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From: schoeller@alien.DEC (Nuclear holocaust 20 minutes away...film at 11:00.)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Sailboat pennant.
Message-ID: <3258@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 24-Jul-85 08:52:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.3258
Posted: Wed Jul 24 08:52:12 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jul-85 03:28:34 EDT
Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP
Organization: DEC Engineering Network
Lines: 29

> Subject: Sailboat pennant
> Posted: Mon Jul 22 07:58:15 1985
> Organization: Cybermation, Inc., Cambridge, MA
>  
> Wnen a sail boat is running a pennant on the mast would point
> towards the bow.  This would hold true even if you started to
> come about (untill you were no longer running).  Of course it
> would point towards the stern if close hauled.
>  
> Rick

If a boat was jiving into the wind, wouldn't the pennant be pointing more
towards stern than bow?  Sure it would; and the boat would still be running.
Boat sails are made so that when the wind fills them up, they create an air-
foil.  This allows them to run without having the wind to their backs.  The
boat must cut the wind at an angle but not directly into the wind in order for
this to happen.  To move in the general direction of the wind, the boat must
"jive" (in other words, make a zig-zag pattern running the boat to a point to
the right of the source of wind and then to the left).  This causes the boat
to travel a greater distance, but it is still moving against the wind.  There-
fore, jiving the boat into the wind causes the pennent to point toward the
stern (not directly pointing at the stern {unless during a jive}, but more
towards stern than bow. 


>	Which is the longest U.S. coast line ?

As for the longest coast line, I would guess the California, Oregon, Washing-
ton, Alaska, Hawaii (Pacific Ocean) coast-line.