The Adriatic is one of the clearest seas in Europe — visibility past 30 metres in places. That clarity is why sailors keep coming back, and why an anchorage empty of engine noise feels almost unreal. You will see your own anchor on the bottom.

Kornati National Park is a maze of 89 islands, islets and reefs — and not one of them has a road. You do not visit Kornati, you anchor in it, swim off the transom and watch the sun drop behind bare limestone. That is the whole itinerary.

The word “marina” comes from the Latin for mooring, but Croatian sailors will tell you the real secret is the wind: the maestral arrives almost like clockwork after lunch, gives you four hours of perfect sailing, then dies at sunset. Plan your hops around it and you look like a genius.

A catamaran this size does not heel and does not roll. Your morning coffee stays in the cup, your guests stay in a good mood, and the skipper gets to look like the calmest person in the Adriatic.

Ugljan and Pašman sit so close together that locals have swum the channel for generations. Anchor in the middle, look both ways, and you have two islands, two sunsets and a swimming lane that stretches for miles.

D-Marin Dalmacija at Sukošan is one of the largest marinas in Croatia — and it sits right on the doorstep of the Zadar archipelago. Within an hour of casting off you can be anchored off a fishing village with fewer than a hundred residents.

Solar power on a boat this size is not a gimmick — it is the difference between hearing the wind at anchor and hearing a generator. Your evenings stay silent, your fridge stays cold, and your neighbours in the bay stay jealous.