Posted by Mike Field on May 18, 2003 at 01:31:03 from 203.26.98.4 user mikefield.
Further to the thread below (so far down now that I've made it a new topic,) don't forget that D&G was a converted ship's lifeboat. Such vessels were not designed primarily to sail at all. They were designed to hold a lot of people, to be somewhat manageable under oars, and to blow downwind. Any ability in a ship's lifeboat to point well would be quite fortuitous (and also quite amazing to its designer.)