THIRD DAY, Wednesday, June 23rd

The announced departure of boats at 9:30 a.m. had to be postponed. In the morning the bora got stronger and the sea was 5, so it would have been risky for smaller vessels to set sail. After the wind had considerably weakened, all registered ships appeared at the starting line. This time falkuša "Comeza-Lisboa“ had a serious competitor - another falkuša, "Mikula".

Just fifteen minutes after the start, the wind completely died down and therefore sailors had to grab their oars and row, trying to catch those rare weak gusts of the bora. The strong morning gale created a choppy and confused sea making it difficult to row. Gajeta "Dumina" soon gained a substantial advantage over other vessels. "Comeza-Lisboa", rowing with two oars, managed to leave behind "Jaruh" and "Kurnatarica" but Šime Stipanićev's "Dumina" was out of reach. The small gajeta from Tribunj with a young crew adept at rowing was rushing to the finish line.

 (Photo Dinko Božanić) 

Gajeta "Dumina" wins the second leg of the regatta, crossing the finish line at 15:34. The second boat, which crossed the finish line at 16:22, is falkuša "Comeza-Lisboa" from Komiža, under the command of Captain Tonko Božanić Gruja; and the third is gajeta "Kurnatica" from Betina at 16:34 led by Captain Zdenko Bilić.

This is what the Captain of falkuša "Comeza-Lisboa“ said upon his arrival at the Komiža waterfront: "We rowed 6 miles for sure, we were rowing for 4 hours, we had big waves and counter current; everything was against us. We were defeated by Šime Stipaničev - he had a young crew, a small boat, so they were faster."

Exhausted crews, after strenuous manoeuvres on a choppy sea and several hours of paddling along the north coast of Vis, gathered at the Biševo Hotel for the lunch offered by the Mayor of Komiža Tonka Ivčević. 

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ROUND TABLE: HISTORICAL (TRADITIONAL) BOAT - LEGACY FOR THE FUTURE

A Round Table of maritime heritage researchers called "Historical Boat - Legacy for the Future" was held in the Memorial House in Komiža. It was organized by the cultural institution Ars Halieutica and the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies Studia Mediterranea, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Split.

More about Conference...  

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CEREMONY ON THE WATERFRONT

 
In the evening, on the Komiža waterfront there was a concert of traditional Dalmatian harmony-singing ensembles - klape Gusarica and Koluna from Komiža and klapa Liket (...) from Vis. The winners of the regatta were presented with a Charter for winning the first place in their respective categories. In the category Gajeta, first place went to gajeta "Dumina” from Tribunj, which is the absolute winner of the second leg of the regatta. First place in the category Leut won leut “Slobodna Dalmacija” from Split, and first place in the category Falkuša went to falkuša "Comeza-Lisboa”.

 (Photo Boris Kragić) 

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POETRY EVENING

 

At 23:00 on the terrace of the fortress Komuna a poetry evening began. The event was organized by a renowned Croatian poet from Komiža Jakša Fiamengo. The Renaissance fortress, built by Komiža fishermen in late 16th century to ward off pirates, served as an impressive setting for the celebration of poetry inspired by the sea. The poems were recited by Jakša Fiamengo, Tahir Mujičić - drama writer and poet from Zagreb, Enes Kišević another prominent poet from Zagreb, and Joško Božanić who on the same day as a crew member of falkuša "Comeza-Lisboa" rowed the entire second leg of the regatta. Robert Kurbaša, young actor from Split inspiredly read contemporary Croatian poets' verses about the sea, accompanied by harmonious singing of klapa "Gusarica" from Komiža.