Friday Morning:
It was short hop around the other side of the small island. Komiza is a gorgeous old fishing maritime village. Of the three family names given to me by Leslie, my long time Bellingham friend, only one is known here and it turns out there are many of them. I met one last night but he had no relatives in America. So, I’m not catching fish on Vis. (the Dutch translation for fish is vis and in Viska Luka bay there is a settlement called Kut which is a much used Dutch slang word for the female organ, imagine a Dutchman living on Vis in Kut…..). I need to keep this short because I’m off for a sail on a lateen rigged traditional local fishing boat. There will be a regatta from here to Palagruza, tomorrow, the re-enactment of the annual race to the sardine fishing grounds. Take note of how these boats were built, the shear of the top sides is removable so that the boat can be rowed. It’s a little bit like Lego set. Incredible ingenious fine wood work, without fasteners. My neighbors are Patrick and Martine from Belgium and live very close to the village I lived in between 1966-1970. When I sang Jacques Brel: “Ca sent la biere de Londres a Berlin” they passed me an ice cold beer from their regfrigerator. Ca sentait bien!
Friday Evening:
The sail went across to the island of Bisevo. There was plenty of wind. I am getting somewhere with the Bellingham connection. The helmsmen, Joe Dubra, in the picture, has an uncle in Bellingham. I expect to get the names tomorrow. There is also an ex B’hammer who is building a home in a nearby village, Joe Bozanich. The crew sailed the “falkusa” back and I then played real tourist for the rest of the afternoon. I t boat ride through the blue cave and then returned on the tour launch to Komiza, which included a 4 hour stop in an idylic bay on the other side of the island. I went for a nice hike to a high look out to take the below pictures and then for a swim. The red boat in the bay picture is “Helias” which happens to belong to Costa a sculpturer and art restorer. One of his crew members took a picture of the “falkusa” I sailed on and we will do an exchange. Costa and crew met up with his friend Jakša Fiamengo who lives here and is a well known author and poet.
My new neighbors are a family from Zagreb, with son and his girl friend and their niece. They invited me aboard for a wonderful pasta dinner.
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- lateen boom/gaff laminatewd spruce
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- all native pine
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- Detail of Lego construction and removable belaying pin and sheet fairlead
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- Komiza
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- Blue Caves
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- Helias on Bisevo
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- Joseph with a Bellingham uncle
Speaking French has earned me many a good drink as well. Love the stories and pictures, Jack. Keep them coming, please. 🙂
Enjoyed reading your blog. Found it while trying to find Joe Bozanich’ address in Bellingham. We were in Komiza in June, meeting my cousin, Tonko Repanic (who is neighbor to Joe Bozanich of Bellingham). Joe showed us his house, several mile outside of Komiza, and visited with us and my cousin, Tonko. Vis is a beautiful island!
Bobar Vechar Joanne,
Did you find Joe? Otherwise my friends the Nesbits in Bellingham can assisit. Do you have any contacts among the Puget Sound old timer fishermen/boat builder friends? My friends in Sumartin are asking for information.
Here is my call for help to my Gig Harbor friends: Dobro Yutro,
I received the below mail from Srdjan Skansi yesterday. He apparently had sent it in January but I never received it.
Can you help?
I am a bit handicapped for time and means. I am in Lyon France on a slow voyage to the Mediterranean, from there on to the Canary Islands and a crossing back to South America.
The best I can do to explain the relationship of Srdjan with Gig Harbor is to have you read an article I submitted to the TNT and Gateway Herald, last July. I never heard back from either.
There are also blogs about my Sumartin visit on my web site in July 2012.
Possibly someone in the Gig Harbor historical society/museum? Possibly you can find a warm Dalmatian body in Tacoma Gig Harbor who can put some of the missing links together. Srdjan has visited Gig Harbor years ago and did not get much of a reception from his Skansi generation there, if I remember his comments correctly.
Hvalla Lepa!
Good Day Jack,
First, I wish you Happy New Year and looking forward, that we will meet again,.
I hope you are well after long trip to Holland and return to Gig Harbour.
Jack, you are the only person, which I know from Gig Harbour, who can help us, to bring up the life and achievement’s of my great uncles Skansie Brothers in shipbuilding of ferries in the beginning of 20 Century, on skids of land in Gig Harbour!
Brother and my idea is to finally bring the greatness and acknowledge of their success in innovation and construction of the new brand of vessels to the world!
I was searching through the Internet, to find when and where were built first ferry in the world, but couldn’t find any one before their ferries, so I assume, that they are first to built ferries in the world or one of the first!.
Also, Sumartin is known by the Mario Puratich, as the inventor of Puratich Power Block, as the trade mark invention in fishing industries, but not many know that is the birth place of Skansi Brothers.
Also, I will be thankfull if you help us to get contact with somebody from the Skansi family, still leaving in the State of Washington,.
Will appreciate information, to whom I can contact in the City of Gig Harbour Heritage Council for more information about their life and family three, so I could present their achievement to the City of Sumartin and Selca!
Best wishes from Sumartin,