Our
three previous Spring 2025 Blogs covered preparation for our forthcoming cruise
of Croatia, our initial passage from Preveza (Greece) to Dubrovnik
(Croatia), and our subsequent family Croatian cruise north from Dubrovnik
to Split.
This,
(our last) Spring 2025 Blog (No 4), covers our exploration from Split
north as far as Pula on the southern coast of the Istrian peninsula
and return passage via Dubrovnik to Aktio boatyard (Greece) – a
total of 800+kms.
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| Overview of route: Spring 2025 cruise in Croatia |
PASSAGE PLANNING
By the
time we’d reached Split, we’d become “relatively” confident that our
alternator would – hopefully – continue to work and, although it was a risk, we
felt we could still continue our cruise north.
It
became obvious from one glance at the chart that it would not be possible, in
Spring 2025, to cover more than a third of the islands, anchorages and ports
north of Split, and even then not as thoroughly as we’d done to date. There
were just too many.
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| Chart of our route north of Split |
We
therefore decided to concentrate on exploring the outlying islands (being those
furthest from the mainland coast) and to leave the other islands “for another
day”.
SPLIT
After Will, Lesley and Emmy left by Uber for Split airport for their flight home, we stayed an additional 24 hours in Trogir Marina to use its 240v electricity and excellent facilities (including in particular its industrial-sized washing machines), provision in the local supermarket, and deal with UK administrative issues while we had shore power and reliable internet.
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| Wash Day on Island Drifter [ID] in Trogir Marina |
We left the marina promptly at 1400 hrs (as required in our contract) and motored over to the unspoilt and scenic inlet of Rasetinovac, a mere couple of kilometres away on the southern side of Ciove island’s large west bay. According to the pilot book, the holding was good and the shelter excellent – “almost” everything a cruiser wants.
While
there, we reorganised the storage on the boat, wrote and circulated Blog 3,
researched our sailing options, passage planned for the final stage of our
Croatian Cruise, swam, and chilled out.
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| Rasetinovac inlet |
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| Water temperature! Nearly 10 degrees higher than off our beach chalet at Calshot – on a good day! |
On the fourth day we weighed anchor at 0530 hrs and headed out of the enormous Split charter enclave and sailed west, parallel with the mainland coast, passing through the Drvenicki Channel between the mainland and the island of Drvenik itself, and out into the open waters of the Adriatic.
ŽIRJE
AND KAKAN ISLANDS
Once
clear of the coastal islands and rocks off the mainland, we headed due north to
the 8km-long channel between the islands of Žirje and Kakan, the
most westerly of the Šibenik group of islands. We had planned to stop there overnight but,
since we had made good progress, we decided to continue on our way north to the
island of Zut (see below).
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| The imposing lighthouse and radio station we passed on our way to the Žirje–Kakan channel |
Like many islands in the area, Žirje, the largest in the Šibeniki group, was founded by refugees from the mainland fleeing from the Turks. The islands were once tree covered, but on most, including Žirje and Kakan, the trees were cut down to provide fuel for lime kilns. Sheep and goats cleared the rest! Kakan, unlike Žirje, is uninhabited, as indeed are other smaller islands in the group.
KORNAT
ISLAND
We covered the final 32 kms of the day’s passage to Zut, sailing parallel with the east coast of the large, uninhabited island of Kornat and its many small islands and islets. Kornat is 13 kms long and only 1.4 kms wide at its widest point. It has the reputation of having some excellent anchorages. Together they form part of the Telašćica Nature Park. Kornat Island itself has a lunar quality and is renowned for its crystal-clear water and air of desolation.
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| Desolate southern Kornat landscape from a distance |
ZUT ISLAND
We
decided to anchor in Zut because, although it is part of the Kornati group
of islands, it is not part of the Telašćica Nature Park which, we had
decided, we did not intend to pay to visit nor be charged an extortionate daily
rate for anchoring.
Because
of the wind direction, we anchored in Hiljača Bay on Zut. The bay
is adjacent to and south of Luka village, where there is a seasonal ACI marina
(open only April to October). We could see no point in paying 122€ for a
pontoon facing north when the forecast overnight wind was due to come from that
direction!
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| ACI’s seasonal marina on Zut’s north coast |
Since all the buoys in Hiljača Bay’s deep-water anchorage were taken, we ended up anchored in 20+ metres of water with 90 metres of our new 10mm chain out: at a depth and with a length of chain greater than we’ve used before. We were encouraged therefore when the anchor held well in a significant overnight blow.
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| Tiny “hamlet” and restaurant in the corner of Hiljača Bay |
While everything about the hamlet seemed normal, we observed that all the holiday-home users wandered around starkers! One, who particularly flaunted himself, was obviously an experienced dinghy sailor who spent some time teaching his nubile companion to sail! There was also an extraordinarily good foil boarder who zoomed around the anchorage on his motorised foil not, fortunately, in his case, naked!
DUGI
ISLAND
Dugi Island (Long Island) to the north of the Kornati group is 43 kms long and at no point is more than 4.5 kms wide. It is the largest and arguably most beautiful of the Zadar archipelago islands. It has fewer than 2000 inhabitants and boasts a more dramatic landscape than any of its neighbours, with sheer cliffs on its western shore and a rugged indented coastline. Dugi’s main attraction is the Telašćica Nature Park at the southern end of the island.
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| Sea cliffs on western coast of Dugi island |
Although there are significantly more anchorages on the sheltered east side of the island, we chose to cross to the west side through the islet-strewn passage between Kornat and Dugi, transiting the Telašćica Nature Park in the process. It was by far the most attractive part of the Croatian islands that we’ve seen.
Our passage took us through the short, very narrow and shallow channel between Dugi and the islet of Katina before we were able to reach the west coast and the open Adriatic Sea, where we turned north towards our planned overnight stop in Sakarun inlet.
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| The narrow, shallow Dugi–Kantina channel we had to pass through to reach the west coast of Dugi |
Sakarun
Bay (on Dugi)
We enjoyed an excellent downwind sail up the rugged west coast of Dugi, before pulling into Sakarun inlet which is described in the pilot book as one of the most attractive anchorages in Croatia. Indeed it possibly was, with its vibrant turquoise water, and sandy beaches fringed with pine woods. We got the impression, however, from the five large tourist RIBs that were on buoys, and their green-faced passengers, that on a good day the inlet could well be full of trippers.
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| Seasick trippers in Sakarun Bay |
We did not stop since it would have involved anchoring in a choppy sea (with no possibility of getting ashore in the surf) for some ten hours before the wind changed and the bay became calm and sheltered for the night.
Soline
Harbour (on Dugi)
We therefore pushed on for a further 10 kms to the north end of Dugi which, contrary to the rest of the west coast with its steep cliffs, is low and sandy. The north end is penetrated by two linked bays which cut 3kms southeast into the island. Both provide excellent all-round shelter. Once anchored in Soline harbour and following a sundowner in the cockpit, we had supper and an early night.
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| Helen enjoying a sundowner in Soline’s well-protected harbour |
Next day, we rowed ashore and walked to the mini-market where we re-provisioned.
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| Helen loading the dinghy with provisions |
In the mini-market we met the crew of SY Raffiki, by then the only other boat anchored in the bay, and discovered that they keep the yacht in Aktio boatyard in Greece, as we do. He is German and she British. They were on their way north to his brother’s wedding in Istria – after which they planned to return to Aktio. Even at this stage they expressed concern about the gale that was developing to the north of the Istrian peninsula and were therefore leaving immediately.
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| ID in Soline Bay with Soline village in background |
As usual, we were up early next day and left at dawn for the passage north to the island of Silba, which had been recommended to us by our Swedish friends Eva and Håkan Dettmar, whom we had first met in Kefalonia in 2023. They had then recommended headsets for communication in noisy situations. We have since bought a pair ourselves and they have dramatically improved our communications in noisy pressurised situations – for example, when anchoring or berthing!
The 4-hour passage to Silba took us north along the west coast of the island of Molat and east through the channel of Prolaz Zapuntel between the islands of Molat and Ist. The anchorages on both the north and south sides of this narrow strait provide excellent all-round shelter in beautiful surroundings.
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| Passing through the Prolaz Zapuntel strait |
SILBA ISLAND
Once
through the strait, we continued sailing north along the east coast of Ist to Silba
Island. We chose Silba rather than its neighbour, the island of Olib,
both of which were purchased by their respective inhabitants in the 19th
century, because with NW winds forecast for the night Silba’s harbour of
Luka Silba would be better protected. (Had the wind been forecast from
the NE we would have anchored off Luka Olib.)
Initially we anchored outside Silba town harbour away from the line of buoys that had been laid, we soon discovered, by Marco who had a “Concession” for the ten buoys. He promptly appeared and while frankly he couldn’t really have done anything about it, he almost begged us to take a buoy, otherwise later arrivals would follow our example and anchor free instead of taking one of his 50€ buoys for the night! Eventually he offered us a 60% discount, on the grounds that we were “obviously” [cheeky so-and-so] pensioners and clearly had no intention of either moving or paying for a buoy at the ridiculous full rate he initially requested.
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| Silba harbour viewed from ID |
We subsequently launched the dinghy and outboard and motored into the harbour where we tied up among some small local motorboats, before exploring the island and stocking up in one of the two small supermarkets.
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| ID on a buoy, viewed from Silba harbour |
The island is pleasantly unspoilt with no traffic (other than a few electric buggies). Bicycles are not permitted during July and August. It has an air of relaxed luxury with palm-shaded houses and walled gardens serving as reminders of the island’s former commercial wealth.
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| Shaded avenue lined by walled gardens leading to the centre of Silba settlement |
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| Gates to Count Vido Vich’s manicured vineyard |
The sailing ships built in Silba and their captains dominated the carrying trade between Dalmatia and Venice, until the advent of steam ships. One of those sea captains, Petar Marinić, built the look-out tower at the highest point of the island in the centre of the settlement.
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| Marinić Tower: An attractive 19th-century look-out post with spiral staircase running up the outside |
Our on-going
concern was realised next morning when we started the boat’s engine in Silba
with the objective of going via the islands of Lošinj and Cres to
the town of Pula on the southern coast of Istria, before starting
our return passage to Greece. In brief, the alternator, which had “behaved”
since before Split, was no longer charging the batteries!
Our
route would have taken us along the east coast of the island of Lošinj
and through the man-made Osor canal, the road bridge over which opens
only twice a day to allow yachts to pass, before we could turn north up the
west coast of Cres Island to Cres town. From there we could reasonably
expect a beam reach across to Istria in the prevailing northerly wind.
We had
particularly wanted to go to Istria since it used to be Italian, was
taken over by Yugoslavia after WWII and is said to be becoming more Italianate again
with each passing year. Indeed, road signs are now in both languages and
children are also taught in both languages in school.
We have since learned that had we continued with our original plan to get to Pula, we would have been caught up in an unseasonal 70-knot hurricane that battered the passage between the island of Cres and Istria’s east coast. Maybe our alternator is in reality our lucky charm, although we did not actually see it that way when it broke down again in Silba!
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| Hurricane in Istria – from YouTube |
RETURN
TO GREECE FROM CROATIA
Initially
we decided to continue north from Silba on our original plan in the hope
that the alternator would “sort itself out”, as it had done on a couple of
previous occasions – but it didn’t, even after three hours motor sailing.
We therefore reluctantly concluded that our priority must be to avoid breaking down in Croatia, since our experience to date suggested that we had a significantly better chance of getting the alternator replaced or repaired economically in Greece. Not to mention our increasing concern regarding the development of a “gale” into a “hurricane” that would seriously have threatened our route!
Our lucky charm! The alternator that saved us from a hurricane!
We
therefore turned southwest and transited through a gap between the islands of Premuda
and Škarda, and, once away from the multitude of Croatian islands,
islets and rocks, into the open Adriatic for the remaining 500 kms to Aktio in
Greece. We then headed SSE, parallel with but well off the major Croatian
outlying islands of Molat, Dugi and Kornat, towards the
middle of the Strait of Otranto.
We
realised that we would have to conserve power given that the alternator was not
charging. We accepted that we would have to hand steer on rotating two-hour
watches, not use any of the boat’s navigational instruments or lights, and that
we would therefore have to navigate using the boat’s compass, headtorches, a
hand-held GPS, paper charts – and Mark 1 eyeballs!
Mike had sailed a yacht without a working engine on a delivery from Savannah in the US, via Bermuda and the Azores, to Portugal in similar circumstances. We therefore knew that the task ahead of us might be uncomfortable and tiring but was not impossible – and hopefully should not take longer than five days and nights (compared with the 25 days it took Mike to cross the Atlantic).
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| Helen steering by hand |
Fortunately we reached the end of the Kornati southern island chain before it became dark on our first night. Thereafter there was a dramatic decrease in the number of unlit rocks and islets on our route and in consequence navigation through them, without Radar but with the benefit of a full moon, was manageable.
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| Moonlight shining through ID’s companionway hatch into the dark, unilluminated cabin |
To our
surprise and delight, at 0415hrs on the second day, the alternator began
charging again and continued to do so all the way back to Aktio in
Greece! (We still have no idea why and how this should be so!)
We therefore reverted to norm, namely: turned the instruments back on, also the lights, Autohelm and navigational lights. We even used the Radar as and when required. Come dawn, we had the added advantage of a stronger northerly wind and were able to run before it, poled out, for six hours.
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| Running downwind, genoa poled out |
Nevertheless, we were aware that the alternator could cease to function again and were also conscious of the problem we’ve had in recent years of diesel bug in the fuel clogging the filters and stopping the engine. Even so, we optimistically continued to push on south.
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| Even diesel-bug-killer additive does not always appear to be effective, so these days we always filter fuel into the tank which we clean regularly. We also allow any transfer from the main tank to the day tank to settle for a while before restarting the engine. |
Our
passage through the large islands between Split and Dubrovnik was
effected during daylight and given that the alternator was operating, neither navigating
nor sailing were a problem. What had become a factor was that we would
not reach the fuel dock in Dubrovnik before it shut for the day. We
therefore pulled into and anchored just after sunset in Šunj bay
at the south end of the island of Lopud (8 kms north of Dubrovnik).
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| Šunj Bay viewed from ID |
Next morning we left Šunj Bay at dawn, were second in the queue for the fuel dock, signed out of Croatia without any problems with the Port Authority, Customs and Port Police, and headed back out into the Adriatic Sea, keeping outside all Croatian islands “as directed”, and continued heading for the middle of the Strait of Otranto. From there, because we had been delayed waiting for fuel, we would, if we’d stuck to our original plan, have sailed down Corfu’s east coast at night, which would not have been clever given the sea traffic, fishing boats, buoys and fishing pots that proliferate in that area.
We
therefore changed our original plan and instead set our overnight course to the
west of Corfu and Paxos in the open waters of the Adriatic. We
eventually arrived at Aktio launching dock at midday on the fifth day of
our return passage from north Croatia.
AKTIO,
GREECE
At Aktio
we shopped, washed and dried laundry, topped up the water tanks and had a most
welcome shower, before going to the local taverna Panos for supper, where we
enjoyed our favourite meal of souvlaki, chips, marouli salad, and Retsina,
followed by a complementary choc ice – all for a total of 20€, which might have
bought us one starter in Croatia!
Next morning we motored the 2 kms over to the shallow anchorage of Hospital Bay to the north of Preveza’s fishing harbour. We rowed ashore and cleared in with the Hellenic Coast Guard, who wanted sight of our Unlimited Transit Log (UTL), boat’s registration and insurance documents, crew list (stamped in Croatia), evidence of eTepai paid, passports, and Greek residency cards.
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| GoogleEarth view of Hospital Bay. The specks to the north of the fishing harbour are yachts at anchor! |
As directed by the Coast Guard, we then took a taxi to the Police Station on the outskirts of Preveza to enquire about the procedures and requirements for extending our 5-year Greek residency permits (which expire in 2026). We received a clear briefing from the officer in charge of the Aliens (!) Department, only to be told, when he discovered we were based two kilometres away in Aktio and not in Preveza marina, that we would have to report to the Aliens Department in the police station in Agrínio, some 50 kms away, since Aktio is in that municipality and not in Preveza’s! (We’ll hire a car and go there when we come back to Greece in the autumn.)
On
return to the fishing harbour, we rowed back to ID and immediately headed 10
kms for Santa Maura quay at the north end of the Lefkas Canal,
where we berthed alongside and quickly went to the Kantina for more souvlaki
and chips to celebrate our Cruise in Croatia and safe return to Greece.
We had planned to remain at Santa Maura for a week while we did a bit of preparation for lifting out and enjoy some well-deserved R&R, including a daily swim or two. The temperature, however, was forecast to soar to 40+C (in the shade). Although we'd booked to lift out into the boatyard on 28 June, where there would have been no cooling breeze, we decided to remain afloat until 5 July while we do as much of Island Drifter's "putting-to-bed" work as we can.
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| ID on our favourite quay in Santa Maura harbour at the north end of the Lefkas Canal. Note our modified blue awning made from greenhouse shading material! Lightweight and very effective. |
RETURN
TO UK
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