Sliding down the backstay

[Oeanda]

Has anyone here done it?

Whenever I’m at the top of the mast it looks tempting. It’s a regular event in Patrick O’Brian’s books. Surely it’s been done plenty of times before.
Oddly though, I can’t find any real life accounts of it on the net. I was expecting to find a lot of references, including videos- but nothing. Not that I dug extremely hard.
It’s kind of an all or nothing decision...

[Malabarista]

Just watch out for those pesky SSB insulators. Sounds like fun but i think I’ll let you go first [emoji846]

[Hudson Force]

I'm not sure if you're speaking of something more adventurous, but I would regularly descend after work at the masthead by clipping to one of my split backstays. I would be wearing a climber's harness as well as a chest harness and with a trusted person tailing my winch. You might be talking about something more sporting than just my easy drop to a deck area clear of the boom and other shrouds.

[Sailmonkey]

The back stays in the Patrick O’Brien books are large and hemp. Usually less steep too than our thin pieces of wire.

[valhalla360]

Please have the video running when you try it.

[Dockhead]

Sliding down while being lowered from a halyard? Or flying down on your own, like in Patrick O'Brien?


The latter would seem like an excellent way to break your neck. Nor do I believe that what was described in the novels actually happened like that.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Sliding down while being lowered from a halyard? Or flying down on your own, like in Patrick O'Brien?


The latter would seem like an excellent way to break your neck. Nor do I believe that what was described in the novels actually happened like that.

I can see “sliding” down a backstay with your legs wrapped around and controlling your descent hand over hand being viable.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I can see “sliding” down a backstay with your legs wrapped around and controlling your descent hand over hand being viable.

This I'd like to see; no actually, not. If I saw someone was going to try it I'd turn away to avoid the spectacle.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

This I'd like to see; no actually, not. If I saw someone was going to try it I'd turn away to avoid the spectacle.

Keep in mind the books that describe this take place aboard hemp rigged vessels.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I can see “sliding” down a backstay with your legs wrapped around and controlling your descent hand over hand being viable.

No backstays on square rigged ships. But yes -- I supposed a physically fit person could descend and large diameter hemp rope that way. But in Master & Commander, or whichever book it was where this was described, they were flying down the ropes. I remember thinking that this was not realistic.


But a small diameter wire rope backstay? Madness, and death.


But I suppose the OP meant that he would be on a halyard. That I think would be fine, and maybe easier than getting down around spreaders and shrouds and so forth.


I just learned from a particularly agile Danish rigger, after being up my mast x times around the forward side, to go up on the after side -- less crap there to climb around.

[Hudson Force]

Sliding down untethered is not what I had done! 'might as well take the risk of sticking a knife in the mainsail and holding on as you slice your way down to the deck like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Definitely not on my list!

[betwys1]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

Sliding down untethered is not what I had done! 'might as well take the risk of sticking a knife in the mainsail and holding on as you slice your way down to the deck like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Definitely not on my list!

That has been demonstrated not to work either ~ Mythbusters ~

[betwys1]

Originally Posted by Oeanda

Has anyone here done it?

Whenever I’m at the top of the mast it looks tempting. It’s a regular event in Patrick O’Brian’s books. Surely it’s been done plenty of times before.
Oddly though, I can’t find any real life accounts of it on the net. I was expecting to find a lot of references, including videos- but nothing. Not that I dug extremely hard.
It’s kind of an all or nothing decision...

A regular event in Startrek is Warp-drive.
Genius & Madness, how close allied!

Brian W

[bongo]

Early in my career as a merchant mariner, I sailed with a Captain that had started out his career as an OS/AB/Mate/Captain of sailing vessels, before he had ever sailed steamships. He told me as an AB trimming sails, his trick was to ascend one mast, then take the spring stay to the top of the next mast, then descend.
As commercial sailing vessels eventually died out, he eventually had to take the plunge and go over to steamships. He had some great sea-stories.

[psp2psp2]

I’ve done it on a 43 footer. Not for fun, but to closely examine the back stay from top to bottom for signs of wear and damage. I made a simple harness to keep me loosely attached to it while being lowered with both hands free.

myageofsail.com