Wivenhoe Sailing

Boat sold - End of Blog

2010-11-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

The boat has now been sold!

I was going to now write a review of what is really good and what is really bad about a Topaz Xenon. However the money is not yet in the bank so I'll leave it for anyone who really wants to know to read the pages here.

I'm looking at buying an RS Vareo, would have gone for an RS 300 but there doesn't seem to be many 2nd hand versions out there. If I do carrying on recording my sailing exploits, I'll point you in the right direction from here
On a lighter not, below is a picture of the silverware I won this season - not bad for my second season.

Pic - The Trophy!!!

Topaz Xenon for Sale

2010-11-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

Topper Topaz Xenon for sale.
Approximately 4.5 years old.
Sail number 4205
Launch trolley and trailer, cover included.
The boat is in good condition and I can throw in a trapez harness if the price is right.
£3,500
I've had a lot of fun learning to sail on this boat but as ever circumstances change and it is up for grabs.
Quick sale wanted
Pick-up only

Contact walkersathome @ yahoo.com

Gybing the Xenon with a spinnaker

2010-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

We've had heck of a fun race last weekend in F3-4 winds zipping backwards and forwards across the river with the spinnaker up - putting on a good show for the boats behind us.

After much practice, I think we have finally mastered the spinnaker on the Xenon. Without doubt, during our practice runs, we have experienced the big black sail doing whatever it pleased and nothing that we wanted; too frequently this has resulted in us going over. :( - I'll write about righting a turtled Xenon with the spinnaker up (down) and the mast in the mud another time.

So here are the key points to remember on the Xenon when sailing with the spinnaker. I know some of the points might sound obvious but they are here so I can reference them as well...

Make sure you know where the wind is coming from!
Ideally when you launch the spinnaker, you need to be on a broad reach and close to a run; this is so you are able to keep control of the power.
Once the spinnaker is up, the helm needs to help his crew keeping it full.
To bring power on slowly turn onto a broad reach and back towards a run if it is becoming too much.
Make sure you as the helm know which way to turn if there is a sudden gust/increase in power (i.e. back towards a run).
As you start to plane, both of you move back to the rear the boat (see my blog about planing for more info).
When coming to a gyb point move the jib over first - perhaps before you turn.
Keep the power on all the way until you want to gyb and don't slow down. This is because you don't want to be over powered once you have turned.
Asymmetric spinnakers are no good on a run so you will have to play the angle and speed game when racing.
Have fun!

The easiest mistake to make when you have the spinnaker up on a Xenon is being overpowered. Follow the steps above and you should be okay. The additional challenge we have in Wivenhoe is we are sailing on a river and the angles you might need to take to fly the spinnaker take you over salt marsh, mud and fields.

Racing against an RS400

2010-09-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Here's another top-tip from the Topper Xenon dinghy racing scene.

We all know that on a run with the asymmetric spinnaker, you are not going to reach warp speed. What you need to do is play the angles and make a judgement as to whether it is best going the shortest distance at the slower speed or longer at the faster speed.

When racing against an RS400 you might think it is clever to play the angles go for the longer distance and greater speed i.e. do exactly what the RS400 in front appears to be doing and following their gibes with the spinnaker up. Be warned, the RS400 has an evolutionary bowsprit that can be "rocked" to windward, allowing the RS400 to demonstrate breathtaking speed at virtually any downwind angle.

Pic - Tacking last weekend (thank's Fred in the safety boat)

This means you've got no chance of beating them at the angles game in a Topper Xenon and you need to focus on sailing to eat them on handicap.

West Mersea Regatta & More Silverware

2010-09-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

During the recent West Mersea Regatta I managed to crew on board the Golden Fleece.

First of all I hadn't been out on a yacht for about 15 years+ and my RYA Incompetent Crew skills were extra-ordinarily rusty; that said, it is easy to pick things up again.

The principal differences between yachting and dinghying is of course the increased size of everything. There are of course a few different levers and strings to pull but there doesn't appear to be the concentration and focus on sail shape that I spend my time on in the Xenon. For example the Golden Fleece is a classic and the design means the primary sail is the genoa not the main sail. As a result much of the attention goes on making sure tacks/gybes go smoothly and the genoa is full. I don't think we talked about adjusting the luff in the main at all. Whether we were heeling over or not did not make much of a difference either whereas the secret of sailing the Xenon is keeping it flat - by the way forget that if I race against you.

Pic - The Golden Fleece of West Mersea

What I found quite interesting was that we had on board a chap whose sole job was to navigate us round the course. It makes absolute sense given the increased scale of everything we were attempting to do and it adds another dimension to racing. This means that when dinghy racing you are strongly advised to learn as much about your course as possible before you start; there is no cosy seat to excuse yourself to while you figure out where you are and which direction to point.

I must thank the Captain of the Golden Fleece for having me on board, it was a great experience. The boat has an interesting history, originally from South Africa and occasionally wrecked ..... more information here.

Finally, the silverware we won was for the most Elegant Classic Yacht (...and crew of course).

New Sails for Topper Xenon

2010-08-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Does anyone want to sponsor a race winning Topper Xenon and her crew?

Inparticular would they like their logo on the sail?

It looks like I am going to have to buy a new set of sails. I have had to have my main sail repaired at Gowen Ocean Sailmakers after tears started to appear near the clew. So far looks like they've done a good job. Thing is after a few seasons racing, sails aren't quite as good as they started out to be and I've got to keep my new winning streak going.

Pic - Repaired Sail (It's the black bit)

Silverware at Last

2010-08-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

I firmly believe that the conditions at Wivenhoe are inclined to favour the smaller boats in oppose the Xenon. They are able to cut the corners of the river over the shallow mud and, in the case of Mirrors, benefit from enormously generous handicaps; controversy!!. Additionally the Lasers appear to tack a lot faster - I reckon they are able to get up speed faster in light winds and I need to work on the rolling tack more.

Although we thought we had the Up the River Race sewn-up, whilst in the lead on the return leg, we found ourselves going backwards opposite the pub at Rowhedge. This allowed the Lasers to catch-up and overtake. There is also an element of luck around here as well with the fluky winds.

All that said the last race I entered we won.

At last I have some silverware to display in the lounge and remind all sailors who visit just how good I am - it couldn't possibly be luck could it.

Pic - Ready to Launch

Blow Over

2010-08-07T00:31:00.000-07:00

Has the weather been as unpredictable for me as it has been for everyone else this season? It was one of the worse winters on record so perhaps it is the hangover? On a training outing earlier this season all was going well until this little squall appeared on the horizon.

Fortunately, being a responsible captain, I was heading back up the river to the club house; concerned about the weather you see! However, a 1000 yards before we got there the squall hit us and we went from a F2-3 to a F6+ in no time at all; over we went.

Pic 1 - Squall in background while we wash off mud

The good thing was at this point we weren't too far from the club house and we were able to stand in oppose to swim or cling. Had we been further out, there would have been no chance of righting her and getting back underway. The bad thing was I had decided it was a good day not to wear a wet suit and after 20 minutes in the river, rain and mud was getting hacked off.

Pic 2 - Nearly done - thanks Crew

Xenon Rigging Tip

2010-07-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is a top tip which when I last checked wasn't in the Xenon Rigging Guide.....

I have found when sailing the Topper Xenon the slug at the bottom of the main-sail has a tendancy to pop out of the runner in the mast - the result is flappy, vibrating foot on the main sail (see http://wivenhoe-sailing.blogspot.com/2009/07/parts-of-sail.html). Whether this makes any difference or not is hard to know, but it is very annoying when you're bombing along. Maybe it's me but I tend to have the Cunningham right off when sailing round Wivenhoe to get as much curve in the luff as possible. With recent light winds it has been essential - this hasjust made the popping out slug worse.

The solution I have come up with is best described in the picture below. The Cunningham once threaded back through the boom and locked off, is lead-up to the bottom tack. When doing this it is important not to prevent the cunningham working or you will not win races....

Sailing Cancelled!

2010-05-31T01:23:00.000-07:00

How annoying, the wind over the weekend (Sunday) was just too much for the race May mug/Sykes 3 to start. The small dinghy with 3 on-board, that did launch had to be retrieved by the safety boat - or rather walker back through the mud upstream.

Below is a snap from the Brightlingsea Sailing Club twitter account giving some indication of the weather. It should be noted that they are down wind from us and I believe a little more sheltered.

Too Strong Winds

Force 4 sounds all well and good but the gusts at Wivenhoe were er ....very gusty!

May Mug and Burgee Report

2010-05-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

May Mug Race Results
Well more excuses I'm afraid. This time we hit the mud right after the start line - I had only just uttered the words, "...if we stay off the mud we might win". However too much enthusiasm to play with the spinnaker ended up with me trying to push the boat off the lea shore which should be renamed lea mud bank. The boat was a mess and we were well behind the fleet. However we did have satisfaction reeling some of them in. Results below....

May Mug / Sykes 2 Results

I heard a rumour I am in line for the Ploughing Trophy - something to do with the mud adventures.

Burgee Report

At the top of the Topaz Xenon mast there is no-where to put your burgee and I gather that the thing to do is buy a burgee holder. Well, given we were about to go sailing there had to be another solution and magic gaffer tape was put into use.

Pic - Magic Gaffer Tape Burgee Holder

Can I report the gaffer tape burgee holder works a treat and really does help with sails.

New Burgee

2010-05-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

For sometime now I have been sailing without a burgee at the top of the mast to give wind direction - relying on the wind in my face so to speak; that is until now. I have finally invested in a burgee for the Xenon.

Pic - New Burgee for the Topaz Xenon

All I can say is; fellow sailors, watch out next Sunday when we have the next race.

If you are really into Burgees, here are a few facts

Burgee is the name of the distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization.
Square is for racing, triangle is for cruising.
GBP6.25 from the Chandlery at Brightlingsea.
Sailing Clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while underway and at anchor, but not while racing.
Modern sailing vessels fly the burgee from a lanyard under the starboard spreader on the mast, while older sailing vessels fly the burgee from the main masthead.
Power boats fly the burgee off a short staff on the bow.

Web 2.0 and Sailing

2010-05-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

What on Earth has Web 2.0 got to do with sailing and, what is Web 2.0?

Well first of all, the term "Web 2.0" is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with each other as contributors to the website's content, in contrast to non-interactive websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them. So this blog might be an example!

Our neighbouring club, Brightlingsea Sailing Club, have had a brilliant idea of how to make use of technology to let people know what the weather is. They have an electronic weather station on the roof of their club and the summary data from this is tweeted to twitter every hour.

Today's Brightlingsea SC twitter feed with very large gusts

This means that using your mobile phone, you can get hourly updates on the wind and weather conditions downstream from the club house. This is important because at Wivenhoe Sailing Club we are very sheltered from the true wind conditions down river.

Wivenhoe SC (top left) sheltered compared to Brightlingsea SC (bottom right)

Today's race was cancelled because of the wind although the Barman and I have been out in much worse (suckers for punishment!).

Link to www.twitter.com/bscweather

Definitions of RYA Portsmouth Yardstick Numbers

2010-05-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

When looking up your Portsmouth Yardstick Handicap number on the RYA website, you'll find the letters PN, PY, SY, RN & TN next to them.

For example the Topaz Xenon is 1070 RN.

Basically this means that all us Topaz Xenon sailors are sailing on an estimated handicap. Encourage your club to submit returns to the RYA and we should see something more accurate appearing. I suspect though it is probably near enough accurate as I am starting to beat the Laser sailors in the club.

See.....RYA Definitions

Portsmouth Numbers (PN):	are measures of performance. They represent times over a common but unspecified distance, and are expressed as whole numbers.
Primary Yardsticks (PY):	are Portsmouth Numbers published by the RYA and well attested by many clubs over several years.
Secondary Yardsticks (SY):	are Portsmouth Numbers published by the RYA but not as consistently attested as Primary Yardsticks.
Recorded Numbers (RN):	are Portsmouth Numbers published by the RYA on the basis of limited information.
Trial Numbers (TN):	are Portsmouth Numbers allocated by clubs until a Recorded Number is assessed.

My Topaz Xenon

2010-04-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

To prove I really do have a boat and I really do sail, here's a snap of me and the Barman on the Xenon during the Bostock Cup Race. We had the spinnaker up but the winds were relatively light. Shortly after this we found ourselves in the doldrums resulting in a WOD and Laser catching right up to us on the sea breeze (I've got loads of good excuses!).

Looks like we are going fast than it felt.

Snaps taken from the WSC Viking heading down river.

Bostock Cup Results
Results from the race along with my examination of handicaps are Bostock Cup Results

Maldon

2010-04-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

Part of what makes learning to sail interesting is to go and see what other clubs are up to. Last weekend, whilst enjoying the very first sunny day for approximately 6 months (sic) I went to Maldon. Whilst walking on the river front, I spotted the Maldon Yacht Club. Their burgee has green for the river, white for crests of waves and black for the mud. After seeing the mud these guys have, I think it is going to be damn hard to complain about conditions over at Wivenhoe. The burgee is painted on the front of the club house; if you click on the picture it should be clearer.

Maldon Yacht Club and the mud at low tide (I hope!)

Also spotted were a number of Thames Barges including one named 'Wivenhoe'. If you have kids and fancy a pint by the river, Maldon is a great place to go.

Pubs and Barges at Maldon

The Maldon Mud Race takes place on foot every year around the end of December. I am tempted to enter er ....one day. It involves running across the river at low tide in mid-winter. Mud makes it fun I'm told.

Spring view of Maldon Mud Race course

Club Handicaps & Bostock Cup

2010-04-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

To track and record my sailing progress, I have decided to publish the race results and how I have performed against handicap. I will advise that this is purely for my own reference and interest.

I have used the Results Worksheet which is published on the RYA website and build by the Portsmouth Yardstick Advisory Committee. If you like me are interested in statistics it provides fascinating results.

Standard Corrected Handicap (SCH)
The way it works is as follows....

For any given race, there will be an unknown theoretical ‘best possible’ corrected time that could be achieved by a boat sailing perfectly, tacking on the right wind shifts, avoiding adverse currents, etc. In practice boats are not perfect and their crews make mistakes that cause them to sail slower than this optimum. The resultant distribution of corrected times across a fleet will typically be ‘skewed’ since it is easier to make mistakes than to avoid them. A few boats may come close to the theoretical achievable time, some will make an average number of mistakes & there will be a diminishing tail of slower boats making increasing numbers of errors. Performance assessment requires a comparison standard against which to measure each boat. If this standard is simply the average of all corrected times in a skewed distribution, it will be weighted towards the poor performance end and the majority of boats will appear to have sailed better than ‘average’, distorting the assessment. The performance standard is defined instead as the corrected time achieved by the largest group of boats; that is the peak or ‘mode’ of the distribution. Boats that achieved this Standard Corrected Time (SCT) will have sailed ‘to handicap’.

Click on image for more detail

The YR2 procedure allows for the typical 'skewed' distribution in calculating the SCT. The average of corrected times for the top two thirds of the PY, SY & RN boats in the race gives the Average Corrected Time (ACT). ACT+5%, corresponding to the statistically average performer relative to handicap two thirds down the fleet, defines the 'poor performance' limit. The corrected times of all PY, SY & RN boats faster than ACT+5% are then averaged to give the SCT for the race. This new group of boats may be the same as the original two thirds or more or less, depending on the performance distribution in each race. The elapsed time for each boat is divided by the SCT and multiplied by 1000 to give its 'achieved performance'. Corrected times worse than ACT+5% are defined as 'poor' and should be excluded in calculating a boat's average performance for handicap assessment.

PY Handicaps
The handicaps I have used are those published by the RYA. The one assumption I have made in my calculations is that the handicaps of the Wivenhoe Ones are well established and can be included in SCT calculations.

Bostock Cup Results

Click on image for more detail

Handicaps and statistics are very interesting things. The Xenon crossed the finish line second, came 8th out of the club handicaps and 4th in the RYA handicaps (2.3% above par on today's sail).

If you spot any obvious errors let me know.

How to Plane

2010-04-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I have been going on about planing recently and have found the following top tips which we'll be putting into effect in the next race..... planing can happen in a suitably designed boat in moderate to strong winds if the crew do some or all of the following:

Sail on a reach or broad reach to begin
Slacken the jib
Raise the centreboard
Increase the speed
Keep the hull level, trapeze if necessary
Observe the wake until it is smooth and fast.
Move the crew weight increasingly towards the rear to begin and to sustain planing
Sheet in as speed increases, and apparent wind correspondingly moves forward.
Keep the boat flat and level
Bear away to maintain speed as necessary
Flick or pump the sails (although there are restrictions on doing this in a race)

While planing, it is important to steer through the waves, avoiding any collision with the wave in front. Also, in dinghies, keep good control of the sail power. A small change in wind direction can easily cause a capsize or gybes. Boat control becomes easier as planing begins, but fast reactions are often needed to get there, to keep the speed up and to keep the boat level. Crew balance and trim are vital, as are sail trimming and minimal centreboard.

How Fast Does a Topper Xenon go?

2010-04-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Now that I am in my second season of racing the Topper Xenon, I am starting to get interested in just how fast we might be going!

There is a formula for calculating the maximum hull speed of a boat which is....

HSPD = maximum hull speed in knots
LWL = hull length in feet at waterline

I will need to make a few minor assuptions - the length of the Topper Xenon is 4.5m and this will be assumed to be the LWL which in feet = 14.764ft

HSPD therefore = 4.37 knots (8.1kph or 5.02 mph)

Now here's the real key thing to understand about how you are going to win races. You have got to learn to plane because when you do the formula goes out of the window.

Spinnaker Sailing

2010-04-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

I think we must have been a little reluctant to use the spinnaker after our near miss last week and our slight draining of confidence.That however changed in today's race..

Today's Wind (Race Start 9:30)

Xenon Spinnaker Sailing
After seeing the WODs and the Flying Fifteen putting up their spinnakers we realised that we probably should do the same. If only we had done sooner. The lesson learned today were

provided you are on a near run, you should be ok
you are going to get blown over if you treat your asymmetric spinnaker like a genoa. So that means when you do find yourself going over, you have got to turn down wind as soon as you can (I'm sure there is more theory to this and I'll look it up during the week.
when you do go on the plane, the whole boat lifts out of the water and the tiller becomes very sensitive - it becomes easy to crash if you are not careful.

Sail Racing Lessons
I'm convinced somewhere there is a list of all the things that could possibly go wrong when you sail. As you learn to sail, you experience each one of these things on the list until you have crossed them all off and are a competent racer. Today we also learned to make sure we both know explicitly the race course and to continue to treat the mud banks with caution.

The above paragraph indicates where it went wrong today, we were running second behind the Flying Fifteen but hit the mud and let the WODs catch us, then after overtaking them we decided to go round an extra buoy (rats).

10 Reasons why you'll never beat a Wivenhoe Sailor

2010-04-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

They are used to the following conditions ....

Mud banks appearing out of nowhere
Strong tides
Massive tidal ranges
Gusty winds
Narrow channels
National class champions
Estuarine conditions, both river and sea
They have their own One Design
Fiercely competitive club races every weekend
You don't know the Colne

Comments please..... ;)

When to use the Spinnaker

2010-04-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Season has started again and I am back at the helm with the Barman crewing!

To start the 2010 Season, here's a few lessons learned about today's 'Can Race' at Wivenhoe Sailing Club.

The spinnaker on the Topper Xenon is both a race winner and race looser. Depending on your level of experience it could go either way but I reckon if you can use it you should and there is no other way of getting experience than trying it out.

Today's race adventure started as we headed south down the Colne and I got the Barman to put the spinnaker up. Yes we had it rigged right for once and it went up really well. I now realise we were on a bit too much of a reach to control it and we overpowered. This is when the fun started and the Barman was hanging on the side of the boat with me thinking yikes where is the safety boat....

Can Race at Wivenhoe Sailing Club
At Wivenhoe SC, this means you have to go round every buoy on the course, and with today's wind we went up to Rat Island opposite Brightlingsea - a long course.

Lessons Learned for Spinnaker

The Topper Xenon's spinnaker is huge so if the winds aren't light and you are not on a broad reach it is going to overpower you.
Don't put it up if it is blowing F4-5 (just yet anyhow!).
If you are starting to loose it, get over the side asap and on that centre board (easier for the crew!).
If your crew goes in the water and you are left onboard try to..

drop the spinnaker
point to wind
lower the centre board fully
furl the jib
haul in spinnaker
haul in crew
avoid ditching as it will be a nightmare righting it with the spinnaker in the water and the wind.

Keep your eye on the more experienced crews to see what they are doing.

Today's Weather

The wind speed above is average wind speed and represents an average of F4.

I haven’t stopped sailing

2009-10-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

I’ve just been working all hours so not had the time to write up latest adventures!

More next week when I am back from Berlin (work!).

Video of Topper Xenon

2009-10-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

At last a Topper Xenon video! You would have thought Topper would have promoted a few more of these. Anyhow here are some chaps in New Zealand sailing a Topper Xenon. They don’t know how lucky they are not having to negotiate mud banks and deal with tidal flows. It looks like they have awesome conditions down there - my only comment is – keep the boat flat! (but hey I’m in my study with a glass of wine…)

Topper Topaz and Safety Boat

2009-10-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was doing my bit for the Sailing Club and was helping out with the safety boat and the Club’s cadets.

We had 2 of the safety boats out, a Rib with a 50hp motor on and something called a Viking which looks to me like it was once a fishing boat or a very large tender; it gives us that stable base and a platform we can anchor on the river (Colne).

I probably found the cadets more amusing than any sailing I did on the day. There is a real mix of girls, boys, those that can, can’t sail, will continue to progress and will become, given the chance, very good sailors. Half way through the afternoon, I transferred from the safety boat to sailing one of the cadets on a Topper Topaz ; an 11 year old who informed me about his previous 6 girlfriends, his current 2 year old relationship and how he is one of the strongest in his class – all completely and very innocent!

Topper Topazs are great fun to sail and incredibly easy compared to the Xenon. It is light and goes into irons very quickly when pointing into the wind. They are extremely manoeuvrable and great fun when learning to sail.

Xenon real Handicap

2009-10-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

So just what is the handicap of a Topper Xenon??

Being a good citizen I registered it at the club when I arrived as PY1070 – just like the booklet tells me.

The Lasers which I race against are ‘officially’ PY1078 and there has been some comment in the club that the handicap PY1070 is perhaps a little low ….(or we have very good Laser sailors, or I am particularly rubbish). It has even been suggested that Topper might promote low handicaps to make their boats faster!! <gasp!>

So officially at Wivenhoe Sailing Club, Topper Xenons are now rated as PY1075. This by co-incidence is the same handicap as Brightlingsea Sailing Club uses.

In my quest for the truth, I looked at a couple of other club websites and had a laugh at Erith Yacht Club who has gone totally the opposite way and has given their Topper Xenon class a local handicap of 1035!!

I suspect that a major issue is that when we race, the Barman and I are both quite heavy fella’s and this might cause some of the apparent slowness. Read here for the weight guide lines!

That said, last Sundays race went extremely well for the Barman and I. Despite the spinnaker detaching itself from the bow sprit and the forestay accidentally not been undone when the jib was rigged, we crossed the finish line a credible 2nd just behind the lead Laser. Lessons described in the blog posts below are working.

Close Haul Tips

2009-10-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I gave some hints about how best to using the cunningham to adjust tension in the luff to help point the boat - especially in light winds; it's also critical to beating the Laser sailors. On the Topper Xenon this is controlled by the helmsman so naturally I would take most interest in it.

Just to complicate things there is another rope called the outhaul and this is controlled by the crew as it is cleated off under the boom by the mast. Todate when sailing we have not touched it - just made sure it was tight - well it is my first year learning to sail after all. Guidance from Topper is as follows.....

When sailing upwind you will nearly always have the outhaul pulled quite tight but you may wish to loosen it for the downwind legs. You can pre-set the "off" position by tying a large knot (or use a ball) about an inch from the cleat when the foot is pulled tight. This means you simply have to uncleat at the windward mark and it will be in about the right place for downwind sailing. Remember to pull it back on before rounding the leeward mark!

So next time we go out I will put 2 knots in it and report back how it works.

Sailing with a Cunningham

2009-10-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I highlighted that the Topper Xenon has a cunningham in oppose to a downhaul. This is not just another rope and is extremely useful when racing and of course sailing in general. If you have a Xenon you have got to learn how to use it. In our last race the Barman and I noticed a significant improvement.

The cunningham adjusts the tension in the luff extremely quickly and easily. By hauling it in or easing the line, the tension in the luff can be changed, thereby shifting the point of maximum draft forward or aft so as to optimize the sail shape.

I have found the greatest impact is when you are trying to point upwind on a close haul. If the cunningham tension is on, you don't point very high.

This bit from the Xenon manual starts to now make a bit more sense....

For a medium wind (crew sitting out hard, but able to sheet the mainsail to the centreline) you should be able to use maximum power. Use very little or no cunningham. The outhaul should be set so that there is about a 3in (7-8cm) gap between mainsail foot and boom at the point of maximum chord. Try to keep the boom on the centreline, provided that the boat remains flat.

The jib can be eased about 1-2in (5-10cm) from maximum tightness for optimum performance. As the wind increases, reduce the power in the mainsail by pulling down on the cunningham progressively until the boat feels comfortable and balanced again. If you have tell tales on the leech, use enough gnav to keep them flying.

For very windy conditions flatten the main by tightening the outhaul, tensioning the cunningham further (with a fully-battened sail this has the effect of flattening the sail without pulling the fullness forward and can therefore be used much more than with a conventional mainsail). Sit out hard and sail free.

In light airs, use little or no gnav to allow the leech to open.

Xenon Rudder

2009-09-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

A comment I have about dinghy boats is that often are not the manuals available to show you how to fix minor problems. The only knowledge source is in the collective mind of the sailing club. For example, when I snapped all the lines in my rudder (see Man Sailing ) I was left guessing as to exactly which bolt the two lines should be threaded. Well if you have this problem, look at the two pics below and this will give you a clue.

Before you get too far in re-threading your stock and tiller assembly, you need to make a decision as to which type of cord you are going to use. Yes! There are 2 types of cord; that which 'gives' a bit and that which doesn't. The cord which doesn't 'give' or stretch is generally used for halyards and the like - nothing worse than sails coming down in a race and apparently the other type is more useful for sheets.

Before the man sailing day my rudder was pulled down on a 2:1 pulley with non-stretch cord. I have made a decision that since I am likely to hit mud again that it will be a better idea to use the stretchy stuff; it's cheaper as well. It's the white cord in the image above.

Speaking of cost, I was gobsmacked by the price of a stock and tiller assembly + rudder blade. At the time of writting it is in the region of £500 - see here. To all Topper Xenon owners, look after your rudder.

South vs. East Coast

2009-09-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've been on holiday and away from sailing for a couple of weeks. Whilst away I was in Poole on the south coast of England; I am told it has the World's second largest natural harbour. I was very impressed with the sailing arrangements down there. There are public slipways so it is possible to launch your boat not far from the town centre - from a beach as well!!. I understand as well the tidal range is a good 3ft.

I also visited Dartmouth, home of Britannia Royal Naval College, on the River Dart. The Dart is deep, reasonably wide and long - perfect for a dinghy.

Compare and contrast that with muddy banks, salt marshes and shallow esturine rivers with +15ft tidal ranges back in Wivenhoe, Essex. They don't know how lucky they are; so watch out if I ever race you in your bit of the sea.

Man Sailing and Gunships

2009-09-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday's sailing was tough and I have classed it as proper man sailing - apologies to all women sailors!

The Barman and I had the boat going to Brightlingsea and once the estuary opened up we got the Xenon going like a speedboat. Now the forecast said it was going to be a managable F4 wind which was perfect; unfortunately it was much stronger. On return and checking the Brightlingsea Sailing Club website (see above) we had been out in a F6 gusting +30 knots.

When we started to plane off Brightlingsea, I have to admit I was starting to get a little scared, not necessarily because of the wind but the size of the waves that we started to hit and the fast approaching shoreline directly ahead of us. To add to the man-sailing day an Apache AH64 gunship flew overhead as we were bombing along looking cool.

Now the real challenge was getting 8km back up river and maintaining control (i.e. not capsizing); as a result my tacks became real girly (I've made my apologies already).

Problems came when we found a mud bank opposite Arlesford Creek and came to a sharp halt; I had managed to get the nose pointing back down wind before both centre board and the rudder had to come up. We then found ourselves on a very difficult to control run in a foot of water, all lines on the rudder snapped again(!) and the tiller looked like it was going to break as I tried to keep us straight - it started not to be so much fun. I wasn't able to get the rudder back down properly so we had to limp the last 4km back in to Wivenhoe. All in all an exciting and challenging sail.

Update on dress in the boat - it is time for wetsuits.

Tealeaf in Wivenhoe

2009-09-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Wivenhoe has a traditional village feel about it and it is a very desirable place to live. There is a tea room, couple of pubs, spectacular views down the Colne River and always some type of community event going on. In other parts of this blog there is a video Dylan Winter has taken showing the fantastic waterfront.

All is not well though at the sailng club and not all local residents are as charming as the town they live in. Somewhere out there someone is pilfering the cruisers in the sailnig club - this evening a boat was discovered to have been raided even though it was on a mooring (albeit was in the mud at low tide) and last weekend a 4hp motor was pinched.

Sounds like we are in a den of thieves but fortunately it is only likely to be 1 or 2 people the town genuinely is a very charming place.

Topper Xenon and Endeavour Championships

2009-09-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

I could hardly own a Topper Xenon and not make mention of the RCYC Endeavour Championship.

Well, here goes - The RCYC Endeavour Championship is a unique event in the UK dinghy sailing world, recognised by the RYA as the pinnacle of that year's dinghy sailing achievements which will hail a "Champion of Champions". Held on the tidal waters of the rivers Crouch and Roach every October, it's an invitation only three day event, with the guest-list hand-picked from National Champions of selected fleets.

Once the year-long preparations for the event are complete, the Topper pantechnicon arrives in Burnham containing thirty 'box-fresh' Xenons and the Topper technicians (dogs-bodies) who prepare the boats for the competitors. The Friday is a training day of Olympic standards when the entrants get the chance to familiarise themselves with the dinghy that may help to them to realise their dream "...over the hallowed waters of the Rivers Crouch and Roach". The Saturday and Sunday is a relentless progression of eight races, whatever the weather...

So I wait for my invitation and see if I am able to swap Xenons for a slightly newer model...October right? I'll save the date!

So why a Topper Xenon for this event?.......the continuing choice of the Xenon for the Endeavour Championships solves two problems at a stroke. Previous entrants considered that the RS400 (the previous boat) was a handful for lighter crews and there were occasional difficulties with availability. The Xenon's crew weight is pitched between 18 and 24 stone and Topper continues to supply all the boats so entrants need only arrive in the dinghy park to find a boat awaiting them (cheers easy).

hmmm.... at this point all I will say is my crew and I need to loose some weight...picture above is from http://rodtinsley.co.uk/ and is of Steve Tylecote and Toby Lewis who won in 2007. Looks just like me and the Barman.

ps. look how flat they have the boat

Topper Xenon's Cunningham not Downhaul

2009-09-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sailing parlance can be very confusing at times as the same thing onboard can be called a number of different names (e.g. a kicker, boom vang, gnav, thingme giggy etc). When learning to sail this doesn't help your speedy understanding of the technicalities of sail setting. Another example is the downhaul; on the Topper Xenon which is called a cunningham!

The cunningham differs from a typical downhaul in the way that it attaches to the sail. The system usually consists of a line which is secured at one end to the mast or boom below the foot of the mainsail. It is then passed through a cringle in the luff of the sail near the foot, but above the tack, and then led down on the other side to a fitting on the mast or boom or on deck.

It is named after its inventor, Briggs Swift Cunningham II, a victorious America Cup skipper, who was a yacht builder and sailor, as well as being a racecar enthusiast, driver, team owner, and racecar owner and builder. The yacht, Columbia, was led to victory by Cunningham in the America Cup competition of 1958. Briggs was inducted into the America Cup Hall of Fame in 1993. He is also in the international and American motorsports halls of fame and when innovating devices for yachting, called on the specialized talents of automobile racing friends to solve problems such as metal stress and selection.

There you go!

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

2009-09-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has begun arriving in Hull marina, with the race starting on the 13 September 2009, it runs from Hull to Hull round the World. The reason why it is interesting is because the stripped down 68ft racing yachts are crewed by amateurs (like me), also each yacht is named after a sponsoring city, region or country.

So it must be very popular right? All you have to do is sign up at the web site here and they send you a pack!

http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/take_part

The cynic within me thinks there must be a catch here - it can't be that easy - fill in the form - do the training - go on the race around the World.... I'd do it tomorrow ..

I think the catch is somewhere along the line someone (you?) will need to pay for the fun you have and I bet it's not cheap. Someone let me know...

Wivenhoe Sailing Club - Open Day - Exhibition

2009-09-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Not only do I sail, but I also paint!

Wivenhoe Sailing Club is holding its annual open day this weekend and as part of that they are having an art exhibition in the club house. Can I strongly recommend all readers to come down (with their wallets) and buy one or all of my paintings. There will be more next year if they are all gone by the time you get there.

I'll try and get some better images up as I do admit my phone camera which took the photo below is crap (thanks O2).

The picture here is of a fisherwoman painting her boat on the beach at Aldeburgh.

Hiking out

2009-09-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

So in principal we all agree that to balance the boat is important especially when on a close haul...centre board stays deep keeping the boat pointing upwind as much as possible and it does not act as a rudder trying to turn the boat...right!!

Also, we agree that the proper technique for hiking is legs straight and back slightly bent to get the weight out with as little effort as possible.....this works for me at the helm as the Topper Xenon does not have any cosy area for the helm to sit and it's great to stretch the legs....

What I have found in my 1x season as a skipper/helmsman is the tendancy of some new crews not to not want to lean over the edge of the boat and get their weight out but a preference to lie across the middle (i.e. feet against one side of the boat and head at other which is possible in a Xenon as it is about 2m wide).

BALANCE THE BOAT they'll hear me say.

Anyway here is an excellent article on what I am on about http://www.uiowa.edu/~sail/skills/racing_basics/chap4.shtml @ Mark Johnson

Capsizing Drills in a Topper Xenon

2009-08-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

It happened again last weekend with my Father as we sailed up the River Colne...the shame...!

We went over on a tack, which was interesting as the dinghy has come near to doing this before with other novice crew. I am beginning to have a theory as to how this might happen - beyond blaming myself.

Firstly the cleats that hold the jib sheets on the Topper Xenon often out-fox novice crew who I have seen have difficulty releasing them. When on a close haul the jib is set very tight and so is the cleat holding the jib-sheet. Coming round on a close haul tack, if the sheet is not released properly the nose will continue to pull round and instead of being on a close haul (opposite tack) you will find yourself coming on to on a beam reach. Obviously with a tight main sail + slow speed over you go. So, lessons to be learned are as follows...

Teaching your crew how to operate the cleats and warning them of consequences if they get it wrong.
Helmsmen don't be lazy and be ready to let the main sail go if things go wrong on the tack (i.e. take it off the cleat).

Finally, make sure you explain in detail what you want the crew to do when you go over. Novice crew have a tendency not to want to go in the water (quite understandable really), but the Topper Xenon floats very high on its side and with the crew trying to clamber desperately up the inside, the boat is inclined to turtle making it harder to right.

Tell them to get in the water and swim to the back to hang on to the toe straps).
Always be nice to the Romford Navy, speedboats and barges as you may need their help one day.

Brightlingsea One Design

2009-08-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

My lack of original content and poor prose show up badly when compared to professionals like Dylan Winter. I came across another video he did as it had some Topper Xenons in sailing at Brightlingsea. Anyway it gives a great impression of what it's like where the Colne River opens up and what they look like underway.

The Brightlingsea One Design (BOD) is a big feature of this video and is similar to the Wivenhoe One Design (WOD) but bigger!

Anyway - here is how the pros do their video blogs.....

Topper Xenon Launching at Wivenhoe

2009-08-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

I finally have created some content of my own. Here is my father and I taking the Xenon out for his first sail on her from Wivenhoe to Colchester and back up the River Colne. I chose what I thought was a safe passage, but yes we did have an incident on the way!!...more later.

Forgive the music, I was under a bit of time pressure to get this 'out there'

Xenon Handicap and others

2009-08-20T04:17:00.000-07:00

In a sop to the search engines I am going to put in a post that covers the PY Handicaps of the Topper Xenon and others who I race against.....

Topper Zenon - 1070 (with Trapeze??)

Laser - 1078

Wayfarer - 1099

Topaz - 1212

Mirror - 1365

Wivenhoe One Design - ????

A list of the most popular fleet boats can be found here thanks to the RYA. What is not clear to me is how the Trapeze option impacts the handicap. I think that the handicap above is with the Trapeze operating. I don't have a harness yet so I believe that I am probably getting penalised with a too high a handicap at club races.....hmmm very interesting I must find out more as this could make some big changes to my race results..!

Laser Blogger ?

2009-08-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not the only one that blogs about trying to sail. This chap is interesting, he's 60+ and it appears be sails one of those pesky lasers that I am always trying to beat ...

Actually I have been a little cruel and linked his entry about hating Laser sailors... I don't really I promise!

http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2006/07/seven-reasons-to-hate-laser-sailors.html

Dinghy Racing - Long Distance Race

2009-08-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

We had the long distance dinghy race last weekend; the Barman my usual crew was not able to make it due to work commitments but his very experienced father volunteered to replace him; Father of the Barman now known as FB.

I thought it was going to be a walk-over but 4 other boats did eventually enter into the long-distance dinghy race. End result we came 3rd and that includes with the handicap. The 2 boats we left way way back were a Wivenhoe One and a Mirror.

What was slightly disappointing was the margin by which we were beaten by another Wivenhoe One and a pesky Laser. We did expect to do much better and were slightly disappointed. FB did have some good sailing tips. The issue we have is that there is very little knowledge within the club about how to sail a boat like the Topper Xenon.

Being the observant helmsman and having had a few crew on board, I have noticed a couple of things where the manual differs (see http://zambezishark.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-sail-topper-xenon.html) from the habits of experienced crew used to sailing other types of boat.

These are (when going upwind)

tension tight on jib
lots tension on cunningham

I also notice that there are a number of opinions as to where the telltales should go. Some say both fly horizontally across, others having the inside flicking upwards (as per http://zambezishark.blogspot.com/2009/07/where-should-telltails-go.html)

We were a new team and areas that we could have improved were around handling of the spinnaker. We struggled at times and perhaps should have borne away from a straight run to build up speed on more of a reach angle. This will come with practice I am sure. What is not certain either is whether the jib should furl when the spinnaker is up? Marketing pictures from Topper all show it up - I'll have to check some more neutral snaps but I reckon the jib can stay up.

Finally disappointing as it was, there are a whole host of other reasons why we did not do as well...

other helmsman was a previous national champion on Enterprises (apparently)
there is a tidal channel through the course of River Colne which I don't know very well yet
we grounded on the mud
my first season
luck

Anyway if there are other sailors of Topper Xenons please add your top tips in the comments section below.

Laser Vago Planning

2009-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

There is a dire lack of videos out there of what a Topper Xenon looks like when it is planning. To give a clue of how the Barman and I looked (albeit briefly) before we capsized I found this video with a reasonably similar looking boat. It does take a bit of skill to do this and they are not out for their first sail.

The Xenon is slightly larger and I believe has a slightly lower handicap (just) - it starts getting picky when you try to decide whether it is with or without trapeze.

Have a look....

Hydroptere - World's Fastest Sailing Boat

2009-08-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

No it is sadly not my little dinghy.

Sadly it is also a French boat - honestly I thought we invented everything. :)

So what is it?

The World's fastest sailing boat is the Hydroptere - a hydrofoil trimaran giant. If they ever want me have a go on it and make a report I am ready.

Reading about it on the web it has apparently hit an amazing 61 knots!!! However I see that back in December 2008 it made the headlines when it hit that amazing speed and wiped out!! Look at the link below and see the pics! To right such a massive boat it had to be towed to shore.

http://catsailingnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/hydroptere-61knots-and-huge-crash-with.html

http://yachtpals.com/hydroptere-4036

Trapeze required for Xenon

2009-07-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have being mulling over how we came to capsize the Xenon and how we could have avoided it - thoughts are with me still because I am only just loosing the stiffness and bruises I developed last Sunday.

Given that from the weather station records it was blowing F5/F6, and we, without a care in the World, popped the spinnaker up on a dinghy, I think we were pushing it. It was a very gentle blow over and it makes me think that we might have been able to avoid it if The Bar Man, my loyal crewman, had had a harness for the trapeze kit.

If anyone knows of one going, let me know!

How to Capsize a Topper Xenon

2009-07-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

I finally capsized the Topper Xenon with the Barman!

Today was a damn good outing - HW was at approx 4pm and we launched at about 2:45pm from Wivenhoe Sailing Club. May be it was a little ominous but I botched the start again - need to get the rudder down faster so I get control of the boat before we get blown into the mud in front of the club house. Knee deep in mud we had a second launch and were much more successful.

The pic above shows how good the wind was - we were out on the peaks. It's on days like this you need a warm-up program as you get a proper workout as the invisible hand (called the wind) flicks the sails with its finger randomly. At 3:45pm we were opposite Bateman's Tower at Brightlingsea (took about 50min - remember we had a botched start). Hmm seems we were averaging 6 m.p.h. which is not too bad - feels faster!

There were a couple of skiers about and oddly enough the RNLI were attending a boat on the east shore.

We had turned and were heading back when it all happened. We tried to line the boat up for a mega down-the-river-gybe with the spinnaker up all the way. We were just about on the plain as it was but this was going to be even faster - sadly not. Only a couple of minutes after we had the spinnaker up, we were over powered by the wind and into the Colne River we went - salty yum.

So we are in the water. Initially puffing because of the cold. All of a sudden the boat is massive - only our heads are above the water and the boat towers high-up floating on its side. We have to right her. I swim round the back and the dagger board is above my head at the top of my arms reach. I get both hands on. Kicking my feet and hauling myself up I get laid across feet still in the water. Nothing happens. Slowly it starts to move towards me and we shout at each other as it comes up straight. Sails up and wind blowing it starts to race off and blows over again. This time worse. The mast starts to sink and she begins to turtle. This is not good. Our arms are aching as we try to haul ourselves out of the water and right the boat. It starts again but blows over. We keep going and getting tired fast curse not going to the gym enough. A speedboat approaches and offers help. They haven't a clue what to do. We need to get the nose to the wind when we right her. A rope is tied to the front and it hauls the nose towards the wind. Another young guy pitches up in a speedboat but he is on his own and useless. We start again. Tired, it's getting harder and I understand how people get too exhausted to do anything. It works though and I try to get over the side. It's too difficult now and I go over the transom at the back instead. I bring down all the sails. The Barman needs hauling on board, he's tired out as well. We re-organise the sails. Thank the speedboat people and get on our way. We are knackered.

It's not over though as we have a few miles to do.

However this is when the good bit happens. All the time I thought I had been on the plain previously were mistaken. We were hurtling along when all of a sudden the boat lifted up above the water and we had a significant turn of speed - WOW it made it all worth it.

There are many lessons learned here - see my coming blog about gennakers (!) - but I would recommend if you are going to do daring things with dinghies and they are 10ft+ it is well worth getting a mast float. Next time I go out, I need to take the mast down and wash the top where it scooped mud from the bottom of the River Colne (meconium style [er....look it up]).

Why a Topper Xenon?

2009-07-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Press and reviews of the Topper Xenon often make referrence to its 'stylish looks' and this was repeated to me recently at the sailing club. I started a conversation about why I had originally bought the 'Zambezi Shark'.

Initially it was not on my radar what-so-ever. I had trained on a Wayfarer and had been using the sailing club's Toper Topaz. The Toper Topaz is a small boat and at the most is designed to take one adult and one child. This ruled it out of my selection criteria as I had visions of taking Mrs Hook out one day.

The Wayfarer was looking like a good option - it was very stable, reliable, kept its value and could fit at least 4 people in. I knew how it worked and everyone said what a good boat it was. There were a few niggles though. All the boats I saw 2nd hand had kept their value just a bit too much and for a boat 10+ years old prices were £1500++. I thought this was too much given the maintainence that I would potentially need to do. Also the matter of style started to come into it - the older Wayfarers, within the range of the boat-fund looked horrible. There were too many home made paint jobs.

Some might say that you shouldn't buy a good boat to start off with. I disagree. Buy the best you can. It's a sport that you have got to commit to. I had nightmare visions of buying a boat and growing out of it very quickly, wishing I had somethig better. If you are new to sailing and you know it is what you want to do, get the best you can so you can enjoy it more.

Having raced for a few months on theTopaz, I had another requirement and that was speed. The Wayfarer was well out of it now and after further research I went to check out a Topper Xenon. I would have looked at more boats, but it was so good looking that as soon as I saw it, it made me buy her. Considerations were...

Size
Speed
Cost
Looks

This blog is not sponsored by Topper, but if they want to send me some £ .....

How to sail the Topper Xenon

2009-07-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here is some useful information for me and my crew to remember when sailing the Zambezi Shark (aka Topper Xenon) - particularly the Barman, as we were definitely rusty during Friday evening's pursuit race er....or was it just me??

The aim this course is of course to beat those pesky Lasers. BTW everything below comes from the Topper manual so must be true..

Upwind
For a medium wind (crew sitting out hard, but able to sheet the mainsail to the centreline) you should be able to use maximum power. Use very little or no cunningham. The outhaul should be set so that there is about a 3in (7-8cm) gap between mainsail foot and boom at the point of maximum chord. Try to keep the boom on the centreline, provided that the boat remains flat.

The jib can be eased about 1-2in (5-10cm) from maximum tightness for optimum performance. As the wind increases, reduce the power in the mainsail by pulling down on the cunningham progressively until the boat feels comfortable and balanced again. If you have tell tales on the leech, use enough gnav to keep them flying.

For very windy conditions flatten the main by tightening the outhaul, tensioning the cunningham further (with a fully-battened sail this has the effect of flattening the sail without pulling the fullness forward and can therefore be used much more than with a conventional mainsail). Sit out hard and sail free.

In light airs, use little or no gnav to allow the leech to open.

Tacking
Be aware that with a fully-battened sail the power comes on very fast after the tack. Do not over steer with the rudder as you will find yourself on a reach. Do not sheet in hard immediately, with either main or jib, until the boat has picked up speed after the tack. Whenever the boat slows down it pays to ease sheets, bear off a couple of degrees and then oint up again once the boat has regained speed. In light winds, when about to tack, make sure that there is some gnav tension, as this will help the battens to flick across. Ease the sheet a few inches before tacking. A sharp pull when you reach the new tack will also help the battens across.

Downwind
With an asymmetric Spinnaker, large distances can be gained (and lost!) very quickly. It is essential to keep the boat traveling at the optimum speed and direction towards the next mark. This direction will vary according to the wind strength. In light airs, at displacement speeds, where sailing higher will not result in a great increase in speed, it pays to sail low towards the mark. In marginal planing conditions, sailing higher will allow the boat to plane and the consequent increase in speed help to offset the extra distance traveled. The boat can be sailed progressively lower as the wind strength increases.

Just when to sail high or low and at what precise angles will come only with experience, so keep practicing. The crew can have a better idea of the correct angle to sail by feeling the power in the spinnaker sheet. Allow the crew to call the pressure. Sail as low as possible, keeping the pressure on, unless there are overriding tactical considerations.

Gybing
An asymmetric Spinnaker is far easier to gybe than a conventional spinnaker and takes no longer than tacking. Ideally you should always gybe when the boat is traveling at maximum speed as there is less pressure on the sails. It therefore pays to gybe 'reachto- run'.

If you try to slow down and gybe 'run-to-run' the spinnaker pulls the top of the mast forward, making the boat unstable and less controllable. The additional air pressure will make the mainsail harder to pull across. So be positive and gybe smoothly and at speed.

In strong winds you will probably have borne off so that, although the apparent wind still shows a broad reach, you are in fact running directly before the true wind. If you then try to gybe through your normal angle you will gybe on to a reach and be overpowered! So in strong conditions remember to gybe through a smaller angle. As with tacking, apply some gnav tension and Cunningham when gybing in light airs to help the battens flick across.

Navy visit the River Colne

2009-07-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

That is of course the Romford Navy!

During the warm-summer weekends, the Romford Navy invade the River Colne. They are generally not popular with the Sailing Set as they don't have any appreciation of the sea, go too fast in 5mph areas, create huge wakes and come too close to us little guys in dinghies. Oh yes, they all seem to have a jet ski in tow which don't seem to have any point except make noise.

Okay, okay!.... being the owner of a sailing craft I am a little bias. Actually I don't mind our Navy friends as it makes for interesting sailing going past to see what they are doing on board.

The expression Romford Navy made me chuckle when I first heard it - blame the Bar Man. The expression can be found by doing a Google search or looking at a site called Urbandictionary. The definition is far too rude for me to link to with all my family readers. :)

To all the none-UK readers of this blog, Romford Navy is a degenerative term for uncouth Londoners who have more money than sense and drive big boats - slang!

East Coast Sailing Clubs

2009-07-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

It has been said that the Essex & Suffolk Coast with the River Colne, River Crouch, River Blackwater, River Stour, River Orwell and River Deben offer some of the most interesting sailing in the UK. From the preponderance of sailing clubs in this area, one might agree. The map below highlights locations where some of these can be found.

On the map above at 'B', is a marina and the Bradwell Outdoor Centre. Here Essex County Council run an Outdoor Centre for 'yoofs' and adults alike and is where last year, I completed my RYA 1 & 2 dinghy sailing course. Slightly disconcerting is a disused nuclear power plant which over looks the area.

Another interesting place is of course 'H', Wivenhoe Sailing Club out of which I launch the Zambezi Shark (aka Topper Xenon). I am told we all become very good sailors here as we deal with the shifting and frequently light winds, the shallow water, tides and narrow channel.

Finally at Tollsbury there is again also a marina and sailing/yacht club combo. This place has special memories for me as when Mrs Hook and I reconnoitered sailing clubs to to park my new big boat (it was a before the recession) I parked the new BMW on a road near the marina office to return 40 minutes later to find it in fast rising 6 inches of sea water.

I am not the only one who this happens to. Visitors to West Mersea (very smart website) will frequently see cars parked too close to the rising sea and owners too ensconced in fine dinning or too new to the sea to realise what is about to happen.

Sailing and Fishing

2009-07-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have been interested in the idea of fishing off the back of my Topper Xenon. I have however come to the conclusion that the style of dinghy makes it totally impracticable. Unlike a Wayfarer it is impossible to drop the main and wrap it up round the boom. Since I have a gnav and not a vang (American I know, should be called a kicker), when the main sail comes down, the boom does as well leaving the deck covered in sail and boom. The advantage however is that when the main sail is up, there is more room on deck. This might mean I am better off fishing whilst underway, perhaps some type of trawling with a line and spinner on the end, the sort of thing you see in the Pacific when line catching tuna - idle thoughts I know when in Essex.

Here's a chap called Blakdog who fishes on the Colne River; I'll keep an eye on to see if there is anything worth catching http://seaanglersnotebook.blogspot.com/2009/05/batemans-tower-brightlingsea-essex.html

Parts of a Sail

2009-07-04T02:19:00.000-07:00

Since I am blogging about sails and trying to sound knowledgeable about how I know what each bit is called, here is the secret - a picture taken from Wikipedia with luff, leech, roach, battens, head, clew foot and tack all identified. It was a mystery to me where all these bits were until I had to start taking more notice of what the sail is meant to be doing....

Where should the Telltails go?

2009-07-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

It is some time since I completed my RYA 1 & 2 dinghy sailing course. It is on these courses that you learn and prompty forget what things like the telltales should be doing to get you going as fast as possible. To prove my point, when last out on the River Colne, just short of Bateman Tower, even the Bar Man, my experienced crew could not remember.

After a few months of sailing I have now mastered the ability to look up at my sails and make a vague judgement as to their worth. Having spotted the telltales I felt it was the next thing to master in my quest to beat the Lasers.

Once you have the jib trimmed correctly, you can start steering the boat, using the telltales as guides. If the outside telltale "piddles," this means the sail is overtrimmed for the direction of the wind on the boat. You don't want to let the sail out, so you must head up. This, in effect, retrims the sails, except instead of bringing the sails in, you "brought the whole boat in."

If the inside telltale piddles constantly, or if the sail luffs (actual luffing, or just an inversion at the front edge of the sail), the jib is undertrimmed. You don't want to crank in more on the sheet, so you must retrim by bearing off.

Your goal is to make the outside tale flow straight back and the inside tale "lift" occasionally, meaning some air is getting to it, but not all the time. If you don't know how often the inside tale should be lifting, err on the side of too often. It's better to have too much air flowing along the inside edge of the sail, than not enough.

So Lasers, with this and the Roll Tack, you had better watch out.

The next intreguing issue about the sails is to understand what the telltales on the leech-edge of the mainsail are meant to do...

Roll Tack

2009-06-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Back to the serious issue of dinghy boat racing!

I mentioned before that we seem to loose a lot of distance when tacking against the Lasers and I think I now know why. Many reasons.... but principally it is too much rudder. Sounds odd as you would anticipate wanting to turn as fast as you can to pick up the wind for the next leg.

This weekend when on board the Topper Xenon with the Bar Man, we did some reasonably quick tacks and it was noticeable to me at helm that the boat seriously digs in on the corners and slows down (Chine technology?). I had heard of a roll tack but couldn't remember quite what it was.

That was until now.....

Roll Tacking Basics (video at end!!)

Roll tacking is a method for getting the boat through a tack quickly, without losing much speed or ground. Listed below are three basic advantages to a roll tack, which is used primarily in light air when boatspeed out of a tack is important. However, keep in mind this is not the end-all, be- all of dinghy racing. The best roll tacks in the world do not guarantee a win, and sometimes they can blow your concentration if they are used before you have mastered them.

Roll Tacking Basics Heel the boat to leeward about 10 degrees. This initial heel allows the boat to turn itself, cutting down on the rudder usage necessary to initiate the tack. Don't heel the boat too far. The object is to turn the boat slowly enough so you can control the tack. During this step, you should be able to let the tiller extension slip through your hand, with the hull of the boat doing all the work.

As the boat starts to come down on you, rock it hard to windward. Timing is important in this step. The goal here is to help the boat do what it wants. The biggest mistake you can make is to try to roll the boat too soon, "squashing" the tack, finding yourself head to wind, or on the same tack on which you started. This mistake costs much more than a regular tack would (and it feels horrible). Wait until the jib luffs and the boat feels as though it wants to come down on top of you. Then rock it hard. Rocking the boat to windward may feel funny, as though you're going to capsize. However, it's important to rock it this way. Sometimes the boat will stop the rock on its own, if you don't help. In fact, it may be good to practice this maneuver until you capsize a few times. If you're afraid of capsizing, your tacks will be mediocre. You must get the feel for how far you can go.

The purpose for this step is to get the sail through the tack as quickly as possible. Notice that, usually when you're tacking, there is a long period of time where the sail luffs through the tack. This step will alleviate that luffing, with a telltale "pop" of the sails.
Once the boat is on the new tack, and still heeled up from the rock, flatten it quickly. This is the heart of the roll tack. The rock should have put the rail of the boat in the water. Now, when you flatten it, you are pulling the sails through the air, effectively increasing the wind speed over them. This gives you a nice push forward, accelerating you out of the tack. Note the position of the sails. They should be trimmed in during the flattening, but not all the way. When this "wind" is created, it acts as a lift, so the sails should be eased slightly. Then, when the boat is flat and up to speed, trim in the sails to pointing mode again.

This flattening should be done after the sails fill, but as soon after the rock as possible. With the boat up on its ear at 45 , it will slip sideways very quickly. Just watch someone who doesn't flatten immediately. They will lose a lot of distance to leeward, much more quickly than you would think.

That can sound quite complicated if you are not used to nautical terms so here's a video demo.

Could the Bar Man confirm we're okay to do this next outing and I'll report back of progress against the Lasers.

Ipswich Dock

2009-06-26T02:32:00.000-07:00

Sailing on the East Coast isn't all muddy banks, creeks and difficult-to-navigate rivers. Yesterday on a blazing summer's day I found myself at Ipswich Dock which is or has been one of the largest regeneration projects in the East of England....!

Mrs Hook and I boarded the Il Punto, which is "a renown French Brasserie alfloat and moored alongside Neptune Quay at Ipswich Marina".

The food was fantastic and so was the service. My only complaint was the weather was just too hot!! Anyway this made it impossible to tell that we were still on "Mud Island" and it was very easy to imagine being in Antibes again (which by the way has a very interesting looking Yacht Show).

Unfortunately this has rekindled my interest in getting a bigger boat to sail on.

Lunitidal Interval

2009-06-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Even Pirates have Birthdays; fortunately Mrs Hook has taken very seriously my woes about crossing the start-line last everytime. I now have a sailing watch to rectify this! [thank you Mrs Hook]

Now it is not only the countdown alarm which is going to be useful for telling when to cross the startline, but it has the very handy facility that shows you what the tide is where you sail. From my earlier blogs you'll know it is very important to get this right. All I had to do was input

GMT Differential +0.0

Longitude 1'0333'' E
Lunitidal Interval ??

If you are like me you'll have no idea what the Lunitidal Interval is and why should you because I don't think anyone does unless they buy a watch that displays what level the tide is at.

Still guessing? [so am I]

The Lunitidal Interval is the average time difference between when the
moon passes over a time meridian and the following high or low tide. If the time meridian referenced is the local time meridian, then the lunitidal intervals are called the "Local Intervals." If the time meridian referenced is the Greenwich meridian, the lunitidal intervals are called the "Greenwich Intervals."

Generally, the manufacturers of such items use the Local Intervals for their calculations. Our office does not track or maintain the
Local Intervals; we calculate and track the Greenwich Intervals for various locations. This information can be found in the Datums
section of our website.
The Greenwich Intervals we provide can be converted to the Local Interval using the following formula: Local Interval = GI - (0.069 * L)
Where L is the longitude for the location in degrees. West longitudes are positive; East longitudes are negative.Example: 122 degrees 23.7 minutes West would be
122.395 degrees. (23.7 / 60 = 0.395)
Longitude for a station is available from the Accepted Datums page by using the link provided for further station information. Where GI is the Greenwich Interval. To calculate the High Tide Local Interval, use the Greenwich Mean High Water Interval in Hours from the Accepted Datums page. To calculate the Low Tide Local Interval, use the
Greenwich Mean Low Water Interval in Hours.

Some products will require the Local Interval to be a positive number. You can convert a negative interval to a positive by adding 12.42 to the result.For example, if your interval calculated to be -4.11; you could also use 8.31 (-4.11 + 12.42 = 8.31)

The Highest Tide normally refers to the highest tide for a particular year. For practical purposes, there is no single "highest tide" for a year. Depending on the location, there will be between 2 and 8 days during the year when the high tide is at it highest predicted height for that year (with a precision of 0.1 foot). We do not attempt to track which day(s) this will occur on as the date and time may be different for each location. You may determine the date of the "highest tide" for your uses from the High/Low Tide Predictions section of our wesbite. After selecting the station you are interested in, you will be provied the times and heights of the high and low tides for that location through the entire year. In general, the highest high tides and lowest low tides occur around the dates of the New Moon and Full Moon; these are known
as the "spring tides". Dates of the New Moon and Full Moon can be found in the Astronomical Data section of our website.

Insurance

2009-06-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

Insurance one of those things you wish you didn't have to bother about. Well actually you don't but taking that decision means that you accept the risks, that's how it works.

Now I read this last week about a chap who was stopping at every port in the UK as he circum-navigated Britain. Unfortunately he came a cropper when he ran aground in Dorset and the yacht was a right-off. Apparently he had no insurance and had a load of cash onboard to sustain him on his trip.

Click here to see...

Video - Colne Estuary

2009-06-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

I found some more clips on YouTube and think they are great. They show where I sail, all thanks to Dylan Winter (dylan.winter@virgin.net) - no I don't know him, but just giving credit where it's due!

Video - Wivenhoe to Colchester

2009-06-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Blimey - the water where I sail is famous and appears on YouTube!!

I found this video on YouTube which pretty much follows last Sunday's race. I reckon it was taken one of those weeks where I was unable to race - some of the boats are in the pictures Mrs Hook took on Sunday.

I am now blessed with a wealth of new facts about where I live; Mrs Hook's parents will not be pleased that Britain's largest recorded earth quake took place where they live and I also know why I described the turning at the buoy 'the arse of Colchester' - you'll have to watch the video to see why. Finally looks like I might need to move to Rowhedge!!

Handicap System

2009-06-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that it is not just enough to have the most pointy-fastest boat in the club. There is another thing called the handicap system which I must over-come.

Today's race took us up to the Ancient Roman Port of Hythe, yes up to King Edwards Quay in Colchester (who would have thought that Colchester has a port). In short, lovely sail through green fields to finally turn at the dirty arse Colchester bit. If someone dredged that bit at the top where we turned, there is a fortune to be made out of the marina that could be there. Instead Colchester has opted for the VAF further into town - read the link, I know which one I'd prefer.

Anyway, all was going well until we reached the inevitable turn. Another nautical lesson learned here about which object you refer to in sentences when going around port side - to me it is ambiguous as it could be either the boat or the buoy. As race rules stipulate, having gone round the wrong side, I had to perform a 360 spin - time lost but not too bad. We were still doing well and were vying for the lead. Unfortunately another disaster struck when we hit the mud, became becalmed and drifted into low hanging branches. We crossed the finish line 2nd, but the handicap system meant the Mirror that came last actually won.

So the handicap system is something I will learn to deal with in the next few races; for me and my crew (here on known as The Barman), we both agreed that we would prefer to cross the finish line 2nd than last.

BTW - going round port side means port side of the boat (I think my mind is set to look at everything from a different perspective).

Wivenhoe Regatta 2009

2009-06-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last week it was hot, hotter than the Med....er probably.

Unfortunately I couldn't get out on the boat because tides, crew and my flight to Edinburgh check-in time could not be co-ordinated. However I did manage to have a meander round the Wivenhoe Regatta and take some snaps. It was a great day for sailing and I found myself quite jealous of the boats going by - there was a good breeze and was a gorgeous day.

The Wivenhoe One design is a boat and feature of the day. I always find it strange even though a small number were built, (about 20) they attract such enthusiasm from their owners and they have been kept going for so long. FYI they are the smaller looking boats with the red and white flag (burgee) on the sail. The others are 100 year old smacks that are sailed in the Essex, Thames area.

2x Races 1x Weekend

2009-05-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend, with much anticipation, the Zambezi Shark was entered into her first race. To start the picture on the right is not us (but could be!).
Becalmed in the scorching sun we took 20 minutes to cross the start line. So far so good 'cos we were actually in front. However it appears I need to work harder on my tacking as a couple of those pesky little Laser boats got away when we reached this part of the course.

On the return leg we popped open the spinnaker for the first time and it was AWESOME - had we had another 1000 yards would have pipped those Lasers. We came 3rd out of about 8(?). My spinnaker is black btw.

Monday (today) we came 2nd but perhaps because of the effect of the previous day, the 4am feed of King Alfred and the drinking at the-night-before-BBQ I was a little knackered. No spinnaker this time as we were being overpowered by the main - my race buddy and I now want a harness for the trapeze.

During a long weekend, racing twice is a sure way to appear absent from the family; future weekends like this will need to require negotiation with the Wife,

Winter Series with Topper Topaz

2009-05-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Winter Series at Wivenhoe was where it all began. It looks very placid on the day these particular pictures were taken - a very pleasant easy sail for my first outing. On the 28 Dec 2008 it was a different story. It was slightly more windy and holding in a skin-full during a run-ashore with Kenneth the Land Lubber the previous evening; I subsequently capsized, cracked a rib and DNF the race.

Brave 3rd Sail

2009-05-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 17 May 2009

"Er...Captain Hook, have you seen the weather report?", my new sailing buddy asked on the phone.

"Of course! Of course! I checked and it was a F5 and I'm positive that it is going to die down by this evening"

"Er...okay as long as you're happy...Ray who knows at the club says winds are 50m.p.h...."

Pah!...Seemed fine to me when I checked on the net a week before.

In between meeting my buddy at the club house I took the wife for a driving lesson and found a beach further up the coast at St Osyth. We parked and stepped out to look over the sea wall. HOLY COW!! - it really was blowing a gale and there were massive waves crashing into the beach. This was no time for cowards or to show any fear!!!

Launch time 5:30pm (high tide of course!!). Main sail reefed and jib furled (not for long though).
No problemo!!!.
Well I say no problem but because of the wind we were restricted to a 500 yard run in front of the club house.

It was brilliant though. We raced up and down that stretch like a speed boat and for the first time, I really was able to put the boat through a few of her paces - and she through mine.

Getting out the water...there's a challenge when the F5 gusting F7 is blowing straight towards the slipway. The answer is to come in as slow as possible, turn at the last moment and make use of all that lovely mud to land on - then dropping the sales as fast as you can.

Special note - New race-sailing buddy found. He knows what he is doing which helps on this machine.

Sinking Second Sail

2009-05-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

10 May 2009

So, buoying with confidence I invited a mate from my MBA course for a sail on the new boat.

The sun was out, the sky was blue and winds very light. I carefully rigged the boat and got her in to the water. With my carefully acquired knowledge of when to launch and retrieve (high tide of course!!!) everything was going well.

Although the wind was light the Zambezi Shark responded well........as we continued though she got increasingly sluggish. Was it me? my new-to-sailing crew member who was pulling the jib sheets to tight? ....were the winds just too light?

A dinghy from an earlier race was passing the other way and I proudly looked across from the helm....something was wrong! They weren't gasping in awe at my good looking boat and the speed of travel; it suddenly hit me........

...the bung was still attached to the dangly string on the rudder and we had been taking on water for the last 40 minutes.

After leaning over the transom and putting the bung back, sailing was no longer any fun. With all the water in the hull we were incredibly unstable. We rolled back.

Again - it was damn difficult getting the boat out, this time because it was so full of water. At the top of the slipway we waited 25minutes for the water to drain out before we could move to clean and park-up.

I was annoyed and will have to endure the bung joke for months to come.

First Ever Sail

2009-05-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

As we launched from Wivenhoe into the Colne River, the tide was in the last 1hr of ebbing, the wind was with us gusting maybe F4-5 so I put a reef in the main sail and we furled the jib. With all that it was the fastest I have ever gone down the river - in 20 min we had covered at least 4km toward the open sea, it was exhilarating. My crew member was slightly less enthusiatic, this not being his boat, at buoy 18 grateful for his work and commitment I turned back.

Going back was fine and easy until we hit the final bend in the river towards the slipway. With 500 yards to go the river became extremely shallow and narrow where we could actually sail. Additionally we had the wind blowing straight at us from between the gates of the flood barriers. Very hard work to follow; the centre board was up and down as we touched the bottom at the end of each tack; we subsequently were having to deal with being blown backwards and sideways. We came very close to having the nose being blow back and finding ourselves on a reach or a run - charging down stream not by our own volition!!!

Nose to wind we finally go to 30 yards from the slipway on the otherside of the river. We were able to beach here and walk her up - then a simple glide across.

Sounds simple, but it was not yet over yet. We were below the bottom of the slipway because the tide was so low. This meant there was 4m of thick uphill mud to get through before we reached the paving This was infact another obstacle as the lip was a foot higher than the mud. We were more wet inside our wetsuits.

Lesson learned!!

At low tide there is no way I can pull the boat up myself....and that was the most difficult part today, the low tide.

To all the future crew members reading this we will be launching and recovering at more favourable tides )I go through all this so you don't have to!!)