While the wind at weston may have
been horribly shifty it was good practice. On
Saturday alone I more then doubled the number
of hours in the new and since i haven't done a
full length two days back to back since November
I was fully expecting things to go very pear shaped.
So all things considered I was happy with the
way things went not satisfied but happy enough.
When you then consider the number of new sails
appearing and mine which contains more holes then
my netting tramps things start to look a little
brighter.
I got out for a sail on Tuesday evening after
work. There was a slight hitch when the rig came
down but I was able to re hoist the rig unaided
on the water and continue my training session
with no harm done. I say unaided Sam did sail
over snap the end of his wand off on my rig and
then do nothing else useful. The wind soon began
to fade and half an hour later that was it for
the day.
This bank holiday weekend won't be spent with
the moth. However I may get sneaky sail in Monday
if I have have a fast passage in the Myth of Malham
race, which I'm doing double handed on a j105.
9 May - Finally
>
It's been a while since my last
post but to be fair I did right a report about
the Weston Grand slam but forgot to post. It was
just about Sam sinking my car, Nuts Babes, their
red hot pants and a hangover cure that actually
works! But I don't think any body would be interested
in any of that so i hit the delete!
After a 3 1/2 days solidly in the workshop Road
runner was finally ready to launch at lunch time
on bank holiday Monday. Just when the breeze shut
off! A painful few hours latter the breeze was
back, just. All things considering things went
well after 45 min all the knots on my netting
tramps had started to settle so everything was
getting loose and i called it a day to check her
over.
Tuesday didn't go so well but things can always
be worse. The goose neck fitting broke after just
30seconds foiling and I decided to get a tow in
as it was simpler. My fault mixing Holt and Super
Spar fitting wasn't a great plan!
I was back on the water Thursday and did some
racing against Sam. I'll be honest it could have
gone better but sailing with a ridiculously flat
7.6 sqm sail in less then 8 knots of breeze was
always going to be tricky. There were some good
points the new foil set makes the boat fly easier
and allows greater altitude. The rudder mechanism
is still a bit stiff but that's to be expected.
Hopefully I will be able to get the sail re cut
early next week so I have something competitive
by weston!
15 March - What's
That Warning Light?
>
Was a bit late getting to the
club this morning as I spent the morning changing
a hose on the car. Then packed the car and tried
to drive off only to find the accelerator cable
had gone, BUGGER. After getting a lift down to
the boat the gig was back on. The wind built,
as I put the boat together, to a decent 15 - 20knots.
Sam started a bit before me so I chased after
him on the payne's post challenge. Unfortunately
I didn't start my watch so I don't know how long
I took but I seemed to take some time out of Sam
who struggled in a light patch with the small
rig up.
It was a good day for the Moth. Three races today
I took the first one convincingly from start to
finish. It was probably a bit light for the 600
for the small rig but in the second race the breeze
was back and Sam had it all his way. A third was
needed so we would have a winner. And this was
the most exciting race yet. Sam got ahead however
not far and over stood the lay line at the windward
allowing me to sneak inside only to be rolled
downwind that was until the gybe. From then on
I stayed clear to the finish.
As we left some alarm started to go off on his
van and he complained it was down on power. After
a short panic everything started to work much
better when he let the handbrake off! I probably
shouldn't laugh too hard as I probably wouldn't
have sailed today if he hadn't given me a lift.
10 March - Back
In The Fire
>
After almost 4 months away I'm
finally back in foiltown. It didn't take long
to get back into the game within 24 hours I blasting
past Payne's post. After so long off I was hoping
for a nice gentle sail. When i arrived things
looked perfect clear sky and 10 -15knots. However
while we rigged up the sky clouded up and the
wind began to build. Sam put up the big rig on
the 600 a decision that turned out to be no where
near right.
By the time I got out there the wind was probably
in excess of 25knots. I started well got the first
gybe in fine but then half way down the harbor
I took a wave wrong just before the lay line and
tried a down speed gybe. Never clever! As my lack
sailing fitness began to show so my boat handling
got worse so I called it a day before I did something
stupid. Of course if you count gybing 4 times
in about 5 seconds while remaining hiking and
airborne stupid then it was too late.
It's now 2am and blowing 60 knots and will continue
to for another couple of days. I just hope I can
get past this jet lag thing soon 2am bacon sandwiches
are nice but sleep is also better .
It's now 4am and still no more sleep however
thanks to a bit internet surfing I found this.
It seems the main reason a moth couldn't enter
this round the world yacht race is because a moth
is too long! At least they aren't going to take
these 10 foot coffins around the Horn.
29 February
- Driving In Foiltown
>
In Foiltown we try to make everything
foil and now there is the perfect car to get around
in when not on the water. Warning don't get put
off by the first half of this video, you won't
understand the reason for this until you get half
way through.
On a unrelated note things at work
started working yesterday so I should be back
to foiltown sometime next week, having actually
missed all but two weeks of winter when I was
home for christmas!
19 February
- 1300% improvement in one week!!
>
The Payne's Post challenge record
has fallen just a week after it was first set.
Although it seems that Payne's Post Challenge
may become redundant soon as the marina wall is
progressing and so the start line will have to
move to the marina entrance. Any way on Saturday
Sam set a new time of 21 min 37 sec some 4 hours
16mins faster.
He then tried again on Sunday but things didn't
go so well. One of the advantages of Weymouth
is the helicopter rescue available 24 hours a
day 365 days a year. However when the helicopter
is trying to pick someone up off a boat they fly
very low and the down draft is enough to capsize
a small sailing boat. Which is exactly what happened
to Sam on this attempt and so he only managed
28min. It will be interesting to see what a moth
can do on the same course.
12 February
- First Race Of The Year
>
It's only virtual but letting
Adam beat me just isn't an option. Today I signed
up for Groupama's virtual Jules Verne race. It's
seems a good simulation of actual sailing first
you I started in the middle of a high pressure
and spent the first 6 hours in no wind. I started
shortly after Adam May but my ranking said I was
ahead however I think that was because we were
racing to get south to the breeze before we head
east from the Hope. With this in mind I suspect
Adam is actually slightly ahead. However the breeze
has now filled in and I'm sailing 1 knot faster
and on a 10 degree more favorable course which
should allow me to get the shift and the stronger
breeze first while he sleeps back in the UK. Hopefully
I will be long gone by the time he wakes and alters
course.
It's pathetic really isn't it but a race is still
a race.
10 February - Payne's
Post Challenge
>
As the constant hum
of the air conditioning unit outside sent me to
sleep before the in room unit would kick in and
bring me out of my slumber with a jump, Sam would
have been just getting ready for his first attempt
at Payne's post challenge. As many of you know
Payne's post is the post on the northern end of
the pontoon at the sailing academy where simon
was lucky to only destroy a rig. The Payne's post
challenge is to set a time from a start line which
extends northwards from Payne's post. Through
either the northern or eastern harbor entrance
and then back into the harbor through the other
and back across the start line. Unfortunately
when he got into the bay he found a beautiful
swell and a perfect 12knots of breeze and so got
slightly distracted. The result of this is he
has set a benchmark time of 4 hours 37 mins and
12 seconds or a bit more then 4 hours longer then
it would of taken him otherwise. I think I could
probably swim it faster then that. And people
keep telling me I've picked the right time of
year to leave foil town. There is no good time,
just less bad. Sam has also very kindly taken
the time to do some sea trials on Road Runner
and sent me some great shots. Unfortunately I've
had to black out the new bits of the boat till
the patent lawyers have done their thing.
Well I'm off for a swim in a pool
which is actually too hot for comfort.
30 January - So
Long And Thanks For All The Fish
>
I've been hearing reports that
a number of dolphins have been visiting foil town.
Apparently they followed the 600FF's up and down
the harbor. They were so close it apparently felt
like you could reach out and touch them. Unfortunately
it looks like I will miss the Tiger Trophy now
as I won't be back in time. But worse things happen
at sea as they say. just read this extract from
Francis Chichester's log as He circled the globe,
deep in the southern ocean. Truly terrifying stuff.
I don't anticipate any such problems staying in
a hotel.
"Wednesday, February 22. 19.25. I have just
realised I have only four bottles of gin left,
enough for four weeks. My favourite hard drink
on this voyage. I reckon I have been pretty stupid
not to have brought plenty. I'll just have to
ration it, and no hard drinks at lunch. It might
be worse-I might have none."
26 January - So
Close Yet So Far
>
Well I'm still in the US of A
and it's all being happening while I've been away.
The Australian nationals came and went a moth
won the Bloody Mary, effectively at least. Si
Payne is in Australia working up his new Prowler
Zero. It Looks good, I like the 2007 look, it
has class. I've actually been out here so long
that the a French man has had time to sail all
the way round the world single handed. Very impressive!!
since then another French boat has started an
attempt at the Jules Verne and by the time I return
to FoilTown, barring disaster, will be well into
the southern hemisphere.
There is however light at the end of the tunnel.
The build of my new boat, Road Runner, is nearing
completion. As I'm sure you can all understand
taking delivery of a new boat built just for you
is a very exciting moment for a moth sailor. Particularly
when the boat veers away from convention significantly.
Here
is the best you guys can can expect to achieve
against Road Runner!
25 December - A
Foiling Christmas!
>
After rushing down to Foiltown
after having arrived back in the country I was
greeted with 2 consecutive days of absolutely
no wind. Luckily christmas eve brought with it
a bit of christmas magic and 21knots gusting 27.
A perfect day to get back into things after almost
2 months. I quickly discovered my arms no longer
worked for more then about 30 seconds which meant
I was a bit slow upwind. The mod's to the foils
and their setup proved to be on the pace in a
breeze even if the sailor wasn't. As normal the
limit to pace downwind was a stalling rudder in
cold water. I still achieved a top speed of 22.2knots
but you just know you could do so much more if
the rudder would let you really heat it up.
9 December - Crossing
Mountains Without a Map!
>
So still stuck thousands of miles
from my moth I decided this weekend that I would
get out of town. I drove up to The Will Rogers
State Park at the Base of the Santa Monica Mountains.
I say base this is about 120m above sea level
or slightly higher then Portland. My plan was
to follow the Backbone trail to Trippet ranch,
11.5 miles of trail reaching a height of about
620m, then get back before sunset. Unfortunately
with no map of the mountains or even an LA street
map I got lost on the drive up while trying to
get used to a left hand drive hire car I'd picked
up about 10 minuets earlier.
All this meant I was a bit later setting out
then I had hoped, leaving just 6 hours of daylight.
This would mean that I would have to average close
to 4 mph assuming my seat of the pants navigation
was floor less. With a bottle of water a couple
of king size Snickers bars and a coat I set off.
Within minuets climbing up the steep slope revealed
spectacular views from downtown LA to the coast.
Realizing I had my camera I began taking pictures.
I probably took more in one day then I have in
the last decade.
The heat climbing up the valley was intense despite
it being December with no wind and no shade it
was easy to appreciate why most of the area is
naturally a desert. Worried that I might not have
enough water given the heat I decided I would
stop once every hour and drink 1/6 each time giving
me enough water to last till sunset. I needn't
have worried, a cool breeze higher up the mountains
and a setting sun in the latter stages significantly
reduced my water consumption.
After two hours walking I stopped for a snack
having reached a point as high as I was going
to. However my plan was to reach Trippet ranch
and with out navigational aids I had no idea how
far away it was, how far I had come or even if
I had stayed on the correct trail. Luckily two
mountain bikers were able to confirm which way
the backbone trail continued and that Trippet
was about 5 miles further on. Unfortunately as
I set off again it was now 1:10 and I would need
to start heading back at 2 to arrive before sunset
assuming my tired legs can achieve the same speed
on the return journey. With this in my mind I
was determined I would complete the trip and began
the 300m decent at pace, almost jogging at times.
I eventually arrived in Trippet at 2:15 however
this gave me an estimated arrival back at the
car of 5:30 some half hour after sunset. I didn't
fancy descending the final part in pitch black
with sheer drops at the edge of the path, a trip
on an unseen rock could be fatal. Not to mention
mountain tigers and rattle snakes!
I put the camera away so I wouldn't be slowed
with regular picture taking and began back up
the mountain with a similar energy to that which
I had descended. Arriving at the top it became
obvious that the high pace I had been maintaining
had started to take it's toll on my legs and particularly
my feet, skate shoes aren't meant for mountaineering.
However it was mostly down hill I was still hopefully
I could pick up the time. With a line of hills
in the way the sunset came earlier then I had
anticipated. A drop in temperature quickly followed,
however it wasn't that cold and felt more familiar
to a brit used to wearing shorts in the snow.
This spured me on further and I eventually arrived
at almost exactly 5 as the last of the light failed.
6 December - A
Voyage for Madmen
>
So I sat last night in my hotel
room some 5,427.74 miles (according to google
earth) from Gooserider reading about the Golden
Globe race. I knew it was time to go and eat but
I found myself unable to stop reading as first
Knox-Johnston then Moitessier and finally Tetley
rounded the Horn. A place where a storm doesn't
last for a few hours before you return to the
beach for a bowl of pasta and to watch the last
of the days bikini clad girls pack up their windsurf
kit. It's a place where the ride can last for
days even weeks on end. I began to wonder has
any one ever tried to foil around the horn and
if not who will be the first............