9 ms·

Sailing boat rescued by the Götheborg

526 points by weinzierl 4y ago

matsemann 4y ago
At least it wasn't Wasa showing up.. I've once sailed a smaller boat with a centerboard that didn't release. So similar to not having a rudder. Quite scary, everything else have a backup, but without that thing sticking out below the boat you're just drifting aimlessly around.
- nixass 4y ago
  > At least it wasn't Wasa showing up.. *Vasa
  - erk__ 4y ago
    Unless if it was a massive piece of crispbread. Do you have any idea of why the spelling was changed if you look in older texts a lot of the time Wasa was was used.
    - checkyoursudo 4y ago
      For a long time, the v and w were basically indistinct, until some decades ago. I don't remember exactly when. There might even be a law about it.
      - hnarn 4y ago
        There's no "law", but there was a lot of language reform in the 19th and 20th century. You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_orthography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_orthography > Usage of the letters ⟨v⟩ and ⟨w⟩ was, as long as the Fraktur typeface was used, guided by the typeface. In Fraktur, ⟨w⟩ was used as a rule to indicate the sound [v], except for in loanwords of Latin or Romance origin, when ⟨v⟩ was used. In SAOL 1874-1900, which were not printed in Fraktur, the number of words using ⟨w⟩ was very small, and primarily tied to names (clown, darwinism, schweizeri). (...) The attempt to remove ⟨w⟩ was further evident in the 1923 edition. Since 1950 however, the use of ⟨w⟩ in loanwords has been more acceptable, as the number of loanwords has increased. Since 2006, ⟨w⟩ constitutes an individual letter of the alphabet in SAOL, sorted separately from ⟨v⟩. One rationalization I think we can be pretty happy about today that the article mentions is that [f,fv,hv] which all produced the same sound were unified into simply "v" in schools in the early 1900s.
  - checkyoursudo 4y ago
    In Swedish, the v and the w only became distinct pretty recently. There are still people alive today who don't know which to pick if they don't already know how a v-sounding word is spelled. Also, the same person might say "Vilma" one day and "Wilma" the next, just as an example of the confusion (and Wilma is their own daughter...) Also, also, I have had older Swedes be completely unable to hear a difference between v and (English-pronounced) w. >.<
    - acadapter 4y ago
      V and W were considered two graphic variants of the same letter until about two decades ago. The W sound was lost centuries ago but reintroduced with English words.
      - pavlov 4y ago
        Yes. In Finnish and Swedish, the letters V and W traditionally collated together. In other words, this is a correctly alphabetically ordered list: Wasa Virtanen Wiva Viwe The rule was apparently changed in 2006 in Sweden though (with Finland presumably tagging along). There’s probably still plenty of SQL installations around using the old collation rules because tables were created before the 2006 change reached database software.
        doikor 4y ago
        It kinda depends. In a list of names, dictionaries, etc V and W would be separately. This is to make finding the word you are looking for easier. Also in Finnish ÅÄÖ are the end of alphabet. Also Ü and Ű would should be grouped with Y. Õ and Ő with Ö.
        pavlov 4y ago
        > “In a list of names, dictionaries, etc V and W would be separately. This is to make finding the word you are looking for easier.” If you look at older phone books and dictionaries until the 1990s at least, you’ll find that V and W are combined. There are common surnames in Finland that retain the V/W spelling equivalence, like Virtanen and Wirtanen. When they are grouped together (as they traditionally were), it’s easier to find a person by name because you don’t need to know which way it’s spelled.
- hnarn 4y ago
  For anyone who doesn't know about the Vasa, you can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) It was a Swedish warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 after making it less than a mile (1,3 km). It was salvaged in 1961 and is today one of Sweden's most famous tourist attractions.
  - matsemann 4y ago
    Think it's my favorite museum ever I have visited. Didn't think I would end up spending the whole day there when I was in Stockholm.
    - ineedasername 4y ago
      So while in Stockholm you found you grew to like some of it much more than expected… You may want to find a good therapist, this is classic Stockholm Syndrome.
e40 4y ago
These ships are a wonder of human achievement. While on vacation in Mexico I was able to spend the day on a boat of a similar age—I don’t remember the details. It really connects one to the past.
- phit_ 4y ago
  its a replica that was only build in 2005 https://www.gotheborg.se/about-gotheborg/about-the-ship/ https://www.gotheborg.se/about-gotheborg/about-the-ship/
  - DougN7 4y ago
    And they let complete newbies (like me) sign on as crew for a week or two. It’s the adventure of a life time to work on board such an accurate replica. It was hand built - even the nails and ropes were hand built, using tools and techniques from the time period, which if I recall correctly took something like 10 years to research since much of that knowledge had been lost.
justinclift 4y ago
> The next day, as we approached the French coast, we radioed for another boat to help us enter the port, but no one responded positively. Wonder if that's a standard (or common) response, and why... ?
- michaelt 4y ago
  Presumably the norms for rendering aid are different when the ship is no longer in distress, and has been towed for two days.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    I also assume the sailors felt they'd taken enough of the Götheborg's time and were willing to pay for a launch to bring their ship in for repair (also presumably it would be quite hard for a large sailboat to drag a small one literally to port).
crossroadsguy 4y ago
> This moment was very strange, and we wondered if we were dreaming. Where were we? What time period was it? If only the rescue crew dressed the part they could have believed they somehow managed to time travel.
- moffkalast 4y ago
  Tbf, the average Götheborg deckhand looks like this so it's not far off https://i.imgur.com/Dc7QN5s.png https://i.imgur.com/Dc7QN5s.png
- ineedasername 4y ago
  There a literally books written with nearly that exact premise for the plot
  - ajkjk 4y ago
    Know the names?
Mistletoe 4y ago
https://gotheborg.com/project/food.shtml https://gotheborg.com/project/food.shtml I found this post about what sailors ate on the original ship fascinating.
fmeyer 4y ago
Oh, it's going to be open for visiting in Hamburg this month.
renewiltord 4y ago
I have seen this same ship in so many countries. It's quite lovely and one day maybe I'll sail on it.
prmoustache 4y ago
So they have sails on the Götheborg, but aren't actually using them? Basically it is a motorized indiaman. Meh.
- gambiting 4y ago
  Really? In the first picture you can clearly see people sitting on the masts, what are they there for if not for setting up the sails?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - hnarn 4y ago
    As you suspect, the post you're replying to is wrong.
- cjblomqvist 4y ago
  They are definitely using them, a lot (probably the majority of time). (Source: I have a friend who have worked/sailed the ship multiple times)
- bratwurst3000 4y ago
  It was on the Mediterranean Sea. I am also a sailor and can testify that the Mediterranean Sea is the hardest to sail because of often changing wind direction. I assume that’s why the didn’t use sails while rescuing. I wouldn’t either.
  - wffurr 4y ago
    They were in the English Channel. Brittany is in the north of France. The map in the post shows the Channel Islands. They used the engine for the rescue to minimize time and safely approach the small boat close enough to heave a line. Doing all that under sail, like the OP seems to think they should, wouldn’t just be extremely difficult, it would be dangerous and profoundly irresponsible. Modern sailboats (as in since 1900) have auxiliary engines for a reason…
bombcar 4y ago
The Star of India is set to set sail in November; perhaps it can do something similar. https://sdmaritime.org/visit/the-ships/star-of-india/ https://sdmaritime.org/visit/the-ships/star-of-india/
- erk__ 4y ago
  The Danish training ship Georg Stage is out a trip at the moment, I think they are on their way to the Faroe Islands. https://georgstage.dk/english/ https://georgstage.dk/english/
niklasjansson 4y ago
We had planned to have our wedding performed on Götheborg, it was all planned. We got a tour of the ship and discussed catering and so on. Suddenly a few months prior to the wedding they ghosted us, until they finally decided we couldn't hire it after all. Maybe a covid thing. Anyway, no bad feelings.
timonoko 4y ago
Swedes are cheating as they always do. This sailship has a motor in it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/mXX4YiQ3u455YNni8 https://photos.app.goo.gl/mXX4YiQ3u455YNni8
- olodus 4y ago
  Good bait my guy. You have a wonderful day now.
- belorn 4y ago
  The original method is to use many smaller ships to guide and drag the ship to where it need to be whenever the sails are not suitable (that and wait for better weather conditions). If they had used this original method, the sailing boat would had been rescued by those ships.
  - timonoko 4y ago
    Yes. But what is the point of this ship if not fully restore the original look-and-feel of the era. Satellite antenna in the mizzen mast is also an abomination. They should have dirty drawings from France instead of Pornhub.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - WastingMyTime89 4y ago
      That’s a nav radar not a satellite antenna. It would be down right irresponsible (and probably illegal - I’m not really good with law concerning civilian ship) to sail a ship this size without one. Restoration is good but there is no reason to put the crew in unnecessary danger.
      - Gwypaas 4y ago
        The white blob on the mizzen mast is a satellite antenna. To have the vessel sail in A3 areas the common choice is to have satellite communication, and it is used for their social media and outreach. The navigation radars is actually quite well hidden sitting on the platform of the foremast. There is more information about the emergency communication requirements on commercial vessels for different areas of the planet here: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gmdss-areas-and-search-and-rescue https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gmdss-areas-and-search-and-rescu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Maritime_Distress_and_Safety_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Maritime_Distress_and_S...
FartyMcFarter 4y ago
I know nothing about sailing so this is probably wrong, but I was slightly surprised at the fact that the people on board the small boat didn't get rescued onto the Götheborg. Given the concerns in the article about the size difference possibly causing problems, wouldn't that have been safer?
- somat 4y ago
  I suspect they were not in immediate danger, the small boats rudder was inoperative, so they had little to no steering control. I suspect mainly poising a navigation hazard for other boats in the area. What they needed, and got was a tow. The funny thing is, they were grateful for the assistants of the Götheborg, but a bit incredulous that such a large ship would go out of it's way to help them. (they were also worried about the speed at first before learning it was a sailing ship_
  - ineedasername 4y ago
    >such a large ship It wasn’t quite the size that made it notable ;)
  - Jolter 4y ago
    I think they were worried about speed because it was a large ship, regardless of propulsion method. I believe that the longer a sailing ship is, the faster it can sail. This affects the construction/dimensioning. So this small boat would have a hull that can withstand the seas at a certain speed, but might have trouble if towed faster. And they worried that a large sailboat, built to go quite a bit faster, might accidentally go too fast.
- SapporoChris 4y ago
  The towing was a fairly simple procedure and they could maintain a safe distance. Transporting crew between ships on the high sea would be a dangerous and complex task. They might not even have the equipment for it.
  - amelius 4y ago
sandworm101 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6theborg_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6theborg_(ship) Fysa, they almost certainly completed the rescue using their twin 500hp diesels rather than sail power. One sailboat towing another creates a host of sail/wind/wave issues. Almost every large sailing vessel, including historic replicas, has diesel engines for those times that sail is just too awkward.
- _yb2s 4y ago
  I've towed under sail and it works fine if done properly... certainly it can be challenging and requires an experienced person at the helm of each boat, especially if going downwind or upwind. In this case I am sure you are right, and the size difference would make towing under sail dangerous. A sudden gust enough to accelerate the larger boat to above the smaller boats hull speed could pull the smaller boat underwater quickly.
  - sandworm101 4y ago
    But in this case only one boat has a helm, the towed craft having lost its rudder. Most dangerous IMHO is a wave that slows the large round hull but will not slow the smaller wave-piercing hull, sending it slamming into the stern.
    - Gwypaas 4y ago
      You would never tow so close that it would become a risk unless manouverering the disabled vessel in close quarters, and then it usually is preferable to tie the vessels alongside each other. You can see the distances they chose in this particular case in the third image from their Instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/CryES46tgWl/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== https://www.instagram.com/p/CryES46tgWl/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2...
      - zhrvoj 4y ago
        Sail boat towing other boats (similar loa) should attach towing line close to her center of effort. Think like attaching towing line to the mast foot. Not on the stern. Not an easy task to do. That's why many sailors just use any stern cleat. And the towed boat should attach towing line not to the bow, but also to the center of effort. Then both boats can manouver. I also lost rudder blade, on the 10m sailboat, in the middle of Adriatic sea, 2005, during regatta, in 35kt NE wind and 3m waves. Not possible to steer anyhow. Tryed to improvize rudder, but we almost lost a crewman. We were on 2nd reef already. SAR came. Since there was no rudder on my boat, attaching towing line to bow was only option. My towed sailboat course was changing +-30 degrees every few minutes, and finally towing line broke loose because of the forestay chaffing.
jiggywiggy 4y ago
Just imagine in the 1500's deciding to set sail to Asia. Hardly having a map. No communication means, food that's not easy to store, nothing more then a compass and if lucky a shitty map. If things go wrong no one is coming to help. Wild times. Was actually the reason they founded the Amsterdam stock market to spread & share the risk of the ships not returning. I know many bad things happen at well, but it's still a very interesting perspective.
- twic 4y ago
  This makes me think of this haunting 1919 painting of Elcano's return from the first circumnavigation of the earth in 1522: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/gAXBe3j1qN_gLQ https://artsandculture.google.com/story/gAXBe3j1qN_gLQ
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    What an incredibly moving picture and story. Thank you.
  - oh_sigh 4y ago
    Those are the faces of men who wished they stayed in Brazil.
- srj 4y ago
  I can't imagine how the polynesians discovered Hawaii. Sailing thousands of miles in a small wooden boat and finding a speck of land in the pacific ocean.
  - wpietri 4y ago
    Polynesian navigational techniques are very interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation
    - kqr 4y ago
      The power of oral tradition is nuts. It can preserve information for thousands of years.
tempodox 4y ago
Wow, that ship is gorgeous.
vrglvrglvrgl 4y ago
[dead]
javajosh 4y ago
Wonderful story of comraderie on the high seas. It's one of the best things about cruising. Its as close to space travel as you're going to get, and you really stop taking humans for granted out there. I've been sailing my whole life, but never lost a rudder (thank God!). With dinghy racing (as opposed to cruising) it's common to learn how to steer without the rudder, using the trim of the sails and your weight in the boat. You can minimize rudder pressure on cruising sailboat too (again, useful for maximizing speed), but I'd be curious to know more about the limits of what you can do. There are probably some points of sail that work better without a rudder than others. (This is only even theoretically possible because the jib and main can rotate the boat, and the keel will still allow forward motion.) But yeah, theory aside, 'losing a mast or rudder' level catastrophes like this basically require rescue.
- roflyear 4y ago
  I've lost a rudder but on a small boat in a river. We made it back under our own efforts but was hairy.
- Mavvie 4y ago
  I've only ever done river sailing (including some intentional rudderless sailing), but I imagine in the open seas rudderless sailing isn't really feasible (at least in some conditions). Waves might make it impossible on their own.
mhb 4y ago
Rebuilding Tally Ho: https://youtu.be/4FhTu3aGM60 https://youtu.be/4FhTu3aGM60 Description I’m on a mission to rebuild a 1910 English sailing yacht called Tally Ho. Designed by Albert Strange in 1909, she is a well-known and important historic vessel – but after many adventures she was left in a remote port in Oregon to rot for decades, despite some valiant attempts to rescue her. I bought her and moved her to the Olympic Peninsular earlier this year, and am now rebuilding her from the keel up. Eventually I hope to sail her back to the UK.
- guynamedloren 4y ago
  I was entranced by this project from the very first episode 5 years ago! I followed along for maybe a year or so, and haven’t caught any updates since. Happy to see the project (and channel) is still going strong. Such an incredible endeavor!
- jacquesm 4y ago
  That whole series is absolutely incredible, when I saw the first episode I was sure he'd let it go because it was just too much work, basically a complete rebuild. But then he pulled the trigger on it and is making really amazing progress. One of the most impressive projects I've every followed.
ineedasername 4y ago
Not the worst consolation prize to have an experience like this & story to tell after undergoing such a dangerous and potentially life threatening ordeal.
ytdytvhxgydvhh 4y ago
Would one receive a bill in a situation like this? To cover the cost of lost time and/or extra diesel burned? Or is it purely out of the goodness of the hearts of the management of the towing vessel?
- callamdelaney 4y ago
  Not to my knowledge, and certainly not for boats like the small yacht being towed here. The idea is that if the it happened to you someone else would help.
  - notahacker 4y ago
    And sometimes what goes around comes around happens quicker than expected! Different scale, different waterways, but a couple of weeks after spending half an hour dragging a boat off a fallen tree, I got a tow off a trip boat full of people eating Christmas dinner after losing power in the middle of the Thames...
- willyt 4y ago
  Potentially. From the wikipedia article on ‘Marine salvage’: All vessels have an international duty to give reasonable assistance to other ships in distress in order to save life, but there is no obligation to try to salve the vessel. Any offer of salvage assistance may be refused; but if it is accepted a contract automatically arises to give the successful salvor the right to a reward under the 1989 Convention. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_salvage https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_salvage
callamdelaney 4y ago
It's worth knowing that in a bind you can fashion a rudder out of a line and a bucket.
- StarlaAtNight 4y ago
  Huh?
  - callamdelaney 4y ago
    Yes, the first line of the article. The rudder on the yacht fell off, so they were towed. In the middle of the pacific, the likelihood of a tow is low. In that case, you can fashion a rudder out of a line and a bucket.
  - rigmarole 4y ago
    The drag introduced by the bucket would help align your boat as a makeshift drogue. If you can find a way to rig it up so you can adjust the angle from port to starboard, you could very roughly steer.
- SergeAx 4y ago
  Spinnaker boom and a head door, to be precise.
codetrotter 4y ago
Goated!
startuprabbit 4y ago
Wow that's awesome

526 points by weinzierl 4y ago

At least it wasn't Wasa showing up.. I've once sailed a smaller boat with a centerboard that didn't release. So similar to not having a rudder. Quite scary, everything else have a backup, but without that thing sticking out below the boat you're just drifting aimlessly around.

nixass 4y ago
> At least it wasn't Wasa showing up.. *Vasa
- erk__ 4y ago
  Unless if it was a massive piece of crispbread. Do you have any idea of why the spelling was changed if you look in older texts a lot of the time Wasa was was used.
  - checkyoursudo 4y ago
    For a long time, the v and w were basically indistinct, until some decades ago. I don't remember exactly when. There might even be a law about it.
    - hnarn 4y ago
      There's no "law", but there was a lot of language reform in the 19th and 20th century. You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_orthography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_orthography > Usage of the letters ⟨v⟩ and ⟨w⟩ was, as long as the Fraktur typeface was used, guided by the typeface. In Fraktur, ⟨w⟩ was used as a rule to indicate the sound [v], except for in loanwords of Latin or Romance origin, when ⟨v⟩ was used. In SAOL 1874-1900, which were not printed in Fraktur, the number of words using ⟨w⟩ was very small, and primarily tied to names (clown, darwinism, schweizeri). (...) The attempt to remove ⟨w⟩ was further evident in the 1923 edition. Since 1950 however, the use of ⟨w⟩ in loanwords has been more acceptable, as the number of loanwords has increased. Since 2006, ⟨w⟩ constitutes an individual letter of the alphabet in SAOL, sorted separately from ⟨v⟩. One rationalization I think we can be pretty happy about today that the article mentions is that [f,fv,hv] which all produced the same sound were unified into simply "v" in schools in the early 1900s.
- checkyoursudo 4y ago
  In Swedish, the v and the w only became distinct pretty recently. There are still people alive today who don't know which to pick if they don't already know how a v-sounding word is spelled. Also, the same person might say "Vilma" one day and "Wilma" the next, just as an example of the confusion (and Wilma is their own daughter...) Also, also, I have had older Swedes be completely unable to hear a difference between v and (English-pronounced) w. >.<
  - acadapter 4y ago
    V and W were considered two graphic variants of the same letter until about two decades ago. The W sound was lost centuries ago but reintroduced with English words.
    - pavlov 4y ago
      Yes. In Finnish and Swedish, the letters V and W traditionally collated together. In other words, this is a correctly alphabetically ordered list: Wasa Virtanen Wiva Viwe The rule was apparently changed in 2006 in Sweden though (with Finland presumably tagging along). There’s probably still plenty of SQL installations around using the old collation rules because tables were created before the 2006 change reached database software.
      - doikor 4y ago
        It kinda depends. In a list of names, dictionaries, etc V and W would be separately. This is to make finding the word you are looking for easier. Also in Finnish ÅÄÖ are the end of alphabet. Also Ü and Ű would should be grouped with Y. Õ and Ő with Ö.
        pavlov 4y ago
        > “In a list of names, dictionaries, etc V and W would be separately. This is to make finding the word you are looking for easier.” If you look at older phone books and dictionaries until the 1990s at least, you’ll find that V and W are combined. There are common surnames in Finland that retain the V/W spelling equivalence, like Virtanen and Wirtanen. When they are grouped together (as they traditionally were), it’s easier to find a person by name because you don’t need to know which way it’s spelled.
hnarn 4y ago
For anyone who doesn't know about the Vasa, you can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) It was a Swedish warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 after making it less than a mile (1,3 km). It was salvaged in 1961 and is today one of Sweden's most famous tourist attractions.
- matsemann 4y ago
  Think it's my favorite museum ever I have visited. Didn't think I would end up spending the whole day there when I was in Stockholm.
  - ineedasername 4y ago
    So while in Stockholm you found you grew to like some of it much more than expected… You may want to find a good therapist, this is classic Stockholm Syndrome.

e40 4y ago

These ships are a wonder of human achievement. While on vacation in Mexico I was able to spend the day on a boat of a similar age—I don’t remember the details. It really connects one to the past.

phit_ 4y ago
its a replica that was only build in 2005 https://www.gotheborg.se/about-gotheborg/about-the-ship/ https://www.gotheborg.se/about-gotheborg/about-the-ship/
- DougN7 4y ago
  And they let complete newbies (like me) sign on as crew for a week or two. It’s the adventure of a life time to work on board such an accurate replica. It was hand built - even the nails and ropes were hand built, using tools and techniques from the time period, which if I recall correctly took something like 10 years to research since much of that knowledge had been lost.

justinclift 4y ago

> The next day, as we approached the French coast, we radioed for another boat to help us enter the port, but no one responded positively. Wonder if that's a standard (or common) response, and why... ?

michaelt 4y ago
Presumably the norms for rendering aid are different when the ship is no longer in distress, and has been towed for two days.
- bombcar 4y ago
  I also assume the sailors felt they'd taken enough of the Götheborg's time and were willing to pay for a launch to bring their ship in for repair (also presumably it would be quite hard for a large sailboat to drag a small one literally to port).

crossroadsguy 4y ago

> This moment was very strange, and we wondered if we were dreaming. Where were we? What time period was it? If only the rescue crew dressed the part they could have believed they somehow managed to time travel.

moffkalast 4y ago
Tbf, the average Götheborg deckhand looks like this so it's not far off https://i.imgur.com/Dc7QN5s.png https://i.imgur.com/Dc7QN5s.png
ineedasername 4y ago
There a literally books written with nearly that exact premise for the plot
- ajkjk 4y ago
  Know the names?

Mistletoe 4y ago

https://gotheborg.com/project/food.shtml https://gotheborg.com/project/food.shtml I found this post about what sailors ate on the original ship fascinating.

fmeyer 4y ago

Oh, it's going to be open for visiting in Hamburg this month.

renewiltord 4y ago

I have seen this same ship in so many countries. It's quite lovely and one day maybe I'll sail on it.

prmoustache 4y ago

So they have sails on the Götheborg, but aren't actually using them? Basically it is a motorized indiaman. Meh.

gambiting 4y ago
Really? In the first picture you can clearly see people sitting on the masts, what are they there for if not for setting up the sails?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- hnarn 4y ago
  As you suspect, the post you're replying to is wrong.
cjblomqvist 4y ago
They are definitely using them, a lot (probably the majority of time). (Source: I have a friend who have worked/sailed the ship multiple times)
bratwurst3000 4y ago
It was on the Mediterranean Sea. I am also a sailor and can testify that the Mediterranean Sea is the hardest to sail because of often changing wind direction. I assume that’s why the didn’t use sails while rescuing. I wouldn’t either.
- wffurr 4y ago
  They were in the English Channel. Brittany is in the north of France. The map in the post shows the Channel Islands. They used the engine for the rescue to minimize time and safely approach the small boat close enough to heave a line. Doing all that under sail, like the OP seems to think they should, wouldn’t just be extremely difficult, it would be dangerous and profoundly irresponsible. Modern sailboats (as in since 1900) have auxiliary engines for a reason…

bombcar 4y ago

The Star of India is set to set sail in November; perhaps it can do something similar. https://sdmaritime.org/visit/the-ships/star-of-india/ https://sdmaritime.org/visit/the-ships/star-of-india/

erk__ 4y ago
The Danish training ship Georg Stage is out a trip at the moment, I think they are on their way to the Faroe Islands. https://georgstage.dk/english/ https://georgstage.dk/english/

niklasjansson 4y ago

We had planned to have our wedding performed on Götheborg, it was all planned. We got a tour of the ship and discussed catering and so on. Suddenly a few months prior to the wedding they ghosted us, until they finally decided we couldn't hire it after all. Maybe a covid thing. Anyway, no bad feelings.

timonoko 4y ago

Swedes are cheating as they always do. This sailship has a motor in it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/mXX4YiQ3u455YNni8 https://photos.app.goo.gl/mXX4YiQ3u455YNni8

olodus 4y ago
Good bait my guy. You have a wonderful day now.
belorn 4y ago
The original method is to use many smaller ships to guide and drag the ship to where it need to be whenever the sails are not suitable (that and wait for better weather conditions). If they had used this original method, the sailing boat would had been rescued by those ships.
- timonoko 4y ago
  Yes. But what is the point of this ship if not fully restore the original look-and-feel of the era. Satellite antenna in the mizzen mast is also an abomination. They should have dirty drawings from France instead of Pornhub.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - WastingMyTime89 4y ago
    That’s a nav radar not a satellite antenna. It would be down right irresponsible (and probably illegal - I’m not really good with law concerning civilian ship) to sail a ship this size without one. Restoration is good but there is no reason to put the crew in unnecessary danger.
    - Gwypaas 4y ago
      The white blob on the mizzen mast is a satellite antenna. To have the vessel sail in A3 areas the common choice is to have satellite communication, and it is used for their social media and outreach. The navigation radars is actually quite well hidden sitting on the platform of the foremast. There is more information about the emergency communication requirements on commercial vessels for different areas of the planet here: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gmdss-areas-and-search-and-rescue https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gmdss-areas-and-search-and-rescu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Maritime_Distress_and_Safety_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Maritime_Distress_and_S...

FartyMcFarter 4y ago

I know nothing about sailing so this is probably wrong, but I was slightly surprised at the fact that the people on board the small boat didn't get rescued onto the Götheborg. Given the concerns in the article about the size difference possibly causing problems, wouldn't that have been safer?

somat 4y ago
I suspect they were not in immediate danger, the small boats rudder was inoperative, so they had little to no steering control. I suspect mainly poising a navigation hazard for other boats in the area. What they needed, and got was a tow. The funny thing is, they were grateful for the assistants of the Götheborg, but a bit incredulous that such a large ship would go out of it's way to help them. (they were also worried about the speed at first before learning it was a sailing ship_
- ineedasername 4y ago
  >such a large ship It wasn’t quite the size that made it notable ;)
- Jolter 4y ago
  I think they were worried about speed because it was a large ship, regardless of propulsion method. I believe that the longer a sailing ship is, the faster it can sail. This affects the construction/dimensioning. So this small boat would have a hull that can withstand the seas at a certain speed, but might have trouble if towed faster. And they worried that a large sailboat, built to go quite a bit faster, might accidentally go too fast.
SapporoChris 4y ago
The towing was a fairly simple procedure and they could maintain a safe distance. Transporting crew between ships on the high sea would be a dangerous and complex task. They might not even have the equipment for it.
- amelius 4y ago

sandworm101 4y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6theborg_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6theborg_(ship) Fysa, they almost certainly completed the rescue using their twin 500hp diesels rather than sail power. One sailboat towing another creates a host of sail/wind/wave issues. Almost every large sailing vessel, including historic replicas, has diesel engines for those times that sail is just too awkward.

_yb2s 4y ago
I've towed under sail and it works fine if done properly... certainly it can be challenging and requires an experienced person at the helm of each boat, especially if going downwind or upwind. In this case I am sure you are right, and the size difference would make towing under sail dangerous. A sudden gust enough to accelerate the larger boat to above the smaller boats hull speed could pull the smaller boat underwater quickly.
- sandworm101 4y ago
  But in this case only one boat has a helm, the towed craft having lost its rudder. Most dangerous IMHO is a wave that slows the large round hull but will not slow the smaller wave-piercing hull, sending it slamming into the stern.
  - Gwypaas 4y ago
    You would never tow so close that it would become a risk unless manouverering the disabled vessel in close quarters, and then it usually is preferable to tie the vessels alongside each other. You can see the distances they chose in this particular case in the third image from their Instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/CryES46tgWl/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== https://www.instagram.com/p/CryES46tgWl/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2...
    - zhrvoj 4y ago
      Sail boat towing other boats (similar loa) should attach towing line close to her center of effort. Think like attaching towing line to the mast foot. Not on the stern. Not an easy task to do. That's why many sailors just use any stern cleat. And the towed boat should attach towing line not to the bow, but also to the center of effort. Then both boats can manouver. I also lost rudder blade, on the 10m sailboat, in the middle of Adriatic sea, 2005, during regatta, in 35kt NE wind and 3m waves. Not possible to steer anyhow. Tryed to improvize rudder, but we almost lost a crewman. We were on 2nd reef already. SAR came. Since there was no rudder on my boat, attaching towing line to bow was only option. My towed sailboat course was changing +-30 degrees every few minutes, and finally towing line broke loose because of the forestay chaffing.

jiggywiggy 4y ago

Just imagine in the 1500's deciding to set sail to Asia. Hardly having a map. No communication means, food that's not easy to store, nothing more then a compass and if lucky a shitty map. If things go wrong no one is coming to help. Wild times. Was actually the reason they founded the Amsterdam stock market to spread & share the risk of the ships not returning. I know many bad things happen at well, but it's still a very interesting perspective.

twic 4y ago
This makes me think of this haunting 1919 painting of Elcano's return from the first circumnavigation of the earth in 1522: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/gAXBe3j1qN_gLQ https://artsandculture.google.com/story/gAXBe3j1qN_gLQ
- jacquesm 4y ago
  What an incredibly moving picture and story. Thank you.
- oh_sigh 4y ago
  Those are the faces of men who wished they stayed in Brazil.
srj 4y ago
I can't imagine how the polynesians discovered Hawaii. Sailing thousands of miles in a small wooden boat and finding a speck of land in the pacific ocean.
- wpietri 4y ago
  Polynesian navigational techniques are very interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_navigation
  - kqr 4y ago
    The power of oral tradition is nuts. It can preserve information for thousands of years.

tempodox 4y ago

Wow, that ship is gorgeous.

vrglvrglvrgl 4y ago

[dead]

javajosh 4y ago

Wonderful story of comraderie on the high seas. It's one of the best things about cruising. Its as close to space travel as you're going to get, and you really stop taking humans for granted out there. I've been sailing my whole life, but never lost a rudder (thank God!). With dinghy racing (as opposed to cruising) it's common to learn how to steer without the rudder, using the trim of the sails and your weight in the boat. You can minimize rudder pressure on cruising sailboat too (again, useful for maximizing speed), but I'd be curious to know more about the limits of what you can do. There are probably some points of sail that work better without a rudder than others. (This is only even theoretically possible because the jib and main can rotate the boat, and the keel will still allow forward motion.) But yeah, theory aside, 'losing a mast or rudder' level catastrophes like this basically require rescue.

roflyear 4y ago
I've lost a rudder but on a small boat in a river. We made it back under our own efforts but was hairy.
Mavvie 4y ago
I've only ever done river sailing (including some intentional rudderless sailing), but I imagine in the open seas rudderless sailing isn't really feasible (at least in some conditions). Waves might make it impossible on their own.

mhb 4y ago

Rebuilding Tally Ho: https://youtu.be/4FhTu3aGM60 https://youtu.be/4FhTu3aGM60 Description I’m on a mission to rebuild a 1910 English sailing yacht called Tally Ho. Designed by Albert Strange in 1909, she is a well-known and important historic vessel – but after many adventures she was left in a remote port in Oregon to rot for decades, despite some valiant attempts to rescue her. I bought her and moved her to the Olympic Peninsular earlier this year, and am now rebuilding her from the keel up. Eventually I hope to sail her back to the UK.

guynamedloren 4y ago
I was entranced by this project from the very first episode 5 years ago! I followed along for maybe a year or so, and haven’t caught any updates since. Happy to see the project (and channel) is still going strong. Such an incredible endeavor!
jacquesm 4y ago
That whole series is absolutely incredible, when I saw the first episode I was sure he'd let it go because it was just too much work, basically a complete rebuild. But then he pulled the trigger on it and is making really amazing progress. One of the most impressive projects I've every followed.

ineedasername 4y ago

Not the worst consolation prize to have an experience like this & story to tell after undergoing such a dangerous and potentially life threatening ordeal.

ytdytvhxgydvhh 4y ago

Would one receive a bill in a situation like this? To cover the cost of lost time and/or extra diesel burned? Or is it purely out of the goodness of the hearts of the management of the towing vessel?

callamdelaney 4y ago
Not to my knowledge, and certainly not for boats like the small yacht being towed here. The idea is that if the it happened to you someone else would help.
- notahacker 4y ago
  And sometimes what goes around comes around happens quicker than expected! Different scale, different waterways, but a couple of weeks after spending half an hour dragging a boat off a fallen tree, I got a tow off a trip boat full of people eating Christmas dinner after losing power in the middle of the Thames...
willyt 4y ago
Potentially. From the wikipedia article on ‘Marine salvage’: All vessels have an international duty to give reasonable assistance to other ships in distress in order to save life, but there is no obligation to try to salve the vessel. Any offer of salvage assistance may be refused; but if it is accepted a contract automatically arises to give the successful salvor the right to a reward under the 1989 Convention. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_salvage https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_salvage

callamdelaney 4y ago

It's worth knowing that in a bind you can fashion a rudder out of a line and a bucket.

StarlaAtNight 4y ago
Huh?
- callamdelaney 4y ago
  Yes, the first line of the article. The rudder on the yacht fell off, so they were towed. In the middle of the pacific, the likelihood of a tow is low. In that case, you can fashion a rudder out of a line and a bucket.
- rigmarole 4y ago
  The drag introduced by the bucket would help align your boat as a makeshift drogue. If you can find a way to rig it up so you can adjust the angle from port to starboard, you could very roughly steer.
SergeAx 4y ago
Spinnaker boom and a head door, to be precise.

codetrotter 4y ago

Goated!

startuprabbit 4y ago

Wow that's awesome