The No1 gets a blast

Tuesday didnt see a sail for the team. The onshore wind would have made launching tricky, especially with the boggy conditions by the shore and not something to risk with a new boat. 

So Wednesday was the last day of training and the boys were itching for a sail. They were greeted by flat calm conditions, which was not what the forecast had said. But the forecast hadn't been right one day this week.


As the boys were packing the boat away after residing themselves to another missed sailing day, the wind filled in just as the No2 rig had come off. The decision was made to go for it  on the never before used No1 rig. 


Ant was available today so before launching, the team discussed what they wanted out of this session. The main points were to go through tacking and gybing again as monday but with Tom, Mark and Mike, but also trying things in different order to see how effective they would be.


Mark started by learning to check the mainsheet ratchet was on. After 5 minutes upwind, he was on the verge of a heart attack trying to pin the main in on his own. In the 8 or 9 knots of breeze, the first few tacks were slowed right down, to get everyone used to their footing. Towards the end of the session, Ant encouraged us to speed the tacks up in the slightly fresher breeze, so as soon as the battens popped, Mark and Mike were hittting the wire. 


The gybes bear aways and hoists also got alot of practice, with one particular bearaway seeing Tom going it alone as he left the rack for a short swim. Ant very kindly caught this moment on video. The gybes were mostly good, and the crew placements were runt through. In particular Mark has learnt to stand forward or Mike will actively shove Mark into the kicker to get through to the other side.


Even with the cold conditions of December, all the team were over heating after just one lap and realising that they all need to start hitting the gym if they're going to manage week long events sailing all day.


The boat was packed away and the boys headed back to Ant's for a debrief with a cold beer. A video is to follow of the new rig in action.

Mark looking his usual active self before the sail

A Rewarding Sail

Today brought a slightly more forgiving breeze to allow the boys onto the water. An early morning start allowed a launch in lighter winds.

The main focus for today was to get used to the newer lighter boat and adapt our manoeuvres. After a short blast to the pond, a simple windward leeward course was set up. Though with such a large lake, the tower was still found to be right in the middle of it. Alot of different techniques were tried from the basic tacks and gybes to the more complicated bear aways and gybe drops. The main lesson learnt was to slow the manouvres down, and stop Mike from running like a hamster from wire to wire.

The boys were also able to start playing with their new square top and how the kicker and cunno affected power. The kicker system with it's easy reference system allowed all three of the crew to see the setting and made the setup to be repeatable in the transitions between upwind and downwind.




Whilst there were  many comical slips and tangles, the sail was productive and provided a good grounding for the next two days of potentially windier weather.

Winter training starts

Today was day one of the team's four day pre Christmas training. The boys anticipated the cold of winter sailing, but still didn't enjoy the bitter cold wind that greeted them.

The wind was looking borderline No1/No2 weather, but with forecasts suggesting a windy day the No2 was chosen. After a few rigging errors and Mark forgetting his harness, the boat was ready to go and the boys layered up ready to hit the water. However, when it came to launching, the wind picked up to above sensible for the new boat. As the last sail was on the edge of control, the boys decided to call it a day and pack up.





Tomorrow sees a potentially similar day, but the team are keen to get out for a morning power hour to get some boat handling practice before the wind gets up later in the day. Ant will be slotting in for an absent Mark and hopefully give a fresh perspective on heavy weather sailing.

New Boat Arrives

This weekend saw Rutland Sailing Club's lawn littered with skiffs, one of them being our newly purchased boat. We've been eagerly anticipating our new boat and the challenges it will throw at us.


The morning was spent being shown around the boat by the previous owner, Mason Woodworth, and generally acting like small boys on Christmas morning. After refuelling on coffee and bacon sandwiches, we got changed waiting for the opportune moment to get out in the breezy conditions. Unfortunately, the wind stayed above sensible sailing conditions, so we packed up anxious to get out for Sunday. 

Unfortunately the Carsington Skiff and Pica that joined us on Saturday could not make the second day, but we got out nonetheless still on the smaller No2 rig. We had some issues dealing with the extra power in the square top rig we weren't used to, and binned it in the first bear-away with our first ever pitchpole in a skiff. 


Quote from Mark "I'm experiencing a new type of cold right now". Although tired from alot of capsizing, we were encouraged to go for just one kite run. 

Needless to say, it was breathtaking for all of us. We realised there was a reason our rig was nicknamed 'The Weapon'. We got the boat ashore and derigged before a well deserved pint in the bar to plan how we can tame this beast. Ant has put together a few good shots of the first sail:

Welcome

Welcome to the Rutland Skiff Team's Blog. Check back here to follow us in our preparations for the 2012 European and UK Circuit.