Who was out this weekend?.....

Saturday was spent reaquainting myself with a laser at shustoke, in a beautiful force 3 with the sun beating down. At 10 stone, perfect for tightening the rig, hanging out the side and playing the puffs.

Sunday, visit to redesmere in an old N12. not so good result bet fun all the same. all the visitors made very welcome, I just wish I had listened to the warnings of the low water levels ( I swear you can walk across that lake) Lots of people taking a dip, a dozen boats ranging from over 40 years old to under 4 years old, and yes the 40 yr old boats did beat some of the 4 yr olds!

I have discovered the result of all our kids training, which usually develops into free fo all  water fights and capsize drills, results in, as my 13 yr old crew, in her first ever open meeting, and having sailed a 12 for no more than 10 times.. managed to dry capsize even on the broachs, where I ended up thoroughly wet and swimming. and never say that teenagers have no manners, as, when I finally made it onto the plate, she volunteered to jump off!..... of course being a gentleman, I declined.... (well the mast was in the mud)

funniest thing was trying to sail in, swamped after the capsizes, not getting anywhere, still 20 meters from shore, going F**K it, jumping out, finding the water waist deep and walking the rest of the way.

Medway this weekend.

Saturday - I took the wife for a cruise around Hoo Island in the Ent.  A lovely day, a good breeze made bucking the spring tide possible and so we could explore amongst the moorings and the odd piers and docks around Gillingham and Chatham.

Sunday morning - Ladies Race.  I trapezed and the wind was about 3-4, but full of holes anyway we kept it upright and being in a 4000 we sailed round miles ahead of our rival.  Our main rival was in a Vision and we were back after 40 minutes she had a bit of a disaster and was back after about 90 minutes - I think we probably won that one.

Commodores Race - This is code for a on-the-water start.  The wind was up and whilst milling around before the start I wished I'd raked the rig back.  The sun was out and the water glistened - it doesn't come much better. 

The first beat was not kind to us and we got to the 1st mark near the back of the Fast Handicap fleet but soon managed to power through to contention.  It was a long tortuous route through some of the creeks, and so much 2 sail reaching, where we seemed to out-do the 59er and at the first need for the spinnaker we caught our 4000 rivals and then powered away from them.  At the next mark requiring a kite we hoisted to find it had lost one of its sheets and so everybody streamed past.  It was seriously windy by now and the 2 sail reaches were a bit scary and since and there was so much spray I couldn't see the next mark.  We got there but probably not as direct as we could have.

Then came a long beat and after a few hundred metres we got the boat into its groove and started eating distance out of those ahead.  This boat really planes to windward well and even in the chop it was banging along and and going past other boats on the river in an impressive fashion.  We had to tack at Folly Point where the chop was bad and I didn't get it right and we went in.  This caused a couple of other disaster and so we retired and sailed for home with nothing seriously hurt but our pride.

The other 4000 had capsised too and so the 59er who remained upright won out of the three of us.  Those flat sails can be an advantage!  The race was won by the 5000 and I wonder why the 800s weren't pulling away on the 2 sail reaches - is this an Achilles Heel?

Er, won by the 3000, actually, by about 3 minutes on corrected time on a TN of 984, having come home just behind the 59er and ahead of both the capsizing 4000's, the 400 and the MPS. The 5000 didn't capsize though, neither did the 59er, while the 3k had a quickie early on.

It was so gusty I wondered how the 800's coped at all on the two-sail reaches. Those reaches were mostly at just the angle where neither luffing nor bearing away helped, and so multiple armfuls of sheeting were required each gust/lull - try that for a couple of hours while on the wire.

Really I was out at lunch, but a couple of us got kites out today .. My little 2mr Beamer was pulling hard enough that I could sit down and still be dragged along (That my excuse for the grass stains on my jeans and shirt and I'm sticking by it!!) ... Even managed a few small jumps!

I'm so glad I havn't got a bigger kite than this! (the 3.5mr that was out broke .. 4 of the bridle lines snapped! )