Part One: What to know before you get ON the boat
Summer holidays are always looked forward to with lots of excitement and anticipation. There are so many things to think about. What to pack, booking flights, making sure you know how you’re going to get from the airport to your accommodation when you land…
When you are chartering a boat for your summer vacation, there are a few other things that you need to add to your ‘To Do’ list. Making sure that these things are prepared for before you arrive can help you avoid a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety. Begin your sailing holiday right by following our tips of what you need to organize before hand to make sure that you begin your sailing holiday as you mean to continue: fun, prepared and relaxed!
Marina Baotić is located in a small village called Seget Donji. This quaint village on the waterfront is within easy walking distance from the marina itself. Here you can find a few restaurants and a lovely little beach. Seget Donji is located about 2km from Trogir’s old town, and can be reached by foot in about 25 minutes or by car in about 10 minutes, depending on traffic.
For more information on how to get to Marina Baotić, what other services they offer and how to contact them, visit their website.
If you are chartering in the summer,
then traffic will highly likely be busy. Especially if you are making your way from Split to Trogir like the throngs of others who are also chartering a boat! Making sure that you have pre-booked a transfer car/van makes this process a lot smoother. If you are staying in a private rental or a hotel, you can often ask your host or reception to recommend or organise this for you. Make sure that you confirm the price of the transfer IN WRITING before you confirm the booking! This is often just an extra precaution to ensure that the price is clear to both you and the driver. Your driver will well know the frustrations of the traffic between where you are staying and the marina, so feel free to ask their advice about when to leave and approximately how long it will take.
During the height of the season, the full force of the summer sun can take a heavy toll. To help combat the summer heat, you can check your luggage in at the marina (they have a dedicated luggage storage for a small cost) and take a short stroll through Seget Donji. The beaches in the village are pebbly beaches, so water shoes are a very good idea! You can change and shower in the marina facilities. Just make sure to leave a contact phone number with your charter company office so they know how to contact you when your boat is ready.
Check in time is officially listed on the charter agreement issued to you by the charter company at the time of booking, and is generally between 2pm and 7pm. You would be surprised at how many people turn up early thinking that they might be able to sneak onto the boat prior to check-in. And they end up waiting for hours at the hot, crowded marina when they could have used their morning exploring, swimming or sleeping in! Don’t be that guy!
My biggest piece of advice for anyone beginning their charter on a Saturday is: Be prepared to wait. The charter companies have multiple boats that they have to check the previous guests out of, clean inside and out, and then prepare for you, the new guests. This takes time. When you have 30 boats in your fleet, it takes a lot of time! Please be patient with the staff in the offices, as they are juggling many things at once and are doing their absolute best to get you on your boat as promptly as possible.
You can, by prior arrangement with your charter company, pay for an early check in. This will make you a priority and bump your boat to the top of the cleaning list. And we highly recommend that you talk to your charter agent about this when you organise the booking of your boat. Obviously these priority spots are limited and if you leave it to the day of, you are going to miss out! The charter company will then be able to let you know approximately what time you will be able to go through check in and then load your whole crew onto the boat!
Speaking of prior arrangement, make sure to have an early a conversation with your charter company if you wish to add any extra’s to your yacht charter. Depending on which charter company you are using, you might be able to pay extra for things like a stand-up paddle board, child-safety netting, other water-sports equipment and sometimes even an ice-maker! Again, the charter companies only have so many of each item available and it is a case of first in, first (re)served. Get in first and don’t miss out!
Hopefully you’re waiting at the marina with a cold beer in hand when you do get the call from your charter company that the boat is ready to be checked-in. Please do not take all of your crew and luggage and provisions to the boat straight away! We know that you and your group will be eager to step on board, and yet the check-in process with the technician will go a lot smoother and more quickly if only one person (maximum two if necessary) goes to the boat for check-in. The person who will be the main skipper of the vessel needs to go through the check-in process, as this will cover things like the electronics of the boat, where the safety equipment is stored, engine starting procedures and how to access/operate toilets and holding tanks. Play attention and take note of any damages or malfunctions on board the boat and make sure to document them visually with your phone as soon as you notice them. This documentation is useful for both you as the charterer, but also useful for the charter company.
When it comes to provisioning (the yachtie term for stocking your boat with the necessary yummy foods and drinks to be consumed once you’re out on the Adriatic!), our advice is, be prepared and know what is in the area.
As mentioned before, Marina Baotić has a small supermarket within the marina itself, but it is not well-equipped enough to provision adequately for a charter. There are a couple of medium sized super-markets up on the main road that connects Seget Donji and Trogir, a Studenac and a Tommy market, both of which are very close to each other. They are not well stocked and are often full of charterers provisioning last minute. If you head towards Trogir, you will see a Plodine supermarket in a small mall. This is a great option for provisioning as it is large and pretty well stocked. There is also a Konzum near the main turn off to the old town. This is the main large supermarket in town though, so it gets very, VERY crowded in summer and on Saturdays especially. If you have access to a car or you want to go to a large supermarket to provision, on the airport side of Trogir, there is a large Kauflands supermarket and a Lidl super market right across the road. As far as variety and stock, these two supermarkets are going to be your best options for most of your provisioning needs.
The only downside of these commercial supermarkets is that its quite difficult to get domestic local products. If this is what you are after, either check out the fresh market in Trogir which is conveniently located right across a small bridge from the old town itself. There are many different kinds of stall in this fresh market, including the expected fruits, vegetables, olive oil and eggs. And there are also many other local offerings, including flavoured oils, nuts, homemade products like candied nuts and citrus peels, ajar (a VERY popular Croatian condiment, and for good reason!) and even rakija and wines. With the fish market across the street, there is plenty of choice for making sure your boat is well stocked before you set off!
Being prepared as to where you will be staying for the first night out on the boat is also important and something that can be very stressful if left until the last minute to arrange when the sun is going down. Checking out anchorages within short distances from the marina, making sure that you have provisions to make dinner for that a night or maybe planning to stay in the marina and leaving early in the morning are all good things to think about and to discuss with your crew before your sailing holiday starts.
If you leave from Marina Baotić, then there is a very high likelihood that you will return to Marina Baotić for the last night of your charter. Stay tuned for Part Two: What to know before you get OFF the boat
