Leg 79 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Hvar to Vis
A short day: a swim in the Pakleni islands, then south-west across open water to Vis, the outermost inhabited island of central Dalmatia, closed to foreigners until 1989.
About 14:13 CEST at Vis. In the early afternoon, after the swim stop, with about 5 hours 50 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:02 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestral is on the beam to Vis
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. Swim stop in the Pakleni islands
Track and waypoints 1 to 3, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5.
Vis berth or buoy confirmed.
For the stop only: calm water on the south side of the Pakleni.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Hvar.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 0.5 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
Hvar town
43°10.3′N
016°26.4′E
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Pakleni channel
43°10.0′N
016°24.0′E
260°T
1.8
1.8
09:57 CEST
West through the channel.
2
Pakleni islands, south side
43°09.4′N
016°23.5′E
211°T
0.7
2.5
10:11 CEST to 12:11
Swim stop at anchor in a bay on the south side of Sv. Klement. Position approximate. Check on the chart
3
Vis approach
43°05.2′N
016°12.4′E
243°T
9.1
11.6
13:42 CEST
North of the Host islet light.
4
Vis town
43°03.8′N
016°11.5′E
205°T
1.5
13.2
14:13 CEST
At the head of the bay. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Hvar · Thu 12 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
16:10
0.4 m
From the Split station.
Vis · Thu 12 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
16:10
0.4 m
From the Split station.
Thursday 12 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 Hvar 05:56 CEST. Sunset at Vis 20:02 CEST.
Weather
Open water for 10 nm between the Pakleni and Vis.
Vis harbour faces north.
Forecasts to check
Croatian marine forecast: DHMZ Marine Meteorological Centre, Split, meteo.hr, for the North, Central and South Adriatic, with warnings.
Split Radio: weather and safety broadcasts at 05:45, 12:45, 19:45 and 00:45 UTC on VHF 7, 21, 23, 28, 81 and 84. Dubrovnik Radio: VHF 7, 19, 4, 85 and 28 by area.
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
Vis harbour. Under the port authority of Split-Dalmatia county; berths, buoys and fees could not be checked. Check the pilot book
The Blue Cave (Biševo), 8 nm beyond Komiža, can be visited only by ticket on the licensed small boats; private boats may not enter, anchor, moor, swim or dive in the caves.
Pakleni islands. Shallow passages and rocks between the islands; anchor only where the chart shows clear sand.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Hvar
Start
Within the first hour
Harbour or Palmižana.
Komiža
On the west side of Vis
Vis full
+385 91 271 3002.
Pilotage
Leaving Hvar
Leave the harbour and go west through the Pakleni channel to the south side of Sv. Klement.
Into Vis
Approach from the north-east, passing the Host islet light.
Call the harbour for a berth or buoy. VHF and phone: Check the pilot book
Lights on the way
Pokonji Dol (Hvar)
Fl 4s, 20 m, 10 M
Host (Vis)
Fl 4s, 21 m, 8 M
Communications
Vis harbour (port authority)
+385 21 339 825
Harbour master's branch, Vis
+385 21 711 111
Search and rescue at sea, Croatia (MRCC Rijeka)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 195
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Vis full. Go round to Komiža.
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, fog
Vis berth or buoy booked
Fuel for 5 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 6 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
Blue Cave: bluecave-bisevo.com; tz-komiza.hr.
Vis 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.