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SOMETIMES, SIZE COUNTS: THE SMALL SAIL BOAT
from: Does size matter? A small sail boat is a beautiful thing, but not if you are always trying to outdo the Jones or the Smiths. It is also relative. Some people think a Yacht the size of Manhattan is too small.A small sail boat is just that: small. It is not a yacht. It is not a keelboat and it is not a cutter. It can be as little as 11-foot monohull. A small sail boat, however, can be a racer or a day-sailer. If a racer, it is frequently a one-design
Small sail boats do not have cabins but may have some form of partial shelter. They may or may not have a portable toilet and they do not have the amenities of the large sail boats.
What the small sail boat offers is a number of things: a good first boat to learn your craft. If you make an error, it becomes immediately obvious. It teaches you how to sail a boat correctly, learning from your mistakes on the way. It also introduces you to many water experiences you would miss if you had a large sail boat. One of these is capsizing. Not that capsizing is fun, it is, however, a way of reminding you of the dangers of sailing while letting you discover how to right a boat and practice a basic recovery plan.
Yachting and other sailing clubs teach children as early as age six on the small sail boats. They learn their craft then progress on up to larger sail boats. The advantages of young boys and girls (and even adults) learning on the smaller size sail boats is not only size, but price. Smaller boats such as the Optimist International are simple and less expensive than their larger counterparts. Single or double-handed, small sail boats provide the best vehicle – pun intended, to learn.
This is not to say a day-sailor is not a family boat. They are. You can take a small sail boat across the bay or along the shore line for that picnic, fishing trip or little jaunt. The O’Day Day Sailer was specifically designed for just such a purpose. The Escape Rhumba and Super Snark are two other possibilities. It is not recommended you broach the blue water. Sailing across the ocean in a small sail boat equipped bets for daytrips is ventured upon by only the brave and, perhaps, the foolhardy.
Yet, where the small sail boat shines is in the racing world. One and two-person dinghies are Olympic classes. Here you find the pick of the litter: the Lasers, the Enterprise, the Sunfish, the Fireball, the Cadet and the Lightning. All are built for speed, if not for comfort.
Remember, a small sail boat can truly be a beautiful and pleasurable thing for everyone in your family.
Sail Boat Picture News
Thai fishing boat hijacked by pirates off Somalia (The Charlotte Observer)
(By MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR and BARBARA SURK, Associated Press Writers) Pirates hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew members Tuesday off the coast of Somalia, the same day a major Norwegian shipping group ordered its tankers to sail around Africa rather than use the Suez Canal because pirates had seized a Saudi supertanker. The U.S. and other naval forces decided against intervening in the ...
Read more...Thai fishing boat hijacked by pirates off Somalia (Thailandnews.net)
(AP Photo/Fred Vloo)This undated picture made at an unknown location shows the the MV Sirius Star a Saudi oil supertanker which has been hijacked by Somali pirates. The owner of a Saudi oil supertanke...
Read more...Somali pirates hijack Thai fishing boat, 16 crew (Merced Sun-Star)
Separate bands of pirates hijacked two ships and captured their crews, while yet another opened fire on an Indian navy ship before being driven off - clear signs that the brigands roaming the Gulf of Aden are becoming bolder and more violent, officials said Wednesday.
Read more...World struggles to take on plague of Somali piracy (The Charlotte Observer)
(By TOM MALITI, Associated Press Writer) The U.N., African Union and Arab nations struggled to respond Thursday to a surge of pirate attacks, authorizing sanctions and calling for international peacekeepers to address the chaos in Somalia that has spawned an upsurge in sea banditry. The economic reverberations of the attacks widened as the world's largest container-shipping company said it would ...
Read more...Indian navy sinks suspected pirate 'mother ship' (The State)
The Indian navy sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as the owners of a seized Saudi oil supertanker negotiated for the release of their vessel and its $100 million cargo. A multinational naval force has increased patrols in the waters between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, where pirates have grown bolder and ...
Read more...Indian navy sinks suspected pirate 'mother ship' (The State)
An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as separate bands of brigands seized Thai and Iranian ships in the lawless seas. The owners of a seized Saudi oil supertanker, meanwhile, negotiated for the release of the ship, anchored off the coast of Somalia. A multinational naval force has ...
Read more...North West Evening Mail (North-West Evening Mail)
MAUREEN Hughes, 62, and Betty Merritt, 64, are on board the liner QE2 on its last ever voyage, headed for Dubai, where the ship will become a floating hotel. They are travelling via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal on a 16-day voyage to remember.
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