{{Short description|Settee-rigged boat originating from Malta}} [[File:The Fleet Messenger 'isonzo' at Malta - off the Castile (signal Station) Art.IWMART3120.jpg|thumb|300px|Painting of a Gozo boat in the Grand Harbour during World War I]]
The '''Gozo boat''' ({{langx|mt|Dgħajsa ta' Għawdex, tal-latini, tat-tagħbija, tal-pass}} or {{lang|mt|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<ref name="morana">{{cite book|last1=Morana|first1=Martin|title=Bejn Kliem u Storja|date=2011|publisher=Books Distributors Limited|location=Malta|isbn=978-99957-0137-6|url=https://sites.google.com/site/kliemustorja/home/titlu/introduzzjoni/dwar-l-awtur/a/b/c/c/d|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005162338/https://sites.google.com/site/kliemustorja/home/titlu/introduzzjoni/dwar-l-awtur/a/b/c/c/d|archivedate=5 October 2016|language=Maltese}}</ref> from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. The design of the boats developed from the speronara.
==History== thumb|Gozo boat on a 1926 Maltese stamp
A ferry service between the islands of Malta and Gozo has existed for centuries,<ref name="muscat2005"/> and the earliest known reference to such a link date back to around 1241, when the boat was called the ''madia''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Luttrell |first1=Anthony |editor1-last=Bugeja |editor1-first=L. |title=Giliberto Abbate's Report on Malta: Circa 1241 |journal=Proceedings of History Week |date=1993 |pages=1–29 |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Proceedings%20of%20History%20Week/PHW%201993/01s.pdf |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405211703/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Proceedings%20of%20History%20Week/PHW%201993/01s.pdf |archivedate=5 April 2020}}</ref> or ''tal-mogħdija'' "of the route". By the 16th century, Gozo boats took the shape of a brigantine.<ref name=gozochannel/>
The earliest known depiction of a Gozo ferry is a painting from around 1750. At the time, the vessels were known as the ''speronara del Gozo'' or ''barca del Gozo'',<ref name=gozochannel/> and they were almost identical to the speronara which was used for maritime trade.<ref name="muscat2005">{{cite journal |last1=Muscat |first1=Joseph |title=Traditional Boats of Malta |journal=Malta Archaeological Review |date=2005 |issue=6 |pages=26–40 |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/49645/1/Traditional%20Boats%20of%20Malta.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405093026/https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/49645/1/Traditional%20Boats%20of%20Malta.pdf |archivedate=5 April 2020}}</ref>
The Gozo boat became distinct from the speronara in the late 19th century, around the same time that the vessel's use for mercantile activities was declining.<ref name="muscat2005"/> In the 1880s, the Gozo speronaras changed their sail arrangements to a settee rig. They became known as ''tal-latini'' due to their similarity with lateen sails. In 1919, engines began to be installed on some Gozo boats, although many still retained their sails.<ref name=gozochannel>{{cite web|last1=Muscat|first1=Joseph|title=The Gozo boat|url=http://www.gozochannel.com/gozoboat.htm|website=Gozo Channel Co. Ltd.|publisher=Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303053346/http://www.gozochannel.com/gozoboat.htm|archivedate=3 March 2012|date=1999}}</ref>
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.<ref name=gozochannel/>
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 typically carried agricultural products, including fruit, vegetables, eggs, and poultry. Return trips from Malta to Gozo transported manufactured goods, such as cement, soft drinks, and beer.<ref name=letsgozo/>
Gozo boats were painted in shades of green, blue, red, and yellow, similar to the traditional ''luzzu''. One boat, painted black, carried corpses between the islands.<ref name=letsgozo>{{cite journal|title=Rites of passage|journal=Let's Gozo|date=June 2007|pages=16–17|url=http://www.wirtghawdex.org/news/media-articles/156-2007-rites-of-passage-let-s-gozo/file|accessdate=25 July 2015|archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806015803/https://www.wirtghawdex.org/news/media-articles/156-2007-rites-of-passage-let-s-gozo/file|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Accidents=== There were several accidents involving Gozo boats. Some were hit by rifle fire while passing the Pembroke Army Garrison rifle ranges, although authorities warned the boats' masters. In 1900, a Gozo boat that was being used for mahi-mahi (''ampuki'') fishing capsized, killing one fisherman. Another boat lost her masts in 1911, but managed to enter Saint George's Bay at St. Julian's, Malta. In 1926, an unoccupied Gozo boat was found adrift in rough seas. In rare cases, they were involved in collisions with tugboats or pinnaces.<ref name=gozochannel/>
During World War II, the ''Stella Maris'' was destroyed by enemy action.
===Decline=== By the 1960s and 1970s, regular steamer services began to compete with the Gozo boats, which had become less cost-effective. The remaining were converted into fishing boats, or were abandoned at Mġarr Harbour.<ref name=gozochannel/>
Since 1979, Gozo Channel Line, which uses modern roll-on/roll-off ferries, provides services to Gozo.<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.gozochannel.com/en/history.htm|website=Gozo Channel Co. Ltd.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329140913/http://gozochannel.com/en/history.htm|archivedate=29 March 2015}}</ref>
==Surviving examples== thumb|''Sacra Famiglia'' preserved at the Żewwieqa promenade, as photographed in 2025
Very few Gozo boats still survive today.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dougall|first1=Angelo|title=The Gozo Boat - Extinction of a breed|journal=L-Imnara|date=August 1983|volume=2|issue=1|pages=13–15|url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/L-Imnara/L-Imnara.%2002(1983)1=6/10s.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417164257/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/L-Imnara/L-Imnara.%2002(1983)1=6/10s.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 17, 2016|accessdate=25 July 2015|publisher=Għaqda tal-Folklor}}</ref> One of these is the ''Sacra Famiglia'' (G32), which was built in Kalkara in 1933.<ref>{{cite news|title=Id-Dgħajsa Tal-Latini to dominate Mġarr Harbour again|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2011-08-08/news/id-dg-and-295ajsa-tal-latini-to-dominate-m-and-289arr-harbour-again-296889/|accessdate=25 July 2015|work=The Malta Independent|date=8 August 2011}}</ref> It had become unseaworthy by the 1970s, and was beached at Mġarr. The hulk was eventually purchased by a private individual who wanted to sell it to the Ministry for Gozo. It was then purchased by the Gozo Channel Company Limited, who handed it to Wirt Għawdex and sponsored its restoration. After the boat was restored by the Caruana brothers (the sons of its original builder), it was placed on permanent display at the Żewwieqa promenade in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dgħajsa Tal-Latini|url=http://www.wirtghawdex.org/component/k2/dg%C4%A7ajsa-tal-latini|website=Wirt Għawdex|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725142320/http://www.wirtghawdex.org/component/k2/dg%C4%A7ajsa-tal-latini|archivedate=25 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Dghajsa Tal-Latini' fully restored & on display at the Zewwieqa Waterfront|url=http://gozonews.com/53284/dghajsa-tal-latini-fully-restored-on-display-at-the-zewwieqa-waterfront/|accessdate=25 July 2015|work=Gozo News|date=2 November 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Malta - Sliema (Triq Ix-Xatt (Gzira)) 09 ies.jpg|thumb|''Maryanne'' at Marsamxett Harbour, as photographed in 2013]]
Another surviving Gozo boat is the ''Maryanne'', which belonged to Alfred Grech and was built in Gela in 1960. The boat remained in Gozo until February 1983, when it was purchased by Captain Morgan Cruises. The boat is now in display at the Mcast in Paola. ''Maryanne'' is in good condition, but it no longer has the distinctive masts and a deck has been added.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maryanne |url=http://www.captainmorgan.com.mt/maryanne |website=Captain Morgan Cruises |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027092831/http://www.captainmorgan.com.mt/maryanne |archivedate=27 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Another two or three Gozo boats which were converted into fishing boats might still exist.<ref name=gozochannel/>
==Legacy== right|Coat of arms of Qala
The Gozo boat has become a symbol of the island of Gozo,<ref>{{cite web|title=Gozo|url=http://www.gozoandmalta.com/gozo.php|website=gozoandmalta.com|accessdate=25 July 2015|archive-date=21 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121052737/http://www.gozoandmalta.com/gozo.php|url-status=usurped}}</ref> and a boat sailing on rough waters is featured on the flag and coat of arms of the village of Qala.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Qala|url=http://www.stampworld.com/en/|website=Qala Local Council|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408090112/http://www.qala.gov.mt/default.asp?module=content&pageid=124|archivedate=8 April 2011}}</ref> Gozo boats are also found in the logos of various Gozitan organizations, such as the Gozo Philatelic Society<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.stamps-gozo.org/about-us.html|website=Gozo Philatelic Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223172053/http://stamps-gozo.org/about-us.html|archive-date=23 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the Imperial Gozo Yacht Club.<ref>{{cite news|title=Imperial Gozo Yacht Club opens new premises at Mgarr|url=http://gozonews.com/1485/imperial-gozo-yacht-club-opens-new-premises-at-mgarr/|work=Gozo News|date=24 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216140340/http://gozonews.com/1485/imperial-gozo-yacht-club-opens-new-premises-at-mgarr/|archive-date=16 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The classical 1970s song ''Id-Dgħajsa tal-Latini'' by the Maltese band New Cuorey is about a Gozo boat.<ref name=dictionary>{{cite book|last1=Schiavone|first1=Michael J.|title=Dictionary of Maltese Biographies Vol. 1 A-F|date=2009|publisher=Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza|location=Pietà|isbn=9789993291329|page=189}}</ref>
<gallery> File:E.A.Gouder, Fishing boat, Gozo (No. 31).jpg|E.A.Gouder, Fishing boat, Gozo (No. 31) File:E.A.Gouder, Gozitan fishing boat (No. 27).jpg|E.A.Gouder, Gozitan fishing boat (No. 27) File:E.A.Gouder, Gozitan fishing boat (No. 46).jpg|E.A.Gouder, Gozitan fishing boat (No. 46) File:E.A.Gouder, Gozitan fishing boat.jpg|E.A.Gouder, Gozitan fishing boat File:Edward A. Gouder, A Gozo boat, tal-latini, in full sail, 1910s.jpg|Edward A. Gouder, A Gozo boat, tal-latini, in full sail, 1910s </gallery>
==Further reading== *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160416145920/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Melita%20Historica/MH.13(2000-03)/MH.13(2003)4/06.pdf Graffiti]}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{commons category-inline|Gozo boat}}
{{Sailing vessels and rigs}} Category:Ferry transport in Malta Category:Gozo Category:Culture of Malta Category:Maritime history of Malta Category:Tall ships Category:Lateen-rigged sailboats