John,

I managed to open the link (much delay and some commercials  -  patience folks!) and was rewarded with one of the most interesting TV-programs I’ve seen for years, I was thrilled to bits, even if I cannot speak a single word Chinese. The hull shapes look so alien, but at the same time so right. The way the resulting craft (45 – 55’?) sailed and manoeuvred, was really impressing.

I have a book of Worchester, called, “The junks & sampans of the Yangtze” where similar, but still different hulls and rig shapes are shown. I find that Tianjin sits far north along the Chinese coast; the people were dressed like we in Norway on early spring or late autumn.

I wonder if you could write a little summary of the program to let us understand more of their project, and what use these craft were built for.

Cheers, Arne