Autumn Sailing in Croatia

Where to sail in October half term? We have been to Greece twice; the first time Windguru said it was blowing 40knots, from the north, all day & all night. Windguru must be broken! No, Windguru was not broken. It was blowing a hooley, from the north, all day and all night. We didn't go very far, struggling at times into Severe Gale Force 9! We tried, but failed to explore the Cyclades. Second time was pleasant. We chose the more sheltered Saronic area this time.

The first night's anchorage at Drvenik

This year we looked into Greece again, Turkey and Sicily. We have sailed in both Greece & Turkey and Sicily was proving difficult to get to. I have always wanted to sail in Croatia but thought October was not a good time to go. This seemed to be confirmed when I got in touch with a local yacht charter company, enquiring about a boat. They said that the conditions were often changeable at this time of year and they didn't usually charter the boats out. I replied letting them know my husband and I were experienced and happy to give it a go. Surprisingly they had by then hired the boat to someone else!

Line of sight sailing

We kept looking with the positive thoughts that it would not be as bad in Croatia as it would be in Scotland in October. Eventually we chartered a boat with Sunsail; by far the cheapest option when all the optional extras were removed. (Don't forget yout RYA discount). Lufthansa could fly us there and back at a reasonable price too.

Anchored at Luka Rogacic, Vis with the submarine pen in the background

We arrived to a beautiful sunset and a friendly taxi driver took us to Marina, (the name of the town) Agana and our 32 foot boat. We ate out at a local restaurant; tasty food at reasonable prices. The next day we got the handover for our boat, stocked up on supplies and departed for one of the many islands near Split. We settled on Drvenik, just 5 or so miles from Agana. We picked a sheltered, rocky bay and dropped anchor for the night. Andy swam before our sundowners; I saved my dip for the following morning.

Luka Rogacic

The morning dawned a little hazy and the wind picked up nicely as we set sail to the island of Vis, about 20 miles further from Split. We hoisted full sails and set off on a close reach bobbing along nicely at about 5 knots. The breeze steadily increased, (from where we were going to), but we were soon in the lee of the island itself. We chose to anchor at Luka Rogacic, a superbly sheltered bay just around the corner from Vis Town. We took the dinghy out to explore the submarine pen left over from the cold war and had a little swim in the beautifully clear and turquoise waters.

Heading towards the Pakleni Islands

Vis was cut off from foreign visitors from the 1950s up to 1989 whilst it was used as a military base for the Yugoslav army. This helped to preserve much of the history including a British fortress, a Greek cemetery and Roman baths. The island is now one of the best of Croatia's wine producing areas.

Leaving the Pakleni Islands, heading around the western point of Hvar

The next day dawned clear and sunny. We motored towards Vis Town to take in some of the history before setting off to St Klement on the Pakleni Islands. Although going in the completely opposite direction to yesterday, the wind was still blowing from where we were going to. It was quite windy once we were out in the open sea and we soon reefed the sails. With 2 reefs in we sailed nicely along at 5-6 knots, heading towards the wooded islands roughly 15 natical miles away.

Entering our lunchtime anchorage at Stiniva, Vis

We were expecting to anchor but there was a no anchoring sign at the mouth of the bay. We found the bay full of buoys and we picked one up well within the sheltered end but still a way off from the shore. There was only one other boat in the bay. We took the dinghy ashore, made the short walk to the small store at the marina on the other side of the island where we resupplied for our sundowners. Having returned to our yacht we explored the bay by swimming and then enjoyed watching the sun disappear, beer in hand, from the cockpit.

The Pakleni Islands consist of a chain of 21 islands with narrow, shallow channels cutting between them creating beautiful lagoons. The islands are covered in plants and trees with coves and small, sandy beaches on the shore.

Stari Grad, Hvar

We wiggled through the Pakleni Islands the next morning under cloudy skies. We motored the short distance to round the headland of Hvar before unfurling the headsail to run downwind to our lunchstop in the picturesque bay at Stiniva. From here we continued downwind on the long run into Stari Grad where we could have moored up alongside or stern-to on the quayside but we chose the isolation and peace of a buoy. We took to the tender to eat out and had a tasty pizza in a traditional restaurant, in a small square.

Hvar is a popular tourist destination and is the sunniest part of Croatia. The inland area is largely uncharted and within it hide ancient hamlets, fields of lavendar and towering peaks. Stari Grad is a quieter, more relaxed and laid back town when compared to Hvar Town.

Sitting out the gale at Osibova, Brac

We headed out from Stari Grad the following morning, feeling a little nervous about the gales and near gales forecast. We could see the white horses and as we nosed out into the open water we realised we would need both reefs, however, it was only 2 miles until we reached the sheltered side of the island of Brac. As it was gusting well into Force 8, we put the motor on to make quick work of the crossing, soon able to turn and run downwind along the shore, ducking into the bay of Osibova for lunch. Again we anchored, swam and drank. It was so nice, and the wind was still howling out in the open sea, beyond the bay, that we decided to stay the night too.

Brac is famous for its white stone which was used to build the White House. It was tough going on the island; women gathered rocks off the land to prepare it for the cultivation of olives and vines. Many of the inhabitants left the island, deserting it for the mainland. The island is covered in pine forests, steep cliffs and sleepy hamlets.

Looking for the wind between Solta & Brac

Sailing back towards civilisation

The last full day and there was no wind on the sheltered, southern sides of the islands. We ducked between Solta and Brac to the windy side and had a lovely reach across, achieving 8 knots, covering the 9 miles in no time. We nipped inside the island of Ciovo for a tranquil lunch stop and last swim before returning the boat tomorrow. It was hard to leave this beautiful spot with turquoise seas and sandy beaches. Eventually we raised the anchor yet again and motored to Trogir picking up fuel on the way. We nudged our way alongside on the town quay at Trogir, between large, tourist boats. We watched the sun go down behind the castle and made the few steps to a quayside restaurant for dinner. The food was lovely, reasonably priced and the service swift and friendly.

Heading towards the quayside at Trogir

It was only 5 miles back to Agana; a short journey to make on the final morning.

The sun going down at Trogir

I am so pleased we chose Croatia. The area is stunning; abundant emerald isles appearing everywhere within the turquoise waters of the Adriatic. The longest day sail was 25 nautical miles but we could have explored further afield. We thoroughly enjoyed taking our time, stopping for lunch at quiet anchorages before continuing on for another anchorage/buoy/quayside for the night. We could always see the island that we were heading for and others that we would pass along the way. The winds were variable in both strength and direction but all of the islands were quite small and indented so much that we could always head for an anchorage, on the sheltered side, wherever the wind was blowing from.

Our boat moored up between the large tourist boats

Trogir is a small town within medieval walls and resembles the tight passages of medinas in Morocco. It is found in a great defensive position which allowed Trogir to maintain its autonomy until Venetians bombarded it into submission in 1409.

As well as the many anchorages, bays are now filling up with buoys and anchoring is prohibited in popular areas. There are also plenty of marinas and the towns have quaysides to moor up to. The whole area was very quiet but apparently in the high season you will struggle to find a berth or a buoy. This was hard to believe when we had nearly every place to ourselves and we only had to pay for one anchorage and along the quayside at Trogir. I am not sure that I would want to explore the region in the summer.

Lovely anchorage at Ciovo

Back to Marina

The sea was lovely and warm, really pleasant to swim in and the air temperature warm enough to sit out on deck in the evenings. There were still restaurants open but the area was lovely and quiet. However, even on th windiest of days we would see a number of other yachts out and in contrast to everywhere else that I have sailed, they were all sailing, not one was motoring. The Croatians obviously take their sailing seriously and with the variable winds they have, they can all sail confidently and will do so in all weathers. If you want to know more about the different winds that can affect Croatia take a look here: http://www.yacht-rent.com/croatia-charter/winds-in-croatia You soon get used to the pilot books telling you which anchorages and marinas are good in which winds. There is also so much history to discover; from neolithic to ancient Greeks, Romans, Venetians and of course, more recently the cold war.

I highly recommend sailing in Croatia in autumn but don't tell everyone!