I am sailing...

One of the reasons why I stay at my present apartment complex is because they have a beautiful artificial lake that lead into canals that go by the apartments. Apparently, the architect was trying to capture the ambience of Venice..yea right!! The lake has many interesting inhabitants like cranes, ibis, ducks and huge catfish! Besides drinking my Heneiken and observing how the ibis adeptly catches catfish out of water, I love going sailing.

That's a picture of my sailboat, an Oracle BMW replica constructed by Kyosho. It comes fully with sailors in orange suit though I realised the other day that one went missing. He was missing from his post manning the wheel and probably went overboard and the catfish must have gotten him. The boat still functions without him, so I am sure his crewmates are over the loss.

The specs as follows:

SPECS: Length: 24.1" (612mm)
Beam (Width): 5.1" (130mm)
Height: 44.5" (1130mm)
Approximate Weight: 2.65lb (1200g)
Sail Area: 338.8 sq in (21.85 sq dm)














This is the picture of the real boat during the cup race.






















This is probably the most important diagram in any sailing lessons. It gives guideliness on position of sails for efficient sailing according to wind directions. It is amazing to see the boat actually sail against the wind, utilizing the tear-drop shape of the sails and the hull, to propel itself in water, demonstrating Bernoulli's principle. There is a deadzone that is about 45 degrees on either side of the plane which the wind is blowing that sails do not work.

The principles are the same for the big boys though I will have no clues how to sail one of these guys..




That's my sailing lesson for now.

-Agent Black