*TravelWorld International Magazine Spring 2024

For your next adventure travel experience
Learn to Sail in Croatia
Story by Therese Iknoian, Photos by Therese Iknoian and Michael Hodgson
All smiles on board our Nautilus
Sailing catamaran before we head
out to sea for a weeklong liveaboard
learn-to-sail course.
©Michael Hodgson
Therese Iknoian laughs as she
cranks the winch to trim the sails.
©Michael Hodgson
Learning to tie essential sailing knots so
it becomes second nature on a cruise.
©Michael Hodgson
was literally tied up in knots
as I tried to figure out all those
sailing knots and what went under,
over, or through on my way to a neat
bowline, reef, or square hitch. But, as
we were told on our liveaboard week
learning to sail with Nautilus Sailing,
“If you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.”
And tie a lot we did. In fact, we tied so
many knots during our week that it
became second nature. Which is the
goal of an immersive week of learning
to sail. Even if it is not your intention
to earn a captain’s certification, which
most are there to do, the first few days
are like “drinking from a fire hose,”
said head instructor and Nautilus
Sailing founder Tim Geisler.
You learn the parts of a boat, how to
steer, read all those dials, tie those
pesky knots, anchor, rescue somebody
overboard (essential stuff, right?),
jump the halyard, raise the mainsail,
and then you must remember the
names of all the lines, sheets and
halyards (a.k.a ropes, but SSSSH, don’t
utter that word on a boat). And that’s
just the start.
But in between all that intense
learning, a liveaboard learn-tosail
week is incredibly fun – and
isn’t that what adventure travel
should be? Particularly when
it means sailing on a luxury
catamaran around the Split
Archipelago of Croatian islands
– blue skies, translucent waters,
fresh seafood, lunches moored
in a private cove with a swim,
and wandering through historic
villages.
“This doesn’t suck!” Geisler
exclaimed several times a day.
Can’t argue with that. And it could
be said for every destination
where Nautilus takes its
liveaboard students -- including
the Bahamas, Tahiti, and
Mallorca. Despite all the learning,
it is a week full of fun and
astounding beauty, whatever your
destination. Even the learning
feels less stressful when you are
barefoot, in a t-shirt, hanging out
in the middle of the Adriatic Sea
in Croatia.
Taking a motor scooter tour around Vis leads
you to expansive views of the village and bay.
©Therese-Iknoian
12
Heading out from Vis, the Stoncica Lighthouse
stands guard to warn sailors of the rocks.
©Therese-Iknoian
13