Wednesday, April 17, 2013

What class of sailboat is this?



What class of sailboat is this?  And where does it come from?

Esteemed Sunfish blogger my2fish posted it earlier this week and none of his readers has been able to tell him. I wonder if any of my readers can work it out.

The only clue (which is of absolutely no help whatsoever) is that a friend of my2fish's saw this picture hanging on the wall of a doctor's office.


17 comments:

Keep Reaching said...

It is clearly a log canoe of some type.

Pelle said...

It is probably some koind of racing yole from Martinique..

Tillerman said...

I think you are right Pelle. Plenty of images out there on the web if you google Martinique racing yole.

Litoralis said...

It's a photo of Gommier racing in Martinique.

http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/detail_EU2400-4697__494__sailinggommier01eu_htm.html

http://www.allatsea.net/caribbean/gommier-racing-anything-but-plain-sailing/

Tillerman said...

1. I learned two new words today, Gommier and Yole. Is a gommier a yole? Is a yole a gommier? There must be a joke or a parody poem there somehwere. O Docker will probably come up with one.

2. The doctor didn't take his fancy camera to Martinique for his vacation. His assistant bought a poster for $12.95 from sportsposterwarehouse.com.

Tillerman said...

Oh la la, there's even a wikipedia entry answering my question....

La yole est un assemblage de planches sur un squelette, plus large et plus stable, elle peut mettre des surfaces de voile plus importantes. la direction se fait à l'aide d'une pagaie ce qui lui permet de pouvoir passer plus facilement là où se trouve des hauts fonds. Le Tour de la Martinique des yoles rondes attire beaucoup de spectateurs.
Le gommier est fabriqué dans un tronc d'arbre fouillé. Instable et plus étroit selon le temps d'ouverture du bois lors de sa préparation. La direction se fait par le gouvernail qui empêche le passage près des récifs et autres, d'où une préférence des compétitions sur la côte ouest de la Martinique.

Tillerman said...

Or in a language that Google Translate thinks is English....

The gig is a collection of boards on a skeleton, wider and more stable, it can make surfaces sailing higher. management is done using a paddle which allows him to spend more easily where there is shoals. The Tower Martinique round skiffs attracts many spectators.
The gum is made from a tree trunk searched. Unstable and narrower as the opening of timber during its preparation time. The management is done by the rudder that prevents the passage near the reefs and others, where a preference for competition on the west coast of Martinique.

Keep Reaching said...

Somewhat closer to English is:

The yole is a collection of planks on a frame, and being larger and more stable, it can carry larger sails. Steering is done with a paddle which allows it to pass more easily in shallow water. The Tour de Martinique of round yoles attracts many spectators. The gommier is made from a hollowed out tree trunk. Unstable and narrower according to the opening of the wood during its preparation. Steering is done by a rudder which prevents passages near reefs and others which means it is preferred in competitions on the west coast of Martinique.

Tillerman said...

I'm up a gum tree without a paddle.

Tillerman said...

I rather liked that bit about "management is done using a paddle which allows him to spend more easily."

O Docker said...


The captain of a smart gommier
Set sail without his sommelier
When he ordered, "Back to port,"
His first mate's retort
Was, "I'd much prefer a Chardonnay."


O Docker said...

Be careful what you wish for.

Tillerman said...

What a droll yole.

Genie said...

Thank goodness I didn't comment earlier because my thoughts, when I saw the photo, was that it might have been Indonesians trepanging for sea cucumbers (Beche de mer for you foodies) until I realised that there was no place in the boat for the catch. Might have gone better with the chardonnay, though!

Anonymous said...

I love that one, Doc!

Genie said...

A small token for Tillerman who gives us such fun.

Have you heard about that chap called Tillerman,
Blogger, by trade, from Tiverton.
He cut boats from logs, signed up some sea-dogs,
And yoled all around the Caribbean.

O Docker said...


Yole log?

Is it that time of year already?

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