Portuguese Sail boats

[Jeff_H]

Your view very closely approximates my own. I don't know if you have spent much time sailing traditional working water craft or earlier race boats, but there is something really challenging and fun about sailing these old girls well. I describe the feeling of sailing these old boats as having a different aesthetic than modern boats and agree with you that to appreciate the present you need to be able to keep an eye on the past. Similar to your comment about appreciating Portugal more because you frequently travel to other countries, I feel the same way about modern boats, i.e. I experience an increased appreciation of a modern boat's speed, seaworthiness and ease of handling whenever I spend time sailing on older designs.

There is something really wonderful about gappling with the nuanced origins of our marine heritage. I think that it takes a long view to understand the main branch of the evolution of small boat design, as well as to spot the dead ended twigs that were momentary aberations, often driven by some ill-conceived racing rule.

As I have said before, if you every get anywhere near the Washington DC, Baltimore, or Annapolis area, dinner is on me. I suspect that there will a whole lot of conversation before that evening ends.

(By the way, one of my favorite folk tales is the Portuguese story of the seiged village that through the big fish over the wall. It is such a great metaphor for one course of action when faced with seeming insurmountable adversity.)

Jeff

[soul searcher]

If I ever had to walk down a dock with the Cutty Sark on one side and a new V.O. 70 on the other I would probably end up walking in circles in the middle of the dock.

I don't think you can truely appriciate the the new with out knowing the old to give you perspective.
The same goes for the men that build and sail them. We are a big bunch of sissies compared to the guys that sailed 200 or a thousand years ago. But we are a lot faster Just because you admire the way people lived a hundred years ago doesn't mean you have to live that way.
The V.O. teams are tough I Can't imagine going at all out race speeds for that long and that far. But they are spoiled rottin wimps compared to the crews of the Golden Hind and Beagle.
Cool pics Giu, (see I spelled it right)
The Portuguese boats and the Ericsson.

[Giulietta]

Jeff, the story was not with fish but with sheep.

Its the Monsanto Village seige, when the Mours (Arabs) invaded Lusitania (now Portugal) and Iberia (now Spain), in the year 800 or 900.

The Castel of Monsanto ( Holy Mount in English) was surrounded for many years and the invaders knew the local Portuguese had no food, so the knight or nobleman runing the city, ordered that they cooked the last 5 lamb they had, since all the food was gone after years of siege, and since they were going to die, they wanted to eat before.

But instead, of eating them, he ordered they threw the lamb from the walls down to the enemy and told them, if they wanted food, they could come and get it....plenty where that came from....

The enemy withdrew the next day and left....

Is that the tale you know? If not, please let me know.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by Giulietta

I am in love not only for the traditional but also the history that surrounds and gave origin to these boats.

I think you are in the minority of your countrymen, Alex.

I didn't tell you this because I didn't want to upset you, but when you dropped me off on that Saturday at Jeronimos, I went to the Museu de Marinha afterward and spent a couple of hours in there. I was very nearly alone. I think I saw 10 people in the whole place, and on a Saturday, I found that pretty surprising. I heard a couple of German voices, a couple of Americans, and I guess five or six Portuguese (maybe they were Brazilians, I don't know). I paid three euros to get in, so I wonder if 30 euros even pays for the guy who takes the money at the door.

Maybe it's the case that the local people take the museum for granted, and assume it will always be there, but we had a planetarium close in Toronto a few years ago, and people still talk about it.

[TrueBlue]

Not far from where we live, the Herreshoff Museum is a facinating place to spend time learning about the history of this great American legacy.

[Jeff_H]

Alex,

That is basically the story that I knew. As it was told to me, probably less historically accurately, the walled city was surrounded by a moat, and during the night a great fish was caught. The town was near starvation so the great fish was brought to the leader of the town and he was asked what should be done. He ordered all of the food in the village brought to the town square. Looking at the small amount of food left, he realized that there was not enough to feed the village for long.

He ordered the town to prepare a great feast using every bit of food that they could scrounge. When the feast was prepared and brought before the leader, he ordered it lowered over the wall to the Moors.

When the Moors saw this great feast being given so freely, the leader of the Moors decided that he could never defeat these people, and that he had wasted enough time on this siege and so ordered his troops to leave the perimeter of the village.

The person who told me the story heard it from his parents and grandparents who were Portuguese living in the States. He would recall the story by saying, "Perhaps it is time to throw the fish over the wall."

Either version talks to a very courageous spirit and to an expression that I sometimes say, "There is nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose."

Regards,
Jeff

[Giulietta]

Originally Posted by Jeff_H

Either version talks to a very courageous spirit and to an expression that I sometimes say, "There is nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose."

And that Jeff is the life of the Portuguese....we had to endure a lot, and I believe that is what made us what we are...a bunch of crazy tough bastards!!

Thank you for the post, you made me very happy and proud for who I am. I thank you humbly...

[Giulietta]

Originally Posted by Valiente

Maybe it's the case that the local people take the museum for granted, and assume it will always be there, but we had a planetarium close in Toronto a few years ago, and people still talk about it.

Val its true that the Museum is sometimes empty, but during the week is full with school kids.

The museum is not a for profit organisation.

Anyway, to prevent the museum from going bankrupt, the museum is not a civil institution.

It actually belongs to the Portuguese Navy and is dealt and treated as if it was a ship at sea. it has a commander, and a raise and lower of the flag every day, and believe it or not its armed and battle ready....

the 3 Euros you pay, is the tax the Navy has to pay for the admission of a civilian.

I have given a few boats to the museum, so I enter free!!

[CapnHand]

The museums you guys show are wonderful and they should be appreciated for preserving nautical heritage.

These videos show examples of my favourite museums.

The Dunderberg and the F. T. Barney sank in 1868. The Cornelia B. Windiate sank in 1875.

There are an estimated 7000 shipwrecks preserved in the cold, fresh water of the Great Lakes. No crowds, no lineups.

[merttan]

Got enough sails? I'm having a hard time adjusting and dealing with 2 sails... How many sails on those boats... You guys didn't want to miss a breeze huh? beautiful boats though. how do we return them to their original sizes?
p.s. visit mystic nautical museum if you are sailing by... Beautiful... And there are a couple of original size boats to aboard...