Typical Pinasse boat from Bassin d’Arcachon in Southwest France (France, 2020)
SONY ILCE-7M3
SONY FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
28mm ƒ/22.0 30s ISO 50
6000 x 4000 px / 300 dpi
A pinasse is a small boat typical of the Arcachon basin (Southwest France) with a flat bottom, a third sail and oars then a motor. It is traditionally used for fishing and oyster farming. Tapered and flat-bottomed boat, it can sail on the shallows of the sandbanks, and is armed with a high and well defended hindrance allowing it to face the bad chop and the waves that stir the passes.
The origin of this boat is very enigmatic because the documents of back times are extremely rare. Over the centuries, multiple influences have gently shaped this very particular silhouette. The term pinnace applied to a small boat in the Arcachon Basin appeared in 1553. The term pinasse or pinace also indicates, in the XIIIth century, ships as big as caravels. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century on the French and English coasts, it was a small vessel used for coasting trade and sometimes for fishing.
