In sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

, the trapeze refers to a wire that comes from a point high on the mast

Mast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...

, usually where the shrouds

Shroud (sailing)

On a sailboat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. There is frequently more than one shroud on each side of the boat....

 are fixed, to a hook on the crew member's harness at approximately waist level. The position when extended on the trapeze is outside the hull

Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...

, braced against it (or an extension of it outwards) with the soles of the feet, facing the masthead, and clipped on by a hook on the trapeze harness. This gives the crew member more leverage to keep the boat flat by allowing the crew member's centre of gravity to balance the force of the wind in the sails.

An additional benefit is the ability to "walk" along the gunwale

Gunwale

The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...

 to balance the boat's trim fore and aft. This is necessary to prevent racing catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

s such as the Tornado

Tornado (sailboat)

The Tornado is an two person multihull class recognised as an International Class by the International Sailing Federation. It was used for the Olympic Catamaran discpline for over 30 years.-Background:...

 from digging the bow into the water, and causing a nosedive and often a spectacular capsize

Capsize

Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...

.

Boats may have only one trapeze, such as the 420

420 (dinghy)

The International 420 Class Dinghy is a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with centreboard, bermuda rig and centre sheeting. The name describes the overall length of the boat in centimetres . The hull is fibreglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 is equipped with spinnaker and optional...

, where only the crew uses the trapeze. Boats, such as the 49er

49er (dinghy)

The 49er is a double handed twin trapeze skiff type sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. The design, by Julian Bethwaite, the son of Frank Bethwaite , is revolutionary...

, may have trapeze wires for both the skipper and the crew. Trapeze has several colloquial names such as "the wire" or simply "the trap".

When a boat loses power in its sails, and heels to the windward side, the crew on the trapeze may get dipped in the water if they do not react in time.

Some classes allow footloops on the gunwale to allow those on the trapeze to locate their feet with relative security. This helps to prevent the crew from swinging forward, sometimes round the forestay

Forestay

On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is...

 when the boat decelerates suddenly.

Regulations

Due to safety concerns, the International Sailing Federation changed the rules in 2004 concerning trapeze harnesses, effective January 1, 2009: "40.2 A trapeze or hiking harness shall have a device capable of quickly releasing the competitor from the boat at all times while in use.” However, the ISAF 2009-2013 Racing Rules of Sailing

Racing Rules of Sailing

The Racing Rules of Sailing govern the conduct of yacht racing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, model boat racing, dinghy racing and virtually any other form of racing around a course with more than one vessel while powered by the wind...

 which took effect January 1, 2009 does not include this provision, so this rule change is postponed.

Quick release harnesses are already widely in use, and make it possible for the sailor to unhook themselves from the wire from all angles while it is under tension, thus decreasing the chance of getting trapped underwater or in dangerous conditions.

History

There are counterclaims for the origin of the device:

• The trapeze was originally developed at Upper Thames Sailing Club, at Bourne End
  Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
  Bourne End is a village predominantly in the parish of Wooburn and Bourne End, but also in the parish of Little Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated close to the border with Berkshire, near where the River Wye meets the River Thames...
  
   on the River Thames
  River Thames
  The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
  
   in the United Kingdom on the Thames A Class Rater
  Thames A Class Rater (scow)
  The Thames A Class Rater is both a historic and modern specialist sailing craft designed for the particular conditions at Thames Sailing Club, on the River Thames at Surbiton in England...
  
   "Vagabond", owned by Beecher Moore
  Beecher Moore
  Beecher Moore, was a highly influential figure in the development of dinghy sailing in the United Kingdom after the Second World War...
  
  . When deployed there for the first time it was called a "Bell Rope".

• In 1938 Austin Farrar started his association with the International 14 foot class and a lifelong friendship with Charles Currey
  Charles Currey
  Charles Currey was a British sailor. He participated at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki where he won a silver medal in Finn class.-References:...
  
  . Together they worked on the development of the trapeze, now so common on racing dinghies, which was used so effectively by Sir Peter Scott and John Kift Winter during the championships of that year.

• In 1938 a revolution in dinghy sailing took place in Falmouth. Sailors John Kift Winter and Sir Peter Scott had invented the first trapeze for use on their International 14, Thunder and Lightning.

The duo used their new invention in the 1938 Prince of Wales Cup race in Falmouth and steamed over the finish line ahead of the rest of the fleet. Almost immediately, the Royal Yachting Association Dinghy Committee banned the trapeze over concerns that it was too dangerous for the user in the event of a capsize. It was reintroduced for the Flying Dutchman class 15 years later, but was not used again on an International 14 until 1970.