No joy for Vestas Sailrocket 2 on Thursday with patchy wind
by Paul Larsen 19 Oct 2012 10:28 BST
18 October 2012
We turned up at Speed spot expecting big things. I was feeling kind of nervous about the prospect of seeing VSR2 reveal her real potential. One of the things that makes you nervous is that she might also reveal other not so desirable aspects of which you are presently unaware.
Speed-spot looked great and we moved swiftly to the top of the course to get the wing up.
After a few little issues I was released by the support RIB and VSR2 promptly lifted up onto the plane without drama. I was still expecting a big run and sailed in towards the flattest water by the shore before bearing away. Normally you accelerate hard as you bear away but not much happened this time... and for the rest of the run. Everything just felt flat. I checked all the trim was as it should be. When I turned away from the beach to begin the stopping procedure the speed washed off quickly. I knew this meant light winds. Sure enough, once stopped, it felt pretty light. We pulled the rig down and towed VSR2 up to the timing hut to sit and watch the wind meter. We were getting 20 knot patches followed by 30 knot gusts. It just wouldn't settle down.
We thought it would as we approached sunset so we made our way back up the course. A handling error whilst putting the rig up lead to a small breakage. Our day was over but to be honest, The wind had decreased and we didn't miss anything. We did learn some new skills today which will mean we need one less person to handle the boat. It was a simple thing really that we had included in the boats design but never used. It involves a simple forward weight on the wing for raising and lowering purposes in order to mass balance the wing. We were so busy adjusting the new sysytem that I failed to see a cleated line. As the rig was raised, the pole sticking out the front of the wing used to both sheet and hold the new mass balance broke. It was a silly error that was entirely my fault. Thankfully it wasn't on a critical day.
So that was that. No joy and frankly... a bit of a let down. the day had looked so promising. Tomorrow is forecast to be mental windy. Might be best to stay indoors tomorrow. It's the strongest forecast we have seen since we have been here. The sort of stuff the kiters crave. If we can, we will head out tomorrow. If not... then Saturday is our day.
Cheers, Paul
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