Day 5, last day, and a very important day for us. With our performance yesterday we managed to loose our 7th place, and were now in a draw with Chris Sproat. He was 8th, we were 9th and place 7 got taken by Paul & Ann on their Falcon. So Chris was nicely sitting in between 2 Falcons :-)
It was the decision day for us. We were only separated with 1 point from Paul and on a draw with Chris, how cool a racing day this would be!
But the weather gods decided the decision was made and it rained and t-stormed all day. So at 15h the decision was made: no more racing. So there it was, the F16 Europeans ended with a non sailing day. But we do not complain, we had a fantastic week, with really the best sailing we ever had. Such a great scenery, nice weather, 12 races, sun, great people to hang out with. It was all marvelous!
The club organised a perfect regatta and it ended with a perfect price giving with prizes and food and drinks, offered by their sponsor, Ferrari. The winners of this event are the very young Australian "kids": Jason Waterhouse & his crew Lisa. Congratulations!
Full results on the F16 website.
Stay tuned for a picture and video blog, following soon!
F16 Europeans - Day 4
Day 4 started of with no wind, a very quiet sunny day. The locals didn't really know what to expect. Would the wind kick in at 13h? Or would it be a no wind day? If the locals don't have a clue, it is really hard to decide what to do! So we set the boat up for a very light day, mast and jib were all rigged for little wind. At 12h everyone started to drift away to the course side, daring to hope for some more wind to race.
At 13h we crossed the start line and so did the wind! There she was, blowing in all force, probably 20 knots. Haha that wind can fool you. So there we were, all rigged up for light wind and it was blowing. We were heavily overpowered. Gill had to put in all his effort just to steer (we had a very heavy helm due to the wrong mast setting) and he was beat just after race 1. We finished 10th, and were not happy about that.
In between race 1 and 2 we adjusted the settings for the heavier wind (jib and mast settings). We hit the starting line for the 2nd time that day and where was the wind??? Hmmm okay so now the wind was gone, well not gone, but still a fair bit lesser than race 1. Cracks you up heh? So we were not overpowered, and luckily we managed to sail well and we ended up 6th, before Paul & Ann but behind Cris Sproat.
Our goal of today was to stay before Paul and Chris, so we could keep our place 7. In race 1 we didn't manage to defend our place, and in race 2 we could keep Paul behind us, but not Chris. Ooooh how exciting, very very bad for the nerves...
Race 3 had almost the same wind as race 2, but a bit more shifty. We played it well and managed to get an 8th for the last race, in a tight duel at the gate with the Viper Dutch Boys Thijs Visser. We finished just before Paul did, but after Chris again (he really found his groove on day 4!).
Back to shore in a nice one on one race with Paul and Ann. For the fun of it we even double trapped with the kite up and Gill's dad filmed this. So stay tuned for some cool footage later on :-)
This day ended perfectly with a barbeque with some of the sailors at their appartment. To make it perfect we even had a T-Storm and some rain, but luckily their terrace had a covered top so we could stay outside to enjoy the lightning over the mountains.
At 13h we crossed the start line and so did the wind! There she was, blowing in all force, probably 20 knots. Haha that wind can fool you. So there we were, all rigged up for light wind and it was blowing. We were heavily overpowered. Gill had to put in all his effort just to steer (we had a very heavy helm due to the wrong mast setting) and he was beat just after race 1. We finished 10th, and were not happy about that.
In between race 1 and 2 we adjusted the settings for the heavier wind (jib and mast settings). We hit the starting line for the 2nd time that day and where was the wind??? Hmmm okay so now the wind was gone, well not gone, but still a fair bit lesser than race 1. Cracks you up heh? So we were not overpowered, and luckily we managed to sail well and we ended up 6th, before Paul & Ann but behind Cris Sproat.
Our goal of today was to stay before Paul and Chris, so we could keep our place 7. In race 1 we didn't manage to defend our place, and in race 2 we could keep Paul behind us, but not Chris. Ooooh how exciting, very very bad for the nerves...
Race 3 had almost the same wind as race 2, but a bit more shifty. We played it well and managed to get an 8th for the last race, in a tight duel at the gate with the Viper Dutch Boys Thijs Visser. We finished just before Paul did, but after Chris again (he really found his groove on day 4!).
Back to shore in a nice one on one race with Paul and Ann. For the fun of it we even double trapped with the kite up and Gill's dad filmed this. So stay tuned for some cool footage later on :-)
This day ended perfectly with a barbeque with some of the sailors at their appartment. To make it perfect we even had a T-Storm and some rain, but luckily their terrace had a covered top so we could stay outside to enjoy the lightning over the mountains.
F16 Europeans - day 3
Day 3 is over and we made it again :-) It was a lighter day today but very exciting. We did very very bad in race 2, finishing 11th. Boehoe. We had a bad start in that race, due to this bad start we didn't have clean air on the left side of the course, so we decided to tack and found ourselves without pressure in the middle of the course. To top it all of we managed to over sail the gate in the last lap and then there was a kite surfer in the way so we had to douse the kite before the gate, so yeah, not a good race at all. So that will be one of our throw outs.
We are currently in a draw for 7th place with Paul and Anne, who are also sailing a Falcon, so that is really great and also very exciting for the next races.
Race 1 was our best race today, were we scored a 6. We had a clean high start and we were able to tack away quick to the right side of the course and that did pay off. We were 3rd at the upwind mark, but then we lost 1 place in the downwind run and than another 2 in the upwind mark (we over sailed the upwind mark a bit).
Race 3 we scored a 7, so also very happy about that. We had great pressure going downwind with the kite (Kathleen had to sit in, because there was not enough wind to trap out) and we had alot of speed and depth.
Overall we are very happy with our results, and we find ourselves as one of the 1st amateur sailors. The top 6 is not possible anymore due to the difference in points but we will do our utmost to keep our 7th place. And I am sure Paul will do the same :-)
Tonight we have a dinner and party offered by the club, looking forward to that. Gill's dad also got out for a little ride on the Falcon today after we came back from the races. He just took the jib of, and of he went. He had a great ride and he enjoyed the beautiful lake Como scenery :-)
We are currently in a draw for 7th place with Paul and Anne, who are also sailing a Falcon, so that is really great and also very exciting for the next races.
Race 1 was our best race today, were we scored a 6. We had a clean high start and we were able to tack away quick to the right side of the course and that did pay off. We were 3rd at the upwind mark, but then we lost 1 place in the downwind run and than another 2 in the upwind mark (we over sailed the upwind mark a bit).
Race 3 we scored a 7, so also very happy about that. We had great pressure going downwind with the kite (Kathleen had to sit in, because there was not enough wind to trap out) and we had alot of speed and depth.
Overall we are very happy with our results, and we find ourselves as one of the 1st amateur sailors. The top 6 is not possible anymore due to the difference in points but we will do our utmost to keep our 7th place. And I am sure Paul will do the same :-)
Tonight we have a dinner and party offered by the club, looking forward to that. Gill's dad also got out for a little ride on the Falcon today after we came back from the races. He just took the jib of, and of he went. He had a great ride and he enjoyed the beautiful lake Como scenery :-)
F16 Europeans - day 2
Day 2 is over and it was perfect. A bit more wind than yesterday for all 3 races. Very close rasing, closer than yesterday. It was very exciting. And the downwind races were so fast, whow! We loved it. But now I (Kathleen) am totally knackered. I feel my arms!
We managed to get in the top 5 today with our last race, a 4!! Paul and Ann were flying on their Falcon, they scored an 8, a 3 and another 3, great!
Our final scores for today: 10, 7 and 4, getting better yet again :-)
There were some protests and some OCS, so could be the scoring changes a bit.
We had again 3 races, but the course was a bit smaller, so it all went a bit faster. Our downwind speed was great and we were overtaking boats, sailing deeper and faster.
Upwind was another story, we had great laps, but also not so great laps. Paul and Ann were able to point higher and they were faster. So we will have a talk to them I guess :-)
Now off to eat something, bon appetito!
We managed to get in the top 5 today with our last race, a 4!! Paul and Ann were flying on their Falcon, they scored an 8, a 3 and another 3, great!
Our final scores for today: 10, 7 and 4, getting better yet again :-)
There were some protests and some OCS, so could be the scoring changes a bit.
We had again 3 races, but the course was a bit smaller, so it all went a bit faster. Our downwind speed was great and we were overtaking boats, sailing deeper and faster.
Upwind was another story, we had great laps, but also not so great laps. Paul and Ann were able to point higher and they were faster. So we will have a talk to them I guess :-)
Now off to eat something, bon appetito!
F16 Europeans - day 1
Day 1 of the Europeans
Day 1. Skippers meeting at 11 and the race course gets announced: 3 laps, upwind mark - spreader mark - gate. Three races are scheduled for today and for all the 5 days of the week.
Still no wind, but weather prediction is that winds of 15 knots will kick in.
12h30 all 17 boats get on the water. By the time we got to the racing area the course is set. Great organisation and we start on time, 13h.
The starts are tight but fair, no recalls, no Black Flags.
We manage to get off the starting line very good each time. About 4rth to the committee boat and always with clean air.
Shortly after the start everyone tacks to shore where the wind and the shifts are. Up to the shore it's a drag race.
Because of our clean starts we manage to be in top 5 almost each time we round the upwind mark for the first time. With the spinnaker up we learned to leave the boards down even in 15 knots as the lake is sooo flat :-)
Once we did this we could keep up and even gain some boat lengths on the pro teams.
On the upwind beat we tend to loose a place each time. After three laps we are about in 8th position to finish everytime.
We'll change our mast settings just a bit to have a better upwind performance and to go for that top 5 today! Well we'll see how that turns out today!
Day 1. Skippers meeting at 11 and the race course gets announced: 3 laps, upwind mark - spreader mark - gate. Three races are scheduled for today and for all the 5 days of the week.
Still no wind, but weather prediction is that winds of 15 knots will kick in.
12h30 all 17 boats get on the water. By the time we got to the racing area the course is set. Great organisation and we start on time, 13h.
The starts are tight but fair, no recalls, no Black Flags.
We manage to get off the starting line very good each time. About 4rth to the committee boat and always with clean air.
Shortly after the start everyone tacks to shore where the wind and the shifts are. Up to the shore it's a drag race.
Because of our clean starts we manage to be in top 5 almost each time we round the upwind mark for the first time. With the spinnaker up we learned to leave the boards down even in 15 knots as the lake is sooo flat :-)
Once we did this we could keep up and even gain some boat lengths on the pro teams.
On the upwind beat we tend to loose a place each time. After three laps we are about in 8th position to finish everytime.
We'll change our mast settings just a bit to have a better upwind performance and to go for that top 5 today! Well we'll see how that turns out today!
First days at Como and the practice race
Sun, water, wind, nice sceneries. That is Como, Italy in a nutshell. A great place for the first F16 Europeans.
We arrived on Thursday, a few days before the actual regatta that starts on Monday.
We had the boat measured on Friday morning. After that we set it up, adjusted some things we already wanted to do long time, but hadn't have the time for, and then set off for the first short sail.
Damn, what a great lake! From 1 pm onwards the wind starts to blow Southernly (Nothernly in the morning) untill about 6 pm. When we went on the water it was about 15 knots and a great ride with the spinnaker.
Also the wind and water is so hot you only need a shorty and that is still too warm at some times! :-)
Same thing on Saturday! That looked promising for the rest of the week and the championship!
Saturday most of the teams arrived and we could meet up with some familiar faces we hadn't seen for a long time.
Today we did our first race, the practice race. In fact it was held together with a local regatta.
2 small races were done today, with only 5 boats on the starting line the first race. Us and 4 Viper teams.
The wind was blowing Northernly the whole day because a storm hit us last night and this caused very shifty wind and a lot of dead spots during the race.
This race we finished 4rth, with Darren Bundock and Carolijn Brouwer having a huge lead of the rest of us.
The second race of the day most of the F16's were out on the water. (I think we are about 17 in total).
We positioned quite late for the start, but found a hole 4 boats from the committee boat. We had a great start and got clean air immediately.
We tacked quite early and got a great shift on that tack. The whole fleet turned to early to the upwind mark and had to do 2 more tacks, while we sailed into more wind by going further.
This got us first to the upwind mark.
We could keep our position up to the downwind mark as we did a great thing looking for pressure again.
We continued to keep our lead second time at the upwind mark, but a group of 5 boats had gained a bit on us.
On the second downwind we made the mistake on to gybe immediately into the pressure and got caught in a deadspot 50 meters below the upwind buoy!
We saw the group of 5 gybed immediately and sailing 50 meters higher with the hull out of the water.... (Cursing on the boat :-) )
By the time we got to the finish line they had overtaken us moving us to 7th.... Well at least we know we got our boatspeed right :-)
We didn't manage to do another race as the wind totally died and everyone headed back to the club.
Well great first day for us, but I'm sure we'll have to be at our very best from start to finish if we want to be at the top of the fleet.
Check our our website for more pictures the coming days.
We arrived on Thursday, a few days before the actual regatta that starts on Monday.
We had the boat measured on Friday morning. After that we set it up, adjusted some things we already wanted to do long time, but hadn't have the time for, and then set off for the first short sail.
Damn, what a great lake! From 1 pm onwards the wind starts to blow Southernly (Nothernly in the morning) untill about 6 pm. When we went on the water it was about 15 knots and a great ride with the spinnaker.
Also the wind and water is so hot you only need a shorty and that is still too warm at some times! :-)
Same thing on Saturday! That looked promising for the rest of the week and the championship!
Saturday most of the teams arrived and we could meet up with some familiar faces we hadn't seen for a long time.
Today we did our first race, the practice race. In fact it was held together with a local regatta.
2 small races were done today, with only 5 boats on the starting line the first race. Us and 4 Viper teams.
The wind was blowing Northernly the whole day because a storm hit us last night and this caused very shifty wind and a lot of dead spots during the race.
This race we finished 4rth, with Darren Bundock and Carolijn Brouwer having a huge lead of the rest of us.
The second race of the day most of the F16's were out on the water. (I think we are about 17 in total).
We positioned quite late for the start, but found a hole 4 boats from the committee boat. We had a great start and got clean air immediately.
We tacked quite early and got a great shift on that tack. The whole fleet turned to early to the upwind mark and had to do 2 more tacks, while we sailed into more wind by going further.
This got us first to the upwind mark.
We could keep our position up to the downwind mark as we did a great thing looking for pressure again.
We continued to keep our lead second time at the upwind mark, but a group of 5 boats had gained a bit on us.
On the second downwind we made the mistake on to gybe immediately into the pressure and got caught in a deadspot 50 meters below the upwind buoy!
We saw the group of 5 gybed immediately and sailing 50 meters higher with the hull out of the water.... (Cursing on the boat :-) )
By the time we got to the finish line they had overtaken us moving us to 7th.... Well at least we know we got our boatspeed right :-)
We didn't manage to do another race as the wind totally died and everyone headed back to the club.
Well great first day for us, but I'm sure we'll have to be at our very best from start to finish if we want to be at the top of the fleet.
Check our our website for more pictures the coming days.
Gamblers long distance
This race is always a fun race.
If you are looking for a fun race during the season take this format.
In short: you are given a course at the time of briefing. You have 10 minutes to guess how long it will take you to do the course. Finishing time is 4pm, starting time depends on how long you think you will be sailing. (more here)
The course this year was 21 NM. Wind force 5. Waves height 1,5 meters. Wind direction 5°.
(the white line is approx. 6.8 NM. The black arrow is the wind direction).
We started at 2.20 pm (last boat). Our initial guess was 2.10, but I got persuaded by another team to go for 2.20. :-)
After 5 minutes on the beat we (me and my dad) saw that getting to the first mark in 30 minutes was impossible... Or we would have to sail fast on the half wind legs or someone had to do something wrong if we still wanted to win.
45 minutes of heavy seas later we got to the 1st mark. To our surprise we saw the 2 F18's - that had started 10 and 20 minutes before us - sailing just in front of us. (all the others left even earlier and even with the penalty we could get for finishing late we would still be in front of them. The 2 teams just in front were the ones to get!)
The line from mark 1 to mark 2 was a terrible one. The line we had to sail was about 15 to 20 degrees off from a spinnaker leg. This got everyone stuck in a no spinnaker, heavy wind, high waves 20 minutes of sailing. The F18 slighty gained on us as we were slowed down because the bow digged into the waves at times. We tried to speed up as much as possible as the boat didn't pitchpole at all. If the nose went in, it nicely came up again, but at a loss of speed ofcourse.
To make it worse an ocean container cargo passed us at 500 meters giving us even bigger waves right from the side.
The leg from mark 2 to 3 was more our cup of tea. First we surfed down the big waves to "calmer" waters. Once there we could sail almost half wind, bearing away and making lots of speed in the gusts. By the time we got to the 3rd mark we passed an F18 and were right behind the other.
Now we were very close to shore and the waves were a lot shorter at the same height there. The first half we played it safe and didn't trap out. We could keep up with the boat in front but didn't come any closer neither.
The second half I decided to trap out in an all or nothing attempt to catch the leaders. Slowly we gained some ground, but way to little to catch them before the finish line.
The time we finished behind them was going to be multiplied by 3 as a penalty. We started 20 minutes after this team, so if we were 6 minutes or earlier behind them we would win, otherwise they would....
And we were just 5 minutes behind! Yes!
If you are looking for a fun race during the season take this format.
In short: you are given a course at the time of briefing. You have 10 minutes to guess how long it will take you to do the course. Finishing time is 4pm, starting time depends on how long you think you will be sailing. (more here)
The course this year was 21 NM. Wind force 5. Waves height 1,5 meters. Wind direction 5°.
(the white line is approx. 6.8 NM. The black arrow is the wind direction).
We started at 2.20 pm (last boat). Our initial guess was 2.10, but I got persuaded by another team to go for 2.20. :-)
After 5 minutes on the beat we (me and my dad) saw that getting to the first mark in 30 minutes was impossible... Or we would have to sail fast on the half wind legs or someone had to do something wrong if we still wanted to win.
45 minutes of heavy seas later we got to the 1st mark. To our surprise we saw the 2 F18's - that had started 10 and 20 minutes before us - sailing just in front of us. (all the others left even earlier and even with the penalty we could get for finishing late we would still be in front of them. The 2 teams just in front were the ones to get!)
The line from mark 1 to mark 2 was a terrible one. The line we had to sail was about 15 to 20 degrees off from a spinnaker leg. This got everyone stuck in a no spinnaker, heavy wind, high waves 20 minutes of sailing. The F18 slighty gained on us as we were slowed down because the bow digged into the waves at times. We tried to speed up as much as possible as the boat didn't pitchpole at all. If the nose went in, it nicely came up again, but at a loss of speed ofcourse.
To make it worse an ocean container cargo passed us at 500 meters giving us even bigger waves right from the side.
The leg from mark 2 to 3 was more our cup of tea. First we surfed down the big waves to "calmer" waters. Once there we could sail almost half wind, bearing away and making lots of speed in the gusts. By the time we got to the 3rd mark we passed an F18 and were right behind the other.
Now we were very close to shore and the waves were a lot shorter at the same height there. The first half we played it safe and didn't trap out. We could keep up with the boat in front but didn't come any closer neither.
The second half I decided to trap out in an all or nothing attempt to catch the leaders. Slowly we gained some ground, but way to little to catch them before the finish line.
The time we finished behind them was going to be multiplied by 3 as a penalty. We started 20 minutes after this team, so if we were 6 minutes or earlier behind them we would win, otherwise they would....
And we were just 5 minutes behind! Yes!
Duinenresidence/Zeeschelde Cup - 29/5/2010
What an awesome day we had! I must admit that right before the start of the Duinenresidence Cup I was really scared of what was about to happen. There was a lot of wind announced, inland wind, so very gusty. When we hit the water it became immediately clear that the predictions were right. And when Luc Claeys announced that he was not going to participate, my heart stopped for a second :-). Luckily as soon as I start the timer and the 5 minutes start procedure every fear disappears. I am focused and concentrated and in full control. We had a good start but couldn’t tack right away. Joris Vandeneynde and Vincent Thery tacked right away after the start and they gained a lot, they were first at the upwind mark. After the upwind mark we had a short half wind leg and than back to the upwind mark.
Once we finished this loop we were off for a long ride along the Belgian Coast up until Holland. It was an awesome ride, lots of wind, lots of gusts, but we managed to keep control. Gill trapped out and I was stuck sitting at the back, focusing on the wind, the shifts and keeping the main sheet on the boat (all very important tasks of course).
Lots of wind!
We had a real fight with a Capricorn, who passed us, then we passed them, they came closer, but we managed to stay in front. Just before the finish we managed to steer a bit deeper so we had more wind and we could trap out the both of us a bit sooner than the Capricorn and Joris & Vincent on their Infusion. This few minutes advantage on the trap made a huge difference and we could easily keep up our lead. We finished 4th.
Very pleased we had a short lunch break on a sandbank in the estuary of the Schelde.
We didn’t stay long because the wind was only increasing. After a half wind start (wow exiting and very easy to gain speed right at the start) we found ourselves in a bad position, almost behind all the F18’s, with no wind and no speed. We decided to pull the spi. After a short ride, we took the kite back in, bad decision, we were still behind and we couldn’t steer high enough to get out of the estuary. So the kite back up (hello muscles). We gained speed and managed to cross a lot of boats. Finally out of the estuary we could steer half wind again, so the kite got stowed away, but now we wouldn’t need it again today. Again in the half wind leg I sat on the trampoline while Gill trapped out, way to the back. Our boat speed is great and we passed a lot of boats. After a while we found ourselves in 4th place. Drag racing started. We had Joris & Vincent right next to us but they stayed closer to the beach. We were a bit deeper and had therefore also a bit more wind. Later on the leg I finally was allowed to stop sitting and trap out also :-). This was great. We could easily fly the hull and keep control, no diving and full speed.
It was incredibly exciting to race so close to each other. We also had Francis Proot on his wildcat close to us. He was way in front of us but capsized. Just when we passed him they righted the boat and started to come after us. We had the same boat speed so they were not able to pass us. And a few minutes later they went in again. Ouch. They managed to capsize 4 times that day! They must have been tired afterwards. Once we reached the Belgian coast we managed to stay well ahead of Joris & Vincent so our place was secured. We finished 4th, what a consistent result. Minutes after we hit the beach rain dropped down from the skies. And it never stopped raining that evening. We derigged our boat and headed to RBSC Duinbergen for the price giving. The end result was a 4th place for us. So we just missed a spot on the podium but we are really happy with our performance. We managed to stay before 18 good F18 teams, our boat speed was great, we had control and we didn’t capsize in those heavy winds, yihaa!
This event was really great. 22 boats in the C1 class (20 F18’s, 1 Nacra 20 and us on the Falcon F16) and a great ride along the coast. I was really happy I did not let my initial fear from before the start rule out this great race. Up to the next one!
Once we finished this loop we were off for a long ride along the Belgian Coast up until Holland. It was an awesome ride, lots of wind, lots of gusts, but we managed to keep control. Gill trapped out and I was stuck sitting at the back, focusing on the wind, the shifts and keeping the main sheet on the boat (all very important tasks of course).
Lots of wind!
We had a real fight with a Capricorn, who passed us, then we passed them, they came closer, but we managed to stay in front. Just before the finish we managed to steer a bit deeper so we had more wind and we could trap out the both of us a bit sooner than the Capricorn and Joris & Vincent on their Infusion. This few minutes advantage on the trap made a huge difference and we could easily keep up our lead. We finished 4th.
Very pleased we had a short lunch break on a sandbank in the estuary of the Schelde.
We didn’t stay long because the wind was only increasing. After a half wind start (wow exiting and very easy to gain speed right at the start) we found ourselves in a bad position, almost behind all the F18’s, with no wind and no speed. We decided to pull the spi. After a short ride, we took the kite back in, bad decision, we were still behind and we couldn’t steer high enough to get out of the estuary. So the kite back up (hello muscles). We gained speed and managed to cross a lot of boats. Finally out of the estuary we could steer half wind again, so the kite got stowed away, but now we wouldn’t need it again today. Again in the half wind leg I sat on the trampoline while Gill trapped out, way to the back. Our boat speed is great and we passed a lot of boats. After a while we found ourselves in 4th place. Drag racing started. We had Joris & Vincent right next to us but they stayed closer to the beach. We were a bit deeper and had therefore also a bit more wind. Later on the leg I finally was allowed to stop sitting and trap out also :-). This was great. We could easily fly the hull and keep control, no diving and full speed.
It was incredibly exciting to race so close to each other. We also had Francis Proot on his wildcat close to us. He was way in front of us but capsized. Just when we passed him they righted the boat and started to come after us. We had the same boat speed so they were not able to pass us. And a few minutes later they went in again. Ouch. They managed to capsize 4 times that day! They must have been tired afterwards. Once we reached the Belgian coast we managed to stay well ahead of Joris & Vincent so our place was secured. We finished 4th, what a consistent result. Minutes after we hit the beach rain dropped down from the skies. And it never stopped raining that evening. We derigged our boat and headed to RBSC Duinbergen for the price giving. The end result was a 4th place for us. So we just missed a spot on the podium but we are really happy with our performance. We managed to stay before 18 good F18 teams, our boat speed was great, we had control and we didn’t capsize in those heavy winds, yihaa!
This event was really great. 22 boats in the C1 class (20 F18’s, 1 Nacra 20 and us on the Falcon F16) and a great ride along the coast. I was really happy I did not let my initial fear from before the start rule out this great race. Up to the next one!
Eurocat 2010
The best edition up to now! (for us).
Last year we ended 25th and this year we managed to get into the top 10 (9th place) out of 53 boats!
Again a great event as Eurocat always is. Great scenery to sail in, great fun as we are with a big group of Belgian sailors and a great race as a lot of great teams show up.
In the C1 class the teams to beat were Carolijn Brouwer/Liz Hurley and Chris Sproat/Georgina Burke.
We left early so we had some days off there before the regatta. It gave us some time to get some more sailing together as most of the sailing lately were test sessions....
Friday the first day of racing was scheduled, a second one on Sunday.
On the first day we had almost perfect sailing conditions. In the beginning quite light with no trapping, the final 2 races double trapping in a nice sunshine!
We did 4 races on Friday and we managed to get good starts everytime. Our boatcontrol in these conditions has become very good so from this year onwards we are trying to start in the first line.
On the course our boatspeed is good too (we even came first at the upwind mark once!). Especially when we double trap we sail great angles upwind and are able to keep the hull our of the water longer and longer which means speed! :-) Kathleen is working her ass off going higher and lower in the trapeze to keep the hull steady :-)
Reward of the day: 8th place!
On Sunday the wind increased to 20+ knots. We did three races and my body was happy they didn't have the time to throw in a forth! :-)
Also now we tried to start front row, but in these conditions it was a bit more difficult. We ended up in the front row but didn't get up to speed fast enough everytime and had to deal with bad air...
During the 3 races we started to push the boat harder and harder. It was a real test as this was the first time we sailed these conditions with the Falcon. I have the feeling we didn't came near the limits of the boat and this gives great prospectives for the future! :-)
Especially on the downwind the boat was a sweetie! Super stable to sail and by the end of the third race we managed to do a downwind leg with a hull out of the water most of the time! And what a great speed we had! Great kicks on the F16!
Last year we ended 25th and this year we managed to get into the top 10 (9th place) out of 53 boats!
Again a great event as Eurocat always is. Great scenery to sail in, great fun as we are with a big group of Belgian sailors and a great race as a lot of great teams show up.
In the C1 class the teams to beat were Carolijn Brouwer/Liz Hurley and Chris Sproat/Georgina Burke.
We left early so we had some days off there before the regatta. It gave us some time to get some more sailing together as most of the sailing lately were test sessions....
Friday the first day of racing was scheduled, a second one on Sunday.
On the first day we had almost perfect sailing conditions. In the beginning quite light with no trapping, the final 2 races double trapping in a nice sunshine!
We did 4 races on Friday and we managed to get good starts everytime. Our boatcontrol in these conditions has become very good so from this year onwards we are trying to start in the first line.
On the course our boatspeed is good too (we even came first at the upwind mark once!). Especially when we double trap we sail great angles upwind and are able to keep the hull our of the water longer and longer which means speed! :-) Kathleen is working her ass off going higher and lower in the trapeze to keep the hull steady :-)
Reward of the day: 8th place!
On Sunday the wind increased to 20+ knots. We did three races and my body was happy they didn't have the time to throw in a forth! :-)
Also now we tried to start front row, but in these conditions it was a bit more difficult. We ended up in the front row but didn't get up to speed fast enough everytime and had to deal with bad air...
During the 3 races we started to push the boat harder and harder. It was a real test as this was the first time we sailed these conditions with the Falcon. I have the feeling we didn't came near the limits of the boat and this gives great prospectives for the future! :-)
Especially on the downwind the boat was a sweetie! Super stable to sail and by the end of the third race we managed to do a downwind leg with a hull out of the water most of the time! And what a great speed we had! Great kicks on the F16!
First race of the season: the Paascup!
Saturday April 17 started of with no wind. We had a nice and sunny time on the beach rigging the boat.
At 12h the sea breeze started to blow and the scheduled start at 13h could begin. We had 15 boats at the starting line, which is a nice amount considering the early start of the season with still very cold sea water (7°C) and an outside temperature of around 12°C.
The first race started with not that much wind, but during the race it gradually build and we finished the last race of the day at 16h with a nice 4 BFT. The sun was shining, we had no waves to speak of so this was a very good start of the season. It was also nice that we started of with little wind (no trapping out), to a bit more wind (only me on the trap) to the nice 4 BFT were both Gill and I could trap out upwind and were I could trap downwind too.
We had good clean starts 3 of the 4 times were we tacked of to starboard real soon because the wind was a bit more stable on that side of the course. Those 3 times we started well we also won! And the only time our start was not that good we finished 2nd, right behind The Zeppos team (Jan & Iris) on their Nacra Infusion. There was also an A-Cat racing and man his boat speed and boat handling were awesome! Overall he finished 3rd!
We were very happy with the boat speed and the boat's reaction on the wind and waves. Last year we always came in right behind or together with the Zeppos team (especially in light wind they always beat us) so we are super thrilled that this time we had an advantage on them and we won 3 of the 4 times. It is a great indication of how well this new Falcon performs. She is a beauty and a speed devil.
Upwind we gained a little on the Infusion and we also had a sharper angle to wind. Downwind with the Blade we always lost ground as we were stuck at the back beam and we did not generate lift easy. With the Falcon we noticed that we really had more volume to the front and so we could sit way more to the front, generating more lift immediately. It was awesome how easy it was to fly the hull and to gain speed and depth.
We managed to get in 4 races (2 laps each) and we had a great 4 hours sailing day. When we got back to the beach we had a nice Sommersby (apple cider) reception and then the price giving wich announced us the winner of the day! Yieha! :-)
The day ended with a nice Black Mango party at the club. Thanks to VVW Heist for the organisation of the first race of this season wich started of really beautiful for us!
At 12h the sea breeze started to blow and the scheduled start at 13h could begin. We had 15 boats at the starting line, which is a nice amount considering the early start of the season with still very cold sea water (7°C) and an outside temperature of around 12°C.
The first race started with not that much wind, but during the race it gradually build and we finished the last race of the day at 16h with a nice 4 BFT. The sun was shining, we had no waves to speak of so this was a very good start of the season. It was also nice that we started of with little wind (no trapping out), to a bit more wind (only me on the trap) to the nice 4 BFT were both Gill and I could trap out upwind and were I could trap downwind too.
We had good clean starts 3 of the 4 times were we tacked of to starboard real soon because the wind was a bit more stable on that side of the course. Those 3 times we started well we also won! And the only time our start was not that good we finished 2nd, right behind The Zeppos team (Jan & Iris) on their Nacra Infusion. There was also an A-Cat racing and man his boat speed and boat handling were awesome! Overall he finished 3rd!
We were very happy with the boat speed and the boat's reaction on the wind and waves. Last year we always came in right behind or together with the Zeppos team (especially in light wind they always beat us) so we are super thrilled that this time we had an advantage on them and we won 3 of the 4 times. It is a great indication of how well this new Falcon performs. She is a beauty and a speed devil.
Upwind we gained a little on the Infusion and we also had a sharper angle to wind. Downwind with the Blade we always lost ground as we were stuck at the back beam and we did not generate lift easy. With the Falcon we noticed that we really had more volume to the front and so we could sit way more to the front, generating more lift immediately. It was awesome how easy it was to fly the hull and to gain speed and depth.
We managed to get in 4 races (2 laps each) and we had a great 4 hours sailing day. When we got back to the beach we had a nice Sommersby (apple cider) reception and then the price giving wich announced us the winner of the day! Yieha! :-)
The day ended with a nice Black Mango party at the club. Thanks to VVW Heist for the organisation of the first race of this season wich started of really beautiful for us!
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