What is art?

Sailing Canoes from Papua New Guinea

The guys from the proa-file have brought up a great video, showing sailing canoes in Papua New Guinea, the "Sailaus".

These robust, shunting canoes, from the Island of Panaete, in PNG, come with an interesting rig. Despite being rather narrow, the canoes carry a surprising amount of canvas, spread by a short mast and a dipping lug. And the sails display a beautyful pattern of colors, which makes it easy to identify the racing teams.

The ama is attached by a rather short "platform of beams". It provides enough rightening moment, due to its weight. It is a large, solid log. Look at its interesting "cylindric-banana-shape" at around 1:25 seconds into the video.

It is also entertaining to watch the crew work their boat. It seems they have an active race tradition going on. One can count at least 6 different canoes, each with a crew of 3 to 6, enthousiastic sailors on board.

Models

The construction of models is an excellent way to learn boatbuilding techniques, and the challenges involved in such a project. I've had great fun in building models from early on. And before I started my first boat, the Arara canoe, I've produced a small model.

As a result from my learnings with the model, Arara came out in a totally different configuration. The model was thought as a proa, while my canoe, despite being a double ender and having a palindrome as a name, was rigged as a tacking outrigger.

Guam - Canoe tradition

Traditional proas follow a different approach than the Harryproas. Most weight of the canoe is located in a main hull which carries mast, and cargo. According to conditions, the crew sits on the main hull, or, when the wind picks up, they hike out on the outrigger. The ama is a wavepiercing, low buoyancy hull. This configuration is, of course, also driven by the materials they had available. The materials they had would not resist high stress for sustained periods. Therefore, the rigthning moment is increased only as it is required by conditions, in form of the crew on the outrigger.

As a matter of fact, they even had a lee platform, where they could hike out to counter-ballance the ama in very light wind conditions. The platform also gives more area, to distribute weight of cargo.

This video has a nice texture, which gives a good idea of the sailing on a traditional canoe. Also, it is nice to see, that people are getting together, to keep some of the tradition alive. And pass it on to the next generations.

Just a comment: Frank seems like a nice guy. But, visually speaking, the video would have benefitted from an attractive wahine as a presentator.

Microcruising

That's micro-cruising... ;-)
Micronesian cruising equipment.
But hey!.... how do you shunt a rig over this structure?
It is a shunting proa.

My brother Stefano's canoe in Parati Mirim

Stefano has posted some nice pictures of his canoe adventures on his Castelinho 38 blog. He uses his traditional Paraty style canoe to explore the so called "tropical fjord" - "Saco the Mamanguá", and the surrounding mangroves.

Stefano has also suggested to bring my canoe, Arara, the 14ft. tacking outrigger, to the same place. A new home for Arara. Of course I love the idea. We will bring the canoe there on the next opportunity.

Canoe

I love canoe bodies and internal structures.
I pictured this one in Búzios, 3 hours drive from Rio.

Sailing canoe action in Jericoacoara

See the beautyfull sailing canoe regatta, taking place in Jaricoacoara/Ceará, NorthEast of Brazil.

Jericoacoara is a phantastic venue for wind- and kitesurfers. The wind blows every day in the strenght you can see on the video.

Jornal de contos

If you speak portuguese, you've got to visit this website, and read the short story by Hélio Pólvora:

www.jornaldecontos.com/figuras/canoa

It is where I got the picture from. A beautyfull canoe.

Saveiro de vela de içar

I found a beautyfull web-site with many great pictures of traditional Brazilian workboats. It doens't seem to be updated very often. But I do recommend you check it out, and see the other pictures:

http://saveirodabahia.blogspot.com/

Canoa

Another beautyfull canoe picture. Can't get enough of them...

Good times on Arara

I include the construction of my canoe Arara into the steps of the journey towards the construction of Arpex. The development and construction of Arara was also not easy, but has given me lots of fun and satisfaction.

I post these images to remember the good times.

Kiribati Canoes

A nice video, whith plenty clear views of details of canoe construction in the Kiribati Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean. The canoe regatta over the lagoon must be a beautyfull spectacle.

I thank the owners of the video, which seem to be some sort of documentary from some TV station. There is a triangular, red, yellow and green sign in the lower left corner of the image.

Canoes from Paraty

My friend Stefano has a brand new toy!
It is a beautiful little canoe from Paraty.

Look at the nice paddle too. Of course, it is shaped and colored according to Paraty fashion. Nice!

I’m seriously considering to paint my tacking outrigger in a similar colorful style. This would put less pressure on the quality of finishing, and I do not pretend to have a yacht-style finishing anyway. I want it simple and practical. And it should look nice.

But,… what looks nicer than this little canoe?!
Congratulations to the new boat owner!

Canoas do Rio Negro

Canoes from the Rio Negro.
Time to start a new story soon.

Por que não aqui?

Those sailing canoes (tacking outriggers) have evolved nicely in the last few years. People have put daggerboards in them, which should improve sailing to windward quite greatly. But, one needs to remember that the canoes are often paddled when windward work is necessary.

Rio would be a nice place for a couple of those canoes. One is already beeing sailed in
Cabo Frio, 70 miles to NE. See the video.

They all seem to have the same happy faces. Coincidence?

A região do Rio de Janeiro seria perfeita para o esporte. Possibilidades de velejar até Angra ou Cabo Frio estariam abertas.

Sailing Outrigger Canoes

I feel honoured to have the visit from Gary Dierking on this blog. Gary builds fine outrigger canoes in New Zealand. Tacking outriggers and shunting proas. His canoes are of a simplicity that transcends tradition and modern thinking. Beautiful and practical boats, that can be assembled quickly, by any amateur.

He has also written and edited a fine book about "Building Sailing Outrigger Canoes". He offers 3 complete set of plans in the book, which makes it of great value if you're thinking about building a canoe. I whish I had one of those when I built my canoe, Arara. To all others it is still nice reference. It's nice images are worth it.

The book can be easily found on Amazon, which is how I got it.

Please also find Gary Dierking's blog, "Sailing Outrigger Canoes" in my link list.

Canoes

I love canoes. This one on the Rio Negro, the biggest afluent of the Amazon river.

Traditional brazilian sailboats

Brazilian workboats: They all have a very rugged construction in common.

Canoes from the Amazon

A double exposure composition with a canoe from the Amazon an a traditional workboat in construction.