Confident that she will be beautiful again soon.Looking forward to getting her fixed in time for a week of cruising from Windsport at the end of August. Hopefully a harbour full of boats to overtake
Anyway a few lessons for me to take from the National Championships:
1: We are going to fix the leaks. Having a heavy Out of Africa boat with added 10kg of water is not a good thing (particularly downwind in strong wind and waves). Looks like the main culprits are the hatches (not the covers but the actual rim to deck joint). One side effect is that when Steve starts the repairs he is going to get covered with some of the 1/2kg of Vaseline used to try to seal the hatches (oh and getting it on the deck makes for exciting upwind legs as you slide around).
2: Don't capsize with the downhaul slackened off - mainsail came off the halyard hook and took ages to get back on while "drifting" downwind on the wrong tack
3: I Need to sort out my toe straps as they slid from side to side during the last 2 races. Also noticed the idea of putting a twist in them for easier access.
4: Both my mainsheet and traveller line are still too long (I still get them tangled around my ankles and they got washed off the back of the trampoline a few times - an effective brake). Also my mainsheet was slipping in the cleat if the ratchet was not on. I do have the thinner mainsheet from Steve Sawford (I kept getting jams with the older thicker line). Maybe switch to thicker sheet for stronger winds?
5: Both burgees and gloves are easily lost when capsizing, have spares available or don't capsize
6: I really need to study the start sequence and other flags. I completely missed hearing all the guns for the start sequence of race 6 which meant I was suddenly in a panic a long way downwind of the line when everyone else started. In that panic I ended up capsizing which meant I crossed the start line just before Sean And Sophia completed their first lap.
7: On Monday I taped the adjustable shoulder straps of my buoyancy aid to the shoulders. Huge difference as before that I got the tiller extension stuck between the strap and the shoulder a few times when tacking.I can see why the thin top over the buoyancy aid is popular - but a bit of tape is lighter
8: Our big wheel trolley with handle is so much easier to use than our old trailer. One handy tip when launching bow first into a headwind is to move the handle to come out of the stern. It is much easier for a crew to pull the trolley under the skegs towards the beach than forward into deeper water.
9: Very relieved and grateful that Brian helped us with our tiller bar with broken plastic end. Turns out that Out of Africa tiller bars are made from gas pipe, much thicker walls than the others so the fittings don't fit. Anyway Brian sorted us out and our rudders are now properly aligned - which is maybe why I only got lapped in race 6 when I capsized behind the start line after everyone else had started.
10: Visibility under the sail is a big challenge, it might mean I need to sail slower on some parts of the port tack so that I can see where the intelligent people on starboard tack are.
11: Preparation is key. It seems Sophia fills the time waiting for me after races by eating bags of crisps. Her expectation of those delays apparently meant starting the day with 12 bags of crisps
12: If I ever wear my short wetsuit again then I will need knee protection of some kind.
13: However late you think you are getting on the water always check your swimming shorts before putting your wetsuit on. I said that something was pinching but had to rush as I was late. After the race I found a clothes peg still attached to the shorts under the wetsuit. Big Ouch!
Anyone else got good tips to study while waiting for boat repairs?
Dave
