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For those of you that don’t know, a solar sail uses a solar wind to ‘blow’ it away from the sun, and a laser would push it even further. The up sides to solar sails is that it requires no fuel, just a really thin sail, and reduces the load, and is continuous, there is almost no friction, and if it goes, it doesn’t slow down. At full speed, it would be able to go about 18,000 Miles Per SECOND. Enough speed to reach the Moon in less than 5 minutes (although because they are so close, it wouldn’t be a good idea to go that fast), and on a trip to Mars, reach the planet within an few hours at a tenth of the speed of light, and on far missions, it would surpass light’s speed, meaning that you are going faster than the colors you see, which seems instant.
Okay, I had a huge response, but sadly I accidently clicked on the stupid Acer button on my toolbar. So I will sum it up. The solar wind isn’t wind, just radiation that pushes against an object. The lightbulb thing is correct, except that the Sun lets out quintillions more, no hexillion, okay, numbers that are not official times more light, and the bulb isn’t actual sunlight, and is also filtered through the glass. I made the Earth Moon time months ago, and I might have considered a bit more limitations with the distance, so it is about 10 seconds. The laser can be expensive, but solar and/or antimatter can take care of that. Antimatter would power a convential trip to Mars on about a gram of fuel, while Solar just heeps going outward as light, and can be used for the laser which will come back as light. Don’t doubt me, I have really taken on this subject. I would compare this to something, but my question would probably get deleted.
meant inefficient, not expensive.
yes, this is a question, and for someone that gets out and is up to date with society, it is asking for opinions. It seems that when I ask questions about space travel, we have pessimists. The Earth won’t be habitable forever, the Sum will eventually get too warm and make this planet as warm as Venus. Even before that, an impact can cause mass extinction.
Also, sorry to brek it to you, but tests have been done and it is successful.
really….. it is a wind? This is one of many sources that says it is not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail

I will also give you a quote from this article. A solar sail uses a large membrane mirror to reflect light from the Sun or some other source. The radiation pressure on the mirror provides a small amount of thrust by reflecting photons. "Tilting the reflective sail at an angle from the Sun produces thrust at an angle normal to the sail."

You know, being stubborn is digging yourself in a deeper hole. Read articles before you use an educated guess to say someone who has a deep interest accompanied by knowledge on this subject. When your physics say that something that has been tested to work says it is wrong, you miscalculated something. Again, with the light bulb thing, the RADIATION, not wind, that a lightbulb emmitts is only an uncountable fraction of what the Sun does. Remember in physics class when you were told that what has more mass is going to pushtheothermore?
and you can tell me that light is all the same, but try and purchase a turtle, and tell them that you will use a regular bulb for it, they will refuse to sell the turtle to you, because a turtle needs UV a and B to live more than a few weeks! The same goes for this, a lightbulb will not provide the solar wind that the Sun does.

it sounds extremely promising for short term space traveling trips within the solar system. my main concerns though would be the potential for any small meteors to puncture the sail, overheating, and a loss of power if it sails to far out. as an added bonus, i bet they can convert some of the rays for solar powered energy to drive any satelllites internal systems

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I’m taking sailing lessons very soon and not sure what to wear. Keelboat sailing off Southern California. Cold but not too cold. Not dinghy sailing (22 foot keel).

I have some deck shoes but not sure what else to wear. It should get slightly cold so I figure shorts with a nice windbreaker? Warm jacket meant for the water? The only jackets I have are cotton and not really good for water..

Should I just pick up a decent sailing jacket? (windbreaker?)..

Any suggestions?

You will be miserable if You get wet and cold. A 22′ keel boat is a wet boat. You should probably have a full set of light weight foul weather gear – bib & jacket. Do not wear jeans. Comforable kahki pants (I like to wear the zip-off style that can become shorts if necessary) a t-shirt and a good hat to shade your face, eyes and neck with a lanyard or strap so it won’t blow overboard when it blows off your head, polarizing sunglasses with croakies, sunscreen, sailing gloves, a long sleeve fleece or polypropolene shirt, if it cools off and to wear beneath the foulies. And your PFD!!!! Don’t leave the dock without it!
MInimal ‘stuff’ to keep you warm and safe.

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Planning a mini vacation to either San Diego or Vegas, coming from Northern California. Which would you recommend, and what would you recommend doing there? I’m not a gambler but would love to see the shows etc. and I love the beach to site see and take a sail boat ride etc. Hmmm what’s your opinion?

Right now with the economy, Las Vegas has great specials… so it would be cheaper to go there.

http://www.visitlasvegas.com/vegas/index.jsp

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How long, how hard is it? I once went S.F. To L.A. Best time to leave?

It is 2095 nautical miles from San Francisco to Honolulu. 17 days 11 hours at 5 knots. Difficulty depends on the master and crew levels of experience.

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Listening to narrative by my dad who was in Pacific Theater in WWII. He said they sailed from Hawaii and got as far as Anaweta. It had been bombed and blown apart and leveled off by the time he got there in 1944. From there, they went to some small islands toward the Philippines. Then on to the Philippines.

Enewetak Atoll is in the Marshall Islands. We tested atomic bombs there after the war in the lagoon.

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My husband and I do not sail but love to go sailing on 2-4 hour chartered sailboat rides. We live in Dallas, TX. and would drive up to 1 hour. We would like to spend up to $200.00. Any suggestions?

Popeye,The Sailor Man!!!
POO POO!!!

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started sailing 10 weeks ago with a group of friends, and the regatta is in a few days and im absolutley terrified! i know im kind of ready, but whenever i get on the boat (im crew) i just freak out and go all nervous and jumpy, even when the boat tips a tiny bit i panic. what can i do to stop this? i cant back out, and i have been worrying about this for days.

First of all let me welcome you to the wonderful and great world of sailing.

Sailing is fun and demanding at the same time. You did not say what kind of boat it is, but if it is a group of friends, then you are on a boat of some size. Maybe something like a 30 foot or so long boat.

A sailboat actually sails faster with a little healing of about 10 – 20 degrees. It reduces the wetted surface (friction), but does not shorten the waterline length (fast). Sailboats were made to heal, so don’t worry. If the angle gets near 90, then you can start to worry. If you are 30 – 45, then hang on, but don’t worry. At that much heal, the main should be reefed and a storm jib should be put flown.

Stay on the high side and remember the old rule: keep one hand on the boat. Dress warm and wear layers (do not wear jeans, they get heavy if wet). Go potty before getting on boat. Have fun and may you win your class.

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I’m especially looking for answers regarding Korea, Japan, and China. Honestly, I know nothing about international sailing. I’m just curious what the rules are, the steps I have to take, and how much it’s going to cost. I don’t need anything too specific, just general stuff. Thank you.

make darn sure you have all of your "papers"

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Should I buy a motor boat or a sail boat?. Is it very difficult to learn to sail, there is a sailing club in the West Coast of Scotland who give 2 day and 5 day courses.
Everyone says take sailing lessons first to see if I like it but I know I will enjoy sailing I dive so i’m not afraid of the sea and if I buy the boat it will give me the incentive to get the sailing lessons.
Can anyone guide me in the right direction please.

I don’t agree that it’s difficult to learn how to sail. You don’t need classes, you can learn hands-on.

If you are thinking about buying a used boat, then you should have the boat professionally examined to make sure it’s in good condition or better. We call those people "Boat Surveyors" in the States.

Motor boats go fast, which can be loads of fun, are generally noisey and expensive to operate from a fuel cost perspective. Sailboats require more yearly maintenance, but are cheaper to operate since you don’t need a motor except for maneuvering into and out of the marina. So fuel costs are much lower. As an example: I was out on a local bay all day, and cash outlay was zero. A friend was out on the water all day in his twin V8 motor boat and it cost him $250 US in fuel charges.

I am biased towards sail boats. But sailing is not hard to learn. As long as you buy a boat in good condition, and take it slowly, you should have many years of enjoyment.

Sailboats are more stable in the water than motor boats – meaning they don’t undulate as much, which may be a factor if you are prone to seasickness. As an example, almost every time I have been on a smallish motorboat, in moderate wave seas, I have gotten sea sick, but I have never been seasick on a sailboat (yet) in similar seas.

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I am having trouble with the keel lifting gear. The cable which is 2mm thick keeps breaking.

I don’t have an answer for your exact model boat, but I’ve seen similar problems on Catalina 22′s. With the Catalina’s the problem occurs because of barnacles and rust. The rust occurs up by the little pulley all the way up at the cable in the cockpit. The pulley just stops turning and now the cable is sliding, read that as rubbing, through the pulleys groove. On some of them it will actually wear through that pulley on one side so that when that side is up it’s sharp enough to start cutting the cable. On the Catalina the keel extension is a swing keel as well so it pivots on a pin near the bow end of the keel too.

Now the solution. It really can’t be done in the water, but then again the cable to the keel also can’t be changed in the water. While the boat is on the cradle you want to get enough clearance under the swing keel so that you can lower it. You may even have to drop and remove the keel before putting the boat on a trailer. Once that’s done you can see and fit up inside the cutout in the keel. You’ll probably find years of barnacle and mussel growth up in there that can now be scraped out. While you’re doing that you’ll also want to replace all the pulleys, pins and washers that show signs of rusting and wear. You may even see some damaged spots up in there that you can repair, and I would also suggest adding some bottom paint up in there while you’re at it.

I think if you clean and replace the hardware you’ll have a pretty good chance of solving the problem.

I’m also going to leave a link to a class association site I found that you may or may not be aware of.

Happy sailing.

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I am currently building a 20metre aluminium sailing catamaran and I am having difficulty sourcing the correct mast, rigging and deck gear.
Does anyone have one in their backyard…????? Please help

one source.

juste search on "sailboat aluminum masts"

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am i allowed to sail a laser 2 in laser 1 races, if i remove the jib and spinker?

thanks

Good answers so far.

First thing is to check with the Commodore and see what their rules and regs are regarding this sort of thing. They really are different boats, but if the races are casual and your boat is allowed, go ahead.

How about this? How about trading or swapping boats to race in the Laser I class and allowing somebody else on your boat during the Laser II class race. Oh, I already know what you are going to say: "we don’t race Laser II’s"

Well, then I would still recommend borrowing a boat to compete in the Laser I class. There must be something you can barter for the opportunity.

Best of luck and have fun

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take a look at this site, it have a lot of logos pictured

http://anglefire.com/jazz/cl16man/SailboatLogos/_logosV111905.html

hope this help

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I was thinking about buying a small yacht in the next year and sailing across the pacific with a friend. By default i was just planning to buy it in california and sail west. While tossing the idea around my friend suggested that instead we fly to somewhere in asia and buy a boat there and sail it back. His thinking being that if they are made over there half the price must be transporting it to america!

If we bought it in america and sail it over there, then decided we dont know what to do with it and want to sell it we may not be able to get back even 1/3rd of our investment (supply and demand).

But if we go there first and sail back we might even be able to sell it for more than we paid!

Any ideas, tips or thigns we should look out for?

They say the cheapest place to buy a used boat is in the Canary Islands, because many have started off from Africa and that is as far as their mates would sail. So many boats are sold or abandoned there.

Cheoy Lee is a good boat, too.

Have any boat surveyed before buying it.

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I think he set out from California a few weeks ago. He will be the yougest to do it alone if he succeeds.
Thanks.

Which one? There are now three teenagers trying it …

Although only one of them is from California.

A couple of links for you.

http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=52527&rid=11

http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=52638&rid=11

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