Symetric Spinnaker

Originally posted by lemeouttahere fireballs are amazing 3 sailing but i was thinkin bout a time we went out in 25knts(gusting 30) and 2 sailed up and down the river coz the apparent wind shifted so much the kite was impossible(we tryd once an submarined it blasting the kite back out of the chute into the boat!!      t'was some knarly sailing till the tiller came off in my hand.

Now try doing that on the sea with some large swells coming through (in a 'classic' Fireball which just doesn't have much bouyancy at the front.....)

For bonus points when you get flipped off the wire make sure you land on the mainsheet jammer and take it clean off the boat.....

or

Round the first gybe mark well up the fleet (in the same boat) and then watch as the helm gracefully falls out the back of the boat (again)...

Just kidding Jon....

Paul

Crewing a fireball at the time, Ive nearly done the same thing to my crew when Ive been helming, at one point last year we were coming down a nice screaming reach across the bay with Aly yelling 'don't look at the dolphins' at me. Not that I could see anything for the spray anyway!

you went for a swimm then what where you in

Originally posted by Mike278 I got to try the fireball today, and it seemed like a nice boat, until the rudder fell off (I was out on the wire at the time)

Rudder falling off is quite an experience. Not had it happen on the Fireball while moving yet however....

Sailing the Scorpion Nationals last year at Sidmouth running dead downwind, surfing nicely on the waves I hear a clunk 'Oh bugger' for the back of the boat.... The helm while 'adjusting' the rudder manage to remove it from the pintels and bring it in to the boat. We had a few scary moments while said rudder was reattached in to its proper place (and no we didnt capsize or drop the kite....).

The other amazing that week was the large pod of Dolphins that decided to swim through the fleet on the last day....absolutely breath taking. Screaming a long on a 2 sail reach (was far too windy for the kite) and one swims up along side the boat, swims along with us and then gracefully breaks off...

Paul

Fireballs are brilliant on 3 sail reaches - If it's windy they will smoke most asymmetrics (on Handicap) cos hey can actually carry a kite quite high. If it's not windy, still good as long as the leg isn't too broad. If it is broad or worse, a run and light, it gets a bit dull compared to tactics and power of a big asymmetric but still quick against smaller asymmetrics.