Poorly and insufficiently qualified crews on boats are a major obstacle in positioning Croatia as a top boat charter and sailing destination. With this in mind and with the aim of enhancing the quality of nautical tourism in Croatia, the new academy for education and training of boat and charter yacht crews is being launched.
We have already written about the new academy for boat and charter crew launching soon. (See LINK). Now, the founder of the new Adriatic Crew Academy reveals more information and details about the academy.
In the past few years and summer seasons, we have been witnessing a growing number of marine casualties and incidents on the Adriatic sea, the reason often being the fact it is run by unskilled and unqualified personnel. Due to the lack of quality staff in Croatian nautical tourism, Davor Grbić, an entrepreneur from Dubrovnik with a degree in mechanical engineering, who has worked as a skipper on mega yachts for 12 years, together with his associates from Split, Tomislav Slavić (who has a degree in nautical studies) and Ivan Lokica, decided to open the first Academy for charter boat crews in Croatia this autumn, reports Slobodna Dalmacija, on September 12, 2017.
The Academy will be called “Adriatic Crew Academy” and it will be stationed in Zagreb, where theoretical part of the courses will take place, while the practical part will, of course, be carried out along the (Adriatic) coast.
“This is going to be an academy for educating and training boat and charter crews. We expect to start working in about a month since we have a lot of inquiries and many potential participants from across Europe. To be honest, we did not expect such high number of inquiries regarding the enrollment. We are receiving inquiries from Germany, Great Britain, Austria, and even from Macedonia. The reason for this kind of international interest is that we will have courses according to European standards, that is, the programme and work at the Academy is modelled on the same or similar academies from the UK and Denmark,” says Grbić.
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Education for skippers will last up to two months, depending on a gross tonnage of the ship for which the student wants to be a skipper (from 100 GRT to 500 GRT). You can become a sailor on a yacht or charter boat after 15 days of attending the Academy, passing all the exams and obtaining a brevet certificate from the Harbour Master.
“We will be working all year round. Participants will learn and work in small groups of 12 students. Of course, before they sign up for the Academy they will need to enclose all the necessary documentation, which includes, among other things, a medical examination. Both men and women can attend the academy. Of course, they must have completed upper secondary education and have a lot of strong desire and will to learn and work hard,” says Grbić. The prices vary according to the course, so, for example, a person who wants to become a sailor will not pay the same price as a future skipper.
“Sailors, chefs and hostesses will have to pay a tuition fee of € 2,000, while skippers will have to cash out € 3000 to work on a 100 GRT yacht or €5000 to work on 500 GRT boats. All of our participants will be provided with food and accommodation in Zagreb (included in the tuition fee). Eight highly-educated lecturers who have all the necessary licenses will teach at the academy, including Tomislav Slavić and Ivan Lokica, who will be in charge of the theoretical part of the programme,” says Grbić.
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That these guys mean serious business is supported by the fact that they have secured two 15-meter-long sailboats for the practical part of the lessons, as well as a gulet – a two-masted wooden boat 30 meters long and 7 meters wide. “These ships will be stationed along the Adriatic, depending on our needs. The practical part of the lessons will last for seven days and during that time the participants will eat and stay on boats. Best students will also receive our letter of recommendation, which will greatly help them get a job in the industry.The diploma will be internationally recognized and, due to the fact that the Academy has the ISO standard mark, our students will be able to work anywhere in the world,” says Grbić.
Apart from sailors and boat crew working on the sea, the academy will also offer courses and training for sailors operating boats along rivers and lakes. “We will also offer education and training programme for sailors navigating rivers and lakes. Everything at the Academy will be in accordance with European standards, and I think, no, I KNOW that we can and will give the students the proper education and training they lack in doing very responsible jobs of working on yachts and charter boats,” concludes Grbić.
Translated from Slobodna Dalmacija
