Exciting Sailing - Two Trophies

I have not raced since early October, so it was looking to be a shock this weekend. The forecast was 14 knot winds, with gusts of over 40 knots at times.

Gerry had agreed to crew for me for the Welsh Harp Sailing Club "Bonfire" Open Event. This was a new Open event for GP14 Dinghys - it was previously a "Commodores Cup". 

In the end, Gerry was unable to sail as he had an injury, so Mike Smith agreed to crew instead. 

We came overall 4th, out of 12 boats that braved the weather, and as a result we were awarded the "First Silver" cup. 

Mike & I generally relish high winds, but these were exceptional. Many of the fleet capsized at various times.  

The first race started when the wind shifted to the "pin" end of the line, where we happened to be. As a result, we were 3rd to the windward mark, and finished 4th. We had flown the spinnaker in the first leg, but decided to be more cautious thereafter. 

After a great lunch provided by the club, we again had a reasonable start on the second race.  We were fairly cautious, and thanks to people capsizing around us we ended up third. 

The final race did not turn out so well - we got caught in the "pack" after a bad start, then decided to be a bit ambitious with the "kite", gybed / broached when taking it down and ended up swimming. In the end, I didn't have enough strength to get on the centreboard, so we needed safety help and had to retire, with very muddy sails to be cleaned off!

However, with the regatta was scored on the basis of the two best results, do our DNF could be "discarded": a total of 7 points put us in 4th place, and first Silver Fleet boat. 

Many thanks to Mike, who did a superb job all day - I'm just sorry about the capsize in the last race.  

THEN - having received the 1st Silver cup, I was presented with the JALDI Cup by the GP14 Association. 

This cup is given to the highest placed newcomer in the Southern Circuit. It can only be won once. So many of our friends on the circuit had already won it, so this time it was Chris Lomax & I.  It was a great way to end the season. 

This winter will mainly be about health & fitness - then see what next season brings !! 

How to improve your sailing at 7:30 at night

Winter is approaching folks, so less chance to get out on the water. 

At the Welsh Harp Sailing Club, we have finished mid-week racing. Soon we will be down to only 2 races on Saturdays. 

Although I have decided to pull out of going to the 2016 Workd Championships, I want to use this winter to consolidate my experience, and be fighting fit for next year. It would be great to do the "Travellers" series again - maybe even the Nationals in Wales. 

As always, the weakest part of my boat is the Nut in front of the Rudder! Since the limiting factor in my sailing is my fitness;- it is back to the gym in order to build up my stamina and strength ready for next year. 

My tips for getting "sailing fit":-

- get a really good personal trainer. 

- explain what your sport involves and get them to devise a plan that focuses on your specific needs. 

- expect to be doing high-intensity interval training (quick activity bursts) rather than just boring running. 

- let your trainer vary the routine every 6 weeks or so. 

I am convinced that I would not have been able to complete the Nationals this year, if it had not been for the support of Andy Howell, who devised the fitness training routines. 

So it's time for me to invest time in the gym during the winter, and plan for the sailing next year. 

Erith - last Open of the year

I have always liked Erith as a venue for GP14 sailing. It has wide open spaces, usually fairly strong (but consistent) winds, and the challenge of cross-currents to keep you on your toes.

So this must be the third or fourth time I have been to a GP14 Open Event there, and the second time as a helm in my own boat.

This time I had Chris Lomax with me - the dream team from the Nationals at Brixham!

Unfortunately, all did not go to plan. Although there were only 7 boats in the regatta, we ended up at the back of the fleet every time.

Some of this was due to bad starting, in other cases to bad tactical calls on my part regarding wind and tide. The bottom line is that I need more experience to be able to take on the Open sailors.

One interesting observation from Norman Brown in relation to winds and tide was that the tide is relatively predictable - it won't suddenly shift direction - whereas winds are less predictable. A useful way of looking at things, although I now need to understand what to do with that knowledge.

So that is the end of the 2015 Open Season for me. There are a couple of other races in the Southern Travellers, but they are relatively small venues, and my primary reason for travelling is to gain experience at larger, open, preferably sea-based events.

Although we had a great time at the Nationals (see blog entries!), the Open series has been a bit of a disappointment; I had hoped to make improvements on my standing last year. Although I feel that I have sailed better, the results do not appear to back this up.

I am now looking forward to the winter club series. I want to use this as an opportunity to really improve my technical skills - better starting, more accurate managing of wind shifts, and better tactical positioning.

I also intend to update the blog with reviews of all the books I intend to read on sailing and tactics.

Here's looking forward...

Withdrawn from the World Championship

Dreams sometimes die. 

That's true in Sport, and in Life. 

The decision to withdraw from the GP14 World Championships in Barbados in 2016 is the death of a dream. 

There are valid reasons; mainly that my wife's father is terminally ill, and I know that sailing has to take its place in the priority list. I don't regret the decision. 

Nevertheless, it is sad when I remember the effort to get here:

- Hours spent in the gym to get my fitness levels up.

- Professional Physio, Massage, Accupuncture, high intensity interval training 

- Professional Sports Psychology

- Help, guidance and coaching everywhere I could get it from members of the club, including Racing Instructor

- Money on sails, fittings, towing equipment 

- Time and energy away from family and work. 

None of this would have been possible without the encouragement and support I received from friends and family. 

I've enjoyed it all. And we did achieve one of our key goals :- to take part in the UK National Championships in Brixham in 2015. 

But we won't be doing the Worlds in Barbados. 

There is one more significant "Open" event with Chris - Erith this Saturday. 

Over the winter, I will be focusing on improving my club racing, and getting fit for the summer. Then we will see about further plans. 

What will the next challenge be?

The blog "GP14 Dinghy Racing" will continue. 

Poole GP14 Open

The second day at Poole was very light winds, and a fairly frustrating day.

Yasmin did brilliantly - I don't think I know any other crew member with such a strong work ethic! We kept the boat really flat in the beats, but ended up near the back of the fleet every time.

I think part of the problem was that the helm (me!) never really got into the "zone". I got my timing wrong at the Starts; in light winds if you don't start well you might as well give up.

Yasmin also thought that I had a tendency to "go wide, both on the beats and on the runs, and this meant we had more distance to cover. I thought we were working the wind-shifts reasonably. However, I guess the lesson is to keep close to the rhumb line in light winds - "bow forward" as I understand the late Richard Estaugh used to say.

The first race was so slow that it was abandoned. Then the sea breeze kicked in and we had two further races. Our final position was 14th out of 21 entries. Although, in practice, all of those behind us were "DNC", and we only really beat Den Valentine - by just one point. 

A humbling experience. But all experience is good if you take advantage of it.

Photo by Mike Millard of Poole Yacht Club shows 13941 with Spinnaker.

Mike's photo sets are here: Mike Millard Flickr Albums

Poole - Round the Island (again!)

The annual Poole Round the Island race was the first time back on the water since the GP14 Nationals - how would I do? Would the experience at Brixham translate into improved confidence on the water at Poole?

Poole Yacht Club is a favourite place to visit - always welcoming - a sort of "second home" to some people from Welsh Harp Sailing Club. The Harp also had a couple of novices in a club boat this year. It was also the first event I had helmed at - back in 2014.

The event consists of teams of 3 boats. We were with Richard Lord and "Scooter" in the WHSC "A" team, which ended up second overall. Our positions  were 16th & 17th out of 22 boats; so we provided the "discard" scores!

Great crewing from Yasmin Hales, who has only been sailing a year, but did brilliant work. 

No prizes - but the Adams/Hales team acquitted themselves well! 

Final races - final reckoning

It was not clear whether we would have races 8 and 9 at the GP14 Nationals today; the wind in Tor Bay was expected to be very light.  Bearing in mind that it took half an hour to sail to the race area, racing today might have been cancelled. 

In the end, the race officer let us out and we had the final two races back-to-back. 

It was a pleasant way to finish off the week. The light winds meant that it lacked the scare factor of the first few days. Light conditions should have suited "pond sailors" like myself, but I was unable to improve on my typical 37th or 38th places.  

So the 2015 Brixham Nationals are over. 

It has been a real mixture of different sailing conditions.

The final reckoning for me was that I competed in all 9 races, my best score was 24th, and final score (based on 2 discards) was  37th out of 44 registered entrants. 

It is the fulfilment of the idea of going to the National Championships in my own boat - two years in the planning & preparation. 

A big thank you to everyone at Welsh Harp Sailing Club who has encouraged and helped me, particularly Andy & Helen, and crewmen Mike, Maciej, Penny and especially Chris who sailed with me this week. 

Thank you to everyone who has followed on social media. 

Thanks to Dixon, who is towing the boat to Poole, ready for the next event...

Thanks to my extremely patient wife Jeanette; how do you feel about a holiday in Barbados, at the GP14 World Championships in 2016?

Races 5,6,7 GP14 Nationals

Thursday was much quieter winds in Brixham - 10 to 15 knots, so a bit more manageable for someone with my experience. 

In contrast, feedback from many people afterwards suggested that it was an eventful day - difficulties getting boats to "point", getting spinnakers to fly properly, a couple of "close encounters", with minor damage. 

Fortunately, we had a relatively easy day compared with others - no issues or incidents. 

My own focus was to ensure that I picked up wind shifts from the prevailing wind coming across the land. So much of my time was spent "head out of the boat".

The fist race was a Gate Start, which we managed to achieve reasonably successfully.  After that, it was a case of managing the wind shifts and trying to get used to spinnaker reaches. We ended up with 24 points - best result to date. 

The other two races were "line starts", which we were less successful at. Maybe I was loosing concentration. Either wsy, we ended up 35 & 36, respectively.  

Going into the final day, we are 34 out of 44 boats. We need some good results on the last day tomorrow to consolidate the position.  

The photo was taken at the end of race 7, and shows the Welsh Harp Salling Club representatives at the Nationals.

From left to right: Andy W, Helen, Dennis, Chris, Andy S, Steve, Michal, Duncan. 

Rest, Recuperation and Repairs

Today was a rest day from the GP14 National Championships. 

13941 had a problem with her centre-board during the racing yesterday. So Chris & I had to jack up the boat to remove it, then re-do the fixings.

Apart from a bit of basic repairs, it was a quiet day. A few of the guys took the chance to grab some sleep. I just read a (non-sailing) book. 

I don't have any photos from today, but the one above was taken when we were checking the rig tension on day one. 

Then it was time to swap sailing stories, and discuss tactics. 

This photo shows Andy & Dennis discussing different tactical approaches (to deal with the seagulls, who keep making such a nuisance!)

Tomorrow will be some hard sailing, with 3 races. Looking forward to it. 

Champagne Racing at the GP14 Nationals

We nearly didn't sail on day 3 of the GP14 National Championship at Brixham. 

Winds were forecast for 23 knots plus gusts for much of the day, so the race organisers kept us waiting from 10:30 (the normal time for leaving the harbour) until after 15:00. By that time, the winds were still 20 knots, but there was a possibility that they would die down - gradually. So we had just a single race. 33 boats braved the elements. 

In view of the high winds, we reverted to the older Dacron Salis. On heading out from the harbour, we had a long planing reach to get to the start line. Chris remarked that the amount of planing in half an hour was equivalent to a year at the Welsh Harp where we normally sail. 

The conditions did get quieter after the line start, but we still had a few hairy moments going down wind and nearly gybing without warning. 

We were quite near the back most of the time. However, we did manage to overtake one boat in the last few moments of the last leg - we came planing in on a Reach to the final mark, whilst other boats were just Running. As a result, we overtook another boat and ended up with 31 points. 

We are currently lying overall 37 out of 44.   

Tomorrow is a rest day; that will give us time to fix the centre board which keeps popping up. 

Thursday will be 3 full races! 

Day 2 = Spectacular Capsize!

Day 2 at the GP14 Nationals at Brixham was notable for two things; my GP 13941 probably went faster than she had in her life, and the most spectacular windward capsize I have ever experienced. 

Winds were 15 knots with gusts. Quite strong, but as the wind was south westerly, the waves were not as bad as yesterday, and it was possible to pick up transits from the land. Nevertheless, it was a tough day. 

The first race we had a reasonable gate start, and finished around 40th. 

Second race was a line start. Thanks to Chris tactical calls we made reasonable progress up the right hand side of the course, and had half-a-dozen boats behind us at the windward mark. We kept a reasonable (for us) pace, despite some scary moments with the spinnaker. At the last leg of the final lap we caught a gust, bore away too fast, and the boat collapsed on top of us. 

Chris was able to right the boat, but the spinnaker was trapped around the spreaders. Boats shot past us as we tried to recover. We limped over the finish line, with Chris gamely holding on to the trapped spinnaker to prevent it filling. We ended up second from last.  

The photo shows the repair to the torn spinnaker. 

Just for the record, this was our boat going out at the beginning of the day. 

Tiring day - real learning curve. 

Still enjoying things. 

First Race of GP14 Nationals

First "Gate Start" in a dinghy race. 

Largest fleet I have seen (43 boats). 

First time 13941 has been in the open sea. 

Learning to surf downwind with waves. 

Quite a learning curve !

In practice, winds of 15kts and a slight swell was not too bad. 

A relatively gentle start to the week. 

Thanks to Chris Lomax for his crewing. 

There was one practice race, then the first points race. I think we were 40th. 

Enjoyable start to the week. 

Brixham - view of the Racing Area

Tor Bay is the racing area for the GP14 Nationals this year. 

The photo was taken from the veranda of our home for the week. 

In the foreground is Brixham Harbour. Tor Bay is in the background. Winds are expected to be Easterly - and quite strong - for the first race tomorrow. 

Ready for the Road - Brixham here we come

Andy & Helen preparing their GP14 Dinghys ready for the trip to Brixham, to take part in the Nationals.

 

 

There will be 4 entrants from the Welsh Harp Sailing Club - Steve Cooper, Andy Wadsworth, Helen Allen and Dennis Adams.  

Roll on the weekend!

Fitness Check before the Nationals

Last session at The Body Factory to work with Andy Howell - Personal Trainer, Sports Coach and Physio, as well as being a great motivator. 

Thanks to Andy, I am probably fitter than I have been in the last 5 years. 

Today was three sessions involving running, planks, sit-ups, weights and standing runs.

The boat is as ready as it can be. 

The helm is as prepared as possible. 

Now it's just a case of getting down to Brixham and enjoying it. 

First race of the GP14 Dinghy National Championships will be on Sunday 2 August.

Will keep you advised of progress. 

Count Down to GP14 Nationals ...

Today was the last Saturday for Club Sailing before the GP14 National Championship starting on Sunday week. 

The boat has had the "once over", the parameters ( mast position, spinnaker pole size, etc. etc. ) have been checked. Medical forms are signed. Towing arrangements are finalised. We are ready to go. 

All I need to do is make sure I remember how to sail. ...

Some Dinghy Racing coaching - it's not an easy sport

A certain relative of mine thinks that dinghy racing just involves pulling a few ropes and sitting down all the time. 

It's an "in-joke", of course; if you really want to race a dinghy then you have to be physically and mentally strong, as well as having the skills to manage both the power and the subtlety of an ever-changing combination of wind and water conditions. 

So you have to be constantly focused, to pick up those minute changes in wind direction and power that can make just a half-a-boat-length difference. And that's before you factor in the effect of rival boats. 

The enormity and complexity of Dinghy Racing was really driven home to me yesterday. 

I had asked Roger Walton - the top WHSC Racing Instructor - to crew for me and highlight some areas of improvement for me. There are many. 

Technically, I use too much rudder to turn the boat (I should heel the boat so that the hull shape causes it to change direction), have an annoying habit of "heading up" when I am meant to be sailing downwind, don't concentrate enough, don't react quickly enough, need to sit out more, heel the boat to windward more etc. etc. the list seemed endless. 

Roger's  comments were exactly what I needed to hear. I have a huge amount to absorb & learn. 

The challenge now is to apply them, and see the improvement.  

Victor - Lots of Potential, but no Aeroplane

Just got home from the 2015 Victor Trophy today - 4th July.

This was the last Open Event for me before the GP14 Nationals in the beginning of August, so it was a chance to test our mettle against some stiff competition from outside the club. 

There were 20 boats today, so a reasonable field to fight.

We showed lots of promise - got to the windward mark in 4th place during the first couple of races, and really managed to get the boat beating upwind. But I was never able to capitalise on those positions, and ended up 10th or 9th. 

The last race we were about 15th, after some complete mis-reading of the wind-shifts. Our final overall position was 12th.

Mike Smith did some great crewing, and was able to keep us in contention all of the time - it was a pleasure sailing with him, as always. I just get frustrated when we can't capitalise on our potential. 

My good friend Ricardo managed to get the Silver trophy - a mug with the HP Victor Bomber on it. 

As for me, I think it's back to the gym again to get those Core muscles strengthened before we go down to the GP14 National Championships in Brixham at the end of the month. 

The photo shows us heading for No 3. mark, in pursuit of Martin Hime, with Jim Dimond following us.

Getting Fit for the big events

Just got back from my weekly session with Andrew Howell at the Body Factory (http://www.bodyfactory.org.uk).

When I first started dreaming about going to the GBR Nationals (originally as a crew), I realised that I needed to up my fitness, stamina and strength.

So I started with some general workouts at the local gym, and then in January 2014 I started regular sessions with Andy. He is not only a qualified physiotherapist and personal trainer, he has also represented GBR at international athletics as a hurdler. So he very much understands sports fitness. The sessions have been structured around the "rapid reaction" work that you have to perform as a dinghy racer, as well as general stamina and strength.

It has been a long journey so far. Every six weeks or so, the session gets varied. This keeps me "fresh" and focused on the next objectives.

Next week, the session will vary again, and will be the lead-in to the GBP Nationals that start on 2nd August.

Tollesbury toil & triumph

The GP14 Southen Travellers meeting at Tollesbury was an object lesson in getting some things right and some things drastically wrong. 

For the Nationals, the aim is to keep the former, and fix the latter. 

The first race, we were so busy planning our first beat strategy that we missed the gun, and must have crossed the line last, ending up 9th out of 15, just behind Lesley Kay. 

The second race, we had a blinding start, led for the first lap and ended up 3rd - highest position ever in an Open event. 

The third race was a reasonable start, but a tactical error at the first mark meant that we were at the back of the fleet, ending up 11th. 

As always -  potential. But need to be consistent. 

Crash!

Not what we wanted. Involved in a GP14 boat-on-boat incident whilst racing this evening.
The annoying thing is that it was a “new members” racing evening, when everyone should have been more restrained.
The boat may be going to Tollesbury on 20th with sticky tape covering a hole.

Maciej & Dennis at Southern Championships

Maciej Matyjaszczuk and myself chasing Richard Instone and Richard Ham during the 2015 Southern Championships in Chichester. 

We were third at the windward mark, but ended up last out of 10 boats. So we have potential, but lots to learn.

Mike & Dennis at Poole

Mike Smith and myself at the Poole Open Meeting in 2014.

Why take a GP14 to Barbados?

The simple answer - because we can.

In 2016, the GP14 Association will be holding the World Championships in Barbados.

Having been taught to sail (and race) Dinghies over the last few years, this is my challenge - take my own boat to the Worlds.

I’m 58, and started learning to sail in 2006 at the Welsh Harp Sailing Club, near Wembley, North West London.

I purchased 13941 in 2013, with the idea of using her for club racing, and maybe the occasional Southern Traveler event. In 2014, we went to Poole, Erith and Tollesbury. In 2015, we have gone to the Southern Championships in Chichester, and are booked into the UK Nationals in Brixham, in Devon.

2016 is when we plan to go to the World Championships in Barbados.