Kristal
Well-Known Member
My girlfriend and I have recently taken to buying each other small presents on pay day, and lacking inspiration this month, I found what I was looking for whilst belting around the chandlery this morning: a copy of Tom Cunliffe's "Hand, Reef and Steer".
My girlfriend, you see, has been making noises about taking a more active role in the sailing of Crystal - she was somewhat put out to be momentarily banished below during a tricky gybe, and has since voiced her inention to do more than just steer to a compass course. A fair point, and one should be far from discouraging about such ambitions. So I bought the book.
It is subtitled "Traditional Sailing Skills For Classic Boats". It has a nice cover. This, I decide, is a useful addition to her sailing library as it is principally Crystal she wants to play with. Sadly, however, I simply assumed that, as it's by Cunliffe, it must be good, and bought it without opening the cover.
Does anybody with a gaff-rigged boat want it? Because it's no use to me - it's essentially a book which teaches you how to be very clever with a gaffer. Long-keeled hull designs are dealt with only in relation to gaff rig (apart from a section at the end regarding manouvering under power). I'm left once again feeling like a cheat for owning a Bermudian-rigged boat, although to be fair, the author does somewhat distance himself from making any judgement between the four-cornered and Marconi rig variations - somewhat.
I've got nothing against gaffers - I converted to enclosed-boat sailing on one, and loved it - but I do feel that there is more to traditional boat skills than knowing everything there is to know about manipulating a gaff rig. It's a very good book, but it's mistitled, and I've ended up spending money on something that almost makes me ashamed of my boat.
Bleh.
/<
My girlfriend, you see, has been making noises about taking a more active role in the sailing of Crystal - she was somewhat put out to be momentarily banished below during a tricky gybe, and has since voiced her inention to do more than just steer to a compass course. A fair point, and one should be far from discouraging about such ambitions. So I bought the book.
It is subtitled "Traditional Sailing Skills For Classic Boats". It has a nice cover. This, I decide, is a useful addition to her sailing library as it is principally Crystal she wants to play with. Sadly, however, I simply assumed that, as it's by Cunliffe, it must be good, and bought it without opening the cover.
Does anybody with a gaff-rigged boat want it? Because it's no use to me - it's essentially a book which teaches you how to be very clever with a gaffer. Long-keeled hull designs are dealt with only in relation to gaff rig (apart from a section at the end regarding manouvering under power). I'm left once again feeling like a cheat for owning a Bermudian-rigged boat, although to be fair, the author does somewhat distance himself from making any judgement between the four-cornered and Marconi rig variations - somewhat.
I've got nothing against gaffers - I converted to enclosed-boat sailing on one, and loved it - but I do feel that there is more to traditional boat skills than knowing everything there is to know about manipulating a gaff rig. It's a very good book, but it's mistitled, and I've ended up spending money on something that almost makes me ashamed of my boat.
Bleh.
/<
