Luxury Sailing Experience in Croatia
The bar was set high with Executive Remote Worker’s maiden voyage (pun intended)!
It was a beautiful summer day in Croatia when six members of the Executive Remote Worker community joined two crew from 45 Degrees Sailing for the very first Executive Remote Worker coworking trip. We set sail from Trogir, Croatia to spend 8 days and 7 nights aboard a 55-foot sailing yacht.
We unanimously agreed it was a trip of a lifetime!
But… what about the internet?
The biggest question we get asked from digital nomads and traveling remote workers is:
What was the internet like living on a sailboat?
The most important thing to know is Nick and Mahina from 45 Degrees Sailing got you covered! They have sailing while working remotely down to a science.
First off, the sailboat was equipped with redundant internet across several different service providers.
They also emphasized the importance of communicating your schedule and needs – especially when we needed strong, reliable internet for a Zoom call, etc. As an experienced team, they knew exactly where to be for solid internet and adapted the itinerary to ensure you get what you need.
Where it’s solid
We basically always had solid, reliable internet anytime we were near land where there are cell towers – even when we were sailing or anchored. While at sea, we also had more than enough power between batteries and a generator on board.
This was especially true when we were docked in a marina where we had extra reliable internet and essentially unlimited electricity. This was was pretty much every day starting in the late afternoon until the middle of the morning the following day. Since all of us worked for US companies, this timing worked really well. Croatia was 6 hours ahead of the East Coast in the US, meaning the business day opened in US around 3:00-4:00 pm in Croatia when we were pulling into our next town’s marina.
Where it’s more challenging Times to Work
The only time it was was challenging for us to work was when we were transiting and/or too far from land to pick up a signal from a cell tower.
We only noticed a lack of internet one time during the week when we were sailing in a pretty remote area near the island of Vis. However, the crew communicated this ahead of time to ensure nobody had critical work commitments at that time.
The other reason working while transiting on a sailboat was challenging was that when the wind is blowing and sails are up, we’re flying across the water at almost a 45-degree angle! I personally tried working below deck while we were sailing at a 45-degree angle and it was too surreal. Instead, I went above deck to enjoy the experience.
After the first couple days, we concluded time was better spent enjoying the transit than trying to work below deck!
A Typical Day
Generally speaking, each day went a little something like this:
Early to mid morning
We woke up to freshly made breakfast and delicious French press coffee aboard the sailboat. Some people took this time to hop on land to explore the town or grab a bielja kava from a local cafe while we docked. Others decided to fire up their laptop from the boat to get some work done before we headed to our swimming hole for the day.
Mid to late morning
With the boat’s engine fired up, we set sail for a special location for the daily dose of water activities and fun in the sun. We were pretty much able to work while transiting but it got a little tricky especially when Skipper Nick had us sailing at a 45-degree angle!
Late morning to mid afternoon
These were the most incredible hours of the day – both fun and relaxing. We anchored in amazing places to:
- Play in the water (swimming, snorkeling, diving, rock-climbing, cliff jumping, paddle boarding, etc.)
- Sing, play, or listen to music
- Build relationships and friendships
- Talk about business ideas
- Enjoy some local beer or wine
- Share personal and professional stories
- Work above deck with the incredible views
- Work below deck for more peace and quiet.
We pretty much rotated among all these things each day!
Mid to late afternoon
With sails up or engines running, we pulled up anchor and headed towards our next port of call for the night. Again, this was an opportunity for some people to work but we learned quickly that it was much more fun to hangout above deck to enjoy the sailing experience. The crew even taught us how to help sail the boat!
Late afternoon to early evening
Once docked in a new town, some people stayed on the boat to work for a few hours while others went on land for a fun excursion or to explore the new town before dinner.
Evening
Each night, we met up as a group to have dinner together. There was usually enough beer & wine flowing at dinner that we just headed back to the boat after dinner. On occasion, we stopped for some gelato on our way back to the boat before calling it a night and heading to bed! We wanted to get to a good night sleep because we didn’t want to miss anything the next day!
Our Itinerary
Enjoy this recap of our week along with some of our favorite pics.
SIDE NOTE: quick Croatian language lesson… ‘otok’ is Croatian for island and ‘uvala’ is Croatian for cove.]
Day 1 – Otok Solta
We boarded the sailboat on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and headed towards the island of Solta, only 9 nautical miles from Split, Croatia. We dropped anchor in Uvala Načujam and taxied to land via dinghy for our first dinner at Konoba Mareta. After dinner, we returned to the yacht, grabbed our pillows and blankets, and slept directly under the stars. This was the only night of the week where we were not docked in a marina so it was a very special night.
Day 2 – Uvala Borovica
After breakfast, we headed up the coast of Croatia for swimming and fun in the sun. Uvala Borovica was not a typical destination for 45 Degrees Sailing but Skipper Nick made this dream destination come true for one of our members. He promised himself years ago that one day he would swim in those waters after seeing it on his computer’s Microsoft screensaver. It was such a special day for everyone to witness dreams coming true!
Day 3 – Otok Vis
After breakfast on Day 3, we left Rogoznica and headed to the island of Vis. Along the way to Vis, we made stops for lunch, sun, and fun. We rolled into the port of Kut in late afternoon so some people could take an on-land excursion.
Until 1989, the island of Vis was a secret naval base for the Yugoslav army. In fact, we sailed past the entrance to a former submarine bunker.
While set in Greece, they filmed the second installment of Mamma Mia on the island of Vis.
Day 4 – Stari Grad on Otok Hvar
After spending the night on the island of Vis, we headed to Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. The town of Stari Grad is one of the oldest towns in Europe.
Like the day before, we spent much of the day swimming, having drinks & lunch, and working. By the late afternoon, we pulled into the marina in Stari Grad and explored the town for a bit. For dinner, we took a short and pre-arranged bus ride outside of town to the Hora Farm restaurant for a traditional Croatian peka dinner – meat, potatoes, and vegetables cooked under an bell-shaped lid for 2-3 hours.
Day 5 – Jelsa on Otok Hvar
We didn’t travel far this day which meant MORE time for us to enjoy the pristine waters of the Adriatic Sea. By early evening, we made it to the beautiful and quaint harbor town of Jelsa on the island of Hvar.
The International Dark Sky Association recently named Jelsa the first International Dark Sky Community in both Croatia and Southern Europe. I’m not surprised as the stargazing here was incredible!
Day 6 – Vrboska on the island of Hvar
We didn’t have to travel far on Day 6 which (again) meant MORE time for swimming, water activities, relaxing, and working. In the late afternoon, we pulled into the marina of Vroboska, the smallest of the towns on Hvar. With several stone bridges, it is sometimes called the “Venice of Croatia.”
After spending all day in the sun and water, we had fun exploring the quaint town of Vrboska for a couple hours before dinner. We enjoyed a memorable dinner while watching the sun go down.
Day 7 – Donj-Seget near the town of Trogir
On our last day at sea, we made our way back towards Trogir, where our adventure started one week earlier. Before pulling into Marina Baotič in Seget Donji, we made stops for lunch and of course fun on the water. In the evening, we enjoyed our last meal together at the Mala Mora restaurant in Kastel Luksic. After dinner, we returned to the sailboat to spend one last night aboard the Mila Felice.
The next morning, we basically just packed, disembarked, and headed to Split together for breakfast before going our separate ways.
Wrap-up
It was hard to say goodbye to each other in Croatia. However, we took solace knowing we made lifetime friendships and memories together that week.
If our goals for the week were to:
- Enjoy the beautiful sun and pristine waters of the Adriatic Sea.
- Learn a little about sailing and life on the Croatian islands.
- Meet and get to know other members of the community.
- Pressure-test remote working from a sailing yacht.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
I have nothing but love and a heart full of thanks to Nick & Mahina Hathaway from 45 Degrees Sailing and to the members of the ERW community for making this sailing event so special!
