CLASSIC BOAT SEPTEMBER 2016 69S
enior Maximo sails his exquisite lateen-rigged
vessel Zincara (that’s ‘gypsy’ in English) in the
Bay of Poets, northern Italy, for the pure pleasure
and challenge of sailing this primitive vessel. His
20ft (6m)-long boat has one forward-raked mast with
shrouds but no forestay. Crossing the mast about three
quarters of the way up is a spar called ‘the antenna’. This
strong flexible ash pole is made in two parts on Zincara.
This antenna is more than a metre longer than the length
of the boat. From the antenna hangs the distinctive
triangular lateen sail, after which the rig is named.
Naturally the very name lateen comes from the word
Latin and that again indicates its Mediterranean origin.
Zincara is typical of the single-masted, lateen-rigged boats
found in harbours around the Bay of Poets and many
small boat harbours in the European Mediterranean, and
is exclusive to that sea. There are Arab dhows in the Indian
Ocean and Polynesian boats with triangular sails, but these
are quite different in style to Mediterranean lateens.
Senior Maximo enjoys sailing and rod-and-line fishing
from his boat. Every spring there is a regatta for the lateens
in the Bay of Poets, which he supports, but racing is not
his main interest. The enjoyment of sailing this most
traditional rig is an end in itself. It is a challenge because
about one quarter of the sail is in front of the mast. As a
result, sail setting is a three-dimensional skill. Sailed well,
lateens are swift. Most importantly they were the first rig
that enabled sailors to sail a few degrees towards the
wind. These sailing boats started the evolution of all
fore-and-aft rigged boats that can sail to windward.
After sailing, Senior Maximo returns to his idyllic
home port of Lerici south of La Spezia in the northwest
corner of mainland Italy’s riviera. Having brailed up his
lateen sail to the antenna, he gets out the sweeps and
rows, for control, forward facing and standing towards
his mooring; no outboard engine for him. Zincara stands
out among the acres of small, modern sailing and motorThe lateen rig is enjoying a resurgence across
the Med – and the racing is hot
WORDS AND IMAGES JOHN CADD
boats moored all around. In fact, in nearly every
traditional harbour and many modern marinas, from
Spanish Costa Blanca in the west to Greece in the East,
there has been a slow but steady revival of these ancient
sailing vessels; there are always a few among the acres of
white plastic, reminding visitors and fellow sailors of a
bygone era of fishing and trading under sail. Many are
restoration projects while others are new builds.
The hull types do vary from region to region and
country to country, but perhaps the biggest difference
between their owners and sailors are the languages and
dialects spoken. For example, the Spanish call lateen
sailing vela latina, the French voiles latines and the
Croatians latinsko idro. Note the unifying word related
to our word latin. Apart from the sheer semi-masochism
of working on the mostly old wooden boats and sailing
the obsolete design, the main thing that unites these
distinctive sailors is the pleasure in preserving their native
skill, cultures and traditions.LATEEN SAILING SCHOOL
For those who want to learn the quaint skill of lateen
sailing, there are a small number of mostly day charters
on offer in Spain and the south of France that include
tuition. Day sails are available on the Venice lagoon
in their particularly colourful sailing lateens, but the
Venetian winds are fickle. That may be why rowing and
gondoliering is more common than sailing.
One sailing school exclusively dedicated to teaching
traditional lateen skills is Escula de Vela Latina, in the
port of Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca. Based around a
restored salt wharf are a cluster of about a dozen Spanish
‘llaut’ boats. They are prime in that they all have just one
mast and one boomless triangular sail and no bowsprits
and jibs. Three of these are owned and run by the school
and the others are privately owned. In addition they have
a fully equipped classroom ashore.LATEENS
ON THE RISE