Feeling Dirty.. (Contender Content)

Did the other Contenders point higher?

Brave of you to go out, good job the wind was light, might have turned you completely off the boat.

I subscribe to the flat sail in light winds, pull on everything till your knuckles crack, reduce wind resistance.

Everything???

Well had a bit of a result 1st race today, the boys adjusted the rig raked it a bit more, (two more holes down) and they checked it by measuring with a tape measure, then one of those Loos Guages thingys I haven't seen since my MPS days. I still wasn't feeling really on it, but it was yet another light wind day which looked like it might get up coming from the East as it was on a rising tide which usually delivers a sideshore thermal, but not so today by the time I got out to the start line it was difficult to tell if there was anything and where it was coming from.

Then a few zephyrs appeared here and there and got some movement happening and I noticed the Port end was well favoured so hung around and banged a flyer in thinking they wouldn't even make it over the line on starboard, but they did and put me about so I banged left, they'd all swung back and were headed out to sea, which meant they missed a lolly little knock which once tacked on with a favorable tide meant I could sail it a bit free with the tide lifing me and bingo I'm in the frame for rounding first. Which was ruined by one of the Contenderati preferring to use his 10 mtr RS100 with kite and then the other Contender hot shot who took me using my favorite tactic sailing low into an oncoming tide, I'm struggling to make it go offwind, then the gybe results inot a very deep reach into an oncoming tide and I get lucky spotting that inshore header and flack over for a slow port dog leg, which proves better then tryinbg to dea run it and gets me to the bottom mark first, I round up and its now almost a fetch I can sail my style holding the boom to feel the pressure and slightly fee and I manage to get the bitch moving at last and begin to pull away. Eventually I end up just stealing the over the water line honours from my chum in his Phantom, which is really quick in these conditions, but it did wonders for my confidence in that it is possible, I'd beaten all the other Contenders, which last week I'd never have thought likely in a monthy of Sundays.

The wind had picked up a bit as the race was continuing so I stayed on for a 2nd race even though I was feeling knackered, got a good start and 1st beat got to the windward mark 1st again but it all fell apart again offwind and long story short I went from 1st to last as a combination of issues like last week decended upon my sad sorry arse including the infernal top batten constantly inverting offwind which drove me mental, but whatever, 2nd time out I'd got them in at least one race this last race can be blamed on fatigue and no residual technique to fall back on, I hate tacking with the too long wiggle stick, I hate the centre mainsheet position, all the rope, the length of the boat you have to run up and down, to the point I'm considering rear sheeting and some jury rigged off boom sheeting with cleat, haven't quite worked out yet what I'm going to do, but I can't be having all the stupid disasters that keep befalling me because my technique doesn't match this boat, so something's going to have to change and at my age it can't be me.

Edited by iGRF - 17 Apr 22 at 8:13pm