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A felucca (Arabic: فلوكة, romanized: falawaka, possibly originally from Greek ἐφόλκιον (Epholkion)[1]) is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in the eastern Mediterranean—including around Malta and Tunisia—in Egypt and Sudan (particularly along the Nile and in protected waters of the Red Sea), and also in Iraq. Its rig consists of one or two lateen sails.
They are usually able to board ten passengers and the crew consists of two or three people.
Egypt
Despite the availability of motorboats and ferries, feluccas are still in active use as a means of transport in Nile-adjacent cities like Aswan or Luxor. They are especially popular among tourists who can enjoy a quieter and calmer mood than motorboats have to offer.
San Francisco
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A large fleet of lateen-rigged feluccas thronged San Francisco's docks before and after the construction of the state-owned Fisherman's Wharf in 1884. Light, small, and maneuverable, the feluccas were the mainstay of the fishing fleet of San Francisco Bay. John C. Muir, a small-craft curator at the SF Maritime Historical Park, said of them, "These workhorses featured a mast that angled, or raked, forward sharply, and a large triangular sail hanging down from a long, two-piece yard".[2][3]
See also
References
- ^ El Houssi, Abdelmajid. Retour sur l’étymologie de felouque (PDF). p. 20.
- ^ Muir, John C. (Summer 2000). "Tides of change: Fisherman's Wharf, 1870–1930". Sea Letter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Muir, John C. (Summer 2000). "Tides of change: Fisherman's Wharf, 1870–1930 (excerpt)". Sea Letter. No. 58. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Further reading
- Muscat, Joseph (2003) The Gilded Felucca and Maltese Boatbuilding Techniques. Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza, Malta. ISBN 99932-41-45-8