zur Übersicht Route du Rhum
Oceanyachting - Fachbegriffe
Aus den Rhum-mails von Kingfisher Challenge und Offshore Challenge
PITCHPOLE:
when the bow or bows of the boat are ploughed into the wave in front by the force of the wind - the bows dig in and the force of the boat being stopped in its tracks causes the boat to capsize stern over bow.
JUMARS:
are the climbing apparatus to scale the 27 metre mast - classical mountain kit, they allow you to clamp a hand grip device on to a rope, pull up on it, then release it to slide it further up (or down) the rope. Critical support for the solo sailor when they are forced to scale the towering carbon fibre masts.
AUTOPILOT:
electronic steering system that steers KINGFISHER by reading the wind angle from the anenometer at the top of the mast, and the compass heading. In fast-building wind conditions the delay between the anometer reading the wind strength at the top of the mast to relaying that information to the autopilot can cause delayed reaction.
GYBE :
just as when a boat zig zags either side of the wind when its going against it, when the boats sail with the wind behind they do not sail directly in the direction of the wind. Instead they sail with the wind at about 150 degrees from their heading, in order to generate some ‘Apparent Wind’ of their own. They then must ‘gybe’ back and forth to get to their destination. The actual manoeuvre involves turning the boat so the stern moves through the wind, the sails come crashing (sometimes) across to the other side of the boat, and the boat heads off in the other gybe with the wind on the other side of the boat. A gybe for the solo sailor, in any kind of breeze, is a dangerous manoeuvre, but they have no choice! The worst case is an accidental gybe under autopilot...
headwinds
- To reach a point [land or waypoint at sea] that is directly in front of the yacht and where the wind is coming from, yachts must sail against 'headwinds'.
Trade Winds
- Two bands of steady winds either side of the
equator. In the northern hemisphere they blow from the north east and in
the southern hemisphere from the south east. The north east trades will
provide Moloney with fast downwind sailing conditions....but first he
must get there...
Port tack
- when wind is on the left side of the boat going upwind and indexsail is on right side of boat. Upwind sailing is position the boat as close as possible to the direction of the wind without pointing into the wind (because you’d stop...). To go in a direction against the wind, the boat must tack (between port and starboard) in a zig zag fashion.
EPIRB:
- Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon : these transmit on 406 MHz, the international distress frequency. The McMurdo precision EPIRBs onboard KINGFISHER can be manually activated or automatically due to full immersion in water. McMurdo Pains & Wessex are a Performance Partner of Team Kingfisher http://www.kingfisherchallenges.com/mcmurdo
Daggerboard
- Open 60's carry two daggerboards approx xx m on each side of the boat beside the keel. The purpose of the daggerboard is to help the boat indextain an upwind course [heading into the wind] on either port or starboard tack so only one daggerboard is down at a time.
JARGON BUSTER:
40 knots of wind is a force 9 gale. 50 knots of wind is a force 11 gale. Either way its bloody windy! Enough to lift your dog of the pavement....
Knot:
- boat speed is measured in knots. 1 knot = 1.1515 miles/hr exactly.
1 nautical mile = 1.151 land mile. 40 knots of wind = 46 miles per hour. Now If you have ever stuck your head out of the sun roof going along at 40 miles per hour - that's windy - do it when it's raining and you might get some idea of what its like for the skippers! (Not that we are advising this.)
Downwind:
- sailing with the wind coming from behind the yacht. If ASHFIELD HEALTHCARE is pointing south, to sail downwind the breeze has to come from a northwest, north or north east direction. The indexsail will be at 80 degrees to the centreline of the boat and the yacht may carry a spinnaker [large balloon type sail] at the front to catch as much wind as possible.
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