LO Mike!
Seems there is a family relationship between the two, Woodn't you agree? Are you talking about Blondie's book? never seen it. I have a friend in the book business who I may ask to find me a copy. Don't really know how serious I am About this, I just wanted to find out if anyone was ever interested in putting a junk rig on an Ariel. You know, or even thought about it. Everything I've READ says it's a much less stress rig. More tuned to laid back cruising than tweeking travelers and hauling in jibsheets on oversized self-tailers. And it's old enough almost to be just as traditional as the bermudan rig. PHRFers not-with-standing.
There is a limey junk rig society one can join that puts out news letters, and has back issues available.
Blondie's Jester sank in the 1988 solo trans-Atlantic race taking green water thru the busted fore-hatch with her new captain Michael Richey aboard. Richey built a replica, racing it every year until he was interviewed by Cruising World just prior to his 80th birthday. What, 7 seven years ago, we assume he's still sailing his Jester.
Blondie, by the way, so far as I know, invented the (servo pendulum) selfsteering vane, as well as adapting a 2000 year old 'commercial' junk rig to a narrowbeam displacement and scandanavian daysailer. Befor the Ariel was conceived and born. [Blondie's first solo race was in 1960 (?)] Maybe MORC racers were inspired by Hasler's and other's exploits?
Anyway... just wondering, it warnt no emergency.
[well, it Is a leading question: With all that battened roach, what would happen to the backstay? Runners? One assumes the j-rig is more suited to a keelstep mast. Etc.] And the nagging question: why didn't the junk rig catch on? Is it really that slow?
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