Contemporary commentary on postmodern sailing philosophy

[Dirk Visser 166]

Now we've got a freshening breeze,
let's see what she can make of it lads!

[lustyslogger]

Now we've got a freshening breeze,
let's see what she can make of it lads!

Aye
Tis an ill wind that blows no beer!

[lustyslogger]

Tis better to have gybed and broached then to have never gybed at all.

[Dirk Visser 166]

Indeed, truely, and beer and broaching can often be shipmates ..
A classic example of psychic cause and effect..
Liberated spirits can have risky results!

.. But speaking of that..the latest "Woodenboat" currents dept. has a piece on the resurgence of moving freight by sail in small artisanal scale shipments, specifically Bordeaux vino from France to world famous "Noma" restaurant in Copenhagen.
Hundreds of cases of organic craft ales have also crossed the English Channel aboard the three misted lugger "Grayhound" launched in 2012, in Cornwall England.

Ned Ackerman's ill- fated cargo venture with the Maine coasting schooner John F. Leavitt, in 1975, long before the current
entreprenuers were even born, was also referenced.
That was a tragic maiden voyage abandonment, off the East Coast with a load of New England quarried granite slabs, if I remember right..

A sailing philosophy that pays the bills, imagine that after all these years of the cash flow only making leeway...

[lustyslogger]

I read that article. It could read

Sails for Sales

There have been several articles regarding how sailing vessels, especially now that everything can be computerized for maximum performance, could take the place of the current container ships. Container ships only travel at a rate of about 12 kts under normal circumstances. A well sailed clipper ship was at least that fast. The amount of fuel burned to move a container ship from China to the United States mainland is astronomical. The average trip can use 200,000 gallons or more of diesel fuel.

And as the poet once said "A ship by any other name is still a ship" Or something like that.

[Dirk Visser 166]

...And, a rose is a rose is a rose!
Some things change less than others it seems..

Still we are attempting to explore the " postmodern" aspects of sailing philosophy...so what can the eternal sea grant us there?

I took your references to the operations of container ships as a brilliant opportunity to imagine the next level of wind driven shipping. Harnessing wind power while staying secure has always been the sailor's challenge, and the vessel's location and heading have played key roles at whatever scale we have played at.

I remember following the French Vende Globe singlehanded race a few years back, being impressed at how the leader was able to track and follow the edges of a series of cyclonic systems across the Southern Ocean , far outdistancing the pursuing fleet.

Is this the main thing that has changed then, what makes today postmodern?
That is, our access to information?

[Art Haberland]

as in all cases.. what is old is new again. As we (hopefully) move away from burning dinosaurs for propulsion, we will need to harness both the wind and sun to move our goods across this earth.

I look forwards to that day

[lustyslogger]

From information comes technology, from technology comes more information. While technology produces "new" things they are merely an improvement on what already exist.

Frankly, I don't understand the concept that "technology" has changed human nature. We have always had "new" and "modern" dating back to when Ogg affixed a handle to a rock and made it more efficient as a hammer. There is a line in "Master and Commander" where Russell Crowe speaking of the new design of the French warship says "Isn't it a marvelous age we live in". Today we look at the flying America Cup boats and say the same.

[Art Haberland]

but does it truly get us anywhere? Yes, we get where we are going faster, but what happened to the journey? I have both driven and flown across the US.. while flying is more convenient and faster, I enjoyed the drive more..

I am sure if I had time to bicycle across, I would really find that fun

[lustyslogger]

but does it truly get us anywhere? Yes, we get where we are going faster, but what happened to the journey? I have both driven and flown across the US.. while flying is more convenient and faster, I enjoyed the drive more..

I am sure if I had time to bicycle across, I would really find that fun

I suppose we sail rather than power boat because we are more interested in the journey than in the destination. However, I remember one time someone came up to me at the dock in his powerboat and asked where there was a restaurant. I told him way over on the other side of the river (This was the St Johns and was over two miles wide at that point). I said its a fairly good distance if you want to take that long, thinking of the 45 minute sail for my boat. Oh, he said, that's only about 10 minutes away for me! If you are hungry I would suspect the destination outweighs the journey.