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ABOUT THE RACE More people have climbed everest than sailed round the world.
Hopefully,
with clipper ventures
doing its part for the people, that will
change. 40% of people on the
race have never set foot on a yacht before, me included. |
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     | The fleet of ten Clipper 68s are designed by Ed Dubois and built in
China (isn't everything?) and have already completed two full
circumnavigations, so they are thoroughly tried and tested. They are eight feet longer and some three tonnes lighter than the first fleet, so are much faster and exciting to sail. the living conditions on board are a little cramped. the water for washing is rationed, so showers are more often taken in a bathing suit on the deck than anywhere else. fresh water is made from sea water, but filtered so extremly that it is probably purer than the water we usually drink! people sleep in bunks, with complicated string systems and straps so people are comfortable when the boat is leaning to one side, people who forget to wear the straps learn quickly when the yacht changes tack and they land with a bump.THE HISTORY OF CIRCUMNAVIGATIONThe first ship to sail around the world was the Victoria, one of a Spanish squadron of five vessels that sailed from Seville in 1519 under the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. Four vessels were lost on the way, but the Victoria returned to Spain in September 1522 under Juan Sebastián Elcano. Magellan himself did not complete the voyage, but died in the Philippines in 1521 after a journey of 3 years and 1 month.Sir Robin Knox-Johnston becomes the first person to sail around the world solo without stopping in 1969. Yachts make use of the westward trade winds near the equator to power their journey. the panama canal is used in the clipper race, but in many races it isn't as it means queuing which isn't suitable for non-stop racing.The Doldrums are usually found within 5 degrees each side of the equator lie, where the two hemispheres of trade winds converge as air is heated over the equator. this causes little or no wind, but also some of the most terrifying convectional storms ever recorded. Between 30 and 35 degrees on each side of the equator lie the horse lattitudes. this seemingly innocent name is given to the region because the dry air and high pressure results in low winds, causing sailors in the days of old to become desperate enough throw their cargo of horses overboard to save food and water.the reason the trade winds flow eastwards is due to the coriolis effect. the air gets pulled towards the equator, but the earth is spinning as this happens, so it appears that the air is coming from the
east. this is responsible for the rotational factors causing cyclones
and tornados. this was discovered in1835 by G.G. Coriolis HOW DO SAILS WORK? Boats have continued to confound me with their speed, even in light winds. i have discovered that a sail does not simply catch the wind, but the use of two or more sails is used to create some aerodynamical magic. called the 'slot effect' thought up by a guy named Bernouilli. The sails create areas of high pressure and low pressure, the side with low pressure pulls the sail in to fill the void. Simply using the wind to push from behind would not be very effective, because once the boat is moving, the sail is travelling at the same speed as the wind, so it deflates and slows down again. So, in other words, the wind does not push, it pulls! |
