Flying a hull...

Three vs Two

BMW Oracle trimaran re-launch
9o ft (27.5M) long x 90 ft wide








(http://bmworacleracing.com)

Alinghi catamaran unveiled
90 ft long

(http://www.alinghi.com)

RORC IRC Nationals 2009

My face bears the evidence of the glorious weather that greeted us on two out of the three race days last weekend in the Solent. As this picture will attest, the sun was out in full force on day 1 of the IRC Nationals, so much so that by the afternoon I was racing in just shorts and a T-shirt - a first in this country.

Howler

Royal Southern Yacht Club May Regatta - Day 1

"Blowing monkeys out of trees." It's a stupid saying, but today there were certainly not many monkeys aloft. As the WindGURU extract shows, it was howling on the Solent today. As a result, probably 10 out of the 17 boats entered in IRC Class 1 made it out to the race course.

On Cajou, we were a little early for the start. The idea is normally to do some spinnaker sets and tacks before racing, as there is almost always a new face on board. But today none of us wanted to put any sails up until absolutely necessary. So we motored around for an hour or so, watching the windex register 30+ knots.

For the first time ever, I raced with a reef in the main. Cajou spins out at 15 knots, so we would never have made it through the race with a full main. Unfortunately, racing sails are not really designed to be reefed (apart from having the reefing points), so the shape was less than optimal, despite the 6:1 cunningham.

Also a first, we didn't use the spinnaker for the whole day. Although the downwind legs were mostly quite broad, we were hitting the target speeds with just the jib. More importantly, of those boats that flew kites, nearly all broached and a more than one ended up destroying the sail. After the first downwind leg boats were dropping like flies. In the end, only four boats finished in our class, out of 17 entries. Race two was cancelled.

Day 2

When we came down on the next morning, the weather was not a lot better. Mark (the owner) was tempted to send us back home: there is no point risking breaking something, or someone, unless the race is important. His thinking may have been influenced by the fact that we tore the leech on the mainsail while taking it down the day before. We all backed him, knowing that the IRC Nationals were coming up. Despite not taking part in the second race, we ended up fourth overall. Result.

R.I.P. Andrew

Andrew Owen Burke died this morning in Bayview Clinic after a long fight with cancer, losing his left arm and shoulder to the disease several years ago and fighting on as the cancer reappeared in different parts of his body.

Andrew was an extremely talented sailor and boat builder, but the results that he clocked up after losing his arm would be impressive for any of us: 1st in class at Heineken, 1st in class at Tobago, 1st in class at Mount Gay. Last year he sailed around Barbados – literally single handed – to raise money for the Barbados Cancer Society.

Andrew received a Silver Crown of Merit in last year's Independence Honours List (picture above). He celebrated his 60th birthday last week, entertaining a number of sailing friends at his home.

We all will miss him.

View from the pointy end

I spent much of my early big boat sailing on the bow. It was a logical place for me to be because I was young, relatively light, fit and had loads of dinghy experience. I had loads of fun at that end, bouncing around in choppy seas, climbing the mast, sighting the start line. And, of course, doing the most important job for a few minutes at the beginning and end of every downwind leg.

Later on I moved back to trim the sails, a job I prefer, but I still miss doing foredeck. Here is some fitness advice for aspiring Bowmen, taken from today's Scuttlebutt.

SAILING FITNESS: BOWMAN ROUTINE
The Bowman is responsible for making sure sail changes go smoothly, jibing the spinnaker pole, organizing and running the front end of the boat. The training will be structured as if we are training to be a gymnast or rock climber. Flexibility, lightning speed, agility, balance and strength will be needed to be effective while under pressure, anticipating the next move. Apart from a strong cardiovascular program, we can work on various exercises that can help.

A few of my favorites are:

* Squat thrust/Shoulder press: It’s a great exercise that challenges the heart rate, incorporates many different exercises all in one (synergistic) and will challenge the best athletes. This exercise can be intensified by first pre-exhausting the arms and legs.
* Rows: These can be done one arm or two. Adding a Bosu ball or Stability ball will assist in working the core (Throw in Pullups, as many as possible).
* Circuit Training: This is a fantastic way to train. Basically you move from exercise to exercise every 30 seconds. The workout takes about 30 minutes and can be done with the crew or alone. Intensity will be increased or decreased depending upon routine chosen.
* Plyometrics: This helps with explosive power and speed.
* Agility ladders, cones, exer-band harness: Speed, balance and agility training.

Read on: http://na.northsails.com/tabid/12808/Default.aspx

Countdown

Despite my lack of posts last autumn, I participated in nearly all of the Winter Series. It's been nearly four months since I was on the water and it has been a long winter (although I was helped through it by Sam the Sailor). This weekend marks the start of the Spring Series, and I can't wait.

I will be sailing on the good ship Cajou once again. We ended up 6th overall in the Winter Series but were so close to coming third until the last day. We are hoping to do better than that this year. The entry list looks impressive for this weekend and no doubt the Solent will be crowded with boats of all sizes. Hopefully there will be some TP52s out at some point during the series, such as the one shown in this picture.

As they say in Blightey: watch this space.