New Start at Fishers Green Sailing Club

The last 12 months has been a bit quiet as far as sailing is concerned. 

But matters came to a head recently when it was announced that the Welsh Harp water area would be drained in November 2023 until the new year. So we were forced to find another club if we wanted to sail during the winter. 

Fishers Green Sailing Club is situated on Holyfield Lake in the Lee Valley Regional Park. They were one of the clubs that kindly offered to take Welsh Harp Sailing Club members on a temporary membership basis.

I managed to trailer 13941 to Fishers Green at the start of October, but last Saturday - 4th November 2023 - was the first time I had sailed her at the new club.

It was raining when I first arrived, but began to clear up by the time 1:00 PM had appeared for the race start.

Quentin Drain from WHSC kindly agreed to sail with me; the first time I recall we had actually sailed together. Nick Yannagoroykos from Fishers Green managed two races that afternoon. As well as ourselves, there was a  Laser with Standard Sail, Laser Radial and a Streaker. We were the only GP14. Hopefully, others from WHSC will be joining us in future Saturday races.

Conditions were reasonably strong - about 10 or 12 knots, with occasional gusts which were stronger, but most of the time the wind direction was at least consistent. We never got onto the plane, although it felt like we were close to that at times.

We took it in turns to helm - I did the first race, and Quentin the second. 

In each case, we managed to find our way between the various islands that make up the lake where FGSC sail. There were a few wind shadows to navigate.

The finishing sequence at the end of the first race was Laser Standard, Streaker, our GP14 and Laser Radial.

We had a couple of issues with our genoa sheets - the rope is quite short, and the ends can easily pull through the genoa fairleads, leaving us scrabbling under the genoa through-deck sheeting system desperately trying to untie, re-thread and re-tie the sheets. 

We also did not have a burgee (which subsequently arrived by post the day after the race!).

On the other hand, the new black mainsheet worked well for us.

In Quentin's race, we were in the down-wind run with spinnaker flying, with the Streaker bearing down on us. I started the spinnaker drop a bit early for him, so we missed the chance to "close the door" and prevent him overtaking us at the leeward mark. He finished ahead of us in the final lap. Sorry, Quentin. 

Also in the second race we were interrupted by calls from a nearby RIB.  It was other members of WHSC who were visiting Fishers Green, and were shouting out encouragement to us. Thanks, guys !

Going back to the clubhouse area was the final bit of excitement, as there are all sorts of wind shadows around the "RIB Island" and "Fireworks Island" leading back to the mooring area. But we survived without incident. 

It started to rain again after the boat was put away.

Very satisfying "re-boot" to sailing. Let's hope this can continue for a long while. 

Commodores Cup 2022

It's been a while.

A long time. 

A very very long time. 

But if ever there was a chance to get back on the water, then the 2022 was the time to do it. Maciek was going to stand down as commodore this year, so this was the last cup he would be able to award. There was the equivalent of a "three line whip" to encourage everyone from the Welsh Harp Sailing Club to attend. So Sarah and I answered the call. 

You need to realise that my wife and I moved house in September 2021, and I had hardly been on the water since. I was seriously out of practice. Sarah had been doing some Laser sailing recently, so she probably had a better feel for wind and sailing than I had. 

Conditions were not ideal - about 4 or 5 knots of wind, with the occasional gust to capture our attention, but by the end of the day we were in "drift mode".

The first race was a massive hour-plus. Due to the southerly wind, the course was 4-7-8-5 for the Laster and GP14 fleets. There was also a race for the juniors in the club. So a complicated bit of logistics to manage.

I was helming and managed to get the timing completely wrong for the starting. As a result we started last, and were last at the end of the race as well. We almost managed to catch up with one of the boats before, but failed in the end. We were last and had the experience of being "finished on the water".

Then it was in for a buffet lunch, before we took part in the second and third races back-to-back. 

Sarah helmed the second race, and made a cautious start. we had two or three boats behind us at one time, but a few overtook us, so we ended up with a one boat behind us. And we were formally finished in the race - which was a distinct improvement.

The third race was a bit different: the instructions were to race one lap, and then change over the helm and crew on the water, for the second lap. Not only that, the race course was very different. As the juniors had completed their racing, we had the entire lake to play with. So the course was 4-1-2-7-8-5

Again, my timing for the start was not ideal. And the lack of wind towards the end of the day did not help, since my light-wind sailing is not very good. Nevertheless, we did manage to keep up with the back-markers. We had just one boat behind us at the end. 

So results were not very good. But we did feel that we were beginning to get back our "sea legs"

It sounds like a miserable day. Yet, despite all that, we did feel that we had enjoyed ourselves. We could improve. More practice needed. Looking forward to the next opportunity to sail. 

Shape of the Jib - episode 4 - The Harp Strikes Back

Saturday 8 May was a day of promise.

I had managed to get a brand new jib sheave box from the local Welsh Harp Shop ( http://www.welshharp.co.uk - thank you, Robert O’Neill), which together with the new jib halyard meant that we had a replacement system for the boat. 

But the day was going to be a strong test - not only for the new sheave block (did I screw it in strongly enough...?), but also for Tom & myself.

The winds were over 15 knots - typically Force 5 with gusts of Force 7. For that reason, the OOD decided to run three races back-to-back, since the forecast suggested that it could get even stronger later on. 

As well as the new sheave box, we also swapped out the genoa sheets for thicker and longer ones to make it easier in high winds. The new genoa was calibrated for 400 lbs tension.

Sailing out to the racing area was not too bad. The issue came when we were hit by unexpected gusts. The trick will be to spot these on the water before they hit us, but that is a skill I am still learning. In some cases I was able to react quickly enough. In others, I was caught out.

As we prepared for the first race, it was helpful to plane along on a reach behind the starting line, just to get used to the feel of the rudder (more sensitive at high speeds) and the boat balance. But I have to say that I am still not very good at keeping the boat flat. 

At that time we had our first breakage - the additional string holding the mainsheet broke away. So we went head-to-wind whilst I replaced it with a piece that I carried in my buoyancy aid. Always carry a spare piece of string !

We made a reasonable start, in clear air, on the committee side of the boat. The course was 2-1-6-5, which would give us (in theory) a spinnaker run from 1 to 6. However, Tom & I decided that we would forego the kite - at least on the first leg. 

Coming off the down-wind leg, we headed up into a reach. 

Our first capsize was due to sheer pressure of the wind and our inability to react quickly enough to it. But I was able to get the boat up reasonably quickly and we carried on. The safety boat was there for us very soon, but not required at that time. 

The second capsize, quite some time later, was more problematic. In this case, the strength of the wind was such that the boat fell back into the water as soon as she was brought up. Again, the safety boat was extremely helpful (thank you soo much, Louise !) and put a line round the forestay to keep the boat head-to-wind whilst she righted, and gave Tom time to untie the "knitting". 

We ended up being lapped in the first race, but were allocated a position anyway. 

For the Second race, Tom took over, and I proposed that we did one lap to number one, before going in, as I was getting very tired. 

Then it happened.

I had only experienced one Capsize to Windward previously, and anyone who knows about these things will tell you that it happens extremely fast, when the wind suddenly drops and the whole rig collapses on top of you. Both Tom & I were out of the boat, which was caught by the wind and pushed towards the muddy end of the lake beyond buoy number 8. 

I tried to reassure Tom (it was his first windward capsize), and then realised that the Mainsheet had trapped me under the boat. I called for Safety, but fortunately I was able to get myself clear before they had to cut me out. 

Trying to right the boat from the centreboard was difficult, and I was pushed back into the water. At that point, my Racing Watch on my wrist was trapped by the spinnaker sheet, and jammed me next to the boat. I was left dangly off the side of the boat with only my wrist watch holding me above water. Inevitably, the watch strap gave way, and I lost my racing watch in the water. The boat then drifted away again, with Tom & myself trying to swim after her.

At that point, the boat was in about three feet of water, and Tom was able to stand in the mud. The downwind progress was stopped by the end of the Main Boom digging into the mud. Tom was able to right her, as I tried to bring the boom free from the mud. Once we were in, it was a case of trying to take her upwind with very little centreboard (otherwise it would be in the mud), and limited rudder. But we eventually got her free. 

Meanwhile, Racing had been abandoned, since we were by no means the only casualties. In fact, we had got off very lightly compared with others.

So Tom helmed the boat back in - a great job by him in strong conditions. 

Net losses for the day: 

• Rope holding the mainsheet to the port transom had to be replaced
• The starboard jib sheet cleat needing to be replaced (probably have to replace both, just in case)
• Some mud to be cleaned off the main boom (and a few other places...)
• A new racing watch required (expensive!)
• Significant loss of dignity !

Net gains:

• We know the boat is basically solid, including the new jib sheave box.
• We know we can (almost) handle Force 5 gusting Force 7

Next time, I will try hiking out more, and pinch up in the gusts. 

Shape of the Jib - episodes 1, 2 and 3

Episode 1: A New Hope

It was back to the water (at last!) on 17th April. 

I know I was feeling a bit rusty, but it was a chance to try out 13941 after a long break due to the COVID lock-downs. 

Luckily, the boat appeared in good shape. A new tie-down was required for the port spinnaker sheet. We have a new bowsprit - to keep the spinnaker sheet from falling in the water - made from an old burgee mast bent back on itself, and the burgee needed to be replaced. Other than that, we were good to go.

Winds were light - F1 with gusts of no more than F3. 

The day was three races back-to-back: A, followed by B, followed by the final A race.

Romek Kowalewski offered to crew for me, and he made a good job of keeping the boat flat. Romek is currently learning how to fly the spinnaker, and he preferred to just crew today, so we "cruised" around the "B" race, but were able to keep track of the rest of the fleet. 

For the third race, we apparently fouled a Laser being helmed by a friend of mine - I guess neither of us were properly paying attention, as I was not even aware of having been in anyone's way. That third race was compounded by snagging the bow of the committee boat with the main halyard on the downwind spinnaker run.

Apart from that, it was good to get out in the water. Hopefully, the cobwebs have been cleared out, and we can look forward to a season of learning how to sail again.

Episode 2: The Phantom Menace

I was looking forward to the following racing on 24th. The plan was A, B, with a tea break and final A race.

Winds were F3-F4 with some exciting gusts. Tom Lohan was crewing for me, and looking forward to his own race later on in the afternoon.

In the first race, we had a middle-of-fleet start, and were taking time before we got control of the boat in the slightly stronger winds compared with the previous week. Although I have never been front-of-the-fleet, I did feel that we were holding our own on the beat to the Eastern part of the lake.

On the spinnaker run down towards the number 2 buoy, we were still holding off a few other boats. Then a  gybe round number 2, down to number 1 on a quick reach, and back into a beat heading east again. Then it happened.

As we got onto the beat, the boat did not feel right. Looking at the genoa luff, there was a huge curve where the rig tension luff wire should have been. It was as if the rig tension had been let off going downwind. I do sometimes let out the genoa tension downwind (something that is more common in a boat like a Star than a GP14, I know...), but could not remember having done so this time. Nevertheless, I yanked on the rig tension - to find that nothing was reponding. Clearly something was very wrong. 

It took quite a while as we drifted around trying to master the boat and get back on the beat. Then it became clear what had happened. The pulley sheave block for the genoa - that controls the entry of the genoa halyard into the mast - had completely pulled out of the mast. 

I guess that was primarily a case of "wear and tear" - to boat itself is 14 years old - and the rig tension that I had put on had simply pulled the sheave out of the mast. The block was only held in place by two self-tapping screws. Maybe my enthusiasm with the halyard had been a last straw. Game over.

We abandoned the race, sailed back, and tried to repair the damage with some help from some parts from my friend "Scooter". We parked the boat under a building, so we could work on the block from the balcony. But to no avail. 

My attempts to work on the rig tension of the mended block had a worse effect - I pulled out some metal from the mast.

So we took the mast off the boat, and I went home, contemplating several hundred pounds needed for a replacement mast. 

Episode 3: Revenge of the Jib

During the week, a Force - in the shape of Craig Sanders - intervened. 

Craig had seen my issues, and during the week he pop-riveted two pieces of metal onto the mast and re-connected the block. In so doing, he saved me a significant amount of money. 

So all looked well. It was time to try out the boat again on 1st May.

The conditions looked promising for a shake-down of the new halyard setup. Winds were F1with a couple of gusts of F2. Although the wind was veering and backing quite a lot. At one time it was Northerly, and later on it became more Westerly. Tom Lohan was keen to have another go.

When setting up the boat, it appeared that I could not pull on enough tension - something I put down to the different sized pulley on the sheave block. And bearing in mind the light winds, there did not seem to be a problem with having only 350 lb of pressure, rather than the normal 400 lb. Little did I know what had happened.

Due to an approaching storm, the decision was taken to do three races back-to-back. 

The races were reasonably uneventful. I was able to get a fairly good start in both of my races, and Tom did a blinding start, and was 4th up the beat. However, we were both a bit slow on the rest of the race, and so we slipped back. 

I think my biggest problem at the moment is a lack of focus / concentration.  My aim in the weeks ahead is to improve my focus over the duration of a race, starting at the starting, and then focusing on making sure I am strong on the first leg - then build on that. I don't expect to do any "Open" events this year - if I can focus on improving my fleet position in the Harp, then I will be content this year. Maybe the Worlds in 2022 ? But only if I can improve in the meantime. 

So we returned to the jetty with a relaxed approach. It had been a fruitful start. I was confident that I was on the start of a learning season. 

But I could not let down the genoa. The rig tension was stuck up, and would not release. And that was in addition to the fact that I had not been able to pull it on earlier. The penny dropped - the genoa halyard was jammed into the sheave block. 

Sure enough, when we turned the boat over, we had to struggle to unjam the halyard. 

On inspection, it became clear that the existing block and pulley were too far worn. In addition, when examining the jib halyard, the metal had frayed, and had gained a "memory" kink. It was time to order a replacement for each. 

So it was back home to crack open the laptop and try to source a new Jib Halyard and Sheave block. 

The next episode will follow shortly....

High Winds in the Harp - Glorious day

This Saturday (31st October) was a great days sailing. 

Tom & I saw forecasts of 14 knots, gusting in the 20s and 30s at times. It was worth thinking about - should we go out?

On arrival at the Harp, we reminded ourselves that we may not be able to sail again for some time - since it was rumoured that England would be in 'Lock-Down' during November. So this would be a rare opportunity - so we decided to go for it.

As we launched 13941 into the Harp, we were almost the only team that was prepared to risk the high winds.

I must admit that I was a bit nervous, but Tom was a great crew, and we managed to keep the boat flat - most of the time.

Sarah (Tom's other half) took a few photos and video of us - it does look a bit calm from that direction, but once we were in the middle of the lake, we were able to get the boat on the plane multiple times. 

We came in after an hour for a quick break. We were advised that there was a problem with the safety boat, so we hung around on shore until they were able to get another safety boat ready for supporting the plain sailors (who went out with full reefing), as well as supporting ourselves. 

The second session that morning was not quite as enjoyable - the rain had began to arrive, and with it some complex wind shifts. But we kept going, and stayed upright - it was great fun.

After lunch, we looked at the conditions and decided to join in the racing. 

The first race was a 2-1-8-7, against a south-westerly wind. Before the starting gun, we did some practice gybes, and promptly capsized. I was able to get on the centreboard, and we were able to join the racing successfully, with no issues, but it was a reminder not to be too confident. 

We made a cautious start (why do I always do cautious starts????) and were mid-fleet along the first leg. Tom did a great job of keeping the boat flat, and we were fighting along side Andy Shrimpton and Andy Wadsworth for some of the time. As we rounded no 1, we flew the kite, which was another confidence booster. 

As time went on for that race (which was nearly an hour by the time we finished), we gradually lost position, and slipped back to the bottom of the fleet of about 8 boats.

I thought we were going to be 'not last' at one time, when Andy Shrimpton lost it and capsized, so we had another boat behind us. 

In the final leg, we lost the starboard pulley block for the spinnaker, so no more spinnaker flying for the day.

After we rounded number 1 on what was to become the final leg, we were overtaken by Andy Shrimpton and Roger, who came screaming past with a full kite. There was no way we were going to catch them with only 2 sails. 

So we were last, but had really enjoyed ourselves. 

We started preparations for the second race, with Tom helming this time. As we did, a massive gust came through, and the Cunningham sheet and genoa lead-string caught up in the genoa sheets. It took ages for me to untangle them, so we started really down the fleet. 

But I was getting tired, so Tom agreed to go in - we had had a great day, but I did not want to chance things too much. 

At the end of the day, we had had a failed spinnaker pulley, a patch needed in the Mylar main, and also a burgee was seriously bent on the top of the mast (probably due to the mast-head boyancy). But underlining all of that, we had had a glorious time, got some real experience of high winds, and a massive boost of confidence. 

Will lock-down keep us off the water next month? Who knows? But we had had a day worth savouring.

Commodores Cup 2020 - encouraging teamwork

I have been gradually easing myself into sailing over the last few months.

The Welsh Harp Sailing Club have put together some very sensible precautions and systems to ensure that everyone is safe, based on RYA advice. For example, any racing is at owners' risk, and we have to carry a mast-head bouyancy aid in order to prevent dinghys becoming inverted in the case of a capsize. This takes some of risks away from having safety boat crews who are limited, due to corona virus.

Nevertheless, I did not want to take too many risks going back onto the water. So for the last few weeks I have just contented myself with single-handed practice in 13941. I have done this for a number of weeks on early Saturday mornings, and then come off the water before everyone else piles in for the Saturday Training and/or Racing.

As my own confidence grew about the level of risks, I also helped out with Dinghy Instructing in a recent RYA Level 1/2 course which was run by the Welsh Harp Sailing Club. 

Finally, I began to tag along with the "Plain Sailing" practice, and provided some Dinghy coaching for a family with their own GP14. The fact that this was a transom-main rigged boat did add to the excitement !

So having built up a bit of confidence, it was time to get back into racing.

The opportunity for this was the Commodores Cup, which is an annual event for GP14 and Lasers, run in the form of a full regatta over a complete day. 

For health reasons, we did not have any lunch provided, and tea and cakes were missing. But it was still an attractive opportunity.

Tom agreed to crew for me, and is also keen to crew for me going forward. He is married to Sarah, who crewed for me a year ago. Tom had also previously crewed for Lesley Kaye. Lesley was also a mentor to me over the years, but had sadly moved away to Portland - which is a great place to sail. So I had a crew member who was very competent, which really helped my confidence.

My aim for the day was to enjoy the time, and "feel the boat", rather than trying to intellectualise everything that was happening.

Wind was fairly mild, but we would need to hike out at times. It was varying in direction from the South or from the West. So we knew that we could not use one lap of a race as too much of a guide for the following lap. Wind was force 1 to 2 only.

For the First Race, the course was 2-1-6-7-3, which built a kink into the course, which required a bit of forward planning. It looked like a pin-end biased line. However, I suspected that we would have more chance with clear air on the committee boat end. I was proved right, as we were level with the fleet up the first beat. However, we tacked too early for the mark, and were caught up on a port tack against a lot of other boats. Prudence dictated that we dropped back. This put us mid-fleet. 

I was pleased that we were "fighting" with the lower part of the fleet for much of the time. We were able to make a couple of moves at the leeward mark, and gain a place or two, and then lost that on the beat. (we need to find out why this happened). All in all, we finished 9th out of 12 boats.

The Second Race had the same course, but this time we ducked some of the fleet to find clear air at the start. But we were lower down the first beat than previously. Tom's spinnaker work was really helping us keep our pace. I was having to concentrate hard to bear away in gusts, but head up slightly in a lull, in order to keep the wind flowing over the sails. Again, we were 9th out of 12.

For the Final race, the course was changed so that there were more spinnaker gybes, and the course was shorter.We were caught up in a gaggle of boats on the committee boat end during the start, and probably crossed the line last. So any a gain was going to be an achievement. We dropped back to 10th. But were rewarded by the fact that we had beaten off attacks from behind, and were catching other boats ahead. 

In conclusion, Tom & I totally enjoyed the experience. We had taken some boats in the good times, and lost at others. But confidence was high.

I'm hoping that we will be able to build on this for the future- hopefully move up the fleet a bit.

(Not) Racing my GP14 during the lock-down

I am sure that I am not the only Dinghy Sailor who is aching to be back on the water.

We dream of that feeling of the wind in our hair, of the perfect roll-tack that lee-bows the opposition, of the thrill of the spinnaker launch that gets us powering downwind ahead of the opposition.

But, realistically, it looks like it will still be some time. The club to which I belong is still locked down, although we are at least able to visit the club to check our boats. Whilst I am keen to restart racing, I know that to go back too soon would be dangerous. So we are stuck at home.

So what to do? Well, here are a few ideas that I have found useful during this period:

Exercise and Diet

It took me a while to realise that this at-home culture was not doing me any good, so I took up running (well, jogging really !) to ensure that I kept a reasonable level of fitness. If, like me, you doubted that you could run for more than 5 minutes, take heart. It is possible to expand your capability so that you can keep going for 20 minutes or more. So that gives me some achievable, specific goals to work at. And helps my cardio at the same time.

At the same time, it's really instructive to keep track of what you eat - I have to admit that the weight is going up - so time to limit my food intake a bit.

Reading 

Last Christmas I was given a really good book on Sailing "From Back to Front". I am sure that most people have a copy of "Start to Win". Throw in the RYA book on "Tactics" and there is plenty to keep me occupied, and away from the television.

Although reading about sailing (and not being able to put anything into practice) can seem frustrating, I console myself with believing that I am accumulating a font of knowledge that will pay dividends in the future.

Visualisation and Dreaming 

According to psychologists, the top athletes make use of visualisation as a technique to implant their skills into the deeper part of the brain. We sometimes talk about 'muscle memory' - the ability to instinctively respond to a situation. So take heart, if you are day-dreaming about sailing, maybe you are doing yourself some good, by establishing strong sailing skills which can guide you later on.

And Finally...

When we do get back on the water, I know I will need to take it in stages, since my 'sea legs' will have worn off. The only consolidation is that so will everyone else.

See you on the water again ... some time soon, I hope !