About KEK Yachting

A small family charter, run from one marina, by one family.

Andreas Kovač started KEK in 2003 with one boat, his wife Katarina, and an old Mercedes for airport runs. Twenty-three seasons later, KEK is nine yachts — and still one family, still one marina, still no upselling.

23Seasons since 2003

9Yachts in the fleet

1Marina · Pirovac

4.9★Over 320 reviews

41%Repeat or referred

Home/About

The story · 2003 → 2026

Twenty-three seasons of honest sailing.

Andreas grew up in Pirovac. His father fished, his uncle ran an island taxi, and Andreas spent half his school holidays repairing the motors on both. In 2003 he and Katarina re-mortgaged their house, bought a 1998 Bavaria 36 named Selene's grandmother, and started chartering it out for €600 a week.

The Bavaria was sold in 2010. By then we had three boats. By 2015, six. We added Mirjana — our first catamaran — in 2023, and Adriana — our newest Sun Odyssey 410 — in 2024. Nine yachts, one marina, one family.

We've never had a salesperson. We've never run a Black Friday discount. We've never bundled. Our biggest marketing channel is still guests sending their friends — 41% of bookings come from referrals.

What we believe

Five things we won't compromise on.

Posted on the back of the office door since 2009. We've added two and removed one in seventeen years.

One price, one invoice.

Whatever shows up at check-in is on the booking confirmation. Transit log, cleaning, tax — all itemised, never hidden.

No skipper markup.

We refer skippers — we don't sell them. You pay them directly, no kickback to us. The 30–50% markup most charters charge isn't there.

Andreas answers.

Every email and WhatsApp gets a reply from Andreas (or Katarina, or Iva), inside an hour during the day. No call centre, no chatbot.

Quarterly maintenance.

Every yacht hauled twice a year, full systems audit every 90 days. Sails replaced before they show wear, not after.

One marina forever.

We won't expand to Trogir, Split, or Zadar. Pirovac is what we know — and managing one base means we can keep standards.

If we'd recommend it, we'll say so. If not, we'll say that too.

Vis in late October? Probably not. Hvar in mid-August with kids? Maybe Korčula instead. Honest advice, even when it costs us a booking.

The team

Six people, one dog.

The whole crew, including Lola the office dog who has personally inspected every yacht.

Andreas Kovač

Founder · skipper · keeps everything running

RYA Yachtmaster Ocean. Sailing the Adriatic since age 9. Speaks Croatian, English, German, basic Italian.

Katarina Kovač

Co-founder · books · finances · the calm one

Handles every booking confirmation. If you've emailed us, Katarina probably wrote back. Speaks Croatian, English, German.

Iva Marinović

Guest relations · WhatsApp · check-in

Joined 2019. The smiling face you'll meet on Saturday afternoon. Has visited every Croatian island that has a name.

Marko Petrov

Lead engineer · keeps the boats sailing

Diesel, electrics, watermaker, AC. If it's broken on a Saturday morning, Marko has it fixed by 14:00.

Tomi Bilić

Cleaning · provisioning · airport runs

Turn-around king. Drives the V-Class to Split and Zadar. Knows every shortcut on the coast.

Lola

Office dog · pet-policy advisor

Border collie cross. Eight years on the job. Has personally vetoed three yacht purchases on grounds of "not enough deck for naps".

How we maintain

A peek behind the slipway.

What our maintenance year actually looks like — published because most charters don't.

NovHaul-out

Every yacht out of the water for hull inspection, antifouling, propeller service.

Dec–FebRefit

Engine service, sail audit, electronics update. Anything older than 5 years gets replaced.

MarSplash

Back in the water. Sea trial each yacht. Re-rig where needed. Snag list closed by 25 March.

Apr–OctActive season

90-minute weekly turnaround inspection between every charter. Marko's checklist is 87 items.

JulMid-season audit

External surveyor (CCS) audits every yacht. Findings published to Yacht-Pool.

OctDe-rig

Sails down, electronics dry-stored, kit catalogued. Then we start again.

Trust signals

Certifications & memberships.

The acronyms that matter when something goes wrong. We carry every one.

CCS Charter Bond

€500,000 client-money bond. If we go under, your deposit is protected.

Yacht-Pool Insured

Fleet-wide hull, machinery, third-party. Deposit insurance available.

MySea code

Voluntary industry standard. We exceed all 32 line items, audited annually.

Croatian Maritime Registry

Reg. no. 22-0418-2003. OIB 12345678901. Šibenik.

Eco-marina partner

Marina Pirovac is Blue Flag certified. We pump black water at every dock-in.

RYA-recognised base

We host RYA Day Skipper exams in May, June and September.

Want to meet the team before you book?

Drop into the marina, or schedule a 15-minute video call with Andreas. We'd rather you know who you're booking with.

WhatsApp Andreas Schedule a call