Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Tuesday Night Getting Wet
Tuesday night sailing proved to be pretty wet, wild, and pretty much a comedy act. Skipper and crew number 1 (who has never been on a sonar before) arrived promptly for 5.30pm hoping to get out early to get all the bird sh*t off the boat, get the sails sorted and wait for crew number 2 to arrive.
Crew number 2 took her time arriving, and when she did took nearly 20 mins to change out of her corporate suit and into her sailing attire! Skipper tried to no avail to hurry the Welsh rarebit along! Finally we headed out to Disco at 6.20, with the race due to start at 6.50pm. With no time to spare we got to work trying to get the sails onto the boom, and rig up the headsail. Incidently, crew number 2 had never set eyes on a sonar before either! The comedy begins. We haven't even let go of the mooring bouy and we are able to take down the race course, we leave this to crew number 1 as we are having problems trying to get a shackle undone on the heady so that we can put the sheets on it!
Nightmare, no shackle key! Ooops, Crew number 3 normally brings that with him, but he isn't here today. We bludge a shakle key from one of the cruisers going past and finally get the sheets on the heady. We drop the mooring bouy off the bow and head for the start line, with just 90 seconds till the start. Oh no, we are on the wrong side of the start line, better scoot round the pin end mark and follow the fleet off east down the solent. Who cares where the first mark is, we have the entire fleet to follow!! I figure we are about 4 mins behind everyone else.
To make matters worse three is nothing to hold the bottom of the main to the mast, all we could find was the cunningham, so we sorta rigged that up to do the trick. We all look up at the mainsail and think how awful it looks.......oh well, we are off, giving chase.
More comedy, I try to explain in simple terms to Crew number 2 (who is used to complicated larger vessels) how to rig the spinnaker up which sits in a white laundry basket and just pops out with such ease when Crew number 3 & 4 are on the boat. We round the mark, and all we have hanging from the mast is a soggy wet limp spinnaker......no pole rigged, hmmm, something is wrong here, I decide it is best that Crew number 2 steers the boat, and I go and sort out the mess on the foredeck, only to find that Crew number 2 is steering us off in the wrong direction. Best we gybe I say, we have to follow that lot going that way.......yes she agrees........we gybe and realise now that the spinnaker is rigged on the wrong side of the boat, hmmm, bugger this for a joke, lets just sail under white sails to this mark and we will set it up for the last run home........
We head up into the wind, and head over to the final mark, well, we thought it was the final mark! The wind has got up over 20 knots now, and the boat has filled up with water on the last beat, so we try to pump the water out. The rubber seal on the pump has perished! Doh! So we run down to the finish line, but dont bother to go over it as the mooring bouy is closer!!!
Anyway, we arrived back at the Island Sailing Club, drenched, and in need of a Cowes Week special of R&C!! No worries, we made it, and crew number 1 & 2 are better off for the experience, as next week they will both know exactly what they are doing?????
I don't thinks so, hurry up Crew number 3 & 4 and get back from watching the olympics in Athens!!!
Please see picture above of Crew number 1!
Crew number 2 took her time arriving, and when she did took nearly 20 mins to change out of her corporate suit and into her sailing attire! Skipper tried to no avail to hurry the Welsh rarebit along! Finally we headed out to Disco at 6.20, with the race due to start at 6.50pm. With no time to spare we got to work trying to get the sails onto the boom, and rig up the headsail. Incidently, crew number 2 had never set eyes on a sonar before either! The comedy begins. We haven't even let go of the mooring bouy and we are able to take down the race course, we leave this to crew number 1 as we are having problems trying to get a shackle undone on the heady so that we can put the sheets on it!
Nightmare, no shackle key! Ooops, Crew number 3 normally brings that with him, but he isn't here today. We bludge a shakle key from one of the cruisers going past and finally get the sheets on the heady. We drop the mooring bouy off the bow and head for the start line, with just 90 seconds till the start. Oh no, we are on the wrong side of the start line, better scoot round the pin end mark and follow the fleet off east down the solent. Who cares where the first mark is, we have the entire fleet to follow!! I figure we are about 4 mins behind everyone else.
To make matters worse three is nothing to hold the bottom of the main to the mast, all we could find was the cunningham, so we sorta rigged that up to do the trick. We all look up at the mainsail and think how awful it looks.......oh well, we are off, giving chase.
More comedy, I try to explain in simple terms to Crew number 2 (who is used to complicated larger vessels) how to rig the spinnaker up which sits in a white laundry basket and just pops out with such ease when Crew number 3 & 4 are on the boat. We round the mark, and all we have hanging from the mast is a soggy wet limp spinnaker......no pole rigged, hmmm, something is wrong here, I decide it is best that Crew number 2 steers the boat, and I go and sort out the mess on the foredeck, only to find that Crew number 2 is steering us off in the wrong direction. Best we gybe I say, we have to follow that lot going that way.......yes she agrees........we gybe and realise now that the spinnaker is rigged on the wrong side of the boat, hmmm, bugger this for a joke, lets just sail under white sails to this mark and we will set it up for the last run home........
We head up into the wind, and head over to the final mark, well, we thought it was the final mark! The wind has got up over 20 knots now, and the boat has filled up with water on the last beat, so we try to pump the water out. The rubber seal on the pump has perished! Doh! So we run down to the finish line, but dont bother to go over it as the mooring bouy is closer!!!
Anyway, we arrived back at the Island Sailing Club, drenched, and in need of a Cowes Week special of R&C!! No worries, we made it, and crew number 1 & 2 are better off for the experience, as next week they will both know exactly what they are doing?????
I don't thinks so, hurry up Crew number 3 & 4 and get back from watching the olympics in Athens!!!
Please see picture above of Crew number 1!
Monday, August 16, 2004
Cowes Week
There was Carnage on Day 7 at Cowes week, we saw a boat on the beach, two demasted and there were a number of 'Man over boards'. Still it was pretty eventful on our boat as we shredded the Main Sail and lost a baton out of the number 3 sail, so day 7 was the last day we sailed.
Full race reports to follow for both on and off the water
Full race reports to follow for both on and off the water
Team Whistler
A message for the Aussie Crew
Hello team Whistler.
Where to begin. I think you could write a book about us at Cowes Week 2004,
not sure we'd be wanting it published though!
Was by far one of the best weeks I've had in the UK. Definitely going to be
hard to top - thanks Mark and Vee for the boat and house and a big thanks to
Tony for painting my toe nails pink. The grand finale on Saturday night was
unquestionably out of control. First drinks began at 5pm and the last round
I believe was being enjoyed 12 hours later. My body ain't feeling to good
right now.
Bring on St Peter Port, Les
Hello team Whistler.
Where to begin. I think you could write a book about us at Cowes Week 2004,
not sure we'd be wanting it published though!
Was by far one of the best weeks I've had in the UK. Definitely going to be
hard to top - thanks Mark and Vee for the boat and house and a big thanks to
Tony for painting my toe nails pink. The grand finale on Saturday night was
unquestionably out of control. First drinks began at 5pm and the last round
I believe was being enjoyed 12 hours later. My body ain't feeling to good
right now.
Bring on St Peter Port, Les
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