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| Thread ID: 89141 | 2008-04-22 03:05:00 | Any sailors here - Sailing ships 150yrs back | John W (523) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 661131 | 2008-04-22 03:05:00 | Hi there Dunedin harbour suffers from stong onshore winds during the day, usualy abating after sunset. The principal harbour is approx 25km from the heads. So, how did sailing ships without any other motive power, navagate out from the harbour battling against these head winds. They were'nt able to keel over like a yacht and zigzag there way to the harbour entrance, and the windage on the ship would be too strong for sailors to row-tow the boat that distance. |
John W (523) | ||
| 661132 | 2008-04-22 03:37:00 | That one goes in the too hard bucket. :lol: Just kidding. I'd be interested if anyone has any insight into this as well. Seems they would have been fond of clear nights with a full moon? |
wratterus (105) | ||
| 661133 | 2008-04-22 03:45:00 | The following may help.....taken from www.orc.govt.nz Winds and tides The exchange of waters in the Lower Harbour is almost total in each tidal cycle and strong currents near the narrow entrance and the main channel mean all harbour users must ensure they are safely equipped at all times. About 30% of Otago Harbour is intertidal, resulting in sand banks appearing in some areas at low tide. This means caution is required when moving into shallower areas. Waves within the harbour are wind generated and are dominated by N & NE, S & SW directions. During summer a NE sea breeze is often generated during the afternoon and can become quite fresh. Water temperatures within the harbour typically vary between 9ºC and 12ºC. A sailing ship exiting would be able to get a favourable breeze with sails angled to suit. Most were small by today's standards. |
leonidas5 (2306) | ||
| 661134 | 2008-04-22 09:53:00 | Did the larger square rigged sailing ships sail right up the harbour? My family history says my mother's family arrived in Otago in 1852, and the ship docked at Port Chalmers rather than the present port at the head of the harbour. I assume there would be less difficulty in getting into and out of Port C than right up the "far end". I also understand that ships could be towed in and out of harbour by long boat, but whether that happened in Dunedin in unfavourable wind conditions, I do not know. I suppose they could also kedge their way out, but that would be pretty slow and laborious. I have always wondered about your question in general, but have never done the research... |
John H (8) | ||
| 661135 | 2008-04-22 10:05:00 | This link has some good info. www.bbc.co.uk |
Safari (3993) | ||
| 661136 | 2008-04-22 10:50:00 | They probably used very small Particle thrusters, taking their energy from the primary Warp drive. [Edit] Ah ha... I just read the BBC article linked to above. See... they DID in fact have Warp drives! :D |
Greg (193) | ||
| 661137 | 2008-04-22 11:18:00 | John W, hi google ''Dunedin harbour sailing ships'', then go down to the steam tugboats. |
BobM (1138) | ||
| 661138 | 2008-04-22 11:48:00 | Most larger ships, cargo and immigrant, discharged at Port Chalmers. Small craft then took them/cargo into the top of the upper harbour, these would be nimble small craft of just a few tons. Even earlier cutters were used and rowing such was hard work but practical and frequent. Steam tug was in use before 1859 and in 1859 the first immigrant ship of some size ship was tugged by steam into the entrance to the lower harbour. Details in the Hocken library web pages. | leonidas5 (2306) | ||
| 661139 | 2008-04-22 22:08:00 | This link has some good info. www.bbc.co.uk Hmmm - I have tried on three computers, using Firefox and IE and I still can't get that site to open. I can't get news.bbc.co.uk to open either. It has been like this for some time. However, other people are accessing it successfully, so I don't know what is going on in this household... |
John H (8) | ||
| 661140 | 2008-04-22 22:17:00 | John W, hi google ''Dunedin harbour sailing ships'', then go down to the steam tugboats. Thanks Bob. Trouble is, there were lots of ships that came in before steam tugboats arrived, so how did those sailing ships get in and out? |
John H (8) | ||
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