Leg 84 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Herceg Novi to Durrës
The longest day of the last stretch: out of the Bay of Kotor at first light and south-east down the coasts of Montenegro and Albania, well offshore of the shallow river mouths, to Durrës, Albania's main port.
05:45 CEST from Herceg Novi. At first light, 15 minutes before sunrise (05:58 CEST), after the weather day at Herceg Novi.
Arrive
About 18:45 CEST at Durrës. In the evening, with only about 50 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 19:34 CEST), at an average of 6.5 kn. It depends on motoring if the wind is light, and on reaching the checkpoint off Bar on time.
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Light in settled weather; a jugo is on the nose
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. A 12-hour day: meals prepared ahead
Track and waypoints 1 to 4, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide the evening before and confirm at 05:15 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
Settled forecast for the whole day: no wind above force 5, and no jugo above force 4.
Durrës agent booked and expecting the yacht.
Crew rested: this is a 12-hour day.
Engine and fuel ready for motoring at 6.5 kn if the wind is light: the daylight margin depends on it.
This is the leg the weather day at Herceg Novi is for. If the forecast is wrong, wait. Bar (Montenegro) and Shëngjin (Albania) split the leg if needed.
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
Portonovi, Herceg Novi
42°25.7′N
018°35.1′E
05:45 CEST
Depart at first light, cleared out of Montenegro.
1
Bay of Kotor entrance
42°23.1′N
018°32.4′E
217°T
3.3
3.3
06:24 CEST
Out between Mamula and Cape Oštro.
2
Off Bar
42°04.8′N
018°47.0′E
149°T
21.3
24.5
09:41 CEST
Checkpoint, 14 nm off Bar. The track runs straight to Cape Durrës, 12 to 18 nm off the Buna and the Drin gulf.
3
Off Cape Durrës
41°20.0′N
019°21.6′E
150°T
51.7
76.3
17:38 CEST
2 nm off the light.
4
Durrës approach
41°18.0′N
019°26.0′E
121°T
3.9
80.2
18:25 CEST
Into the bay. Wrecks and hard-to-see marks near the channel.
5
Durrës
41°18.4′N
019°27.2′E
063°T
1.0
81.2
18:45 CEST
Commercial port, where yachts berth with an agent.
Tides and time
Herceg Novi · Fri 20 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
01:54
0.0 m
HW
08:20
0.3 m
LW
13:18
0.2 m
HW
19:05
0.3 m
From the Split station.
Durrës · Fri 20 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:48
0.2 m
LW
11:39
0.1 m
HW
17:59
0.3 m
From the Otranto station.
Friday 20 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.
Herceg Novi uses the Split station and Durrës the Otranto station; both are 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 Herceg Novi 05:58 CEST. Sunset at Durrës 19:34 CEST.
Weather
Open coast for 80 nm with few harbours.
A jugo brings a sea onto this coast and heads the yacht.
Forecasts to check
Croatian DHMZ forecast for the South Adriatic (meteo.hr); Greek forecasts for the North Ionian (Hellenic National Meteorological Service, emy.gr).
NAVTEX Kerkyra: station K on 518 kHz in English, at 01:40, 05:40, 09:40, 13:40, 17:40 and 21:40 UTC, with weather at 05:40, 09:40, 17:40 and 21:40.
Albanian weather broadcasts on VHF: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Entering Albania. A yacht must clear in at a port of entry before anyone goes ashore. Most cruising reports say an agent is needed; agents meet yachts at Durrës, Vlorë and Sarandë. Visitors may stay 90 days in any 180. Whether an agent is required by law in 2027 could not be checked from an official source. Book an agent before sailing.
The Buna and Drin. Shallow deltas and lagoons along the Montenegro to Albania border and in the Drin gulf; depths could not be checked. The route stays 12 nm or more off.
Durrës. A shallow bay: yachts may have to anchor well off. Beware of unlit or hard-to-see marks and wrecks near the entrance channel. Harbour master on VHF 15. A planned yacht marina was not built as of the latest information.
Ferries to Italy from Durrës and Bar.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Herceg Novi
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Portonovi.
Bar
14 nm east of waypoint 2
Weather turns
Port of entry. Check the pilot book
Shëngjin
20 nm east of the track
Behind time
Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Herceg Novi
Clear out of Montenegro at Portonovi the evening before. Leave at first light through the entrance and head south-east, 5 nm off.
Into Durrës
Approach from the west, passing the Cape Durrës light.
Call the harbour master on VHF 15 and the agent; berth or anchor as directed.
Lights on the way
Cape Rodon
Fl(2) 10s, 40 m
Cape Durrës
Fl(2) 10s, 126 m
Durrës, south mole
Fl R 5s
Durrës, east mole
Fl G 5s
Communications
Durrës harbour master
VHF 15
Durrës agent
Check on the chart
Emergency at sea, Albania
VHF 16 · 125
Albanian coast guard working channel
VHF 11
Police
129
Emergency at sea, Montenegro (coast guard)
VHF 16 · 129
Contingencies
Behind time. If waypoint 2 is not reached by 09:00 CEST, go into Bar.
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
Montenegrin notices to mariners and Albanian 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
Cleared out of Montenegro
Durrës agent booked
Albanian courtesy flag and Q flag ready
Meals for a 12-hour day prepared
Fuel for 14 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 14 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
Durrës: noonsite.com; English Wikipedia, Port of Durrës.
Drin gulf and Buna: English Wikipedia.
Montenegro and Albania formalities: noonsite.com (cruising reports, dated); Portonovi: portonovi.com; Orikum Marina: marinaorikum.com.
Albanian and Montenegrin lights: Lighthouse Directory (ibiblio.org/lighthouse), characteristics and heights only.
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.