Montenegro

Exactly 3 months after the port of Monastir closed it opens again and we are allowed to sail out. Hurray, Montengro openedup after Covid so lets sail there! Since June, 15 sailors coming directly from Tunisia should have no problem as they can enter the country without quarantine.

After an intense 8 day sail along the coasts of Italy, Corfu Greece and Albania the port of Bar Montenegro appears. So I call port control and they ask very detailed questions….. Port and country of departure, how many days, did we stop anywhere on the way, how many persons, their nationality and whether we have proof of our departure date in Tunisia. Dammm… they did not give us the port clearance form when we left Tunisia.Bar port control tells us without it we are refused entry and must go back to international waters or sail to Tivat where 14 days of quarantine in Porto Montenegro marina, at our cost, is waiting. Ooopsss.

No problem, lets sail to Tivat. Meanwhile a friend in Monastir went to the port police there for a copy of the port clearance: together with 4G at sea and the colour printer on board it should be no problem to check in at Tivat. But it takes a long time to get there. The wind and current is right on the nose so long tacks are necessary to pass Budva and Sveti Nicolai before going into the bay of Kotor. I is already night so it is clearly not a good idea to go into Tivat port.So we choose to anchor.

The Police officers state that it is forbidden to anchor here, must leave immediately and they escort us into Tivat port. Our arrival there is equally unfriendly and a police officer tells us we are in trouble and must seek assistance of a lawyer and an agent because we must go to court tomorrow. I explain to them that in my view we did nothing wrong as I had only safety in mind: do not go into a new port at night when you are tired from sailing 8 days continuously. First have a sleep. The Police officers go back to their office. They come back an hour later with a proposal of a fine of 70 euro and that we must leave the country after payment immediately because there is a Brittish crew member on board. I accept the fine.

But not to leave the country as the Montenegro entry regulations changed on June 15. Ships sailing direct without stopping from Tunisia to Montenegro are allowed entry regardless the nationality of the crew and passengers. The Police officers leave again and come back an hour later. They ask: what will be our next port? I repeat that they cannot expell us when the Montenegro regulations clearly state that we are allowed to stay. They leave again and the harbourmaster shows up. He complains about our non original paperwork and that we still fly the yellow flag up and not the Montenegro flag. I tell him that we are refused entry so I must fly only the yellow flag. He says: not true, you are allowed into Montenegro and must fly the Montenegro flag. The Police reappears and repeat their question: what will be your next port? I tell them about the visit of the harbour master They disappear again and return after 2 hours stating: we did our absolute best for you and you can stay for 3 months. Wahla, wahla, thank you very much for your help. It is 15.00 when all procedures are finalised. Time to leave quickly and anchor again before the night falls.

From Sutomore, where the boat is on anchor, it is only a few kilometers by dinghy to Bar. After an hour walk from Bar the old city called Stari Bar or Antivari appears on a mountain top