Bura put even the most experienced sailors to the test today
Photos: Danni Matijaca, Niksa Stipanicev
18th regatta Latinsko idro, competition for traditional Croatian wooden boats which was held in Murter on Sunday, September 27th 2015 was the most exciting one to date. With more than 50 traditional, hand finished wooden boats from all over the Croatian coast on the starting line, it was also one of the largest ones. Participants started arriving yesterday morning and spent most of the day looking at the sky since the wind was picking up, and at some point even threatened to postpone the race.
Latinsko Idro celebrates the craftsmanship of Croatian shipbuilders and our maritime history so organiser Željko Jerat was more than happy to share his views and thoughts on the importance of preserving our vast tradition: “We have boats from Moščenićka Draga, Hvar, Korčula, Krk, Split, Murter, Zlarin, Prvić, Pašman, our dear friends from Morbihan France are also with us, and we are preparing a joint project in 2018. Weather conditions have forced us to slightly alter our sailing route today, but most of these crews are very experienced and well equipped so I am expecting good results. This regatta is all about preserving our maritime culture. We live from the sea and for the sea in these parts of the country, but we are still having trouble convincing the people in power to give us a helping hand in our attempt to preserve our tradition, since most of them have offices in Zagreb and really don’t know much about the sea”.
Regatta started at 3 PM sharp and some boats were more successful than others in actually heading towards the field. One of the favourites, leut Slobodna Dalmacija, got tangled up in the moorings but a crew member quickly jumped into the sea, much to the delight of the crowd and got them out of their predicament in time to continue towards the turning point.
Previous comments made by the organiser. Mr. Jerat regarding Ministries and their offices in Zagreb, far away from the sea, must have been some sort of a jinx or maybe an omen for the VIP boat on which the crew consisted of members of the Croatian Government. Inexperience and lack of team work proved to be tricky for three of Croatia’s Ministers, Siniša Hajdaš Dnčić – Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Darko Lorecnin – Minister of Tourism and Mihael Zmajlović – Nature Protection Minister. The boat tipped over during one of the maneuvers and all three of them ended up overboard but were quickly taken to dry land.
Ministers Hajdaš Dončić and Lorencin before the “mishap”
Minister Hajdaš Dončić commented: “I didn’t exactly plan on swimming today, and the temperature wasn’t exactly high but it was nothing a homemade rakija couldn’t fix”.
Minister Zmajlović kept his cool and his sunglasses on
Minister Lorencin was also in a good mood despite of the “accident”: “Come on, we intended to do this, we just wanted to end up in the papers and get some media attention”.
It was certainly a festival of sails, laughs and great energy, and with the little mishap of our Ministers, it will definitely be an event the locals will remember for years to come. Until the 19th edition, enjoy the gallery from Latinsko Idro regatta in Murter.
