For the first time in a long time we had the entire Bristol Moth squadron out on the water 2 Saturdays ago. We had a great day with sunshine and a fruity 10-20 knot breeze.
Tom made for the water straight away to make the most of the forecast bigger wind in the morning but had to retire early after pulling a muscle.
I took to the water shortly afterwards for a good blast around the lake before stacking it hard at 28 knots and the resultant crash headfirst into the water knocked the stuffing out of me and gave my eye a bruise I can still feel now! This was the first time I've been out on my reduced span foils in flat water and any breeze and easily came close to my previous best so I've no doubt that with the right conditions I can top it.
Leo, Darren and Alan were all out over the course of the afternoon. Darren was testing out his shoulder after a skiing incident earlier in the year and was finding Mothing wasn't too easy going so is going to have to give the Nationals a miss.
I took some time over the afternoon to have a look over new Bristol Mothie Ben's boat. He's picked up a bargain converted Hungry Tiger which needs some good fettling and a new wand but he's starting to get the hang of it already so it'll be good to get some more time on the water with him.
Nationals T-minus 36 hours. Current preparation 0% complete. Fitness regime ended 2 weeks ago when work took over evenings. More sleep required also...
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Back on the wagon - again!
I've finally been out at Cheddar, sneaking in a good few hour sail yesterday in sunshine and 12 knots with Alan. It was a good opportunity to just sail, start throwing in some tacks and gibes here and there and generally just find some polish to my skills.
I started the year with the best intentions - was going to take it all very seriously, get fit, do some training with Tom and generally make the most of a worlds year in Europe. While I've been doing OK at the getting fit part I can still count the number of days sailing this year in single digits and I'm yet to meet Tom anywhere other than an open meeting. Despite all this I feel I've got good boatspeed and my maneuvers are there or there abouts with foiling tacks more often than not.
Ullswater was a write off for me really. Had a minor meltdown on the final day while in joint first and didn't do the final races. I can honestly say I've never sailed in anything like it conditions wise with massive shifts and very localised gusts. If I didn't know better I'd say I'd never go back, but I've now had one of my favorite days sailing along with one of my least favorite days sailing there!
Emma, James and Me took advantage of the dubious forecasts on the Sunday to go off mountain biking while everyone sat around seeing if the wind was going to come or not. I can understand the mentality of it being the Inlands and everything and wanting to ram races in but if it's not going to happen (or be totally rubbish) it's a shame to waste an opportunity while in a location like this.
And so the Nationals is rolling ever closer. I'm not taking myself quite so seriously any more and am looking forward to having fun with my mates and doing some nice sailing while I'm at it...
I started the year with the best intentions - was going to take it all very seriously, get fit, do some training with Tom and generally make the most of a worlds year in Europe. While I've been doing OK at the getting fit part I can still count the number of days sailing this year in single digits and I'm yet to meet Tom anywhere other than an open meeting. Despite all this I feel I've got good boatspeed and my maneuvers are there or there abouts with foiling tacks more often than not.
Ullswater was a write off for me really. Had a minor meltdown on the final day while in joint first and didn't do the final races. I can honestly say I've never sailed in anything like it conditions wise with massive shifts and very localised gusts. If I didn't know better I'd say I'd never go back, but I've now had one of my favorite days sailing along with one of my least favorite days sailing there!
Emma, James and Me took advantage of the dubious forecasts on the Sunday to go off mountain biking while everyone sat around seeing if the wind was going to come or not. I can understand the mentality of it being the Inlands and everything and wanting to ram races in but if it's not going to happen (or be totally rubbish) it's a shame to waste an opportunity while in a location like this.
And so the Nationals is rolling ever closer. I'm not taking myself quite so seriously any more and am looking forward to having fun with my mates and doing some nice sailing while I'm at it...
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