The app with the somewhat unwieldy name "Nautical Info Service Croatia" was commissioned by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure (MPPI) and has been available for iPhones and Android smartphones since autumn. It provides a very interesting bundle of information for water sports enthusiasts. There is an overview of all marinas with contact details, a list of all buoy fields and their operators including telephone numbers, a list of petrol stations and the harbour offices of the individual regions. Almost all the data is listed in a north-south direction, i.e. not alphabetically. Some also offer map overviews for a quicker overview.
Other features include weather reports, which, however, include a notice that they may incur costs when called up - it is not clear whether this is for data roaming or for the service. The emergency call function is particularly interesting for owners of small boats who do not have a radio on board. It allows an emergency call to be made to the Croatian MRCCs relatively easily via a red button on the home screen. The smartphone's GPS data is tapped so that the rescuers can locate the emergency call. For this to work, however, the user must enter two telephone numbers, the first of which must be that of the smartphone being used, which is then activated by a pin number sent by text message. Important: Without this procedure, the app cannot be used to its full extent! However, owners must of course also be aware that the app only works if the smartphone has a network!
Another somewhat surprising feature is the option to report offences by other crews or tenants of the buoy fields against the applicable regulations with a photo and short text. At first glance, this sounds like a somewhat abstruse denunciation app, but it probably has the background that there are always fatal accidents in Croatia caused by speeding motorboats.
We tested the free app on a smartphone with Andoid 6.0.1 (Motorola G 2), on which it ran smoothly and all functions worked perfectly. However, it is also available for iPhones with the iOS 8 or higher operating system (currently 10), so it should still run even on older iPhones from the 5 series. However, the app is not suitable for tablets without a SIM card because, as mentioned, it cannot be registered and unlocked without a phone number and registration code.
However, the app has already been criticised, for example by Wolfgang Götzinger, who runs a (free) website that lists all buoy fields in Croatia with their location, map, contact details and prices (www.wosamma.at): After a few spot checks, he found that various buoy fields were missing or their location was not always correctly marked. In the past, this has always been a problem with the list of fields published by the ministry on its website. It was practically always one or two seasons behind schedule.
Of course, the app cannot replace a proper sailing guide, but it is certainly a useful programme, especially because of the distress function.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
