THE VIRGINS ISLAND CATAMARAN

Time difference

Standard time zone in Croatia is UTC/GMT +1 hour.

Passport and Visas

Please ensure your passport is valid for the period of travel and for six months after you return. Your passport name must match the name on the flight ticket otherwise you may not be able to travel and insurance may be invalid.

It is the responsibility of each individual to ensure relevant visas are obtained where necessary. Sailor cannot be held responsible for refusal of entry or travel due to lack of visas. If you are in any doubt please contact your Embassy for full details.

Non-EU passport holders, please contact your local consulate for advice on visa and passport requirements.

On Arrival

Your yacht will be ready at 6:00pm for boarding. Chart briefing and Boat briefings will be scheduled. The chart briefing describes the cruising area and any potential hazards.

The yacht briefing introduces you to your yacht, its systems and rigging. It is carried out individually for each yacht. It is important that all systems and equipment are fully understood. Briefings are mandatory.

On Departure

At the end of your charter your yacht will need to be vacated by 9:00 am so we recommend that you return to the base the day before.

Before departing the boat please collect a debrief form from reception.

The debrief form is to let us know if you have encountered any problems with the boat or broken anything during the trip, this enables us to rectify problems for the next charter.

In addition to filling in forms we also require you to bag dirty laundry and leave in the cockpit, empty all cupboards and refrigerator of food and throw away, return snorkel gear and any lifejackets borrowed from reception and ensure that the boat is handed back to us in a clean and tidy state. We reserve the right to charge for boats left less than shipshape.

Sailing Licenses

To charter in Croatia, there must be at least one certified skipper over 18 years old. The skipper should be competent at handling a yacht in close quarters, anchoring and mooring in varying conditions and be able to use navigation and pilotage skills to plan the day’s sailing and know your position at any time. As a yacht skipper, you are required to have an official sailing license or a certificate issued by a government of state approved organization as detailed below:

• US Sailing “Bareboat Cruising Course” or above
• ASA “104 Bareboat Cruising Course” or above
• RYA “Day Skipper Course” (with or without photo) or above
• Or a similar/equivalent certification from any recognized sailing association

A list of officially accepted licenses is available at the Croatian Ministry of Sea website. Please check the list of officially accepted licenses before contacting the base with any queries as the list is updated every few months. This list is organized by country and details the accepted competence levels for experience, boat size and distance-from-shore-sailing for the various certificates accepted.

Mooring Fees

Mooring fees are usually charged in harbours and on town quays by the local municipality. These are usually between €25 and €30 which is less than the per night charges in the larger marinas, but shower and toilet facilities may not be available.Well equipped marinas are common in Croatia and generally cost about €50 (for a 30 ft yacht) to €80 (for a 50ft yacht) per night. The actual price is dependent on the size of your yacht and the specific marina pricing policy. Shore power, water, and shower and toilet facilities are included in the cost of berthing in a marina.

Currency

The official currency of the Republic of Croatia is the Kuna (HRK), divided into 100 Lipa. You can exchange money at the departure airport, but the exchange rate is often better once you are in Croatia. Only 2000 Kuna can be imported or exported.

Language

Croatian, Serbian, and other (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German)

Electricity

The standard voltage on all yachts is 12 volts. Electricity in Croatia is 220 Volts, and uses the standard European 2 pin plug.

Safety

All yachts are equipped with adult life jackets harnesses we leave it up to you to decide when personal safety equipment should be worn.We have a limited supply of children’s life jackets (age 4+ only) if you have your own children’s life jacket we would encourage you to bring it along.We suggest that children who are not strong swimmers should not be allowed in a dinghy without a life jacket or buoyancy aid and that they should wear a buoyancy aid or harness when on deck.Children under the age of 16yrs should not operate an outboard engine and should be supervised at all times when in the dinghy.