October 7th, 5:30, dock at the fuel station in Bar
There’s a knock at my door — Pascal and Flo are already awake, we have to leave the berth. We had expected to move at seven, when the fuel station opens, but it was an hour earlier. The others explain that we’ve been asked to clear in first. That can’t be done here in the marina; we have to go over to the industrial harbor and moor at a large pier, which is more suitable for large ships.
Once there, we were told to come back between 10 and 11, as customs didn’t have time right now. What to do? We decided to go into town and have breakfast first.
October 7th, 7:00, industrial harbor Bar
As we leave the harbor through customs, no one even tries to stop us, even though we hadn’t officially completed the entry formalities yet.
We’re fine with that. Breakfast in a small bar in Bar felt good; the cappuccino was actually quite good, which made up for the previous night.
Afterwards, we went shopping again to restock our supplies of drinks and bread, and then returned on board.
October 7th, 11:00, industrial harbor Bar
We have cleared in and are considering our next steps. Dubrovnik is only about 65 NM away, so it’s no longer really sensible as a day’s destination. Split, on the other hand, our actual goal, is 190 NM away — just over 24 hours — so we decided to plan the next leg straight to Split. We wanted to arrive there before sunset and planned for about 26 hours of travel, so we aimed to depart here by 14:00 at the latest.
Before that, we want to refuel, and we’re told: now that we have cleared in, we may go to refuel, but before leaving Bar we must clear out with customs again. What a back-and-forth, but fine, we go along with it. We are among the first customers of the young woman who is having her first day as a fuel attendant at the boat fuel station and serves us very kindly.
So after that, back again, clear out with customs and…
October 7th, 13:30, Bar
…then we leave Bar and head northwest along the coast.
The sea had largely calmed, but the old swell was still running in from the west, occasionally up to two meters high. The wind, however, was now from north-northeast, which made it interesting — not because it was strong, but because the mountains would periodically block it completely and then accelerate it like a nozzle.
20 kt winds would alternate over just 100 m with total calm; we could sail good stretches, but had to start the engine again from time to time.
October 7th, 15:31, 42°12’52.3″N 18°50’38″O
Abeam the Montenegrin coastal town of Sveti Stefan
The sun casts a gentle light on the coastal mountains. The geological formations fascinate me time and again: clearly visible layers of limestone, sandstone, and sometimes something that looks like granite, bent over time into waves and steps, and repeatedly broken off in large pieces by wind and sea.
October 7th, 18:01, 42°22’57.4″N 18°30’16.2″O
At the bay of Boka Kotorska, the Montenegrin coast ends and Croatia begins. The bay itself looks fascinating, both on the map and from the coast — I would have loved to sail into it. It looks as if you could continue into a second bay, almost right into the mountains. That goes on my “to-do list.”
October 7th, 18:15, 42°23’8.4″N 18°29’15.3″O
The full moon creeps over the mountains, and we watch in fascination, as the movement of the world becomes visible to the naked eye. Meanwhile, in the west, the sun hangs low over the sea and will soon set. A beautiful, quiet moment of the journey.
For the next few hours, clouds on the horizon accompanied us, in which we could make out several different animals; the best recognizable was Fuchur:
October 7th, around 22:00, 42°36’15.7″N 18°3’42.3″O, approximately abeam Dubrovnik
I lie down again after having been on watch for most of the day. We were sailing under engine, and by now I had gotten so used to its steady hum that I quickly fell asleep.
October 8th, 2:00, 42°47’55.7″N 17°35’42.8″O
I wake up because the hum of the engine is gone. It’s strange how the human mind reacts. As I wake, I hear voices on board—speaking English, to my surprise. I was planning to take over watch at two anyway, so I quickly get dressed and step through my cabin door into the saloon. There, beside Pascal and Florian, sit two uniformed officers—Croatian police, as I learn. We have entered Croatian waters without permission.
When we called at Bar, we had left the European Union, and the rule seems to be that boats coming from outside the EU must clear in at Dubrovnik. We had assumed we could do that in Split as well, but the Croatians thought otherwise. On the AIS, they had seen that we, coming from Bar, had passed Dubrovnik and then sailed between the Croatian islands of Mljet and Pelješac — putting us clearly in Croatian waters and therefore traveling illegally.
Like almost all the “officials” we met on the journey, these two police officers were extremely correct and friendly, and genuinely tried to help us out of the predicament. Technically, we should have sailed back to Dubrovnik to clear in, which would realistically have cost us 18 hours or more. After a phone call with a superior, the two officers allowed us to continue to Split, but impressed upon us that we must clear in immediately upon arrival.
Then they said goodbye and returned to their police boat, and we were free. And €86 poorer — it could have been much worse.
Pascal went back to sleep, Flo and I took the watch for the next few hours.
The plan was to pass the strait between Pelješac and Korčula near Orebić, then round the northwest tip of Pelješac on a northeast course to leave Hvar to port, and at its eastern tip turn back onto a northwest course.
October 8th, 3:16, 42°51’12.4″N 17°25’42.2″O
We leave the wind shadow of Mljet and encounter a bit more swell again. To avoid being too exposed, we moved slightly east toward the coast, and I simultaneously began considering how I wanted to navigate through the small islands between Orebić and Korčula. The shorter route would be to go through the southwest, but there are quite a few small islands there. In the north, directly in the bay of Orebić, there is a wide, open channel, and the chart also shows some usable lighthouses. I decide on the northern route.
October 8th, 4:46, 42°57’20.3″N 17°14’42.9″O
Just before Orebić, we carefully watch for islands, other vessels, and lighthouses. Here it seems better to navigate by landmarks rather than GPS alone, and we do quite well.
On the castle Velika Sestrica there is a white all-round light, which we leave to port, and when the red light of Stupa Vela comes into view on port, we turn west, then orient ourselves using the white lights of the strait between Otok Vela Kneza to port and the St. Ivan’s Church to starboard.
