Coastwise Craft
Field Study Books -
Methuen & Co. Ltd,
London 1952
As a boy in Falmouth before the 1914 war, Lethbridge had observed over 100 Brixham trawlers alongside thirty topsail schooners and ketches. He astutely commented that the picture that he had perceived was not very different to what Nelson might once have observed. This ‘timeless’ scene was to inspire Lethbridge’s imagination and so ignite a lifelong fascination with the sea and the men and vessels that sailed upon it. In 1952, Lethbridge produced Coastwise Craft which was published by Methuen as part of their ‘Field Study’ series of books. Designed to be read by the more general reader, this short book provides the student with a snapshot of his passion and a glimpse of his unique observational skills. His perceptive words are beautifully illustrated by a number of his exquisite watercolours and line drawings.
Lethbridge believed, that something of the individual was embedded into every object made by man and this applied to ship builders throughout history. This concept of the implanting of the ‘self’ into inanimate objects was to be a key feature of his future work. Unlike the mass-produced items of modern times, a ship was unique and as individual as it’s creator. He therefore understood, that to fully comprehend the boat, one first had to study the men who sailed and built them.
He perceived the sea as the ‘great highway’ that created an international culture of trade and exchange of ideas, that saw the simplest of boats develop from the skin-covered coracles and umiaks to the trawlers, schooners and ketches that he had observed as a youth in Falmouth Harbour. Lethbridge believed, that the hull of a ship was the single most important and significant step in the history of mankind - greater even than the invention of the wheel or the control of fire. For it enabled mankind to cross boundaries set by the great waters that covered the globe and therefore not only enabled them to transmute themselves, but also their ideas to the corners of the earth.
The boat as a living, female entity has been a belief since the time of the first boat builders. “Ships are like women.... expensive to rig, and difficult to steer” are the words that begin Coastwise Craft and were once uttered to Lethbridge by the captain of a barque. Today, these words may sound antiquated and to some ‘sexist’, but the fickle wily goddesses of history; Helen of Troy, Sita from the Tales of Ramanayana and the whore Rehab at Jericho.... spring to mind here.
Lethbridge describes how often the stern of a vessel was built to accommodate the shrine of a protective goddess. Initially the eye of oculus was protectoress on the early vessels, but this eye goddess was to eventually evolve into the carved Christian figureheads, which are familiar to us in later history. She existed to ward off the invisible demons that were known to besiege the seafarer and which in turn gave birth to countless superstitions that are renowned by those who sail the oceans.
Because of the restrictions imposed by this ‘Field Study’ book, Lethbridge hardly has time to get going in the limited number of pages allocated to this publication. However, the reader is left with an abundance of information to mull over and ponder on. The curious use of the words ‘Brig’ and ‘Ponto’, Caesar’s observations of the boats of the Veneti of Brittany and the brief inclusion of primitive stone anchors discovered in Iceland, are all subjects that are worthy of a chapter in their own right. Those who were unaware of Lethbridge’s previous works before encountering this short book, must surely have felt the urge to discover more of this enquiring mind.
Text © 2003 Welbourn Tekh
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