Who was out this weekend?.....

Originally posted by radixon Originally posted by ellistine Did my RYA Level1 yesterday. Get me! Well done, hope you enjoyed it and didn't get too wet doing your capsize drill. Have you got a boat or are you going to ask that next?!!

Not got a boat yet. The plan is to hire this season and then perhaps look at a Dart 18 for next season.

We were supposed to be doing our level 2 today but it was cancelled. Something to do with the wind

Edited by ellistine

One problem with Darts! and that is they have one to many hulls!

Ellistine

Try and do a cat course or find an instructor who has a cat endorsement to their quals.

I don't want to confuse you but the function of the mainsheet on a catamaran is slightly different to one on a monohull (assume you are learning in Pico or Stratos). On a mono (broadly speaking) the mainsheet controls the angle of the mainsail to the wind. On a cat, that job is done with the traveller and the mainsheet controls leech tension (which is largely the job of the kicking strap on a mono).

Don't get bogged down with the above. Just realise that a catamaran isn't 'just' a dinghy with two hulls and that you will have to reappraise some of what you learn in RYA Level 1/2. That said, the D18 is fun and relatively easy to sail for its speed. Go for it.

Yeah the plan is to deffinately to stay in monohulls this season. They do have some Dart 16's which I might have a go on at some point but I know from skiing that there's no point getting carried away with new techniques if you've not nailed the core fundamentals.

English Dave, I'm glad you mentioned the traveller. I was actually wondering what that was all about!

Unfortunately I'm one of those who likes to research things as much as possible before doing it. Forums are great for feeding the need for more knowledge. The girlfriend thinks I'm now not just a ski nerd but also well on my way to becoming a sail nerd too.

 

Edited by ellistine

Originally posted by alstorer Wind at Hoo today was a bit rubbish. Plus, took three attempts to get the fast handicap fleet away. Wasn't enjoyable sailing.

The Hoo Freezer Fast Handicap really shot themselves in the foot by causing all their general recalls (a lot of the fleet was half-way to the windward mark at the start gun of the first attempt!). By the time they finally got away the wind had died considerably. The Medium Fleet, by contrast, planed down the first run and were at full stretch for the first lap.

Only six of the Fast Fleet had uncorrected lap times quicker than the top Medium boats, and plenty of MPS, 700 & 800's were actually slower on the water than the top three Medium boats. Serve 'em right - they normally get the best of the wind!