Latitudes & Attitudes Share The Sail Introduction — Sailboat Charter In Croatia
We were 43 people on 7 boats sailing around the Croatian coast for a week. I knew this was going to be epic…I was not wrong! We were in for a great sailing adventure.
Three years ago, when I heard Bob Bitchin (aka Bob Lipkin) and Latitudes & Attitudes were heading to Croatia for the next Share the Sail adventure, I immediately signed up. I have been a fan of the sailing magazine for years, and visited Croatia a few years back and loved it. I decided this was the nudge I needed to get back into sailing. It’s not exactly Fiji, or the Eastern Caribbean (if you are interested in diving and snorkeling), but the Dalmatian Coast is beautiful and is the go-to site for many popular movies and TV shows such as Star Wars and Game of Thrones.
Unfortunately, before we could set sail, COVID happened, and the trip was postponed; first into 2021, then ultimately again into 2022. This year we were finally a go. Getting to Trogir, Croatia, near Split was a two-day affair requiring three flights on two airlines, but I arrived safely by way of Istanbul, Turkey.
Fortunately, I managed to secure business class flights on Turkish and Croatia Airlines using United Miles. I was even able to stay at the YotelAir hotel inside the airport during my transit through Istanbul, which doesn’t require entering Turkey during a transit. In fact, no security, immigration check, or visa is needed, get off your plane from the US, walk to the hotel, and then head to your departure gate the next morning, I loved it!
Once in Croatia, we were welcomed on board our various sailboats with all ages and all walks of life represented. Out of 43 people (some of whom had never been on a sailboat before), the youngest crew member was 1 1/2-year-old Odis (son of our captain Jessie), while the adults ranged from 27 to well over 70. In other trivia, over 2/3rds of the crew, and 3 out of 7 boat captains were women. A truly diverse gathering of like-minded sailors.
Please follow along, in my next posts as I describe my travels. Note, these will not be detailed reviews, but more a narrative style with quick notes on my experience that I hope anyone traveling to these places will find helpful. As always, feel free to post questions on any related topic and I will provide more details as appropriate!
Posts in this series:
Getting To Croatia:
- United Polaris Lounge Houston (IAH)
- Turkish Airlines Business Class Houston (IAH) to Istanbul (IST)
- YotelAir Istanbul, Turkey — A Hotel Inside Security and Passport Control!
- Turkish Airlines Business Class Istanbul (IST) to Zagreb (ZAG)
- Croatia Airlines Domestic ‘Business Class’ Zagreb (ZAG) to Split (SPU)
- Hotel Bellevue Trogir, Croatia
- Historic Old Town Trogir, Croatia
Sailboat Charter Convoy — Sailing the Adriatic:
- Share The Sail Croatia — Embarkation Day
- Share The Sail Croatia — First Night Onboard
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day One: Komiža, Vis
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day Two: Engine Trouble in Komiža
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day Three: Blue Hole Croatia
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day Four: Palmižana Sveti Klement Croatia
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day Five: Powerful Winds Turn a Beautiful Day Sail to Vrboska Into a Run for Shelter in Stari Grad
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day Six: Blue Lagoon Drvenik Veli
- Share the Sail Croatia — Day Seven: Chaos and Back
Heading Home:
- A Day In Split, Dalmatia, Croatia
- Croatia Airlines Business Class Split (SPU) to Zagreb (ZAG), Croatia
- PrimeClass Business Lounge — Zagreb Franjo Tudman Airport (ZAG), Croatia
- Turkish Airlines Business Class — Zagreb (ZAG), Croatia to Istanbul (IST), Turkey
- Turkish Airlines Lounge — Business, Business Class Lounge, Istanbul
- Turkish Airlines Business Class — Istanbul(IST), Turkey to Houston(IAH), Texas
