| UK Sailmakers March, 2003 
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| Following
on the heels of our enormously popular Rules Quiz, UK Sailmakers
has just started a new rules quiz series designed for kids. The
link below will take you to our first lesson designed to teach kids
in a way that will keep them interested and involved. The lesson
is short and to the point; sailing terms are simplified without
losing their meaning; there are buttons to push, drop down menus
to make choices from, and our well produced animations play a big
role. Since this is version one, we'd love to hear feedback from
kids on how we can make our quizzes better in the future.
Check
it out here. |
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The
Classic
Rules Quiz 14 Now Available! |
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Another free download from UK Sailmakers is our fourth screen saver. This new version has over 20 full color images of racing and cruising boats. Sailing conditions photographed vary from surfing to bows crashing through waves to sedate summer sailing conditions. It's perfect for sharing the sport you love with other sailors as well as with non-sailors - to say nothing about giving you a few moments on the water during your work day. The screen saver will run for six months before you have to download a new copy from the web site again. Currently the screen saver only runs on PC machines. Click here to download. Another free download from UK Sailmakers is our fourth screen saver. This new version has over 20 full color images of racing and cruising boats. Sailing conditions photographed vary from surfing to bows crashing through waves to sedate summer sailing conditions. It's perfect for sharing the sport you love with other sailors as well as with non-sailors - to say nothing about giving you a few moments on the water during your work day. The screen saver will run for six months before you have to download a new copy from the web site again. Currently the screen saver only runs on PC machines. Click here to download. CLOUDS APPROACHING! Big Problem, Little Problem Or No Problem?
By: Bill Biewenga When you left the dock everything looked fine. The sky was relatively clear except for those high, wispy clouds. The weather was warm, and seemed like it would get warmer throughout the day. But now, the clouds are getting bigger and darker. What should you be looking for to determine how mean the conditions might become?
Those “high, wispy” clouds – cirrus clouds – often mean that a front or depression are in the vicinity and may be headed towards you. The saying, “Mares tails and mackerel scales: soon it’s time to shorten sails” may give you a hint of what’s possibly in store. If you’re on the north side of a low pressure system, you may become surrounded by dull, flat gray clouds that create a steady rain with mostly moderate winds. The constant rain may not be a big plus for your day of sailing, but the winds may not get too out of hand. The clouds to really be wary of are the tall, towering cumulus clouds or “cumulonimbus”. Low lying, elongated clouds that stretch from horizon to horizon can also have gusts and sudden wind shift under them, but the towering cumulus can be real gear busters. Often they precede a front by up to 100 miles. They can grow up to 60,000 feet high, and occasionally
aircraft have to be routed around the larger ones to avoid the upper atmosphere turbulence. Because they are so high and the tops are so cold, they can be spotted on infrared satellite imagery. You can see them by going to www.WxAdvantage.com, clicking on “Public Weather Data” and then clicking on “Satellite Imagery” at the top of the page. Choose an infrared thumbnail picture, and you’ll immediately see the cold clouds in white, red, or yellow. You can bet that there’s breeze under those “bad boys”! When you’re on the boat, however, you probably don’t have access to satellite imagery. Here are a few things to look for as the cloud bears down on you. Does it have a high, column structure? Is the top of the cloud flat, like it’s being blown off by the high winds aloft? Is the cloud tilted, or does it have ragged edges like the cloud is building and “boiling”? If so, it will probably pack a lot of breeze at the surface. To confirm that, watch the surface of the water. Is it darker? That may be shade, so check the location and angle of the sun. The darker water may also indicate wind on the water. Are there an increasing number of white caps? If so, you can be sure that big breeze is headed toward you. As always, it’s best to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Be prepared to reduce sails as necessary and watch the signs approaching. Most of the clouds coming your way will indicate conditions that affect your wind conditions, but relatively few will be a “big problem”. Bill
Biewenga E-mail:
BillBiewenga@compuserve.com 
The X Factor Kurt Larsen JIPE Rigging Editors Note: Kurt Larsen can handle all rigging jobs including Standing Rigging, Running Rigging, Deck Hardware and Sail Handling Systems.  Hemingway
Ocean Race and Block Island Race Weekhttp://www.stormtrysail.org/ For
dates and other information on major ocean racing events, click
on their link. UK
SAILMAKERS ONLINE STORE
The UK Sailmakers online store is full of items to get you ready
for the upcoming season. Instructional items are The Real Time
Racing Rules CD that includes our animated rules quiz, the full
text of the Racing Rules of Sailing and more. This disk has been
hailed as the easiest way to learn the racing rules. For cruising
sailors we have an instructional video entitled The Cruising Spinnaker
From A to Z, which is available on VHS cassette or CD ROM.
Our clothing line includes high quality polo shirts in Navy and
White, and Jackets, fleece pullovers and vests made by High Sierra.
Stop in and check out the store
|
While
the X-Rig or Millennium Rig has become a common sight along syndicate
row in Auckland, the average club racer has yet to realize the
benefits of this newer thinking. If you look long enough, the
engineering employed here becomes obvious. The diagonal shrouds
encounter their loads at a greater angle to the spar giving them
more "leverage". This allows for shorter spreaders that
translates into tighter sheeting angles.
