Day one sees the motley crew set sail in mid afternoon, the first two arrivals having done all the provisioning bar the water and the beer. It’s all a bit frantic at the start of a week’s sailing, trying to get away as soon as possible and enjoy an extra day’s sailing.

First stop from Split used to be the marina in the bay at Milna, on the western end of Brac, where when the sun went down you could hear the swifts wheeling and sreeching around as they prepared to roost for the night. These days, as we charter from Trogir and are heading south, the usual first stop is Konoba Sesula on the end of Solta. Transformed from a sleepy fishing village with adjoining bay in the early 2000s, Maslinica now boasts a shiny new quay, restaurant and hotel.  All a very far cry from 2000.

Similarly Sesula bay just to the south used to be a slightly stagnant inlet where boats could creep in, drop anchor and take a line ashore – helping to create space in this bora haven. Here too civilization has appeared, with restaurants ranged around the bay sides, offering mooring, food and wine.

First on the left, as it were, is Konoba Sesula. An informal collection of mooring buoys where, depending on season, you can have a continuous rope (line) starting at the quay and ending with a whacking big lump of concrete on the sea bed. You drag this line on board and hook it on your boat front and rear (fore and aft, apparently). Dead safe. You might have a boat tied on to you (rafted) so it’s quite cosy…or noisy if you’re unlucky. You can – and should – book ahead almost anytime in the season now. MySea is the app to get you booked in.

Dino operates the Konoba Sesula on Solta since 2001. What has begun with a refrigerator and a few drinks, has become a popular place among boaters. Whether fresh fish or meat from the grill, spaghetti, salads or Peka: the menu offers something for everyone. From 9:00 there is breakfast with a delicious Espresso or Cappuccino.

More authentic than the shiny new hotel in the village/town – the food is simple and well cooked. Most restaurants have “first” and “second class” fish. The second class (sea bass or sea bream) is fine – just farmed rather than line caught. Hearty red wine and local fizzy water.

Restaurant Sesula. Give them a call on +385 91 557 5927

The restaurant [Konoba] Sesula…

Sesula as the sun sets…

The bay and marina at Maslinica around the corner…catermarans urgh!!!

It used to quiet at Maslinica…

By contrast, Milan harbour on Brac…you can almost hear the Swifts