This is undoubtedly one of the most famous anchorages on the Adriatic. The harbor is part of the Telašćica Nature Park, which used to be part of the Kornati National Park but since 1988 has been a separate protected area. However, few sail here without visiting both the Kornati and Telašćica, but 2 entrance fees must be paid to both institutions.
Nature Park
Telašćica is otherwise known for the saltwater lake Mir and the steep slopes on the southern coast of Dugi Otok, which separate it from the open sea, but also for its unique bay. The park also includes some of the islands and islets that we usually classify as belonging to the Kornati: Gornja Aba, Veli Buć and Mali Buć, Mala Aba, Sestrice and Katina. The entire nature park abounds in various species of flora and fauna. One of the few red coral habitats is also here but it can only be seen by a few divers. However, dolphins are sighted frequently.
In order to preserve such loveliness for posterity, there are strict park rules concerning permitted zones and anchorage protocol. The park administration prefers moorings at buoys so it maintains them, even though there are none in some coves. In the harbor of Telašćica, there are approximately 80 buoys anchored in the coves of Mir, Tripuljak, Kruševica and Kučinmul. You do not have to pay to moor at buoys or anchor but every boat must pay the park entrance fee. The deep harbor within reach of the Kornati, to which it is exposed, penetrates inland for 4.5 miles and the broadest part is nearly a mile wide.
A series of coves
In the inland part going westward are 25 small and large coves, sheltered and closed, resembling lakes. If you go toward the northwest, the anchorage begins beneath the islets of Gornji Školj and Donji Školj in the coves of Magrovica, Podugopolje and Pasjak, where there are no buoys but it is possible to anchor in the shallows where the sea bottom is muddy and covered with sea grass in some places. The sea here does not exceed 5.5 meters in depth and the greatest danger comes with summer storms because it is too shallow and anchors do not hold firmly due to algae.
In Magrovica, there is a good tavern, Goro, that you can reach by dinghy, and if you want to go to Sali, it is a 3.5 kilometer drive on a road that goes over a hill. Boats at anchor are often seen in the cove of Draginjevica, east of Gornji Školj, at depths of 6 meters. On the northern side there is secure anchorage at the buoys in the coves of Kruševica and Kučinmul between the peninsula of Raknić and Farfarikulac, where you will find seclusion because there are only a few little houses on the shore and these coves are the last to be filled with boats.
Take shelter
There is also good anchorage in the narrow cove of Čuška Duboka, which penetrates inland and provides excellent shelter from all the winds, except those from the south. Here you can drop anchor on the muddy sea bottom and tie up stern to the shore. Buoys have also been installed in the cove of Skradišćak right next to Mala Proversa, which were not put there by park employees but by local restaurateurs.
The most boats in Telašćica are in the coves of Mir and Tripuljak because there are anchored buoys all the way to the cape of Rt Tripuljak at depths of about 10 meters. The cove is well protected from all the winds. Therefore, when you moor to a buoy, do what everyone else does, go by dinghy in the direction of the pier in front of the restaurant in the cove, where there are tourist boats during the day, and then walk over to the salt lake Mir and take photographs! It is pleasant to walk through the pine forest to the other side of the island, where cliffs rise a 150 meters from the sea, which is over 80 meters deep there.
