Good lord the ‘Who will float off first’ can of worms is showing no signs of abating with still more replies pouring in. Many I might add telling me I am wrong! Once and for all it has nothing to do with the mass and momentum of supertankers, the uplifting moment of a canoe or the shape of the bottom of a Jeanneau 40 keel!
It was simply a matter of how much water needs to come in for them to float. Good grief!
This is fast becoming a debate to match the old ‘Does the light in the fridge go off when you shut the door’ discussion and about as logical.
The world is full of such mysteries. Why is ‘abbreviate’ such a long word? Why does ‘phonetic’ start with ‘ph’ and not an ‘f’?
You all faired much better with the fog signal question last week with not a single incorrect reply.
The answer of course was a pilot vessel stopped in fog. Well done everyone, many things in this world may contribute to your demise, but smashing into a stopped pilot vessel is unlikely to be one. It is a great pity that mud banks don’t make noises when they stop in front of you.
This week’s question (looks like I am stuck with this – what have I done?) is as much about physics as it is about boating. I am sure you all know what a lock is. You know those boat elevator things they have in rivers to help boats get uphill. Let’s say a yacht – displacing 5 tons and a supertanker (yes the super tanker is back – sans canoe this time) – displacing 80 000 tones, each enter the same lock at separate times. This is this week’s question ,does it take more, less or the same amount of water in the lock to lift the yacht as the supertanker?
Please keep your answers to less than a thousand words, and when quoting from a PhD student’s thesis please note the author. Thank you.
Preparations for the Brisbane to Keppel race are full steam ahead with the crew now complete. The first training session is this weekend so if you see a blue yacht with its spinnaker upside down you know it is all going well.
A racing crew comes together with practice and training and needs a skipper with great patience. This I have in abundance as not only is my surname ‘Job’ but I have had this tested to the limit by helping the ‘King’ with his math’s homework recently. From this I am grateful for two things – that Jenny double checks what I do with him and that I am glad I am not doing grade 7 this year. At least I can work out tidal heights!
And whilst on the King – imagine if you could have bought the first cricket bat that Don Bradman ever owned. What would it be worth now? Or Cadel Evan’s first pushy? What about Wally Lewis’s first football? Well now is your opportunity to own a piece of sport’s equipment that could well go down in history as ‘where it all began’. Yes folks due to the ‘Kings’ recent growth spurt, he is now too big for the Optimist class and his boat is for sale! In years to come, when the King is a household name due to his innumerable world titles, America’s Cups and Volvo race victories you will be able to sell this piece of Australian folk law to the Maritime Museum for millions, where it will take its place along side Alan Bond’s Australia 2 and Kay Cottie’s ‘First Lady. If however his glittering yachting career doesn’t pan out exactly as he has it planned, you will still have a competitive opti in great condition for your kids to learn to sail in. All jokes aside Blue Max is a 3 year old ‘Ozi Opti’ and is seriously for sale. If any one would like more details, drop us an email.
We still have places available for the return trip from Keppel to Brisbane departing on Wednesday the 8 August 2012. This is a 5 day trip including the Great Sandy Straits and a crossing of the Wide Bay Bar and is a great experience for people planning to take their own boat up there some day, or just to rack up a few more offshore miles and put some navigation theory into practice.
That’s all for this edition – I look forward to your answers on the locking conundrum. Entries for the Float Off question are now closed and the topic is locked. (Yet another fine pun in case you missed it!)
Until next time, remember Google is your friend.
Cheers
Mike Job.