Show Me The Ropes

 

Tie us off, Scotty

 

A bit of Wide Angle Photography fun on The Embarcadero in San Francisco. These ropes were securing a retired Submarine and demonstrate the correct way to tie off a marine vessel. We were instructed and later drilled in all sorts of knot techniques as part of our Off Shore Sailing License course. There is a large variety of knots, each with properties that make it suitable for a range of tasks. Some knots are used to attach the rope (or other knotting material) to other objects such as another rope, cleat, ring, or stake. Some knots are used to bind or constrict objects. Decorative knots usually bind to themselves to produce attractive patterns.

Knot theory is a branch of topology. It deals with the mathematical analysis of knots, their structure and properties, and with the relationships between different knots. In topology, a knot is a figure consisting of a single loop, abstracted from any physical rope or line, with any number of crossing or “knotted” elements. As such, it has no proper ends, and cannot be undone or untied. Various mathematical techniques are used to classify and distinguish knots. For instance, the Alexander polynomial can be used to distinguish the trefoil knot from the figure-of-eight and the unknot (a simple loop).

Most of us are more familiar with the Granny Knot, Square (or Reef) Knot and the infamous Slip Knot! www. kerstenbeck.com

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