Brent Regatta 2018 = Trophy to show

“The Brent Regatta is a FUN race”, were the opening words from the Officer Of the Day on this Bank Holiday Monday.

There had been no racing on the Saturday, so Lesley Kaye asked if I would crew for her in the Brent Regatta, which is the traditional holiday event, arranged across the clubs which come under the Welsh Harp Sailing Assiciation.

As far as I know, the format of the race is unique: for 2-handed boats such as the GP14, the first person helms the first race, with the second person helming the next one. That is the followed by the traditional tea and cakes. The third race involves the helm and crew swapping places half way during the race.

The day was hot and humid - some 5 knots of wind coming from northerly and easterly directions, shifting by 90% every now and then.  So it would be a test of skill. Thunderstorms were also forecast. Before we set out, the OOD mentioned that he would reserve the right to cancel the race if the threatened lightening turned up. Comforting thought !

We sailed in 13853 - Lesley’s boat, with a nearly-new EXE mainsail, and Lesley’s Union Jack coloured spinnaker, which she had purchased for the Nationals last year.

For the first race, we were presented with a very port-biased line, so we beat up to the “pin” end in good time. The wind changed (welcome to the Welsh Harp!) , so maybe we were in completely the wrong place. Then the wind shifted back, so we just raced to the line and were through in good time and with good speed.  We led the fleet to the windward mark. As we progressed round the first lap of the course, the gap got bigger, and our lead looked unassailable.

But things were not to be: Chris Lomax and Ed Coyne were on our tail. We headed to no “5” Mark, and the wind dropped. We could not get the necessary boat speed. They pounced. We had to fend off another threatening boat, as Chris & Ed overtook us.

Coming into the final leg of the last lap, we were inching away at his lead, but he led us to the committeee boat end of the finish line. At least we had a second place!

For the second race, I took over helming. We again started on the left hand side of the line. The bias was so tight that we called “starboard” on another boat, which had to tack off, and was unable to cross the start line. Only then did I realise that it was Ed and Chris again! Hope they forgive me!

We were able to put together another good lead (although not as spectacular as on the first race), and were looking over our shoulders far too many times for Ed and Chris to catch up with them. They did.

There must have been no more than 3 or 4 boat lengths between us in the final leg. Should we fly the spinnaker on the short reaching leg, or rely on two sails with extra control, we debated? In the end we said we would do the opposite of what they did. After the mark rounding, they were clearly going for the 'kite, so we pressed on. But the boat would not respond. Was it bad wind, or bad sailing, who knows? But the end result was that we were a couple of lengths behind them, as they headed for the finish line again. Another second place.

It looked like their regatta.

We had a great tea, with some wonderful sticky cakes, before we got back on the water.

This time, we were determined to win, for pride's sake !

Bearing in mind the switchover from one helm to another, we worked out a switching system, and then practiced it before the race started. We were ready.

The third start was not as spectacular as the others, so we had a couple of boats to catch up with. But we were confident, and motivated.

Before long, we had managed to gain the lead, with another boat behind us, and Chris & Ed in third place. We pressed on, and finally managed to finish the race in first place. Chris and Ed were third, and we exchanged congratulations across the water - us for the race win, and them for the two firsts which had won the regatta for them.

Then came the surprise.

They had five points (1 - 1 - 3), as did we ( 2 - 2 - 1), so we had naturally assumed that their two "bullets" would mean that they had won the regatta. Not so - the scoring system worked on a "count-back" in the case of a tie. Since we had won the third race, we had taken the regatta !

I think Lesley & I were still a bit stunned when we received the Brent Regatta Trophy, plus a bottle of wine for each of us.

Our commiserations to Chris and Ed, who we thought had deserved to win.

But we had got our first combined trophy.

I will be looking after (and polishing !) the Brent Regatta trophy for the first six months, and then Lesley can look after it until next year.

A massive confidence boost - I need to get back on the water with my own boat very soon !

FOOTNOTE: 13941 is still under repair, following a collision with the concrete floor last week, when it slipped out of its rope cradle when being weighted. But we should be back on the water in two weeks time...

Its been a long while...

Anyone who has been following this blog will notice a large gap between the end of the 2017 GP14 National Championships, and this latest posting.

There is a long story associated with this.

GP14 no 13941 has been in need of some serious attention.

It all goes back to that last blog entry when we capsized in the Looe Nationals.

At the time, we knew that the centre board has broken, and needed to be replaced. With a lot of help from other members of the GP14 family, we tried to test-fit another replacement, but it was too wide to fit into the centreboard casing.

So I purchased a new centreboard from Milanes, which we were going to install at the end of the year.

Then the problems started.

As we tried to fix the new centreboard, we realised that the internal centreboard casing was badly damaged, to the extent that we were unable to sail the boat. GP14 13941 was going to be out of commission for a very long time. We tried to get various people to offer to repair her, in vain.

It was was only in early 2018 that Ben Dingwall was able to look at the boat, and arrange to cut open the entire centreboard section in order to assess the damage, and provide an estimate of costs.

Then things got worse.

When he cut open the innards of our beloved craft, Ben discovered that the wooden strengthening members that shaped the hull had rotted through. The photo above gives you just some idea of what it looked like. As you may know from earlier versions of this blog, 13941 was originally built by Speed Sails as a training boat for the BTYC Sailsports organisation. Its a fair assumption that she had been capsized a few times in the first 6 years of her life. In fact, I remember her as "BTYC No 4" at that time, and I'm sure I was personally responsible for at least one capsize. Then, I have had a couple of additional incidents since I purchased her myself. So the internal wood had rotted.

We had some helpful phone calls and emails with the insurance company, who were not able to pay for the internal wood rot, but were able to pay for the centreboard.

So the plans are in hand for the extensive repairs to be made.

In the meantime, I have been out-of-circulation of the sailing game for a while. I even missed the WHSC Venetian Trophy in early April - the first time that has happened in 12 years.

But I was out in a club boat during the last two Saturdays - crossed the line in 4th place on a couple of occasions - so I'm beginning to look forward to sailing seriously once the boat is returned

Expect to hear that we are out on the water in 13941 again soon...

Watch this space.

GP14 Nationals - game over

Starting the final day, we are not 100% sure if we are going to be able to sail. It depends upon the new centre board.

I had agreed to meet up with Roger first thing in the morning, as he was hopeful that something could be done. The workshop lent us a belt sander, which Roger used to shave off some extra width  from the centre board we had been lent. But the difference in width was too much.

We had to abandon the effort, and miss the last two races.

It has been a great time - 2 days of solid Sea training, and four days of sailing in the 2017 Nationals.

Thank you to everyone who helped us, and those who encouraged us to get back on the water.

We have had lots of fun, some drama, and learnt a lot about GP14 Dinghy Racing

GP14 Nationals day 5 - another breakage

After the rest day (day 4), we returned with added enthusiasm, replaced our shredded blue spinnaker with a yellow P&B spinnaker, and focused on getting good results for the remainder of the Regatta.

Unfortunately, Race 6 was fairly uneventful. We did a fairly bad start out of the "gate" - a bit too low from the wake of the gate boat. The conditions were reasonable, and I felt that we had acceptable boat speed, but by the time we reached the windward mark, we were amongst the "usual suspects" near the back of the fleet.

As we reached the top mark, our boom grazed the side of the buoy - penalty. We went high out of the way of the following boats and did a tack and gybe  before launching the new yellow spinnaker, but we had lost yet more spaces.

We ended up in 57th place - our worse result so far.

Race 7 we tried to make some improvements. By this time, the wind had strengthened, and was coming down across Looe from the North. It was looking like choppy conditions - not as bad as during our training days, but challenging enough.

This time, we made a reasonable start out of the gate, although we could have still done better.

It was another tough race, with legs getting very tired as we tried to keep in touch with the boats that were ahead of us.

The race was a triangle-sausage-triangle, with a final beat upwind to a finishing line in the direction of Looe.

On the final beat, we decided to "go wide" in order to take advantage of what appeared to be stronger wind conditions on the left hand side of the course. There was at least on WHSC boat chasing us.

As we tacked onto Port to make our final run up to the finishing line, I had left the mainsheet cleated, and we pitched over - CAPSIZE !

We both scrambled onto the boat, which by this time had turned completely inverted. The centreboard was down, so we at least had some sort of leverage to bring up the boat. I had already decided that enough was enough, and our race was over, so I called over a safety boat for assistance, which meant we were retiring from the race.

As Simon and I tried to right the boat, we leant back on the centreboard together - CRACK ! The centreboard had broken totally along the waterline edge.

I persuaded Simon to get into the Rib, and let the safety boat crew sort out the boat. They were able to right it after a bit of effort, having to call over a second boat to help at one time. Then I scrambled onto 13941, dropped the sails, fixed the tow rope to the mast, and prepared to be towed in.

When we got back into Looe, some of the beach crew waded in up to their chest in order to catch the boat and help bring it ashore. The boat was full of water, and we spent some time letting it drain out before inspecting what remained of the centre-board (see photo !).

Then, as we tried to warm up and recover from the shock, people started rallying round, totally spontaneously. 

Someone found tools, another person generously offered to lend us a spare centre-board for tomorrow.  People lent saws, drills, screws, advice and muscle-power. A crowd of GP14 sailors literally man-handled the boat so that the old centre-board could be removed and the new one trial-fitted. It was too wide, so had to be removed.

The workshop nearby offered to lend us their belt sander tomorrow morning, so we could shave down the centre-board and re-fit it. 

I was amazed and very grateful for all the many people who threw themselves into getting us set up so that we could sail again.

Tomorrow, first thing, we try to get the new centreboard shaved down to size. If we succeed, we will take part in the final two races tomorrow. 

Watch this space...

GP14 Nationals day 3 - ripped spinnaker

Day three (races 4 and 5) started with a similar overcast feel to yesterday.

We are currently 53rd. But the focus must be on doing our best in each race, not on results. My sports psychologist said "control the controllables". So I am entering the day with a positive attitude, and focusing on starting, mark rounding, and tactics.

Both races today were "gate" starts, so we did not have the "black flag" issues from yesterday

Race 4 started in fairly calm wind. We made a cautious gate start. The first leg reminded me of "pond" sailing. Then, as we neared the first windward mark, the wind picked up significantly. We made a good line to the mark, but another boat came in on Port tack and tacked right in front of us - just! That meant they had "rights" - we had to give way. An emergency gybe was needed to prevent us hitting them, and other boats started overtaking us. Then we touched the mark itself with our boom as we sailed past; that was another penalty (an extra gybe and tack) and we lost more spaces.

The rest of the race was a question of "catch up".

One of the WHSC members was on our tail most of the race. As we neared the final reach to the committee boat finish, they flew their spinnaker better than we had, and crossed the line ahead of us.

We finished on 55th - our worst result so far.

For Race 5, Simon noticed that the right hand side of the course seemed favoured, do we determined on two priorities: clear wind (away from other boats) and a strong start on the right hand side of the gate.

The "guard" boat hove in sight, and lots of boats headed for an early start, but we held back. Timing was everything. We hit the start line just behind the guard boat, hiked out hard, and started climbing. We overtook one boat by sheer pace, then started calling "Starboard". Boat were ducking our transom. We were mid-course. A tack onto Port, and were chasing the "Pathfinder". Simon said, "we are in the middle of the big boys", as we reached the windward mark, ready to launch the spinnaker.

Twinning lines on. Centrboard. Cunningham. Kicker. Stand up and pull the kite halyard. We are flying in the middle of the fleet. "SPINNAKER'S RIPPED", shouted Simon. There was a horizontal piece of sky in front of us where there should have been a blue spinnaker. The horizontal seam had parted, across the entire width of the fabric. So we had to drop it, and rely on two sails only for the remainder of the day.

On the Beats, we were able to keep our own, but lost position time and again on the reaches.

We ended up 54th.

It's mid-through the Series. We are 57th overall. There have been some great experiences, but results have been disappointing. But we take the "positives" and build on them. Tomorrow is a rest day. Then four more races at the end of the week.  Time to rest, smooth aching muscles, and plan for the rest of the Regatta.

GP14 Nationals - day 2 - restart,restart

After the excitement of yesterday, day 2 (races 2 and 3)  was going to be completely different.

The wind had dropped, was coming more from the North-West, and there was a threat of rain. The sea was calm - almost like being back at the home club !

Simon & I worked out the transit for the gate start, as before, then sailed back to the comittee boat, to discover that it was a conventional line start instead.

We managed to get a reasonable position at approx. 15 seconds before the start, when there was a hoot, and the "race delayed" pendant came up. Pity. It appeared that the wind had shifted, so the mark had to be moved.

At the restart, we again positioned ourselves and started out, only to hear a "general recall", since there were too many boats over the favoured pin end of the line.

The third attempt at a start was a "black flag" - immediate disqualification for boats over the line. We were under (well under..),  but we counted eleven boats who were recorded by the committee as over the line. That black-flag start was also a "general recall". So we started again.

By this time, it was 12:30, so we had something to eat before the fourth attempt (also a black flag start). This time everyone got away cleanly.

The actual race itself was fairly uneventful - we were kept it track with friends from the 'Harp on the first beat,  but gradually fell back. In the end, we were 2nd or 3rd from the back of the fleet. Not a very encouraging state of play. The only hope was that the score would not be too bad, because a number of good boats had been disqualified.

We spied some very dark clouds on the horizon as we prepared for the next race.

We waited and waited. The drizzle was cold.

Since the wind had shifted, the committee re-set the marks before starting the second race (the third race in the series).

The disappointment of the previous race had forced us to review what we were doing wrong. So we had a strategy in place for the next race. Again, it was a line start instead of a "gate". We had a reasonable position at the time of the start, only to hear yet another "general recall". This was followed by yet another "black flag" start. This time we had a very reasonable start and headed upwind.

This time we were more focused. We had a number of Welsh Harp boat numbers around us, as we tried to keep with the "pack".

The wind began to drop as we proceeded through the course.

Spinnaker gybes were easier, and we managed to fly the kite through the gybe a couple of times.

Coming off the final leeward mark, we decided to "go left" to the finishing line. It seemed that most of the fleet had gone the other way.  This would be a bit of a gamble, although we were confident.
At the final line, we had Maciej from the Welsh Harp sneak in above us. Disappointing, but we had had a good overall race.

We had to paddle back to Looe. As we packed away the boats, the threatened rain arrived.

It had been a good day, but it was time to get into the warm. 

GP14 Nationals - day 1

Sunday 6 August - the first day of the 2017 GP14 National Championships at Looe, in Cornwall.

The wind is expected to be 11 to 15 knots, south westerly, so a bit of a swell from the tide effect. The sun is shining. What's not to like? Today is going to be fun!

Thanks to all the people who sent best wishes via Facebook, WhatsApp and Text.

By now, all the Welsh Harp sailors were around, so there was time for some group photos before we headed out for a full Practice Race, to be followed by race one. 

Today was also the first trial of my secret weapon - a couple of washers tied into the Genoa sheets to prevent them pulling through the cleats ( which is what happened yesterday ). 

As we headed out,  we did a test spinnaker hoist and gybe. Just as we gybed the kite, we noticed the pole downhaul snagging the Genoa sheet - black mark to the person who had done the rigging this morning (me!). We soon fixed that, and prepared for the gate start for the Practice Race. 

Either by accident or design, the line of the gate start was a transit from the committee boat to the western edge of Looe itself. So we could get a reasonable start, although we could have benefitted from being another boat length nearer the gate boat. Then we were off. It looked like there were a few other "pond" sailors with us. 

As this was the Practice Race, we kept to the right hand and centre of the course, and arrived at the windward mark with a gaggle of other boats. For some reason, the spinnaker was really difficult  to hoist and we had a foot of halyard from the mast (it should be one inch). We chased a few other boats and gybed ok round the spreader mark. Then a quick drop at the leeward mark, and a quick tack out of trouble to get back up the Beat. At the top mark and "spreader", the spinnaker was again difficult to hoist, so we had to let off the rig tension to get the kite up. That cost us distance. Then a massive tug to put the rig tension back on, and we were back in the race again. 

We finished the practice race with half a dozen boats behind us. A reasonable result to start with. 

A quick sandwich, and it was the gate start for the first race. Again, we were about a boat length too low, but made good progress up the Beat, keeping our eyes on the other 'Harp sailors around. 

This time the spinnaker reaches were easier on the hoist, and we got in a couple of reasonable gybes. But we seemed to loose pace downwind, although maintained our position on the Beat. The wind seemed to be getting stronger, and the waves were about 3 feet at times. 

This was a triangle-sausage-triangle course. On the last triangle, we dropped the kite before the gybe at the wing mark - I'd rather finish than capsize in the first race! The final downwind leg was great surfing - one wave seemed to carry us for ages, and I was convinced we were going to fall off the front of it 

The final Beat to the finish line, we were part of a collection of four WHSC boats all vying for position. I was on Port, and aimed for the committee boat at the right hand side of the finish line. Just then, another boat came in on Starboard, so we had to tack off and he beat us to the line. Pity. Maybe I should have ducked him instead, but a tack had been the safest option. We had finished. 

The biggest News Story of the day occurred as we were back on the beach: I had dropped the sails when I fell backwards in the boat, grabbed the mast to steady myself, and dragged it on top of me - the "gate" was open, and the forestay bungee snapped. It was the quickest dis-masting ever! 

There was no lasting damage - except my dignity - and we soon replaced the bungee ready for the next race. 

We had given a reasonable account of ourselves. But we know we are capable of doing better. We shall see in races 2 and 3 tomorrow.