Not much sailing going on for me over the weekend, but Martin finally got a good sail in the Axeman. With all the previous weekends of no wind or monster wind it was the first on in consistent foiling conditions and he was loving it!
Chris Bishop was out and about giving joyrides in his Lowrider Axeman too - nice to see the freezing weather isn't too off putting for the Bristol Mothies!
Monday, 17 December 2007
Saturday, 8 December 2007
Saturday sailing
Alan, Martin and myself took to the water again today, despite the dire forecast and pouring rain. It was a very variable 15-20 knots, with occasional squals!
With the weather doing mental things over here at the moment, we decided to take what we could and get on with it, giving us about 40 minutes of sailing time before the wind went nuts again.
The new boat is foiling very well and very stable height wise, just lacking a little in take off capabilities, which I will be fixing with a bit more down flap as it comes up a little short.
Martin took a brief video clip with his phone...
Just need to do a few small tweaks and She'll be ready for the Bloody Mary!
With the weather doing mental things over here at the moment, we decided to take what we could and get on with it, giving us about 40 minutes of sailing time before the wind went nuts again.
The new boat is foiling very well and very stable height wise, just lacking a little in take off capabilities, which I will be fixing with a bit more down flap as it comes up a little short.
Martin took a brief video clip with his phone...
Just need to do a few small tweaks and She'll be ready for the Bloody Mary!
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Daily Sail feature
I've made the front page of the Daily Sail! Quality read, worth subscribing if you don't already...
Link here...
Link here...
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Saturday sailing
Well, the forecast for the weekend had Saturday down as the lesser of two evils... When I got down the club it actually looked pretty good with a peaky 15 knot breeze. I started getting rigged, but with new boat stuff this took a pretty long time.
Adam turned up and it had gotten pretty windy so we went for a nice cuppa (seemed like the civilised thing to do). The wind abated a bit and coaxed me back onto the water and with a solid 20 knot breeze, Edwards first outing began.
Problem number one. I'd already ran out of cunningham - my funky dogbones to attach said item to the mainsail had taken up a bit too much space and the cascade had run into the boom!
Problem number two. I pulled a lot of kicker on quickly from a dubious angle and wrenched part of the cleat flipper off the kingpost. Nothing some new bolts wouldn't sort anyway...
Anyway, the boat foiled nicely and smoothly - its always hard to tell on flat water how well everything is working for you with the controls but so far so good. After a few blasts back and forth, then up and down I'd hit 20.5 knots and decided to call it quits for the day as there were some nasty looking clouds sneaking up.
Pics by Angie Cooke, more to follow from Adam...
Adam turned up and it had gotten pretty windy so we went for a nice cuppa (seemed like the civilised thing to do). The wind abated a bit and coaxed me back onto the water and with a solid 20 knot breeze, Edwards first outing began.
Problem number one. I'd already ran out of cunningham - my funky dogbones to attach said item to the mainsail had taken up a bit too much space and the cascade had run into the boom!
Problem number two. I pulled a lot of kicker on quickly from a dubious angle and wrenched part of the cleat flipper off the kingpost. Nothing some new bolts wouldn't sort anyway...
Anyway, the boat foiled nicely and smoothly - its always hard to tell on flat water how well everything is working for you with the controls but so far so good. After a few blasts back and forth, then up and down I'd hit 20.5 knots and decided to call it quits for the day as there were some nasty looking clouds sneaking up.
Pics by Angie Cooke, more to follow from Adam...
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
GBR 3191 Jamming with Edward
The first of the v.4 Axioms is now pretty much done. Just barring a coat of gloss on the new foils and my sail to turn up I should be back on the water on Saturday.
The new shape is flatter and fatter at the back for improved bouncing and shift the buoyancy aft from the v.3 shape. The tramps all lace to the hull in the classic style and a first for me is removable wing bars. All the usual Harken gear and a Hyde sail. Spars are Aardvark and foils are new shape Aardvark ones, with some interesting stuff going on with the rudder and a hopefully improved flap hinge system.
The general plan is to sail Edward in anger at Cheddar for a few weeks before heading off and taking part in a few winter handicap events.
The new shape is flatter and fatter at the back for improved bouncing and shift the buoyancy aft from the v.3 shape. The tramps all lace to the hull in the classic style and a first for me is removable wing bars. All the usual Harken gear and a Hyde sail. Spars are Aardvark and foils are new shape Aardvark ones, with some interesting stuff going on with the rudder and a hopefully improved flap hinge system.
The general plan is to sail Edward in anger at Cheddar for a few weeks before heading off and taking part in a few winter handicap events.
Monday, 12 November 2007
New sail numbers
After a weekend down in Weymouth mulling over various ideas with Mr May I now have my new sail number!
I've decided to go with my new ISAF plaque number early to save messing around with numbers further down the line meaning I have the rather wacky number of 3191 and Mr Whicher has 3192...
Undercoat went on the hull today, hopefully the boat will be pretty much there by the end of the week, with just sail and foils to be done.
I've decided to go with my new ISAF plaque number early to save messing around with numbers further down the line meaning I have the rather wacky number of 3191 and Mr Whicher has 3192...
Undercoat went on the hull today, hopefully the boat will be pretty much there by the end of the week, with just sail and foils to be done.
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Mad pimpin' pt 2
This evening saw all the carbon going on the joins and getting the tramps marked up for chopping... All good fun, Martin will be back out on the water in a weeks time. Just wish my new boat was done now!
Mad Pimpin' -pt1
Well, it was discussed by most of the GBR team in Italy that we really should sort out Tom Whichers' boat. It had a bit of a tidy up and sort out on its return to England, but its only now that the (very high) wing bars have been sorted out...
Martin Fear (boats new owner) and myself spent an evening cutting and shutting the wing bar tubes into their new geometry. The results actually look pretty cool, with a bit of a Stuka effect going on...
Martin Fear (boats new owner) and myself spent an evening cutting and shutting the wing bar tubes into their new geometry. The results actually look pretty cool, with a bit of a Stuka effect going on...
Friday, 2 November 2007
Axiom 4 pictures
My new hull has hit the painting and decorating stage, so heres some shots for your perusal...
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
New mothy
Martin Fear, a former RS600 sailor has joined the mothy ranks at BCYC having picked up Tom Whichers old Axeman 7. Hes got some tinkering lined up and I'm giving him a hand with some tweaks before he gets on with learning to fly.
That in theory takes us up to 7 boats at Cheddar. If only we were all on the water at the same time!
That in theory takes us up to 7 boats at Cheddar. If only we were all on the water at the same time!
Weekend sailing
Last weekend saw a load of random boat swapping going on. Tom Whicher was up checking out progress on the new v.4 Axiom pending his new boat so we cruised over to Cheddar to steal whatever we could find and go play.
Gavin Dove had borrowed Alans Prowler and was getting well learning the foiling basics in a 10 ish knot breeze. Chris Bishop was sorting out his B14, so let me out in his Axeman, while Tom took Gavins Axiom out. Quite entertaining lowriding again after two years of foiling and it was quite surprising how fun it was with a couple of us bombing around...
v4 Hull is done, pending some paint. Wingframes are done. Rig is done. Just waiting for new shape foil moulds and sails to arrive... Awesome!
Gavin Dove had borrowed Alans Prowler and was getting well learning the foiling basics in a 10 ish knot breeze. Chris Bishop was sorting out his B14, so let me out in his Axeman, while Tom took Gavins Axiom out. Quite entertaining lowriding again after two years of foiling and it was quite surprising how fun it was with a couple of us bombing around...
v4 Hull is done, pending some paint. Wingframes are done. Rig is done. Just waiting for new shape foil moulds and sails to arrive... Awesome!
Monday, 22 October 2007
So long, farewell, etc
Silver Samurai has now gone to her new home on the South coast. Building work commences on the new v4 now - hull and most of the deck is done and I'm hoping to have a new boat on the water by mid November... Rock on!
Heres the boat on its way up the motorway...
Heres the boat on its way up the motorway...
Monday, 8 October 2007
Draycote Moth open
The end of season bash was pretty interesting, being sailed all saturday in marginal stuff. It gave a pretty good opportunity to try out take off skills and perfect the light airs gibes.
Jason gave us all a good kicking, but the minor places were close fought.
James Roche in his Prowler did a bit of a horizon job in the last race and I only managed to catch him at the finish line!
Can't wait now for my new foil moulds to turn up now, and the v4 mould is ready to go... New boat due in early November.
A dozen Moths braved a rather dire weather forecast for the Draycote Water end of season moth bash, with boats ranging from an old-school Magnum 8 to the latest in foiler technology.
An unexpected 5 to 10 knot breeze had appeared on the lake in time for the start of the race, making for some interesting tactical choices and testing the marginal wind skills of the foilers.
Jason Belben sailing his Prowler showed his nationals-winning form, to take all three races by a considerable margin from Russ Wheeler, king of the lowriders, who was sailing his Hungry Tiger. Ed Sibson, sailing in his first Moth open meeting took third in his Skippy, having finished on equal points with Alex Adams in his Mistress 3 and Mike Cooke in his Axiom v3.
The evening saw a fine roast from the host club and plenty of cake to fuel the conversation and tip-sharing into the evening.
Sunday morning dawned to a windless lake and an early start for the hardcore Mothies, who were found huddled around a portable TV outside the sailing club watching the Formula 1! There was a postponement to allow the wind to do something, but it continued to do nothing, so the Race officer made the sensible decision to call it off.
Until the next time....
1st Jason Belben, Prowler Foiler
2nd Russ Wheeler, Hungry Tiger Lowrider
3rd Ed Sibson, Skippy Lowrider
4th Alex Adams, Mistress 3 Foiler
5th Mike Cooke, Axiom v3 Foiler
Jason gave us all a good kicking, but the minor places were close fought.
James Roche in his Prowler did a bit of a horizon job in the last race and I only managed to catch him at the finish line!
Can't wait now for my new foil moulds to turn up now, and the v4 mould is ready to go... New boat due in early November.
A dozen Moths braved a rather dire weather forecast for the Draycote Water end of season moth bash, with boats ranging from an old-school Magnum 8 to the latest in foiler technology.
An unexpected 5 to 10 knot breeze had appeared on the lake in time for the start of the race, making for some interesting tactical choices and testing the marginal wind skills of the foilers.
Jason Belben sailing his Prowler showed his nationals-winning form, to take all three races by a considerable margin from Russ Wheeler, king of the lowriders, who was sailing his Hungry Tiger. Ed Sibson, sailing in his first Moth open meeting took third in his Skippy, having finished on equal points with Alex Adams in his Mistress 3 and Mike Cooke in his Axiom v3.
The evening saw a fine roast from the host club and plenty of cake to fuel the conversation and tip-sharing into the evening.
Sunday morning dawned to a windless lake and an early start for the hardcore Mothies, who were found huddled around a portable TV outside the sailing club watching the Formula 1! There was a postponement to allow the wind to do something, but it continued to do nothing, so the Race officer made the sensible decision to call it off.
Until the next time....
1st Jason Belben, Prowler Foiler
2nd Russ Wheeler, Hungry Tiger Lowrider
3rd Ed Sibson, Skippy Lowrider
4th Alex Adams, Mistress 3 Foiler
5th Mike Cooke, Axiom v3 Foiler
Sunday, 30 September 2007
Sunday sailing
For the first time since Poole I finally managed to get out on the water. It looked pretty marginal, but once out there it turned out to be a great sail, with some cracking gusts going through. This gave me the chance to give my new daggerboard a good thrashing and also pushed up my personal best up to 23.1knots peak speed. I also managed a 500 metre run just short of 20 knots.
The wind died off through the day though, and Alan gave me a firm beating in the race foiling earlier and longer through the lulls. I've got a couple of mods to do though which should even the balance back a bit. As soon as the wind was up though, the Samurai definitely had the legs on his Prowler...
All good fun, its amazing to actually have water and not too much weed at this time of year!
The wind died off through the day though, and Alan gave me a firm beating in the race foiling earlier and longer through the lulls. I've got a couple of mods to do though which should even the balance back a bit. As soon as the wind was up though, the Samurai definitely had the legs on his Prowler...
All good fun, its amazing to actually have water and not too much weed at this time of year!
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Moving forwards
Silver Samurai was on the market for all of a week before a buyer found her! She's done me proud though, I'm just hanging on to her long enough to sail at Draycote and then its on with the Mad Rush (TM) to get the first V4 Axiom done. The hull mould is nearly finished and the deck mould is soon to follow...
Will post some pics when its ready!
Will post some pics when its ready!
Monday, 10 September 2007
Nationals photos
Alex Adams (Mr Foiltown) has posted up some piccys from the Weymouth Nationals on his flickr account...
click here to check them out
click here to check them out
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Final Wednesday evening sailing
The last Wednesday evening sail of the year must mean that winter is now on its way. 4 of the Bristol Mothies were out, but not me as I was busying myself making an experimental new daggerboard and doing the final sanding on the Axiom V4 plug.
As usual the breeze died off for the actual racing, but apparently some great sailing was had earlier on in the day.
Alan is making some good progress now in the lighter winds with getting foiling and Chris is starting to bother the front of the fleet in his lowrider. When he gets foils he will be one to watch out for as he is a top helm and fast learner...
As usual the breeze died off for the actual racing, but apparently some great sailing was had earlier on in the day.
Alan is making some good progress now in the lighter winds with getting foiling and Chris is starting to bother the front of the fleet in his lowrider. When he gets foils he will be one to watch out for as he is a top helm and fast learner...
Sunday, 2 September 2007
More Video Action
A quick evening of video editing saw the Nationals footage turned into a nice crashing montage. Enjoy!
Saturday sailing
I took Angie's new boat out for a spin today to give it a bit of a tune up and try to figure out how long all the strings needed to be. The V3 hullshape makes for quite a nice lowrider - I'm still not convinced by the KA sail shape, although it seems fast. Not much to sort out though, which is a bonus.
Alan has finally returned to BCYC after a massive sailing holiday summer, and is slowly starting to get his boat to behave itself with a bit of tuning.
Weed has appeared at the lake though, not ideal, although the water level is still good which makes a nice change!
Alan has finally returned to BCYC after a massive sailing holiday summer, and is slowly starting to get his boat to behave itself with a bit of tuning.
Weed has appeared at the lake though, not ideal, although the water level is still good which makes a nice change!
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Wednesday evening sail
Wednesday saw a bit of Fat Bottomed Girl testing, as my foiler is in the workshop for some mods. The light breeze made the conditions perfect to scope out the girl's PY. After I completely fluffed the start and went behind everyone, she pulled through the fleet fine and wasn't anywhere near as sticky as expected. I think in thoses conditions she will be around RS300 speed, which for a fat boat is pretty darn good!
I'm hoping for a bit more wind next week to give her a bit more of a shakedown...
Tom Whicher was also around after the sailing for a bit of a chat as he is working up in Bristol at the moment at Wet 'N' Windy. Hopefully he will be bringing his boat along for a few weeks taking the mothy club up to 7 boats!
I'm hoping for a bit more wind next week to give her a bit more of a shakedown...
Tom Whicher was also around after the sailing for a bit of a chat as he is working up in Bristol at the moment at Wet 'N' Windy. Hopefully he will be bringing his boat along for a few weeks taking the mothy club up to 7 boats!
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Wednesday evening sail
The usual Wednesday evening sail was a bit short lived this week with a couple of control rod problems which neither 5 minute epoxy or superglue were really up to fixing.
Seems my supposedly indestructible choice of glue for this job will only last about 2 months as both ends failed within 2 sails of each other! Now off to find some nice Titanium rod from somewhere and put threads on the end instead!
Gavin was the only other mothie out and about, but it seems like September could start seeing 4 or 5 of us sailing at the same time which will be fun.
Seems my supposedly indestructible choice of glue for this job will only last about 2 months as both ends failed within 2 sails of each other! Now off to find some nice Titanium rod from somewhere and put threads on the end instead!
Gavin was the only other mothie out and about, but it seems like September could start seeing 4 or 5 of us sailing at the same time which will be fun.
Poole week shenanigins
Rod Harris invited the mothies down to his local haunt of Poole Harbour to have a go at a few races of Poole week. Unfortunately the launching proved to take so long that only Si Payne and Adam May made the start, with Rod and Myself a few minutes behind.
Only Rod really had a clue where he was going so he was the only finisher after plenty of bombing around looking for marks, sailing through Seacat wake (very weird, do it at least once...) and foiling though moorings and Xboats. James Roche missed the start by long enough to not even figure out where the windward mark was and Gary Ireson (Mr Zhik UK) missed out on launching altogether!
The next day saw too little wind to interest the remaining mothies in racing, so we had a bit of a pootle and swapped boats a few times in the only just foiling wind.
Was great fun and a good way to fill the post nationals fixtures gap... More of this please UK mothies!
Only Rod really had a clue where he was going so he was the only finisher after plenty of bombing around looking for marks, sailing through Seacat wake (very weird, do it at least once...) and foiling though moorings and Xboats. James Roche missed the start by long enough to not even figure out where the windward mark was and Gary Ireson (Mr Zhik UK) missed out on launching altogether!
The next day saw too little wind to interest the remaining mothies in racing, so we had a bit of a pootle and swapped boats a few times in the only just foiling wind.
Was great fun and a good way to fill the post nationals fixtures gap... More of this please UK mothies!
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Wednesday 15th August
This Wednesday evening saw another nice breeze (and still plenty of water in Axebridge!!). A good chance to mess around with cameras attached to the boat and get some general practice in again.
I finally had the breeze stay around long enough to do a race as well, and although I managed a couple of dips on the first lap (gybing into a roundup for a mark was a bit tricky!) I still finished a full leg and a bit ahead of the RS400's and formula board. Not sure if I took it on handicap but we shall wait and see.
It has been noted that my foils are very loud, being heard from halfway across the lake in the race box. Must get that sorted for some stealth foiling...
I attached my digital camera to the prodder for a bit before the race, and while its not really high enough to see much with the angle lens it has on it, its still quite fun! I'm going to try it on the hounds next...
I finally had the breeze stay around long enough to do a race as well, and although I managed a couple of dips on the first lap (gybing into a roundup for a mark was a bit tricky!) I still finished a full leg and a bit ahead of the RS400's and formula board. Not sure if I took it on handicap but we shall wait and see.
It has been noted that my foils are very loud, being heard from halfway across the lake in the race box. Must get that sorted for some stealth foiling...
I attached my digital camera to the prodder for a bit before the race, and while its not really high enough to see much with the angle lens it has on it, its still quite fun! I'm going to try it on the hounds next...
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Gybe School
I've just finished throwing together a video of all the gybing action from the Weymouth Nationals...
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Moth Worlds 2008
The dates for the 2008 Moth worlds have been finalised. 5th to the 11th of July, Weymouth and Portland will be the place to be...
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Wednesday 8th August
Bright sunshine and 10-15 knots at Cheddar this evening. Great practicing conditions, and a great chance to send one of my old 12 sailing buddies out in the Silver Samurai to see what its all about. Tim Laws had a Big Issue 2 from me a couple of years ago before moving to France and started sailing Europes. He has however, seen the light and is eyeing up the Moth secondhand list. He posted a pretty impressive 18.4 knots on his first sail in a foiler, although his sail was interspersed with many capsizes trying to go around corners. Pretty standard stuff though.
He was pretty surprised to find that the foiling was as easy as it was though, requiring very little input to keep it up. Testament to all the control work I've had to do lately!
When Gibes go wrong - windward heel on the way in...
When gibes go right - still a bit dodgy on the way out, but its not bad!
Arseing for the camera
My afternoon was mostly involving gybe practice and occasional speed runs in the gusts. Managed a new personal best of 21 knots, I'm also getting to grips with a full centre main system on the boat (I've had a transom bridle/boom sheeting up to now). As long as I remember to put the tiller round the back its all good!
Few random video clips to follow on youtube...
He was pretty surprised to find that the foiling was as easy as it was though, requiring very little input to keep it up. Testament to all the control work I've had to do lately!
When Gibes go wrong - windward heel on the way in...
When gibes go right - still a bit dodgy on the way out, but its not bad!
Arseing for the camera
My afternoon was mostly involving gybe practice and occasional speed runs in the gusts. Managed a new personal best of 21 knots, I'm also getting to grips with a full centre main system on the boat (I've had a transom bridle/boom sheeting up to now). As long as I remember to put the tiller round the back its all good!
Few random video clips to follow on youtube...
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Moth Nationals in Weymouth
The Moth Nationals were held last week down at Weymouth Sailing Academy. All involved had a good week and plenty of fun on and off the water.
Only two of the Bristol Moth Crew were in attendence, Alan Watson and Myself.
The new boat has proved herself finally foiling early,with good pace and now much easier to sail than after Garda. My scoreline improved as the week went on and really could have done without the last two days being canned.
Day one
The 2007 International Moth UK championships got off to a slow start today with a short postponement while waiting for breeze. This gave all in attendance the chance to fiddle, munch on bacon butties and swap war stories from the recent Garda Campaign. With 20 competitors signed up, and a few more on the cards for later in the week, this promises to be a great event (and brilliant practice for next year's worlds, which will be held at the same venue!).
Race One got underway with a good 12 knot breeze and a clean start. Jason Belben in his Prowler took an early lead, hotly pursued by Adam May in his Weapon and Sam Pascoe sailing his Mistress 3. These three, along with Alex Adams, each showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet and broke free from the pack. After some chopping and changing at the top end, Adam took first from Jason, Sam came in third, with Alex finishing 4th
Race Two saw the same few faces break away, although there was a much bigger gap between Sam and the rest. He disappeared into the distance, leaving Adam and Jason to battle it out for second - with Adam finally sneaking ahead to take the silver. Ricky Tagg showed some great bursts of speed and finished in fourth. Another one to watch out for is Tim Boon, who has great speed out of the blocks and on the downhill legs.
In Race Three, with the wind dropping from 15 knots to 10, the top three folk remained the same, although they swapped around again, with Jason taking first, Sam in second and Adam third. Alex Adams returned to take fourth again in this race and Ricky came in fifth.
So, a round of the event so far: 3 competitors are tied for first place and only one point separating the current 5th and 6th (with Ricky Tagg on 15 and Tim Boon on 16). First low-rider is currently Russ Wheeler, who resides in 13th place. Here's to more sun and breeze tomorrow!
Top 5:
1st Jason Belben
1st Sam Pascoe
1st Adam May
4th Ricky Tagg
5th Tim Boon
Day two
Mike C: Some large holes in the shadow of Portland made for some entertaining sailing and some interesting tactical choices, as to whether to avoid the light patches or take the direct routes giving plenty of overtaking options. Jason Belben had a storming start to the day winning the first two races from Sam Pascoe with Adam May taking third in both. Adam however returned to form for the final race taking first from Jason in an ever lightening breeze Sam came in third nearly losing out to the lighter Alex Adams and Mike Cooke who were still foiling up the last beat. Russ Wheeler was king of the low riders today with an 8th in the light airs of the final race.
Day three
Poor visibility and 20 knots on the harbour wall caused a short delay, allowing hangovers to be cured, after Sam Pascoe's birthday bash the previous night. Once out on the water however it was a different story with 15 knots blowing, which slowly died off throughout the day. Jason continued his fine form taking the first race from Sam with Adam in third. Adam then took the second race from Jason then Sam with Alex Adams fourth in both. The final race saw some big lulls making continuous foiling the key and finding the breeze. Jason again came out on top with Adam again in second and a close fought battle for third between Alex and Mike saw Alex come out on top on the final reach of the course.
The racing for the top three is extremely close with the smallest mistakes being penalised in this fast paced racing.
Tomorrow sees only one race, with a foil school being run in the afternoon. Should be good!
Overall position
1st Jason Belben
2nd Adam May
3rd Sam Pascoe
4th Alex Adams
5th Ricky Tagg
6th Mike Cooke
7th Rod Harris
8th Paul Hayden
9th Tim Boon
10th Russ Wheeler (1st Low rider)
Day four
Today only saw one race as the fleet had decided on a session of foil school in the afternoon to try and help newcomers with some boat setup advice and a bit of video coaching.
Jason Belben made a premature start and had to return allowing Simon Payne (just arrived) to head up the fleet followed by Alex Adams, Sam Pascoe and Mike Cooke. Jason was however very fast through the fleet and by the end of the first lap was battling it out for the lead with Simon. These two were so engrossed in their battle for the lead that they missed out the windward gate resulting in a DSQ!
Alex Adams lead at the finish, closely followed by Adam May who had fast recovered from a poor start with Sam not far behind and Ricky Tagg taking fourth at the line.
Foil School in the afternoon saw the opportunity to show off near the cameras and try and throw some manoeuvres in, to show how it should - and shouldn't be done. A video debrief in the evening along with some BBQ action provided much entertainment.
Overall results after four days of racing:
1st Jason Belben
2nd Adam May
3rd Sam Pascoe
4th Alex Adams
5th Ricky Tagg
6th Mike Cooke
7th Rod Harris
8th Tim Boon
9th Paul Hayden
10th Russ Wheeler (1st low rider)
Day five
The crash test team was sent out to assess the situation, only to discover that it was in fact very very windy. After a brief display by the pros (and a bit of mast-breaking action from King Payne) they came back to tell everyone else to stop rigging, as racing was canned for the day with 30 knot gusts going through.
Sam decided the rest of the series should be decided with some bowling instead and everyone headed off into Weymouth for an evening of entertainment (had masts been involved, there would certainly have been a few more breakages).
Racing is due to carry on on Thursday for the final races although the forecast is looking pretty bleak...
Day Six
The final day of the 2007 Moth Nationals started with over thirty knots blowing on the harbour wall. The Race officer made the difficult decision to call off racing early, which turned out to be the right option as the weather deteriorated even more throughout the day.
This left Jason Belben as the overall winner after a close fought series with local boy Adam May in second place and his Weymouth buddy Sam Pascoe in third. Alex Adams has shown himself to be a contender in the future, taking a race win and giving the top three a run for their money in most of the races. Ricky Tagg put in a solid performance to take fifth after a close run week with Mike Cooke; these two were the only ones to occasionally break up the top four.
A good spread of equipment is being used at the front of the fleet with only mistakes separating the positions at the top. The two Bladeriders in attendance through the week were unfortunately plagued by teething troubles, although they do seem to have the pace.
In total 24 boats made the trip to Weymouth for a fantastic week of close racing, tip-sharing and stunt performing. The mid-week foil school was enjoyed by all in attendance, with those at the top of the fleet taking out boats from lower down and making sure they were set-up for achieving their maximum potential. All-in-all these nationals were a great success and the GBR International Moth team cannot wait to return to the venue for the World Championships next year...and fighting for/beating the Aussies in the Ashes.
Overall Results:
1st 4090 Jason Belben Prowler KA Sail Fastacraft foils
2nd 4098 Adam May Mistress 3v KA Sail Fastacraft foils
3rd 4093 Sam Pascoe Mistress 3 KA Sail Fullforce foils
4th 4082 Alex Adams Mistress 3 KA Sail Fullforce foils
5th 4094 Ricky Tagg Mistress 3 KA Sail Fullforce foils
6th 4099 Mike Cooke Axiom v3 Hyde Sail Aardvark foils
1st Lowrider - Russ Wheeler - Hungry tiger
1st Youth - Claire Dallimore - Magnum 9.9
1st Lady helm - Claire Dallimore
1st Junior - Douggie Imrie - Skippy
1st Master - Jason Belben
1st Veteran - Ricky Tagg
1st Wide boat - Claire Dallimore
Only two of the Bristol Moth Crew were in attendence, Alan Watson and Myself.
The new boat has proved herself finally foiling early,with good pace and now much easier to sail than after Garda. My scoreline improved as the week went on and really could have done without the last two days being canned.
Day one
The 2007 International Moth UK championships got off to a slow start today with a short postponement while waiting for breeze. This gave all in attendance the chance to fiddle, munch on bacon butties and swap war stories from the recent Garda Campaign. With 20 competitors signed up, and a few more on the cards for later in the week, this promises to be a great event (and brilliant practice for next year's worlds, which will be held at the same venue!).
Race One got underway with a good 12 knot breeze and a clean start. Jason Belben in his Prowler took an early lead, hotly pursued by Adam May in his Weapon and Sam Pascoe sailing his Mistress 3. These three, along with Alex Adams, each showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the fleet and broke free from the pack. After some chopping and changing at the top end, Adam took first from Jason, Sam came in third, with Alex finishing 4th
Race Two saw the same few faces break away, although there was a much bigger gap between Sam and the rest. He disappeared into the distance, leaving Adam and Jason to battle it out for second - with Adam finally sneaking ahead to take the silver. Ricky Tagg showed some great bursts of speed and finished in fourth. Another one to watch out for is Tim Boon, who has great speed out of the blocks and on the downhill legs.
In Race Three, with the wind dropping from 15 knots to 10, the top three folk remained the same, although they swapped around again, with Jason taking first, Sam in second and Adam third. Alex Adams returned to take fourth again in this race and Ricky came in fifth.
So, a round of the event so far: 3 competitors are tied for first place and only one point separating the current 5th and 6th (with Ricky Tagg on 15 and Tim Boon on 16). First low-rider is currently Russ Wheeler, who resides in 13th place. Here's to more sun and breeze tomorrow!
Top 5:
1st Jason Belben
1st Sam Pascoe
1st Adam May
4th Ricky Tagg
5th Tim Boon
Day two
Mike C: Some large holes in the shadow of Portland made for some entertaining sailing and some interesting tactical choices, as to whether to avoid the light patches or take the direct routes giving plenty of overtaking options. Jason Belben had a storming start to the day winning the first two races from Sam Pascoe with Adam May taking third in both. Adam however returned to form for the final race taking first from Jason in an ever lightening breeze Sam came in third nearly losing out to the lighter Alex Adams and Mike Cooke who were still foiling up the last beat. Russ Wheeler was king of the low riders today with an 8th in the light airs of the final race.
Day three
Poor visibility and 20 knots on the harbour wall caused a short delay, allowing hangovers to be cured, after Sam Pascoe's birthday bash the previous night. Once out on the water however it was a different story with 15 knots blowing, which slowly died off throughout the day. Jason continued his fine form taking the first race from Sam with Adam in third. Adam then took the second race from Jason then Sam with Alex Adams fourth in both. The final race saw some big lulls making continuous foiling the key and finding the breeze. Jason again came out on top with Adam again in second and a close fought battle for third between Alex and Mike saw Alex come out on top on the final reach of the course.
The racing for the top three is extremely close with the smallest mistakes being penalised in this fast paced racing.
Tomorrow sees only one race, with a foil school being run in the afternoon. Should be good!
Overall position
1st Jason Belben
2nd Adam May
3rd Sam Pascoe
4th Alex Adams
5th Ricky Tagg
6th Mike Cooke
7th Rod Harris
8th Paul Hayden
9th Tim Boon
10th Russ Wheeler (1st Low rider)
Day four
Today only saw one race as the fleet had decided on a session of foil school in the afternoon to try and help newcomers with some boat setup advice and a bit of video coaching.
Jason Belben made a premature start and had to return allowing Simon Payne (just arrived) to head up the fleet followed by Alex Adams, Sam Pascoe and Mike Cooke. Jason was however very fast through the fleet and by the end of the first lap was battling it out for the lead with Simon. These two were so engrossed in their battle for the lead that they missed out the windward gate resulting in a DSQ!
Alex Adams lead at the finish, closely followed by Adam May who had fast recovered from a poor start with Sam not far behind and Ricky Tagg taking fourth at the line.
Foil School in the afternoon saw the opportunity to show off near the cameras and try and throw some manoeuvres in, to show how it should - and shouldn't be done. A video debrief in the evening along with some BBQ action provided much entertainment.
Overall results after four days of racing:
1st Jason Belben
2nd Adam May
3rd Sam Pascoe
4th Alex Adams
5th Ricky Tagg
6th Mike Cooke
7th Rod Harris
8th Tim Boon
9th Paul Hayden
10th Russ Wheeler (1st low rider)
Day five
The crash test team was sent out to assess the situation, only to discover that it was in fact very very windy. After a brief display by the pros (and a bit of mast-breaking action from King Payne) they came back to tell everyone else to stop rigging, as racing was canned for the day with 30 knot gusts going through.
Sam decided the rest of the series should be decided with some bowling instead and everyone headed off into Weymouth for an evening of entertainment (had masts been involved, there would certainly have been a few more breakages).
Racing is due to carry on on Thursday for the final races although the forecast is looking pretty bleak...
Day Six
The final day of the 2007 Moth Nationals started with over thirty knots blowing on the harbour wall. The Race officer made the difficult decision to call off racing early, which turned out to be the right option as the weather deteriorated even more throughout the day.
This left Jason Belben as the overall winner after a close fought series with local boy Adam May in second place and his Weymouth buddy Sam Pascoe in third. Alex Adams has shown himself to be a contender in the future, taking a race win and giving the top three a run for their money in most of the races. Ricky Tagg put in a solid performance to take fifth after a close run week with Mike Cooke; these two were the only ones to occasionally break up the top four.
A good spread of equipment is being used at the front of the fleet with only mistakes separating the positions at the top. The two Bladeriders in attendance through the week were unfortunately plagued by teething troubles, although they do seem to have the pace.
In total 24 boats made the trip to Weymouth for a fantastic week of close racing, tip-sharing and stunt performing. The mid-week foil school was enjoyed by all in attendance, with those at the top of the fleet taking out boats from lower down and making sure they were set-up for achieving their maximum potential. All-in-all these nationals were a great success and the GBR International Moth team cannot wait to return to the venue for the World Championships next year...and fighting for/beating the Aussies in the Ashes.
Overall Results:
1st 4090 Jason Belben Prowler KA Sail Fastacraft foils
2nd 4098 Adam May Mistress 3v KA Sail Fastacraft foils
3rd 4093 Sam Pascoe Mistress 3 KA Sail Fullforce foils
4th 4082 Alex Adams Mistress 3 KA Sail Fullforce foils
5th 4094 Ricky Tagg Mistress 3 KA Sail Fullforce foils
6th 4099 Mike Cooke Axiom v3 Hyde Sail Aardvark foils
1st Lowrider - Russ Wheeler - Hungry tiger
1st Youth - Claire Dallimore - Magnum 9.9
1st Lady helm - Claire Dallimore
1st Junior - Douggie Imrie - Skippy
1st Master - Jason Belben
1st Veteran - Ricky Tagg
1st Wide boat - Claire Dallimore
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
BCYC Wednesday Afternoon Sail
Fat Bottomed Girl got her first outing in any kind of breeze this evening, and it was fabulous! There is still quite a lot of splashing occurring when I try to turn a corner, but I was going really well in a straight line....
PS - Personal Best Speed = 10knots! Whoop whoop!
Pre Nationals training at Weymouth
Over 7 foilers were spotted out at Weymouth over last weekend getting some sneaky practice in... A good bit of short course racing was had for some tuning and its always interesting how much harder it is to sail a boat around a course rather than just up and down!
Foil gybes are getting better too... Awesome stuff - roll on the weekend!
Thanks to Adam May for these pics.
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