I have added another page to the Maritime History menu – Greek fishing craft: detail.

This small collection of images were taken over the period of a decade, mainly in Crete but also the Peloponnese in the south west and the Pelion on the east coast of the Greek mainland.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Traditional boats are gradually being converted to leisure craft or lost as local fisherman turn to modern vessels or leave the occupation altogether as they grow older and their children look for more lucrative occupations. This is a situation not confined to Greece or Crete. There are few traditional working boats in the United Kingdom today, although there are brave souls going against the trend, for example, I mentioned the Falmouth working boats in a previous post.

I take photographs of detail because I am interested in what the owner was thinking when he/she decided to highlight this part of the boat against that part. Was it pure decoration or did it have a practical purpose? Was it a moment’s inspiration during one season’s refit or was there a deeper significance?

I will continue to photograph these boats and add images to this page at every opportunity.

You can access these images here: Greek and Cretan fishing craft – detail

Also:  Inshore craft of the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Adriatic

For earlier postings on this subject: For Love of a Boat

(Images by Bill Whateley)