When you fall asleep at the helm

The wooden fishing boat Fortunal, 19 meters long, was returning from an all-night fishing trip northwest of Vis on the morning of April 10, 1997, and the tired crew dozed off after hard trawling and sorting fish. Although the name Fortunal means storm, the day itself wasn’t so.

It was exactly 10:00 a.m. when Fortunal hit the cape of Tvrdo Zalučje Bay at full speed with its bow. Through a considerable hole in the underwater part of the bow, the ship began to fill with sea very quickly.

The crew, who jumped on deck, could not do anything, and very soon they found themselves in the sea because the Fortunal sank at the point where the cape, just a few meters from the shore, turns into an underwater vertical wall.

Island of Vis, the location of the sinking of the fisherman Fortunal

Diving directly along the edge of the wall very quickly, at a depth of approx. 50 meters, in the clear sea we see the light sandy bottom on it, as if some hand had laid it, the wreck of the Fortunal leaning on its starboard side.

Visibility is excellent, and the wreck is attractive precisely because of its relatively small dimensions and the possibility of orientation at any time.

This underwater treasure is not the only one on the island of Vis, and you will be able to read about other ships and plane wrecks in other posts.