Gozo boat

The Gozo boat (Maltese: Dgħajsa ta’ Għawdex, tal-latini, tat-tagħbija, tal-pass or tal-mogħdija) was a type of settee-rigged boat originating from Malta. Gozo boats were the main means of transport across the Gozo Channel between Gozo and the main island of Malta from at least 1241 to the 1960s.

Gozo boats evolved from the speronara (Maltese: xprunara), which was found all over the Mediterranean Sea. The oldest records of a transport link between Gozo and Malta date back to 1241, when the boat was known as a dgħajsa tal-mogħdija or tal-pass. By the 16th century, Gozo boats took the shape of a brigantine. In the 1880s, many Gozo boats changed their sail arrangements to a settee rig. In 1919, engines began to be installed on some Gozo boats, although many still retained their sails.

Most Gozo boats were built at Kalkara in the Grand Harbour. The Caruana family, who were the last builders of Gozo boats, moved from there to Mġarr on Gozo in 1940. After 1959, a few Gozo boats were built in Gela, Sicily. The last one to be built was the Santa Rita (G48) in 1963.

Gozo boats usually made trips from the Grand Harbour in Malta to Mġarr Harbour on Gozo. Other trips were made from the Grand Harbour to Mellieħa or to Marfa, or Mġarr to Marfa or St. Paul's Bay. The boats carried both passengers and cargo between the two islands. Trips from Gozo to Malta were generally loaded with agricultural products such as fruit, vegetables, eggs and poultry, while return trips from Malta to Gozo were loaded with manufactured goods such as cement, soft drinks and beer.

Gozo boats were painted in shades of green, blue, red and yellow, similar to the traditional luzzu. One boat was painted black to carry corpses between the islands.

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Wikipedia