Another short video of the Royal Clipper from her recent eastbound transatlantic crossing, sea day 13, two days out of Lisbon, that raises the question, when the wind is fluky, why not sail on light? Royal Clipper Sailing on Light … Continue reading
Category Archives: Rigging
Here is an animation from a Mariner’s Mirror podcast about perhaps the greatest windjammer of the early twentieth century, the Preussen. One of the Flying P-Liners, built for the F. Laeisz shipping company in 1902, she was the only five-masted … Continue reading
For more than a decade the Navy has labored to develop a workable rail gun, a futuristic weapon that fires projectiles at up to seven times the speed of sound using electricity. It failed. The Washington Post quotes Matthew Caris, … Continue reading
Tugs and dredgers have been making some progress in refloated the stranded ultra-large container ship, Ever Given, that has blocked traffic in the Suez Canal since last Tuesday. The next best hope of freeing the stranded ship will come on … Continue reading
Sail-assist propulsion on commercial ships is developing rapidly, featuring a range of technologies including rotor sails, rigid wing sails, ventilated turbo sails, and even conventional fabric sails. One thing that all these rigs have in common, however, is that when … Continue reading
Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate the holiday. Here is a short video of the rigging crew of Matt Otto, Nick Canzellarini and Alex Peacock at Mystic Seaport Museum installing one of the many mast-top Christmas trees atop the … Continue reading
Here is a wonderful short video by Classic Sailor of Des Pawson at his Museum of Knots and Sailors’ Ropework in Ipswich. Now in his seventies, Des is cataloging the contents of the museum for safekeeping curation at Chatham Historic … Continue reading
Photographer Onne van der Wal’s “The Beauty of Sail,” a selection of videos and photographs which portray just that. Onne is a full time pro nautical shooter and sailor based in Newport, RI and has been at it since 1987. … Continue reading
In February 1869, one hundred and fifty years ago, construction of the composite clipper ship Cutty Sark began on the banks of the River Clyde for the Jock Willis Shipping Line. The clipper ship sailed on its first voyage a … Continue reading
The Southern Ocean has been battering the rigs of the boats sailing in the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) as the fleet rounds Cape Horn. On Friday, Vestas 11th Hour Racing was dismasted. The Vestas boat lost its mast in 25 … Continue reading
We recently posted about the five-masted full-rigged cruise ship Royal Clipper, a modern sailing ship designed as an homage to the great five-masted windjammer Preussen. We are very pleased to have a guest post about the mighty windjammer by Robin Denny: With the Peking now … Continue reading
Here is a short video about the Kalmar Nyckel, a replica of Dutch built pinnace purchased by Sweden in the mid-1600s. What makes the Kalmar Nyckel so fascinating for me is that while there are a goodly number of 18th … Continue reading
Almost two years ago, we raised the question — Are the new foiling Open 60 monohulls “the future of ocean racing or [are they] a foil too far?” The results of the Vendee Globe around-the-world, single-handed race last January may have … Continue reading
Here is a fascinating new approach to the design of a mast and sail. The developers at Next Technologies claim that their Inflated Wing Sail (IWS) is stable in every wind conditions and offers a smooth balanced new way of … Continue reading
The Clipper Round the World Race is a race around the world held every two years sailed with a professional captain and paying amateur crews. In nine races starting in 1996, the contests were sailed without loss of life. That tragically changed … Continue reading
The Battle of Jutland, which was fought 100 years ago today, was one of the greatest modern sea battles and arguably, changed the course of World War I. In the battle, 250 ships, manned by 10,000 sailors fought for 12 … Continue reading
In May, we posted that Star Clippers is building the world’s largest square-rigged passenger ship, a near-replica of the five-masted barque France II commissioned in 1911. Last week, the keel of the as of yet unnamed ship was laid in the Brodosplit … Continue reading
A beautiful Friday evening at the Sultana Downrigging Weekend in Chestertown, MD. The schooner Sultana, launched in Chestertown, Maryland, in 2001, serves as an educational vessel for schoolchildren as it travels around the Chesapeake Bay. Now in its fifteenth year, … Continue reading
You may recall the Norwegian comedy team Ylvis from their viral hit, “What Does the Fox Say?,” which was viewed more than a half billion times on Youtube. One of their more recent music videos, released in September, is on … Continue reading
I am fond of one photo I took of the Kalmar Nyckel at the Sultana Downrigging Weekend in Charlestown, MD last weekend. It shows two sailors, who appear to be starting to downrig the sprit topsail yard. They are standing … Continue reading