UltraSwim 33.3 #12 Croatia — Hvar

Off the coast of Dalmatia, the island of Hvar spans a rugged coastline measuring 254.2 kilometres in the Adriatic Sea. UltraSwim 33.3 Croatia is an open water stage race held in these coastal waters, carrying swimmers between the historic settlements of Stari Grad and Hvar Town. Organized by UltraSwim 33.3, the event charts a multi-day course through secluded bays and across open channels toward the Pakleni archipelago, far from industrial traffic. The event takes place in May, when late spring settles over the Adriatic and water temperatures typically range between 19 and 21 degrees Celsius. Swimmers select between two primary formats tailored to different marathon goals. The Classic format covers 33.3 kilometres divided across six distinct swims over four days, highlighted by two separate channel crossings of 2.3 kilometres each.

The Build format offers an alternative path of roughly 17 kilometres across the same four days, structuring each swim to remain under five kilometres. In 1989, Stari Grad hosted the world's first official open water swimming competition organized under the auspices of FINA and LEN. Swimmers taking part in the modern stages follow a lineage of competitive marathon swimming established decades earlier.

Kabal Peninsula and the drowned karst channels of Hvar

Geological shifts shaped the marine environment that surrounds modern swimmers. The island of Hvar formed part of the mainland until roughly 11,000 years ago, when rising sea levels submerged the ancient coastal valleys and carved the current sea channels. Across the island, the terrain consists of a porous karst formation where surface rainwater drains away into subterranean rock crevices rather than collecting into perennial rivers. The Kabal peninsula branches outward like spreading fingers, sheltering isolated coastal inlets along its convoluted rim. Designated as a protected natural reserve, the peninsula preserves significant terrestrial habitats for native Mediterranean plants and wildlife. Žukova is the most prominent bay carved into the peninsula, recognized for its deep and heavily indented shape.

At the tip of the headland, Cape Kabal terminates in a cliff rising 80 metres out of the sea to mark the passage into Stari Grad Bay. Underwater sea caves open into the submerged rock beneath Cape Kabal, hidden beneath the surface where swells break against the cliff face. Further along the northern waters near Vrboska, the uninhabited islet of Zečevo covers 113,288 square metres with a coastline extending 1,539 metres. Protected since 1972 as an untouched natural landscape, Zečevo remains free of permanent human dwellings, maintaining undisturbed indigenous vegetation alongside a thriving wild rabbit colony.

North of Hvar across the open channel, the dynamic sand spit of Zlatni Rat reaches directly into the maritime passage between Brač and Hvar. Protected as a geomorphological phenomenon, its spit continuously alters shape under the influence of tides, shifting waves, the easterly Jugo wind, and the westerly Maestral wind.

Pharos and Stari Grad Bay: Greek settlers to Venetian galleys

Human habitation in Stari Grad Bay began in 384 BC, when Greek colonists from the Aegean island of Paros arrived to establish the settlement of Pharos. Shortly after their arrival, the Greek colonists fought and defeated local Illyrian warriors, documenting their military victory in an inscription that stands among the oldest known stone records discovered in Croatia. Behind the head of the bay spreads the Stari Grad Plain, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its remarkably preserved ancient Greek land distribution system. During the 16th century, defensive fortifications were erected across the northern coast of Hvar to defend local maritime settlements against piracy and Ottoman naval raids. From Stari Grad, naval commander Ivan Balčić commanded the town's galley, named Sveti Jerolim, during the Battle of Lepanto, an event commemorated today on a local stone monument. Through the second half of the 19th century, Stari Grad operated several active shipyards constructing traditional wooden vessels, until the development of steam navigation gradually brought their work to an end.

Dubovica Bay and the ancient wreck of Pišćenom

On the southern shore of the island, the maritime landscape opens toward the Šćedorski Channel, a strait bordered by Hvar to the north and the island of Šćedro to the south. In this southern sector, the historic property of Dubovica appears in municipal records dating as far back as the 13th century under the ownership of the noble Grivičić family. A detailed 16th-century architectural drawing of the property, titled Vigna Bertuzzi, reveals a coastal fortification comprising a protective wall and an adjacent defensive stone tower raised beside the shingle beach. Just offshore within Pišćenom bay, situated between Sveta Nedilja and Dubovica, archaeologists identified the submerged remains of an ancient shipwreck lying upon the sandy seabed.

The Pakleni Islands and Gališnik off Hvar Town

Toward the western destination of the journey, the course approaches the Pakleni archipelago outside Hvar Town. Among these scattered isles lies Jerolim, which covers an area of 0.207 square kilometres along 2.37 kilometres of shoreline. Jerolim has attracted visitors seeking quiet shores and open-air naturist bathing since the 1950s. Southeast of Hvar Town, about twelve kilometres from the race area, the small rocky islet of Pokonji Dol marks the seaward approaches with an offshore lighthouse built in the late 19th century. The lighthouse complex includes an adjacent slipway. Directly guarding the entrance of Hvar Town's harbour stands Gališnik, a tiny uninhabited islet in the Pakleni group covering just 0.015 square kilometres with a coastline of 450 metres.