The town of Senj is interesting, because it’s different from other, more touristic towns on Adriatic coast.
We took a trip along the coastal road called Jadranska magistrala and stopped in Senj.
The thing to see in Senj are the fort called Nehaj. It is located on the hilltop overlooking the town and nearby islands. The fort is a museum where history of the town and the fort itself dating back to year 1558 is on display. The tickets cost 7 kuna (which is about 1 €) and up to 20 kuna for adults. The museum is open every day from 10 AM till 6 PM off season and 9 AM till 9 PM during summer.

Plavi Podrum is a restaurant in Volosko, near Opatija known for its outstanding cuisine.
We were pretty hungry so we started with dipping bread into different kinds of olive oil. The bread was totally black as if it was made with squid ink.

The real starter were shrimps with pines on rocket bed , the other was thin sliced mushrooms and tuna fillets also on rocket bed. Merlot sorbet was very interesting and the foam made of Campari juice.

With this we had some Malvazija – dry white wine of Veralda family.
There was risotto with shrimps from Dalmatia and asparagus mixed in for second course. It was accompanied by Sauvignon from Korak vineyard.

Third course was goose liver, soft as butter and ba bass filet and cod in a chunky tortellini which we dipped into a zucchini sauce. With that we enjoyed 2006 Pošip wine from Korta Katarina.

And desert: chocolate mousse with vanilla ice cream and a few drops of olive oil. Odd but tasty combination.

We tried a few sorts of red vine – I remember 2007 Postup from Pelješac peninsula.
It really was a unforgettable culinary experience.

Privlaka Bridge is connecting the Lošinj channel with Port Mali Lošinj. It’s approximately 8 meters wide and around 80 meters long.

At the shallowest point there is about 2,5 m depth and there is strong current of 5 knots in under the bridge, so sailing boats must sail through with almost full power or almost none at all.
You’ll definitely feel which way you’re going.

Bridge clearance is also important information. It’s 2 meters at mid tide. Any higher and you get a convertible.

Opening hours are at 9 AM and at 18 PM. The bridge stays open for 30 minutes.

This season we can expect normal conditions in Losinj harbor, as moorings will be managed by the Port Authority. The reconstruction of the waterfront is the responsibility of the municipality and should be finished by Jun 15, 2012, even though they apparently began rebuilding in December (almost three months later, as they should begin in early October). Bar and restaurant owners are afraid they will not be able to put the tables on the waterfront in pre-season.

We expect equal position of the piers, as for the toilets, the authorities must agree with the previous holder of the concession, which can be complicated. New addition to the waterfront will be additional 65 feet to the first pier - breakwater with lighthouse.

On the video you can see the drilling for pier foundation. Piers will the same as on the other side of the port, where there are holes in the waterfront, so that waves break below and do not bounce off back into the harbor.

Check out these colours yesterday afternoon when it stopped raining. Pictures are taken from our sail boat, mored in Losinj harbour.
skipper tim

Krivica is an interesting and safe bay on SW side of island Mali Lošinj. It is known by boaters because of its curved shape, which makes it a good shelter in bad weather.

This is how it looks like in April – very peaceful and quiet, but during summer time it is full of sailing boats and motor yachts. In 2011 there were buoys placed there and it costs 16 hrk per meter of boat length to stay the night.

If you stop there it’s worth climbing up the hill to St. Ivan chapel. It’s about 25 minute walk and the path is quite nice though it doesn’t hurt having good shoes or at least don’t go wearing your flip-flops.

Sailing from say Rab or Pag Islands towards south, Rakovica Bay on Maun Island is a nice place to spend the night especially because there are not many safe coves along Pags southern coast except ACI marina Šimuni.

You can spend the night in Rakovica as long as the forecast is not Bora (NE wind) towards which the Bay is open.

The bay itself is separated into two smaller bays with sharp rocks chiseled by sharp bora. The good thing about this bay is the depth and the seabed. In the middle of the southern part of the bay the depth is between 7 and 10 meters and the anchor held ok. We tied our stern to the rocky shore only about 5 meters off where more than enough depth was still under our rudder.

In the morning fishermen came and closed up the entire bay and put the nets all the way along the NE shore of Maun.

Again if the forecast is stable weather or winds from the south there is no problem anchoring there but if a front is coming in you better choose a safer spot to spend the night.

The last bay on SW side of island Mali Lošinj is called Plijeski. It’s relatively open so I don’t recommend staying the night but it’s very nice to take a swim because of its turquoise water and sandy beach.

If you want to drop anchor and stay the night I recommend coves Krivica, Balvanida or island Ilovik a little further to the south.

You may also get lucky and get a bite to eat from the tourist boats which come there every day and prepare barbecue – usually fresh fish and squid.
The most Famous of these boats is a small ship called Mate or Mateo.

Island Unije in Kvarner has three nice bays to stay the night with a boat. Maračol used to belong to the Yugoslav army and was closed to general public for a long time.

Now there is an anchorage there with 50 buoys to tie your boat to. Off course they are full during summer and you have to be very early if you want one. The price is 13 hrk/m.

If you’re too late, there are still Podkujni and Vognišca but no buoys. Island Unije is the last island before crossing the Kvarner which can be pretty rough in bad weather. It’s very open and the winds are strong, especially NE wind Bora.

Lošinj Port Authority is investing in a new pier on Island Ilovik. The existing pier will be widened from 2.6 to 6 meters and a new concrete pier is added to form an L shaped port.

The main reason of the enlargement of the pier is so the ship that comes there regularly will be more accessible by the local people (about 70 of them live on the Island all the time and there are even six children that go to school there), with their tractors and wheelbarrows, but there is also some benefits for nautical tourists as well.

The moorings will be placed on the inner side of the pier as before and there will be room enough to dock two or three boats on the inner side of the new pier. The outer side is reserved for the regular line.

They even built a small dock for a ferry, though if they don’t deepen the waters there it won’t be much of use.