We sailed to Silba, a tranquil island with deep historical roots and serene charm. Silba’s car-free streets, history, architecture, and breathtaking nature offer a peaceful escape. The island, with its maritime past, is known for olive groves and holm oak forests
After we visited the neighboring island of Premuda, we sailed towards Silba. The two islands and the islanders share much in common, yet they also have distinct differences. Silba offers a striking contrast to its neighbor Premuda. While Premuda presents a rugged, open-sea allure, Silba enchants visitors with its serene charm and deep historical roots. Viewed from the air, Silba resembles the number ‘8’, with the settlement located in the narrowest part of the island.
Sailing into the island’s peaceful harbors, Mul and Žalić, the absence of automobiles immediately stands out, preserving the island’s tranquility. The island has been inhabited since the Illyrian and Roman times, and its name originates from Latin. Here, the past of naval significance and olive groves intertwined with maritime life lives on, even as tourism grows. Silba’s ancient streets, lined with aromatic oleanders, lead to a landscape where time feels slower, but the island’s spirit remains steadfast in its simplicity and beauty.
Silba and Its Harbors – Part of the Historic Channel Route
According to some linguistic explanations, the name Premuda is derived from its position as the first (the Croatian word pre means before) of the series islands from the open sea. However, the name of the next island, Silba, does not refer to its position in the series but to its forests (the Latin word silva means forest).
The wind was weak but the sun was mercilessly hot when we sailed the channel of Silba. This channel is the historical route from the northwest toward Zadar and further to the southeast, and, of course, the other way round through the Kvarnerićka Vrata, i.e., the area between the archipelago of Silba and Ilovik, in Kvarnerić or toward the open sea between Premuda and the islet and lighthouse of Grujica. At the cape of Samotvorac in the northern part of Silba, as there was no wind we gathered the sails and motored into the eastern harbor of Silba, known as Mul. There is also a western harbor called Žalić, where ferries, fast catamarans, fishing vessels and excursion boats dock.
Moorings Behind the Breakwater and Buoys
Next to it, a smaller harbor accommodates small vessels. The locals moor their boats in the harbor of Mul, which also provides moorings for sailors. The Galeb Sport Fishing Society (ŠRD Galeb) headquarters also sit here, and the port authority office lies nearby. Around fifteen moorings behind the breakwater serve sailors (sailboats must moor bow-to) and along the waterfront, and small boats also moor at the northern breakwater.
From a distance, the harbor of Mul looked pretty full when we sailed in, and it seemed that we wouldn’t find a mooring. However, we were fortunate enough to moor without issue. The little harbor stays protected by a high breakwater wall with a shoal, from which the crystalline sea beckons us to take a swim. A little further south, a popular pebble beach, Sotorišće, waits, so whoever ties up here can take a refreshing swim in the sea whenever they like.
Silba’s Town Square: A Place for Coffee Lovers and Conversation
Silba is a small town, especially when compared to Premuda. It is located on a hill, more precisely at a narrow isthmus, where the island is at its narrowest. As soon as you enter, you can clearly see that this place was once an important naval center. It features elegant captains’ and ship owners’ houses, surrounded by small fenced-in parks.
The churches house the tombs of their families. They also contain numerous votive artifacts. Silba has preserved much of this atmosphere today. Despite the tourists and builders who occupy it, Silba still holds on to its traditions. Its little streets lead down toward both the eastern and western harbors.
Spectacular sunset in Alavija
The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands in the center. A tall bell tower is just a little further away. We headed toward the western harbor, passing the Toreta or Tower of Love. It’s a symbol of love, yearning, and tense anticipation of whether the beloved would return from the sea. We then descended to the tavern Alavija. After enjoying a spectacular sunset with everyone else on the crowded terrace and promenade, we ate a light supper on our sailboat.
The storm forecast around midnight didn’t start until about 5 a.m. It seemed to have blown itself out below the Velebit mountain range. We had our morning coffee in the center of town at Caffe Mokarabia. In no time, the town square filled with lovers of coffee and conversation. While we marveled at the oleanders in Premuda, our wonderment here was endless. The air filled with the intoxicating scent of these numerous flowering trees.
The “terrible” inspectors turn out to be harmless journalists
While we were walking toward the center of town, we encountered an interesting person who glanced at us furtively. Even his dog was suspiciously sniffing around us. After some hesitancy, he said two sentences, in which only one word was important—inspection! Indeed, with black camera bags and black notebooks under our arms, we must have looked like inspectors. We responded with something ambiguous and left him in doubt.
This brief encounter had far-reaching consequences, thankfully ending with relieved laughter. A little later, Mladen was calling to tell us to hurry to the headquarters of the Galeb Sport Fishing Society, where our friends Damir Lukin and Ivan Pandur were waiting for us. We were then joined by the harbor captain, Bogdan Lazarin, now out of uniform because it was Sunday.
They had also invited an expert fisherman, Damir Matušić, known for fishing with large nets and trawlers by himself, but they were not sure whether he would come because that morning he had encountered some kind of inspectors going around Silba and did not want to have anything to do with them, even a chance meeting. It took extensive persuasion to convince Damir that we were only harmless journalists before he appeared, with his dog Vito.
Silba’s Maritime and Agricultural Legacy
Captain Bogdan’s friends will insist that he is the best cook in the world. When he sails away on business, they do not care where he is. What bothers them is that they will be hungry while he is gone. At the mention of paperwork, the captain immediately cradles his head in his hands. He is alone in the port outpost and controls extensive coastal waters, so it is no wonder that his head hurts at the mention of administrative work.
For Silba, people say that it once had 250,000 olive trees, 6,000 sheep, and an incredible 420,000 grapevine trunks. Moreover, many of its inhabitants were sailors who owned the largest fleet of sailing vessels for exporting meat to Venice. Then, as now, people used the bay of Sveti Ante on the southern part of the island as a safe harbor, and today it also serves as a tourism mecca. Silba is famous for its holm oak (Quercus ilex) forests, the largest of which is around 200 years old and is a protected natural monument, but it isn’t the only one on the island.
There had never been so many vessels
The island inhabitants jealously safeguard the environment and nature, as impressively evidenced by the absence of automobiles on the island. The means of transport on Silba is the karić (a small cart with two or four wheels). Our friends tell us that there has never been a better nautical season. There had never been so many vessels in June. Bogdan praised the sailors who come here, saying that they are quieter and more polite than many who go toward the southern Adriatic.
The seawater, islands and people here probably contribute to that. The taverns of Mul and Žalić were recommended to us as places where you can eat well. In the meantime, the ice between Damir and the “inspectors” had melted, so he explained the differences among fishing techniques. It was a pleasure to listen to him and learn about the fishing code. We also stopped by to see Ivan Pandur, whose last name means “cop,” an exceptionally jolly fellow who had adapted well to island conditions.
We had lunch at the Žalić, with a view of the western harbor, and were satisfied with the roasted tuna, cuttlefish risotto and veal risotto. We have forgotten to mention that we accepted a dinner invitation at the Galeb Sport Fishing Society. There was time to peek into the Marija Ujević-Galetović Gallery and view the heavy curves of the exhibited sculptures.
The Fragrance of Silba
If you find yourself on Silba, you will want to take something with you as a souvenir. Let it be something that will bring a summer smile to gloomy winter days. The best choices are the local herbs: sage, bay leaves, calendula, immortelle, rosemary, lavender, aloe vera, St. John’s wort, etc. The biologist and phytoaromatherapist Marija (Mare) Kuljerić will fulfill your wishes. She prepares pomades, salves, and skin care creams from these herbs according to old recipes, as well as her own creations, without the usual preservatives.
It is fitting that she named her business Miris Silbe (The Fragrance of Silba). She macerates most of the herbs in olive oil. We also took a look at her little laboratory. She serves regular customers from Slovenia, Zagreb, and the visitors to Silba. The drought and heat had decimated the garden where she cultivates many of the herbs, but the autumn rains would revive them.
Our pleasant conversation could have continued in the gazebo in front of the house if we didn’t already have to think about dinner. Crossing the square, we stopped to talk with Smiljana Matulina Sindičić, who offers various souvenirs, works of art, and a collection of poems about Silba at her stand. We also managed to see her painting exhibition at the nearby Cafe Bar Mik.
Diner at the Galeb
For dinner, Bogdan prepared salted tuna stew, monkfish tails, and prawns with asparagus. He seasoned everything with olive oil from the island of Olib because the olive trees on Silba didn’t bear fruit last year. These dishes confirmed that Bogdan, if not the best in the world, is certainly the best cook among port captains. The dinner lasted into the wee hours. We promised to come for late autumn squid fishing but would skip the big game before it.
The next morning, after coffee, we decided to sail to the southwestern coast of the island, to the safe harbor of Sveti Ante. The coves of Sveti Ante in the west and Porat in the south provide Silba with optimal shelter. Both coves are under concession and have a total of around forty anchored buoys.
Anchorage in Papranica Cove, within walking distance of Silba
Owing to the beauty of the coves, the sandy beach in Porto and good shelter, they are popular with boaters. There is another anchorage in Silba in the cove of Papranica, a mile north of Žalić, where several buoys are also anchored. In the harbor of Sveti Ante, we came across a dozen vessels at anchor and several more tied along the pier. We spent several pleasant leisurely hours there, like real sailors.
The cove of Papranica is in walking distance of Silba. Part of the path is shaded by dense crowns of holm oak, while part is at the mercy of the sun. In the cove is the Votive Church of St. Anthony and not far from it is an old guardhouse. It must have been a magnificent sight when the cove was full of anchored and moored sailboats. Perhaps this is the best place for us to conclude our encounter with this beautiful place.
