Old Weather: Swords into Plowshares

Rosario
submarine depot ship, ex-sloop, Condor-class, was 980t, 1898(l), 6-4in, 13kts, 130 crew. Sold 1921
Nov 1913-Sep 1918, China, Hong Kong

Similar but unidentified depot ship, with old submarines alongside (Maritime Quest)

Log of Rosario

Torch
old sloop, Alert-class, 960t, 1895(c), 6-4in, 13kts, 106 crew. Sold 1920
Mar 1914-Nov 1914, May 1918-Aug 1922, Pacific




Log of Torch

rum-running schooner waiting to load up at Demerara, British Guiana during US prohibition 1924
(Yeoman of Signals George Smith)



Logs courtesy Old Weather

Images courtesy NAVAL-HISTORY.NET 1998-2010
working with National Maritime Museum & Citizen Science Alliance/University of Oxford

Here is a very engaging project which is truly interactive internet at it's best. A project which will appeal to all generations, from the youngest, greenest (climate change) activist to the older veterans of the wars and all in between, a unifying force for collaboration. And a chance to easily make a contribution to and participate in scientific research which can help us understand where we stand in terms of climate change and inform our future. And it's fun. Here's what you can do, anyone can do. Go to the Old Weather website, read the intro, review a couple of the tutorials and get to work. You'll pick a vessel of your choice and join a crew of other folks working on the same boat. Your task will be to log some entries into the database by viewing the actual log entry of your chosen ship. The entries will pertain to the location of the vessel, the weather entries of the day, and the log of events aboard ship for any given day, which can range from tedious to exhilarating. Tis a cool magnifying glass thingie which will help you read the entries. And it all goes to helping science understand where we are in terms of the geologically recent past, in order to grasp weather changes over the last century. to wit:

Introduction:
Help scientists recover worldwide weather observations made by Royal Navy ships around the time of World War I. These transcriptions will contribute to climate model projections and improve a database of weather extremes. Historians will use your work to track past ship movements and the stories of the people on board.

There are links to photos and a synopsis of each vessel's history. This is a well conceived and executed project, a joint effort of several UK institutions. An example of interdisciplinary sharing, and an engaging of the public to share in the grunt work of scientific research that should and hopefully will be taken note of. This works, and in my opinion, it rocks.

Take the data from these ships and the history from these ships, engaged in warfare, and, turning swords into plowshares, help the understanding of climate change and help tell their stories. This is redemption in action. Turning weapons into data into understanding into prediction ( I guess) and into action (I hope).

Constance .3: First Sail

Constance ready at East Mersea

courtesy Dick Wynne

Sailing photos off East Mersea by Martin Treadway

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

Nice rear end

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

Mr. Wynne looks pleased with Constance

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

courtesy Martin Treadway via Dick Wynne

Constance at Wivenhoe 18 July, presumably returning from Mersea

photo unattributed

Fabian Bush (who built her) just sent me (Richard) this snap he received of Constance, with first reef, on the return leg of this year’s white-knuckle-ride of a race. Me helming, son Mike sheltering. More about the race at the East Coast Classics website.
(And here, on the ASA site)

photo unattributed

Dick Wynne's new venture, Charm

canoeyawl.org

Constance was launched July 8 2006, and a week later Dick picks up the narrative of her first sail:

A week later my son Mike and I took her for her first proper sail, downriver to Mersea Island and out on the Thames Estuary, in a moderate breeze on a gloriously hot day. On a reach under that ample sail area, she was just exhilarating; I’ll need a lot more experience of her to report in full on her sailing characteristics. On beaching her for lunch at East Mersea we were pleasantly besieged by admirers.

We were lucky enough to encounter ASA Hon Treasurer Peter Maynard on his Folkboat ELIZA, with professional photographer Martin Treadway on board, so were able to secure that Holy Grail, photos of our own boat under sail, on her very first day out. Readers will be familiar by now with the details of her design, so I leave you with these photos of her finally in commission, and a promise of more detail photos to come.

That was four years ago. While I was in correspondence with Dick about this series, he informed me that he is in the process of selling Constance, with mixed feelings, of course, and acquiring a new(old) Albert Strange masterpiece, Charm, a sister ship of Thad Danielson's Sea Harmony.

I have also included a link to the new (as of July) website put up by Dick Wynne and two other members of the Albert Strange Association, canoeyawl.org , home of the Canoe Yawl Association, whose raison d'etre is as follows:

'The CYA was started by three active members of The Albert Strange Association as a means to focus exclusively on a small boat type which offers so much to today's cruising sailor. We encourage you to visit the ASA where we think you will find much of interest.'

Take a look in. If you like canoe yawls (who doesn't), you'll find much beauty there. The site is still in it's incubation phase, so you can have a hand in growing it

Internship at FYD

Since I first began to get seriously involved in the world of keelboat racing after joining the Naval Academy Offshore Sailing Team, I began to see designs produced by Farr Yacht Design popping up everywhere, and have raced on several. When I selected Naval Architecture as a major and learned that the Farr Yacht Design was a short 15 minute walk from the Naval Academy, I became even more interested. When the possibility of an internship with FYD arose in a conversation with one of my Naval Architecture professors, I jumped at the opportunity, scheduling the internship in lieu of going home for 2 weeks of valuable leave.

Although my time interning at FYD was brief, only 6 total working days, I learned a lot about yacht design, CAD, and career options as a Naval Architect. While my education in Naval Architecture is basic, covering only what I have learned in 2 semesters of classes and picked up from sailing and boat maintenance, I was able to understand and enjoy the majority of what was being discussed and drawn around the office.

The staff at FYD was friendly and enthusiastic about what they do, and fortunately wasted no time putting me to work. I worked on the routes for weather simulation software for the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race, turned 3D models into construction drawings, and prepared models of the next generation of Volvo Open 70 for Computational Fluid Dynamics Testing. For an amateur sailor and college student like me, who can only read and dream about boats like Volvo 70s and Open 60s, being able to contribute, however small a contribution it was, to the next generation of those boats was a greatly gratifying experience. My favorite part of my time at FYD was sitting in on conceptual design meetings, and seeing what goes in to designing a high-tech racing machine like a Volvo Open 70.

I am now surer than ever that a career in Naval Architecture and yacht design is what I want to do after my time in the Navy. If any Naval Architecture or engineering students, whatever school you attend, are looking for a place to practically apply what you have learned for the summer, I would highly recommend looking at an internship at Farr Yacht Design.

Graham Tyson

Midshipman and Naval Architecture Student

The Superyacht Circuit on SOJANA

For the past six years I have often been a crew member on board the well-known, FYD-designed, 115' superyacht SOJANA commissioned by Peter Harrison and captained by Marc Fitzgerald. She regularly competes in the Heineken Regatta, Antigua Sailing Week, Superyacht Cups in Antigua and Palma, the St. Barths Bucket, Les Voiles de St. Tropez and transatlantic races and rallies traveling back and forth across the pond. Launched in 2003 she is due to hit 100,000 miles sailed by the end of 2010. Peter and Marc are always looking to improve the performance of SOJANA having made many upgrades and modifications over the years and also serving as a test bed for new materials.

Sailing on SOJANA, as well as providing technical support to the improvement program, has allowed me a front row seat at the steady progress occurring on SOJANA and in the rest of the superyacht fleet. Of all the advances made to SOJANA over the years, two stand out. In 2007, composite rigging from Future Fibres was installed on both the main and mizzen rigs. The increase in stability was readily apparent but the reduction in inertia, improving the motion in waves, was the most dramatic. This year SOJANA has been testing the first 3Di sails made for a superyacht. Both of these technologies have a huge impact on the design of a superyacht. Being present to see the effect of all the many current advances in technology is crucial to understanding them and using them to create successful designs with precise power-to-weight ratios, stability and speed that meet the goals and desires of our clients.

The next event for SOJANA is the Superyacht Cup in Palma in June. I will be onboard in my usual position trimming the mizzen.

Jim Schmicker
Vice President & Senior Naval Architect

Sailing the Bavaria Cruiser 55 in Palma Mallorca

This week I was fortunate to have the opportunity for a bit of sailing on the Bavaria Cruiser 55, our design 673. My day for the opportunity was Monday, the 26th of April. I arrived in Palma around 11am, and after finding my hotel set off to find the boat.


Conditions were absolutely beautiful… for power boating. Palma had its typical sunshine, but was presenting us with a pretty weak sea breeze for the day. I had been excited when the plane landed because we landed into the bay which meant the sea breeze was already established. Unfortunately there just wasn’t much to it for some reason.

The sailing day was set up as a bit of a lead in to the Bavaria board meetings. On the boat for the sail we had quite a crowd onboard with the whole Bavaria board, as well as executives from Bavaria, and local support from Bavaria Spain.

Once outside the harbor area we unfurled the mainsail and jib. Windspeed was maybe 6 knots although the left side of the bay looked like it might hold a little more pressure. The guys went to work to trim up the sails and I settled in on the helm to see how the boat felt. We extended on a long port tack so I was able to get a pretty good feel for the boat. In general the boat is very easy to drive. The helm is well balanced and the boat tracks very easily. While the conditions were quite calm and the sea flat I came area impressed with the boat and feel pretty confident that it would be very rewarding for an owner. Our concern is always to provide enough helm feedback for an owner in light conditions and I think the boat delivers very well in that regard.

We had slowly gained on a bigger schooner that had left the harbor ahead of us. When we finally passed them windward they felt the need to go for all their remaining sail. The extra sail area definitely worked for them and they closed up under us to leeward. We tacked away to be polite and headed off to the right side of the bay. Andrew Burt took the helm so that I could have a look around the boat. The boat is very easy to get around on and provides good access to everything a cruising sailor would need. The standard cruising sails fit the boat well. Mainsail shaping isn’t that easy with the furling mainsail although I’m sure that the convenience factor will make the decision for most buyers. Unfortunately the breeze continued to lighten as we got to the right, and after an hour on each tack we decided to tack and bear away for home.

The wind speed was now probably down to 4 knots and while the boat was still making respectable speeds broad reaching we went for the motor early to provide a bit of apparent wind over the deck. Under motor the boat can make some pretty impressive speeds and will definitely get into harbor quickly. Good motoring speed is always a good thing when cocktails are on the horizon.

The key to docking a twin rudder of boat is to avoid very low speed maneuvers. Entering the marina we stayed fairly quick and made good use of the optional bow thruster to get back into the slip without any drama.

I came away impressed from the sail. The boat felt genuinely good in very light air. After my sail on the Bavaria Cruiser 45 in Holland (extremely windy conditions) I’ve definitely seen both ends of the spectrum on these twin rudder cruising boats. This appendage solution should give plenty of confidence to any skipper. Good feel in light winds, and incredible control in challenging high wind and heeled conditions. The sensible interior layouts, modern styling, and attractive prices from Bavaria make these pretty special boats. I look forward to a well rounded sail in some moderate breeze. Hopefully the buying public will see these new Bavaria Cruisers for the goodness they are and bring one a bit closer to home for me.

Patrick Shaughnessy

Benefits of Frequent Site Visits

When I reflect on my recently completed site visit to the Bavaria factory in Giebelstadt, Germany, the most prominent thought that comes to mind is how constructive it is to have face to face communication with our clients and product development partners. While personally this was my first opportunity to visit the state of the art Bavaria boat building facility, in the 2 years since Farr Yacht Design began their successful collaboration with Bavaria, our engineers and designers have made no less than 40 separate trips to the factory, involving 275 man days. It is true that today’s modern communication tools (e-mail, web conferencing, Skype) help to make the world a much smaller place, however one can’t underestimate the value of personal interaction. Issues that would take days to solve via e-mail and phone call exchanges can be solved in a matter of minutes when the right people are collaborating directly and personally with each other.

The frequent site visits we make are also extremely valuable for ensuring that our design and engineering intent is being faithfully reproduced by the boat builders on the factory floor. This is particularly important in areas of the assembly line that are critical to the safe operation of the yacht, such as the hull and deck lamination, bonding of internal grids and bulkheads as well as the attachment of the keels and rudders. By having regular designer presence on the factory floor, we are able to rapidly identify areas for improvement and we can intervene if something is not being done ‘to spec’. This improves quality control, results in a more integrated end-product and hopefully translates into 1000’s of satisfied boat owners around the world.

- Alon Finkelstein

KWRW 2010

Key West Race Week always holds the promise of sunny skies, good breeze and warm temperatures. As with many things, reality does not always live up to expectations. But, this year Key West did not disappoint. On the docket this year were pleasant conditions and multiple races each day of the week.

I made the journey south to do mast onboard the Melges 32, Ninkasi. This was one of my first opportunities to do mast and opened my eyes to a few deck layout and rigging issues that wouldn't be obvious when staring at a drawing on paper. It's amazing how lines never get knotted or tangled on paper, but how easily it happens in reality if blocks aren't spaced or angled correctly.

Although participant numbers are down from their peak a few years ago, the competition level has not faltered. This point was illustrated by both the Melges 32 class, where each of the top 5 finishers had at least one finish in the mid to high teens, and the Farr 40 class, where the boats seem to round every mark bow to stern with one another.

Key West also offers more than just great racing. The ability to step off the boat, go for a short ride to any one of a number of meeting places, and sit down with owners, boat captains, and project managers to discuss current issues and future plans within the industry is vital to a yacht designer. Sometimes these meetings turn out to be more valuable or more interesting than the days racing.

Not only is Key West a good place to catch up with familiar faces and meet new ones, it also presents great opportunities to walk the docks while admiring and scrutinizing all the different aspects of the fleets. The IRC-1 boats really caught my interest this year. Although the larger boats in IRC 1 are truly impressive, the four IRC52s grabbed my attention. The subtle modifications made by each of the three TP52s are quite interesting. Each had added a sprit, but retained slight differences in terms of deck and stern treatments. All in all, not too different from many of the modifications we make for our optimizations. Add in the Southern Cross 52 and you have a nice fleet within a fleet.

Whether you traveled to Key West this year for the racing, weather, or networking it was hard to come back disappointed.

Emerson Smith