Sailing.
Publié le 14/05/2013
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the sails sweep across the decks of the vessel from one side to the other, and also because of the danger of breaking spars.
In wild jibing, control can be lostmomentarily and, if the seas are high, a small boat can broach —that is, veer on its side with danger of swamping or capsizing.
An unintentional jibe in a heavy wind frequently has enough force to break the masts of a vessel.
When jibing intentionally, careful sailors always haul in on the boom while turning, so that the boom willtravel only a short distance when the wind reaches the other side of the sails.
IV REEFING
During stormy weather, the area of sail exposed can be reduced by another procedure of sail control known as reefing.
Reefing is accomplished by bunching up aportion of the slackened sail along the yard or the boom and then securing the folded canvas with small ropes called reef points. The part of the sail thus taken in is called the reef.
On all sailing ships, sails are hauled up and, to some degree, controlled in accordance with wind direction by ropes called sheets and halyards. For the most important of these ropes, as well as other portions of the fittings and rigging of sailing ships, see Sail.
V CRAFT
Boats using sails for propulsive power may be classified as sailing cruisers, day sailers, auxiliary cruisers, and motor sailers.
As the names suggest, both the sailingcruiser and the day sailer are driven solely by sails.
The sailing cruiser is longer and beamier (broader) than the day sailer and, unlike the latter, possesses livingfacilities.
An auxiliary cruiser is a sailing cruiser equipped with an inboard engine.
A motor sailer is an underrigged, heavily powered auxiliary cruiser—that is, a vesseldependent primarily on its engine or engines, but capable of maintaining headway under sail.
The cabin cruiser, which is equipped with complete living quarters for twoor more persons, is the most popular type of habitable motor-powered craft used in yachting.
The larger craft are powered by one to three inboard gasoline or dieselengines.
Many of the smaller types, including those craft that can be assembled from kits, are driven by one or two outboard motors.
Sailing craft used for racing may be grouped into three main categories: one-design, rating, and handicap.
One-design boats come in numerous classes, and all boatsbelonging to a particular class are identical.
In one-design racing, consequently, success is determined by seamanship rather than by differences in design orequipment.
Especially popular with sailors of modest means are the smaller one-design boats, of the Sunfish or the Laser class, for example.
These range from about 2to 12 m (about 7 to 40 ft) in length.
Rating-class boats differ slightly from one another in certain particulars such as length of hull, displacement, and sail area.
All boatsof a given class conform, however, to a certain overall rating arrived at in accordance with a set mathematical formula.
The success of a rating-class sailboatconsequently depends to some extent on the expertise of its designer.
Boats differing widely in size and design compete in handicap racing.
The boats are measuredaccording to certain rating criteria and are assigned appropriate time allowances.
The handicap system enables small and shallow-draft boats to race on equal termswith larger and deeper craft.
VI RACING
Sailboat competitions are governed by strict, internationally recognized racing rules, the most important of which are aimed at the avoidance of collisions betweencompeting boats.
The main forms of sailboat competition are closed-course, coastwise, and ocean.
Closed-course races are generally held on lakes or inshore watersover a three-leg, triangular course from about 5 to 48 km (about 3 to 30 mi) long.
Coastwide races are usually sailed over much longer courses on lakes, inland waters,or offshore.
In ocean racing the competing vessels must be navigated over extensive stretches of open sea.
Notable ocean races include the TransPac (California-Hawaii) and Newport-Bermuda contests.
Races are held by local, regional, or national organizations, but all are governed by the rules of the International Yacht Racing Union, founded in 1907.
Since World WarII (1939-1945), Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France have generally dominated world racing.
The most spectacular andhazardous races are two in which the yachts are sailed by one-person crews.
The Single-Handed Transatlantic Race was inaugurated in 1960 and is sailed every fouryears.
The winner of the first race was Sir Francis Chichester, who later sailed his tiny ketch, Gipsy Moth IV, around the world from 1966 to 1967.
Even more ambitiousthan the transatlantic race is the Single-Handed Race Around the World.
This race was first held in 1968 and was won by Robin Knox-Johnston.
The only competitor tofinish, he returned to his starting point, Falmouth, England, after ten months and three days of solo sailing around the globe.
More recently, Frenchmen Philippe Jeantotand Christophe Auguin have dominated long-distance single-handed racing.
Since 1982, both men have won two BOC Challenge Around Alone titles, a nine-montharound-the-world race in boats 50 to 60 ft (15 to 18 m) long.
The first sailing races held as part of the Olympic Games were contested in 1896.
The races have been part of the Olympic program since then, but the yacht classeshave changed from time to time.
The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, involved nine sailing classes: Tornado, Laser, 470 (men and women), Europe, Soling,Star, Finn, Mistral windsurfer (men and women), and 49er.
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF), located in Southampton, England, is the international governing body for sailing.
The United States Sailing Association, or USSailing, headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is the national governing body for the sport in the United States.
The Canadian governing body is the CanadianYachting Association (CYA), located in Gloucester, Ontario.
VII HISTORY
The first sailors were probably fishers of the prehistoric period who enjoyed leisure-time cruising or racing in their crude sailing craft.
Sumptuously decorated pleasureboats were maintained by the privileged classes of ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome; however, such craft were usually naval or commercial vessels fitted withluxurious appointments.
The first boats designed solely for pleasure and sport were commissioned by Dutch nobility and merchants early in the 17th century.
The wordyacht itself is of Dutch origin, short for jaghtschip (“hunting ship”), a swift, maneuverable sailing vessel about 14 to 20 m (about 45 to 65 ft) in length.
Later in the 17th century Charles II popularized the sport in England after receiving a yacht as a gift from the Dutch people.
In 1720 the first known formal organization of yachtdevotees, the Cork Water Club, now the Royal Cork Yacht Club, was founded in Ireland.
The oldest yachting organization still existing is the Royal Yacht Squadron,founded at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, in 1815 as the Royal Yacht Club of England.
Workboats were sailed extensively for pleasure in North America during colonial times, particularly in New England and New York.
The first large U.S.
vessel builtspecifically as a luxuriously fitted yacht was the schooner Cleopatra’s Barge, constructed in 1816 in Salem, Massachusetts.
The New York Yacht Club was founded in1844.
In 1850 and 1851 six members of the New York Yacht Club financed the construction of the first great U.S.
racing yacht, the 30-m (100-ft) schooner America. Its fine lines, much slimmer in the bow than other racing craft, changed subsequent yacht design.
Its brilliant victory at an international regatta at Cowes in August 1851provided a stimulus to American yachting.
The America’s Cup, a trophy named for the America, became the most famous prize in yacht racing after it was given to the New York Yacht Club in 1857.
Yachts based in the United States held the Cup for more than a century, finally losing it to an Australian team in 1983.
The Americans, led by skipper Dennis Conner, recaptured theCup in 1987 and retained it until a New Zealand boat won it in 1995.
Switzerland won the America’s Cup in 2003.
See America’s Cup Race..
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