For most of the people, beginning of their holidays means a start of full- time relaxation. For sailors relaxing time starts after making all necessary preparations to sail out. In order to make this part of the job easier and help you switch to vacation mode while sailing along Adriatic coast, we bring you 6 inevitable steps for carefree sailing experience with Euronautic.

1. Chartering a boat

For bareboat charter in any Mediterranean country, especially in Croatia, where the laws are very clear when it comes to sailing without the crew, you will need to have a licence such as International Sailing Licence (ICC). Of course, if you're not in the possession of any sailing licence you can always book a boat with a skipper. Professional skipper will take care about boat and your crew. Or, if you have a licence but your sailing skills are little bit rusty and need some training, we can offer you a short skipper training, with price of 80 € - it takes 3 hours and you get a chance to practice berthing, sail usage, anchoring and other basic skills. Also, one of the crew members must have a valid VHF licence.

Finally, at least 5 days before arrival you have to send us fulfilled crew list with your contact number, passport's number, voucher, skipper licence and VHF licence.

2. Car-parking

If you arrive by the car, you must be curious where to park it. You will find a secured parking space in the Marina Kornati where you can leave your car and pay for it on the way out according to marina Kornati pricelist. Considering that parking space reservations are not acceptable, alternatively you can park your car outside of the marina somewhere in the city at lower price. We suggest you to save all important phone numbers for Croatia before sailing out. 

3. Checking-in on the boat

After registration at the Euronautic’s office where you will arrange all the necessary documentation it’s time for you to take over your sailing boat. At the Euronautic’s reception you will get official documents needed for sailing, you will also pay all obligatory extras and taxes (tourist tax, insurance, base cost), and on the pier you will make official check in.

Check-in procedure will be done by Euronautic skipper with one of your crew members (skipper). During checking-in, you must definitely check out vessel’s condition. Euronautic staff will give you a complete check list with the entire inventory. Here’s what you need to pay attention to!

Inspect the hull, bilge pump, cable winch, metal fittings and mast. You should switch on all the instruments and see whether they work properly, including the VHF station. Check the anchor, winches and the condition of sails and life raft. Find out where the life raft is and whether there are enough ropes. Water hose should be examined for length and signs of rotting and fuel tank cap should be marked properly.

4. Cabin check

When it comes to interior of the sailing yacht, the first thing you should definitely do is to find out where batteries are, how they’re charged and whether the charger works or not. After that check out the expiry date of the fire extinguisher, number of signal flares, first aid kit and life vests. Pay additional attention to size of life vests if you have children on board. Make sure that your engine starts properly and find out how to start it in emergency. Take a look where the main fuel valve and spare canister are. You should check if all the lights work properly: navigational, cabin and hand lights. Make sure that hydrographical charts and handbooks are up to date and that they cover your planned sailing route. Don’t forget beds: be sure to have enough linen, blankets and pillows. And finally, check out the toilet pump and how to handle it.

5. Kitchen and cooking

Firstly, when you’re checking the kitchen make sure that your fridge works properly. The kitchen inventory like cutlery, plates, etc. should fit the maximum number of the crew members.

All boats in Euronautic’s fleet have fully equipped kitchen where you can prepare your meals: fridge, stove, sink, stainless pots and cutlery. Our advice is to plan all your meals in advance to know how much groceries do you really need and when will you use it. Of course, always take more than planned in case something goes wrong and firstly use fresh food over canned food. It’s also important to know if any of the crew members has an allergy or intolerance on certain food to be able to get supplements. If you want to order some food and beverages when you embark on the boat, you can use this online catalog and everything you order will await for you aboard your chartered boat once You arrive!

6. Marinas and anchorages

The berth in marina is the safest option if you’re not familiar with picked sailing region. There you can find various types of services like restaurants, stores, laundry, reparation, garbage disposal and water tank filling. On the other hand, anchoring in some of the beautiful, calm bays is good option to enjoy in the scenery and peace. In case you have booked a boat with the skipper, he will definitely know some great anchoring bays.

Be aware that there are a lot of crowds in marinas during the high season in Croatia. Most of marinas don’t take berth reservations, so you need to check when you can come to marina. The berth prices in marina can vary depending on the marina and the length of your boat. Approximately, the price for the sailing boat of 45 feet is 70-80 € per night. 

We hope that this information were useful to you in order to have truly, carefree sailing holiday with Euronautic. Furthermore, visit our FAQ page and if you still have any additional questions please contact us by filling this contact form below.