Sorry for being offline there for a while, but my web host (which I used to own), shut me down as they wanted to turn the server off. Now I have to look for new web space or turn the site off. I am beginning to seriously consider the later and follow in the growing trend off 'blogging-off'. Anyway for now, I will just update on a number of things over the last few weeks:
It seems as though the first few FX and RX boats will arrive just before xmas (so I am told) and they have progressed a long way with the infusion technology and should be popping out three boats a day with one mould shortly. To top it off, each boat only takes three days to complete too.
We are still making the pre-preg VRX hull and decks in Taiwan's autoclave, however they will be glued together and finished off to each customer's requirements in Melbourne from here on, allowing for customisation which is unable to be done by Chinese or Taiwanese mass production factories.
So Aaron is flat out working in the Melbourne Bladerider factory at the moment and should have the first VRX finished for John Harris in the next week. We are also booked out of VRX's until probably late February at this stage too thanks to some more recent orders. I can also add that there will be continual improvements made on each VRX made, along with a number of new innovations that we will be testing over the next six months - some of which are extremely radical thanks to some creative geniuses in Bladerider.
Earlier in the week, Bora and I drove up from Melbourne to Sydney to get three USA boats (including one new one for Charlie McKee) ready for the Sail Sydney Regatta. It is wierd being up here and not having to worry about sorting my own boat out for racing as well, but my priorities these days are firmly dedicated to our customers and see that they are fully tuned and trouble free. It is impossible to do both of those jobs 100% at once.
On Friday we had the editor of Mazda's International Zoom Zoom Magazine fly out from London to do a story on the Bladerider (featured sometime next year if you are one of the two million readers of this magazine). Sydney sailing photographer Andrea Francolini took plenty of shots on land and a heap more in front of the Opera House in 3-7 knots of wind and surrounded by fast moving ferries and slow moving tourists boats. I think however more photos were taken by the tourists than Andrea, as I am sure none of them had seen a flying boat before.
In the afternoon, Mazda offered $500 prize money to the fastest 10 second average speed of the day to any Moth that wanted a crack. Firstly Charlie McKee clocked the highest at 22.2, then Dave Lister at 23.0, then Ben Crocker came in with a big reading of 24.0 knots (and a peak of 25.1). Rob Gough had recently clocked 27.8 knots (peak) in Hobart on his stock standard Bladerider X8 a few weeks ago and was keen to stay out until 8pm and see if he can do better. Unfortunately his fast pin popped from his shroud and his mast came down. Somehow John Harris helped him put the rig back in on the water and got rig tension back on for Rob to clock around 23 knots for his highest 10 second average speed of the day. So Ben scored the cash and has kindly offered to put the money towards dinner for all Mothies on Monday night.
So even with the most talented and widely travelled fleet ever assembled on foils in Australian waters, it was suprising to see that a few local sailors still decided not to compete in SIRs starting Saturday. Nevertheless, two races were held today in 15-20 knots, right in the middle of the Sydney Harbour traffic.
Bora leaped from the pack at start of the first race, and just crossed the the bow of the Manly Ferry extending his lead even further, but unfortunately went to the wrong weather mark and lead most of the fleet with him. Scott and Charlie were the only two to do the correct course and got the only good points available in that race.
In heat two, the wind picked up and so did the carnage. Sitting at the leeward mark, we saw numerous cartwheels, gear failures and one collision when a 49er ran straight into the rear wing bar of Rob Gough who came all the way up from Hobart (luckily we had a spare for him). To top it off, Bora and Scott lost count of their laps and went around again for a fifth lap, taking 3rd and 4th with them as well. This left Charlie McKee to take the win, but Bora still had enough of a lead to claim second place ahead Scott and John Harris (who broke his vang after the start and lost about seven minutes, but sailed the correct number of laps).
Hopefully everyone has the gremlins out of their boats by tomorrow and they do the correct course as well, so we can see some quality racing. Unfortunately I am heading home tomorrow arvo for Mum's 60th and will have to read the blogs to see what happens on Monday and Tuesday.
Friday 15 November, 2008 - Black Friday (Again)
On Friday the 9 November, 2007, I said that it was Black Friday for Olympic Sailing in my blog. Well it has happened again nearly a year to the day.
The ISAF Council had the opportunity today to update one of the older sailing class (Women's 470) and use a more modern and higher performance boat (29erXX) and the Council decided to go against every single recommendation it received from all sub-committees and keep the 470.
It seems as though all the small countries with low sailing participation wanted to keep the 470, as they either had established coaching/development programs in place, had invested some money into some new 470's or had selected the 470 for future regional competition. These countries with smaller budgets or fewer 29ers than 470, were offered assistance to update boats from the Bethwaites, but none seemed to take the bait.
Australia on the other hand have invested a substaintial of time and money in the 470 program and have the results and ongoing finance to back it up and therefore there is obviously no way they were ready to give up a fairly safe Gold medal just yet, even though there are plenty of talented chicks in Australia that could win Gold in a high performance skiff.
I really think there was a big opportunity to move forward here for the first time since the 49er was introduced, and it was lost by a matter of 2 votes. As soon as the votes were announced I couldn't stay in that room any more and walked out of the meeting in disgust.
The CEO of Singpore Sailing (also a Vice President of ISAF funny enough) also walked out of the room with me, but instead he went out to hug fellow supporters while they cried with joy in his arms. That only frustrated me more because it was clear that it was not about the money (otherwise they would have showed signs of relief), but rather some countries would rather stay with a class that they know their country would perform better in than others, than to accept something new and start fresh like everyone else.
So now the only opportunity for Olympic Sailing to move forward in 2016 (assuming that the IOC do not give back the 11th medal) and to restore the balance of modern and traditional boats (keeping in mind that there is now only one modern boat out of seven selected for the 2012 Games), is by the following:
both the 29erXX and the 49er have to take over the two 470 spots,
the Tornado fills the Open Double Hander HP spot from the 49er, and
there has to be support for a new Open Single Hander Event in 2016 (let's call it the 'Light Weight Dinghy' or 'High Performance Single Hander'),
the Bladerider RX or Musto Skiff fills this new Open Single Hander Event, otherwise they submit for the Heavy Weight Dinghy Event and see what happens (as there is clearly no definition of what ISAF call 'Heavy')!
This removes all the chaos and restores a sensible balance with four tradition and four modern boats. It also has six Gender Specific Events and two Open Event boats.
I don't think anyone can argue that the 470 barely survived another Olympics and therefore after today, Singapore, Australia and other small Sailing countries have four years to prepare for a big funeral of the 470, just like the Flying Dutchmen back in 1980's, as an outdated Double Hander.
But based on what I have seen here at these ISAF meetings over the last few years, this is all extremly unlikely, as the ISAF Council clearly only like a maximum of two changes per Olympics, despite every country's desperate cries for more modern, exciting and media friendly boats in the Games.
So therefore we would have to ask the question, why should we even bother trying to get our boat in the Games, when we could potentially waste so much time and money, just like Julian Bethwaite has over the last few years. I really feel sorry for him, as he said to me a few years ago how much of an effort it was to get the 49er in, but I think this fight has caused a lot more wounds than anticipated.
At the moment the Olympic Sailing program is going backwards and so if the ISAF Council are not willing to make some changes in 2012, when will they ever be ready?
Thursday 13 November, 2008 - Global Sailing Crisis
As an observer here at the ISAF conference here in Madrid, the best word I can use to describe the feeling here, is the same as on Wall Street at the moment; "Panic"!
Firstly there are submissions left, right and center for a complete restructure of the Olympic Events, in addition to ISAF doing their best to maintain the same number of Olympic Events as per 2008 for 2012 with the IOC. Most of which seems fairly unlikely to happen at this stage considering the emergence of new sports trying to get into the Games, that will threaten Sailing's limited appeal as it currently stands.
However a majority of the talk has been around the 29erXX and Women's 470 equipment vote. There is a very loud and clear message being sent from Youth and Women's Committees for the 'NEED' for the faster and more exciting 29erXX. On the other hand, the Events Committee and Council have already approved structure to maintain consistency among equipment choices in Youth and Olympic Events for men and women over the next few years. Then there is the Council members represented by each country/region, who clearly have vested interests in specific classes and yet they are the ones that will approve this decision or not. What is certain tho, the 470's days look numbered.
Personally I hope the 29erXX gets in, because as much as it is going to hurt some countries (especially our own), 'Change We Need' as the lobby from Barack Obama's Presidential campaign once said.
If the 29erXX gets the Women's Double Hander spot in 2012, it will stay that way for a long time to come and therefore it would also look likely that the 49er will become the new Men's Double Hander in 2016 for commonality reasons, leaving the 470 to fend for itself in a proposed new event something along the lines of 'Open Double Hander'.
If this does happen, then this leaves the door open for other new Event proposals in 2016 such as the Multihull (should it not get back in for 2012 for an 11th medal) and maybe even an Open Single Hander High Performance, Kitesurfing or an Open Foiler (considering that in four years time, Foilers and Kitesurfing could be the fifth and sixth discipline of sailing after dinghies, catamarans, keel boats and windsurfing).
Personally I don't consider Windsurfing and Kitesurfing as 'Sailing' as they have no mainsheet or rudder and would be far better off coming under the sport of 'Surfing' (considering that the word 'surfing' is obviously in their Event name as well). Surfing could then pitch directly to the IOC for a new sport with three Events, ie Surfing (waves), Windsurfing (slalom, course racing, waves and/or freestyle) and Kitesurfing (freestyle). This would make much more sense, would get plenty of TV and open up two more valuable spots for 'real' Sailing Events, rather than wasting two Events on 'Air Rowing'.
Far less talked about was the Moth Class submission in the Men's Single Hander Event, but it was suprisingly well received in the Equipment Committee where it received two votes over the Laser (which was two more than the Finn, Musto Skiff or Europe I believe). However once it got to the Equipment Committee, the Laser was recommended by all members and therefore will more than likely receive all the votes again once it gets to Council today or tomorrow.
We never expected the Moth to get into 2012, hence why no time or money was spent by IMCA on the lobby, however it was good to be here on behalf of Bladerider and see some agenda items finally about the class in open meetings. Apparantly it was discussed for around 30 minutes in the Equipment Committee as well.
So should any of this 'change' possibly ever happen, this is where the new Bladerider RX could fit in should this one design foiler Moth grow widely and quietly as expected inside the Moth fleet. As stated before, we are not going to push our boats into the Games as 49er has done so and the 29erXX is now doing so, as I have seen the amount of effort required and believe that it is just not worth it.
If ISAF feel the need to have a Foiler in the Olympics to increase their expsoure and hence income, then I am sure they will let us know, otherwise we will continue to grow exponentially which cannot be said for any other Olympic Classes who need the Olympics to simply maintain numbers, let alone grow their membership and fleet numbers.
Friday 3 October, 2008 - 2012 Olympic Moth?
Before this blows up in the Mothosphere (but I am sure it will anyway), I should probably say a few words now to explain some background and intentions about this proposal.
Firstly the Bladerider 2012 proposal is not an IMCA (International Moth Class Association) initiative, as we have instructions from IMCA that any commercial builder can do their own lobby now that the Moth Class has offically been nominated and shortlisted as a possible Olympic Class for 2012. IMCA was not prepared or financial able to do any lobby anyway, so we thought why not waste the opportunity and at least be there at the ISAF conference to answer any questions that ISAF might have (however I think the web site is pretty self explanatory for those that have bothered to read all of it).
As the Bladerider boats are part of an International Class already, there is no need for us to have seperate International Status. But if ISAF want seperate rules, constitution and class for our boat in the Games, then so be it. But that is just a formality and put another ISAF plaque on the back of the boat (the same way the Hobie Tiber does). ISAF have made it clear anyway that being an International Class is not a requirement for a new Olympic class, and the reasonably new RSX Olympic windsurfer is a good example of this.
If by some miracle the Moth does go Olympic, then I can see that there would have be two circuits for the Moth fleet. One for professional one-design Olympic boats and the other for open/development/amature racing (as there currently is). The Moth World Championships would not change in the respect that it would still be Open, however I think that a lot of Olympic OD Moths would either race amongst the development boats for training to see if they are on the pace with top development guys or maybe they have development rigs and foils that they can easily attached on their one design hull and be more competitive.
Either way, the Olympic Moth would always fit under the open Moth rules tho, as the 1-2 year old Olympic Moths will also help fuel cheaper development platforms for open Moths (unlike the Europe Class which were design to be a completely seperate class). What is clear is though is that there can only see huge growth potential for both Moths fleets.
Obviously there are people that think that the foiler Moth 'needs' to be in the Games to help the profile of sailing and increase the number of high performance boats participating, so we are just fulfilling that need. Then again I have heard many times now that some think the Moth class would be better without being involved in the Olympics, yet most of those people sail a current Olympic Class and probably feel as though we are a threat, so I can see why they might say this. However one of my favourite sayings is 'don't die wondering', so roll on Madrid.
Sunday 14 September, 2008 - SHOW ME THE MONEY!
If anyone has seen the movie Jerry Maguire, they probably know what I am going through at the moment. We have put together a great team of sailors and boats over the last two years and consequently have dominated the last two Worlds.
However now that there is another new boat on the block, I know some of our team are thinking of defecting (hence the reason for our Team page being completely empty at the moment).
So over the last week I have been trying to find out who is in and who is out, as I don't not want to go through what happened last year when we put a lot of time and money into our team, and then nearly lost two of our best to a competiting brand. Back then, I foolishly assumed that both would stay on with us without a contract, but that was not the case.
Unfortantely one of them did stray but many of you don't know that the other came back to us after his boat did not arrive on time. Consequently he had a new Bladerider X8 two weeks later and then went on to win the 2008 Worlds. So from now on, I am asking our guys to sign on the dotted line to ensure that we only have those that won't jump ship. We cannot afford to lose our most valuable assets again!
Don't worry, I havn't forgotten that I jumped ship to KA's first attempt at a complete Moth package in late 2006, but back then I was provided with an obviously and frustratingly slower boat than the Prowler Mk4's. Luckily I got its first and most important result on the board at the 2006/7 Australian Nationals during a lull of local Moth competition.
These days it is not so easy to change teams as the competition is a lot hotter, there is less margin for error and the early X8 turds are now polished enough to make it the fastest thing on water. BTW - These results are also clear proof that experience or knowledge does not necessarily make you fastest in a straight line, but rather guts, courage and determination is a more important ingredient for speed. It is not hard to teach a youngster this stuff, but mark my words, with a few more big regattas under their belts, these 'kids' will be very hard to beat!
So only time will tell if all of our proposed team will sign or go elsewhere. One thing is for sure, their decision may once again make the difference between being World Champion and not.
Saturday 6 September, 2008 - A New GPS but Terrible Directions
So the cat is out of the bag with Amac's new boat, which has now given me an extra 2 hours worth of emails and phone calls a day since because people want to know what I know and what Bladerider is going to do about it.
Firstly competition is always good, especially in the Moth class, however history has shown many times over that new builders come and go, but generally speaking there is normally only one professionally produced boat that stands out in front. It would be great to have multiple builders all doing well, but unfortunately it is not that simple.
Thanks to this Moth blogging revolution, you cannot keep anything secret any more. The more hype and expectation that is built behind the project, the more it will be scrutinized by Mothies and bloggers. Amac's project will be no different now that it is already being talked up so much and so early (Bladerider was no different though).
But even before Amac announced his new boat, we realised that we had to do better than our X8 to stay at the front of the Moth fleet, which is why we announced plans for the VRX. Complete details are yet to be announced about this new boat, but not only has Bladerider employed a new full time staff member to manage this project exclusively but it will be completed with far greater professionalism, development, engineering and quality control than our X8 project ever was when we used to be with McConaghy.
No one doubts Amacs design or engineering skills, however it is impossible to build a new Moth and get it right within 12 months or without constant development. Nor can you expect a high tech product like a foiler Moth, to remain at the front of the market without any enhancements or tweeks over time. This should all be expected, not a suprise or a problem.
I am sure some early customers Bladerider thought that brought a dud back in early 2007, however you will be hard pressed to find anyone that says their problem was not fixed promtly and to their satisfaction. Nor will anyone say that we don't put any effort into improving all parts for all customer's boats so they are stronger, stiffer, lighter and faster.
What is funny though is that this 'after sales support' does not seem to effect the purchase decision for many customers these days. Whether you are buying a car, television or Moth, it is obvious that we all seem to crave nothing other than slick marketing, the latest in technology, discounted pricing and super fast delivery times.
However brand loyalty is also an interesting point, as some customers will remain loyal to a particular brand for life, like me and my toothpaste or sports cars :-). But when it comes to technology products, customers don't mind taking risks to try a new product every now and then, even if we are happy with our current product as we assume that other similar products will be the same quality and have the support to back it up if something goes wrong.
In the past I have been known to stray from brands (which includes televisions and Moths), so I know why some are motivated to do this. I did this again last week after I brought a new and very cheap generic branded wide screen GPS with built in sat-nav maps at Aldi. Looked great in the brochure, however after numerous tests, I realised that a Melbourne taxi driver could get me where I wanted to go a hell of a lot faster and quieter. Mind you it does play MP3's as well (but I didn't buy it for that reason) through a crappy interface, but the biggest problem is that there is a horrible background noise coming from the speakers whenever a DC power source is connected to it. But if there is no power to it, how can I listen to any music for longer than an hour?
So I called customer service four times now and all I have got was an answering machine. I am still waiting for that call back! There is nothing on the Aldi web site about this problem and all I can find in Google are 16 pages of other people complaining about other problems they are having, and that was an older model as well. If someone doesn't call me back soon with a solution, I am going to throw this GPS through my local Aldi's front window with the receipt and a brick attached!
My old GPS used TomTom software and it still works great (actually I am back using it now). In addition, if I have a problem, I can fix it myself on their awesome web site with plenty of great support material (ie no need to call them).
I suppose that's what makes TomTom the best sat-nav on the market then. But regardless of their strengths, neither TomTom or Bladerider can stop some customers wanting to try a new product, however some will come back eventually.
Thursday 21 August, 2008 - USA Trip #2 Over
Last week's USA Nationals was quite a suprise for many reasons. Firstly the number of new talent appearing with new or used boats. Some of these guys are exceptional sailors in other classes and won't be long before some of them are ranked in the top 20 in the World. Bora had also done a lot of work on his boat and was just stupidly high and fast out of the water. He could have won every race still even if he capsized every leg. The conditions were bloody hot (very unusual for there apparanty), but also very windy and then very moderate. So I would expect a bit of everything there next year. One obvious point tho, is the water is very flat and the club is very organised and welcoming.
After two nights in Boston for a meeting, I caught another two flights on American Airlines 'Bus' Service to Honolulu (Hawaii) to do some training with our new reseller there and take some guys out for a sail. People normally ask for an asile or window seat on when checking in luggage before a flight, but now I have got into a habit of asking American Airlines staff 'not' to be seated next to anyone over 250lbs or 100kg, as they use the arm rest as support for their love handles (ie excess fat around their waste).
So yesterday we took the boat down to Waikiki Yacht Club to look at their rigging and launching area. It was not the best as the rigging area for dinghies was half the size of a basketball court, followed by launching off a small pontoon and then 15 minutes of tacking/gybing out through the narrow marina channel. However the hassles of doing all this were forgotten once we got out in the bay and foiling off Diamond Head. Man, the water is sooooo clear you can even see the front hydrofoil flap moving when foiling!
Some of the guys picked up the foiling thing pretty quick, and some not so quick, but I think it was safe to say that everyone was impressed way beyond their expectations. I spent a lot of the time in the water holding the wing bar for the newbies, and it wasn'tt hard to think about seeing a shark in the water, especially after watching Jaws II on TV last night. Luckily the only thing I saw was a large turtle, which was quite amazing.
We had to head in early to get Ken from Velocitek back to the airport, but on the way in, I flew past about 50 surfers waiting a for big set of waves out the back and every single one of them stopped their quest to ride the best wave of the day, to look and this thing flying above the water in about 8 knots. It is safe to say that all Hawaiians love their water sports, but most had seen nothing like this and with the boat on the roof on the way back to house, I am suprised we did not cause any accidents. However some people along the way had seen photos of video on the internet, and could not help but to stop and talk to us. It was quite interesting.
So I am flying home tomorrow morning back to sunny and warm Melbourne. It will be a shame to leave here, but there is so much going on at the moment back home, I am suprised I can keep up with it all while away from home, for example I reakon I am getting an average of 80 emails a day at the moment.
Wednesday 13 August, 2008 - Last Minute Trip
Off to Portland for the USA Nationals tomorrow via Sydney and Los Angeles (my two least favourite International Airports), to help all the new Bladerider guys out with their boats. I will only be there for two days, after which I will be travelling to Boston then back via Hawaii to see our Reseller and do some promotions. This works out to be 8 flights in 10 days! I don't know why I punish myself like this, but maybe I enjoy the busy lifestyle? I think more so I just want to get home as soon as possible.
Anything would be better than staying at home in Melbourne's horrbile weather at the moment tho. The best remedy for that though is working from home with the heater on and watching the Olympics on in the background. I wonder why they are not showing any of the Sailing on TV???
Mat Belcher is over there at the moment driving a RIB around for the Media and emailed to say we could have easily flown our Moth's over there as everyone is getting bored watching slow boats go around. Anyway, the Aussies look like they are comfortable in the 470's, but Tom's Laser campaign looks in trouble after his first two races were shockers.
I have also got the most comfortable, spacious and economical Foiler Moth transport vehicle in the World now on the market - Ford Falcon LPG Wagon. I have loaded this baby up a heap of gear in the back, a boat on the roof and four on the trailer, and it still cries out for more. Normally people don't like selling their second hand cars to someone they know, but I have no problem selling this one as there is nothing wrong with it. I should have a new model version of the same car when I get back from the States. When you are on a good thing - stick to it!
Saturday 2 August, 2008 - Baywatch Vanuatu Style
My apologise for being offline for so long, but Gin and I had to get away for week after the Worlds, so we went to Vanuatu to visit some friends and just chilled out. Vanuatu is a small Pacific Island about 3 hours from Melbourne, and was voted as the happiest country in the World in 2006. It also happens to be a tax haven and consequently a lot of Aussie's invest money there.
They have a few very tired resort catamarans there, so of course we took them for a spin and of course I had to fix them up as much as possible to make them go faster. One day Gin and I took a cat out each along with a crew each (actually new friends we made also from Melbourne). However Gin and her crew was getting to used to cleating the mainsheet and did not know how to uncleat when they got hit by a gust of wind.
Consequently they tipped over an 'untippable' catamaran and Gin's crew who had never been on a boat before and didn't know how to swim, was now in the water! Rescue came fast in the form a local in a tinny (small alloy powerboat) and put the boat back upright. Thinking that this could not happen again was a mistake. But this time when the tinny didn't come back to help, and I had to do a 'Baywatch dive' to rescue the damsels in distress.
So after a week in paradise, it was back to the office, which meant clearing up a number of emails of support and sales after the Worlds. It was interesting to note that a month before the Worlds, I don't think we sold any boats, however immediately after the Worlds was over, I got about 30 emails in two weeks for new boat purchases. Virtually all of these have been about the World Champion X8's and our new VRX's, but I think by the end of the year, about 70-80% of the sales will come from the cheaper fiberglass boats once they are released.
To help with those sales, we are in Sydney this weekend to give as many people as possible a test sail on our latest FX prototype. The only problem is that I don't think we will have enough boats or time - yet again!
Saturday 12 July, 2008 - It's Finally Over!
Even though I didn't get to race in this year's Worlds, I think that this year was far more exhausting than last year, mainly because about half of the fleet was our boats and I was managing and coaching a team of sailors that was probably too big.
John won comfortably by sailing a consistent, flawless and well planned regatta. He could have still won without winning any races as well, but winning a heat at the Worlds is a pretty big deal these days and means you are a real player.
Amac on the other hand proved that while being very fast and winning a majority of races, also showed that mistakes were very costly and one premature gybe in heat five probably lost him the series. Had he not done that double gybe at the bottom mark and capsized three times, he could have easily settled for and carried a second place behind John in that race and won the World by two points, rather than carrying an 11th place in heat one.
This then provoked a suggestion from Amac that in Formula 1 motor car racing, extra points are awarded to podium finishes, so then why not award more points to podium or even first place finishes for Formula 1 on Water? This then pushes sailors harder for races wins and faster boat development/speeds. Could be an interesting concept for a Grand Prix series if we can get them off the ground in the future.
I think there were a few highlights for me at this years Worlds, but the best ones were seeing Bladerider owners up in places during and at the end of races where they are not normally. This includes Lochie Byrne sailing on the FX prototype who was seen in the top 10 at a few mark roundings in some races, also Sam 'Baberider' England who beat a number of the boys (and some really good ones as well) and Alex Knight who had only sailed his new Bladerider a few times along with a standard rig but still managed to finish as top Brit and 6th overall.
But the biggest suprise and standout was Eelco Boers from Holland who sailed his first Moth event, was blistering fast unwind and improved dramatically throughout the seven races to finish 3rd in the final heat, all with using a standard Bladerider package (including sail) straight out the box. At one point he sailed straight over the top of Simon Payne upwind doing about two knots more speed. I didn't think this was possible, but sometimes you just never know.
I was also suprised that our equipment only suffered a very small amount of breakages, despite the rather windy conditions and lack of maintenance of some owners. We did however take a lot of preventitive measures with our top guys 'just in case' and it would be hard to tell if it would have mattered or not. What did not matter though was weight (either skipper or a complete boat), as 63kg Mat Belcher won the windiest race of the regatta and Lochie on the 10kg heavier FX suprised us all rounding marks in front of some favorites with all the go fast and light weight gear. It was clear though that some parts were either too light or not made correctly and were promptly fixed or replaced, but this is still not good enough for us and we will be redesigning some equipment very soon!
So I am looking forward to starting work on these new hulls in Melbourne and by the sounds of it, we are already booked up to the end of the year already. You never know, I might even hop into a boat for the next Aussie Nationals next year in January? Don't ask me about the Worlds next year at the Gorge tho, as that is too far away for me at the moment to even comprehend.
Gin and I are heading back home to Melbourne on Sunday, and can't wait to have a good rest.
Thursday 3 July, 2008 - Pre-Worlds Preperations
I obviously have not been blogging for a while now, but that is because I have been flat out getting the team, their boats and ourselves ready for the Worlds.
Had a really good Qantas flight over to the UK and got plenty of sleep thanks to a few Temazepans (sleeping tablets). For the last two days, I have been out on the water for many hours in the RIB to see how the team, our competitors and our customers are going with their boats. It seems as though everyone wants to find out the latest in tuning and setup with their X8's and consequently have been working Simon overtime in the makeshift Bladerider support center.
Suprisingly we have had no breakages with any of our supplied equipment, despite the winds being around 10-20 knots most days. However with the harbour water being so enclosed, it is no suprise either that some of the guys have been posting speeds in excess of 25 knots. Apparantly Amac clocked 26 knots today (pending ratification).
So after running numerous short course races for the team and anyone else that wants to jump in over the last two days, it has been fairly obvious to all that some boats are considerably higher and faster than others. I have not run any races with all the top guys in it together as yet, but it is certain that there is not one person that is consisently at the front of every single race.
It is very obvious that there is a lot more talent in the top 10 this year and being more than a minute behind the leader may not even be good enough to get a top ten placing. It might be a different story if the winds are light, but if we get anything over 12 knots like we have been recently, I think there are a few guys who have been seriously underestimated with their speed, skill and abilities. The question is can they pull it all together and minimise mistakes to win races, and also be consistent enough in all conditions to pull an overall win?
Below is a quick edit of some practice racing that we did in about 15-20 knots on Thursday 3 July...
Wednesday 4 June, 2008 - Finally It's Here!
To say that the Bladerider office has been working flat out over the last few weeks is an understatement. Not only have we been trying to get the Team and ourselves ready for the Moth Worlds, but we have also been busy trying to get a new boat on the water along with all the marketing and sales material.
This project has been about 12 months in the making, so it was a big relief to finally get the FX on the water last Friday and see it sail much better than we all expected. While on the water we had our video camera out as usual and Gin and I captured plenty of action and I have done a quick edit of all the clips for a sneak peak and to hopefully demonstrate the potential and speed similarity between the X8 and the FX.
Friday 23 May, 2008 - Hold the Phone
To save you the email or the phone call, yes I am going to Weymouth!
I never said I wasn't going, I just said that I am having a year off from racing as so I can spend more time with Gin and develop the Bladerider products along with the racing team (as I could only be on the top for so long plus I think there are a lot better sailors out there than me).
So at this stage I will be coaching our Bladerider team in Weymouth and look forward to seeing the pre-Worlds predictions unfold on the race course. I think the top 8 or 9 from the polled top 10 should all finish inside the top 10, but it is impossible to pick their order, especially when none of them have recently raced against all the other rivals and therefore you cannot get a good comparison of each. However by the time the pre-Worlds is over, I think we will have a good idea who be up the top more often then some others.
Anyone who wants to win, will need to be extremely consistent in all conditions and in all races, not just good in the light or strong winds. They will also need to make the least amount of mistakes (if any at all) from start to finish, as the difference in speed and skill will be fairly minor in comparison to stuffing up a tack, gybe or start.
Mistakes can only minimised by experience, confidence, fitness and being able to deal with the pressure when it is on, especially when first to fifth might be seperated by seconds! I would also expect far less extreme conditions compared to last year which bunches up the fleet a lot more, making for excellent viewing for spectators like myself. :-)
Equipment breakages and differences will be extremely minimal (if any at all), as all the top guys are extremely professional and have their equipment well and truly sorted. However it will be interesting to see if any there will be any noticable difference in take off or top end speed between the Bladerider and new Prowler foils? Only time will tell.
Friday 9 May, 2008 - Unmodified MSL9 on eBay (no reserve)
If you can't afford a new MSL13 but want a light wind and go fast KA Sail for the Weymouth Worlds, here is your chance. This unmodified MSL9 has only been used about 10 times including the 2006 Worlds in Denmark and for two days at the 2007 Worlds in Italy... Read more or bid for this in eBay.
Tuesday 29th April, 2008 - Another Olympic Event Viewpoint
Martin Gravare pointed this one out to me on Scuttlebutt. Realistically though, this will never happen, but some good points in there none the less.
Saturday 26 April, 2008 - There and Back Again
Once again after arriving in Auckland on Monday night with Sam England, I brought the wind with me. So on the Tuesday the group went out in a gusty offshore 15-25 knots. There was quite a bit of improvement shown since I was last here and young 13 year old Sam Schofield was the stand out, comfortably coping with the difficult conditions thanks to a nice and flat MSL10. He will be one to watch in the future. Ex-Finn sailor and current AC sailor Kevin Hall was belting around the bay easily with plenty of speed and power, however he snapped his mast whilst mid-air and going to windward. Quite a mess, but luckily I was not far away in the RIB to help him out. We had some other smaller incidents, but nothing that could not be fixed overnight.
Gradually the wind dropped over the next few days making starts and racing easier to manage for all of us, rather not having to worry about survival or gear failure. One little bonus I threw in during some light wind racing was the command of connecting and disconnecting the wand on a whistle, as I think there will be a bit of this at the Worlds.
The New Zealand Moth Nationals started on Friday with seven entires and will run until Sunday. Results and info here...
Sunday 20 April, 2008 - Hold the Phone
Heading to Auckland tomorrow morning to do some coaching with the local foiler fleet, so please go easy on the emails and phone calls this week as I won't be responding much if at all.
Saturday 19 April, 2008 - Rope & Pulley Upgrades
I thought I would upload a comment on Scott's site about his 'Love Rings' post, but after thinking about it, I have way too much information on my experiences with different vang pulleys, ropes and cascades now to post there.
Sailing Bit's lightweight alloy round thimble are 100% fail safe and that is why Amac and I used them at Garda as well. They easily replace the small HL 20mm block in the second part of the cascade, but then you still need a double block at the end of the cascade to complete the minimum puchase. But we both felt they lacked a bit puchase at the top pulley in the cascade (but in the middle they were fine), so for the upper pulley, we made our own using a special 40mm sheave, s/s hub and a long D-shackle. These gave an easier pull, but were a fraction heavier and also had issues with the rope jumping off the sheave.
The Bladerider comes standard with two RF468's that can withstand the huge +300 kg loads we are putting on the vangs, but are a little heavy for their size and purchase, therefore Scott's Rings are a cheap, light and simple replacement for the upper and second pulley.
Recently I have been experimenting with special 40mm upper and lower pulleys custom made in Denmark with a s/s hub and safe working load well over 500 kg. I am trying to find out now if we can order a batch of them to sell if people want to upgrade as Amac and I now swear by these (especially the lower pulley with the becket). But please don't email me asking to have one if I get them as I am not going to send out one pulley to 100 different people, therefore 'if' I can get them, I will bring a heap with me to the Weymouth Worlds to sell. They are definately heavier and a lot more expensive than Scott's rings, but if you are struggling to pull on the vang hard enough and don't care about the weight, tyou will love these!
If you don't want to wait until the Worlds to see if I can get these custom pulleys, you can still get the standard bearing version of this part from Ronstan, but I am sure Scott will have his rings to sell at Weymouth anyway.
Next is what rope to use? The 5mm FSE Robline Dinghy Control we supply with each X8 is extremely durable and stiff, but this effects how 'flat' the rope can spread over the pulley and distribute the load. Therefore once again I have been experiementing with a 'softer' 5mm dynemma/polyester blend (with no core) called Racing Sheet made by FSE Robline in Austria, that seems to stretch a bit more initially, but seems to make the load easier to pull on. I would only suggest to use this rope at the final part of the cascade (and where you cleat) and then use 5mm Dinghy Control or 4/3 dynemma in the two top parts of the cascade with some nice splicing (or if you are like me, get someone who knows how to splice to do it for you).
Finally if you are still struggling to pull on the vang, you can always add more purchase in the system. The easiest way to do that is to use a becket pulley on the top and bottom of the cascade and run a longer main-load line starting from the becket on the upper pulley then down through a 20mm pulley at the becket of the bottom pulley and then back up and around the 40mm upper most pulley, then attach the end to a single 20mm pulley or Round Thimble. If that makes no sense, you'll have to work out something out yourself.
Finally possible the best upgrade you can have on your Moth is a 9mm dynmmea/polyester mainsheet once again like FSE Robline's Racing Sheet. This stuff is not cheap and is very hard to find, but there are other alternatives out there. If you can get your hands on some 8mm, it is okay, but the 9mm is just that little bit more confortable in your hands, even though it is a tight fit through any 30mm b/b pulley.
One day I will get around to taking a photo of all this to show the different upgrade options in our support notes, but then again ideally we can supply each new X8 that leaves the door soon with the same setup as I would use.
Friday 18 April, 2008 - Tough Crowd!
If some people were tipping me to win the 2007 World Sailor of the Year, you'd think I'd be a shoe in for 2007 Australian Sailor of the Year after being announced today as a finalist for this fairly prestigious award. Sure I am stoked to be even short listed, however if you look at the line up for this years award, you'll see that I have absolutely no chance, not only because I didn't win an Olympic World Title, but I don't live in Sydney (NSW) either! ;-)
Personally though, I would prefer to see a short list similar to follow what ISAF do and only short list the best Olympic sailor and then select a variety of sailors from non-Olympic disciplines (ie Ocean Racing, Match Racing, Speed Sailing, etc) as then there is no obvious bias towards any one group of sailors.
Everyone says that the Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport, but you could easily include people like Marcus Hamiliton who spent over five years trying to win the Contender World Championships to finally win it last year, or Mark Richards and the team on Wild Oats for three consecutive Sydney to Hobarts, or even James Spithill for his bloody awesome effort on Prada at last years Cup (not to mention all his other victories).
How does one value how much time, money, blood, sweat or tears that any of these guys put in to their victories? I am sure that Marcus and Mark both have full time (non-sailing) jobs as well. Otherwise maybe no one nominated these guys this year, however I was sure no one nominated me either.
Still not sure that I can make the trip up to Sydney in two weeks for the rather fancy $175 dinner put on for us, but if I don't I am sure my sister will take the free ticket and wave the little Moth flag for me instead.
Wednesday 9 April, 2008 - Form Guide on the Moth World's Form Guides
Rather than predicting who I think will do well at the next Moth Worlds, this year I thought it might be interesting to give you a form guide on the best and most accurate Moth World's form guides.
Amac is the Nostradamus of the Moth World. As early as 2001, I can remember him accurately forcasting almost every single result at a major championship, however none of his predictions are ever written down, so hopefully we can get his tips off him this year.
Next I don't think you can go past Simon Payne's new blog. We have never heard his pre-worlds predictions in the public before, but with someone of this experience, such consistent and top performing results, and a new love for blogging, it will be hard for him to not write one up, let alone to not see his forecast come true.
My number three pick this year will be Scott Babbage who continually picks the top bunch results, but always seems to underestimate himself. So whatever he rates himself this year, move him up a place or two, and that is where he will finish.
I am hoping for big things from the IMCA UK web site this year. After a few years of controversial pre-worlds predictions, this year I am sure they will come up with the goods using some new rating system to forecast their top 10.
Anyway this is all just a bit of fun, but if you don't have a blog but still want to put your tips in, feel free to vote online here for your top 5 picks, otherwise feel free to respond with a post with your top 5 (in order) or even top 10 if you are game! We'll then soon see who is the Master Moth Tipper.
Tuesday 8 April, 2008 - One for the Newbies
I frequently get asked from new Mothies about how do you sail downwind in rough conditions without the boat leaping from the water? Well mostly it comes down to practice and having good equipment, however if people are falling over all around you, then slow the boat down by keeping your sail super flat and just steer the boat agressively and safely around the troughs of waves.
It is certainly not the most fastest or direct route downwind, but the more comfortable you are and the less risks you take, the less mistakes you will make and the more energy you have to sail longer or when you need it most. More than likely if you can sail at 80% and keep it upright the whole race, you will be easily in the top bunch anyway. This mostly applies to the guys in the mid fleet who are working their way towards the front, but like last year at the Garda Worlds, it could apply to the guys at the front as well.
When you start to feel more comfortable in these conditions, you can ease some downhaul to help with some more pace (if necessary), but I think it is always best to let others make mistakes by playing it safe and staying in your comfort zone during racing. I can't tell you how many times this helped me to win races, but anyway here is some video that Dad took from the protected shores at Garda last year that shows some high wind/big wave action and helps illustrate my point (note how much downhaul and vang I have strapped).
NB: I also get asked this all the time, but the main reason why there is very little footage of big wind/wave action is because power boats cannot keep up with foilers in these conditions, cameras get wet, it is hard to hold a camera steady in these conditions and most power boats are needed to help rescue boats in the end!
Friday 4 April, 2008 - Thanks Guys!
It was a nice suprise to see that the guys at Sailing Anarchy chose me as the 'Best Sailor' for their 2007 Awards. I am sure won't get a fancy $20,000 watch for this award, but it probably has more value and merit in the sailing world these days.
Thursday 3 April, 2008 - NB: High Winds/Scale Changed
It was a little bit windy yesterday at Fawker Beakon and South Channel Island on Port Phillip Bay. Maybe that explains why a huge tree fell over my fence and smashed into the house next door?
Wednesday 2 April, 2008 - My Best Work (so far)
Finally I found the time (about 4 hours in the end) and movitation to edit the video footage I took from the Dubai Moth Grand Prix last month and then get it on YouTube. Couldn't resist including some clips of Glenn and I taking the 997 Carrera S for a spin tho...
Tuesday 1 April, 2008 - Good One!
Someone has spent far too long planning and writing this 'April Fools Joke' up. I smell Donosan all over it!
Friday 28 March, 2008 - Pull it on Harder!
Went out in the RIB off Black Rock with a few of the guys last night to see how they would handle the rough stuff and most did not fair too well. I still commonly see people struggling with stability when foiling because they don't have enough vang or downhaul tension. So here is some advice for anyone foiling and having difficulties when the wind and waves get up, after you have pulled on the downhaul and vang as hard as you can, pull it on some more! If you are still struggling, go to the gym or add some more purchase.
An hour or so later, Amac rocked up and went out for a blast, so I took Sam, James and Lochie out in the RIB to show them what they should be doing, however typical Amac style, he immediately pushed his boat too hard downwind, wiped out big time and broke a push rod in the process. Not the demonstration I was looking for, but a good example none the less. The 2mm push rods are made from stainless steel, however if the rod is wound out too long or they are wound too tight in the foil flap so the barrel nut cannot rotate around or they are not prefectly straight when exiting the upper hole in the centerboard, then they bend and break (as I have seen countless times now). So we fitted another rod and he went out again and only to break another push rod (at the flap) within 10 minutes thanks to another big wipe out downwind.
It is a very hard skill to learn, but if you can control the boat better downwind in big waves and +20 knots without capsizing or launching off a wave, then it is going to be very hard break anything and very easy to stay in front of the pack. Last years Worlds at Garda was a good example of this as if anything, I intentionally slowed my boat downwind by stalling the main to get more control and consequently never capsized when it blew (and yet I capsized twice in medium winds making silly mistakes). There are also some aggressive tiller movements and mainsheet trim needed to 'peel' away downwind as well, and I will get around to putting some video examples of this on YouTube one day.
Monday 24 March, 2008 - Recovery Time
No sailing for me over Easter as it was pay back to Gin for all the time I have spent away sailing over the last few years, so we went motor bike riding with her family instead. No broken bones or torn ligaments this time, but my bike needs some work after melting the brakes!
Tuesday 18 March, 2008 - Frequent Flyer
Wasn't the easiest flight back to Melbourne from Europe as it took over 36 hours door to door, however it did help Sam and I by getting a free upgrade to Business class thanks all my recent flights on and off the water with Emirates.
Thursday 13 March, 2008 - Colder than a Penguins Arse
We had the Estonian and Russian media turning up for a 3:30pm sailing demonstration yesterday, but after spending all morning trying to get through a small portion of massive amount of emails that I am getting these days, it was only at 11:30am that I realised that the boat was brand new and still in its box! In a frantic rush, Sam, Sten, Margus, and myself put the boat together completely in under an hour (even dealing with the usual gantry fitting issues along the way), which must have been record time. Mind you, I have lost count how many times now I have said "I have lost count how many times I have put a Bladerider together", so I have the assembly pretty much mastered now.
Anyway, we just had time for a quick lunch and then head down to the club to rig and set up the boat and foils for the first time. My Estonian is not the best these days, but they were happy for me to speak English luckily and give a quick talk about the boat and then hit the near freezing 4 degree water and air temperature for a quick demo until my hands were too cold to grip the mainsheet and tiller anymore. 'Sailor Chick' Sam had a quick go, but did not last too long as it seems as though she is still trying to recover from all the alcohol she induced in Dubai. Anyway, everything went well (despite flying around in a brand new boat in a matter of hours) and woke this morning to find the photos and articles in Russian and Estonian web sites and newspapers. I don't know what it says, but Margus said it seems all good and they hope to see a boat like this in a future Olympic Games.
The venue where we launched the boat is also the proposed location for the 2009 European Moth Championships. There is a huge amount of rigging area, launching is very safe and easy, and the course area is almost completely enclosed making for flat water flying. Will be hard to choose between Tallinn and Cascais (Portugal) for the Europeans, but it will be up to the members to decide.
Tuesday 11 March, 2008 - Medium Rare Rudolf
Heading back on the two hour ferry ride to Estonia from Finland has been quite plesant in comparison to the Spirit of Tasmania. Flat seas, nice food and a quiet trip. We spent two days in Helsinki helping the first Bladerider customer (it was actually Jyrki Jarvi, the 49er Gold medalist in 2000), get his boat set up and tuned ready for racing. Of course we went out for a super expenive dinner and lots of drinks with the 49er/Moth guys and got to eat some Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer for the second time in my life. Not a bad bite that indeed!
We attempted to go foiling today in the 2 degree water temperature, but 'luckily' there was not enough wind. But it was good catching up with guys again and thought it was most funny that Sam 'Sailor Chick of the Week' England was already on their PC's background wallpaper before we even arrived and actually they had no idea that Sam was coming with me to Finland (but they obviously knew who she was after her Thierry Martinez's photo of Sam was put up for the boys on Sailing Anarchy last week)!
Sunday 9 March, 2008 - All Finished
If you want to read about what happened for the last two days of racing in Dubai, read Chris' report on Sailing Anarchy. What was not reported was that most of the prize money ended up being donated by the winners and used to pay off Glenn's bar tab for the week. Plenty of awesome photos taken by Thierry Martinez, but many more to come. Can't wait for next year when we hope to have around 30 boats, a lot more prize money, and by the looks of it, at least 10 of them will be locals, with three more Bladerider's sold this week in the Gulf!
Waiting in Emirates Lounge now for a few flights to Estonia where I think it will be a bit cooler than here at the moment. Looking forward to it none the less.
Thursday 6 March, 2008 - Something Different
We had two rounds of five races today of a new style of racing. It was a reaching start with a short slalom course of three marks, then rounding the bottom mark to head back up to the finish line. With only five boats participating and around 5-8 knots of wind, the course was ideal for the competitors and exciting for all to watch, with most races only taking three minutes to complete for the race leader.
The first round was a qualifying round to work out rankings for the second round where each competitor was given a handicap to start from, with the idea that all boats would finish extremely close together. It was a little confusing to start off with as there was about 1-2 minutes seperating first to last, but by the end, we had all five boats finishing within ten seconds of each other.
Bora (USA) qualified fastest, with Sam (AUS) second, Chris (UAE) third, Glenn (UAE) fourth and Mark (UAE) fifth. The final round saw Chris come home first overall with Glenn in second, Bora third, Sam fourth and Mark fifth. With the 1000 Dirham cash prize for the two rounds of racing, both Bora and Chris walked away with 300 Dirham each while Sam and Glenn claimed 200 each and Mark 50.
There were some fairly exciting starts, finishes and mark rounds despite lack of wind and experience by all those involved (including the race management), however the end result was fantastic and can only imagine how unreal it would be to have the top 20 guys in the world racing this type of event in 15-20 knots!
I have taken quite a bit of video and will get it on You Tube as soon as possible.
Wednesday 5 March, 2008 - Around the World (Again)
So Bora and Sam went one way around the World, and Chris decided to go the other way, even after I thought we all agreed on going clockwise around. I was not planning to have another crack to beat my time, but rather follow the guys around in the RIB as so Thierry can take some photos. Once we got around the back, it was obvious that the waves were going to be a problem with everyone having a number of swims. However once around the lee-side of the World, it was a fast and flat reach all the way home, with Bora clocking the fastest time of the day with 1:40.14 and Sam with the fastest female time ever of 2:30.09. The guys looked totally spent though after their marathon effort.
Tuesday 4 March, 2008 - Waiting for Wind
After spending most of the day yesterday putting boats together, we were looking forward to getting in some sailing today. But with no wind, not much happened apart from some 'tow-ins' and photos with Thierry Martinez who has kindly made his way here to get some glam shots in front of the Mosques and the famous Burj Al Arab. Tomorrow is still forcasted for wind, and so everyone is keen to get a few timed runs in around the 'World' and hopefully break my record. The only debate is which way to sail around the world, as up in the 'Arctic Circle' it can be a bit rough and it maybe faster to take that upwind rather than downwind.
Sunday 2 March, 2008 - Off Again...
I am off to Dubai tonight to help out the gang at the first Moth regatta for the Middle East. Not many expected, but good weather is forcasted for the around the world record attempt on Wednesday.
Wednesday 27 February, 2008 - My First Moth Retirement
It seems as though my International Moth racing journey will have to be put on hold for the rest of the year considering that the Bladerider venture has virtually taken over all seven days of the week for me and that family responsibilities will soon beckon. So this means that I will not be committing to any serious Moth racing this year (including the Worlds), however I will still be around promoting whenever and wherever I can.
I have had a good run for the last eight years, and now is a good time to give something back. Maybe I might start a new trend in the Moth scene become a Moth coach for hire? I have a RIB already, I just need an employer. Any offers?
Tuesday 26 February, 2008 - Tasmania Mothing
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Caught the ferry across Bass Straight last Friday night, and sure enough there a big frontal system moving through and we ended up with 6m waves for the entire night. Needless to say, Gin and I did not get much sleep, but we did not spew thanks to a few doses of TravelCalm. Anyway we made it across and found our way to Hobart for the Crown Series Regatta where I was there to support a few Victorian and Tasmanian Bladerider owners. Apart from a very rough weekend of sailing, it all went pretty well with no major issues. Gin and I made it back safely after a long drive around the West coast of Tassie in the 911 and thankfully a calm passage back across Bass Straight.
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Also noticed that the 60' cat that I have been sailing and throwing up on recently was dismasted in the Adeliade to Port Lincoln race on the weekend. Hope the guys and the boat is alright as that was a huge main they carried on that massive wing mast. more...
Saturday 23 February, 2008 - Daily Planet
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Did some filming with the Daily Planet science show from Discovery Channel who were out here from Canada on Friday. Amac and Martin were on the water while I got to stay dry in the RIB and drive their camera man around. Amac went out again later and got caught out in 40 knots aparantly. He eventually got back in but broke his mast in the surf on the way in. I know what that is like!
Friday 22 February, 2008 - An Apology
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After what was supposed to be a jokingly dig about other foilers not being as fast as ours on my blog, I then proposed an option to other foilers in Australia if they want to bring the Foiler - Moth yardstick down by four minutes to match (even though it should have been the same from the start of the season, but thought I was doing the others a favour to give them a better chance at any yardstick regattas in the future). However it seems as though it was taken as offence by some, and therefore I apologise.
Consequently there will be a new Foiler Moth yardstick coming out soon in Australia, and will probably be another two minutes lower again, making it the only single handed dinghy in Australia under 80 minutes (and 6 mintues slower than an A Class). You can thank Amac for that one this time! ;-)
Regarding the thoughts from our UK Moth friends about having different Moth handicaps for different divisions of Moth, well I don't think you can stop this, as it was going to happen eventually. I still think there is more to come too as the fleets get bigger, the top foilers get even faster and the distance from first to last gets further apart. Welcome to a new type of hydrofoil Moth racing where anyone can win. I am sure a few Mothies would welcome this idea as it is no fun being out the back and loosing sight of the leader after 5 minutes.
Wednesday 20 February, 2008 - All Worked Up!
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After my posting on Monday, I knew that it would get a few people worked up about it (mostly from the UK as usual), and sure enough I was right. I probably should have kept my mouth shut as no one else in Australia would even know about the error (let alone cared) if I didn't report about it. But forgive me for seeing the marketing and humerous side of it my blog (I do work for the company and this is my blog, and if you don't like what I write, you don't have to read it).
So it seems that in the UK, they do not want to create any divisions within the Moth class (bearing in mind that the Moth Class in Australia has had three divisions now for over three years, ie scow, skiff and foiler) as apparantly this will somehow create some confusion??? The RYA have enough trouble managing just one handicap for the Moth fleet let alone three, so I can see their concerns. However our handicapping system is a bit more organised and segmented in Victoria considering most of our racing uses these yardsticks.
The reality is that since the Worlds, all the top BR sailors have been using developmental KA sails. So really the Moth - Foiler yardstick should have been updated first and if Yachting Victoria want a Bladerider yardstick in there, then why not leave it in there as well? So I have now sent them Amac's recent 'Moth - Foiler' wins at Black Rock in the Commodore's Cup and some racing with the 14's, and so the 'Moth - Foiler' yardstick will probably be updated to around the 77 mark for the next season (which is converted to around 730 in the UK system Amac tells me).
I am not sure why some Mothies have such a hard time grasping this pretty basic concept that it is okay to have divisions or one-design classes within International development classes. The Hobie Tiger Association doesn't seem to have any problems being its own International Class and competiting in the International F18 Class racing at the same time. The F18 Worlds will always be a bigger event than the Hobie Tiger Worlds, and yet I still think some Mothies believe Bladerider is going to secretly change the X8 so it is not Moth legal anymore (ie don't put a Moth logo on the sail and don't have an ISAF plaque on the hull). Why would we not want to sell it as Moth legal boat? It probably costs us 10 cents to paint a Moth logo on the sail and the customer pays for the ISAF Moth plaque anyway (and this is not optional). Go figure?
Amac has just informed me that Yachting Victoria have posted the 2007/8 Yardsticks up last year, and they have now include a Bladerider yardstick as well as the Moth Foiler yardstick they have had for the last few years. As the results to work out this handicap are more than likely supplied from mixed fleet races that Amac and I have done over the first 6 six months for 2007, they have given a rating lower the Foiler Moth (even though the foiler Moth should be lower considering it is an open class). However until a non-Bladerider can start consistenly beating one of ours boats in Victoria or Australia (and provide timed results to back this up), it will probably stay like this ;-), much to the dislike of Amac who is flogging the 14's at Black Rock every week, but unless he is about 2 legs in front, he won't win it on handicap. Sorry about that Amac, but you will have to sail faster now!
Monday 11 February, 2008 - Spewin'
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Just got back from Portland where I was dropped off due to extreme sea sickness whilst sailing Raw Nerve on the way to Adeliade. The Musto guys kindly supplied me with a super dry MPX smock and overalls for the trip, however it was short lived after throwing up constantly for about 6 hours in the middle of the night. Apparantly I was in a pretty bad state, and luckily the boys made a stop in Portland (far Western Victoria) to get me some treatment at the local hospital. It was a terrible experience and one I that hope never happens again.
I always thought that after sailing all these years, that I had my sea legs, but then again, Bass Straight can be pretty rough at times and also all the sailing that I have been doing over the last five years is not actually on the water any more. So maybe that is why I have no probably with air sickness these days, which explains why I am prone to sea sickness. Needless to say I will be taking more preventitive measures next time I go out on the big seas.
Tuesday 29 January, 2008 - Arab Mothing
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So I am now booked in for the Dubai Moth Regatta in Dubai in early March. Australian Women's Moth Champion Sam England is also coming along, and we might even see Simon Payne there too with his new Prowler. The boys from Detroit (Bora and George) are also keen to go, not to mention some interest from Sweden, making it quite an International affair. If anyone is keen to get away and experience a different type of Moth Regatta in a completely new environoment, book a ticket to Dubai and put your boat on a plane. BTW - they have even secured quite a bit of prize money as well, as well as a bonus if anyone can beat my 'Around the World Record'.
Sunday 27 January, 2008 - Something Different
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The last two days I have been racing on Raw Nerve, a 50' cat owned by Martin Riley (who also happened to be my orthodontist when I was a kid). We just behind Skandia Wild Thing half way through the Passage Race down to Geelong, but once the wind backed off, we got passed by a few TP52's and ended up 6th over the line I think, from about +300 boats. I quite enjoyed the sail and will probably do some more with the guys when time permits. Martin also has another 30' cat that is apparantly a lot faster and more fun to sail. I will look forward to that one!
Thursday 24 January, 2008 - Magic Wands
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So the last couple of weeks have been spent playing around with new wand mechanisms, different wands, push rods and bell cranks. I did all the go fast mod's to the guy's boats here in Melbourne and apparantly the difference is incredible compared to what they used to have. So I tried doing something completely different this time and used an ultra fast gearing and an extremely bending wand and it sucked! There were other issues associated with it, but I think all the stuff that I have put in the updated Troubleshooting Guide is about it for now in terms of optimising the control systems, however we still need to add some info about the wand axle, as we have that the position of this is critical when introducing faster gearing into the wand mechanism. Now to get back to work on the foils and rig with Amac, as he should be back from his family holiday by now.
Thursday 10 January, 2008 - A New King is Crowned
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So after eight years, I have missed my first Moth Nationals and a new Australian Champion has been crowned. Not only was this Mat Belcher's first Moth Championships, but he has only been sailing the boat for three months. This just goes to show how much talent Mat has got, beating Amac comfortably who finished 6th at the last Worlds in Italy (but probably should have been 3rd or 4th if he did not have to carry a 26th).
So as predicted, Mat was lethal in the light airs when no one else could foil. Sure he is only 63kgs, but most interestingly he used a standard Bladerider X8 out of the box with no modifications. However what was not predicted was the eight out of ten races sailed in light and shifty conditions. I was telling our guys to prepare for the worst, and they got it on two days, but they only got two races in on those days. The rest of the time was 'head out of the boat' stuff by the sounds of it and Mat's 470 experience showed through. Despite that I thought Amac would fade towards the end of the regatta, he held on in the end to get a couple more good results giving him a 0.25 advantage over Bora who got third overall (also in his first Moth Championships).
So based on my experiences from sailing at Weymouth, I think Mat should do pretty well there at the Worlds in July 2008 (pending we are sailing in the harbour), and will make a call now to say he will be in the top 3. I still don't know when or if I will be racing at the top level again, as looking after the Bladerider Team, getting newbies in boats and supporting all the other X8 owners is far more important than me doing well at the Worlds. I have proven myself and the boat already, and at the moment don't really feel the need to do it again considering there are far more talented people than me getting into our boats now and will probably be better suited to the conditions in Portland Harbour.
Anyway, I might have a play around over the next few months and see how I feel, at the worst I will be two boat tuning and coaching the Team leading up to and during the Worlds. Right now, I am still happy to take it easy and get more 'bums on wings'. But if I get the bug again, it will be hard to stop me going for a third title.
Wednesday 9 January, 2008 - Demo Days
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My demo boat has been out and about over the last few days. On Monday Scott and I took it for a spin at Sorrento after the 49ers and 29ers were called off because of too much wind. Then I dropped the boat off at McCrae and the Canoe guys had it out on the water for about 8 hours playing around. Apparantly there were guys over 110kg sailing it, and nothing broke suprisingly. Then yesterday I went doen to Somers to provide some entertainment for the Tornados in between races. After their second start, I went out into the middle of Westernport Bay where there is some big sand banks and played around in the huge 2-3m breaking ocean swell. It was slightly scary on the Moth, but after a while I was getting a bit cocky easily out running the waves, so I slowed up for a big set and got dumped hard! Consequently, I bent one of the push rods due to the big nose dive, so I had to limp the long way home. Didn't take long to replace the part and then let Brett Burvill take the boat for a spin.
It is interesting to note that all those that tried the boat said how smooth and stable it was, however I thought it was pretty average compared to what a well set up boat should be like (as this boat was made up of bits and pieces over the last few months of warranties and abused gear). Anyway, I made some changes to the gearing of the bell crank today as well as making a longer centerboard push rod, so it should be goind much better tomorrow for the planned photo shoot with the Ronstan Team. Will make good use of the day as well and take out a few newbies, including dual Contender World Champion Arthur Brett and Yachting Australia CEO, Phil Jones.
Saturday 5 January, 2008 - From the Comfort of Home
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Got some results in by phone over the last two days at the Moth Nationals and have posted them on Sailing Anarchy. The usual baiting is on there as well before racing started, but I will try and keep my posts as factual as possible.
So it looks like Luka has done the work since the Worlds and found some upwind pace to match the top Bladerider guys there in the light/medium stuff. Amac said that his lead in the first heat was 'demoralising', however in the second heat he handled the difficult conditions well, but Bora was much better than both of them when the wind and seas got up. I suppose the only real suprise in there is that I have probably underestimated George 'Bear' Peet from Michigan quite a bit. I spent a small amount of time with him while in Melbourne trying to make his hiking and trim more efficient, so it must have either been enough otherwise he must be a very fast learner.
Bora, Bear, Brownie and Belcher (three of which happen to be in the Bladerider 'B' Team) are all new to Moth racing, so they should all improve towards the end of the regatta, but I fear that Amac may taper off a bit as usual. Luka on the other hand should be fairly consistent placing in the top three in most races. This should therefore create a fairly close regatta for the top three and will probably come down to the last race to decide a winner and maybe even an Australian Champion.
Friday 4 January, 2008 - Twisters at Somers
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Filled in yesterday as crew for Brett Burvill on his brand new Tornado in the practice race of the Asia Pacfic Championships at Somers today. Wasn't a bad ride at all despite fairly mild weather, but it certainly did not give rush that a foiler would in similar conditions. We learnt a lot on the three laps and only wished we could have raced again after we had sorted the boat speed out.
Thursday 3 January, 2008 - Gearing up
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Went away for New Years with Gin down to Mallacoota, plus spent a fair bit of time getting the Bladerider owners getting sorted for the Nationals, hence why I have been offline for a week.
Anyway, it was a relief to see them head off with confidence in their boats and themselves. So today I went down with Robo to Sorrento where the 49er and 29er Worlds are going on, to do for a spin in the demo boat to make sure it was running okay after Bora was messing with it before his boat arrived. After a few minutes of sailing, there was definately room for improvement.
Recently we have been removing the hump and cutting up the bottom/back edge of the centerboard about 2mm so the flap can come up more (hence have more negative lift when the boat gets too high), but the problem with that is that the wand can travel a lot further forward now and consequently the boat bounces up and down a lot when the wand gets pulled past vertical at full height and then gets gets pushed back 90 degrees when the boat comes back down.
So I have been working with Bora to try and increase the gearing speed to stop this problem. Bora spent about eight hours working on a new wand mechanism, however I think I have found a much easier solution, in that you can easily remove the bell crank and cut about 4mm off the top (with a grinder), but you will need a 5mm tap to clean up the thread after it is done. This should increase the speed of travel of the push rid running down the centerboard and move the flap faster, and not make the wand flick forward so much. Once we can test this, I will put up some more details on how to do this on the Bladerider site for those that want to push a bit harder in the big waves.
In addition, for those that are also sick of replacing the black plastic upper control rod connector, you can make your own from some chopping board in about 5 minutes as well. Highly recommended for those that want an extra 5% from their boats. The only thing is that you will need a 2mm tap to get the threads spot on. You will note also in this photo above, that the ball joint head is sitting about 4mm lower than normal too (as this is after we have cut down the bell crank).
