History of Krilo Jesenice. Evolution from Cruising to Yachting
In the last couple of decades, the small coastal town of Krilo Jesenice in Dalmatia went through an interesting transformation. This most popular town in the world regarding building amazing vessels perfect for cabin charters stepped into a yachting market.
In this post, you will learn about this iconic shipbuilding village, its proud history, and how they are creating one of the most interesting yachting stories ever and putting Croatia on a map of the best yacht charter destinations in the World.
We are happy to say, that Goolets imprint in this transformation is significant, helping the owners with marketing, bookings, and with know-how from the yachting industry standards. For further details on the unique DS Yachts, you can download our free ebook, or send us an inquiry. Our yacht charter experts will assist you with planning your trip of a lifetime in Croatia.
Shipbuilding and nautical heritage of Krilo Jesenice
Krilo Jesenice, is a small coastal village, located in central Dalmatia, known for shipbuilding. Decades ago, this area was known for its sand and animal transporting ships to nearby islands, supporting the locals living there. During these times, the shipbuilders developed a very high quality (wooden) ship industry and superb nautical skills.
As they were sailing to all the islands, they literally learned about each bay, stone, and everything in between. Being located between Split and Omiš, it was also a perfect starting point from where they could reach most of the islands, from Zadar and all the way north to Dubrovnik.
The transformation from wooden ships to charter cruises
Once the ferries started to operate, transportation on wooden ships started to decline. In order to survive, the owners and builders of these ships needed to come up with something. Some of the families went into fishing and other industries, while others got an idea - go into hospitality. They transformed 20 to 25 meters ships into 8 to 10 cabins vessels, with one toilet and shower. Because the owners and builders of these vessels knew each island very well, they could show them in a unique way. The vessels were booked as charter cruises and the demand was significant. An authentic and distinctive experience was born.
More and more owners decided to go into the travel industry, building ships where each cabin had its own shower and toilet. They were still mostly wooden ships, with standard quality, but with very good local food and the option to show you the Dalmatian islands at their best. The unique industry was born. The fleet went from a couple of ships to dozens of vessels, being operated by large tour agencies on a cabin charter basis. Some ships went up to 30 meters in length and up to 12 or 16 cabins.
A daring decision - steel ships
About 15 years ago, some of the locals got an idea - to build ships out of steel. Others were a bit sceptic, as they didn't believe it would work. Regardless of the uncertainty, they went ahead and the first steel ships were born. As the neighbours saw that the maintenance of these vessels was much less complicated than the wooden ones, a new concept of shipbuilding was created. Keep in mind that the entire industry was still being developed in the same small village, where all the builders are neighbours and good friends.
In the next 10 to 15 years, between 10 to 15 new ships were built, and each builder wanted to be the owner of the biggest vessel. This healthy competition was the result of nice 30-meter ships going all the way to 50 meters. They became truly superb vessels, with large cabins, bathrooms, air conditioning, water sports equipment, and everything else you can imagine, to ensure a comfortable cruise around the most beautiful islands in the world.
The industry went full-scale. Some families owned from 5 and up to 10 ships, making Krilo Jesenice a town with the highest number of boats per capita in the Mediterranean. Of course, these value-for-money vessels, cruising in the most in-demand destination in the world, the tour agencies booked them easily.
Pioneering the boutique yacht Industry
In all this building frenzy, one of the most innovative families from Krilo decided to try something different. As everyone else put between 16 to 20 cabins (more cabins meant more profit), they went the other way, and built the first 36-meter ship with a still hull, with only 6 cabins. While most of the people there thought that this is a mad idea, the owners and builders of the yacht Navilux actually created a whole new industry of shipbuilding, unlike anywhere in the world.
At that time, that was a very big risk, but the next couple of years showed this was the right decision. After Navilux, more such ships were built - Omnia, Rara Avis, Dalmatino, Aurum Sky, Lady Gita, and several others. They were all built with high-quality materials and by very skilled shipbuilders, but since they were not coming from fancy boatyards, the prices were very competitive.
Rise to prominence in the yachting industry
Customers from all over the world were lined up, fighting for an available week. This was the first real step toward Krilo Jesenice, going from the "cruising industry" into the "yachting industry". With already first-class captains, talented chefs, and great service overall onboard high-end vessels cruising around the Dalmatian archipelago, success was bound to happen.
While more and more 6-cabin ships were being built in Krilo, 95% of people were still not ready to make a change and they did what they did best - cabin charter cruises. But then COVID-19 hit, and lots of ships stayed empty during summer. Cabin charters worldwide were put to a stop, but some of the owners in Krilo decided to not just wait this out and decided to do something about it.
Setting the standard for private yacht charters
Goolets, being one of the strongest yacht charter agencies in Croatia, was contacted by several ship owners, asking for advice. After the collaboration was confirmed, we helped them to set up the correct yachting standards in regard to services and "group planning", and created private charter rates.
Since some of the ships were around 50 meters long, they were classified as Super Yachts, and we marketed them as such. When the yachting industry first saw this, they were very skeptical. The first thing they noticed was, that the prices were far too low for yachts of such size. And the other thing was, that vessels registered as yachts can legally carry up to 12 passengers, but these ones could carry all the way up to 40. Why? Because they were legally registered as ships. All this sounded too good, to be true.
Evolution of amenities and services
Regardless, we managed to fully book several ships, that during COVID-19 actually earned almost double, when they did before. More and more ships wanted to transit into yachting, but not all of them met the needed requirements. Some ships downsized from 20 to 10 cabins and added all kinds of amazing amenities, such as a cinema room, wellness, and massage rooms, a pool, a jacuzzi, spacious indoor and outdoor lounging areas, etc. Some vessels decided to stay at 18 cabins and upgraded the services and water sports options.
The quality of ships built in Krilo Jesenice, their design, service, and amenities is top-notch. These yachts offer almost the same as super yachts in France but for a fraction of the price. As a new generation of captains/owners in Krilo is emerging, they are willing to take shipbuilding to a higher level. Since the world is still learning about this unique product, we believe this industry will grow even further.
With the combination of size, services, food, itinerary, hospitality, and just the overall experience, you cannot get a better value-for-money yacht than the ones built in Krilo Jesenice. In the upcoming years, more and more ships will switch to the yachting industry, making Croatia the number one luxury yacht charter destination in the world. We are very happy that Goolets is part of this exciting and ever-evolving unique yachting industry.
