A great week of sailing related activity will, no doubt, climax tomorrow afternoon with the next 18 footer race. Hopefully, the time in the boat this week will have helped the learning process and we can continue to move up the fleet. And what an epic practice session it was.
We had been looking at getting a coach involved with our sailing and to this end, I have been chatting with Craig Ferris. I first met Craig 10 years ago, when he was coaching the top ranked Italian 49er team, the Bruni Brothers. Since then, our paths have crossed and we have always enjoyed exchanging pleasantries and catch up on sailing gossip. Craig is also rated as one of the best sheet hands in 18's, having been a regular on "The Rag" for years and a 2 times winner of the JJ. He is currently coaching the Singapore Olympic Team and especially the mens 470 squad.
Craig had wanted to get his charges out in an 18 for some time and we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone. So, on Wednesday, I met Craig and his team at Double Bay for an afternoon of 18's. Having 7 of us to rig the boat certainly helped and 25 minutes after arriving, we were heading out onto the harbour. The plan was that I helmed, Craig did his regular sheet job and we had the 470 boys take it in turns up front. We sailed a short course (2/3rds of a regular course) which consisted of 3 tacks, one bear away, a hoist and drop with a final rounding up so as to swap sailors. All changes were done "on the fly", so as to save time and not get messy.
We had a puffy 12-14 knots, which was perfect for what was needed. There was enough breeze for the crew to need to play the jib, which is nearly as big as a 470 main sail. Things didn't get off to the best of starts when we swam on the first tack. On an 18, you ease a little jib before the tack but, coming from a 470, the crew uncleated the jib (continuous sheet, self tacker) so when we arrived on the other side, there was no pressure in the sail. However, we were soon up and on our way again. The next big moment was the bear away. All four of our "joy riders" got the same briefing and all four froze at the same moment. Craig likened it to being "like rabbits caught in the headlights"!
The problem is that when bearing away in an 18. everything happens very fast and it's very different from most other boats. The speed build, the bow goes down and inertia plays its part. The key is, you have to run in at exactly the right moment, which is before you would think. If you wait until the boat starts to come over on top, you are too late and in trouble. The other problem is that the bow has to go in before the sheet hand or else everybody trips over everything. So, the boys were briefed that when Craig and I said "IN", they needed to run to the centre of the boat, without hesitation or question. However, as it always feels too soon, these poor guys froze and had to put up with a torrent of abuse. We were loving it!
By the end of the kite drop, No 1 was puffing and panting, so it was time to swap. No.2 was exactly the same, but without the swim. Luckily for Craig and me, there was still bags of opportunity for abuse! Then it was on to No.3, the only helm to brave it. Now, this guy was my height (which is short) and probably weighed about 63 kgs. I was concerned he was going to be pulled through the blocks and the kite hoist "challenged" him. A slow hoist coupled with looks of confusion were greeted by loud shouts from Craig and myself - "get out, get out, get out!" However, what followed next wasn't quite what was expected. Our man ran to the gunwale, grabbed the trap handle, swung out and promptly let go, without hooking on. A new definition of a "chase boat drop". So another swim followed.
Finally, we were onto the last ride before we headed in. Except for the first tack, when he didn't get the jib easing right (too much, yet again), Ben did well. Sure, he was a rabbit in the headlights during the bear away, but overall he was most suited to the task with the strength and speed needed. However, we couldn't let him get away without a suitable amount of abuse, something I am not so sure was a good idea, on reflection, as the following day I learnt he was a Singapore Navy Seal who could kill me in 25 different ways with his own bare hands and I wouldn't even know I was dead! Luckily, I think I am safe as he was with us for the best ride of the day, a long downwind leg with a bit of puff on and a sustained 20 knots plus. Big grins all round!
The purpose of the exercises was to give the guys some experience of other types of sailing. These guys have sailed very few types of boat, which is something that allows you to adapt to situations quickly. I also suspect that Craig didn't mind showing the lads his own ability. For me, it was a pleasure to sail with him, learn a few tricks, get his views on how we set up the boat and also to get some valuable time on the end of the tiller.
However, once we were ashore, there was an hour to wait for my regular team to show up from the office. What I missed in that hour was the wind slowly building. After the sail, Jamie commented that when he arrived he thought we were brave to have the No1 rig up. It wasn't brave. It was what I had been using. So off we set, to find a gentle 18 - 20 knots. Then, only a short time after launching, we were hit by some serious pressure. Although we don't have exact data from that part of the harbour, it is safe to say we were out there with the No1 rig up in somewhere between 22-25 knots of breeze. 2 swims later and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. The forecast was for a rising wind and I could see no reason to lose the rig. Rather pleasingly, our big wind bear away went really very well, obviously benefiting from the earlier practice.
Once ashore, our decision look .........wrong, as the wind died rather than built but the damage was already done. A broken jib batten, torn kite and hole in the main meant a swift trip to our sailmaker the following morning.
The last time we sailed in that much breeze, we had the No2 rig up and made more of a mess of it. Hopefully, this is a sign of further improvements and that the 12-14 knots we expect on Sunday should be a "walk in the park".
We had been looking at getting a coach involved with our sailing and to this end, I have been chatting with Craig Ferris. I first met Craig 10 years ago, when he was coaching the top ranked Italian 49er team, the Bruni Brothers. Since then, our paths have crossed and we have always enjoyed exchanging pleasantries and catch up on sailing gossip. Craig is also rated as one of the best sheet hands in 18's, having been a regular on "The Rag" for years and a 2 times winner of the JJ. He is currently coaching the Singapore Olympic Team and especially the mens 470 squad.
Craig had wanted to get his charges out in an 18 for some time and we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone. So, on Wednesday, I met Craig and his team at Double Bay for an afternoon of 18's. Having 7 of us to rig the boat certainly helped and 25 minutes after arriving, we were heading out onto the harbour. The plan was that I helmed, Craig did his regular sheet job and we had the 470 boys take it in turns up front. We sailed a short course (2/3rds of a regular course) which consisted of 3 tacks, one bear away, a hoist and drop with a final rounding up so as to swap sailors. All changes were done "on the fly", so as to save time and not get messy.
We had a puffy 12-14 knots, which was perfect for what was needed. There was enough breeze for the crew to need to play the jib, which is nearly as big as a 470 main sail. Things didn't get off to the best of starts when we swam on the first tack. On an 18, you ease a little jib before the tack but, coming from a 470, the crew uncleated the jib (continuous sheet, self tacker) so when we arrived on the other side, there was no pressure in the sail. However, we were soon up and on our way again. The next big moment was the bear away. All four of our "joy riders" got the same briefing and all four froze at the same moment. Craig likened it to being "like rabbits caught in the headlights"!
The problem is that when bearing away in an 18. everything happens very fast and it's very different from most other boats. The speed build, the bow goes down and inertia plays its part. The key is, you have to run in at exactly the right moment, which is before you would think. If you wait until the boat starts to come over on top, you are too late and in trouble. The other problem is that the bow has to go in before the sheet hand or else everybody trips over everything. So, the boys were briefed that when Craig and I said "IN", they needed to run to the centre of the boat, without hesitation or question. However, as it always feels too soon, these poor guys froze and had to put up with a torrent of abuse. We were loving it!
By the end of the kite drop, No 1 was puffing and panting, so it was time to swap. No.2 was exactly the same, but without the swim. Luckily for Craig and me, there was still bags of opportunity for abuse! Then it was on to No.3, the only helm to brave it. Now, this guy was my height (which is short) and probably weighed about 63 kgs. I was concerned he was going to be pulled through the blocks and the kite hoist "challenged" him. A slow hoist coupled with looks of confusion were greeted by loud shouts from Craig and myself - "get out, get out, get out!" However, what followed next wasn't quite what was expected. Our man ran to the gunwale, grabbed the trap handle, swung out and promptly let go, without hooking on. A new definition of a "chase boat drop". So another swim followed.
Finally, we were onto the last ride before we headed in. Except for the first tack, when he didn't get the jib easing right (too much, yet again), Ben did well. Sure, he was a rabbit in the headlights during the bear away, but overall he was most suited to the task with the strength and speed needed. However, we couldn't let him get away without a suitable amount of abuse, something I am not so sure was a good idea, on reflection, as the following day I learnt he was a Singapore Navy Seal who could kill me in 25 different ways with his own bare hands and I wouldn't even know I was dead! Luckily, I think I am safe as he was with us for the best ride of the day, a long downwind leg with a bit of puff on and a sustained 20 knots plus. Big grins all round!
The purpose of the exercises was to give the guys some experience of other types of sailing. These guys have sailed very few types of boat, which is something that allows you to adapt to situations quickly. I also suspect that Craig didn't mind showing the lads his own ability. For me, it was a pleasure to sail with him, learn a few tricks, get his views on how we set up the boat and also to get some valuable time on the end of the tiller.
However, once we were ashore, there was an hour to wait for my regular team to show up from the office. What I missed in that hour was the wind slowly building. After the sail, Jamie commented that when he arrived he thought we were brave to have the No1 rig up. It wasn't brave. It was what I had been using. So off we set, to find a gentle 18 - 20 knots. Then, only a short time after launching, we were hit by some serious pressure. Although we don't have exact data from that part of the harbour, it is safe to say we were out there with the No1 rig up in somewhere between 22-25 knots of breeze. 2 swims later and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. The forecast was for a rising wind and I could see no reason to lose the rig. Rather pleasingly, our big wind bear away went really very well, obviously benefiting from the earlier practice.
Once ashore, our decision look .........wrong, as the wind died rather than built but the damage was already done. A broken jib batten, torn kite and hole in the main meant a swift trip to our sailmaker the following morning.
The last time we sailed in that much breeze, we had the No2 rig up and made more of a mess of it. Hopefully, this is a sign of further improvements and that the 12-14 knots we expect on Sunday should be a "walk in the park".
1 comment:
Hey Simon... Got your article through the mail (compliments of Mark who forwarded it to us). Really appreciated you bringing us out on the 18. It was a really fun experience. Thanks again, and look forward to the next cruise in the 18. CHEERS! :) ~Ben (Singapore 470 team)
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