Community elders creating a traditional dinghy longboat

Some of the elder members of the Tristan da Cunha community are involving the younger generation in the creation of a traditional longboat.

Throughout the 20^th century the Tristan community used longboats to sail to nearby Nightingale and Inaccessible Island to gather food and resources.

The longboats were built by the community and owned by groups of 6-7 men.  The designs were lightweight to allow access from the islands’ boulder beaches. They were powered by sail and based on old whaleboat designs.

Longboats are no longer used by the community as they now have inflatable RIBs and dinghy’s. The old remaining boats are in disrepair and sailing isn’t practiced.

The elder members of the community with the skills and knowledge of longboats and sailing are involving the younger members of the community so that key skills can be passed onto the next generation.

One of the men working on the Longboat, Allan Swain said

“It has been such an interesting project so far, as it is even jogging our memory, as it has been such a long time since one was built.’’

Another community member, Jack Green said

“We have been having a great time so far, with a few challenges along the way. But we are very happy that we will be able to show some of the younger generation the skill we once used so often”