Isabel Joschke - Pacific Ocean - Vendee Globe

Windora - Patagonia and on the rocks at South Georgia Island

Windora in the Magellan Strait

Anchor dragged in 80 knots of wind, engine over heated went up on reef wind dropped to 30 knots and I rowed out 35 kg anchor, we winched vessel off, made repairs then sailed 3000 miles to Cape Town.

Phil and Lynda Christieson

Friendship - New Year 2021

 

Admiral Cockburn & Napoleon – Anderson Valley Advertiser

Admiral Cockburn & Napoleon – Anderson Valley Advertiser

BY ZACK ANDERSON ON AUGUST 22, 2019

An excerpt from Napoleon and St. Helena, 1815-1816, by Roger Morriss, describing Admiral George Cockburn sailing Napoleon to exile to the island of St. Helena. Ancestor of the AVA's late and great Alexander Cockburn, Admiral of the fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, GCB, FRS  (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was renowned for his expertise on the latest steam and screw technologies, and also for his ability to manage seamen without resorting necessarily to the lash.
https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/napoleon-and-saint-helena-1815-1816/

Matt Rutherford - Ocean Research Project - new schooner

 

Shearing Sheep, and Hewing to Tradition, on an Island in Maine - The New York Times

Shearing Sheep, and Hewing to Tradition, on an Island in Maine - The New York Times

Maine was once a land of shepherds. Its islands and coastal communities were dotted with the fleeced bodies of sheep, its shrubs and trees grazed into oblivion. Historical photos show wide expanses of pasture that have now become thick with forests and houses.

Back then, there were more families like the Wakemans, who raised their own animals and grew their own food, who gathered people together to share both their work and a meal, who used dark humor and whispered their thanks on the days when animals gave up their wool or became food.

President Higgins and Sabina host New Year's Eve performance | President of Ireland

President Higgins and Sabina host New Year's Eve performance | President of Ireland: As a gesture to all those who have died, or who have lost a loved-one during the past year, President Michael Higgins and Sabina have invited Dan McCabe to perform The Parting Glass.

Thursday December 31  18:00 GMT  (EST = GMT - 5)

The Jolie Brise

Cry No More - Rhiannon Giddens //Video

 The move to zoom has impelled new modes of expression.  Rhiannon Giddens has shown us a new form of choral singing.

America's Cup AC 75s -First Impressions from a Sail Designer | North Sails

First Impressions from a Sail Designer | North Sails

North Sails is the world's largest sailmaker.  Innovators in design they produce winners at every level of sailing.

This video from a North Sails designer demonstrates sail design and has some good visuals.

When I was a kid I read Scientific Sailboat Racing by Ted Wells.  As you can see from the cover he was a small boat sailor - a champion in the 15' Snipe class.  Like my boat. He was a lake sailor - from Topeka, of all places.  But a sailboat's principles are the same - large or small, lake, river, or sea.  That commonality is the fundamentally similar principles of fluid and aerodynamics.

I came to understand a sailboat as an airplane turned on its side, one wing in the water and the other in the air.  Air and water work basically the same - both employ aerodynamic lift. 

In a sailboat it's the wing that provides drive.  The centerboard/daggerboard or keel prevent sliding, converting transferring the pressure of aerodynamic lift into forward drive.  That principle is behind the hydrofoiling America's Cup boats.  In the video you will see that there is an `airplane' at the end of a long arm.  The `wings'  provide both lift (bringing the hull out of the water) and lateral stability.  

The sail is a molded wing which provides aerodynamic lift which drives the boat forward.