For four days, Komiža lived and breathed the sea, traditional vessels, workshops, traditional sailing, films, and gastronomy.
Throughout its four festival days, Rota Palagruzona brought together lateen sail navigation, traditional boats, shipbuilding and maritime knowledge, local gastronomy, education, and contemporary island life.
The programme gathered local associations, sailors, shipbuilders, experts, children,
residents, and visitors. It was organized by the Town of Komiža, the Komiža Tourist Board, with the support of the Ars Halieutica Cultural Institution, Alter Natura Ltd., and the Palagruža Association. Participants also included the Kanata Association from Zadar, the Arzana Association from Venice, and special guest Mrs. Nygren from Forbunden Kysten, Norway.
The uniqueness of Rota Palagruzona lies in its remarkable history. It is considered the
oldest documented sailing regatta in the world.
The oldest known record of the great regatta of Komiža fishermen sailing to Palagruža
dates back to 12 June 1593, when as many as 74 Komiža falkuša boats set sail towards the remote archipelago.
Komiža fishermen sailed to Croatia’s most remote island, Palagruža, in large groups to
protect themselves from pirate attacks. The fastest crews earned the best positions on
the shores of Palagruža for hauling out their boats, salting sardines, drying fishing nets,
and staying on the island for several days.
The winners were remembered for generations. The regatta continued until 1936 and was revived in 2009 on the initiative of the Ars Halieutica Cultural Institution.
Over the past 17 years, the renewed Rota Palagruzona has gradually evolved into a
regatta celebrating traditional boats and maritime heritage.
This year, changing winds altered the plans almost daily and unfortunately prevented many crews from reaching Komiža or sailing onward to Palagruža.
Nevertheless, for four days Komiža was alive with gajeta falkuša boats, women rowing
traditional gundula boats, children learning how boats are built, guests from Venice and
Norway, traditional fish stew (brujet), and stories of the sea dating back more than four
centuries.
The official opening of the Rota Palagruzona Sea Festival 2026 took place at Kaštel
Komuna, featuring a welcome reception and a lecture by Professor Emeritus Joško
Božanić entitled “The Komiža Memorandum to the Doge of Venice.”
The programme continued the following day with a guided walking tour of Komiža, the
“Rota isprid purta” gajeta falkuša competition (held in a match-race format), traditional
shipbuilding workshops as part of the Maritime Village, and a photography exhibition dedicated to the maritime heritage of Komiža.
During the following days, the programme featured daily falkuša races, rowing schools
for traditional gundula and sandula boats, shipbuilding workshops, and a series of expert lectures and presentations.
Saturday, 12 September, brought a rich programme to the Komiža waterfront, including shipbuilding workshops, an Island Products Fair, the culinary workshop “Traditional Cuisine – Palagruža Fish Stew (Brujet)”, and the inaugural Women’s Gundula
Regatta Marjetina.
The evening concluded with the traditional Nuć Sardele (Night of the Sardine)
celebration, the awards ceremony for participants of Rota Palagruzona 2026, and a
concert by the Croatian band T.B.F.
