Boat sold - End of Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.

P

Too Strong Winds

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

May Mug and Burgee Report

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.

P

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

They are used to the following conditions ....

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

Comments please..... ;)

When to use the Spinnaker

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.