From Venice to Croatia: find your way with the Sun and the Stars. Venice behind us, Croatia in the bow and a challenge on board: would you be able to discover where you are looking at the sky?
We suggest a different trip across the Adriatic on board the D&D Kufner 54 sailboat. We will depart from Venice, with its unmistakable silhouette and the nautical atmosphere left by the Veleziana, to head to Punat, on the Croatian island of Krk.
The journey begins in an extraordinary place. You can take advantage of the previous days to discover Venice, stroll through its streets and canals or experience the regatta before embarking on this new adventure.
During the voyage, the ship will become our classroom and the horizon our practice field. You will take a sextant, you will learn to bring the image of the Sun closer to the horizon and you will take your first observations. Then, with the help of the instructor, you will transform these measurements into information to guide us and calculate our position.
You don't need previous knowledge of astronomical navigation. We'll start step by step, with simple explanations and guided exercises. If you have already studied these techniques, you will have the opportunity to bring them to life on board: observe, calculate and verify what you used to see in books.
We will organize ourselves into small teams to measure, annotate and solve challenges. What latitude will we get at noon? Will our results match? How close will we get to the GPS position? There will be concentration, discoveries and an opportunity to share a smile when the first observation resists.
In the evening, we will search for the stars while we can still distinguish the horizon. We will try to obtain our position with two of them and discover what the Polar tells us about our latitude. The voyage will include night sailing, with organized guards and turn-based breaks: another way to experience the sea and be part of the crew.
And, as we approach Croatia, the sextant will continue to be useful. We will work with shoreline references, calculate the distance to a lighthouse and check the available depth before entering port.
We will sail in a small group of up to six participants, with time to practice, ask and share life on board. The observations will depend on the sky and the state of the sea; if any cannot be made, we will continue the learning with prepared exercises.
Two days to cross the Adriatic, learn something unusual and discover the satisfaction of finding your way with your own observations. Are you joining the challenge?
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