Leg 80 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Vis to Korčula
East along the south of Hvar and up the Korčula channel, past the tip of the Pelješac peninsula, to Korčula town, a walled medieval town on its own small peninsula.
08:00 CEST from Vis. 2 hours after sunrise (05:59 CEST).
Arrive
About 16:06 CEST at Korčula. In the afternoon, with about 3 hours 50 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 19:57 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.4 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestral is behind the yacht 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
Track and waypoints 1 to 7, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 07:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No bora or wind above force 5.
ACI Korčula berth confirmed.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Vis. Hvar's south coast and Vela Luka on Korčula 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 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
Vis town
43°03.8′N
016°11.5′E
08:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Vis approach
43°05.2′N
016°12.4′E
025°T
1.5
1.5
08:23 CEST
Out of the bay.
2
South of the Pakleni
43°04.0′N
016°30.0′E
095°T
12.9
14.5
10:32 CEST
Open water.
3
Korčula channel
43°02.0′N
016°54.0′E
096°T
17.7
32.1
13:29 CEST
Between Hvar and Korčula.
4
Off the Pelješac tip
43°00.0′N
016°59.8′E
115°T
4.7
36.8
14:20 CEST
Into the Pelješac channel. Check on the chart
5
Pelješac channel
42°59.3′N
017°03.6′E
104°T
2.9
39.7
14:55 CEST
Narrow; ferries from Orebić. Check on the chart
6
Off Korčula town
42°58.7′N
017°07.2′E
103°T
2.7
42.4
15:35 CEST
Check on the chart
7
ACI Korčula approach
42°57.8′N
017°08.4′E
136°T
1.3
43.7
16:00 CEST
Red light Fl R 2s. Enter on the south side of the breakwater.
8
ACI Marina Korčula
42°57.5′N
017°08.4′E
180°T
0.3
44.0
16:06 CEST
Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Vis · Fri 13 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:40
0.2 m
HW
16:38
0.4 m
From the Split station.
Korčula · Fri 13 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:40
0.2 m
HW
16:38
0.4 m
From the Split station.
Friday 13 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 Vis 05:59 CEST. Sunset at Korčula 19:57 CEST.
Weather
The Pelješac channel funnels the maestral.
Summer storms. ACI warns that the western part of Korčula town harbour should be avoided in summer storms.
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
Pelješac channel. Narrow, with the Orebić to Korčula ferries crossing it.
Korčula approaches. From the south, round the Sestrice islets (Fl(4) 15s) and Stupe Velike (Fl R 3s) on their north side.
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
Vis
Start
Within the first hour
Harbour.
Vela Luka
6 nm south of waypoint 3
Weather turns
Check the pilot book
Korčula
Destination
First choice
ACI Marina Korčula, VHF 17.
Pilotage
Leaving Vis
Leave the bay and head east, south of Hvar.
Into Korčula
Enter the Pelješac channel from the west and follow it east to the town.
Pass the red light (Fl R 2s) and enter the marina on the south side of the breakwater (green Fl G 5s). Call ACI Korčula on VHF 17 (+385 98 398 854).
Lights on the way
Host (Vis)
Fl 4s, 21 m, 8 M
Sestrica Vela (Korčula)
Fl(4) 15s, 18 m, 11 M
ACI Korčula breakwater
Fl G 5s, 7 m, 4 M
Communications
ACI Marina Korčula
VHF 17 · +385 98 398 854
Harbour master's branch, Korčula
+385 20 711 178
Search and rescue at sea, Croatia (MRCC Rijeka)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 195
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Maestral strong in the channel. Reduce sail early; the channel is short.
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
ACI Korčula 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
ACI Korčula: aci-marinas.com.
Korčula 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.