Open Water. Open City.

Founded on 5 March 1914, HVK Gusar is one of the most decorated rowing clubs in Croatia, with a history that includes Olympic gold, World Championship titles, and over a century of competition on the Adriatic. The club is based at Spinut, a short distance along the waterfront from the old town, and rows in the open waters of Split bay with the white limestone facades of the city stretching out behind you as you pull away from the dock.

This is open-water rowing in one of the most dramatic settings in Europe. The bay is wide and largely sheltered by the surrounding islands, giving crews plenty of room for longer sessions and open-water work. Coaches follow on a launch, guiding crews through bay traffic and safety patterns as they go. The conditions here are more varied than a lake or river course — the bura and jugo winds that characterise the central Dalmatian coast make their presence felt at certain times of year, which is part of what makes rowing here a genuinely formative experience for any rower looking to develop their skills on open water.

Split itself is one of the great cities of the Mediterranean. The old town is built directly around and within the walls of Diocletian's Palace, a Roman imperial complex constructed at the end of the third century AD and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Unlike most ancient monuments, the palace is not a ruin to be visited and left. People live inside it. Restaurants, bars, apartments, and churches occupy the same stone walls that Roman emperors once walked, and wandering through the narrow lanes in the evening is unlike anything else in Europe.

The Riva promenade runs along the waterfront directly in front of the palace walls, lined with cafes and restaurants where the city's social life plays out from morning until late at night. The food scene in Split draws heavily on Dalmatian tradition — fresh seafood, slow-cooked peka dishes, and local wine from the surrounding islands and hinterland. It is a city that rewards time, and most people who come for the rowing find themselves wanting to stay well beyond the training camp.