Three people.
Every season.
The same three people, every season. They know these waters well enough to take you places most charter itineraries skip.
Most charter vessels rotate their crew every season. NIKA I doesn't. The captain, stewardess, and chef who greet you on the first day are the same people who have spent years learning this coast — every anchorage, every shortcut, what turns a good week into one guests come back for.
Toni
Ljubović
Born and raised in Split, Toni has been on the sea since the age of three — accompanying his father on his fishing boat, earning advanced sailing qualifications before the age of ten, and winning national championships in swimming and water polo as a junior. He holds a university degree in sailing and has captained vessels across the Adriatic, Montenegro, Greece, Italy, Spain, the BVI, and beyond. Captain of NIKA I since her very first day, Toni was part of the delivery crew who sailed her from the Fountaine Pajot factory in La Rochelle all the way to Croatia.
Thirteen years and 60,000 nautical miles of commercial charter experience. He knows this coast well enough to have opinions about it — which anchorage to favour in August, which bay to leave before the afternoon wind picks up. Guests tend to notice his calm on the water and trust it quickly. Fluent in Croatian and English, with working knowledge of Italian and Spanish.
Marina
Ljubović
Marina and Toni met on a sailing trip around the Mediterranean. A graduate of one of Split's leading hospitality schools, she has a professional background in service and a natural instinct for it — attentive without hovering, warm without being performative. She also prepares snacks and hors d'oeuvres on occasion.
Having lived in London and Perth, Australia, Marina speaks fluent English. Guests regularly comment on how comfortable she makes them feel aboard, without them quite being able to explain why.
Marina joined NIKA I in Portugal, on the yacht's very first sailing voyage from the Fountaine Pajot factory. Since then, she and NIKA I have been inseparable.
Hover portrait to see her smile
Ivan
Čagalj
Ivan graduated from one of Split's finest private culinary schools before beginning his career at Le Méridien Lav — a five-star hotel on the Dalmatian coast — where he refined his technique and developed an exacting eye for presentation. He later worked at Martinis Marchi on the island of Šolta, further deepening his command of high-end Croatian cuisine.
He cooks with whatever came off the boat or from the morning market: grilled fish, slow-cooked lamb, seasonal vegetables, good olive oil. He adapts to dietary requirements without making a thing of it, takes guest input seriously, and has built a following among returning charter clients — people who come back partly for the food. It tends to be the thing guests say they didn't expect to be so good.
Ivan joined the NIKA I team at her very first charter in 2025. In the off-season, he travels to Switzerland to work in private villas — most recently as a private chef at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Hover portrait to see him smile
A crew who knows
this yacht by heart
The three of them have sailed NIKA I across every stretch of the Dalmatian coast — from the islands off Šibenik down to the Elaphiti chain south of Dubrovnik. They know this boat, these waters, and — if you come back — they'll remember you too.
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