The Croatia Cruising Companion: Review

Created by doina. Last modified on 2008-03-06 10:33:49
Topic: Books,Charts and DVDs
Countries: Croatia

The Croatia Cruising Companion
Jane Cody and John Nash
Published by Wiley Nautical 2007
ISBN 978-1-904-35828-2
Recommended retail price £24.99/€35

www.wileynautical.com

Croatia is now the most popular cruising destination in the Mediterranean and this new cruising companion is a useful addition to such existing publications as Trevor and Dinah Thompson's “Adriatic Pilot” and Karl-H Bestaendig's ”777 Harbours and Anchorages”. The book is nicely laid out, with ports, marinas and anchorages described clearly, each accompanied by useful harbour plans. The larger places are comprehensively covered by separate boxes of “Useful Information” that list the range of facilities available as well as any practical information needed by visitors arriving by yacht.

The authors must have done their research either by land or from other sources, rather than visit the individual places on their own boat, as there are a number of omissions as well as outright errors. Some of the most obvious ones are, for example, describing in Vis harbour only the mooring facilities in front of the town itself and overlooking those on the quay of the neighbouring port of Kut located close by in the same bay (page 179). Similarly, although Uvala Racetinovac is depicted on the map of Ciovo Island (page 136), this useful anchorage close to the attractive city of Trogir is ignored. Yet another serious omission are the two sheltered (and popular) anchorages at Uvala Telascica and Farkariculac on Dugi Otok (Dugi Island), that are depicted on the plan on page 62 but not even mentioned.

It is a hard decision to have to choose from at least three guides that cover largely the same area and, those who can afford it, may be tempted to buy all three as every one of them has its pluses and minuses. Those cruising on a limited budget may be best served by “777 Harbours and Anchorages” whose main attraction is its simplicity and also lower price. A new English language edition, retitled as “808 Harbours and Anchorages”, is due for publication in March 2008.