Tales from aFarr

It's not like anything else I've ever sailed, it's a bit twitchy and very susceptible to balance, you need to be very aware of where you put your weight, the stern can get noisy. It's light, super manoeuvrable so you need to finesse your control input which of course I'm an expert at - Not.

It points OK I've not had the benefit of a race in anything other than windless drifter in which it goes about the same speed as everyone else in no wind, can't hold an RS 600 but can stay in touch with most everything. I suspect when we do get a race with steady none trapezing wind I'll be among the Lasers.

Edited by iGRF - 22 Apr 18 at 6:24pm

A damn site more comfortable than a minisprint when there's not wind enough to sit on the plank, it has got sides but, they're not deep.

Edited by iGRF - 22 Apr 18 at 7:53pm

Well I've finally finished my first race in it, not particularly satisfactorily since as per the norm once this boat commits to a start line any wind quickly vanishes, this time however there persisted 3-5 mph just enough to get us all round and slack tide meant we were able to almost complete the course which had probably kilometre long reaches and quite long beats with the wind line slowly fading further out to sea.

I started off well enough managed to bang right out of the pin end of a line you couldn't really cross on starboard although a few were going to try, just to keep the port end flyers at bay, but they left it too late to stop little old me slide out on Port with a grin as I heard the noise of starboard calls then bangs and crashes.

Now in these conditions in the jolly old EPS that would have meant pretty much game over, so I guess I should look on what happened next with enthusiasm rather than just the normal boring procession. I went up the coast probably too close to shore too long so on the first tack to starboard out to sea I was already over whelmed by an RS 400 and annoyingly one of the better laser sailors, a Hornet and the RS100 but there was an obvious reason for this so I set out to sea and the vanishing wind line hoping to correct it as they continued up the coast.

It worked and I rounded the windward mark 1st single hander with the two faster boats long gone and set off down the reach, at no time getting even close to being near the wire. First the RS100 chucked up his kite came past and was gone leaving me vowing to put a kite on this boat at some point. Then, slowly but surely the lead Laser caught and overtook quipping "you may as well let me go" as it looked like I might luff him, I didn't and sulked, then after the gybe another Laser this time with someone a bit heavier than me also came past, and I sulked even more, in fact disappointment was setting in. Bloody Lasers on reaches on the sea are a lot quicker than 1098, they're running me off what seemed like a generous 1063, clearly not generous enough.

Back on the beat and I'm in amongst them, long story short, they went up the coast again and missed the marginally more wind and a little favourable tide beginning out to sea, so I got them back then set about the most boring run ever, nailed to the mast trying to keep the sail out, kicker off still doesn't stay you have to lean against the boom, plate up I don't lose any ground and since 40 minutes have passed hope they end this dirge.

They don't and it's another long triangle once again they all go along the coast and I'm out at sea in more wind and tide can't believe they missed it twice, so my sailing tactic keeps me in the game, but a slight fill in and favorable shift brings another new laser into play coming from the right, and with a tad more breeze he slowly begins to reel me in, yet gets involved in a luffing battle with the other laser and I manage to stay deep and ahead, the wind dropping again, the race finishes with me fourth over the water but not far enough ahead of the Lasers so I slip to 8th on the spreadsheet to four of the Lasers, but, it proves a couple of things, upwind I'm still in the fight, offwind it needs to be windier to benefit from the shorter hull and I think a lot windier, but one of these days maybe we'll see it on a race day and even then, will I be up to scratch enough boat handling wise to make use of it? But over the water I can still do it if I sail well and they don't, heaven help me when they get it right.

Edited by iGRF - 04 May 18 at 4:04pm

Originally posted by iGRF ... offwind it needs to be windier to benefit from the shorter hull and I think a lot windier...

Edited by Jack Sparrow - 08 May 18 at 11:18am

Got just a little taste over the weekend, but it was the third race I've entered and the wind just vanished, I'm beginning to think it's cursed, I also went from an easy first on handicap, to last in a 180 wind switch containing almost the entire laser fleet.