What is it?
- JR stands for junk rig. Elia is my attempt to adopt a modern approach to this most ancient system of sails.
- But first, a little side story.
- This is about my experience, or lack of it, with the rig. A friend of mine owns a Junk, yes, a real one. Born in Hong Kong, I do not know how she ended up here. A 3-masted vessel with a typical Chinese junk setup. The first mast is right on the bow and is inclined forward, followed by the 2 other spars. Invited aboard, the two of us went out for an afternoon sail. The breeze was light, and soon we stopped the engine to be on our way. It was not long before we had to tack to avoid running into Fort Adams. This is when the owner told me that we have to start the engine, otherwise the boat will not come over. Surprised, I said, "Why not?" Simply, she won't come about with this light breeze was the answer. I asked her to let me try. So, we did, and the tack was achieved in a smooth way, with no problem. The end of the story is that for the rest of the time, we could not change course without having to start the engine. Beginner's luck! Yes, but leaving me with a poor impression of the whole lot.
