TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Wind north east 12-26 knots and we are all running for some shelter.  There are quite a few of us crowding into this sheltered anchorage.

We need to take a break to lick our wounds so we go in to this marina for the night. It is a lovely setting and a good place to grab a water taxi to visit the town of Hvar for the evening, which is well worth it as is a very buzzy place and a totally lovely town.  

We have been warned that this marina has rats – plenty of them, by a Swiss couple who picked one up on their charter boat a few nights earlier.  On returning late this night we walk along the pontoon and sight a rat crawling about the cockpit of a charter boat.

We are tied alongside and do the best we can to ensure we do not acquire any uninvited guests. 

We have a nasty incident in this anchorage while tied ashore with stern to the forecast weather coming in overnight.  However, the wind comes from the port beam instead at 3.00am at least 40 knots accompanied by lightning and thunder. We are blown back on to shore sideways.

The sickening loud crunch has us motor on, stern line cut with a knife and getting out of there fast to anchor mid stream and swing. We are lucky only a tiny chip out of the rudder, but our first lesson in stern-to mooring.  Its great in calm conditions.  

This anchorage is not in the Adriatic Pilot.  We found it in Croatia 777 guide.

On CMap we can drill right down and get good detail to go in here and find it a good anchorage for the night. We are the only boat there but wake up in the morning to find we have been joined by another small yacht.  

It is a lovely spot once again, in the right conditions with crystal clear water – wonderful swimming. 

We sail across to this lovely small harbour of Makarska nestled at the foot of huge mountain range on the mainland.  Need the right conditions to go in here and we have them, (no wind at all) so enjoy a quick visit but depart before the afternoon sea breeze kicks in and sail on to Smarska on Hvar.

Spend morning ashore in Split again but need to move on as the wake from ferries is really bad and we have not slept.

Luca on Brac…Beautiful Bay… few boats.  Idyllic and very sheltered.

Amazing experience to visit this sophisticated city.  Anchor in the harbour is okay except for the wake from ferries coming and going which gets to us in the end.

Land from the tender in the corner of the harbour close to Diocletes Palace.

Sadly it is time to leave.  Stop and buy wonderful olive oil on the way back down the river in the town of Zaton.  Look for the group of men drinking coffee or something stronger under the trees and buy your olive oil straight from the barrel here.

Stop and anchor just a few miles from Split in a popular bay which is a bit rolly but okay for the night. 

Amazing part of Croatia and Skradin is a must do.  Passage up the river and anchor off Skradin.  Explore the Krka falls area and wonder at the beauty of this place. 

We are away early the next day, on the road by 9.10am.  We set No 1 reef and half of the genoa before we leave in gusts of nearly 30 knots true as we sail close hauled and close on Sibenik after a very brisk sail of about 4 hours.

We enter the north channel keepingTijat to starboard and run for cover behind Prvic where the wind is dead ahead so we drop sails and motor the last few miles to the entrance to Sibenik.

After a hair raising attempt to berth on the town wall and getting blown on sideways, we opt for a night in a marina and head for Mandalina Marina and a safe berth for the night for E65.