Flies

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

So if the fly can stick to the sail you are sheeted to tight?

You want that boundary layer blowin' that buggah right off!

That's a good idea--using flies as telltales.

All natural, eco-friendly, low carbon footprint, and re-cyclable (as fish food).

[Chief Engineer]

I was always amazed in Maine.....In February....we get to the cabin.....get the fire going...outside temp around 10F....when the stove gets the place up to about 50 or so.....these huge slow flies appear......Gord....Please elucidate on Mosca Hibernation

[Jesse]

In the PNW buoys large enough for seals or sea lions to lay on are loaded with flies. If you pass close enough you'll have a boatload of flies that live on sea lion dung. We combat them with bugbats. They are battery powered high frequency bug zappers in the form of small tennis racquet's. They are quite effective and emit a very satisfactory crackle when you nail one of the buggers. Jesse

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

...Gord....Please elucidate on Mosca Hibernation

Mosquitos that don’t hibernate live for 2-3 weeks, or up to as long as 2-3 months if environmental conditions are favorable.

Mosquitoes that hibernate in the adult stage live for 6-8 months but spend most of that time in a state of torpor. Some of the mosquito species found in arctic regions enter hibernation twice and take more than a year to complete their life cycle.

Mosquitoes function best at 80o F, become lethargic at 60o F, and cannot function below 50o F. In tropical areas, mosquitoes are active year round. In temperate climates, adult mosquitoes become inactive with the onset of cool weather and enter hibernation to live through the winter. Some kinds of mosquitoes have winter hardy eggs and hibernate as embryos in eggs laid by the last generation of females in late summer. The eggs are usually submerged under ice and hatch in spring when water temperatures rise. Other kinds of mosquitoes overwinter as adult females that mate in the fall, enter hibernation in animal burrows, hollow logs or basements and pass the winter in a state of torpor. In spring, the females emerge from hibernation, blood feed and lay the eggs that produce the next generation of adults. A limited number of mosquitoes overwinter in the larval stage, often buried in the mud of freshwater swamps. When temperatures rise in spring, these mosquitoes begin feeding, complete their immature growth and eventually emerge as adults to continue their kind.

See also: Mosquito Adapting to Global Warming, Study Finds ~ by Bijal P. Trivedi
Mosquito Adapting to Global Warming, Study Finds

“... Scientists have found a mosquito that appears to have evolved and adapted to climatic changes induced by global warming— the first documented case of a genetic change in response to the apparent heating up of the planet ...
... Mosquitoes use the length of day to anticipate the oncoming winter and to plan hibernation. But with the onset of warmer winters mosquitoes are reproducing later in the year and postponing dormancy; instead of beginning hibernation in late summer when the days are still long, these mosquitoes are using fewer hours of daylight later in the year as their cue to go to sleep. ...”

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

So if the fly can stick to the sail you are sheeted to tight?
You want that boundary layer blowin' that buggah right off!

As I understand* the WB tutorial on Tell-Tales, the preferred condition is to have the boundary layer attached to the sail, which should permit the fly to remain in place.
Accordingly, I disagree, and I STEER to accommodate the fly.

“...If you are pointing too high the windward telltales "stall", i.e. point straight up or stream forwards or twirl around restlessly. If you are sailing too low the leeward telltales hang down and die, which is a sign of a serious steering error - the leeward telltales should always stream steadily aft. When the leeward telltales stall, the jib trimmer should ease the sheet until the helmsman is back onto his proper course again. Stalling the leeward telltales means that the whole foresail is about to stall. It then loses most of its drive and only the heeling force remains ...”

Goto: WB-Sails Ltd

* I’m not very good at this kind of cross-analysis, so I’ll ask some brighter folk to chime in and correct my mis-understanding, if appropriate.

[Joli]

Spray your transom and cockpit floor. They may visit but they won't live for long. Other brands can be picked up at Farm and Fleet.

GAL HORSE+STABLE SPRAY by P. B. I./Gordon - More Insecticides and insect repellants at doitbest.com

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by GordMay

“...If you are pointing too high the windward telltales "stall", i.e. point straight up or stream forwards or twirl around restlessly. If you are sailing too low the leeward telltales hang down and die, which is a sign of a serious steering error

So now Don has to let us know what sied of the sail the bugger was on so we can find out if he was pointing to high, too low or just right....

Okay - truth time buddy. What's the deal - LOL.....

[bvimatelot]

I remember coming up to periscope depth in mid atlantic many years ago to "snort". Suddenly there was a fly in the control room........go figure! Tony

[sailorboy1]

Flies as tell tails, think there is a market for this?
The fly was on the windward side, sails were nice and full, guess this means I was trimed well. The fly moved on down toward the boom and just seemed to come along for the ride. It did take a "stroll" once in a while. Maybe I should have kept it in sight to find out when it finally went away. Maybe it was when my wife took the helm as she likes to luff up alot (bet I'm going to hear about this comment).

[Ex-Calif]

I think we also gotta get a measurement on the fly. That boundary layer can be skinny stuff. If it is a really fat blowfly, maybe Don has figured out how to thicken the boundary layer.

That's gotta be good for a nobel science prize or at least some funding $$$

[sailorboy1]

Well there I was out on the bay again. Been out for about 3 hours in 10-15 mph wind and there it was again; a 3/4" long horse fly. Also noticed the there was a group of black house flies that weren't around before. Looked around and noticed a mile away there was the same pipe laying support barge from acouple of weeks ago. So the answer to my orginal answer of "where do these flies come from" appears for me to be this barge. If this many miles show up when I'm a mile away I wonder what life is like on the barge itself!

[Morgan Paul]

What's up with flies? How can you have been out on the water for hours, miles from land, and suddenly are getting bitten by flies?

Hey Don. I thought of you and this fly post this past Sunday. There I was smack dab in the middle of Long Island Sound 7 miles from nearest land. Wind blowing about 10 mph. All of a sudden out of nowhere about a dozen small flies start hanging out in my cockpit. And some of those small pricks were trying to bite me .

What's up with flies?

[bill352]

Not sure the flies are that sensitive to your sail trim. We had one on the outside of the windscreen once taking off in an airplane, and we were over a hundred knots before he got blown off.

Or maybe he just decided to leave. Hard to tell.

[andydroit]

Two years ago we were sailing from RI to Maine. When we were at least 30 miles from land, house flies appeared in great quantities. We swatted hundreds, until the swatter broke. When we arrived in Tenant's harbor, the first thing we did was buy a new swatter. When we got back to the boat, the flies had abandoned ship. We had no significant quantities of flies for our 2 weeks in Maine, but sailing back, when offshore, we again had hundreds. We have a catamaran with stern steps, and they liked to congregate there. We could sometimes kill up to 5 in 1 swat. We took turns swatting, until we broke the swatter. When we reached the Cape Cod canal, they disappeared.
We've never had that happen elsewhere. I, too, am curious where they came from.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by bill352

Not sure the flies are that sensitive to your sail trim. We had one on the outside of the windscreen once taking off in an airplane, and we were over a hundred knots before he got blown off.

Or maybe he just decided to leave. Hard to tell.

I've got an Airex wind generator mounted on a dock piling which is tied into my house's backup electrical system. One day while on the dock I noticed a big fly had landed near the outer end of one of the blades. After awhile a breeze came up and the generator started turning. That stupid fly hung on until the blades were turning at least 300 RPM. I could hardly see him as he was a blur. Finally he was gone. I don't know if he flew away or disintegrated!

Steve B.