Well, thats what the wind has done anyway - its now down to 5 degree air temp and water not much above that. Thanksfully this northerly has to be the steadiest I have seen, allowing Alan and myself to get out for some cracking racing yesterday - Ninja Tuna is at her finest so far allowing me to pop a few foiling tacks and lap the RS800 and Musto skiff twice in a 6 lap race.
I've been pushing as much ride height as much I can to get a handle on where the limits are, leading to a few sideways moments offwind when the mainfoil lets go. Thankfully this goes before the rudder meaning its easy to get it back into shape and continue. It's amazing how much difference a turn or two on the bias adjuster makes, dropping a bit of wand angle off and suddenly everything is happy again. Need to finish off my actual adjustable wand as I'm still convinced this is the better solution...
Last Saturday saw a good Bristol Mothie turnout, along with a couple of visitors in the shape of James Phare, Robin Wood and Alex Adams. Unfortunately the wind didnt show leading to a session of mostly lowriding and Alex and myself popping up and zooming around every now and again on our Ninja foils in the puffs.
Got a good few winter events to look forward to now, I'm happy that the Tuna is going to put a good showing in for them!
Bloody Mary - Saturday the 9th of Jan. Possibly followed by training on the Sunday if someone gets their act together!
Steve Nicholson Race - Saturday 30th of January
John Merricks Tiger Trophy - 6th and 7th February
Monday, 14 December 2009
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Bristol Mothing weekender
The Bristol Moth fleet made good use of the fact that there was no wind on saturday and spent the day hiding in the sheds from the rain doing boatwork. Adjustable wands were created, paddles were added and gantries reassembled. One of the great things about the club is the fact that we get to keep our boats indoors which is rare for British sailing clubs which makes for a nice place to hide when winter kicks in! I spent the day adding continuous control lines and fitting the new tramps and foil bags from Hyde.
On Sunday we had 5 boats on the water and even three of us managed to do the first race of the winter series! I sailed off on my lonesome as I could keep foiling through the lighter patches but Chris and Alan had a good duke out with Alan eventually getting the upper hand. Leo was out but not racing as he hadn't sailed for a while and Martin overslept again but got out for a good lunchtime session where we all blasted around.
I'd got a new GPS to play with too - a Garmin 301 - pretty much the same as the 201, but now with added USB! Anyone who's tried to get their tracklogs off the 201 will know how crappy the serial link was on these things and the 301 just mounts as a mass storage device and off you go. Bargain at £130 too. Beats the expensive Fisher-Price gps units if you as me...
On Sunday we had 5 boats on the water and even three of us managed to do the first race of the winter series! I sailed off on my lonesome as I could keep foiling through the lighter patches but Chris and Alan had a good duke out with Alan eventually getting the upper hand. Leo was out but not racing as he hadn't sailed for a while and Martin overslept again but got out for a good lunchtime session where we all blasted around.
I'd got a new GPS to play with too - a Garmin 301 - pretty much the same as the 201, but now with added USB! Anyone who's tried to get their tracklogs off the 201 will know how crappy the serial link was on these things and the 301 just mounts as a mass storage device and off you go. Bargain at £130 too. Beats the expensive Fisher-Price gps units if you as me...
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Breeze on
Saturday saw 5 of the Bristol mothies out on the water for what was supposed to be a mini coaching event but as the breeze was gusting over 25 knots at times there was a bit too much on to really get anything done.
Simon was back out on his Prowler after a set of tramps were rustled up courtesy of R and J Sails in Clevedon. Alans Prowler was dragged out of hiding by Guadaloupe Gavin as Alan was assisting the RS200 training. Martin and Chris were both out in their respective Bladeriders along with myself in Ninja Tuna after sending out Tom Offer from Chew Valley for a baptism of fire to see if Mothing was for him. Might not have been the wisest of moves as a few mining experiences were had!
We all generally blasted around for a bit before things got really silly in the afternoon when we called it a day and decamped to the pub.
Still nice to be out on the water and the lake has risen another half metre or so this last week so things are looking good for sailing from now on.
Simon was back out on his Prowler after a set of tramps were rustled up courtesy of R and J Sails in Clevedon. Alans Prowler was dragged out of hiding by Guadaloupe Gavin as Alan was assisting the RS200 training. Martin and Chris were both out in their respective Bladeriders along with myself in Ninja Tuna after sending out Tom Offer from Chew Valley for a baptism of fire to see if Mothing was for him. Might not have been the wisest of moves as a few mining experiences were had!
We all generally blasted around for a bit before things got really silly in the afternoon when we called it a day and decamped to the pub.
Still nice to be out on the water and the lake has risen another half metre or so this last week so things are looking good for sailing from now on.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Finally - Water!
While Saturday was just plain too windy to go sailing, Simon Hindley and myself made it down the club to do some boatwork and we were both surprised to find the lake has come up a metre in the last week. Pretty impressive on the part of Bristol Water as I'd struggle to put a number on how much water has been pumped in. This means it is now fully sailable - a fact which we put to good use on Sunday, both getting out for a good bit of playtime.
It's good to be back on the water and with a marginal breeze with some good puffs in double figures it was good practice too - remembering how to gybe and figuring out what needs doing to Ninja Tuna (not a lot thankfully!).
Simon had a nasty incident with his Prowler tramps, meaning his sail was cut short, but while he was out the boat was vastly improved after some setup work done on the Saturday.
Next Saturday we are doing a mini training event and hoping to get a couple of the South Wales Mothies over too, along with Martin who has just picked up a secondhand Bladerider (GBR3323) and is keen to get back on the water, and Chris who hasn't been able to sail his boat since he got it due to the lack of lake!
Let me know if you are interested in joining in...
It's good to be back on the water and with a marginal breeze with some good puffs in double figures it was good practice too - remembering how to gybe and figuring out what needs doing to Ninja Tuna (not a lot thankfully!).
Simon had a nasty incident with his Prowler tramps, meaning his sail was cut short, but while he was out the boat was vastly improved after some setup work done on the Saturday.
Next Saturday we are doing a mini training event and hoping to get a couple of the South Wales Mothies over too, along with Martin who has just picked up a secondhand Bladerider (GBR3323) and is keen to get back on the water, and Chris who hasn't been able to sail his boat since he got it due to the lack of lake!
Let me know if you are interested in joining in...
Thursday, 5 November 2009
The one equipment rule
For anyone who has listened to the latest Mothcast I thought I'd chime in with my 2pence worth...
There is already a one equipment rule. It is an unwritten rule. Have one set and use it 100%. The finer points of skinny masts, V6, V8 or V whatever sails and smaller rudders are all chasing after tiny percentage gains and until you can sail with one set of everything to 90-100% how on earth are you to know if those things are doing anything for you?
The situation isn't broken, people aren't turning up with massive quivers of foils and sails and are unlikely to do so so why bother trying to come up with overcomplicated rules that will always be got around by anyone who wants to push it.
I've never had more than one sail to choose from, never a different mast or foils and I've no intention of starting a collection until I am the fastest I can be with what I have! That might involve going sailing which is proving a problem at the moment...
There is already a one equipment rule. It is an unwritten rule. Have one set and use it 100%. The finer points of skinny masts, V6, V8 or V whatever sails and smaller rudders are all chasing after tiny percentage gains and until you can sail with one set of everything to 90-100% how on earth are you to know if those things are doing anything for you?
The situation isn't broken, people aren't turning up with massive quivers of foils and sails and are unlikely to do so so why bother trying to come up with overcomplicated rules that will always be got around by anyone who wants to push it.
I've never had more than one sail to choose from, never a different mast or foils and I've no intention of starting a collection until I am the fastest I can be with what I have! That might involve going sailing which is proving a problem at the moment...
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Champagne sailing on the English Riviera
Report by Jonathan Peats
A combination of a high wind forecast and a late addition to the Moth calendar saw a smaller than usual turnout for the International Moth open at Royal Torbay Yacht Club on the 24th and 25th October. Not to be deterred by the forecast four travelling Moths from Queen Mary were joined by Mike Cooke who was keen to try out his new 2010 Ninja design and treated to some Champagne sailing over the weekend although someone had definitely shaken the bottle up.
Saturday’s start was delayed by an hour as the PRO waited for the conditions to moderate from the 29 knot gusts being recorded in the bay. Conditions eased slightly but with 25 knots still hitting the committee boat, the fleet launched. James Phare was an early casualty breaking his boom on the exit to the harbour, but the rest of the fleet made it safely to the start and the PRO started the racing promptly. The conditions however quickly took their toll and Doug Pybus retired after his mast came down. Mike Cooke was finding the new Ninja’s setup still needed some tweaking to cope with the extreme conditions and also decided to come back in.
This left Andrew Friend and Jonathan Peats battling the conditions as much as each other round the course. Andrew Friend took an early lead but after a number of capsizes by both boats it was Jonathan Peats who made it to the windward mark first. Further capsizes allowed Andrew Friend to take the lead by the leeward mark, and having battled round a single lap of the mile long course both boats were not too disappointed to find the PRO had decided that conditions had deteriorated too far and cancelled racing for the day.
Sunday greeted the fleet with near perfect foiling conditions of bright sunshine and a steady 18 knot breeze. Despite the clocks changing James Phare had an early start, driving halfway to Bristol and back to pick up a new boom, allowing all five boats to line up to launch. The first race saw Mike Cooke and Andrew Friend covering each other on the left of the course with Doug Pybus recovering from a poor start, heading inland which put him right back in contention. Mike Cooke and Andrew Friend both got knocked over by a big gust coming into the windward mark allowing Doug Pybus to round first and set off on the fast and exciting downwind leg. With the wind increasing significantly towards the bottom of the course conditions were back to being tricky and Mike Cooke with a much improved setup, overhauled Doug Pybus to take the lead by the leeward mark. Andrew Friend was still in touch in his Bladerider X8 and followed Mike Cooke closely up the next leg. With the wind gradually increasing all boats capsized a number of times and Andrew Friend managed to overhaul Mike Cooke on the next windward leg and then hold on to take the win.
Race 2 saw Doug Pybus retire early on with technical problems leaving Mike Cooke and Andrew Friend to have a close battle round the course with Jonathan Peats further back. Conditions worsened through the race and again it was the boat to capsize the least taking line honours with Andrew Friend just in front of Mike Cooke. Jonathan Peats followed about half a lap behind to finish third and record the fastest speed of the weekend with 25.0 knots recorded on the GPS in a big gust towards the bottom of the course.
With only three boats left and the wind still increasing, a decision to halt the racing was taken leaving Andrew Friend taking 1st place from Mike Cooke in 2nd, Jonathan Peats 3rd, Doug Pybus 4th. An unlucky James Phare was in 5th who had barely got out of the harbour before gear failure on both days.
Special thanks to Royal Torbay Yacht Club for putting on the open meeting at short notice and for the good race organisation in tricky conditions. Royal Torbay is a possible venue for the National Championships next year, and all who attended agreed it would be a fantastic event if it were held there.Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Torquay pics
I've had a couple of pictures through from Richard Meek from the Torquay mini open over the weekend. It looks quite sedate in the pictures but that was far from the case! Will have a proper report shortly...
Monday, 19 October 2009
Carbon badassery
Ninja Tuna is now ready and raring to go. Tried to go launch her this weekend but discovered that you can walk across most of the lake at the moment as the water level is so low! Should be going down to Torquay for an unofficial open this weekend if the forecast looks OK...
Got some interesting sail development stuff going on at the moment with Mike Lennon and Kevin Ellway working on a prototype sail for me which I'm looking forward to getting my hands on. Building is in full swing at Aardvark HQ with a boat for Jason Belben half done and Olivier Vidal following soon after but after a long spell off the water I'm looking forward to actually going sailing myself!
Got some interesting sail development stuff going on at the moment with Mike Lennon and Kevin Ellway working on a prototype sail for me which I'm looking forward to getting my hands on. Building is in full swing at Aardvark HQ with a boat for Jason Belben half done and Olivier Vidal following soon after but after a long spell off the water I'm looking forward to actually going sailing myself!
Friday, 9 October 2009
Riding the Tide
Hayling did the usual thing it does most octobers and blew it's nuts off. Leaving us all trying to cram in a load of races on the Sunday. The Moths had the biggest turnout at the event, which was great news although the Hayling fleet alone could have added 50% to the numbers if they had all gone sailing!
The breeze was blowing across the club, making things pretty shifty and there wasn't quite enough wind to keep foiling all the way meaning the fleet spread out quite a lot and shutting out most people from the 5 minute time window after the first place finisher.
Fat Bottomed Girl was doing me proud though, as once she was foiling she was putting many of the newer boats to shame! The setup and geometry was a bit of a best guess and the lack of early foiling could have been solved with a bit more a-o-a on the main foil - unfortunately I had no time for a test sail to figure such things out...
In most races I managed to sneak into the top 5 at the windward mark, but the runs were always my undoing as I seemed to luck out with lulls and fluffed gybes and at least one HISC rib driving in front of me while not looking... I was certainly in the top half of the fleet by the finish of most races. Unfortunately Hayling decided to run a final race at nearly 4 oclock in the afternoon leaving me with little time to pack up and get home so I decided to skip this part.
It was quite an interesting format, with a miniseries in the morning counting for half of your score and the final race counting for the other half. The slalon style gated course was actually quite entertaining and certainly put boat handling to the test.
Adam put in a good score in the miniseries but lost it in the final to Rod Harris who is continuing his fine form and showing everyone the Prowler still cuts it at the pointy end.
My new Ninja is about to have some paint thrown its way - will get some pictures up when she starts looking finished. I am really looking forward to getting back on the water for the winter and all the crazy handicap events England throws at us!
The breeze was blowing across the club, making things pretty shifty and there wasn't quite enough wind to keep foiling all the way meaning the fleet spread out quite a lot and shutting out most people from the 5 minute time window after the first place finisher.
Fat Bottomed Girl was doing me proud though, as once she was foiling she was putting many of the newer boats to shame! The setup and geometry was a bit of a best guess and the lack of early foiling could have been solved with a bit more a-o-a on the main foil - unfortunately I had no time for a test sail to figure such things out...
In most races I managed to sneak into the top 5 at the windward mark, but the runs were always my undoing as I seemed to luck out with lulls and fluffed gybes and at least one HISC rib driving in front of me while not looking... I was certainly in the top half of the fleet by the finish of most races. Unfortunately Hayling decided to run a final race at nearly 4 oclock in the afternoon leaving me with little time to pack up and get home so I decided to skip this part.
It was quite an interesting format, with a miniseries in the morning counting for half of your score and the final race counting for the other half. The slalon style gated course was actually quite entertaining and certainly put boat handling to the test.
Adam put in a good score in the miniseries but lost it in the final to Rod Harris who is continuing his fine form and showing everyone the Prowler still cuts it at the pointy end.
My new Ninja is about to have some paint thrown its way - will get some pictures up when she starts looking finished. I am really looking forward to getting back on the water for the winter and all the crazy handicap events England throws at us!
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
All quiet
Not much going on here really so just a random collection of musings!
First off, well done to Bora who has just posted a GPS trace showing some 30 knot peak speeds. As someone who still hasn't gone over 25 I dread to think what hitting the water feels like at that speed.
Second off, well done to Martin Fear down at BCYC who has in my absense been going faster and faster, posting 26.9knots a couple of weeks ago which I think makes him the fastest Mothie in the UK. There hasn't been much wind lately so generally not a lot of sailing going on at the club and more bimbling getting done instead.
I finally got out to the club on Sunday to pick up Emmas Moth. I have spent the last day fitting the foils from my new unfinished boat to it in time for the Tide Ride down at Hayling Island this weekend. Should be pretty good fun and Emma has made a bet with me as to how far up the fleet I can get her Fat Bottomed Girl as she thinks Mothing has become a bit chequebook...
My new Ninja is rapidly taking shape in the workshop though. Nearly onto the painting and decorating stage. Safe to say the 2010 Ninja is looking leaner and meaner than ever and if the paint job I have lined up works will be something to behold!
Cheers for now, update again after the Tide Ride.
First off, well done to Bora who has just posted a GPS trace showing some 30 knot peak speeds. As someone who still hasn't gone over 25 I dread to think what hitting the water feels like at that speed.
Second off, well done to Martin Fear down at BCYC who has in my absense been going faster and faster, posting 26.9knots a couple of weeks ago which I think makes him the fastest Mothie in the UK. There hasn't been much wind lately so generally not a lot of sailing going on at the club and more bimbling getting done instead.
I finally got out to the club on Sunday to pick up Emmas Moth. I have spent the last day fitting the foils from my new unfinished boat to it in time for the Tide Ride down at Hayling Island this weekend. Should be pretty good fun and Emma has made a bet with me as to how far up the fleet I can get her Fat Bottomed Girl as she thinks Mothing has become a bit chequebook...
My new Ninja is rapidly taking shape in the workshop though. Nearly onto the painting and decorating stage. Safe to say the 2010 Ninja is looking leaner and meaner than ever and if the paint job I have lined up works will be something to behold!
Cheers for now, update again after the Tide Ride.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
September sailing
I'm boatless, but there are currently more mothies than ever down at BCYC! Chris Bishop has picked up a BL RX nice and cheap using all the spares they seemed to have lying around. Simon Hindley has been out in his Prowler now and Leo has returned from the depths of Wales and remembered his boat too. Martin has suddenly turned into the fastest on the lake, posting a 25.3 knot personal best!
I'm now off to get hitched, followed by a week of windsurfing before getting stuck into building my new Ninja, along with digging Fat Bottomed Girl out of her hiding place in the shed and taking her to the Tide Ride in October.
Pics by Laura Bishop
I'm now off to get hitched, followed by a week of windsurfing before getting stuck into building my new Ninja, along with digging Fat Bottomed Girl out of her hiding place in the shed and taking her to the Tide Ride in October.
Pics by Laura Bishop
Sunday, 9 August 2009
The green eyed monster
I can't help but look at all the news and views coming from Oregon and feel like I should be there.
I made my choice early in the year that the Worlds was going to be too much but had no idea that the rest of the season would go so well. I'm on the fence about Dubai too as I'm holding out for the worlds in Aus...
While it looks like it's too windy for sensible sailing the competition looks hot. I'm not going to bless the internets with a form guide, but I'd love to see someone like Scott take it as he's a nice chap and always tells it like it is.
I've only been sailing twice since the Nationals and have since sold the Ninja on, as I'm going to be pretty busy for the next 6 weeks and not get much sailing in. I think Fat Bottomed Girl will get dug out of the shed at BCYC until I get a new boat up and running for myself in the Autumn.
Bristol Moth Squadron seems to be holding up nicely though in my absense with Martin going out and getting a 25knot personal best and Alan back out enjoying his sailing after some knee problems. Chris Bishop is borrowing my sisters still unsold Axiom 3 and getting to grips with it and a likely new Mothy in the shape of Simon Hindley who has picked up Paul Haydens old Prowler 3 and will hopefully be getting involved.
Ninja's 2 and 3 are now down at Stokes Bay with their new owners Kevin and Jo who are fast coming to terms with Moth sailing on the Solent. Now he's got his own Kevin has a whole line of interesting thoughts on taking the boats forward...
I made my choice early in the year that the Worlds was going to be too much but had no idea that the rest of the season would go so well. I'm on the fence about Dubai too as I'm holding out for the worlds in Aus...
While it looks like it's too windy for sensible sailing the competition looks hot. I'm not going to bless the internets with a form guide, but I'd love to see someone like Scott take it as he's a nice chap and always tells it like it is.
I've only been sailing twice since the Nationals and have since sold the Ninja on, as I'm going to be pretty busy for the next 6 weeks and not get much sailing in. I think Fat Bottomed Girl will get dug out of the shed at BCYC until I get a new boat up and running for myself in the Autumn.
Bristol Moth Squadron seems to be holding up nicely though in my absense with Martin going out and getting a 25knot personal best and Alan back out enjoying his sailing after some knee problems. Chris Bishop is borrowing my sisters still unsold Axiom 3 and getting to grips with it and a likely new Mothy in the shape of Simon Hindley who has picked up Paul Haydens old Prowler 3 and will hopefully be getting involved.
Ninja's 2 and 3 are now down at Stokes Bay with their new owners Kevin and Jo who are fast coming to terms with Moth sailing on the Solent. Now he's got his own Kevin has a whole line of interesting thoughts on taking the boats forward...
Saturday, 18 July 2009
2009 Moth Nationals
I've just returned from a few days holiday in Wales following the Nationals, so thought I'd go through the event while it was still vaguely fresh in my head!
What a rollercoaster ride. Saundersfoot delivered some pretty crazy conditions with 15-25 knots and some big swells (well, being a pond sailor, probably not that big!) Everything was pretty tight at the top between Mike L, Rodders and myself and to be honest no-one on the beach after sailing knew who'd got it and we were all wondering around the beach congratulating each other anyway. Such is the way of the Moth fleet - most people were just glad to be alive after some of the sailing we had...
I had plenty of speed and control, leading to three bullets, but a lack of experience and a little bad luck took their toll when things were otherwise going well. It's amazing how rapidly things can unravel! My 9th in race 5 had started so well until I wiped out on top of the windward mark avoiding an excersise in reverse parking by Paul Hayden and it took me so long to unwrap myself and do my turns that the fleet was long gone... I was also leading the penultimate race before a shocker of a downwind where I just couldn't get going again after a wipeout.
Nothing like making life hard for yourself anyway...
The usual Mothy Spirit was in full flow, plenty of fixing parties trying to heal collective wounds to make sure everyone back on the water the following day.
I still can't quite believe it and every now and again have a little chuckle to myself. Thanks to everyone who has sent me messages over the past few days, Kevin for designing a fast hull and foils, along with everyone who has supported me and Emma for putting up with my sailing related nonsense when I should be worrying about the wedding!
What a rollercoaster ride. Saundersfoot delivered some pretty crazy conditions with 15-25 knots and some big swells (well, being a pond sailor, probably not that big!) Everything was pretty tight at the top between Mike L, Rodders and myself and to be honest no-one on the beach after sailing knew who'd got it and we were all wondering around the beach congratulating each other anyway. Such is the way of the Moth fleet - most people were just glad to be alive after some of the sailing we had...
I had plenty of speed and control, leading to three bullets, but a lack of experience and a little bad luck took their toll when things were otherwise going well. It's amazing how rapidly things can unravel! My 9th in race 5 had started so well until I wiped out on top of the windward mark avoiding an excersise in reverse parking by Paul Hayden and it took me so long to unwrap myself and do my turns that the fleet was long gone... I was also leading the penultimate race before a shocker of a downwind where I just couldn't get going again after a wipeout.
Nothing like making life hard for yourself anyway...
The usual Mothy Spirit was in full flow, plenty of fixing parties trying to heal collective wounds to make sure everyone back on the water the following day.
I still can't quite believe it and every now and again have a little chuckle to myself. Thanks to everyone who has sent me messages over the past few days, Kevin for designing a fast hull and foils, along with everyone who has supported me and Emma for putting up with my sailing related nonsense when I should be worrying about the wedding!
Saundersfoot pictures
I can never get on with the Blogger photo upload thingy, so these are all jumbled up...
Alex Adams and myself getting a bit of Blokarting in on the windy day when we didn't go real sailing.
Me, having just discovered that actually Rod wasn't the National champion! Sorry Rod!
Team Stowaway before a soaking wet session in the Go Karts. Adrian is a pretty nifty kart driver...
Adrian trying his hand at some Robin Hood action, thankfully I got my revenge at the Archery.
Emma decided we should raid the pound shop for painting materials so we all sat in the van on another rainy day painting away. Emma was the champ at this one, although Adey's attempt to sell his painting to a passer by deserves a worthy mention.
Followed by loads of photos of us all dragging our boats out through the surf and going sailing...
Alex Adams and myself getting a bit of Blokarting in on the windy day when we didn't go real sailing.
Me, having just discovered that actually Rod wasn't the National champion! Sorry Rod!
Team Stowaway before a soaking wet session in the Go Karts. Adrian is a pretty nifty kart driver...
Adrian trying his hand at some Robin Hood action, thankfully I got my revenge at the Archery.
Emma decided we should raid the pound shop for painting materials so we all sat in the van on another rainy day painting away. Emma was the champ at this one, although Adey's attempt to sell his painting to a passer by deserves a worthy mention.
Followed by loads of photos of us all dragging our boats out through the surf and going sailing...
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Nationals form guide
With the GB Nationals almost upon us I figured someone ought to do a bit of a form guide for it!
1. Simon Payne
The old boy has been at the top of his game for so long now, it's hard to see any of the young pretenders knocking him off the top spot. Super fit and going fast, but lacking in the marginal stuff where he used to be king.
2. Mike Lennon
Put in some solid results this year in his new M2. Will he pull some new sail out of the bag to give him that extra edge? Will his boat work for an entire regatta?
3. Adam May
You can never discount Adam from the top of the UK fleet and with his dissapointing result in Horsens you can bet he will be back with a vengeance - as long as he can keep his hacksaw away from his foils and his gantry attached...
4. DJ Edwards
Local (ish, he lives in Wales at least!) boy Dave was going fast at Corus at the end of last season but hasn't been seen since. A sailor of his pedigree won't have been sitting idle.
5. Rod Harris
"He's just a good club sailor", but capable of going very fast in breeze and rapidly getting his Prowler very well sorted. May become distracted by alternative use of the tiller.
6. James Roche
James has been struggling to find the form he had with the "Flying Lime" in his new boat, but in light airs he's very quick and probably does more of that cycling/fitness stuff than the rest of the fleet put together...
7. Andrew Friend
Always there or thereabouts in his BR, the mad professor of the Moth fleet. Usually has some crazy contraption on his mind so will be interesting to see if he's come up with anything.
8. Robin Wood
Another local laddy, Robin knows what it takes to win Moth regattas and with his very light weight should be a force to be reckoned with in the marginal stuff. Not very long in the boat yet though - he will be up there soon enough.
9. Jason Russell
Jif has been the best of the rest at a lot of the regattas this year but for some reason really struggled at Horsens with a load of boat mods before the event. Hopefully he will have it all tuned up in time for Saundersfoot.
10. Gary Ireson
Been out of the country most of this year, so lacking in time on the water but he will be keen to get back in the mix. May become distracted by Rods tiller...
There are always others that get missed/forgotten in this sort of thing, Geoff Carveth for one - will his SB3 commitments clash? Will Doug Pybus Franken-NinjaProwler hold together for an event? Will Adrian Murphy be allowed out from Work? Has Jason Belben got a boat yet?
Then there is me. In the true spirit of the form guide, you dont rate yourself. Been going fast in the light stuff and Denmark was a surprise in that I wasn't slow in the windy stuff either. I've got a few extra toys on the boat since the Euro's but haven't really had time to get them truely pimped up so we shall see what happens I suppose...
1. Simon Payne
The old boy has been at the top of his game for so long now, it's hard to see any of the young pretenders knocking him off the top spot. Super fit and going fast, but lacking in the marginal stuff where he used to be king.
2. Mike Lennon
Put in some solid results this year in his new M2. Will he pull some new sail out of the bag to give him that extra edge? Will his boat work for an entire regatta?
3. Adam May
You can never discount Adam from the top of the UK fleet and with his dissapointing result in Horsens you can bet he will be back with a vengeance - as long as he can keep his hacksaw away from his foils and his gantry attached...
4. DJ Edwards
Local (ish, he lives in Wales at least!) boy Dave was going fast at Corus at the end of last season but hasn't been seen since. A sailor of his pedigree won't have been sitting idle.
5. Rod Harris
"He's just a good club sailor", but capable of going very fast in breeze and rapidly getting his Prowler very well sorted. May become distracted by alternative use of the tiller.
6. James Roche
James has been struggling to find the form he had with the "Flying Lime" in his new boat, but in light airs he's very quick and probably does more of that cycling/fitness stuff than the rest of the fleet put together...
7. Andrew Friend
Always there or thereabouts in his BR, the mad professor of the Moth fleet. Usually has some crazy contraption on his mind so will be interesting to see if he's come up with anything.
8. Robin Wood
Another local laddy, Robin knows what it takes to win Moth regattas and with his very light weight should be a force to be reckoned with in the marginal stuff. Not very long in the boat yet though - he will be up there soon enough.
9. Jason Russell
Jif has been the best of the rest at a lot of the regattas this year but for some reason really struggled at Horsens with a load of boat mods before the event. Hopefully he will have it all tuned up in time for Saundersfoot.
10. Gary Ireson
Been out of the country most of this year, so lacking in time on the water but he will be keen to get back in the mix. May become distracted by Rods tiller...
There are always others that get missed/forgotten in this sort of thing, Geoff Carveth for one - will his SB3 commitments clash? Will Doug Pybus Franken-NinjaProwler hold together for an event? Will Adrian Murphy be allowed out from Work? Has Jason Belben got a boat yet?
Then there is me. In the true spirit of the form guide, you dont rate yourself. Been going fast in the light stuff and Denmark was a surprise in that I wasn't slow in the windy stuff either. I've got a few extra toys on the boat since the Euro's but haven't really had time to get them truely pimped up so we shall see what happens I suppose...
Friday, 3 July 2009
Monday, 29 June 2009
Post Euro's comedown
I've just returned to Sunny England (seems summer arrived while I was out) and have had plenty of time sitting in the car to ponder over the Euro's in Denmark.
It's always sad at the end of a great event when what was once home to a fleet of Moths, tents, tools and epoxy becomes an empty field again. Horsens was a great venue - everyone all staying together, rigging together and helping each other launch from the one slipway made us all get involved - from bbq's to Rods Tiller of Doom, along with the occasional shout across the dinghy park of 'epoxy going spare' as we healed our mechanical wounds.
Everyone expected this event to be a light winds affair and I went in secretly hoping for some of the marginal stuff in which the Ninja has proved so potent. What we got instead was 3 races in 20-25, 1 race in 25, and 4 races in 15-20 which proved a good test for boat, body and foil systems! I've put very little time into sailing in waves/chop as I just don't get the opportunity at BCYC. The boat handled it admirably and going into the last day with some practice under my belt I was starting to mix it up with the M2's upwind but still hesitant downwind but gradually improving and making less mistakes resulting in a 4th in the final race.
Rodders and myself had a good ding dong all week long, tied going into the final race as we'd both been consistently thereabouts and having no alphabet to worry about meant a proper showdown which went my way in the end. In hindsight, I'm glad it was as breezey as it was, hopefully showing that I'm/the boat are not a one trick pony!
Everyone had their fair share of breakages, given the wind strength and hazardous launching area with all the brands suffering a bit. You can build strong, or you can build light - its a tricky line to walk...
I've got a few random photos on various cameras and when I have dug them from the van I will get some up.
It's always sad at the end of a great event when what was once home to a fleet of Moths, tents, tools and epoxy becomes an empty field again. Horsens was a great venue - everyone all staying together, rigging together and helping each other launch from the one slipway made us all get involved - from bbq's to Rods Tiller of Doom, along with the occasional shout across the dinghy park of 'epoxy going spare' as we healed our mechanical wounds.
Everyone expected this event to be a light winds affair and I went in secretly hoping for some of the marginal stuff in which the Ninja has proved so potent. What we got instead was 3 races in 20-25, 1 race in 25, and 4 races in 15-20 which proved a good test for boat, body and foil systems! I've put very little time into sailing in waves/chop as I just don't get the opportunity at BCYC. The boat handled it admirably and going into the last day with some practice under my belt I was starting to mix it up with the M2's upwind but still hesitant downwind but gradually improving and making less mistakes resulting in a 4th in the final race.
Rodders and myself had a good ding dong all week long, tied going into the final race as we'd both been consistently thereabouts and having no alphabet to worry about meant a proper showdown which went my way in the end. In hindsight, I'm glad it was as breezey as it was, hopefully showing that I'm/the boat are not a one trick pony!
Everyone had their fair share of breakages, given the wind strength and hazardous launching area with all the brands suffering a bit. You can build strong, or you can build light - its a tricky line to walk...
I've got a few random photos on various cameras and when I have dug them from the van I will get some up.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Europeans, alternative baby.
The europeans so far has been pretty entertaining, mostly for the wrong reasons, but for a lot of good ones too.
It all started with a day long drive from Calais in the UK team convoy which consisted of myself with Doug Pybus in the Aardvark tour bus along with 7 boats and a load of junk, following Rod Harris in his bus with Jason, Heather and James. After a 2 hour round trip of Calais due to satnav failure we were finally on the right road.
We managed to stop at a Burger King in most countries and also stop for four hours on the motorway in Germany due to a bridge being destroyed and a rubbish diversion leading to us playing in the traffic with clingfilm and windscreen wipers.
24 hours later we arrive in Denmark where I crashed out after a Haribo induced sugar rush and everyone else headed into town at midnight to find a bar. Doug was befriended up a local whose english wasn't the best and mostly consisted of saying he loved him, followed by F*** you, many times over. It was later revealed that the bar had been shot at the night before by a crazy with a shotgun. We couldn't tell whether this was Soren winding us up or not.
Rod "roll on death" Harris has been keeping moral high, with his usual high standard of impromptu catchphrases and boundless energy and inventive things to do with Musto LED baseball caps and the best way to enjoy a mallard.
We got a couple of days of practice/tuning in in beautiful sunny conditions before all hell broke loose on day one of racing.
To be continued...
It all started with a day long drive from Calais in the UK team convoy which consisted of myself with Doug Pybus in the Aardvark tour bus along with 7 boats and a load of junk, following Rod Harris in his bus with Jason, Heather and James. After a 2 hour round trip of Calais due to satnav failure we were finally on the right road.
We managed to stop at a Burger King in most countries and also stop for four hours on the motorway in Germany due to a bridge being destroyed and a rubbish diversion leading to us playing in the traffic with clingfilm and windscreen wipers.
24 hours later we arrive in Denmark where I crashed out after a Haribo induced sugar rush and everyone else headed into town at midnight to find a bar. Doug was befriended up a local whose english wasn't the best and mostly consisted of saying he loved him, followed by F*** you, many times over. It was later revealed that the bar had been shot at the night before by a crazy with a shotgun. We couldn't tell whether this was Soren winding us up or not.
Rod "roll on death" Harris has been keeping moral high, with his usual high standard of impromptu catchphrases and boundless energy and inventive things to do with Musto LED baseball caps and the best way to enjoy a mallard.
We got a couple of days of practice/tuning in in beautiful sunny conditions before all hell broke loose on day one of racing.
To be continued...
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Ninja *2
Quick post with a pic of Jo sailing her new Ninja down at Stokes bay... Sail is a shiny borrowed Hyde c/o Mike Lennon
Monday, 15 June 2009
Saturday sailing
Last Sunday was a planned day of Mothing with the intention being to get all the club boats out and potentially a few visitors. We had 7 boats out in total -should get organised more often!
A poor forecast put off most of the visitors with the exception of Kevin Ellway and Jo Evans, picking up Jo's new Ninja and taking it for a spin. After a brief spin around the lake in it to make sure all was well Jo took to the water for her first Mothing experience and took to it very quickly blasting back and forth across the lake interspersed with large splashes and the occasional shriek!
I was out for my final sail in the Ninja before packing it up for Denmark and taking the opportunity to try a new stiffer wand with some interesting results. I reckon I need to make myself a quiver - maybe colour code them...
A poor forecast put off most of the visitors with the exception of Kevin Ellway and Jo Evans, picking up Jo's new Ninja and taking it for a spin. After a brief spin around the lake in it to make sure all was well Jo took to the water for her first Mothing experience and took to it very quickly blasting back and forth across the lake interspersed with large splashes and the occasional shriek!
I was out for my final sail in the Ninja before packing it up for Denmark and taking the opportunity to try a new stiffer wand with some interesting results. I reckon I need to make myself a quiver - maybe colour code them...
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Weymouth Regatta
Just returned from a highly entertaining weekend down in Weymouth.
Arrived first thing on Saturday to find the sort of conditions you would expect to find a worlds cancelled in. A good solid 23 knot average with peaks at 28 over the course of the day with a far bigger chop than I've seen in Portland before.
The Mothies collectively headed out to test the water to find a race committee trying their hardest to not get a start away, but after 3 postponements during the start sequence we finally got away. At this point however, only about half a dozen boats were still out trying to find their way around the course! I gave up after my first lap as I was close(ish) to the academy wall and didnt have too big a sail in. Big kudos to Mike Lennon, Jason Russel and Paul Hayden for being the only finishers!
We did the thing all Moth sailors should do when in Weymouth and it's too windy - get over to the cove and get some food and drink in. Alex and Sam found another pub with a skittle alley and we all threw ourselves into that with reckless abandon before calling it a night.
Sunday came and saw a changeable 5-15 knots throughout the races shifting around to the south over the course of the day, making the racing entertaining with some big gains and losses to be had.
Race one saw Adam May leading off the pin end followed by Alex Adams and myself. I pulled through by the top mark and stayed there, fending off a charge from Mike Lennon, until the last top mark when I kept foiling through a light patch and sailed off down the run leaving the rest of the fleet parked up.
Race two had Mike L leading the charge in the best breeze of the day, followed by myself and Adam. I snuck inside Mike down the run and held him off to the finish.
Race three went very strange, as again Adam foiled off the pin end and decided not to tack as the rest of us were parked up heading the other way with Andrew Friend leading the pack out right until he tacked and started coming back towards us again. We didn't see Adam again as he rounded ahead of the 600 fleet who started 5 minutes earlier and we all rounded behind the 18footers who started 5 minutes later... James Roche rounded in second followed by myself. Unfortunately for James he ended up high in no wind while I went low with plenty!
There was supposed to be another race, but the wind swung and dissapeared. so we packed it in and headed in for a cup of tea.
Final results are up on the WPNSA website
Ninja has been getting better everytime I go sailing so far. Currently got four boats to do for UK customers so plenty keeping me out of trouble before the mega road trip to Denmark...
Arrived first thing on Saturday to find the sort of conditions you would expect to find a worlds cancelled in. A good solid 23 knot average with peaks at 28 over the course of the day with a far bigger chop than I've seen in Portland before.
The Mothies collectively headed out to test the water to find a race committee trying their hardest to not get a start away, but after 3 postponements during the start sequence we finally got away. At this point however, only about half a dozen boats were still out trying to find their way around the course! I gave up after my first lap as I was close(ish) to the academy wall and didnt have too big a sail in. Big kudos to Mike Lennon, Jason Russel and Paul Hayden for being the only finishers!
We did the thing all Moth sailors should do when in Weymouth and it's too windy - get over to the cove and get some food and drink in. Alex and Sam found another pub with a skittle alley and we all threw ourselves into that with reckless abandon before calling it a night.
Sunday came and saw a changeable 5-15 knots throughout the races shifting around to the south over the course of the day, making the racing entertaining with some big gains and losses to be had.
Race one saw Adam May leading off the pin end followed by Alex Adams and myself. I pulled through by the top mark and stayed there, fending off a charge from Mike Lennon, until the last top mark when I kept foiling through a light patch and sailed off down the run leaving the rest of the fleet parked up.
Race two had Mike L leading the charge in the best breeze of the day, followed by myself and Adam. I snuck inside Mike down the run and held him off to the finish.
Race three went very strange, as again Adam foiled off the pin end and decided not to tack as the rest of us were parked up heading the other way with Andrew Friend leading the pack out right until he tacked and started coming back towards us again. We didn't see Adam again as he rounded ahead of the 600 fleet who started 5 minutes earlier and we all rounded behind the 18footers who started 5 minutes later... James Roche rounded in second followed by myself. Unfortunately for James he ended up high in no wind while I went low with plenty!
There was supposed to be another race, but the wind swung and dissapeared. so we packed it in and headed in for a cup of tea.
Final results are up on the WPNSA website
Ninja has been getting better everytime I go sailing so far. Currently got four boats to do for UK customers so plenty keeping me out of trouble before the mega road trip to Denmark...
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Faster than a speeding seagull
I think I might use that on my marketing blurb. Flying into a flock of them parked on the lake today and upwind in 12 knots they couldn't get away...
Today was one of the first times I've had a good breeze in which I can just get out and practice and it made a welcome change, getting about 5 hours in on the water. This gave me the chance to play with gearing a little and practice my manuevers with the result being actual no-touch foiling tacks. They are certainly not every time, and certainly not to the level of Mr Lister down in Aus, but they are there.
Need to get out a bit more and get the consistency up a bit now, but the timing couldn't be better with Weymouth this weekend... Doesn't change the fact that on the race course I'm a muppet, but at least I can handle the boat!
Tried to get a race in this evening but the wind was a bit all over the place and it was looking like it would finish a bit later than planned. They don't seem to be able to keep track of me around a course anyway!
Today was one of the first times I've had a good breeze in which I can just get out and practice and it made a welcome change, getting about 5 hours in on the water. This gave me the chance to play with gearing a little and practice my manuevers with the result being actual no-touch foiling tacks. They are certainly not every time, and certainly not to the level of Mr Lister down in Aus, but they are there.
Need to get out a bit more and get the consistency up a bit now, but the timing couldn't be better with Weymouth this weekend... Doesn't change the fact that on the race course I'm a muppet, but at least I can handle the boat!
Tried to get a race in this evening but the wind was a bit all over the place and it was looking like it would finish a bit later than planned. They don't seem to be able to keep track of me around a course anyway!
Friday, 29 May 2009
Minor Bristol Mothing
Finally got out on Wednesday for a bit of a blast - my first sail since the inlands. Time has been rare due to too much work to do and not enough time to do it in! I got the chance to mess around with wand ratios as I'm still not happy I'm quite getting what I should from it but it was so windy testing wasn't really happening, just hanging on for dear life.
No other Mothies about as Martin has too much work to do, Alan has a dodgy knee and is taking it easy, Emma's FBG is still in hibernation but about to emerge...
Otherwise, looking forward to Weymouth and sailing in some warmer water and not long till the Aardvark road trip to Denmark!
No other Mothies about as Martin has too much work to do, Alan has a dodgy knee and is taking it easy, Emma's FBG is still in hibernation but about to emerge...
Otherwise, looking forward to Weymouth and sailing in some warmer water and not long till the Aardvark road trip to Denmark!
Monday, 11 May 2009
QMSC Inlands
This weekend saw the first inland championships in the UK for a while. The weather was predictably unpredictable with a shifty marginal foiling breeze on the Saturday
Mike Lennon made a good start, taking race one in his new M2, closely followed by Si Payne in his slightly older M2. I recovered well from being over the line and having to loop back and a capsize at the first leeward mark to push through to third. I was also having to cope with a dodgy twist grip which had give up the ghost on the way out to the start and was lashed up with a piece of string to stop it flapping around! Alex Adams made a welcome return to sailing after dissapearing to Africa with Sailrocket and came in fourth. The races were all about making your way through the holes as best as possible and keeping in the breeze when you had it which made for some frustration as boats sail through to leeward and windward while you were parked up along with boats pulling flyers and sailing all the way around the outside of the course!
Race two saw normal service resume with Si taking the win from me by about 15 seconds. We had a good battle around the course with premium on tacking skills and not making mistakes. I did manage to tack for the spreader mark rather than the windward mark at one point while in front but thats all part of the game isn't it... Racecraft is something I am seriously lacking!
Race three was tight to start with, until I managed to hook into a gust and pull out a half a leg lead downhill which I held to the finish from Si in second and Adam May in third.
Race four went seriously weird. With about 20 seconds to go the wind went left and left most of the fleet unable to make the line which included me! It was the flakiest it had been all day with some massive holes and made for a seriously frustrating last race. It was looking bad, until the final run where I went from 9th at the last windward mark to 4th. Simon, Adam and Mike L made up the top three.
We all loitered around the dinghy park for a bit discussing the days shenanigins before decamping to Walton on Thames for a fine pub grub meal by the river and more Mothie chat.
Sunday dawned and looked surprisingly good given the forecast for nothing at all. Unfortunately what was there turned out to be varying between 3 and 8 knots and direction was all over the place. A few took to the water for a play but the general consensus was that proper racing was not really possible so we canned it at midday, had a quick prizegiving then sat down to watch the grand prix!
Overall:
Si Payne, Mach2 3381
Mike Cooke, Ninja 3382
Mike Lennon, Mach 2, 3243 for now...
Adam May, Velociraptor, 3373
Alex Adams, Mistress 3, 3366
Full results are here
As a general roundup, I felt I was foiling before anyone else and for longer which was making up for my serious muppetry on the helm. It would be interesting to stick a top flight sailor on the Ninja and see how she really goes! New foils are definitely good so far...
I've got a load of photos from the saturday from Kevin Ellway who was up watching the racing which I will try to upload soon.
Cheers
Mike
Mike Lennon made a good start, taking race one in his new M2, closely followed by Si Payne in his slightly older M2. I recovered well from being over the line and having to loop back and a capsize at the first leeward mark to push through to third. I was also having to cope with a dodgy twist grip which had give up the ghost on the way out to the start and was lashed up with a piece of string to stop it flapping around! Alex Adams made a welcome return to sailing after dissapearing to Africa with Sailrocket and came in fourth. The races were all about making your way through the holes as best as possible and keeping in the breeze when you had it which made for some frustration as boats sail through to leeward and windward while you were parked up along with boats pulling flyers and sailing all the way around the outside of the course!
Race two saw normal service resume with Si taking the win from me by about 15 seconds. We had a good battle around the course with premium on tacking skills and not making mistakes. I did manage to tack for the spreader mark rather than the windward mark at one point while in front but thats all part of the game isn't it... Racecraft is something I am seriously lacking!
Race three was tight to start with, until I managed to hook into a gust and pull out a half a leg lead downhill which I held to the finish from Si in second and Adam May in third.
Race four went seriously weird. With about 20 seconds to go the wind went left and left most of the fleet unable to make the line which included me! It was the flakiest it had been all day with some massive holes and made for a seriously frustrating last race. It was looking bad, until the final run where I went from 9th at the last windward mark to 4th. Simon, Adam and Mike L made up the top three.
We all loitered around the dinghy park for a bit discussing the days shenanigins before decamping to Walton on Thames for a fine pub grub meal by the river and more Mothie chat.
Sunday dawned and looked surprisingly good given the forecast for nothing at all. Unfortunately what was there turned out to be varying between 3 and 8 knots and direction was all over the place. A few took to the water for a play but the general consensus was that proper racing was not really possible so we canned it at midday, had a quick prizegiving then sat down to watch the grand prix!
Overall:
Si Payne, Mach2 3381
Mike Cooke, Ninja 3382
Mike Lennon, Mach 2, 3243 for now...
Adam May, Velociraptor, 3373
Alex Adams, Mistress 3, 3366
Full results are here
As a general roundup, I felt I was foiling before anyone else and for longer which was making up for my serious muppetry on the helm. It would be interesting to stick a top flight sailor on the Ninja and see how she really goes! New foils are definitely good so far...
I've got a load of photos from the saturday from Kevin Ellway who was up watching the racing which I will try to upload soon.
Cheers
Mike
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Finally on the water
A lot of stuff going on down the club today. I got down the club early to get my new foils fitted and this took a whole lot more faffing than intended but I got there in the end.
While messing around with my boat, I found time to sort out Secret Squirrel and her new owner Paul Rigg. He's a Queen Mary mothy but about to move up to Scotland so we might not see the Squirrel for a while. There was a good breeze blowing so Paul took her for a spin and quickly got a handle on things.
Leo was back out in the Pimp Ninja and after a few tuning mods he was flying around merrily.
New foils were really good and while they were barely finished and in need of some polish initial impressions are good - flys earlier and stalls later... No GPS as I couldn't find it though. Will go into more detail in a new post soon.
While messing around with my boat, I found time to sort out Secret Squirrel and her new owner Paul Rigg. He's a Queen Mary mothy but about to move up to Scotland so we might not see the Squirrel for a while. There was a good breeze blowing so Paul took her for a spin and quickly got a handle on things.
Leo was back out in the Pimp Ninja and after a few tuning mods he was flying around merrily.
New foils were really good and while they were barely finished and in need of some polish initial impressions are good - flys earlier and stalls later... No GPS as I couldn't find it though. Will go into more detail in a new post soon.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Ship shape and Bristol fashion
Well, almost anyway...
The last two weeks have been pretty busy for me with getting my new foil tooling up and running and I've just finished putting the last coat of gloss on my new set of Ninja foils. With all being well I might actually get out onto the water again. It will be a good chance to test out my shiny new sail which arrived last week with my funky ninja logo in the corner.
All has been quiet on the Bristol Mothing front lately. Martin has been pretty busy with work and not been able to get out lately and while Emma is mumbling that it might be warm enough to go sailing again it has left Alan the only Mothie getting out on the lake. Leo managed to get out in his freshly converted Pimp Ninja on Sunday and while it needs a few tuning tweaks was all good.
However our numbers are about to be bolstered again as former lowrider Chris Bishop has seen the light and is selling his 700 and getting a Ninja lined up...
The last two weeks have been pretty busy for me with getting my new foil tooling up and running and I've just finished putting the last coat of gloss on my new set of Ninja foils. With all being well I might actually get out onto the water again. It will be a good chance to test out my shiny new sail which arrived last week with my funky ninja logo in the corner.
All has been quiet on the Bristol Mothing front lately. Martin has been pretty busy with work and not been able to get out lately and while Emma is mumbling that it might be warm enough to go sailing again it has left Alan the only Mothie getting out on the lake. Leo managed to get out in his freshly converted Pimp Ninja on Sunday and while it needs a few tuning tweaks was all good.
However our numbers are about to be bolstered again as former lowrider Chris Bishop has seen the light and is selling his 700 and getting a Ninja lined up...
Monday, 20 April 2009
Hayling and Beyond
After my manic CnC mission on Friday I wasn't expecting much out of this weekend other than to enjoy the sunshine and get some more hours in on the Ninja.
A great turnout of 22 boats made the trip to Hayling including some new faces in new boats.
Saturdays racing was pretty hard work, in marginal shifty conditions leading to some big gains and losses to be had on the course. Simon was head of the pack as you would expect, but I found it interesting that he wasn't as far ahead as I would have thought he'd be in his old Prowler - I think the M2 foils are pretty heavily targeted at the high winds of the Gorge and Aus and it remains to be seen as to how well it will find a home in the lighter breezes in the UK.
The Ninja seemed at ease in what I feel are her ideal conditions, and I posted two thirds and a fourth. The 4th was a proper lottery, with Simon, Mike Lennon and myself all in the running going down the final run until we all parked up and Andrew Friend used his Norfolk punt club skills to foil round the lot of us! I called it a day at that point as my arms were cramping up. A sure sign that I haven't been sailing enough...
Hayling put on some good grub for the few Mothies that stuck around for the evening - It's a really nice place to chill out for a weekend - maybe we should have a worlds there?
I felt pretty rubbish come sunday, with a few aches and still not really enough sleep but I made my way out to the start anyway as the RO informed us that it was a nice force three out in the bay. It wasn't really, and with a nasty confused chop there were a few scattered Moths about so I made the call to head back in and find a gym to join. Sailed around the harbour for a bit with Phil from the Worthing Moth crew and he seems pretty well sorted.
Some interesting new kit on display too, with the usual array of wand paddles flying around the dinghy park. Mike Lennon's latest offering from Hyde is pretty sweet and I can't wait to get my hands on mine.
Ninja's new foil moulds look sweet. Kevin has put a lot of time into the design of the new foils and I'm keen to get the first set of the water - especially now the Squirrel has sold and I can't use the foils from her anymore!
A great turnout of 22 boats made the trip to Hayling including some new faces in new boats.
Saturdays racing was pretty hard work, in marginal shifty conditions leading to some big gains and losses to be had on the course. Simon was head of the pack as you would expect, but I found it interesting that he wasn't as far ahead as I would have thought he'd be in his old Prowler - I think the M2 foils are pretty heavily targeted at the high winds of the Gorge and Aus and it remains to be seen as to how well it will find a home in the lighter breezes in the UK.
The Ninja seemed at ease in what I feel are her ideal conditions, and I posted two thirds and a fourth. The 4th was a proper lottery, with Simon, Mike Lennon and myself all in the running going down the final run until we all parked up and Andrew Friend used his Norfolk punt club skills to foil round the lot of us! I called it a day at that point as my arms were cramping up. A sure sign that I haven't been sailing enough...
Hayling put on some good grub for the few Mothies that stuck around for the evening - It's a really nice place to chill out for a weekend - maybe we should have a worlds there?
I felt pretty rubbish come sunday, with a few aches and still not really enough sleep but I made my way out to the start anyway as the RO informed us that it was a nice force three out in the bay. It wasn't really, and with a nasty confused chop there were a few scattered Moths about so I made the call to head back in and find a gym to join. Sailed around the harbour for a bit with Phil from the Worthing Moth crew and he seems pretty well sorted.
Some interesting new kit on display too, with the usual array of wand paddles flying around the dinghy park. Mike Lennon's latest offering from Hyde is pretty sweet and I can't wait to get my hands on mine.
Ninja's new foil moulds look sweet. Kevin has put a lot of time into the design of the new foils and I'm keen to get the first set of the water - especially now the Squirrel has sold and I can't use the foils from her anymore!
Saturday, 18 April 2009
A Weekend Under The Influence
Any weekend that starts at 5.45am with a can of red bull doesn't usually end well. The fact that 4 hours earlier I was packing my foil moulds into my car in Nottingham makes this one even more unusual!
I'm currently in a services on route to Hayling, on my second caffeine fix of the day and just hoping I get there in time for a nap...
Posted with LifeCast
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Rise of the Ninja - part 2
Good 15-20 knot breeze on at BCYC yesterday allowing me another chance to get the Ninja sea trials underway. After taking her home on Wednesday to sort some bits and pieces out I was keen to get back out and see what she was capable of.
It was pretty blustery and bearing in mind I still haven't got my control lines anywhere near the right lengths the Ninja posted just shy of 24 knots!
Back in the workshop for a few pimps (still need to add a wand paddle amongst other things) before a mad mission to Nottingham for new foil moulds followed by training at HISC next weekend...
Photos by Laura Hitchcock.
It was pretty blustery and bearing in mind I still haven't got my control lines anywhere near the right lengths the Ninja posted just shy of 24 knots!
Back in the workshop for a few pimps (still need to add a wand paddle amongst other things) before a mad mission to Nottingham for new foil moulds followed by training at HISC next weekend...
Photos by Laura Hitchcock.
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