit the UNESCO Heritage site of Berat - 'town of a
thousand windows' – those of the preserved Ottoman houses rising up the hillside toward
the citadel at the top. The journey there gave us views of Albania demonstrating the
contrasts of its current situation as it modernises – terrible roads/swanky new cars,
slums/plush apartment blocks, squalid litter filled alleys/pristine garage forecourts –
and many halted building projects - construction is apparently a widespread front for
money laundering.
Vlore is the nearest part of the coast to Italy - Otranto is less than 60 miles away -
making it the location for mass escape from Albania – which has occurred at several
times in its history and explains the seriously large number of bunkers and
fortifications on the route out southwards. This leg of 46 miles involved some sailing
(!) in strange little acceleration zones. With the swell mercifully from behind us, we
moved from the Adriatic into the Ionian. The coastline of the 'Albanian Riviera' becomes
less barren with beaches - and ugly looking resort developments. Our penultimate stop
was in the Bay of Palermos, dominated by Ali Pasha’s early 19th century Venetian style
fort topping a promontory in the bay.
We berthed on a very rough 3 metre high concrete
jetty – quite a climb out of the boat. The air here was suffused by a wonderful smell of
herbs which we traced to a primitive operation on the beach for drying herbs - on an
industrial scale. This turned out to be one of our more sociable stops as we encountered
a very jolly Italian mini-flotilla making a circumnavigation of the Adriatic from their
home port in Venice. We also encountered, for the fourth time, the tiny yacht Jana –
crewed by an Austrian/English couple with their two very bright kids. They had no pilot
books and little experience. Coming from our position of prudent RYA training and our
glut of information, we were not sure whether to admire their unfettered sense of
adventure – ignorance is bliss – or to see them as irresponsible parents. Our last
encounter with them was in Gouvia marina – where they were eagerly seeking out laundry
facilities!
Finally to Sarandë - 18 miles on, most of it under sail in delightful gentle winds -
toward the southern end of Albania, opposite the north end of Corfu just a few miles
away.
This a large resort town - by far the most prosperous we have seen with its smart
and tidy promenade all around the large bay and an appealing family atmosphere. Here we
were directed to the ferry quay which seemed curious - in most ports yachts are ordered
firmly to keep clear of ferry quays. However, we were quite comfortable - and again felt
very secure inside the guarded port - if slightly nervous when ferries arrived, backing
in beside us. Our main objective here was to visit the archaeological site of Butrint,
which provides a microcosm of Mediterranean history, with substantial Greek, Roman,
Byzantine and Venetian remains. We enjoyed a morning strolling around this fascinating
and beautifully situated shady site.
R and E left Aremiti here, boarding the ferry to Corfu town for their flight home. After
some provisioning - including a stock of the excellent fruit and vegetables which have
been evident throughout Albania - we pottered off to seek out a quiet bay on the
north-east coast of Corfu - eventually ending up in Kalami - a pretty wooded bay and
beach where the author Lawrence Durrell had a home (now an excellent restaurant) right
opposite Butrint just 4 miles across the Corfu Strait. We spent a quiet few days here
doing nothing – just what we needed after such intensive sightseeing. However, on the
third day a wind piped up which had yachts dragging their anchors all over the place and
we decided to move, finding a secret bay hidden behind a headland. Threading our way
past fish farms we found a rustic idyll - horses on the beach, cows, goats and sheep,
complete with shepherd and a veritable flock of herons. Finally we had to drag ourselves
away to the awesomely huge marina of Gouvia near Corfu town - where we truly returned to
the world of yachting. Aremiti stayed here while we returned to UK to visit family.
We back on board now, ready for the islands of the Ionian!