The Solution.

The traveler on a Tasar is sort of concave so the sheet, when cleated, stays the same length. You can then sail using the traveler control rope instead of the mainsheet and pull the boom to windward without increasing leach tension......and do the same thing reaching. You have to be quick to uncleat when it all goes wrong however!

Byte has a traveler with two cars which can be adjusted outwards and a yoke. The yoke length can be adjusted as well. I cant explain this without pencil and paper!

It was a North Easter and sunny warm, the previous Tuesday similar conditions without the benevolent temperature saw us ducking out of windsurf racing, although truth was as we went out it was 12-24 mph which for once actually followed the forecast and did the opposite of what normally happens to evening wind and increased to 18-30. That and my diet induced 65 kg weight punching the full cut sail meant I couldn't equal the speed of a well sailed Laser, or my chum in his Phantom until much later in the race when I knocked the plate back a bit and was able to sort of sail it free-er but still up on its ear sitting further back than I normally prefer (it's widest point is back a bit).

I also over cooked the 'kicker free' sailing by the lee technique at one point it looked like the distorted sail would fully gybe at the head so there has to be a measure of kicker applied, which aint easy when you're planing on a dead run waiting for the inevitable death role, which, I'm pleased to say seems absent in this boat.

So a first in that I didn't just sail in and give up or in fact not go out in the first place, had I not gone in I'd have been in with the chocolates so I'm content with the result whatever it was, you can't expect anything if you crash and burn, and it took me a while to remount, it is a tad wide, it's not the plate height from the water it's the height of the gunwale from the plate that is a bit of a stretch with my shoulder which still gets a bit inhibited with the cold, so maybe I'll have to fit those awful pussy hanging down righting rope things, or maybe learn to gybe better. One or the other.

The boat however gets absolutely top marks, what a shame I hadn't bought this the first day I saw it and wanted it then, i wouldn't be carrying all the post traumatic Musto/Blaze/EPS stress disorder which makes me overly nervous when it's really windy, this tool is doing wonders for my confidence.

I did look at it tick, but tbh I'm finding this 8.5 sail a tad gutless and I'm so over travelling, we're also locked down here for the forseeable future, there are currently 6000 trucks all the local coastguards are out trying to keep them alive including young alex who works here, not to mention having to look after the hundreds of illegals who have now taken to walking through the tunnel helped by the french Tunnel workers who are grateful for their assistance with the burning tyres.

So I could leave but I'd never get back. It took me nearly an hour to do the ten minute drive back from the lake on wednesday, it's a complete f**king nightmare..