A museum of excellent wooden models
View of the Lloret de Mar waterfront from the Museum of the Sea. Photo by the author.
“... we are the children of a glorious generation of sailors,
and just as the waters are never destined
these seas evaporate in the air and dissolve in the blood,
flowing through our veins, changing ourselves,
we will not cease to admire this heroic
period of our stories».
Agustí Pujol y Conille. Elegy to the sailor of Lloret the fleet
and just as the waters are never destined
these seas evaporate in the air and dissolve in the blood,
flowing through our veins, changing ourselves,
we will not cease to admire this heroic
period of our stories».
Agustí Pujol y Conille. Elegy to the sailor of Lloret the fleet
Around the world's museums. When everything is covered in snow, and the streets of many of our cities have turned into "Indian trails," when frost and gray skies prevent us from leaving the house to stretch our legs in nature, we can't help but recall hot summers, sun, and the sea. Humans are wired to crave something different from what we currently have: winter coolness in summer, summer heat in winter. People also constantly crave something interesting, something they've never seen before, to learn new things, gain information, and... travel. To see different lands and countries, seas and oceans. Foreign places and ships that can either take you there today or that were used in the past.
A curious place where the past and the future merge: right at the top of this hill, in the very center of the photograph, stands an ancient settlement of local residents, and a little further away is the castle of a local rich man who decided how cool it would be to live in a castle like this by the sea. It has nothing to do with the past.
You can see such ships in person at maritime museums, and there are also museums that display stunningly crafted ship models. They're made using different techniques and in varying quantities—some have more, some have less—but museums always have them. But the maritime museum in the Spanish town of Lloret de Mar, known as the "Museum of the Sea," has a remarkable number of such models, all made entirely of wood. The reason is clear: this Spanish town on the Costa Brava has always faced the sea and is closely connected to it.
What's a tourist supposed to do in a coastal town? Swimming in the sea and sunbathing on the sand, of course. But if it also has various "interesting spots," even better. Lloret de Mar boasts several such curious spots, and one of them is its maritime museum. It's impossible not to find it there, or even pass it by. Anyone who goes out to the promenade, which stretches from one cape to the other, stumbles upon it.
Before visiting this museum, however, let's at least briefly explore the history of this town, which, like a mirror, reflects the entire history of coastal Catalonia. After all, the residents of Lloret have always had easy access to the sea, and, of course, they took advantage of it. They sailed, oh, where didn't they sail, but their exposure to foreign cultures didn't stop them from remaining true to their own unique identity.
Clotilde Park is a lovely place to stroll in the heat. There are fountains and… a “proper” mermaid sculpture with two tails. It's clear that single-tailed mermaids… are… improper.
And this is one of the park fountains. And below the park, on the shore in a cozy bay, is another beach...
People... They've always loved comfort. That's why they began settling here as early as the Lower Paleolithic. There's a settlement of ancient Iberians on a mountain right above the beach, where they wove (spindle whorls have been found) and fished (sinks have been found). And climbing their mountain would have been a very difficult task for an enemy. Then the Romans landed here and began producing pottery, which they then transported by ship throughout the Mediterranean.
There's a date—October 14, 1001—that went down in history because of… a debt between the viscounts of Girona and the counts of Barcelona. As a result of all the litigation, Lloret gained independence from its former jurisdiction and became even more closely tied to the sea. The watchtower of Sant Joan was built to protect the coast from pirates. Then, on January 23, 1079, the parish church of Sant Romà was founded nearby. From the castle, proudly perched on a cliff near the Fenals coast, its owners now had easy control over the farmers and fishermen throughout the area. There are documents that indicate that the residents of Lloret paid the chapter of canons of Girona Cathedral in fish.
During the Middle Ages, Spain's land routes were dangerous. Therefore, it was easier for the residents of Lloret to reach their destinations by sea. But this thirst for travel grew especially in the 18th century, when the local population began building fairly large ships right in the shipyards of their native coast.
There's so much to see in the Lloret Maritime Museum. For example, here's a wooden scoop. Every boat had one for bailing out water.
The Lloretians were also greatly helped by the forests surrounding the city. They had plenty of wood for their ships, for burning it into charcoal for their forges, for making wine barrels, and for cork stoppers. Grapes grew in the surrounding area, so the locals had wine to spare. And they did indeed fill their own barrels and transport it all over the Mediterranean.
Ship's binnacle
True, Lloret residents typically sailed along the coast for trading purposes, from one port to another, and did not venture far from the shoreline into the open sea. This type of navigation was generally characteristic of Mediterranean shipping. However, the impact of coastal shipping on the country's economy was enormous. It is known that ships from Lloret were already sailing to Catalan and Valencian ports as early as the 14th century, and later, in the second half of the 18th century, they sailed to Cadiz, from where large sailing vessels set course for America.
A comfortable chair from a ship's cabin
And this is its interior...
It's funny, but in Lloret they invented their own type of ship and called it... a mizzen! We call it a mast or a sail, but here in Lloret, that was the name of a typical coastal vessel sailing along the coast of Catalonia. The vessel had a foremast, angled forward at the bow with a lateen sail, and a vertical mast at the stern, which they called a mizzenmast, and that's where the name of this vessel comes from (although it was also called a ferry).
The Lloret Museum houses a fine collection of wooden models of ancient sailing ships, specifically those built in its shipyards.
In particular, there are many models of ships with lateen sails, which were a characteristic feature of Mediterranean sailing ships.
A mizzen's crew typically consisted of three to seven people, depending on its size. The vessel was loaded and unloaded onshore in ports along the Catalan coast, and sailing on it was the fastest means of coastal transport, both for passengers and for delivering goods. It was on these vessels that goods were delivered to Barcelona, where they were then transshipped onto larger sailing vessels bound for the Americas. Therefore, their construction was of paramount importance to the Lloret shipyards of the late 18th century.
Another type of Mediterranean vessel, used until the mid-19th century, was called the londro. Some of these even dared to cross the Atlantic. The londro's foremast carried square sails, while the mainmast carried lateen sails. The londro of the Lloret type had a deadweight of around 50 tons, while those built in Lloret between 1795 and 1815 ranged from 50 to 82 tons. It is believed that there were two types of large londros, and some were even larger than brigantines, such as the londro "Virgen del Carmen" of Captain Josep Grosso of Lloret. This ship had a deadweight of 105 tons.
A classic xebec. Interestingly, the museum's models are mostly unpainted, the warm color of natural wood. There are no cannons in the gun ports, as they would be metal and would clash with the overall style!
Another popular vessel was the xebec, which had three masts. One was at the bow, angled sharply forward, the second was in the center, and the third was at the stern (both were perfectly vertical). The sails were lateen. The xebec was a favorite vessel of Barbary pirates, who prized it for its maneuverability and speed. To curb piracy, the government was forced to build a fleet of military xebecs with 32 cannons. They were widely used in the Catalan merchant navy in the second half of the 18th century.
Three-masted ping
Another local type of vessel was the ping—a ship with lateen sails and a xebec-like rig, but with a deeper draft and a wider bow. It also had three masts—the foresail and mainsail—as well as a smaller mizzenmast. The ship could also use square sails. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, pings were used to sail to the Antilles. Their carrying capacity could reach 100 tons.
At the end of the 18th century, among the pinnacles built in the Lloret shipyards were the Nuestra Señora del Rosario, owned by Josep Macià, and the San Antonio de Padua, owned by Josep Salvador, nicknamed "Perebot", also a native of Lloret.
A ketch had a mainmast like a schooner, and a foremast with a fore-and-aft sail like a xebec. It was also equipped with a bowsprit and boom, like a larger sailing vessel. The kechet, built at the Lloret shipyard, had a burthen of 50 to 100 tons. Some, in addition to coastal voyages, even ventured on transatlantic routes. Among the ketch ships famous in literature was the "Erangi"—Captain Van Horne's vessel from Jack London's novella "Jerry of the Island." However, the rigging isn't specified, although it is reported that it had two masts.
In the foreground is a schooner, in the background is a tartan
The tartan is another Mediterranean vessel, famous for its role in Dumas's novel "The Count of Monte Cristo." It was the tartan that saved him after his escape from the Château d'If prison. This vessel, too, had a lateen rig. Typically, the main mast stood amidships, but there was also a small mizzen mast, although larger tartans were also known, sometimes even hoisting a rectangular topsail. Tartans belonging to local owners were encountered in Lloret as early as the mid-18th century, and their capacity ranged from 20 to 90 tons, such as the tartan "Concepción," owned by Rom Suris in 1796. It is believed that these ships were similar to Canary sloops, as there are documents that refer to them both as "tartan" and "Canary sloop."
Some local vessels have names that are hard to pronounce right away. This one with the fore-and-aft sail is called a palangrera!
These were sturdy ships, but even on them, passengers faced numerous dangers. Everyone on board knew the risk of shipwreck was inevitable. And when a storm arose, no one could sit in their cabins: the captain demanded that the entire crew, including male passengers, brave the elements. Sails were lowered and, if necessary, cut into pieces to plug leaks in the hold. And when cargo needed to be jettisoned, everyone, including women, were called upon to do the job. And no one complained—life was more valuable than suitcases.
After a storm, sailors traditionally offered thanks for saving their lives. Upon landing, they immediately made offerings to churches and monasteries. Interestingly, the offerings often included miniature models of ships or paintings, either painted by the sailors themselves or commissioned by artists, depicting scenes of the crew's fierce struggle with the sea. In fact, the Lloret Museum contains several such votive offerings!
Brigantine
At that time, sailing ships were built in shipyards located right on the shore, where the tourist beach is today. These simple structures (no wonder no trace of them remains!) were built right in the open air, where carpenters transformed beams and planks into beautiful vessels. They were equipped with lateen sails because they made the vessels suitable for both fishing and coastal navigation.
Schooner
But after free trade with America was granted, these shipyards built about 150 long-distance ships. Work at the shipyards constantly required labor and brought in a good income for the residents of the Lloret de Mar coast.
Barquentine
Shipwrights occupied a special place among the shipyard workers. They were a special group of craftsmen whose primary tool was the adze, something like a common peasant's pick. Under the supervision of a single shipwright, other shipwrights worked alongside them, as well as sawyers, blacksmiths, and numerous apprentices—the so-called "fetch-hold-carry" craftsmen. The names of famous shipwrights of Lloret de Mar have come down to us: Agustí Macià, Agustí Pujol, Sebastià Pujol, Bonaventura Ribas, and Joaquim Ribas.
Ship carpenter's tools
There was also a specialty called a ship's caulker, who carefully sealed the joints between planks on a ship to prevent leaks. This was done using oakum, which was driven between the planks and stretched with a special iron rod called a "caulker." Only then was the ship's hull tarred, inside and out.
The final operation before launching the ship was setting the sails. Special templates were available for this, but measurements still had to be taken from the masts and yards each time, and then the sailmakers sewed the sails from long pieces of canvas, or, more simply, tarpaulin. Hands had to be protected with special gloves with iron inserts at the palm level. The threads were waxed to help them glide more easily through the thick fabric.
Nasal figure
The same - front view
A typical feature of all sailing ships was the figurehead. Carpenters and sculptors (they also carved images of saints for churches!) were commissioned to create them, carving figures of sirens, Indian chieftains, eagles' and lions' heads—in short, everything that gave the ships their unique appearance. For example, the bow of the corvette Bella Aurora, built in Lloret in 1848, was adorned with a sculpture of Maria Pares, the daughter of Silvestre Pares, the ship's captain and owner.
Over time, ocean-going vessels began to be built in Lloret. They had square sails and two or three large masts—the mainsail, foresail, and mizzen. These three-masted ships were called frigates and corvettes, and they were the first to set sail for the distant shores of America. Brigantines and schooners typically had two masts. Moreover, brigantines from Lloret were two-masted ships with square sails. However, the mainmast also had a fore-and-aft sail—a contra-mizzen. This was the most popular type of ship built in Catalonia. They were advantageous in that they required a small crew, and therefore enjoyed great popularity.
Among the dangers facing the Lloretian merchant fleet, as a coastal trader, were attacks by corsairs and pirates. These were primarily North African pirates, but also French and English, depending on who Spain was fighting at the time. South American pirates also attacked Spanish vessels. In the 18th century, Algerian pirates represented the coastal trade of Lloret. For example, on January 25, 1766, the crew of the Santa Cristina, including two Lloretian co-owners, merchant Joan B. Bonet and sailor Joan Oliver, lost their ship and all their merchandise in an attack by a Moorish xebec near Castelldefels. A document survives—their petition to the court, witnessed by a naval notary, regarding the theft of their vessel and their escape to avoid enslavement. This problem was serious, and to solve it in Lloret, as in many coastal towns, there was a special organization - the Brotherhood of Sant Elm, which helped prisoners captured by the Algerians to buy their freedom.
When Spain waged war against England in the late 18th century, attacks by English corsairs on Catalan ships became more frequent. For example, on September 22, 1799, while Joan Puig of Lloret was sailing near Caldetes on his merchant ship, he was pursued by an English frigate, forcing the captain and crew to steer the vessel toward the shore and abandon it, landing near Santa Cristina. The frigate lowered two boats to seize the cargo, but the alarm had already been raised on shore, and the attackers were forced to retreat. However, the English frigate managed to fire several cannon shots at the settlement.
Ship hulls. These half-models were made before any ship was laid down, so that "everything would be clear!"
At the end of the 19th century, even Colombian corsairism emerged, with the Colombians not only plundering in Atlantic waters but even raiding the coast of the Iberian Peninsula. In response, the Llorets also took up corsairism, and their first corsair ship was the brigantine Santa Eulalia, popularly known as the "First of Catalonia." It was armed and granted full powers by the Spanish government.
On May 14, 1825, returning from her third voyage to Cuba and approaching the island's coast between Cape Trafalgar and Cape Espartel, she unexpectedly encountered the Colombian privateer Vencedor, commanded by Captain J.W. Bortheton. The battle was fierce and protracted, but ended unfavorably for the Catalans. Their vessel was sunk, and they were captured and taken to Gibraltar. However, on April 11, 1861, the Lloretian corvette White Aurora captured the pirate vessel while en route from Buenos Aires to Havana.
Modern motor fishing vessels
Interestingly, it was around this time that a craze arose among the residents of Lloret de Mar to travel to America to earn money. For some reason, they decided they could get rich there faster than at home. So, one after another, they began moving overseas, setting up their own "businesses" there, and then, having become rich, they would inevitably return (for some reason, they had to return!), build a house on the shore with a sea view, and live off the profits. These Lloret residents were called "Americans" and treated with great respect, while those who returned penniless were ridiculed.
"Boat with headlights." Locals use these for night fishing.
As a result, the influx of Catalans to America in the 19th century was very large. Moreover, of the 970 Catalan merchants who traded in Cuba from 1830 to 1850, 36 were from Lloret.
Sugar sacks from America
What did they trade? Well, the documents clearly show what they were trading: dried and salted meat (called "tasajo" in Argentina), which was sold in Brazil or Cuba, where it was used as food for black slaves. The ship then sailed lightly to New Orleans, where it was loaded with cotton and carried to Catalonia. Another route carried Catalan wine to Cuba and Puerto Rico. The wine was exchanged for rum, tobacco, and sugar, and all of this was shipped to US ports. Or all of this, including Venezuelan cocoa and leather from the Rio de la Plata region, was transported back to Catalonia, where Argentine leather was used to make excellent local leather goods.
Some models are so beautiful that they just beg to be put on your bookshelf!
In Barcelona or Tarragona, ships were loaded with Penedès or Tarragona wine, and, in addition to Puerto Rico and Cuba, they were transported to Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and Mexico. Local ceramic roofing tiles were shipped to the Antilles and Mexico. Salt from San Pedro de Pinatar, Torrevieja, Ibiza, and Cádiz was shipped to Montevideo. Catalonia also produced calico, which was shipped to the Americas for... shirts for plantation slaves.
Lloret frigate
Overseas mahogany and logwood, used for making furniture and barrel staves, were shipped from America to the ports of Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, and Mallorca, and sometimes to Tarragona. New Orleans was a supplier of cheap cotton, which was turned into beautiful fabrics in Spain. Molasses was brought from Cuba. And kerosene was shipped across the ocean from Baltimore to burn in kerosene lamps.
The corvette's sailing rig was simpler than that of the frigate, and the ship itself was smaller in size.
The same tobacco was also smuggled, and traders also smuggled miraguano (the fluff of the American palm tree used to stuff pillows), pineapple jam, and, of course, cheap Cuban sugarcane rum to Europe. Such was the Spanish-American international division of labor at that time!
Between 1790 and 1820, Catalans also transported approximately 31,000 slaves to America. The "cargo" came from Africa and was documented as "ebony." A 30-meter vessel often held over 600 slaves. It is known that the ship "San Francisco de Paula," built in Lloret, set sail from Havana to Africa in mid-1816, where it was supposed to pick up 300 slaves on the island of Fernando Po. The ship sailed up the estuary of the River Boni and dropped anchor, after which the "ebony" began to be loaded on board.
But on January 23, 1817, while attempting to set sail, the ship suffered a hole and began to sink. The crew, of course, managed to escape in lifeboats, but the shackled slaves perished to the last man in the flooded hold.
The wedding dress of the bride of a Lloret "American." Upon returning home, he was expected to marry a local girl!
The last ship was built at the Lloret shipyard in 1895, and, as luck would have it, it vanished into the ocean along with its crew while on its way to Cuba. No more ships were built in Lloret...
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