Xenon Rudder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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