I have never spent the night in Sveti Ante. But I have dropped anchor several times and spent a few hours to swim there on the way to Silba. For those cruising among the outer islands of the northern Adriatic or along the shores of Silba, this lovely bay is a frequent port of call.

The western bay of Sveti Ante and the more southerly Porat together form Sveti Ante Harbour, the best shelter on Silba. The western arm is well protected from the maestral and tramontana, but you should watch out for two rocks and some shallows by the western point as you sail in. Both bays are peaceful and inviting places to swim. In the western bay, screened by a thick, tall, evergreen wood, is the Chapel of St Ante, which gave the bay its name. In Porat, there is a lovely sandy beach. An old building that once housed a lighthouse stands on the tip of this arm. The bay is uninhabited, and the village of Silba is around 20 minutes away on foot.

Around 30 mooring buoys have been laid throughout the bay in recent years. If none is free, drop anchor in the silty or sandy bed, partially covered in sea grass, at a depth of between 5 and 15 metres.

Both Sveti Ante Bay and, to an even greater extent, Porat are exposed to sudden summer squalls. If they are forecast and you are not secured to a mooring buoy, caution is essential. In such conditions, the best option is to leave and find a berth in Silba’s Mul harbour, if space is available, or use one of the mooring buoys laid outside it. Two nautical miles north-west of Sveti Ante Harbour lies Prapranica Bay, where several concession-operated mooring buoys are also available.