Junk rig

DownWest

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Poignard

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Here's the junk-rigged 'Dragonfly' manouvering in Newtown Creek on a breezy day in 2010. Her owner posts here, or used to.

What impressed me was how easily handled she seemed to be by her single-handed skipper. He came into the Creek, reefed down, sailed around until he found a suitable berth, then dropped both sails in an instant, strolled forward and let go her anchor.


Junk Rigged Ketch Dragonfly Newtown Creek 2010 (1).JPGJunk Rigged Ketch Dragonfly Newtown Creek 2010 (2).JPGJunk Rigged Ketch Dragonfly Newtown Creek 2010 (3).JPGJunk Rigged Ketch Dragonfly Newtown Creek 2010 (4).JPG

I was living in Hong Kong in 1962 and had an apartment on the Peak with a clear view of the main harbour and the Wanchai typhoon shelter.

One day I was looking down at the harbour when 21 mainland Chinese junks sailed into the typhoon shelter together, and anchored side by side (no engines, no oars). This was an extremely unusual thing to see. In those days you would occasionally see the odd one or two mainland junks taking a short cut through the harbour but to see that number together, and going into a typhoon shelter was an incredible event.

It wasn't until next day that the arrival of a very severe typhoon, 'Wanda', was forecast by the Hong Kong Observatory

So the skippers of these 21 junks had known a typhoon was coming before the meteorologists did.
 

Poignard

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Hello Poignard, thanks bringing back memories. I now sail a junk rig schooner with red sails - a Maurice Griffith Lone Gull 2. I often sail around Newtown Creek in her and my offer to flag me down and join me, which I made in 2010, is still open.View attachment 154271
Well, my sailing nowadays is Brittany based but if I find myself Solent way with a few hours to spare I might yet take up your kind offer.
 

chrisedwards

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Thank you MisterBaxter and DownWest for your kind comments. The foremast is a tapered wooden pole inserted into an alloy tube (about halfway} and the mainmast is carbon fibre. I sold Ivory Gull befpre I bought Dragonfly in 2008. I bought her back four years ago.

So DownWest - I could expect six thousand requests? I hope the experience would be better than crucifiction.
 
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