Am I standing still?

Lot´s of things have happened since my last post here. E.g. I had taken part in the pro-vela Moth Fest and maybe I have not reported because I could not find any good photo (of myself) anywhere. So there would have been a lack of evidence. But it is OK, I give you a great shot of Harald, who flies high on his DIY Moth. He even had build the foils by himself. And though there shinned a little bit of jealousy through one particular post after Moth Fest about Harald "winning" the KA sponsored MSL 13 sail, I think he deserved it. Anyway, I will not mention the war, Moth Fest was a big event with 40 participants, with WAG´s and Kids and some great sailing in good atmosphere. At the last weekend, there had been an official regatta and if you like to read more about it, there is a report in German language at: www.mottenfieber.de/node/424

After Moth Fest a lot of tinkering on the MACH2 boats # 3627 and # 3835. Simon P. brought me back on the water quickly with a split second decision for a warranty part. Thanks for that one. Went out on the water a couple of times. Even possible one afternoon together with K. with our two boats. Great fun but my rope splice for the bottom boomvang rope gave up and she had to come in early. Bloody me. With new Marlow ropes (not available in Schleswig) from Peter B. it was no problem to do a better one this time and hopefully we will have more time to spend on the water together with the two Moths.

Yesterday I had a sailing session in abt. 15-20kn gusting. The 29ers out did a lot of capsizing and so did I. Nearly every gybe went wrong and I ended up in the brink. Is it because I am way too focused on the instructions and after being able to follow them around at about 60-70%, I am lacking in the last bit. The most important ones? Weight out on the wing, stable platform, proper steering, sheet control. Yeah, one day.

What gave me inspiration for the headline this time? Yes, it is about the speed which I am not getting out of my boat. Both my Moth friends Markus and Harald, see his post: Harald´s Blog reached 28+kn on the water. Both are using an MSL13 as far as I am informed. I had ideal conditions yesterday with some gusts really taking me down the Fjord but my boat made a lot of noise and never reached more than 20,9 kn/h per 10 sec. average. One should know that I had prepared the foils before with a bit of wet sanding. I had cooked a camber soup the night before and the sail now looks better and the cambers are not dropping off like before. It feels like there is a barrier and I do not think it is in my head as I am so used to do the 18-20 kn/h runs, that I am not scared a bit. Any hints or tips, please leave a comment. All well appreciated.

Looking forward to the visit from Carlo and Gaby next week and maybe having three boats out on the water one afternoon in the "back of my garden"*. Than off to the Moth regatta in Horsens. Søren promising a lot of fun and best weather and flat water in the Horsens Fjord. Let´s see, if Per E. wants to keep the Swedish Moth Girls for himself or if he sends them over to Denmark to play with us. The invitation had been send out.

*In the back of my garden" is a phrase which I am connecting to an early 18 Footer video (way before Youtube times) which I have had on Betamax and which had been shot in Australia. Ian Murray, now connected with the America´s Cup had been the star of the scene and I think he was sailing the Color 7 boat. Good times. The second photo in this entry shows "bottom of the garden" sailing as per today in Schleswig. Photocredit to Randolf Teppner.