[chinese junk rig] interface with the west

Left: western plastic fantastic; Right: western boat, Chinese rig

I've just been spending some time looking at the Chinese junk rig and how it is being finally adapted for western use after about 2000 years. As always in these situations, western men and women of pioneering spirit and open minds first took to it and ironed out the problems [for our minds] while going through a steep learning curve to undo decades of western thinking and to start thinking 'Chinese'.

The rig, with all its lines, checks and balances is so at odds with the slick, metal and plastic, dial-in-the-speed western mentality and I'd imagine it wouldn't cut much ice with the average hi-tech blogger. Quite frankly, it looks like a toddler's idea of a sail and yet the Chinese have been utilizing it for blue water sailing since the 2nd century Han Dynasty, so it must have something going for it.

Apparently it's perfect for blue water cruising and awful for racing and therein lies the difference between our frenetic, ever-updating psyche and hi-cost solutions and the Chinese simple materials, simple concept, efficiently working for the purpose for which it was designed.

There's a nice article by Brian Platt who tried to get it operating and now associations are springing up all over the net. To this blogger/sailor, it's slowly growing on him but it would be nice to see some more of the bugs ironed out first.