On the beach at Belo-sur-Mer, you come across the skeletons of wooden boats. These are schooners under construction, put together by hand, frame by frame, by Vezo fishing families. These sailing boats have been coming out of Belo’s shipyards for more than a century. Yet their story begins far from here, in Brittany.
A family of shipwrights from Réunion
In the mid-19th century, under the reign of Radama II (1861–1863), Madagascar opened up to foreign trade. This is when the Joachim family arrived: the father, Enasse, and his sons. They were Bretons settled on Réunion Island, and they were shipwrights.
Shortly afterwards, the king was assassinated and foreigners were no longer welcome. The Joachims had to leave. Two of the sons, Ludovic and Albert, turn up again in Tuléar in 1888. After several years on the west coast, they settled in Menabe in 1904: a shipyard in Morondava, and a school for shipwrights in Belo-sur-Mer. Belo was chosen in part because it was close to forests rich in timber suited to boatbuilding.
The two main accounts we consulted, from RFI and from Nofy Be, agree on these key stages. Some details, such as exact dates or burial places, differ between sources, so we do not repeat them here.
Fishermen who became shipwrights
At first, only a few villagers took the lessons. They then taught others, and the knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation. According to RFI, the Vezo of Belo thus have “two trades”: they are fishermen, and shipwrights too.
These boats have a Malagasy name: botry or botsy, depending on the source. They are two-masted schooners, 12 to 20 metres long, with a shallow draught. According to Manja Tours, their shape combines the legacy of the Breton schooner with that of the dhows of the Indian Ocean.
All by hand, at the pace of fishing
A Belo schooner is built entirely by hand, with simple tools: axe, hammer, saw, adze and plane. Before starting, the shipwright decides on the size of the boat, which determines how much timber must be gathered.
- The timber comes from the region’s forests. Sources mention nato and katrafay in particular, both hardwoods.
- The frame: first the keel and the stem, then dozens of frames, like ribs along a spine.
- Caulking: the seams between the planks are made watertight with oakum and resin. Tar later replaced the resin.
A boat can take one to several years of work. The building advances at the pace of fishing income, which pays for the timber. RFI reports the example of a 25-tonne schooner that took seven years to build.
The launch, a celebration for the whole village
When the boat is finished, launching it is not just a technical step. It is a big community celebration, with rites meant to protect the boat and those who will sail on it. The whole village gathers around the boat.
The name and exact course of this ceremony vary between accounts. We are waiting for testimony from people in Belo so that we can describe it faithfully.
The lorries of the sea
Once afloat, the schooners are used for coastal trading: carrying goods from port to port along the west coast. They carry passengers and cargo such as salt, rice or cement. They supply villages that roads barely reach, especially in the rainy season, when the tracks become impassable.
According to RFI, captains navigate by sight, without electronics, relying on their knowledge of the coast, the seabed, the wind and the stars. Since the wind is free, this way of transporting goods stays cheap.
A craft under threat
The two main sources share the same concern: timber is becoming scarce. Deforestation is shrinking the forests, and part of the nearby forest is now protected, notably within Kirindy Mitea National Park. Shipwrights find it harder and harder to obtain the species they need. This is a real tension between protecting the forest and keeping a living heritage alive.
To preserve the memory of this craft, a local association is working on a museum project for the fondy, the name given to master shipwrights (Le Journal des Archipels, November 2025).
Visiting the shipyards with respect
Belo’s shipyards are not an open-air museum: they are workplaces. If you visit them:
- always ask before photographing someone;
- keep clear of tools and of timber being moved;
- go with a guide from the village, who can explain what you are seeing.
Are you a shipwright in Belo, or from a family of schooner builders? Your story belongs here. Contributions will open soon. Nothing will be published without your consent.