Tall ship sinking - the question that will linger...

by Nancy Knudsen, Editor on 25 Feb 2010 QUESTIONS about the sinking of the Concordia, the floating classroom tallship that sank in waters off Brazil this week – but with all 64 on board rescued safely - will go on for a long time.

There will be questions about the microburst explanation by the Captain, questions about why the rescue was so delayed, and questions about the safety gear and processes aboard the sailing vessel.

However, the question that will have the most ramifications into the future will be the question of the righting moment of tall ships in general. The righting moment of a yacht – its stability under pressure from wind - is already high on the priority list for the organisers of yacht races.

In the days when tall ships commanded the seas they were most often used for cargo, and their stability aided by the weight of the cargo. Many tall ships were lost with all hands and no-one to tell the tale, and it wasn't always because they hit rocks. The sinking of the German tallship Pamir back in 1957 caused some serious thinking about stability, but the Pamir, whose cargo shifted, was overwhelmed in a hurricane, not merely rough weather.

I anticipate that we will be hearing for a long time about the sinking of the Concordia, but the fact that there was no loss of life this week is to be celebrated for all its reasons.

There's a wonderful smorgasbord of news and articles again – both 16-year-olds solo circumnavigating the world are sailing well and ticking off their milestones; there are a couple of good products introduced; cruising sailor Lynn Fitzpatrick reports from Haiti, where she went with tons of sails for the making of tents; and we report on one of the great cruising opportunities that doesn't need a single sail.

And there's much much more too, so browse down the headlines to find the subjects that interest you.

Sweet sailing!