Croatia Yacht Rally 2011 Meandered Toward Its Conclusion In Dubrovnik Last Week With A Race From Korcula To Mljet, A Distance Of Just Twelve Miles.

Croatia Yacht Rally 2011 meandered toward its conclusion in Dubrovnik last week with a race from Korcula to Mljet, a distance of just 12 miles.

The ‘Pearl of the Adriatic ‘, situated on the Dalmatian coast, became a crucial Mediterranean sea power from the thirtheenth century onwards. Though seriously spoiled by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to save its lovely Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Damaged again in the 1990s by armed conflict, it’s now the focus of a major restoration programme co-ordinated by UNESCO.

The ‘Pearl of the Adriatic ‘, on the Dalmatian coast, was a very important Mediterranean sea power from the thirtheenth century onwards. Though severely ruined by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to save its attractive Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains.

Dubrovnik was set up in the first half of the 7 th century by a bunch of refugees from Epidaurum, who established their settlement at the island and named it Laus. The Latin name Ragusa (Rausa), in use until the fifteenth century, originated from the rock (Lat. Lausa = rock). Opposite that location, at the foot of Srcic ; Mountain, the Slavs developed their own settlement using the moniker of Dubrovnik, gleaned from the Croatian word dubrava, which means oak woods. When the channel that separated these 2 settlements was filled in the 12th century they were united. From the time of its multinational the town was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire ; after the Fourth Crusade the city came under the sovereignty of Venice (1205-1358), and by the Concord of Zadar in 1358 it became part of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, when it was actually a republican free make it clear that reached its peak in the fifteenth and 16th centuries. A business crisis in Mediterranean shipping and, more especially, a devastating quake on April 1667 that levelled the majority of the general public buildings, destroyed the contentment of the Republic. This forceful quake came as an important point in the city’s development.

Dubrovnik is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a late-medieval walled city, with a regular street layout. Among the exceptional medieval, Renaissance and Baroque monuments in the impressive fortifications and the monumental gates to the city are the Town Hall (now the Rector’s Palace), dating from the eleventh century ; the Franciscan Priory (completed in the 14th century, but now largely Baroque in appearance) with its imposing church ; the in depth Dominican Priory ; the cathedral (rebuilt after the 1667 quake) ; the customs house (Sponza), the eclectic appearance of which exposes the indisputable fact that it’s the work of several hands over many years ; and several other Baroque churches, such as that of St Blaise (patron saint of the town).

The first International heritage preservation site consisted solely of the defences and the intra-mural city. It was later extended to incorporate the Pile medieval industrial suburb, a planned development of the fifteenth century, and the Lovrijenac Fortress, found on a cliff, which was likely started as early as the eleventh century, but owes its present appearance to the fifteenth and 16th centuries. Also included were the Lazarets, built in the early 17th century to house potential plague-carriers from abroad, the late 15th-century Kase moles, built to protect the port against south-easterly gales, and the Revelin Fortress, dating from 1449, which was built to order the town moat on its north side.

Six yachts finish in the same minute on the water!

The south westerly course and the prevailing 12 knot mistral produced a wind angle of ninety degrees for the first part of the race and 5 boats ran one another off to the left side of the course while the eventual winner Alan Woodward stuck to the rum line with the other four yachts of the ten identical Beneteau First 45′s. The fleet at last came together as the finish line approached and at the end six of the 10 yachts completed in the same minute on the water. The match racing hot shots filled up the last 5 placings.

The post-race dinner at the Scotch cafe in Polace set the scene for a Roman style party, appropriate because Polace boasts the remains of a Roman villa.
The whole of the northwards end of Mljet is a nationwide park and the lay day was spent walking thru the luxurious pine forests that surround Lake Jezero.

The subsequent and last race was set on a course across to Kobas on the mainland but dawn broke on a glassy sea with very small chance of wind. Around 12 , however , and to everybody’s surprise, a twelve knot south easterly filled in around 1pm and the fleet worked across the passage on a flat sea in perfect summer conditions. Once again the fleet split and those that stayed to sea caught the yachts seeking non-existent lifts along the shore. After a run to the finish the yachts again completed in a ‘heap’.

The wily Alan Woodward of the Royal Brighton Yacht Club stayed out of the match racing frays between Roger Hickman, Steve Barlow from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and David Buckman from the Port Lincoln Yacht Club. Alan eventually won the day on handicap from Alan Hare, a racing beginner who basked in leading the famous Roger Hickman for a large part of the last race.

The final 2 nights at the sumptuous Dubrovnik Palace Hotel saw a gentle wind down from an impressive rally sailed in perfect conditions.
The 2012 Croatia Yacht Rally will be run by Mariner Sailing during the same 14 days of 2012 and will be enhances by a new event in Croatia to the north of Split in the Kornati Islands. The Croatia Kornati Yacht Rally will be sailed in the first two weeks of September. Again a matched fleet of yachts will be used, all with battened mains, treble spreader rigs, folding propellers and deep keels. 3 double cabins will supply spacious accommodation and a fourth twin cabin will offer storage for bag.

Details of the 2012 Croatia Yacht Rally are available on the net and details of the Croatia Kornati Yacht Rally will shortly be available, writes tagza.com.