I stayed indoors during most of the hurricane yesterday. At some points the wind was howling. I think we had some 65 MPH gusts. The lights flickered a few times and then went out. So when things calmed down just a bit, I went out for a drive to see if I could figure out where the power line was down. There were lines down everywhere! I ended up driving down by Sea Cliff Beach, at the bottom of the cliff where I could see all the boats moored by the Yacht club. The boats all looked OK, except this one. OK some technical stuff here - this is a "double headsail rig" but I don't know the name of the jib in front - the one that has been partially shredded. That sail is wrapped around it's support when not in use - that is called "roller reefing." What was not anticipated by the owner was that the strength of the wind was so great, that it managed to unroll the sail a bit, and then it flapped in the high winds, and was shredded - pieces of the sail ripped off and are caught, like rags, on the mast. Love that this is such a beautiful boat, and white, and that the background is dark gray because the sun was shining on the yacht. This new sail will cost the owner a few bucks! But, hey, it has been said that "a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money."Wednesday, August 5, 2020
What Hurricanes Do
I stayed indoors during most of the hurricane yesterday. At some points the wind was howling. I think we had some 65 MPH gusts. The lights flickered a few times and then went out. So when things calmed down just a bit, I went out for a drive to see if I could figure out where the power line was down. There were lines down everywhere! I ended up driving down by Sea Cliff Beach, at the bottom of the cliff where I could see all the boats moored by the Yacht club. The boats all looked OK, except this one. OK some technical stuff here - this is a "double headsail rig" but I don't know the name of the jib in front - the one that has been partially shredded. That sail is wrapped around it's support when not in use - that is called "roller reefing." What was not anticipated by the owner was that the strength of the wind was so great, that it managed to unroll the sail a bit, and then it flapped in the high winds, and was shredded - pieces of the sail ripped off and are caught, like rags, on the mast. Love that this is such a beautiful boat, and white, and that the background is dark gray because the sun was shining on the yacht. This new sail will cost the owner a few bucks! But, hey, it has been said that "a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money."
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3 comments:
Would the jib sail have been wrapped as the horizontal sails are? Beautiful shot as the white boat really stands out. At least it is still moored. I have not been down to Milford Harbor, but I remember Hurricane Gloria and hundreds of boats were pushed from the moorings and ended up on land at the bottom of High Street and Rogers Avenue. Hope you have your power back.
Joan
Your photo has captured a beautiful Staysail Ketch designed for long ocean passage making under a variety of wind and wave conditions. The staysail on this boat is the smaller triangular sail forward of the mast. The larger (now shredded) sail forward of the staysail is an overlapping genoa. On modern sailboats, both forward sails would be wound onto roller furlers. In extreme windy conditions, this boat should sail quite nicely with just the forward staysail and aft mizzen sail. But when cruising with the trade winds, all the laundry would be set: Genoa, Staysail, Mainsail & Mizzen!
I imagine the guy who can afford to have a boat like this can also afford to replace the genoa for about $10,000.
Couldn't believe the shredded sail when I first looked at this photo. What a shame! But wow! What a beautiful sleek sailboat. betsey
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