Sofia and Aurelijus sail in an exclusive boat: “For some Lithuanians it is a cry, and foreigners admire it”

The famous spa of Neringa. A two-mast, flat-bottomed furnace awaits us moored in the port of Nida, of which only a few are still sailing in Lithuania.

“I invite you to the deck,” said Aurelijus, a sailor who had previously been involved in long-distance sailing, spreading his palm.

He is from Klaipeda, but has lived in Nida with his wife Sofija, a former member and teacher of the track team, for over 30 years.

From the dunes of the port of Nida, this unique tourist attraction does not move every day.

“Sometimes we start all day, we wait until someone comes to swim, and sometimes, tourists swim 4 or 5 times.

The Lithuanian artist needs speed and splendor, and here is the story. Foreigners admire the smell of resin, which is a historic ship. We tell them the story. For some, “Kuršis” – gelda, tough … “, – Sofia revealed the different attitude of Nida’s visitors.

Show Nida to the Germans.

Sofia says that she has been working with German tourists since 1989. Why Germans? Because they were fluent in German, and German citizens with special contact with Neringa also started visiting Nida more and more often at that time.

In 1994, the couple established a small individual tourism company in Klaipėda, and in 1996 they moved to the Curonian Spit.

“It just came to our knowledge then gidauti, there was not even a tourism law. Later the specialty of guiding appeared ”, recalls Aurelijus, who is also learning sign language, to be able to lead excursions for the deaf.

“Now the tourism we offer is the Curonian Spit”, smiles Sofía.

The Lithuanian artist needs speed and splendor, and here is the story.

We walked across the deck. “Kuršis” sways easily. Resins smell of resin. It is this material that is used as the best wood impregnating agent.

The 28-year-old furnace is repaired annually by shipbuilder Simas de Laučiai.

Suburzgia engine donated by the Germans. Passing the waves of the Curonian lagoon. Already having dinner, hot as in the sauna.

Incredible, but “Kuršis” has even participated in 9 sailing regattas.

“Funders” attracted

We are cutting waves. Soon I will hear the story of the appearance of “Kuršis”, who is submerged in the water only 40 cm, in the couple’s tourism plan.

Armonavičiai met the famous artist from the Curonian Spit, the historian Eduards Jonušs. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​building a furnace a quarter of a century ago. Eduardas built it for 2.5 summers together with the naval engineer Henrik Mališauskas, from Klaipėda. According to Armonavičius, he wanted to bring history back to the Curonian Lagoon.

“We saw the boat with Jonušas when he was building it.” Kuršis “went into the water in 1993. Initially, Eduard set sail, then his son helped to do it. Eduard played the harmonica, told stories, his soul was in this furnace”, remembers Sofia.

Aurelijus said that E. Jonušas built the kurėna with the money he earned from selling his paintings. Of course, the German tourist, whose artist was “provided” by Armonavičiai, had a better chance of selling.

“We can say that we contributed to the birth of the kuren. Thanks to us and Sofia, the buyers “came” to Eduard’s house. We had the key to Eduard’s house, we took them on excursions. Who left the sacrifice, who bought what ”, recalls Aurelijus.

Was abandoned for a while

In 2008, “Kuršis” was in very bad condition, it was not sailing anywhere, because E. Jonušas had no money for repairs.

“Aurelius and I received an offer to take care of the boat so that it could sail again. We agreed. We have been supervising it since 2009. We took care of the abandoned one. It was even painted with paint, I had to burn it,” assured Sofía.

Aurelijus added that “Kuršis” is owned by Eduard’s wife, Vitalija Jonušienė (long-term director of the Thomas Mann Museum), and they and Sofia are his supervisors.

This year we founded the Public Institution “Curonian Legends”. One of the objectives of this company is the maintenance of the boat. We can get our income from the maintenance of the boat not just from sailing. We can also accept support that does not exceed 2.5 thousand. Aurelijus explained.

The ship’s owner, whom Armonavičiai considered a close friend, died six years ago. The artist returned as an honorary citizen to an ethnographic cemetery.

When a part of Kurėnas completes its service, it travels to the house-museum of E. Jonušas, where it can get acquainted with Eduard’s paintings.

Armonavičiai never forgets to offer tourists to immerse themselves in the treasure trove of historical and self-created objects collected by his friend.

“He has always attracted us, attracted us and we will be attracted to Eduard,” Sofía admitted.

Along the border area

The sails unfold one after another. It feels like you are sitting on a little Caribbean pirate ship.

We head towards the dune of Parnidis, some creatures huddle in the sand dunes.

“I’ve only seen a moose on a dune once. Although, it is true, there are foxes. Maybe there is a border guard here? “Guess Sofia, sighing.

Aurelius then directs the candle in the right direction.

It turns out that the “black eagle” is a sea eagle. Soon it raises its wide wings.

The endless wind seems to stop blowing so much and where it needs to. I have to shake the engine again for a few moments.

“The wind is weakening, the ‘taboo’ begins. When tourists want to see the dune, not all winds can show it. Let’s not get nervous about patrolling the Lithuanian border guards, ”says Aurelijus, pointing to the ship marching in the Lithuanian-Russian border area and turning the sailboat.

It happens that the border guards approach the fire pit and ask their crew to show their identity documents.

Sofia points her finger at the border between Lithuania and the Kaliningrad region. Then he sounds the “horn”, the salute of other boats or the SOS signal.

The dunes call our attention again. Sofía assures that they change every year: on the side of the Kaunas lagoon, it grows more and more.

The wood squeaks. The waves noisily wash the sides of “Kuršis”. Sofia raises several skirting boards. There is a considerable gap between them and the flat bottom of the boat.

“The fishermen filled the cavity with fresh water and transported the fish thus caught to keep it fresher,” Sofía revealed a secret detail of the oven.

The candles are made of linen, they should be dried as soon as possible after getting wet, because mold likes to “beautify”.

Where the motor “box” is now, there used to be a chimney in the furnace. After sailing further afield, towards the Šilut Ka market, Karaliaučiai, the crew prepared the food on deck.

About 300 kurenai sailed

When asked to explain how the kurenai stood out in the shipment, Sofia named what type of net the fishermen used. That is what they called a sailboat.

The great kurenai, like “Kuršis”, was 12 meters long, the mast spanning the same number of meters. A lot of oak was used in the production of “Kuršis”, only the stem was made of fir, because it requires more flexible wood.

“There were erratic and strong winds, so a higher mast and a bigger sail were needed. He used a sprinkler, the others a grapple (a diagonally movable transverse mast attached to the ship’s mast at one end, raised to stretch the sails – automatic pole).

Here the Sturmans have a restored kuren, then he has a hook, and “Curonian”, a sprinter, Sofia has named words that have not been heard until now. “Fishing in the Curonian Spit was the main source of livelihood, so the Kurenians allowed them to survive.”

According to her, the Neringa region was very poor, it only had fish and another cow. There was sand everywhere, no one was growing, so the hay even had to be hauled. The home was useful here and again.

“There was also winter fishing: everyone knows how to ‘buzz’ when they put nets under the ice and put a long board with which to set the pace. This scares the fish and they fly into the net. During the Stint festival, you hear that beat “Stint fluff, stint fluff, stint, stint, connect,” Sofia sang.

Burvaltė also “gave birth” to the story of the legendary weather vanes.

“The weather vane is a sign of the settlement where the fishermen of a certain boat lived. At one point, rules were introduced in the Curonian lagoon to control fishing and fish populations. The weather vane showed the town where the fishermen came from. Signs are made of tin, hung from a pole. They controlled that they would not fish during spawning, to fish only within the limits assigned to a particular village, “explained Sofía.

Served for half a century

The interlocutor was surprised: around 1870 there were about 300 Kurans in the Curonian lagoon.

Around 1870, there were around 300 Kurans in the Curonian Lagoon.

“The Curonian lagoon is very shallow in some places, so the Kurenians liked it very much. And at that time there was no port, there was no need for a motor: they sailed to the sandy shore, they took them out on the logs with horses.

In the days when he was building the kiln, he was collecting firewood for only five years. The oak had to be kept in running water for it to swell.

Kurena was built in 6 weeks in good weather. Because the wood used to be well prepared, the ships were between 50 and 60 years old, ”Sofia revealed more intriguing historical details.

When asked how much it costs to maintain the oven each year, Sofia just smiled; It’s hard to say, we don’t count, but you have to repair it every year.

Currently, there are 14 sailing boats in Lithuania, of which only a few are. Will there be many of them?

“It takes a lot of good oak to build a fireplace. And you still need to prepare properly. The cost of construction in Kurėnai is high ”, assured Sofia.

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