Posted by John Lambert on May 25, 2009 at 19:26:38 user John.
In Reply to: Re: Ransome's Foreign Legion. posted by Jon on May 25, 2009 at 01:43:31:
". . . with the boat heeling on the windward side and all of them trying to make her capsize . . ." Too bad those of us who haven't got a copy of Ransome's Foreign Legion can't see that German cover showing the boat heeling over the wrong way. For those who wonder what the joke is, remember that a boat will try to point away from the wind or to leeward. It would be impossible for a boat to heel over into the wind unless the whole crew were sitting on the windward side trying to make that happen. If so, there would have been a number of wet bottoms and something else for Susan to fuss over. When you see people perched on the edge of a small racing boat, they are always sitting on the windward side, that is, the side the wind is blowing from. They are perched there to stop the boat from being capsized due to the strong force of the wind against the exposed hull as well as the sail(s). It can be a very uncomfortable pose, but terrifyingly exciting. Evidently the German artist was no sailor. I'll bet he had the burgee blowing the wrong way too.