Ahoy Shipmates!!!

Join MSW Crewmember Peter Fulgoney as he takes a sail with the Spanish vessel Principe de Asturias in 1/700 scale.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Very nice, but isn't the flag flowing the wrong way, after all these are sail ships blown by the wind, so if the sails are being blown forward, wouldn't the flag also be facing the same way ?

Actually, this looks like a situation called a 'leading wind' which comes from just abaft the beam then it 'hauls forward' as the wind direction changes to just forward of the beam. This causes the pennant and ensign, which are lighter, to move with the shifted wind direction before the fore sails have had a chance to spill their wind.

You can also see that the main and mizzen sails are showing signs of 'luffing' or 'feathering' as the wind strikes them almost edge-on. The ship will either have to tack or wear depending on the desired direction of travel or adjust the yards to more effectively catch the new wind direction.

Very well done, Peter!

--Karl

Thank you , Karl, a very knowledgeable comment.

Taking the pictures down on the beach where it always seams to be windy, the air flow will actually dictate what the loose flags will do, and rotating the model to shoot the angles doesn't help.

Even if there are problems, I will still continue with this method because of the lighting, real sky background, and sharpness of picture if you can imagine me holding the build with one hand and using the camera in the other!

Cheers guys,

Peter F

Wow, Peter!

Being in northern Europe, finding blue skies and moderate winds to shoot against must be a creative challenge!



--Karl