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I had a chance to sail in a 707 just lately in a local regatta. I don’t often sail keel boats but the 707 is described as a big dinghy and it is fun to sail and gives very close racing. Things do happen a bit slower than dinghies but the extra thinking time it gives is quite novel at first and there were 3 other people to discuss it with. The racing though was very tight and a bit disconcerting at first as there is a lot of energy in a moving a keel boat, even a small one. They were fun downwind and you do need to know your boat whisperer stuff to keep them in balance. I sometimes struggled to remember I was part of a team, mostly OK but it was too easy to revert to automatic and forget to say what was happening. And I never got used to them healing and every time we rolled to windward downwind I just could not stop myself from moving into the middle of the boat, much to the amusement of everyone else.
Meanwhile, the RS300 class has voted to allow the mainsheet ratchet block to be attached to the boom, to allow permanent off the boom sheeting, like a lot of the skiffs do. Several sailors were already doing this, with no ratchet, so this should help. It is great how the 300 class can evolve like this to move with the changing techniques of the sailors. Having said that, I’ve tried it and found it very awkward, so I’m sticking with my floor mounted ratchet but it’s a nice option to have.

In recent weeks, I have had my first real experience in volunteering at local activity centre helping out with the sailing. I noticed while assisting some of these young people how rewarding sharing the sport we love so much, and how volunteering is great fun.
To further this I went on to think about the amount of volunteers that go into a sailing to help it run. The PROs and ARO for example regularly give up an evening or a weekend to run are races or the safety boat crews who might have even given up their own sailing to help out on a safety boat.A great example of how volunteering through sailing can be so rewarding is the great work it took to rebuild the race box at PYC.

I will take this moment to say thank you for all the help you put in !

A great way to get involved on a national level would be to get join  in a great scheme called http://www.sportmakers.co.uk/. I have managed to sign up  to helping with  the Olympic live site on the beach at Weymouth as a sports volunteer on the first two days of the games. These opportunities could help you share your passion for sailing whilst maybe introducing new people to the sport and be part of an Olympic legacy.You could also  encourage your friends and family to attend your local RYA push the boat out days in the coming months.

Josh

In other news, we avoided the RS200 open event at Bristol Corinthian due to the forecast being gusting 30+ knots, so we are now looking forward to Parkstone Yacht Clubs very own open event on the 19th.

The reality is that sailing in the UK Spring can be as cold as sailing in Winter – but with the correct kit, you can be comfortable and unrestricted; its all about selecting the right layers for the job. Read the rest of this post »

After 2011, I felt I needed to change my approach.  For the last few years I have been plugging away at the Musto Skiff, regularly finishing in the top 10 (just) at the Championships (whether they are Nationals, Europeans or Worlds – I seem pre-destined to end up in the bottom half of the top 10).  I have heard that madness can be defined as doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome so looking forward to the World Champs this summer, I decided to do something different.   So instead of sailing through the winter I concentrated on training for the Brighton Marathon and improving my fitness. Read the rest of this post »

Watch this space – I also took some video of me trying to break a tiller extension with a 50lb hammer – but this is the techie bit.   We also make spinnaker poles too!

Well, it’s been a hectic start to the year which has unfortunately meant we haven’t been able to sail yet which has been frustrating especially seeing some of the fantastic results the Scorpion fleet have been achieving in the winter general handicap events and not being able to get involved. Read the rest of this post »

So as the weathers hotting up and before the big Easter series open event at Parkstone Yacht Club,I have managed to do some boat prep on my laser  including gel coat repairs and for my foils. I had to repair my center board after bringing it up out of its hole, it looked as if it had a bite out of the trailing edge.  I managed to repair this quite simply with the help of roosters hints and tips page and the youtube video. Its amazing how much a damage can effect your performance when sailing, it is really important to keep them in top condition especially if you have a slightly older  center board. Check out the link below for more advice on maintenance.

I finally got to sail my own boat yesterday rather than crash about in a RIB blowing a whistle and it was great to be back on the water again. It’s amazing how the first sail of the new season reinvigorates you, but it will have to wait as we are off to Atlanta, USA for a couple of weeks over Easter, where even the boats have V8s. Meanwhile, we have sorted out the Scottish RS300 series for this year. We have a training day at Prestwick on the 14th April, being taken by Scottish RS300 champ Neil Beveridge, then a one day event at Loch Tummel on the 16th June followed by our Scottish Championships at Largo Bay on the 23/24th June.
We then travel up North to Inverness and the Chanonry Sailing Club for the weekend of the 4/5th August. I have sailed there many times and I have never seen the Moray Firth dolphins, so maybe this year.
Finally we have the UK circuit event at Prestwick on the 18/19th August and we will all be nice and fast by then.
Should be fun.

Hola! I’m here in Palma de Mallorca, Spain getting ready to sail the Princess Sofia Regatta. I’ve been here for about a week training and I have learned so much. I can’t even describe how happy I am with my sailing. Compared to this time last year, I have improved so much. Luther and I have done a lot of training and I am so excited to see the results. This actually brings me to now…how I’m feeling going into this event: Completely motivated, pumped, focused etc.

In January I sat down with Luther, Leandro, Chris, and Kenneth and completely committed my whole being for the Olympics. We talked about what we thought it would take to achieve my goals. Since that discussion I have based my whole life around what I can do to improve my body, mind, and sailing. I dedicate every day, minute, and second to my commitment to my dream. This is a huge reason as to why I am excited for this event. I am ready to learn new things and see my progression so I know what I need to work on for the future.

Please watch the results at:

http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/

Twitter: PaigeSailor

Facebook: Paige Railey

The final day and last two races of the Chichester Snowflake Series were held on Sunday the 25th March.  We were keen to again try out our new twin pole system.
After the Merlin Open the previous day, there were enough Merlin’s that stayed around to play to make the racing interesting.  We had never won a race against them in the series so with our new M7 mast up, the racing would be interesting.

The first race was in very light conditions.  The current was running from right to left looking upwind.  We opted to use this current to give us the ability to ferry glide to windward using what I would call the lee bow effect.  When the breeze increased – we would experience a heading effect in the wind – as the current wind would be less effective – so we tacked.

Read the rest of this post »