Cabin Fever Chronicles – Getting Outdoors with Rod

Paddling a coracle. The paddle is held on with a rope.

Along the Vietnamese coast and waterways, I couldn’t help but notice people paddling round basket boats. I’d heard about these boats and couldn’t remember what they were called. I thought they were found mostly in Europe, but here they were!  And I’d never seen one in person. Hot damn. I came to learn they are coracles. Not the most efficient craft for sure, but somehow, these craft have endured for centuries, so there must be positives for them to persist.

Some research reveals coracles have been used since the Bronze Age and apparently Julius Caesar’s army made use of them. Since then, the round boats have spread all the way to India and Southeast Asia. In Ireland, they are called Curragh, and in Tibet, Kowa. Traditionally a coracle is like a woven basket, with a layer of waterproofing on the outside. The waterproofing might be resin and tar, for example. Today such boats still ply the waters, though fiberglass and polyethylene versions are common.

My favorite memory of Vietnam was stopping by a fishing village where coracles were the primary means to get to the quarry. We walked through the village, and its inhabitants were not used to seeing Westerners at all. They looked at us with a bit of trepidation. We learned they were concerned we might be prospective real estate buyers. As if we might buy their whole village. There has been so much development on the Vietnamese coast that their way of life is endangered. No, we were just tourists having a look. Children squealed with excitement to have visitors, though, lining up to high-five us. And then we had offers of food and fish.

Net repair

Walking through, we saw life as they live it. Cooking meals over coal-fired stoves. Knitting or repairing clothing. Kids playing.

Some coracles had motors

Out on the beach there were dozens of coracles plus some larger boats lined up. Folks were mostly immersed in maintenance tasks.

Some were fixing nets, some working on motors. Others were caulking the older style basket coracles.

Traditional coracles need lots of maintenance

I could have spent a whole day working with these people. Just to get a glimpse on their way of life would be fulfilling.