Leg 81 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Korčula to Mljet
A short day east down the Pelješac channel and across to Mljet, a long, forested island whose west end is a national park with 2 saltwater lakes, to the sheltered bay of Polače.
09:30 CEST from Korčula. Mid-morning, after the rest day at Korčula.
Arrive
About 12:54 CEST at Mljet. Early in the afternoon, with about 7 hours of daylight in hand (sunset 19:53 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.4 m: no practical effect
Wind
Light; sea breezes
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. Mljet park ticket bought
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.
Mljet park ticket bought.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Korčula.
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
ACI Marina Korčula
42°57.5′N
017°08.4′E
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
East of Korčula
42°57.5′N
017°12.0′E
090°T
2.6
2.6
10:02 CEST
Out of the channel.
2
Mljet channel
42°53.0′N
017°20.0′E
127°T
7.4
10.0
11:16 CEST
Across to Mljet.
3
Polače approach
42°48.3′N
017°23.5′E
151°T
5.4
15.4
12:36 CEST
Mljet National Park: 5 kn within 150 m of the shore. Check on the chart
4
Polače
42°47.4′N
017°23.8′E
166°T
0.9
16.3
12:54 CEST
Quay or anchor in the permitted area. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Korčula · Sun 15 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:35
0.2 m
LW
10:38
0.2 m
HW
17:26
0.4 m
From the Split station.
Mljet · Sun 15 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:35
0.2 m
LW
10:38
0.2 m
HW
17:26
0.4 m
From the Split station.
Sunday 15 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 Korčula 05:57 CEST. Sunset at Mljet 19:53 CEST.
Weather
Polače is a deep, enclosed bay, sheltered from most directions.
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
Mljet National Park. Every boat needs a park ticket, priced by length and days, bought in the park or in advance at np-mljet.hr or parkovihrvatske.hr; it does not cover the lakes or land sites. Mooring at the quays of Polače and Pomena; anchoring only in their permitted areas. 5 kn within 150 m of the shore and in the ports. Private yachts may not enter the lakes or the Solinski channel. No discharge of sanitary or grey water anywhere in the park. Keep 100 m from dolphins.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Korčula
Start
Within the first hour
ACI marina.
Pomena
3 nm west of Polače
Polače full
Park quay and anchorage.
Pilotage
Leaving Korčula
Leave the marina and head east, then south-east across to Mljet.
Into Polače
Enter the bay from the north at 5 kn.
Moor at the quay or anchor in the permitted area of the bay.
Lights on the way
Sestrica Vela (Korčula)
Fl(4) 15s, 18 m, 11 M
Polače
Check on the chart
Communications
Mljet National Park
+385 20 744 041
Harbour master's branch, Sobra (Mljet)
+385 20 745 040
Search and rescue at sea, Croatia (MRCC Rijeka)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 195
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Polače full. Go to Pomena.
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
Mljet park ticket bought
Holding tank empty
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
Mljet National Park: np-mljet.hr (information for boaters; price list; rules).
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.