Aside from Olympic sailing, I don't know of any sailing that is as serious as 18 footers. There are a few "old school" types who believe practicing is cheating but we have ignored them as we needed to play catch up. The problem is, the top teams are out there all the time. Fiat and 7 train at least 2 days a week, with coach and sailmaker in support. Macquarie have a coach and sail regularly. All three have big time rig/sail programmes with North. Then there are the Ullman teams with Akso and The Rag doing the most work. All have new, different masts this year, with Club Marine also having a new rig. These 6 boats seem to have a bit of a jump on the fleet at the moment.
So, to address the balance, some have been training. We missed the pre-season stuff but have been fairly regular Thursday evening players. Thursdays usually sees between 3 and 6 boats out and a few others are out on other occasions. So, imagine my shock when I arrived at Double Bay last night, at the normal time, to find the park totally crowded out. It seems that a few people are getting the idea that practice makes.......less mistakes! In total, I think there were 10 boats in the park last night, although one never left the shore as they were trying to set up a mast to fit some second hand sails they had acquired.
And what a night everybody had chosen. Thursday evenings are usually 8-12 knots, with only one night requiring little rig and even then, it was marginal. But last night it was different. We had 20+ knots from the South East, flat water and an empty harbour. Game on! A few had some strange idea about sailing with big rigs and they got hammered. We went with the majority and obvious choice, little rig and we had a specific goal in mind.
Although our tacks have been safe, we have been very slow out coming out and up to speed. I have needed to use too much helm to pull us away and this has killed our speed. 20+ tacks per race was leading to 30+ boat lengths being lost - over 100 metres per race. We needed to gain those valuable metres back. First stop was the front of the fleet. I have found that most of the top people are only too happy to help with tips and advice. In particular, Cocko on Fiat and the Rag team have been of great help and yet again, they gave us some things to try.
Setting off from the club was interesting as it was a run out to the harbour, something which we don't get often. Puffs were hard to spot but once we had made a little progress, it was clear that there was some big black gusts around. Once clear of the moorings and with Scott getting very excited, the kite went up. Just as we were settling, a black one made it's presence felt! It started with a slamming 20 degree shift and then just built - not slowly but with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer. 3 months ago and we would have swum just trying to latch into the gust but this time, we were up and running.
Running is probably not quite the right word. It doesn't quite encapsulate the shear power, speed and ferocity of what was going on. And then, in front of us, was the Manly Ferry wake. Harrier jump jets use something known as VTOL (vertical take off and land). On that basis, 18's should be added to the list of armaments that should not be sold to certain countries. Besides being a dangerous weapon (see below), they are certainly well suited to VTOL! Probably having Scott in the boat added to the drama as all he wanted was big air and lots of speed. Trying to make an 18 do the same thing as his kite board seems to be a recurring theme with Scott!
So, to address the balance, some have been training. We missed the pre-season stuff but have been fairly regular Thursday evening players. Thursdays usually sees between 3 and 6 boats out and a few others are out on other occasions. So, imagine my shock when I arrived at Double Bay last night, at the normal time, to find the park totally crowded out. It seems that a few people are getting the idea that practice makes.......less mistakes! In total, I think there were 10 boats in the park last night, although one never left the shore as they were trying to set up a mast to fit some second hand sails they had acquired.
And what a night everybody had chosen. Thursday evenings are usually 8-12 knots, with only one night requiring little rig and even then, it was marginal. But last night it was different. We had 20+ knots from the South East, flat water and an empty harbour. Game on! A few had some strange idea about sailing with big rigs and they got hammered. We went with the majority and obvious choice, little rig and we had a specific goal in mind.
Although our tacks have been safe, we have been very slow out coming out and up to speed. I have needed to use too much helm to pull us away and this has killed our speed. 20+ tacks per race was leading to 30+ boat lengths being lost - over 100 metres per race. We needed to gain those valuable metres back. First stop was the front of the fleet. I have found that most of the top people are only too happy to help with tips and advice. In particular, Cocko on Fiat and the Rag team have been of great help and yet again, they gave us some things to try.
Setting off from the club was interesting as it was a run out to the harbour, something which we don't get often. Puffs were hard to spot but once we had made a little progress, it was clear that there was some big black gusts around. Once clear of the moorings and with Scott getting very excited, the kite went up. Just as we were settling, a black one made it's presence felt! It started with a slamming 20 degree shift and then just built - not slowly but with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer. 3 months ago and we would have swum just trying to latch into the gust but this time, we were up and running.
Running is probably not quite the right word. It doesn't quite encapsulate the shear power, speed and ferocity of what was going on. And then, in front of us, was the Manly Ferry wake. Harrier jump jets use something known as VTOL (vertical take off and land). On that basis, 18's should be added to the list of armaments that should not be sold to certain countries. Besides being a dangerous weapon (see below), they are certainly well suited to VTOL! Probably having Scott in the boat added to the drama as all he wanted was big air and lots of speed. Trying to make an 18 do the same thing as his kite board seems to be a recurring theme with Scott!
With Kirrabili fast approaching, we went for the drop. I am not exactly sure what went wrong because we haven't made a mess of a drop before but at that speed, whatever went wrong led to 2 events, linked but totally separate. I don't know whether the capsize came first or Scott's teeth making contact with the D1's at a bit higher speed than there maximum working load, but while standing on the upturned hull I couldn't help notice that Scott's white rashie was going orange and he was spitting little bits of......material. He didn't appear concerned, even though he had spent $10,000 on his teeth in the last few months!Anyway, we got the boat up and headed upwind. Wow! The boat was flying but it was shifty and slamming. And then we tacked, trying a few of our new found knowledge. The helm remained light throughout and we simply accelerated out of the tack. Astonishing! To prove it wasn't a fluke, we tacked again. Same thing! A few tacks later and it was all grins, even if one was slightly bloody! Mission accomplished.
We were very conscious that my body has been struggling to stay together, Scott's mouth was damaged and it was boat breaking weather so we didn't stay out long. However, it was the most exhilarating and useful session I can remember. Ashore, it seems that everybody else had stories of wild rides and big grins. John Harris, skipper of The Rag summed it up by saying "Now that's why we sail these boat"!
So, AOL is still in one piece but a tradition has been maintained. One of the crew got hurt, but for once it wasn't me! We had a great evening and a quick burger and beer in the bar gave lots of time for recounting tales of high speeds and big black gusts.
Roll on Sunday!
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