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 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.

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.

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."

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!

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.

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.

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............