With blue skies and a light maestral we leave the Mandalina marina behind us and head out into the Adriatic on the lower reaches of the Krka. We have chartered a Bavaria Sport 35 for a week to explore the harbours and bays in the Adriatic.Šibenik archipelago to visit. The month of May promises fantastic weather. With the golden evening light on our faces, we head out to sea.
The Šibenik archipelago off the Dalmatian town of the same name consists of eight closely spaced islands, of which only Zlarin, Prvić, Kaprije, Žirje and Krapanj are permanently inhabited, as well as around 20 rocky islets.
The first destination is the island of Prvić with the harbour of Prvić Luka in the southern bay. The weather remains fantastic. When we moor behind the pier, we are the only boat. The museum dedicated to the Venetian scholar and inventor Faust Vrančić (1551-1617) has been open at Prvić Luka harbour since 2012. Next to it is the Mareta restaurant in a prime locationwith a view of the harbour entrance and the sea. The waiters are lowering the tarpaulin over the terrace. The wind has turned to the south. Waves are crashing against the terrace. The staff are nice, the food is average.
In the morning, the maestral prevails again and gives us a sunny day. We head for the west coast of Prvićnorthwards to Šepurine. This picturesque place is still an insider tip. Two guest boats can go alongside in the narrow harbour entrance. The harbour is the centre of the listed village with its old stone houses and winding alleyways. There are no cars.
The 230 residents seem to live a more relaxed life than elsewhere. In the afternoon, people sit in the shade in front of the house or in the café, stirring their espresso or sipping a glass of wine. Young and old talk to each other without anyone playing with their mobile phones.
Two older men look at our Bavaria.We ask for a harbour masterwhere we are allowed to pay. They raise their shoulders. A local man with a small sailing boat comes back from fishing and moors up next to us. He says thatour berth in the harbour entrance is relatively sheltered. However, the weather is expected to change. Swell can roll into the entrance in bora.
As picturesque as Šepurine is, we prefer a more sheltered bay for the night. We head one and a half miles southwards and turnin the south of the island of Tijat in Tijašnica Bay in. There are free places in the buoy field. We steer into the bay. On the jetty, a man in waiter's clothes waves us over. He wants to know how much draught our boat has. I point a finger up. He signals that we should go alongside the jetty.
The idyllic Tijašnica has always been a popular bay in the archipelago. Since 2018, there has been another reason to visit it.From former goat pens the Spirito Summer Place restaurant was built. Head chef Jovanka Simic prepares scampi tartare for us, which she transforms into a work of art with edible flowers. A restaurant in a paradisiacal location with top service and a corresponding price level.
