Skip if you are allergic to mathematics :-)
Continuing our preparation for sailing in the Adriatic, let's look at the tides and currents there.
In my sailing experience, the tides can be summarised as either huge amplitude in the Atlantic and the English Channel, particularly around the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel where the tidal amplitude can reach 12 metres, or no tide at all in the Baltic due to the very shallow and narrow opening to the northern sea!
What about the Adriatic?
Below is the tide chart for Rovinj (near Pula) for the next 17 days.
Anything unfamiliar? Let's have a look!
Croatia has the reputation of being a paradise for sailors. But is it also a paradise for winds, some of which can reach hurricane force at very short notice! The picture below shows them on a wind rose according to the direction from which they blow. In short, northerly winds tend to be cold and dry, while southerly winds tend to be hot and humid.
Everything opposes the two prominent winds, the Bura and the Jugo: origin, temperature, humidity, mechanism. But they have one thing in common: their potential strength, which often threatens sailors at short notice...
This is the start of the 2023 season on the blog for Belisama. After a quiet winter in Saint-Mandrier where she arrived at the end of October 2022, she will leave for Pula, Croatia, at the beginning of May.
Below is the provisional itinerary... Each coloured segment represents a sailing week, from the 1st of May in Toulon until the 25th of June, when Belisama will arrive in Pula. Note that there are two options from Brindisi to Dubrovnik depending on whether we pass through Montenegro or not. The total distance will be 1400 nautical miles, an average of 175 miles per week and 25 nautical miles per day, taking 5 hours at an average speed of 5 knots.
The final stage from Menorca to Toulon was 215 nautical miles. The wind was as forecasted, astern from start to end, in the 6-8 m/s (12-15 knots). We used our "code 0" rather than the spinnaker for ease of gybing at night from one tack to the other, as required.
We had planed for a 40+ hours ride. But this was without counting on the hazards of the sea...
