FEBRUARY 11, 2019
SAILING SVEA
BRENT RUHNE
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to crew on a large professional sailboat? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be 175 feet above the deck while sailing and competing? If you have ever pondered these conditions, this night was for you.
Brent has crewed on Svea, a 143 foot aluminum hulled J-boat for the last 5 years. He displayed incredible photos of the boat. Everything from drone photos, and photos from up the mast and photos of building the boat.
Backing up a little, Brent explained the whole J-Boat phenomenon. The J boat class was developed before world war II and some of the hulls have been resurrected to sail again. These boats look like rocket ships, with long overhangs on both ends. These are classic full keeled boats that are not like modern boats with plumb bows and flat sterns. To put it in perspective, Svea is 143 feet long and has a beam of 20 feet! The resurrection of the J boats came with the 12 meter Americas cup boats which were similar in appearance.
Brent described being one of 32 crew members. True to form, Brent said that when one of these 32 crew members was not present, it affected the whole team. He described the mechanics of handling such massive sails. Those of us that sail and race in local amateur circuits are accustomed to a lot of yelling and cursing. Brent said that sailing professionally on a big boat is very quiet as everyone tends to their task.
It is impossible to do justice to Brent’s presentation in a blog. You had to be there to see the photos to appreciate it. To get a deeper appreciation of these boats, I encourage you to watch these two videos on you-tube.
I must express appreciation to Steve Niemann and Jim Skinner for setting up the chairs for this presentation and the crew that helped put everything back together after the presentation.
Thank you Brent for an awesome presentation.
Next Tuesday, Captain Joseph Rodgers will speak about cruising through the Red Sea and Somilla. Talking with him, he has some unique ways of dealing with piracy in the area! We will be meeting downstairs next week. Barbecue from 5:15 to 5:45 with presentation starting at 6PM.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
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