A Rough Ride Near Home
Photo by Tom CunliffeThe image above is an extreme, if small-scale, example of what happens when a sea hits a harbor wall. As the incoming waves smash into the stonework, they bounce back. Basic wave theory tells us that when two equal seas collide, they double in height. In practice, when inbound waves hit the corresponding outgoing, they also get a lot steeper and can heap up into chaos. I was really close in when I took this photo, but the same thing can happen a mile or more out to sea, so if you’re planning to pass within reach of a flat wall or a cliff face with a sea running towards it, give it a wide berth or be ready for a rough old time.
Keep Clear of the Bight
Photo by Tom CunliffeI remember as a youngster on a small sailing ship, the bosun bawled me out for standing in the bight. I didn’t know what he was talking about. Actually, I was standing in the V produced by a heavily loaded line passing around a turning block. This is an easy position for the unwary and a thoroughly bad idea. If the block had failed, the line would have twanged up taut like the string of a longbow. Bits of block would then have either brained me or, at best, knocked me off my feet with a nasty set of bruises. The photo above is a bight in a furling line—heavily loaded some of the time—and the block looks Mickey Mouse. Imagine if that were a genoa sheet and the turning block failed…
Close-Hauled or Not Quite?
Photo by Tom CunliffeThere’s lots to look at in this busy picture above, but my favorite is the view between the yacht’s genoa and mainsail. The set’s perfect. This guy knows how to close-haul his boat. I often sail with crews who are surprised at how severely I heave in the genny going to windward on a breezy day, but the truth is that the leech of a typical “overlapper” shouldn’t be more than 2 or 3 inches off the spreaders. Take a look at yours next time, set the car in the right place so all the telltales lift together as you steer a touch high, then get grinding!
A Kid’s-Eye View
Photo by Tom CunliffeWhen my daughter was at school-starting age, she was encouraged to write in her own log book each day while on board. Richly illustrated, it brings us endless delight 40 years later to read a child’s perspective on the carryings-on as we sailed together. Excessive inspections of the level in the rum bottle are castigated, fishing expeditions are described in gruesome detail, and crew members’ characters are analysed. Fantasies concerning the ever-hungry Bilge Monster’s appetite for lost items form a continuous narrative. The saga remains refreshingly obscure on navigation, but it taught her the beginnings of how to write, helped her make more of her observations, and integrated her into the community. Time well spent, I’d say.
June/July 2024
