THE BOAT OF MY DREAMS

The best boat design should combine old and new, says Tom Cunliffe. And he put it into practice in his own craft, ‘The Westerman’.

1. Read the magazine article.

This week, the Summer Boat Show in London is resplendent with fine yachts, bristling with new technology. Nearly all are descendants of the hull-shape revolution that took place 25 years ago. By contrast, my own lies quietly on a tidal creek off the south coast. She was designed last year but, seeing her, you might imagine her to be 100 years old and think that her owner must be some kind of lost-soulromantic.

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It has to be said, however, that despite being an indispensable tool in current design methods and boat-building practice, sophisticated technology frequently insulates crews from the harsh realities of maritime life. These are often the very realities they hoped to rediscover by going to sea in the first place.

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The occasional battle with flapping canvas is surely part of a seaman’s life. And for what purpose should we abandon common sense and move our steering positions from the security of the aft end to some vulnerable perch half-way to the bow? The sad answer is that this creates a cabin like that of an ocean liner, with space for a bed larger than the one at home.

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Her sails were heavy, and she had no pumped water, no electricity to speak of, no fridge, no central heating, no winches, and absolutely no electronics, especially in the navigation department, yet she was the kindest, easiest boat that I have ever sailed at sea.

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The Westerman has never disappointed me. Although Nigel Irens, the designer, and Ed

Burnett, his right-hand man, are adept with computer-assisted design programs, Irens

initially drew this boat on a paper napkin, and only later transferred his ideas to the computer. After this had generated a set of lines, he carved a model, just as boatyards did in the days of sail. Together we considered the primary embryonic vessel, then fed the design back into the electronic box for modification.

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Her appearance is ageless, her motion at sea is a pleasure and her accommodation, much of it in reclaimed pitch pine, emanates an atmosphere of deep peace. Maybe this is because she was drawn purely as a sailing craft, without reference to any furniture we might put into her. That is the well-tried method of the sea.

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Constructed in timber treated with a penetrating glue, she is totally impervious to water. Thus she has all the benefits of a glass fibre boat yet looks like, feels like and sails like the real thing.

2. Choose the most suitable paragraph from the list A – G for each part (1 – 6) of the article. There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

A. It’s not that I’m suggesting that sailors should go back to enduring every hardship. It’s always been important to me that my boats have a coal stove for warmth and dryness and cosy berths for sleeping. But why go cruising at all if every sail sets and furls itself?

B. Back on land, however, it is a sad fact that the very antiquity of classic boats means

that they need a lot of looking after. When I had a bad injury to my back, I realised that

my 15-year love affair with her had to end. Searching for a younger replacement produced no credible contenders, so I decided to build a new boat from scratch.

C. In her timeless serenity, she is the living proof that it works; that there is no need to

follow current fashions to find satisfaction, and that sometimes it pays to listen to the lessons of history.

D. The next version was nearly right and by the time the final one appeared, the form was perfect. The completed boat has now crossed the North Atlantic and has won four out of her first six racing starts.

E. At the same time, having lived aboard an ancient wooden beauty in the early seventies, it’s easier to understand more of this area of the mechanics. My designer, for example, knows more about the ways of a boat on the sea than anyone I can think of.

F. Perhaps I am, though I doubt it. This boat has benefited from all the magic of old fashioned boat design, but it would have been a much harder job without the advances of modern know-how.

G. For me a boat should always be a boat and not a cottage on the water. When I bought an earlier boat, Hirta, in which I circumnavigated Britain for a TV race series, the previous owner observed that she had every comfort, but no luxury. During my long relationship with her, Hirta taught me how wise he was.

UNIT 5 FOOD AND COOKING

Level A 2

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 2558