The Jester challenge

[Dennis]

Is anyone getting into the new trans-Atlantic sailboat race with boats 20 to 30 ft, long allowed! It starts in May and it runs from Plymouth Eng. to Newport RI! About 10 individuals are in but I dont think any american entries! Type in Jester Challenge on line and you should go to the site1 It looks GREAT!

 

[Dennis]

Is anyone getting into the new trans-Atlantic sailboat race with boats 20 to 30 ft, long allowed! It starts in May and it runs from Plymouth Eng. to Newport RI! About 10 individuals are in but I dont think any american entries! Type in Jester Challenge on line and you should go to the site1 It looks GREAT!

 

[Jack Hart]

The link is...

http://www.jesterinfo.org/

 

[Jack Hart]

The link is...

http://www.jesterinfo.org/

 

[Chris]

This way cool!

Just in the spirit of Hasler...the site has a lot of great background reading. I'll never forget Hasler's comment on radios on boats and sea rescue, when he said that if you got in trouble then you just die quietly like a gentleman!The point being: responsibility for one's actions.I just might enter the 2010 if it runs, after modifying the keel of my Hunter 23 to give more dispacement and stability.Maybe we could organize a west to east run?

 

[Chris]

This way cool!

Just in the spirit of Hasler...the site has a lot of great background reading. I'll never forget Hasler's comment on radios on boats and sea rescue, when he said that if you got in trouble then you just die quietly like a gentleman!The point being: responsibility for one's actions.I just might enter the 2010 if it runs, after modifying the keel of my Hunter 23 to give more dispacement and stability.Maybe we could organize a west to east run?

 

[Dennis]

That would be cool too!

They need an American entry, at least by 2010! I guess the modifications will begin!

 

[Dennis]

It would be like

THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES! Only this would be Those magnificent men in their sailing machines!

 

[Dennis]

Junk rigs?

I notice alot of the entries have junk rigs! Are they actually easier to sail? Having never sailed that type of rig before, made me wonder!

 

[Calif. Ted]

Never sailed a Junk either, but everything

I've ever read indicates that safety is their real strong point. You can't look at a "Chinese Junk" without wondering why they don't sink. Apparently they are only "good" sailers downwind, very poor to windward. The following is from the Jester website regarding the Junk rig and conforms to all I've heard in the past regarding it."The particular advantage of the Chinese rig for short-handed sailing is the ease with which it can be handled; the sail for example can be reefed in a matter of minutes and there are no sail changes as the sail is simply hoisted or lowered according to the conditions. Further the rig is unstressed with no compression strains and the fully battened sail is gybed simply by putting the helm over. The rig is not close-winded but on the other hand makes little leeway."In other words "slow, but steady"!

 

[OldCat]

No Compression Strains?

No Compression strains? Balderdash - instead of compression - the unstayed mast is loaded in bending. In other words - a combo of tension and compression. A Junk, or other unstayed rig, needs quite the telephone pole to make up for the stays.OK - no stays to fail, but at the same time the bending mast is vulnerable to fail at a stress concentration caused by any flaw.Well - the sailing will be cool either way, and properly designed the mast is probably safe.

 

[Calif. Ted]

Oh Yeah, Mast is huge OldCat, and probably

weighs a ton. There is a boat near mine on which owner has installed an unstayed wooden mast from an O'Day with a Gaff rigged main. That mast has to be at least 12 inchs in Diameter at the base. He recently added a small mizzen (no headsail) so I said "I see it's a ketch now" and he replied "Yeah, this week anyway !". If it had horizontal battens I think it would be a "Junk".