The Sails

The Sails

The first thing we are going to do to delve into the clarification of the meaning of the term velamen is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we have to state that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically it is the result of the sum of two components of that language: 

-The verb "velare", which can be translated as "velar" or "cover". 

-The suffix "-men", which is used to indicate an "instrument" or a "tool".

It called velamen the set consisting of the candles that are part of a boat. Sailing is, together with the mast , the rigging and other elements, the rigging of the boat: that is, what makes it possible to move thanks to the wind.

The wind acts directly on the sails. According to the arrangement and shape of the sails, the force of the air is transmitted by the sails to the mast, the rigging and the yards and the thrust reaches the hull of the boat. Thus, finally, the vehicle moves through the water .

The first canopies were created thousands of years before Christ . The Romans, the Egyptians and the Chinese already used candles of different materials (cotton, leather, hemp, papyrus and others) to move through the aquatic environment.

Sailing can be formed by different types of candle. The stable sail is that of trapezoidal or rectangular aspect, that works in right angle with respect to the direction that the boat takes. The Latin candle , however, has a triangular shape and goes against the wind.

Within the square or square sails there are several types that are worth knowing, such as those of the mizzen stick, those of the ratchet or those of the mainmast.

On the other hand, with regard to the Latin sails, we have to show that under that denomination also those whose sides are perfectly recognized are included. In particular, one is called pujamen, which is the one below; another is the luff, the one on the side that is below and inside the boat; and the third, which is vertical and determines the height of the candles. The latter is what is known as leech.

Of the Latin sail it is not necessary to forget that it has a variant, the sail of hammer, that owns trapezoidal form.

However, we can not forget another important series of candles, among which are the knife calls. They also receive the name of auric and have the particularity that they are oriented towards what is the center of the vessel in question. That without ignoring that they are envergadas in the stick.

It is important to mention that the notion of velamen also appears in the field of botany . In this case, velamen is the name of a rhizodermis (the epidermis of the root ) that is composed, in its maturity, by cells that are not alive.

The velozáceas, the ciperáceas, the orchids and the aráceas are some of the plants that have velamen, that is a species of pod that covers the root. Some people argue that the sails are responsible for the absorption of water , although this capacity could not be confirmed yet.