a A
Page Six
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, Mayv 26..t957- 1 ---
Sunday; May 26, 1957
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
University
Art Museum
The Sport of Sailing
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Prof. Charles . .
Sawyer became the new director of i 3
the University's Museum of Art (in :x~a
Alumni Memorial Hall) this year.
The Daily has asked him to select ' '
and comment upon six selections ;
which he regards as among the best }<
In the University's art 'colections,
and which also symbolize the signi-
ficance of the collections as a whole.)
By CHARLES H. SAVEX-ER
FIRST, A BRIEF comment on the
collections as they stand today:
they are especially strong in con-"
temporary art and in prints and
drawings, for my predecessor, Prof.I
Jean P. Slusser, very wisely decided
to concentrate the limited pur-f°,
chase funds available in those
areas where good acquisitions are f{
possible at modest cost. With addi- h
tional funds, we hope to broaden .
the base of the collections to in-
elude more examples of historicV
art and at the same time continue
to build selectively on the excellent
foundation already established.
A university art collection exists
primarily for teaching purposes.
Here at the University the Museum Paul Cezanne
of Art has a primary responsibility
to the fine arts department in the tions of the University. Possibly
Literary College and the art de- these accidental contacts, motiv-
partment in the College of Archi- ated by the individual, are the
tecture and DEsign. At the same most effective and, in the long run,
time, it should serve as a rich the most important. We intend, in
source of reference for all courses the loan exhibits and in the collec-
in the arts and humanities, and as tions borrowed from other mu-
a stimulating center for visual ex- seums and private collectors, to
perience for students in all sec- enlarge the opportunities for and
I'
.. ( I ""::.i-:,:i
Alexader alde.ion?: and i Y:Acrobats}f
it's been used for pleasure and profit since history's d
The Bathers
thus the numbers of this casual
audience.
MAX BECKMANN'S Begin the
Beguine is to me one of the
most impressive paintings in the
contemporary collections. T h i s
Gereman artist, who painted and
See Page 7, Column Four
___
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Suntime and funtime...
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By PHILIP MUNCK
Daily Staff Writer
SAILING could be considered the
oldest of man's sports. The
first sailor was probably some pre-
historic man who floated down a
stream on a log one day, contem-
plating the beauties of nature.
While he was sitting there, a gust
of wind came along, catching a
leafy branch of the log that stuck
up out of ' the water. The log
picked up speed and our friend
began moving quickly - more
quickly than he desired - down
the stream. Although he was
much too busy trying to get back
to shore to realize it, he had be-
come the world's first sailor.
Sailing can be defined as the
art of moving a floating vessel
with power derived solely from
the wind. Sailing, however, is
much more easily defined than
understood. It was not until ex-
perimenters discovered the prin-
ciple of an airplane wing that
the driving principle of the sail
was fully understood.
Still, sailing has been used for
pleasure and profit since the dawn
of history without its basic prin-
ciples being understood.
In their earliest days, sailing
ships were nothing more than
ships propelled by oars with a
huge square sail to be hoisted
when the wind came from directly
behind. Since it was a simple mat-
ter to put slaves to work rowing
when the wind died out or came
from the wrong direction, little
attempt was made to construct a
ship that could sail into the wind.
It was on ships such as these
that the early Phonecians built
a mighty sea empire, as did Rome
and Carthage. Early fighting ves-
sels were much the same as trad-
ing ships except for a sharp pro-
jection attached at the bow below
the waterline. To sink another
ship, all a captain had to do was
poke a hole in it with this "beak."
T HE romance of the sailing ship
began when the Spanish Ar-
mada was annihilated. After her
victory, England became mistress
of the high 'seas. Her merchant
vessels traveled to every major
port in the world and her Navy
was invincible.
By this time, sailing vessels did
not need to wait until wind blew
in the right direction to go where
they wanted to go. Ships could
sail practically straight into the
wind. From a single mast with one
sail on it, ships became three-,
four-, and five-masted with doz-
ens of sails of many sizes, but all
square in shape.
The design of ships improved
until, under Douglas McKay, the
Clipper ship - the ultimate in
ship design - was achieved. Clip-
per ships are a uniquely American
achievement. With long narrow
hulls, they were the fastest ves-
sels afloat. McKay's greatest sin-
gle achievement was the design of
the immortal "Flying Cloud."
THE "Flying Cloud" is acknow-
ledged today as the fastest
sailing ship ever built. She epi-
tomizes the Clipper ship design
with a very narrow hull and enor-
mous sail area. The Clipper's hulls
were dwarfed by their huge masts
and multitudinous sails.
The day of the commercial sail-
ing vessel, however, was soon to
close, for steamships could carry
more tonnage more economically
than could sailing ships.
Sailing remains today as one
of the most universally popular
sports of mankind. Sailboats are
much smaller than the huge Clip-
pers but yachtsmen still get the
thrill of harnessing the forces of
nature for their own purposes.
Sailors tend to be grouped into
three classifications: those who
race, those who prefer to cruise,
and those who just like to sail
around their local areas during
the day.
MOST present-day" -racing is
done by the "one-design
classes". These are boats (most-
ly under 25 feet long) that are
built to exactly the same dimen-
sions. Each boat is equal to all
the rest in the race and the win-
ner is the best sailor.
There are literally hundreds of
one-design classes but most rac-
ing is done in about a dozen
.classes. Included in these are
Snipes (15 feet long), Stars (22
feet long), Ravens (21 feet long),
International 110's (17 feet long)
and Lightnings (18 feet long).
They all resemble each other
slightly in that they have an open
codkpit, a single mast and two or
three sails (one or two in front of
the mast and one behind). The
Snipe class is probably the larg-
est one-design class in the world
-it has a membership in excess
of 10,000 boats. They are raced in
practically every country in the
world.
The rise of the one-design
classes came after the Depression
in 1929. Before then, racing acti-
vity was largely confined to boats
with an overall length of 50 feet.
It was in large classes such as
these that the America Cup races
were held.
MUCH modern sailing is done
by people who cruise. Using
boats which place emphasis on
comfort and seaworthiness, they
have sailed to the most remote
ports of the Seven Seas.
Most of the sailing done in the
United States today is known as
"day sailing." Day sailors sail,
not for the thrill of racing or the
lure of far-off ports, but just for
the joy of sailing.
For the day sailor, the exhilar-
ating feeling of. the sun and wind
and water is reward in itself.
There is almost no noise and no
vibration. There is a gentle hiss-
ing as the boat cuts through the
water and the sail rustles quietly
in the wind. As the sheets (lines
which adjust the angle of the sail
with relation to the boat) are
hauled in, the luff (the back edge
of the sail) ceases to snap in the
wind. The boat tips farther to-
See SAILING, Page 16
NAUTICAL TERMS--The terminology
example, this boat is sailing "on the w
The "jib"-the sail in front of the mas
the one behind the mast are adjusted
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Whatcha' Doing
DAY SAILBOATS-This small boat is representative of the type
of boats becoming increasingly more popular for "day sailing."
The roomy cockpit will accommodate five or six people for a lei-
surely afternoon's sail or can be used for racing with other boats of
the same design.
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