The Catamaran Adventures of Noel and Ceu

Tried to Leave Montenegro

Current Location: Fuel Dock, Porto Montenegro
Current Position: 42 26.18 N 018 41.5 E Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 3 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

Montenegro offers duty free diesel when you check out. That saves 50 cents per litre, which is a lot on 2-300 litres. But there are two catches:

  1. You have to book a time slot in advance, as the dock is also used to refuel big boats that can take up to 200,000 litres – and 11 hours of fueling time.
  2. As soon as you are fueled up you have to ckeck out and leave the country. No hanging about.

What that means is that you have to try to guess in advance what the weather will be so as to have a good passage. Well, the weather had looked good for a Tuesday departure, so we booked for 8am planning to leave straight away.

But, as we got closer the forecast got worse. Now it was calling for gales through the morning, with gusts to 70kts, easing off in the afternoon. This morning we went on to the fuel dock and asked if we were able to delay our departure until the afternoon. No dice. Either fuel up now and go, or buy the duty-paid fuel and do what you want, or book another time.

By this time the wind was already blowing us onto the dock at 35 kts. Even the big cruise ships were pulling into Kotorska Boka to take refuge from the storm in the open sea. Not a good time for planning to go.

Fortunately the other boats that were booked to refuel at 9am did not show up, so we were able to wait for a temporary lull in the wind to make a hasty exit from the fuel dock.

Just as well, as now the wind is once again back up to 30+ knots. But we are well anchored just near the dock, and we will try again tomorrow. We are booked in for 2pm. We shall see if we can leave for Italy then!

 

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