September 20, 2004
What a great week (actually 4 days) in Vancouver BC sailing with Roger
Wright and Mike Jocelyn (and Jeremy with Ronstan Canada). Thursday was
dumping
buckets of rain with light but gusty winds so we opted to have Mike show us
what heâd learned. It was impressive to see how far heâs come. Without
a
single working telltale (the rain had stuck them like glue to the sails) Mike
was able to deal with the blustery and shifty conditions really well. After
he left we found out from some locals that heâs become a Swift Solo junkyâ
sailing four or five days a week. No wonder heâs improved so quickly
without
any instruction. Mike hopes to bring 001 to Florida in March (we may have to
do an intervention)
On Friday and Saturday we had nice weather with 4 to 12 knots of wind. Mike
had to leave for his daughterâs wedding in London and it was Rogers turn to
take his second sail ever in his Swift. Roger has little small boat
experience but a lot of wind surfing under his belt. We were joined by Jeremy
who
represents Ronstan in Canada and we all took turns in Rogers new boat.
With
each of Rogers four sessions on Friday and Saturday his confidence and
skill improved and on the final two sessions he was becoming comfortable on
the
wire. Jeremy, who is also a 49er sailor, took a couple of turns and, as you
might expect, looked like heâd been sailing the boat for years. It was fun
to take the helm of someone elseâs Swift for a change. The boat felt just
like mine. I was very impressed with Rogerâs boat. Other than a few
adjustments to trapeze handle heights, the boat is right on.
On Sunday it was sunny but high pressure was moving in and the wind quickly
built to around 20 knots. We were joined by a local 29er sailor with some
49er experience. Roger went first in a building 12 knots of wind and did
well.
His wind surfing experience gives Roger a hankering to two sail reach and heâ
s become quite good at it. As you might expect, with the wind increasing,
this was no place to be on your third day of sailing and he eventually
capsized. Our local 29er guy took over and sailed around for a while in just
under
20 knots of breeze. Even after several capsizes, he remained enthused and
went off on a very fast two sail reach. After a few more capsizes, it was
time to head for the showers as there was no let up in sight and this was no
place for newcomers.
The week was a great success and brought a couple of things to my attention
that need to be covered for those about to launch.
First, the top of your trapeze handles need to be even with the top of the
boom when you swing them against the boom. This is very important.
Second, be sure that the sail track feeder is properly aligned and has no
sharp edges or corners. Otherwise, it will cut your bolt rope on your new
sails.
Third, take a minute and make the mainsail hoisting loop that I recently
posted.
Fourth, get the âHigher and Fasterâ video and study the 49er sailing.
Particularly notice how they stay on their feet during tacking and jibing.
This
is a must since crawling through leaves you in the center of the boat when
the sails fill on the new tack and you get dumped out like bad coffee (we do
drop to one knee after we cross the boat and hook up to the trap in heavier
air).
Fifth, the vang lever design and lay-up schedule needs beefing up. Iâll
post a new one soon.
Sixth, be patient and work your way up the wind range starting in under 8
knots of breeze. The Swift is a very high performance boat with lots of
horsepower and it takes some time to get accustomed to it. It will take
those of
you without skiff experience at least 20 days of sailing to work up to the 15
knot range and double that number to get above the 20 knot range. Using the
graduated process will bring a lot of satisfaction with each new level.
Moving up too quickly will bring a lot of bruises, broken tiller extensions,
and
swimming practice. In the end, I can think on few things that have brought
me more satisfaction than the adventure of learning to sail this boat.
Itâs really exciting to have Roger on board and learning to sail the boat so
quickly. His on-the-water experience with translate to the highest quality
parts for Aquilo Boats because of personal field testing.
Roger hated to leave Vancouver because it was snowing back in Calgary and
the sailing season is over while Vancouver has another 6 weeks for the
average sailor and year around sailing for those with numb nads. I hated to
leave
as well because the rest of the week promised sunshine and lighter windsâ
perfect for teaching Swift Solo Sailing.
Jane and I will be flying to Florida to scout some regatta sites in early
December and weâll need to make that decision before Christmas so we can
make
arrangements. Meanwhile, Iâll be heading for Annapolis for the âBoat Of
The
Yearâ competition in two weeks.
Sails will be going out this week.
Keep the sawdust out of your eyes,
Best regards,
Bram
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