Buggalow Photos

A couple of posts back, I ran comments from reader and blogger António Fangueiro of Portugal about the dhow type known as the buggalow. According to António, the buggalow shows evidence of European influence both in design and in the quality of workmanship which, he says, is considerably finer than that of most dhows.


António subsequently sent me these photos, taken in Mozambique, I believe. He says they were published in a Portuguese magazine around 1910, and presumes that the photos were taken considerably earlier.

Looking at the foreground vessel in the first photo, I'm struck by the crooked mast, the heavy shrouds, the apparently very light yard built up of two sections and lashed about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, and the unusually long luff on the settee sail. The vessel in the left background is another buggalow, without a rig.

I believe the caption of the second photo refers to the buggalow's similarity to the Portuguese nao or caravel, a couple examples of which appear below, also courtesy of António. I don't know the original source of these images. (If their owner contacts me, I will gladly provide credit.)

Of course, while there are some similarities, there are also substantial differences between buggalows and caravels, not least being the rig. The dhow rig carries a settee sail, while the caravel carries a lateen. See here for discussion of the difference between these two superficially similar types.

Thanks to António for his input.