Thursday 18 December 2014

The world's oldest sport

Five thousand years ago, everybody could never get anywhere very quickly. People were still going everywhere by using canoes and similar boats using oars and paddles. Then, around 3000 BC, boats started using the sail.

The first sailboat was a very simple raft with a square sail on top, but it was a great improvement to paddling. The sail meant that boats could get big. Sails were invented at different times at different parts of the world, and people in Peru, Polynesia, the Mediterranean, and other places benefited greatly from them. The Greeks and the Phoenicians went on long voyages and conquered faraway lands with the aid of the sail.

However, the square sail has its problems. Sometimes you need to wait very long until the wind changes and you can sail where you want to. The Phoenicians were the first ones to invent a sail you can sail into the wind with, about 3000 years ago. The new technology was slow to be used, but when it was used, it kicked off an age of discovery. Many lands were discovered with the aid of the triangular sail. However, the first steamboat was made in the late 1700's. How are sails used today?

The answer is simple. Sailboats are being used simply as a recreational sport. Holidays are spent on sailboats, and sailboats are being spent on races. Races are sometimes epic journeys, and epic journeys are also taken on sailboats.
The sailboat has evolved into many different forms, from the slow, bathtub-sized Optimist to speedy Laser to large racing yachts to the most common, a slightly-larger-than-yacht sized recreational boat with a living room, kitchen, and possibly bedroom and toilet under the deck. I currently am learning to sail all but the latter. There were some simple tricks I learned the helped me a lot on the way.

Balance could be the most useful thing on a sailboat. If there is too much weight on the back (stern) of the boat, the boat drags in the water, and slows you down. If there is too much weight on the front (bow), every little wave can slow you down as well as splashing your face.

I find the hardest part of sailing not sailing itself, but the names of the parts of the sailboats. Sailors have practically invented a new language. So far the words I learned are: Stern, bow, port, starboard, tack, gybe, rudder, tiller, tiller extension, centerboard(or daggerboard), cleat, clam cleat, jib sail, main sheet, mast, boom, vang, boomvang, hull, gooseneck, outhaul, downhaul, bung, bung hole. This is only a fraction of all the words.

Many people are very scared of capsizing. However, capsizing can be fun, as long as it is not in cold water. The way to upright the boat is to push the centerboard or daggerboard back into the water, and slowly rolling the boat back upright. One problem with capsizing is that you can hurt your fingers if you grab onto ropes while capsizing. A reason to use sailing gloves!




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