Some interesting reading, Michael Moore getting it right, and on what once was and is no longer...
I saw a very interesting video on the premise that most folks don’t actually know how their bikes work and to say it blew my mind is an understatement. I mean seriously, everyone knows how a bike works... Right?
Then again, when you step back and think about it, it’s pretty obvious that it’s a real thing.
Where boats and sailing are concerned, it’s kind of the same thing and explains why I’m often flummoxed when talking with people about the mechanics and physics that make sailboats work...
For instance, back when we were sailing in France on Loose Moose. A design which was considered odd by many because the free-standing masts were not stepped on the center line of the boat and we had only a single “off-center dagger board” to provide lateral resistance.
I’ve lost count of the number of folks who would lecture me on all the various negative issues with such a design. All of which seemed to be based on a mistaken view of how sailboats actually work. I remember fondly a French guy sailing a 12 meter Endurance freaking out and telling me that my boat was impossible and could only sail to starboard. That said, I quite liked the idea of doing a circumnavigation where you could only make right turns...
The thing is, it’s not just weird-ass Bolger sharpies people don’t get right. It’s really basic concepts like keels, placement of ballast, rigs, draft, monohulls, and multihulls that people sailing just don’t quite understand and that lack of knowledge just baffles me.
Am I alone wrestling with this conundrum?
Listening to Willie and Lukas Nelson
So it goes...
