CROATIA CALLING

PART 3

SIMUNI VIA ZADAR AND KORNATI ARCHIPELAGO TO SIBENIK

Before heading to Zadar, we are tempted to go back into the Velebitski Canal. This magical stretch of water separating mainland Croatia from its myriad islands is notoriously lively when the Bora wind is blowing, but the weather is good and the forecast is set fair, so we take a four-hour detour to enter at the south-eastern end of Pag under the high bridge over Lubjacka Vrata.

Ideally, we would have liked to cruise the full length of this picturesque strait, taking in the Nosko Zdrilo Canal and the Novigradsko More to reach the gorge-like course of the Zrmanja river. This spectacular waterway is buoyed and easily navigable as far as Obrovac – even for our 72ft boat. The problem is the lack of berths. Nowhere on the hour-long journey to Obrovac nor in the town itself is there a large enough berth to accommodate us. The few tiny ports are dominated by small, fast boats that require little space or depth but are quick enough to make a dash for the next safe haven when they can sense the Bora brewing.

The thought of being caught out in our much bigger, slower motor yacht and then having