We thought we were going to have to hide out in Milna for several days, but after two nights we woke up and the winds were strong but not crazy, so we opted for a jib-only run downwind to Split (along with the entire charter fleet heading back to home base). Under jib only, we were doing 6 knots, but the seas were lumpy from several days of high winds and a lot of boat traffic, but it was a fun sail because it was short. The Split anchorage is huge and has great holding, we could all space ourselves well apart and we all sat tight as the winds raged.

Anchored in Split

The winds finally eased the next day and we could head ashore. David and Diane had already been there for a few days, but were happy to walk around with us again. The guys went off to find spare engine parts that were being held by a local dealer, and Diane and I wandered into the old town.

Sculpture of Gregory of Nin

First we stopped to see the 8.5 meter statue of Gregory of Nin, former archbishop of Split. Rubbing his toe is supposed to bring good luck, but I was lacking hand sanitizer, so gave it a pass. Then it was off to the markets to check out the local produce.

The Split market in the old town

The guys found us again and we explored the alleyways of Diocletian’s Palace.

Parts of the palace now incorporated into the more modern buildings
View from the bell tower

Trip and I had a few days to ourselves in Split, waiting for weather to pass. We toured the rest of the palace (views from the bell tower were lovely but the rest was meh), met up with friends Tim & Heidi from s/v Calainë who were making their way through Croatia to Venice, and generally hung out. We did not anticipate liking Split so much, as it’s a large city, but we’d definitely come back.