Of Beer and Boats

Try as I might, I have been yearning to get in the water on a boat since I hit the Coast of Croatia. I have hung around the sailing yards hoping to hop a ride with some lonely old man needing a strapping young man to teach the sailing skills to. I have had no such luck. I haven't even got the chance to ask someone, as it seems no one is out to sail in what is considered winter weather by Croatian standards. By Minnsotan standards, this would be spring and we would be running around in shorts.

So today I had to take matters into my own hands. I decided I was going to rent a boat. OK, find a agency or store to rent one from--should be easy, right? Wrong. Once again, this is their winter and all the boat/wind sailing stores are closed. Hmmm. What next. I go down to the harbor and notice a boat mechanic (cussing in croatian, see above pic) and kindly ask him if he rents boats. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Goverite Engleski? (Speak English? in Croatian)
Boat Mechanic: Ja, I spreche Deutsch! (Yes, I speak german! in German)
Me: OK, boate mieten? (OK, boat rental?, in german)
Boat Mechanic: Yes! Yes! My son rent boat.
Me: So you speak English?
Boat: Ja, I spreche englishen, sonne hier in zwanzig minuten, haben ein Pivo! (Yes, I speak english, son here in 20 minutes, have a beer! in german--except he used the croatian word for beer, pivo.)

It was rather a weird conversation in three languages, but the point got across. So I sat down he opened a beer and went to retrieve a glass for me. He found one, on the ground, and proceeded to clean it with his grease rag. Before I could refuse he poured me a tall beer. Looking into the glass I could tell it had its one fauna of tiny animals and dirt pieces on the bottom of the cup. I could hardly refuse, especially after he toasted me. So down it all went. I figured if I downed the beer fast enough, it wouldn't mix the with the 'sprinkles' on the bottom. This back fired as he just kept refilling the cup as fast as I drank it. After the third one, I didnt care the 'sprinkles' were all but gone anyway--hell in college I once drank beer out of a persons boot (hint--dont join rugby).

So the son arrives, father and son argue for a little while (in croation) and then the son starts to ask me some questions. Can you drive boat? (sure) You have boating licence? (No) You boat on sea before? (No) You take risk if polizei pull you over? (Sure.) OK, you can rent boat.

After that we haggled for the price a little while and we settled on about 50 US dollars (300 kuno) for two hours and me having to pay no gas fees, but I also get to take two beers with me. I bargained for all I could, but once again, I think I got robbed. No life jacket either--forgot to ask for that. He then showed me how to get out of the harbor as I had to avoid about 20 boats and the ropes that tied them down. No small feat of evasion.

I must say it was worth every penny to be out in the bay--to be the only boat out in the bay and me waiving at tourists like I lived here and them waiving back just as frantically, like tourists do. There is also something about a sunny clear day, out on the sea--a beer in one hand, and a boat motor in the other. I cruised along, visited some different bays, started to skirt a island, but thought better of it as gas was getting low and the motor starting to pop and skip. Not the type of boat I would want to row for a kilometer. At some spots I killed the motor and just drifted as I took pictures of Debrovnik and soaked up the sun. I had an urge to jump in the water, but I had no anchor, and I could just see me swimming for the boat and me never catching up. While I was out there I have to admit, I decided to talk like a pirate and call everyone on land a bunch of landlubbers--except you have to say it just right--ey yarr allle boonch offf lanlubbers yarrr! Thats more like it. You practice now. It must be the sea air that does it to you. Or too much sun.

I made a video and will try to post it when I find a computer that will let me upload it--maybe when I get to Italy.

Boke.