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| Either there was a storm or this is the crappiest student crew I've ever seen. |
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Thursday, 4 November 2010
6 comments:
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Or a low bridge, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThe sails were doused, obviously beforehand, as they certainly couldn't have furled them after the fact. My guess is a storm blew them under a bridge or similar overhang.
Ouch.
cheers
eon
Except, notice that the two masts broke off at different levels. I suppose it's possible if the foremast was whippier than the main. If a bridge applied force to each mast right at the top, each mast would snap at the point where it flexed the most. But I think that the original height of the foremast barely makes it to where the mainmast broke. Perhaps two bridges, of different height, one right next to the other?
ReplyDeleteStorm and crappy student crew are not mutually exclusive.
ReplyDeleteMy bet is that the brig in the picture entered a storm without reefing early enough.
Some googling revealed what happened.
ReplyDeleteThe ship in question is Polish brig "Frederic Chopin". she hit a force 9 full gale - wind speed 45 kn - and got dismasted. Her crew consisted of 14 to 16 year old students.
We experienced force 8 gale at Baltic last summer twice and had to seek safe haven. Now I know how it feels to reef the mainsail when wave height is 4.5 m I am indeed an experience richer but it rather is an experience I would like to be without.
Ironmistress;
ReplyDeleteYou have this land-lubber's respect.
cheers
eon
David, it was good practice for circumnavigation. Now I can always say I have been through worse :)
ReplyDeleteOn what comes to the poor brig, I'm pretty sure those young sea cadets and their skipper are now worth of their salt. While the situation looks nasty, they actually handled it well. No human life was lost, and if you check the yards and stays, all the sails are neatly reefed. They did all the precautions, but unfortunately the sea proved more than just a worthy adversary. But at least they now have an exciting story to tell to their forthcoming grandchildren...
Such gales - Beaufort force 9 - are really rare, and they usually occur only some five to ten times in a year. They usually hit only during the autumn and winter, and they exceed that limit where sailing ceases to be work and turns into survival.