Topic Actions

Topic Search

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests

My First Post!

This fascinating series is a combination of historical seafaring, swashbuckling adventure, and high technological science-fiction. Join us in a discussion!
My First Post!
Post by Snitzer   » Sun Nov 11, 2018 6:08 pm

Snitzer
Midshipman

Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2018 5:51 pm

Unsure if this first post is appropriate or not but the reason I endured the registration process is to get this off my heaving chest.
Uh, gonna copy/past this from Word, let's see how that works. Is there a length limit? Let's find out:

One of the advantages of becoming elderly is memory loss, thereby enabling one to reread books, or even whole series of books, with naught but the occasional hint of “Déjà Vu”. Such was the case with the Safehold series, I read the first few books, thinking I’d come to the end with the last book, such was not the case, however, as whilst I was reading one book Mr. Weber was busy writing more.
So I parked the series in my Kindle and went on to other stuff.
A few years later I assumed the series was complete, and unwilling to pick up where the author left off I began reading “Off Armageddon Reef” and slogged right through until the end of “At the Sign Of Triumph” whereupon I discovered that alas, we were not done yet. So now I’ve another month or so until “Through Fiery Trials” hits my Kindle.
Writers should never allow readers time between books of a series as then they, the readers, will come up either with a bunch of stuff the writer should have done or, worse yet, come up with a bunch of stuff the writer should do with the rest of the series.
I would never do that, no way.
My favorite scene/passage was Yairley’s and Destiny’s battle with the massive hurricane that nearly trapped him on the shoals. Brilliant writing, and yeah, I was right there with the Captain as he filled the quarterdeck with his presence. His commands were right on, the same commands any experienced square rigged captain would order in those perilous times.
Or, would they?
Is there anyone alive who could attest to the authenticity of Captain Yairley’s orders? In my younger days I spent eight years at sea in the United States Navy as a Bosun’s mate. One of my duties as an underway Bosun’s mate of the watch was passing the Word over the ships 1MC. I never, ever piped “Hands To Braces”, “Brace Up the Forecourse”, “Back Topsail And Course”, “Sheet Home” or even “Clew Up”.
Either Mr. Weber spent a few weeks in serious research or availed himself of some high-end technical advice. While both of us hail from South Carolina he’s from the Upstate while I’m from down below Charleston, and I doubt there are any square rigged clippers paddling around the ponds near Greenville.
Bottom line, though: I loved it, hung on every word, authentic or not I eagerly bought the whole package.
I have my doubts that number ten (“Through Fiery Trials”) will be the end of the series. There is too much left to do. For one thing, we have two immortal PICA’s running around so it would seem at some point Caleb and that lot should die off and the next generations go gunning for the Gbaba. Weber being Weber we will most likely be introduced to individual Gbabians and it is to be fervently hoped that their names do not all begin with the letter “Z”.
Even though there may well be portions of this body of work that drag a bit, or maybe go into exquisite, boring technical detail on how this or that goes boom, thing to remember is that all of it makes the whole so much more awesome.
So maybe I’ll leave this parked for the next few years awaiting the installments that must come, then read it all again.
Top
Re: My First Post!
Post by Charybdis   » Mon Nov 12, 2018 3:11 pm

Charybdis
Captain of the List

Posts: 714
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:53 am
Location: Gulf Coast Florida USA

Snitzer wrote: Is there anyone alive who could attest to the authenticity of Captain Yairley’s orders? In my younger days I spent eight years at sea in the United States Navy as a Bosun’s mate. One of my duties as an underway Bosun’s mate of the watch was passing the Word over the ships 1MC. I never, ever piped “Hands To Braces”, “Brace Up the Forecourse”, “Back Topsail And Course”, “Sheet Home” or even “Clew Up”.
If you had been a Coastie and assigned to The Eagle, then you might have heard some of the jargon. However the different sail plans between something like the Eagle and a full-out 3 mast multi-deck Ship of the Line, might have limited even service like that.
Snitzer wrote:Either Mr. Weber spent a few weeks in serious research or availed himself of some high-end technical advice.
I think our author, frequently referred to in these environs as the Mad Wizard Weber (MWW), has had a strong interest in the age of sail for a long time. I do not know for certain, but I'd bet that he wrote a lot of the sailing bits found in the 'Prince Roger' series (books 2 & 3) that he co-authored with John Ringo.
Snitzer wrote:While both of us hail from South Carolina he’s from the Upstate while I’m from down below Charleston, and I doubt there are any square rigged clippers paddling around the ponds near Greenville.
Beaufort environs? ;)
Snitzer wrote:So maybe I’ll leave this parked for the next few years awaiting the installments that must come, then read it all again.
Or do like so many of us do and re-read the entire series just before the release of the next book. :D
-----

What say you, my peers?
Top
Re: My First Post!
Post by isaac_newton   » Tue Nov 13, 2018 5:47 am

isaac_newton
Rear Admiral

Posts: 1182
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:37 am
Location: Brighton, UK

Snitzer wrote:Unsure if this first post is appropriate or not but the reason I endured the registration process is to get this off my heaving chest.
SNIP... .



Welcome to the forums!!
Have a drink at the Bar :-)
Top
Re: My First Post!
Post by Snitzer   » Wed Nov 14, 2018 1:36 am

Snitzer
Midshipman

Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2018 5:51 pm

Probably getting the mechanics of this posting thing all wrong but nothing new there:
1. South of the
Edisto, just off 17.
2. Sounds like a plan, reread the lot each book. Age is a helper in that as the memory goes each time will be like the first time.
Top
Re: My First Post!
Post by Joat42   » Wed Nov 14, 2018 3:06 pm

Joat42
Admiral

Posts: 2142
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:01 am
Location: Sweden

Snitzer wrote:Probably getting the mechanics of this posting thing all wrong but nothing new there:
1. South of the
Edisto, just off 17.
2. Sounds like a plan, reread the lot each book. Age is a helper in that as the memory goes each time will be like the first time.

To quote a friend of mine:
I got 20/20 memory, I remember the first 20 years and the last 20 minutes.

---
Jack of all trades and destructive tinkerer.


Anyone who have simple solutions for complex problems is a fool.
Top
Re: My First Post!
Post by Kael Posavatz   » Thu Nov 15, 2018 2:47 pm

Kael Posavatz
Lieutenant Commander

Posts: 104
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:51 am

Charybdis wrote:
Snitzer wrote: Is there anyone alive who could attest to the authenticity of Captain Yairley’s orders? In my younger days I spent eight years at sea in the United States Navy as a Bosun’s mate. One of my duties as an underway Bosun’s mate of the watch was passing the Word over the ships 1MC. I never, ever piped “Hands To Braces”, “Brace Up the Forecourse”, “Back Topsail And Course”, “Sheet Home” or even “Clew Up”.

If you had been a Coastie and assigned to The Eagle, then you might have heard some of the jargon. However the different sail plans between something like the Eagle and a full-out 3 mast multi-deck Ship of the Line, might have limited even service like that.


Eh, not really. One of the curiosities of Safehold is that ships are split into 'galleons' and 'schooners' and it doesn't really have the diverse array of terminology for ship types based on sail plans (at least, I can't recall any snows). But a sheet will always been a sheet, whether you have three gundecks or none. Granted, Eagle is a Barque, which means some of the terminology for its mizzen would be specific to a fore-aft rig, but otherwise, yeah, pretty much.

The terminology is correct, or at least i don't recall any truly glaring errors though it's been a while since I read the earlier books. If you know the terminology you can follow the quoted sequences. (whether or not the orders make sense is another matter since we aren't actually on deck, but give Sir Dunkyn ((and RFC)) the benefit of the doubt and say he gets it mostly right because Destiny kept right on going).

This specific sequence is
1)Hands to braces: Sailors to the ropes that are used to adjust the angle of yards
2) Brace up the forecourse: adjust lowest square sail on on the foremost mast so that in it runs fore-aft (as opposed to abeam which would be 'brace in').
3) Back Topsail And Course: adjust lowest and second-lowest square sails on the mainmast so that the wind is hitting the forward (opposite the mast) side of the sail.
4)Sheet Home: Haul the sheets (lines attached to the movable bottom corners ((clews)) of a sail) so that the sail is as flat as possible.
5) Clew up: raise the clews to sail's yard (topsail to topyard etc).

In short, he's arresting his ship's momentum, and then putting the sails away. Also he's going to have officers/petty officers at each mast/sail/line who are further amplifying and giving more detailed instructions to their sections.
Top
Re: My First Post!
Post by Destiny   » Sat Nov 17, 2018 2:30 pm

Destiny
Midshipman

Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2018 1:26 pm

4. Sheet home...so the sail is as flat as possinle...

Eh, not really. An over trimmed sail will look flat and hard but do a poor job of driving the ship through the water due to detached air flow on the forward side of the sail. An under trimmed sail will have a bubble on the leading edge or luff. A properly trimmed sail will look a bit soft as the airflow is equalized on both sides of the sail.

The fact that a sail is curved is what gives a sail its power. The air must travel a longer path on the forward side, creating a partial vacuum and pulling on the sail. The same principle that gives an airplane wing its lift.

Of course all questions about sailing can be answered “it depends on the wind”. Lol. For example, you might want a sail to luff a bit so that the boat sails flatter and faster or reef the sail (reduce sail area) for the same purpose.
Top

Return to Safehold