Summer Cruise 2026 aboard SY HERA

HERA’s 2026 summer cruise runs from Monfalcone along the Italian coast to Caorle and Venice, across the Adriatic to the Croatian islands and back towards the Gulf of Trieste. This page links the voyage with the practical questions that genuinely arise aboard a Bavaria 50 of roughly 15 metres.

Twenty stages of one voyage

The first articles follow the cruise from the heat in Monfalcone through Koper, Caorle and the Venice lagoon. HERA berthed at San Giorgio Maggiore opposite St Mark’s Square. The route then continues across the Adriatic via Pula, Unije, Mali Lošinj, Medulin, Rovinj and Umag. Piran is experienced from the water; Koper is planned for fuel before the return to Monfalcone.

Route knowledge and onboard practice

Articles 21 to 40 examine commercial shipping, fishing marks, Venice with a 50-foot yacht, traffic separation, drift, Porer and the buoy field at Unije. Articles 41 to 60 cover the bilge, the incorrectly furled mainsail, radar failure, independent navigation tools, HERA’s experienced engine range, water reserves, the manual bathing platform and buoy manoeuvres. Each keeps a separate purpose while remaining part of the same cruise.

All articles in the series

1. 1. The evening before departure: summer heat in Monfalcone
2. 2. Almost a full moon: talking until two in the morning
3. 3. Koper for fuel: the first plan of the day
4. 4. Tankers at anchor off Koper
5. 5. Sails up at last: nine knots of wind for HERA
6. 6. Returning to Monfalcone before the night passage
7. 7. Feeling like 50 degrees on the way west
8. 8. Scrambled eggs ready, crew not quite
9. 9. Along the Italian coast towards Caorle
10. 10. Caorle as a stop on the way to Venice
11. 11. Entering the Venetian Lagoon
12. 12. San Giorgio opposite St Mark's Square
13. 13. From Venice across the Adriatic
14. 14. Commercial shipping and traffic separation schemes en route to Croatia
15. 15. Pula astern, Unije ahead
16. 16. From the buoy at Unije to Mali Lošinj
17. 17. Light wind between Mali Lošinj and Medulin
18. 18. Approaching Rovinj town harbour
19. 19. Umag, Piran and the final fuel stop in Koper
20. 20. Returning home to Monfalcone
21. 21. Koper from the water: commercial port and sailing destination
22. 22. Slovenia as a gateway to the Adriatic
23. 23. Fishing flags and lines along the Italian coast
24. 24. Approaching Venice with a 50-foot yacht
25. 25. San Giorgio Maggiore with a 50-foot yacht
26. 26. Finding a berth in Venice without a reservation
27. 27. The berth at the end of the floating pontoon
28. 28. Preparing an Adriatic crossing carefully
29. 29. What a traffic separation scheme means for sailors
30. 30. Encounters with commercial shipping
31. 31. Allowing for drift on a longer crossing
32. 32. The courtesy flag when entering Croatia
33. 33. Porer lighthouse as a waypoint
34. 34. The first islands before Unije
35. 35. Entering the buoy field at Unije
36. 36. Mali Lošinj after a short swimming stage
37. 37. Medulin after a light-wind stage
38. 38. Preparing to berth in Rovinj town harbour
39. 39. Piran and Koper on the final northern stage
40. 40. Why fuel stops belong to route planning
41. 41. Water in the bilge: the right first steps
42. 42. Why the bilge is checked regularly
43. 43. Water aboard again after maintenance
44. 44. A dry bilge as a technical reference
45. 45. Pump out the water and continue observing the cause
46. 46. The in-mast mainsail was furled the wrong way
47. 47. How an in-mast furling mainsail works
48. 48. When the mainsail jams: unload before acting
49. 49. Thunderstorm in harbour: when sail work must wait
50. 50. Before crossing the Adriatic: complete the systems check
51. 51. The radar suddenly stops working
52. 52. Navigation without available radar
53. 53. Technical redundancy on a cruising yacht
54. 54. A sensible engine-speed range for SY HERA
55. 55. Why more engine speed is not always better
56. 56. Taking on water before a longer stage
57. 57. Drinking water and departure routine aboard
58. 58. The Bavaria 50’s manual bathing platform
59. 59. Picking up a buoy with a 15-metre yacht
60. 60. A buoy manoeuvre is never only routine