The unfavourable weather conditions throughout the Adriatic, which we witnessed these days at the beginning of August, activated the sailors of ACI marina Vrboska, who came to the rescue of a boat whose engine failed due to strong gusts of wind.

On Monday, August 8, ACI Marina Vrboska received a call for help from the Split Port Authority regarding a vessel whose engine failed due to strong gusts of wind. Immediately after receiving the call, marine sailors Dinko Damjanić and Mihovil Šišejković promptly went out to sea. The island of Zečevo, not far from Vrboska, is the location where they found the three-man crew in trouble. Frostbitten and hypothermic, uninjured passengers were returned to land by the ACI marina boat.

Despite unfavourable conditions at sea, the rescue operation was successfully carried out

According to one of ACI’s heroes, Mihovil Šisejković, the storm was not felt in the marina because it is well protected. Mihovil and his colleague Dinko Damjanić were tying up the ships, as a result, they received a call from the reception of ACI marina Vrboska that rescue at sea was needed. bora and storm near Cape Glavice. At that point, we almost turned around and went back to the marina because we realized that we ourselves were in great danger, but we decided to continue on. After we loaded Mrs Jana and her minor child and Mr Filip, we thought about running aground on the nearby beach because the conditions for sailing were really impossible, but we still returned to the marina. An otherwise ten-minute drive took a full hour.”

Thanks to the sailors of the ACI marina, the uninjured passengers safely returned to Vrboska

Immediately after arriving at the location, sailors found a boat with a crew of three, which was in a state of shock and hypothermia. Due to strong gusts of wind and rough seas, ACI’s employees could not take their vessel into the tugboat, but left it at anchor, and transferred the passengers to the ACI marina Vrboska in their dinghy. One of the passengers on the mentioned boat was Mrs Jana Matošić Goluža, who said she had no words to express her gratitude to the sailors. “The day before yesterday afternoon, we were caught by a storm at sea and the waves were intensifying, and we headed back towards the coast. On the way to Basina, our engine stopped, and we couldn’t start the auxiliary one that we installed afterwards. We anchored and called a sea captain we know for help, but he estimated that the weather conditions did not allow his ship to set sail. Fortunately, the Port Authority called ACI, whose sailors showed dexterity, courage and responsiveness. I’m afraid to think what would have happened if they hadn’t come to our aid.”