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!!!!
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