Who was out this weekend?.....

But do you ever do anything unless centre it?

Look here

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2 120&PN=1

 

That was interesting, just the sort of thing I was hoping to read about.

Back to that lightwind race last year What is a wing-wang?

We were out sunday, had a total blast, best race yet managed a third in
what became quite windy conditions.

It was blustery, West with Rain Squalls which would mean lifts on
starboard as they passed, so 1st beat out of the gun we took the high end
of the line expecting to be lifted up to the mark if anything, but even
though it didn't we still rounded 1st along with a 470 and closely
followed by our enemy the RS200. Banged up the kite just as the wind
gusted and we flew down the 1st reach but got overhauled by a laser
4000 and the 200, but out to sea it was quite bumpy and we all piled in
at the gybe.
Two lasers (the normal single handed ones) came by and pretty much
held the lead thereon, as the wind increased to a gusty 5-6 maybe more
in the puffs. Inevitably we would lose it falling over downwind, but get it
back on the shifts upwind, quite a long race hour and a half, by the end
of it as we righted the bloody boat for the sixth time, and it sailed off
without us, we were getting so knackered, could barely swim and catch it.
That RS200 kept bothering us, even in that wind, how can that have a PY
of 1089 are we still that useless? They fell over more than we did and
eventually retired as did the 4000, leaving us the lead multisail boat to
finish.
Steve my crew got smacked full in the face by the boom after one
particularly hairy entanglement with the leeward buoy rope, he elbowed
me full in the face splitting my lip in the middle of a spinnaker drop that
actually went really well for us.

But all in all upwind, that little 3000 gave as good as it got, we're getting
quite adept at playing the jib as well (mistake corrected by folk here, not
the whining kids, some grown ups amongst y'all, thanks for that)and the
three sail reaches over the waves when we're quite literally leaving the
water and thumping back down are almost on a par with windsurf racing.

We just can't wait to get out again in a bit of a breeze. Roll on thursday
night. Meanwhile its back to windsurf racing tonight.
This is a good thread to read, bit like the one we have on Boards "How
was it for you".

More interesting than the my boats better than yours crap.

I for one would be very interested to read about your racing tales, keep
em coming!

Not great on the Medway this weekend.  Light winds - crews race in the morning, we did reasonable but the course was short and didn't take us down river to where the wind is generally stronger.  Many of the 800s went down there anyway - to play not race.

The afternoon was interesting in that a long distance race through the creeks was scheduled.  We didn't start well but soon caught the 800s (we can wing-wang they can't, which helps in the lighter stuff) but the 400 and Osprey were not far behind (the 400 can wing-wang too and the Osprey is better still - when its light).  Then we hardened up for a narrow creek but on the other side we all decided we could try the kites, at that point the wind went from 8k to 16 and we all bore away to drop.  It then went very light and we capsised to windward, with me trapped astride mainsheet and crew on the foredeck.  A quick recovery kept us ahead of the pack and still with one of the 800s but the others had got away in a gust.  Still we gained on them in a tidal gate as the wind fell further away and the race was shortened.  We were tantalisingly close at the finish (say 100m) but not close enough to save our time on handicap, if we'd have finished 50 seconds earlier we would have finished about 3rd instead of 8th.  The race was won by an all girl crew in a 200 and a couple of guys sailing a Wayfarer.  They had started 30 mins before us and had 30 mins more wind.

We had the last laugh - we beat them all back to the club.

Fantastic sailing on the Medway this last weekend.  The Sheppey web cam suggested the wind was 30mph.  It must have been about that as the downwind legs were so fast that it was like riding a bucking bronco - we were overtaking the waves so fast it felt like we were beating.  There were some long 2 sail reaches too, which were blindingly fast (literally blinded by spray, even with my googles (sunglasses) on).  They're very hairy 'cos the bow wants to submarine.  Had a substantial bit of airtime when we crossed behind a powerboat but nearly disappeared to sixty thousand leagues when we came down rather too bow first, fortuately the crew knows to hang on to the helms bouyancy at such times and managed to keep his feet.

I was very impressed with the boat, we creamed past our rival on the downwind leg after a poor start.  The other 4000s were left for dead and so too were some of the 800s (swimming).  We had one very wobbly gybe when we had to drop the kite before we gybed.  You have to admit that a drop, gybe and round up is the worst sort of manouevre - you should try it in 30mph.  Our rivals were close behind and managed to get the downhaul and kicker in quickly and climb to windward of us whilst we were heading for the mud banks.  We had to tack but then tack back again in quick succession since our rival caught us port/starboard.  A few tacks later we dropped it in and our rivals got a couple of hundred metres ahead.  However on the long final beat (about a mile) we gradually ground them down and pipped them at the post.  Did we feel good.

A 4000, in a blow, is one hell of a machine, so fast upwind - if you get the hang of it - its all about driving and not pointing.  There was one cruiser coming up river, it made about half a mile whilst we did several laps of  our mile long windward leeward.  My crew says they had their mouths open with astonishment - I'm afraid I could not look round to verify.

The afternoon race was similar except we dropped it in a couple of times, our rivals didn't play - they were "too knackered".  Most boats retired in the afternoon.  Everybody except a Vortex were flattened when a force 8 squall came through, a cruiser lost half his mast, I didn't see it, I was busy stowing the kite whilst the boat was on its side.  I suspect our swimming didn't do our position much good - but what the hell.

I could barely get out of bed this mourning - aches and pains.  I went round a roundabout and nearly passed out with a muscle spasm down my right side.  Sunday had been quite strenuous!