Basket boat village

Besides modern fishing equipment on rivers and seas, basket boats (or coracle boats) are an extremely useful means of transportation, providing food and clothing for poor fishermen. In Tan Hai fishing village (La Gi), there are hundreds of such basket boats.

On stormy days, the basket boats are pulled ashore, covering a sandy beach more than 500 meters long. When the weather is calm and the sea is still, they sit in their basket boats and cast their nets to earn a living. The lives of fishermen who make their living by casting nets along the shore using basket boats are not wealthy; they only earn enough to cover their family's daily expenses.

The fishermen of the village begin their fishing trip.

In June 2023, we witnessed large waves on the coastal beach of Tan Hai commune, with several fishing boats anchored far offshore. Those on board would lower their baskets into the sea and shake them to drift towards the shore. Foreign tourists, intrigued, snapped photos incessantly. The boats were round, like half a giant ball, without a head, tail, or hull. Regardless of the waves, they bobbed up and down, difficult to capsize. Even if they did capsize in the storm, one person could easily turn them back on, shake them a few times, and climb into the basket. Old fisherman Nguyen Van Hieu, over 70 years old, from Tan Hai commune, whose life has been intertwined with his basket boat for decades, casting nets at sea, shared: “Once, I was hit by waves against a rocky island. The rocks were vertical, and the waves bounced back. It wouldn't be easy for a regular boat to get through these waves, but with a basket boat, it was effortless; a few rocking motions and it was over. Therefore, in the past, the old fishermen used basket boats to accompany larger boats as a means of getting ashore or catching squid far offshore. It was like an indispensable ‘arm’ when the boat went out to sea to fish…” Old fisherman Hieu added: “It may look easy, but controlling the boat to go in the right direction while sitting in it is not easy. First, you have to stand firmly on the belly of the boat with both feet, grip the rim tightly with both hands, lean forward, and vigorously shake your hips and shoulders, and the boat will glide forward. The better you shake, the faster the boat goes. Moving the boat by shaking has become an annual competition in many coastal areas…” Nowadays, in some fishing villages, people not only use basket boats to go out to sea to catch fish, but also to serve tourism . Tourists can experience rowing the boat themselves or the boat owner can take a few more passengers to move closer to shore to enjoy the scenery.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/lang-thuyen-thung-110009.html