Should I cruise Croatia?

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Stevie_T

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Our boat is in Preveza at the moment, the plan this year is to cross to Italy, then sail down the coast to Sicily and across to Malta/Gozo, hopefully visiting Pantellaria whilst in the area. We have about six weeks during the UK school holidays, if we arrive in plenty of time we may carry on to Sardinia, but whatever we do we will need to find somewhere to leave her by the end of this period until next year.

The larger picture is to slowly head back to the UK, however are we missing out by not cruising the coast of Croatia etc ? What do you think? Bearing in mind of course the Meltemi at this time of year which gave us a bit of a hammering last year heading up from Crete.
 
You should definitely spend one season in the Adriatic, and I would go there first.
You can easily sail from Preveza up to say Split or Sibenik and back in 6 weeks.
The Adriatic Maestrale is nothing like the Meltemi. Once you've reached Brindisi
the worst is over. Go Preveza, Parga,Gouvia,Erikoussa, Otranto, Brindisi,Monopoli,
Vieste, Lastovo where you can enter Croatia. Then as far up the island chain as you
have time for. Then work your way back down to Dubrovnik. After a couple of days
there an overnighter will bring you back to Brindisi, although we continued and did
Dubrovnik to Erikoussa in 33hrs with a fresh northwesterly.
There's an awful lot to see, for example Diocletians Palace at Split which you can
anchor off. Trogir, Korcula and Hvar should not be missed.
If the wind allows on the way up miss out Otranto and make straight for Brindisi, where
you can tie up free at the bottom of the steps of the Appian Way.
PM me if you want more.
 
Thanks for the advice David and I shall make a point of studying your suggested route. I will also take you up on the PM if it gets more likely. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Are we missing out by not cruising the coast of Croatia etc ?

[/ QUOTE ] You definitely would be. IMHO Croatia is the best cruising area in the Med. Having completed our seven year journey from Brighton to Turkey we are now headed back to Croatia. If you miss it you miss the best.
 
I agree on the beauty of the towns and the scenery. As far as sailing is concerned we found that the wind is almost always parellel to the islands, either from the northwest or from the southeast. This makes sailing along the islands either easy, with the wind from behind, or tiring, having to tack in a relatively narrow channel (or motoring of course).
 
Agree with previous posts that it would be a great shame to miss Croatia. Watch out for katabatics and sudden wind shifts, but this really is one of the great cruising grounds in the Med. The towns are fabulous too - walking round the city walls of Dubrovnik was a wonderful experience and there are several other magnificently preserved old towns.
 
Not much to add to the previous posts, really, except that the only problematic wind you are likely to encounter is the bora sweeping down the mountains (as mentioned in another post). It arrives with little warning and can last up to 3 days in summer, although it is rare in the warmer months.
The beauty of sailing in Croatia lies in anchoring in secluded bays rather than the marina life (other than visits to beautiful villages and towns). Note that you have to pay a 'cruising permit' when you enter the country, based on your vessel's length.
You'll find some useful (I hope!) links on my website and I'll second David's offer too: drop me a PM if more required.
 
This reply to all the above;
Thanks for the replies, I am now convinced we must see Croatia. Actually spent our honeymoon in Dubrovnik, just before the war. We often looked out to sea and dreamed of sailing there. So all that now remans is to plan the rough route.

I will study yur site Metabarca when I get chance and thanks for the PM offer, I may well get in touch.

One question for now, are there any good places to leave the boat moored, or out of the water for the winter?

Steve
 
Any of the ACI marinas or the one at Zara can look after your boat quite safely; it's merely a matter of picking a suitable location: Split, Trogir or Dubrovnik for proximity to airports, or Umag (close to Trieste airport which is served by Ryanair). Or come to Trieste itself (which is actually cheaper than Croatia or Slovenia. There are several marinas near Trieste at Monfalcone, which is just 10 mins from the airport. David Brighton can vouch for the place!
PM for more infor, if required.

Lucian
 
Just to add that the choice in Croatia may not be entirely yours - we have just got an annual berth in Dubrovnik Marina after three years of trying. During that time we have been based in Kremik Marina, near Split, which is very efficient - good services - if a little soulless. Just a five minute cab ride/20 minute motor to the pretty and lively town of Primosten for a first night. Advantage of Split area is that it is well placed for sailing either north or south.
 
we keep our yacht at Punat marina on the island of krk
very cheap easy cheap access in the winter flying to trieste with ryan air can easily hire a car or it is possible to get the bus
trieste airport handy in the summer as can leave our own car for free if we want to travel home for a few days
english is spoken thoughout the marina and all available services are on site.
not much of an english community at the marina but most people are very friendly if i can be of any help pm me
 
If you've got six weeks Hannabella, you might as well come all the way up to Trieste. Nautec at Monfalcone will lift you out for the winter, and as Lucian says it's only 10mins from the Ryanair flights at Trieste airport. Carl the manager at Nautec speaks good English. The posher marina next door has a swimming pool for your family. And next year you could drive out in two days via Germany and Austria if you need to transport bulky items. However if you live within a few hours of Stansted it's hard to resist Ryanair. Monfalcone is convenient for visiting Trieste and Venice. Lucian recommends the place for good reasons.
 
The best way is as David_Brighton says ( Ericoussa - Otranto 41Nm) but nice way is also via Montenegro ( do not stay in Albania) ( Corfu -Kotor 203 Nm day and night journey). On Croatian coast there are some 15 spots which are " must to see".
After 40 years of sailling in this waters there are still a lot of places where I have not been.
 
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