While strolling along the Yport seafront in Normandy, visitors can observe the famous cliffs of the Côte d'Albâtre (Alabaster Coast). They also encounter numerous boats left on the beaches. These small crafts are dories, workboats of American origin first used to facilitate departure from the beach. Subsequently, the flat-bottomed boats were used for cod fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. Their light construction indeed allowed them to be stacked on the deck of the schooner leading the fishing campaign.