Sailing to Jabuka island

One of the goals of our last sailing trip was to sail around Jabuka island. Actually it is not so very special. This rock in the middle of the Adriatic sea can hardly be called an island. It really is small.


Jabuka in Croatian language means Apple. So if Apple corporation will ever be thinking of changing that bitten apple logo of theirs - a silhouette of this Apple island might be a good idea. I should probably put copyright on that one...

We tried to sail there a couple of times before but never made it all the way around.
Well this time I am proud to say we did it.

When we were closing in on the island we noticed an interesting thing... Some of the navigation devices on our boat started to act weird. For instance autopilot kept loosing direction. At first we thought it was some random electronic fault but after a while we realized only compass-based devices were having problems.
It was not a coincidence. Jabuka island was to blame.
As we learned later on, it is a volcanic island and one of its main building materials is magnetite - the most magnetic of all naturally occurring minerals on Earth.
When they hold a sailing regatta in those waters competitors even have to switch between radio channels because some of them simply stop working around the island. I guess this is a bit like what the Bermuda triangle must feel.


As I said all of this didn't stop us and we made it around there and back without much trouble. We had perfect winds and nice sunny weather. Nevertheless this trip took most of the day. When we were looking for a place to spend the night it was dark already.

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The best fish is a fresh fish

Adriatic sea is a perfect place for tasting some good quality, fresh fish. While on a boat, there is a good chance you even catch your own meal. When doing this, you should always keep in mind local rules and regulations (e.g. in Croatia you need to purchase a fishing permit).
I have posted a thing or two about fishing before. Since I am no expert in the field of fishing, don't expect too much.


If catching your own food is not your thing, you can always buy fresh fish from local fishermen, but you can trust me that the one you catch yourself always tastes better then any other.
If you do not come across any fishing boats at sea, you can visit fish markets in early mornings. Almost every coast town in Croatia has one. Prices may vary between seasons (demand is rather high in summer months).


During our last sailing trip we also tried catching our own fish and almost got lucky. We sailed right next to a large school of tuna fish. They were jumping out of the water in feeding frenzy. They were obviously engaged in a group fishing activity, probably chasing sardines or some other kind of tuna food. One of them was obviously fascinated by our bait. It swallowed the bait and went on its way. The line twitched hard and then unfortunately - snapped. It was all over in a couple of seconds and our dinner swam off.
As unfortunate as this might seem, I can't imagine what would we have done if we (by some strange miracle) lifted a 10 kilo tuna onto our boat. I am pretty sure at least the whole deck would be bathing in blood if nothing else.

Since that fish took our only hook with it, that was the end of our fishing.


Luckily after a while we saw some fishermen returning from the sea and bought our lunch from them. We opted for two large tuna-like fish. We got them for a really nice price and they turned out to be extra delicious when taken out of the oven a couple of hours later.

We did not complicate with preparation. We simply cut them opened, cleaned them, chopped them in nice thick pieces, seasoned them with some freshly picked local rosemary and put them on a bed of already half baked potatoes. It was delicious!

All there was left were a pair of heads and a pair of tails.


On the photos above you can see phases those two fish went through. Unfortunately the most important phase - dinner served on a plate accompanied with a glass of excellent white wine is not there.
With food like that around, people tend to forget all about photography...

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What to cook on a sailing trip?

When we go sailing we take care of cooking by ourselves. Actually one of the crew members is usually chosen as Master Chef and the menu is then mostly up to him.


Our sailing crew-list usually consists of friends who know each other pretty well and are not too picky when food is concerned. This means the menu mostly consists of simple dishes, that do not require much preparation. Our scope is on other things... well, mostly it is drinking. This simply means we usually eat a lot of pasta and similar simple dishes.
However, if there is a chance for a gourmet pleasure, we don't think twice to take it.

When at sea there is a good chance you come across some tasty fish. Let us just say we got our hands on some really tasty fish this time, but more about that in my next post.

Well let me get back to those simple dishes... We usually don't have a problem with preparation and cleaning the dishes but I know quite a few that think even little cooking is too much cooking.


I have a two word tip for all the lazy chefs out there: Microwave Owen. Yes, that's right. A microwave oven usually isn't on the standard equipment list for various types of charter sailing boats. I guess that should not be a problem - you can always bring your own.
With a right list of microwave-ready dishes all of you lazy sailing chefs out there will have a bit easier time preparing food and more time for other activities.

Before you get too excited... there is actually a reason why they don't put microwave ovens on sailing boats as standard equipment. When at sea there is only 12V electric current available on board (standard 220V current is available only when plugged-in to an outside source). This can also be easily resolved - simply bring a 12V to 220V converter. Be careful that you do not empty the batteries completely (after the meal you might need to start the engine again).

As far as I am concerned, I vote for the good old-fashioned way. Chicken in creamy sauce, cooked au gratin and seasoned with some fresh picked Mediterranean rosemary looks extra-delicious on those photos, doesn't it?

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