Leg 75 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Mali Lošinj to Zadar
South-east through the outer islands of northern Dalmatia, past Silba and Olib and along the channels inside Molat and Ugljan, to Zadar, its Roman forum and its sea organ.
08:00 CEST from Mali Lošinj. 2 hours 5 minutes after sunrise (05:55 CEST), after the rest day at Mali Lošinj.
Arrive
About 16:15 CEST at Zadar. In the afternoon, with about 4 hours of daylight in hand (sunset 20:16 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.4 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestral blows from the north-west in the afternoon, behind the yacht
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 6, 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, and no wind above force 5.
Zadar berth confirmed.
Visibility 2 nm or more among the islands.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Mali Lošinj. Silba, Olib and Molat have sheltered bays on the way.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1 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
Mali Lošinj
44°32.0′N
014°28.0′E
08:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Mali Lošinj bay entrance
44°31.0′N
014°25.0′E
245°T
2.4
2.4
08:35 CEST
Out of the bay to the south-west.
2
South of Lošinj
44°26.5′N
014°29.0′E
148°T
5.3
7.7
09:29 CEST
Round the south of Lošinj. Check on the chart
3
Between Silba and Premuda
44°21.0′N
014°38.0′E
130°T
8.5
16.2
10:53 CEST
Mid-channel. Check on the chart
4
North of Ist
44°18.0′N
014°50.0′E
109°T
9.1
25.3
12:24 CEST
Check on the chart
5
North of Ugljan
44°11.5′N
015°06.0′E
119°T
13.2
38.4
14:36 CEST
Into the Zadar channel. Ferries. Check on the chart
6
Zadar approach
44°07.6′N
015°12.0′E
132°T
5.8
44.3
15:46 CEST
Off the Oštri rat light.
7
Zadar marina
44°07.1′N
015°13.9′E
110°T
1.5
45.7
16:15 CEST
North-east of the old town. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Mali Lošinj · Sat 7 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
06:24
0.2 m
HW
13:57
0.6 m
LW
21:21
0.3 m
From the Bakar station.
Zadar · Sat 7 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
02:56
0.1 m
HW
10:13
0.3 m
LW
15:31
0.2 m
HW
19:47
0.3 m
From the Split station.
Saturday 7 August 2027. Tides. The range here is about 0.4 m: tides make no practical difference. Wind and air pressure move the sea level more than the tide does.
Mali Lošinj uses the Bakar station and Zadar the Split station, both distant. 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 Mali Lošinj 05:55 CEST. Sunset at Zadar 20:16 CEST.
Weather
Among the islands the sea is mostly sheltered; the channels funnel the wind.
Bora funnels down from the Velebit, strongest in the channels nearest the mainland.
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.
Rocks and shoals among the outer islands. The waypoints here are approximate: use the large-scale charts for the channels.
Ferries between Zadar's Gaženica terminal and Ugljan, Pašman and the outer islands.
Zadar marinas. The details of Marina Zadar (Tankerkomerc) and Marina Borik could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Mali Lošinj
Start
Within the first hour
Bay.
Silba or Molat
On the way
Weather turns
Bays and small harbours. Check the pilot book
Zadar
Destination
First choice
Marina Zadar or Marina Borik.
Pilotage
Leaving Mali Lošinj
Leave the bay to the south-west and round the south of Lošinj.
Into Zadar
Enter the Zadar channel north of Ugljan and head south-east past the Oštri rat light.
Call the marina for a berth. VHF and phone: Check the pilot book
Lights on the way
Grujica
Fl(3) 15s, 17 m, 10 M
Veli Rat
Fl(2) 20s, 41 m, 22 M
Oštri rat (Zadar)
Fl(3) 10s, 14 m, 15 M
Communications
Harbour master Zadar
+385 23 254 888 · 24 hours +385 23 254 880
Zadar marina
Check on the chart
Search and rescue at sea, Croatia (MRCC Rijeka)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 195
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Bora. Take shelter in the nearest bay on the lee side of the mainland coast, or in Zadar.
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 large-scale charts
Ship's log started in UTC
Crew briefing: route, watches, safety gear, MOB, bora routine
Zadar berth booked
Fuel for 9 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 10 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
Zadar 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.