Ryan Boyer

Final day of “sailing” as we returned to our final port of call - Zaton. We motor sailed for the majority of the leg, doing 5 knots over ground with full jib (no main). Wind averaged 10 knots at 130 degrees to the boat. Solo skippered for a good part of the day, furling and unfurling the jib as needed. The voyage has come to a close. Over 300 nautical miles and 9 days at sea. Didn’t make it to Preveza, as mechanical issues and a subsequently unfavourable weather window (no wind) made 30 hours of additional motoring through Albanian waters, undesirable. Instead, we made it back to Zaton safe and sound. Ubasti’s Reign is a fine vessel and I truly enjoyed my time living on board. Ryan B is a great skipper and a joy to cruise with.

Another full day of motoring, unfortunately. We tried flying the jib on a pole in light wind, but only managed 20 minutes of sailing today. Wind is expected to return early tomorrow morning, hopefully in time for the final leg of the return voyage back to Zaton.

Departed the anchorage in Dubrovnik under motor and after 8 hours, wind picked up to 8 knots. We managed a 1 hour upwind sail, topping off at 4 knots over ground. Anchored at Korcula - the supposed birthplace of Marco Polo and a quaint little town that serves a mean Cevapi.

Delayed leaving Tivat due to Harbourmaster tardiness. No wind. Full motor from Tivat to Dubrovnik. Reasonably quick check-in at Port of Dubrovnik, again. Beautiful anchorage - Uzla Lapad.

Only sailed for 20 minutes today (no wind). Watched hockey while motoring from Dubrovnik to Tivat.

It was a light 4 hour sail from Slano to Dubrovnik. Wind was consistent at 15 knots, 300 degrees. We were on a broad reach most of the way, with just a single reefed main sail, averaging 5 knots of speed over ground. It was nice to be back underway, after replacing the gearbox, dampening plate and a slight drive shaft realignment.

We departed under motor as wind was below 4 knots. After 2.5 hours underway, the engine started making a nasty clanking sound. Skipper put it in neutral and shut off engine in under 10 seconds. We hoisted jib to regain control of the boat. We located the closest marina and hosted main. Wind direction made the approach through a narrow passage risky without an engine. After adjusting position downwind to allow more runway through the passage, we made it through. Skipper contacted his boat broker friend, who sent one of his friends to tow us the rest of the way to the marina in Slano. Marina staff met us and pushed us to their outer dock yang their dinghy. We tied up right next to an Xquisite X5 named “Good Vibes”. Serendipitously safe. We had a mechanic determine that there was no oil left in the clutch. Aforementioned boat broker had said he would change the oil, but admittedly forgot. We had not checked it ourselves, as part of the engine inspection. Lesson learned.

The morning saw us running with the wind at 15-20 knots, in a butterfly configuration, only gybing once in 4 hours. Wind died for 2 hours during lunch, then picked up again for another 20 knot downwind leg in the afternoon. We reefed the main once and kept the jib reefed persistently. We tied up to a dock in Polace for the night.

Wind: 4 knots in the morning (motored), sailed in 8 knots for 2 hours, picked up to 12-14 knots in the afternoon (motored). Consistently TWD of 140 degrees (broad reach). We moored near Hvar for the night.