Entries tagged "nautical heritage"
2012-02-25
Following on from my last blog post about the windvane self-steering marvel, comes another wonderful piece of sailing technology. Although this one also works closely with nature, you will be delighted to read it is brilliant in its simplicity.
A couple of weeks ago I had the immense privilege of accompanying Eric Staples in Oman on a small voyage. Eric and his team restore historic Omani boats and build many from scratch. From fantastically detailed models, through small reed boats to great vessels, Eric brings back to life craft that might have feared their days had been…
2011-03-17
Congratulations to Sam LLewellyn on the launch of The Marine Quarterly. A more handsome nautical vessel would be hard to find. (The Marine Quarterly that is.)It would be considered poor form for me to comment at length on the quality of the content, since the launch issue includes a piece by me, 'Stars and Waves' on the subject of traditional Pacific navigation techniques. Suffice to say, the whole is beautiful and fascinating.I suspect that the nautical community will soon be divided into two groups, those that know of the MQ and those that do not.For more information or…
2011-02-11
I'm doing some research at the moment and came across this line, written by the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, about flying fish:
'Like swallows they shoot forward in thousands in straight lines, always against the waves.'
I've seen a fair few flying fish in my time, even been hit by a few. I've also come across this idea that they always fly in a set direction relative to the waves a couple of times before, but I've yet to work out whether this is true or not. If so it could offer some interesting navigational pointers…
2008-09-21
Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited aboard HMS Warrior to give the after dinner speech to the Contessa 32 Association End of Season Rally. It was a fun evening that had at its heart some the best British maritime traditions. HMS Warrior was an extraordinary feat of engineering and, ironically, peacemaking. At the other end of the scale the Contessa 32 is steadily going about securing its own small place in our nautical heritage also.
