Welcome to 2019 !
It was time to start as I would like to go on...
I must admit that 2018 was a bit of a disappointment as far as sailing was concerned.
It had started with the problems with the boat during the 2017 Nationals, the broken centreboard, and the subsequent discovery of the significant damage to the centreboard casing at the end of the year. The work on the centreboard casing had taken months to resolve in early 2018, by which time I had taken up a new job that involved me travelling a lot throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa. Ewe also had a very enjoyable family holiday in Canada, which meant that I did not have holiday time available to attend open events (particularly the GP14 Nationals). So not much sailing was done during 2018.
With the start of the new year, it was time to make a new resolution, and determine to make time for the sport in 2019.
The boat looks in good condition. GP14 number 13941 did look a bit forlorn when I uncovered her in the (cold, freezing) weather at the Harp today.
So it was time to be re-acquainted. An hour or so on Saturday morning - single-handed - should help. It was only a couple of knots of wind, so I did manage to get the spinnaker up for a few minutes, without any issues. The wind was northerly across the Harp, so fairly consistent if you sail on the southern shore. Having dropped the kite, I tried some rudderless sailing, just to remind myself how to do this. After half an hour of pirouettes, I decided it was time to get back in and have a go at afternoon racing.
Although the wind was light, the afternoon looked like a good opportunity to start racing again.
I made a call out for someone to crew for me, and Mike Smith replied instantly; it was a chance for the old team to make in an appearance!
The first race was a bit disappointing. I mis-judged the timing to the start, and had to tack off to port behind the fleet and followed everyone else throughout the race. We did have a couple of opportunities to luff up a couple of other boats, but we were both out of practice and they rolled over the top of us. Almost at the back of the fleet, we had at least made it round the course.
The second race was a bit more interesting, although it was a 'B' race, which meant that I did not gain any qualifying benefit from the race.
We had a better start, at least up with the fleet, rather than 30 seconds behind.
Keith Street had given me a hint from the safety boat in the interval: the northerly wind was lighter on the north shore, and became stronger on the southern side of the lake. The advice was: "go low" with the spinnaker. The advice was timely.
The race was about 3 laps. In each case, we went low during the spinnaker run, and were able to overtake some boats (or at least able to keep up with the fleet).
We ended the race around the middle of the fleet.
The only down-side to the day (apart from the fact that it was very cold...) was that we had a problem with the starboard spinnaker twinning line. Mike pulled it on - and the clear pulled out of the the hull. It seems that we have some repair work to do before the season starts.
BUT, all in all, a great start to the season.
Let's see what the rest of the year brings...
Saturday, 5 January 2019
Friday, 29 June 2018
13941 Back on the water (or are we?)
The GP14 racing dinghy number 13941 has been back on the water ... although we may have issues in future.
The main repair work was done by Ben Dingwall, and some additional problems with the front hull were fixed by Fred - stalwart user of filler and gelcoat on behalf of the Welsh Harp Sailingn Club.
I got the boat rigged with the P&B sails a few weeks ago, and took her out for a brief test run on 2nd June, with Szymon crewing for me. All seemed good - we appeared to have good bit speed and so I packed her away and went on holiday.
On returning from holiday, I took out the boat to join in with the “plain sailing” last Saturday morning. I then did two races with Richard Gillian crewing in the first race and helming the second. All seemed well, except for slow boat speed. Then we found out why...
On dragging the boat out of the water, we opened the aft bung and gallons of water come surging out of the “skin gap” between the outer hull and inner floor. We clearly have a problem!
Plans for next week are to try desperately to diagnose how this water is getting in. The biggest fear is that there is a proble with the centreboard casing which Ben fixed. If it fails again, it is very unlikely that we will be able to claim this on insurance.
It could be either very expensive, and very time-consuming.
Follow this blog, as the story unfolds.
The main repair work was done by Ben Dingwall, and some additional problems with the front hull were fixed by Fred - stalwart user of filler and gelcoat on behalf of the Welsh Harp Sailingn Club.
I got the boat rigged with the P&B sails a few weeks ago, and took her out for a brief test run on 2nd June, with Szymon crewing for me. All seemed good - we appeared to have good bit speed and so I packed her away and went on holiday.
On returning from holiday, I took out the boat to join in with the “plain sailing” last Saturday morning. I then did two races with Richard Gillian crewing in the first race and helming the second. All seemed well, except for slow boat speed. Then we found out why...
On dragging the boat out of the water, we opened the aft bung and gallons of water come surging out of the “skin gap” between the outer hull and inner floor. We clearly have a problem!
Plans for next week are to try desperately to diagnose how this water is getting in. The biggest fear is that there is a proble with the centreboard casing which Ben fixed. If it fails again, it is very unlikely that we will be able to claim this on insurance.
It could be either very expensive, and very time-consuming.
Follow this blog, as the story unfolds.
Monday, 28 May 2018
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...
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...
Sunday, 29 April 2018
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.
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.
Friday, 11 August 2017
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
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 !).
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...
Tuesday, 8 August 2017
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.
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.
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