There are many things that remain
a mystery to many men. One thing that I can't
get my head around is where does it all come from.
Every week I get rid of it all but still the following
week as if by magic it's back. I just can't understand
what the hell is going on. It doesn't matter how
much effort I put into getting rid of it all a
few days latter it all starts to pile up again
almost without warning. For example last night
I was again forced to do the washing up which
led to some confusion as I'm certain I did the
washing up only last week! So where has it come
from. I believe I beat my own personal record
for largest pile of washing up. I had to do the
washing up or else start putting dirty plates
away in cupboards in order to find a spot to place
fresh dirty plates. The whole situation just seems
to be completely out of control neither my local
MP or even Gordon Brown had any solutions. However
Gordon has offered to nationalize my kitchen if
the situation gets any worse.
Portland did it's normal trick this weekend and
blew like it was host to a moth world championship.
Things started ok on Sunday but halfway through
the first race at castle cove my spidy sense was
beginning to tingle as the wind built. The wind
was blowing from the north so i could continue
racing under the shore at castle cove till the
cows come home. However it would be downwind all
the way to the the academy where the shallower
water would be kicking up a chop. I decided to
wait and finish the race before running back home.
I' glad I didn't wait any longer as I had a few
violent crashes as it was. Great fun if not a
little sketchy!
28 October -
The Longest Weekend Of The Year
>
Saturday started as a complete
cock up. The wind was forecast to build so it
was probably going to be un sailable Saturday
morning. I managed to get there relatively early
and got on the water in time to have a great sail.
Unfortunately as I righted the boat I came up
to windward probably only about 6 foot too far
but enough so as I bore away I hit the bottom
hard. Even the bow hit the bottom. For those of
you that haven't seen Weymouth recently it's been
all change again since the worlds. The old slipway
has gone and a new one has been opened on the
north side of the compound. Although the new slipway
is much longer then the last the usable bit is
probably narrower then the last. with shallows
to the west and a pontoon to the east. The only
saving grace is that there is another bit of slipway
still to open just next to where the old slip
way was but this should be straight out into deeper
water. The problem with this is you still have
to sail out through the harbor.
So after that I got on with some boat bimbling/butchery.
The damage to the daggerboard was less then I
thought and after a little wet and dry she was
good to go. I'm glad I have a fullforce daggerboard
as any other would probably have gone snap!
Probably the wrong time to loose
ones nerve!
Sunday was a better day two races back to back
over at castle cove. I was surprised by how close
I was with all the shroud lengths, mast rake and
strop lengths ect. The surprise I got when adjusting
the kicker was to find the middle strop was carefully
tied with a round turn one half hitch and had
probably been that way for some time. Helen joined
in the first race and had good speed at time downwind
but is still struggling for height upwind. After
racing Mickey had his first go in a moth. Interestingly
for most people there first sail in a moth is
normally there first time in a foiler but he had
been sailing a few times on a 600FF. I have to
admit I had more problems with the musto then
he had with the moth. I think the musto is easier
then a moth in a straight line but the corners
are different. I had the same problems a couple
of weeks ago with the 600FF.
While getting the above picture off my phone
I found a few other moth related photos.
The worlds was hard on some while
Kiel was just well gay!
25 October -
WAKE UP
>
Since moths have started to fly
it now seems to be cool for just about everything
to fly. Radio control helicopters as mentioned
previously on here are surprisingly cheap and
effective. Now finally just what you have always
wanted! A flying alarm clock.
Interestingly according to boysstuff.co.uk
people who brought this also bought shower breasts.
I'm not sure there is any connection but I guess
it's all extra motivation to get out of bed.
24 October -
More Then I Can Chew
>
I borrowed a boat for the RS600FF
nationals this weekend a Hayling Island where
Simon Payne had volunteered to be race officer
for the weekend. Pete Barton had very kindly leant
me his boat for the weekend and even dropped it
off at the club for me. After launching it quickly
became obvious that I probably should of had a
little practice before turning up! I hadn't sailed
the 600ff since the early prototype days, probably
2 years ago and then only in a few knots of breeze.
Add to that I've never tried racing on a trapeze
before coupled with an almost complete lack of
body mass. Things weren't made easy by the wand
which didn't move as freely as i would have liked.
The only good news was that i wasn't last!
Sam sailed a great series winning every race
although on Saturday he was 4th for a whole lap
and almost let second catch him when he capsized
tacking during the last race on Sunday so still
more work to be done.
13 October -
The Epiphany
>
Saturday was light so I didn't
bother going for a sail however I did get a few
jobs done on the boat. These turned out to be
more significant then I had realized. Sunday morning
there was a thick fog but there was some wind
so I headed down the club anyway. Foiling in the
fog is always good fun moving silently through
the mist! By the time I'd rigged the fog was gone
anyway and we were greeted with clear sky's and
a dying breeze. I foiled happily out to the middle
of the harbor. The boat felt incredible she seemed
to jump up onto the foils and sailed really high
but still safe I've been trying to achieve this
for months. The only problem was the mast was
raked a bit too far forward so the rudder stalled
a lot as the boat was slightly off balance. Then
the wind died and the inevitably slow sail back
to the beach followed.
While we eat cake on the slipway the wind filled
in again. We almost left at that point to build
the micro magic. Thankfully we hit the water in
10-12knots and bright sunshine. The biggest problem
was I didn't have my sunglasses! I'd raked the
rig back slightly although it wasn't far enough
things did feel much better. Sam and I joined
in the race at CCSC again. I did 7 laps in the
time it took a musto to do 5. My pace felt much
better all around the course she felt alive and
a joy to sail and although Sam beat me by almost
half a lap in the 600ff this wasn't too bad given
I messed up about 6 laylines and swam on one tack
while Sam seemed to be sailing very well. The
extra pace at time was almost a hindrance. I kept
underestimating the wind speed as I was traveling
at a speed which made it feel a couple of knots
stronger as a result I kept falling short of the
laylines. I guess one step at a time. I hadn't
adjusted the mainsheet strops after doing the
mast rake so I'm confident there is another small
gain easily achievable
This weekend was a bit of an eye opener. For
some time I've been looking for the one big fix
to the problems I had at the worlds. I always
knew that the answer lied in a number of small
differences and yet I still looked for that one
single fix. I always knew the mods I was going
to make would have an effect on another seeming
unrelated part of the boat what I hadn't realized
was what a difference a seemingly small change
could make. Hopefully this will encourage me to
get on and make all the mods I've been planning
over the last few months. Unfortunately if I'm
to test each change individually any any sort
of logical pattern it could take some time before
I get every possibility tested.
Yesterday was the day I fell back in love with
mothing!
8 October -
You Tube Day
>
Am I the only one that is really
impressed by giant Trimarans? Here is a video
of the BMW Oracles latest ship during sea trials.
If nothing else the scale of the thing is very
impressive. I just hope these two billionaires
don't become too friendly and revert to a multi
challenger event before racing these monsters.
Now things have got this far it would be a waste
not to have the ultimate showdown.
30 September
- For Sale GBR 4082
>
Unfortunately I need to sell my
Mistress 3 I can't justify having two boats no
matter how much I would like to. So send me a
mail if you are interested. Sam will be sailing
her at the Tide Ride this coming weekend at Hayling
Island. With 22 Moths already entered and some
big winds forecast it should be a great event
for spectators and sailors alike!
Interestingly Sam has fitted a longer carbon
gantry and a bladrider rudder to my spare boat
so it will be very interesting to see how he goes.
Hopefully not to well! I'm nervous already his
20kg extra mass and the breeze forecast mean there
is a definite possibility of being beaten by my
old boat!
25 September
-Power Mann
>
Things looked light on Saturday
morning which was a particular concern to Rod
Harris who had a bet with a 49er team for a round
after sailing betting he would beat the 49er.
They had made a bold claim that the 49er was faster
then a foiling moth!
When the moths launched almost 2 hours before
racing it was obviously marginal but generally
foiling conditions. Rod however was still nervous
of his bet as it was hard to get good angles to
remain on the foils.
Race 1 saw Alex Adams lead from the pin end and
lead at the windward closely followed by Gary
and then Rod. But it was Rod’s downwind
speed that led to the top 3 positions reversing
down the first run. Rod then proceeded to do a
horizon job on the fleet up the next beat. Meanwhile
the rest of the fleet stopped somewhat short of
the horizon and went round the windward mark leaving
Gary to take the gun. But what of the 49er? They
finished some minutes back, one assumes they stopped
to do there nails or something.
Race 2 was a battle between Alex and Gary or
though Gary never gave up lead of the race and
Rod then almost got Alex on the finish. Race 3
however was held in much more marginal conditions.
Gary dominated this one with Rod on his tail for
the first lap but then as the wind switched off
Rod began to loose touch luckily then the wind
piped up enough to keep clear of the 49er.
Back on the shore 49er sailors switched tack
and claimed it was a bet for handicap victory
but that still went 2-1 to Rod!
Sunday was the day of the Powerman a morning
health inspection checking sailors weights, hydration
levels, body fat and even muscle mass showed the
interesting result that Alex was the most muscular,
0.4% ahead of Gary.
The wind again was light and the harbour with
all the traffic to negotiate was going to be tricky.
Gary got away well opening an early lead clearly
becoming very at home in Poole harbour. However
the wind dropped on the approach to the harbour
entrance. Gary managed to get through still in
the lead but it was Mike Cooke who
made the big gains getting into the breeze fast
and getting in to a solid second place. Andrew
Friend lost out while having a pick nick on a
small island after having demonstrated devastating
boat speed. The first 2 gained some big separation
after the next boats were trapped by the train
ferry.
Out in the bay there was a great swell running
challenging everyone. The wind however was very
tricky and it was found foiling was easy on port
tack but on starboard it was almost impossible
Rod was able to pull through into second at the
top mark. The downwind was some of the best sailing
imaginable blue water blue sky’s and all
the surfing you could ask for. Alex pulled through
to third before a finish off sandbanks. Gary was
a deserving victor proving muscle isn’t
everything in moth sailing! On handicap the Powerman
trophy went to the Laser4000.
Norman the dog, having spent the day on the rib
with Helen Rollinson who suffered a flap malfunction
during race 1, joined Rod on his Prowler for the
sail home getting his first taste of foiling and
clearly feeling very at home on a moth!
19 September
- ReMix
>
So it's almost identical to the
video I did a while ago except it's ever so slightly
better so don't get excited.
16 September
- Top Blog
>
So there has been some talk about
who has the best blog. But what can we learn from
the numbers. I found a website which puts a value
on URL's so lets take a look at the value of some
of the blogs out there. Rember my opinion has
nothing to do with any of this. The numbers never
lie!
RohanVeal.com - $3255.8
Moth-Sailing.org - $1569.5
Int-Moth.org.uk - $1335.9
Scott.projectsomewhere.com - $941.7
SiPayne.Bloggspot.com - $642.4
gbr4048.blogspot.com - $335.8
FoilTown .co.uk - $146
Looks like the search for a site worth less then
foiltown will have to go on even Whicher's site
is worth twice mine!
15 September
- Light Winds?
>
Light winds this weekend. Can't
remember the last time I sailed in less then 20knots
on Portland harbor. I spent almost 3 hours on
the water on Saturday. For the most part it was
uneventful although great fun gybing through all
the hundreds of wind surfers unable to plane in
the light wind. There was one moment of excitement
however when I was going upwind and about to cross
tacks with a small yacht. He was on port tack
and when he clearly wasn't going to avoid me and
was probably too slow to do so I decided to duck
him. I hadn't realized there was a fishing line
out the back however. They didn't try to warn
me or anything. As we sailed off in opposite tacks
I got pulled out the back of the boat with two
hooks in my finger and then subsequently towed
along behind the yacht by my middle finger. Eventually
they found a knife and cut the line. The first
hook came out easily while I treaded water, the
other had already snapped off and the barb was
caught. I had to swim some distance back to my
boat which I was concerned was drifting onto the
rocks. Back on the boat I was able to wiggle the
hook around enough to get the barb out without
too much discomfort. The good news is no damage
was done to the boat!
11 September
- Battle Royal
>
So you may remember during the
moth worlds a number of strange little flying
machines buzzing around WPNSA. No not moths rc
helicopters and even a plane at a cost of about
£30. However I found the combat versions
available here
for just £34.95. You even get 2 for that
price so you can get battling immediately. Perfect
for those overly competitive soles on windless
days, or if enough space inside windy days!
10 September
- Another Windy Weekend
>
Saturday started slowly after
a morning of boat bimberling lunch was spent watching
the GP qualifying. When I finally got on the water
it quickly became apparent that those out windsurfing
had made the right call. It was windy very windy.
However the changes I had made to the boat seemed
positive. She foiled easily, higher out the water
which felt great upwind but at the same time she
was a little more controlled. The match racing
has been held with no kites and reefed mains which
was a good indicator for a moth sailing alone
to run for safety.
Sunday was the castle cup or possibly the cove
cup I can't remember which. Anyway I was out in
the Moth and Sam P and Alex K were also out with
there 600ff's. The course was a bit interesting
with plenty of tight reaching which was perfect
for Sam but still he wasn't a lot faster but he
would just edge out a little bit at a time on
each lap. On the second race Alex joined us. This
Time I led around the top mark after a bit of
pre race jousting left Sam in the Piss. However
a huge rudder stall just after round the top mark
left me charging downwind on the reach in a boat
that felt more like a rodeo bull. as Sam pointed
straight at the mark and went through. By the
end sam was just boat lengths away from lapping
Alex K. I guess that would make Alex the second
best 600ff sailor in the world then!
29 August -
4 Months
>
Well it's been 4 months since
my last post a lot's happened and a lot well,
let's just say progress on the bathroom floor
isn't displaying the least progress.
Kiel week was great fun and i look forward to
going back. From my point of view the racing was
a bit disappointing and was unfortunately a sign
of things to come at the worlds. I felt the event
was great in many respects certainly having a
moth event as part of a much larger event was
great and very different from what I'm used to.
The worlds well the less said about my worlds
the better but I definitely won't be going to
another until I've found significantly more boat
speed.
Poole week was great however. I haven't been
to Poole for 7 or 8 years but it is a great place
to sail. I had some really close racing with Rod
for the first two days and then on the third day
everyone opted to stay ashore which proved a great
idea given it turned into an epic survival race.
The wind funneled neatly past brown sea island
to something more then worlds windy. I found myself
actually unable foil to windward at times into
hugh breeze and then on the downwind leg I sailed
half the leg with all the battens popped the wrong
way but somehow managed to keep her upright for
the whole race....just.
26 May -
>
Bit of a change this weekend no
foiling for me. Instead I went the RORC Myth of
Malham race double handed on a J105. To say it
was fun would be an understatement as to would
be describing the race as tiring. The course took
us east out the Solent from cows bearing away
round the island past bembridge and on west. This
was then followed by over 100 miles of downwind
sailing to the eddysone light house south of Plymouth.
After using the rock as a turning mark the course
took back to North Head for the finish just before
Hurst Castle.
When I got to the Hamble Simon had already got
the boat on the scrubbing berth. We got the boat
ready for the weekend but by the time the tide
was in enough for us to re float the boat it was
gone 1 and so it must have been about 2 by the
time we got to sleep. Not great as we had to be
up at 6 to make the start.
At the start we nailed a port tack stat and lead
class 2 off the line. A couple of boat lengths
makes very little different on a 250miles race
but it felt good. Critically our main opposition
in the double handed class, Slingshot, was way
off to leeward of us. This meant we could sail
slightly eased, faster and pull out a slender
advantage as we passed the fort leaving the Solent.
Next up the start of the longest downwind leg
of my life to date. Bear away hit the autopilot
and start the hoist. A bit unnerving when you
aren't used leaving the helm but went well. We
headed off on port gybe into the middle of the
channel, with slingshot close behind us, looking
for more pressure. Surfing the waves was great
fun regularly hitting 14-15knots as the boat shot
off down the waves.
Slingshot decided to gybe somewhat later then
us which was a better move. As we cam north we
got lifted more and as the wind dropped so did
the surfing. When we gybed out we crossed some
distance behind slingshot. However this time had
the favorable left side and began to pull back
a bit.
Early evening came and with it more breeze and
a windshift. As the wind built it swung further
north and left us struggling to point high enough
to mage the mark. The waves making it particularly
difficult to gain any height. Slingshot who were
further to windward were sailing deep and ended
up almost along side us before making the call
to drop the kite. Now with more breeze then the
kite should really cope with we carried on for
another half hour hitting speeds of up to 18.5
knots as we tore down the waves. When we finally
dropped the wind was up close to 30 knots. Because
we had been sailing deep we now had a much better
angle to sail past start point under full main
and no4. This enabled to keep surfing still hitting
14knots regularly. Shortly after dark i went for
a couple of hours kip. Not easy when the boat
picks up on a wave and everything begins to hum
as you surf down. After returning on deck Simon
told me he had seen 40knots as we rounded Start
Point.
We reached the light house at about midnight.
We put a reef in before hand ready for the upwind
slog. The round was a bit of an experience in
it's self. Although the light house is clearly
obvious you can't see the rocks. I was informed
that I could get in close. It became quickly apparent
that we needed the second reef and then after
that we left the autopilot to do most of the work
until day break. The next few hours were spent
being very wet, very cold and very tied, but great
fun as the boat crashed it way upwind.
During the morning the wind slowly dropped off.
At one point we were able to fly the kite again
but not for long. by the time time we had reach
a point south of old Harry's rock the wind was
very light and the tied had turned against us.
Until the point was reached where we were infarct
going backwards! So we dropped the kedge and I
had a bit of a snooze on the foredeck. After a
couple of hours we were off and as we headed upwind
towards the north head buoy the wind built and
went left. We became worried as a boat behind
and inshore got lifted inside us. Not knowing
where slingshot was we were worried it could be
her.
By the time we reach the finish it was midnight
and the wind reaching 30 knots again. As we crossed
the finish line Slingshot came on the radio informing
the race committee they were just 1.5 miles from
the finish. crucially this meant they were one
and a half miles behind us. Job done. Or so we
thought. It was dead upwind to the Hamble so we
decided to motor sail however we let the boat
heal too much and goat air in the engine. Bleeding
the fuel system isn't easy at the best of time
but even harder on a moving boat in the middle
of the night. So we had to short take up the Hamble
river and sail on to a pontoon. Not easy in 20
+ knots at 2am while sailing double handed having
had very little sleep for the last couple of days.
22 May - Timber
>
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 boat 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.
