Sailing session/status update

I have no doubt that the Requin will be on the water and sailing by that date. It might even have cannons by then.

If the battle happens, I'll be there with a ship or 4. Heh.

 

I class up on the 9th. I don't know how long we'll have getting "study hard" briefings and when we'll start actual classwork. Still, I should be able to make it down for at least one day, maybe both. Any chance I might be able to run a fast gun boat and do some target practice while I work on my Invincible?

 

Count me in. I'll have Constitution and Victory out there. There may also be an audience, since I know my class would love to see a battle.

 

Gascan: Sure! The Verite is always available with one condition; the captain may not bash French ships while oeprating the Verite.

 

"There may also be an audience, since I know my class would love to see a battle."

So Kotori are you a real teacher, or a sailing class instructor. What type of class? Doesn't really matter, just wondering. As they say"It pays to know as much as possible because you never know who and what will show up at the next battle"
Skippy

 

GREAT,
Kotori and all others who are severing now or have served in the past "THANK YOU FROM ME AND MY FAMILY".
Skippy

 

How did it all go this past weekend?

 

I'd say it went swimmingly. The ships swam across the water fine, and nobody had to go swimming after them. I think that's pretty good, don't you?

Here's a re-post of my summary from another thread:
Saturday dawned a cold, cloudy, and windy day. Not the most pleasant weather, but nobody was coming for a pleasure cruise. We were there for battle, and battle is what we got. I don't remember much about the first battle, other than some bbs were shot and some ships sank and there was cheering. Maybe a tie, or something like that, nothing too important. But the second battle was a beautiful blast of carnage that saw a bunch of Allied ships shot up and sunk in a Glorious Axis Victory. It was great fun to watch, and I cannot wait to get my own Fast Gun ship so I can join in.

Despite all the Fast Gun battling, the most memorable part for me was bringing out the AOS ships to challenge the stormy Fletcher Park Pond. Mike, we really missed you and your xebec. It would have been great to have three AOS ships on the water at once. The weather report for the day predicted winds of 10 to 30 MPH. In preparation for the expected heavy weather, HMS Victory and USS Constitution both stripped down all sail above topsails and rigged lightweight ribbon telltails from each mast to indicate the wind. With high hopes and a weather eye, we launched into the swirling, whirling maelstrom. Overhead the clouds marched intently across the sky, as though focused on some important destination. But the pond was surrounded by trees, and the wind down on our level whipped and tore across the pond in unpredictable and often opposing directions. Where two streams of air collided they formed a wall that was impossible to cross without sufficient speed. Otherwise you'd be caught with each mast getting pushed in a different direction and get trapped, becalmed, or spat back out from the barrier. These wind walls themselves would weave back and forth across the pond so we sometimes saw the ship's local wind shift 180 degrees and back again in just a few seconds. It was wild, and powerful, and terrifying, yet also mesmerizing and beautiful beyond words.

We had just worked clear from the shoreline when I looked out and called "GUST GUST GUST!" A huge downdraft of air was racing across the water towards the two ships from almost exactly opposite our current tack. I threw my rudder over hard to point into the gust while Gascan fumbled to respond as well, but it was on us too fast and the world turned sideways as both ships were knocked flat. It howled its fury at us and thrashed the ships about. Then the gust was past and we righted ourselves. The day continued like that, Constitution and Victory racing across the pond in the most treacherous weather I've ever sailed in. We soon adapted to the changing winds and occasional sledgehammer gusts. We set our sights on the (sometimes) upwind corner of the pond. Gascan had an initial advantage of probably 15 feet, but I closed the distance over the course of several tacks. Before I knew it we were 10 feet away from shore, racing neck-and-neck towards the finish. My Constitution had a sleeker, faster hull than Gascan's Victory, but Victory carried more sail in her storm rig, so they were evenly matched. Then fickle fate intervened and sent another gust our way, directly from our destination. I did not sound the alarm this time, since all is fair in love and war and square-rigger racing, and instead focused my effort on responding to the hazard. Gascan saw the hazard too, but too late! The two ships were sent reeling by the gust, as we had grown used to by now, but Constitution stayed on her original tack while Victory was left sailing straight away from her destination. The gust blew Gascan's ship into a different air path, so his first attempt to resume his original course sent Victory reeling again. Meanwhile it took Constitution three more tacks to park in the corner. I even tried to heave to for a bit, so everyone could see my success.

I then offered up the helm to any other AOS skippers who wanted to try their hand at sailing in a hurricane, and Tugboat bravely took the controls for USS Constitution. I'll let Tugboat fill in the details of his voyage, but I will summarize by saying he did very well for a rookie in a hurricane. Tugboat, would you care to elaborate?

 

Very impresive ships. Inspiring.

Here are some pictures and videos from the February 111, 2012 demo at Statesboro, GA:

http://s1089.photobucket.com/albums/i346/Bill_By/Model%20Warships/SailShips%20Statesboro%20GA%20Feb%202012/

 

Quite impressive.