The Adriatic Sea

The Croatian coastline extends to a length of 6.278 kilometres. The spread of the Adriatic islands is ideal for yachtsmen. They strech, with breaks here and there, along most of coastline, in a string from Rijeka to Dubrovnik. Usually not more than ten nautical miles apart, the islands form numerous channels, both between the islands and the mainland, and between the islands themselves. The mainland and the islands abound with bays, coves and ports - large and small - in wich mooring or anchorage can be found. These are ideal places to navigate by sail, but also to cruise on a motor yacht or sailing yacht. No place is far away from another, and if you want, you can spend the whole day sailing. If the weather turns bad or a strong windpicks up, there is always some place nearby to find shelter in.
Yachtsmen are, generally speaking, quite familiar with the prevailing winds of the Adriatic sea.
These are clockwise from the north - the tramontana (N), the bora (bura, NE), which can be both cyclonic and anticyclonic, the levant (levanter, E), the sirocco (souther, SE), which can be both cyclonic and anticyclonic, the ostral (ostral, S), the lebic or garbin (SW), the pulenat (W), the maestral (NW) and the burin (a summertime thermal land breeze).
Condition for sailing or cruising are for the most part favourable during the nautical season. The maestral, as the most common summer wind, and the stable tramontana, are exceptionaly pleasant sailing winds. The richy indented coastline, the currents and the local winds make navigation interesting. Navigating a motor boat here is just as interesting and challenging. The landscape changes constantly as you sail. In places the coastline is practically uninhabited and deserted, battered by the winter bora, like the coasts on the north side are usually verdant with vegetation. One moment you are sailing along side thick pine woods descending to the very edge of the sea - as they do on the islands of Lastovo or Jakljan, and the next moment all you can see are macchia and karst. You will sail by and drop anchor in towns with an unmistakeably Mediterranean character, as well as in small fishing villages. The island settlements are diverse, interesting and well worth getting to know. Many, like Korcula, Stari Grad or Vis, have their roots in Antiquity. Other settlements are of a more recent origin, having emerged as fishing ports or as the ports of large island settlements located deeper inland. The Adriatic sea can be divided in various ways. Croatian meteorologists divide the entire Adriatic sea into the northern, central and soutrher Adriatic, along the lines stretching from Ancona (Italy) to Zadar and from Monte Gargano (Italy) to Dubrovnik. As far as the Croatian part of the Adriatic is concerned, the most common division recognized by yachtsmen is defined by the dividing line at the promontory of Ploce or Cape Planka between Rogoznica and Primosten, which divides it into two parts. This division is supported both geographically (there is a break in the string of islands at the Ploce promontory), and with regard to the climatic and atmospheric conditions. For the purposes od sailing and of the edition we willo divide it as follows; Istria, The islands of Kvarner, the islands and shoreline of the Velebit foothills and the waters of Zadar, Šibenik, Split and Dubrovnik.