Zhik Moth German Open

A great championship with participants from Denmark, Holland, Sweden and of course all the German Top Guns had been sailed between 26th of Aug until Sunday 28th. 10 races in three days at a mostly very windy venue. The PRO was not shy to lay a long course over the lake and mixed the program up with a number of different rounds to be sailed. Anja, of Mottenfieber Sailing TV fame, has again taken great shots and survived 3 windy days on a pram to bring some of the action straight into our homes. In the name of all participants, Anja: Thank you very much.

Look for the Friday and Saturday races no further than here:
Zhik Moth German Open at Lake Wittensee, Friday/Saturday

Look for the very windy (gusts up to 25kn) Sunday fotos here:
Wittensee, the windy Sunday

And look for the attending persons during the price giving here:
German Open, Price Giving

Again, my sincere thanks to Anja. She is a real class act.

Foto courtesy: Anja R.

Wish I could be there...

Going to Spain to see Alan and the ProVela is always tempting but with a busy September behind me (we are talking sailing and racing here) and an upcoming Moth regatta organized by me, my family and my homeclub, does not allow for more adventures. So Alan and David, I am sorry, I will not be able to make it but comes spring, you will see me.

Apart from some Mothing alone or with Andreas, I did take part in some Yardstick regattas with the Black Sheep to gain experience on this new style of boat. Very, very wide and hard chines. Double rudders. In short I must say it is fun to sail but the Melges 24 (who were our benchmark at the Blue Ribbon regatta) have developed themselves so far ahead that beating them in a distance race seems questionable to me.

K. and I also sailed the yearly Laser-City-Championship and whilst she finished all races in an old, worn out boat in style, I tried two starts and had to retire in both races due to stupid rigging errors. I wished I had Tillerman or other great Laseristi to help me with rigging an old boat like #84084. Maybe they would have told me what I knew afterwards: Change all the ropes and black plastic cleats or double secure behind the cleats with figure eight knots. See the amateur movie: Schleswig Laser Regatta

Anyway there had been a Moth regatta in between in Kiel. The Inshore race. I took the boat down there on the trailer, did not manage to hit the startline at first start, tried to sail the course for practice with 3 other Moths who were in the race but got so frustrated about the wind, the weather mark under the high shore line and myself about being unable to cope with the conditions. I had stayed complete dry getting on the tramp as the ASC, Kiel had provided personnel to help the boats into the water (Moth´s, I14´s, 18´s and a YS group even containing a Devoti D1 Skiff) but heading for shore I capzised badly just in front of the ponton. No wind, hazzle to get back on the boat and all. Not a good Moth show for the spectators though some came up and asked questions and wanted to help de-rigging the boat after I had put it ashore. I went straight home after that experience. Ole had also to give up due to a broken boom vang shackle (and you really need a Ronstan reserve in your tool box for this job on the Bladerider). Hannes and Sven seemed to have sailed all races, even the long-distance on Sunday and I am looking forward to meet with them as well as a couple other Mothies for a great weekend of racing the Moth on the Schlei. My X8 Bladerider is well prepared and test-sailed by me last Wednesday and it will be used by Philipp and before we will have some newbies who are interested to sail a Moth. I will use my MACH 2 with the new parts from Graham S. New Parts mounted and hope for a less wobbling wand. May the wind and Sun come as expected Weather Forecast for the weekend in all available weather-reports.

Not Monster, but Moth Garage...

Packing up for the Moth EC at syzmotheuro2010.ch Lake Silvaplana, Switzerland caused some small headache. What goes where, what does fit and how much dismantling is necessary to load the boat on the camper. Decision time. The cat is not yet out of the bag but will be soon.

Looking forward to the road trip with family. "Sind wir bald da???" and other spectacles. I am looking forward to meet with friends and other sailors Entry List from around the World and my personnel goal is to have as few alphabets as possible and to get some scoring on the sheet. Of course fighting hard but not to bumb into anyone. Sailing fair. There is some internal competition between me and my fellow Moth friends Harald and Gerold. Two others from the German fleet have practiced for two full month and we will see how they are doing. Exciting days, I can tell you. Feels a bit like going for your first date.

More Racing in September

The last weekend in September we are always racing for the Blue Ribbon on our homewater. I had a quick thought about taking the Moth but with K. and Rod keen to sail on the Bull it was easy to make the right choice. K. kind of begged us to helm the boat and Rod and I agreed. She placed the boat very well on the starting line but it was me who had not put the sheet on the clew of the gennaker thus messing up the start. The two Melges 24 and the J-100, as well as a Banner Sports were up and away. When we actually got the breeze into our 60 msq gennaker we started the hunt. We were able to grind down the Banner but could not pass the the J -100 sailed by our local hero and sailmaker Ger. The Schlei Fjord is meandering through the country side and at the first real corner the crew decided against K. that we should try and carry the g-sail. We were right on the heels of the J who carried a large top spinnaker. We both got hit by a strong gust, which also headed us. Scrambling down the big headsails, both boats struggled. They did better as we did, rounding up one time during the maneuver. We lost more ground through the narrow pass, maybe because of the shorter rig and some inability to handle to "sailing low for better vmg" with the g-sail but the Melges in front were flying through. Nothing spectacular happened on the run, we caught up a bit on the X-34 which before had passed us in the narrow and a H-Jolle (national dinghy like an FD) also passed us. Upwind we lost some ground on the Comfortina 39 and the H-Jolle who both had a battle of titans. Always crossing tacks. The little dinghy taking their right of way and trying to throw their bad air into the towering C-39 rig.

Two thirds up the beat the J-100 grounded badly and we passed them. After that, both the Melges grounded but could free themselves within minutes ("Rattie" did not strap the keel down and therefore freed themselves quicker when the keel came up a little bit) It did not help us as we got caught a couple times on the wrong side of the shifts. I could not help but my mood was a bit down and I could not get us out there. I tangled the sheet once around my ankle, could not execute a good tack and one time I grabbed the spinnaker sheet instead of the jib and messed up another important tack. This shit happens when you put a "natural born helmsman" on the foredeck. Our finish was not too bad though. Sixth on corrected time with a Yardstick of 96 and sixth over the line. There is room for improvement. Number one: Clean the hull before such an "important" race, than the boat would be more slippery and the mood would be better. We hauled the boat after the regatta to put it away and there were some barnacles. My bad.

On Sunday we sailed our annual Laser Championship. I sailed again with Laser 84084 and somehow I asked myself sometimes during the regatta: "Where is Tillerman when you need him most". OK, you can see that this leads to a story with a result which could have been improved but that is another story. Maybe after I get some pictures from this event. The pictures above are showing our Bull with the blue g-sail. Shot at the Blue Ribbon. First photo courtesy to Achim. Thank you. Also Courtesy to Elke Kiupel who did hundreds of good shots from the regatta. Thanks Elke.

Battered and Bruised...

The Moth racing in Denmark had finished last Saturday with a four race day which only saw me finishing one race and starting the second one, but not finishing. It had been a tough week for this competitor and though I tried to give my all, I ended up with mostly "Alphabets" but not numbers.(DNC by the way does not mean that you have not started ((DNF)) these days) It has not been the strong wind which teared me down, it had been the waves and my inexperience in such conditions, as well as the frugal stage of the body condition. Maybe I will write a more personnel note about the event later. The following report has been written on request for an online sailing publication. Here it goes and I did have avoided to write about any of the new Moth brands which are trying to conquer the world.

The Moth World has changed
Horsens, Denmark had been the venue for the European Moth Championship held between 24th and 28th of June. The week had been dominated by strong easterly winds which never dropped below 15kn/h usually blowing in the higher wind range, gusting up to 25kn on the race course and even more. As the local Horsens Sejlklub had been the organisers for Euro and World Championships for the Moth Class before, they were prepared with all the necessities required by such a sportive and challenging class like the Moth. This year the event saw only Foiler Moths racing and it had been very exciting to see around 40 Moths flying across the startline nearly at once and going uphill in a battle for height and speed. Not all competitors managed the very challenging downwind leg (3 laps around) in the steep waves and only abt. 20 - 26 boats finished the races. But the once surviving, finished most of the races in style. Flying very high, going dramatically fast with a downwind speed clocked at more than 25kn, recorded for over 10 sec. The early races had been dominated by no lesser than the Brit, Simon Payne, a former Champion in the class. He came well prepared and looked unbeatable through the first races. We had witnessed the second race of the first day with a timer and found Arnaud Psarofaghis from Switzerland leading at the weather mark with 10sec which were wiped out to a 17sec lead by Payne at the downwind mark. The racing was tense between these two competitors and it must have been the last day where the race committee opted for four races on the day instead of the three which were written in the sailing instructions. This would allow two drop outs for the competitors. Arnaud Psarofaghis was already able to drop his 43 points from the first race when he did not finish and thus both competitors where on equal points going into the last day. Though everyone had his own fight within the strong competiton and the tough conditions on the Horsens Fjord, all eyes were on the two competitors fighting for the 2009 title. Arnaud P. started the day with a first which Simon Payne answered with two firsts in the next two races. The finish in the third race was reported to be 1 feet apart. The fourth and most tiring race of the day should be the decider and all eyes of many of the shorebound competitors were glued on this epic battle. Everyone hoped for the Master sailor Simon Payne, who did not have the luxury all week of a fully equipped service team like the Swiss brought to Denmark but at the end of the battle, it was the young Swiss sailor Arnaud Psarofaghis who had the nose in front and won the 2009 European Championship. The newcomer from the Netherlands, Eelco Boers came third with 3 more Brits filling up the ranks.

It was visible during the week that the Moth class is attracting many top sailors from other classes and that the days of the DIY low rider Moths are gone. At least when it comes to European Championships held in open water. During the price giving ceremony the competitors were full of praise for the Horsens Sejlklub organisers and their race committee which was well prepared not only ashore but also for rescuing many of the fragile Moths which were not able to limp home alone after some damage, mostly caused by user errors due to over exhausted riders. Full result list to be found under: http://www.horsens-sejlklub.dk/app/doc/doc_17510622.pdf

PS: A very good day by day report you can find on Eelco´s blog: http://ejbmoth.blogspot.com/
PPS: The picture shows Simon (in the foreground) and Arnaud after the second day of racing on the Horsens SK´s slipway. As usual you can extend it by clicking on it.

Great Moth Shots from the Windy Days at Kiel

You can´t get it any better. Have a look at the great shots which photographer Sommerwerck at: Sommerwerck, Maritime Photografie took during a typical race day in Kiel last week. The appetizer here at the front (Christian in typical airborne style) is one of these shots. I think we will see a couple of them in some future magazines and advertising about some „fresh products“, mens aftershave or whatever. I am glad that I have been one of the fleet. I am not so happy that I did not find myself in one of the shots. A few other guys missing also but honestly: He took the leading fleet. I have not been in that bunch of sailors. Just behind. And not flying so spectacular high.

Yesterday, on Sunday, I had a good sailing session on my home water. It was important for me to get back on to the boat. To check the setup which did not make me happy during Kieler Woche. I have 2 sets of foils and I compared them closely. Found out that the set I had used had some deviation. It was visible. And it explained some of the problems I had with ride height (actually my boat sailed very low and did not want to fly easily) and with ventilation. A pity I did not had the chance to look at them earlier on (borrowed out) but than I maybe would not have had the experience which I do have now after an extensive Kieler Woche. I will not excuse myself for not being fast enough, there is a lot to improve but if the boat sails easy, it comes easy for me. Next regatta shall be in Horsens, Denmark, at the end of July and I am looking forward to it.

Kieler Woche wasn´t finished for me after the Moth sailing. Instead I had been asked by a friend to skipper his classic 50 footer (S & S style) at the distance race last Saturday, the Schabernack Cup from Kiel to Holy Harbour (Heiligenhafen). There had been about 80 boats varying as wide as one ex Aussie racer, called “Wild Thing”, now being called “Calypso”, to a Mac Gregor65 and the smallest being a Sunbeam 22 (22ft). We had a very good start at the pin end. Closed hauled and were able to free the sheets just a little. After a while some modern IMS boats (Sydney41, X-482) tried to roll us but we could show them by luffing with all the momentum of a 13ts boat that they should pass to leeward. It worked, but not with every boat later in the race. We got rolled slowly but surely by a couple of faster boats. One particular 33ft boat impressed me. A Stern33. Looked really nice and sailed quick. Later in the race we changed to a fractional Gennaker and than later to a top spinnaker which felt good with this heavy boat. The whole race was sailed with the wind from the starboard side. No tack, no jibe. A bit boring would we not have such a nice owner, who brought food and drinks not only for the race but for a really nice crew dinner which we had on board later in the evening. We finished in the middle of the class 1 group, I think 2 or 3 places behind “Wild Thing” on corrected time, though this boat did win on sailing time. First ship home, best berth, best girls as they say. Not that Holy Harbour attracts a lot of them.
Photo: courtesy by Sommerwerck, Maritime Photografie.  See link above.

Racing brought lots of fun

Not much time for a big report as I have to travel a bit. But for the ones who are eagerly waiting here are some more short cuts and photos:

OK, Sven won the regatta at the end after 2 very interesting races on the Sunday (6 races in total) with lot´s of foiling possible due to some nice gusts. Carlo had it in his hand to win but there was a moment when he tried to pass Sven, he got caught in the wash (turbulence) of Svens sail and capsized to windward. Sven won the regatta in typical style. He does the best Veal heel, he has control nearly all the times but with Carlo we have another real good sailor coming. I came 7th out of nine regulars, 10 participants all together which was totally OK for me. Tons of fun and learning from the top guys who are giving tips and encouragement to keep improving. Going to races is important as in every game but some small tricks I have to practise at home.

Something I reflected on the long journey home: Being really into trimming sails and set up of boats I totally forgot about the most important things when getting into foiling mode: To change the sail shape from full to flatter. Being exited about doubling (and more) the speed and passing other boats I forgot the basics of sailing. To shift gear! Like a beginner. Something I have to work on immediately. Full result sheet and a German report will be on the German Moth homepage. German Moth site

Agenda for the photos: My sailnumber on the Moth is not the usual "99" but GER-3170
Top picture is showing the Moth mess at the start line in very light wind.

The second picture is taken after last races start: Not the usual scene, me in front and the winners battling it out in the back. Sven in typical Veal heel style (white boat) and Carlo (1058) tried to block him out unsuccessfully. They had already caught me at the windward mark. Next time guys....

Third picture and rare scene: Me getting a gust and up to foiling and passing a competitor.

All my DN friends are sitting in the starting blocks

You might wonder why this sailing blog is so empty. Yes, there is nothing to report. My dear Bavarian DN friends are sailing nearly every weekend on small lakes but they are not having any regattas as the lakes are too small for fleets of abt 30 participants upwards. Whilst in the south of Germany they having freezing temperatures all the time, we in the north have the opposite. Temperatures around 5°C. Still the water being too cold for me to go Mothing. To help you to understand our iceboating and the difficulty to find a location for abt. 200 (!) participants from all the world (The US boys are flying in to Frankfurt today) others are sitting with their equipment stacked up on cars or in trailers. I had started to pack up the Van last night. Unfortunately my partner has some sad family responsibilities and I am looking for a co-driver. Might have to talk again with K. who is so occupied with some interesting projects. Anyway, please read the following if you are interested. Our Pres has currently made a round trip from Vienna, via Sweden to Finland and now back to Lake Lipno, Czech Republic, close to home. I just got a phone call from my spies that the lake down there has got 20cm of black ice (kernel) with a light snow slush cover. M best guess is that we are seeing al our iceboat friends from abt. 17 nations for the World Championship 2008 at Lake Lipno. Stay tuned.

edited: Thanks Niklas, of course 200 participants. A logistical nightmare.

Message from Niklas, the President, written last night.

Dear friends,
now I'm sitting on a ferry again.
Some people ask if I became a "Fähroholic"

Today I have been in Finland and had a look on Lappalan Järvi. Ice conditions there are not that what I would love to have for WC 2008 or EC 2008.

Before starting to that lake I had several phone calls to Stan Macur, Chris Williams, and other reliable informing persons and we realised that 12cm on lake Siemianowka won't be thick enough. Especially if you see weatherforecast with cold and snow together. Snow will bring some isolation and will avoid the growing of the ice.

Anyhow, I have been following (in secret) the last days Lipno. Before I started from Vienna I got information that ice there is too bad and unsafe. But after having seen that there has been every night about -6°C to -9°C I asked Sebastian Obermaier and Friedl Liese to go there and to check the ice. (Thanks for doing that so fast !)

After having got some informations I decided to leave Helsinki and to go with Superfast to Rostock. I plan to be on Lipno on Thursday morning and I hope that I can make a final decision on Thursday noon - early afternoon.

The decision will be (from the point of view now !) Sandviken (Sweden) or Lipno (Czech Republic).

THIS IS NOT A FINAL DECISION !!!!!!!!!!!

THINK ICE

Meine erste Motten Regatta. Racing with the Moth.

Regatta am Goldberger See.
Die Regatta war noch nicht beendet, da bestimmte Klassenkassi Burkhard bereits: "Du schreibst den Bericht". Keine Widerrede, ich kenne mich ja mit den Gepflogenheiten in der Motten Klasse nicht aus. Hatte noch Hoffnung, dass, wie in anderen Bootsklassen üblich, der zweite oder der dritte den Bericht schreibt. Hier nun fiel das Los bei vier Startern auf den vierten. Womit bereits die Katze aus dem Sack ist: 4 Starter in der Moth Klasse am Goldberger See. 4 Foiler. Sven, Burkhard, Leo und ich. Für mich war es die erste Regatta in der Klasse überhaupt und ein Test, ob ich überhaupt reif bin für die Bestenermittlung in Bad Zwischenahn. Den Test habe ich nicht bestanden, soviel vorweg aber es bleiben eventuell noch ein oder zwei Nachmittage zum üben. Und um die vielen guten Tipps von den anderen, erfahrenen Mothies zumindest im Versuch umzusetzen.

Wer es noch nicht weiß, der Goldberger See liegt in der Nähe von Plau oder auch Lübz. Entsprechend gut schmeckt dort das Bier, welches im niedrigen Meldegeld inkludiert ist. Natürlich auch ne Suppe und Bratkartoffeln und Fleisch nach der Regatta. Nach dem anstrengenden Flaute segeln. Und ein Haufen Sachpreise von Sponsoren wie CTM und International.

Start am Samstag pünktlich um 13.00h von Wettfahrtleiter Karsten "Vossi" und Jörg. 35 Boote in 3 Starts. Die Motten auf Wunsch im ersten Jollenstart. Dort trafen wir auf Scharpies, ne Z-Jolle (ellenlang), Seggerlinge, ne SZ Jolle, Conger und was weiß ich. Startschiff überaus begünstigt. Die erfahrenen Mothies drängeln mit SZ und Seggerlingen, ich versuche es mehr zur Mitte um dort möglichst sauber über die Linie zu kommen. Gelingt auch. Wenn ich das Gleichgewicht halte bei den Wackelbedingungen, fahre ich sogar mit. Mache einen langen Schlag auf BbBug, die erste Wende des Tages einigermaßen und habe 2 Motten im Fenster. Will noch kein Heck nehmen und wende bald danach wieder in einen vermeintlichen Dreher. Bleibe stehen, segel rückwärts, verheddere mich und bringe das Boot erst wieder in Fahrt, als auch alle Boote an mir vorbei sind. Dreieck, Schenkel, Dreieck. Der alte Kieler Woche Kurs ist abzusegeln. Ich versuche auf einem Schenkel eine Stehsegler Technik und kann zumindest den Abstand zu Leo, dem Drittplatzierten, halten. Sven und Burkhard versuchen es mit anspitzen, was bei dem flauen Wind auch nicht gut aussieht. Viel Weg und auch nicht schneller. Die Motten geraten vom Mittelfeld in´s hintere Drittel der Jollenfraktion. Hätte ich bloß mal mehr geübt bei Flaute. Diese Wackelei ist anstrengend. Immer wieder taucht der Leebalkon in´s Wasser. Das bremst. Auf dem letzten Dreieck schaffe ich es irgendwie mich an Leo ranzukämpfen. Wohl weil ich ne kleine Bö abbekomme. Lege an der letzten Marke clever um und bin jetzt innen und leicht vor ihm auf dem Weg zum Ziel. Könnte ein Anlieger werden. Hoffnung keimt auf, nicht letzter zu werden. Dann kippt das Boot über mir weg nach Luv. Ich kann mich irgendwie auf den Rumpf retten. Leo wendet weg, ich würde sonst wohl auf ihn drauf fallen. Bis ich das Boot aufgerichtet (schnell) und in Fahrt (langsam) habe, ist Leo über alle Berge und die Conger Jolle, letzte im Feld, pirscht sich an mich ran. Ich höre schon die Rufe und das Unken der "Segelfreunde": "jetzt holt ihn auch noch der Conger" (Nein, nicht von Mothies, die sind richtig nett gewesen und haben überhaupt nicht gelästert). Ich kämpfe mit dem Boot, mit dem nicht vorhandenen Wind und mit mir und schaffe gerade noch den Zieleinlauf vor dem Conger. Erste Wettfahrt überstanden. In der Pause werde ich von Kerstin, vom Seggerling aus, mit Käse und
Drink versorgt. Das baut mich wieder auf.

Die zweite Wettfahrt beginnt für mich ähnlich wie die erste. Nur das ich als dritte Motte an der Luvtonne ankomme. Leo hat sich beim Start fürchterlich am Startschiff verhaspelt. Ich kann ihn die ganze Zeit hinter mir halten, bis ich wieder an die letzte Bahnmarke komme. Mir gelingt noch ne ganz passable Rundung und die wohl letzte Wende des Tages und ich freue mich schon auf die Dusche, da passiert es wieder: Kenterung nach Luv. Dieses mal schaffe ich es nicht auf den Rumpf, muß in´s Wasser und bin danach nicht in der Lage, das Boot wieder sauber aufzurichten. Es fällt immer wieder über mich rüber. Es kommt auch keine Bö, die mir einen Wasserstart erlauben würde. So panisch werde ich, das ich nicht auf die Idee komme, das Segel unter Wasser zu drücken, um ein Gegengewicht zu haben, während ich auf´s Schwert klettere. Direkt auf den Rumpf zu klettern habe ich noch nicht versucht (Tipp von Burkhard), eventuell haben meine Wings zuviel Auftrieb und ich komme da gar nicht hoch. Jede Menge Übungsbedarf sehe ich hier. Und ich dachte immer, ich muß noch ca. 400 Wenden absolvieren, bin ich einigermaßen klarkomme. Jetzt auch noch zig Kenterungen und aufrichten üben. Dachte schon, diese Phase ist überstanden. Jedenfalls hatte ich Glück, es passierte in der Nähe des Ziels und mein Ruf wurde erhört und ich abgeborgen und mit einem Wing, fest auf dem Schlauchboot sitzend, zum Takelplatz zurück gefahren. So wurde ich wieder letzter und Leo konnte seinen dritten
Platz halten. Sven gewann die Regatta, Burkhard wurde zweiter. In der Yardstick Wertung konnten die Motten nichts reißen. Mit Foils bei Flaute scheint irgendwie langsam zu sein. Und mir wurde noch erzählt, daß ohne Foils bei Flaute das Boot noch viel ranker ist. Kann ich mir ehrlich gesagt gar nicht vorstellen. Ist schon so bei Flaute schlimm und ne Luvkenterung wohl mit das schlimmste überhaupt. Es kann mich aber nicht abschrecken. Die Technik, soviel neues zu lernen, die Jungs, alles richtig nett und anspruchsvoll. Ich komme wieder.

Abspann: Abends ein nettes Essen, Lagerfeuerromantik und Feuerwerk. Sonntag herrlicher Sonnenschein aber noch weniger Wind und keine Wettfahrt mehr. Launige Preisverteilung vom Veranstalter Eckard Pagel und seiner Crew und auf jeden Fall findet der 5. Goldberger See Cup wieder im September statt. Vielleicht mit Wind und etwas mehr Motten. Ideal ist der Platz zum takeln und slippen und ganz kurz gefoilt wurde auch. Von Leo vor den Wettfahrten und von Sven nach den Wettfahrten. So konnten die anderen Jollen zumindest das Potential ahnen, was in diesen kleinen Jollen steckt. Es gibt ja immer noch viele, die das nie gesehen haben und gar nicht glauben können.