Amalfi, Italy to Biograd, Croatia. Join for 1 to 4 weeks.
Experience passage planning and ~200 NM of sailing per week.
Join our sail from the Amalfi Coast, Italy to the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia.
We plan four weeks to sail our luxury performance catamaran TIGER LIL about 800 NM from Italy to Croatia. The chart below shows the approximate weekly distance of about 200 NM. Since TIGER LIL can easily make over 8 mph the weekly distance allows for stopping each night at a port or anchorage as well as a buffer for weather. If good sailing conditions, we may do overnight sails.
The following charts show each week’s itinerary. The numbers on the charts are potential port stops. There are more ports than needed, and also many anchorages not indicated.
Week 1: Amalfi Coast through the Strait of Messina
Departing the Amalfi Coast area, we head south across the Bay of Salerno toward Agropoli, a beautiful ancient port with Greek and Roman influences. Along the Cilento Coast we’ll find many small ports to visit. Tropea is a good resting point with a village on a cliff looking towards the Aeolian Islands where we can watch Stromboli spitting fire at night. We end the week below the Strait at Messina, a vibrant coastal city with Catania Airport nearby.
Week 2: Messina to Leuca – from the toe to heel of Italy
Flying into Catania or Palermo, you’ll join us at Messina for our next leg around the ‘toe’ of Italy and across the ‘instep’ to the Salento town of Leuca at the tip of the ‘heel’. The southern region of Puglia, Salento, has a number of outstanding sites to visit including Lecce, Otranto, Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca. Also, excellent wines!
Week 3: Across the Adriatic Sea, Albania, Montenegro to Croatia
Based on weather we’ll select the route to cross the Adriatic. We have the choice of crossing from Leuca to Albania before heading north to Montenegro and its tiny fortress town of Budva, past the fiords of the Bay of Kotor and on to Cavtat, Croatia, a small harbor town south of Dubrovnik. Or, we may go further up the Puglian coast past Otranto, an old trading port, north past Monopoli and Trani to Vieste before crossing to Lastovo, Croatia and Korcula, a tiny fortress gem reputed to be Marco Polo’s birthplace..
Week 4: Along the Dalmatian Coast and Islands
Our final week we’ll head north from Cavtat past Dubrovnik along the coast and island chains. Port highlights include Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar, Trogir, Sibinek and Biograd. We can choose ports, anchorages, secluded coves and moorings at small bays with family restaurants, a ‘Konoba’. Often they make their own Rakija liqueur and prepare Peka, meats or fish with veggies slow cooked in a ‘bell’ under a pile of coals.
Tiger Lil
We will be sailing a new 2022 Fontaine Pajot, Elba 45 performance catamaran. She is a highly seaworthy model that performs very well in all sea and wind conditions.
Tiger Lil is equipped with four queen cabins, each with a private bathroom, a complete galley and has a large interior and exterior lounge areas with both upper deck and foredeck seating areas. Tiger Lil is rigged for full sail including a large genoa.
Safety is our focus. We will monitor weather constantly and will not sail in dangerous conditions. Sailing to make good time and distance is important but if needed we will stop due to weather.
Safety Features:
- AIS: Automated Identification System provides position, identification to other ships, to coastal authorities and linked to our navigation system to see day or night the distance and time to other vessels.
- VHF: radio plus handset, for radio communication with safety aid, ports, ships and weather stations.
- Navigational Aides: two Garmin marine GPS chart plotters with Navionics charting, GPS Navionics charting on two mobile devices plus paper charts and Pilot Guides.
- Radar: for low visibility and tracking of other vessels
- Iridium Go: enables satellite (vs. cellular) positioning, communication and tracking
- Weather reporting sources: VHF reporting, four weather apps including PredictWind linked to the Iridium Go satellite connection.
- Safety equipment: EPIRB, life raft, life vests, fire extinguishers, flares, thru-hull plugs, etc.
Comfort Features:
- Four queen cabins, each with private bathroom and stand up shower, crew cabins with head
- Electric toilets
- Webasto individual heating and AC units per cabin and lounge
- Generator for on-demand 220v
- Inverter for on-demand 220v when underway
- Water-maker for replenishing fresh water when not at port
- Spacious decks with upper deck seating and sun bed areas, forward seating and netting area
- Large covered cockpit area with 8 seat table
- Large interior lounge area with 6 seat table
- Fully equipped galley with stove, range, large fridges and freezer, microwave, toaster, ice-maker, coffee-maker and Moka
- Hydraulic extendable gangway
Where to join each week, nearby airports and costs
(multiple weeks available)
| Week / Start date to | Ports (Join to | Airports | Cost, single | Cost, double |
| week end date | departure) | occupancy US$ | occupancy US$ | |
| 1 / 22 March to | Salerno to | Naples or Rome | 1200 | 1900 |
| 28th | Messina | Catania or Palermo | ||
| 2 / 29 March to | Messina to | 1400 | 2100 | |
| 4 April | Leuca | Bari or Naples | ||
| 3 / 5 April to | Leuca to | 1600 | 2300 | |
| 11th | Cavtat/Korcula | Dubrovnik or Split | ||
| 4 / 12 April to | Cavtat/Korcula to | 1800 | 2500 | |
| 18th | Biograd | Split or Zadar |
Provisioning: an essential part of long distance sailing is making sure there is ample food and water aboard. Prior to each week’s departure, the new crew will provision Tiger Lil for their week. The crew should be prepared to assist with cooking and cleaning up. You should plan the cost for local food is about the same as at home. There will be no additional costs to the crew for berthing or fuel.
Our Captain
Capt. Bob Riley is US Coast Guard licensed with 100 ton and offshore credentials. He has completed Mediterranean, Caribbean and US East Coast deliveries and taught sailing in the Caribbean and Chesapeake Bay. Bob has skippered over 160 week-long sailing tours in the Caribbean, Thailand and Mediterranean. Here are links to his abbreviated sailing background and a few recent long-distance sails.
Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for arrival at your week’s starting port and travel from your end port. On board, you can help with the sailing as much as you like, learning additional sailing skills as we go. We will all help with keeping the yacht ship-shape and tasks like cooking. Your principal responsibility is to keep the water out of the boat and yourself in the boat.
Tiger Lil Moored, Amalfi Coast
We should not have any problems sailing approximately 200 NM in a week; Tiger Lil can do that distance in about 24 hours, if needed. However, you should plan at least one day before and after the scheduled arrival and departure dates. We will keep all joining crew aware of progress via email and WhatsApp. We also can provide the crew with online links to follow Tiger Lil’s progress, sharable with friends and family.
All the sailing equipment will be on board. We will discuss with you what to bring for clothing for the expected weather of your week. Plan on bringing a light sleeping bag for bedding.
If Tiger Lil cannot be at the departure port within two days of the scheduled date, we will refund your cost.
There are no refunds if you choose not to complete your week(s). If you need to shorten your segment, we will look for the first opportunity to reach port. If you wish to continue further than scheduled we will try to accommodate you for the additional fare.
