Moths @ the Extreme Sailing Series

Well the extreme 40 circus came to town in Singapore for their last leg of the season. Also included Arnaud crewing on Team Tilt. But we also had 6 moths joining in the sailing activities in probably one of the most unique venues around. Our rigging area was on the F1 track next to the Singapore Flyer. One side of the course are 2 huge glasshouses as part of a new garden complex, the casino that has God's ironing board on top, and the city skyline. It is also part of the city's water reservoirs so fresh murky water. For the moths we had Dion from HK and Pete from Australia fly in. Picked up lot of tips of what the Aussie fleet is doing, cheers for that Pete. We attempted to do some racing, but the wind/weather and availability of power boats made things a bit hard at times, so showing off was the order of the day. Pete did the running man through the Opti fleet, I attempted the same in front of the vip tent but ended up water skiing/dragged along behind the boat holding the mainsheet whilst the boat still foiled before it went all pear-shaped. But I did manage to go from lowriding to foiling whilst standing up the whole time. Did it a few times, but hard on the legs trying to balance. Also we generally got the better breezes to sail in when the x40s were on shore, but for some reason there was a lack of cameras turned on. Have to thank the extreme 40 organizers for letting us be part of the event. Not too many times you can go for a moth and then leave the boat at the dock and be 5th man for one of the x40 races. Some photos here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore-Moth-Association/161312453885399 More to come I believe.

So the President says "I Do"

Last weekend saw Moth Prez Mark and his gorgeous fiancee Elizabeth "tie the knot" in Singapore. Was a great wedding on a lovely sunny (and not too hot) day in Singapore.

Wish all the best to Mr and Mrs Robinson!

Starting them young

Helena being introduced to the Mach2 for the first time. A lot more years before there will be a second moth in the family... (but been told these things creep up fast).

Spaghetti Western

Western Circuit is done for another year and over 3 weekends of racing and 10 races, i actually got a perfect score with all bullets. But of more interest is the growing competition between Dan/Will/Paul. Second place in the regatta was open until the last 50m of the last race, so they certainly had a good time battling it out. Going to be good to see these guys develop more over the coming months as they are developing some rivalry on the water.

But this was the first time I really got to sail my new boat as previously distracted with my baby girl of 2 months(and she is a cutie). For those who don't know, it is a Mach 2.1 and at first glance isn't much different from the old one except that it has bungs which is a positive move forward.

However, the new boat seems to be quicker than my old one (sailed by Dan) and lining up with the other guys they really couldn't hold on. So not sure if down to more experience, but I never walked away from them that quickly before on the old boat when lining up. Differences I can see is that the new main flap has a lot less drag, plus the foils are painted from the factory and rather smooth compared to bare foils. Could that be it? Otherwise was trying to use max amount of gearing as possible as the wave conditions were flat. Regardless happy with the end result.

Only things i need to work on is sealing the new wing bars. They don't have any cap on the inside at the forward end so fill up with water which makes them heavy. Also using a boatbreaker to tension the rig. Finding that having consistent tension makes the boat more consistent each time you sail so recommend that to anyone who wants to try.

But immediate plans to re-earn brownie points with the wife, so painting this weekend. Fortunately the wind forecast is rubbish.

Pics and info about Singapore mothing on facebook, search for "Singapore Moth Association". Page is open to anyone to join!

First Weekend of Western

5 moths turned up for Singapore's largest regatta with a mixed fleet of yachts, cruisers, SB3s, J24s and catamarans. Quite good that all different types of classes can be on the same course racing and everyone seems to enjoy it.

The morning treated us to rolling storm squalls coming through from Sumatra and Noah would have been in his element with the amount of rain pouring down. But with Singapore rain, it doesn't last too long and racing was underway with only an hour delay.

First race was a drift-off and the moth fleet collectively decided at the top mark that 1 lap was enough (rather than 3) and to the shock of the race committee finished at the bottom. Fortunately we were going so slow there was no issue with the timings, but they weren't expecting us to finish in those type of circumstances.

Fortunately about 10 mins later the wind came in at a nice 8-10 and a second race got under way. What took us 50min to do in the first race we managed to do 3 laps of in a total of 26 mins in the second race. I managed to scoot away in the breeze and left the other 4 to battle it out. To the shock of the 3 mach2s, Francois on the Bladerider was on fire and was almost 2nd to the top mark before Will decided that it best that he gets things moving along and put the accelerator down. Paul/Dan and Francois battled it out for third spot, but Paul managed to get through as Dan seems to be too timid when the boat foils too high and hasn't learnt to sheet in and send it yet. That will come in time.

Third race was marginal foiling at the bottom with the top of the course having nice breeze. The others struggled to get foiling consistently in the marginal stuff and a case of he who foils first wins.

This weekend coming sees racing on both Sat and Sun. Hoping for more consistent breeze.

Photos can be seen at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.266764130006897.86600.161312453885399&type=1

Silver

Been a while between blogs, but with a baby girl (Helena) recently arriving in June, change of job, and a new boat arriving, things have certainly been busy.

But as the title says, the new boat is a silver Mach 2 with silver foils. Looks rather cool and I like being able to see the foils under the water. And being silver in the sun, it can be rather mesmerizing at times and can distract from the sailing. Supposedly my boat is one of the new Mach2.1s. Main thing different is that there is a ventilation tube linking the two tanks meaning no more hi-tech tape covering the bungs. Also a new gearing mechanism at the bow, but the one Simon showed recently not available so have some hybrid version.

Caught up with Brownie as well as he is in town for the Opti Asian Champs with the NZ team. Tried to arrange a sail with him, but didn't pan out. There are a large number of nations present so the obligatory fly-by was in order. Quite a few of the kids enjoyed it as most likely first time seeing a moth, but quite a few others were concentrating on prepping for the racing. They are more serious than most of the moth fleet at the worlds! Is it a case of over-coaching? But one girl from Singapore seems to be winning most of the races which is very impressive.

Western Circuit regatta next month with around 50 or so boats in Singapore racing including 6 or 7 moths. Hopefully we get good breeze as there are quite a few of the Nacra 20 Carbons here now and I haven't had a good line up against one yet. The Nacra 20 Carbon looks rather nice, but at 2x and a bit more the price of a moth, crazy money for a beach cat.

Otherwise some potentially interesting "firsts" coming up over the next 6-12 months. Case of determining logistics and time-off from work. But stay tuned...

So long Blitzkrieg Bop!

Well I have sold my boat Blitzkrieg Bop. And within an hour had an email to Simon ordering the next one. Boat is staying in Singapore and have a very good sailor taking it over. Within in a few months I can see him potentially going quicker than me on my old boat.

Otherwise since the worlds been working on a few things I saw at the worlds and they have come along very well. Main one I like is the cascading downhaul. Still 8:1, but lot less friction in the system and never had the downhaul on that hard before compared to the standard system. Also have a coarse tune as well that allows me to pre-set the strop length, but that is a between races adjustment.

Other bits were taking all downhaul/vang ropes out to the wing bar itself, heaps easier to adjust whilst still hiking. And the sailingbits ride-height adjuster is awesome.

So now to wait for the new boat, but have a very welcome surprise coming in a month or so which will mean the new boat may be ignored for a while, so best to probably go get the hulls and foils painted before I get the foiling itch again.