Ship and Boat Building

Paul Vella used to build the dghajjes tal-latini (boats with lateen
sails) which were a regular form of transport between Malta and
Gozo before the introduction of marine engines.

His workshop at Haywharf, where it still stands, was next door to the
Royal Malta Yacht Club before the RMYC moved to Manoel Island in
the 1970s.

Charles Vella’s baptism of water was when he was seven, when he
stealthily rigged a wooden crate after he careened it as best he
knew, fitted it with a sheet he nicked from his mother’s laundry and
‘set sail’ in Marsamxett Harbour, ending his jaunt near the propeller
of the supply ship Ausonia that was moored near Lazarett, the
quarantine hospital on Manoel Island.

Mr Vella’s father used to employ five boat builders and was known
for his ingenious touch – one time he converted airborne lifeboats
into dinghies. The airborne lifeboats were used during World War II
when they were released by aircraft to assist crew to reach the coast.