Friday, July 31, 2015

Belewe Moon, the Betrayer

Tonight's full moon is the second full moon of July, and whenever two full moons occur in the same month, the second one is considered "blue." The event is pretty rare; there are 29.53 days between each full moon, and only 365.24 days in the year. That means there are 12.37 full moons each year. That extra .37 adds up over time, so every two to three years, you get 13 full moons in one year. The last blue moon happened in August 2012, and the next one won't happen until January 2018.

Aye, but when I think of a Blue Moon, it looks like this:

Catherine MacMillan's graceful Katie & Ginny 
 Thomas Gillmer gaff cutter, Blue Moon

3 comments:

Alden Smith said...

The idea that you can think of a blue moon and then get a picture of a yacht in your mind is about the best exemplar for Sanity that I have heard of in a long, long time.

Peter Belenky said...

I followed your link that led to pictures of the 2014 Port Townsend festival and saw that you described Macaw as a larger version of Stone Horse. Though they both have raised decks and a distinctive S. S. Crocker aesthetic, they are completely different underwater. Stone Horse is a full-keel, outside-ballasted design. Macaw is a shoal-draft centerboarder. After Vincent Gilpin published "The Good Little Ship" in 1952, extolling Commodore Ralph M. Munroe's sharpie-derived Presto type, several new designs were commissioned. In the 1961 second edition, Gilpin wrote:

The first of the new generation of the Good Little Ship was MACAW, designed by S. S. Crocker, formerly of Boston and now of Manchester, Mass., for Lawrence M. Holloway, to use in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. On her initial trip south she ran into Hurricane Greta off the Virginia Capes, was hove to for 36 hours in comfort and, when the wind fell to 40 knots, went her way. She has ranged southern waters to the satisfaction of her owner, who says: "Your design leaves little to be desired." Mrs. Holloway adds: "She's really a love ... sails like a dream."

doryman said...

Ah yes, sanity. An intriguing topic. But whether it applies to my mind is a matter of debate.
Another intriguing topic is Makaw. Peter, perhaps it's time to write an article about that worthy design. I was thrilled to see it for the first time, at last year's show and intended to get a better look, but she was side-tied four deep. The journey across three pristine decks was intimidating.