The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Swaziland is the highest in the world at 38.8%, and is much higher than that of sub-Saharan Africa overall (7.5%) and globally (1.1%). Life expectancy at birth in Swaziland is little above 30 years.

King Sobhuza II, who died in 1982, was one of the longest reigning monarchs of all time.

History

Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age 200,000 years ago have been found in the kingdom of Swaziland. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from ca. 25,000 B.C. and continue up to the 19th century.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by the Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century, and people speaking languages ancestral to current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century.

The ruling Dlamini lineage had chiefships in the region in the 18th century. An enlarged Swazi (occasionally also written as Suozi[citation needed]) kingdom was established by King Sobhuza I in the early 19th century. Soon thereafter the first whites started to settle in the area. In the 1890s the South African Republic in the Transvaal claimed sovereignty over Swaziland but never fully established power. After the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, Swaziland became a British protectorate. The country was granted independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 6 September 1968. Since then, Swaziland has seen a struggle between pro-democracy activists and the monarchy.

Swaziland has been under a State of Emergency since 1973.

Politics

The head of state is the king or Ngwenyama (lit. Lion), currently King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne in 1986 after the death of his father King Sobhuza II in 1982 and a period of regency.

By tradition, the king reigns along with his mother or a ritual substitute, the Ndlovukati (lit. She-Elephant). The former was viewed as the administrative head of state and the latter as a spiritual and national head of state, with real power counter-balancing that of the king, but during the long reign of Sobhuza II the role of the Ndlovukati became more symbolic.

As the monarch, the king not only appoints the prime minister — the head of government — but also appoints a small number of representatives for both chambers of the Libandla (parliament). The Senate consists of 30 members, while the House of Assembly has 82 seats, 55 of which are occupied by elected representatives, (elections are held every five years in November).

In 1968, Swaziland adopted a Westminster-style constitution, but in 1973 King Sobhuza suspended it under a royal decree backed by the royalist majority of parliament: in effect a coup by the government against its own constitution. The State of Emergency has since been lifted, or so the government claims even though political activities, especially by pro-democracy movements, are suppressed. In 2001 King Mswati III appointed a committee to draft a new constitution. Drafts were released for comment in May 2003 and November 2004. These were strongly criticized by civil society organizations in Swaziland and human rights organizations elsewhere. In 2005, the constitution was put into effect, though there is still much debate in the country about the constitutional reforms. From the early seventies, there was active resistance to the royal hegemony.

Despite calls for international solidarity against the oppressive royal regime, Swaziland’s human rights record remains largely ignored by the international community. The South African trade union COSATU has been the most vocal supporters of the rights of the Swazi people to govern themselves by democratic means, in line with the Freedom Charter adopted by democratic parties on the country.

During the 1970s, while the developed world was considering the effects of the global population explosion, pollution and consumerism, the developing countries, faced with continued poverty and deprivation, regarded development as essential - to meet their need for the necessities of food, clean water and shelter.

The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm was the UN’s first major conference on international environmental issues and marked the beginning of global cooperation in developing environmental policies and strategies. In 1980 the International Union for Conservation of Nature published its influential World Conservation Strategy, followed in 1982 by its World Charter for Nature, which drew attention to the decline of the world’s ecosystems. Confronted with the differing priorities of the developed and developing world, the United Nation’s World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) worked for two years to try and resolve the apparent conflict between the environment and development.

The Commission concluded that the approach to development must change: it must become sustainable development. Development, in the Commission’s view needed to be directed to meeting the needs of the poor in a way that no longer caused environmental problems, but rather helped to solve them or, in the words of the Commission in 1987:

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

In the same year the Commission’s influential report Our Common Future was published. The 1992 UN Environmental Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil produced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development Earth Summit (1992) with an action agenda, Agenda 21, overseen by the Commission on Sustainable Development.

At Rio negotiations also began for an international agreement on climate change (which eventually led to the Kyoto Protocol); agreements on forestry were forged and the Convention on Biological Diversity was initiated. By the time of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit 2002), held in Johannesburg, delegates included representatives from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and thousands of local governments reporting on how they had implemented Local Agenda 21 and the Cities for Climate Protection program.

A broad-based consensus had been reached on what was to be done. This Summit, building on the 2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration, produced eight Millennium Development Goals for 2015 (adopted by 189 countries) and established the “WEHAB” targets for water, energy, health, agriculture, and biodiversity.

The 2005 World Summit on sustainable development in New York declared that, to be effective, action on sustainability must involve cooperation across three sustainability “pillars”: environment, society and economy. Although it is critical that there is cooperation between the three pillars, in practice this often entails negotiation between competing interests.

The path of international sustainable development has never been smooth; it has many detractors. It treads the difficult path between opulent western consumer societies and the abject poverty of the developing countries of the world; between economic demands for local and global growth and environmental demands for biological and resource conservation; closely linked to these concerns are social factors that impact on environmental sustainability, such as global security, international migration, population control and global environmental legislation including the Convention on Biological Diversity, agreements on forestry, climate change, desertification, etc.

The Canal Harbour is the main axis of the old town, the center of the society life where citizens and tourist have their walk. The Port can be also considered the main historic building of the town (see the map), as it follows the drawing of Leonardo who in 1502 was asked to improve the design of the former landing place. Besides the Marine Museum, along the Port you can also find the Antiquarium, Casa Moretti, Piazza Pisacane with a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi and its solemn inscription, the old Fish Market and the wide Ciceruacchio square, where the perimeter of the old Pretorian Tower used in the past to defend the port against the Barbary pirates is still visible.

Today, near the lighthouse, the imposing Vinci’s gates defend the town from sea storms: this is a real example of modern technology carried out basing on Leonardo’s drawings.

The picturesque Piazzetta delle Conserve located in the middle of the old town is named after the structures dug in the ground where the fish was preserved with layers of snow and pressed ice for a long time before the invention of refrigerators. Four of these preserving structures, so numerous in the raised area called Il Monte (the mountain), have been recently restored and are well visible together with the upper part of another still underground preserving structure.

The Ground Section of the Marine Museum, located inside a new building expressly designed following the concept of an ancient shipyard, offers the visitors a wide and a stimulating tour dedicated to the traditional marine of the High and Middle Adriatic.

The Museum Pavilion hosts in its center two sailing boats typical of the marine history of the High Adriatic: a trabaccolo ( fishing lugger) and a bragozzo (two–masted trawler) completely equipped with their lugsails. During the first part of the tour, dedicated to “structure and construction”, it is possible to touch the simple sailing materials and technologies used for thousands of years. Among the shown pieces you can find a ropemaker’s wheel and the reconstruction of its functioning and complete marine carpenter’s workshop of the nineteenth century.

The second part is dedicated to “propulsion and steering”: here modern and ancient anchors are shown; among them you can also find two pieces of wreckage dated back to the 17th century. There are also some teaching installations where it is possible to try one’s ability in manoeuvring, making knots and bowseing. A great part is dedicated to sailing equipments, while a series of engines testify the passage from the traditional boats to the motorized ones.

From two projecting terraces of the upper level all details of the sails and masts can be closely examined. Following the exhibition tour it is then possible to admire typical items of life on board used to fish, trade and sail or magic-religious symbols (like the “eyes” in relief on the bow) and the dangers of sailing.

The museum uses many rare videos and 3D animations.

The Floating Section of the Marine Museum is located just in front of the new Ground Section, in the inner and oldest part of the Leonardesque canal harbour where 10 typical Adriatic boats with their coloured lugsails, decorated with the symbols of the fishers’ families, and the ancient propitiatory decorations.

A visit to the wide hold and cabins of the big trabaccolo (transport lugger) “Giovanni Pascoli” gives the idea of the harsh life of fishers.

During Christmas holidays, the Floating Section becomes a picturesque crib with life-size fishers’ statues on the boats.

Thanks also to the Marine Museum of Cesenatico, an organization called “Mariegola” was born some years ago in Romagna ports; this ancient word meaning “brotherhood” currently represents an organization coordinating the summer activity of the traditional boats with sails in the third and the working ones, dealing with summer events and historic sailing races. Trabaccolo “Barchet” and bragozzo “Raffaele”, the sailing boats of the Marine Museum of Cesenatico, take part to these events and, thanks to their size, they are the flagships of the Romagna boats’ fleet.

Following the example of the Marine Museum, many private citizens have restores their small boats, that can be now seen in the Canal Harbour.

Crib on the boats of the maritime museum is an happy tradition that - in Cesenatico (see the map) - has been renewed for years. The floating section of the Maritime Museum is illuminated with lights and animated with artistic statues which tell the Nativity story in marine style.

The statues have been created by sculptors Maurizio Bertoni, Mariangela Gualtieri and Mino Savadori.

The characters (fishermen, carpenter, puppeteer, musicians, together with the Holy Family) have been fashioned in a most original manner: the exposed parts of the body have been sculpted from Swiss pine and the clothes are draped fabric stiffened with hot-brushed wax.

Year after year the Crib grows bigger and bigger as new statues and new characters are costantly added.

Location: Cesenatico Maritime Museum
Period: From 30 November/to 6 January

Navimeteo operators have high competence both in the oceanographic and meteorological environment on a national and international scale. The technical aspects are enriched from the knowledge of the navigational and maritime situations which allow to strengthen the relationship and trust between the mariner and the Navimeteo operator. Establishing this tuning is a fundamental aspect of communication. Several hundreds of naval units have chosen the Navimeteo service on a yachting and as well as on a professional level.

NAVIMETEO FOLLOWS THE MARINERS ON THEIR ROUTE

The operational method of Navimeteo service allows the mariner to be constantly followed during his navigation. The modern communication and positioning systems also make it possible to interact from the yachts to Navimeteo service even in open sea.

The position of the unit in navigation is updated by Navimeteo operators by each contact, as the knowledge of its position and the route are basic factors for the transmission of the local weather conditions. The operators keep a log of the client’s routes showing the information needed for the personalisation of the service, such as dimensions and type of the unit, speed, experience of the crew, etc.

NAVIMETEO IS A SERVICE FROM PERSON TO PERSON

Nothing is more modern than two persons talking to each other. Communicating directly with expert operators is a much more efficient way than listening to an automatic reporting service. Ideally, Navimeteo operator is on board with the yachtsman, sharing – to some extent - his emotions and worries, not only for the short duration of the telephone call, but the whole navigation.

To communicate in a clear and effective manner is a standard feature of Navimeteo service. Navimeteo experts are qualified to provide a consulting service that uses technical and practical methods, even for the choice of adequate instrumentation. These systems are offered by Navimeteo as an integral part of the personalised services; they do not deal just with the solution of problems related to the acquisition of marine weather information, but also contribute to the safety of the yacht and its crew.

THE SPECIALISTS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Thanks to the professionalism and experience of their staff, Navimeteo is recognised as a solid point of reference for marine navigation across the Mediterranean Sea at an international level.

The marine meteorological conditions across the Mediterranean Basin can change very rapidly. An important role in every aspect of navigation is played by the orography, and the mariners can, at any time, rely on the accurate and timely weather information provided by Navimeteo.

In this context, the meteorological weather observations coming from the network of ships, weather stations and buoys enable Navimeteo staff to monitor the meteorological evolution over any area of the Mediterranean Sea. This helps the captain to adequately choose the routes, harbours and anchorages.

ATLANTIC CROSSINGS

Several captains rely on Navimeteo service for the acquisition of the information that are needed to plan the most appropriate meteorological route for the Atlantic crossing. Well before departure, each navigation is prepared and discussed with the captain with extreme care, checking the characteristics of the vessel, simulating the course and using statistical data.

NAVIMETEO FOR THE YACHTING

Independently from his navigational experience, a yachtsman may only dedicate time for his sailing when on holiday. This is his passion and hobby. He often sails with his own family and friends; he has to take responsibility for the safety of the yacht and the crew. Sometimes, it is not easy to decide in complete autonomy when it is the best time to leave, the most suitable and safest route to follow or the best anchorage to choose.

Through direct telephone communication, Navimeteo operatives can assist and re-assure the yachtsman in his decisions, trying to show him the meteorological conditions that he will encounter in a simple and direct manner.

NAVIMETEO FOR THE MAXI YACHTING

There is an increasing number of italian and foreign captains of maxi yachts using Navimeteo services. In addition to the problems regarding the safety and the optimization of the Mediterranean and Atlantic routes, several times the comfort and the choice of the navigation itinerary for ship owners and yachtsmen have to consider the marine weather conditions as primary factor. Some of the most important companies and international charter organizations in the marine sector have chosen Navimeteo services for their fleet.

NAVIMETEO FOR THE HARBOURS AND MARINAS

Personalization is the main feature of Navimeteo information even for the services assigned to the harbours and tourist ports in the Mediterranean. In addition to a digital system for visualizing meteorological data used by the yachting clientele, Navimeteo service for the ports and the marinas provides the analysis of most critical weather conditions for a specific area. Navimeteo operators will report, with a series of messages, the risk of important events like thunderstorms, high swells, gusts of wind, and other relevant phenomena.

NAVIMETEO FOR THE MARINE ACTIVITIES

The professional marine activities work under specific weather conditions. The weather consulting service assisting the yachtsman has to be constant and localised. In fact, small meteorological variations can determine substantial large changes in the development of the maritime activities.

There are fishing-vessels staying for a long period of time in open sea, huge barges navigating very slowly and covering long distances, shipyards for coastal activities in need of constant monitoring of wind and sea state, ships and ferries relying on local weather data along their route to determine the times of navigation, the difficulties and the fuel consumption. Navimeteo is for all these activities an important reference point, putting extreme care and professionalism at the service of its operations.

NAVIMETEO AND THE ROUTING FOR RACING

The planning of the best meteorological route and the timely capacity to modify it on the basis of the current variations are two of the most important elements in nautical competitions.

Italian and foreign sailing teams have chosen Navimeteo for important sailing races, like La Route du Rhum, The Transat, The Global Challenge, the Ostar, The Middle Sea Race, and many others. In the sector of speed-boat racing, Navimeteo works with some leading teams of the Power Boat World Championship.

A continuous research. The activity of assistance to sailing and off-shore competitions, provided by Navimeteo on both a national and international level, can be considered as a laboratory that allows to develop the accuracy of the marine weather forecast and models in a very competitive context.

COURSES ON MARINE METEOROLOGY

Navimeteo runs a series of practical courses on marine meteorology which take place in the Chiavari Training Centre. On request, the courses can be held in other maritime training centres, nautical schools, yacht clubs, ports and marinas. The training is organised on different levels, following a practical and direct method. Full one-day immersion courses are also available.

To attend a Navimeteo course means acquiring a method of interpretation on the weather at sea. Moreover, the acquisition of appropriate meteorological terminology by the mariners during the courses can considerably facilitate a more effective communication with Navimeteo staff during navigation.

METEOROLOGY IN THE SCHOOL

In order to popularise the knowledge of meteorology to young people, Navimeteo has organised courses of different levels in schools. The comprehension of meteorological phenomena is very useful and interesting, especially if it is presented in a practical and interactive manner. It is a training that involves both outdoor and indoor activities.

NAVIMETEO AND MEDIA

The Navimeteo Team co-operates with specialised italian and foreign magazines, media companies for television and radio, and is involved in educational publications.

The word dam can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities.

Some of the grandest and largest dams were constructed in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Dams in Yodha Wewa and Parakrama Samudra of Sri Lanka were the largest until the 20th Century.

As per Needham, Abhaya Wewa is the oldest reservoir that was made by the use of a dam, which has been dated to 300 BC. Most of the first Dams were built in Mesopotamia up to 7,000 years ago. These were used to control the water level, for Mesopotamia’s weather affected the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and could be quite unpredictable.

The earliest recorded dam is believed to have been on the Sadd Al-Kafara at Wadi Al-Garawi, which is located about 25 kilometers south of Cairo, and built around 2600 B.C. It was destroyed by heavy rain shortly afterwards.

The Romans were also great dam builders, with many examples such as the three dams at Subiaco on the river Anio in Italy. Many large dams also survive at Merida in Spain.

The oldest surviving and standing dam in the world is believed to be the Grand Anicut, also known as the Kallanai, an ancient dam built on the Kaveri River in the state of Tamil Nadu located in southern India. It was built by the Chola king Karikalan, and dates back to the 2nd Century AD.

The Kallanai is a massive dam of unhewn stone, over 300 meters long, 4.5 meters high and 20 meters (60 ft) wide, across the main stream of the Kaveri. The purpose of the dam was to divert the waters of the Cauvery across the fertile Delta region for irrigation via canals. The dam is still in excellent repair, and served as a model for later engineers, including the Sir Arthur Cotton’s 19th-century dam across the Kollidam, the major tributary of the Cauvery. The land area irrigated by the ancient irrigation network, of which the dam was the centerpiece, was 69,000 acres (280 square kilometers). By the early 20th Century the irrigated area had been increased to about 1,000,000 acres (4,000 square kilometers).

Du Jiang Yan in China is the oldest surviving irrigation system included a dam that directed waterflow. It was finished in 251 B.C. In ancient China, the Prime Minister of Chu (state), Sunshu Ao, is the first known hydraulic engineer of China. He served Duke Zhuang of Chu during the reign of King Ding of Zhou (606 BC-586 BC), ruler of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. His large earthen dam flooded a valley in modern-day northern Anhui province that created an enormous irrigation reservoir (62 miles in circumference), a reservoir that is still present today.

In the Netherlands, a low-lying country, dams were often applied to block rivers in order to regulate the water level and to prevent the sea from entering the marsh lands. Such dams often marked the beginning of a town or city because it was easy to cross the river at such a place, and often gave rise to the respective place’s names in Dutch. For instance the Dutch capital Amsterdam (old name Amstelredam) started with a dam through the river Amstel in the late 12th Century , and Rotterdam started with a dam through the river Rotte, a minor tributary of the Nieuwe Maas. The central square of Amsterdam, believed to be the original place of the 800 year old dam, still carries the name Dam Square or simply the Dam.

Claudio Gasparotto is a dancer, choreographer and former. In 1988 he won the Prix Volinine in Paris and the next year he was guest at the Gala Laureati Prix Volinine with his FFTD Company. In 1988 he found the cultural Association Movimento Centrale – Dance & Theatre.

Since 2000 he works with Pippo Delbono Company in the performances Il Silenzio and Urlo. They held tournèes in the more important italian theatres and festivals as well as in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, ex-Yugoslavia, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Japan, Argentina.

In 1994 he started the collaboration with Gillian Hobart - well-known dancer and distinguished teacher for modern dance at the National Academy of Dance, Rome - developing an educative method based on the dance movement (the Hobart Method).

A 3-years professional training course was inaugurated in 2005 at Movimento Centrale - Centre for Dance and Theatre, in Rimini - for those intending to embark on a study of dance-movement and likewise research for educational purposes. The next passages are engrossed by her book “Body and Mind in Modern Dance”.

TRUE GUIDED RHYTHM

Breath in the human body is the generator for all movement. Through the muscle system, breath is the impulse toward gesture; and through breath in the body the inherent rhythmic timepieces are functioning, controlling all our actions.

IMPULSE OF DESIRE

Searching for and retainig our impulse of desire, is that which will help keep gesture and dance movement creative, alive and personal to us. As you can well see, this is not technique as such, but it is very close on the heels of the dance vocabulary, or craft, and is within the graps of all those who have the time and will to reflect on the impulse of desire.

DANCE, BEAUTIFUL OR NOT?

A point of reference in which people are generally in accord about beauty, are events or situations in nature where sight, sound, and smell seem to have a basic biological pull: a sunset, a rose, birdsong for example. Or the human form when it has harmonious proportions. yet radiates intensity and receptivity, charged by strenght of purpose and mind.

STILLNESS IN ACTION

Stillness is “quiet” but not “at rest” – stillness is calm waiting for action- stillness is low dynamic. To be static is to rest with weight not in a state of alertness – weight not ready to “go” or be “moved”. I think this question of being static in movement is, in part, one of mental non-elasticity, and therefore oxidation. Stillness, on the other hand, implies that you are ready to keep thinking ahead. That you will be able to create the sensation of going somewhere with intention, but at the same time not lose touch with the possibility of risk, or change, in the path you are forming. The nerve and muscle system in a state of constant alertness can be still, yet palpitating with dynamic potential.

RODS AND CONES

That is, a dancer must have a higher sense of perception than normal beings. This is not as trite as it may sound. An open eye and a seeing eye are two quite different things. The matter of focusing is a voluntary act, and therefore requires effort and thoght. Seeing, on stage, is not only a question of tracing patterns in space, but of inventing dimension in relation to that space.

SPACE – TIME

John Cage implies that “space-time” is eternal sound.
That it is the sound in motion we do not hear, and which we punctuate by musical interruption, thereby setting again the notes on the wave-band to the eternal space-time, dying away from us, but not to extinction.

THE THEATRE SPACE

In the dance, as art form, is that dance and dancer are one; medium and material are one and the same. A human effort on a human body.

THE ARCHITECTURAL FEEL IN DANCE

This activity, before it was called dance, responded so deeply to his survival needs, that it became of vital importance to ritualise for himself, and the gods, these complex workings of the nerve-muscle-mind into a working plan which his fears, jois, desires and anxieties would be comprehended and responded to.

WHAT THEN IS DANCE?

So the dance, to be true to itself, cannot be intellect, but must be intelligent and not futile.
It cannot be architecture, but it must be structured, so that we see where we are going and can build.
It cannot be music, but it is rhythm;
It cannot be a poem, but it is poetic;
It cannot be a painting, but it is of a line, design and colour;
It cannot be sculpture, but it is a moving mass.
It cannot be anything but dance.
It is in fact, the mute reminder of many perfectc art forms, seen and dreamed in a moment of time, then lost on the roundabout of life.

Gillian Hobart

The mariners can use it to draw simplified weather charts by including high’s and low’s, fronts, isobars… it will help them to analyse and understand the weather in different areas and to predict weather conditions along the route.

The mariners are also encouraged to use the terms and symbols shown at the back of meteo log book; they are part of a universal language describing weather at sea.

Going through and filling in this log book, even the least experienced among the mariners will feel like an active participant in the decisions taken by the captain in navigation and will discover the attraction of reading the barometer or observing the colour of the sky at sunset to understand the precious indicators telling us about the weather to come.

rain that caresses the colours on the ground, slides sinuously on an imperturbable magic, urgently pushes and overturns time… but the unreal invites us, paradoxically, to abandon certainty and embark on a mysterious voyage, beyond time, beyond reason, except that of looking and feeling oneself through the colours of light…

traces of red slow the breath and touch the sight, a red that leaves to tomorrow the time that cancels boredom, that stays the darkness, that holds the light… a red that looses forever the ties of reason and intuits the horizons… words of light, dressed in red, shape the memory, explore the limits, leaving every space undefined, uncontaminated, transparent in its concession of itself and shameless in letting pass… and then, you wonder if that powerful red can sustain your step…

the green colour silently embraces a second look, unravels every mystery of emptiness, giving rise to a slow melody that pacifies the thoughts and helps consume time in the internal spaces, widened by an infinitely light green time… there is no wind, no rain, no heat, no cold… to take or to leave the hand that holds remorse?

Should I exit the blue? Should I open or close what seems unreal? The look seeks a frontier that, fortunately, it cannot reach.

the body rests on the blue, where time does not hold the fine line between sky and sea, inside and out, before and after… there is no pause in the free look, that seeks beyond what is written inside, between one wave and the next, between noise and calm… never and forever they meet to let go beyond the limits of this blue…

the sky is torn and the rain gives the earth an ancient languor of perfumes and sighs, but the joy is that nothing will be like before…

ABOUT THE LUMINARIUM LEVITY II

An innovative modern art installation, “The Luminiarium Levity II” by Architects of Air is a sculpture that people can enter to be immersed in radiant light and colour. Inspired by the beauty of natural geometry and by Islamic architecture, it features winding passages of small domes inspired by repetitious forms found in the bazaars of Iran.

In the daytime, the luminosity of light and colour inside Levity II is created purely by the daylight shining through the coloured plastic. At night, the luminiarium is also illuminated from inside, creating a radiance that people can appreciate from a distance.

Since 1992, the luminiaria of Architects of Air have enchanted over 1.5 million people in 32 countries. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Upon entering you instantly notice vaulted ceilings that arch towards heaven, creating a sense of grandeur and almost limitless space. The air is washed in colours - reds, blues, greens deepening from soft tints to lustrous jewel tones”.

The term double-handed is used to refer to sailing with two persons on board. There are a number of double-handed offshore races, and some races feature a double-handed category.

This use of hand to mean a member of a ship’s crew may derive from the days of sailing ships, where the crew had to work high in the rigging without the benefit of modern safety harnesses; it was an essential precaution that each sailor should hold on with one hand at all times, while working with the other. This meant that each crew member represented one hand for the ship’s work, and gave rise to the saying one hand for yourself, one for the ship. This saying remains excellent advice for sailors today, particularly single-handers.

Sailing alone

Many dinghy and other small-boat sailors sail single-handed over short distances, or in protected waters, with little difficulty; indeed, the smallest classes of boat (such as Optimists and El Toros) can realistically only accommodate a single crewmember. The term single-handed sailing, however, normally refers to voyages which would normally be undertaken with crew, such as sailing over longer distances, over multiple days, and in larger boats; this is a much more challenging activity, particularly for those who do it competitively.

Single-handed sailing simply means sailing on some voyage with just one person on board. For cruising sailors, this may be prompted by an inability to find willing and compatible crew; by a desire to “prove oneself” by undertaking a major challenge; or simply by the type of personality that favours a solitary life. However, a single-handed voyage may include stops, and indeed may be undertaken as a series of short hops; so life for single-handed cruisers can be almost as social as for crews.

Many significant voyages, such as ocean passages, have been made single-handed; and a number of people have circumnavigated the world single-handed. “Single-handed” does not, in general, imply “non-stop”; so a single-handed circumnavigation counts as such even with stops, as in Joshua Slocum’s great voyage.

Controversy

There is some controversy about the legality of sailing single-handed over long distances. The navigation rules require that “Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions…”. Single-handed sailors can only keep a sporadic lookout, due to the need to sleep, tend to navigation, etc.

The racing scene

Single-handed sailing has become a major competitive sport, and there are a number of prominent single-handed offshore races. The Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race (or OSTAR) and the Route du Rhum are all trans-Atlantic single-handed races. Round-the-world yacht racing began with the single-handed Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Two modern round-the-world races decscended from this event are the VELUX 5 Oceans Race (or Around Alone), which is run in several stages with stops in between; and the Vendée Globe, a non-stop race around the world, and perhaps the ultimate event in single-handed sailing. Many single-handed races make use of Open 50 and Open 60 boats.

Stringent rules apply to single-handed races and speed records. As with any sailing races, the voyage must be completed under sail, and the boat must be operated and powered by wind and muscle-power alone (no electric/hydraulic winches). An exception is often made allowing electronic auto-pilots. Some races are carried out in stages, where repairs and resupply may be carried out at the intermediate ports of call; in non-stop races and record attempts, no outside assistance is permitted, whether in the form of a tow, repairs, supplies, or whatever. However, anchoring to make repairs under one’s own resources is generally permitted.

In terms of safety, very stringent entry requirements apply to major races. The crew must meet requirements for both past experience and training, and the vessel and equipment must meet specified standards.

One issue that arises with single-handed round-the-world racing is that of verifying that the competitor has actually sailed around the world. In practice, faking such a voyage, along with all of the detailed logs, workings of celestial navigation sights, radio check-ins at various places, and so on, would be virtually impossible; however, in the Golden Globe Race, one competitor did actually attempt this — although the attempt drove him to madness and suicide. Today, racers in major offshore races are required to carry location beacons, such as Inmarsat-C with GPS, or the Argos System; these beacons report each boat’s position continuously to race headquarters. This is primarily for safety, and to be able to provide daily race reports; however, it also allows the organisers to ensure that racers are following the correct course.

Requirements

Complete competence with sailing and seamanship are of course required for single-handing, as is a high degree of self-sufficiency. Physical fitness is of particular importance for single-handing, as all of the tasks (such as sail changes, etc.) which would ordinarily be handled by two or more persons must be accomplished by the lone skipper. This includes sail adjustments and changes, such as wrestling the jib down and off the foredeck in a sudden storm, an arduous task at the best of times.

This is true many times over for competitive sailors; for example, Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher monohull, in which she completed the 2000 Vendée Globe, has an upwind sail area of 237 square metres (2550 ft²), as compared to a conservative recreational round-the-world yacht such as a Westsail 32, which has a sail area of 59 square metres (630 ft²) — despite that these two boats have virtually the same weight, at around 9,000 kilograms (20,000 lb). With all sail handling being by the muscle power of one person, this huge sail area directly translates to physical effort while sailing, and the much greater power-to-weight ratio makes simply handling the boat a major challenge. In addition, while a recreational sailor might let a change in conditions slide for an hour or two, a racer will respond to every wind shift with a sail adjustment or change, resulting in much more frequent exertions.

One of the greatest challenges facing a lone sailor is sleep, since a good watch must be kept at all times while at sea. Most single-handers use the technique of napping for 15-20 minutes at a time, using a timer to wake them up for periodic look-arounds; with the relatively slow speed of a sailboat, this allows most hazards to be seen in time. Again the challenge is greater for racers, given their higher speeds and more intense activity, and some racers have carried out considerable research into getting the maximum benefit from short cat-naps.

The greatest nightmare for the single-handed sailor is the danger of falling overboard. In fact, this may be the greatest danger for any ocean sailor, given the slim chance of recovering a crewmember lost overboard in the open ocean, particularly if the rest of the crew is asleep at the time (as will usually be the case for small crews). However, the nightmare scenario of floating in mid-ocean while watching one’s boat sail away under auto-pilot makes many single-handers very cautious. Staying on the boat (by careful and thorough use of handholds, lifelines, and tethers) is undoubtedly the best approach for any sailor, but some single-handers tow a rope astern, as a last desperate chance if they should fall in.

The pioneers

No-one knows when the first single-handed voyage was made; it is possible that early Polynesian sailors, who were proficient navigators, may have been first to make a significant single-handed offshore voyage. The recorded history of single-handed voyages begins with an American sailor, Josiah Shackford, who is reported to have sailed from France to Surinam, in South America, although this has not been reliably authenticated. Another unauthenticated — and somewhat improbable — voyage is that of Captain Cleveland of Salem, who was said to have sailed nearly around the world single-handed in a 15 foot (5 m) boat around 1800. A more likely account is of J.M. Crenston, who is reported to have sailed a 40 foot (12 m) boat from New Bedford, Massachusetts to San Francisco (whether by Cape Horn or the Strait of Magellan is unknown).

Single-handed sailing received a great impetus in the middle of the 19th century, when it was popularised by two British sailors, R.T. McMullen and John MacGregor. Although neither man made a major single-handed offshore passage, MacGregor achieved some fame for sailing a 21 foot (6 m) yawl from London to Paris and back in 1867. His book, The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy, and McMullen’s book Down Channel published in 1869, inspired many people to cruise.

The first authenticated single-handed ocean crossing was made in 1876, by a 30-year-old fisherman named Alfred “Centennial” Johnson. Johnson sailed out of Gloucester, Massachusetts to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open dory named Centennial; his voyage, which arose from a dare with his friends over a game of cards, was timed to celebrate the first centennial of the United States. He set off on the 3,000 nautical mile (5,600 km) crossing on June 15, 1876; he averaged about 70 miles (113 km) a day, and contacted many vessels along the way, getting positions from their navigators. After surviving a major gale that capsized the boat, he finally made landfall at Abercastle, Wales, on August 12, 1876. Another Gloucesterman, Howard Blackburn, who had lost all his fingers in a fishing accident, made single-handed Atlantic crossings in 1899 and 1901.

William Albert Andrews, of Beverley, Massachusetts, made several significant single-handed voyages, and instigated the first single-handed trans-Atlantic race. Andrews first sailed the Atlantic with his brother, in a 19 foot (6 m) dory, in 1878. He made an aborted attempt at a single-handed crossing in 1888; then in 1891, he issued a challenge to any single-hander to race him across the ocean for a prize of $5,000. Josiah W. Lawlor, the son of a famous boat-builder, took up the challenge, and the two men built 15 foot (5 m) boats for the race. They set off from Crescent Beach near Boston on June 21, 1891. Andrews, in a highly unseaworthy boat, capsized several times and was finally picked up by a steamer; but Lawler arrived at Coverack, Cornwall, on August 5, 1891.

The sport of long-distance single-handed sailing was firmly established with the famous voyage of Joshua Slocum, who circumnavigated the world between 1895 and 1898. Despite widespread opinion that such a voyage was impossible (there was no Panama Canal then), Slocum, a retired sea captain, rebuilt a 37 foot (11 m) sloop, Spray, and sailed her around the world — the first single-handed circumnavigation of the world. His book Sailing Alone Around the World is still considered a classic adventure, and inspired many others to take to the seas.

In 1942, while the world was in the depths of World War II, the Argentinean sailor Vito Dumas set out on a single-handed circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean. He left Buenos Aires in June, sailing Lehg II, a 31 foot (9 m) ketch named for the initials of his mistress. He had only the most basic and makeshift gear; he had no radio, for fear of being shot as a spy, and was forced to stuff his clothes with newspaper to keep warm. His voyage of 20,000 miles (32,000 km) was not a true circumnavigation, as it was contained within the southern hemisphere; however, he made the first single-handed passage of the three great capes, and indeed the first successful single-handed passage of Cape Horn. With only three landfalls, the legs of his trip were the longest that had been made by a single-hander, and in the most ferocious oceans on the Earth; but most of all, it was a powerful retort to a world which had chosen to divide itself by war.

The beginnings of modern racing

Organised single-handed yacht racing was pioneered by “Blondie” Hasler and Francis Chichester, who conceived the idea of a single-handed race across the Atlantic Ocean. This was a revolutionary concept at the time, as the idea was thought to be extremely impractical; particularly in the adverse conditions of their proposed route — a westward crossing of the north Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, their original half-crown bet on first place developed into the first single-handed transatlantic yacht race, the OSTAR, which was held in 1960; the race was a success, and was won in 40 days by Chichester, then aged 58, in Gipsy Moth III. Hasler finished second, in 48 days, sailing the junk-rigged Jester; his wind-vane self-steering gear revolutionised short-handed sailing, and his other major innovation — using a junk rig for safer and more manageable shorthanded sailing — influenced many subsequent sailors. Chichester placed second in the second running of the race 4 years later. The winner on that occasion, Eric Tabarly, sailed in the first ever boat specifically designed for single-handed ocean racing, the 44’ ketch Pen Duick II.

Not content with his achievements, Chichester set his sights on the next logical goal — a racing-style circumnavigation of the world. In 1966 he set off in Gipsy Moth IV, a yacht custom-built for a speed attempt, in order to set the fastest possible time for a round-the-world trip — in effect, the first speed record for a single-handed circumnavigation. He followed the clipper route from Plymouth, United Kingdom, to Sydney, Australia, where he stopped over for 48 days, then continued south of Cape Horn back to Plymouth. In the process he became the first single-handed sailor to circumnavigate west-to-east, by the clipper route, with just one stop (48 days), in 274 days overall, with a sailing time of 226 days, twice as fast as the previous record for a small vessel. At the age of 65, Chichester had once again revolutionised single-handed sailing. In the following year, 1968, with no outside financial assistance Alec Rose a 58 year old UK grocer sailed solo around the world and subsequently published a book My Lively Lady. He subsequently became Sir Alec Rose.

The first single-handed round-the-world yacht race — and actually the first round-the-world yacht race in any format — was the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, starting between June 1 and October 31 (the skippers set off at different times) in 1968. Of the nine boats which started: four retired before leaving the Atlantic; Chay Blyth, who had never sailed a boat before, made it to East London in South Africa, past Cape Agulhas; Nigel Tetley sank after crossing his outbound track, while in the clear lead for the speed record; Donald Crowhurst attempted to fake a circumnavigation, went insane, and committed suicide; Bernard Moitessier completed a circumnavigation, rejected the race’s (and society’s) inherent materialism, and despite being the fastest racer (on elapsed time) and hot favourite to win, decided to keep sailing, and completed another half-circumnavigation before finishing in Tahiti; Robin Knox-Johnston was the only person to complete the race, becoming (in 1969) the first person to sail single-handed, unassisted and non-stop around the world.

The modern era

Even after the main “firsts” had been achieved — first solo circumnavigation, first non-stop — other sailors set out to make their mark on history. In 1965, at the age of just 16, Robin Lee Graham set out from southern California to sail around the world in his 24′ sailboat Dove; and in 1970, he successfully completed the youngest (at age 16-21) solo circumnavigation. Despite his failure in the Golden Globe, Chay Blyth had decided that endurance sailing was for him, and in 1970-1971 he made the first westabout single-handed non-stop circumnavigation via the great capes — i.e. against the prevailing winds of the roaring forties.

The Mini-Transat is a singlehanded transatlantic race for boats smaller than 6.5m. It was created in 1977 and started from Penzance (UK) It now starts in La Rochelle and ends in Brazil.

The major women’s firsts were achieved in just over ten years. Poland’s Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz set off to sail around the world by the trade-wind route in 1976, and on her return to the Canary Islands in 1978 became the first woman to perform a single-handed circumnavigation (with stops). Less than two months later, Naomi James completed the first single-handed circumnavigation (with stops) by a woman via Cape Horn, in just 272 days; and in 1988, Kay Cottee became the first woman to perform a solo non-stop circumnavigation in her 11 metre (36 ft) sloop First Lady, taking 189 days. It was not until 2006, however, that the first woman — Dee Caffari — completed a non-stop westabout circumnavigation. The first woman to win overall a singlehanded ocean race was Florence Arthaud, who won the Rum Race (Saint-Malo, France, to Pointe-à-Pitre, French Carribbeans) in 1990.

In 1982, the first single-handed round-the-world race since the disastrous Golden Globe, the BOC Challenge, was inaugurated. This event is raced in stages, with between two and four intermediate stops, going eastabout by way of the great capes, and is run every four years. The first edition was won by French yachtsman Philippe Jeantot, who won all four legs of the race with an overall elapsed time of just over 159 days. With changes in sponsorship the race later became known as the Around Alone, and is now the VELUX 5 Oceans Race.

With the success of the BOC the stage was set for a new non-stop race, and 1989-1990 saw the first running of the Vendée Globe, a single-handed, non-stop, round-the-world yacht race, by way of the great capes. Founded by former BOC Challenge winner Philippe Jeantot, this is essentially the successor to the Golden Globe race (though much better organised). The race, which takes place every four years, is regarded by yachtsmen and women as the ultimate event in single-handed sailing. The inaugural edition was won by Titouan Lamazou of France, in Ecureuil d’Aquitaine II, with a time of 109 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes.