Spanish Latinas
The boats in this category are all small Spanish craft of a type known as "latinas". These little sailing boats started their lives as fishing boats working on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Many are almost a hundred years old. (The black one was built in 1916; the varnished one in 1912.)
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Happily, the latinas were always raced - every little fishing village had its own fleet and its own annual regatta - and it is this, rather than an appreciation for tradition, which has ensured their survival. Since the regattas continued to be held, the boats continued to be maintained and sailed.
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With the revival of interest which inevitably follows when a culture is close to extinction, the latinas have lately become very popular, but their owners still find it difficult to recruit enough regular crew-members. The handling of the sails aboard a lateen-rigged boat is hard work; it is also very different from the straight-forward tacking and gybing of conventional fore and aft sails. For example, aboard these Spanish latinas both the sail and the mast are moved, according to the point of sailing. Thus, "pierhead" recruits, volunteering for just one race, are not of much use here.
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2 Latinas Racing -
3 Latinas Racing -
Afternoon Jolly -
Big White Latina (1) -
Big White Latina (2) -
Big White Latina (3) -
Big White Latina (4) -
Black and White Latina -
Black and White Latina (2)
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