24 October 2021 - This year the Biograd Boat Show celebrated it's 23rd show with 21 years of continuous record breaking shows, a unique accomplishment with so many boat shows around the world. Held at Marina Kornati in Biograd na moru, this is Central Europe’s largest in-water boat show and has gained international popularity amongst both exhibitors and visitors alike. Industry events held within the Biograd Boat Show  include the 5th HGK (Croatian Chamber of Commerce) Nautical Days (20th-22nd), the Croatia Charter Expo (21st-22nd) and the Biograd B2B business networking event.

The first day was opened by the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Nataša Tramišak.

Stretched out across four marquee halls and three piers spanning the northern and western wings of Marina Kornati, the Boat Show offered visitors the chance to peruse over 300 registered exhibitors across all aspect srelated to the marine industry, including apparel, solar energy, boat charter agents, food products , chandlery and textiles. A highlight for many visiting the boat show, there were also up to 300 boats on display, with many of them open to the public to look through and inspect. 

Of course, in these COVID times, safety measures were in place such as RAPID testing available at the entrance for 50 kuna per person for anyone who did not have a COVID passport (required to enter the event.) There were also many sanitizer stations laid out all over providing many opportunities for both exhibitors and attendees to ensure that they were abiding by the COVID guidelines.

Some of the new vessels that were introduced to the Croatian market included:

• Seamaster 45 Fortuna - Presented by Angelina Yachting, this is the largest motorboat from the Seamaster range, with a 13.5m flybridge. contemporary design and luxe interior. Available for charter with Angelina Yachting.

• Flammifer FFB 640 F-RPA compact firefighting boat - Made domestically in Croatia, this powerful machine is designed to emit jets of up to 45 meters, useful for its’ purpose of fighting fires in marina’s, on ships and in coastal areas where access is only by sea.

• Bali Catamaran in sizes 4.2 and4.6 - Bali is known for its’ unique catamaran designs maximising on lounging space and open living areas. Their 4.2 and 4.6 models are already popular in the charter industry here in Croatia. 

• Agena Marin solar ferry boat - With it’s clean lines and retro design, this lightweight 8.5m long vessel has a maximum of 12 passengers. Equipped with a solar panel with a capacity of 1800 W that constantly charges the batteries, the boat can sail constantly from 5 to 8 hours, depending on the load.

• See below for a quick walk-through of the Bali 4.6 with 45D in their Biograd Boat Show vlog. Charter a Bali catamaran with Croatia Yachting Charter HERE  

A few other noteworthy exhibitors were: 

• EcoFlow - A compact and highly attractive portable solar power system, boasting the worlds fastest portable power stations.

• Big Green Egg - A bbq with a distinctive name and appearance, it comes in three different sizes and is made in Croatia!

• Lampuga - Premium, electric, emission-free surfboards.

A Biograd Boat Show favourite returned this year as well. Christian Buchair, also known as “Rocket Man” took to the air with his Flyboard Water Jet Pack. Christian is also associated with Efun Waterways, who were also at the Boat Show showcasing their luxury water toys! Efun maximized on being at the Biograd Boat Show and premiered the Messestand, their new German-made carbon electric surfboard from WaterRebels. 

Every evening of the event was closed with live entertainment from local artists, such as Three Little Birds, Mate Skračić band, The Dreamers and a special performance on Saturday night from Freeway “Unplugged”, a band consisting of local nautical workers! 

For more detailed information and some great articles relevant to both the Biograd Boat Show and nautical tourism within Croatia, check out the Biograd Boat Show Croatia Yachting magazine here.

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/BiogradBoatShow

If you have questions on anything sailing in Croatia, feel free to ask below in the comments or check out Total Croatia, Sailing in Croatia: Your One-Stop-Shop for Everything Sailing.

For more about Travel in Croatia follow TCN's dedicated pages - Digital Nomads | Travel.

ZAGREB, 24 Sept 2021 - The ninth Kvarner Fiumare festival of the sea and maritime heritage and the Rijeka Boat Show, featuring nautical and boat equipment, opened in Rijeka on Friday.

The Fiumare festival, taking place at several venues in downtown Rijeka, will be open until 29 September while the Rijeka Boat Show will run until 26 September at the Caroline of Rijeka pier.

The Rijeka Boat Show's theme is "The City is the port, the port is the city", and visitors can see new small vessels made in Croatia as well as world brands and nautical and fishing equipment.

"Rijeka's potential has been recognised by the world's largest groups - the attractiveness of the marina in Porto Baroš has been recognised by the Lürssen Group, the world's biggest producer megayachts. The Zagreb Pier future container terminal has been recognised by Maersk, the largest shipping company in the world. That means that in the next three to four years, Rijeka will definitely change its face as seen from the sea," Mayor Marko Filipović said.

The Fiumare festival will feature lectures, exhibitions, interactive workshops, rowing demonstrations, presentations of historical events and a fair of autochthonous products from the Kvarner region.

For more on travel, CLICK HERE.

One of the events held during the year of the celebration of 110th year since the establishment of Zagreb Velesajam (Zagreb Fair) will be the 28th instance of the Zagreb Boat Show, which will be held this week, between the 20th and the 24th of February.

The Zagreb Boat Show is often seen as one of the most business-oriented boat shows in Croatia and the region, and this year it will be held in 7 pavillions on the Zagreb Fair grounds. More than 280 vessells will be presented to the public, and both of those numbers constitute around 10% of growth, compared to 2018. Almost all relevant Crotian shipbuilders will be present at the show: Pičuljan, Grginić yachts, Bura boats, Arba, Tušek, Bimex, Leidi, Ramina, JK Nautika, Barracuda, Sykora, Terra Nauta and many others. Many other vendors will be presenting their boats, equipment, outboard motors, equipment for boats and yachts, diving and fishing stuff, nautical apparel and shoes.

Kornati National Park will be presenting the photo exhibition "Bažikić", a story of a Boat, Master and Crew. The idea for the exhibition is by Nikola Bašić, the architect of the Sea Organ in Zadar. Another exhibition to certainly get a lot of attention is the exhibition of the boats of Neretva, as well as the story of the marathon race of Neretva held each year.

At the same time, three other fairs will be held at the same location, albeit a bit smaller than the Boat Show: Hotel&Gastroteh, Hunting and Fishing Days and Festival of Olives. Most of the big companies in the HoReCa sector will be present at the Hotel&Gastroteh event, with numerous presentations, workshops and tastings of the traditional dishes. Day of Hunting and Fishing will, in addition to commercial component, have the educational programme, focusing on the direct importance of hunting in conservation efforts. At the Festival of Olives, producers of olives and olive oil from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro will showcase their premier products, and the idea of the event will be to promote the olive as a very healthy ingredient in everyday cooking.

The price of admition for all four fairs is 30 kuna, and the opening hours are 10 am until 7 pm every day (except on Sunday, when the event will close earlier, at 6 pm), at Zagreb Fair in Novi Zagreb.

Biggest boat show in the region set for its 19th show with many novelties in store.