Sliding down the backstay

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

On a gymnasium climbing rope that is 2” hemp and only 20 feet long you climb up the rope and you climb down. If you slide down you get severe rope burns. A wire backstay would cut deeply into hands and legs. By the way, the photo is me flipping through a fire hoop on a gymnastics/acrobatics team in college long long ago.

On that 2" rope it was great to hold an L up and down also long long age.
This whole thing about coming down a backstay seems Ludacris.
What would be the point?

[ameehan]

Errol Flynn also slid down his square mainsail with his sword buried in the canvas, I wouldn’t try this either.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Cadence

On that 2" rope it was great to hold an L up and down also long long age.
This whole thing about coming down a backstay seems Ludacris.
What would be the point?

Sometimes just to do it. As a young man in Honduras I once let a DC3 wing pass over my head as it landed on a very narrow island strip. ( Roatan) There was a pile of pipe laying along the runway and in order to hit me he would have had to crash. I was setting on the pipe. Still, that wing going over your head at about 100 mph is a rush. Would I do it again at 75 ? Probably. Still a little crazy.

[Searles]

Many years ago in Hobart often the Sydney Hobart race ,watched with awe as a verry fit crew person,who I believe to still be alive,go hand over hand up the forestry stand on the mast head did not break the wind gear and hand over hand down the back stay to the deck, not for the faint hearted .Also when a deck officer on the cape class bulk carrier the Iron Spencer ,a Swedish AB went hand over hand up the foremast stay and down a side stay these were 3inch wires . I was there for these events many years goo .⚓️

[belizesailor]

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.

Oh man...bad time to find a meat hook!!

Maybe with very heavy clothing and gloves...and a saftey halyard in case it went wrong.

[Chotu]

Pray for no meat hooks. Might be a good way to inspect the standing rigging for breakage on the way down to your death though. LOL
Seems awfully slippery to slide down without a halyard controlling your descent

[Madehn]

"here hold my beer AND watch this!"

[Oeanda]

I was thinking to take my beer with me actually.

Thanks kindly for the replies, and all the heartfelt concerns for my safety and sanity

The backstays on a square rigger are definitely a different animal and that’s really the key thing I realize now. Their backstays look to be very steep, running out to the sides just aft of the shrouds. Steep’s easier to slide down, and a thick lumpy hawser is relatively easy to hang on to, compared to my ‘cheese slicer’.
Whether or not there was much sliding down the rigging in square rig days, I don’t know, but it seems like an obvious way to get down to the deck quickly. Seems to me that the topmen managed much more hair-raising feats than that on a regular basis.
FWIW, in the O’Brian novels, the friction was taken by heavy clothing, not bare hands.

As for the question ‘why’ - it seems evident to me when I’m at the top looking at a clear slide down one side, and an awkward clamber on the other. But we all think a little differently I guess. I figured someone may have tried it, with whatever gear or technique.

Maybe I’ll seek out and put the question to some tall ship enthusiasts.

Thanks again for the responses. Cheers!

[Joli]

When we were racing my wife always descended by the headstay. It was quicker and cleaner then coming down the rig, there was nothing to hit on the way down.

[cal40john]

Decades ago I was at a party on a 54' racing boat. The crew decided to have races. Hand over hand up to the top and back down solid rod rigging. No sliding though.

[Fore and Aft]

Oenda I would say it all depends on your upper body strength. There was a proud parent on Facey that posted a video of there young daughter happily climbing up their stainless steel rigging with no harness on a pretty big yacht. A quick google and I could not find the video which does not surprise me as there were plenty of haters commenting.
Cheers and post a video here if you do it.

[Traitch]

While working on the USCG Cutter Eagle in the mid 60's on the crows nest and other platforms I would slide down the shrouds. It was much faster than using the ratlines that I took going up. The first time was scary as you had to launch yourself off the platform to reach the shroud. It was not far, just out of reach from the platform. Eventually, it became natural. Of course theses shrouds were substantial in size.

[cal40john]

I now recall a story by someone that spent time on the Eagle that I knew. The person next to him on (at?) the yard disappeared. She managed to snag a stay but was going way too fast and took the flesh off down to the bone of her hand. She survived but I believe he said her hand was pretty much ruined. He said it was in a short period of time moving the harness line from one point to another.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Oeanda

. . . The backstays on a square rigger are definitely a different animal and that’s really the key thing I realize now. Their backstays look to be very steep, running out to the sides just aft of the shrouds. . .

I didn't think square-riggers had backstays. With this post, you forced me to look it up:





Thank you for clearing this up for me!

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Sometimes just to do it. As a young man in Honduras I once let a DC3 wing pass over my head as it landed on a very narrow island strip. ( Roatan) There was a pile of pipe laying along the runway and in order to hit me he would have had to crash. I was setting on the pipe. Still, that wing going over your head at about 100 mph is a rush. Would I do it again at 75 ? Probably. Still a little crazy.

My post #18. I'm bet there are a bunch of things done by teens that people wouldn't do as adults this one might qualify.