Sunday, December 13, 2009

December

Mixed results.
I tried a new main foil the last two weeks and it took a while to work out why I was going so badly. Basically the strut I built longer than the predecessor was not stigff enough and on every corner I got the wobbles and crashed. There may be other issues with the horizontal but I was so far behind I would not be able to assess.
So the Sydney International was a disaster for me. I completed a few races but as I was more than 10min behind the winner I scored the same as if I had pulled out, which I did on a couple of other occasions so as to not hold up proceedings. In the end I scored the same as Jon Emonson who did not even leave Tasmania. But I had some fun and learnt a bit more about my boat, Thats what design and development is about anyway.
So this weekend I went back a few weeks, fitted my original foil and I was more than happy with my straight line speed and the boat' handling. The rig did seem to be working well. Trouble was it blew hard and I struggled on the corners again. Forecast was 15 but the records after the race indicated 25 with bigger gusts, good practice for the Perth afternoons.
So seeing as we are packing the boats for Perth in a few days and my sore wrist was still playing up a little, I bailed out to save any damage to boat and body.
So boat is ready for Perth, I am well off pace but am looking forward to the holiday and the regatta.
Pity it looks like being the smallest Nationals in the 10 years I have been a regular.