Ditch the Engine - part 3

[jimi]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

Ocg its quite easy all you need is a staysail up your jacksie so I've heard.

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[RupertW]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

Shame on you - have you lost so much sense of the sea that you use your engine to plug away against the tide into Portsmouth, Chichester etc. Tides are free boat transporters with timetables we can rely on, aren't they?

But when did I last choose to use sail only to get into a marina berth - well there I'd have to be honest...

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[Metabarca]

We\'ve been invaded!

This forum is beginning to look like a script by Woody Allen: we've got one Yank telling us we're barmy for not sailing without engines, and another one telling us we're barmy because our engines aren't big enough! Are these people given an injection of evangelical zeal along with their Big Macs. I'll try a piece in their lingo: "come on guys, loosen up, will'ya!"

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>

 

[Metabarca]

We\'ve been invaded!

This forum is beginning to look like a script by Woody Allen: we've got one Yank telling us we're barmy for not sailing without engines, and another one telling us we're barmy because our engines aren't big enough! Are these people given an injection of evangelical zeal along with their Big Macs. I'll try a piece in their lingo: "come on guys, loosen up, will'ya!"
Welcome aboard but please don't tell us we're mad because we prefer our beer warm!

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>

 

[mikewilkes]

I missed the original of this - I think I was motor sailing in the med - sorry !!

Having read all the comments from my learned companions I note with interest that " Thirdman " who ever he maybe has not had the " balls " to answer since 0528 on 6th May. Is it perhaps that his solar powered laptop is down on battery and cant carry on this discourse ????

You cant very often sail in the med let alone into and out of a marina thats at the top end of a commercial harbour like Barcelona !!!



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[AndrewB]

Bollox!

Loosen up and be reasonable? Scuttlebutt without totally OTT dogmatic opinions, debated overheatedly?

Where's the fun in that!



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[nicho]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

Does anyone actually make reasonably sized cruising boats without engines?? I can't think of anything over 25' that relies on sails only, can anyone else??

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[jhr]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

Mirabella V, apparently. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[oldharry]

Pretentious Fads

One thing is for certain - Every historic sailor from Columbus to Slocum, via Nelson, Hornblower, Aubrey and the rest would have given their back teeth for engines, radar, radio, GPS, accurate charts etc. They sailed because it was the only known way of crossing the water - not because it was 'fun' or 'seamanlike'. A ship like Victory would lose a crew member every ten days on average to on board accident - and that was in normal conditions. You dont see much of that in the romantic twaddle of Aubrey, Hornblower, or Bolitho. Even less in the sanitised film versions.

"Managed for centuries without..." only because they HAD to - or stay at home.

I can see absolutely no merit whatsoever, and certainly no vestige of seamanship in putting out in an ill equipped boat. The accounts of the 79 Fastnet on BBC the other night show the sea can throw up ample challenges of its own without complicating matters by pretentious 'seamanship' fads

BUT: real seamanship also demands that we each develop our skills so that we CAN manage the boat safely without one or any of the gadgets.

Basic good seamanship is 'being prepared' . Deliberately omitting available safety equipment is not. Engines in todays crowded waters are a must. So is the ability to manage without.

Having said that, its one hell of a kick to make a difficult passage without using the engine. A fine test of boat handling skills - but most emphatically NOT 'better' seamanship. In fact probably rather the reverse.

Boat handling skills is a part of seamnship, but seamanship is not just the ability to handle the boat properly.



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