SC29 Croatia Charter - Any Good?

[Chumley]

Hi everyone

My g/f and I are thinking of chartering a Sealine SC29 next summer from Croatia Charter Holidays. Just wondered if anyone has any experience of this company or any thoughts on suitability of the SC29 for the Split/Dubrovnik area?

We have previously only done sailing flotillas and have 10m ICCs, so we want to give power boating a go on something small before we shell out a grand each to upgrade to 10m+.

Thanks.

 

[BartW]

don't know the company, but I don't see any problem with your plan,
we did quite some cruising in that area with a 28ft boat (4peeps)

the area between Split and Dubrovnic is fantastic
here on post #3 are a few links that might bring some idea's for the trip,
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284094

before you leave make sure you have one of these books (both are almost the same, the first is in collor, now they are called 999... or even more)
available in the local book stores

 

[Chumley]

Thanks very much, kind of you to post the pics and the links as well

 

[jfm]

Sounds good and as Bart says the cruising there is fantastic. I would rent the boat in Split, then take it to Dubrovnik and hand it back there. Pay extra to the charter company for them to get a skipper to return it to split. Prevailing wing is NW and you don't want to be doing 100nm into head seas in a 29 footer

 

[Chumley]

Thanks jfm. The thinking hadn't progressed as far as passage planning so your thoughts are very helpful - exactly the kind of advice I was hoping for.

As this will be our first time bareboating I think we might play it safe and stay around Split/Hvar/Brac, maybe down to Korcula if the weather's calm. We can save Dubrovnik until we have more experience and a bigger boat. We'll only be there for a week anyway so hopefully there will be enough to keep us amused.

What do you think?

 

[Hardmy]

Chartering from Trogir

Hi Chumley,

Last year I did the same with my g/f. We had an Airon 345 from Baotic in Trogir. We visited Brac, Hvar, Sv. Klement, Bisevo, Vis, Bol, Milna and Ciovo. This was our first time in Croatia as well being only 2 for such a boat. We spent only 3 nights in a port, anchored the rest of the time and we have never regretted it!

From this experience I learnt:
- check every 6 hours the weather reports WAP http://meteo.hr/mobil/index.wml or http://prognoza.hr/prognoze_e.php?id=jadran_e&param if you have a 3G dongle. Listen to Splitradio on channel VHF 7 or 21. Weather changes can occur very fast, and I was glad having been such a meteo-listener-psychopat.
- some bays are very narrow and stony, and the anchor doesn't set well. This is of course a problem if the wind direction is shifting during the night. Since this can happen very quickly and brutally, though you set the anchor alarm you have very little time to react. So we didn't take any risk and always rigged one or two landlines in order to have the anchor chain tight. Don't forget to protect your lines from chaffing on the rocks, I used for example thick cardboard I've folded 2-3 times. The "Einsatz Landline" needs a little bit coordination: 1. set the anchor (it should hold with both engines on tickover astern); 2. g/f holds the boat in position and you jump in the dinghy; 3. row to the shore as fast as you can; 4. attach the line on a rock (this can be tricky when there is a swell as it is often the case at the blue cave, the rocks have very sharp edges and are looking forward to puncture your RIB); 5. row back with the line in tow (you have to pull the weight of the line); 6. then comes the moment of truth "oh no, I underestimated the required lenght again!". OK, anchoring looks laborious but it is well worth the experience of having a deserted bay for you alone.
- we found out that it is not superfluous to navigate always together. The co-pilot is always following the track on the paper charts while the driver double-checks on the plotter. We tried to navigate at night, but would't do it too often.

All in all, we liked Croatia so much that we'll return next year!

I would be pleased to answer any of your question. Following are a few shots who may give you some ideas for your own trip:

Bol on Brac:

Near Stari Grad on Hvar:

Near Stari Grad:

Stinivia on Vis:

The landline exercise:

Blue cave with a swell:

Blue cave bis repetita:

Sv. Klement:

Open water between Vis and Hvar:

A bunker on Brac:

And for desert, the intervention vessel of the port authority of Milna:

 

[Chumley]

Thanks, those pictures are really whetting my appetite (well maybe not the bunker and the Grey Sea Ferry but the others are nice ). Number three looks interesting - the wind seems to be on the stern - what's the sequence for mooring and leaving?

My experience with stern lines is that it's generally easier to get the stern in close with lots of anchor out, swim out with the line so I can climb about on the rocks and find a good hold, then tighten up the anchor and let more line out till I'm where I want to be. Maybe not ideal, but looking at the forum, there seems to be a 50/50 split between swimmers and paddlers.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I have been based in Marina Frapa just north of Split for the last 2 seasons and its a fabulous cruising area. if you search this forum, you'll find a few of my previous posts with photos describing our cruises. Agree largely with what hardmy has said although the weather isn't quite as changeable as he suggests. Big blows are seldom during the summer and are usually well forecast a couple of days in advance. Exploring Hvar (including the Pakleni islands) and Brac will easily take up a week so no need to go further. Worth calling into Trogir (a bit touristy) and Maslinica on Solta as well.
Taking lines ashore is a popular anchoring technique but by no means universally adopted. it tends to be used in the more popular bays as using this technique means more boats can be squeezed in. There are plenty of bays where you can happily swing to your anchor but as hardmy says, the seabed is mostly stony so make sure your anchor is well set before you go ashore. If you do swim ashore with the lines, make sure you wear shoes as the rocks are sharp and the sea urchins even sharper. Personally I prefer to swim out with the shore lines as you can easily damage the tubes of your tender against the rocks and getting in/out is sometimes tricky if there's a swell

 

[dabsolute470]

this has got us thinking now..... is chartering easy in this area and is it expensive ? great pics.

 

[Chumley]

I have been based in Marina Frapa just north of Split for the last 2 seasons and its a fabulous cruising area. if you search this forum, you'll find a few of my previous posts with photos describing our cruises. Agree largely with what hardmy has said although the weather isn't quite as changeable as he suggests. Big blows are seldom during the summer and are usually well forecast a couple of days in advance. Exploring Hvar (including the Pakleni islands) and Brac will easily take up a week so no need to go further. Worth calling into Trogir (a bit touristy) and Maslinica on Solta as well.
Taking lines ashore is a popular anchoring technique but by no means universally adopted. it tends to be used in the more popular bays as using this technique means more boats can be squeezed in. There are plenty of bays where you can happily swing to your anchor but as hardmy says, the seabed is mostly stony so make sure your anchor is well set before you go ashore. If you do swim ashore with the lines, make sure you wear shoes as the rocks are sharp and the sea urchins even sharper. Personally I prefer to swim out with the shore lines as you can easily damage the tubes of your tender against the rocks and getting in/out is sometimes tricky if there's a swell

Thanks Mike, I really appreciate all the advice I'm getting. I'll have a look at your other posts. I generally wear beach shoes when I take the lines for a swim - my biggest problem is usually grazing my knees when clambering onto a likely mooring rock

 

[Chumley]

this has got us thinking now..... is chartering easy in this area and is it expensive ? great pics.

Speaking as someone who hasn't actually done it yet, there seems to be plenty of choice. We're thinking of going with Croatia Charter Holidays as they have a good choice of boats under 10m and they've been very helpful so far. They (and others) have all the prices on their website - you might need to do a bit of research on fuel consumption as that will probably be the next biggest cost.

Hopefully others will be able to advise on mooring fees etc.

 

[MrB]

A bunker on Brac:

Apparently an old couple live in the bunker? Is the bunker just a tunnel or is there a complex under ground also that can be explored? This subterranean stuff fascinates me as i once got the chance to explore a relatively secret nuclear bunker the size of Longbridge (before it was demolished), amazing stuff but creepy.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Apparently an old couple live in the bunker? Is the bunker just a tunnel or is there a complex under ground also that can be explored? This subterranean stuff fascinates me as i once got the chance to explore a relatively secret nuclear bunker the size of Longbridge (before it was demolished), amazing stuff but creepy.

There are similar bunkers in the channel towards Sibenik further north and I've been told that these bunkers were constructed during WW2 by the Nazis as submarine pens. As far as I can understand, Croatia was allied to the Axis powers during WW2. Incedentally, this was one of the 'scores' that Serbia attempted to settle during the Balkan conflict as Serbia was traditionally allied to Russia

 

[Hardmy]

@Chumley
First, as shown on #3 (in the previous post) I exaggerated with fendering my stbd side. But it wasn’t so bad for berthing, with 2 outdrives and bowthruster as back-up you can nearly do anything. For leaving, the bigger ball fender at the bow was very useful, by putting port ahead and stbd astern, the bow will lean against the quay and the stern will turn into the wind and then it’s very easy to leave with both engines astern. You can help the process by turning the helm to stbd.

@Deleted User
I must admit that I am not familiar with the area as you. Fact is that the locals have great respect for the Bura. This point arises all the time when googling a little bit. We experienced for example a complete wind direction change during night (with 30-40 kts), and we could prepare the necessary actions in advance since this was announced on Splitradio a few hours before. Me too I prefer to swim with the line, under the condition it is floating. If not, I find it too difficult to pull 50m. through the water and used the dinghy.

@dabsolute470
I think chartering in Croatia is pretty easy but they want you to have, I think, an ICC or similar. Most of cruising ground are quite sheltered. Only when we ventured a little bit out to Vis it became one day somehow bumpy (like #9 in the previous post). I have only experience with chartering in Scandinavia, and in Croatia it is definitively more expensive.

@MrB
There should be at least 12 bunkers similar to this one. According to the locals, they were built during the cold war. Some say they have been conceived for torpedo boats, or in my opinion for submarines because the sounder showed 5m+ if I recall well. This bunker had only two small fishing boats inside and some gear belonging to them. You can only access the basin and one small lateral tunnel which links outside. They sealed all other doors with bricks. I am also interested in such mysteries since I am still serving in the swiss army where underground facilities are still widely in use. So I believe that interesting areas of this bunker, for example command room, engine room, close defense positions, etc. have been condemned. Now it is just an empty hole, and my g/f wanted to leave asap

On Sv. Klement this fisher exchanged a bottle of wine

against this (We had no clue how to prepare it, hopefully there is the mum hotline.) So we grilled it right on the rocks:

Milna:

Split:

Trogir:

Stari Grad (our preferred place):

Bol (no protection from S-Wind):

Stinivia on Vis from above (I didn’t dare to enter the bay since it wasn’t my boat, who tried?)

This one was at our preferred Konoba « Duga » (43°28‘84N; 16°14‘.05E) near Sv. Fumija on Ciovo. Set your outdrives as high as you can, there is not much water under your props!

About berthing prices, I think it was 30-40 € per night (?) and a few Kunas on top for leccy and water in most of municipal ports. The harbourmaster sometimes simply refuses to issue you a receipt for…

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

@Deleted User
I must admit that I am not familiar with the area as you. Fact is that the locals have great respect for the Bura. This point arises all the time when googling a little bit. We experienced for example a complete wind direction change during night (with 30-40 kts), and we could prepare the necessary actions in advance since this was announced on Splitradio a few hours before. Me too I prefer to swim with the line, under the condition it is floating. If not, I find it too difficult to pull 50m. through the water and used the dinghy.

Thanks for your great pics, Hardmy. Yes youre right, the locals do have huge respect for the Bora wind because it can blow very strong, although less strong the further south you go. All I can say is that in my experience it is well forecasted and we have always managed to get to a safe harbour in plenty of time before it really started up. Wind changes are a factor too (although this season the wind seems to have been predominantly from the NW) but often you can forecast this for yourself. For example, usually the wind changes from a sea breeze to a land breeze for the first part of the night and if the wind is already blowing from the land during the day, you know it will be strong at night. Also some areas seem to be always more windy than others. The Korculanski Channel always seems to be windy, for example.
I have changed my anchor this season from a 30kg Bruce to a 40kg Delta and I have found that the Delta works well in Croatian conditions

 

[Chumley]

Thanks again everyone for all this info. When we've sailed in Greece we generally just turn up at places we want to stop and find a space. Is it the same in Croatia or do you have to radio ahead (presumably you do at Split and Dubrovnik). Also, do you have to check-in with your papers?

Sorry if these are daft questions but obviously on flotilla it's all done for you.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Thanks again everyone for all this info. When we've sailed in Greece we generally just turn up at places we want to stop and find a space. Is it the same in Croatia or do you have to radio ahead (presumably you do at Split and Dubrovnik). Also, do you have to check-in with your papers?

Because Croatia has so many harbours, marinas, resataurant moorings and anchorages, you'd have to be very unlucky not to find a safe mooring for the night somewhere, even in August. Obviously, if youre going to moor in a marina, its better to turn up mid afternoon rather than late evening to ensure you get a berth. The only place we've ever been turned away from is Hvar Town quay but that is a very popular place and, in any case, its very busy and subject to swell. If you want to visit Hvar Town, you can moor in nearby Palmazana marina and take a water taxi.
The only place that may be worth booking ahead is Dubrovnik marina because its the only marina (for visitors) near Dubrovnik and there is no other marina for 30nm either side. But be aware that they add 50% to the mooring fee for the privilege of making a reservation.
Btw, we find that marinas generally don't answer the VHF (Dubrovnik does though) and its easier to contact them by phone. When you enter a marina, look for a marinero (sometimes referred to as 'sailor') who will wave you into a berth. Some of them have whistles too so listen out for that.
As for documentation, the 2 key documents are the cruising vignette which you need to purchase from a harbourmaster office on entry into Croatia and the crew list, again which you need to get from a harbourmaster office and keep updated with any new crew members coming on board. Marinas will ask for the vignette receipt and crew list as soon as you moor. Obviously you need to keep registration documents, insurance policy and ICC on board too but nobody has ever checked mine in a marina although earlier this season we were stopped by a customs boat who checked all our docs

 

[Will33]

Hi

We chartered a Jeanneau Leader 805 this summer having first tried to get the SC29. Even on the slightly smaller single engined Jeanneau we travelled from Split to Dubrovnik taking in Hvar, Brac, Korcula and Mijet in a weeks charter.

The coastline is excellent, the charter was fantastic. Not sure about the company you are planning on using but we used a company called Plavetnilo http://www.croatia-yacht-charter.com/ .............

Pre charter was great as was the suport during the charter however they found a small amount of GRP scratching on our return, not sure how it was caused I think it might have caught the quay on the last day refuelling as split harbour was manic and the chop was swaying the boat about well. They assured us they would contact us either before we left the country the day the charter ended or the Monday at the latest, with a cost of the repair which we could then pay by card and they would destroy credit card slip with details of secuirty deposit. Never heard anything from them and guess what..........charged us 1500 euros, entered dialogue with them and 2 months later they were still asking me to be patient whilst they get a report on the damage....hello..... they were going to do that straight away. Currently waiting to hear from credit card company with reference to a chargeback.

We were just unlucky and gutted as we had been so careful all week, hopefully you will have more luck. This experience has put me off ever chartering a boat again. Croatia though is a dream and I will return with my own boat in tow one day!

Will

 

[Chumley]

@Deleted User
Thanks again for all the help, much appreciated

@Will33
Sorry to hear about your predicament, hope you get it all sorted. Croatia Charters have given us a choice of 1500 euro refundable deposit or 200 euro non-refundable. We'll probably go for the non-refundable so we know from the outset how much it's all going to cost. Does that seem sensible or could we still get stung?

 

[Will33]

Hi Chumley

Based on my experience if they have offered you 200 euro non refundable I would go with that it removes any uncertainty and simply becomes an insurance payment. I wish we had been offered that option!!

Have a great charter it is a stunning coastline and the SC29 would be a great boat to see it on

Will