Why Croatia again ?
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One of the first and most interesting but challenging aspects of organising the ECC event
- which inevitably involves long and heated discussions among the Organising Committee - is the question of where to stage the ECC. The participants of the ECC 2004 may remember our somewhat shocking announcement that we - being a Finnish company - were thinking of staging the 2005 event in Finland. Well, for once we could not be convinced that the Finnish sea is free of icebergs and other winter surprises in spring (albeit Finland offers a lot for an interesting and sportive holiday, including sailing - please refer to www.visitfinland.com for more information on Finland) and, after having checked the unwritten ECC rules and the map again, we suddenly realised that Finland in fact does not have a Mediterranean coast line… So, after having celebrated our victory for a few weeks, we sat together and brought together all our ideas of all these beautiful and challenging sailing areas throughout the Mediterranean, but soon realised that the more you go into details, the more difficult it gets to choose the right location for an event of the size that the ECC has grown to be. Matters to be considered included the availability of sufficient comparable yachts, the availability of suitably sized marinas with reasonable facilities within the distance of adequately lengthened daily events, the interests of our main sponsors, the accessibility of the chosen location (air port in the vicinity), knowledge on the typical weather (wind !) conditions during this time of the year and - of course - the financing of such an event. We felt and still feel - and we trust that all participants of the ECC 2004 will agree (we heard that some of the ECC 2004 sailors have already returned to Split for a sailing week, some even with "our" Salona 40) - that Croatia offers an almost perfect answer for all these aspects (and this is not meant to say that other locations do not) and soon Croatia made it to the top of our shortlist. But choosing the hosting country is not it. While we loved Split (and Pula in 2001), we were certain that Croatia has more possible locations to offer. So, after another long and heated discussion, we finally agreed on the northern Dalmatian coast as the location for the ECC 2005. The starting and finishing marina will be Biograd na Moru (approx. 25 km south of Zadar) and the daily events will take us to several challenging sailing areas and to beautiful places, including Tribunj, Šibenik, the National Park of the Kornati Islands, the nature park Telašcica Bay and the peninsula of Murter. Another advantage of this location is the local presence of our ECC 2005 partner Sunsail with bases in both Biograd and the close Kremik marina. Apart from the availability of local personnel and knowledge on the local conditions, this has also made a distinct difference on the prices for the ECC 2005 yachts as you undoubtedly will have noted. Well, we can only repeat, it is not an easy decision to be made (take note, future Commodores and Organising Committees !) but we hope that we will enjoy a fun and sunny yet challenging ECC 2005 event in Biograd / Croatia ! Croatia - The Mediterranean as it once was
The east coast of the Adriatic Sea was inhabited as early as the beginning of the early Stone Age, and there is proof that most of the accessible islands were also inhabited. Thanks to the favourable geographical characteristics with its numerous bays, inlets and coves, the coastal belt has ever been a significant mercantile and nautical route.
In 925, Croatia became a kingdom under the rule of King Tomislav. In 1102, after the death of Petar Svacic, the last Croatian king, Croatia formed a union with Hungary which, while going through numerous attacks and occupations by the Turks, the French and the Hungarians and the rule of the Habsburg dynasty and the Venetians, lasted until 1918 when, upon the downfall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in World War I, Croatia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later proclaimed Yugoslavia. In 1941, German and Italian forces occupied Yugoslavia, facing enormous resistance by the organised partisans led by Croatian antifascists under the guidance of Josip Broz Tito. In 1945, the Federative Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed with Croatia being a federative republic within Yugoslavia.
In 1990, the first elections after World War II were held in Croatia with Dr. Franco Tudjman becoming the first President. In 1991 Croatia declared its independence, resulting in a Serbian rebellion supported by the Yugoslav National Army and the occupation of one third of the Croatian territory. In May 1992, the Republic of Croatia joined the United Nations and in 1998, the last occupied parts were integrated into the country. In December 1999, Dr. Franco Tudjman died and in February 2000, Stjepan Mesic was declared the new President (the final result of the new elections in early 2005 were not yet available at the date of printing this log book).
Apart from the destinations of the ECC 2005 which are described in more detail in the later chapter "Itinerary", Croatia has numerous places to visit, from historical towns and UNESCO world heritage sites like Dubrovnik with the stunning old town, Trogir with the famous St. Lawrence church, Split with the Diocletian palace, Korcula (the alleged birthplace of Marco Polo) and the like, to beautiful beaches with crystal water, quiet bays and various sailing areas and eight National Parks, including the Krka waterfalls and the Plitvice lakes. Do make sure to taste the great Croatian cuisine influenced by many Mediterranean regions including Pršut (Dalmatian smoked ham), pag cheese, numerous fish dishes and great wines.
As they say, "Croatia like a picture, a picture like Croatia".
Sailing Information Weather conditions in the Adriatic are affected by high pressure systems (anticyclones) from the Azores and Siberia and low pressure systems (cyclones) from Iceland. General summer weather consists of light north-westerly winds. In the evenings it is common for a gentle land breeze to develop due to cool air from the land rushing in to fill the gap left by warm air rising from over the sea. The main winds of the Adriatic are:
Weather forecasts will be distributed in the daily skipper meetings. Sea currents in the Adriatic are rather weak and are influenced by wind and tides. There is a constant sea current flowing up the Adriatic coast in a north-westerly direction with a speed of approx. 0,5 - 1 knot. Generally, the tide difference in the Adriatic is around 15-30 cm but is affected rather by atmospheric pressure than the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. During periods of high pressure, the water level can drop as much as 40 cm and during periods of low pressure, the water level can rise by up to 70 cm. Please refer to the later chapter "Rules and Regulations" for further sailing instructions. Required Documentation Please check with your local embassies about the required immigration documents for entering into Croatia (passport / visa / etc.). Note that Croatia is not yet a member of the European Union, hence the Schengen Treaty does not apply. Please ensure that all sailing documents are available for the take-over of the yachts on Saturday, including sailing licenses, VHF license and a detailed crew list (which should also be completed and sent to the ECC Organising Committee prior to the event) which is required to register the yachts at the respective harbours / moorings / National Park. All mooring and National Park fees are included in the yacht charter price - the administration will be handled by Sunsail, but of course only if all required information is available. Money Matters The exchange rate for some major currencies against the Croatian Kuna (HRK) are as follows (valid as of January 2004 which may substantially vary at the time of exchanging money):
1 EUR ~ approx. 7,65 HRK (Very) Basic Croatian While most Croatians will speak English and / or German (all Sunsail staff speak English), you may find the following basic Croatian expressions useful during your stay in Croatia (and will almost certainly trigger a friendly smile as reward for you trying...):
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