The Falkuša
Even if you’re not remotely interested in the history of this traditional Croatian fishing boat, its hard not to be enthralled by the visual splendour in this four and a half minute video.
Some background for those who want to know more.
The Falkuša is a unique wooden boat, tapered narrowly on both sides, and is about seven to eight metres in length by 3 metres wide. It had a low draft under a large (120 m2 or 1,300 sq ft) lateen sail made from flax, mounted on a mast which was typically as high as the ship was long. It was very fast both under sail and with oar, able to achieve speeds between 8 and 12 knots. Its distinctive feature were two removable wooden side strakes called falke, after which falkuša got its name. The strakes raised the rim of the boat by about half a metre, protecting it from high waves in the open seas. To ease the hauling of the nets, the strakes were removed during fishing. The vessel could carry up to eight tonnes of salted fish barrels.
For its characteristics of toughness and strength, the traditional gajeta falkuša was made only with cypress wood from the volcanic island of Svetac. The keel was made of oak and the shell of larch.
A typical falkuša carried a crew of six men. There were five oars for standing oarsmen which were 7 to 9 meters in length. The fishermen used nets and a feral, a gas or petroleum lamp for attracting fish. Fishing trips lasted 20 to 25 days, to make them financially viable. 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.
A replica of a falkuša named Comeza-Lisboa ("Komiža-Lisbon") was built in 1997 and exhibited at the 1998 World’s Fair in Lisbon, Portugal. The revival of the falkuša attracted significant interest, and the boat became the subject of five documentary films and an award-winning radio drama. In 1998 the falkuša was put on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In 1999 under UNESCO and with shipwright's documentation supplied by Velimir Salamon, a five-metre reduced-scale replica of the legendary falkuša was built. It was named Molo. It was built in Komiža and launched into the sea on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6). The secretary of the European Maritime Heritage, Thedo Fruithof from Amsterdam, was present at the launch. A second full-scale replica, named Mikula, was finished in 2005. A third full-scale replica, named Palagruža, was finished in 2015.
