**CREW THROUGH MID-MAY 2023**

CAPTAIN
Tina Mraovic

Born and raised in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, Tina studied at the Faculty of Kinesiology. As an elective, she took a class on sailing, and as she says, "Once you try sailing, you get hooked for life!" She has been a captain now for the last six years, sailing the Mediterranean, from Turkey to Greece and Croatia.

During the winter seasons, she went from sailing, to being a ski instructor all over Europe. This year, she is trading in her skis for the tropical waters of the Caribbean! She is passionate about sailing, water sports, diving, running, hiking and just enjoys being physically fit in general. She can’t wait to explore the Caribbean waters and showcase for guests the beauty that the islands hold.

Matea Ljepotić

Matea was born and raised in Split, Croatia. She spent most of her childhood with her grandparents on island Brač, where her grandpa had a small family boat. He often took her brother and her on adventures and sea shell diving, so she was around boats from a young age. Her grandma had a cookies and cakes shop, and she was her first mate in the kitchen ever since she could walk. That’s when her love of cooking started growing.

She graduated at University of Split, Faculty of Economics, and has an Entrepreneurship undergrad degree and masters degree in Marketing. After working as a CEO assistant in a small consulting company for a year, she realized an office job isn’t something her heart desires at such a young age. She went on to pursue her true passion full time, which is cooking. Matea first started working for charters at a young age of 21, as a summer job. Previously she worked as a shop clerk, waiter at a cafe bar and a server in a restaurant. She quickly realized cooking and serving her guests is the job she enjoys the best. Seeing people enjoy her food always put a smile on her face. Since her family is very traditional, and all the women in her family were great chefs, she always cooks healthy and hearty meals for her guests.


**CREW STARTING MID-MAY 2023**
Captain Toni Pečarević

Born in Split, Croatia Toni was raised on the small island of Vis. Since he was a child, the sea had a big influence on him. That influence started with his father, who was a fisherman. He taught Toni the most important things on the water, which are respect and awareness. Toni signed up for his local sailing club at the age of 10 where he completely fell in love with the “science” of sailing, as his family says “sailing is a science, not a sport.”

He studied at the Maritime College of Split, where he received his bachelors degree in Nautics, but he never pursued a career of Merchant Navy Seafarer, because his love for sailing and exploring proved stronger.

His first job in yachting was as a port operator in his hometown of Vis, where he was surrounded by yachties and he quickly envisioned himself also within that position as soon as he was able. During those years, he gathered lots of boating knowledge, contacts and a feeling of what his future would hold.

He started his career as a skipper for The Yacht Week, a popular flotilla company that operates in the Mediterranean but also in other locations like BVI, Martinique and Tahiti. He started as a Skipper but quickly moved to higher positions such as Lead Skipper. After 35 weeks with the The Yacht Week, Toni switched to bareboat chartering with families that wanted to explore and see the culture of his beautiful country of Croatia. Those connections also gave him the opportunity to do many deliveries of new boats from factories (Lagoon, Bali, Beneteau) to various locations in the Mediterranean. Since the start in 2016, he has 100+ charters and 100,000+ nm of navigation.

When not at sea, which doesn’t happen often, he likes to do a lot of mountain biking and travelling. One of his most memorable trips was to one of the biggest mountain bike parks in Europe, Les2Alpes and Leogang.


Chef Ida Šolc

Ida grew up on the island Vir in Croatia, but during the Yugoslavian War her family moved to Prague, Czech Republic. As the moved prompted her to miss the sea, she decided to pursue a career in yachting. In the off season when she is not onboard a yacht she runs a bar in Czechia and she is happy to make you her bar’s signature cocktail onboard! She is best known for the smile that she always carries.

Her second love, her love of cooking began at a young age while helping her grandmother in the kitchen. Her grandmother was a baker for a famous chocolate factory in Croatia “Kraš”. That is where Ida gained all of her amazing recipes for desserts! Her cooking is inspired by her travels, and she likes to take cues from the Italian, Turkish, Greek, Austrian and Hungarian food she has sampled while traveling. She also likes to bring all of the tastes of Caribbean into her kitchen. She is always on the look for local ingredients and flavors that will allow her to learn about local culture and as a former tour guide around Europe she hopes to bring you as many local experiences as possible.