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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

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 3y 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 3y ago
  >such a large ship It wasn’t quite the size that made it notable ;)
- Jolter 3y 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 3y 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 3y ago
  Another advantage: you get to keep the boat ;)
- ineedasername 3y ago
  I have a question. this is going to be a really uninformed question but keep in mind my knowledge of boat transfers come from movies and I don’t consider Pirates of the Caribbean authoritative on the topic. What makes it so difficult, and what sort of special equipment is required? I know, I know, cargo nets on the side of the ship are not going to be sufficient, easy as it looks in pop entertainment, I just don’t know why.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Big boat very big. Small boat small. Need to get close enough that someone can go between without a wave throwing the big one into the small one. Which is why “touch and go” between ships of equal size was considered a test of skill and a bit risky, normally they’d drop a rowboat or dingy. A tiny boat can’t really be crushed as it just bumps out of the way.
  - wlonkly 3y ago
    You can get an idea of the challenge by searching Youtube for videos of "pilot transfer" -- keeping in mind that pilot boats are intended to be boarded from, and container ships intended to be boarded by pilots. (But then again, Gotheborg is surely equipped to take on pilots to enter harbours, so it was probably more about not abandoning the otherwise perfectly good sailboat.)
_ph_ 3y ago
I don't know what were the reasons in that situation, but getting the two sailors safe from an uncontrolled vessle is not an easiy task. At least you would have the smaller vessle hit the larger. Depends of course on the weather conditions at the time. Sending over a line is much easier. Also, this would have meant abandoning the ship. Unless there is a present danger, it is easiest to tow the boat with the crew to the harbor.
ff_ 3y ago
Sailor here - an 8 meters boat is in that awkward spot where it's big/heavy enough that it can do damage if incontrollably drifting against something (e.g. the wooden vessel itself) but light enough that you can literally just push it with the strength of two people if that happens. So I'd argue it's more safe to have some crew on it in case you need to be hands-on, and just talk over radio while being towed.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- sandworm101 3y ago
  Do not attempt to push an 8-meter vessel by hand while at sea. Even a smallish 1-foot wave, when pushing against an 8-meter hull, can generate thousands of pound of force.
hnarn 3y ago
I don't think it's specific to sailing. If you're towing a car, would you let the driver of that car get in your back seat? Someone needs to be in control of the vehicle being towed, in case you need to break (if possible), change course (if possible), disconnect the tow (if possible), etc.

somat 3y 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 3y ago
>such a large ship It wasn’t quite the size that made it notable ;)
Jolter 3y 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 3y 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 3y ago
Another advantage: you get to keep the boat ;)
ineedasername 3y ago
I have a question. this is going to be a really uninformed question but keep in mind my knowledge of boat transfers come from movies and I don’t consider Pirates of the Caribbean authoritative on the topic. What makes it so difficult, and what sort of special equipment is required? I know, I know, cargo nets on the side of the ship are not going to be sufficient, easy as it looks in pop entertainment, I just don’t know why.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Big boat very big. Small boat small. Need to get close enough that someone can go between without a wave throwing the big one into the small one. Which is why “touch and go” between ships of equal size was considered a test of skill and a bit risky, normally they’d drop a rowboat or dingy. A tiny boat can’t really be crushed as it just bumps out of the way.
- wlonkly 3y ago
  You can get an idea of the challenge by searching Youtube for videos of "pilot transfer" -- keeping in mind that pilot boats are intended to be boarded from, and container ships intended to be boarded by pilots. (But then again, Gotheborg is surely equipped to take on pilots to enter harbours, so it was probably more about not abandoning the otherwise perfectly good sailboat.)

_ph_ 3y ago

I don't know what were the reasons in that situation, but getting the two sailors safe from an uncontrolled vessle is not an easiy task. At least you would have the smaller vessle hit the larger. Depends of course on the weather conditions at the time. Sending over a line is much easier. Also, this would have meant abandoning the ship. Unless there is a present danger, it is easiest to tow the boat with the crew to the harbor.

ff_ 3y ago

Sailor here - an 8 meters boat is in that awkward spot where it's big/heavy enough that it can do damage if incontrollably drifting against something (e.g. the wooden vessel itself) but light enough that you can literally just push it with the strength of two people if that happens. So I'd argue it's more safe to have some crew on it in case you need to be hands-on, and just talk over radio while being towed.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
sandworm101 3y ago
Do not attempt to push an 8-meter vessel by hand while at sea. Even a smallish 1-foot wave, when pushing against an 8-meter hull, can generate thousands of pound of force.

hnarn 3y ago

I don't think it's specific to sailing. If you're towing a car, would you let the driver of that car get in your back seat? Someone needs to be in control of the vehicle being towed, in case you need to break (if possible), change course (if possible), disconnect the tow (if possible), etc.