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Chartering in Croatia in spring or autumn: what the bora means for your route and harbour
Short answer
The bora is a cold north easterly fall wind that hits the Croatian coast suddenly and in hard
gusts, most often outside the summer.
If you charter in spring or autumn,
plan your route so a harbour sheltered from the north east is always within reach.
Chartering in Croatia in spring or autumn means quieter harbours and lower prices, but it also brings a wind many crews from the Solent or the IJsselmeer only know by reputation: the bora. It is a cold fall wind from the north east that pours down from the coastal mountains onto the Adriatic. It can build out of an almost calm morning within a short time, arrives in violent gusts and is more frequent and stronger in spring, autumn and winter than in summer. It is fiercest where the mountains stand close to the sea, under the Velebit range, in the Kvarner Gulf and around Senj.
What does the bora mean for your route and harbour? It blows offshore, from the land out to sea. Shelter comes from harbours and bays screened to the north east by land or a breakwater, often on the south west side of the islands. A bay that is perfect in a summer maestral can become a trap in a bora if the wind blows straight in or the anchor sits on poor holding. In harbour the gusts snatch at the lines, and boats lying stern-to on lazy lines are pressed hard against their neighbours. Its opposite number is the jugo from the south east, which builds more slowly but brings a big sea.
Check the forecast every morning, for example from DHMZ, the Croatian meteorological service, and ask the base at handover which harbours on your route are safe in a bora. Plan legs so that a harbour sheltered from the north east is a few hours away at most, and when a bora is forecast, stay put for a day. Double up your lines, put out plenty of fenders and do not leave the boat empty overnight. Carry your ICC or equivalent and the crew list. Damage the yacht does to other boats or the pontoon falls first on you as skipper, so make sure your own skipper liability insurance applies in Croatia.
Worth remembering
Sheltered from the north east
harbour or bay in the lee of land or a breakwater
Open to the north east
gusts blow straight in, anchor and lines suffer
In a bora the right bay is not the prettiest one, but the nearest one sheltered from the north east.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
When does the bora blow most often in Croatia?
In spring, autumn and winter it is more frequent and stronger than in summer. It can still blow briefly and hard in high summer, so the daily forecast belongs to every season.
Where can I shelter from a bora on a charter yacht?
In harbours and bays screened to the north east by land or a breakwater, often on the south west side of the islands. The base can tell you which harbours on your route are safe.
Can I leave harbour in a bora?
Depending on conditions the harbour authority may stop you, and many charter contracts require you to stay in port when a gale warning is in force. Leaving anyway and coming back damaged invites a dispute over the deposit.
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