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WinterIce age on the Croatian coast

Pascal Schürmann

 · 09.02.2012

Winter: Ice age on the Croatian coastPhoto: Sea Help
Icy mooring lines on a yacht in the harbour of Punat
The cold snap has hit various parts of the Adriatic hard over the last few days. At times there was metre-high snow in some marinas
Icy mooring lines on a yacht in the harbour of PunatPhoto: Sea Help Icy mooring lines on a yacht in the harbour of Punat

The persistent cold combined with heavy storms and snowfall had brought public life to a complete standstill in large parts of Croatia. However, the situation has now improved again, as YACHT correspondent Karl-Heinz Beständig reports. The extreme weather conditions are only expected to last until the weekend, after which temperatures are expected to rise again.

Frozen spray transformed this gate at Baska harbour into an almost fairytale-like work of ice artPhoto: Sea Help Frozen spray transformed this gate at Baska harbour into an almost fairytale-like work of ice art

A state of emergency was declared in Serbia and Dalmatia last week, with some areas cut off from electricity and water supplies. In the largest harbour city of Split, traffic collapsed over the past few days. Gale-force winds of 205 kilometres per hour were measured at times on the bridge between the port city of Rijeka and the island of Krk, which was closed to traffic for hours.

For boats and yachts currently spending the winter in Croatia, the extreme weather conditions can have dire consequences. Wolfgang Dauser, head of the boat charter service operating in Croatia Sea Help. He says: "The frozen lines are particularly dangerous, as they break like glass in combination with the strong bora wind that is currently prevailing." One yacht has already drifted and stranded in Omisalj for this reason. But even tarpaulins that have not been handled properly cannot withstand the masses of snow and the strong winds, as the Sea-Help teams along the coast report.

Winter victim. This yacht ran aground in Omisaj after the mooring lines broke in the frostPhoto: Sea Help Winter victim. This yacht ran aground in Omisaj after the mooring lines broke in the frost

For owners from Austria or Germany, Sea Help now offers a special yacht support service during the winter: The breakdown mechanics then check on the registered yachts at regular intervals.

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However, anyone leaving their boat to spend the winter in an ACI marina or another marina on the Adriatic should first check their contract to see whether a "winter service" has already been agreed with the marina. This can then include, among other things, the checking and repositioning of mooring lines and the checking of winter tarpaulins.

In addition to Croatia, other sailing areas are also affected by the cold spell, including the lakes in the Alpine countries in particular. The first yachts are also stuck in the ice on the Baltic Sea, such as on the Warnow in Rostock.

Pascal Schürmann

Pascal Schürmann

Editor YACHT

Pascal Schürmann joined YACHT in Hamburg in 2001. As head of copywriting and head of the editorial team, he makes sure that all articles make it into the magazine on time and that they are both informative and entertaining to read. He was born in the Bergisches Land region near Cologne. He learned how to handle the tiller and sheet as a teenager in a touring dinghy on the Sneeker Meer and on a tall ship on the IJsselmeer. During and after his studies, he sailed on the Baltic Sea and in the Mediterranean. As a trained business journalist, he is also responsible for boat financing and yacht insurance reports at YACHT, but also has a soft spot for blue water topics.

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