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Outrigger Sailing Canoes
Do it like the Pacific islanders: wet, wild and counter-balanced.

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This may interest you if (like me) you've never heard of "shunting" before. From a primer I found on proas:

shunt  Proas don't tack, they shunt. Shunting is the act of swapping ends. The boat comes to a stop, the rig and steering device are reversed, and the boat gains way in the opposite direction. This action allows the boat to always keep its outrigger to windward. Shunting is the most daunting aspect of proa sailing to the Western mind, and requires an entirely different approach to sailing. Sailors are trained to always maintain steerage way during a tack, lest we risk being caught in irons, and thus get out of control. A proa comes to a compete stop during each and every shunt, and if designed properly, is always under complete control. It never heads directly into the wind, so it cannot be caught in irons.

So apparently they are able to accomplish the equivalent of tacking without either jibing or crossing the wind. Pretty slick. If you click the primer link and scroll down to the S section there's a pretty good diagram that explains the whole process.

 


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