Words: Simon Winkley
Pics: Clare Edmead and Lee Crump of Clare Edmead
Photography (Drone & Večka Tower); Simon Winkley
I’m a big fan of travelling with an iSUP and, in May
this year, I couldn’t resist a short paddling adventure
during a trip to the Paklenica National Park in Zadar
County, Croatia. I had just two days available in my
schedule and planned a route that took me from the
ruins of the 16th century Venetian-built Večka Tower
near Starigrad as far south as it’s possible to go by
water, then back again – a distance of 52km
including exploring coastlines and creeks.
A long, winding route through the narrow
Karinsko Ždrilo waterway took me through
gently-rolling scenery of red-tiled houses,
hills and trees to the smaller bay of
Karinsko More. The 12’6 Deluxe, with the
carbon stringer and rails, has incredible
stiffness and glide and was a joy to paddle
as the day pushed on.
The weapon of choice was the Starboard
Touring 12’6 x 31” Deluxe and the 2017
model is lighter than ever now that all the
glue has been ditched in favour of the heat
fusion of materials. The board, three-piece
paddle and pump plus all my kit and
clothing for five days packed easily into
Starboard’s new Magic Suitcase and
weighed in at 20kg. It rolled effortlessly
through the airport and - now that it looks
like a suitcase – was checked in without
difficulty as a standard hold bag and not
as ‘sports equipment.’
I deliberately decided not to book any
accommodation in advance in order to just
arrive and see what happens, traveller-
style. As I neared the end of the journey the
sea was glass and the air was quiet. I
approached the first tiny cluster of houses
and, as I was deciding where to land, two
young men appeared and started play-
fighting. Things started to get pretty rowdy
and, whilst it seemed like they were having
fun, I thought it best to carry on when it
became a rock dodging game!
As I departed Večka Tower the weather
was overcast and slightly cooler than
normal which, with light winds behind me,
made for perfect conditions. A steady
paddle for a couple of hours in a SE
direction took me to the Novsko Ždrilo
strait. This stunning gorge is straddled by
two huge bridges - one of which is the 55m
high Maslenica Bridge which is renowned
for bungee jumping.
No one was about in the next tiny village
so I landed on the beach of the third one
and approached some fishermen. They
spoke no English and, sadly, I spoke no
Croatian or German (their preferred
alternative). As they began to understand
that I was looking for a room they swelled
their chests saying, ‘Nicola Putrić!!’ and
gestured to the other side of the bay. They
were so insistent, that I thanked them and
paddled across to the tiny village of Donji
Karin and was greeted by a giant of a man
who was indeed Mr. Putrić. He spoke no
English either.
After passing through (with no sign of
anyone bouncing down!) I took a short rest
to eat lunch by the ruins of a large house
before crossing a wide body of water
called Novigradsko More. Being ahead of
schedule I changed course to paddle up to
the north shore to where the Zrmanja River
meets the bay – passing acres of mussel
farm marked by hundreds of coloured
buoys. Paddling a few kilometres into this
sheer-sided river canyon was the perfect
opportunity to investigate the harshly-
eroded yet beautifully coloured cliffs
dotted with caverns of all sizes.
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