Friday the thirteenth, in America considered a bad luck day; however in France is a day when everyone buys a lottery ticket.
This macabre image evokes thoughts of Francois Villion’s poem”The Ballad of the Hanged Man”.
FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH
Month: August 2010
video of the 2010 Bermuda Race
It is not news to most of you who sail, that a few minutes after the start of the race, the clew of our mainsail tore. We reefed and sewed for about 40 hours. (the race lasted for 78 hours) We finished second in our class.
VJ DAY in Rhode Island
Today is VJ Day in Rhode Island (victory over Japan) Rhode Island is the last state in the union to celebrate such a holiday. I must assume that this is one of the more politically incorrect holidays to still exist.
I have the hope that the real reason for observing this holiday is exactly that observing a holiday. I believe that today the beaches in Rhode Island are free and packed.
Enterprise 1977
The new Sparkman&Stephens 12 meter, arriving in Newport with Lowell North as skipper, and a great crew.( any of the crews on each boat were capable of defending the cup) Lowell, while exceedingly talented, could not stop tinkering which led to his being replaced as skipper.
Enterprise arrived in Newport with a very short “J” measurement, in order to achieve a more vertical forestay. In sharp contrast, on “Independence” had our headstay as far forward as could be. While the science might have predicted a more vertical headstay as good, there was simply no substitute for the additional sail area.
In the last photo “Enterprise is using a mylar genoa. The use of mylar was revolutionary in 1977. We followed shortly thereafter with one of our own, which the crew dubbed the garbage bag.
“Enterprise” was probably a faster boat than she demonstrated that summer, she was however the first boat excused from the trials.
Once again the color photos here are credited to Marshall Lawson