Team Prepares For Overseas

The boys have been at work over the past few weeks sorting things out for the next leg of their tour. Next weekend sees the boys make their way to Calshot and then straight on to the first euro stop in Hungary.


Since Stone, many things have had to be sorted, boring things like insurance, maintenance and paying for things. Mark has been spending many evenings finishing off the inside of the van and sorting out proper mattresses. The bearings of the trailer have been getting some attention after the handbrake incidence at Stone. 


An exciting development in the last week is the boys acquisition of windsurfing kit. As the team are likely to have a bit of time on their hands between events and in some of the warmest waters in Europe, it seemed sensible to learn to windsurf. As skiff sailors, they have always noticed the windsurfers heading out when it's too windy for them and this tour is the best opportunity to finally have a go. After a few weeks trawling the net and asking around, all 3 have themselves boards and various kit, even having a go a Rutland last weekend. Considering how long it takes to build the skiff before hitting the water, they weren't expecting the 5 minute rig time. They all got to grips with the basics very quickly, but not without falling in many times. Fingers crossed they spend less time swimming and more time sailing when they get to Europe.


This weekend sees 3 days racing from Calshot, with the last day maybe being a longer distance race. The boys are anxious to see how they compare to the other teams, after all the only racing they've done has been on much flatter water at Rutland and Stone. As soon as the event finishes on monday, the van will be packed up with all the toys and heading to Dover for a 2am crossing to France, then through Belgium, Germany, Austria and finally Hungary. The team hope to get to Hungary late on Tuesday or early Wednesday to give them a chance to chill before the event starts on Thursday morning. The event is being held at Lake Balaton, the biggest lake in Europe, but also one of the more shallow lakes. The event is run from Thursday to Sunday, hopefully not tiring the boys out after a total of 7 days racing in 9. Mike is flying back to the UK on the Sunday evening to get back to work. Mark and Tom will drive the boat through Slovenia to drop the boat off in Italy on the Monday evening and flying back on Wednesday after a chilled day at Garda on the Tuesday.


Needless to say, the team are all very excited for Friday to come around and all the preparation  will be done and they can concentrate on the events and hopefully get some more top positions.

UK GRAND PRIX ROUND 1: A Great Start to the Season at Stone

The Australian 18 Footers season finished last weekend, whereas halfway round the world, the UK tour started this weekend. The team assembled at Stone Sailing Club in Essex. As the boys were trying to find a space in the dinghy park, they realised a smell was coming from the trailer. Mark realised something was up when he nearly burnt his hands on the rims of the wheels. It later became clear that the trailers handbrake had been left on for 20 miles and the brakes had overheated. Thankfully a hose nearby was used to cool them down as the boys were worried the pads might set alight. After the initial shock, the team needed a drink and head down to the local pub to find the Carsington and Aftica teams already there.

The boys spent there first night in the van, that was so comfortable, Mark was desperate for a lie in. When the team finally got up, it was clear today was going to be a windy one. As usual, the rig choice wasn’t discussed until the latest possible moment, when the boat was unloaded and everything unpacked. The breeze had built and a unanimous decision was made to go for the number two rig, even with many other teams plugging in there number ones. After a quick briefing the team realised they were far behind everyone else and rushed to finish rigging and were further slowed by the boat breaker snapping. The late launch of the boat meant no one was around to help the boat stay steady in the lumpy onshore chop. After a couple of attempts, it was clear that launching was risky for the fixed rudder blade. With the condition of the rudder in mind, the team decided to call it a day. The other teams all had a challenging time, being set a short course in above No1 rig conditions. Also boats had a mare trying to recover, but all made it back safely.

The clubhouse opened its bar and new kitchen to the fleet and everyone enjoyed a much needed dinner. Many teams stayed for a few drinks and a debrief was organised by Jamie and Stu from Pica. The chat wasn’t just the Pica boys sharing their secrets, but a lot of input from different teams allowed a good discussion of rig setup, manoeuvres and general sailing chat. The skiff chat continued well into the night, whilst the boys made their way through the clubs rum stocks. The boys enjoyed the bar at Stone, it was inviting to all the sailors and sold a cheap round! The boys retired to the van when the bar closed for a few more drinks, though Mark got too comfortable too quickly and went straight to sleep.

The alarm went off on Toms phone early at 7. An early start was needed to get the team rigged and launched in time. The van door was opened to a chilly morning, but promising blue skies. In between the quick dash for another Stone special bacon sandwich, the boys were happy to be the first boat upright with sails on. The wind direction was the same as yesterday, but much lighter making it much easier to handle the boat onshore. The boys made their way to the course, playing with settings and generally getting used to the very light wind conditions.

The first race was on the same short northly course across the estuary. The team weren’t keyed in with the time at the start and luckily got a font row position in the fickle breeze. Whilst Young and Reckless went left with HPF, the rest of the fleet went theother way, but it was pot luck where the pressure fell and the team rounded the mark in 3^rd. The wind swung before the second upwind leg, but the boys still found themselves in lucky bits of pressure. The final downwind leg to the finish saw the boys battling with Carsington, just holding them off for a 4^th.

The second race was set in the switched westerly breeze, but had much more constant wind. Young and Reckless stayed mid fleet until the top mark where they were coming in in 3^rd place. As they got to the top mark, the wind vanished, leaving them to the mercy of the tide which pushed them onto the mark allowing Carsington and HPF through. Once finally freed, the race was on the regain places on the last leg. Mark was sent to the front and the boys sailed much much lower than HPF really trying to get the transom out. It paid off in the end as much as the wind was in favour as HPF sailed into a dead spot and couldn’t quite catch Young and Reckless back up. The team were pleased with another fourth but, knew they could cut out mistakes to make up more places.

The final race was set in a slightly stronger breeze, much more comfortable for Tom and Mark to trapeze, whilst Mike made home on the front deck upwind. Again, the team found themselves mid fleet after bad air at the start, but found themselves in behind Hyde and HPF on the penultimate downwind leg. Knowing there was quite a gap behind them to Aftica, the boys gybed early to find breeze the other side of the course. Again, the minimal movements and low sailing meant the team came into the gate in starboard allowing them to take HPF around the mark, following very closely behind Hyde. Looking up the course, Pica had banged a long tack to the right and kept going. The team decided to go bold and try to call this huge layline and hopefully sail through the glassy patches. Turns out the glassy patches had more pressure and by the top mark, the boat was nearly powered up to triple wiring, unlike Hyde who rounded 15 boat lengths behind, with much less boatspeed. The boys elected to loosely cover Hyde downwind, but knowing they were in second, nerves were high not to make any mistakes. After the final gybe was executed, the team sailed across the line for a second place. The team were very happy with this result.

The boat returned to shore and was packed up. Due to a day not sailing, the final place for the team was fifth, only 1 point behind training partners Carsington. The team are hoping to build on the success of this event, possibly even race every race next time!

The next event is Calshot in May, where the team will be met with the solent chop and sail at their rivals home event. The team will then be travelling straight to Hungary to kick off their European tour. The team couldn’t be happier with their start to the season and hope to keep poking there bowsprit near the front.