The South Westerly Course And The Current 12 Knot Mistral Produced A Wind Angle Of Ninety Degrees For The 1st Part Of The Race And 5 Boats Ran Each other Off To The Left Side Of The Course While The Eventual Winner Alan Woodward Stuck To The Rum Line With The Other Four Yachts Of The 10 Matching Beneteau First 45's.

Croatia Yacht Rally 2011 meandered toward its conclusion in Dubrovnik last week with a race from Korcula to Mljet, a distance of just 12 miles.

The 'Pearl of the Adriatic ', located on the Dalmatian coast, became an important Mediterranean sea power from the thirtheenth century onwards. Although seriously ruined by a tremor in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to save its pretty Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Damaged again in the 1990s by armed conflict, it's now the focus of a major restoration programme co-ordinated by UNESCO.

The 'Pearl of the Adriatic ', on the Dalmatian coast, was a very important Mediterranean sea power from the thirtheenth century onwards. Although severely ruined by a tremor in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to save its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, priories, palaces and fountains.

Dubrovnik was founded in the first half of the 7th century by a bunch of refugees from Epidaurum, who established their settlement at the island and named it Laus. The Latin name Ragusa (Rausa), in use till the fifteenth century, originated from the rock (Lat. Lausa = rock). Opposite that location, at the foot of Srcic ; Mountain, the Slavs developed their own settlement using the name of Dubrovnik, derived from the Croatian word dubrava, which means oak woods. When the channel that separated these 2 settlements was filled in the 12th century they were united. From the time of its establishment the city was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire ; after the 4th Crusade the city came under the sovereignty of Venice (1205-1358), and by the Deal of Zadar in 1358 it became part of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, when it was a republican free say reached its peak in the fifteenth and 16th centuries. A business crisis in Mediterranean shipping and, more particularly, a devastating tremor on April 1667 that levelled the majority of the general public buildings, destroyed the welfare of the Republic. This forceful tremor came as a significant point in the city's development.

Dubrovnik is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a late-medieval walled city, with a regular street layout. Among the outstanding medieval, Renaissance and Baroque monuments within the magnificent fortifications and the enormous gates to the city are the City Hall (now the Rector's Palace), dating from the eleventh century ; the Franciscan Priory (finished in the 14th century, but now principally Baroque in appearance) with its imposing church ; the intensive Dominican Priory ; the cathedral (rebuilt after the 1667 tremor) ; the customs house (Sponza), the eclectic appearance of which exposes the proven fact that it's the work of one or two hands over many years ; and several other Baroque churches, such as that of St Blaise (patron saint of the city).

The original Global heritage preservation site consisted only of the defences and the intra-mural city. It was later extended to include the Pile medieval commercial suburb, a planned development of the 15th century, and the Lovrijenac Fortress, located on a cliff, which was probably started as early as the eleventh century, but owes its present appearance to the 15th and 16th centuries. Also included were the Lazarets, built in the early 17th century to house potential plague-carriers from abroad, the late 15th-century Kase moles, built to defend the port against south-easterly gales, and the Revelin Fortress, dating from 1449, which was built to command the city moat on its northwards side.

6 yachts finish in the same minute on the water!

The south westerly course and the prevailing 12 knot mistral produced a wind angle of ninety degrees for the 1st part of the race and 5 boats ran each other off to the left side of the course while the eventual winner Alan Woodward stuck to the rum line with the other 4 yachts of the 10 identical Beneteau First 45's. The fleet at last came together as the finish line approached and in the final analysis 6 of the 10 yachts finished in the same minute on the water. The match racing hot shots filled the last 5 placings.

The post-race dinner at the Bourbon eaterie in Polace set the scene for a Roman style party, acceptable because Polace boasts the remains of a Roman villa.
The whole of the northern end of Mljet is a countrywide park and the lay day was spent walking thru the luxurious pine forests that surround Lake Jezero.

The subsequent and last race was set on a course across to Kobas on the mainland but dawn broke on a glassy sea with very no chance of wind. Around 12 , however , and to everyone's surprise, a twelve knot south easterly filled in around 1pm and the fleet worked across the passage on a flat sea in perfect summer conditions. Once again the fleet split and those who stayed to sea caught the yachts looking for non-existent lifts along the shore. After a run to the finish the yachts again finished in a 'heap'.

The wily Alan Woodward of the Royal Brighton Yacht Club stayed out of the match racing frays between Roger Hickman, Steve Barlow from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and David Buckman from the Port Lincoln Yacht Club. Alan finally won the day on handicap from Alan Hare, a racing beginner who basked in leading the famous Roger Hickman for a very important part of the last race.

The final 2 nights at the luxurious Dubrovnik Palace Hotel saw a gradual wind down from an excellent rally sailed in ideal conditions.
The 2012 Croatia Yacht Rally will be run by Mariner Sailing during the same 14 days of 2012 and will likely be enhances by a new event in Croatia to the north of Split in the Kornati Islands. The Croatia Kornati Yacht Rally will be sailed in the 1st 2 weeks of Sep. Again a matched fleet of yachts will be used, all with battened mains, triple spreader rigs, folding propellers and deep keels. 3 double cabins will supply roomy accommodation and a fourth twin cabin will offer storage for luggage.

Details of the 2012 Croatia Yacht Rally are available online and details of the Croatia Kornati Yacht Rally will soon be available, writes tagza.com.