I was invited out for a day sail this Saturday, Sound of Jura, north part. It was very wet but the wind was good and the sun popped its head out from time to time. The waters were quite busy, a few folks out sailing, some solo, some crewed, big and small. It is always a tonic being out on the water, especially on a well thought out, easy to sail sailing yacht. We sailed by this old lady plodding along, tacking southwards. It was great seeing her sail and probably not that easy, although they had a reputation for easy sailing. She put to shame a few faster, and smaller yachts, that would have been better sailing than motor sailing.
great to see a traditional working boat out and being sailed
can't imagine how hard it would have been not just to sail a boat like that in heavy weather, but also to trawl and make a living fishing from it. huge respect for our forefathers
I recently read about the dipping lugsail, the prevalent rig for coastal fishing boats in scotland. Just tacking meant dropping and re-hoisting the sail, and all in open boats with no decks. Shame here aren't any of those to be seen on the west coast (I think there are one or two in the Orkneys /N East or on the Forth)
no self tailing winches, no low friction blocks, no dyneema cordage & jammers and no GPS and electronics to tell you where you are or put a number on the wind speed and direction.....how didi they do it?
Gardenshed wrote: ↑Mon Sep 15, 2025 5:42 pm
no self tailing winches, no low friction blocks, no dyneema cordage & jammers and no GPS and electronics to tell you where you are or put a number on the wind speed and direction.....how didi they do it?
There are a number of traditional boats still being sailed. Doing stuff takes a bit longer and relies on muscle power.
Don't know about you, but I know how hard the wind is blowing the instrumentation just confirms things.