Every sourced fact we publish names its source and the day we checked it. Most are confirmed with the operator, an official source, in person, by our own measurement or by a sailor who was there. Missing details are shown as "Unknown".
Prices, buoy fields, rules and phone numbers change every season. Every sourced fact shows one of 7 labels, its source and its check date. Every fact has a named owner, who checks it again on schedule. When no one we can check with publishes a fact, we may give a named third party's word, and the label says plainly that it isn't confirmed.
A source check date is the day we read or verified that source. It does not make an older tariff current: the price's stated year and season still apply.
A page's review date describes the editorial review, not a new source check for every fact. A fact's label and date tell you how and when that claim was checked. An in-person visit records what was seen on that visit; its date does not update a later price or rule.
Most facts are confirmed in one of five ways, and each way has its own label.
1
With the operator
The company that runs a marina, a buoy field, a charter base or a restaurant berth. We call or write and note the day they answered, or we read it on the operator's own website or price list and note the day we read it.
Label: From the operator
2
With an official source
Public authorities only: Narodne novine, the official gazette where Croatia publishes its laws and rules, the Ministry of the Sea, the harbourmasters' offices, the county port authorities, DHMZ (the national weather service) and the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, whose figures we chart in Croatia's nautical ports in numbers. A tourist board counts only for what it runs itself.
Label: Official source
3
In person
Visits by boat by an editor or a skipper reviewer. They count the buoys, read the depth on the sounder and note how the bay sits in that day's wind.
Label: Seen by us
4
By our own measurement
A distance measured along a planning line drawn by our route tool, or a sunset time worked out from the sun's position. Clearance from land varies near the coast, in channels and on harbour approaches. The lines are not for navigation. The source line always says how we measured it.
Label: Measured by us
5
By a sailor who was there
A sailor tells us what anyone could see or count: the buoys, a notice, what a quay has, whether a place is open, or a phone number on a sign. They send a dated photo when there is something to photograph, and an editor reads it and finds nothing against it. Never for shelter, depth, holding, hazards, emergency numbers, or rules and fees. When several sailors see it
Label: Seen by a sailor
Charter companies, local skippers, pilot books and sailors tell us what to check and where things are changing. What they say sends us to a source. It goes on a page as a fact only once it is confirmed in one of these five ways, or as a named third party's word when no one we can check with publishes it (see below). A sailor's dated photo of an operator's own price board counts as From the operator, with the photo credited to the sailor.
Two rules hold for every source. We never copy records from other guides, apps or directories. And we keep what the law says apart from what charter companies ask for, because the two often differ.
When no one we can check with publishes it
Sometimes no operator or public authority publishes a fact, like how a small bay sits in a jugo. Then we may give the word of a reputable third party: a newspaper, a nautical magazine, a pilot, a local site, a study, or a tourist board writing about something it doesn't run. We name it and its date, and the label says plainly that it isn't confirmed. It never counts as confirmed, and it goes as soon as the operator or an official source confirms or corrects it.
For shelter, depth, holding and hazards, a third party's word never stands alone. It always comes with our cautious answer and a note that our skipper reviewer hasn't checked it yet. We never use another guide, app, directory or charter marketplace as a third party.
A route's review and the check of an individual fact have different scopes. The route byline describes the itinerary review. A skipper-review note beside a third-party claim applies to that specific shelter, depth, holding or hazard claim; the claim keeps its source label and cautious answer. A page review does not turn a third-party source into a confirmed fact.
Label: Third-party source
The 7 labels
Every sourced fact on a page carries one of these labels. It shows as a small icon and a date, like this: (From the operator, ). Point at it, or tap it, to see the full label, the source and "Still right?", where you can tell us you saw it too.
From the operator399 facts on the site
The operator told us directly, or we read it on its own website or price list: a marina, a buoy field, a charter company or a restaurant.
The date is the day they told us, or the day we read it.
On a page (From the operator, )
Official source420 facts on the site
From a public authority: the official gazette, a ministry, a harbourmaster's office, a port authority or the official statistics. A tourist board counts only for what it runs itself.
The date is the day we read it there.
On a page (Official source, )
Seen by us
An editor or a skipper reviewer was there by boat and saw it in person.
The date is the day we were there.
Seen by a sailor
A sailor who was there told us what they saw, with a dated photo when there was something to photograph, and an editor read it and found nothing against it. Only for things anyone can see or count, like buoys, notices, services on a quay, whether a place is open or a phone number on a sign. Never for shelter, depth, holding, hazards, emergency numbers, or rules and fees.
The date is the day the sailor was there. The source line names them if they asked to be credited, or says "a sailor".
Measured by us223 facts on the site
We measured or worked it out ourselves, for example a distance on our route tool or a sunset time. The source line says how.
The date is the day we measured it. A figure we work out from other facts, like a sum, carries the oldest date of those facts.
On a page (Measured by us, )
Sources disagree7 facts on the site
Two checked sources disagree about a safety condition, like shelter. We show both answers and the cautious one.
Each answer shows its own source and date.
On a page (Sources disagree, )
Third-party source140 facts on the site
Not confirmed by the operator or an official source, so treat it as a guide. Its source line names who published it and when. We use it only when no operator or official source publishes the fact: a newspaper, a nautical magazine, a local or municipal site, a pilot publisher's public notes, a study, or a tourist board writing about something it doesn't run. Never another guide, app, directory or charter marketplace. It never counts as confirmed, and it goes as soon as a primary source confirms or corrects it. For shelter, depth, holding and hazards it always comes with our cautious answer and a note that our skipper reviewer hasn't checked it yet.
The date is the day we read it. The source line gives the source's own date, because an old text can be out of date.
On a page (Third-party source, )
A live page shows no other check label. Every sourced fact names its source and the day we checked it. Six labels mean a primary source confirms it. Third-party source means a named third party says it and no primary source has confirmed it yet. Missing prices, opening times and service details show as "Unknown", without a check label. What sailors tell us has its own section.
We count these from the facts themselves, so they always match the pages.
When sources disagree, which one wins
Sometimes two sources give different answers. Then the source that is responsible for that kind of fact wins.
Rules, laws and legal fees
The official legal text wins. We show the rule as it is written, and we keep the other answer in a note.
Anchoring rules: the fee in VinišćeAbout €10 a night at anchor for a 10 m boat, by our sum: the berth fee in a class III county port like Vinišće is €2 a metre, and you pay half at anchor with no moorings (Official source, )
A boat of 10.01 to 15 m pays €3 a metre, so €1.50 at anchor. SeaHelp reported a receipt for €15.15 for a 10 m boat on 1 Aug 2026, which is the €3 rate for a boat just over 10 m. Ask to see the price list, and keep the receipt.
Safety conditions: shelter, depth, holding and hazards
No source wins on its own. When two checked sources disagree, we show both answers with their sources and dates, and the cautious answer. A skipper reviewer decides it. A sailor's report never settles a safety condition, and a third party's word always comes with our cautious answer.
Stončica bay, Vis: shelter in a buraOpen to the bura. The bay is well sheltered from every other wind, the operator says (From the operator, )
Our advice: don't stay the night here if a bura is forecast. It can arrive at night.
The bridge from the old town to Čiovo doesn't open, and takes boats up to 2.6 m high. ACI's approach notes give it 2.8 m clearance, with 4.5 m of water under it: ACI Marina Trogir: its page on aci-marinas.com (From the operator, )
So "Sources disagree" appears only for safety conditions. Today it is on 7 facts, where the sources disagree on 5 points: the bridges east of the marina in ACI Marina Trogir, which winds reach it in Blaca bay, shelter at the Blue Lagoon, shelter in Mlini bay and shelter in Vis town.
One fact, from first check to today
This is the real record for one safety question: how Stončica bay on Vis sits in a bura, the strong, gusty wind from the northeast. It is built from the same facts as the Stončica page, so when a fact changes there, it changes here too.
Stončica bay in a bura
(From the operator, )
We read the operator's own website.Gradina Vis d.o.o., which holds the anchorage concession, says the bay is open to the bura and well sheltered from every other wind. (From the operator, )
Shelter is a safety condition, so we add cautious advice. Our advice: don't stay the night here if a bura is forecast. It can arrive at night.
Next
A skipper reviewer checks it on the water on the first visit. If what the reviewer sees differs from the operator's answer, the fact shows both answers, labelled Sources disagree, with the cautious one.
How it reads on the Stončica page
Open to the bura. The bay is well sheltered from every other wind, the operator says (From the operator, )
Sailors tell us a lot after a night somewhere: when the buoys fill, what the quay costs, where the swell gets in. Every report helps. But we haven't checked it, so we never count it as a fact.
So reports have their own section on each page, called "What sailors told us", under our short summary of what they say. Each report shows its date and where it came from. A report sent to us shows as sent, by first name and initial if the sailor asked to be credited, with their boat when we know it. A quote from a public forum, a news report or a blog links to its source, names its author as the post shows it, and says whether it is word for word or in our words. A report never sits among the facts and never counts as a check. Often it starts one: when the operator or our own visit confirms it, it becomes a fact with its label.
Reports stay short and dated. A price or a rule shows only from this season, and an experience from the last three. Advice about anchoring, shelter or safety goes to a skipper reviewer first: it becomes a checked fact, or it comes off the page.
Some reports are facts already. When a sailor who was there sends what anyone could see or count, with a dated photo, and an editor finds nothing against it, it goes on the page as Seen by a sailor. And when a sailor taps "Yes, I saw it" on a fact, we count it, and the section shows one grouped line, like "4 sailors said the buoy price was still right in September". A tap never changes a fact or its date.
How reports look on our pages
The same cards as in each page's own "What sailors told us". A report sent to us shows as sent. A forum quote links to its source and says whether it is word for word or in our words. None of them counts as a check.
We had a burra on the 16-17th. The forecast wasn’t necessary “scary”, but we tucked ourselves at VIS harbor anyway.
A sailor on a charter week in mid-June 2025u/Objective-Writer5172 on Reddit · Posted · Word for word · Account not independently verified · Read the reply ↗
Stopping in Stari Grad around noon and taking a taxi across to Hvar town was, for one crew, the best way of not dealing with Palmižana and the water taxis.
A sailor who chartered a week out of Split or Trogiru/nickelchrome on Reddit · Posted · Retold in our words · Account not independently verified · Read the reply ↗
"Seen by a sailor" is only for what anyone can see or count. These rules decide when sailors' visits earn it, and what happens when sailors don't agree.
One sailor with a dated photo is enoughA photo of the buoys, a notice or the quay, with the day it was taken, and an editor who finds nothing against it.
Without a photo, two sailors must agreeTwo separate sailors in the same season, who each saw the same thing on their own visit.
The same boat counts onceTwo reports from one boat, or from one email address, count as one sailor.
The newest dated photo winsWhen sailors disagree about something anyone can count, like the number of buoys, the newest dated photo wins. The older sighting moves to the page's changes, with the reason.
Same day, different answers: we ask the operatorIf two sailors disagree about the same day, neither wins. We ask the operator, and the change says so.
Sailors never settle safetyShelter, depth, holding and hazards are never "Seen by a sailor". A report about them tells us what to check next. The official text, the operator or a skipper reviewer on the water decides, and when checked sources disagree, the page shows both and the cautious answer.
Facts we haven't checked yet
If we cannot find a published price, opening time or service detail, we show "Unknown" and a "Tell us" link instead of guessing. These gaps do not count among the checked facts. A named third-party source can provide a fact where no primary source publishes it; its label makes that clear.
"Unknown" does not mean a service is unavailable. It means we do not have a checked answer.
When we check again
Every price and season fact is checked again each spring, before the season opens. Prices always carry their year, like "a night in July 2026", so an old price never passes for a new one.
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Light blue with a bar: March and April, when we check prices and seasons again. Pale blue with an outline: the season, when we visit and read your reports.
There are 197 sourced facts about prices, seasons and booking on the site today. All 197 get a new check before the 2027 season.
Safety and access facts are checked again whenever an official notice or a credible report comes in. A page shows a "next check" date only when someone is booked to do it.
When a rule changes, we change every page it touches first, then explain the change in the journal, with the official text. The latest is What changed for sailors since 2025.
Who checks, and how sailors help
Every page has a named editor, who writes it and checks each fact with its source. Pages about weather, anchoring, safety and routes also have a named skipper reviewer. When a sailor tells us what changed, we check it before the page changes.
Today OlaSail has one editor and one skipper reviewer, and no area stewards yet. People lists them all.
Sailors can help in three ways: tap "Still right?" on a fact, send a report with a photo, or look after one area every season as its steward. Nobody needs an account, and nobody is paid.
AI helps with some of the work, and we say so openly. It never has the last word on a fact.
What AI may do
Help with research, summarise sources, suggest a structure for a page, draft translations and check pages for consistency.
What a person always does
A named person verifies every fact and edits every published sentence. The labels are set by people, never by AI.
We don't publish AI-written descriptions of places, and we never use AI images of real places.
Corrections
If a fact is wrong, tell us. We check every report with the source before we change a page, and then log the change with its new label, its date and why it changed, where anyone can see it. A report we can't check yet may appear in "What sailors told us" on that page, with its date.
Our sum from ACI's 2026 list for Dubrovnik: the daily berth up to 12 m in July, €118; twice for a catamaran; no charter increase on a daily berth (ACI Dubrovnik: a charter boat's Tuesday night in July 2026)