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Donnerstag, Januar 19, 2012

It´s all in the links...

Had a fantastic weekend on the Ice in Sweden with my new boat and a new mast. It is amazing how one can have small problems with the set up of the boat when not doing a full rigging process at home in the driveway or else. Which I had not done due to various circumstances. Raising the masts on the hull first time, it looked like my old shrouds were way too short for the new higher hull, but with a set-up of the mast at 94 cm it worked and did not look too bad. Rake was OK. Shrouds at the last possible hole. Anyway it was OK for sailing and for racing within the first third of the competitive fleet. Tips from the current European Champion, Karol, P-36, to move the mast back to 104 cm for more speed did not help me as it was impossible. Now I cannot wait if it is true and I will find a bit more speed when changing the set-up, which is meant to be for strong wind and black ice. A different story in sticky conditions of course. More important would also be to get a bit stronger, to have more willpower on the downwind to fight hard for not loosing places. (Same, as in the Moth Class) It is amazing how much one can gain if purely holding on and blasting away from the weather mark. I am under the impression, that the top 5 gained half a leg on the first 1,8 km downwind flight.

Now, before writing up a more detailed report, which I had already done in German language Report (use your favorite translater) I give my fellow 3 readers, who like to know more, some links to more information and pictures:

An nice article and video link can be found about our first training session on Friday 12th in Sandviken at Segelreporter.com : Segelreporter.com
This article also contains other links, like my report for the German DN site as well as the result list. Some great shots are to be seen at: Fotos from the weekend

Next stop: Somewhere in Northern Europe in 10 days for the World Championship and the Europeans which will be sailed straight afterwards. There will be about 10-15 participants from the US this time as well as Canadian sailors and with all the independent States in Europe we might have again 18 - 20 Nations raising their flags. I hope that all the anthems, though nice to hear, are not played in full length out there on the ice because than we would be finished with the opening ceremony only in the dark.

The picture above had been taken in Sweden on Friday. Some early arrivals are being shown.
The second picture shows me (G-99) starting to hike just before the mast will fully bend and is taking the load and acceleration.

Freitag, September 23, 2011

On the road...

Last weekend we took the two boats to Ratzeburg, some 140km east from our home. 7 Moths attended the races over the weekend. It was a first for the club but with Sven K, known to most international Mothies as the "fast German", it was easy for him to get an alternative in his homeclub for a cancelled regatta in Goldberg. The wind was cooperating only with the local, Sven foiled most of the time, whilst myself and others did a lot of low riding in between moments of good breeze.

The Ratzeburg fleet, namely Jens S. had prepared really nice prices for the price giving which was held on the Sunday after we had decided, due to lack of wind, to call it a day. Sven won, me second, Kerstin and Jens on equal points and count back in third place, Helmuth fourth and newcomer Merlin in fifth. Hans from Denmark with his new Mach 2 was not able to compete on Saturday, due to his cambers jumping off anytime he righted the boat. He was really frustrated. He had bought a M2 with all options from England but it looked like the previous owner and never been out on the water, just tinkering with the boat and putting on many gimmicks. The camber thing was corrected in the evening and the boat was stripped from a few unnecessary ropes to make it more easy to sail for Hans. To correct the sail setting, we used my last spacers... Felix did you order a hundred as promised???

Tomorrow we are sailing the "blue ribbon" with some kids from our youth group on the 36db. I had some divers in today to clean the bottom and took away a lot of weight. All the cruising gimmicks, Sprayhood, second anchor, chain, carpets, cushions, and all the wine. I prepared the carbon racing jib and we will see how she goes within her Yardstick group. Really looking forward to a last sunny day on the "big boat" with nice breeze. After that, she´ll be readied for winter storage.

Donnerstag, Juli 08, 2010

Moth Class Championship Report


After some great foiling session with good ride height a weekend before the German Championship, I started to dismantle my BR for the trip and taking the wings off. The boat should go on the roof of the Passat to enable me to drive a little faster other than with a trailer behind the car. 1150 km should be done in one step. Alone. And it was´nt a problem. I arrived at the beautiful lake on the Thursday afternoon, assembled the boat and went sailing on Friday after the thermal breeze kicked in. It did not look too bad for me comparing speed and height with 3 other earlier arrivals though the MACH 2 sailors looked like playing it easy whilst I tried to give it all. My concentration was gone after an hour and so was the foiling jibe ability. Some swims later I called it a day.

Come race day one and after the skippers meeting I was out early (which was one of my goals for this event), as I do not find it "charming", coming late to the startline. And there had been no mercy, I mean three Moth sailors were´nt ready but the class, including me, did not go for an early start. Before us we had a good fleet of Finn´s and Star´s doing their starts and the race committee was right on time. I had an OK first upwind leg and my dearest competitors behind me (the back end of the midfleet) and nailed my first jibe and off to the downwind mark. I did not hit the layline and had to put in two more jibes and arrived at a crowed mark. Walls of sails flogging. Starboat sails. A wide rounding, good speed, less height and than my boat began some funny movements. Hobby horsing. It started slowly but got worse on the downwind course. And it got worse during the next races and I got lapped in race two and three by 4 sailors. Did not realize this in the last race of the day and had to turn back to the finish line after being a couple hundred meters upwind already. Have to keep a better look out. Sven being fast as usual and he was followed by the talented Swiss, Martin, followed by Frederik and newcomer Markus. I heart a few girlie squeaks out on the course and both Tanja and Nina had their moments of foiling. At the end of the day I had Harald behind me on the list and we watched the Football game and a great German team beating Argentine. Later on we came together for the annual meeting and the usual discussions about how to attract more sailors into our class ended late at night.

Come Sunday and one more race. A pity that the program was written in stone as the day was just great, the water clear and green and the thermal breeze had kicked in though all reports said it should not and we should have thunderstorms. I had a bad race, the amplitude of up (flying) and down (touching the water with the hull) nearly made me seasick and I was happy to finish the race and did not enjoy the long ride home on foils very much. My boat and I can do better but I have to find out first what made her sailing like that. Something within the system must have come sticky. From the road transport? Dirt in the rod tubing? I had played with adjustments of about 8 turns (not at once) on the ball socket joint but it made no difference. Harald beat me and revanche will be sweet.

For the next fourteen days I will be cruising with the family in the Baltic Sea. No foiling, no boat work. In the meantime I hope that my boatbuilder will be able to do some maintenance jobs on the carbon frame tubing which all looks a bit tired and thinned out at the joints. After coming back I might attend the Moth racing in Horsens to meet with the Danish Bandits. A report in German language is available under: mottenfieber.de. Photo courtesy to Toni Mangold. Me and my boat do not look like "porpoising", don´t we? Just flying a little low.

Montag, Juli 05, 2010

Great Sailing at Lake Walchensee


We had some fun in the sun! Finn´s, Star´s and Moth´s sailed four great races on this beautiful lake. A report will follow later. Enjoy the Foto from Toni Mangold. Click it to enlarge it.

Montag, Oktober 12, 2009

Moth Regatta "Hoch im Norden" coming soon

Boatshow season and wintertime is around the corner. The first nights with a minus in front of the celcius temperatur are supposed to happen over the next 2 nights here in the North of Germany. After that it is getting warmer. Before going to mothball our Moths we are going to have a regatta on my hometurf. We will get some help from our small Sailing Club and I do hope for some more attendees other than the usual suspects. I had given the turf another good look the other day. Sailing from West to East and from North to South. We will be able to lay a good course. Not many rescue boats on hand but one from the DGZRs (German Cost Guard) is stationed here in Schleswig and the next shore is never far for those lazy maintained boats with major break downs. The Danes are coming as well as the German top Foilerman, Sven. My money would be on Burkh, if he has got his Mach 2 by now and had the time to put in some hours of practising with the new boat ...errg, the well developed boat, coming in directly from the World Championship two months ago. A clever purchase one must say.

Anyway before speculating too much into our event, let´s speculate about the weather. Nice and sunny and wind around 14kn for the Saturday. On Sunday a little foggy (only onshore of course) with the wind around the 10kn mark. Good foiling conditions. Hope to see you on my home turf at OCt. 17th and 18th. Send me a mail if you want to know the address of the HSVS in Schleswig and how to get your boat on to the Netzetrockenplatz, from where we will launch. See ya!

Dienstag, September 22, 2009

Pictures are worth a thousand words

Great sailing at Goldberger See. And what a nice video on youTube: Goldberg Cup. Me thinks that this was the last summer weekend with 25°C and a nice breeze. Excellent foiling conditions in the first two races and marginal foiling, but nevertheless fun to fight the IC`s in the third race. Very sunny on the Sunday and no sailing. Video: Courtesy, Henrik Rath

Freitag, September 18, 2009

Caption Contest...

The above headline is borrowed from SA, whom I like to thank for the idea. Another thanks to Simon Payne who directed me as well as other readers of his excellent blog to an entry from "a" Simon Propper, who wrote about putting the "mojo back into Mothing" at: http://www.int-moth.org.uk/NewPages/Editorial.htm (does not open as per this morning).

Anyway coming back from that "not so nice" experience at the Moth German Championship with more swimming and less speed foiling than expected, the boat broken and the ego bruised, I was greeted by my little one and of course as a father coming home I immediately had to do my duties of taking care to give the best of all wives a bit of free time. Now I am not the guy crawling on the floor and speaking terrible bababa sentences, I took her, placed her on the tramp of my Moth and started to pull the broken parts apart. When I looked at my daughter I realized that she had some fun. I took the mobile camera and at the next day I realized after running the 4 pictures one after the other that she had a great story to tell. That she was in the middle of a race, going for the downwind mark where she was fighting for room.




1. Looking back for an overlap and adjusting her course.









2. Looking upfront and hey, there is this guy trying to squeeze in. No way.











3. Adjusting course, bearing away hard to avoid a collision












4. Stay out, told you so!"


This little story brought back the mojo into my Moth sailing and I am sure I will enjoy the upcoming weekend where K. and I go sailing with two dinghies, the Moth and she goes on her much loved Seggerling (after two years of absence) at Goldberger See. There will not be much wind (due to windfinder) but the idea is to meet DN friends in soft water mode and to bring whatever boat you might get hold of. We will see who brings what this year. The event takes place for the sixth time and it is mostly a self organized regatta. Of course with the help from Dietmar, owner of the camping site.

Donnerstag, September 17, 2009

Update

Being a bit unable to cope with updates I thought the quickest thing to do is to put a new picture into my "....days of sailing". Searched for fifty six + sailing and look what came up. I do not know how one should come to the conclusion of fifty six through this picture. Google must know something about "sailing on the Cogh" (wherever that is) and how to find the 56 boats or trees or such. Anyway, I thought this is a nice one and the explanation helps. The foto on the left only shows 2 boats. The Bull and the A-Cat on their way to the startline. I should receive more pictures with a lot of spray later.

What happened between the last blog entry and now. Six more racing days are laying behind me. And the best to come. September being a busy month and the newly found sailracing Team did some great jobs sailing the Bull. The last two Wednesday night races we were able to do horizon jobs on the competition. Rod S. my crew who had sailed 12 foot dinghies at home in NZ and came to Germany for some I14 regattas and stayed since than in Germany (you guessed it, the women) likes to be on a boat built at his motherland, likes the ideas which Greg Young had put into the boat some 14 years ago and is an expert gennaker-man. Though the deep running in the light wind, with the pole squared, needs some optimisation. Also more assistance from my other crew, Lea. A young girl from the locals sailing clubs youth squad. Communication on the boat is kiwi-english, like e.g." ged_de_koit_up". Gotit? Hoist the gennaker sounds more familiar.

Day fiftyone and fiftytwo had been the much awaited Moth German Championship. But the sailing did not match my expectations., so to speak. It seemed that most everyone got a jump on me, sailing again faster, higher, downwind lower with perfect jibes. I was stuck in middle field or back after getting totally exhausted in the shifty and strong wind conditions. The boat did not fly easy on the Saturday and I was as unhappy, about my own abilities and understanding of the mechanics to make it working and flying high, as can be. Also in the first race I did sail the wrong course. Bloody me. On the Sunday the race course had been moved down the Kiel City Fjord into an area with more stable wind direction and strength. A long way to the race area allowed me to play with settings and at the end I got it about right. Arrived just 5 minutes to the start. Got flying, had a good upwind leg, second at the mark behind Leo and we reached to the most outer mark, which appeared to be the wrong one. NO, not again. My jibing definitely not on top of the game let me fall back behind the top 6 boats. Upwind I had good battles with Hans from Holland but the other guys whom I thought I could match were way ahead. After the first race my mast got stuck and destroyed the mast stump. A self inflicted problem due to bad preparation. I had to hit the shore. Two other Mothies joined me later. Both had broken gear due to contact with other boats. Fremdverschulden. Not their own fault. Everything is repaired by now and I look forward to this weekends Moth racing on the Lake Goldberg.

The other days had been spend sailing local races with the Bull and the crew as mentioned above. Great fun for everyone. The last weekend it had been very windy. 1. Reef and still overpowered but blasting down the runs and reaches. There had been abt. 40 competitors and we tried to be fastest boat around the course but with an A-Cat and a Fanatic Raceboard in the fleet it was not possible. On calculated time (Yardstick) we finished 3rd. First had been a H-35 (Design Hans Groop) and second an H-Boat from the same Designer. These boats with their long waterlines are being sailed very well here and have enough competition to work themselves up due to the OD mode of their respective fleets.

This year I was only participating in the Wednesday night races in September. We did the last three "beer cans" starting with a second and putting in two firsts. Yesterday evening it went like clockwork and after rounding the weather mark in second position behind an H-Boat, we never looked back and did a horizon job on the fleet. Sailing into the September sunset was an extra bonus. A pity that the days are already getting shorter. There will be more racing in the Bull after the next Moth weekend. The Blue ribbon race starts on September 27th and on the Sunday after we have our Laser City Championship. Must get organized with the Laser 84084 which is owned by an old gentleman from the club. Father of the ever winning H-35 champion Roger. The only guy who could ever beat him was his father. More to come soon.

Montag, August 10, 2009

Less Moth blogging, more Moth sailing

Two days of practicing with the Moth against my friends in their Fourteen (14)last week might have helped me to nail a second at our Moth weekend regatta in Bad Zwischenahn past weekend. The practice on the Schlei provided me with marginal foiling conditions on the first day and with conditions, which saw both of us being overpowered in the strong easterly gusts. On the first day the Fourteen had a clear upperhand on me when I sank into non-foiling mode. The speed dramatically going down to 3-4kn (I used the Velocitek on both days) and the two boys were still able to hang low on their trapezes and to glide away from me upwind. (see photo) I had "learned" at our training session in Horsens with the Danish friends, that the boat (s) behind should take a shortcut and not go round the mark. This brings the boats back together and the energy and fighting spirit rises immediately instead of dropping when much behind after the mark rounding. This was not build in my mind and at first a bit difficult to adapt. As a racing sailor I am so used to go around the marks that a short cut is a no-go at all means. Flying downwind it was´nt too bad on the Moth whilst foiling but during the maneuvers the Fourtenn gained. Must say: Jan and Sönke sailed like experts. Always on the better side of the course. Gybing on the gusts and beating me regularly. They will be a team to be recognized in their class regattas. A pity that Jan is so busy, working as a sailmaker that he cannot manage to make his own new mainsail for his boat.

Thursday was a different day out on the water. Whitecaps all over the place. Starting with 4 Bft, later 5 Bft gusting a bit higher. Time to pull out the stops on my Moth. And so I did. I could beat them big time upwind, though their speed showed an impressive 12 -12.5kn and same height as myself. My speed clocked upwind between 13.5 and 14.2kn, of course also showing some lower speeds. The weather mark (cardinal mark) which we choose had been in a difficult spot. Traffic and shallow water close by. I did not want to ruin my foils, therefore mostly approached the weather mark in low riding, pointing high mode. Thus we did round this mark not far apart most of the times. Downwind I had a speed burst of course when pulling hard on the rudder and bearing away but once the 14 had set their gennaker they were often able to go lower with the same speed. Thus the results depended on the gusts. Who jibed first and who handled the jibe best. The 14 went into the brink one time, I stuck the mast into the mud once, doing a hectic leeward mark rounding. But it had been the best evening sailing this year. Smiles all over our faces and still smiling when we had a chat about our session the next day at the sailmakers loft. We will do it again for sure.

The regatta in Bad Zwischenahn is not worse much mentioning as all eyes are glued to the Moth worlds. Anyone interested can read about our regatta at Felix Blog entry (english). For the folks who are interested in the Moth Worlds, there are some useful links here on the right side. Read Scott´s blog, Rohan´s or Simon Payne´s or go to the official site. All just a mouseclick away as they say. Sailing Anarchy in their Dinghy Forum section also puts up all the latest info and has some interesting discussions running. Next racing here for the North German Moth fleet (maybe some Danes are also coming???) will be in a fortnight (22/23.8.) in Kühlungsborn Anmeldeformular on the Baltic Sea.

Donnerstag, Juni 04, 2009

First Ship Home

After fighting some back pain during the last days it was a relief to be out sailing past weekend with the little Bull. K. and I had put a reef in, the small jib hanked on and off we went for a pleasurable sailing afternoon. There were moments when the wind got a bit light for the reef but as this had been our first sunday sail together since we have the little one, I was able to resist. A long beat up the Schlei until we turned the boat around to sail back home with the wind from behind. Shook out the reef, kite up and a couple jibes with the gennaker brought some smiles. We even managed 12kn for a long moment and came right back home for a marvelous asparagus dinner, prepared by the grand parents who had taken care of little E.

Last Monday had been a holiday in Germany (Pfingsten) and what a weather we had. Great summer sunshine and a warm breeze from the north/east. In the afternoon I rigged the Moth and both K. and I had some good rides. It was her first ride again after the initial 3 days two years ago. And yes, it looked good, just one capsize, good airtime, holding a straight course and downwind some course alignment to the gusts. One day she will start racing the Moth, I am sure. Her Seggerling Skiff Dinghy is still up for sale.

Now coming to the headline of this post. Yesterday I started in the Wednesday night race with the Moth together with the "big" boats from a Minitonner to X-79 and up to the fast X-34. A crowded startline and I decided to start behind the fleet which was fighting for slot on the right side. It was very gusty, wind from the north west, which is not the best direction in a narrow water running east/west. The guys on the keelyachts measured abt 5 Bft gusting stronger. I started from behind and besides capsizing two times during bad tacks I managed to round together with the first boat. Me on the outside. Immediately I pulled away whilst the keel yachts were putting up spinnakers and running straight down. All was good until after a few jibes I ended up too far on the north side of the course. Low riding through the narrow pass opposite Fahrdorf did not help my position, some yachts passed me. When the water was again deep enough I put the nose more into the wind, accelerated onto the foils, bearing away and trying to run deeper this time I managed speeds above 20kn most of the time. My Velocitek showed me 21.9 after the race as best 10sec. score. I passed all the boats and the front runner just before the downwind mark. I did not get all the shifts right and at the weather mark we rounded nearly together, me again on the outside. Now a fast reach which took me away from the fleet in no time. Next jibe ended in a good swim but the last downwind was a real blast. I even managed to round the mark on foils easy, put the nose upwind and hiked hard. A long beat home with two or three bad tacks which saw me swimming, but I managed to be first ship home by a couple of minutes. A very good feeling as I was sailing the full course, had to turn at marks and not at the best possible moments, as I normally do in training. This had been my best evening sail so far. A good practice for the EC in Horsens where we already have more than 40 entries and from the participants names mostly really good Mothies. Former champions, etc. I just do not want to become last. The photo, taken with a mobile, is a view from the north shore (no wind) taken on Wednesday. The fleet is just coming together and the little sail in the middle is me. Don´t know where the white dots are coming from. The Bladerider Moth is mostly black.

Montag, Februar 09, 2009

Wet, wet, wet

Another day of DN sailing happened on Sunday on a very wet surface. There had only been 12 sailors plus a few non racing DNér s showing up which could be a sign that people get tired after 5 weekends of sailing. Maybe their equipment is getting worn out, or that their wifes do not allow them to get free from the family every weekend from the beginning of January or that they are in the States to start in the DN Worlds at Torch Lake, Michigan. Anyone with a better excuses, please comment here or mail to me. The sailors from Berlin called for the Wolzig Cup to be sailed only on Sunday, when the weather forecast showed promissing 3-4 Bft. This allowed me to take part Friday evening at a big reception from the German Offshore Owners Assc. (no I did not take part in any offshore racing last year, but I think about it...stay tuned here) There had been a good film session, music session, awards for the 10 most successful German teams plus mentioning the race winners of the Baltic Sprint Cup, 1st. place went to Mr. Mike Castania with his Rogers 46, "DANEBURY" and second place to Mr. David Aisher, also on a Rogers 46, "YEOMAN XXXII". Both took part during this remarkable evening in the impressive Hamburg Rathaus. (House of lords, so to speak) and got some presents from the organising committee.

Anyway, back to the DN Sailing in Berlin. Left home with the van on Saturday evening to be fit and ready next morning. Wanted to unload the boat at 23.00h when I arrived, but the place was closed. High fences. Being the only car in the carpark, I felt a bit strange. "do they really show up tomorrow morning for racing?" I asked myself. I had faith in the Berlin race management and of course, Dieter S. , G-368, greeted me in the morning, being happy that some "foreigners" wanted to take part in the racing. Lot´s of action as one has to carry his equipment a good 100m to the ice. Ready to sail at around 11.00h. Wet and cold feet at around 11.20h after walking through water to collect my starting position number. "Where are my Goretex socks??". First race from block 2. Right side, first inside the middle mark. My testing had showed that the left side was favored. After a good running through the wet I had enough height to bear away and blast across the next boat to leeward. Than tacked, tacked back in the middle of the course, crossed with G-709 but had built a good lead at the weather mark. Extending the lead and crossing the finish first. Next race I had block Nr. 1. First boat on the left inside. Easy. Start, run, jump in the boat and blasting away. Maybe the smoothing of the runners helped in the slush ice under the water. The boat was exhilarating, the new mast did bend nicely and I reached nearly warp speed. A pity, all the top guys this season did not take part except of G-709, 896 and 136. The third race was more interesting. I only managed to be third at the weather mark, was not able to shorten the distance to the two leading boats, neither downwind, nor upwind and had to fight on the last downwind run to secure third place against an impressive G-542 who used older equipment than even mine. Something had to be done. The wind had increased a lot. New sharper runners and the sail a little lower. The left side was not favored any more. G-709 went early for the right and he crossed me just after I had tacked on to the layline on port tack. He went too high and I was able to leave him in my wind shadow. Right in front was the blue boat. Knut, G-896, who was lying very low in the boat just in front of me. He was fast and I could almost match his speed to the first weather mark. We rounded very close and he extended the lead on the run. I had a better mark rounding in the gusty and strong wind and gained already 30-50m on him. Now bending the mast, crawling into the boat and of we went for a real dogfight upwind. Both tacking on to the layline, he a little higher than me, investing his lead. I had a bit of luck, tacked on a hard spot, accelerated a little quicker and started to point high into him. Catched the wind from the front, giving him a little backwind and rounded the mark first. From here on it seemed easy. Finished with a good lead. Knut reported later to me that he had spinned a 360° on the last downwind leg. Mmmh, the sharp runners, which I had mounted, felt good. The race committee called it a day and the Wolzig Cup was finished. Everybody went for the shore where we got our feet dry and packed up the gear. Price giving, the typical "Berliner" pancake and hot drinks for all. Short speeches, hipp-hipp-hurray and off we drove. You cannot have a good day of DN racing when you don´t leave your cozy home. Hope some more racers will show up next weekend. The show must go on as long as we have some sailable ice in Germany this winter.

Mittwoch, September 03, 2008

Sailing a Pram...

Not much going on recently on the sailing side of life except an afternoon of Mothing and a Saturday race with one of the local traditional fishing prams. They handed over the helm to me 10 minutes into the start sequence and I had to get to grips with this slow 3 mast boat in about zero breeze. Not that I haven´t sailed a Folkboat or a Dragon but this thing leaked and the sails did not even look like your average cruising boat sails do. But I always felt that I should give it a try. For the comradeship with the neightbors and the social event in our little club at the Schlei. The photo shows our little three mast pram with a classic wooden dinghy behind.

There were 5 of those tradition-conscious boats on the line plus about 20 Optimist prams at the same time. A downwind start. I love it. (not really) The fishing prams come in a wide variety. From one mast to three mast boats. Sails are similar to the Opti´s. Except that the sprits are very heavy as is the whole set-up. With the least maneuvers as possible before the start, we ran down an Optikid. No harm, no damage and we gave him a nice push at the signal. This put ourselves into second best starting position. (There is a price for the best start which my crew dearly wanted, but I missed it) Blading the sails out with the help of oars, Falck, Gonne and Ulli worked their way into trimming the boat. At the same time we had to bail and I commanded not to move much around. We found a nice breeze close to the shoreline. We passed the monastery and sailed close to the harbour wall. It was stop and go with all the prams. With a little luck we arrived at the first turning mark in second position. A well tuned and rigged one mast boat in front and one close behind us. Now the upwind leg home. Slow in this lazy Sunday afternoon breeze. The single mast boats tacked back to the shoreline. We opted for the long haul on to the other side of the fjord. Found some breeze and did not disturb the slow pace of ur boat by tacking. And as in many races we looked brilliant at some time and coming closer to the finish we looked less than average. Everything was possible between second and fourth place. We just had to get the layline right and tack into a little lift. When it looked good we did. Our closest competitor, rigged with two masts took our stern and tacked 5 meters further to windward. After about five minutes he rolled us. I had started to luff as a counter move but slowed the boat down too much. Couldn´t get her going again and nearly missed the finish at the lower end, coming in at fourth position. But hej, they cheered us. This old three mast pram had been sitting in the shed nearly unsailable for a year and only with the help of two long retired boatbuilders, and lots of tar, the boat had been brought back into sailable conditions. Thank you guys for a fantastic afternoon.

Dienstag, Juli 29, 2008

Somer i Danmark. Moth racing in Horsens.

What a fantastic Moth racing weekend lays behind us. Two days of blazing around on foils against great competitors in an environment which could not be any better. First of all, the weather. Summer is back and as you can see from the headline, this is what makes people happy in Denmark. This is also the slogan for a great holiday country with quality food, camp sites and houses for rent. The Horsens Seijlclub had again called for the Moths to hold their annual summer regatta. The Horsens Fjord had been the location for a Moth Euro and a Worlds before. So it must be good there. The people must know what they are doing and it was an easy decision to enter for this regatta.

The hard core of the North German Bladerider fleet showed up together with three Danes and Leo from Berlin. This mixed up for a small competitive fleet of 7 Foiling Moths. This should be a good reality check for me as announced in the thread before. The wind had picked up to 4 Bft on the Saturday late morning (look at the picture) and the starting flag had been raised at 11.00h. Three laps up-and-down the Horsens Fjord, start near the marina was on the menue. Sven and Christian showed the way around the course with Leo close behind. My height had not been enough to hold them and I also need to find some more speed. But not all was bad for me. I sailed away with ease from Søren who had always been close to me during Kieler Woche. I was even able to lap him and the three guys in front did not lap me! Capsizing was not on my agenda for the first two races but than I got a bit tired and checked the water temperature more than once. I did not feel fit for a third round and waited a bit in the right hand downwind corner for Sven to lap me and sailed into the finish afterwards. Sven, Christian, Leo and me in front of the Danes. Not bad. Søren had organized a splendid evening dinner at the Yachtclub which should have at least 1 star for the cooking. Atmosphere was great. The little ones playing: "catch the crabs" or "playing the dog" and the grown ups sharing stories and red wine.

Sunday was the same pecking order, bar race one, when Christian beat Sven on the last downwind run. He did a better layline localization and Sven had to jibe two more times. Everything is possible with the right determination. The wind was just a fraction lighter as on Saturday and I felt very comfortable on the downwind runs. I enjoyed the sailing immensely and could not get the grin out of my face. Even in the second lap of the third race when I decided that enough was enough, I took "time out during a weed check" on the layline and waited for Sven again to lap me. It took long. Than jumping back on to the boat and foiling through the finish. My energy level down to zero. What a day. What a weekend. The sailing hours which I had put in are starting to show results.


The set-up of my boat is so much better than it had been in Kiel, though I doubt I could have placed any better. Just look for the results of Adam, Steen, Martin, Sven and others who sailed Kiel week before the Worlds. These guys are a good benchmark, though I heart last weekend that the top guys, like John Harris and Amac are "double as fast" as the ones mentioned here. I have to see this to believe it. Anyway, the speed potential of a foiling Moth is not only in the boat. It is mostly the sailor, once his set up is alright. I am hooked, I will go for more.

Click on picture and they will get bigger
Pic 1: Ramp in Horsens
Pic 2: Me through the Finish
Pic 3: Christian in front of Sven at Finish

Mittwoch, Juli 09, 2008

Sunday was great!


The Sunday of last weekend was great. We had our annual club regatta over the weekend. The local sailing clubs, who are all suffering from participations in their own regattas had combined their efforts and organized one great event. About 50 boats participating from the OD classes, H-35, and X-79 to a field of 38 Yardstick boats varying from the fast Melges 24 (2) to Folkboats, H-Boats and the bigger X-34´s. It was supposed to be a family regatta, which for some racers meant that the families take part in the BBQ and dance festivities in the evening only. We participated with our little Bull 7000, shown here in the picture, during a reach on the Sunday.

Where have I been… oh yes, Sunday and "Heyitwasgreat.", the Tillerman group writing project. I will only touch Saturdays race lightly. To begin with, I had promised K. who is pregnant in her 7th month a light wind and some fun in the club. My regular crew must prepare their boat for the International14´s WC in Warnemünde and we did not want to miss the chance to sail with the local fleet and to see how we are going alone. We had decided early on that K. would take the helm and I do the crewwork. Fiddling with ropes and the gennaker is not easy with the big belly. There were a couple of events, mainly me reefing in and out as the wind had not stayed at the 10knots which I had promised but increased to abt. 20kn in periods. And always when we had to go upwind according to my feeling. I had to reef in and shake it out later. No gloves and fingers burning. I had rigged the gennaker sheet the wrong way and it was all my fault that we lost precious time. We finished the race corrected in 8th position.

The “Heyitwasgreat” Day.
Come Sunday and the Schleifjord looked very calm in the morning. We got towed out. People started to throw waterbombs during the waiting period and it looked like a great summer day. At around 12.00h the wind came up and PRO G.N. immediately laid the marks and gave the 5min signal. K. did a great start and we were holding our position between the 2 Melges up to the weather mark. She got the shifts right and seemed to be “in the zone”. Around the weather mark, the “kite up” and we were able to sail lower than the Melges with our articulating bowsprit. We did great through the narrow passage (Palörde), though the M24´s had catched a gust just in front of us which we were not able to hook in. It gave them a little advantage. The two of us now slightly overpowered in the gusts but able to hang in with the gennaker up. On the next upwind leg, I hiked like hell and K. kept the speedo permanently around the 6kn mark. It was our day. The big boats already far in the distance behind us. We had another great beat though the Melges were slowly walking away from us but not like Saturday. They had all their 4-5 crew hiking out hard. We lost about 3 min to the first M24, whilst on the Saturday it had been about 15min. Difficult to describe the smooth sailing, which we had on the day. Hopefully the little one, the unborn, got an idea of the great harmony which we had and which brought the best of sailing out of both of us. It only sunk in later that we might have won this race on corrected time as our Melges friends had reported to us after the finish. Yes, the price giving gave us the recognition. 1st place of the day and third overall. We went home tired but happy and… “heyitwasgreat”. If you want to see the results, here is the link: Result list

Freitag, Juli 04, 2008

...why did I loose my vertical foil?

Not a good Tuesday for sailing the Moth. Weather wise it was OK. The wind had shifted to the East. Nice and warm in the evening at around 19.00h when I hit the water. 10 - 13 kn. Everything went smooth with the set up and I felt ready to try again some foiling jibes. Not that I am managing this maneuver by now but after a bit of foiling high and dry the boat did not want to come up on the foils after a tack. Strange feeling. The bow deep in the pond. Me crawling to the back of the tramp but no change. The boat did not come up. Checking the ball joint, which connects the wand to the centerboard, it was OK. Back to shore. My worst thoughts had happened. The foil had disappeared. It took the thread of the stainless steel rod with it and pulled the M6 screw out of the carbon thread. Even today I have no idea how that could happen. There was no grounding and no feeling of hooking in to a net from the local fishermen. Just strange.

What made it really disappointing is the fact that on Sunday I had a really pleasant sail with this set of foils (the first ones, delivered with the boat. The ones which I had leant out till last week) and I thought that I should make notes about the set up, the angles etc. OK, I took a photo and marked the two sets. Now there is some work to do. Hope that our friends at Bladerider are able to supply spares soon. Another breakdown and I can skip the planned regatta activities.

Wednesday night race with the Bull (the little blue one on the pic.) was an interesting one. The thermal wind from the east made the windsurfers happy. In the "channel" we had about 5 Bft gusting a bit higher. With the "boys", Jan and Söhnke it felt OK. A little bit light on crew weight, therefore a reef and the small jib. A decent start because an early starter gave us some problems first. Lot´s of flogging mainsail around us. Most boats did not put a reef in. Even we got some big hits and nearly laid flat on the water but after a while got the hang of it. Got the boat going against the longer waterline boats. The X-34´s and the X-99 were gone when we came into the narrow navigable water. We had to fight more than usual as we nearly got stuck in the "crowd". With a draft of 1,70m against the 1,30m-1,40m going H-Boats and Folkboats we had to get it right. And we came out this narrow path as second boat from the tight bunch. We were than able to sail longer stretches, only two tacks on the laylines and got around the weather mark in fourth position. Henning with his X-79 had sailed clever and fast and was in front of us. We had a good ride with the gennaker and came close to the X-79 looking out for the wing mark. What we saw was ugly. No mark but the 99´and the 34´had entangled with each other and the buoy. They dragged it downwind. Henning and I decided, enough is enough and rounded an imaginary buoy and on to a tight reach. After that another beat into the wind and than the long downwind. Gennaker up and we made 11kn easy. In the gusts the speedo climbed up to 13kn. Should shake the reef out but we did not know what to expect in the "channel". Windsurfers were blasting forth and back. We came close to the X-34 and the crew hoisted their kite. Only to broach after it was set. We flew to the downwind mark, had a good round with our typical windward drop and were able to hold the first position into the finish. Abt. 2.45min in front of the X-79, our toughest competitor. It gave us a first place on corrected time and some confidence that we can do it with the Bull also in the heavy stuff. Thanks to my crew. The "boys" have learned a lot since we first sailed the Bull together ten years ago. Wishing them all the luck they need in the upcoming Int. 14 Skiff World Championship in Warnemünde next week.

3 days of sailing for my (not installed) sailing counter.

Montag, Mai 05, 2008

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.

Dienstag, Oktober 09, 2007

This one, I cannot believe!

In my morning mail today I got a letter from Roland Gäbler, German Tornado Sailor, (see picture) who has an Olympic Campaign underway for China 2008. Will it be his 4th Olympic participation if he manages it? He has got a Bronze, lucky him. What puzzled me in his letter is the criteria set by the German Sailing Association (DSV) for the Tornado Class to qualify for the one berth available. Actually we have three hot shots in Germany and the Tornado class had always been a hotly contested class. What I find strange this year in the elimination trial is the following:

Our German sailors have to participate in a regatta in New Zealand in February, have to sail one in March in Spain (Mallorca) and another one in April in France, Hyeres. All in the year 2008 of course. Just think about the logistics involved. The travelling. The Money needed up front. Than you easily catch a flu in the aeroplane. The jet-leg, which sometimes last longer in the body than you might believe. (Mmh, I heavily suggest the use of salt-water-spray for the nose to help avoid any such illness or bad feelings). Personally I think that this is not a good plan by DSV but my days are over and things have changed dramatic over the last years. We used to sail on the River Elbe. More hours in the boat, less travelling. Not that I got close to a berth in the ´76 Olympic in the FD class. Just a runner up. There were some better sailors like me. The Diesch brothers, the König brothers, the Batzill cousins. Silver and Bronze medal Winner winner Ulli Libor tried it again. Jörg and Eckard Diesch won Gold in Kingston. Rodney Pattison came second. I will never forget this as I had sailed together with Jörg and with Rodney. With Rodney on his Endurance 35, but that is another story. Nevertheless, I am wishing Roland fair wind and smooth sailing. May the best Team win the elimination trials.

Freitag, September 28, 2007

Tillermeister, where are you?

Did I beat you on the line today putting again a zero behind my age. Leaving the "roaring" fifties? And the plan is to take part in a Laser-regatta on the weekend, to please you and my other readers. No, not thinking that I would be able to beat you in that department. Anyway, I have borrowed an older boat and prepped it yesterday. Will donate the "charter-fee" to the youth group in my club. Hope to be able to write about it.

The pity is that at present we have "land under". A storm from the north-east is sweeping through the north of Germany and our homewater has raised already 1.50m above zero. (NN = normal null in German) That means that most of the dinghies in the club started to drift away on their trailers or without. The trailers and boats which were not fastened to the ground. Two 29ers were catched, whilst drifting away. Lots of wood is on drift as well. Cars which were parked in the boatshed had water already on the cabinfloor. A rescue group from the club is underway and they do not want me to participate as it is my birthday. WTF, I will go out and look after the boats. This is my duty. Duty from the heart.

PS: This had been written on September 28th but due to the many activities on the day, I was unable to publish onto my blog. I have therefore altered the date. And I can tell you now, that I got more than my feet wet by doing some rescue work. More photos of the high water at: Hochwasser at Schlei Segel Club

Dienstag, September 25, 2007

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.

Dienstag, September 04, 2007

25. Schifffahrtsregatta - what an event!

The Schifffahrtsregatta had been sailed for the 25th time this year and the organisers promised a unique event to celebrate not only the anniversary but also Peter Gast, the founder and organiser of this private event. Yes a private event, not organized by a sailing club or other organisation but by Peter Gast and his employees in his shipping company. It is supposed to be a friendly event between people working in shipping and banking. The entry list reads like the international "who is who" in shipping and ship financing. People from 15 nations took part as far away as from China. The regatta is held annually at the first weekend in September and the waiting list for participants is long. This year the promoters allowed 140 yachts to take part. Famous German Racing Yachts like "Outsider", UCA and others came to sail and celebrate. In the evening abt 1450 people, all dressed up in dark jackets, many with the odd Cowes trousers took part in the traditional walk through the village of Aeroskøbing on the beautiful island of Åro in the south of Denmark.

The evening before the start usually sees big parties in various locations along the banks of the Schlei. Kappeln and Maasholm are in the center of action and the marinas are fully packed with all the beautiful yachts, ranging from many Swans to X-Yachts, Dehler, HANSE, Baltic and other manufacturers who have cruiser/racers in their program. This time there was also a "classic division" as some ship owners keep beautiful classics on the water.

Nevertheless all the partying and get together for people from the same trade usually finds an end on the Friday night around midnight as the regatta, which usually is around 30sm, can be strenuous. And the first start takes place exactly at 09.00h out on the Baltic Sea with a short windward leg and than around some buoys or markers. I wanted to track the course to show you here (and to learn how to do it in Google Earth) but forgot at home to change the "road" chip into the "sea" chip in my Garmin GPS. It was our turn in the IMS group B to have the third start. With four guests on board we were a bit overloaded on the 36 footer with eight people and Kerstin had a handful to organize them. We managed the start quite well but I lost track about my strategic plan. Wanted to tack early as the course was not laid even but got sucked behind a bigger Swan who sailed us out to the left, overstanding the mark by "miles". A tight reach with a 110 percent Jib is not the best course, though we do a lot of barberhauling (out) but boats with big headsails have a clear advantage. Our goal was set on beating a friend on his much modified Swan 48, usually the winner in this IMS class. Whilst he and others sailed a leebow, (?) we tried to catch more breeze with a windward curve and managed to stay not too far away from the leaders in our group. A 6sm upwind put us back into contact and than a long reach with some dying breeze. We hoisted our Code Zero sail which works nice from 45° to 90° apparent wind and were able to pass the Swan and came very close to a nice 40 footer were an old rival of mine from the H-Boat times did sail on.

The wind shifted to the right, we had to hoist the Jib and by barberhauling it we broke the Frederiksen car off from the track. I haven´t seen this before on any boat but two strong guys winching the ropes in managed it. Oh dear, I should have given better and more precise instructions. The provisional repair involved three people on the foredeck with different meanings about how to do it and at the end our 40 footer friends had done a horizon job on us. The repair could not be made on board and we rigged some lines to just pull in the sheet a bit. At the next turning point we could hoist the spinnaker and tried to get some meters back which was rather difficult. We were only able to etch away from the Swan due to finding better pressure closer to the shore. at the end we only managed an 11th out of 14 boats. Results can be found on: http://www.svaoe.de/Archiv2007/schifffahrtsregatta.html. My boat is still "Samantha" the Dehler 36db though my charter had put his name in as skipper. He is the one who brings in the invitation to this much admired regatta.

The party in the evening was outstanding. Illuminated tents, fine dishes and Food, Drinks, Speeches, the various Video clips from past and present, the Music, the Fireworks and the atmosphere. Can you imagine that the organisers had to bring 28 trucksloads to the Danish island where the reguar ferry can only carry three 35ts trucks at a time. All this let you forget that you said to yourself in the moments of trouble and braking parts on your own boat: never again on my boat.

The next day the wind had increased to Bft 6-7 right in the eye and it was a long way home against the wind. Starting with full main we ended up in second reef, all people on board a bit wet and tired but happy from a great weekend. See you again at Schifffahrtsregatta 2008.

Picture 1 shows us leaving the harbour of Åroskøbing. Pic 2 the procession of boats out of the Schlei--Fjord and Pic 3 the tugboat changed into regatta duties.