Hove to with the main topsail aback.
SEAMANSHIP IN SAILING SHIPS
Co-authored by Paul Leppington and myself the book which has a tentative working title Seamanship in Sailing Ships, will describe in some detail the maintenance, management and handling of large traditional sailing vessels, particularly those with elements of square rig. Although there are many works which deal with this topic, as far as we know none have been written to include modern methods, equipment and materials and combined all aspects from setting up the rig and its maintenance and care, sail and ship handling and stability. There are at present 17 chapters planned, each dealing with some aspect of seamanship and sailing ships. One of these will be devoted to weather prediction and its interpretation for the safe handling of sailing vessels.
The book will be fully illustrated and the intention is to produce a volume which is attractive and of interest to a wider readership than solely those who require information and instruction on the subject.
As authors, both of us have some authority regarding sailing vessels. Paul Leppington has a Masters' Foreign Going Ticket in the Merchant Service and is presently the manager of the Sprit of New Zealand for the Spirit of Adventure Trust. He was master of the Bounty Replica before I took over. For a while, before taking up working for the Trust he had his own rigging company which specialized in the rigging of large traditional vessels. He has a deep knowledge of sailing vessels, particuarly on the technical side and is daily dealing with all aspects of sailing vessels and the application of up to date technology. My contribution of course will be the illustrative work for the book but can also offer my wide knowledge in this field and a certain ability to write as I have already had three books published. As an extra check to keep us on the straight and narrow, the editor has a Master's ticket and is one of the masters of the Spirit of New Zealand.
We are most grateful for the assistance of Hugh Lander and Nick Papageorgiou of the Sydney Heritage Fleet for permitting us to use the barque James Craig as a model and so promptly responding to requests for detail and images.
The publishers for Seamanship in Sailing Ships will be Captain Teach Press, which specializes in nautical books. Among the books they have published are: New Zealand's Northern Coast (2010) and The Hauraki Boating Atlas (2007), both by David Thatcher, and A History of New Zealand Scows (2009) by David Langdon. These books are available internationally.
We expect to have the Seamanship in Sail published before the end of 2011.
Hove to with fore topsail aback