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ST129J, Monday-Friday 10:30 am - 12:15 pm January 1997
Miller Library 014, Colby College Professor Leonard Reich
(207) 872-3535 lsreich@colby.edu
** SAILING **
This is a course about the many aspects of the sailing enterprise:
historical, scientific/technical, commercial, philosophical, psychological,
competitive, and recreative. The questions that lie at the heart of the
course and that will focus our study of sailing are (1) how and (2) why we
pursue this anachronistic form of transportation and, (3) in the doing, how
it affects us. These questions are like sailing itself: seemingly simple,
but when fully examined, quite complex.
There are three requirements for the course:
1. Attendance. Students are expected to attend every class, except
in the case of sickness. Missing more than one class will be cause to
lower the course grade.
2. Project. Each student will undertake a term project of his/her
own devis-ing, in consultation with the professor. Projects might include
a comparative analysis of two, three, or more books or articles on related
topics [see the attached list of avail-able books]; design of a boat
[background reading and step-by-step instructions can be provided]; or a
research/analysis paper on any appropriate aspect of sailing and/or the
sailing industry. Proposals for projects different than those suggested
above are welcome. Projects must be approved no later than 13 January.
They comprise 35% of the course grade. Preparing the project should take
on the order of 20-25 hours over the course of the term--and the finished
product should reflect that level of effort.
3. Exams. There will be a take-home midterm exam and an in-class
final exam, composed of short-answer and essay questions from the readings,
class dis-cussions, and presentations. The midterm counts 20% of the
course grade and the final 45%.
Those interested will be able to visit on-site with local
home-builders of a Roberts 34 fiberglass cruising boat and a 25-foot
wood-epoxy trimaran.
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING LIST
January
6 Mon Introduction
The mechanics of the course
DISCUSSION: Why do we sail?
VIDEO: "The Last Sailors" (excerpt)
7 Tues History of Sail (I)
READ: Meade Gougeon and Tyrus Knoy, Sailboat Design--Yesterday, Today,
Tomorrow, pp.1-42; Alan Villers, "Handling Square Sails."
VIDEO: "Around Cape Horn" (1929)
8 Wed The Physics of Sail (I - The Hull)
READ: John Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, chpt. 1;
Carl Chase, An Introduction to Nautical Science, pp.15-40.
VIDEO: Annapolis Book of Seamanship Video Series: "Daysailers:
Sailing and Racing"
9 Thurs History of Sail (II)
READ: John Rousmaniere, The Golden Pastime, pp.202-236.
VIDEO: "America's Cup 1995"
10 Fri The America's Cup, 1995-2000
READ: Barbara Lloyd, "The Secret of Success is in the Design," New
York Times
GUEST SPEAKER: Merritt Palm (America Cubed and PACT2000)
13 Mon The Physics of Sail (II - The Rig)
Chase, An Introduction to Nautical Science, pp.41-61; Rousmaniere, The
Annapolis Book of Seamanship, chpt. 3
VIDEO: "Trim for Speed" (excerpt, North Sails)
14 Tues Sails and Sailmaking
READ: Emiliano Marino, The Sailmaker's Apprentice, chpts. 4 & 5.
GUEST SPEAKER: Doug Pope (Haarstick-Pope Sailmakers, Rockland)
15 Wed Cruising (I)
READ: Dom Degnon, "Slocum 100th Anniversary: The Age of Small
Sail," SAIL (12/94); Lin & Larry Pardey, The Capable Cruiser, pp.20-50;
Magdeleine Perret, "The Treasure of Los Roques," Cruising World (4/89);
Robert Lux, "The End of the Endless Summer," SAIL (12/95)
VIDEO: "Penobscot Bay" (excerpt, by Downeast magazine)
SLIDE PRESENTATION: "Cruising the British Virgin Islands"
16 Thur & Professor away at Sail Expo
17 Fri PREPARE: Take-home midterm exam, due Jan 20th.
20 Mon Cruising (II)
READ: Gretchen Ogden, "Not Just for the Birds--Cruising Islas Las Aves,
Venezuela," Maine Boats & Harbors (11/96)
SPEAKERS: Gretchen & Michael Ogden (author-cruisers)
21Tues Racing/Singlehanding (I)
READ: Richard Henderson, Singlehanded Sailing, "Motives, Person-
alities, and Psychological Aspects," pp.57-74; Ted Turner & Gary Job-
son, "The Racing Edge"; Dennis Conner & Peter Isler, "Preparing to
Win."
VIDEO: "American Challenge" (OSTAR 1980)
22 Wed Racing/Singlehanding (II)
READ: Francis Stokes, The Mooneshine Logs, selections
SPEAKER: Francis Stokes (singlehanded long-distance racer)
23 Thur Seamanship
READ: Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, chpts. 4, 5,
14, & 15.
VIDEO: "No Use Calling for Mum" (New Zealand Endeavor in the '94
Whitbread)
24 Fri Navigation
READ: Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, chpts. 9, 11, & 12
[Problems will be assigned.]; "Global Positioning System" (West Marine
Master Catalogue)
27 Mon Cruising and Navigating on the Maine coast
READ: Jan & Hank Taft, Curtis Rindlaub, A Cruising Guide to the Maine
Coast, selections
SPEAKER: Curtis Rindlaub (co-author of the reading)
28 Tues The Age of Sail: Present and Future
READ: L.S. Reich, ed., "Sailing Quotes"; Tom Linskey, "JY Values";
William Sisson, "Gone AWOL: A Million Sailors," Soundings (8/96)
VIDEOS: "Sydney Harbor 18s" & final racing sequence from the film "Wind"
29 Wed Presentations
Reports from the two Colby Jan Plan off-campus sailing adventures. One
group chartered a boat in Granada and sailed St. Vincent and the
Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean while learning about sea-
manship, navigation, and local cultures. The other group,in
conjunction with Austin College, studied ancient Mayan sailing
culture in Belize.
30 Thur FINAL EXAM
Projects due
31 Fri Fair Winds and Following Seas