Sunday 31 December, 2006 - Australian Championships: Heats 4 and 5

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Saturday 30 December, 2006 - Australian Championships: Heats 1, 2 and 3

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Friday 29 December, 2006 - Australian Moth Championships: Invitation Race

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Thursday 28 December, 2006 - Scary Stuff

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Wednesday 27 December, 2006 - We Made It!

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Monday 25 December, 2006 - Back in town

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Wednesday 20 December, 2006 - Back in town

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Tuesday 12 December, 2006 - If only...

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Sunday 10 December, 2006 - Virtual Foiling

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VSK Australia have just released their 'Foiler Moth' edition for Virtual Skipper 4 game. As if it wasn't enough with all the Internet Mothies around the world telling everyone how we can make our boats faster, now we will have Virtual Foilers telling us how to sail the boats faster as well! Nevertheless, I am sure most people will be able to beat me at this game because I suck at computer games.

Friday 8 December, 2006 - Passing Time

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Gin and I drove over to meet Mum, Dad and Susan (sister) for mum's birthday lunch today. Dropped into also see my only living grandparent, who is quite unwell at the moment. He really should be in a hospital under 24 hour care, but prefers to pass his time in the comfort and freedom of his own home in Essendon. We try to drop in and see him as often as possible, but it is difficult living on the other side of the city.

Doesn't look like I will be sailing the new boat this weekend as it hasn't arrived and Amac is still in China. So instead I have volunteered myself doing foredeck work on a friends new Beneteau 34.7 off Sandringham.

Monday 4 December, 2006 - Tardy!

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Sorry for my tardiness over the last week, but I took a quick trip to China (1 hour in car, then 8.5 hours by plane, then 2 hours by car) to help out with my boat and get all the bits and pieces sorted for the first ten production boats that McConaghy's are making for the first ten paying customers. Most of the equipment (ie sails, mast, boom, rigging, rope, fittings, nuts and bolts) are now ready to be fitted to the boats, all we need is the boats! McConaghy started laying up the first hull (for James) yesterday, and then they should be laying up a hull every 2-3 days from then on. The first main foil came out of the steel mould on Thursday as well and it was a massive improvement on the foils that we have been testing from the fiberglass foils recently. Nothing had changed since I was here only four week weeks ago now, apart from the weather as I actually saw the sun for a few days and I also put on a jacket a few times. The locals would make you think they are in Siberia though with the amount of clothes that some of them are wearing on a cold (20 degrees celsius) day! I nearly got killed a few times again taking local transport. It is fun tho!

So I got back home after midnight on Saturday and then had to get up at 5am to watch Gin do her triathlon at Sandringham. She finished a very credibile 10th in her division. By the time we got back home, I was absolutely buggered and slept for another 2 hours and then got up again to drive 1.5 hours to Geelong to take Aaron and Kurt (visitor from the USA) for a sail on Amac's Bladerider. Even thought it was flat water, it was far from good learning conditions as it was gusting from 5 to 20 knots, not to mention a number of moored boats in the area just off the beach.

So I have just heard that my boat is being sent tomorrow and will hopefully be on the water this weekend. Just need to make a few bits and pieces, but not as much as work needed compared to Amac's last boat.

Sunday 26 November , 2006 - A bit of a Test

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Mic came down to Black Rock on Saturday so he went out for an hour or so until he came in wondering why the boat kept launching up in the air downwind and over the waves, I then explained the tiller adjust and so he went back out and found it a lot easier to sail downwind of course. So I went out shortly after and did the first club race of the day against the OK's and Contenders (my first ever race in the Bladerider). With a building 15 to 22 knot Southerly and 1-1.5m waves I hammered them on the first work and then had to slow the boat downwind as it accelerated so easily. If didn't, I would run the risk of launching the boat up and over a wave in such short wave conditions. The next lap was much the same, but had a few swims downwind as it was getting quite strong by then and I was sooo out of practice. However by the time I had rounded the bottom mark, I had nearly lapped everyone from my start (even with such a typical long Black Rock course) and crusied on in after less than 30 mins of racing. Happy to report that even in such wild conditions, there was no incidents or breakages on the boat on the day. Mic and I both suffered some minor battle scars after some big stacks, but nothing that won't heal. Once I got back in, I had to go and rescue James on Amac's Prowler who was now struggling to even get the boat upright in the rather challenging conditions. So the rescue boat hammered the big waves to take me out to him, and I jumped straight in before the boat even stopped as I was quite eager to get back in to shore for a hot shower before the rest of the fleet got in After a few quick fixes on the vang and downhaul, I brought the old girl back in to shore and got my hot and uncrowded shower.

Wednesday 22 November , 2006 - 21.1 knots (10 second average)

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Sam and I went out on the water/air again today in a building sea breeze of around 15 knots for about 2.5 hours. Clocked a top speed of of 22.4 knots with a 10 second average of 21.1 knots. It was dead flat water so was easy to build up and hold speed (hence the reasonable high 10 sec average in such moderate conditions). Check out the new video of Sam in action today. download...

Monday 20 November , 2006 - Smokin'

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We launched Amac's new boat (prototype No. 3) on Friday afternoon last week with some cold beer poured over the hull oon the slipway at Black Rock Yacht Club (where else?). I then took the boat out on Saturday before club racing started and went balistic clocking 18.3 knots top speed in about 8-9 knots of wind, averaging about 5 knots (so the race committee told me). Amac was waiting on a rescue boat to swap so he could start the race and I had the great job of watching everyone race past at the top mark. Luckily (for me), the wind dropped off to bugger all, but picked up again within an hour or so, and so Amac was off blasting the race course again.

The next day I went down to Blairgowrie with the boat and super coach Lex Bertrand to meet Sam and Zac and go for a burn. As soon as we arrived the wind picked up to a constant 10-12 knots (gusting up to 14 on Lex's wind meter), but that didn't stop Zac and myself clocking the same top speed of the day at 22.8 knots (10 second average of 18.9 knots). This was the first time that Zac had been over 20 knots - welcome to the club! It is almost frightening how easy and fast this things gets foiling, not to mention top end speed in such low winds.

Thursday 16 November , 2006 - Half Asleep...

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Not really all there today as my body still thinks it is in Europe, but I managed to finish off Amac's boat as so we can go sailing tomorrow. Looks fantastic too! All clear carbon finish. We have also solved most of the issues we had with the first boat, and the remainder should be resolved by the time we get to my boat. So as we were working on the boat, I heard something land heavily in Amac's pool. Bloody Beki (my dog) was chasing birds in the backyard, wasn't looking where she was going and fell straight into the pool and was clawing at the side of the pool to get out. But the ledge was too high and she went under a couple of times as she fell back until I pulled her out completely saturated. Silly girl! She was fine after a roll around in the dirt to dry off.

Wednesday 15 November , 2006 - Back in town

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Got back to Melbourne around 11pm last night, but didn't get to sleep until 3:30am and then woke up at 5am and got out of bed around 6am. Bloody jet lag! Spent the day chasing up fittings and parts for the new boats to be built for xmas. Amac got his new and looks bloody unreal in all clear carbon, but mine is still in China. Apparantly I am supposed to go over there sometime next week to help finish it off, but I am hardly in the mood for flying at the moment. I might change my mind by the weekend though.

Sunday 12 November , 2006 - ISAF Conference Ends In Debate

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Today marked the closure of the 2006 ISAF Annual Conference, but it is going to open up some very interesting debates over the next twelve months, not to mention major decisions being made by the ISAF Council in the next annual conference in November 2007. At this meeting, the ISAF council will need to decide on what the naming of the events will be for the 2012 Games. This decision will be critical for our campaign, as it will determine whether our 8m Bladerider Moth will be able to slot into an Event at the 2012 London Olympic Games or not.

The biggest problem for anyone campaigning a new boat into the Olympics will be convincing the ISAF Council that one of their long serving classes (the Star is 100 years old, the 470 is 45 years old and the Finn has been in the Olympics since 1956) or one of their modern high performance boats (ie the 49er or Tornado) has to make way for a new class. Personally I have nothing against any of these classes, but there obviously just is not room for all classes, so a decision will have to be made by the Council regarding which class would be the best for the Olympics, not which class the NMA's or Council would like to keep in there.

However to make matters worse for any class campaigning for an Olympic spot, ISAF President Goran Petersson announced a bomb-shell during his opening speech to the ISAF Council that there will definately be a reduction from 11 events down to 10 and a reduction from 400 competitors down to 380. So with Julian Bethwaite lobbying hard with his 29erXX, and us pushing the Bladerider Moth, this means three existing classes would have to go! Word going around is that the 29erXX looks likely to replace either the women's 470 or Yngling. Who know's which Event we could fit into, but it would seem unlikely that the Finn, Laser or Laser Radial has any chance of being moved on into a new life. However, the ISAF Executive had recommended to the Events Committee that they remove the regulation that stipulates which ISAF International Classes are specifically approved to compete in the Olympics. This recommendation was deferred back to the Executive for further discussion as by doing so would have major consequences on the Regional Games.

Goran also announced that the IOC strongly recommended that ISAF choose classes that reflect 'elite and exciting' sailing, 'but must also have a high participation of countries'. (NB - During the conference I heard through a third party that the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, somehow received a copy of the Olympic Bladerider Moth DVD that I presented to ISAF at the Berlin conference and commented back to ISAF that 'this is the type of thing we would like to see in the Olympics'.)

Some other interesting facts to come out of the ISAF President's opening speach to the ISAF Council:

• In the 2004 Olympics, the IOC sold 130 hours of Athletics TV rights, but only sold 6 hours for sailing.
• Sailing and Equestrian were the two most expensive sports at the 2004 Games.
• The number of Nations participating in the Olympics has been reducing every year since 1996 by 8 or more.
• ISAF has the lowest National membership of any sport in the Olympics.
• Softball and Baseball were both removed from the 2008 Games and yet they had higher National memberships than sailing, and probably cost less and got more TV coverage as well!
• There are over 30 other sports that do not have Olympic status and yet each of them has a higher National membership than sailing.

What does all this mean to sailing in the Olympics? We'll to put it simply - the 2012 Games will be the biggest shake up of Olympic classes and events probably since past ISAF President Paul Henderson, announced in 1992 that 'the 49er is in and the ISAF Council had to choose which class was removed'. The Star was the victim, however in four years time, ISAF had convinced IOC that there was room to add it back in, making the infamous 11th event.

In addition, the ISAF Executive announced a new 'Extreme Sailing' commission to report directly to the ISAF Executive. Therefore I could see representitives coming from events like speed-windsurfing, speed-sailing, HP skiffs, foilers, kitesurfing, wave-sailing, single-handed multihulls, single-handed monohulls, Volvo 70's and ORMA 60's. This would be one committee that I would love to be a member of! You can just imagine some of the talks around that table...

Anyway, regardless of any of the International class and NMA politics that will go on over the next 12 months, we are going to concentrate on selling as many Bladeriders as possible into our target market countries, in order to receive International status by November 2007. In doing so, we will be eligible to run our own World and Continential Championships by 2008 alongside and inconjunction with any Moth regattas being conducted by the International Moth Class Association. However I can now see that as another battle in itself.

Saturday 11 November , 2006 - Bladerider Grand Prix

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So as a result of this trip to Helsinki, it looks like we will have at least another 20 boats into Scandinavia and probably another 10 into the USA after doing some demos over there in April next year. Firstly we have been invited to the Oslo Race Week to compete in close inshore racing with about 6-10 boats alongside some other big classes. We have also spoken at length with the Finnish 49er Grand Prix guys and they sound very keen to start up a televised Grand Prix for the Bladerider with minimum 10 boats. That means I will have to come back to Finland in late May next year, train them all up on the boats and help start the series in August with some new and exciting courses we have planned. Each week their local hot shot sailors (and there are a lot of them) would race against each other but they would invite some of our Bladerider team sailors around the World to come over and compete against them. All we need is a major sponsor, but I don't think this will be too hard to get considering they have Audi as a title sponsor for the 49er's and have been doing this for 10 years! Stay tuned for more...

Friday 10 November , 2006 - What is not a Moth?

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Over the last few months, I have noted angst from IMCA members that think that the Bladerider is not a Moth? To put it simply, so long as the Bladerider customers race with their 'supplied' 8m moth sails, they are Moths! If KA really wanted to kill the Moth class, Amac would have designed the Bladerider hull or wings longer so it won't measure as a Moth. But he didn't, and that is because Amac has one of the longest spanning Moth sailing careers (over 25 years) and is one of the most loyal Moth sailors in the World. For the record, Amac hasn't even thought about designing a 9m sail (so please stop asking me about this for now) as he is absolutely flat out trying to get the factory sorted as so they can build a stack of boats ASAP.

'IF' KA does get time in the next 12 months to design, build and test the 9m sail, they would only be sold to those 'mothies' that just want to go out and have fun (not race) in sub 10 knots. We are all over powered in 12-14 knots anyway, so why would any current sub-80kg Mothie race with more sail area, and with a sail that has more drag?

KA also has the same idea in mass producing and selling a 7m (junior) sail to help get younger kids up and foiling on either their home built, or production built Moth. There is nothing stopping anyone from using a 7m sail now in Moth races anyway, as I know a few female Mothies in the past that have used them and no one has complained.

I get asked the question all the time at boat shows about what is the ideal weight range for a foiler Moth, and only by me talking to them, most +80kg seemed guys believe that they won't be competitive, so don't even consider the boats. I always say that anyone up to 100kg can sail the boat, but you need more wind to fly the heavier you are, and it is only then they give it a go and realise it is possible. However the reality is that not all will be sold into the class as they know they will not be competitive in light airs.

Personally I do not see how offering an 'optional and additional' 7m or 9m sail could possibly have any negative effect on IMCA as it will only get more modern Moth hulls/rigs/foils out there to IMCA members through a new wave of second hand boats, giving them a extremely good and affordable platform to develop from, not to mention it broadens the weight range, attracting heavier and lighter sailors from other 'slower' classes.

In addition, as more foiler Moths are sold each year (from all builders), the weight range will become more and more specific (and probably lighter as well), therefore creating a barrier to entry for new comers, especially +75kg guys (which just happens to be average weight of sailors from developed countries). This is a problem for the Moth class as it will always have a limit on growth. By the way, before foils were introduced on Moths, I know for a fact that the IMCA membership was declining so rapidly that it would no longer be an International class today (this was my job as a previous secretary for IMCA to convince ISAF otherwise). Nowadays the class is picking back up, and I am personally trying to help revive IMCA of USA to get another IMCA country on board, not to mention another continent that will help relieve some new pressure from ISAF to maintain the Moth International Class status.

It is also no big secret now that the Bladerider will be aiming for it's own International status (with the 8m sail) by November 2007 in order for it to be considered for Olympic status in November 2008. The 8m sail has many advantages including a lower target weight range as so it can be a true open class (ie females) and it has been thoroughly tested and proven over the last 12 months. So even 'IF' the Bladerider does get international status next year, I see no reason why the 8m International Bladerider cannot race in International Moth regattas, just like the Hobie Tiger races in the F18 regattas. However getting Olympic status in November 2008 is a completely different ball-game and I think I will have to save that one for a future article in Seahorse Magazine. There is a lot that has been said and done here in Helsinki and I will need to be a bit more careful with my words, rather than just blurting out 2000 words in my blog.

So hopefully this has clarified everything to everyone and anyone, and hope IMCA members see that that this only enhance the Moth class, just like the different rig sizes has helped the Laser growth over the last 20 years. However if you think otherwise, please let me know on email as the last thing I want to do is get on the wrong side of IMCA members (again). Otherwise can someone please start a thread on the IMCA of Australia forum and let me know to have a look.

BTW - If you remember back 3 years ago, I had argued for nearly 12 months about the pro's of foiling for the Moth class and met heavy resistance from a majority of IMCA members. However nearly all had come around once they had tried the boats, but some just took a bit longer than others. So hopefully this is just history repeating itself! ;-)

Thursday 9 November , 2006 - ISAF lobbying

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Yesterday was the ISAF Events Committee meeting. We had an informal arrangement with the chairman to do a presentation to the committee on the Bladerider, but due to time constraints, we were unable to do so. However we had arranged to do our own presentation in a private function room of the Hotel immediately after, so we rushed over and had over 50 people in attendance to have a look at the new DVD we put together and a presentation from our new lobbying expert, Simon Nelson. All went very well and have a number of leads from new IMCA countries including Finland, Norway, USA, Brazil and Hungary. One of which could potentially include a televised Grand Prix event and a special invitation to the Annual Oslo Regatta in early May. In addition, I have also had a number of chats with Crown Prince Fredrick of Denmark (who married one of our Australian girls a few years back) and he sounds quite keen to have a go on a Bladerider sometime mid next year as well. He is right height and weight, so hopefully he gets hooked like everyone else, and has to buy one!

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Looks like the members of the Modern Moth Class Association in the USA want to maintain their wide skiff with kites. Therefore I have just emailed all the foiler Moth contacts I have in the USA and put them in touch with each other in an effort to have an association setup in the 6 months, ready for the Garda Worlds. If anyone from the USA is interested in helping or getting into a boat, please speak to the North American contacts on the IMCA membership page (scroll down to bottom) or the IMCA President.

Wednesday 8 November , 2006 - Shoulder rubbing with greatness

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Last night was the Rolex ISAF Sailor of the Year Awards. With about 400 in attendance, it was a great night of shoulder rubbing with some of the greats of 2005/6, not to mention royalty from Greece and Denmark. Before the awards began, I had a good chat to Mike Sanderson (who was the eventual winner for the male award) and his wife Emma, as she seems keen to get a foiler and get back on the water, or in this case off the water. Mike, Emma and Seb Josse (also a nominee for the award) will all be in Sydney doing the Sydney to Hobart just before Xmas, so it will be the perfect opportunity to get them familiar with the Bladerider. Seb already has one on order, but is keen to get out as soon as possible. I was hoping that we would be invited to the Sydney International Regatta at the same time, but it seems as tho we are not on the list. Hopefully Sam can fit us in somewhere.

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Adam has published chapter one of the 'Foiling Guide'. If anyone is building a new boat or has a new boat on order, it is a MUST read. more...

Tuesday 7 November , 2006 - It's snowing

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When I landed in Helsinki, it was snowing quite heavily and I had hope the plane had their ice tyres...

Monday 6 November , 2006 - From one country to the next...

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So the Hamburg Show is over and I am on my way to Helsinki, Finland for the ISAF Annual Conference to present the Bladerider as a potential Olympic Class. We were overwhelmed with the interest in the foiler Moth in the Hanseboot, so it will be interesting to see how ISAF react after 6 months since we last spoke and the 2006 Moth Worlds in Denmark. Luckily I now have a helper with me in Helsinki, Simon Nelson from the UK, who was heavily involved with the 49er Olympic campaign and setup of the class association. More on this later, but if you can't wait, check out the November edition of Seahorse for more.

Sunday 5 November , 2006 - Blog Hi-jack

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(Hi this is Manfred, live from the Hanseboot Show). Ich schreibe jetzt in deutscher Sprache, Rohan bat mich darum. Es ist wahr, ich habe am letzten Samstag um 10.01h einen Bladerunner gekauft. Der erste Kunde. Ich verfolge diese aufregende Entwicklung seit einiger Zeit, Rohan war mir bereits bei Messebeginn ein Begriff und es war eine schnelle Entscheidung. Gleich kommt ein Freund von mir, Juergen Waschek und bestellt ebenfalls. Wir werden trainieren, tranieren und trainieren, bis wir uns zutrauen, in Dubai auf der WM 2008 zu starten. Jetzt muss ich auf meinen Stand zurueck, noch ein wenig Kohlefaser verkaufen, damit ich mir das segeln leisten kann. Wir sagen inzwischen in Deutschland> Foilen statt heulen! smooth sailing.

Manfred

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...yes, my new friend Manfred has brought a Bladerider and I am told to say that all of his friends should buy one to race against him, but not too soon, as he wants to get a head start on everyone first.

Saturday 4 November , 2006 - I still feel like crap!

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Well I thought the worst was over for me, but I was exhausted by the time I made it to the boat show yesterday and slept for another hour or so in the first aid shelter. It was around 3pm by the time I woke up, just before some of the IMCA Germany members arrived to say hello. Burkhard (now a rockstar in German sailing thanks to issue 21 of 'Yacht' magazine), Olav and others stayed for an hour or so filling me in on all the local news. I barely had the energy to stand for the remainder of the day, so was in bed not long after 8:30 to read a book that mum gave Gin and I to read called 'Marley & Me - The Worlds Worst Dog'. I was hoping that it would make tired so I would fall asleep easily, but if anything it kept me awake as all I could think about was going home to rest in comfort with Gin and Beki rather than my shoebox apartment. If anyone has or had a dog, it is definately worth a read. So have taken the morning off again today as there is just no way I could last all day on the stand in my condition, plus it will give me some time to get some drugs from the pharmacy, get a decent breakfast, write my blog and do the email thing. Luckily I have found a cafe just around the corner with hot breakfast, freshly squeezed orange/kiwi/banana juice, free broadband wireless internet along with warm cushioned seats, all inside and away from the 0-5 degrees we have each morning. The only problem is, German's smoke cigarettes like Australian's drink their beer (excluding me) and American's eating big meals. I hate it! The only place I have found that is smoke free is my apartment. I can't go anywhere without my clothes reeking of tabacco fumes. I think even yesterday in the St John's first aid center, the medical staff were smoking too. This is one thing that I will certianly not miss about Europe.

Friday 3 November , 2006 - I feel like crap!

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I deteriorated yesterday after another long day on the stand, but luckily it was the quietest day so far. Christian and I went for a quick socialise upstairs at 6pm at the Dinghy Classes gathering (sponsored by a sailing magazine who generously provided copious amounts of beer), but I was hardly in the mood for trying to speak German to people I didn't know. Therefore I was in bed by 8:30pm and slept for at least 14 hours that night, but not without waking up several times with my body aching all over along with a migrane headache. The worst is over now and I will hopefully be okay for the last two days of the show this weekend.

Thursday 2 November , 2006 - Moin Moin

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After nearly three weeks without a day of rest and five very long days at the Hamburg Boat Show, my body has finally given up in avoiding getting sick. Lack of sleep thanks to the jet lag probably hasn't helped either. So far we have sold five boats during the show, but have been getting about ten names every day of potential mothies. Hopefully the weather will hold off for another week as so Christian can get a few keen sailors out on the water for a test sail before it gets too cold. Thanks to an eight page article in the German 'Yacht' magazine and showing the boat here in Hamburg, we have got the interest of some more media including the 'Sailing Journal' and the 'Sailing Channel' on German cable TV, so keep an eye out for them.

Sunday 29 October, 2006 - Sprucken ze English? (how we say it in Australia)

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First day of the Boat Show yesterday, and it was quite busy to say the least. After my initial concerns about not being able to communicate with potential buyers, due to my complete lack of knowledge of the German language (mainly because I probably ignored those two years of German at school), I soon realised that most people at the Show say they spoke a 'little' English, when in fact they probably spoke 'better' English than most Australians! We hung the boat from the roof from all corners using some 3mm dynemma, and looks quite good. But the video seems to work best, as we would typically have 5-10 people huddled around the the Mac and laptop showing DVD's and WMV's with their mouth wide open. Consequently we ended up selling two Bladeriders, with another guy calling to say that he will coming in later this week to put down a deposit. One customer even offered for Gin and I to come up to Sweden/Northern German to go sailing on an DN/ice boat in February next year! That might tie in perfectly with Gin's dream to stay in the Ice Hotel at the same time, followed by the London Dinghy Show in early March, the HISWA Boat Show in Amsterdam just after, then a quick stop over at the Dubai Boat Show mid March. Busy times (again)...

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A video from the day's sailing on the Erbe River the other day now on the KA Sail web site. more...

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It is so annoying that the only place I can get internet on my laptop is through someone's unsecured connection in the middle of the shopping district, outside in the freezing cold, sitting on a cold stone bench! Anything to get a hit of decent internet though (I am starting sound like a junkie)...

Thursday 25 October, 2006 - Coming to you live on German TV..

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Went down to the yacht club early to rig the boat on the river with the help of Christian from OnSail and Kalle Coster (Dutch Olympic 470 Sailor and now Bladerider Ambassador). Not long after being on the water in the small harbour, local TV station RTL came down to film us out on the river chasing down large container ships. Then a second TV crew (Channel 1) came down to do some filming as well, however they had a female reporter wearing rather nice dress clothes (now all wet from the spray on the RIB) there as well. She did a few interviews on the water with Kalle and myself and they hung around for about 30 minutes. Expecting not to see it on TV when we got back at 6pm (thinking that it was not worthy for German news), but both channels aired it not long after 6pm. Will try and get a copy of the footage and put it on the KA site soon. Hopefully someone can translate it for me one day!

Wednesday 24 October, 2006 - It's here in one piece

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Woke early this morning as we have to collect the Bladerider from the freight forwarder. Spent most of the day putting it together and dropping off some stuff to the boat show area. Should be on the water going for a sail tomorrow with Kalle from Holland.

Tuesday 23 October, 2006 - In Deutschland

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Currently in Hamburg after a solid 16 or so hours of travel. Christian from OnSail picked me up from the airport and took me straight to my hostel of which I am writing this once again in bed. I have got myself a German pre-paid SIM so if anyone needs to call me locally ring +49 174 1002 051. Am collecting a mass of foreign currency at the moment, including Australian, Vanautu, Hong Kong, Chinese, US dollars and now the Euro. As if the Hong Kong dollar and Chinese Renmin arn't similar enough, all the coins look the same. All they do is weigh me down at airport check in's and I have to haggle with the staff to let me check in all my luggage without paying any excess!

Monday 22 October, 2006 - Lucky I have insurance!

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Back at JinLi again today watching the final layup procedure of my new boat. Without a doubt this will be one of the stiffest and strongest Moth's under 10kg ever built. Can't wait to get it on the water. Also got to oversee Amac's boat (Prototype No 3) being finished up and track cut for the tramps. Tomorrow they should be sanding it all back and giving it a high gloss finish. We doubt that my boat will need such preperation as we have laid up the foam a bit different as so the corners should press out a bit more once in the high pressure autoclav oven. Looks like we have also finally sourced some high quality stainless steel ball socket joints for the main foil push rod connection. I have been looking for these for a while, and found a guy that will custom make them to our spec in 316 stainless. So after another long day, we headed back to the Hotel and had an unbelievable smorgasboard dinner at the Hotel with every possible food you can imagine for only $12. Our Japanese dinner the other night was just as good, but cost 10 times as much. I had to leave at 8pm to get a train to Hong Kong, and I got picked up in a taxi at the front of the hotel, from there he drove out of the driveway, and turned left directly into oncoming traffic for about 100m as so he didn't have to drive around the block, cut backinto the other side of the road, and then weaved his way in and out of cars and buses like you wouldn't believe. On several occassion I thought he was going to hit something or someone, but he got me to the train in one piece in the end. So I am in Hong Kong for the night and then off to Hamburg via Helsinki in the morning. Before going to bed though, I wandered around the streets of Kowloon and found the Temple Street Markets (of which I remember when I was last here 15 years ago). I brought a few things and got back to my shoebox room before midnight. Time for bed!

Saturday 21 October, 2006 - Who needs a day of rest?

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Sunday might be a day of rest in most places around the world, but not over here in China. We started at 8am and worked right through with the whole factory until 5:30pm, and then still most of the factory was still working and probably didn't finish until 6pm. They got started on my new boat today (prototype number 4) and I was observing the layup proceedure with the prepreg. Great material to work with, and once it comes out of the autoclav oven, it is as strong as steel. They also put about 10 layers around the bottom of the centerboard case, so I think that if I ever hit a rock at speed, I might actually do some damage to the rock. The factory is quite large with hundred's of staff, including on site accommodation for the workers as well. Everyone seems quite happy to just work for a few years, make some money and go back to live with their family. One of the most interesting things at the factory is just outside the gates is about 20 cut up pieces from the plug of the Chinese AC boat lying on the side of the road. Today most of it had been scavenged by locals looking for building materials. Then in the yard is an old AC boat that the Chinese team brought, with the deck cut out of it and the bow missing altogether. Can't imagine how much money went into that and here is lying on the grass taking up space of what could be a great soccer pitch.

Saturday 21 October, 2006 - Crazy Town

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Arrived in Hong Kong at 6am this morning and got a bus direct to the HK/China border. There was mayhem there with people everywhere, however due to my height avantage over the locals, I was able to see easily over everyone's heads and find my connecting bus enabling me to get to my next connecting bus. This is because the bus companies are only allowed to drive into specific territories. Anyway, finally arrived at my 5 star Jian Hui Hotel where I was met by the first caucasian I had seen in a while (it was Amac with notebook in hand still working on it while standing up). But before he could even check me in for a ridiculous $50 a night, I was asked by the hotel management if I had some "free time". I had no idea what he was talking about, but he ushered me over towards the front entrance and somehow I worked out that they wanted to film me stepping out of a limo/van with my bag and walk into the hotel. "Sure, why not" I said! So three takes later, we got the footage they wanted and then as I walked into the lobby again, everyone was starring at me, wondering who this film star was? So after signing a few autographs as Nicholas Cage (only joking, but apparantly this is who I look most like out of any Hollywood actor), I went up to one of the best hotel rooms I had ever seen. I had a quick shower and spent the rest of the afternoon at the JinLi factory with Amac going through every single fitting, rope and moulded part on the Bladerider to make sure that it was okay for McConaghy's to start production in November. It is quite an operation they have got there, but I will save this for another posting.

Monday 16 October, 2006

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Back in Melbourne after a rather busy week in Annapolis. Gin and I took the weekend off and went to Dalesford to chill out a bit, including a mineral water spa and massage at the Heburn Springs day spa. The boat is now on the way to Hamburg, Germany for the next boat show which I will also be attending. It seems as this prototype boat has spent more time at 30,000 feet than 2 feet above water. Top speed recorded on this boat so far has been around 998kms/hr. Hoping to clock 1,000kms/hr on this trip tho.

Wednesday 4 October, 2006

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Had a great Qantas flight to LA, but can't say much for American Airlines, especially being stuck next to a fat American lady for 4.5 hours. Had some very nice new friends (Geoff & Mary Ewenson) pick me up from Dulles Airport in Washington DC and gave me a bed for two nights. So yesterday Geoff (a 98kg US Olympic Finn sailor) went down to the Annapolis docks to see if we could find the boat. To our suprise there it was with no damage and with little trouble, had it in the back of Geoff's truck and driven around to our show space. So we rigged it up after a cruise on Mary's dad's (Charlie) power boat on the river followed by a very filling lunch at the Annapolis Yacht Club. It wasn't until about 5pm until we actually hit the water in about 5-10 knots of wind, but that didn't stop us from doing fly-bys in front of all the Navy Academy students doing training in various boats. Some had see photos and video on You Tube of the foiler Moth, but none had ever seen it an action before. After a bit of playing around, I let Geoff hop in an have a go. Even tho it was not more than 8 knots of wind, Geoff still managed to get up on the foils for around 30 seconds of flight. It was nearly dusk by the time we got back, but it didn't take long to pack it all up and head over to Charlie's place for a big American steak and baked potatoes.

Sunday 29 October, 2006 - Sprucken ze English? (how we say it in Australia)

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First day of the Boat Show yesterday, and it was quite busy to say the least. After my initial concerns about not being able to communicate with potential buyers, due to my complete lack of knowledge of the German language (mainly because I probably ignored those two years of German at school), I soon realised that most people at the Show say they spoke a 'little' English, when in fact they probably spoke 'better' English than most Australians! We hung the boat from the roof from all corners using some 3mm dynemma, and looks quite good. But the video seems to work best, as we would typically have 5-10 people huddled around the the Mac and laptop showing DVD's and WMV's with their mouth wide open. Consequently we ended up selling two Bladeriders, with another guy calling to say that he will coming in later this week to put down a deposit. One customer even offered for Gin and I to come up to Sweden/Northern German to go sailing on an DN/ice boat in February next year! That might tie in perfectly with Gin's dream to stay in the Ice Hotel at the same time, followed by the London Dinghy Show in early March, the HISWA Boat Show in Amsterdam just after, then a quick stop over at the Dubai Boat Show mid March. Busy times (again)...

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A video from the day's sailing on the Erbe River the other day now on the KA Sail web site. more...

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It is so annoying that the only place I can get internet on my laptop is through someone's unsecured connection in the middle of the shopping district, outside in the freezing cold, sitting on a cold stone bench! Anything to get a hit of decent internet though (I am starting sound like a junkie)...

Thursday 25 October, 2006 - Coming to you live on German TV..

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Went down to the yacht club early to rig the boat on the river with the help of Christian from OnSail and Kalle Coster (Dutch Olympic 470 Sailor and now Bladerider Ambassador). Not long after being on the water in the small harbour, local TV station RTL came down to film us out on the river chasing down large container ships. Then a second TV crew (Channel 1) came down to do some filming as well, however they had a female reporter wearing rather nice dress clothes (now all wet from the spray on the RIB) there as well. She did a few interviews on the water with Kalle and myself and they hung around for about 30 minutes. Expecting not to see it on TV when we got back at 6pm (thinking that it was not worthy for German news), but both channels aired it not long after 6pm. Will try and get a copy of the footage and put it on the KA site soon. Hopefully someone can translate it for me one day!

Wednesday 24 October, 2006 - It's here in one piece

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Woke early this morning as we have to collect the Bladerider from the freight forwarder. Spent most of the day putting it together and dropping off some stuff to the boat show area. Should be on the water going for a sail tomorrow with Kalle from Holland.

Tuesday 23 October, 2006 - In Deutschland

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Currently in Hamburg after a solid 16 or so hours of travel. Christian from OnSail picked me up from the airport and took me straight to my hostel of which I am writing this once again in bed. I have got myself a German pre-paid SIM so if anyone needs to call me locally ring +49 174 1002 051. Am collecting a mass of foreign currency at the moment, including Australian, Vanautu, Hong Kong, Chinese, US dollars and now the Euro. As if the Hong Kong dollar and Chinese Renmin arn't similar enough, all the coins look the same. All they do is weigh me down at airport check in's and I have to haggle with the staff to let me check in all my luggage without paying any excess!

Monday 22 October, 2006 - Lucky I have insurance!

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Back at JinLi again today watching the final layup procedure of my new boat. Without a doubt this will be one of the stiffest and strongest Moth's under 10kg ever built. Can't wait to get it on the water. Also got to oversee Amac's boat (Prototype No 3) being finished up and track cut for the tramps. Tomorrow they should be sanding it all back and giving it a high gloss finish. We doubt that my boat will need such preperation as we have laid up the foam a bit different as so the corners should press out a bit more once in the high pressure autoclav oven. Looks like we have also finally sourced some high quality stainless steel ball socket joints for the main foil push rod connection. I have been looking for these for a while, and found a guy that will custom make them to our spec in 316 stainless. So after another long day, we headed back to the Hotel and had an unbelievable smorgasboard dinner at the Hotel with every possible food you can imagine for only $12. Our Japanese dinner the other night was just as good, but cost 10 times as much. I had to leave at 8pm to get a train to Hong Kong, and I got picked up in a taxi at the front of the hotel, from there he drove out of the driveway, and turned left directly into oncoming traffic for about 100m as so he didn't have to drive around the block, cut backinto the other side of the road, and then weaved his way in and out of cars and buses like you wouldn't believe. On several occassion I thought he was going to hit something or someone, but he got me to the train in one piece in the end. So I am in Hong Kong for the night and then off to Hamburg via Helsinki in the morning. Before going to bed though, I wandered around the streets of Kowloon and found the Temple Street Markets (of which I remember when I was last here 15 years ago). I brought a few things and got back to my shoebox room before midnight. Time for bed!

Saturday 21 October, 2006 - Who needs a day of rest?

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Sunday might be a day of rest in most places around the world, but not over here in China. We started at 8am and worked right through with the whole factory until 5:30pm, and then still most of the factory was still working and probably didn't finish until 6pm. They got started on my new boat today (prototype number 4) and I was observing the layup proceedure with the prepreg. Great material to work with, and once it comes out of the autoclav oven, it is as strong as steel. They also put about 10 layers around the bottom of the centerboard case, so I think that if I ever hit a rock at speed, I might actually do some damage to the rock. The factory is quite large with hundred's of staff, including on site accommodation for the workers as well. Everyone seems quite happy to just work for a few years, make some money and go back to live with their family. One of the most interesting things at the factory is just outside the gates is about 20 cut up pieces from the plug of the Chinese AC boat lying on the side of the road. Today most of it had been scavenged by locals looking for building materials. Then in the yard is an old AC boat that the Chinese team brought, with the deck cut out of it and the bow missing altogether. Can't imagine how much money went into that and here is lying on the grass taking up space of what could be a great soccer pitch.

Saturday 21 October, 2006 - Crazy Town

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Arrived in Hong Kong at 6am this morning and got a bus direct to the HK/China border. There was mayhem there with people everywhere, however due to my height avantage over the locals, I was able to see easily over everyone's heads and find my connecting bus enabling me to get to my next connecting bus. This is because the bus companies are only allowed to drive into specific territories. Anyway, finally arrived at my 5 star Jian Hui Hotel where I was met by the first caucasian I had seen in a while (it was Amac with notebook in hand still working on it while standing up). But before he could even check me in for a ridiculous $50 a night, I was asked by the hotel management if I had some "free time". I had no idea what he was talking about, but he ushered me over towards the front entrance and somehow I worked out that they wanted to film me stepping out of a limo/van with my bag and walk into the hotel. "Sure, why not" I said! So three takes later, we got the footage they wanted and then as I walked into the lobby again, everyone was starring at me, wondering who this film star was? So after signing a few autographs as Nicholas Cage (only joking, but apparantly this is who I look most like out of any Hollywood actor), I went up to one of the best hotel rooms I had ever seen. I had a quick shower and spent the rest of the afternoon at the JinLi factory with Amac going through every single fitting, rope and moulded part on the Bladerider to make sure that it was okay for McConaghy's to start production in November. It is quite an operation they have got there, but I will save this for another posting.

Monday 16 October, 2006

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Back in Melbourne after a rather busy week in Annapolis. Gin and I took the weekend off and went to Dalesford to chill out a bit, including a mineral water spa and massage at the Heburn Springs day spa. The boat is now on the way to Hamburg, Germany for the next boat show which I will also be attending. It seems as this prototype boat has spent more time at 30,000 feet than 2 feet above water. Top speed recorded on this boat so far has been around 998kms/hr. Hoping to clock 1,000kms/hr on this trip tho.

Wednesday 4 October, 2006

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Had a great Qantas flight to LA, but can't say much for American Airlines, especially being stuck next to a fat American lady for 4.5 hours. Had some very nice new friends (Geoff & Mary Ewenson) pick me up from Dulles Airport in Washington DC and gave me a bed for two nights. So yesterday Geoff (a 98kg US Olympic Finn sailor) went down to the Annapolis docks to see if we could find the boat. To our suprise there it was with no damage and with little trouble, had it in the back of Geoff's truck and driven around to our show space. So we rigged it up after a cruise on Mary's dad's (Charlie) power boat on the river followed by a very filling lunch at the Annapolis Yacht Club. It wasn't until about 5pm until we actually hit the water in about 5-10 knots of wind, but that didn't stop us from doing fly-bys in front of all the Navy Academy students doing training in various boats. Some had see photos and video on You Tube of the foiler Moth, but none had ever seen it an action before. After a bit of playing around, I let Geoff hop in an have a go. Even tho it was not more than 8 knots of wind, Geoff still managed to get up on the foils for around 30 seconds of flight. It was nearly dusk by the time we got back, but it didn't take long to pack it all up and head over to Charlie's place for a big American steak and baked potatoes.

Wednesday 27 September, 2006

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If you havn't seen it yet, there is a great interview with Simon Payne on the US Modern Moth Class Association web site. Sounds like the association is on the verge of major decision time, ie to join IMCA or not. I think that if we gave them a go on our boats, there would be no need to make a decision as it would be written all over their faces. more...

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If you havn't seen this yet also, there is a new video of us on the Bladerider on the KA web site. more...

Friday 22 September, 2006 - It's gone

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The Bladerider has gone after only weekend of sailing it, but it will be for a good cause - to help build a foiler Moth fleet in the USA. Have spent most of this week trying to get the boat ready and catch up on paper/electronic work. The beauty of this new job though, is that I can work from home! Tough life I know, but it has to be done.

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This weekend doesn't look good at all with a forecast of a minimum of 25 knots all weekend. Think I will stay inside and do some work in the house and car.

Monday 18 September, 2006 - Oh so different, but oh so fast!

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We got on for the photo shoot on the Bladerider on Saturday in glorious conditions, 5-10 knots, flat water, and clear sky. The boat sailed exceptionally well and the most notiable difference compared to any other foiler Moth that I have ever sailed was how irrelevant it was to sit in the correct position on the wing bar. It didn't matter if if you moved your weight around or made rudder wing adjustments, as the wand corrected the height automatically. It was quite amazing and so different, certainly easy to get used to. It was hard to compare speed against Zac sailing in Amac's Prowler, but I think some of the video will show some signs of fantastic speed and ride height. I should be able to edit something together in the next day or so to download so stay tuned. More photos on the KA web site.

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Attempted to sail on the Beanatau's at Sandringham on the weekend for match racing, but what wind there was faded very quickly. So I left early and went off to buy myself a new mountain bike (2006 Merida Matts Special Edition Disc) after I traded my 10 year old Diamondback hard tail in with Gin's Iron Horse for a new and awesome 2006 DBR Zetec Comp the day before for Gin. So looks like I will be riding the MTB a bit more now instead of that nasty trail bike. Probably the safer option anyway. Hopefully!

Friday 15 September, 2006 - Quick recovery

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After seeing the Chiro, Physio and getting a great massage from Gin today, my aches and pains are a lot better. So much so, that I can actually lift my left arm all the way up now! My back still needs a bit of work, but it should be right by the weekend. Tomorrow we are on the Bladerider off Black Rock again to get some more publicity photos and video for the up and coming boat show in Annapolis. Have just got a new set of tramps from Victorian Sailing Supplies for the boat and have come up great. The big difference with these tramps is they only have lacing on the front of the wing bar. They are a bit harder to get on, but end up being a lot simplier to lace up. The other difference is the inflatable air bags that are sewn underneath the tramps to provide light weight stablity control. I usually give Amac a lot of crap about using them, but they are bloody handy to have. Matt also cleaned up the wings frame up a bit to make them look like new. The boat leaves for the USA mid next week, so have a few more days to get a few more things sorted.

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I have got the A Class up for sale now that I won't have time to sail it anymore. Send me an email if you are after one for under $15,000.

Wednesday 13 September, 2006 - ...oh yes it can!

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With the swelling in my back and tear in my upper bicep providing me with constant pain all day today, I couldn't wait to get to a chemist on the way home and buy myself some Voltaren anti-inflamatoy tablets and gel. Just before taking the tablets, Gin tells me that it was realeased today in the news, that a recent study showed that Voltaren can increase the risk of a heart attack by 40%. Apparantly it only effects smokers, diabetics and the like, however if I end up in hospital later this week, you'll know why. I must say though, it does help ease the pain a lot, so maybe I might be able to sleep comfortably tonight?

Tuesday 12 September, 2006 - Can it get any worse?

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So I woke this morning with a slight pain in back thinking it will pass through the morning. Anyway, one hour later and there I was laying paralyzed on my back in bed with the most unbelievable pain I have ever experienced. This went on for two hours until the spasms and extreme agony finally stopped. I found the courage to finally get up and make my way to my chiropractor. After a few adjustments, he found that one of my vertebrae was out and pressing hard up against my rib cage and possibly a nerve, resulting in my muscles contracting to compensate and hence create extreme difficulty in breathing and moving. No doubt that this was as a result of my stack on the bike on the weekend and therefore I doubt that I will be riding again for sometime (if ever again). So now I have even more restricted movement not to mention a heap of work to do in my new job.

Monday 11 September, 2006 - Ouch!

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Well, I went motor bike riding on Saturday, but there were many signs before I went that said I shouldn't have, but I didn't listen to them. I firstly went to get the bikes and trailer from a mate's house and couldn't find the key to my bike. So I got Gin up out of bed to drive all the spare keys around to us, but the spare wasn't in there either. Some how I found the key in glove box in the end so away we went. Not long into the ride, the track started to get slippery and while I was out in front, I went through a bog hole and my back tyre slid out from underneath me doing about 25kms an hour, and so down I went... and hard! I got up after a 360 spin with the other guys laughing at me, but I wasn't laughing as my shoulder was really sore. There was no breaks, no blood, so I knew straight away what happened as I have done this before while skiing about 7 years ago at Mt Buller on a closed black run. I am quite certain that while clutching onto the handlebars during crash landing, the sudden jolt of the front wheel had torn the tendon where the upper bicep attaches to the shoulder. Needless to say it is extremely sore and have virtually no movement in my upper arm now. So back to the sports doctors at the VIS tomorrow to see if they can put me back together. Somehow I don't think KA is going to want me to ride the motorbike again.

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On Sunday I was around at Amac's house with my arm in a sling helping put together the prototype Bladerider after Amac had pulled most of it apart to take to China on a recent trip. He got it out on the water late in the afternoon and was noted to be extremely smooth, stable and fast through the water. Krystal Weir was down there at the time and had a go as well. Once back ashore Krystal commented that it was "too fast" and it "accelerates extremely quick". I know it is hard to compare to a Laser Radial, but she has sailed a few of my old Moth before and never said that before.

Friday 8 September, 2006

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Back on the motor bike tomorrow for some off-road action as the weather looks pretty bad for sailing, but on Sunday we should be down at Black Rock again to put the Bladerider back on the water. This time we will get some video and photos!

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Some new magazine articles that have been sent to me are now on the Press page. more...

Monday 4 September, 2006 - Big News!

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As of Monday next week, I will no longer be working in my own web business, as I will be contracted full time for 12 months working for KA Sail, sailing and selling their new Bladerider Moths. At this stage initial, efforts will be made in North America where I will be attending the Annapolis Boat Show with the boat. This will be first time a foiler Moth has appeared on the East coast of North America, but hopefully will be the first of many. By the time I get back in mid October, the first few production boats should be delivered to Melbourne for local orders. This is not only going to be a big change in my life, but will hopefully be a big change to the International Moth fleet as well. I have no doubt that if the KA factory in China can make the 400 boats a year they promised, new fleets will be popping up all over the place.

Sunday 3 September, 2006 - Crazy Swiss

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Looks like the Swiss guys have found their 18 rig now and gone for a sail. more...

Friday 1 September, 2006 - I'm back!

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What a trip! Fantastic people, fantastic location and fantastic food! The highlight of the trip was walking up to the top and rim of the Mount Yasur Volcano on Tanna Island, and hearing the sound of 100 fireworks going off at once about 200m away, then throwing boiling hot lava into the air and around a 100m radius of the great fire pit. As it got dark, it only made it more exciting as the threat of getting killed by a stray burst was real. Yes, this was probably the best thing I have ever seen in my life!

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A few guys in Switzerland have setup some bi-foils on an 18' skiff and been out testing it (without a rig)... crazy Swiss! more...

Thursday 24 August, 2006 - See ya!

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Gin and I are having a holiday to Vanuatu to visit an old sailing mate for a week tomorrow. It has been a while since we have had some time off without boats or bikes, so looking forward to it.

Sunday 20 August, 2006 - Great turn out

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Great turn out at Black Rock today, with a number of new and old mothies having a go on one of the five boats that we had on the day. Mark Turnbull came back for another go and faired much better in the 10-15 knot conditions. Sounds like he might be hooked by the sounds of it as well?

Amac has his Bladerider out with a new main foil and looked very quick compared to Marty on his Formula board. After a couple of newbies (Nick and James) had a go on Amac's Prowler and Bladerider, they seemed to get the hang of it after a while, but obviously it was nothing like a Laser.

Almost forgot that Aaron came down as well with a new main foil (pink in colour this time) and only had a small issue with the push rod, put seemed to go quite well.

Thursday 17 August, 2006 - Bored?

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Got a few hours to kill? Then why not read the 16 pages of discussion on the top speed of a foiler Moth on the BoatDesign.net forum. It is interesting to see that so much controversy still surrounds the class. I prefer to not post on these public forums as it doesn't achieve anything apart from arguements. However I will give my two cents worth here, because no one can reply and I don't get caught up in a forum war. Basically the way I see it, the foiler Moth is not this 'magical creation' that will solve all the growth and media problems in the sport of sailing like some say it will. It would be great if it did and I will do my best to help with that, but I think I would rather see it this way....

The foiler Moth is simply just an extemely enjoyable yet challenging high performance racing boat, suitable for anyone aged 15-70 with good fitness, weighing 50-80kgs and most importanly is bored with sailing other dinghies or doesn't have much storage or money for a bigger boat of similar speed. The class is not for everyone and nor are we pitching it that way.

Sure we might go just as quick as an OK in sub 5 knots, but who cares? When the wind gets up, it all makes it worthwhile. Sure the +80kg sailors will not be able to keep up with the 60-70kg guys in light-mod winds, but Moth racing has been like this for 20 years! Sure the boats might be hard to sail in gusty or big seas, but that is all part of the challenge and after a while of sailing, most will welcome these more 'challenging' conditions because sailing in flat water is honestly quite easy to manage, even after a few weeks. We also don't claim to have the numbers that other classes do, but we might in a few years once more builders come on board and they all build more boats. There is certainly no shortage of people wanting to get into a foiler Moth either! Clearly this is a development class and if there are any issues with the any of the boats that posters go on about, I am sure someone will come up with a solution soon enough.

Tuesday 15 August, 2006 - We need more boats!

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Speaking to Mark Turnbull (2000 Gold medalist - 470) recently at the Victorian Yachting Awards, he mentioned he was keen to have a go on a foiler Moth. But before we could borrow Amac's moth, we realised that there were no spreaders (they were in the boat box coming back from Denmark). So Amac whipped up some out of some plywood and some spare stays we had lying around. I have never seen anything like it before!!! check it out... (and believe it or they actually worked and didn't break)

Anyway, we finally got down to Parkdale to find some flat water and softer wind as it is blowing +20 knots on shore at Black Rock. Mark sailed one of my old skiffs a few years ago, but this was a different story. It was difficult conditions for anyone of us to sail in such gusty conditions, but he managed quite well considering, with many decent rides over the 30 minutes or so he was out there. So it sounds like he is keen to have another go now, so might have to make another time this weekend (weather permitting) and get everyone down to Black Rock again for a go. Amac should have his Bladerider back from Denmark and on the water as well by then, so if anyone is keen to come down and have a go on either boat (or you can bring your own), let me know, as I can probably take out an IRB as well and do some coaching considering I am not supposed to be sailing.

Friday 11 August, 2006 - Doxycycline or else

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Saw my sports doctor yesterday at the VIS and he is still concerned about the small amount of swelling still in my knee, plus the risk of it reinfecting again. So I am back on antibiotics for at least another month along with some rest and hopefully that will kill off any left over bugs. Failing that, will need minor surgery to remove the bursar sack. I didn't even notice, but as I had been nursing my knee for the last four weeks, I have lost a lot of muscle mass in the right leg, so will need to build that back up with some cycling soon.

Monday 7 August, 2006 - Now that's a wrap up

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Great wrap up, photos and review of the Worlds in Denmark by Simon Propper of IMCA UK. I am glad to hear that the culture of the Moth class has changed to much more positive and friendly environment compared to that of what I went through a few years ago. Better still was the number of foilers in seen Denmark! Looking down the list of photos on the IMCA UK page below, it is like a dream come true for me. Every championships that I have attended since 2003, the numbers of foilers has doubled. So that means next year we should have around 50 I would think. more...

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Get back to work Alex!

Saturday 5 August, 2006 - Just what I needed

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On the way home from work last night, some idiot drove straight up the back of my new car smashing in the bumper bar. Now I will be carless for a week or so while it is getting fixed. Luckily I still have not sold my Subaru, so at least I will have something to drive in the meantime.

Thursday 3 August, 2006 - Back home

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Bloody hell that was a long trip home! From the time I left Torbole (5:30am) and by the time I got to Melbourne airport, it was over 40 hours of continuous travel with only about 5 hours sleep in there somewhere. When I walked out of customs at Melbourne Airport, I expected to see Gin there waiting for me, but she was no where to be seen. I called the mobile, but no answer. I called the house, and there she was in bed asleep, thinking that she had to pick me up tomorrow night! So I was lucky that I could get a lift home with Amac and by 4am I finally got to bed. I didn't wake up until 4:30pm and I was still tired by then.

Tuesday 1 August, 2006 - It only gets better...

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Just got back in Hamburg from Torbole, Italy after meeting with the club who are organising the World Championships next year. Looks like there might be a date change now due to a big bike event on the same week in nearby town Riva del Garda. At this stage we are hoping to have the worlds over 4-5 days (no rest day) either in the last week of June or first week in July. This will also allow more British sailors to come as it will be during their school holidays and allow more Europeans to come as it will only require one week off. IMCA will notify sailors of the changes later this week.

The club itself (including launching, race area, wind, water and parking) is possibly the best that I have ever seen (maybe even better then Black Rock)! I have taken several photos and will send to IMCA for publishing. Have also checked out a lot of accommodation there as well and have found 3-4 fantastic options to cater for everyone's needs (all within walking distance to the club). I have no doubt in my mind that this event will be the biggest and best Moth regatta ever held. We are expecting about 50 boats (and probably at least 40 foilers). Have been thinking a lot about getting the Australian boats over there and with the level of interest, I think we will have at least 10 boats, but maybe up to 15! Therefore the best option for transporting them to the Italy would be by a container to Trieste and get it trucked direct to the club and left there for 2-3 weeks. I will look into this a bit more in the next few weeks and post something on the Australian mailing list.

The club has also expressed interest in running a pre-worlds regatta, not to mention that there may be a sponsor for the event which could include cash prizes. More on this later as well.

So now I have a few more planes to catch from Hamburg, making it a total of 10 planes, 3 trains, numerous hours in the car and countless hours sailing within two weeks, making for a literally non-stop journey. Looking forward to getting home and sleeping, something which I think I have forgotten how to do properly.

Sunday 30 July, 2006

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Quite a pleasent presentation night last night, as I think most were still recovering from the weeks high intensity sailing and were welcoming the good food and free beer. I am on my way to Torbole, Italy on Monday to speak with the organisers for the 2007 Worlds so I probably won't have time to upload anything else until I get to Dubai airport.

Big congratulations to Scott as well who has just taken out the 29er Worlds in the UK. It has been a long time coming for Scott, so if anyone in the world deserves to win that title, it is him! I am sure he would have had a drink or 10 last night to celebrate.

Saturday 29 July, 2006 - Moth Worlds (Heats 9 & 10)

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Got down to the club early this morning to make all the changes to the boat necessary to what I think would help improve my upwind speed and height, only to sit around for 6 hours waiting for wind. By 3pm until they blasted three guns to announce the abandondment of racing for the day.

So Simon was crowned World Champion for 2006 by 3 points from me, and then Adam was in third another 6 points behind. Simon sailed not only sailed brilliantly to win the title, but he was cconsistent in all areas of his racing and preparation. I have certainly learnt a lot from him over the last week and will ensure that I am better prepared for next years Championships in Torbole, Italy.

My Ronstan Stealth Moth is now on the way to France to the new owner Sebastian Josse. I am sure he will be very keen to get it on the water as soon as possible.

Thanks to my wife Virginia and all the doctors who got me here in the end, as I was very close to not even coming last week. Big thanks to all my sponsors and supporters over the last 12 months, including Ronstan, Fastacraft, VIS, KA Sail, Club Marine, Velocitek and Victorian Sailing Supplies. I couldn't have done it without you.

Friday 28 July, 2006 - Moth Worlds (Heats 7 & 8)

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After a establishing a marginial lead over Simon after Thursday's racing, I threw it all down the drain today.

In heat 7, I started near the boat, foiling off the line with the usual gang, but for reasons I am still trying to figure out what the hell happened. I always seemed to sailing lower and slower than everyone else the lighter the wind drops below 10 knots. So I rounded the top mark behind the main pack, but as usual I caught up a number of spots downwind to get up in the top 5 due to better technique sailing through the waves (something that I have practised a lot doing over the last 10 months). Upwind again the same problems occurred combined with my inability to pick any wind shift, meanwhile Simon was pulling away as usual with good height and speed upwind. Next lap was the same, but I managed to get close to Adam and Robo at the top mark. I then sailed well again downwind to get into second place and hold that to the finish while Adam and Robo fought it out for 3rd and 4th. After the race I felt as though I didn't deserve to get 2nd place as even though I know I had done everything possible to do well, I felt as though everything I did do was wrong.

Things didn't get much better for the start of heat 8, where the wind was pushing left and dropping fast. So I thought I could stay foiling for the whole time pre-start and then come across the fleet on port tack at the pin. Then the wind dropped off and I was stuck at the wrong end of the line lowriding behind the crossing fleet. Simon foiled across in front of me first, so I tacked to go with him (as I should have), but struggled to foil let alone sail as high as him. So I did what have been practising a lot recently and that was gybing upwind in the marginal conditions, as I knew that if tacked, I would not be able to get on the foil again. I pulled off no less than 4 perfect upwind gybes loosing only a few meters to windward each time, but was doing no less than 10 knots the whole time. However with my 'luck', everytime I went on a new tack upwind, I sailing so low that I might as well just been reaching. It would have been quicker to low rided to the top mark as Robo and Adam proved. Meanwhile, Simon was blasting off higher and faster than anyone on the water, foiling the whole time putting a massive lead into the fleet.

So after putting in so much effort to foil and gybe upwind, I was getting nowhere fast, and could only thing about giving up and going in. By the time I got to the top mark, I rounded back in the 20's and then set about gaining back some dignity off the breeze. By the bottom mark I was back up to about 3rd behind Robo, but lost valuable ground to him after gybing too high out of the water and getting air on the rudder. The boat slipped sideways immediately and there was nothing I could do apart from falling in the water. The next lap I stayed in clear 3rd in front of Adam, with Simon pulling even further away from us, until things started to go downhill big time. My first tack upwind was in minimal pressure and I was fighting the whole time to keep the same height and speed as Robo directly in front of me and Adam directly behind me. By this stage I had lost over 100m and Adam was now in front. Then we all tacked on the starboard and that was it. I don't know if it was weed (again) or my wand configuration, but I could not foil at all on that tack, and lost considerable ground to everyone, including Jason who was now approaching fast (on foils) from hard left. Now more frustrated than ever, I limped my way to the top mark to round just in front of Jason. Even though I managed to foil partly the way downwind on the first reach, I still lost 4th place to Jason. By this stage the wind had completely gone and we were all well and truely low riding. There I stayed in 5th place cursing myself the whole way to the finish line, unable to manouver the boat as I would have done previously, due to my problematic knee, to try and claim 3rd or even 4th spot.

It was about 7:30pm by the time I got in, and for the next 3 hours all I could think about was all the reasons why I am sailing so low and slow upwind when the wind lightens off. I know that if the wind gets up over and above 15 knots then I know I will be at my best, however as expected, there was never going to be such wind here in Denmark. I still don't know what it is, but I know I certainly can't win a World Championships again if I can't compare upwind boat speed in typical European conditions, against someone of similar skill and speed back home.

When we finally got back to our accommodation, all I wanted to do was sleep off all the aches and pains. Apart from the obvious knee troubles, every muscle in my body aches, plus I have numerous blisters on my fingers (even with wearing gloves), one of which is now infected making the finger difficult to bend or grip anything required to in the sport of sailing.

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Heat 6 video is now available to download on You Tube.

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Heat 5 video is now available to download on You Tube courtesty of a cool song by one of my favourite bands - Tool.

Thursday 27 July, 2006 - Moth Worlds (Heats 5 & 6)

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Two races today in about 10-12 knots from the east this time, which meant we had a bit of choppy water in the race area. The first start was boat end favoured and I lead out with Adam. Adam rounded the top mark first, then me, Jason and Simon. I picked up Adam downwind with a slightly better angle to the marks and rounded the bottom mark in first. The next two laps I cover the leading pack upwind to put a bit more distance in them, but suffered a couple of boat launches downwind through some waves, but saved the capsize. The winning margin was about 30 seconds or so, with Jason in 2nd, Adam 3rd, and Simon in 4th after snaging some weed on a windward work.

The second race started with a pin end favoured so most headed to the left, but Adam headed right. Simon sailed well to round the top mark clear in 1st, with Jason 2nd, Adam 3rd, me 4th and Robo in 5th, but all within 10 seconds of each other. I sailed lower downwind again and climbed up to 2nd rounding the bottom mark. Robo hit the right side of the course hard to pull back up into 2nd just behind Simon, but I was able to peg him back downwind and get close to Simon. However on the second last gybe to the bottom mark, I got my tiller extension stuck in my foot and boom, and did my only capsize in a Moth championship over the last 4 years!!! However the good thing was that I was dragging around some weed for the last lap, so that was now gone and I could concentrate on catching Simon on the last lap. I closed the gap downwind again, but it wasn't enough and came through in 2nd. Adam got 3rd, Robo 4th and Jason 5th.

This now gives me a 1 point margin over Simon for first overall, but there is still 4 races to go over the next 2 days. The knee is also holding up well now with minimal pain and swelling. I think it should be fine for the rest of the regatta pending we don't have any light wind races. The forecast tomorrow is for a change and slightly increased wind strength. If I get time tomorrow morning too I will upload some video from the races today. Check out heat 3 & heat 4 on You Tube.

Wednesday 26 July, 2006 - Moth Worlds (Lay Day)

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Ok, you can download heat 4 now thanks to some cool tunes by the Chemical Brothers - download heat 4 video (have fixed this link now - sorry about that).

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Dad got a bit of video yesterday of the racing, so I ripped it to my laptop and chucked on some music for your entertainment - download heat 3 video.

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Thierry Martinez has also uploaded some more photos from yesterday - www.thmartinez.com

Tuesday 25 July, 2006 - Moth Worlds (Heats 3 & 4)

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I woke this morning after great nights sleep thanks to some more sleeping tablets and it looked like the breeze was in for day two, but as the fleet sailed out to the start it was obvious that offshore breeze meant +/- 20 degree swings in direction and 10 knot pressure changes across the course.

In Race 3 I scored a perfect start off the boat, but was robbed with no wind as I approached the top mark while Adam sailed clear ahead gaining a nice shift out to the left. Simon recovered from an average beat to pull up to second in hot pursuit of Adam. I then went round third, neck and neck with Jason Belben. Payne closed the gap downwind, but May responded with a killer beat to (once again) lead comfortably at the windward mark. Simon and I gybed into more breeze and the three boats went round the gybe mark with nothing in it. With three spectacular foil borne gybes, pausing only for the camera of internationally aclaimed sailing photographer Thierry Martinez, the three of us screamed downwind. Simon stole the lead on the run to the leeward mark but I tacked off to the favoured left side first and hooked into the new pressure. This ultimately was the winning move of the day with Simon in second, Adam in third and Sam Pascoe in a very comfortable fourth.

Race 4 started 20 minutes or so after the last boat crossed the line of the first race. I got another good start at the pin and headed left but was tracked by Jason Belben and Adam and Robo. Germany's Sven Kloppenburg sailed a absolute blinder first leg and was nearly at the bottom mark by the time I rounded the top mark for the first time. ISAF President Goran Petersson watched on in amazement from a spectator boat as the chasing pack charged downwind to catch Sven mid way up the next windward leg. Normal order was resumed by the end of lap two with Simon rounding the windward mark first for the final time with Jason and Adam not far behind, but I got stuck in no wind again at the top mark to round in a distant fourth. With gusts appearing from all directions I scored a great bit of wind rounding the top mark to close in on the three leaders. By the last gybe mark there was little wind, but Simon and I sailed off to the right side to catch some pressure coming down that side while and Jason and Adam chose the right and sailed into no wind. Simon and I then rode the 17 knot gust down to the finish clocking my top speed of the day at 21.3 knots (average 19.9 knots). Payne had to gybe to make the line, however I only needed to put in a quick gybe at the pin end to get the win, but the pressure was still too far right and meant I had to sail to high to keep my speed up, so Simon crossed about a boat length in front after 45 minutes of racing. This puts Simon and I one point apart after four races, with Adam close behind.

It seems as though anyone of the foilers can lead around the course for the first lap, but there are only a few guys that are capable of winning a race after three laps due to the high skill and fitness required to sail these demanding boats. But in these extremely shifty conditions and the possibility of shortened course at any time, anything can happen. Tomorrow is a lay day for a well earned rest.

Photos - http://www.thmartinez.com
Results - http://www.horsens-sejlklub.dk/IMWC2006/Results.htm

Monday 24 July, 2006 - Moth Worlds (Heats 1 & 2)

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The International Moth World Championships kicked off today on a Danish Fjord in Horsens, Denmark. The entry list promised a super high quality regatta with many new faces joining the established font runners. However it seems as though the 2005 European Champion Simon Payne (GBR), and runner up Adam May (GBR) will be my main competition. With all but a couple of the 33 strong fleet now using hydrofoils this is a landmark event in the sailing World.

Race one saw Sam Pascoe (GBR) lead out of the blocks to establish a huge lead at the first mark in a shifty and gusty offshore breeze. I caught up to Sam on the end of the second lap, and then passed him upwind in dying pressure. I was then able to cover the fleet and pick enought shifts to extend my lead on the chasing pack, which included Payne, Jason Belben (GBR), May, and Mark Robinson (SIN) from Singapore. I ended up winning comfortably by around two minutes. Payne lead the charge downwind but May was quicker to the line by ten metres. Sam sneaked fourth with Jason fifth and Mark sixth.

In race two, I started mid line with Adam but shortly after crossing the line, I snagged a plastic bag in the water dropping 3 knots of speed instantly. I tacked to starboard to try and clear the bag, but it stayed on. I then tipped the boat over removed it and got going again. By this stage I had nearly crossed the back of the entire fleet but was gaining ground back quick. Meanwhile Alex Knight (GBR) sailed briliantly on the first leg to round the windward mark so far ahead he made the gybe mark before the next boat rounded the windward mark. John Ilett (AUS) rounded second followed by Jason Belben with the all the established stars all outside the top five.

The main pack bunched up at the first gybe mark with six boats a couple of seconds apart on the tight reach. Alex Knight ended his fifteen minutes of fame with a capsize at the bottom mark, handing the baton to Jason followed myself, Adam and Sam. The leaders headed left but May lost wind and dropping off his foils gambled on hanging a right. As we approached the top mark a fair way ahead of the fleet, the wind dropped to around 2 knots and we watched Adam come in to us doing 12 knots with a twenty degree lift. At the windward mark, it was Jason ahead of Payne just infront of May with myself not far behind.

Payne took the low road to hop Jason downwind who also lost out to Adam and myself. Rounding the bottom mark, Simon and Adam went left while Jason and myself went right looking for nice shift. Unfortunately for us, the left paid off big time with Simon leading Adam at the windward mark with Jason and myself together taking at least a 100 metre hit. Jason sailed extremely fast off the breeze to pass me, but I clawed it back on the tight reach clocking my top speed of the day at 21.1 knots, only to get passed again to the finish as Jason scored some nice pressure out to the right.

Once ashore, my knee felt like it had been beaten with a hammer. The swelling is still there, but it is going down slowing with the help of Voltaren. I dread each tack and gybe on the water as I know what the pain I expect. On top of that, my body is in need of a massage after a long day on the water and sun.

Race 1:

1st Rohan Veal
2nd Adam May
3rd Simon Payne
4th Sam Pascoe
5th Jason Belben

Race 2:

1st Simon Payne
2nd Adam May
3rd Jason Belben
4th Rohan Veal
5th Sam Pascoe

Sunday 23 July, 2006

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Practice race today for the Moth Worlds, and I woke with a headache that I carried through the entire day, which only seemed to get worse and worse. I lead the race from the start until I pulled out after two laps as I had enough. Went in for some pain killers and good night sleep thanks to some sleeping tablets. Somehow I think it is going to take a while to get over this jet-lag with the sun rising at around 3am and setting around 11pm.

Friday 21 July, 2006

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After a few changes in flights, I finally boarded EK405 from Melbourne to Dubai and the another plane to Hamburg. I am current writing this entry on the train on the way to Horsens with a solid 30 hours of travel under my belt so far (plus about 5 to go) but a good 6 hours sleep in the last 48 hours thanks to some sleeping tablets and some Melatonin. A business friend put me onto Melatonin, as it is a natural chemical that your body secretes when you are ready to sleep. After we landed in Dubai I could barely awake and one of the air hostess asked me if I had a good sleep as she said she had never seen anyone sleep non-stop like that before.

For most of the trip I have been glued to a book I brought in Melbourne Airport by the legendary Lance Armstrong called 'Every Second Counts'. I have never ever read a book like this before, in that I just wanted to keep reading page after page, even though I already knew of his amazing achievments and I hate reading books, especially on the plane.

Wednesday 19 July, 2006

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I saw another doctor at the VIS yesterday to get a second opinion on the knee and she recommended to do nothing to it fearing that it could make it worse. So I am back home again resting as much as possible. I also changed my flight (again) to leave tomorrow night at 1920hrs from Melbourne to Dubai then to Hamburg, followed by 3 trains to Horsens arriving in around 9:30pm... a nice 39 hour trip! Will be looking forward to having a good sleep by then I would think. The knee is still swollen, but no way near as much as last week, and the infection is nearly gone. Will just have to take precautions over the next few days when travelling to make sure that I don't aggravate it anymore. Apparantly the boat has been picked up safely from Copenhagen by Ken & Zac Douglas too - thanks guys. All that is missing is me!

Monday 17 July, 2006