Leg 74 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Rovinj to Mali Lošinj
South down the Istrian coast to Cape Kamenjak and across the mouth of the Kvarner to Lošinj, between the islands of Unije and Susak, into the long, sheltered bay of Mali Lošinj.
08:00 CEST from Rovinj. 2 hours 5 minutes after sunrise (05:55 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:51 CEST at Mali Lošinj. In the late afternoon, with about 2 hours 30 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:22 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.5 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestral (north-west) blows in the afternoon; a bora is the danger in the Kvarner
Boat
35 to 38 ft sailing yacht, 1.9 m draught, 6 kn under sail, 5.5 kn under engine
Crew
Skipper and 3 crew, 2 watches of 2
Track and waypoints 1 to 5, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 07:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No bora forecast for the Kvarner, and no wind above force 5.
Mali Lošinj berth confirmed.
Visibility 3 nm or more.
If a bora is forecast, stay at Rovinj. Pula and the bays south of it are on the way.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1.5 nm off land except at the harbour ends. Distances and courses are calculated from them. Plot every one on the current chart before use. Courses are true.
#
Waypoint
Latitude
Longitude
Course
Leg nm
Total nm
ETA
Notes
0
ACI Marina Rovinj
45°04.4′N
013°38.2′E
08:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Rovinj approach
45°04.8′N
013°36.5′E
286°T
1.3
1.3
08:19 CEST
Out to the west of Sv. Katarina.
2
West of Sv. Ivan
45°02.5′N
013°35.0′E
205°T
2.5
3.8
08:44 CEST
Outside the Rovinj islands.
3
South-west of Porer
44°44.5′N
013°52.0′E
146°T
21.7
25.5
12:21 CEST
1.5 nm off the Porer light. Across the Kvarner from here.
4
Between Unije and Susak
44°34.0′N
014°18.0′E
119°T
21.3
46.7
15:54 CEST
Mid-channel.
5
Mali Lošinj bay entrance
44°31.0′N
014°25.0′E
121°T
5.8
52.6
17:04 CEST
Into the bay. Check on the chart
6
Mali Lošinj
44°32.0′N
014°28.0′E
065°T
2.4
54.9
17:51 CEST
Town harbour and marina at the head of the bay. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Rovinj · Thu 5 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
01:01
0.2 m
HW
13:29
0.6 m
From the KOPER station.
Mali Lošinj · Thu 5 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:52
0.1 m
HW
13:02
0.6 m
LW
18:35
0.3 m
HW
23:48
0.5 m
From the Bakar station.
Thursday 5 August 2027. Tides. The range here is about 0.5 m: tides make no practical difference. Wind and air pressure move the sea level more than the tide does.
Rovinj uses the Koper station and Mali Lošinj the Bakar station, about 45 nm away. Treat the times as a guide only.
Tide times are predictions made for this plan from the TICON-4 harmonic constants (DGFI-TUM) with the Neaps tide predictor, because the official 2027 tables were not yet published when it was written. Tested against the official APDL table for Leixões on 23 July 2026, the predicted times were within 8 minutes and the heights 0.1 to 0.2 m lower. Heights are above lowest astronomical tide. Check every time against the official 2027 table before sailing.
Daylight. Sunrise at Rovinj 05:55 CEST. Sunset at Mali Lošinj 20:22 CEST.
Weather
The Kvarner. 20 nm across the mouth of the gulf, where a bora is felt most.
Mali Lošinj bay is long and sheltered from all directions.
Forecasts to check
Croatian marine forecast: DHMZ Marine Meteorological Centre, Split, meteo.hr, for the North, Central and South Adriatic, with warnings.
Rijeka Radio: weather and safety broadcasts in English and Croatian at 05:30, 12:30, 19:30 and 00:30 UTC on VHF 4, 19, 20, 23, 24, 81 and 85. Split Radio: 05:45, 12:45, 19:45 and 00:45 UTC on VHF 7, 21, 23, 28, 81 and 84.
NAVTEX Split: station Q on 518 kHz in English, at 02:40, 06:40, 10:40, 14:40, 18:40 and 22:40 UTC.
Hazards
Bora (bura). A cold, gusty north-easterly that falls off the mountains. It is strongest and most frequent in winter but can blow in summer, and can start suddenly from a clear, calm sky. Signs are a cap of cloud on the mountains and a short, steep, white-crested sea. In a bora warning, stay in harbour or tuck under the lee of the mainland, never under the lee of an island in a channel.
Dolphins. A resident population of bottlenose dolphins lives round Lošinj and Cres. Harassing them is prohibited by Croatian law. Follow the Blue World code: no closer than 50 m, no more than 3 boats within 200 m, 30 minutes at most, slow and parallel, and leave if there are calves.
Mali Lošinj approach and berths. Marina Mali Lošinj's VHF and phone could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Rovinj
Start
Within the first hour
ACI marina.
Pula
8 nm north of Porer
Weather turns
ACI Pula. Check the pilot book
Mali Lošinj
Destination
First choice
Bay and marina.
Pilotage
Leaving Rovinj
Leave the marina and head south-west of the Rovinj islands, then south down the Istrian coast.
Into Mali Lošinj
Pass between Unije and Susak and enter the bay of Mali Lošinj from the south-west.
Follow the bay to the town. Call the marina or the town harbour for a berth: Check the pilot book
Bora in the Kvarner. Turn back to the Istrian coast, or run downwind to the lee of Lošinj if already past halfway.
Person overboard. Shout, point, throw the danger buoy, press MOB, DSC distress alert, Mayday on 16.
Before leaving
Forecasts read and logged before the go or no-go time
Croatian notices to mariners checked for the route
Waypoints entered and checked against the chart
Ship's log started in UTC
Crew briefing: route, watches, safety gear, MOB, bora routine
Mali Lošinj berth booked
Fuel for 10 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 11 hours
Lifejackets with crotch straps, jackstays rigged, harnesses
Liferaft, grab bag, flares in date, handheld VHF
Radar, AIS and navigation lights tested
Passports, boat papers and insurance aboard
Sources
Lošinj dolphins: blue-world.org (code of conduct).
Mali Lošinj harbour master: mmpi.gov.hr.
Croatian harbour masters: mmpi.gov.hr (Pula, Rijeka, Zadar and Šibenik offices and branches). Vignette: mmpi.gov.hr; enautika.pomorstvo.hr.
Croatian lights: plovput.hr (official list). Radio and NAVTEX: plovput.hr.
ACI marinas: aci-marinas.com.
Tides: predictions from TICON-4 harmonic constants (Hart-Davis, Dettmering and Seitz, DGFI-TUM, 2025, doi 10.17882/109129) with Neaps (openwaters.io). Check against the Instituto Hidrográfico 2027 tables.
Sunrise and sunset: calculated (NOAA method).
Lights: The Lighthouse Directory (Rowlett), ibiblio.org/lighthouse, Portugal pages revised August 2024. Cross-check with the IH List of Lights, volume I.