Inside SV Delos, & Ancient Sailboats

plus the best Sailing Snippets of the week

Ahoy, and welcome to I’dRatherBeSailing, your buddy boat with all the best dock talk and small talk from the week. A warm welcome to all the new readers that came aboard.

In this week’s letter:

  • Inside SV Delos: The job of sailing.

  • Hull History: Viking & Roman sailboats.

  • Red, Right, Returning: The true origin.

  • Sailing Snippets: Bow overhangs/ Mile High Jibes/ Piling Pains/ Green Sailing Record/ Red, Right, Wrong/ and this week’s Hull Envy.

Inside SV Delos

Don’t ever say sailing doesn’t pay.

Actually, most of the time, it doesn’t. But what happens when it does, for the lucky few? We all know and love the SV Delos YouTube channel, and Business Insider got a peek behind the helm at what it takes to keep the channel afloat:

7 remote freelance employees for editing and merch,

4 hours per day managing the team,

And 390k for the 2008 53’ Amel Super Maramu, plus running costs. Phew. So for Trautman and fam, sailing into the sunset is still a full time job, albeit a job with some unusual benefits.

Highs: Stepping foot on dry land after a 19.5 day crossing from Mexico to French Polynesia.

Lows: Three separate piracy attempts, all occurring around 3am, one in the Solomon Islands, one in Western Papua New Guinea, and once in Madagascar.

For the rest of us, at least the sailing memories are priceless.

Red, Right, Wrong?

Did you know the true origin of Red, Right, Returning was to confuse the British ships using The IALA system, and sink them? It’s true, of course it is! Watch the video here. 

Hull History

Viking Sailing: An exact replica of the Klastad Ship - so named after the location it was discovered in 1893, and fully excavated in 1970 (boat work always takes forever, don’t ya know)- called the Saga Farmann sailed along the Istanbul coast this week, retracing a centuries old route. The ship is on a tour promoting Viking maritime culture and shipbuilding, making stops in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the English Channel, and the Norwegian sea. Known to only be able to sail down wind, this is what her rigging looks like:

  • No. of oars: 8

  • Length: 20.5 meters

  • Width: 5,5 meters

  • Rowing speed: 1-2 knots

  • Sailing speed: 10-12 knots

  • Size of sail: 95 sq. meters

Coal miners Discover Ancient Roman Sailboat in Serbia: And, interestingly enough, this is the fourth Roman boat to be discovered in the area since 2020. The boat is remarkably well preserved, with no signs of damage or sinking, leaving archeologists scratching their hulls about how exactly it got there and why. Check out the article from The Smithsonian here.

Sailing Snippets

The squawk box of best reads and dock talk from the week.

What Happened to Bow Overhangs?: In short, the RORC changed their static waterline handicap, race boats changed design, and cruising boats followed suit. This great read from Practical Boat Owner explains the transition from elegant bow overhangs to vertical sterns and stems, and the ensuing beaminess you see in all new boat designs. Read it here.

Sailing for Science: 87’ luxury sailboat Blue Titan is the latest boat to join Yachts for Science, which connects unused yachts with philanthropic causes. Blue Titan’s mission is to help find and document the last of the remaining White Sharks in the Mediterranean. Pictures and article here.

Mile High Jibes: the ins-n-outs of lakesmanship, where to go, and what to expect. For example: Did you know that on Lake Dillon, it’s not uncommon to see two sailboats both on a run, facing directly at each other, due to the wind patterns coming off the Rockies. Who knew? Read the article here.

Green Sailing Record: Norbert Sedlacek is attempting the world’s first solo circumnavigation on a fully sustainable boat, with no fossil fuels. The boat, OpenAAL, was built by Innovation Yachts; you can check out pictures of the build and journey kick-off here.

Weekly Hull Envy: 12 knots of speed in 8 knots of wind, and 20.8 knots downwind. 35.5 metres of hull-drooling envy, South African shipyard Southern Wind launched the diesel-electric hybrid Gelliceaux this week, and you can check out the pics here. 

First Orca Encounter in Gibraltar: The first known incident of an Orca attacking a sailboat occured in the north end of the bay.

Piling Pains: What happens when you accidentally sail into underwater pilings? A giant crane-in-the-neck. Check out the local story from the Duluth Tribune here.

Mardi Gras Rescue: Score one point for Carnival Cruise Line, who’s ship Mardi Gras rescued a couple stranded in their sailboat 20 miles from Castle Island, Bahamas. No info on the boat or couple’s identity, but they’re safe and the story is here.

That’s it for today, we’ll Ketch you next week! Mind those channel markers everyone.

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