Contemporary commentary on postmodern sailing philosophy

[Dirk Visser 166]

So, let me see if I understand what you guys are suggesting..

Nature, and the busy little human by extension, and as her spearpoint, is after power , that is, what works.
Technology is our medium these days, having eclipsed the effectiveness of tooth and claw with the coming of civilization .

"Power", what is this then, that drives everything ?

Information
Speed
Communication
Sensing
Actuation

The ability to build, assemble, and integrate
The ability to smash at a distance (disintegrate)

Underlying this short list is the need to interpret, prioritize, make decisions, develop goals, and build consensus, since we are social animals.

Time and money we have resolved to agree upon and we have invested our collective fates in the market, would you call this a good start?

[lustyslogger]

So, let me see if I understand what you guys are suggesting..

Nature, and the busy little human by extension, and as her spearpoint, is after power , that is, what works.
Technology is our medium these days, having eclipsed the effectiveness of tooth and claw with the coming of civilization .

"Power", what is this then, that drives everything ?

Information
Speed
Communication
Sensing
Strength

The ability to build, assemble, and integrate
The ability to smash at a distance (disintegrate)

Underlying this short list is the need to interpret, prioritize, develop goals and build consensus, since we are social animals.

Time and money..!, would you call this a good start?

Well, that and sailboats of course.

[Dirk Visser 166]

Ahhh...

I see you are approaching the crux of our investigation head-on.

Can you offer some additional insights as to empowerment or
"Psychic Income" derived from these age-old constructions?

[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.

There is an editorial in this month's issue of Sail Magazine regarding how Harken and one boat builder are teaming up to install a totally computerized electronic system for sail controls. According to the editorial this system will read the wind speed, lean angle and coarse selected and automatically set your sails, both main and jib and make both steering and sail adjustments to optimize boat speed. It will also automatically ease the sheets if your boat is heeling at a greater than preselected heel angle and will automatically reef the main when the wind and heel angle reach a certain point. This means that a person who has never been on a sailboat in their life can get on a boat and at the push of a button out sail the vast majority of us. It opens the possibilities to many who because of physical limitations enjoy sailing their own vessel.

It also opens the opportunity for large commercial vessels to utilize sail rather than diesel power to move mass quantities of goods across the ocean and do so cheaper and more environmentally friendly then currently. As Jack Aubrey once said "Isn't it a marvelous age we live in"

[Art Haberland]

it makes sense. The only reason wood and coal burning ships overtook sail was it was cheaper to stack (and store) combustables than to have a highly trained crew.

Many of today's giant container ships have a very minimal crew as everything is already computerized. If you could make a sailing ship that could use just as little crew, be close to as efficient in time shipped, and similar in size to the ships already plying the waters, I bet the shippers would jump on it.

[Dirk Visser 166]

Interesting angles on what factors could be developing to enable a renaissance of commercial sail.

Related to these thoughts are musings on the economics of scale and the evolution of engine driven ships, after the demise of sail.

One wonders where things will pick back up.

Even a greatly reduced size prototype of a purpose designed steel vessel with a capacity of only a dozen or two containers of high value goods could provide tremendous demonstration, learning, and market testing opportunities for the various weather sensing and sailing technical apps..

Tying the shipping method, and carbon footprint, to the product is a very new idea. No one currently gives much thought to it...but possibly they would if given the chance..

[lustyslogger]

Interesting angles on what factors could be developing to enable a renaissance of commercial sail.

Related to these thoughts are musings on the economics of scale and the evolution of engine driven ships, after the demise of sail.

One wonders where things will pick back up.

Even a greatly reduced size prototype of a purpose designed steel vessel with a capacity of only a dozen or two containers of high value goods could provide tremendous demonstration, learning, and market testing opportunities for the various weather sensing and sailing technical apps..

Tying the shipping method, and carbon footprint, to the product is a very new idea. No one currently gives much thought to it...but possibly they would if given the chance..

Well, I think the carbon footprint angle will be about 10 degrees! The fact that a sailing ship would save 200,000 gallons of fuel for each Trans Pacific voyage would translate to millions of dollars annually. I have a feeling that increased green in the pockets of the shipping companies would have a far greater impact than the green the environmentalist are so fond of.

[wdscobie]

The only reason wood and coal burning ships overtook sail was it was cheaper to stack (and store) combustables than to have a highly trained crew.

another BIG reason power overtook sail was scheduling. boats with motors can go from A to B with consistency and not be slowed by lack of wind.

[lustyslogger]

The only reason wood and coal burning ships overtook sail was it was cheaper to stack (and store) combustables than to have a highly trained crew.

another BIG reason power overtook sail was scheduling. boats with motors can go from A to B with consistency and not be slowed by lack of wind.

That was probably the biggest reason, consistent speed. If a steam ship line could tell its customers exactly when the cargo would be delivered that became a huge selling point. Because of that I don't think we would ever return to a wind only mode of power. However, with better weather tracking I think it would be possible to not be forced into carbon based fuels are a much smaller basis than previously.

[Dirk Visser 166]

Leaving for a moment the possible evolution of ocean freight transportation forward to include a wind-driven hybrid component, it might be fun to think about the pleasure side of sailing psychology at the same time.

Racing, cruising, gunkholing, holiday parades, exercise regimens, building, sanding, varnishing, painting, onboard parties, rallies, raids, boatshed construction, brass polishing, compass boxing, rigging tuning, towing, hauling, and launching... such pursuits and many more are what comprise the activities of the present day sailor.

But what is it that makes these sometimes onerous and diverse tasks a pleasure?

Most simply stated, my theory is that it has everything to do with identity. The vessel, and by extension, the voyage, are acts of creation. In today's world this turns out to be a relatively scarce commodity. Things are mass produced, and made for us, not by us.

Even experiences become packaged and formatted "products" to be be bought and sold, insured, reserved, and in most cases consumed by large groups at a time.

It restores integrity to the individual, and takes pride of ownership to another level, when a person actually owns many of the decisions which determine the final product.., be that a boat, or the trip and the experiences the boat makes possible ...