Careful... you might just get what you wished for!
Aaaauuugh.
That's three days out at Speedspot and not a single run to be had.
Malcolm has been here for four days now. The first day was good. The next two days were superb. They emphasized the old catchphrase "careful, you might just get what you wish for"! Super steady 20-22 knot winds sweapt the course from the perfect angle on nice high tides. Two days in a row.
We tried to hit the right window as the wind built but the tide wasn't always there OR the wind hadn't yet swung around to the desired angle. This gig can be sooooo frustrating. You sit and wait for hour after hour but the Walvis Bay wind tunnel just doesn't abate. I was constantly weighing up the pro's and con's of having a try. Both Malcolm and I knew that it would 'probably' be right... but then there was also a percentage chance that things wouldn't be right and that these were not the conditions to find out.
The trouble is that as the wind builds, a number of factors need to be considered. These are...
- Much more power and hence rapid acceleration
-rougher water so you need to be in real close or otherwise the rough-ride and associated spray can be blinding and/or boat breaking.
- The need for total confidence in the steering and ability to position the boat so as to 'nail it' down the course.
-The possiblity of running out into rough water at the end of the run in order to slow down... and not slowing down as soon as you might think due to control issues etc.
The flip side is that we know that these are the ultimate conditions that the boat is built for. We can't hold it back forever.
For hours my mind reeled through the possibilities, concerns and solutions. In the end I felt that I was not confident enough in myself.
I simply didn't feel rehearsed enough to deal with a situation given the aforementioned factors.
Sailing Sailrocket is a little like flying in that your boldness needs to be carefully measured out.
Yesterday we got set to retire for the day but neither Malcolm nor I felt right about leaving speed-spot when it was just so perfect.
I decided to go for a run.
Malcolm stayed at the hut to man the stationary video camera. We took Sailrocket to the top of the course... but conditions built some more and I eventually canned the day.
We packed up and headed home... or to the container anyway.
This morning we took the wing off Sailrocket and set her up for a bit of towing behind the RIB. I wanted to get familiar with the new tiller arrangement as the way it steers is a little back the front to what your natural reaction is i.e. I steer with my left hand and have to pull back to turn right and push to turn left. It goes against the way you would twist your body to turn. I have considered a number of ways to reverse it but it is not that easy for the ranges we require. I felt that with a bit of practice I would adjust. The tow tests were great. I felt comfortable with a bit of practice in the cockpit. It was much more productive than sitting stationary on the shore. Water was rushing by at 20 odd knots and I had things to consider such as boat wake, spray, position and so on. It also allowed me to look around at other things like planing surfaces and the wash they generated. Another thing I wanted to try was kicking up the big rudder and feeling the 'step-change' to the smaller rudders. The truth was that Sailrocket was much nicer to steer with the small high-spped rudder than the big one ( probably due to the rake in the large rudder which was added to stop 'over-steering'). We took Sailrocket to the shore and I removed the high speed rudder so as to see how she would respond under the new skeg rudder alone.
She handled perfectly.
Woohoo. We can get rid of some junk off the back. Save weight, reduce drag... go faster. I will keep it for a couple of runs just as a safety measure whilst outright speed is still not the focus.
This was all great stuff to be trying out. You always learn things trying something new.
We went back to the beach once I felt comfortable with the steering and I put Malcolm into the cockpit so he could see first hand what I was seeing. He looked apprehensive but it wasn't a problem. Eventually we had the RIB going flat out with Malcolm driving Sailrocket and steering under the skeg rudder alone.
It was good for him... and wierd for me as I have never seen the boat from that angle either.
It was pretty cool to see Malc at the controls of the boat he envisaged nearly ten years ago... even if it was only under tow.
Anyway, we were hoping the afternoon was going to build enough to go sailing. We went over to speed-spot but the wind stayed below 12 knots. We stood and waited on this desolate strip of sand which is of no use to any human but speed sailors... all to no avail.
It wasn't to be.
If yesterday was today we would have gone.
Should've, would've, could've. Rah, rah, rah.
Next time we will, we've practiced, we've tweaked... We simply have to.
These are the decisions we make. None of the above should be seen as a means of justification. I don't know if some of our calls are right or wrong. They are what they are at the time.
Cheers, Paul.
That's three days out at Speedspot and not a single run to be had.
Malcolm has been here for four days now. The first day was good. The next two days were superb. They emphasized the old catchphrase "careful, you might just get what you wish for"! Super steady 20-22 knot winds sweapt the course from the perfect angle on nice high tides. Two days in a row.
We tried to hit the right window as the wind built but the tide wasn't always there OR the wind hadn't yet swung around to the desired angle. This gig can be sooooo frustrating. You sit and wait for hour after hour but the Walvis Bay wind tunnel just doesn't abate. I was constantly weighing up the pro's and con's of having a try. Both Malcolm and I knew that it would 'probably' be right... but then there was also a percentage chance that things wouldn't be right and that these were not the conditions to find out.
The trouble is that as the wind builds, a number of factors need to be considered. These are...
- Much more power and hence rapid acceleration
-rougher water so you need to be in real close or otherwise the rough-ride and associated spray can be blinding and/or boat breaking.
- The need for total confidence in the steering and ability to position the boat so as to 'nail it' down the course.
-The possiblity of running out into rough water at the end of the run in order to slow down... and not slowing down as soon as you might think due to control issues etc.
The flip side is that we know that these are the ultimate conditions that the boat is built for. We can't hold it back forever.
For hours my mind reeled through the possibilities, concerns and solutions. In the end I felt that I was not confident enough in myself.
I simply didn't feel rehearsed enough to deal with a situation given the aforementioned factors.
Sailing Sailrocket is a little like flying in that your boldness needs to be carefully measured out.
Yesterday we got set to retire for the day but neither Malcolm nor I felt right about leaving speed-spot when it was just so perfect.
I decided to go for a run.
Malcolm stayed at the hut to man the stationary video camera. We took Sailrocket to the top of the course... but conditions built some more and I eventually canned the day.
We packed up and headed home... or to the container anyway.
This morning we took the wing off Sailrocket and set her up for a bit of towing behind the RIB. I wanted to get familiar with the new tiller arrangement as the way it steers is a little back the front to what your natural reaction is i.e. I steer with my left hand and have to pull back to turn right and push to turn left. It goes against the way you would twist your body to turn. I have considered a number of ways to reverse it but it is not that easy for the ranges we require. I felt that with a bit of practice I would adjust. The tow tests were great. I felt comfortable with a bit of practice in the cockpit. It was much more productive than sitting stationary on the shore. Water was rushing by at 20 odd knots and I had things to consider such as boat wake, spray, position and so on. It also allowed me to look around at other things like planing surfaces and the wash they generated. Another thing I wanted to try was kicking up the big rudder and feeling the 'step-change' to the smaller rudders. The truth was that Sailrocket was much nicer to steer with the small high-spped rudder than the big one ( probably due to the rake in the large rudder which was added to stop 'over-steering'). We took Sailrocket to the shore and I removed the high speed rudder so as to see how she would respond under the new skeg rudder alone.
She handled perfectly.
Woohoo. We can get rid of some junk off the back. Save weight, reduce drag... go faster. I will keep it for a couple of runs just as a safety measure whilst outright speed is still not the focus.
This was all great stuff to be trying out. You always learn things trying something new.
We went back to the beach once I felt comfortable with the steering and I put Malcolm into the cockpit so he could see first hand what I was seeing. He looked apprehensive but it wasn't a problem. Eventually we had the RIB going flat out with Malcolm driving Sailrocket and steering under the skeg rudder alone.
It was good for him... and wierd for me as I have never seen the boat from that angle either.
It was pretty cool to see Malc at the controls of the boat he envisaged nearly ten years ago... even if it was only under tow.
Anyway, we were hoping the afternoon was going to build enough to go sailing. We went over to speed-spot but the wind stayed below 12 knots. We stood and waited on this desolate strip of sand which is of no use to any human but speed sailors... all to no avail.
It wasn't to be.
If yesterday was today we would have gone.
Should've, would've, could've. Rah, rah, rah.
Next time we will, we've practiced, we've tweaked... We simply have to.
These are the decisions we make. None of the above should be seen as a means of justification. I don't know if some of our calls are right or wrong. They are what they are at the time.
Cheers, Paul.
Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
www.sailrocket.com
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
www.sailrocket.com
posted by Paul at 6:57 pm
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