Chilly February Sail

As the JJ Giltinan is being hotly contested on a 25 degree Sydney harbour, a long way away in the Northern hemisphere, the Rutland and KKT teams got another days sailing in. Matt, Tom and Stu could only make the Sunday because of Cherub commitments and Mike and Tom arrived home late on Saturday night from a weeks skiing in France. Both teams were keen to just get out on the water for a blast.


The No1 rigs were chosen by both teams, with wind looking to be at the top end of the range. There had been a widespread frost since the last time the boats were out and it was obvious as the boats we're being launched in very cold lake water. The fresh gusty breeze caught the Rutland teams by surprise and after a few dunks and splashes, a quick downwind run without the kite was needed just to warm up.

Once the boys stopped being girls about the cold, numerous kite runs were setup in the main pond the same length as the fleet of cadets course meaning alot of quick hoists and drops and little time to think. Upwind, the boys tacks were smooth and effortless, showing that the hours spent in the boat over the winter were paying off. On the boys last kite run, they lined up with KKT who had an interesting hoist, somehow getting the kite up flogging and triple wiring nearly upwind. A few close gybes and runs followed, giving a good idea of just how much bad air the big rigs can give to boats around them. One final gybe from the boys saw too much steering from Tom and Mike couldn't hit the wire quick enough to stop the rig sending the boat over and the 3 boys for a very cold swim.

Once the boat was righted the boat headed straight in without discussion. Whilst the boys weren't cold yet, the water would soon make them tired and force mistakes likely to result in breakages. Both boats made it to shore safely and quickly derigged before the dark and cold set in.


Both teams are hoping to get out next weekend and hopefully get some more structured training in.