At Leigh on Sea on 7 May, Gerry & I had the first occasion when 13941 was being towed by our brand new Toyota Auris. Unfortunately, there were ongoing problems with the tow bar number plate / light unit. In the end, this was traced down to a poor connection in the extension socket - we needed an extension cable a while ago since the original light unit cable was too short. The net result was that we arrived at Leigh on Sea half an hour later than we had hoped.
Leigh on Sea, near Southend-on-Sea, an interesting place - the tide seems to be miles out of the shore before rushing in over the shallow sand at high tide.
Gerry did a great job. At the start of the first race we had a problem with our spinnaker halyard, which left us without any spinnaker for the first race. Despite this, we kept in touch with the back of the fleet.
At the end of the first race, we got some help from the safety boat to retrieve the spinnaker halyard and re-rig. We completed this before the 5 minute gun, so were able to join in race 2.
During race 2, we discovered that the spinnaker guy was rigged behind the forestay - another fault on my part, and another distraction preventing us focusing on the race.
The third race was our best (i.e., we had one other boat behind us), but it was strong conditions, and we did not quite get in the groove.
All in all, it was one of those days when the helm (me!) was not paying enough attention. Speaking a few weeks later to my friend Lesley, she said she found it difficult to judge which side of the course was the favourable one. I agreed - I had been following her at the time !
All good experience. Gerry did well, but was let down by circumstances, plus my lack of focus.
The following weekend (14th and 15th May), we were again towing into Essex - this time to the Southern Championships at Stone. This time, Kevin Laitak had agreed to crew for me. This was the first time that he had crewed in an event outside the Welsh Harp, and he acquitted himself very well.
Bearing in mind the importance of this event, I did my homework this time. The tide was expected to be strong, and my analysis of the wind & tide gave me some ideas before we even started out. I also had the privilege of chatting with Mark Wolf, who has sailed in GP14 Nationals and Worlds events. Mark advised me to set my boat up for speed, rather than just height. He had loads of other advice as well, all of which proved helpful, and gave me confidence.
The first day involved a very long reach from Stone Sailing Club out to the Blackwater sailing area. 13941 was last to the racing area, because I had to run back and get the Cunningham rope from the car at the last minute - don't rush when trying to rig the boat! The race officer did not have to delay the race for us, so thanks for his/her kindness in the circumstances.
Race conditions were force 4, gusting 5, so we needed to keep on our toes. The anti-clockwise triangle-sausage course was the largest Kevin had ever raced on. For the first race, we went left to compensate for the ebbing tide. The second race was at low tide, and the third race needed us to go right as the tide came in.
All-in-all, we seemed to lack boat speed - maybe some sharper tacking next time would help - and were at the back of the fleet. But we were satisfied that out tactics were broadly correct.
The last race was a bit disappointing; we had a rapid spinnaker drop on the second leg, and got pushed over by a gust. We lost the burgee when the boat turned turtle. I was able to right the boat, but the spinnaker caught in the shrouds and could not be freed. It reminded me of the time in Brixham when we broached near the end of the race. Unfortunately, on this occasion, we had over a lap to go (not just a few yards), so we had no choice but to call in the safety boat and retire. Two race results in the bag. Put down to experience.
The following day, the weather was very calm, and there was a risk that we would not sail at all.
In the end, the race officers were able to put together a right-handed triangle-sausage near to the Stone club, so we were able to get in 2 races. In each case, we assessed the tide impact, and were able to keep up with the fleet. Kevin's spinnaker work improved immensely over the weekend. The last race saw us bail out from a bad start, then go up the right hand side of the course, to end up mid-fleet at the first mark. Then on the downwind sausage we had a bit of fun luffing up the GP14 president (well, you have to, don't you.......?? )
But there were mistakes on my part, which meant we were behind everyone at the finish.
So I had two tiring weekends, ending up at the back of the fleet. It's all very well having good tactics, but without good overall boat speed, you are still at the back.
All in all, I hope I have learnt something.
I need to get my confidence back.
So back into the gym, and more time on the water...
