Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
BOOST
Todays race was the funest races I have sailed in for a long time!
The 15/20 knot SE set most of the fleet including us up with the little rig with us knowing that ours is pretty quick in a straight line and therefore feeling confident. With Sammy and Bill Walker along with Pete, Kate and kyles mate (our photographer) out on the spectator ferry the pressure was on us to sail well and get a good result.
After a general recall which enabled us to line up and test our speed. We were certainly quick and ready to nail the start and first work.
We decided to rack up middle of the line towards the pin as the left hand side up to Nelsons point was where we wanted to be and where we thought the race to the top mark would be won.
Our start was clean and we were smoking along with Active Air above us and Pure Blonde below.
At the top mark we rounded in third position, however everyone was very close together.
The first spiniker run was a smoker! Where we flu down the harbour to the bottom mark. Unfortunately it all came unstuck when we went for the gybe drop gybe around the bottom mark in some serious pressure, I stuffed up the turn and we put it in the drink.
Not to worry cause five other boats had done the same!
Once we got it up we were a little bit angry with a few heated words but we got on with the job and started our fight back along with Active Air who were the leaders and had also put it in the drink.
By the end of the race after sailing really well we finished 9th which isn't to bad but it would of been good to see what we could of done if we had of kept it upright.
Anyway our little rig with the fine tunning we have done to it is a ripper along with our little yellow spin, so we are really enjoying the fresh conditions and hopefully from now on we can keep getting results in the top ten.
Thanks heaps to Sam and Bill and everyone one else who came and watched I think it made us sail heaps better.
Remember to watch Sail Cam TV for all the footage of the race.
The 15/20 knot SE set most of the fleet including us up with the little rig with us knowing that ours is pretty quick in a straight line and therefore feeling confident. With Sammy and Bill Walker along with Pete, Kate and kyles mate (our photographer) out on the spectator ferry the pressure was on us to sail well and get a good result.
After a general recall which enabled us to line up and test our speed. We were certainly quick and ready to nail the start and first work.
We decided to rack up middle of the line towards the pin as the left hand side up to Nelsons point was where we wanted to be and where we thought the race to the top mark would be won.
Our start was clean and we were smoking along with Active Air above us and Pure Blonde below.
At the top mark we rounded in third position, however everyone was very close together.
The first spiniker run was a smoker! Where we flu down the harbour to the bottom mark. Unfortunately it all came unstuck when we went for the gybe drop gybe around the bottom mark in some serious pressure, I stuffed up the turn and we put it in the drink.
Not to worry cause five other boats had done the same!
Once we got it up we were a little bit angry with a few heated words but we got on with the job and started our fight back along with Active Air who were the leaders and had also put it in the drink.
By the end of the race after sailing really well we finished 9th which isn't to bad but it would of been good to see what we could of done if we had of kept it upright.
Anyway our little rig with the fine tunning we have done to it is a ripper along with our little yellow spin, so we are really enjoying the fresh conditions and hopefully from now on we can keep getting results in the top ten.
Thanks heaps to Sam and Bill and everyone one else who came and watched I think it made us sail heaps better.
Remember to watch Sail Cam TV for all the footage of the race.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Any Publicity Is Good Publicity !
Yes! It was the day where Gooby and I were supposed to prove ourselves as capable young sailors, that our reputation till yesterday had portrayed us!
With the pressure on after Greig and Benny's performance last weekend, Iain Kyle and I were taking in every word of wisdom given from Greig before leaving the beach for the 4 lap E/SE 5 to 10 knot race right in the middle of the harbour. The sun was shining the cameras were rolling and we were ready.
after an ordinary start and a bit of a struggle up the first beat we rounded a crowded top mark with the whole fleet in about 10th position.
Gaining one boat on the first down wind a comment was made by Gooby that "This is our race boys" Meaning that in the shifty and patchy conditions there were massive gains and losses that could be made or lost and if we played it smart we could really do well.
Up the second work we got our heads out of the boat and simply sailed towards pressure and always on the lifting take which took us to the top right hand side of the course screaming in to the top mark on starboard in a top 10 position.
Once again the top mark was heavily crowded. On approach, there was good pressure on the inside and with Therlow Fisher Lawyers advanced and below us. A gybe set decission was called.
As we rounded the mark Therlow Fisher decided to gybe set aswell. As soon as I saw them turning I made the decission to push our boat through the gybe a little harder to try and get us above Them on the exit of gybe set. This turned out to be a manouver that was to much for us to handle and we ended up in the drink. My thoughts on why we capsized are....
1. trying to gybe set when the boat was going to slow and far to loaded up
2. Pushing it to high on the exit to try and be above another boat
3. Crew work
4. Communication and decission making
The Alternatives ( From Dave's perspective)
1. We could of done a safe straight set. But I thought it was the wrong way to go.
2. We could of done a slower gybe set and been stuck behind or below Therlow Fisher Lawyers and potentially rolled by another boat
The argument is that maybe it was smarter to take one of the two options above and try and make gains at different parts of the race. However we are racing and when faced with such a situation to either take shit for a while and play it safe or go hard and have a real go at it. At that moment my mind was all about racing rather then being conservative, especially in the light conditions.
In heindsight of course we would take option 1 or 2 because the rest of the race after the capsize was sailed really well and we pulled back from second last all the way up to 15th passing 7 boats in the last lap and a half.
However if we had the time and opportunity to put some training hours in. I'm sure a simple manouver like a tight gybe set would be easy.
All this drama made for a fantastic photo that was today posted with a short article in the Daily Telegraph and even though the boat might be on its way to being up side down with gooby launching himself over the wing and myself clining on with frustration. I follow the statement of Dick Smith that "Any Publicity is Good Publicity"
Lets hope Clive agrees!!!! :)
Oh boy! this 18ft stuff is sure a challenge but we are having fun and one day I'm hoping that it will come together for us. ;)
With the pressure on after Greig and Benny's performance last weekend, Iain Kyle and I were taking in every word of wisdom given from Greig before leaving the beach for the 4 lap E/SE 5 to 10 knot race right in the middle of the harbour. The sun was shining the cameras were rolling and we were ready.
after an ordinary start and a bit of a struggle up the first beat we rounded a crowded top mark with the whole fleet in about 10th position.
Gaining one boat on the first down wind a comment was made by Gooby that "This is our race boys" Meaning that in the shifty and patchy conditions there were massive gains and losses that could be made or lost and if we played it smart we could really do well.
Up the second work we got our heads out of the boat and simply sailed towards pressure and always on the lifting take which took us to the top right hand side of the course screaming in to the top mark on starboard in a top 10 position.
Once again the top mark was heavily crowded. On approach, there was good pressure on the inside and with Therlow Fisher Lawyers advanced and below us. A gybe set decission was called.
As we rounded the mark Therlow Fisher decided to gybe set aswell. As soon as I saw them turning I made the decission to push our boat through the gybe a little harder to try and get us above Them on the exit of gybe set. This turned out to be a manouver that was to much for us to handle and we ended up in the drink. My thoughts on why we capsized are....
1. trying to gybe set when the boat was going to slow and far to loaded up
2. Pushing it to high on the exit to try and be above another boat
3. Crew work
4. Communication and decission making
The Alternatives ( From Dave's perspective)
1. We could of done a safe straight set. But I thought it was the wrong way to go.
2. We could of done a slower gybe set and been stuck behind or below Therlow Fisher Lawyers and potentially rolled by another boat
The argument is that maybe it was smarter to take one of the two options above and try and make gains at different parts of the race. However we are racing and when faced with such a situation to either take shit for a while and play it safe or go hard and have a real go at it. At that moment my mind was all about racing rather then being conservative, especially in the light conditions.
In heindsight of course we would take option 1 or 2 because the rest of the race after the capsize was sailed really well and we pulled back from second last all the way up to 15th passing 7 boats in the last lap and a half.
However if we had the time and opportunity to put some training hours in. I'm sure a simple manouver like a tight gybe set would be easy.
All this drama made for a fantastic photo that was today posted with a short article in the Daily Telegraph and even though the boat might be on its way to being up side down with gooby launching himself over the wing and myself clining on with frustration. I follow the statement of Dick Smith that "Any Publicity is Good Publicity"
Lets hope Clive agrees!!!! :)
Oh boy! this 18ft stuff is sure a challenge but we are having fun and one day I'm hoping that it will come together for us. ;)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
SUPER SUB
Yep!!! We may not hav got the early results we wanted this season but we sure got it right when it came to picking a skipper and sheet hand to fill in for Iain and I!!!!! Creig and Benny were CST's Super Subs on sunday sailing an amazing race which saw them in the lead for the first two laps until an unfortunate capsize that was all Kyles fault hahahaha (Kidding Kyle you're alright).
A 6th place at the end of the race was the best result of the season and Gooby and I are certainly going to have to lift our game and get some results on the board if we we want to keep our spots on the team, our reputations in tact and Clive "MR CST" happy.
All the footage of the race is on www.sailcam.tv/
With only a little bit of boat work to do things should be right for this Sunday and We are hoping it is fresh so that we can get our speedy little rig up and have a good race.
Start is at 2:30 and I want to see some more supporters down there to cheer us on!!!! Come out on the ferry for the afternoon, experience the harbour, the racing, make a bet, enjoy a drink, fun time and cheer us on!!!!!!
A 6th place at the end of the race was the best result of the season and Gooby and I are certainly going to have to lift our game and get some results on the board if we we want to keep our spots on the team, our reputations in tact and Clive "MR CST" happy.
All the footage of the race is on www.sailcam.tv/
With only a little bit of boat work to do things should be right for this Sunday and We are hoping it is fresh so that we can get our speedy little rig up and have a good race.
Start is at 2:30 and I want to see some more supporters down there to cheer us on!!!! Come out on the ferry for the afternoon, experience the harbour, the racing, make a bet, enjoy a drink, fun time and cheer us on!!!!!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
MICK SKULLY TROPHY
18ft Skiffs
Mick Scully Trophy
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Sydney Harbour
Yet another North-East wind (the fourth from as many races) greeted the 23-boat fleet for the Mick Scully Trophy 3-buoys race on Sydney Harbour today.
For the former Australian champion Micah Lane and the Macquarie Real Estate crew of Paul Schulz and Niall Kinch it was a great result for the newly formed team.
Macquarie Real Estate took line honours by 33secs from James Francis’ Pure Blonde while Thurlow Fisher, skippered by 18ft skiff rookie Bruce Savage, was a further 1min 24secs back in third place.
Early honours went to the David O’Connor skippered CST Composites which led the fleet to the first windward set of buoys.(It was Really Graig and Benny!!!)
The boats rounding the red (nearest) buoy totally dominated as CST Composites was followed by Macquarie Real Estate, Pure Blonde, Thurlow Fisher and Omega Smeg 2 (Ian Henderson).
This group maintained their advantage downwind to the wing mark where CST had increased her lead over Macquarie, Pure Blonde, Thurlow Fisher, Omega Smeg 2 and Panasonic 2 , sailed by Andy Budgen and his Project Racing Team from the UK.
This group had opened up a good break over the next group which was headed by Active Air-2UE (Matthew Searle) and Kinder Caring Home Nursing (Brett Van Munster).
CST continued to lead to the bottom mark and held off the Macquarie Real Estate challenge on the second windward leg.
While CST Composites was first to set an extra, the 3-buoys handicapping system turned this around as Macquarie took advantage of the red buoy while CST had to go to the blue on this lap of the course.
There was still little between this pair and Pure Blonde at the end of the long spinnaker run back to the bottom mark.
The three teams approached the mark with little between them but CST’s hopes were dashed as the skiff capsized as she attempted to round the mark.
Macquarie Real Estate held off the Pure Blonde challenge to the final set of windward marks and headed for home with a 20secs lead.
Lane and his team eased this out to the final 33secs margin at the finish.
Omega Smeg, skippered by Daniel Phillips, finished fourth, ahead of the UK Project Racing Team (sailing a borrowed Panasonic 2 skiff until their own skiff clears Customs) and the early leader CST Composites.
For father and son John Winning (Yandoo) and John Winning Jr. (appliancesonline) it was a race they will probably both prefer to forget.
The pair, along with Cameron Mc Donald’s Club Marine lost all hope when they tangled at the start.
Each lost several minutes with Yandoo capsizing during the incident.
Race 1 of the NSW Championship will be sailed next Sunday.
Today’s result sheet is attached and photographs will be published on www.18footers.com.au.
Mick Scully Trophy
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Sydney Harbour
Yet another North-East wind (the fourth from as many races) greeted the 23-boat fleet for the Mick Scully Trophy 3-buoys race on Sydney Harbour today.
For the former Australian champion Micah Lane and the Macquarie Real Estate crew of Paul Schulz and Niall Kinch it was a great result for the newly formed team.
Macquarie Real Estate took line honours by 33secs from James Francis’ Pure Blonde while Thurlow Fisher, skippered by 18ft skiff rookie Bruce Savage, was a further 1min 24secs back in third place.
Early honours went to the David O’Connor skippered CST Composites which led the fleet to the first windward set of buoys.(It was Really Graig and Benny!!!)
The boats rounding the red (nearest) buoy totally dominated as CST Composites was followed by Macquarie Real Estate, Pure Blonde, Thurlow Fisher and Omega Smeg 2 (Ian Henderson).
This group maintained their advantage downwind to the wing mark where CST had increased her lead over Macquarie, Pure Blonde, Thurlow Fisher, Omega Smeg 2 and Panasonic 2 , sailed by Andy Budgen and his Project Racing Team from the UK.
This group had opened up a good break over the next group which was headed by Active Air-2UE (Matthew Searle) and Kinder Caring Home Nursing (Brett Van Munster).
CST continued to lead to the bottom mark and held off the Macquarie Real Estate challenge on the second windward leg.
While CST Composites was first to set an extra, the 3-buoys handicapping system turned this around as Macquarie took advantage of the red buoy while CST had to go to the blue on this lap of the course.
There was still little between this pair and Pure Blonde at the end of the long spinnaker run back to the bottom mark.
The three teams approached the mark with little between them but CST’s hopes were dashed as the skiff capsized as she attempted to round the mark.
Macquarie Real Estate held off the Pure Blonde challenge to the final set of windward marks and headed for home with a 20secs lead.
Lane and his team eased this out to the final 33secs margin at the finish.
Omega Smeg, skippered by Daniel Phillips, finished fourth, ahead of the UK Project Racing Team (sailing a borrowed Panasonic 2 skiff until their own skiff clears Customs) and the early leader CST Composites.
For father and son John Winning (Yandoo) and John Winning Jr. (appliancesonline) it was a race they will probably both prefer to forget.
The pair, along with Cameron Mc Donald’s Club Marine lost all hope when they tangled at the start.
Each lost several minutes with Yandoo capsizing during the incident.
Race 1 of the NSW Championship will be sailed next Sunday.
Today’s result sheet is attached and photographs will be published on www.18footers.com.au.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
SUNDAY FUN DAY
After competing in a surf comp on Sunday morning that left me totally exhausted. Gooby and Kyle had to get the boat without him. Things were already looking pretty intense.
With a reasonably fresh N/NE 18 maybe only just touching 20 knots. The majority of the fleet selected to go with number 2 rigs including us.
On the water the boat felt good with plenty of straight line speed. Another clean air start on the boat set us up for a good first work. However after rolling Panasonic and Asko and on the verge of rolling Kinder Caring, we hit some waves that knocked us around pretty badly and forced us to make an early tack before Bradleys (costly).
Up the first work we sailed off the back of the top bunch and rounded the top mark in about 10th place. After electing to go for an early gybe on the first leg around Shark Island; we managed to pass TF and Omega Smeg. On the second leg of the downwind a Broken Active Air was passed and we moved into 7th place. Up the Second work we were hot on the heels of Fisher and Paykel. At the half way mark of the second work we had crossed and passed them and were looking ahead to see how we could catch the next boat, Pure Blonde. However once again gear failure was responsible in spoiling our race and leaving us frustrated and angry.
Whilst we were on port tack smoking up the course lifting up on the longest tack to our top mark, I suddenly felt weightless followed by a falling double pike twist into the chilled waters of the harbour. My trap rope at the top of the mast had snapped and had left the boys sailing two up and me doing swimming lessons in sailing gear!
Despite all this, the good sailing we had done prior had given us a good gap between the boats we had passed. Once I was back on board and got going again we had only lost 2 boats with a new plan of trying to hold our position. With only two of us able to trap on one side at the top mark we had lost another two places to Asko and Omega Smeg putting us in 11th where we stayed for the rest of the race after having some awesome NOKIA style rides on the remaining down winds and some smart conservative sailing on the last upwind
Despite being our best result of the season it is still disappointing as we know that we should be up there in the top 8 but haven’t had the best of luck or been able to put it together.
For now Gooby and I will be up in Hamo for our 49er Australian Sailing Team stuff which should be exciting, however it means that we will both miss next race.
Not to worry!!! We have found some rock stars to fill in for us and hopefully get a good result.
Graig Ferres will be on the wheel and Ben Austin will take sheet hand and kyle will remain on the bow.
With a reasonably fresh N/NE 18 maybe only just touching 20 knots. The majority of the fleet selected to go with number 2 rigs including us.
On the water the boat felt good with plenty of straight line speed. Another clean air start on the boat set us up for a good first work. However after rolling Panasonic and Asko and on the verge of rolling Kinder Caring, we hit some waves that knocked us around pretty badly and forced us to make an early tack before Bradleys (costly).
Up the first work we sailed off the back of the top bunch and rounded the top mark in about 10th place. After electing to go for an early gybe on the first leg around Shark Island; we managed to pass TF and Omega Smeg. On the second leg of the downwind a Broken Active Air was passed and we moved into 7th place. Up the Second work we were hot on the heels of Fisher and Paykel. At the half way mark of the second work we had crossed and passed them and were looking ahead to see how we could catch the next boat, Pure Blonde. However once again gear failure was responsible in spoiling our race and leaving us frustrated and angry.
Whilst we were on port tack smoking up the course lifting up on the longest tack to our top mark, I suddenly felt weightless followed by a falling double pike twist into the chilled waters of the harbour. My trap rope at the top of the mast had snapped and had left the boys sailing two up and me doing swimming lessons in sailing gear!
Despite all this, the good sailing we had done prior had given us a good gap between the boats we had passed. Once I was back on board and got going again we had only lost 2 boats with a new plan of trying to hold our position. With only two of us able to trap on one side at the top mark we had lost another two places to Asko and Omega Smeg putting us in 11th where we stayed for the rest of the race after having some awesome NOKIA style rides on the remaining down winds and some smart conservative sailing on the last upwind
Despite being our best result of the season it is still disappointing as we know that we should be up there in the top 8 but haven’t had the best of luck or been able to put it together.
For now Gooby and I will be up in Hamo for our 49er Australian Sailing Team stuff which should be exciting, however it means that we will both miss next race.
Not to worry!!! We have found some rock stars to fill in for us and hopefully get a good result.
Graig Ferres will be on the wheel and Ben Austin will take sheet hand and kyle will remain on the bow.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
SAIL CAM TV
ONE DAY SCOTTY
One day scotty this blog will be rated up there with yours! I'm slowly starting to learn how everything works and what cool stuff I can do. I have just made it possible for people to comment so feel free! I want to know if anyone reads this stuff. hahaha
Anyway looks like Iain and I have to head up to hamo for this Australing Sailing Team camp which should be fun. However it means that we miss a week of the 18's which sucks because I think we are starting to get into it. I can feel a good result coming.
Anyway looks like Iain and I have to head up to hamo for this Australing Sailing Team camp which should be fun. However it means that we miss a week of the 18's which sucks because I think we are starting to get into it. I can feel a good result coming.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
THAT SUCKS!!!!!
What started off as such a good day and race for the boys on CST ended in tears!
With the boat once again fully prepared and ready for a nice looking day with a 15/18knt NE on the harbour. We hit the start line with a simple and similar strategy as last week, to start towards the boat and keep clean all the way to Bradleys. Startegy worked perfectly for the first start. However a general recall was called and it was back to the line for another start.
The second line up saw CST mixing it up a bit more towards the middle of the line just below Channel 7. At the gun the boys were in tight spot but managed to really put the foot down and squeeze above Pure Blonde and keep clear of Channel 7, proving that the rig changes made ashore had some positive effect.
We picked it perfect up the first half of the work crossing Channel 7 and the Rag and at the top mark rounding in about 5th position.
After losing a few more boats cause of the handicap it was off down wind with plenty of action and speed.
Up the next work we had climbed back up and were around 8th place. The second downwind was filled with plenty of traffic. However we managed to pick up another spot passing a capsized Fisher and Pykle.
The Final work and we were really settled into the groove, passing keith Pigging and moving back into 6th place when suddenly...... BANG!!!!!!! The whole jib track ripped off the boat and our race went from being a solid performance to a broken Greek amphora with shatted shards sprayed acrosss the ocean floor.
SERIOUSLY DEVASTATING!!!
Anyway plenty of boat work to do. But now we know that we can do it even though the results dont show. There is now some light at the end of the tunnel to head towards and I'm sure we can post some sound results.
With the boat once again fully prepared and ready for a nice looking day with a 15/18knt NE on the harbour. We hit the start line with a simple and similar strategy as last week, to start towards the boat and keep clean all the way to Bradleys. Startegy worked perfectly for the first start. However a general recall was called and it was back to the line for another start.
The second line up saw CST mixing it up a bit more towards the middle of the line just below Channel 7. At the gun the boys were in tight spot but managed to really put the foot down and squeeze above Pure Blonde and keep clear of Channel 7, proving that the rig changes made ashore had some positive effect.
We picked it perfect up the first half of the work crossing Channel 7 and the Rag and at the top mark rounding in about 5th position.
After losing a few more boats cause of the handicap it was off down wind with plenty of action and speed.
Up the next work we had climbed back up and were around 8th place. The second downwind was filled with plenty of traffic. However we managed to pick up another spot passing a capsized Fisher and Pykle.
The Final work and we were really settled into the groove, passing keith Pigging and moving back into 6th place when suddenly...... BANG!!!!!!! The whole jib track ripped off the boat and our race went from being a solid performance to a broken Greek amphora with shatted shards sprayed acrosss the ocean floor.
SERIOUSLY DEVASTATING!!!
Anyway plenty of boat work to do. But now we know that we can do it even though the results dont show. There is now some light at the end of the tunnel to head towards and I'm sure we can post some sound results.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
SUNNY DAYS
Well this morning is looking like a pretty awesome day with sunny skies and a good forecast for a nice sea breeze this arfertoon.
Iain and Kyle are on there way down from the lake and the boat is ready to go for this arfternoons Life Members Trophy race.
Once again we have been given a pretty tough handicap. However if we sail well I'm sure we can go much better then last week.
Race starts at 2:30!
Iain and Kyle are on there way down from the lake and the boat is ready to go for this arfternoons Life Members Trophy race.
Once again we have been given a pretty tough handicap. However if we sail well I'm sure we can go much better then last week.
Race starts at 2:30!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Long Day
Well today’s racing was certainly a learning experience and a long day.
The boat was all set up, ready to go with our number 1 rig up and a nice 10/14 knot NE blowing. Perfect conditions for the first race of the season.
We were racked up towards the boat with 1 min to go and things were shaping up nicely. The gun went and we were first off the line with max pace and above the fleet, nice and clean. As expected we knocked down as we got towards Bradleys. However we managed to cross most of the fleet except for Channel 7 and the Rag. Things were looking great!!!!
As we progressed up the first work we managed to hold our position. However due to our handicap being quite low we were required to sail a longer work and half the fleet got back in front of us once we rounded the top mark. "Really Frustrating". All that hard work for nothing!
We were now with the pack on the downwind at times getting covered, which forced us to sail quite high into Rose Bay in order to get clear, which ended with us losing out a fair bit.
Up the second beat, we had our work cut out in order to catch all these boats that got to sail a shorter course.
We slowly started to climb our way back through the pack and by the time we got to the top we were back up there mixing it up with the pack. Yet once again we had to sail that extra 150 meters to go around our lonely little blue mark, whilst what felt like everyone else was going around the red one. "I Hate Handicap Sailing".
Yet again we were out the back and this time it was looking pretty hard to catch up. By the last up wind we managed to catch back up a little but yet again we were sailing off into the distance to our little blue mark.
By the end of the race we ended up finishing a not so good 16th.
We would certainly prefer some normal races. However I'm sure our handicap will be a lot higher after this weekend, so maybe we'll be the ones laughing when we are cruzing around that shorter course. ;)
We can only get better from here!
Next weekend is the Life Members Trophy race and with a few rig set up things to sort out some hight and speed issues things should be looking better.
The boat was all set up, ready to go with our number 1 rig up and a nice 10/14 knot NE blowing. Perfect conditions for the first race of the season.
We were racked up towards the boat with 1 min to go and things were shaping up nicely. The gun went and we were first off the line with max pace and above the fleet, nice and clean. As expected we knocked down as we got towards Bradleys. However we managed to cross most of the fleet except for Channel 7 and the Rag. Things were looking great!!!!
As we progressed up the first work we managed to hold our position. However due to our handicap being quite low we were required to sail a longer work and half the fleet got back in front of us once we rounded the top mark. "Really Frustrating". All that hard work for nothing!
We were now with the pack on the downwind at times getting covered, which forced us to sail quite high into Rose Bay in order to get clear, which ended with us losing out a fair bit.
Up the second beat, we had our work cut out in order to catch all these boats that got to sail a shorter course.
We slowly started to climb our way back through the pack and by the time we got to the top we were back up there mixing it up with the pack. Yet once again we had to sail that extra 150 meters to go around our lonely little blue mark, whilst what felt like everyone else was going around the red one. "I Hate Handicap Sailing".
Yet again we were out the back and this time it was looking pretty hard to catch up. By the last up wind we managed to catch back up a little but yet again we were sailing off into the distance to our little blue mark.
By the end of the race we ended up finishing a not so good 16th.
We would certainly prefer some normal races. However I'm sure our handicap will be a lot higher after this weekend, so maybe we'll be the ones laughing when we are cruzing around that shorter course. ;)
We can only get better from here!
Next weekend is the Life Members Trophy race and with a few rig set up things to sort out some hight and speed issues things should be looking better.
Friday, October 10, 2008
IT'S ON!!!!!
It's on! The 18 ft skiff league season is set to start this weekend 12/10/08 with the Alf Beashel Trophy. The boys are ready to smash it. The boat is looking sexy and if all goes well it should be a very successfull day.
The start is at 2:30
IT'S ON!!!!
The start is at 2:30
IT'S ON!!!!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Lake Sailing
We'll Today Kyle, Iain and myself had a fun first sail together on our new 18. The lake had a nice 10 knot NW filling in down from Wangi and toronto and it was good to have the team together on the water.
The boat felt really good and Kyle really showed himself as a top bowmen with solid sets, drops and gybes as well as really good communication about pressure etc. It was a really good boost for us with everything coming together so well. Our Tacks were really smooth and had good accelleration and speed on every exit, slow boat control practice we did went well and our general kynectics together was really agile and consistant.
Our next sail is Wednesday on the lake and we are hoping for some good breeze so we can test the small rig out and our boat handling. It will be Kyle's B day on Wednesday so even more reason for a blow.
The boat felt really good and Kyle really showed himself as a top bowmen with solid sets, drops and gybes as well as really good communication about pressure etc. It was a really good boost for us with everything coming together so well. Our Tacks were really smooth and had good accelleration and speed on every exit, slow boat control practice we did went well and our general kynectics together was really agile and consistant.
Our next sail is Wednesday on the lake and we are hoping for some good breeze so we can test the small rig out and our boat handling. It will be Kyle's B day on Wednesday so even more reason for a blow.
Monday, June 16, 2008
CST Composites 18ft skiff season 2008/2009
David O'Connor, Iain Jensen and Kyle Langford have taken on the challenge of sailing in the 2008/2009 18 foot skiff league season Sydney Australia.
With the support of CST Composites providing them with a beautifully prepared boat. The team hope to make a big impact on the 18 foot skiff league racing scene.
After setting out some sound goals that they are determined to achieve, the guys are keen to get out on the water and start training!!
First sail is this Saturday, Sydney Harbour.
With the support of CST Composites providing them with a beautifully prepared boat. The team hope to make a big impact on the 18 foot skiff league racing scene.
After setting out some sound goals that they are determined to achieve, the guys are keen to get out on the water and start training!!
First sail is this Saturday, Sydney Harbour.
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