11th June 2016: On our way from Cavtat to Mljet with a southerly F4 we had our first sail in Croatia, woo hoo! It was a bit rolly though and after 20 miles as the wind eased we had to give up, the wind angle and wind strength were not enough to keep the sails filled in the rolls.
Mljet Island looked very green, covered on every surface we could see with trees. Coming down the 2 mile long, narrow channel into Polače it felt like we were back in Norway with trees right down to the waters edge. The wind was now gusting from different directions as it fell off the steep sides.
Are we in Norway?
At the end of the channel the anchorage opens out into a huge space. We tucked ourselves in over on the south west side in 11m. The anchor held first time.
The anchorage is within the Mljet National Park – if you want to pay the entrance fee (no one approached us during our time there and we walked a lot around the park) it is 70kn a person and lasts for as long as your stay. Up behind the ruins of the Roman villa on the shore of Polače is a path up through the forest that takes you up over the hill to the two salt water lakes. There are concrete and dirt paths that go around the lakes and bikes and canoes are also for hire.
Anchored at Mljet
Whilst we were the weather was a bit mixed. The mornings were dry but by afternoon the cloud was bubbling up and thunder was rumbling around. One early afternoon we could hear the rumbles as we walked around the small lake but as we were at the furthest point in our walk we just had to hope it missed us and all those trees around us! When we got back to Polače down the other side of the hill we saw they’d had a dump of rain. I guess they have to have some wet stuff to keep all those trees fed.
For mooring there are also restaurants that you can tie up to, your fee being that you eat there.
Sailing Info
The paths are well marked – just follow the dots!
11the June: Cavtat to Polače, Mljet Island. 41nm travelled (20nm sailed)
Anchored in 11m in position: 42 47.32’N 17 22.555’E
Weather: southerly F4, reducing into the afternoon. Dry but cloudy.
In the anchorage we had mainly light winds from most directions along with some gusty winds on our first evening.
Visitor Info
- Good signal for our T-mobile internet
- Small supermarket, bakery
- Bikes and canoes for hire as well as scooters and cars
- Restaurants and bars
- Tourist information
- An hourly minibus runs from the village up to the lakes if you don’t want to walk the hill
The big lake. On an island is a monastery that can be visited by trip boat