About 16:55 CEST at Kornati. In the late afternoon, after the swim stop, with about 3 hours 20 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:14 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestral in the afternoon
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. Kornati park ticket bought before entering
Track and waypoints 1 to 9, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No bora or wind above force 5: the Kornati anchorages are open to some directions.
ACI Piškera berth confirmed (the park ticket is included in its berth price), or a park ticket bought for 8 August.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Zadar or stop at Biograd na Moru, and go into the Kornati the next day.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 0.3 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
Zadar marina
44°07.1′N
015°13.9′E
09:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Zadar approach
44°07.6′N
015°12.0′E
290°T
1.5
1.5
09:22 CEST
Out of the harbour.
2
Zadar channel
44°02.5′N
015°17.5′E
142°T
6.5
7.9
10:26 CEST
South-east down the channel. Ferries. Check on the chart
3
Pašman channel, north
44°00.0′N
015°20.5′E
139°T
3.3
11.2
11:02 CEST
Into the channel between Pašman and the mainland. Check on the chart
4
Pašman channel, middle
43°57.6′N
015°24.5′E
130°T
3.8
15.0
11:43 CEST
Check on the chart
5
Pašman channel, off Tkon
43°55.8′N
015°26.0′E
149°T
2.1
17.1
12:06 CEST
Narrow, with the Biograd to Tkon ferry. Check on the chart
6
Off Biograd
43°54.0′N
015°28.5′E
135°T
2.5
19.6
12:34 CEST
Check on the chart
7
South of Pašman
43°52.0′N
015°26.0′E
222°T
2.7
22.3
13:01 CEST
Check on the chart
8
South-east of Kornat
43°45.8′N
015°24.0′E
193°T
6.4
28.7
14:05 CEST
Round the south-east end of Kornat into the park. Check on the chart
9
Vela Panitula, Piškera
43°45.6′N
015°20.3′E
266°T
2.7
31.4
14:45 CEST to 16:45
Swim stop at anchor in the permitted bay. Position approximate. Check on the chart
10
ACI Marina Piškera
43°45.6′N
015°21.0′E
090°T
0.5
31.9
16:55 CEST
Approach from the north or west, south of Panitula Vela, 7 m. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Zadar · Sun 8 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
03:07
0.1 m
HW
11:09
0.3 m
From the Split station.
Kornati · Sun 8 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
03:07
0.1 m
HW
11:09
0.3 m
From the Split station.
Sunday 8 August 2027. Tides. The range here is 0.1 to 0.3 m: tides make no practical difference. Wind and air pressure move the sea level more than the tide does.
Both ends use the Split station.
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 Zadar 05:55 CEST. Sunset at Kornati 20:14 CEST.
Weather
Sheltered channels down to Pašman.
The Kornati are bare and low: wind is not broken by the islands.
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
Kornati National Park. A ticket is required for every boat. For a boat of 11 to 18 m in June to September, 2026 prices were €95 for 1 day bought before entering and €190 bought inside the park. Buy online at shop.np-kornati.hr or in Murter. Anchoring and overnight stays are allowed only in 18 named bays, including Vela Panitula on Piškera and Lojena on Levrnaka; mooring buoys are free with the ticket. Strict protection zones round Purara, Mrtenjak, Kolobučar and the Obručan islets are closed to visitors. No spearfishing; diving only in organised groups.
Rocks and shoals everywhere among the islands. The waypoints here are approximate: use the large-scale charts.
Pašman channel. Narrow, with the Biograd to Tkon ferry crossing it.
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.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Zadar
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Biograd na Moru
Waypoint 6
Weather turns
Marinas. Check the pilot book
ACI Žut
4 nm north of Piškera, outside the park
Piškera full
VHF 17, +385 98 398 844.
Pilotage
Leaving Zadar
Leave the harbour and head south-east down the Zadar channel.
Into the Kornati
From south of Pašman, head south-west round the south-east end of Kornat into the park.
After the swim in Vela Panitula, go round to the marina and approach from the north or west, between the Škanji reefs and the south cape of Panitula Vela, in 7 m. The north-west approach is shallow with reefs.
Vela Panitula crowded. Swim in another of the permitted bays, such as Lojena on Levrnaka.
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
Kornati park ticket bought for 8 August, or ACI Piškera booked
Waypoints entered and checked against the large-scale charts
Ship's log started in UTC
Crew briefing: route, watches, safety gear, MOB
Food and water for 2 days: Piškera has only a small shop
Fuel for 6 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 8 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
Kornati National Park: np-kornati.hr (tickets, rules, mooring buoys).
ACI Piškera and ACI Žut: aci-marinas.com.
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.