I don't play the local lottery (pick six numbers out of 42 and cross your fingers) but a lot of Western Australians do, and sometimes I hear stories of the guy who "almost won a million bucks", by getting five of the numbers right but missed the very last one.
I got a bit of an insight today into what it must feel like to miss the sixth number, and the million dollars...
Regular readers of the blog will know of my ongoing inability to foil gybe, and after the worlds experience I have decided that this is the most critical thing on my list of stuff to do before I can commit to another major event.
After hanging around the club for a few hours waiting for wind four of us managed to get out for a spin in a light southerly.
Before we hit the water we had made a few changes to my mast rake and bridle which had the bonus effect of increasing the amount of room under the boom for me to squeeze my 6'2" 100kg frame, critical for what came next.
After drifting around watching the 60 and 70 odd kilogram guys popping up on the foils in what can only be described as a sparrows fart puff of breeze, I finally got a puff that could lift both my Prowler and I up onto the foils and off we went.
The first thing I noticed going into my first practice gybe was how much more room I had available to get through the boat, a great side effect of the setup change.
And then it happened, I was across the boat, still on the foils and on the opposite gybe, now just to pop the battens and accelerate off, and that's when I lost the million bucks.
I either sailed into a hole, or I didn't head up enough out of the gybe for the conditions but the boat dropped off the foils and back into low rider mode. Almost but no cigar. This happened once more before the wind dropped out and I had to head back in.
I didn't win the lottery today, but unlike that random game of chance, I now know it's only a matter of time now before I strike it rich!!
With winter setting in here in Perth the focus will move onto setup and repairs when the weather isn't co-operating, but luckily the weather never gets so bad that the boat needs to be packed away, so the learning should continue in preparation for busy 2011/12 season.
(I dreamt about a foiling tack the other night, somehow I think it will remain like that for some time longer!)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Moth Swarm invades Swan River
The largest group of Moths to have sailed on the Swan River at the same time since the 2010 Australian Nationals hit the water on Saturday to participate in some informal racing, boat tuning and good fun sailing.
The fleet consisted of 5 Prowler Zero's, 2 Bladeriders and a Lister and we ran a few gate start windward leeward races over a short course in a gusty 15 to 18 knot easterly and nice flat water.
Breakages culled numbers with a main and boom meeting their maker, but this allowed a chase boat to head out to the remaining boats and get some video and pictures.
As a result I was able to confirm my recent assumption that I haven't got enough vang travel and the leech was too open when sailing upwind. I was able to shorted the strop and get things working a bit better, will confirm this next time I line up with the guys upwind.
Gybing still eludes me and tacking is a comedy of errors, but the straight line stuff (including using the secondary controls ie tiller twist, dial etc) is making sense so hopefully it won't be much longer before it finally comes together!
Most importantly we now have at least 10 active Moths in the Local fleet, and things are looking good for the future of Moth sailing in WA, with interest from a number of regions including some clubs outside of Perth.
The fleet consisted of 5 Prowler Zero's, 2 Bladeriders and a Lister and we ran a few gate start windward leeward races over a short course in a gusty 15 to 18 knot easterly and nice flat water.
Breakages culled numbers with a main and boom meeting their maker, but this allowed a chase boat to head out to the remaining boats and get some video and pictures.
As a result I was able to confirm my recent assumption that I haven't got enough vang travel and the leech was too open when sailing upwind. I was able to shorted the strop and get things working a bit better, will confirm this next time I line up with the guys upwind.
Gybing still eludes me and tacking is a comedy of errors, but the straight line stuff (including using the secondary controls ie tiller twist, dial etc) is making sense so hopefully it won't be much longer before it finally comes together!
Most importantly we now have at least 10 active Moths in the Local fleet, and things are looking good for the future of Moth sailing in WA, with interest from a number of regions including some clubs outside of Perth.
Why moths are worth the effort.
Full vang on before shortening - middle of the leech WAY to open!!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Future Mothie?
For those of you that met my Wife at the worlds you would have noticed the bump, so I am happy to let everyone know that little Connor arrived safely on Friday night after a short 5 hour labour.
Connor was 2.93kg and 46cm in length on arrival, but he does have big hands and feet, so its unlikely that he'll stay small for long!
Both Mum and Baby are doing fine, I'm almost over the shock of it all, and settling into fatherhood.
It's too early to say if the little guy will take up sailing, football, cricket or any of the other hundreds of activities out there for kids these days, but if sailing is a choice he makes, I hope that i'll have the joy of sailing a Moth against him one day... certainly an excuse to keep the waistline growth down over the next 15 years!
Depending on how the next week goes, I may get out for some of the Moth WA state titles next weekend, but from now on there is one thing more important than sailing...
Connor was 2.93kg and 46cm in length on arrival, but he does have big hands and feet, so its unlikely that he'll stay small for long!
Both Mum and Baby are doing fine, I'm almost over the shock of it all, and settling into fatherhood.
It's too early to say if the little guy will take up sailing, football, cricket or any of the other hundreds of activities out there for kids these days, but if sailing is a choice he makes, I hope that i'll have the joy of sailing a Moth against him one day... certainly an excuse to keep the waistline growth down over the next 15 years!
Depending on how the next week goes, I may get out for some of the Moth WA state titles next weekend, but from now on there is one thing more important than sailing...
Friday, January 21, 2011
Picture Tells a Thousand Words
Thanks to the unofficial official Moth Photographer Thierry Martinez for taking the event photo's.
I star in 2 of 1500 odd photo's on his website. Pic 1 is below, Pic 2 is the aftermath.
No other photo could sum up my event better!!
Credit: http://www.thmartinez.com
I star in 2 of 1500 odd photo's on his website. Pic 1 is below, Pic 2 is the aftermath.
No other photo could sum up my event better!!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Worlds Wrap Up
The below post detailing my first two lap race at the worlds summed up my best day of sailing at the worlds regatta. The following day, which was day 1 of the finals was a repeat of day 2. In race 1 of the day I managed to get within 100m of the finish line when I saw the blue flag come down meaning I was more than 20 minutes behind the leader and still on my first lap.
The wind was blowing hard, I had lost a contact lens and I was knackered after the previous 3 days of sailing. I swallowed my pride again and sailed in and packed up for the day. 3 more DNF's to add to the collection!
The lay day was used to good effect, chilling out and staying away from the yacht club. I think the majority of the fleet followed the same tactic with only a few people going for a sail.
For those of us in silver fleet we returned to the club on Day 5 to rig up and spend the afternoon on standby under postponement onshore. Gold went out for a sail in what were reportedly epic conditions, and to say I was happy to watch was an understatement. If silver fleet had been racing I would have gone out and tried, but my results would have been similar to day 4 I expect.
Gold had one race at 1300, and a second at 1630, which I enjoyed from the comfort of the club balcony along with other members of Silver fleet. It was great to watch the best mothies in the world charging around the top mark and fly off downwind. I had my Wife's camera with me with a long lens, and tried out the camera's rapid fire mode and took some 1200 photo's. Just need to sort them out and pick the best few to post on here later!
Day 6 started with a 1000 first race, with 5 races planned for the silver fleet. I managed to fight my way through 3 races, not getting a decent start in any of them, and failed badly in the tacking department on the beats.
We were second start for race 2 so I enjoyed watching the Gold fleet head off. Bora's port tack start was impressive to say the least. He didn't cross the fleet but wanted the right bad enough that he was prepared to duck sterns to get it. I worked out why once our race had started with a sizable right shift turning our run very one sided after an immediate gybe at the top mark.
So after 3 races in heavy winds, I was exhausted, had lost yet another contact lens (this time in my "good" eye so vision was pretty blurry) and I faced the last day dilemma of any travelling sailor. Head in early and get a head start on the packing, or beat myself up for no further gain on the scoreboard... The end result was that I headed in and got to work on packing up the boat. Glad I did, because my rear transverse wingbar was damaged from the U-bolt and probably a few 100kg wingbar bounces from failure.
So what did I get from the worlds experience? I finished 96th, tied on points with my nemesis for the 10 days of racing, Greg Wise. Even at the back end we had our "race within a race" which made the event that much more enjoyable.
I learnt where I am deficient in my moth sailing, some things I would never have found out sailing by myself on the river at home. I also realised that the jump from back end to mid fleet isn't that big, it just takes some dedication to training and improved fitness. I plan to work on this over the next 12 months.
Next up for me is the WA moth state titles, which we are hopeful we can get over 10 boats to. A finish in the top 5 would be a reasonable target for that event, especially given at last years states I couldn't even make it to the startline having only had the boat a week or so.
To wrap up the worlds experience, I am glad I made the effort. Many thanks to the organisers sponsors and my fellow competitors for their advice and competitive spirit and my wife for her support during the event. I hope that after the arrival of our little one I'll be able to make it to another moth worlds in the future.
The wind was blowing hard, I had lost a contact lens and I was knackered after the previous 3 days of sailing. I swallowed my pride again and sailed in and packed up for the day. 3 more DNF's to add to the collection!
The lay day was used to good effect, chilling out and staying away from the yacht club. I think the majority of the fleet followed the same tactic with only a few people going for a sail.
For those of us in silver fleet we returned to the club on Day 5 to rig up and spend the afternoon on standby under postponement onshore. Gold went out for a sail in what were reportedly epic conditions, and to say I was happy to watch was an understatement. If silver fleet had been racing I would have gone out and tried, but my results would have been similar to day 4 I expect.
Gold had one race at 1300, and a second at 1630, which I enjoyed from the comfort of the club balcony along with other members of Silver fleet. It was great to watch the best mothies in the world charging around the top mark and fly off downwind. I had my Wife's camera with me with a long lens, and tried out the camera's rapid fire mode and took some 1200 photo's. Just need to sort them out and pick the best few to post on here later!
Day 6 started with a 1000 first race, with 5 races planned for the silver fleet. I managed to fight my way through 3 races, not getting a decent start in any of them, and failed badly in the tacking department on the beats.
We were second start for race 2 so I enjoyed watching the Gold fleet head off. Bora's port tack start was impressive to say the least. He didn't cross the fleet but wanted the right bad enough that he was prepared to duck sterns to get it. I worked out why once our race had started with a sizable right shift turning our run very one sided after an immediate gybe at the top mark.
So after 3 races in heavy winds, I was exhausted, had lost yet another contact lens (this time in my "good" eye so vision was pretty blurry) and I faced the last day dilemma of any travelling sailor. Head in early and get a head start on the packing, or beat myself up for no further gain on the scoreboard... The end result was that I headed in and got to work on packing up the boat. Glad I did, because my rear transverse wingbar was damaged from the U-bolt and probably a few 100kg wingbar bounces from failure.
So what did I get from the worlds experience? I finished 96th, tied on points with my nemesis for the 10 days of racing, Greg Wise. Even at the back end we had our "race within a race" which made the event that much more enjoyable.
I learnt where I am deficient in my moth sailing, some things I would never have found out sailing by myself on the river at home. I also realised that the jump from back end to mid fleet isn't that big, it just takes some dedication to training and improved fitness. I plan to work on this over the next 12 months.
Next up for me is the WA moth state titles, which we are hopeful we can get over 10 boats to. A finish in the top 5 would be a reasonable target for that event, especially given at last years states I couldn't even make it to the startline having only had the boat a week or so.
To wrap up the worlds experience, I am glad I made the effort. Many thanks to the organisers sponsors and my fellow competitors for their advice and competitive spirit and my wife for her support during the event. I hope that after the arrival of our little one I'll be able to make it to another moth worlds in the future.
Friday, January 14, 2011
I went to a moth worlds and all I got was this lousy toilet mat!!!
Thanks to the guys who run the golden cleat, it was good fun to be involved.
And the prize is definately dubious quality! Thanks!
And the prize is definately dubious quality! Thanks!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Starting to all make sense
Sailing in from the racecourse I sometimes start to think of the positives and negatives from the days sailing. Often this leaves me lacking in concentration and missing a windshift or puff and falling off the foils. Unlike any other boat, a moth requires 100% concentration all of the time, otherwise you get to go swimming.
I headed out to day 3 of racing in a better mood than on Day 2. My scoreline was decimated by the three DNF's, and I just wanted to make the most of the three races. I was going to be in Silver fleet anyway (like I was ever going to make Gold!!) and had to take the opportunity to learn a little more over the three races.
Blue Fleets first start was a General Recall, lucky for me because I got the timing all wrong. The rest of the race went well, managing to complete the downwind leg of my first lap on the foils for most of the time.
My highlight of race 2 was the finish. Having just mislaid the layline to the finish I needed to double gybe to make the line. Gybe 2 went nasty and I ended up swimming the boat across the line. Not pretty, but I wasn't the only sailor to do it during the day, and I managed to score in another race.
By race 3 I was feeling comfortable in the boat (if not incredibly sore!), and a few other techniques from other dinghies started to become a bit more automatic. Like using the vang. One of my skippers once described the vang as the accelerator of a dinghy, and on the upwind of day 3 I let it rip, two blocking it for the first beat. I had speed and height and finished the first beat with bulk of the mid fleet from my group finishing the reach across to the 2nd course.
On the reach I eased the vang, and who would have thought, the boat became manageable downwind! Wonders never cease in this world of Mothing!
I managed to reach the bottom mark and the blue flag indicating that the leader had finished wasn't up. This was also a first for me at this regatta and meant that I had to go upwind again, VANG ON!
So in race 3 I had a bunch more firsts for me, and finished in 39th. My best finish out of the 15 races we have had so far at this regatta (including the nationals), and one I won't forget for a while.
Mother Nature added a little spice to the sail in with a rain squall to work through which was interesting, but I didn't care. This Moth business was starting to make sense, and I came in off the water with a big smile on my face.
And thats why I came to the worlds.
I headed out to day 3 of racing in a better mood than on Day 2. My scoreline was decimated by the three DNF's, and I just wanted to make the most of the three races. I was going to be in Silver fleet anyway (like I was ever going to make Gold!!) and had to take the opportunity to learn a little more over the three races.
Blue Fleets first start was a General Recall, lucky for me because I got the timing all wrong. The rest of the race went well, managing to complete the downwind leg of my first lap on the foils for most of the time.
My highlight of race 2 was the finish. Having just mislaid the layline to the finish I needed to double gybe to make the line. Gybe 2 went nasty and I ended up swimming the boat across the line. Not pretty, but I wasn't the only sailor to do it during the day, and I managed to score in another race.
By race 3 I was feeling comfortable in the boat (if not incredibly sore!), and a few other techniques from other dinghies started to become a bit more automatic. Like using the vang. One of my skippers once described the vang as the accelerator of a dinghy, and on the upwind of day 3 I let it rip, two blocking it for the first beat. I had speed and height and finished the first beat with bulk of the mid fleet from my group finishing the reach across to the 2nd course.
On the reach I eased the vang, and who would have thought, the boat became manageable downwind! Wonders never cease in this world of Mothing!
I managed to reach the bottom mark and the blue flag indicating that the leader had finished wasn't up. This was also a first for me at this regatta and meant that I had to go upwind again, VANG ON!
So in race 3 I had a bunch more firsts for me, and finished in 39th. My best finish out of the 15 races we have had so far at this regatta (including the nationals), and one I won't forget for a while.
Mother Nature added a little spice to the sail in with a rain squall to work through which was interesting, but I didn't care. This Moth business was starting to make sense, and I came in off the water with a big smile on my face.
And thats why I came to the worlds.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
But wait, there's more!
With apologies to Australias famous most TV Salesmen Tim Shaw (he's the steak knives guy), it seems that there is still more wind to come today in Belmont.
The below forecast is for the rest of the week at Newcastle, about 20km North from where we are sailing.
Not what I was asking for on Day 1 of the Aus Nationals when lowriding around the course and begging for a puff to get us on the foils...
Will head down to the club later and see what eventuates, could be another interesting day.
The below forecast is for the rest of the week at Newcastle, about 20km North from where we are sailing.
Credit: www.seabreeze.com.au
Not what I was asking for on Day 1 of the Aus Nationals when lowriding around the course and begging for a puff to get us on the foils...
Will head down to the club later and see what eventuates, could be another interesting day.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Common Sense Vs Bravado...
Capsized and Floating about 50m downwind of the top mark of the first race today after about 5 capsizes and watching the rest of my fleet start their second downwind leg I had an epiphany of sorts. I could struggle downwind and try and make it to the start for the second race (i had barely made it to the start of the first race), or I could head in and save my body and boat for the next 4 days of sailing where the conditions may be more suited to learning something. Common sense Vs Bravado (or Ego, not quite sure which), what to do?
Common sense won. You have to know your limits when sailing, and today's conditions of maybe 18+ were above mine. After all coming to the Moth Worlds was about learning, and it is supposed to be a holiday too...
So after yesterdays reasonable scores, today I will end up with 333 points, but I was never going to make Gold fleet anyway.
Congrats to those that did well, and commiserations to the those that may have a bit of work to do tonight to get the boat back on the water tomorrow.
In the immortal words of The Terminator, "I'll be Back" for more bruises and fast sailing tomorrow.
Common sense won. You have to know your limits when sailing, and today's conditions of maybe 18+ were above mine. After all coming to the Moth Worlds was about learning, and it is supposed to be a holiday too...
So after yesterdays reasonable scores, today I will end up with 333 points, but I was never going to make Gold fleet anyway.
Congrats to those that did well, and commiserations to the those that may have a bit of work to do tonight to get the boat back on the water tomorrow.
In the immortal words of The Terminator, "I'll be Back" for more bruises and fast sailing tomorrow.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Aus Nationals Wrap Up
The Australian Nationals and Pre Worlds are over, and its the morning of the first of the worlds racing.
The Aus Nationals went better than expected to be honest, although the final result may not look that way on paper. I finished 92nd out of the 102 entries, and managed to finish 1 lap of every race. Yeah, I got lapped by the good guys a number of times, but given that race 1 was my first ever moth race, I'm pretty happy with the results.
Being on the start line with 100+ boats meant I wanted to keep out of the way until I got the vibe of the start line, and by races 5 and 6 I was able to get a couple of OK starts in and be foiling off the line around other boats.
Had good height and speed , but just tend to point too high at times leading me to be high and slow. Just need to find a target speed on the Velocitek and steer to that upwind until I get the feel right I guess.
Downwind on Day 2 had a lot of improvement. I had my gantry set all wrong for the first race, causing me to fly out downwind, a quick chat to John Ilett had that sorted before the second race, and the downwinds were much better, except for the 5 or 6 capsizes on the way to the bottom mark each race trying to gybe!
Plan for the worlds now is to improve further on the first two days of sailing, and hopefully by the end I'll be finishing 2 laps of the course.
Got some good advice of the foiling gybe from Greg Wise so hopefully may be able to pull that off by the end of the regatta too!
My Wife snapped this shot on my way out to the start on Day 2 (Bow up trim due to dodgy gantry setting). This is my first ever foiling photo, so its a pretty special on for me! 130kg of foiling boat and skipper, who said that big boys can't foil?
Good luck to everyone racing today, hope you remember your fleet colour and course!
The Aus Nationals went better than expected to be honest, although the final result may not look that way on paper. I finished 92nd out of the 102 entries, and managed to finish 1 lap of every race. Yeah, I got lapped by the good guys a number of times, but given that race 1 was my first ever moth race, I'm pretty happy with the results.
Being on the start line with 100+ boats meant I wanted to keep out of the way until I got the vibe of the start line, and by races 5 and 6 I was able to get a couple of OK starts in and be foiling off the line around other boats.
Had good height and speed , but just tend to point too high at times leading me to be high and slow. Just need to find a target speed on the Velocitek and steer to that upwind until I get the feel right I guess.
Downwind on Day 2 had a lot of improvement. I had my gantry set all wrong for the first race, causing me to fly out downwind, a quick chat to John Ilett had that sorted before the second race, and the downwinds were much better, except for the 5 or 6 capsizes on the way to the bottom mark each race trying to gybe!
Plan for the worlds now is to improve further on the first two days of sailing, and hopefully by the end I'll be finishing 2 laps of the course.
Got some good advice of the foiling gybe from Greg Wise so hopefully may be able to pull that off by the end of the regatta too!
My Wife snapped this shot on my way out to the start on Day 2 (Bow up trim due to dodgy gantry setting). This is my first ever foiling photo, so its a pretty special on for me! 130kg of foiling boat and skipper, who said that big boys can't foil?
Good luck to everyone racing today, hope you remember your fleet colour and course!
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