Marko Murn,
IYFR SLOVENIA Past Fleet Commodore
IYFR BALKANS Regional Commodore
Let me first introduce myself: I started as a “ballast” on Flying Dutchman with Yugoslav Olympic sailor Miklavec during his trainings in his partner’s absence Dušan Puh in Summer 1972. The saling had not left much impression to teenager, beside some burned skin. But in 1985 my manager from Hewlett-Packard invited me on the 2 weeks sailing from Athens to Rhodes. The men crew went through all possible weather conditions and our hearts were poisoned with the sailing. Same year we made exams for boat leader license, next year the GMDSS radio license and in three years the professional Skippers license. Since that Summer I have sailed every year more, depending on the available time beside my family and job. I have participated in many sailing club regattas for open class, introduced sailing to more than hundred beginners, sailed with my children from their first steps on, but my focus was on discovering new seas. Beside our home sea, Adriatic, where we have visited almost all islands and bays, with my family we have visited also all Italian, Greek and Turkish coast. And if I say all – it means really every mile of their coast from Trieste to Genova with Sardinia and Sicily and all Italian archipelagos, Greece from Ionian to Aegean Sea, from Halkidics and mount Athos to Crete and Turkey from Bosporus to Antalya. I had visited French Corsica and sailed along all Baleares. With Croatian expedition “Hrvatska Čigra Round the World” I visited first time the Caribbean, where I have returned for five more times to sail along all Antilles. In 2003 I bought my own boat in Sweden and sailed along east and west Swedish coast, in 2009 crossed Atlantic with Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, in 2014 sailed from Wales through Scotland, Orkney’s and Foerer’s to north of Iceland.
I have been Rotarian since 2004, president of RC Škofja Loka 2008/9, president ICC Slovenia-Turkey 2009/2012. I have sailed with my Malö-36 along Turkish coast for 3 years, from 2008 to 2010. During these Summers I met many turkish Rotarians and turkish sailors. In Bodrum I found the mariners of IYFR fellowship who invited me to their fleet. As I decided to bring my boat back to my home sea, Adriatic, I decided to establish our own IYFR fleet at home. I gathered 10 friends from 10 Slovenian Rotary clubs and invited my Turkish friend Zeki Çaner, actual IYFR Bodrum fleet commodore in 2010 to Slovenia. We had our first meeting in Ljubljana in March 2010. Everybody was excited and tried to get more friends from his Rotary club. I have contacted IYFR International Vice Commodore, Sergio Santi, received his instructions and after a month we had our charter. We had started with 30 members and have kept the core of 25 active members until nowadays.
The main action of Slovenian fleet is the regatta Carniola end of May. It expanded from 10 to 20 boats, from pure Slovenian participants to international participants from Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden and Scottland. During non-sailing season we usually gather once a month to have some educational guest speakers like: crossing Atlantic, circum navigation round the globe, history of Slovenian sailing, ISAF regatta rules, food and drinks on sea, instruments, electricity on board, boat insurance, weather models, basic weather forecasting, yacht design, yacht maintenance, fishing under sail, fishing on anchor, practical course of fishing, practical course of anchoring and berthing, practical ISAF approved Offshore Personal Survival Training etc.
Every year we make one family trip like observing launching a ship from the commercial yard Uljanik Pula, yacht production at Elan, logistics at Port Koper. When we sail, our boats do carry our IYFR burgee. We do like to meet IYFR friends from other fleets and our members visit IYFoRians abroad when they sail there. In 2014 we were godfathers to the IYFR CROATIA fleet at Betina, island Murter with 45 members.
Our main service is to help handicapped sportsmen with the money collected each year from the regatta Carniola. As the regatta is mostly effort of the organiser, RC Ljubljana Carniola, the general IYFR SLOVENIA fleet once a year financially supports participation of children in need on the sailing action Mirno more (Calm sea) or Jadranje za jutri (Sailing for tomorrow).
And in the coming year 2018 we do hope to meet our IYFR friends from Czechia, Slovakia or Poland, if they will visit Adriatic. Look for our burgees and give us your call !
( Photogallery)