Back in the drivers seat. Run 3

Well the day was a success and we managed to combine a bit of sailing... with a bit of boat building!!!

We have added a third mainsheet to control the front bridle and hold the sail in a more 'sheeted out' position so that it will happily sit side on to the wind.

We went out with only a team of five as we need to get more self reliant. At the top of the course we tethered the boat to our in position anchor and tried the new sheeting system. Sailrocket sat there as docile as you like. Happy days. To cut a long Larsen story short I virtually launched myself whilst the team went ahead in the RIB and got in position for filming. The wind direction made for a very down wind course. The boat went well and steered beautifully. We only hit 22.5 knots but it did exactly what I wanted and expected. In the end I was running so deep down the course that it stalled. I locked the rig into a sheeted out position and sailed back into the shore. I have no doubt that I could have beached it myself. I was stoked.

I hate adding any extra lines or weight to this sleek design. So much so that it some times clouds my judgement. The difference that this third mainsheet made was immense in that it made launching and recovery much easier. I probably can't quite convey the fear I feel when I lose control of this wing. Our hopes and dreams are all wrapped up in it and it is so powerful and so fragile. Like a crystal V8.

I was so delighted with the handling of the boat and the new found control that after lunch in the 'speedhut' we went back up to the top of the course in 20 knots of wind and got ready to go for it again. I wanted to crack 40 knots and felt strangely calm about it. the wind was still a little west but it was also a fair bit stronger. A 20 knot wind is twice as strong as a 14 knot wind!

We had a small, err, issue whilst raising the rig and it all got a little off centre. We bent a metal fork at the base of the raising strut and did some other minor damage. If it wasn't for the bent metal work I would have gone sailing. Instead I chose to bring it back and do a full inspection.

Nothing serious. The good thing about this spot is that conditions will be back on tomorrow... or the day after.

The electronics were a nightmare again. The onboard camera crashed. Comms pissed off half the port when my channel became locked and yours truly forgot to turn on the wind data logging equipment.

Overall I'm stoked and feel ready to get back into focusing on speed.

There is still alot to do.

But if I know one thing about this team it's this...

We'll do it.

Cheers, Paul.

p.s. conditions are only getting better tide wise throughout the week.

Walvis rocks. AOL doesn't!