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The Spirit of Bermuda

Spirit_of_bermudafull_sailYesterday morning we headed down to Ordnance Island in St. George's to see the sloop Spirit of Bermuda before it set sail for Hamilton.

You can see more pictures here. Thanks to Stuart Hayward for providing the best ones!

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Additional Comments (8)

And what a work of art she is!

Indeed.

Can someone explain the nautical reason for the masts being sloped like that?

Ace

Because it looks cool!

Although there may well be some other reason too that the masts are raked.

Speed!

Oh to be a teenager again!

Raked masts sail closer to the wind, easier on the helm, and are faster.

Thanks Tiger Bay - but it looks cool too!

Raking a mast will increase weather helm - as the center of effort is moved further aft of the center of lateral resistence...

I read somewhere that schooners used to rake their masts so to have the booms raised while sailing on reaches and having the sails eased - thus not dragging the booms in the water. But with the Sprit of Bermuda there is only one boom on the aft mast, so maybe there is another explanation - other than it looks cool.

Surely Somers, "Spirit" has a full length keel and the effect would be negligable in this case. Perhaps, in the original design, when sails were not so high tech, it was a way of inducing a better shape enabling the vessel to sail clsoer to the wind? I dunno - whatchathink?

It's a good looking boat though and will becoem a wonderful ambassador for the island.

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