A felucca (
Arabic: فلوكة,
romanized: falawaka, possibly originally from
Greekἐφόλκιον, epholkion[1]) is a traditional wooden sailing
boat with a single sail used in the
Mediterranean—including around
Malta and
Tunisia. However in
Egypt,
Iraq and
Sudan (particularly along the
Nile and in the Sudanese protected areas of the
Red Sea), Its
rig can consist of two
lateen sails as well as just one.
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.
Feluccas were photographed by writer
Göran Schildt's travels on the Nile in 1954-55 as part of his Mediterranean sea travels. Schildt documented them as being called "Ajasor".
San Francisco
A large fleet of lateen-rigged feluccas thronged
San Francisco's docks before and after the construction, at the foot of
Union Street, of the state-owned
Fisherman's Wharf in 1884.[2] Light, small, and maneuverable, the feluccas were the mainstay of the fishing fleet of
San Francisco Bay.
John C. Muir, Curator of Small Craft,[3][4]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".[5][6] Among the owners of feluccas in San Francisco Bay was the author
Jack London, who recollected his adventure as a young
oyster pirate in his works.[citation needed]
^"Sausalito Herring Festival". Latitude38. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2023. The felucca Nuovo Mondo and the Wettons' Monterey will be on display — on Sausalito YC moorings — at the Sausalito Herring Festival tomorrow.