About
Moja Maja
The strength of the sea, its front and reverse, is something that has always fascinated the human kind, in every culture and civilization of the world.
Barba Toma lived from the sea, from fishing nets, counting blisters made from paddles and his tools… He spent every summer of his life transporting tourists by boats, and during winters, he would build ships. With his chisel, his caring hands, and his unbreakable spirit, filled with pride, he would give life to wood, making ribs, keels, masts… He started making his lifework when he was in his sixties, “for himself and his own pleasure”. He spent summers weaving his sweat and tears into it with his tools, his hoes and hatchet, and he connected 54 oakwood ribs following the draft by Franjo Fleš, making an increadible beauty – 24 metres of pride named after his only daughter, Moja Maja (My Maja).
He spent 10 years bulding it, during the war times while the Republic of Croatia was still a young country, and his only support were his wife Ivanka and his Maja. His love towards boats and the sea was what gave his life purpose, and this purpose was passed on to his family. Today they remain the keepers of the family tradition, his daughter Maja has become the boat’s captain – one of the few female captains on the Adriatic. Her family is also tourism-oriented, set on giving guests a glimpse and a taste of the authentic Mediterranean, until going ashore, back to childhood memories, linked together like boats.
…Moja Maja,
a father’s dream, a wish and a
promise to his family come true, life itself…
