A flotilla with young architects and designers

Four days of the event were to be spent aboard sailboats. Northeast travel agency was chosen to find available boats and provide four skippers that will show them the best spots Croatia has to offer. Our skippers Karlo, Michele, Lovro and Roberto had no time to waste.

Our skippers joined the students in Split on Saturday, the 26th of May. The boat being ready around 5 p.m. was a fact very well known to the organizers, who took the group for a walk around the old town in the early afternoon. The students got acquainted to Diocletian's palace and grabbed the chance to take numerous photos as part of their photography workshop. Leaving Split, our skippers were after a peaceful, solitary bay that could give hospitality to a large group of young people willing to have fun and sing until the break of dawn.

On Sunday morning, after a short sleep, the young and enthusiastic designers were ready to face another great day at sea. The four sailboats continued to travel south-east towards Hvar. The students were  about to witness what life on the island truly looks like: Čane, a local sailing legend, hosted the four boats on his small dock. Čane runs “Zvir”, Hvar’s only sailing club, and numerous youngsters have become professional sailors under his strict eye. Not when it comes to hospitality, though, as he offered his large grills without asking a penny in return. The crew got to taste a traditional dish of the island:  fresh grilled sea bass with just a pinch of salt and olive oil and boiled potatoes on the side. Many thanks to Čane for his unconditional hospitality, but also to his wife Dušica who helped us cleaning the fish and to his son Vedran who grilled it!

On Monday morning, the four Bavaria’s had to leave Čane’s sailing club pretty early, as their next destination was the town of Hvar, where getting a place is always an uneasy task. We've managed to find four available buoys and have a swim in the crystal clear water in the early afternoon. Afterwards, the students visited Fortica, Hvar's old castle, where a splendid view overlooks the whole island. The evening was reserved for some relaxation: Hvar is, after all, known as Croatia's party island and they got to see the best clubs this island has to offer!

On the last day of the sailing trip, the four boats competed in a regatta from Hvar to Pelješac. Each crew had to unite and work as a team in order to trim the sails, use the wind and achieve the maximum possible speed. A decent 10 to 15 knots stern wind brought us to our final destination. Nothing better than shutting down the engine and listen to the sound of the sea flowing on the edges of the boat, moved by the great force of Nature! Tired, but satisfied, the 35 students had a long sleep in the bay of Lovišta. The next morning they said goodbye to our skippers and got picked up by a bus that took them to Ston and Dubrovnik. After visiting the pearl of the Adriatic, the group started to return and visited the Plitvice lakes on its way back. The project culminated in Zagreb, where the students exhibited their works and donated the money earned from it to a charity organization.

Northeast Travel Agency would like to express its gratitude to all the people involved in the project. A special thanks goes to Dina, Tjaša, Ana, Maja and Marta who put an enormous effort into organizing the route, helping our skippers and making everything easier for them. It was an honour sharing the boat with such perspective girls, but also with so many great and enthusiastic young people. Thank you!