I've been sailing the boat for a few races now and I think I'm slowly getting better. I'm currently sitting 12th in the club series which considering that I've only sailed the boat about 6 times now isn't too bad. I'm also quite happy as I'm beating a friend who is quite a good Radial sailor.
I'm getting better at handling the boat across the wind ranges which is good news, I guess it's just one of those things which comes with experience. Upwind I can keep my lane fairly well and am starting to use the controls a lot more to depower/power the rig up as the wind changes at shifty shifty spinnaker.
It is amazing how different simple boat handling things can be like tacking, when you have to run around the back of the boat facing backwards (which is something new completely for me), but these are gradually getting better as well.
Downwind and off the breeze I LOVE the extra power the rig has, meaning I can power past the solo's and lasers! I've started adobting the broad reach to broad reach downwind method as running straight down seemed to have no real advantages for me.
I'm still being quite reserved on the starts and throughout the racing as I don't really want to break my new toy in any collisions, but this does have the drawback of having to fight through the leaders to get into clear air and a clear lane but it's all part of the challenge!
Results: http://www.spinnakerclub.co.uk/results/ALICE%20LISLE%20SERIES.htm
In terms of the problems I was having with the boat, they're better now. I thoroughly cleaned out the breather holes which seems to have solved the pressure and leakage issues. It still leaks a small amount, about 1/2 a pint in 3 or 4 hours. I'm happy with that now. I'm still getting used to the boat though so it does spend a fair amount of time dipping a wing but it's all good fun!
Still loving the boat though
Sunday 20 March 2011
Thursday 3 March 2011
Mixed feelings
It's a weird thing owning boats, today has had me in two moods.
Firstly I've been thinking about that fact that the boat, although seeming airtight (creating a large vacume when I took the bung out) sucked in about a pint or two of water in about 4 hours of sailing. It's just slightly annoying considering that I've just spent an incredible amount of money on a boat I thought was in better condition than it obviously is.
It's not a massive concern as I'll pressure test it at the club on Sunday and try and locate the leak. Hopefully it'll be a simple fitting being loose, or at worse a minor deck separation along the transom (a fairly easy fix IMHO) but it's just going to be worrying me until then now, what if it's damage to the mast pot. What if it's along a gunnel? I guess I'm going to have to weight and see.
In regards to breather hole issue, I'm going to try and clean it as best as possible and if it still doesn't work then I may drill a small M1 hole on the front of the cockpit, where it rises vertically behind the mast. Close to the centre line to avoid it being submerged in all but total inversions.
On a brighter note the 2011 Phantom PY has been dropped by 5. Hopefully making it easier to beat them on adjusted time. BRING IT ON!
Firstly I've been thinking about that fact that the boat, although seeming airtight (creating a large vacume when I took the bung out) sucked in about a pint or two of water in about 4 hours of sailing. It's just slightly annoying considering that I've just spent an incredible amount of money on a boat I thought was in better condition than it obviously is.
It's not a massive concern as I'll pressure test it at the club on Sunday and try and locate the leak. Hopefully it'll be a simple fitting being loose, or at worse a minor deck separation along the transom (a fairly easy fix IMHO) but it's just going to be worrying me until then now, what if it's damage to the mast pot. What if it's along a gunnel? I guess I'm going to have to weight and see.
In regards to breather hole issue, I'm going to try and clean it as best as possible and if it still doesn't work then I may drill a small M1 hole on the front of the cockpit, where it rises vertically behind the mast. Close to the centre line to avoid it being submerged in all but total inversions.
On a brighter note the 2011 Phantom PY has been dropped by 5. Hopefully making it easier to beat them on adjusted time. BRING IT ON!
High Winds High Speeds and a Steep Learning Curve
When I say high winds that I mean is 15 gusting 18 knots, hardly gale force but I was massively overpowered in a couple of instances. I went down to the lake as I had a couple of cancelled lessons at collage which meant I was home by 11:30! Sometimes you have to love the X3.
Basically I learnt an incredible amount about the boat and my skills in it, for example I was trying to reach flat hiked, thus was over sheeting the main, reducing my boat speed. Also I learnt that I need to be more aggressive and rapid in getting back to hiking whilst tacking and gybing, as I was loosing boat speed and dipping a wing on a few occasions.
On to the more interesting stuff. THE BOAT IS SO RAPID! Flat lake, broad reach, 15 knots = one happy sailor. I am so amazed at the pace of the boat off the wind, I only wish that I sailed more regularly somewhere larger. The lake is just to small when you can reach all the way across in about a minute. But I love the boat so much!
I got some GOPRO camera footage of me sailing the boat (badly) which I'll upload to youtube and link on here.
Basically I learnt an incredible amount about the boat and my skills in it, for example I was trying to reach flat hiked, thus was over sheeting the main, reducing my boat speed. Also I learnt that I need to be more aggressive and rapid in getting back to hiking whilst tacking and gybing, as I was loosing boat speed and dipping a wing on a few occasions.
On to the more interesting stuff. THE BOAT IS SO RAPID! Flat lake, broad reach, 15 knots = one happy sailor. I am so amazed at the pace of the boat off the wind, I only wish that I sailed more regularly somewhere larger. The lake is just to small when you can reach all the way across in about a minute. But I love the boat so much!
I got some GOPRO camera footage of me sailing the boat (badly) which I'll upload to youtube and link on here.
Monday 28 February 2011
Deathroll's Lulls and shifty spinnaker
My first race in other words. As expected I know I didn't win as a solo beat me on the water, and before you all go nuts let me explain why! (This isn't just going to be a list of excuses... Promise). The conditions for the day were ranging from 0 to 8 knots roughly westerly, and at spinnaker Sc this is the WORST direction. In essence the wind died routinely, and when it didn't it was very shifty, not great for my second time out.
On to the race itself, To be honest it wasn't well laid out with many tight reaches and a couple of longer downwind legs. The start lead straight onto one of these broad reaches which made the start line tactics interesting. I didn't want to get too engaged in start line tactics as my boat handling isn't really 100% yet, but still I came off the line around 4th.
Throughout the race I pulled away only to be reigned in by one very well sailed solo, Damm those solos, they are the best boats for the lake I feel but oh well. I'm going to blame this on two things: Firstly, My inexperience in the boat, this meant that it wasn't set up well so must not have been developing enough power in the lulls or too much in the gusts. Also how different it is to tack and gybe, in otherwords, the simple boat handling stuff. I've never had a boat before where you have to run aft to tack and then run forwards again, whilst tacking with the tiller out the back. I almost stalled the boat in every tack, as I believe I was moving forwards to quickly which resulted in a large loss of speed coming out.
Secondly I wish to blame the lake and it's STUPID conditions. I've already had a grumble, but if anyone out there can tell me the best way to go from flat hiked to trying to dive UNDER the boom when it dies, in the space of 10 seconds then PLEASE tell me. Basically in the weaker (less than 4 or 5 knots) wind, especially upwind, I found it very hard to keep the boat from rolling onto me and so whilst focusing on this I couldn't focus on tactics or even Proper course which lead to me loosing a large amount of ground on a couple of occasions but oh well.
The deathrolls very a much more interesting part of the day. It was quite amusing after the event as everyone in their solo's and lasers had stayed completely flat the hole time I was rocking and rolling around trying to save the boat. Basically on one of the dead runs I think I'd let off too much kicker which meant that the top of the leech opened up when a small, only 8 knots roughly, gust hit me. This spent the boat over to windward so I dived up onto the wing, as you do in a laser or N12, to try and save it forgetting that the wings on a 300 are approximately 3000 miles wide. Obviously this then bought the boat straight back over on top of me. Luckily there were no boats around me at the time as the spin left me heading at 90 degrees to my original course, with the main flogging and me cursing. Still, at least I didn't swim!
In essence I think I can take a couple of things really from this first race, both of these are interlinked but important separately. The first is that I need to improve my basic boat handling which will come with practice I hope. And secondly that I need to try to improve my wind awareness, some guys on Y&Y forum have recommended dry lube for the tell tails, which may help somewhat, but I need to get my eyes out of the boat more, and focus on the bigger picture.
Overall though I love the boat, never before have I come off the water so happy, but so sweaty, from just sailing in a force 0-3 on little Spinnaker. Definitely the right boat for me!
On to the race itself, To be honest it wasn't well laid out with many tight reaches and a couple of longer downwind legs. The start lead straight onto one of these broad reaches which made the start line tactics interesting. I didn't want to get too engaged in start line tactics as my boat handling isn't really 100% yet, but still I came off the line around 4th.
Throughout the race I pulled away only to be reigned in by one very well sailed solo, Damm those solos, they are the best boats for the lake I feel but oh well. I'm going to blame this on two things: Firstly, My inexperience in the boat, this meant that it wasn't set up well so must not have been developing enough power in the lulls or too much in the gusts. Also how different it is to tack and gybe, in otherwords, the simple boat handling stuff. I've never had a boat before where you have to run aft to tack and then run forwards again, whilst tacking with the tiller out the back. I almost stalled the boat in every tack, as I believe I was moving forwards to quickly which resulted in a large loss of speed coming out.
Secondly I wish to blame the lake and it's STUPID conditions. I've already had a grumble, but if anyone out there can tell me the best way to go from flat hiked to trying to dive UNDER the boom when it dies, in the space of 10 seconds then PLEASE tell me. Basically in the weaker (less than 4 or 5 knots) wind, especially upwind, I found it very hard to keep the boat from rolling onto me and so whilst focusing on this I couldn't focus on tactics or even Proper course which lead to me loosing a large amount of ground on a couple of occasions but oh well.
The deathrolls very a much more interesting part of the day. It was quite amusing after the event as everyone in their solo's and lasers had stayed completely flat the hole time I was rocking and rolling around trying to save the boat. Basically on one of the dead runs I think I'd let off too much kicker which meant that the top of the leech opened up when a small, only 8 knots roughly, gust hit me. This spent the boat over to windward so I dived up onto the wing, as you do in a laser or N12, to try and save it forgetting that the wings on a 300 are approximately 3000 miles wide. Obviously this then bought the boat straight back over on top of me. Luckily there were no boats around me at the time as the spin left me heading at 90 degrees to my original course, with the main flogging and me cursing. Still, at least I didn't swim!
In essence I think I can take a couple of things really from this first race, both of these are interlinked but important separately. The first is that I need to improve my basic boat handling which will come with practice I hope. And secondly that I need to try to improve my wind awareness, some guys on Y&Y forum have recommended dry lube for the tell tails, which may help somewhat, but I need to get my eyes out of the boat more, and focus on the bigger picture.
Overall though I love the boat, never before have I come off the water so happy, but so sweaty, from just sailing in a force 0-3 on little Spinnaker. Definitely the right boat for me!
Thursday 24 February 2011
Exploration of the Subsurface Environment.
I have recently Purchased a Vehicle which seems to be designed with the exploration of the Subsurface Environment in mind. Or rather to put it a lot more bluntly: SWIMMING! Although I haven't done the classic nose dive yet I hear from the forums that it is a certainty for which I cannot wait, It's always a bit of fun on a warm summers day cold winters evening to have an explore of the under water landscape or at the seaside.
Having only sailed the boat in less than 12 knots so far I haven't experienced a proper capsize either however, even though I think I'm starting to improve (in terms of handling the boat anyway) so hopefully when I go out at the weekend for racing it wont all end to badly.
It really has taken me by surprise how much work the 300 is to just sail straight in the lighter stuff or in fact, more so in the gusty stuff! Even coming from a N12 the amount you have to dive in and out off the wings astonishes me. More fitness trianing and trips to the Collage gym are definitely in order, hopefully by just before next chirstmas I'll be just about fit enough so sail the boat properly.
Having only sailed the boat in less than 12 knots so far I haven't experienced a proper capsize either however, even though I think I'm starting to improve (in terms of handling the boat anyway) so hopefully when I go out at the weekend for racing it wont all end to badly.
It really has taken me by surprise how much work the 300 is to just sail straight in the lighter stuff or in fact, more so in the gusty stuff! Even coming from a N12 the amount you have to dive in and out off the wings astonishes me. More fitness trianing and trips to the Collage gym are definitely in order, hopefully by just before next chirstmas I'll be just about fit enough so sail the boat properly.
Monday 21 February 2011
First Sail
I have to admit I now understand a couple of the points of view about the 300 way more clearly after about 3 hours of sailing. The boat is so rewarding to sail correctly, however on a small Gusty lake I can see how the challenge factor of the boat is going to be huge.
It is a real challenge to do simple things, such as tack effectively and quickly (although gybing seemed somewhat easier), but I hope that through a lot of practice I should be able to get good at doing these. In terms of control the boat is very simple and well set up, I understand the philosophy of kicker, kicker and more kicker; it controls all of the power in the rig and very simply changes the sail shape hugely and it is really noticeable when sailing.
Balance was always going to be a challenge on the lake, but I feel it really is going to be a struggle, however I suppose it's going to make my wind awareness and gust response fairly good I would hope. This is definitely going to be the area where (initially) I need to work on most.
Overall: The boat is amazing, it's so fast in the gusts and very rewarding to sail well. It is also rather a lot of effort to keep going fast!!! It's going to be a challenge/ 'uphill struggle' to get going well. BUT I LOVE IT!
Pictures to follow
It is a real challenge to do simple things, such as tack effectively and quickly (although gybing seemed somewhat easier), but I hope that through a lot of practice I should be able to get good at doing these. In terms of control the boat is very simple and well set up, I understand the philosophy of kicker, kicker and more kicker; it controls all of the power in the rig and very simply changes the sail shape hugely and it is really noticeable when sailing.
Balance was always going to be a challenge on the lake, but I feel it really is going to be a struggle, however I suppose it's going to make my wind awareness and gust response fairly good I would hope. This is definitely going to be the area where (initially) I need to work on most.
Overall: The boat is amazing, it's so fast in the gusts and very rewarding to sail well. It is also rather a lot of effort to keep going fast!!! It's going to be a challenge/ 'uphill struggle' to get going well. BUT I LOVE IT!
Pictures to follow
Saturday 19 February 2011
MY BOAT!
Today was the big day, I'm now officially skint as shit! But I hope it's worth it.
Dad and I left on our collection expedition around 1 ish this afternoon and after an uneventful trip arrived near Chichester to collect the boat. The chap I bought it from then was very nice in that he talked me through how to set the whole boat up, which clarified a few of the issues I had, as well as giving me a few tips.
From everything I've gathered sailing the 300 is all about kicker and Balance, Kicker I can handle. However my balance is appalling so I have a feeling I have a rather steep and wet learning curve coming up.
We packed the boat up and headed home, only to find that the handles of the trolley came perilously close to the spare tire on the back of the land rover once it was hitched, this coupled with the U.K.'s beautifully smooth road surface lead to me being on tender hooks all the way home.
After an hour or so we made it and it is all locked up ready to go sailing on Monday!
The first picture I have of it:
Dad and I left on our collection expedition around 1 ish this afternoon and after an uneventful trip arrived near Chichester to collect the boat. The chap I bought it from then was very nice in that he talked me through how to set the whole boat up, which clarified a few of the issues I had, as well as giving me a few tips.
From everything I've gathered sailing the 300 is all about kicker and Balance, Kicker I can handle. However my balance is appalling so I have a feeling I have a rather steep and wet learning curve coming up.
We packed the boat up and headed home, only to find that the handles of the trolley came perilously close to the spare tire on the back of the land rover once it was hitched, this coupled with the U.K.'s beautifully smooth road surface lead to me being on tender hooks all the way home.
After an hour or so we made it and it is all locked up ready to go sailing on Monday!
The first picture I have of it:
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