Monday 17 August 2009

Number One For Books On Croatia Today - Amazon

    Front Cover

Writing a Cruising Companion, in any useful detail, with any diligence and passion, is a labour of love. Croatia made it a joy.

Keeping the Croatia Cruising Companion up to date, on this site and for the next edition, requires little more than a continuance of the original spirit and diligence, ie a lot more hard work!

There’s no lack of motivation from our rankings on Amazon, who seem to rate our book, over several months, way ahead of most other books on Croatia – land or shore based – so we’re celebrating another first place tonight, mindful that we’ve plenty to do to maintain the ranking in the months and year’s to come.

Monday 3 August 2009

Sibenik’s Marina Mandalina – Latest News

NCP signing - Mark Lande Goran Prgin Husnu Akhan (2)

Regular readers will know that Sibenik’s Marina Mandalina features regularly on this site and Croatia Online.  In February 2009, the international marina developer and operator, IGY, together with NCP (the original sole owners of Marina Mandalina), announced plans to add 65 megayacht berths to the existing 350 wet berths  and 50 dry berths, transforming it into the new Mandalina Marina & Yacht Club – Croatia’s first dedicated superyacht marina.

The latest news is that they’ve been joined by Turkey’s Dogus Group, who will be both an equity partner and oversee the construction of the new development which is scheduled to include a yacht club, residential developments, resort accommodation, modern shopping facilities, dining and nightlife.

Excerpts from NCP’s press release are as below:

The signature “marina village” at the Mandalina Marina & Yacht Club is currently in the planning stages and will be further developed by Doğuş, IGY and NCP over the coming months. The project’s architecture will combine a contemporary Mediterranean style with public open spaces and gardens to provide an attractive setting for a bal­anced resort development. Buildings will be intertwined with cascading waterways while their juxtaposition will blend to create an architec­tural statement of visionary design and quality. All the upland elements will be situated topographically to take advantage of the natural elevated land, and, more importantly, to provide ceremonial focal entry points to the development.”

“We are pleased to align with the Doğuş Group, as we continue the development of the new Mandalina Marina & Yacht Club,” said Andrew Farkas, founder and chairman of IGY. “This agreement creates a very strong partnership comprising the foremost Croatian maritime brand, a leading regional conglomerate with a strong maritime brand in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the world’s premier marina developer and operator. Doğuş’ financial strength, as well as their tremendous expertise in construction and success with projects of a similar nature, make them an ideal partner alongside IGY and NCP in the Mandalina Marina & Yacht Club.”  

“We are equally excited about this partnership and the economic benefits that it will bring to our community,” added Goran Prgin, president of NCP Group. “We welcome the Doğuş Group to Croatia and look forward to working with them to continue to position Dalmatia as the Mediterranean’s top megayacht destination.”

“The Doğuş Group is pleased to enter the Croatian market with such an exciting project and such tremendous partners,” said Ferit Sahenk, chairman of Doğuş Group. “We are actively engaged in similar projects in Turkey and are certain that with the involvement of IGY, NCP and Doğuş, the new Mandalina Marina & Yacht Club will become a showcase destination for the region.”

The Mandalina Marina & Yacht Club is one of the most complete, full-service nautical destinations in the region and encompasses not only the marina, but the NCP Shipyard with 24-hour assistance and technical services, NCP Charter with more than 60 vessels and the NCP Sailing School. Additionally, the facility offers nearby fuelling and on-site grocery for provisioning. The marina is situated in the scenic coastal town of Sibenik on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.

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The marina will continue to operate normally while the development progresses and for more information visit the following sites:

IGY Mandalina Marina

NCP Sibenik

Dogus Group

Croatia Online - Superyacht Owners Guide

Croatia Cruising Companion - Sibenik Regatta (if you look carefully at the photos you will spot NCP’s yacht)

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Many thanks to NCP for today’s photo which shows the key partners at the signing ceremony, attended by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Stjepan Mesić. From left to right – IGY’s Mark Lande, NCP’s Goran Prgin and Dogus’s Husnu Akhan