Mr Kröss, Why does a Tyrolean teach sailing?
I was a jazz musician for a long time, but at some point I felt the need to change careers again. I obtained all the necessary licences from the RYA and started working as a professional skipper and for various sailing schools. This then developed to such an extent that I now run my own RYA sailing school.
How exactly does it work? Are you in Croatia for the whole summer?
No, I live in Vienna with my wife, my nine-year-old son and my 15 and 16-year-old daughters. My wife and I have an agreement that I work 24 weeks a year and spend the rest of the year at home. In Austria, I take care of organisational matters or take some time off. So I spend 24 weeks of the year travelling. In winter, for example, I spend a lot of time in the Canary Islands. I also go on long-distance cruises with my customers or give astronavigation courses directly on board. I'm mainly in Biograd in the early and low season, when the region is less crowded, the charter prices are a little cheaper and the training is more pleasant when it's not so hot. Then everyone can concentrate for longer.
Are you chartering the boat for lessons?
Yes, exactly. This is a More 40 equipped to RYA standards. The boat is nice and sporty and good for teaching because it only sails fast when it is well trimmed. So it gives direct feedback.
And why Biograd of all places?
I came to Biograd because I had been sailing there for many years and also worked for another sailing school. However, they moved their base and I stayed there. That's why I've been in contact with the charter company LM Yachting for years, from whom I now hire my boat.
Do you think there are skills from your previous job that will help you now?
In music, too, I had to communicate a lot in order to understand and solve certain problems. A certain amount of improvisation is also part of making music and sailing. I also try to always be open to other approaches on the sailing boat and not categorise things into "right" and "wrong". I believe that things are more complex and complicated in nature and that it therefore takes an understanding of the matter and an open approach to be able to solve certain problems.
As a native Tyrolean, how did you get into sailing in the first place?
I have been sailing with my father since I was a child. He was a doctor and we had a small, almost seven-metre-long Friendship 22 on Lake Constance. In the summer, we took the ship to the Adriatic in a small lorry. Back then, I sailed the entire coast of the Adriatic with my parents, several times from Trieste almost to Dubrovnik and back. Even back then, I was fascinated by the waves and the rocking of the boats. However, I then took a different career path and only sailed as a hobby.
