another mid life crisis

Getting old. Don't do it!

2008-02-28T10:56:00.002+11:00

As is fitting for one having a mid life crisis, I am sensitive about my age and do what I can to hide the truth about the advancing years. It always gives me great pleasure when somebody is shocked when they find out my real age, as happened on Sunday night. However, the one person I cannot fool is my doctor.

Now, he does have a great advantage over most in as far as my date of birth is written large on the front page of my medical file, but he really doesn't need to keep answering, when I ask him any question with "why" in it, "because you are getting old"!

The end of the JJ has given me the opportunity to go to the doctor so as to sort out all the little niggles my body has picked up during the season and which I knew needed resting. As I said to him, when he asked why I hadn't come sooner, there was no point in spending money on an appointment if I knew I was simply going to ignore his advice. So, now is the time to get the body n=back in working order so I can then start the fitness training which will allow me to still carry my 18 to the water next year. As "The Babinator" says, if you can't lift it, don't sail it, which is why I will not be accepting the invitation to race on a Sydney 38!

Anyway, having waited for an hour past the appointed time, I finally got to see the Doc and I could tell he was not only feeling a bit guilty at running late, but that he didn't really want to hear me say that I had a list of injuries to go through. He was very efficient in ticking off the minor things - broken hand = x-ray, infected toe= anti B's, but the torn muscle in the groin took some time. Now, I am sure there are some who are comfortable standing with no cloths on, with a man hold their crown jewels while saying "cough", but I find it a far from normal experience. And to the question of "why" came the response that i was getting old!

So, I left the surgery with a prescription and instructions to get an x-ray and ultrasound, all because I am getting old. When I was younger, I didn't get injured, or infected toes, or concerns about arthritis setting into broken joints. And this last year I can also add to the list ruptured blood vessels in muscles, trouble with my neck, torn calf muscle and a general, all over aching for at least half the week.

Now, if I had my time again I would do it all differently. I would have learnt to stretch when I was in my 20's, ensured I had a regular fitness program going by the time I was in my 30's and I would have become a regular at either Pilates or Yoga by the time I was 40. And for all the youngsters who read this and laugh it off, just like I would have done, I do have an alternative. Don't get old!

The JJ. Been there, seen it, done it............

2008-02-26T13:12:00.005+11:00

............CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!!!!

I am not really sure where to begin but it has been an eventful 10 days. I guess we didn't get off to the best of starts with our guest star, Craig Ferris standing in for Jamie during the Invitation Race. We sailed OK, we learnt some, we had fun and I broke my hand. Nothing major, just lots of pain and a swollen back of the hand that would give remind me of the Invitation Race for the rest of the week!

As with any week of sailing, we had high points and low points. The high was going around the top mark in 6th in the last race, the low point was capsizing when about 12th and finishing second from last. In 4 out of the 7 races we went round at least one mark in the top 10, yet our best place was 18th. Most of our fellow competitors thought we were doing better than we did and our overall position of 24th out of 29 was a bit disappointing. On the other hand, we finished 3rd on handicap. In fact, it was really 2nd equal with SLAM, but they got the position on count back. Now, the handicap results are just a bit of fun; after all, this is a one design. However, what it does mean is that we actually sailed better than we had during the regular season, which is pleasing to know.

The overwhelming memory of the regatta will be the performance of the 7 team. Seve, Rob and Sam were in a different league and sailed a great regatta. Others had their moments but time and again, & had the skill and luck to dominate. Even when they capsized with a few seconds to the start they got away with it because of a general recall. Then there were times they made their won luck, such as when, with 1 minute 30 secs to a start, they were forced to tack at the committee boat, as were we. They pulled away, gybed and reached down the line behind everybody and just as the gun was about to go, a hole opened, the headed up at full speed, hitting the line going 3 knots faster than anybody. 10 seconds later and they already had a 3 boatlength lead on the fleet and they were gone. And how about us? We gybed around, lined up behind a couple of others at the boat end and thought we had done well to tack off very soon after the start. 7 rounded the first mark with a big lead. Needless to say, we didn't!

The most important thing was that we learnt a lot and we identified what we need to concentrate on for next year. For instance, in the last race, we finally found a jib sheeting position that was perfect. The difference between good and perfect is the difference between 6th around the first mark and 16th. We finally had real speed (and a great shift to help us out!). Better late than never, but it is only right for a given set of conditions. We now need to learn the settings for all the other conditions. An 18 has a maximum speed upwind that almost any boat in the fleet can reach. However, a well set up boat stays at that speed for 95% of the time while the slower boats only manage it for 25%.

So, there we have it. It was sad to end the JJ as that meant that we had finished our campaign with Jamie, who is off to NZ for the rest of the season and doesn't know where he will be next year. We will therefore be sorting out a new sheet hand who is keen to help take things to the next level. We know what to work on, have a program of boat development for the winter and we are looking forward to next year. However, before that, there are still a couple of races left of this season.

In the mean time, thoughts change to foiling. The Moth has been neglected and it will be hitting the water again in the company of the rest of the 18 Footers League Flying Club. This exclusive club is currently made up of John Harris and Scott Babage off the Rag and myself. They are beginning to train for the moth worlds this winter (July) in Weymouth. With a trip already booked to the UK for next Christmas, I doubt I will be joining them but at least I can get some good training in and if I can help them, I will.

Lipstick on a Pig or Polishing the Diamond!

2008-02-13T08:43:00.000+11:00

So, we have now sailed the last race before the JJ and it was educational. Sunday saw a new wind direction and a new course, plus lots of discussion as to which rig to use. As usual, in that situation, there is lots of banter and one of my regular "sparring partners" was well up for it. Cocko (Michael Coxon on Fiat) has always been the one for the quick repartee. He calls me "Austin" (Powers) because I am a Brit and no doubt because he has heard about the strength of my Mojo and my reputation with the foxy ladies! On the other hand, he is also convinced that the shower I have on Sunday after the race is the only one I have all week, as all Brits are "soap dodgers". Of course, that will make the JJ tough for me as I will need 8 showers in 10 days. However, I will take those showers whether I need them or not! And while I am at it, here's a quick hello to Cocko's Dad!!

So, in the end the fleet was split 70:30 in favour of big rigs. We went small, because we wanted to learn how we went on a marginal day and because 7 went small as well, due to what they thought the course would be. And did we get it wrong! What should have been a very tight kite reach from one end of the harbour to the other turned into a 2 sailer until around the last headland and then it was a run to the mark. The little rigs got crucified! To make matters worse, the wind wasn't only shifting 20 degrees with every gust and lull, but those gusts and lulls were coming trough quicker than an express train and it wasn't really what most would call a pleasant day in the office.

And so we enter the home straight of the race that is the preparations for the JJ. For some, there will be the final little tweeks and polishing so that the diamond is all shiny and bright for the start of the racing. For others, there is a final attempt to slap lipstick on the pig in an attempt to make their campaigns look better. While I am working on the boat, we won't be practicing this week, partly because we have run out of lipstick and partly because we don't want to polish the edge off the diamond.

Boat preparations are behind schedule and have thrown up a few suprises. We had noticed some cracks around the rudder gantry so some investigation was in order. It became clear that matters were worse than I had thought when I sanded back some paint so as to laminate on some strengthening carbon. I masked the areas I didn't want damaged but on finishing sanding, I removed the tape only to have a 1cm hole appear where filler was pulled out! Some hard pushing and pulling ensued, which revealed that the whole gantry could flex and there were more cracks than had been first thought. There seemed to be less carbon that there should have been, although how much differenec it will really make is difficult to guage. So, instead of filling and polishing the bottom, I have been laminating carbon and hopefully, we now have a gantry that is up to the job.

The job list remains long, the time short and as usual, the last minute rush seems as impossible as ever. All I know is that we will be lining up with the rest of the fleet for the invitational race on Friday and then the main event starts on Saturday. We have worked hard at the task of learning to race an 18 and whatever happens, I feel we have given it our best shot. The only thing we could have done better was to have started training earlier, but we didn't have a boat so couldn't. We have our targets and if it all comes together, we can achieve what we want. However, the real key will be to enjoy the event and to learn as much as possible for next year.

Friday night is party night!

2008-02-09T18:04:00.000+11:00

So, as the JJ approaches, the pace seems to hot up and so does the racing calander. To add a little spice, last night we had the NAB Twilight Race, with a start at 6.00pm. For once, I managed to snatch prime spot in the boat park, surrounded by the "rich" part of the fleet. As usual, there was a fair amount of banter and last night it was with the boys on Club Marine, trying to outdo each other as to who had the lowest budget campaign! There they were, with 2 new mains and 2 new jibs, a new mast, new harnesses, Club Marine clothing yet Beasho and his boys were claiming that their campaign is as poor as a church mice. The poor chaps! We got a new No.2 main and that was it! We paid for everything else. To be fair, the rumour is that they did over spend their budget and had to reach in their pockets a little, but then again, we don't all have sponsors like Fiat and 7.

And on the subject of 7, there is a story that during the week they were helping out with some corporate entertainment. For reasons better known to only them, they decided to use their best and only race legal No.1 jib. No issue, one may have thought, except they broke part of the jib sheet system and the story suggests that their jib was flogging wildly for rather more time than they would have wished. I hope that isn't the edge off their no expense spared campaign.

But back to last night. Light wind No1 rig isn't something we have a lot of experience of and we had never sailed in a South Easterly. The course was a bit of a chase around the upper end of the harbour and just to make things interesting, there was a big fleet of cruisers out for an evening race as well.

I am not sure exactly what happened but we had a few issues before the start that meant our approach was rather last minute. I could see it was boat end biased and was therefore happy to hold back a bit as second row at that end wouldn't be so much of a drama, so long as we could tack off. So there we were, lined up nicely, ready either to accelerate into into the front row or to start second, next to the boat and then tack, when a few boats decided to try to come down from high and barge in. From our position, I could see this start and as they racked up, we dived into a new gap and avoided a raft of 4 boats. We were second from the boat and looking to tack and then we were launched.

It was a strange first beat with lots of snakes and ladders. Pressure and wind direction varied greatly so it was hard to see who was making gains and where we were in the fleet. At times, we looked great but as the fleet converged at the entrance to Rose Bay, we were well in the pack but with lots of opportunity. On top of that, we were sailing a "3 bouy" race, which is where the windward mark is actually 3 bouys set about 50 metres apart, with the top teams sailing further than the lesser mortals. We had least distance to sail and it seemed that the system worked well as everybody seemed to start the ensuing run together.

The real challenge of the run was working through the cruiser fleet that formed a constant barrier across the leg. Try to go above them and you might not find a hole to gybe into, go underneath and sail in bad wind; tricky! We managed to select a decent lane and had a great leg, rounding somewhere around 8th. The next beat was also a bit of snakes and ladders but we continued to hold our own. The problem came on the next leg. For the first time, our light weight went against us. The leg was a very tight reach across the harbour and we simply got creamed by bigger guys. People who we would not expect to go past us were simply able to sail higher and get to the mark; we had to drop and sail up and a headland meant we were coming in on too much of a run.....SLOW!

However, going upwind again saw us really getting to grips with the shifts and we seemed to have found a way of making the boat point, something we had not experienced before. So we took another small ladder and reached the top mark having made back the losses of the previous leg, only to give up 2 at the end of the following run through a well thought out, perfectly executed but fundementally flawed strategy.

The resat of the race was more of the same. For every ladder, there seemed to be a snake and at the end, as darkness approached, the boats in the early teens seemed to all finish in very quick succession. We were 13th, out of 21 starters and were greeted by wild cheering from one of the sponsors spectator boats. I suspect our performance was enough to win somebody some money.

It had been a long and strenuous race lasting 1 hour 45 minutes. Not only was that longer than normal, but the boats take more out of you in light weather than in a breeze. The constant bending of the knee, moving in and out of the boat, plus the extra loads due to the lack of speed meant that we would all sleep well.

So, we have one more race until the JJ and that is tomorrow (Sunday). I keep feeling that given another 2 months and we will probably be ready! Instead, we have one more race and whatever practice we can fit in next week.

Washout!

2008-02-04T11:21:00.000+11:00

I sit here, typing this entry, feeling like death, aching all over and with a pounding headache! It seems that not racing hurts more than racing!

Yesterday, with a few jobs to do on the boat and the desire to get on the water early, I got down to Double Bay really early and parked the boat in a prime slot. Moments later, Beasho and his Club Marine crew pull in, wanting to shift us out of pole positiona s they also wanted to hit the water early. "Snooze and you lose" sprang to mind, but in the end neither of us launched early so what was it all for?

Having just started to work through the list of jobs, the heavens opened and after a vain effort to work and stay dry, I joined the other sailors sheltering from the rain. The inevitable banter began, mainly about how I must have felt at home, being a Pom in the rain. All the joking still didn't get anybody too enthused and there was a distinct lack of action in the boat park, only matched by the lack of breeeze on the water. However, as the rain eased, Team AppliancesOnline headed for the boat to finish the jobs and, once done, we began to rig. However, before we had finished, the rain came back and we once more joined the huddle in the shelter. I have never seen so many skiff sailors not wanting to rig! Most were doing a pretty good impression of drowned rats, although humour didn't seem to have been watered down at all!

Slowly, it became clear that the park was divided into 2 halves. Those closest to the club were rigged and ready, those further away weren't! As boats began to launch from one end, others sprang to life. We launched at least 15 minutes after the first boat, only to see that they had not yet drifted past the last moored boats. A little puff of wind later and we were up with the early launchers.

The Southerly meant we had to sail across the harbour to Mosman Bay where we were placed in "holding pattern", hoping for some wind. And hoping. And hoping. And finally hoping they would abandon the whole thing. Making a call, we headed upwind so as to be closest to the club in the event of "3 Guns". If the wind filled in, we would have no problem getting to the start, if it didn't, we would be first in. Wrong!

It became clear that it was just not going to happen and the fleet was relieved by the "3 Guns" abandonment. We headed for home, only to see the rest of the fleet getting tows from the spectator fleet. As usual, the boat nearest home got left to last and our cunning plan was falling apart.

Last home and a quick derig saw us in the showers, only for me to find all my cloths were soaked through from earlier. With no option but to wear wet cloths, I proceeded to the bar to chill in the air conditioning! A long wait for the prize giving ensured that it was a wet and cold helm finally headed home. A second hot shower and hot soup helped a little but I sit here now knowing I got a chill yesterday and hoping the aches don't turn into anything serious. There may not be any injuries, but the body feels as sore as it would from a race in full foam up conditions!

This week should see one training session, a Friday twilight race and then the standard Sunday race. After that, we might get one practice sail and then it's the JJ. In another couple of months, we might just be ready.............

Australia Day Weekend, Part 2

2008-02-02T14:10:00.000+11:00

Day 2 of the long weekend and after what seemed like an eternity in the boat park, the whole fleet settled on No2 rigs, except for the visiting Americans, who rigged at another club. I wondder what they were thinking when they joined the fleet on the water to see everybody with their No2 rigs up. Ouch!

We lined up for the start and felt happy with our approach. The gun went, we had clear air and a lane. Sweet! And then we heard 2 more guns and it was a general recall. Ouch!

Lining up for the second start didn't go as well. 3rd row of the grid is never a good place and this start proved to be no exception. So, after a short time of eating dirt and having a very animated Beasho trying to get us to tack into the boat to windward, we finally see a hole and tack for clear air. Beasho tacked Club Marine at the same time and as we go to clear a starboard tacker, he reaches down, clying for water and then hardens up over us at speed. More dirt and an inability to tack. Ouch!

For the second race in succession, there were individual recalls and Team Ullman were the culprits, with The Rag, Akso and Smeg turning back. About a third of the way up the beat, these 3 boats had caught us and I was depressed! How had it happened? Were we really that slow? It seems that they had come up on a big shift which got them back in contention but at the time, I had no idea. I expected to be left for dead by Team Ullman and it was with heavy heart we left Shark Island behind and headed towards the mark. But then it became clear; they weren't pulling away. In fact, we were more than holding our own. Places swapped back and forth and we were seriously getting into the race. We knew we were fast downhill so were really looking forward to the next leg.

A good hoist and we were launched. Smeg, imediately behind, attempted to climb over us but we simply held our course and sailed away a bit. As the majority of the fleet headed right, a few gybed off left and we realised that if we wanted a clear lane, we should do the same. A gybe was called, we bore away and it all went pear shaped. There couldn't have been a worse place to swim and it wasn't the quickest one we have experienced.

Up and running again, with the kite hoisted, and we were gybing like pros! WTF! It is so frustrating to be able to get it right when it no longer really mattered. So we set about the task of seeing how much we could catch up and in about 18 knots, it was very pleasant sailing. All was going well until about 200 metres from the top when our day went from bad to worse. We hadn't noticed anything, either during the race or in pre-race inspections but it made no difference. The mainsheet had shredded, the outer sheath splitting. As the sheath bunched, playing the main became impossible and we had no option but to turm for home.

We could see no point in simply nannying it home so we hoisted and went for a ride. And with 20 knots and wind over tide, what a ride it was. A nice gybe set us on course for the club until we realsied we were lining up straight at the 2 leaders. While there was no issues about keeping out of their way, the issue was doing it without taking their wind. We ran very low and that made things a bit difficult. Down wind, down speed and down the mine are not a great combination and we pitchpoled the boat hard. And they say that no good deed goes unrewarded! If only we had sailed high and hard, but that would have messed up the racing.

Things were a bit messy and we didn't have a sense of urgency. To make matters worse, when we were up and sorted, we had to bare away with limited ability to ease the main. Nice!! It only took 2 attempts and we managed to get downwind with the main eased, only to need to change tack to get home! Did we really want to gybe with the boom full out, side to side? We managed to tack round without pulling in the boom and bore away again, this time on course for the club.

So, another bad day had come to an end. I was pretty devastated. I work so hard to check the boat every week that gear failure equals personal failure! And the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced the swim was my fault. 1 in 10 windy gybes ends in a swim and considering how good the other gybes are, it is so frustrating! So, time for some serious sole searching.

After chatting with some of the fleet's top sailors, it becomes clear as to where our problem could be. Almost all our boat handling has come about by learning "The Rag" way, be it watching videos or having Craig (ex Rag) coaching us. However, it seems that when it comes to gybing, Rag do things one way and the whole of the rest of the fleet do it another! And the more I think about it, the more obvious it is! The problem we have now is what to do. It is deep into the season, the JJ is just around the corner and we have to consider starting from scratch with our gybes.

So, on Sunday, we will hit the water a little early to see how hard the new method actually is. The concern is that we might not have enough high wind days to have grooved our gybes before the JJ. Only time will tell how this will end, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Australia Day Weekend, Part 1

2008-01-27T08:58:00.000+11:00

After last week's 18 race, there was some hard thinking to do about our rig. It had looked bad and felt even worse, so we pooled our ideas of what needed to be done and on Thursday, it was time for some serious tuning. To aid the process, I contacted Michael Coxon of North Sails, who made the sails. He was coming down to the club anyway, so we agreed to meet.

I got the boat set up for him to look at and we had the bend numbers for the rig, so that we could see if the set up still matched the sail design. We got off to a bad start because he thought I had a crucial bit of equipment and I thought he was bringing it! So, rather than measure, we pulled the main on. Even before we began, it was clear something wasn't right as the bottom of the mast bent the wrong way!

Once the sail was set and a few strings were pulled, it became clear that all was not well. It looked awful. However, worse was to come as Cocko watched and pondered. Then he pronounced. The mast wasn't bending properly, due to a bad joint which was allowing movement. Therefore, instead of a nice even bend, we had all the bend in one place and no control over the sail. The solution was simple - take the mast apart and glue it back together. Sounds simple, but it needs 4 people to pull it apart and I had a day until the next race.

Thinking on my feet, I realised that the club had some spare masts which they were going to sell. Quick negotiations followed and we are now using a mast previously used by The Rag. This only left the minor issue of changing all the rigging over and setting it up in the boat. Friday was spent checking the rigging and getting it onto the new mast but the fun bit was still to come.

Being Australia Day, there was a race on Saturday, to take place in a crowded harbour with the whole fleet wishing they weren't there! So, for ma, it was an early start and I arrived in the boat park at 9.15am, to find half the fleet already there. For me, there was no time to lose and I proceeded to get the mast into the boat. Then came the fun part. I guess I sent close to 2.5 hours of tightening and loosening and tightening and ...........until, finally, the tensions were correct. Then, with the boat on it's side, came the need to measure the bend. It seemed remarkably close to where it should be and then, just when they were needed, the team arrived. We pulled on the sail and it looked great. So, time to see if looking good was the same as going fast!

The race was sailed in the strangest of conditions. A fairly light breeze from the East, or was it NorEast.......or was it ENE or was it...........who knows! A laid course with a mark under Shark Island, a mark at the entry to Rushcutters and a big naval vessel parked in the middle of the course!

We had a reasonable start and worked our way up the beat. It seemed we struggled for height at times while at other moments, we seemed very quick. Then we found some height and then we missed some shift. It wasn't going to be an easy day in the office. However, we rounded the first mark about 10th and sailed a decent run , although struggling to find an overtaking lane. The second beat was more of the same. At one point, we were next to the boat that outpoints the whole fleet, Asko, and we held them for a couple of minutes. then we hit a difficult patch, lost our rhythm and they just popped out from under us. Ouch! We probably lost a couple of boats and were battling for 12th down the next run but then it all went a little pear shaped.

On the next beat, we played the shifts as badly as I have ever done. I know you are meant to tack on headers, but it seemed every time we had to tack, for ferry's, islands, headlands etc, we tacked into a header. One tack saw us coming to at nearly 180 degrees to the direction we had come in on! Another couple of boats lost and the back of the pack snapping on our heels. At least we could hold our own downhill.

The last beat was tough and we lost a lot of distance but fortunately, no places. So we cruised to the finish and picked up 16th place. It felt far worse, even in a fleet of 26 boats. Our cause was helped by 3 OCS (over the line at the start) and a big crash between Fisher and Pykel and Noakes Youth, that saw F&P's pole enter the side of Noakes and out through the floor. Very messy!

So, the verdict is out on the new rig. It clearly wasn't slow, but the conditions weren't really right to make an assessment. We have a few minor tweaks to make before the regular Sunday race, which should be in a traditional NorEaster so, hopefully, more will be learnt.

However, the one thing that was great was having the team back together. The whole boat worked far better and it was great having Scott back up front. So, a short break for some sleep and it is back to the boat park for Part 2 of the weekend.

A finish....and only slightly injured!!

2008-01-21T12:43:00.000+11:00

Sunday was always going to be a tough day. While my body was almost mended, a surfing accident involving bare feet and sharp rocks resulted in Scott not being able to sail. In his place we had Archie Massey, well known and successful I14 sailor partaking in his first race 18 race and certainly his first visit to the bow department! To compound matters, the forecast was for bottom end of No2 rig but the conditions when rigging said No1. The fleet chose No1 rigs and and so the die was cast.

Once onto the racecourse, it seemed to be the right decision. We had a little fun and games as Archie, 12kgs heavier than Scott, used his extra leverage to pull apart his trapeze system and do a quick dismount and swim before the start. Fortunately, we got up and running quickly enough and added a few extra knots into the system so a to avoid such happenings again.

For once, we lined up nice and high with time to burn and held on to our lane reasonably well. Archie was getting nervous as well were all pushing up on the line but having not had a single individual recall all year,w e knew it would either be a general recall or they would let us go. Celebrations of our good start were cut short by the third gun and sure enough, it was a general recall.

The next start was not as clean. While lining up, we noticed that where there had previously been less wind on the left of the course, now there seemed to be a fair amount of pressure everywhere. A few quick tweaks to the rig and we were ready to line up, but we lost control of the bow, ending up in a right mess that should have broken our pole but somehow didn't. Instead, it made sure were were at the back of the grid. Even worse, when tacking to clear everybody else seemed to have the same idea and we were chewing dirt for quite some time.

Finally, we found a lane and attempted to settle. A couple of good shifts followed by a couple of bad ones and we weren't pretty at the first mark, but set off in pursuit with me determined to prove to Archie that we could be quick downwind even with his extra bulk. And sure enough, by being a little smarter and a little faster, we made some serious gains.

The next beat wasn't pretty. We were at the top end of the wind range for the rig and it was not working well. It was the first time we had raced in that sort of stuff and it really highlighted some serious shortfalls in the rig that if we correct, should improve performance in lighter stuff as well. Having stumbled up the beat, we set off down the run with high hopes but they were short lived as the first gybe led to an opportunity to inspect the bottom of the boat. It really did show that it doesn't matter how good you are, if you haven't practiced sailing an 18 as a team, you are going to struggle.

We got up and running again and had some great rides but going for a gybe drop was, on reflection, a tad ambitious. This time resulted in another first for me. I managed to fall from the top of the wing and get my legs either side of the tiller. Ouch! While the "crown jewels" weren't trapped , everything else in that region took a bit of a hammering and it was just as painful as if they had been caught! I probably couldn't ride a bike for a few days, being rather bruised in the saddle area!

However, despite the mess and pain, we got sorted and sailed the last lap in great solitude to gain a hard fought finish. We might have been DFL (dead f###ing last) but 6 boats didn't survive. There were 2 broken masts and various tales but I think for some, the conditions simply knocked the resolve out of them. On returning to shore, my family, who had been watching on the ferry, told us that one of the sponsors had been saying that it was the toughest day we could have experienced. I certainly think that the 14-18 knots with No1 rig is harder than 22+ with No2. Talking to the experienced boys, it seems that it was a "big day in the office" for everybody.

The big learning to come out of the sail was that we need to work on tuning. I have been too accepting of the fact we were learning and that the boat had a reputaion for going well with the No1 rig but Archie has identified various areas we need to sort. So, it looks like I have a week of bimbling ahead.

Next weekend is a big one. We are racing on Saturday in the Australia Day race, followed by Sunday with a regular race. Lots of time to try new settings and ideas.

If I wanted to sail full time, I'd do an Olympic Campaign......

2008-01-18T23:00:00.000+11:00

Aside from Olympic sailing, I don't know of any sailing that is as serious as 18 footers. There are a few "old school" types who believe practicing is cheating but we have ignored them as we needed to play catch up. The problem is, the top teams are out there all the time. Fiat and 7 train at least 2 days a week, with coach and sailmaker in support. Macquarie have a coach and sail regularly. All three have big time rig/sail programmes with North. Then there are the Ullman teams with Akso and The Rag doing the most work. All have new, different masts this year, with Club Marine also having a new rig. These 6 boats seem to have a bit of a jump on the fleet at the moment.

So, to address the balance, some have been training. We missed the pre-season stuff but have been fairly regular Thursday evening players. Thursdays usually sees between 3 and 6 boats out and a few others are out on other occasions. So, imagine my shock when I arrived at Double Bay last night, at the normal time, to find the park totally crowded out. It seems that a few people are getting the idea that practice makes.......less mistakes! In total, I think there were 10 boats in the park last night, although one never left the shore as they were trying to set up a mast to fit some second hand sails they had acquired.

And what a night everybody had chosen. Thursday evenings are usually 8-12 knots, with only one night requiring little rig and even then, it was marginal. But last night it was different. We had 20+ knots from the South East, flat water and an empty harbour. Game on! A few had some strange idea about sailing with big rigs and they got hammered. We went with the majority and obvious choice, little rig and we had a specific goal in mind.

Although our tacks have been safe, we have been very slow out coming out and up to speed. I have needed to use too much helm to pull us away and this has killed our speed. 20+ tacks per race was leading to 30+ boat lengths being lost - over 100 metres per race. We needed to gain those valuable metres back. First stop was the front of the fleet. I have found that most of the top people are only too happy to help with tips and advice. In particular, Cocko on Fiat and the Rag team have been of great help and yet again, they gave us some things to try.

Setting off from the club was interesting as it was a run out to the harbour, something which we don't get often. Puffs were hard to spot but once we had made a little progress, it was clear that there was some big black gusts around. Once clear of the moorings and with Scott getting very excited, the kite went up. Just as we were settling, a black one made it's presence felt! It started with a slamming 20 degree shift and then just built - not slowly but with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer. 3 months ago and we would have swum just trying to latch into the gust but this time, we were up and running.

Running is probably not quite the right word. It doesn't quite encapsulate the shear power, speed and ferocity of what was going on. And then, in front of us, was the Manly Ferry wake. Harrier jump jets use something known as VTOL (vertical take off and land). On that basis, 18's should be added to the list of armaments that should not be sold to certain countries. Besides being a dangerous weapon (see below), they are certainly well suited to VTOL! Probably having Scott in the boat added to the drama as all he wanted was big air and lots of speed. Trying to make an 18 do the same thing as his kite board seems to be a recurring theme with Scott!

With Kirrabili fast approaching, we went for the drop. I am not exactly sure what went wrong because we haven't made a mess of a drop before but at that speed, whatever went wrong led to 2 events, linked but totally separate. I don't know whether the capsize came first or Scott's teeth making contact with the D1's at a bit higher speed than there maximum working load, but while standing on the upturned hull I couldn't help notice that Scott's white rashie was going orange and he was spitting little bits of......material. He didn't appear concerned, even though he had spent $10,000 on his teeth in the last few months!

Anyway, we got the boat up and headed upwind. Wow! The boat was flying but it was shifty and slamming. And then we tacked, trying a few of our new found knowledge. The helm remained light throughout and we simply accelerated out of the tack. Astonishing! To prove it wasn't a fluke, we tacked again. Same thing! A few tacks later and it was all grins, even if one was slightly bloody! Mission accomplished.

We were very conscious that my body has been struggling to stay together, Scott's mouth was damaged and it was boat breaking weather so we didn't stay out long. However, it was the most exhilarating and useful session I can remember. Ashore, it seems that everybody else had stories of wild rides and big grins. John Harris, skipper of The Rag summed it up by saying "Now that's why we sail these boat"!

So, AOL is still in one piece but a tradition has been maintained. One of the crew got hurt, but for once it wasn't me! We had a great evening and a quick burger and beer in the bar gave lots of time for recounting tales of high speeds and big black gusts.

Roll on Sunday!

Happy New Year.............

2008-01-16T18:29:00.000+11:00

So, the season of goodwill is now out the way and Sydney returns to normal. The Olympic sailors have left town, which means that my phone has stopped ringing with people begging for a ride on the Bladerider. A few were even angling for a ride on the 18, which reminds me just how cool the whole thing is. It is too easy to fall into the way of life and just take it for granted. In the same way, it is too easy to think that with a couple of good results, 18 sailing has been well and truly mastered! The first 2 races of the year showed just how much work is still to be done.

Back from the holidays and with a practice session under our belt, we felt ready to really rock and roll. We lined up for the first start, found our hole and as the gun went, the guys congratulated me on the start. The 3 boats to leeward were clearly over and once they peeled off, we were in the driving seat, except there was no second gun. WTF! All three of us are puzzled but what can you do. Next time we sail the fleet, not the line!

Worse was to follow as we seemed to be slow, or was it just because we were eating everybody's exhaust fumes. Tacking for clear air sent us deep to the wrong side and it got worse. Either we sailed the wrong way in clear air or we ate dirt. Downwind was a precession but we did have speed and the gaps closed. We started the second beat with hope and the will to attack. But then it became obvious. We had no speed and the problem was the jib.

The whole time we had been sailing the boat, we had been attaching the jib sheet to the sail incorrectly. I spotted this on the current World Champs boat (Fiat) before we rigged so corrected this. However, it didn't occur that the different way would prevent the sail being sheeted properly and sure enough, as the breeze increased, we couldn't sheet in hard enough. In fact, we couldn't get the last 50mm in. Under powered and unable to point, all the good work downhill was wasted by a really stupid mistake. I felt that I had let the guys down.

On the run, Jamie did what he could to sort out the sheeting and while he improved it, we were still 30mm off where we needed to be. Plus we hadn't sailed some of the run flat out. So we limp around at the back, , getting our worst result for months.

The following Thursday we practiced with the new No2 main. It is so sweet and so was our boat handling. Only fly in the ointment was that I damaged my hamstring on a bear away but it wasn't going to stop me. With the forecast for Sunday calling for 20 knots, we felt ready for whatever is thrown at us. And what did we find on Sunday? 18 to 20 knots. Perfect!

So we head out to the start in good spirits, ready to take on whatever is thrown at us only to be hit by something we haven't come across before. We bear away at speed, dig in a little and pop straight out without thinking. Then, very soon after (1-2 seconds) we come to an abrupt halt. We hadn't spotted the kite coming out the bag and we were suddenly doing a good impression of a trawler. To capsize or not............not as the case turns out but by the time we were sorted, we were well into the start sequence and upwind of where we needed to be. A quick bear away and fast reach followed by a gybe and we were lined up at the wrong end of the line, third row of the grid and with 10 second to go. Another fine mess!

So, yet again, we have to tack and go the wrong way to clear our air. Coming back, we are well down but we seem to be going well, even to the point of thinking we had speed. Then we hook into a good shift and we are climbing through the fleet. We got the top if the leg wrong and round with more ahead than we would like. A good hoist and a couple of gybes later, we had a good lane into Rose Bay and the gybe mark. A few boats were swimming and after another slick gybe from the guys, we set off on the tightest reach for the bottom mark, reeling in boats all the time.

I think by the time we dropped the kite, we had taken 6 or 7 boats through good handling and a little speed. Better still, we are close up behind a group and on a charge. Everybody is being pushed low and we drop some way low of the mark. On heading up, we realise we are a little short of the mark and have to pull away again. WE get to the mark and harden up and out I jump onto the side. But where I think the rack should be there is fresh air and I am heading to the middle of the boat. The rest was inevitable, although the problems we encountered shouldn't have been. A very slow recovery and some further stupidity from "Surefoot Simon" saw us heading in with some muscle in my shoulder damaged enough to stop me raising my hand above my head.

I was devastated. The guys had sailed really well and we were actually very competitive. We swam from a silly mistake that I probably couldn't repeat if I wanted to. We all had friends watching and I felt I had let the guys down. My body keeps breaking and it isn't funny any more. I sit here typing this with a shoulder that nearly works, a damaged hamstring, a damaged thigh and bruising all over! It takes too long to recover, a bi-product of getting older, and I hate it! It feels that all the good work I did to get my body into a state to take the stresses and strains of my lifestyle has all been undone!

The festive break gave me a chance to catch up with my Moth sailing. I treasure the time I get in the boat and look forward to after the JJ (18 worlds) when I can spend more time in the boat. It is a truly addictive experience but at the moment, I am only using it for joy rides. While the boat handling might be going OK, for the first time I did some tuning against somebody who is close to the pace and I realised that the boat is currently set up for ease of sailing rather than speed. After some chats from Rohan, I have been sorting a few new bits and settings and cannot wait to try the boat again.

Sydney, the place to be in December!

2007-12-17T23:47:00.000+11:00

Things have been a bit hectic in Sydney of late. So many people are in town and there is so much going on. You cannot go anywhere near a sailing club without bumping into another Brit. If I was still in the UK, I would be wondering where everybody was!

First off, after no more than 24 hours to recover, our "drunken sailor" was back on duty as we headed out for a photo shoot with the iShares VX40. The 18's were represented by Rag and Famish and us, with Cameron stepping in as sheet hand for the evening. Also out to play were 2 Tornado's, one of which had Darren Bundock and Carolijn Brouwer on board, so there was no doubting the quality! Against a background of a thunderous sky, the VX40 showed us all who was the Daddy! I think they had to slow down every 800 metres or so and wait for everybody to catch up.

We all knew that the VX40 would be quicker, but what about the T's against the 18's? Well, downhill there really wasn't anything in it but upwind, the T's had an edge. I didn't think it was that much, but talking to Carolijn a few days later, she commented that she was a bit disappointed with the 18's upwind. That told us! However, looking at the photos, the 18's looked by far the most spectacular, 3 guys on the wire and the front half of the boat out of the water.

We had a practice session on Thursday in which we tried a few new tricks that Cam had shown us and we were ready for Sunday. The usual wait in the boat park was made even more tedious with the "which rig" debate. The forecast called for wind and little rig, the conditions on the harbour said big. In the end, all but 2 set out with No2 rigs and were slightly under powered while the other 2 were slightly over powered. How we needed our new square headed No2 main, but it wasn't ready.

So, we hit the race track with little idea of how the boat would go or how to set the rig. A bit more aggression at the start saw us just on the front row, third from the pin. It was actually easier than trying to do a safe mid line start. Speed seemed OK and we played the shifts to round the top mark in the top 10. We sailed around fighting for between 10th and 12th until the last beat when we simply got it wrong and dropped back to 15th, under huge pressure from behind.

At the last gybe, we were fighting to save us from the lower regions of the results sheet. The closest of fetches was all that was left and we had to fight, not just for our place but to get to the finish. Ahead we saw everybody struggling and a capsize gave us a chance of gaining another place. But to achieve that, we had to hold the kite, sailing the boat on its ear while ensuring we didn't leave a passing lane for those behind.

Sometimes, age has it's advantages as with age comes experience. While the others kept sailing fast and getting driven off low, we kept high and slowed enough to keep the apparent wind behind enough to reach the finish, in 14th place and with a bow hand whose arms were now half a metre longer! So, the improvements continue!

During last week, everybody was arriving for SIRS, the grade 1 Olympic classes regatta hosted in Sydney each year. This year was especially significant, as it is the first showdown between Ben Ainslie and Ed Wright for the GBR Finn spot at the games next year. Ben looks as large as I have seen him and still has the most wonderful, modest way about him - easy to talk to yet there is no more determined sailor on the water. If he does have a sense of his place in sailing history, it doesn't show in his manner. Admire the sailing achievements, but admire the man as well.

On Friday I organised a little foiling for some of thge visiting sailors. One was Paul Campbell-James, which was a bit of a strange feeling as I used to race against his parents before he was even a twinkle in their eye! Another was Graham Biehl, who is crew in the USA 470 that is going to the games. Clearly a talented helm in his own right, his reaction said it all "that is the coolest ting I have ever done!" He's in town a bit longer so I am expecting a call for a repeat performance as soon as SIRS is over.

Of course, the Moth is just a distraction from the real thing and Sunday was on us again. The forecast was for "Light and Shite" followed by a Southerly storm so it was with some in trepidation that we set off with big rigs. If the forecast was wrong by an hour or two, we could be sailing in 25 knots with the big rig (again!). The light winds, a tide underneath the fleet and some really poor discipline saw the fleet get away at the 5th time of asking, under a black flag. And the black flag caught out 4 of the top boats, which made our job easier. Our own starts were "educational", including our own attempt at taking out a section of the fleet on the second attempt to get the fleet away.

With a boat biased line, we lined up a bit off the line, ready to accelerate into any gap while making sure we were where we needed to be so as to tack off into the favoured tide. And sure enough, right next to the committee boat, a gap opened and we accelerated for it, only to have another reach down into the same gap. Now, we could have taken them out, but we would have been in a worse mess than starting behind them.

So we tacked off into the tide and made our way up the one sided beat. We were doing OK and seemed to be with the leading bunch but it was hard to tell exactly where we were, more so when some of the leaders were pulled out of the race for their early start. With a 4 lap, windward/leeward course, we began to find our position down the first run and we were up there, really up there. By the bottom mark, we were 3rd and we worked our way up the next beat to take the lead at the top.From there, we managed to maintain our spot at the front and led at the last mark.

However, we got it wrong. Under pressure from DeLonghi who suddenly tacked underneath us just before the mark, we should have gybe set which would have won the race for us but I got it wrong. We should have managed a slicker hoist, but things went a little pear shaped and we should have gybed earlier, but we didn't settle. So 2 boat gybed before us and it was a straight race to the finish line, with us in the cheap seats. We tried. We gained some back but it wasn't to be. We were 5 seconds behind the winner and 1 second from the next boat. Still, 3rd was a great result and we know there is still more to come.

And no sooner had we finished but the wind started to pick up and then the rain. The front had arrived and for a brief 5 minutes, we were sailing in 20 knots and driving rain. No sooner had it arrived and it was passed leaving a gentle 12 knots to sail home with.

So that is the 18's done for the year. The next race is on the 6th January, which gives me some time for some much needed TLC to the boat. And with the rest from the 18 comes a little time to go foiling.

If I don't post before, I would wish all my friends a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

What shall we do with a drunken sailor...........

2007-12-04T09:38:00.000+11:00

We were warned. We decided to take the risk anyway and it led to an amusing day. Scott (bow) had a house warming party organised before we even started sailing the 18 so it had to go on. Jamie (sheet) went as well but left at 4.00am and managed a reasonable amount of sleep. However, when Scott arrived at the boat park, our worst fears were realised. He had under 2 hours sleep and had stopped drinking at 10.00am! His speech was blurred and every time he walked past our supply of water, we had to change the label as the alcohol content went up just from proximity!

Jamie and I rigged the boat and we managed to launch with incident. A delayed start, waiting for the wind to settle gave Scott a chance to take on more water and finally the course was set, in a shift ENE wind 10-13 knots as it flicked from gradient to sea breeze. After the poor starts of recent weeks, I had promised the team we would really mix it at the start. Watching videos of recent JJ's, it struck me that nobody ever made good start mid line, so with a pin bias, we headed deep into enemy territory. And to my surprise, we kept finding holes. We lined up, looked below, saw another hole, bore away and back up into the hole until we were 3rd boat from the pin, with a nice gap to come down into and on time. maybe we pulled the trigger a little late, but we were up and running in a lane we could live with for a while until we had a chance to flip over.

The beat was long and shifty, with variations of pressure all around. And there we were, crossing tacks with Fiat, Club Marine and other front runners. We weren't having any speed issue and for the first time, Jamie and i had our heads out the boat, looking for wind and shifts. In fact, we even managed to make a few decent tactical calls that saw us round the first mark in the top 10. For some reason, the hoist wasn't quite as smooth and fast as we were used to and we had to defend for the first part of the downhill leg. Fortunately, we were sailing windward/leewards, so were able to gybe and clear when we needed to.

The next 2 laps saw us battling for a position in the top 10, never higher than 9th but not lower than 13th. Crossing tacks with The Rag and Club Marine was great, and we never felt outclassed. In fact, we remained very pleased with our speed and also our positioning, regarding the fleet.

However, as the race went on, our shortcomings on the hoists and drops slowly took a toll until at the end of the 3rd downwind, the drop let 3 boat through. Try as we might, we couldn't get them back on the beat and the final hoist saw another through. The hoist did have its lighter side. My normal job is to call out how far the kite had hoisted and this time it went rather like this - "First spreader, second spreader, 1 metre........1 metre........1 metre........1 metre. Scott, why are you out on the wire?!! Jamie looked up and with a resigned smile said "I will get it! and finally the kite was set.

I twas a shame that we weren't sailing to the best we could because we finished less than 1 minute off 13th place and should really have been higher. Scott was very apologetic, in the funny way that only somebody who is drunk can manage. Credit to him for having survived and for not chundering until on his way home. I did have to steer the boat back under him a couple of times, but he stayed with us the whole race. If we had a substitute on board, we might have done better but that wouldn't have been good for either Scott's ego (they do better without me) or for team building.

So now we have proved we can get up there, the next task will be be to stay up there. We have 2 on the water sessions planned this week, so stand by for more news to come.

Now, what exactly does "keel hauling" consist of..............

Variety is the spice of life.......

2007-12-01T09:50:00.000+11:00

As a busy week draws towards an inevitable conclusion - Sunday at the League - I find myself reflecting on just how much you can pack into one week. I don't often talk about work on here, mainly because my main role has been as "Director of Leisure" for the family, a job I have taken seriously by testing and maintaining as many toys as possible! However, there is also the renovations on our home and the current project, renovating the Mother-in-Law's apartment. Dealing with builders and tradesmen in Australia has been a real eye opener. I have never experienced anything like it. All elements of construction and trades are significantly more expensive than in the UK, even though materials are no more costly. And as a customer, I feel like the builders are doing me a huge favour and that I should be grateful. Overall, it feels like I am being beaten up and at the same time, I should be thankful!

When it comes to our own house, having had a QS do the sums, it seems that if I act as an Owner/Builder, project managing the job myself, I will save the equivalent of 4 years salary (before tax). If I could get a builders licence over here, that is what I would do. 1 decent job a year would earn me more than I have ever earned in a single year!

3 trips to the apartment, dealing with all the issues, left me ready for a bit of R&R. It has been great to be able to catch up with an old friend who is in town. Hugh Styles is in town with the iShares VX40 he project manages and I was able to get close up and personal with one of these machines for the first time. And what beasts they are, all carbon, autoclaved and very sexy! The boat will be sailing in the harbour all of next week doing some corporate entertaining and promotion work for iShares. It should be a sight worth seeing.

On Thursday, we took the 18 out for a training session and what a good one it was. A 8-12 knot easterly in warm conditions and enough light to stay on the water until about 8.00pm saw some real progress. We were particularly fortunate to have Craig Ferris out in a coach boat and we made great progress. The boathandling went up another gear and having somebody looking at the rig from outside taught us a lot about how to set the rig. Hopefully, this will move us up another level and from my point of view, the session was the first time I thought we really felt like we deserve better results on the track. Now the problem is to take it to the race track and to get as slick in more breeze.

The week finished with a bang, literally. Last night I went to see My Chemical Romance in concert and they put on quite a show. A good honest band, with 4 guys dressed in black and thumping 0ut good guitar led thumping anthems, the young crowd entered into the spirit with some great slam dancing and crowd surfing down in the Mosh Pit. The stage show was a mix of a good old light show and a great display of....fire! It seemed like they had 10 burners from hot air balloons which, at suitable times, fired up in spectacular style. You could feel the heat instantly. The show ended with the biggest "bang" from some explosives that really rocked the house. My Chemical Romance delivered, continuing to enhance their reputation as one of the best bands of recent times.

One postscript to the concert was a reflection on the times we live in. Much of what went on at the gig could have happened any time from the 70's onwards. However, one thing has changed. When years ago we held up and waved lighters, today the illumination of choice is the mobile phone screen. My phone, which also took the picture above, ran out of battery, having forgotten the golden rule of concert goers - charge the phone fully!

Now I look forward to Sunday, although with some sense of impending doom. Scott is holding a big party at his new apartment and Jamie is going as well. They have promised to try to get some sleep before coming sailing and they hope to have sobered up, but my expectations are not high!

The agony and the ecstacy......

2007-11-28T14:31:00.000+11:00

Sunday. 2.30pm. Sydney Harbour. 10-12 knots and Sunshine. It must be time for some 18' sailing! But there was something different, something strangely unfamiliar about everything. And what were we doing sailing towards the Squadie? Well, for the first time this season, the wind had swung to a tricky Easterly and we were going to sail a new course. Now, I have nothing against the Beashel Buoy, but it was going to be good to visit another part of the harbour, or so we thought.

The boat park on a Sunday morning is a good place to be. The initial race for a place in the park is getting a bit competitive, with 10.00 am beginning to look like a 3rd row of the grid start. Some of the guys have given up Saturday night drinking, just to be in a fit state to get the boat down to the water early. The reward - a place next to a slip and an easy carry to the water. For those that do arrive early, there is a lot of friendly banter and there was a regular theme to what people were saying to me. It seems that a fair number of skiffies crew the Wednesday twilight race on leadmines and they had seen our little practice session in the big breeze. I don't know who was more surprised - the other sailors when they learnt we were caught out with our No1 rig or me, when 3 different people on 3 different boats confirmed that the squall was actually 27 knots. In fact, more than one leadmine ran for cover in the same way as we did. So, overall, I was pretty pleased. A bit of street cred, more wind than I imagined and others making the same decision to go home. Best of all, the damaged sails were back and looking as good as ever.

Out early, a bit of practice and we were ready for the start, which was postponed to allow the spectator boat to get out. Lining up well in the middle of the line, we found a hole , held our position and powered to the start in clear air with the boats around us...............only to find that our perfect start was actually 3-4 boatlengths down, due to the sag in the line and we were sucking fumes very quickly.It seems such a basic mistake, but so many report it that I am beginning to conclude that you need to be really good to start mid line. Maybe we will be better off mixing it with the fleet at an end, so as to be sure where the line is. It doesn't help that it takes all our concentration to hold our position, so we aren't getting our heads up to find transits etc.

Anyway, we were off towards Rose Bay and with little clear wind, it seemed the practice was paying off. We had good height and speed and were in the bunch. Approaching the bay, it became clear that the entrance was busy with Woolahra race start lines to sail through and more important, wind shadows from Shark Island, headlands and the windward shore. However, a good line into the mark saw us arrive mid fleet, somewhere around 12th or 13th. Oh, the ecstasy!

3 minutes later, we were leaving Rose by DFL (dead frigging last!). Once around the mark, wherever we went and whatever tack we were on, there was a boat screaming for right of way and I think we did more crash gybes in the first 300 metres of that leg than I have done in the last 300 races! I don't understand how we didn't hit anybody or go for a swim, but we had to play catch up. And that we did.

By the last lap, we were at the back of a group that were battling it out for some very minor races. A whole beat of crossing tacks, edging closer and place changes but on entering Rose Bay, the leaders got richer while we fell back a little. A humiliating slip in form beckoned, as we set off in not such hot pursuit. But, ahead somebody capsized and the others began to slow each other down as the gybed on top of each other and one by one, got spat out the back. Even still, were we going to be able to get back in the mix?

Approaching the finish, we remembered the old adage that you should always approach on starboard, gaining the right of way and maybe an overlap. A good gust allowed us to soak down and sure enough, we had overtaken one and caught the other who had to gybe to avoid us. We held them out and then gybed for the line, beating one boat by a matter of seconds.

So, overall, an improvement of 1 place compared with last week, further evidence that we are getting on the pace and some good racing. However, we know what we need to practice. Starting! I used to be able to do it so why not in the 18's? Only time will tell but one thing is sure, the highs and lows of 18 sailing have a long way to go.

Navy Seal survives 18 footer!

2007-11-24T15:16:00.000+11:00

A great week of sailing related activity will, no doubt, climax tomorrow afternoon with the next 18 footer race. Hopefully, the time in the boat this week will have helped the learning process and we can continue to move up the fleet. And what an epic practice session it was.

We had been looking at getting a coach involved with our sailing and to this end, I have been chatting with Craig Ferris. I first met Craig 10 years ago, when he was coaching the top ranked Italian 49er team, the Bruni Brothers. Since then, our paths have crossed and we have always enjoyed exchanging pleasantries and catch up on sailing gossip. Craig is also rated as one of the best sheet hands in 18's, having been a regular on "The Rag" for years and a 2 times winner of the JJ. He is currently coaching the Singapore Olympic Team and especially the mens 470 squad.

Craig had wanted to get his charges out in an 18 for some time and we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone. So, on Wednesday, I met Craig and his team at Double Bay for an afternoon of 18's. Having 7 of us to rig the boat certainly helped and 25 minutes after arriving, we were heading out onto the harbour. The plan was that I helmed, Craig did his regular sheet job and we had the 470 boys take it in turns up front. We sailed a short course (2/3rds of a regular course) which consisted of 3 tacks, one bear away, a hoist and drop with a final rounding up so as to swap sailors. All changes were done "on the fly", so as to save time and not get messy.

We had a puffy 12-14 knots, which was perfect for what was needed. There was enough breeze for the crew to need to play the jib, which is nearly as big as a 470 main sail. Things didn't get off to the best of starts when we swam on the first tack. On an 18, you ease a little jib before the tack but, coming from a 470, the crew uncleated the jib (continuous sheet, self tacker) so when we arrived on the other side, there was no pressure in the sail. However, we were soon up and on our way again. The next big moment was the bear away. All four of our "joy riders" got the same briefing and all four froze at the same moment. Craig likened it to being "like rabbits caught in the headlights"!

The problem is that when bearing away in an 18. everything happens very fast and it's very different from most other boats. The speed build, the bow goes down and inertia plays its part. The key is, you have to run in at exactly the right moment, which is before you would think. If you wait until the boat starts to come over on top, you are too late and in trouble. The other problem is that the bow has to go in before the sheet hand or else everybody trips over everything. So, the boys were briefed that when Craig and I said "IN", they needed to run to the centre of the boat, without hesitation or question. However, as it always feels too soon, these poor guys froze and had to put up with a torrent of abuse. We were loving it!

By the end of the kite drop, No 1 was puffing and panting, so it was time to swap. No.2 was exactly the same, but without the swim. Luckily for Craig and me, there was still bags of opportunity for abuse! Then it was on to No.3, the only helm to brave it. Now, this guy was my height (which is short) and probably weighed about 63 kgs. I was concerned he was going to be pulled through the blocks and the kite hoist "challenged" him. A slow hoist coupled with looks of confusion were greeted by loud shouts from Craig and myself - "get out, get out, get out!" However, what followed next wasn't quite what was expected. Our man ran to the gunwale, grabbed the trap handle, swung out and promptly let go, without hooking on. A new definition of a "chase boat drop". So another swim followed.

Finally, we were onto the last ride before we headed in. Except for the first tack, when he didn't get the jib easing right (too much, yet again), Ben did well. Sure, he was a rabbit in the headlights during the bear away, but overall he was most suited to the task with the strength and speed needed. However, we couldn't let him get away without a suitable amount of abuse, something I am not so sure was a good idea, on reflection, as the following day I learnt he was a Singapore Navy Seal who could kill me in 25 different ways with his own bare hands and I wouldn't even know I was dead! Luckily, I think I am safe as he was with us for the best ride of the day, a long downwind leg with a bit of puff on and a sustained 20 knots plus. Big grins all round!

The purpose of the exercises was to give the guys some experience of other types of sailing. These guys have sailed very few types of boat, which is something that allows you to adapt to situations quickly. I also suspect that Craig didn't mind showing the lads his own ability. For me, it was a pleasure to sail with him, learn a few tricks, get his views on how we set up the boat and also to get some valuable time on the end of the tiller.

However, once we were ashore, there was an hour to wait for my regular team to show up from the office. What I missed in that hour was the wind slowly building. After the sail, Jamie commented that when he arrived he thought we were brave to have the No1 rig up. It wasn't brave. It was what I had been using. So off we set, to find a gentle 18 - 20 knots. Then, only a short time after launching, we were hit by some serious pressure. Although we don't have exact data from that part of the harbour, it is safe to say we were out there with the No1 rig up in somewhere between 22-25 knots of breeze. 2 swims later and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. The forecast was for a rising wind and I could see no reason to lose the rig. Rather pleasingly, our big wind bear away went really very well, obviously benefiting from the earlier practice.

Once ashore, our decision look .........wrong, as the wind died rather than built but the damage was already done. A broken jib batten, torn kite and hole in the main meant a swift trip to our sailmaker the following morning.

The last time we sailed in that much breeze, we had the No2 rig up and made more of a mess of it. Hopefully, this is a sign of further improvements and that the 12-14 knots we expect on Sunday should be a "walk in the park".

Progress

2007-11-20T10:51:00.000+11:00

Another weekend, another skiff race and this time, some real progress. Having looked that the forecast, I made the decision not to sail the Moth on the Saturday as it was "fresh to frightening". It turned out to be a rather good move with 18-25 knots playing havoc with the Moths at Balmoral. I think I saw 3 blown out sails and more stacks than at a demolition derby!

However, the next day conditions had settled and the 18's sailed in 11-14 knots, sunshine and a very crowded harbour. We did a couple of runs before the race being followed by a coach boat with Craig Ferris looking at us and we gained a lot of confidence in our new rig settings. However, the first start was abandoned about 12 seconds before the gun, maybe for a cruiser that had sailed into the start area, maybe for the big ship about to steam through the course or maybe because it seemed like the whole fleet was already over!

On the second start, we managed to work a nice hole for ourselves, although just above one of the form boats, Fiat. However, our inability to pull the trigger saw us second row of the grid and looking for a tack. This felt a bit too familiar, but once we had cleared our wind and were heading back to the right side of the course, we found we weren't as stuffed as we had grown to expect. The leg was actually exciting, as we were sailing (and racing) with other boats and at times showing good speed. We also had found the height we had been missing so far this year.

A nice little shift near the top mark saw us round towards the back of the pack, but no longer in a position of being spat a long way out the back. Down the offwind legs, we gained and gained, helped by more than a few swims near Shark Island and as we approached the bottom mark, our practicing seemed to be paying as a good drop got us into a great position. We were probably 14th or 15th in a fleet of 25 and loving it.

Coming away from the bottom mark, we even sailed up from under another boat and simply pulled ahead, just on good pointing and boatspeed (well, maybe a little skill!). We found some of the chopped up harbour difficult to keep speed through and need to practice this but still arrived at the top mark in good shape, although with the to and fro nature of racing we had probably dropped a place overall. Rounding the mark, the group ahead managed to pick up a good gust that we were just too late for and we got a bit too much separation. However, we kept at it and seemed to close a little until Jamie called what turned out to be a great gybe angle. Coming into the bottom mark with pace, we even managed a perfect gybe drop that gained us 100 metres on the group ahead and we were back in the game.

The next beat was fairly uneventful. Unfortunately, we got a little left behind and ended up losing all of the 100 metres we had gained but went around the top mark in 17th. With a good gap behind and unlikely to catch those ahead, all we needed was a safe downwind section but it wasn't to be. This time it was our turn to be 3 stringing near Shark Island when the wind turned off and the boat came in on top of us. Although we got sorted quickly, we lost 3 boats and had another close behind. We charged for the line, trying to soak down inside the boat ahead but it was clear we would both have to gybe. All the time, another boat was below us coming up at speed. Could we put in 2 gybes without being caught? Could we pressure the boat ahead? Well, the answer to both was YES! The guys ahead swam on gybing, we just managed to keep clear and beat the next boat by 9 seconds.

It might have only been 19th place out of 25 boats, but for the first time we could see that we belonged in the fleet. We showed we could compete against decent crews but the most encouraging thing was that we know just how much we need to improve and now feel we can. However, we are still learning the hard way and the capsize is a case in mind, After the race we were told how to save those situations, with the assurance that now we no how, we won't capsize to windward again. I am going to put that guarantee in the bank and use it, if needed!

And now the biggest problem. We want to get straight back out there racing against other boats, but that will have to wait until Sunday. Hopefully, we will get a training session in during the week but the forecast is a bit full on, so who knows.

People's Foiler hits the big Two Oh!

2007-11-14T21:33:00.000+11:00

Having managed to clear the decks of all the daily detritus, I finally got to go for a midweek sail in the Moth when the Nor'easter was pumping. Having owned my boat for nearly 3 months, I had yet to sail it in more than about 12 knots of wind. This meant that my heavy weather sail was still brand spanking new so, with a good 16-18 knots blowing, I couldn't resist the chance to give it a go.

And I was duly rewarded for my patience. The Moth sailors in the UK have a little "speed table", membership of which is open to anybody who breaks the 20 knot barrier. before today, there were 25 members - now there are 26.

Since my last post about the Moth, it has been officially named. In honour of that great "ambassador" of the foiling movement, Doug Lord, the boat has been named "People's Foiler". Now it was time for her to prove her worth.

It was clear from the moment I sheeted in that it was going to be a fast day. Setting off on port close hauled, I sailed about 600 metres to the other end of the beach in what seemed like a matter of moments. It was hard to keep speeds below 12-13 knots, even though I was playing with the sail controls to see how the new sail responded. A quick tack and bear away and the GPS went crazy, but only a little more than the bombardment on every sense in my body. The acceleration, the speed, the sensitivity of the steering, the shear exhilaration. Instantly the GPS showed over 20 knots and just seemed to stay there. Before I had time to digest what was going on, I was deep into the moored boats near the club and looking to slow and get away.

Flushed with the knowledge that the 20 knot barrier was history, I pressed on. I found a comfortable 14 knots upwind mode and then it happened. Nothing changed except the GPS readout suddenly jumped to 20 and straight back down again. A clear spike and with it the doubt. A GPS spike is pretty common. Many claims of high speed in dinghies are no more than spikes, which most proud sailors refuse to accept. This has lead to claims of bathtubs sailing faster than skiffs and I don't want to add to the catalogue of false claims. So, was my membership of the 20+ club no more than a spike.

The rest of the sail went at speed but as usual, there was never going to be enough time. So, within half an hour of coming off the water, I was downloading the data to my laptop and checking the data for spike. Sure enough, there were a few of which my favorite was the one that showed I went from 12 knots to 21 in 2 metres. I don't think my Porsche could do that, never mind a boat.

However, the top speed of 21.8 knots (25.01 MPH) was genuine, which moves me into joint 13th on the table. I am well pleased and here is the evidence.

ISAF celebrate 100 years by showing their true colours

2007-11-13T21:34:00.000+11:00

It would be remiss of me not to join the growing outcry over the ISAF council decision of the events for the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth, England. While many cat sailors remain in their insular little world, feeling the whole world is against them (no cat event in 2012), the big picture is that high performance sailing in general was treated to a loud 2 fingered salute. If ever ISAF showed how self centred and out of touch many of the council members are, this was the time. This isn't democracy at work, this is cronyism and self interest of the worst order and has to arte as the most shameful action I know of by ISAF.

Great way to celebrate 100 years of serving the sailing community!

The Wild Boys are Back.......................

2007-11-13T20:46:00.000+11:00

Before getting into the happenings of the last week, lets get one thing into the open. Most people would be delighted at having a picture of them and their 18 in a national paper in an article entitled "The Wild Boys are Back".

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22741971-5001023,00.html

However, when the picture is the one below, maybe some might understand why this isn't my idea of the ideal picture to please the sponsors. However, at least we got the sponsors name into the article............

What seems a little harsh is that 5 boats capsized on Sunday, 4 during the race and the print the photo of the one who swam before the race. Yes! At last. A race with no swim. Even better we weren't last and we learnt a lot.

We had about 11-14 knots of breeze that was shifty as anything, making it really tough. A busy harbour kicked up an inconsistant chop, so getting settled was difficult. Worst still, the first leg the triangle downwind had a really difficult area on the entrance to Rose Bay with big wind shadows, gusts and shifts of 30+ degrees. If you tried to gybe away, things got too tight to get back to the mark and Shark Island got in the way. So, noty the easiest day in the office.

However, after a poor start (must pull the trigger earlier) we trudged up the beat trying to find a good lane. Eventually, after nearly losing touch with the fleet, we found a lane that got us back to the fleet in time to see how we could compete downwind. And compete we did. We actually overtook a few boats, some with speed, others by handling Rose Bay well. However, this only led to exposing our real weakness. We couldn't point if our life depended on it. Getting on the inside of a few lifts hid this for a while, but there is no hiding from the fact. Added to this, we managed to rig our downhaul wrong, leading to the downhaul strap ripping off. In the bar afterwards I lost count of the number of people who said "we have all done that!"

After the race we were also able to ask last year's skipper, Herman, about the pointing. It seemed we were using a fraction of the vang that we should have been, so hopefully that is another lesson learnt. What is a bit of a shame is that I actually felt we were sailing the boat OK but with no upwind speed, it is hard to be sure.

Anyway, the team are a bit more fired up so those of you on the harbour should see us outr training a bit more. First session is on Thursday, when high on the agenda is learning how to pull the vang........hard!

As we seem to be going back in time (newspaper on Monday, 18 racing on Sunday), i guess a little update on the Moth sailing is in order. On Saturday we had one of the top boys from St. Georges sailing with us at Balmoral and he made us look silly. I won the start comfortably, only to see Dave traveling at speed behind, going lower and far quicker. A quick pull away later and the speed was matched. Even better, Dave tacked away to the side that never pays! A couple of minutes later I look over to the other side of the course and he is dead and buried! Then the wind softens, angles change and one boat foils the whole of the beat while the rest of us wallow. From there, whenever I saw dave, he was foiling and I wasn't.

On reflection, I don't yhink it is a boat difference but an experience one. Dave was sailing angles I haven't seen before and it is clear I need a rethink. I need to do some serious training with the GPS in VMG mode.

A weekend of contrasts, Part 2

2007-11-05T15:31:00.000+11:00

I guess I should have known better. It was tempting fate, setting the scene for a 2 part report, with part 1 being the 13th post on this blog! However, I am not superstitious so I didn't give it a second thought. Anyway, I was right about one thing, though. It was a weekend of contrasts and the contrast began at about 4.00am on Sunday morning when I first woke up knowing something was wrong. The feeling in my stomach was either butterflies ahead of the days 18 sailing or something a little more serious. Regrettably, within minutes, I discovered it was the later.

While the nausea had subsided by the time I should have been heading down to Double Bay, there was no way I was in a fit state to sail. In fact, the only thing I was capable of getting on board of was either the bed or the sofa, where I spent the day. I still have no idea whether it was something I ate or a bug, but the net effect is that the efforts I was making to put on weight for the 18 are back to square one.

So, the comparison between the toys will have to wait another week. The long range forecast suggests that next weekend will be 15-20 knots both days which should give lots of opportunities for more swimming practice. While we probably won't get a midweek training session in the 18 this week, I hope to get some practice sessions with the Moth, as Saturday is the first Interclub (open meeting) of the season. With a forecast for fresh winds all week, it could prove to be "educational"! However, if it stays like today, I won't be going near a boat.

I have been sat at my desk watching the Canadian and Russian Laser sailors practicing in the big seas between the Heads. The wind has been 20-30 knots and they have all been swimming. More impressive than the wind is the size of some of the waves. We are half way up the hill and I can only just see the tops of the masts in the troughs. I have seen some of the Lasers going hard "down the mine". I guess it beats working!

A weekend of contrasts, Part 1

2007-11-03T21:56:00.000+11:00

People keep asking me about the differences between my 2 toys. Well, this weekend should help highlight them as it is Moth racing on Saturday, 18 on Sunday. So, let the show begin...........

Finally, after about 4 weeks, I have the Moth back with all its parts and my racing season can get under way. The first thing I noticed is how easy it is to rig and launch. It certainly passes the "if you can't lift it, don't sail it" test! For the first time in weeks, I didn't risk a hernia or back injury. In fact, for the first time in weeks, I actually sailed a whole race without injury. Lets hope that doesn't prove to be one of the differences between today and tomorrow.

We had a very present southerly breeze, ranging from 6-7 knots up to...........well, we thought 12-13 knots but Seabreeze.com.au said it was gusting 15-16 knots. 7 Moths started, 6 finished. I got a good start and foiled off to the wrong side of the beat rounding the windward mark 3rd. The best thing was that the 2 boats that had sailed the right way were lowriders! Just goes to show that boatspeed just gets you to the wrong place faster.

By the end of the first reach, I had broken through into the lead and the closer to the gybe mark we got, the more the wind came on. This caught me by surprise and the gybe was more than just wobbly, it was wet. This allowed the second place through but by the end of the next leg, I was leading again and extending. Another lap and half with a big lead and I was feeling more and more happy about life!

I don't know whether it was sailing in a bit less pressure or a loss of concentration but suddenly I was battling for the lead and next thing I know, a good lead was gone and I was battling to stay in second. In fact, at the last gybe, I even lost that place, but only for a short time as the superior speed of the Bladrider worked its magic and ensured I finished 2nd. Not bad for the first proper race of the year. I now know what I need to work on (gybes and tack) plus a few tweaks to the boat.

Landing and packing away was also quick and easy, a nice contrast to the 18.

So, what have I learnt that is of use for tomorrow? Not a lot! The boats and the racing are so different, which is what is so good about owning the 2 of them. However, it did remind me that I actually do know how to get off a start line and race. All I need to do is take that to the track tomorrow.

The appliances online.com.au team are pretty fired up for tomorrow, although we have a guest appearance at sheethand as Jamie is in NZ. I will present Part 2 as soon as possible, with some real observations about the differences between the 2 best boats you could ever want to sail.

Amateur Hour......

2007-10-30T21:41:00.000+11:00

I was taught a long time ago that one of the things that separates the best sailors from the also rans is the ability to take responsibility for for what they do and not to make excuses. Well, on that basis, what follows should prove I am one of the sailing greats!

Another Sunday, Another 18 race in perfect conditions and another opportunity to make big steps forward in our campaign, all wasted. There is no getting away from it, we were useless. For 3 guys who can sail, we really managed to do a very good impression of a team auditioning for Amateur Hour.

It all started well enough. Arriving in the boat park early, we found a good slot close to the launching. But then the problems started. The forecasts were split between, on one hand, 20-30 knots NE and on the other, 11-14 knots NE. At least they agreed on direction! It was immediately clear that half the fleet had set aside their No 1 rigs, while the other had their No 2 ready to go. At 12.00 pm, the wind was probably no more than 8 knots and the debate went on, and on, and on....................... The one conclusion I came to is that if the fleet really was split, we would get it wrong! In the end, everybody went for No 1, so our life was made easy.

Decisions were made late and we rushed to get the boat rigged. And there lies the first problem. As newcomers who have rigged their boat less than everybody, instead of being in a position to launch early, as was the plan, but we ended up rushing and when you rush, mistakes happen.

So, finally, we launched, making the observation that the boat was getting easier to carry. Either we were getting stronger or we were learning to keep the bow into the wind so as to prevent extra load coming on. Progress.

As we sailed to the start, our confidence first grew as we sailed past another boat capsized and we felt there was no problem. then we tacked, only to find the control for setting the jib track was around the wrong side of the wing and the car couldn't go out even to the most inboard position we use..........and the knots in the rope were "challenging"! So our "settle down" time was spent undoing knots and rerouting string. No time to sail the course and check the boat out but so what, we were experienced skiff sailors!

We made the decision not to be aggressive at the start; find a good gap down from the pin and all the action and keep our nose clean. And for the first time, we managed to work our perfect hole, lined up where we wanted and at the time we wanted. All that was left to do was pull the trigger. A few seconds shouldn't make a big difference in a 1-2 hour race but at the start, it is the difference between glamour and eating dirt. And we managed to pull the trigger a few short seconds too late and all of a sudden, we were 3rd row of the grid, a grid of only 3 rows.

A tack to clear our wind and a tack back to sail to the favoured side went better than I would have hoped and we were up and running. Things were looking up. We were in the same bit of the harbour as the fleet and there were boats behind and we were quick. 2/3rds of the way up the first leg and we were probably back of the second row, rather than deep in the cheap seats and we rounded the first mark with some very respectable teams (who had sailed a bad leg), thanks to a lucky but perfect layline call that was worth a good 50 metres.

At last, we had a chance to show what should be our strong point, downhill speed. We are light and the conditions should have been perfect to show what we could do...............until the kite was hoisted. I am not sure which rigging method we were trying to copy, but it wasn't one that should be used on an 18. At least the kite wasn't upside down but with the sheet under something it should have been over and in front of something that it should have been behind, the end result was not pretty. Initially, there was no option other than drop the kite and reroute some string.

Unfortunately, we only partly sorted the problem but well enough to continue, if not with a perfect setting kite. However, we weren't last and we were travelling at speed. We called another near perfect layline and 2 gybes later we were close strapped, heading for the bottom mark. It was then that we realised that the routing of the sheet meant we couldn't play the sheet at the angle we were sailing. No option but to drop, sort it again and sail the leg with no kite. So, having sailed the 2 legs downwind with a kite for less than 40%, we rounded the bottom mark second from last, thanks to another team swimming and we were only 30 metres behind the next boat.

Rounding up, we then found our latest go fast modification, an automatic vang uncleating device, another bi-product of running strings the wrong side of each other when rigging. Worst still, the elastic take away was now the wrong side of the cleat. Not fast and not clever. Another chunk of ground lost but we were back up to speed and sailing well as a team, DFL ( dead f***ing last). We thought we gained a little upwind and rounded the top mark ready to push it down the run. It wasn't the perfect set but eventually we were up, running and gaining.

Until the gybe. Maybe we were getting tired, maybe it was the good lump of pressure we were in or maybe we simply haven't got our routines sorted, but at a time we shouldn't have, we hit the tide. Another opportunity to sort out a big mess and fall even further behind. It was all over. By this time the breeze was up and we were about a lap down. The forecast was for a rapidly increasing breeze and the team decided that to be caught out in 25 knots with No 1 rig was not something we wanted. Another wrong judgement call, as no sooner than we were ashore and the wind was back down.

Coming ashore gave the final opportunity to completely screw up and we managed that. Carrying the boat up the beach, the boat suddenly got a bit of load on and I was forced to my knees, trapped under the boat with a big weight on my back. I still don't really know what I did but it hurt, hurt enough to make walking difficult. Thanks to everybody who came to our aid. Monday at the phsio, a few hard pushes and pulls later and I feel like new. Our boat has a unique feature that makes carrying it more difficult than other boats so one priority is to change things. After all, in the words of Scott Babbage, if you can’t lift it, you can’t sail it.

In the bar, somebody asked if we broke anything and I could only reply, with truth, that the only thing broken was pride and ego. Even now, 48 hours later, I cannot quite believe how amateur we were. We did some good stuff, but managed to snatch embarrassment from the jaws of respectability. We debriefed and agreed some serious training was in order. Because of work pressures, that cannot begin for a couple of weeks so we are in damage limitation mode.

I sit here typing this feeling rather deflated, trying to remember when I last felt this. It was after a day racing 49ers, with Adam May and although only 4 boats out of 20 launched, we swam so much and I felt so bad in the boat I was ready to quit. Adam kicked my butt, got us back in the game and about 4 weeks later, all thanks to him, we won a race at Hyeres, the first category 1 event for 49ers. That was one of the proud moments in my sailing career. However, there is no Adam here so I need to kick my own butt and make it happen. I know the problem. We shouldn't be racing. We should be practicing. 2 hours of practice would be worth 3 or 4 races. In the mean time, it seems to be a full time job to keep myself fit enough. It seems that I also need sponsorship from my Physio!