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Discover how to trim your sails

Jul 23, 2007 12:00 AM (446 days ago) by Aleksandra Robinson, The Examiner
This story ranks Not ranked
Related Topics: BALTIMORE

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Have you ever wondered what makes a sailboat glide across the water?

Christopher Fifty, of Churchville, did. Then he attended a camp at Baltimore County Sailing Center. He said he enjoys playing follow-the-leader and tag in the boat he’s learning to sail.

“It’s fun because you can just capture the wind and it takes you someplace and you can control it,” he said.

How it works is more complicated than it sounds.

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Beth Kahr, the executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association, said sailboats work more like their modern equivalent, the airplane.

“Basically, when the wind passes over the curved part of the sail or airplane wing, it provides lift, so the same way an airplane will rise in the wind, a sailboat will be drawn forward,” she said.

But what is lift?

“The air is moving faster over … the back side of the sail, so it’s drawing the sail and propelling the boat in a forward direction,” Kahr said.

To maintain the lift, a sailor has to steer the boat to best catch the wind and trim the sails. Trimming the sails means changing their angle to the wind so they catch the most wind possible. Steering the boat and trimming the sails help you generate as much lift as possible so that you can get where you want to go quickly.

Sailing may sound complicated, but it’s so easy a child can do it — and a lot do. Kahr said her daughter started sailing when she was 4.

There are sailing camps and classes for children in and around Baltimore. Some, like the Baltimore County Sailing Center, are open to children as young as 8.

It teaches kids responsibility, said Steve Maddox, director of the center.

“Each kid is in their own boat, so they have to do it themselves,” he said.

al.robinson@baltimoreexaminer.com

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12:19 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 28, 2008 re: "How do ships float?"

Miki said:
This is a very imformative piece...I would like to read more articles and information on this topic, as well as from this website or writer...They give straight answers and get to the point fast...In conclusion...I have found what I have been looking for, it is very easy, and good job who ever wrote this article or the website... :-) Mahalo and E la maikai ia kakou a pau!!

17 agree | 5 disagree
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10:54 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 18, 2007 re: "New dolphin dives into the National Aquarium"

Dolphin said:
"It's natural for dolphins to pair bond in their [wild] environment" What she did miss is that such pair-trio bonds are being formed by males born the same year in the same family. And these bonds are almost never replaceable. Means, if one of them dies or disappears some other way, there will be no replacement for his mate. It definitely does not happen by just dumping some dolphins together, even if they both are lonely.

218 agree | 217 disagree
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2:25 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 12, 2007 re: "Harry Potter fans speculate on final chapter"

Khuram said:
Harry is the last Horcrux perhaps. The black stone ring in the 6th book had a crack on it after it bacame a horcrux, a crack evident on harry's forhead. Perhaps R.A.B is Regullus Black. Also, as the last chapter of the last book is called 'The Boy Who Died', we can guess that Harry, if he is a Horcrux, has to be destroyed in order for Voldemort to lose his immunity. Snape might turn out to be good, for there is evidence in the 6th book that Dumbledore had previously asked Snape to carry out a task which Snape didn't want to. What 'it' is is still speculated however, many believe the order was for Snape to avoid death himself by killing Dumbledore, meaning that Snape may be very important in the destruction of Voldemort. I'm studying English Literature at uni, it helps quite a lot.

203 agree | 195 disagree
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7:50 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 11, 2007 re: "Harry Potter fans speculate on final chapter"

J.P. said:
I think that Harry will destroy 5 of the 6 horcruxes, I also think that Harry will be the 6th and final horcrux and he will have to die in order to kill voldemort once and for all

198 agree | 173 disagree
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7:44 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 11, 2007 re: "Harry Potter fans speculate on final chapter"

Irfan Nabi said:
I think there will be a big battle against Voldemort.I think Harry will destroy all the horcruxes and make one of his own. I think h will have help from all the greatest wizards he knows about. I think Voldemort will die one of the great wizards will die and Harry will die. I think Dumbledore has a horcrux so he can come back from the dead and help Harry. I think some will make a statue of Harry because he killed Voledemort.

174 agree | 200 disagree
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11:10 AM MST on Mon., Jun. 11, 2007 re: "Harry Potter fans speculate on final chapter"

Examiner Reader said:
Harry Potter is for people of all ages -- example, residents at Riderwood, in Silver Spring, Maryland (a retirement community) have their own Harry Potter blog.

205 agree | 187 disagree
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1:59 AM MST on Mon., Jun. 11, 2007 re: "Harry Potter enthusiasts speculate on new book, ‘Deathly Hallows’"

mwigarire syson tasha said:
i think harry will kill snape and voldemort after discovering many secrets about the dark world.

202 agree | 209 disagree
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9:08 AM MST on Sat., Apr. 28, 2007 re: "How do ships float?"

Examiner Reader said:
Thank you it was helpful

1,199 agree | 306 disagree
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