Not that long time ago, the only way to get to Kornati archipelago was to paddle or to sail…

The first small boat engines came in between the two World Wars. Therefore the sails and oars slowly started to vanish from the traditional wooden boats. During the seventies boat engines completely expelled the other ways of boat propulsion.

Archipelago Tours Blog and Tips: Kornati Gajeta, the sacred boat
Gajeta overloaded

Women crew

In the old days getting to Kornati was a venture. In fact, whole families from island Murter would wait for the perfect weather conditions so they could sail to their oversea properties in Kornati archipelago. They needed to be skilled sailors, using the traditional lateen sail and 4 to 5 long and heavy oars. In the old photos you can often see women paddling and men steering the boat.

Our traditional 7 meter boat called “Gajeta” is the symbol of Kornati collective memory.

Gajeta was considered almost like a part of the family and basically every house in Murter had their own boat.

Actually, it was more a cargo than a fishing boat, used to transport people, olives, wood and even cattle from Kornati to the mainland.

During the nineties people from Murter gathered and started to revive the traditional way of lateen sailing and wooden boatbuilding. They organized the first lateen sail regatta in Murter and the movement quickly spread throughout Sibenik archipelago.

Today nearly every village in the area has their own lateen sail regatta, a festival of traditional boats and island way of life.

Archipelago Tours Blog and Tips: Kornati Gajeta, the sacred boat
Lateen sail regatta on 15th of August in Betina, island of Murter

Gajeta nowadays

The peak of the movement happened couple of years ago with the opening of the Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding. In this permanent exhibition you can find out everything not only about Gajeta but also about people who built it, used it and the way they used to live. Definitely worth a visit. This is their web site:

Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding 

On our web site you can find out more not only about our tours, but also interesting stories and useful tips about Kornati and other islands of Sibenik archipelago such as Bavljenac, Krapanj, Prvic…