Summer plans?

I pick the new bike up soon (isn't cyclescheme great!) and am looking to do more cycling than sailing this year.

For the first time I have managed to stretch my summer my holiday to three weeks in Carrick Roads (that's Falmouth Week plus two.)  Surely the weather Gods this time will deliver a handful of balmy days to dinghy cruise to places like the Tolverne Smugglers pub and the Pandora Inn and even across to the Helford River so the less enthusiastic sailors in the family might come...

Originally posted by alstorer   Originally posted by iGRF Have a wizard wheeze planned for the Alto, saw it on the Icon, a sort of dangling pole that hangs down which I reckon I could fit to the Alto to goose wing the kite, I'm thinking crank the wing wang hard over AND the dangly pole the kite and we could dead run all over that Merlin if conditions are such that we can't blitz them by reaching hot.    read the "RS Square Running System" thread for something of a second opinion on that front. Also, hope you feel better soon. Like Mark C, all booked up for the B14 Euros and Worlds in July. Going out a few days early- the Tour de France goes to St Malo a couple of days before the euros, so it should be fun to go see that. (and lots of road cycling. I'm not a slim bloke. I'm doing the RideLondonSurrey 100 two weeks after the worlds. I need to get practice in...)

Originally posted by RS400atC Originally posted by iGRF ...Have a wizard wheeze planned for the Alto, saw it on the Icon, a sort of dangling pole that hangs down which I reckon I could fit to the Alto to goose wing the kite, I'm thinking crank the wing wang hard over AND the dangly pole the kite and we could dead run all over that Merlin if conditions are such that we can't blitz them by reaching hot. Going to get a new kite and maybe a new main for this season. ....... Doesn't the Alto pole come back far enough to work pretty well as is?My mission for this year is firstly to hope for some F4 open meetings instead of F6.Also to have a go in a few different boats.There are a few boats in the 'things to try before I'm 50' list.

I will, didn't they ban that system on the 200 because it was too fast?

It'll only work in sub/marginal planing conditions when the bloody Merlin can often out strip us, the Alto pole lets you run pretty deep, even square, but half the spinnaker is still behind the main, only the foot gets dragged out to weather to improve the entry, I'm sure if you could gybe the spinnaker then ram the clew out to weather with a suitable dangle pole thing then the combination of all that sail area would propel us significantly faster in sub displacement conditions, so figure it's worth a punt.

I suspect the real reason it was banned was it didn't fit the image of an apparent wind boat.
Which is a bit dubious on a boat with a four figure PY.
But we have to admit the formula worked, delivered a good circuit of people enjoying the boat.
We're too big for it, so it's of limited interest.

Poling out goosewinged may work well at certain points, but the transition to 'normal sailing mode' is probably messy and spoils things more often than you get a net gain.

Merlins, with their raking rigs and 8ft poles are supremely versatile, I give them that, it's a trade you make against the hooligan power and simplicity of the 400 in its element.
I would have hoped the Alto blended the two, but having a trapeze, it compares against different reference points.

  Oops... wrong thread...

Edited by Lukepiewalker - 21 Mar 13 at 11:30am