A rare boat was abandoned on the roadside. Now volunteers are trying to save it

A group of traditional boat enthusiasts is raising funds to save a rare type of traditional fishing vessel that was abandoned on the side of the road in dire disrepair.

The firilla, a boat that operates a sail rather than just oars, was discarded on the side of the road in a Gozo village.

The local council wanted to get rid of the boat as it had become an eyesore, but before the firilla could be impounded, a man stepped in and bought it, intending to use it in a static exhibition

Eventually, that man expressed the desire to get rid of the boat. Noel Demicoli and a group of fellow enthusiasts raised the €500 asking price for the firilla, and formed the Malta Traditional Boats Association with the intent of restoring it.

The boat during better days.

But attempts to get the project off the ground have found little success and the group is now turning to crowdfunding in a last-ditch attempt to pay for the space, materials and other resources needed to restore the rare sailboat.

Demicoli, the NGO's president, said that the boat had been restored once before in 2006 but returned to a state of decline. 

Without a focused effort to prevent its loss, a piece of Malta’s rich maritime heritage would be lost for good, Demicoli said.

“We are close to a situation where we’re not going to have any of these boats left,” he said.

“There is little knowledge and awareness about the rarity and value of these boats, and we have observed a trend of local authorities finding them abandoned and trying to destroy them or using them as decoration in public spaces and roundabouts,” Demicoli continued.

“Last I checked with the fisheries department, there are only 21 of this kind of boat registered in all of Malta, which is very worrying for its preservation.”

The firilla looks like a luzzu but is smaller. It also comes with a tarkija, a square-shaped sail that is hoisted from its corners to catch the wind.

Demicoli said the group had so far been unable to find anybody in Malta with the knowledge or memory to properly set up and use the tarkija within the boat, and he fears it may be a lost art.

“We’ve tried finding people who could potentially show us how to do it, but every time they tell us, ‘oh, my father or grandfather knew how to do it’. It’s a shame because it feels like we have lost this cultural knowledge.”

Some of the damage that now needs repair.

Part of the association’s aim is to be able to sail and exhibit the firilla, bringing the experience of the Maltese sailboat to a new generation.

“It’s one thing to look at pictures or even models and examples sitting statically in a museum, but another thing entirely to be able to experience it the way it was meant to be experienced,” Demicoli continued.

“If we’re able to take people out on the boat and they get to experience the sights and the smells of the sea, it’s a hundred times more memorable.”

The association is now seeking to raise €5,000, through the Zaar crowdfunding platform, which will be used to repair the wooden structure of the boat as well as paint and refinish it. Additionally, the sum will be able to see the firilla relaunched into the sea with the tarkija installed, as well as fitted with a new electric motor.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will be used by the association to revive Malta’s lost sailing tradition and promote it as part of the country’s heritage.

“If we don’t start caring about it, all of it will be lost,” he said.