great central Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Enjoying the morning sun from my holiday caravan, overlooking Scroby Sands wind farm. I see a ship on the horizon framed between two of the turbine towers, nothing unusual, until looking through binoculars, I see it's a fully rigged sailing ship! My knowledge of such things is, at best, very limited but I presume it's one of these training or experience type of thing? Just seemed a bit 'random' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted June 10, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 10, 2011 You will have to get a powerful telephoto lens then, it would make a great photo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
backofanenvelope Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Maybe you could even go and see it? http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/tall_ship_stavros_s_niarchos_set_to_visit_great_yarmouth_this_weekend_1_914888 Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Apparently a clipper with all sails spread in a fresh breeze could take something in excess of 3,000 horsepower out of the air; and to think that my great-great-grandfather was Master of one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Apparently a clipper with all sails spread in a fresh breeze could take something in excess of 3,000 horsepower out of the air; and to think that my great-great-grandfather was Master of one! Probably true but very little of that potential was actually translated into forward motion, particularly on square riggers. Those modern wind farm propellers are very carefully designed and built to extract maximum advantage from the wind. I can recall that many moons back, some bright spark put a propeller on a pole on a sailing catamaran linked to an underwater prop to drive the whole thing along. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 It makes me wonder what a sailing ship using the refinements of 21st century technology would be like. Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 It makes me wonder what a sailing ship using the refinements of 21st century technology would be like.... Cheating? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff alvey Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I can recall that many moons back, some bright spark put a propeller on a pole on a sailing catamaran linked to an underwater prop to drive the whole thing along. Did it work? Sounds like that could be a fun project. (bit like the egg and a rubber band on BBC back in 1800 and frozen-to-death) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 It makes me wonder what a sailing ship using the refinements of 21st century technology would be like. Dave. Just watch an America's Cup race. Twin hull, ultra light weight sails & rigging, etc etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Fair comment, Andrew. I wonder though whether wind could ever again be a viable source of propulsion for large, cargo-carrying vessels. It's probably inevitable that some kind of conventional prime mover will still be required for docking and getting under way, but what about once you're out in the open sea and en route? OK, I can accept that masts/aerofoils etc. take up valuable deck and hold space but I just wonder if we could ever see a practical, commercial viable 'Tall Ship of the Future'. Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Did it work? Yes it did but it is really a no brainer to use the wind to turn a prop with all the inefficiencies of the drive when the wind can be harnessed by the sails alone to do the same job at less cost. whether wind could ever again be a viable source of propulsion for large, cargo-carrying vessels. There was at least one largish motor ship that had panels that opened out from the mast to catch a following or quartering wind. The idea was that the savings in fuel would pay for the capital cost. As to sail as a commercial prime mover, that died with the steel windjammers used in the Chilean guano trade. All wind powered ships require a lot of towage so it makes better sense to put that power into the ship itself. Wind power for ships died with the advent of the motor ( diesel ) ship. It very much held its own over long distances with the steam powered ship until the invention of a reliable steam turbine. I can certainly see a market for the coal or gas steam assisted sailing ship for when the oil runs out but the mechanical handling of massive bulk cargoes and containerisation will have to disappear or be seriously adapted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveF Posted June 10, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 10, 2011 In the early 1980s a diesel powered coal carrier was fitted with a short mast by the funnel and metal aerofoil "sails". For some time it often worked in and out of Blyth. I don't think I ever heard whether it was successful in economic terms. MV Ashington with aerofoil "sails" David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Ship with a kite http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7205217.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7201887.stm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunningduck Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Nothing wrong with a big sailing yacht... Its almost a square rigger too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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