A mistico was a large sailing coaster used in the Mediterranean in the 18th and 19th centuries. Misticos were decked vessels with long, low hulls and had two masts amidships that carried two

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 ...

settee A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with up ...

sails and a

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...

. They ranged in size from 40 to 80 tons ( bm), and had crews of five to nine men. They were popular with Greek pirates in the Aegean and resembled the

felucca A felucca ( ar, فلوكة, falawaka, possibly originally from Greek , ) is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in the eastern Mediterranean—including around Malta and Tunisia—in Egypt and Sudan (particularly along the Nile and in protect ...

. *On 25 October 1806, the Spanish privateer ''mistico'' ''Generalísimo'', of four guns and 70 men, captured HM gunboat ''Hannah'', of two guns and 28 men, in the Straits of Gibraltar. *In 1825–26 was the lead vessel of a small squadron engaged in anti-piracy operations in the

Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

, at Alexandria, and around the coasts of Syria. On 27 July 1826 ''Cambrian''s boats captured a pirate bombard and burnt a ''mistico'' on the

Cycladic The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...

island of

Tinos Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants. Tinos ...

Citations and references

Citations References *Folkard, Henry Coleman (2012) ''The Sailing Boat: A Treatise on English and Foreign Boats and Yachts''. (Books on Demand) *Sala, George Augustus, and Edmund Hodgson Yates (1876) ''Temple bar''. (Ward and Lock). Sailboat types Ship types 18th-century ships Tall ships {{ship-stub