Croatia determined to destroy their yacht tourism

[sailaboutvic]

The more I hear about the silliness going on in various parts of the Med, the less it makes me want to go.

It seems that you have ridiulous mooring fees in the Eatern Med, ridiculous taxes and cruising permits in the Eastern Med, and an over-zealous policing situation (regarding boat equipment and safety complience) in places like Portugal.

I think I'll definitly be turning right.

just like some places in the UK some places are more expensive then other ,
breaking the law in the UK will also get you fined .
"" (regarding boat equipment and safety complience)"" only really apply if you in a country more the 180 days .
but the real reason we sail here is because we can sail for 10 months of the year nearly most days ,
the weather a lot better .
If you leaving a boat in the marina for the winter months is much cheaper then the UK .
how many days sailing do most get in any one year in the UK ?
i can tell you I was very flexible with when i could go out sailing and even then there wasn't that many

 

[RichardS]

I think I'll definitly be turning right.

But once you arrive in the Caribbean the administrative farce of clearing in and out of different countries starts again. I remember clearing in somewhere, Canouan I think, and the quayside officials said I had to report to Customs. I asked for the directions and they told me it was at the airport. I said that was miles away but luckily the officials Brother-in-Law was a taxi driver.

Richard

 

[Hardmy]

Regarding surveillance of maritime borders, I believe that the croats have the most advanced monitoring system from all countries bordering the Med.

Everybody thinks that only AIS is a source of tracking, but their radars are able to follow targets without AIS and reconcile the data automatically with additional sensors (CCTV / Radiolocalisation / IR cameras). Operators have a full overview what is going on and will immediately pick-up boats infringing the rules and inform the relevant CG station. If you speak around pontoons, you'll hear many interception stories. When the CG boat arrives, it knows exactly who they need to control.

Surveillance has been introduced between 2004-2009, they have now 17 AIS antennas and 10 Radars. In 2013 IR cameras were added. This is a map of the sensors, colours depicting the range of a certain type of sensor:

So follow the rules very closely. The croats while being Mediterranean people, lived 3-4 centuries under Austrian rule. They inherited from them some systematic / organised manner, which (thanks god) greeks don't.


N.B. Google "Saab Signs Coastal Surveillance System Contract With Croatia" for more details.

 

[Metabarca]

Slovenia, the Veneto and Friuli also lived under the Austrians for four centuries but they're not like this. I believe there are two real underlying reasons for this money grabbing officialdom: tourism is just about the only industry they have so they squeeze it hard; people in foreign yachts often contribute little to the economy – no hotel beds, perhaps only the occasional meal, perhaps not even moorings – so they invented the accommodation and other taxes. Secondly, the coast was historically and culturally Venetian and as easygoing as the other side of the Adriatic. The hinterland has always been a cultural desert and Croatians feel this, especially when compared to Serbs and Slovenians. So Zagreb makes itself felt in this control mania. And of course there's the legacy of Tito's dictatorship. I thought things were improving (and they have), but there's a long way to go.

 

[BrianH]

Slovenia, the Veneto and Friuli also lived under the Austrians for four centuries but they're not like this. I believe there are two real underlying reasons for this money grabbing officialdom: tourism is just about the only industry they have so they squeeze it hard; people in foreign yachts often contribute little to the economy – no hotel beds, perhaps only the occasional meal, perhaps not even moorings – so they invented the accommodation and other taxes. Secondly, the coast was historically and culturally Venetian and as easygoing as the other side of the Adriatic. The hinterland has always been a cultural desert and Croatians feel this, especially when compared to Serbs and Slovenians. So Zagreb makes itself felt in this control mania. And of course there's the legacy of Tito's dictatorship. I thought things were improving (and they have), but there's a long way to go.

I basically agree, with emphasis on the legacy of a communist command economy when foreign currency was squeezed out of visitors. After years of cruising there since 1979, mostly every year less the four-year horror of the civil war following the Yugoslav federation breakup, I expected more change with less emphasis on mercenary matters - especially with EU accession - I was wrong.

On a pedantic note; they didn't invent the accommodation tax, that dubious distinction belongs to Austria in poor mountain resorts, especially sanitoria, which is why the first enactment was titled 'Kurtaxe', to help defray visitor facilities and soon spread to other German-speaking resorts of the 'Kur' variety, that would now be called 'Wellness Spas'.

Yugoslavia, never one to miss out on a fast buck, copied the principle and in its earlier incarnation, was also called a Kurtaxe, initially levied on marina and hotel occupancy on a per person, per night, principle.

Realising that many visiting yachts didn't use the expensive marinas the tax, still labelled as 'Kurtaxe', was added to the cost of the Vignette when clearing into the country. This same tax evolved, shortly before EU accession, into the present 'Sojourn Tax' but instead of the principle of per head per night, is calculated on length of stay and length of ship - on the potential number of guests that could be accommodated, I was told by the harbourmaster when I queried at its introduction. That didn't go down well as I was single-handed and expected no visitors.

.

 

[pagoda]

But once you arrive in the Caribbean the administrative farce of clearing in and out of different countries starts again. I remember clearing in somewhere, Canouan I think, and the quayside officials said I had to report to Customs. I asked for the directions and they told me it was at the airport. I said that was miles away but luckily the officials Brother-in-Law was a taxi driver.

Richard

We sailedbetween Grenada and Bequia a couple of years ago. What a performance. It is just a low level money /job creating exercise. Rather like all the islands in the Clyde being distinct countries though close to each other. It was a big PITA as our charter boat was US registered as well. Petite Martinique and Petit St Vincent being the extreme. About 200m apart, but different flags! We anchored and ignored the difference and went by dinghy with no local concern on anybody's part.