Trebuchets!
Apr. 29th, 2012 07:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidThis afternoon I went to a trebuchet competition on Cambridge Common. It was the culmination of a week's work for six teams. Though all of them had triangular bases, they were distinctly different in other ways that I don't have the technical knowledge to describe properly. Some had longer arms than others, or different release mechanisms. A few were decorated (Ragnarok's hammer, a black devil bunny/dragon/cat).
The competition was about accuracy: in the first round, each team had ten chances to hit one of three cut-out castles (each a bit bigger than person-sized; they had their own issues staying up in the wind) with their water balloons. In the second round, the successful round one teams had to hit as many of the three castles as possible from a further 25 feet away. Had there been a third round, it would have had the castles moved back yet another 25 feet, to 75 feet; I'm glad there wasn't a third round, since it was getting a bit chilly standing around in the wind.
Sometimes the trebuchets misfired, releasing water balloons behind them. Sometimes they overshot in beautiful arcs. Sometimes they were short, in enormously high concave-down parabolas. And every so often, they actually hit a target, with cheers from the audience on either side.
Of course, had this been a real siege, overshooting wouldn't have been such an issue, and the targets wouldn't have been so small either. And there was the inevitable discussion of more interesting things to fling than water balloons, ranging from pianos to fire oil to livestock.
The only downside was that it was a pretty slow event for those of us watching. Though that meant everyone was content to pause when there was a pair of hawks soaring above, showing the shape of the thermals in their flights, or when a bag went aloft due to the bouquet of balloons tied to it.
Also seen today: full-sized iris almost in bloom.
The competition was about accuracy: in the first round, each team had ten chances to hit one of three cut-out castles (each a bit bigger than person-sized; they had their own issues staying up in the wind) with their water balloons. In the second round, the successful round one teams had to hit as many of the three castles as possible from a further 25 feet away. Had there been a third round, it would have had the castles moved back yet another 25 feet, to 75 feet; I'm glad there wasn't a third round, since it was getting a bit chilly standing around in the wind.
Sometimes the trebuchets misfired, releasing water balloons behind them. Sometimes they overshot in beautiful arcs. Sometimes they were short, in enormously high concave-down parabolas. And every so often, they actually hit a target, with cheers from the audience on either side.
Of course, had this been a real siege, overshooting wouldn't have been such an issue, and the targets wouldn't have been so small either. And there was the inevitable discussion of more interesting things to fling than water balloons, ranging from pianos to fire oil to livestock.
The only downside was that it was a pretty slow event for those of us watching. Though that meant everyone was content to pause when there was a pair of hawks soaring above, showing the shape of the thermals in their flights, or when a bag went aloft due to the bouquet of balloons tied to it.
Also seen today: full-sized iris almost in bloom.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-30 12:53 am (UTC)Wow!
Date: 2012-04-30 07:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-30 01:15 pm (UTC)Oh, and they weren't full-sized balloons, btw, but smaller ones. Even so, when some of them were in the air, they went barbell shaped.
Re: Wow!
Date: 2012-04-30 01:19 pm (UTC)