The Poveiro is a type of

fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was ...

that was used for coastal and deep sea fishing from the

Douro river The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

in Northern Portugal to

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

. It was use by the fishermen of

Póvoa de Varzim Póvoa de Varzim (, ) is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. In 2001, there were 63,470 ...

and related communities in Northern Portugal. It is characterized by a wide flat-bottom, curved stem and a deep helm. There were diverse boats with different sizes, uses and shapes, including ''catraia pequena'', ''catraia grande'', ''caíco'' and the most notable of which, the ''Lancha Poveira''. The Lancha Poveira or Lancha Poveira do Alto was a large ship adapted to deep waters and used for hake-fishing. The largest of which had twelve oars, usually four to seven oars, and could carry 2 to 32 men. Each boat carried carvings, namely a sigla poveira mark for individual boat identification and magical-religious protection at sea. The Lancha Poveira was considered by Lixa Filgueiras and Raul Brandão to be descendant from the Viking longboats, keeping all the longboat features but without a long stern and bow. The ship carried one mast with a

lateen A lateen (from French ''latine'', meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. The settee can be considered to be an associated type of the same ...

sail for better maneuvering. The ancient shipbuilding knowledge preserved in Poveiro boats was, most possibly, due to the

endogamy Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

practiced in Póvoa de Varzim fisher community which protected several cultural traits specific of the town. Poveiro boats were widespread until the mid-20th century, and its use spread to Brazil, Angola and Mozambique and even Galicia were Povoan fishing colonies were established. Since the middle of the 20th century, modern technology and, especially, the use of trawlers dramatically reduced the number of Povoan boats.

External links

Lancha Poveira do Alto
official website
Lancha Poveira
{{Póvoa de Varzim Types of fishing vessels Culture in Póvoa de Varzim Fishing in Portugal