Chesapeake Flotillas

COMPLETE TRIP INFORMATION

Of all the places I have sailed, Croatia may be just about the most beautiful.  I have NEVER seen water so blue and so clear as what we saw in the Adriatic Sea.  Combine that with the more than two millenia of history, inherently gracious people, and the steady sailing conditions and that creates a recipe for delight and lasting memories.

At this time, I have not settled on an exact itinerary.  However, I am thinking that many of you may wish to explore some of islands we visited on our last two trips.   Among the islands we may visit are Solta, Brac, Vis, Hvar, Korcula, and the Pakleni islands.  There are some really interesting towns to see as well such as Komiza, Vis, Milna, Hvar, and Vela Luka.  I will review my notes, logs, and cruising guide to determine our proposed itinerary. I will update this section when I have completed that plan.^[1].

We can return our boat and spend at least one last night on the delightful Adriatic before flying back home.  However, maybe you will want to stay longer and do some land tours. Zagreb (the capital) and Dubrovnik are short flights from Split.  The choice is yours.

Here is a map of Croatia and the Adriatic Sea.  Our potential sailing area is the coastal area from Split to Korcula.

I have selected a 5-cabin Jeanneau 53 monohull named Tina.  Her internal layout is shown below along with some other photos.  She is berthed in Marina Kastela just west of Trogir.  Specifications and other photos can be viewed here.  Once I have received 8 deposits, I will reserve the boat.

This trip costs $1900 per person.  The price assumes double occupancy in the cabins and includes the charter yacht, provisioning, an experienced licensed captain, cook, damage waiver insurance, fuel charges, and possibly arrival day airport transfer (conditions would apply).  It assumes 8 guests plus Chef Theresa and me for a total of 10 people on board.

Chef Theresa and I will work hard to make sure your vacation is all that you might expect.  However, from time to time, we may ask for a little help to hold a fender, to tail a line, or to offer a little assistance in the galley.  We hope you will not mind helping out a little bit if needed.

The price does not include airfare, meals eaten ashore, personal alcoholic beverages, land-based lodging, individual travel insurance, or other personal incidentals.

A deposit of at least $700 will reserve your berth or a place on the wait-list.  Depending on where we are in the payment schedule, the required minimum first payment may be more than just the deposit.  Please read and understand the payment schedule and the cancellation policy below.  If you are wait-listed, the cancellation policy does not apply while you are on the wait-list.  I need 8 confirmed reservations to make this trip viable.  The cancellation policy published here applies to everyone on any boat that may be a part of this trip.

Given the trip price and including an initial minimum deposit of $700, there will be a total of six (6) payments spaced approximately 3 months apart. Before sending your deposit, please read and understand the cancellation policy. It is understood that receipt of your deposit means that you understand and agree to the conditions and cancellation policy as posted here and on pages linked here.  If you have not already made a reservation with me, please include with your payment your name, address, preferred telephone number, email address, and an indication of whether you will be travelling with someone else.  For information on payment options, click here.

Individual travel insurance is NOT included in the cost of this trip.  I always recommend that participants consider purchasing their own travel insurance policy.  Please see the FAQ question on travel insurance for more information.

Please note that if your first payment falls after the due date for the deposit or any subsequent payment, your first payment must be at LEAST in the amount of the total of all payments due up to the date of your payment.  For example, if your first payment is made after September 1, 2017, your payment must be at least $1180.  This will be the case whether you are a confirmed participant or being placed on the wait list.  If you wish to be wait-listed, you may only pay by check.  However, your check will NOT be deposited unless and until you are confirmed on the trip.   No further payments from wait-listed crew will be necessary until you are confirmed as a participant at which time the balance of the total amount due at that time will be required to confirm your reservation.

I believe I price my trips fairly and without a lot of overhead. Additionally, charter companies have very strict policies regarding cancellations and there are significant financial penalties for cancelling a charter boat reservation. For any individual to cancel their reservation could lead to increased costs for other participants.  The following policy is provided to help avoid that situation.  I STRONGLY recommend that you purchase your own travel insurance to protect your investment in this trip.  In the event you must cancel, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can try to find a replacement or confirm someone from the wait-list, if any.  If you are on the wait-list, the cancellation policy does not apply.  If I can find no replacement within 2 weeks for someone who must cancel their reservation, the cancellation fees detailed below will be assessed.   Check the FAQ page for information on travel insurance underwriters.

I reserve the right to modify this cancellation policy up until the time that I begin accepting payments.

You have three options for paying for your trip. Each method is fully described below.

You should consider making your airline reservations as early as practical.  Economic pressures could make airfares volatile.  The flight information below is for those coming out of Northern New Jersey.  For those of you coming out of different locations, check for flights connecting in London (LRH), Zurich (ZRH), Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Vienna (VIE), or Dusseldorf (DUS).

Given the flight schedules, you may wish to reserve a hotel room for at least one night after the trip. Similarly, you may want to arrive a day or so early, in which case you will also need land accomodations on the front end.

If you wish to investigate reserving a hotel room or other accommodation during our trip, I highly recommend using Booking.com. Some of us have used that site to arrange for housing in the past.  We have found some lovely accommodations at VERY reasonable rates.  I can heartily recommend the Garden Apartments in Split.

The Croatia Tourism website has lots of information. The following brochures were downloaded from there:

• Nautical Croatia (19 MB)
• Croatia by Region (33 MB)

Rob has created a multimedia presentation that you may download and share with your friends.  Click here to download and view the presentation. The file is 27 MB. Please allow at least 90 seconds to download the file.

I will hold a pre-trip meeting approximately two to three months before the trip.  It will most likely be an virtual meeting using an online service including video, audio, and screen sharing.

Should you have any questions Rob can be reached via email or call him on his cell phones: