Cirrus Icon Development

Hi Steve

We enjoyed ourselves as well and hoped it would blow a tad more to be truthful.  Can't complain as our biggest issue was poor starting with 3 of our first beats being absolutely dire - Icon thrives on clear air and long beats in handicap, we went the wrong side or were blanketed off the line too often and faced short first beats.   If we can get sufficient seperation quickly we can shift but got caught in traffic several times. 

It is an easy boat to sail and is as viceless as anything - so no excuses ... we just need to get our heads out of the boat and point it in the right direction a bit more often.   

So thank you Draycote - it was as good as regular estuary sailing and absolutely fine for racing imho.  We intentionally sailed over the main 'shallow' several times to check it  and there was plenty of depth - we'd have liked a longer beat  from further back down the lake in fact and perhaps fewer but longer races but these are minor 'wishes' really. 

The forecasters of doom ... shame on you .. you probably put off quite a few visitors from some good racing especially on Saturday when we got sunshine, relative warmth and a great bit of breeze !

Mike L.

Hi All

Simon B. my regular Icon crew (aka 'Andy - the dancing farmer') is away this weekend having a lie down and rest before the challenge that is the 'Beastie' perhaps ....

Anyway I have pre-entered Icon 03 in the Frensham Frenzy and as the forecast is a bit on the light side if there is anyone out there who can crew '03' it can still be there.   Not a great result last year as the pond is so small but the boat does get along very nicely so you never know .....    Drop me a personal message here or find me via the Cirrus Raceboats website.

Mike L.


Edited by blaze720 - 09 Mar 12 at 1:30pm

Yup. 004 will be there too. Bring it on! Anyone is very welcome to have a go in mine on Sunday.

P.S. Are you going to give me a two minute headstart?

Edited by Peaky - 14 Mar 12 at 7:43pm

Hi Doubleyou

Thanks for the interest.

  The race is a multi-class pursuit and we have a good breeze forecast so will try and encourage someone to take some footage.

  The NS genes crossed with N12 and Merlin ideas and practice have produced a very capable hull but it is almost as long as a Tasar (and it is wider) so a fair way off the NS box rules now.  It carries crew weight better than the NS as well as it has more volume in the mid-sections and we have possibly an even finer bow.

  The one thing the NS’s might like to consider is the use of the ‘dangy’ jib pole system if it can be adapted to work with a rotating mast (Icon = fixed 50mm carbon tube).  It makes a massive difference and I’m very glad ‘they’ persuaded me to give it a test.  It is/was genuinely so good we then modified the rig around the concept enlarging the jib and reducing the main. 

  I was cynical before we tested it out as I was concerned about windage – sure there must be a small sacrifice but the positives massively out-weigh them.   So much more flexible than a whisker pole – the main benefit being we can drive the jib at all wider angles than close hauled with it and it gives full control over the jib leech tension at any angle.  It is a bit like a totally flexible barber hauler that also works at angles beyond the side of the deck – much easier to adjust and in fact the crew ‘plays’ it alongside the jib sheet.   ie from close hauled to dead run  - The crew can ‘feed’ the main at deep angles off-wind in a way not previously easy or even possible.

  Mike L.        

Edited by blaze720 - 16 Mar 12 at 10:25pm

Peaky i'm there in the D-one.  My first time as well!