Fleet racing with 115.000 boats

Racing in a bigger fleet has it’s merits, but 115.000 registered boats is a lot! Then getting a 23rd place! Yes!

It’s the Volvo Ocean Race Game. After getting a 255 place for one leg last time round this is my top result so far. Got it by not doing anything stupid (“let’s take a hard left now, and try to win this leg”), knowing who to follow when you don’t have time to plan or think, and getting out of bed at crazy times for a course change.

Ok, I think there were some 20 or 30 thousand boats kinda seriously racing. But still I’m pretty happy with my place I might even win a t-shirt.

My next leg will probably be crappy, as I’ll be trying to get into the top 10 now

Rumble in Bruinisse

Blogging is out, and actioncam videos are in. So, I got myself an actioncam. No, not a GoPro, I’m not following everything. The Rollei Bullet HD fits the moth better, and I liked the small, tough-looking aluminum case.
Here’s a first result. Moth racing in the Lowlands aboard Rumble Fish. Traditionally windy in Bruinisse, with 8 boats on the start line! This was the only decent race I sailed over the weekend, but quite happy that I seem to have found some pointing ability. Turn up the volume!

Bruinisse open

8 moths made it to the start line in Bruinisse this weekend. It was cold, and, as usual in Bruinisse, the breeze was on. I think it may have been 20 years ago that we had a decent lineup in a Moth regatta in the Netherlands. But, as usual, the fleet dimished soon, with broken foils and several moth-bits doing their own thing. For me, the regatta was a bit weird, my flap was holding, but the pushrod decided to bend sideways (which I only noticed when back on shore). Then somehow my mainsheet kept getting stuck. Not good. But I came to see everybody, so it was ok.

High point for me was finding out that moving the mast back a notch has definately solved my upwind problem. I was pointing higher then some of the usual guys, and sometimes even managed to still see Eelco when he was at the top mark. My usual tacking angles were looking like my tacking angles on the barge, and now it’s more 90 degree-ish. It’s not all good though, as letting go of the helm immediately causes the boat to luff, no more letting go of the tiller!

Good to see some new faces in the Lowlands!

Highs and Lows

I’ll save you the lows, but this was just the sail I needed. 12-18 knots of wind at Lauwersmeer, clocking another near personal best speed at 22.8 knots. Thanks to Manfred for tool lending, Jaap for sending a new barrel nut, then Connie and John Illett for centreboard flap advice. Then Paula for putting all stuff back together.

Photoset on Flickr.

new top speed

Clocked a new top of 22.3 knots this evening. The wind was weird. With no wind to foil at parts, then gusts of 20-25 knots coming through. Weird. One gust came, and all I could do was hang on, and go deep, that must have been the top speed. Heading towards the 25 knot club.
Ride adjuster is fitted now, and the wand is horrible. A lot of slop, and the movement is awful. Need to smooth things up a lot there, and figure out how to get the ride dial turning…
Box training tomorrow, fitness will help too. I’m learning to hike. Ahum…

Secret project

Been working on a secret project lately. It increases time on the water, sailing fun, and reduces maintenance.
Hell of a job to finish, so no time for blogging or sailing!
Pics here.

Moth trailer building

Should be good, but will take some time to finish:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildetukker/sets/72157625940435712/with/5378005812/

Well done Nathan!

Seems Nathan Outteridge was top class in the worlds, well done! I’ve greatly enjoyed the pics from Belmont. Isn’t it amazing to be sailing in a class where this can happen to a world champ? Great pic by Thierre Martinez.

World(s) news

Not sure if Sailing Anarchy is world news, but for me it is. Apparently the moth class is in a huge discussion and turmoil over wings.

I guess I’m missing someting, is it that this bit of the world is snowed in and nothing is happening here at the moment?

All I know is we’re trying to get something sorted wing-wise, and…

we will have a new moth sailor in the Netherlands! Jaap from Rockanje (Brielse meer) has bought Manfred‘s Bladerider, so we have a new sailor in our ranks!

Someone else is seriously looking to buy a new boat, so, if you’re near NL, and have something on offer that is not on the moth market, let me know.

Sailor map is updated, seems we’re 10 now!

Fiddly bits

Snow arrived in this country. Time to start doing other stuff. My ride adjuster is finally on, but as I needed to fit a smaller length cable, then add linkages the whole thing started to slop a lot. When pulling the whole thing bent sideways so the ride dial didn’t turn. So a made a little retainer plate to fix the thing in place. I was at the boat today, but it’s so bloody cold I didn’t feel like fixing it permanently. Will need some fiddling, then I’ll add the nice carbon plate I built for it.

Then there’s the boat trailer. I want to save time from putting the boat on the car roof. That is sometimes hard here, as there’s not a lot of people around to help put your boat on the roof on a thursday night. So I bought a little underside of a trailer, and am now sketching a full cover onto that. Should become a nice wee trailer. Moth fits in it dry, and it will have storage for lots of tools, the braai, wine cellar and a bed. Pull in the boat, and off you drive to a regatta Nice more problems finding a place to sleep halfway on the way to Garda or Silvaplana.

Oh, the trailer should fit a wing too. We’re building some wings with a group of guys from the lowlands. We’re not far yet, but we’ve just started doing it. Feels good. Will post when we have something to add to what’s already known out there…