A WIND THAT FOLLOWS FAST

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 486, 15 October 1948, Page 16

A WIND THAT FOLLOWS FAST

DEEP WATER YACHT RIG. By Conor O’Brien." Oxford University Press through Geoffrey Cumberlege. HIS is a practical book; the author’s third on the problems associated with cruising under sail. It consists of details of his own ‘experiences in deep water, including his round-the-world cruise. He admits that he is "not a scientific designer." The book is primarily a discussion of sails, but there is no mention: of the wind tunnel experiments on sails and airscrews undertaken at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the 1914-18 war and continued for some years later. Indeed, there is no mention of the aerodynamics of sails at all. Yet O’Brien’s practical commonsense and experience frequently lead him to the same conclusions as those of the scientist. The book opens with & general chapter on deep-water design, followed by a

cnapter, on hull These are necessary preliminaries to the study of sails. The author comes out strongly for square sails and clearly disapproves of Bermuda _ rig, ketches, main-booms and rigging screws (among other things). His "window curtain" square sail will in-

terest many deep water men, as will his advocacy of bonnets on his loose-footed sails. The chapter on spars and rigging is full of old-fashioned commonsense, and the devices for reducing wear and chafing or for ease of handling gear will repay study. Some of the best of his gadgets are set out in details in thé plates. The chapter on deck-gear is especially interesting. e 4 surprising omission from his tirade against small compasses is any mention of the aeroplane type compass. Using this, on the course being set, it is only necessary to keep the needle between two white lines and -this is the complete answer to all O’Brien’s strictures. His remarks on standard siges for gear are probably the most important in the book. Most yachtsmen have toyed at some time or othe: with the idea of a long ocean passage. Here are __ practical points for him who intends to make that passage-and_ delightful "saltwater technical" reading for him who just intends to read about it.

J.D.

McD.