Streaker Ramblings - Freeman Iceberg Races 13 & 14 - 14/12/2014

Sunday morning at 08.00 am it was bright sunny and frosty in Hove and on the way to Kingston via the Lewes Road. Once through the village all signs of frost in the fields had disappeared. On arrival at the pond there was a pleasant force three breeze from the south west. Alan had a small job to do on the aero – the control sheet needed threading through a guide below the port gunwhale and as he removed the cover he had to dispose of a sheet of ice about an inch thick. ‘Repair work done he then realised that he had not brought his sail from the garage with him and thus he could only stand and watch the racing. The forecast had been for increasing breeze – 17 to 21 knots on ‘Windfinder’ and ‘Windguru’

Adam, the RO ably assisted by Anna Freeman, set a start from a line just north of the clubhouse to a mark in the south west corner of the pond. The following leg was a broad reach down the south side to a mark in the south east corner which led to an off wind leg to a mark mid-way along the east shore. From there it was a beat back to a mark in the centre of the pond and then anther off-wind leg to a mark off the Fisherman’s Bay. The final leg was another beat back to the finish line off the clubhouse. Eighteen boats signed on although Bill Giles decided not to go afloat as the breeze began to increase.

At the gun about half the fleet were close to the line and of those it was Tiger Cox (Topper) who was first away, just ahead but to leeward of Louise Currell and Darren Field

(RS200). The RS was inches ahead of Laurence Venus (Streaker – full rig sail) and Michael Veale and Mike Rosier (RS200) to windward of him. It was Laurence who found the acceleration and was first off on the reach followed by Michael and then John Nash (Laser full rig) who had been closer to the shore but caught the breeze once clear of the shade from the clubhouse. Darren and Tiger failed to get out of the wind shadow from the three leaders. The next group away were headed by Tim Cox (Laser Radial), Chas Humphries (Laser full rig) and Josh Smith (Laser 4.7). The final group consisted of John Smith (Laser Radial), Zoe McCaig (Laser Radial), Bill Wates (Laser full rig), Terry Jones (Laser full rig) and Rupert Smith and Chris Turner (Vago). Bringing up the rear were Dave Murley (Laser Radial), Graham Hardy (Laser full rig), Jamie Smith (Laser 4.7) and lastly Carolyn Turner (Laser Radial). Laurence was beginning to pull away from Michael and John.N by the time he reached the south east mark and along the following leg and even further ahead by the start of the next windward leg. Carolyn was one of the first casualties when she capsized on the leg along the eastern bank and needed help from the safety boat helmed by Penelope Duncan.

By the end of the first lap Laurence had established a commanding lead – from which he was not to be challenged for the remainder of the race. Louise had pulled through to lie second and John.N had also overtaken the RS200 of the two Michaels who at 4^th were hotly pursued by Tim. Next up were John.S and the Rupert with Graham behind them and Josh not far behind. Rupert failed to turn the South west mark – for the reach – instead capsizing in front of the clubhouse, to the amusement of the audience on shore.

In Lap 2, of those who did make it onto the reach, it was John.S who also took a swim. Somewhere along the Eastern shore leg Louise and Darren must have taken a dive – un-observed by the writer - as they fell from 2^nd place to 6^th with Michael going up to second, astern of Laurence, just one second in front of John.N, with Tim in 4^th and a recovered Rupert in 5^th.  Bill gained three places to lie 7^th ahead of Josh, Zoe, and Dave. Josh and Jamie crossed the lie on tied 11^th place whilst John.S dropped back to 14^th behind Terry. Chas remained in last place behind Carolyn.

Lap three saw the wind continuing to increase in strength with still heavier gusts but Laurence continued to lead the field but Michael closed up a little to lie some 38 seconds behind (a gain of 9 seconds) and this time 12 seconds ahead of 3^rd placed John.N Tim still held 4^th position but Louise recovered to pass Rupert. Bill, Josh and Zoe held position as in the previous lap whilst Jamie overtook Dave and Tiger to lie 10^th. Terry, John.S and Graham also retained unchanged relative positions and Chas moved up one spot as Carolyn retired after yet another capsize.
Lap 4 and Laurence pulled a few more seconds lead ahead of Michel as John.N fell back behind him by nearly fifty seconds – taking a dip perhaps? – and Tim hung in behind him in 4^th. Rupert meanwhile overtook Louise to lie 5^th. Bill, Josh and Zoe retained 7^th, 8^th and 9^th postions. Jamie had dropped back behind Dave and Tiger to lie 12^th with John.S astern and chas had overtaken Graham.
Lap 5, the final lap, had Laurence still out in front of Michael and crossing the line a minute ahead whilst Louise climbed up from 6^th to take third place ahead of John.N Rupert and Tim. Zoe went past Bill to take 7^th.
With the handicaps applied the winner of the race was Laurence with Tiger taking Second, Michael in third, Tim fourth and John.N fifth.

 

Race 14, due to start at 12.00 was somewhat delayed when a gaggle of boats, including at least Tim, Terry and Josh, were prematurely over the line at the gun. By the time the fleet had re-assembled, on the correct side of the line, the new start did not occur until 12.07. The same course was used but the wind had got even livelier and plenty more spills were due to happen.
Between the starts Rupert decided to show off in front of the clubhouse again this time falling completely out of the Vago and having to swim after it.

Not to be outdone Terry also decided to take a swim, almost on the line and in the middle of it, necessitating starters to head either side of him at the gun. This also caused a bunching of the fleet with several boats losing all their wind. At the gun John.N found air to windward of the still recumbent Terry whilst Darren and Louise found air to leeward. Laurence was nowhere to be seen, in fact at one point he went into irons in full wind shadow of the clubhouse and was 14^th around the mark in the south west corner, at the start of the long reach, with a seemingly impossible amount of ground to catch up.

At this point the writer, not feeling well with what was suspected to be a dose of food poisoning, left for home and therefore the rest of this report is based on the evidence off the lap sheets. There is therefore no visual record but it is safe to say that there were several more capsizes during the rest of the race.

At the conclusion of lap 1 the order was Darren in first place followed by John.N and Laurence in third place, having made a remarkable (if not miraculous) recovery. Michael in the RS was lying 4^th, Rupert 5^th and Tim 6^th. Next came Jamie, Josh, Tiger, John.S and Bill. Dave was in 12^th place ahead of Chas. Charlie Rigg (Peco) had started in this race but did not finish the first lap neither did Graham, Terry nor Carolyn.

Lap 2 and John.N had moved into the lead, Darren had capsized and dropped down to 12^th place, while Rupert had overtaken Michael and Laurence to lie 2^nd. Tim was behind Laurence in 5^th with Zoe 6^th (unrecorded position in lap 1(averaged lap times would have had her at 7^th). Next came Josh then Tiger (now ahead of Jamie), John.S was lying 10^thand Dave 11^th. Behind 12th placed Darren were Bill and finally Chas.
Lap 3 saw John.N still in the lead whilst Michael was lying second having moved ahead of Rupert – who dropped back behind Laurence, Tim and Zoe to lie 6^th. John.S charged up the fleet to take 7^th passing Josh, tiger and Jamie on the way. Chas made a good recovery climbing up from 14^th to 9^th and Dave dropped back to 12^th.Bill languished in 13^th – and with the retirement of Darren – last place.
In Lap 4 there no place changes in the three front runners, John.N, Michael and Laurence but Rupert had another spurt to lie 4^th ahead of Zoe and then Tim. John.S retained his 7^th place whilst, behind him, Josh pulled back three places to lie 8^th. Chas lost out again falling back to 11^th behind tiger and Jamie. Dave and Bill stayed 12^th and 13^th.
Lap 5, the final lap saw John.N cross the line in front of Laurence who had passed Michael. Rupert, Zoe, Tim, John.S, Josh, Tiger, Jamie and Chas held the same positions as in the previous lap, Dave and Bill having finished at the end of the previous lap. With the handicaps applied Tiger was declared the winner with Laurence second, John.N third, Zoe 4^th and Michael fifth.
It must be said that this was yet another windy day for sailing – reportedly even windier than last Sunday (7^th Dec) and every one who participated had had to work extremely hard.

Results :-

R13

Start: Start 1, Finishes: Place

Rank	Class	SailNo	Club	HelmName	CrewName	PY No	Elapsed	BCE	Points
1	Streaker	1706	NSSC	Laurence Venus		1146	32.12	0.00.00	1.0
2	Topper	26340	NSSC	Tiger Cox		1322	33.08	0.03.25	2.0
3	RS 200	582	NSSC	Michael Veale	Mike Rosier	1051	33.15	0.03.43	3.0
4	Laser Radial	16	NSSC	Tim Cox		1122	36.13	0.04.41	4.0
5	Laser	136424	NSSC	John Nash		1088	35.08	0.04.34	5.0
6	Laser Radial	64200	NSSC	Zoe McCaig		1122	37.07	0.05.35	6.0
7	RS 200	285	NSSC	Darren Field	Lousie Currel	1051	34.53	0.05.21	7.0
8	Vago	808	NSSC	Rupert Smith	Chris Turner/Penny Springall	1064	35.22	0.05.28	8.0
9	Laser 4.7	2063	NSSC	Jamie Smith		1185	33.21	0.06.43	9.0
10	Laser	133416	NSSC	Bill Wates		1088	38.24	0.07.50	10.0
11	Laser Radial	142208	NSSC	David Murley		1122	32.21	0.07.08	11.0
12	Laser Radial	177611	NSSC	John Smith		1122	33.31	0.08.18	12.0
13	Laser	30678	NSSC	Terry Jones		1088	26.02	0.07.41	13.0
14	Laser	163443	NSSC	Graham Hardy		1088	40.20	0.15.53	14.0
15	Laser	138193	NSSC	Charles Humphries		1088	36.02	0.17.41	15.0
16	Laser 4.7	182532	NSSC	Josh Smith		1185	DNF		17.0
16	Laser Radial	83663	NSSC	Carolyn Turner		1122	DNF		17.0

R14

Start: Start 1, Finishes: Place

Rank	Class	SailNo	Club	HelmName	CrewName	PY No	Elapsed	BCE	Points
1	Topper	26340	NSSC	Tiger Cox		1322	37.35	0.00.00	1.0
2	Streaker	1706	NSSC	Laurence Venus		1146	33.11	0.00.36	2.0
3	Laser	136424	NSSC	John Nash		1088	32.35	0.01.39	3.0
4	Laser Radial	64200	NSSC	Zoe McCaig		1122	34.32	0.02.38	4.0
5	RS 200	582	NSSC	Michael Veale	Mike Rosier	1051	32.42	0.02.49	5.0
6	Laser Radial	16	NSSC	Tim Cox		1122	35.06	0.03.12	6.0
7	Laser 4.7	182532	NSSC	Josh Smith		1185	37.20	0.03.39	7.0
8	Vago	808	NSSC	Rupert Smith	Chris Turner/Penny Springall	1064	33.54	0.03.39	8.0
9	Laser 4.7	2063	NSSC	Jamie Smith		1185	37.58	0.04.17	9.0
10	Laser Radial	177611	NSSC	John Smith		1122	36.02	0.04.08	10.0
11	Laser	138193	NSSC	Charles Humphries		1088	41.02	0.10.06	11.0
12	Laser Radial	142208	NSSC	David Murley		1122	33.57	0.08.26	12.0
13	Laser	133416	NSSC	Bill Wates		1088	38.11	0.13.26	13.0
14	RS 200	285	NSSC	Darren Field	Lousie Currel	1051	DNF		18.0
14	Laser	163443	NSSC	Graham Hardy		1088	DNF		18.0
14	Laser	30678	NSSC	Terry Jones		1088	DNF		18.0
14	Pico	No No	NSSC	Charlie Rigg		1335	DNF		18.0
14	Laser Radial	83663	NSSC	Carolyn Turner		1122	DNF		18.0

Alan.S 1700

PS. I repeat here the comment received last week from Peter Barton, concerning my problems in recovering my Aero from a capsize and getting back aboard;-

1 comment:

1. 
   Peter Barton11 December 2014 at 18:27

   Hi Alan,
   Sorry to hear of your recent challenges. The Aero with its very light hull and light carbon rig does behave differently to heavier boats and this is noticeable in a capsize.
   
   Over the top 'dry' capsizes, where you stay dry and step in as it comes up, are as easy as ever.
   
   For 'wet' capsizes where you find yourself in the water the challenge is not so much climbing on the centre board but climbing into the boat. This is due to when you start to put weight on the centre board the boat will likely come upright before you can fully climb on the centre board. Start putting weight on the front blunt edge of the centre board and as it starts to come up grab the gunwale or control line tails to pull it upright.
   
   So, to then climb in, hold the boat across the wind by finding the balance point (the Aero it is light to manhandle). The first hand goes on the grab rail, then the second hand onto the toe strap. You would struggle to reach the toe strap without using the grab rail first. Pull yourself in keeping your weight low and with a big kick of your legs in the water. Due to the very light hull there is a tendency for the hull to come to windward. I have, however, seen an 84kg sailor climbing in amidships with no wind to balance against and have heard of a 98kg sailor climbing in amidships by sheeting the main in to balance against.
   
   That said, if you do struggle to climb in amidships then go straight for the windward side of the transom, which is easier. Rear entry is relatively trivial. You can pull yourself in on the honeycomb flaps and then the toe strap. As you pull yourself up your weight will push the flaps down towards the water level.
   
   Recently, I have put together a collection of 7 capsize recoveries with accompanying notes and they are on the website forum here; http://www.rsaerosailing.org/index.asp?p=forum&fid=4&tid=6969
   I also now have some video of a 93kg sailor doing rear entry using both the 'beached whale' horizontal pull and 'swimming pool exit' vertical thrust which I will add there soon.
   
   The capsize recovery is also described on page 46 of the rigging manual here; http://www.rsaerosailing.org/docs/AERO_RIGGING.pdf
   
   So in summary;
   - Don't expect to be able to climb onto the centre board from the water without the boat coming upright.
   - If you struggle climbing in amidships then go straight for the transom route
   - Depending on agility, wind and technique the split choice of whether to recover via the transom or side is made at about 90kg weight
   
   Hopefully this info will enable you to master this. I wonder if you can seek a safe environment (maybe after your club racing) to practice and report back?
   
   Happy Aeroing!
   Peter Barton

   
   

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