Traditional shipbuilding, and the sailing ships that emerged from it, should be protected as intangible and tangible cultural heritage. Not only traditional sailing ships should be preserved, but also the manner, style, of sailing, as well as the love for the sea that erases land borders.
This was stated by sailors from Montenegro and Croatia, participants in the event titled "Sails of the Adriatic - a blend of tradition and togetherness", organized by the Bar sailing club "Latinsko jedro".
During the activities as part of this two-day event, on the occasion of tomorrow's Independence Day, the participants of this program talked about preserving what brought them together - a love for traditional shipbuilding and sails.
On this occasion, 15 traditional wooden boats have been "staying" at the moorings of the Bar marina since yesterday, and they will compete in a regatta tomorrow. Guests from Croatia and the Bay of Kotor today, after the program at the Bar "House of Olives", visited the caulking workshop of the Bokovac family, where they had the opportunity to learn about the process of making and restoring wooden boats.
Organizer, Miroslavka Lala Bokovac, told "Vijesti" that it was not easy to organize everything, but they had the support of institutions and the local community, domestic friends and friends from Croatia.
"The sea knows no borders, the sea creates communities, society and friendships. We have all gathered here and they are all representatives of traditional lubs, wooden boats, sailing boats. They all cherish tradition and inherit what has been left to us as a legacy," said Bogovac.
As she said, one of the goals of today's event is to motivate institutions to help preserve shipbuilding and to make their contribution to bringing it to life in Montenegro.
"In order to continue on this path, we need to organize events like this, to reach people's awareness, institutions, so that this does not die out and that wooden ships tell stories. Because they are like living beings - if we stop nurturing them, they will fade into oblivion and then we will have nothing to leave behind for future generations," she emphasized.
In her formal address, she thanked everyone who contributed to the organization and presented gifts from the family workshop, wooden boats, and reiterated the importance of preserving this tradition and the desire to leave it as a legacy to younger generations.
Director of the "House of Olives", Maria Markoč, also greeted the guests and expressed her gratitude for choosing their facility for such an important and rich event. She especially thanked the Bokovac family, not only for this organization, but also for the help they provided during the opening of the doors of the "House of Olives".
"They are driven by love for this city, love for olive trees, for shipbuilding and for everything that makes up our history and our future, and they have actually shown how similar we are and how we deal with common problems," said Markoč, referring to the challenges in agriculture.
She also congratulated the Statehood Day of Montenegro, emphasizing that it is a pleasure to participate in its celebration in this way - through the promotion and celebration of what is of great importance to Bar.
Marin Lovrovic from Rijeka, a sailor from Croatia, and is more than satisfied with the overall organization of the event, which he says promotes traditional sailing.
"The impressions are fantastic. The old town – that's history. Extraordinary. You have something to be proud of. The sailing potential in Bar has not been used as much as it could be. We need more young people. I haven't seen a single optimist. Maybe it's somewhere else. We need to entice children to sail, through their parents. Parents who are a little wealthier to pay for boats and regattas. That's your path, and you have everything else. You have beautiful nature, perhaps the most beautiful on our entire coast," he said.
Dinko Foretic from Split, president of the association "Croatian Wooden Ships", told the newspaper that he was pleased to be in Bar for such an event, especially because it was organized by the Bokovac family, whom he met 13 years ago.
"I discovered their work via the internet and I'm glad that today we have come to have a manifestation of togetherness, of all friends who love the sea, traditional wooden boats," he said.
Foretić also praised the cooperation between Montenegrin and Croatian sailors, saying that "the sea unites them where the land separates them." He said that it is about a shared love that is universal and has no boundaries.
Foretić was also a speaker at a panel on the topic "Traditional Shipbuilding and Sail Preservation", where he spoke about the Facebook group "Croatian Wooden Ships", which has almost 30 thousand members not only from neighboring Croatia, but from all over the world.
He recounted his experience when he met the Bokovac family and said that he couldn't believe what was happening in Bar. What brought them together, in his words, was their love and devotion to this specific art, as he calls it.
He is proud of the progress that the project has made, as well as the fact that it serves as one of the rare platforms for networking and exchanging experiences and the specific passions of sailors and shipbuilders.
One of the six boats that arrived from Rijeka is Arsen Dobrijević who says it wasn't an easy journey, with a boat on the road, but, in his opinion, it was more than worth it.
"I think we have the same idea in mind, which is to preserve the tradition of cultural tangible and intangible heritage. Promotion is not just about building a boat, but how to sail that boat, and to leave it for future generations. We came here as two associations and have been trying to preserve that heritage for several years, or rather to improve it. So far, it's working, but we always need new ideas," he said.
He thinks there are good ideas in Bar and Montenegro, where people are working well on this path of preservation.
As part of the event and panel, a doctor of art history spoke about the importance of preserving cultural heritage, Anastasia Miranović who said that although one of the smaller countries in the world in terms of territorial size, Montenegro is rich in diverse cultural heritage.
"Numerous material traces confirm the continuous progress of civilization in this region, and even more present intangible cultural layers sit on these remains of customs, practices and beliefs, in fact, their modified and transformed, newly discovered forms. The interpenetrating influences of diverse cultures have over time shaped the cultural specificities of peoples and local communities in the Montenegrin spiritual space in a unique and unrepeatable way. Each of its regions, municipalities, areas, and places abound in their own cultural characteristics, which ultimately shape the unique mosaic of the cultural heritage of Montenegro. In it, Bar holds a special place," she said.
She also spoke about the Bokovac family, saying that for more than six years they have been repairing and building wooden boats in their carpenter's workshop, making them the pride of Bar and Montenegro.
"The Calafat craft was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage back in 2012. An initiative for its legal protection was submitted to the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. The initiative was accepted by the competent state body, however, due to certain circumstances, a study on its valorization has not yet been completed, or a decision on its status has not yet been made," said Miranović.
She believes that, in addition to individual efforts, this event will also influence the updating of this process and that in the near future the caulking craft, or the skill of making wooden boats by caulking, will become part of the family of intangible cultural assets of Montenegro.
As part of this event, participants had the opportunity this morning to visit the Old Town of Bar, the fortress, as well as the natural monument Old Olive Tree on Mirovica. In addition to informal gatherings, a competitive regatta awaits them tomorrow.
The program partners are the Municipality of Bar, the Tourist Organization of Bar, "Marina Bar", the Maritime Safety and Port Management Authority of Montenegro, "House of Olives Bar" and the "Velimir A. Leković" Gallery.
Bonus video:
