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OFF TO A FLYER!
What a great weekend the Datchet Flyer was, 100+ boats all negotiating their way around a relatively small course, it was great to see everything from Toppers through to Moths racing alongside one another. This is why I love handicap racing, it gives everyone a chance to race on equal terms and while PY numbers always seem to be a constant cause of much forum arguing in the UK, I personally think that the results are generally a fair reflection of the conditions and course size. The Datchet flyer was dominated by the Fireballs, a great boat for round the can racing and if there is enough wind for them to plane on the run they're going to be somewhere near the front, not to mention the class now has some of the most talented UK sailors and the winning boat was helmed by an Olympic Silver medallist with a double National Champion crew, full credit to Luke Patience for coming to an event and sailing for fun! I really can’t recommend these events enough to keep sailing at the top of your game through the winter months and with weather like we had at the weekend you’d be mad to miss it.
For the fast boats like the Moth and ourselves in the 14 it was a battle just to complete each lap without hitting anything, by my reckoning my crew’s combined hoist and drop tally for Saturday was 42 which is a few more than normal. Never have I seen a sailor look quite so unimpressed at the shorten course being sounded just a few seconds after we started a 4th lap in the final race of the day! We recently fitted out the entire spinnaker system with Harken 40mm carbo blocks which have proven very low friction whilst also being a light weight design, I (along with my crew!) would highly recommend them. The other item we used at the weekend was McLube Hullkote polish on our foils, the height of the daggerboard on the I14 gets adjusted under load for tight reaches and James was really impressed how much easier the board moved than with other polish products we have used previously. We also both wore drysuits which have for many years been perceived as uncomfortable for trapeze sailors, with the modern ones being very light and breathable I find it less restrictive and incredibly warm, any trapeze sailor looking to sail through the winter should definitely be asking for one this Xmas or an early birthday present!
Other than having quite a lot of fun wearing my crew out, the weekend was our first opportunity to trial the latest I14 mainsail, this has been made from a lighter cloth than the standard sail and is a radial construction as opposed to cross cut. My initial feeling is the sail worked nicely and responded well in the testing gusty conditions on Datchet water, we will continue to test the sail over the winter events and into the new season. As a new member to the P&B workforce it has been fantastic to get a first-hand view just how hard the sail designers work through the winter months, while P&B I14 sails finished 2nd at the 2010 & 2011 World Championships, claimed 4 POW race wins in 5 years, the 2011 & 2013 European Championships and 4 POW overall week victories in 5 years (including 2013), it just goes to show that the work to keep P&B powered sailors at the front of the fleet never stops!
If you're planning to come see us in-store to get some last minute gifts or looking to spend all your Christmas money in the new year then you'll need to know our Christmas opening times...
| CHRISTMAS OPENING TIMES |
| Mon 23rd December |
8.30 - 5:30pm |
| Tue 24th December |
8.30 - 2.00pm |
| //////////////////// CHRISTMAS ///////////////////// |
| Boxing Day |
Closed |
| Fri 27th December |
10.00 - 4.00pm |
| Sat 28th December |
9.00 - 4.00pm |
| Sun 29th December |
Closed |
| Mon 30th December |
9.00 - 4.00pm |
| Tue 31st December |
9.00 - 4.00pm |
Normal opening hours resume on the January 2nd December 2014!
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MICRON 2 ANTIFOULING PAINT 2.5L!
£89.95
Normal Price: £126.88
You Save: £36.93 (29%)
Micron Extra 2 is a high strength polishing antifouling that provides 2 seasons protection from just one application |
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GIFT VOUCHERS!100
Stuck for gift ideas...
then why not get some vouchers, starting from £5 and any multiples of 10 there after! |
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2014 CALENDARS! 100
No Christmas would be complete without a brand new calendar and we have some great ones in stock to suit any boat lover! |
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