Miles of rigging

[Tom Dunlap]

This might have gone in the Tree Free Zone but I decided that it was really related to rigging.

For a while I've been bit by the Age of Sail bug. Seeing big sailing ships is so fascinating. When a landsman was pressed into the Royal Navy they had two weeks to learn the ropes http://www.tallshipstock.com/009857.jpg on the ship. If anyone thinks that it would be easy, take a look at the pictures in the Trafalgar Review section of this page:

http://www.tallshipstock.com/latest.htm

I've wondered what it would be like to see a row of frigates and first rates, much less second and first rates, under full sail, making tacks in turn. The closest I'll probably get is to imagine the ships on the page with sails sheeted home instead of being furled.

Here's another link that will take you to a ship modelers page with wonderful line drawings of all the makings of a sailing ship. IN the section on blocks he writes that the biggest block on a three master would be five feet long and the smallest about 3 inches. In another age I wonder how many arbos would have been sailers, http://tinyurl.com/87wgl


http://www.all-model.com/wolfram/PAGE27.html

 

[Wadadli3]

Tom,

You must read "The Last Grain Race" a book as suggested by title Eric Newby is the author.

And for in the period of Trafalgar etc a great author is Patrick OBrain. Historical fiction and I really suggest the starting at the begining of the Jack Aubrey series. You can almost smell the powder.

I am in Antigua and we have
http://www.antiguaclassics.com/04docs/05docs/05images2.htm
every year. Used to do delivery runs on these gorgeous ladies for a few years.

Next Year we are meant to be having as many as 16 Tall ships along with the usual classic yachts.

Lots of fun and good times.

 

[Colin]

Ha. I was a sailor before arboring.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Hi,

Have you read the POB series?

I'm on my second voyage through the POB series. I've watched the movie six times Does that make me a POB addict, yup!

The first time through I was reading for the story, now I'm getting more of what is going on in the background. As I'm reading I'm underlining too. There could be a companion piece on leadership. Jack is such a good leader and there are some characters who aren't. In a passage I just finished in The Mauritius Command a captain of one of the ships 'disappeared' during an action. He had just sailed from England and had beat and lashed the crew the whole way there. All of the crew of that ship was ready to jump on board with Jack. There are lots of levels of interest in the series.

A glass of wine with you sir!

Tom