Afalkusa (Croatian:falkuša;Croatian pronunciation:[ˈfalkuʃa]) is atraditional fishing boat used by fishermen from the town ofKomiža on theAdriatic island ofVis,Croatia. Falkuša is a subtype ofgajeta, a traditionalDalmatian fishingsailboat, and is sometimes calledgajeta falkuša (Croatian pronunciation:[ˈɡajetaˈfalkuʃa]).[1] Its design was adapted to the specific needs of Komiža fishermen, who went to long fishing expeditions in the open seas,[1] a unique practice in the Adriatic andMediterranean.[2]
The Falkuša is a unique wooden boat, tapered narrowly on both sides,[3] and is about seven to eight metres in length by 3 metres wide.[4] It had a lowdraft under a large (120 m2 or 1,300 sq ft[3])lateen sail made fromflax,[4] mounted on amast which was typically as high as the ship was long.[1] It was very fast both undersail and withoar, able to achieve speeds between 8 and 12knots.[4] Its distinctive feature were two removable wooden sidestrakes calledfalke, after which falkuša got its name.[1][5] The strakes raised the rim of the boat by about half a metre, protecting it from high waves in the open seas.[1] To ease the hauling of thenets, the strakes were removed during fishing.[6] The vessel could carry up to eight tonnes of salted fish barrels.[4]
For its characteristics of toughness and strength, the traditional gajeta falkuša was made only withcypresswood from the volcanic island ofSvetac.[7] Thekeel was made ofoak and the shell oflarch.[1]
A typical falkuša carried a crew of six men.[4] There were five oars for standing oarsmen which were 7 to 9 meters in length.[1][4] The fishermen used nets and aferal, a gas or petroleum lamp forattracting fish.[1] Fishing trips lasted 20 to 25 days, to make them financially viable.[4] Duties such as cooking, washing, repairing, sailing between fishing posts and dealing with bad weather left only 10 to 12 days for actual fishing in a typical journey.[4]
The main fishing ground exploited by Komiža's fishermen was the island ofPalagruža,[3] approximately 42 nautical miles (78 km; 48 mi) to the south-southwest of Vis,[4] which at times was used by fifty or more vessels.[3] On the island there were provisional houses, which they used to store barrels of saltedsardines and fishing equipment.[3]
Fishermen of Komiža would hold an annualregatta between Komiža and Palagruža, known asRota Palagruzona ("Palagruža Route"),[8] a trip which would take about 5 hours of sailing with a good wind, or 13 to 16 hours of rowing when wind conditions were poor.[1][4] The outcome of the regatta was very important, because top finishers won the rights to the best fishing areas around Palagruža for the season, and the other places were taken in the order of arrival.[1][3][4]
The first known regatta to Palagruža was held as far back as 1593[8] making it the oldest fishermen's regatta inEurope.[2] Komiža's fishermen met in May 1593 in the Lodge in the town ofHvar.[8] There it was agreed that the race of 74 falkuša boats would start on June 12.[8] To signal the start of the race a cannon shot would be fired from the newly built town fortress.[8] The fishermen were accompanied byVenetian wargalleys in order to protect them frompirates.[2]
With the advent of ship engines, the regatta lost its purpose,[8] and its last edition was held in 1936.[3] Falkuša was used well into the first half of the 20th century.[1] The last gajeta falkuša of the island of Komiža, namedCicibela, was destroyed and sunk by a storm in the Bay of Porat (Biševo island) in 1986.[7] Today its remains are preserved in the Fishing Museum in Komiža.[7][9]
A replica of a falkuša namedComeza-Lisboa ("Komiža-Lisbon") was built in 1997 and exhibited at the1998 World’s Fair in Lisbon,Portugal.[8][9] The revival of the falkuša attracted significant interest, and the boat became the subject of fivedocumentary films and an award-winningradio drama.[8] In 1998 the falkuša was put on theUNESCO World Heritage List.[1]
In 1999 underUNESCO and with shipwright's documentation supplied by Velimir Salamon, a five-metre reduced-scale replica of the legendary falkuša was built. It was namedMolo. It was built in Komiža and launched into the sea onSaint Nicholas Day (December 6). The secretary of the European Maritime Heritage, Thedo Fruithof fromAmsterdam, was present at the launch.[10] A second full-scale replica, namedMikula, was finished in 2005.[11] A third full-scale replica, namedPalagruža, was finished in 2015.[12]
