‘ForSailing’ Initiative for Sailing on Hvar: Total Croatia Sailing met with Filip Jurišić, the Professional Athlete behind all the Fun.
On top of his daily training, worldwide schedule and a 3-year-goal to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics; Filip Juršić has still found time to be an influential and giving member of the community. Jurišić, aged 24 and nicknamed ‘Gašo’ by his friends, has sailed since the age of eight; competing professionally in the Laser Olympic Class since the age of seventeen. In January of this year, after competing in the 1st Series of the Sailing World Cup at Miami’s Coconut Grove, he returned to his home, Hvar island Croatia, with 5th place out of 59 sailors. He will be competing in the World Cup Final in Santander next month.
For the love of sailing, charismatic Jurišić has made time in his packed schedule to develop and execute a concept that will encourage people of all ages to discover the magic of sailing. This unique and exciting concept has been named “ForSailing”; an “Initiative For Sailing in Hvar”. In early April, the opening event organised by ForSailing saw children (both the young, small & the big, hairy kind) take to the salty, azure water of idyllic Hvar port with remote controlled race boats.
These intricate and colourful gadgets were fabulously nifty as they glided through the water at pace. However, do not be fooled! These small masterpieces are most definitely not toys; with some remote-control boats taking more than years to build and costing as much as 2,500 Euros to purchase.
It was a heartwarming sight to watch the crowd take part in this ‘mini’ regatta. Small children gathered around their new hero as they experienced their first taste of the sailing world and highly skilled sailors, stood hypnotised with concentration written all over their faces. Some of Gašo’s sailing buddies “helming” that day were Tonci Stipanovic Olympic Bronze Medallist, RC World Champion Zvonko Jelacic, RC European Champion Marko Matic, Vedran Vesanovic, Boris Bakotić, Kristina Jakelic and Josip Marasović.
Jurišić hopes that these ForSailing events, which will all vary in type, participant age and intended audience, will reawaken the Hvar sailing scene and strengthen an already proud, Croatian sailing scene. Future ideas for the ForSailing Initiative will be just as exciting and novel, opening up the sailing world to a new wave of soon-to-be devotees.
For more information or to provide support to the ForSailing initiative LIKE Filip’s Official Facebook Page
All photos by Duje Petrić Photography
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