- Sailing Croatia tips
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by Ultra Sailing Team
Why do we love Komiza?
Komiza is a favorite place for boaters. It is located on the sunny side of the island of Vis in Croatia, well sheltered from the cold northern winds, but also open to western winds with a beautiful view of the open sea and the two neighboring islands, Biševo and Svetac. It is a place where the sunset is beautiful in summer and winter.
„Falkuša“ and fishing traditions
Komiza is known for its fishing tradition and the life of the locals adapted to the sea and fishing. People from Komiza are true fishermen and people from the sea – they also have a fishing museum that you should definitely visit. It exhibits various now forgotten fishing nets, „palangar“, all as a monument to fishing, labor, work and the sea.
Photo by Ljubo Gamulin 
Photo by Ljubo Gamulin
In the same museum, and in the summer at the berth in the sea, you can see the famous ship called Gajeta Falkuša. In the old days, fishermen from Komiža paddled on the calm sea before the south wind 40 NM to island of Palagruža. It was also a kind of competition, because the fisherman and falkuša who came first to the position, used the rights of the first drawing of nets and positions on Palagruža where sardines were packed for transport in Komiža. Falkuša returned stuffed with sardines, which made it difficult to return, so they built partitions on them called falka to improve the stability of the ship. The falkuša got its name from these partitions. When the south wind blew, they returned from Palagruža leaning with large Latin sails.
What to see in Komiza?
fishing museum with a large number of exhibits related to fishing and the tradition of fishing in this area
walk along the sea and visit the old sardine factories. There is a source of water on one of the beaches, and in the town of Komiža there are a number of drinking water wells that were known to old sailors.
Every year on the day of St. Nicholas, 6th of December, is the custom of burning an old wooden boat. This is an extremely local and winter experience of the island. If you are in navigation, treat yourself to a visit town of Komiza when it lives traditionally.
St. Nicholas church on the hill
Back in 1117, the Pope’s galleys (Pope Alexander III) landed on these beaches and from the beach of Kamenica they headed straight towards the Benedictine monastery on the hill, where the Pope himself went and dedicated the church of St. Nicholas. In front of the same church, old boats are burned every year on St. Nicholas day as part of the maritime and fishing tradition of Komiža.
Regatta in honor of St. Nicholas
Organized by YC Mornar Split, the city of Komiza and the city of Split, “a completely different regatta” is held every year on the occasion of St. Nicholas. Saint Nicholas regatta for singles or 2 crew members. The usual regatta route is Split – Palagruža – Komiža in the length of 160 nautical miles.
The regatta usually ends on St. Nicholas Day so that the participants of the regatta can be at the ceremony of burning the old boat in Komiza… .. This difficult regatta in recent years has reached a large number of participants, mostly passionate sailors. Its marketing is not widespread for a reason because this regatta wants to remain the club pearl of the narrow circle of the sailing club Mornar.
