Sailed a contender today.
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2956
Printed Date: 19 Aug 25 at 4:15am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Sailed a contender today.
Posted By: Ross
Subject: Sailed a contender today.
Date Posted: 13 May 07 at 6:01pm
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It was fun! I spent more time swimming than sailing but I will get the
hang of the technique over the summer. It's a very alien feeling to me,
from sailing in toppers and laser's to stepping into a contender with its huge tiller extension and a trapeze. I kept trying to pass the tiller though the main sheet and getting all tangled up! Muscle memory at its worst! I can see it's all about hours in the boat, and I have a lot of free time on my hands and most of it will be spent sailing contenders and I am looking forward to it! I may see a few of you guys at the opens this time next year  I think I am going to buy a contender at King George. It's in need of some love and TLC, which I am prepared to to give. New control lines, a good scrubbing, pro-grip (definitely needed in the cock-pit!) and it will be a good club racing and a introductory boat. In a few years I will get a nicer boat, but for the time being this will suffice nicely. |
Replies:
Posted By: combat wombat
Date Posted: 13 May 07 at 8:01pm
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Ross, Good stuff, glad you got on the water. Is it GBR 500 by chance? Say hello if you see a guy with a blue B14 or in the front of an RS800. Should be there this Thursday eve, see if you can come along. G ------------- B14 GBR 772 |
Posted By: ColH
Date Posted: 13 May 07 at 8:40pm
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Hope you enjoy it, though it will take a lot of practice, as you predict. Have you seen the video of a past Worlds at Garda? It used to be available from the intl website, iirc. It has plenty of good close-ups of a variety of top sailors - useful for "how are you meant to do...." type of moments. Of course, they all make it look very easy.... Col ------------- |
Posted By: Ross
Date Posted: 13 May 07 at 9:14pm
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I didn't look at the sail number, but it was Marks' old boat. The one with the yellow hull. I just found out that there is another contender for sale at a sailing club my scout group are members at in Rickmansworth. Little more than my budget but I'll have a look and work him down on the price if it looks good. I will be there this Thursday hopefully, I'll race in a club laser if i do. |
Posted By: combat wombat
Date Posted: 13 May 07 at 9:24pm
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Yep if it's Mark's boat then its GBR 500. I should be sailing in the front of the RS800 on Thursday, say hello. G ------------- B14 GBR 772 |
Posted By: Contender512
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 9:06am
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The Garda video is available http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3512928953881296096 - here . |
Posted By: m_liddell
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 12:56pm
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If it is the lake I think it is, I have no idea how someone managed to sail a trap single hander on that tiny piece of water! |
Posted By: Ross
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 1:24pm
It is the puddle you think it is! It's tiny and you can almost walk across it its so shallow. Only good for learning to sail, but any racing there is just silly. |
Posted By: PeterV
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 7:31pm
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I managed to sail a Contender for a year in Bristol docks. Not ideal but I reckoned it was good practice! ------------- PeterV Finn K197, Finn GBR564, GK29 Warsash |
Posted By: jpbuzz591
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 8:56pm
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that is not easy, even in a wayfarer you are across it in about a minute ------------- Jp Indoe Contender 518 Buzz591 Chew Valley Sailing club Bristol |
Posted By: Ross
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 9:38pm
| I hope to compete in the Contender worlds in 5 years time, thats my aim. May be a slightly ambitious but thats my aim. |
Posted By: Alex C
Date Posted: 14 May 07 at 10:17pm
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Sounds pretty realistic to me... to win it however I imagine is another matter... ------------- |
Posted By: timnoyce
Date Posted: 15 May 07 at 8:18am
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As far as I'm aware there is no minimum sailing requirement to take part in the majority of sailing events so go for it. I think that as long as you can keep the boat upright and in control the majority of the time then the only real way to improve is to get involved in regattas. Good luck!
------------- http://www.facebook.com/bearfootdesign - BEARFOOT DESIGN Cherub 2648 - Comfortably Numb |
Posted By: foaminatthedeck
Date Posted: 15 May 07 at 2:18pm
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Not sure that I even met that requirment when I started going to contender open meetings yet everyone was frindly and very supportive, even when I came 9th on the first day due to light wind luck! ------------- Lark 2170 |
Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 15 May 07 at 11:32pm
I kept track of the training the multiple Contender world champ Arthur Brett did, as we were rivals and team-mates way back when in boards. He's a great bloke. He did an enormous amount of training [I} outside of regattas and I'm fairly sure he believed that was when you learned how to win. For example,I think when he found he had a problem getting lee-bowed he would sail at night (before and after work) with a training partner on his lee bow and his coach in a RIB. You just don't get hour after hour of that sort of specific training in regattas. |
Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 17 May 07 at 8:39pm
| I did my first contender open this year - Billy No Mates - I was last contender but I learnt masses and all the guys were really friendly. I'm going to the Nationals next weekend, mostly for the learning experience, and, depending on how it goes may well go to the worlds in Holland. I've done lots of racing, but this boat is all about technique, so like Chris 249 says above, I'm doing more training on my own than at opens. Besides, from what I can make out, most of this year's opens have been crash and burn sessions.... |
Posted By: ColH
Date Posted: 17 May 07 at 9:00pm
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Last steep learning I had to do: the technique I used was, on the way home after each sail (or in the bath later!), think about what manoeuvres etc went wrong. Then I'd picture it back in my mind and try to work out where it was exactly that it was going wrong - helps focus the mind not just on "god my tacking was awful", but why it was awful and what specifically to concentrate on improving on next time. This probably sounds obvious, but simply spending some time properly thinking back on the various cock-ups really did help. Equally important is to contemplate the things which went well and again, understand why they went well so you know to repeat next time. All this was, as it happens, on a Contender! (I suspect I'll be going thru it again in the 'ball soon, once I get on the water) ------------- |
Posted By: Ross
Date Posted: 17 May 07 at 10:09pm
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Visualization does help with nailing technique and maneuvers. It definitely helped me when I was first learning center main tacking and gybing. Nothing beats going out and drilling it though. Which is what I'm going to be doing, just finding my own technique and feel of the boat. When going upwind, I found it a lot easer to feather the boat just so it began to luff slightly if I was getting overpowered, rather than play the main as much as I would in a say a laser or a topper. |
Posted By: E.J.
Date Posted: 20 May 07 at 8:28pm
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Ross, if your finding yourself overpowered upwind in a Contender the thing to do is foot off a few degrees and inch out main at the same time to keep the boat flat. This is quick in a Contender as the foils are huge and the resulting increase in speed when you foot off means that they produce more lift, so you will not lose out on pointing either. It seems odd at first as it feels like your being out pointed, but its faster. When I went to my 1st meeting some of angles the top guys were sailing upwind in breeze were huge and very fast but they did'nt lose very much in height. when you feather the sail to windward the foils stall and you will go sideways alot, this happens more in the Contender than say a Laser as again the centreboard is big. It also helps not to put it fully down in trapezing winds, 3/4 down is enough. Of course this is only what I have found, others Contender sailors will have their own ways of getting upwind fast.
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