Sailing for all abilities

I missed the last 2 Tideway T.T.’s so it was great to be at my own club for the event. Racers were greeted by the welcoming aroma of barbecued bacon. While our volunteers were handing out the bacon rolls, helping with unloading, rigging and launching, I checked the conditions; it was a light and shifty northerly breeze blowing across the dock. The race officer, Femi, had no choice but to set the course with a very short beat (up-wind) across the dock and a running (down wind) finish. The reaching leg (across the wind) went along in front of the pontoons and centre. Although it was a very short course, the layout brought the spectators into the race instead of viewing it from distance, making it more interesting. It made a nice change to finish a race to rounds of applause.

There was a major bias to the port tack as the wind veered to the west more and more throughout the day. By the last race it was possible to fetch the windward mark on one port tack from the pin end (opposite end to the race officer and flags) of the start line. During the preparatory period (5 minutes before the start), it was clear that most racers were going for the port tack start from the pin end (port flyer). There was very little room for this maneuver, being trapped by the pontoon and start line. I decided to use the starboard rights to sail across them off but a hopelessly mistimed start left me becalmed at the wrong end feeling foolish. By the time I got going, Alan and Dave Durston had the Liberty race sown up. I noticed Hugh was using his home advantage to the good in the 303′s as well. The wind really was all over the place; I recall Tess Watkiss saying “It’s worse than Frensham.” While preparing for the 2nd race, my steering stopped working – after a quick diagnostic, Dave Shill informed me that the new winch was broken and needed replacing; so that was my morning. From the club room, sipping my tea, I saw Alan’s orange sails flying over the finish line, comprehensively beating Dave Durston; Alan had the bit in his teeth and was going for it; he had his strategy and it was clearly working.

After lunch, back on the water with the old, recently repaired steering winch fitted (thanks Alan) , I felt determined to make my strategy work. As in race 1 & 2, most racers appeared to be preparing for a pin end start on port, so I drifted along the start line on starboard as the clock ticked down to the start and timed it OK, this time. At the start signal I had right of way and managed to cross the line, get past the pin and tack ahead of the fleet. However, I heard a shout go up from Femi “You were over the line,” so I turned back and jibed around behind the line and the fleet.  It turned out that the call was for someone else,  my view being obscured and I’d thrown away a decent start. I was playing catch up again but without much success. It just wasn’t my day.

By race 4 the wind had shifted further to the west; you could’ve made the windward mark from anywhere on the start line on port tack.  Although the pin end would give you the inside line to the mark, you’d have to have to sail higher than a boat further along the start line who could sail faster being on a reach. The pin end starters had cleaner wind though and the short distance to the mark nullified any advantage I’d imagined. Should’ve stuck to my guns and had another crack at approaching the pin on starboard.

Fair play to Alan Wall; he decided on his strategy and stuck to it, timing his starts with precision and matching Dave Durston for speed. They both had a 1st and 2nd each but the tie broke in Dave’s favour. Hugh won the 303 single class. For all results keep a check on this page:  http://www.accessclass.org.uk/imgs/827PDF_Access_TT_Results_to_DateN-Ton_2011.pdf

Everyone agreed it was a well run event. It was good to see Clare back at the registration desk – the volunteers did a first class job of giving assistance where required, safety boat cover, getting everyone on the water in good time, assisting the race officer and not forgetting Alan’s mum’s catering (loved those ginger biscuits). Sorry your world champion couldn’t muster a world class performance.

Next up RYA Sailability Championships incorporating the Rutland T.T. 12th – 14th August

Photo’s to be added later.

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Perfect conditions...for water-skiing.

From one extreme to the other; light air was the order of the day. As we were rigging the boat in the morning sunshine, the serene expanse of Pitsford Water, mirrored the beautiful parkland and nature reserve of Brixworth Country Park. If the sailing was to be abandoned, I was going for a long walk.

Luckily, we were all out on the water, jockeying for a good starting position for the 1st race at 11:00. It was a typical light air day; intense concentration as we strained to get the most out of every puff of air; ; frustration when, as a servo sailor, all your good upwind work is nullified when you can’t get your boom out after rounding the windward mark; satisfaction when your lead is restored when you are the first to benefit from a breeze on the run down-wind; jubilation when you take the boat way off course to catch some breeze – and it pays off. In my last blog, I reported that the steering felt slow – well, on Saturday it died as we were checking things over prior to launching. With the controller gaffer-taped to my chest, I wrestled the tiller manually. This would have been impossible in anything but light air.

There was a better turn out for this event than we’ve been getting of late. I didn’t count them all but there was one other Liberty (Simon Harle) present; not enough to sail as a separate class so we joined the 303′s again.

My customary race 1 blunder this week was to completely miss the last mark, (d’oh!) It took so long getting around the triangular course that I got lost in time – it didn’t help that the flags were mis-numbered (3rd mark number 4?)  - also, being in a close 2nd place meant leading the way, to some extent, so when I tacked off early for the line, I took Hugh, and others with me. We live and learn.

I got another, hollow, 1st place overall in my class. These conditions are very difficult for servo sailors, as explained, but it’s very easy to make excuses; the best sailors tend to keep winning:- congratulations to Paul Philips, who is, so far, the most consistent winner in the 303 single class and Lindsay Burns in the 2.3 class.

By the end of the 3rd race, the race officer abandoned further proceedings. We were being upstaged by swarms of mating damsel flies; much more interesting – I’m not sure, but it seems that the arrival of the big blue boat on Pitsford water at this time of the year is a trigger, as evidenced by hundreds of little blue couples partying all over the deck.

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The Woolverstone Project does it’s racing on Alton Water, a reservoir situated on a peninsular, bounded by the estuary’s of the River Stour and Orwell. It does other sailing activities on the Orwell.  Being surrounded by tidal water has a major effect on the wind there, so I’m told. I was looking forward to this event, it’s a great club with a wide open stretch of water and I had my first ever win there.

Last year’s event was called off at the last minute due to high wind. The class rules for all 3 Access Dinghys recommend that where the wind is gusting over 25 knots for 30 seconds or for any duration over 30 knots, that racing should not start or be abandoned if already in progress. This year, there was some anxiety since the weather forecast was predicting 36 mph gusts only 2 days prior to the event. By Wednesday morning the wind had dropped to 12 – 15 mph, although the race officer warned us that the afternoon races might be called off as high wind was expected.

The water level in the reservoir was unusually high which rendered the pontoon inaccessible. The system they had in place and which they preferred, was to put the boat onto a special launching trolley with a flat, wooden base. If needed, the sailor is hoisted in on land. The keel is lowered until it sits on the trolley; on launching, it drops home as the boat floats off. In reverse, the keel rises up as the boat is pulled out, by tractor. It requires 2 volunteers in dry suits up to carry out the manoeuver.

As the only Liberty sailor again, I sailed with the 303 fleet. It was down to the hard core of access racers again, which is a pity.  In the old blue boat again – now with the, long awaited, up-graded wiring loom, faster main winch and new controller, giving me independent control of jib and main, at last! With a good breeze, I had no excuses; my boat should be faster but with these sailors, there was no room for error.

I made a reasonable start and worked my way up the course but without making the most of the wind shifts. After rounding the windward mark, I got ahead on the next leg momentarily without getting away from the group and got stalled in the dirty wind as I was being caught to windward. It was nip and tuck as we jostled for position to round the next mark. The wind died and, unable to keep clear of a boat with an inside overlap, got snagged. After we were separated, I spent the remainder of that race catching up. I made the classic blunder of tacking inside 3 boat lengths from the windward mark ahead of the fleet that was racing in on starboard; I might have got away with it but there was another boat already at the mark. I had no right to try it and ended up  getting caught on the buoy (windward mark in front of the clubhouse) in the process, much to the amusement of the spectators. It seems I always need a race to get myself concentrated on the job. Race 2 went better; I managed to get clear ahead for a while with Hugh, Tess Watkiss and Paul Phillips closing. Tess overtook me on the last lap. I chased her all the way to the last leeward mark and just caught her at the finish line, I think.

I remained seated in the boat for lunch. As we prepared for the start of race 3 the wind was strengthening; the wavelets all had white tops with fine spray blowing off occasionally; we were in for an exciting race. I got away well with Hugh (in his element) close behind. However, a heavy squall hit us as I was about to round the windward mark and overpowered me. In these conditions, the rudder servo just isn’t quick enough so I was knocked down, thankful of the high side decks and heavy keel. The safety boat raced off to rescue Tess, who was in the water. I then lost the main sheet; we’d put an extra part on the boom but the sheet was too short to accommodate it. It didn’t matter anyway as the racing was called off at that point.  I’m told that the wind was gusting around 40 mph!

Short but sweet – next up is Northampton on Saturday 2nd July. Thanks to Dave Shill for his continued support and to Des and Steve for the photo’s.

More to follow…

This year’s National’s were held at Frensham Pond Sailing Club on 11th & 12th June. Despite some notable absentees, there was a strong field with the presence of the well-seasoned Liberty campaigner, Barry Coates from Australia, fresh from his recent victory at the European’s. Along with him in the Liberty class, came the 2 Dutch former Euro champions, Vera Voorbach and Wilma van den Broek. Vera came 3rd in the Euro’s this year after the World Champion in 2nd. So we were under some pressure to get something from our own Nationals.

There were 8 Libertys altogether, 4 full servo and 4 manual or partial servo; 14 single 303′s; 6 double 303′s and 6 x 2.3′s making 34 boats in all.

There were some past champions in the other classes as well such as Paul Holzherr and sailors who’ve moved up into different classes e.g. the 2.4MR, as well as some very strong emerging racers. Unfortunately for Hugh and Tideway, he couldn’t make it this year so it was down to just Allan and myself to represent Tideway in the Liberty class.

There were 7 races planned over the 2 days – 5 on Saturday and 2 Sunday. The excessive weed and light air early on meant we could only manage 4 on the first day.  We were warned about the weed but virtually everyone was snagged by it at some point – it was a question of how fast you could get assistance.

In my last post I implied that race officers, being knowledgeable, local sailors, like to make things interesting. Frensham pond is notoriously shifty and the windward marks are therefore difficult to get around at the best of times – the closer you get to them, the more shifty the wind becomes; even in a fresh breeze when you feel you’ve gone way over the lay line so that when you finally tack and come flying in on a close reach you can still be headed off, only to see someone who you passed earlier get lifted up to the mark. Thats sailing for you, especially on small stretches of water where the windward mark is likely to be in a more sheltered spot. It’s the same for everyone,  swings and roundabouts, part of the fun.

As the weekend proceeded, the light air gave way to a fresh, gusty breeze that swung round to the south. This meant that on Sunday, the rectangular course was re-orientated to a more favourable position, in terms of weed. The racing was much better in the strong wind. So how did we get on? Personally, not good, I’m not up where I was last year yet; badly hindered by weed on Saturday and on Sunday had to drop out of the first race with a winch problem (from a good 2nd position). I had a strong 2nd race that I nearly won but overall 6th with 3rd in servo class. Allan had a good weekend though, putting in some strong races, challenging Barry and Vera (when he wasn’t colliding with people or tacking over them) so that he got a, well deserved, 3rd overall and 2nd in servo class. Well played Alan!

The whole event was well organised with a coaching session, for those interested, on Friday morning and practice races in the afternoon. As in the Worlds last year, the Liberty’s and their sailors had to be weighed so that the lighter sailors had weights placed under their seats. On Saturday evening we all sat down to a beautifully prepared meal (to say nothing of the delicious bacon rolls every morning and freshly prepared baguettes at lunch time). All the trophys that were handed out in the prize giving ceremony were hand crafted especially for the occasion and generously donated to the Class Committee. The saving was passed onto Frensham so that the cost of our meals was kept low. It really is amazing to think it all happens, every detail,  because of the dedicated effort of committed volunteers.

Between the last race on Saturday and dinner, we squeezed in the AGM of the UK Access Class where the committee was elected (yours truly being a co-opted member – can’t remember why). During the meeting there was a bit of discussion around the falling off of participants in the TT series. This has a lot to do with the rise in fuel costs and general living expenses for lower income people. It’s important we all do all we can to make sure that the Tideway TT day on Saturday 23rd July is the success it always has been; some people are put off by the thought of driving into London to go sailing; people walking by with bags of Tesco’s shopping doesn’t quite have the allure of your average sailing club, perhaps.

Please write something, anything vaguely related, maybe a question . Here are a few pics – more to follow (trophy presentations). Click to enlarge.

…and I don’t just mean “Civil”. There’s a real drop off in attendance, so far, in this year’s Travellers’ Trophy Series. Burghfield was the venue last Wednesday for the 4th event. As the only Liberty sailing, I had to race with the 303 fleet. If it wasn’t for the enthusiasm of Frensham club, returning from the European Championships in Italy the night before, there would only have been a handful competing. Incidentally, Frensham, being the biggest contingent of the British entry, carried home the impressive Team trophy, won by the British team at the Euro’s – well played to the Brits and Frensham in particular. Their club has a strong racing tradition, they have a dedicated coached racing session every week and the all boats are kept up to racing standards; something we can aspire to.

Sailing in the 303 fleet was normal for Liberty’s until last year, when the class finally seemed to be taking off here in the UK. It showed how woefully out of practice I am, sailing against race-fit competitors. It’s also true, that a light-weight person who can shift their body to windward, sailing a 303 in light or moderate breeze can compete against any Liberty, which is a much heavier boat, dragging 2 rudders. I took the orange boat, thanks to Anthony’s persistent effort to get the main winch working properly. After sorting out the steering, the boat was sailing very well. Conditions were challenging; the morning was dominated by light, shifting air, at times dying off completely. The S.W. breeze picked up throughout the afternoon, while still shifting about. The way it shifts is characteristic of wind over lakes surrounded by trees, apparently – especially where the stretch of water is relatively small. Frensham pond is the same.

The race officer set a very long start line so that the pin end (opposite end to the committee boat) was closer to the trees, with the committee boat end further out in the lake. Hindsight is a great thing; in general, racers tend to start from the committee boat end; this means you’re on starboard tack and have more rights. It seems that many start line’s have a port tack bias, in other words, the wind is tending to come down the course more from the left (as you look up the course from behind the start line); this means you will go further up towards the windward mark on port tack than on starboard. Sometimes this can tempt some to try a port tack start, knowing that they’ll need to get ahead of the fleet, which will be on collision course on starboard. It worked well for Chris Cook last year at the World’s – depends a lot on a steady breeze and a well timed start. On this occasion, it didn’t work out. What I realise now, is that the very long start line, with the port tack bias, was probably set to tempt unwary sailors into a port tack start. I should have been aware that the wind was better at the committee boat end, d’oh!

Anyway, after a disastrous morning, I got it together for a decent start after lunch and with the extra breeze and better tactics, pulled ahead of the fleet to win the 3rd race. Hugh thrives in a fresh breeze so he also struggled in the light air and moderate breeze, losing points in the series. The last race didn’t go so well; purely due to some dodgy decisions and a lousy start – so hats off to the 303 fleet for their excellent sailing.

Next up is the Nationals, held over the weekend at Frensham Pond. It looks like it’s just Alan and me competing from Tideway. There are 8 Liberty’s registered, as I write, including 4 full servo and 4 manual or partial servo. The 2 Dutch sailors, Vera Voorbach and Wilma Van den Broek will be sailing as well as, Barry Coates from Australia; Barry and Vera came 1st and 2nd in the recent Euro’s – so a strong field in the Liberty fleet.

Some pics from Burghfield courtesy of Des and my mate Steve who helped me out while Dave had a day off – groovin’ with Sade at the O2, – the smooth operator.

Click to enlarge:

The 3rd event in this year’s Travelers’ Trophy series was held at Carsington Water in Derbyshire on Wed. 18th May; the northernmost venue of the series, set on a large reservoir, nestling in the hills on the edge of the peak district. After dropping off Hugh at a campsite on Tuesday evening near the lake, we had a meal in the nearby pub. A complaint by Emily (?) last Sunday, about the general shortage of steak and kidney puddings down south and the total absence of them in southern chip shops, prompted me to risk one after spotting the dish on the specials board.  When I traveled to Egypt many years ago, I was advised not to eat the salad there as my digestive system wouldn’t be accustomed to the foreign bacteria and I’d end up with ” ‘gypy belly”. No-one warned me about northern steak and kidney pudding heart burn; sure it was tasty and very filling but I’m on my 3rd box of Renny’s, as I write.

Still fighting back the acid reflux, we pulled up on the shale beach of the lake the next morning in the light drizzle that was correctly forecast by the Met. Office. It was apparent that numbers were down on last year. In fact only 10 boats were racing today: 2 x Liberty’s; 4 x 303′s and 4 x 2.3′s. I was looking forward to seeing Chris Molesworth from Swarkestone Sailability with his brand new Liberty that he controls with his feet – until now Chris has sailed successfully in the double 303 class.  I gather he is having teething problems with his new electronics.  Hugh managed to borrow a 303 from Carsington so Dave Shill and Dez, my PA,  got on with rigging while I went to register.

The joystick modifications that I need on the orange Liberty haven’t happened yet so I took the blue one. It doesn’t have the improvements of the orange boat i.e. faster, stronger winches and independent control of the jib but without a joystick that I can use properly, the steering is too much of a struggle, as explained previously. At least I know this boat’s quirks and it doesn’t have a water feature.

Out on the water, away from the clubhouse, the wind was quite brisk and constant. The course was a simple triangle with the start-line halfway up the beat from the leeward mark. The start-line was also a gate that we had to pass through on each lap. Each race was to be 3 laps. As usual, the Libertys went first; our starting signal being the 5 minute warning for the 303′s followed by the 2.3′s. There was a clear bias in favor of port tack and to the pin end of the line. I hit the line bang on the hooter but without much speed but soon found myself in the lead rounding the windward mark.  Halfway around, the wind veered about 90 degrees so that the upwind leg became a long, fast reach – which was fun. I held on to the end of the race to gain first place. I could see the small 303 fleet on the far side with Hugh out in front – where he stayed to the line. So we had a Tideway double for the first race.  The committee boat moved the line to accommodate the wind change and marks were duly moved. Port tack was still favorite for the 2nd race but the wind was shifting about and increasing in strength making sailing more interesting. At this point I realised that my main had far too much curve for the wind which made the boat more difficult to control when close-hauled in gusts. As a full-servo sailor I’m not allowed to adjust the outhaul, even if I could, during a race. The race went well again for both of us so we went in for lunch with 2 firsts each. The great thing about winning is you get back to the pontoon first. Carsington Sailing Club is very posh with a great galley providing a good choice of wholesome lunches; very welcome after a morning out in the wind and after an early start and long drive for many.

After lunch I found myself at the back of the queue for the single hoist which was wrong. I take longer to get settled and strapped in than everyone else.  Consequently I ended up keeping everyone waiting. It adds pressure to the more severely disabled sailors; all racers need time to sail about the start area before a race to prepare and work out a strategy. You don’t want to hear the 5 minute signal before you’ve arrived. It’s important that host clubs are aware of the needs of all the racers at registration. Its not enough to simply identify who needs a hoist; most people who need a hoist can be quickly moved on.  The race shouldn’t start on the pontoon for the hoist.

I made a poor start for the 3rd race but caught Simon at the 1st windward mark and got past him but he fought back well, coming past me on the next leg. I couldn’t find the boat speed of earlier and my sail trimming was getting sloppy. Simon won the 3rd so it all came down to the last race; would I throw away the good work of the first half, like Arsenal football team, or would I go on and consolidate a winning position? I started the 4th OK, tacking quickly up the beat to windward but on rounding the mark I realised I was on my own. Did I jump the gun? Where was he? It turned out he had a technical problem; oh well – a win is a win. Hugh went on to record 4 straight wins so he’s on his way to retaining the 303 Series. The 2.3 event was won by Lindsay Burns from Frensham. Lindsay won the series last year and has won all 3 so far this year. She is off to Lake Garda in Italy for the European Championships which start on Tuesday next week. Its a shame no one from Tideway is going to the Euro’s; maybe next year.

A good day for Tideway with 2 overall firsts. I made the longest trip of the series without any health concerns; just normal fatigue, so a major step in my recovery. I hope others will want to get involved as sailors or enablers. Apart from the competition itself, which you can take as seriously as you like, it’s an enjoyable way to meet people, see different parts of the country and sail on different stretches of water.

Next race is Burgfield (nr Reading) on Wed. 1st June.

Here’s a selection of pics taken by Dez – some from the safety boat:

Hello

- and in my case, on the water again for the first time since last July! The second event in this year’s Traveler’s Trophy was hosted by Farmoor Sailability, which is located on a beautiful  reservoir just outside Oxford. As usual, we traveled on Tuesday, the day before the race, to avoid the stress of doing it all in one day.  I had arranged to have a modified seat fitted by Steve Sawford, on the morning before the racing began. The seating was a source of some anxiety, being an unresolved issue. I was also sailing a different Liberty to the one I’m accustomed to – this one having the new improved servo’s and controller. The old servo motors are relatively slow and the old controller doesn’t allow independent control of the jib. I was feeling quite excited at the prospect of sailing with all these improvements. Inevitably, getting my seat sorted was not straightforward and I was delayed at the pontoon while the rest of the fleet sailed off to start line.

I eventually set off from the pontoon to the start line at the far end of the lake in the bright sunshine with the cold, fresh North Easterly breeze behind me. I could see the Libertys, reaching back and forth behind the start line, timing their runs, getting used to the conditions. The 303′s were a little way off, waiting their turn – the starting signal for the Libertys is the 5 minute warning for the 303s.  Would I make the start? I had little time to familiarise myself with the boat or conditions. The joystick on the new box was tiny and I could only move it by using the outside edge of my hand which has no sense of touch so the only feedback, apart from the movement of the boat, was from the movement of the tiller. This is something I could have resolved beforehand, d’oh!

As I approached the line, the 5 minute warning signal went off and I saw the Liberty Class flag go up.  A bag of nerves, I went into auto-pilot, hit the start button on my watch and tried to get a feel for the wind. The minutes quickly ran down and I did a poor start before working my way up the beat. I got a good lift about half way up and found myself in the lead rounding the windward mark. As we raced across to the wing mark, a fountain sprang up from the keel box, soaking my feet. The harder the wind blew, the faster the boat went and the more vigorous was my new water feature.  Being a novel experience, I was just wondering how serious this was when I noticed that the sail servo’s weren’t working. The steering was fine but I couldn’t move the sails. I hailed the safety boat and asked for a tow back. I noticed, when we were halfway back to the pontoon, that I’d inadvertently switched off the sails – d’oh! The old control box has a button that needs a positive hit to operate. Now I have 2 toggle-switches next to a joystick that I can’t feel. I signalled the driver to stop and explained the situation.  As he was casting me off to rejoin the race, I noticed that the steering now wasn’t working – the lines had come off the pulley. After Dave had fixed the steering back at the pontoon, I headed off again on the long run down to the start line, just making the start of Race 2, completing the race in 2nd place.

Where's the start line?

At lunch I discovered that the water feature is a common problem with some Libertys; it has something to do with the position of the holes in the keel which forces the water up the box .  The keel on the old blue boat didn’t do this. Its no big deal though – there are simple solutions to this problem.

The 2 afternoon races didn’t happen for me due to steering problems. I got away early from the pontoon, keen to put in a good start, then spent about 15 minutes going around in circles on the far side of the lake with my arms in the air like some strange mating ritual before being rescued. The clutch mechanism is temper-mental - I had this with the last boat until we found the problem. Pure frustration as I set off for the start line again and again before losing steering. By the time we cured it, the 4th race had just got under way so I contented myself by making the most of the surroundings and having a good cruise about for about 40 minutes, just being glad to be sailing again. This was always going to be a feasibility study, I wasn’t sure beforehand if the seat would be usable. The wind was constant and blowing about force 3 to 4 at times and there was hardly a cloud in the sky.

There were 5 Libertys including 2 new boats and sailors and approx. 8 x 303s. Oxford members had to provide a pair of sailors to make up the doubles; there is currently a lack of 303 double crews, singles being more popular these days. Hugh came along; he managed to participate in the racing by arranging a chartered 303. This was lucky for him and Tideway as he came 1st in 3 races ensuring an overall 1st for the 303 event. Hugh won the series last year don’t forget; the more participation we have, as a club in the series, the better our chances of winning the Ben Ainsley Trophy which will enhance our profile and improve our chances of getting sponsorship. We have 2 or 3 Libertys that can be used for racing without affecting normal club activities. We could do with extra 303s for racing as these are still the most popular access dinghys for racing as general use.  I hope to be regularly sailing again at the club and in the racing series.

Next race is Carsington in Derbyshire on the 18th May- the most northern venue on the circuit. Big thanks to Dave Shill who makes it all possible.