Best wishes to everyone for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

My DN friends are usually searching for good ice conditions between the holidays at the years end and there is a pattern to where the different people are going. I have usually made up my mind at the last minute due to family commitments but these commitments had also stopped me during the last years to go either north to Sweden or South to Italy. This year some friends have gone east to Poland where they have found good conditions, but only for a few days. My prefered location would be Lake Rescia (Reschensee) where you usually also find my friend Thomas, whom I had talked into the Moth class during one of our DN meetings, somewhere on the Ice site in one of those long nights in our campers. Thomas easily beat me on the soft water after a year in the Moth and I was able to beat him on the ice in the last competitions. It is always fun, we always share our experience. A pity that this great sports buddy is living in the south and I am living in the north of Germany. Anyway if you look at the picture above, in the left corner, you can see a small group of DN´s. It is early morning, I guess everyone is still at breakfast looking out the window to the beautiful scenery from the www.seehotel.it or else. Maybe the snowfall, which is predicted, will stop the sailing but than the skiing or sledging takes over. It is all good in Italy at 1500m above sea level.

Yes, and what am I doing here at the office desk on my computer? I am staying home another year due to different commitments. Company wise and in my social life. Yeep, I am going to a "ball opening" with full ball gown tonight. Life is pretty at the years end and it will finish with a positive note. Looking forward to 2013 to meet with my sailing friends again on hard or soft water. Maybe also doing some keel boat races in Kiel and Flensburg on my new "thing".

On the Ice again

Yeah, life is not bad when the Fjord at my home starts freezing in and the first sailable ice is developing. Such had been the thing yesterday and despite a work schedule for most of us, we met on the ice to sailsome practice races. It was good and I felt at home immediatley with my boat, with the surroundings and with myself. Maybe that had been the reason that I won all of the races despite the first two, but all without changing a knob. We had some good chat after finishing the day and thinking about racing again, maybe more officially on Saturday, weather permitting. See you on the Ice, G-99 Have not blogged for a long time after I had to swallow my frustrations of not being able to sail at Lake Garda. Did only do some practice at the wonderful venue and the warm water but at the first day, my back gave in. I was not able to carry my boat to the ramp and therefore went straight home to see the doctor. Couldn´t stay and look at 120 Moths having fun and fighting it out. Not that I would have been able to even touch a place better than 80th, but the great cameraderie and spirit in the Moth class is something special and it will pull me back into the next big event. See you on the water, GER-3835

Boat Prep is King...

Boat preparation going on everywhere here in Camp Moth in Campione. Foils are being smoothed down to 2000 grid, carbon work is going on every evening when there is shadow protection from the high cliffs in the west of the launch area. At present there is no hurry to put in any morning races with the "Peler" wind. This is the reason why the Mothospehere is buzzing with news and Fotos and all. At present I am counting 15 computers in action down here at the Cantina which serves us not only with good food but with a stable WiFi. Heart that there is a lot of "noise" in the many FB pages which I am ignoring. My own preparation had only been marginal though I know some of the important bits to go through. But I did not expect a knot to slip open, a splice to detach and my boom vang to open up at the holding part. Bloody me. Than there was a lack of speed both up and down and avoiding traffic in the most careful way. You can see in pictures, published at Segelreporter that 80% of the fleet did start on port tack. You than do not want to be the idiot to call for right of way as a starboard tacker on the line, close to the pin end. 50km/h crossing speed will not be without harmful damage. One sailor already ended up in hospital. I tried a right of way start closer to the boat. The line was difficult to cross but when the fleet approached me, I tacked to port immediately but after that, I found myself already at the back end of the fleet in the first race. Due to technical problems missed the 2nd and 3rd but had all the slipway for myself to do a safe hauling out of my boat. Done some boat prep in the evening, even sanded down my centerboard and foil. Hope it helps the mind set today. Being in 114th spot is not exactly what I came here for. 99 would be acceptable, bearing in mind the risen standard within the class. A great article can be found again today (as yesterday, scroll back on the fron page and read "Naked Lunch") on SA.com. You can read about this fantastic event in German language at SR.com who said they are covering the event. And many good Fotos, taken daily can be found at the Mottenfieber link as in the post below. On with some food, a good cafe latte and waiting for the Ora to set in from the south.

Moth Blogger in Campione, italy

An amazing new place here in Campione, Italy with a Cantina giving us a stabil Wifi an the best coffee south of the German border. The Italian championship is behind us. Today is a layday with measurements and technology sharing. I had a nice swim in the lake this morning and am sitting now in the air conditioned Cantina because it is very hot outside. The boat is sorted after some small trouble yesterday. Some ropes had not been rigged in the right way which might have to do with the extensive heat, this North German participant is not used to. Nevtheless had a nice sail yesterday and had to try out unusual cloth combination due to the warmth of the water and the burning sun. Two Leicra shirts on top and no neopren seemed to be a good answer. Mottenfieber Fotogalerie

Moth Worlds coming soon, just read this...

Yes,preparing for the Moth´s Worlds at Lake Garda in Campione, my favorite spot on the Lake. Happy to meet with friends and to fight it out at the end of the fleet. My goal is not to finish in the three digit region Should be possible if I go out for some training this evening. Now if one or the others of my readers want to know who is there and who is gonna win, here is a expert analyses from the Grandmaster himself, Mr. Simon Payne: Simon's Form Guide A link to the event can be found on the right. And I can only advise those who always want to know more to use the inks to the international Moth Forum or to the German Website. Have fun, enjoy life and see you soon.

Look Ma, no wires...

I had watched these interesting little sailboats in Spain during my last trip to the Mar Menor. There are no stays or wires connected. Both jib and main are on free standing poles. Amazing little crafts and I wonder why in this age of carbon fibre tubes no one else did come up with such a great idea. These boats had been sailed by two handicapped people and the regatta was intense with lot´s of wind and waves. They looked great out on the water with their colourful liveries.

Cooles Video

Thanks to Scuttlebutt and Brownie for this Moth video with several cameras mounted on the boat. Brownie´s Moth experiences. Have some great sailing days and see you in Horsens at the Moth regatta, June 9th. Your entry shall be placed with Søren at: Info@horsensvaerft.dk. Photocredit for the great startline shot goes to: Susie Tagg

Great Racing in Champagne Conditions

Moth Fest as expected. The water really warm, the friends and competitors relaxed, the food excellent. Alan has put on again a great event at www.pro-vela.com. The participants decided that we are running short races for the last three days. First one round, later in the day 2 rounds. We have 2 groups of abt. 5-6 boats each, who are fighting it out. Great fun. I found myself in the first group, fighting it out with Alan for third. June and David running the races from the Rib with early starters being identified, so no cheating.

Pablo is the star of show, leading in all races and being up on foils first, when the wind drops a bit later in the afternoon. Flawless wind spotting by him. Janne from Finland did his first excellent jibes yesterday and he will be someone to watch in the near future. His catamaran background (F18) definitely counts.  Back to the club for some boat maintenance and another day of champagne sailing here on the Mar Menor in Los Narejos.

Training, Racing and a Sauna at the Beach

What a great week we had here in the North of Germany. Sailors flocked in at 1st of May and it started with the welcoming of all participants for the training "week". The 1st of May is known as a "hoist your red flag" holiday in Germany, but we did not go for protesting (against whatever) instead we wanted to put in some serious sailing after the long Mothless winter time. For 80 % of the sailors it had been the first outing this year. With Markus, we had a very knowledgeable trainer who does not only sail fast on his Moth, but who understands so well all the physics and hydrodynamics around our little boats. He is able to give lectures about things which are important but which I had not even thought about. Time on the water had been shared with time on land discussing speed and handling issues. Everyone had made progress in his own field. During the only windless day, videos had been taken about the foils going through the water, which gave some interesting discussions later in the evening. The small hometown club, the HSVS which has it´s origin in sailing old fisherman´s prams welcomed all Moth sailors and the President, Walter Rolfs, had held an opening speech in the native North German language. The Fisherman´s society, thanks to foreman Harald Ross, had allowed the Mothies not only to rig their boats on the ground but also to park their campers and trailers on their meadow which is normally being used to repair and refit their nets and fishing equipments. This made life easy for the Mothies, as it meant boats and cars and the club as well as the launching beach, to slip the boats, had all been within a 40 m circle. Evening activities were based on a herring BBQ, cooking noodles for all and visiting the local restaurant within walking distance. All in all it is a very convenient environment with a low carbon footprint. Friday, 4th of May, the wind did not cooperate, it was light but Markus had a great "game plan" in mind. Short course racing with 3 jibes instead of tacking upwind and 3 tacks instead of jibing downwind. Great fun and you should try it out with your Moth in the light air.

CTM Carbon Motte: Saturday we had sailed four races in: "it is not normally like this" wind from the north-west, which meant a lot of gusts and shifting around 30°. The wind strength in the typical Markus: "it is only 3 Bft range", but some of us felt a little more pressure. A couple capsizes and the cold water let me and others go straight for the "Sauna at the beach" after the racing. The juniors (Lüttsegler) were already welcoming us with coffee and cakes and a water hose to give us a shower after coming out from the sauna. Great fun for everyone and thanks to Dirk Röhlig, Saunapointwho had sponsored the sauna event. Sunday saw light winds, shifting around half of the clock. Junior race officer, Johan made the right choice for one 2 lap race which had been raced against the easterly wind which held about 3/4 of an hour. Later in the day, the wind shifted to the west, but only a zephir breeze as already in the first race of the day. Everyone was happy to hit for the beach and to pack the boats after a 5 day Moth session in Schleswig. Coffe, cakes and a prize giving rounded up this event. The Carbon-Motte again being taken home and cared by Markus. As you can see from the results list at: Results, Markus won the regatta with 5 bullets, followed by Sven, being a little bit rusty after the long winter and our newcomer on the racing course (not new in the Moth), Andreas, who sailed some excellent races, finishing third. Hannes had boat problems, which we were able to fix over night and he finished fourth. Usually I would only mention the podium places but Hannes deserves a special mentioning, because he gave a talk in the HSVS about his way to become a sailor and his path to win the bronze medal in the 49er class, during the last Olympic games in China. The juniors and their parents and interested Mothies were deeply impressed. Look also at: HSVS Event Site Thanks again, Hannes, for this spontaneous event which will stick in the minds and hearts of the junior sailors from the HSVS. Next stop for me is the: Moth Fest at the Mar Menor, where I will haul my boat out of the monster garage, which had been mentioned in the blog entry below. Edit: Sorry, not possible to put in paragraphs in this "new" Blogger layout program, though they are showing in my text.

My Monster Garage

Moth blogging seems to get busy again and I appreciate my friend Harald to come up with his reports, which enhances me to give a short update about my own activities. My boat had been stowed in the big garage as you can see from the photo above. I rolled it out for the last ten days, finishing on Saturday, for an everyday sailing session. A nice warm-up to the season, lying ahead for us Northern European Mothies. Our Swedish friends from Stockholm had the same idea and were also sailing a couple of days on the Mar Menor.

Being back in the office today I dream about the lunch break which is illustrated by the photo below. Always a highlight of the day in the C.A.R. Christina and the easy going canteen with good and cheap food. Boat being laid down on the beach ready for the afternoon session. I have signed myself already in for the Moth Fest @ pro-vela and afterwards the boat will be shipped back home. Some good relief from the difficulties which life has thrown on me in the past months. Hope to see you guys and gals out there soon.

Gone Windsurfing...

Gotta get out of this place that is what Eric Burdon is singing here. I have just taken the "WE" for an "I". Live has not been smooth the last weeks and now, looking forward to the sun, the waves and my old Lightwave 2,55 board with the GUN sails, all will be good at once. I am sure it works, it had already been much fun to dig the stuff out of the "drawer" today and to prepare for the long flight west and down south. Might blog something if I get back into the mood for it.

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.

End of the Moth Season...

This text below had been written earlier last year but I had been too busy to post. Now with the DN season -eagerly awaited- to start for me at the upcoming weekend in Sweden, I am trying to make a smooth transistion into winter mode:

Today, not even the middle of October, I had to search for the ice scraper to clean my front window before going to work. Might be the time to dismantle the Moths and stow them away into their boxes and to make room for the DN equipment. A pity, as my intentions had been to do at least one more weekend of practicing and to test my "KA/M2 rig" for height and speed. Now, that it makes sense to sail and test against K., who had beaten me the last two regattas, I should set modest goals, just trying to match her speed and height. Having been the lone Moth sailor here during my practice sessions, I must have developed backwards. Not sure if it is the set-up of the boat, if it is in the rig or if it has to do with calcification. (Good excuse by Tillerman).