This weekend was the final weekend of training for the team. The boys met on the Friday evening with a long list of organising to do for the Europe tour and a well stocked fridge of beers. The team are now entered and flights are booked. Mike also showed up with about 50 rolls of electrical tape and two boxes full of clevis pins. Needless to say, we wont be needing many spares of those for a while.
Saturday was a always going to be a light wind day, so instead of drifting, the boat got some last minute attention. A new pair of Harken 75 carbo ratchets were fitted to replace some slightly older ones on the kite blocks, so Mike no longer has any excuse when playing the kite. A few stickers were also added to make the boat more unique, including an identical Young & Reckless sticker to the old skiff. A BBQ was in order towards the end of the day, the first of many this year.
The boys got up early after a night with a few drinks in Stamford and head to Rutland to see what the wind was looking like. While it wasnt like big tuesday at the JJ, it was enough to bother rigging. Though with the high pressure, the sky was blue and Mark even dared to go without his steamer, it was so hot. The skiff also modelled a new clew strap for The Chandlery, who had just started stocking them along with other helpful skiff essentials, which proves handy for when inevitably need need 'that bit of rope' to go sailing.
When boys got on the water, they negotiated their way through the Ovington fleet that were there this weekend. The tacks were, again, looking smooth. Though, in the lighter winds, it was seen to be crucial to keep weight right forward at of the tacks to stop the transom digging in. There were very few rack dipping moments, a good sail balance in the changing winds, to keep the boat trucking fast upwind.
Downwind was also good practice. The lighter winds meant only Mike and Tom could trapeze, but it gave a good opportunity to practice light wind gybes. The first few gybes were pretty poor. After a bit of a rethink, the weight was kept very far forward, to the point where only one person at a time crossed. The high sheeting loads of high angle sailing were easy for Mike and his new ratchets.
The boys also practiced stopping by throwing Mike out the back. He was also sorting out the GoPro, which kept adjusting it's angle, but with the hot weather, Mike was happy for a dip.
The boat head in before the wind died off too much, and to get the boat packed for the Stone event next weekend, before another BBQ was lit to round off the weekend. The team are undoubtedly excited for the first round of the UK tour. They'll be able to see how their preparations have paid off against the rest of the fleet and if the new boat gets them up there. Hopefully the Young & Reckless team can cause a stir at the front of the fleet.
For a few months, Mark has been looking for a van to go to all the events this year. After lots of missed sales and drives to find the perfect van, today he finally bought one.
The van will be used for towing the skiff to events and storing all the kit needed to keep the boat on the water, including beds for 3 skiff sailors. The plans for the inside of this large van are a closely guarded secret kept by Mark, even Mike and Tom only know a few things. The restoration is likely to start early this week, and it is hoped the van will be prepped ready for the first event at Stone 31st March/ 1st April. Mark even got carried away and added the GB sticker early.
