Croatia bareboat
Posted by GammaFork@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 20 comments
I'm looking at doing my first bareboat charter for a family holiday next year. My brother in law has his dayskipper/vhf ticket and ocean racing level experience, and I'm Rya competent crew, with less experience in general outside of dinghy sailing.
I was wondering if people had experiences or tips they'd like to share about Croatian cruising, or bareboat pointers in general.
We'll be four adults (three capable of crewing) and two kids, 10 & 6 (both swimmers with some sailing experience, but not heaps). We're looking to do a week in late May, of half day or so sails each day, with the rest of the time dedicated to exploring/mucking about in the water or on beaches. We're not set on a start location, so any pointers are very welcome!
pom_bear@reddit
If you want a bit more support in a flotilla I'd highly recommend Activity Yachting, based on the island of Murter. They could prob also help you with a bareboat charter if you wanted to be a bit more independent but with the backup of a flotilla you could hook up with or get tips from.
Also as another commenter mentioned, you'll need to get comfortable with mooring stern to the dock with lazy lines. Get whoever hands the boat over to you to give you a demonstration and find an empty bit of dock or pontoon to practice reversing up to slowly if you've not done that style of mooring before. It's fine but might take getting the knack to feel confident esp in busy marinas where you're having to reverse between rows of expensive yachts. Take it slow.
Tamaillin@reddit
Totally agree with the recommendation to go with a flotilla as they provide support and local knowledge. We keep going back to the same company in Greece for that reason.
kontrakolumba@reddit
Zadar area, start from Zadar or Sukošan, go Silba, Olib, Premuda, Dugi otok(Sali, Sakarun, Brbišćica cave, Božava, old navy tunnels...), take 2 nights for Telašćica(go to visitors centre on top Grpašćak) and Kornati( island Mana off season is great, Lojena beach on Levrnaka island, little church on Tarac field etc.).
May will be low sailing season, you will be able to anchor and go to just about any spot. Sea will be chilly about 18-20 C.
fluvialgeomorfologia@reddit
I was part of a Sunsail Flotilla out of Dubrovnik in 2024, admittedly different from a bareboat charter, but I was responsible for our 41 ft sailboat. There was a lot of motoring and calm seas in late August and early September, aside from the day a storm rolled in, which coincided with the storm that took out the Bayesian. We stayed in port when that storm made it to Dubrovnik, the first day of the charter. In general, the trip was amazing with light winds and a lot of motoring. Stern to mooring in Korcula Town had a high pucker factor. I will avoid that the next time I go. We watched a bit of drama there. Fortunately, I was not part of it, but that was more luck than skill. I suspect you will be fine.
johnbro27@reddit
Never sailed Croatia, but have done many bareboat charters, including a 2 month one in the Eastern Caribbean. Every and I mean every charter I've ever been on had something wrong with it. The problem is that they run Saturday to Saturday, so you are getting a boat that just came in with little chance for anyone to fix anything. GPS, autopilot, and full charts (digital or paper--ideally both) are a dead minimum; I've chartered where there were zero charts except placemats on the boat. I'd want to know the support system in advance, but in high season it may not matter. Last charter was in the San Juan Islands; boat sheared the propeller shaft from the transmission and we sat in a boat yard for 3 days waiting for a repair. I probably will never charter another boat. The charter fleets in the Caribbean all have 110 jibs so going downwind they are pigs. I don't know about Croatia--guess they're afraid of boats getting overpowered. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
dcspazz@reddit
Where did you chart for the San Juan's? There is only one reputable charter in Bellingham to use for those trips
johnbro27@reddit
Anacourtes
dcspazz@reddit
Next time do San Juan sailing out of Bellingham. All the anacortes charters are sketchy AF. Your story isn't the first I've heard from an Anacortes charter honestly
No_Highway7866@reddit
Croatia is wonderful, both as a country and for cruising. I lived there a number of years ago. And a number our yacht club friends go there every year.
mauro_mussin@reddit
Mooring is expensive, sometimes They Will ask money for anchoring too. But in late spring there are few boat sailing. You can also sail by night in order to reach the most beautiful destination (Zadar, Split).
The---Bishop@reddit
With young kids, ask the charter operator if they will put safety netting on the lifelines ... we chartered with our kids when they were young (Caribbean), and when we returned at the end of the week, one of the folks at the base said, "oh! you have kids ... if you told us ahead of time, we would have put the netting on." (we didn't know to ask).
CrosslinkR@reddit
Get yourself a good broker as there are hundreds of operators. Preferably one who has sailed there. We use Sail Connections and they were very helpful. Two weeks on a dufour 350. Best holiday ever
empireofjade@reddit
Since no one mentioned it, be prepared to Med moor. Bow and stern, stern to shore.
Apoplexi1@reddit
Be aware that Croatia us extremely expensive. Some spots demand ~100€/night for anchoring, 150€ for a mooring buoy, 200€+ for a marina are not unusual.
As a comparison: in Greece this year, I once paid 18€ for a 46 footer in a harbour, and twice nothing at all (the harbormasters were simply too lazy to collect the money, I guess). Anchorages were free.
oudcedar@reddit
In 7 years of keeping our boat in Croatia we never paid for the many nights in dozens of anchorages, and probably paid for a mooring bouy twice. Marinas are very expensive but not 200 euros but you only need to be in them a few nights here if you want to. Just get a good guide book like 777 or take advice from your charter company on the best spots. If you do want a marina night then make sure you get there between 11 and 4 as the boats are leaving so you can get a spot.
It’s great sailing and relaxing most of the Summer when the weather is settled because the wind is so predicable. You wake up in a dead calm and go for a swim, have breakfast and chill, then get lunch ready and motor out in the very light breeze and motor sail until the wind builds to full sail, then reef as needed through the afternoon and arrive at your anchorage after 5 when all the little boats are leaving to get into harbour for the night, take one of their anchoring spots in the stiff breeze. Swim and snorkel if you are ok doing that in the wavelets, then as supper comes out at dusk the wind dies and it’s a warm calm night and ready to repeat in the morning.
nickelchrome@reddit
I sailed the area this past September, my first recommendation is to reach out to Nick at 45 Degrees Sailing https://www.45degreessailing.com. You can find his videos on YouTube, he’s a fantastic sailing authority in his own right, I learned a lot from him.
He offers a lot of services but the very least use him as your charter broker, it doesn’t cost anything extra and he’s the best broker I’ve ever worked with.
As far as the area, I had an amazing time sailing out of Split. There’s basically limitless options for itineraries and you have a bit of everything (especially the largest fleet inventory).
My main recommendation for sailing in the shoulder season is to do a lot of research but don’t overthink it or get married to an itinerary. You’ll know a week out what the conditions are looking like and you should build your plan around that.
Everything is amazing you aren’t going to miss out on anything if you deviate from the itineraries you find online and you will have a more pleasant time.
Feel free to reach out with questions I’m happy to give advice, I had an amazing time and would recommend it to anyone. I can share a write up I did of the trip.
kirjapuri@reddit
I did a bareboat charter last Summer from Split and had fantastic time. One week, first heading north to Skradin and then to some islands.
You will be fine with the experience you have in Croatia - it's an easy cruising destination.
Croatia has gotten very popular in the last decade, and as a result there is a lot of tourism infrastructure and services but also uncomfortably expensive. Bakers bringing fresh croissants to the anchored ships in the morning, sail-in oyster farms on the river, etc.
Bareboat charters all run Saturday to Saturday, most are for one week, and from most common starting locations follow similar round trip routes (the companies would even give you suggested routes). This means that popular anchorages or mooring fields will be popular on the same days - call ahead to reserve a spot or have an alternative planned if your destination is full.
DarkVoid42@reddit
bareboat charters suck. i picked up a charter from DYC and it was horrible. boat was broken, lines were in the water and entangled our props just trying to get out of the marina, the boat electrical shorted out, they charged us the damage deposit for breaking down on the trip when the diesels conked out and boat had to be towed. there were cockroaches in the galley hiding on the boat. ugh. my first and last bareboat charter from split. i finally just bought my own yacht.
Lucqazz@reddit
We had a great experience with Sunsail in Dubrovnik. Can choose to start in flotilla to gain experience then eg a second week on your own. Even then you'll be in a WhatsApp group for support if needed. Beautiful area. Perhaps less prone to storms than more northern Split area, at least when we were there.
Cole_Slawter@reddit
Sounds like you’ll be fine. When webareboat, we make sure to do a thorough inspection of the boat, making sure all of the systems work. Sometimes they only want to give instruction on the boat to one person, but that’s not realistic; everybody should to know where the systems are. Don’t be afraid to talk about abandon ship and man overboard procedures with the crew; if you have time, do a practice run by throwing something overboard and turning around to retrieve it. It really does build confidence when it’s not your boat. I think you’re gonna have a wonderful time, and those kids will have a grand story in their hearts for the rest of their lives.