I-shares cup Amsterdam

Last weekend I sailed the bladerider for the Ishares cup organisation during the Extreme 40 event in Amsterdam. The race area of the extreme 40 cats is in an enclosed area within the city of Amsterdam. It is amazing how this 40 foot cats race there with a fleet of 10 boats. All very close to the shore and the public.
Unfortunatly there wasn't too much wind and only on sunday there was occasionaly ample wind to get the Bladerider RX foiling. But the moments I was foiling I got great response of the crowds. Whereby Wouter Samama, the moth friendly dutch Ishares cup speaker was helping to stir up the audience!
Everyone reacted very enthousiastic and from the shore people asked and shouted all kinds of questions, mostly related to the boat and sailing....

In the wrap-up video of day 3 of the ishares cup there is approximatly 5 seconds of foiling action, around the 1:30 minute mark of the video.


Crossing in front of these big cats while the wind is twirling around the buildings nearby gives an extra dimension to moth sailing....
Next to sailing the moth I enjoyed watching the extreme 40's racing and enjoyed meeting some old sailing friends who where attracted to this event in Amsterdam and/or where actively involved with the circuit.

For me the next event will be to join in october the f18 catamaran races in muiderzand and to see if the moths (Constantijn, myself and any other mothie who likes to join) can beat the best dutch catamaran racers with the bladerider.
Due to family commitments the first sunday that I will be able to join these october races will be on the 18th.

Open dutch skiff trophy, Benelux alive and kicking

Nine moths where at the start line last saturday for the Open dutch skiff trophy! It was a great turn-out whereby 100% of the members of the belgium dutch moth association were racing. I guess there are not to many sailing classes who can say that :-)

It was a great event with a great bunch of sailors. Koos wrote a very nice piece about his experience.

When I think about it I guess the benelux fleet must be one of the most international ones as almost 50% has an international background. Chris who is actually a brit flown in to strengthen the sailing skills in the 'deep' south of the Netherlands. We have Juryk who is a german living more to the east and has amazing logistic skills. As he manages to come to the events without owning a car or a trailer for his boat. And probably one of the few people known to be hitchhiking with a moth and we have Giovanni who is an Italian American living in Belgium......

It was also great that Sven Kloppenburg from Germany joined the fleet for this race.

It was perfect sailing weather as in the morning it started with light winds and during the day the wind increased, with the occasional very gusty period, even up to appr 24 knots. In the lighter stuff Sven and Gio showed good skill and speed and overall Sven was sailing solid and very consistent. Constantijn started every time very well and with the right conditions was fast in the first beat. Juryk was handicapped as his foils where already broken for the races. Koos enjoyed himself, although found out that moving house does not train all the muscles necessary for sailing a moth. Young gun Rob has an old foiler with incredible bow-up attitude and had some material failures. Hans Wust impressed with the enormous progress he made within the short while that he sails a foiler, as he started foiling this summer.

As for my own performance I was happy with the progress I made with the boathandling. Gybes where solid, also when I had to do two quick gybes to dodge 6 capsized skiffs in front of me in one of the more gusty periods. The tacks are also getting better. After the Europeans I have been able to sail only a few days however in those days I focused on tacking and gybing and this focussed approach helped. Although especially on the tacking there is still room for improvement before they are near foiling everytime (with this i mean, the back of the hull touching the water and then quickly going up again). It was also great fun to sail the rounds while overtaking 49ers and 29ers. As the moth is so silent and so much faster it is great fun to overtake them while being close and to see the amazed expressions. Hopefully it inspires some of them to try a moth.

It further amazed me that overtaking on the leeward side is not a big issue. As when foiling the moth is sailing mostly on apparent wind, it is not too much bothered by the disturbed air.

During the AGM of the benelux association I was stitching my trampoline back together as this was the only way I could ensure that I could sail on sunday and join the AGM. This was the only less brilliant thing of the weekend, all the rest was well organised and it was great to be with nine moths on the water showing the other skiff sailors what moth sailing is about.

Results can be found here

After the weekend I read the blog of Rohan and I think it is too bad that he leaves the class as he is the one who inspired a lot of people to go foiling including myself. I wish him all the best and hope that after taking some distance he will be back in due time.

Holiday

I have had two very good sailing trips this year. Sailing with the Team Puma in Galway and the Europeans.

After the europeans I have sailed a day at the 'Kaagweek'. Which is a dutch lake race with a lot of traditional and modern dinghies competing. It was great to show the speed of the Moth against the backdrop of the 'holland-friesland' regatta. This is a regional team race event sailed in an historic dutch class, the 'regenboog'. The plan was also to show the bladerider during the 'sneekweek', which is the biggest lake sailing event in Europe, with over 1.000 boats participating. However during the transport to the north of the Netherlands the socket head came off. I was ready to launch when I noticed that this small, however crucial part was missing. I didn't had as spare so no sailing, however together with friends and family I could enjoy the famous 'sneekweek' parties. This helped to overcome the pain off not being able to sail while there was a very good breeze.

Now it is off for a family holiday for a week. I could not fit the worlds in my schedule for this year and as said I was happy being able to do the Europeans. While on the family holiday next week I will try to follow the worlds.

It is great to read the many updates on the moth blogosphere and I'm exited to follow how the events will unfold.

It will be interesting to see how the form guides of Scott and Simon will play-out. To see if these are lists of doom or that the pressure of being on the top of these guides will make Arnaud & Nathan only stronger.....

Secondly it would be great if the hard work of Giovanni on his self engineered wand system will pay off and that he finally can show his warp speed!

Good luck to all at the Gorge!

Europeans, happy with a podium place, 3rd overall

Just came home after a drive from Denmark. Whereby a few times the highway seemed more a giant parking spot as we encountered a few lengthy traffic jams. Happy to be home after enjoying a great week in Horsens as the weather was very good. Sunny and during the races enough wind! After the last race also the wind was directly gone, which must have been a sore sight for the more light wind oriented sailors.

I'm happy with my overall 3rd place, which I could manage thanks to the breeze and the help of a number of other sailors. As the swiss team helped me out with some necessary spare parts and the fellow members of the dutch-belgium team helped with technical expertise on preparing my boat. Respect and congratulations to Arnaud and Simon. They performed a perfect show of how close you can battle in a moth while doing speeds in excess of 24 knots. I was lucky enough to see their battle up close and some moments being in it. Compared with them my upwind speed was good, but I have lot to improve in boathandling and downwind speed. So enough todo when I have time to sail again.

The last day I had some great battles with Jean-pierre of Switserland, whereby in one race it was very close upto the finishing line. Racing in such a way, while literally flying over the water, is everything what i hoped for moth sailing could be.

Overall my standard bladerider VRX performed very well. Some people asked me what the difference between the VRX and my former X8 is. My experience is that the bigest difference I notice is that my standard VRX feels more solid and controllable in the windy conditions we had.

After the races there was a nice party, whereby the inevitable "tiller of death" beer drinking competition started. In Weymouth i managed as anonymous new comer to the class to avoid this "tiller". However this time I could not. My performance in the field of beer drinking contest was lousy, of which also my now beer stained last clean shirt is a silent testament.....

Day 2 Europeans, One windy race...

This morning when we came out of our cabin on the beautiful family camping site of the Husodde Strand camping we already noticed it was a bit more windy then the previous day. Arriving at the yacht club we could see already the white on top of the waves.

The forecast was that the wind would drop in the afternoon. So scheduled start of 10 in the morning was postponed. So we had to wait. For me it is still interesting to see how people can get in to intense debate regarding the technicalities of wand, mast and other systems. As I have a big passion for the thrill of foiling but I lack a bit of the deep engineering interest. Although it is nice to listen to all the ideas and think about it.

At 13:00 the committee decided that discussing and thinking time is over and that the race was going to start at 14:00. It was still very windy, however doable for people with experience with sailing a moth in wind.

Finally appr. 30 boats arrived at the start and appr. 14:30 the gun went off for the start.

After the first mark it was Arnaud, leading, then Simon, then myself closely followed by Jean-pierre and Mike Lennon.

Second upwind mark the order was the same, although I managed to gain a bit upwind. Second downwind Simon capsized and we rounded the bottom mark together. Which was interesting as we where close and doing appr. 24 knots (thanks to my velocitek). Last upwind went not so well and I rounded in 3rd, Arnaud still leading Simon. Towards the finish I overstood the downwind mark and while a reached towards the finish the boat abruptly stopped and I was flying. First I thought i must have broken something on the boat. The boat was OK when I reached it. So probably i hit a lump of seaweed. The capsize cost me one place and I finished 4th. All other races where postponed as the breeze was measured to be in the mid twenties and some time above. Tomorrow the last day and it is possible that 4 races will be sailed. So still anything is possible for everyone. Although Simon looks solid with 1,1,2,2 and Arnaud is matching him if counting a discard DNC, 2,1,1. Looking forward to great day, forecast is a little bit less wind. Hopefully for myself not too much less.....

Day 1 Europeans, Mixed emotions

Today was the first day of the Moth Europeans. it was nice and windy today in denmark. So perfect sailing weather, especially for one who likes to sail in the breeze. It was an early day as the scheduled start was at 10 O'clock. Although the harbour with a small canal and almost non existent slipway is not the perfect place to launch appr 40 moths in onshore breeze of 20 knots. It took some time before we were all on the water. And after some delay the first was started. I was pleased with my upwind speed. Downwind I lost a bit and boathandling can still be better. But the result was a 2nd place and that made feel good and ready for the next race. The 2nd race same story and I was trailing Arnaud and Simon when half way I heard some crack. Firstly I couldn't see that there was something wrong and continued sailing. later I saw that my mast stump cracked and my mast was few centimeters down. I could continue sailing and my goal was to finish the race in one piece. So trying to do everything gently.... on the last run the mast sinked 5-10 cm further in the mast stump, luckily it stayed upright although all the tension on the rig was gone. I finished 3rd and went straight in to avoid any further damage. So the day started with an up and finished with a down... almost literally. Now we just finished all repairs. Lets see what kind of surprises the next days of the Europeans will bring.

Galway wrap-up, Rotterdam

Unfortunately the trip to Galway has come to an end. It was a great experience to be part of the Volvo festival. We had a great week practice sailing, while being able to enjoy the view of the volvo boats. Most of the week there where light winds. Last friday was a great sailing day. Saturday there was plenty of wind sometimes too much with guts well over 25 knots. This was great wind for the start of the volvo leg to marsstrand. However thanks to the waves of the huge spector fleet and the gusts It wasn't easy for a moth. We could give a show to the spectators of how fast a moth can be. My topspeed clocked during this day was 26 knots. We also showed how you can make spectacular crashes. One time I hit the water with such a speed that I bounced two times on the water before sinking in it. A spectator boat nearby was applauding and yelling "we want more...". Great people the irish :-)

Hereby also a picture of the start day whereby I was sailing close to the beach, lined with hundreds

of spectators. The water was pretty cold and it was sometimes very difficult to shake of the ventilation of the rudder. (as can be seen of the spray from the back).

Today it is up to Rotterdam to sail the same course the Volvo boats are going to do for the coast of Rotterdam. This time with my own boat and Puma sail. This is a race to see which boat can beat the time of the Volvo 70's. It will be for the first time to sail a moth on the open water of the North Sea, for sure it will be a new experience!

Galway stopover, puma sailing

It is already some days that we (Constantijn) and myself are in Galway. We are sailing the Puma Bladeriders here till the start of leg 8 Galway to Marstrand.

We drove down to Galway from the Netherlands. On the ferry from holyhead (UK) to Dublin we got a comedy of errors show from the captain and his crew. We first got the message that we could not leave on time as the engine needed some maintenance. After appr 45 minutes we got the message that the engine was ready however we could not leave as there was something with a winch and that they couldn't untie the mooring rope. After again appr 45 minutes came the message that they managed to untie the aft mooring rope, however the rope was now caught-up in of the ship screws. So we had to wait till divers could get this sorted out......... It took another appr 45 minutes before we left...

We managed to get in Galway although a few hours later than planned on thursday late afternoon. Galway really embraced the Volvo completely very impressive to see people so proud about their Green Dragon.

When we arrived by the boats we met Michael from Bladerider UK. He was over for the weekend and already started with assembling the boats. However the boats needed also some maintenance as they were used for sailing with school kids in Boston. The kids apparently liked it very much, the boats a little bit less... Luckily almost all the necessary parts where available for the repairs and the Puma shore crew helped us out perfectly with tools and repairs.

On friday afternoon after we could get sailing with a good breeze. We sailed around the starting area of the practice race. It is impressive to seen how the Volvo guys manoeuvre their boats like dinghies on the startline. On saturday during the in-port race there was far less wind. And only occasionally we could get foiling. When we were foiling we got cheers and applaus from the spectator 'Armada'. Never experienced anything like that....

After Saturday the wind became lighter and lighter and the temperature higher and higher. It is here more like cote d' azur. Something extraordinary as normal irish weather would be rain and 12-15 degrees. Apparently the Irish are not used to this heat as I never have seen so many people with sun burns.

Today the wind was almost non-existent. Hopefully we get some more wind in the rest of the week and get some foiling in....

20% = painfull

Not much moth news from the past weekend. Last thursday I cycled the 160 km "Steven Rooks" classic. It was a successful effort of finishing this tour. More important I could complete all the climbs cycling and didn't had to resort to walking.

When I started cycling 2,5 months ago and someone told me that a climb of 15% is pretty of though I thought can't be that difficult as it seems like it that it can be 85 % more difficult. Little did I knew...

From experience I can tell now that a hill with a climbing percentage of 20% is painfull. There were two of those on this tour and these are climbs I will not easily forget. Although the muscle ache the day after was less then after a day hiking in the moth..

The rest of the weekend was very enjoyable as I spent it with my family.

Next stop will be Galway. Together with Constantijn I will manage the Team Puma bladeriders there. Looking forward to that.

Hellecat action

Small movie of the action at Hellecat last weekend (1oth of may).

Sailing & preparation for "the steven rooks classic"

This weekend I had a good weekend sailing. There was good breeze wind and the location, greveling, was very good. Although I can feel now all those muscles I wasn't conscious about before starting moth sailing. My new bladerider performed well and didn't budge under the abuse I gave it.

It was a good plan to meet up with Giovanni and to do some sparring. Although the sparring worked out differently as planned. As Gio got his new Mach 2 the day before. When we met on saturday I could help him rig the boat, as some things are very similar to the bladerider. In the afternoon we could go sailing. Only Gio had to go back after 20 minutes to fix a few things. Sunday was more or less the same. Although Gio could stay out a bit longer than saturday before before he had to return. A new boat is always nice unfortunately it takes some time to get it right. For some boats it takes a bit more than some time....

The picture shows the Mach2 and the bladerider next to each other.

Two and half months ago I entered in a kind of bet to do a cycling tour. The "Steven Rooks" classic I didn't had a boat at the time and seemed like fun to do with a friend. The only other thing I was missing was a Bike. So I bought a second hand bike and had to do some training... Coming thursday is the start of the "classic tour. It is 160 KM through The Netherlands and Belgium in which there are 7 climbs. The latter are the most worrying for me. As I noticed during some training that cycling in the flat is OK, going down is exiting and good for the adreline levels, however climbing is painfull. I will probably know by thursday late afternoon how painfull.

We have got him.... :-)

The boat was released by customs on friday. After a long wait I have got finally a sailboat again!

This weekend there was the first race of the revived Dutch Belgian moth association in Hellevoetsluis. It was a bit of a race against time to get everything ready for this, however i managed. This in spite of having two left hans and breaking a crucial part when assembling the boat

The event was a great succes. We got a great welcome from the catclub hellecat and everything was well organised. For me it was the first time to attend a moth event and special to see some people with whom I only communicated by e-mail before. It was great experience to meet a great bunch of people who all share the passion for moths and sailing this strange spieces of boats in particular.

In total the where 7 boats. Foilers and so called low riders. I managed to get the boat ready in time and the set-up as set from the factory was very goo

d. We gave a good show to the spectators on the beach and the cats who were also racing. Especially on sunday afternoon when there was a good breeze to get foiling. The last race I managed to overtake all the catamarans who started 5 minutes before us. This was a great experience.

Looking forward to the next dutch moth event! Attached a picture of how the boat arrived and how it looks when it was assembled. Results of the race can be found here

Hope II Customs hassle

Good News! The boat arrived at schiphol airport. The chances are becoming more likely that i can sail this weekend the first dutch moth regatta. However first the boat has to be cleared by the dutch customs office. And as there was some misunderstanding in the Air bill it is taking longer then expected. Next to hope, some time is spent on e-mails and phone calls...

Hope

Good news today from the bladerider factory. The boat is now complete, including the missing mast and boom. Apparently CST hadn't delivered them in time.

If all is well it is dropped off at the airport in Australia.

If all goes well it should be delivered at Schiphol airport next week. Hopefully then also the converted to moth trailer old trailer tent (vouwwagen) is then ready. As I'm then able to transport the boat.

If this all works out I will be able to participate in the first Dutch moth event of the year of the new revived dutch moth class.

So I hope all the if's work out positively, If so then see you all the 9 and 10th of May in Hellevoetsluis! :-)

ps attached a picture of the new boat in the factory

Waiting

My boat went all pear shaped in october last year. Thanks to the warranty and the support of Bladerider I could order a new VRX. This one was supposed to be delivered on january the 15th in the Netherlands. However I'm still waiting for it to be shipped out.

It is very difficult to sit at home while there are perfect sailing conditions the last couple of weekends.

To stop annoying my girlfriend to much in the weekend, I took up cycling. Last sunday I had a perfect ride in the south of the Netherlands. Together with a friend we did a tour of 120 KM and climbed 5 different (dutch) hills. Nature was really nice.

Now back in the office and going to ask again what the ETA for my new boat will be. Still hoping that coming weekend it would be possible have it......