Northumbria holds the inspiring tale of Grace Darling, a local heroine who risked her life in a raging storm to rescue shipwrecked sailors off the Farne Islands in the early 19th century.
Few will recall the distinctive features of Grace’s wooden boat, which is now housed at her namesake museum in the village of Bamburgh, with its broad sides, flat bottom and high bow.
Northumbria holds the inspiring tale of Grace Darling, a local heroine who risked her life in a raging storm to rescue shipwrecked sailors off the Farne Islands in the early 19th century.
Few will recall the distinctive features of Grace’s wooden boat, which is now housed at her namesake museum in the village of Bamburgh, with its broad sides, flat bottom and high bow.
But only some people will know that her boat was a coble – a vessel peculiar to the northeast and one that is disappearing.
The coble boat is a type of fishing boat traditionally used in the North East of England.
It is a small, open boat with a flat bottom and high sides, designed for fishing in shallow waters.
The distinctive shape of the boat — flat-bottomed and high-bowed — arose to cope with the particular conditions prevalent in this area.
Flat bottoms allowed launching from and landing upon shallow, sandy beaches; an advantage in this part of the coast where the wide bays and inlets provided little shelter from stormy weather.
However, fishermen required high bows to sail in the dangerous North Sea and in particular to launch into the surf and to land on the beaches.
The design contains relics of Norse influence, though in the main it shows Dutch origin.
The coble is usually propelled by a sail or oars and has a small cabin or shelter for the fishermen.
In modern times, Cobles generally use diesel engines, removing the need for the distinctively shaped lug sail.
The modern cobles often have a small wheelhouse forward, perhaps a half deck to shelter the engine, and gantries to support line haulers; both possible because there is now no sailing gear.
That’s all for today! If you have any questions about Coble, please let us know.
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