The Euros certainly ended on a real high for most. It must be said that everyone would have learnt loads from the week and come away with a huge amount of valuable experience.

Now safely back home it’s time to recap on some of the highlights…

After my last post, I am pleased to say that having taken on board loads of advice about gybing, it finally clicked in to place and I think I have enough to build on. My goal will be to be able to do it on demand and also translate it to high winds as well.

The last day dawned with blue skies again which normally means ballistic winds at Silvaplana however (thankfully) this never really happened and instead we were treated to a much calmer 12- 15 knots and flat water.

We got two races in which would decide the overall winners and also give the entire fleet a chance to put in to practice all that was learned during the week.

I had two good races with the last one being the best of the event for me. Very few failed gybes and an absolute steaming start thanks to the general recall and black flag rule (it meant that most were a little reluctant to push)

It’s an awsome feeling to be ahead of some of the biggest names up the first beat! As expected it didn’t last long as the top guys assumed their correct placings and regained control of the race. Unbelievably, if you drop a gybe nowadays at a european event, you can lose 30 places as I found out.

In the end I finished with a 43rd and 55th overall which meant the world to me! I was mostly pleased that my boat proved itself in the nuclear winds with nothing more than a couple of ropes to replace and a few mods to be done.

I’m also really pleased with how the boat is now set up thanks to a load of help from Kevin, she is riding consistently at the mach2 esque heights (about 350 – 400mm of foil in the water) and in control which really helps with the foil tacking.

When I started this blog I remember saying that the future was here in the fact that the class was making a quantum leap forward. Having experienced an event like the euros first hand, I stand by my views.

The media interest is at a new level and is attracting more and more superstars to the class. I’ve never seen so many celeb sailors in one place at one time!

What was really interesting was the fact that this year there was no more “camp epoxy”. Mine never came out of the box and pretty much everyone had only small breakages and nothing terminal. This is a HUGE difference to events in the past and is a sign that the boat is starting to reach a welcome level of reliability.

Standards continue to improve and foiling tacks are becoming a staple requirement like foil gybes. I was able to gain 150 metres upwind on a fellow competitor in one successful foil tack and by the end of the beat was ahead by nearly half a leg.

As mentioned before, gybing has to be nailed everytime or it costs dearly.

I met some really nice people during the week, Constantijn, Per and others to name but a few! Doug Culnane is actually pretty damned good and I think he is a little harsh on himself and doesn’t realise how good he actually is (he kicked my arse and also took top spot for the homebuilds!)

Amazingly there was only two real crashes with the potential to be disasterous, the first one involved Tim Penfold and the second involved Tom Offer. I guess it was inevitable when you see the size of the lake coupled with the number of boats. I certainly developed whole new level of spacial awareness and it helped train you to “get you head out of the boat”.

The Brits put in a solid performance overall but there is again a new level of commitment required to get to the next level. Sheer boat speed just doesn’t cut it anymore.

It was an amazing experience to be amongst the best in the world and a great inspiration to see them in action.

Congratulations also to Simon who has now completed the hat trick and is Current World, European and National Champion! How nuts is that?

Next stop for me is Hayling Island Tide ride (with a few trips over there and Stokes Bay beforehand no doubt.)

This pic was from the helicopter yesterday ©Loris Von Siebenthal with a bit of evidence that I am managing good starts (I’m at the bottom with the black deck!)

Today was a mixed bag with lots of carnage and breakages across the fleet. Once again the wind came in and was howling with gusts again in the 20s.

I had the same problems with a “wandering rudder” and this time just couldn’t seem to stop it happening. Not sure if the water temps dropped further or I was just tired. Anyway, I was again late for the start of the first race not that it mattered as I think I was out of energy after three days intense sailing. I managed about two gybes in the whole race with the rest ending in capsize.

Tacking was survival tacking instead of the smooth efforts of yesterday.

So with race one finished it was time to squeeze a little more energy out of myself in the increasing breeze. I got a good start and headed up the first beat in a reasonably good position and then dropped my gybes downwind to end up at the bottom gate in a still reasonable condition thanks to the carnage around the course. Second beat was just a case of hanging on. The second run was where my race ended as yet another venting detached the bottom leg of the gantry.

Luckily it only pulled the plug out of the tube and nothing was broken so I was able to stuff it back in and low ride home.

Race three was out as I had to let the plexus go off. So it’s ready for tomorrow although I’m not sure I am! I’m clearly at the end of my physical endurance at this stage and is a nice indicator for me to work from re. fitness. I’m surprised I lasted this long really!

I was angry with myself for sailing so badly but I guess I have to keep reminding myself that it’s going to take time and effort to get in to shape and the guys that are ahead of me have certainly put the hours in.

Star of the day has to be Ben Patton who pulled it out of the bag in the strong winds to deliver two top ten results! Well done Ben.

At the moment thanks to the strong winds, Nathan O and Bora and slogging it out for the title with Nathan ahead by just a few points.

So one more day and then it’s back on the road heading for home.

The cold water temps are causing a few issues for quite a few sailors at this venue. I am sporting my best bruises yet from getting thrown off!

It’s weird how you think you are pushing it until you really push it and this stuff happens. Excellent learning curve and great to know where you are going wrong.

Yesterday started horribly with the boat totally misbehaving with several crashes just heading down to the startline. I managed to just about get round the course for the first race in the crazy winds (again over 20 knots) having started really late after the crashes. Upwind I am happy as I am totally in control and have now pulled off 4 fully foiling tacks. the rest have been what I call “speed tacks” where you foil through but then touch down and are able to take off again fairly quickly.

Downwind was a total disaster until I figured out what the problem was…. the rudder was too tucked under the boat which meant that it was “wandering” and thus causing the capsizes. Then the other fundamental thing was that in a blow, you absolutely have to ease the kicker to kill some of the power (especially with the North V8) otherwise there is just too much for the foils to handle and eventually they overload resulting in a capsize (in cold water temps).

By the second race things had calmed down a lot and I was able to really get round fairly comfortably and regain a bit of confidence. Unfortunately so had the rest of the fleet and it seems that 55 is my magic number.

I was however pleased that by race three, I didn’t get lapped and got through the finish gate in time.

We had a new experience yesterday with a helicopter taking shots of the racing which was interesting.

Once again, Ninjario brought me home without drama and hopefully will look after me for the rest of the regatta!

Yesterday was day one of serious racing and it all went really well. Up front the big guns are slogging it out with lots of place changing going on. The winds were medium and variable (12 -18) with lots of holes on the course which seemed to be where I headed for on every run!

Upwind I am happy with speed although there is no consistency as I am so unfit so there tends to bursts of good speed followed by bouts of non hiking foolishness where I am pretending to go upwind.

I had a good few battles with Doug Culnane and Martin Fear which was good.

So the results of day one in such a highly polished fleet were a little under where I expected to be… I scored three 50 + placings.

Top story of the day was the first full speed downwind collision at a moth regatta with Tim Penfold and one other piling in to each other. Fair play to Tim who escaped with a cut under his eye and one broken wing and tramp! I’m not sure about the other boat but I know the pilot escaped unhurt.

Then today the winds arrived in earnest and it must be said that I was properly scared heading down to the start. There were gusts coming through around the 25 knot mark and with so many boats in so confined an area, there was concern for the health of those around me! For the first time, I managed to hit a new top speed (I’ve no idea what it was) signalled by the fact that I was tearing downwind at full tilt on glass flat water, with the foils whistling as they do, then I got hit by an even bigger gust and suddenly the whistling stopped, I accelerated  and was absolutely convinced that the boat was about to explode. Thankfully Ninjario kept it together and we were able to race in the strong winds.

There was a drastic turnaround for me in the results as I went from 58 in the first race to 39th in the second and then 30th in the third. It was all down to a mental attitude thing I discovered… I am getting really good starts but then by the time I get to the top mark, I start dropping places due to a lack of  concentration so that is a big area I am going to work on in the coming months.

On the flipside, I’ve now pulled off two proper foiling tacks and they are fast improving (ie. I’m not just throwing myself in to them and hoping for the best). Not so with the gybing in strong winds. I really need to nail that if I’m going to get any better.

We were supposed to be having a lay day tomorrow but they are planning to run another three races. My body is battered however, the hotel spa, jacuzzi and sauna really took care of that today!

We had a good evening just now with the whole fleet heading up the mountain via cable car to a restaurant with a three course meal laid on for  us.

It must be said, now the weather has cleared, this place is starting to look magical.

More from Silvaplana tomorrow….

Silvaplana translated means “water in the air” or at least it should be… I’m sure I’m not the only one who had a crystal clear mental image of Heidi skipping through flower filled meadows surrounded by butterflies and other wildlife, sun streaming through her hair as she beamed her jolly little smile…..

Coming from England I should be used to rain but shit on a stick,  it’s been relentless with most of the british team having relocated to warm and most importantly dry chalets, leaving behind their sodden tents.

Good news all round as Rod is once again a beaming bundle of joy having recovered from the cold he picked up and spent a night in a toasty room. I feared yesterday he was going down with lung rot or something.

Today all of that changed and we got a glimpse of what makes this place special. First thing in the morning we awoke to sunshine and a fresh dump of snow just a few hundred metres above our location and clearly visible from our hotel room. Then surprise surprise it started pissing it down again even heavier than before.

The practice race started without me on the course as I just couldn’t motivate myself to get it together with all that rain and the sharp drop in temperature.

It was great watching the big guns tear it up… Nathan Outeridge and Scott Babbage steamed in to an early lead by miles after just the first beat. Cool to also see so many moths in one place.

Then the wind switched off and the racing was abandoned by most who probably thought it best to preserve energy for the racing proper tomorrow.

At this point the rain also stopped and by the time everyone got in, the sun came out and the wind returned. Finally time for me to get on the water.

It was an awsome couple of hours with Martin Fear, Jonnie Hutch and Rodders amongst others. This lake is the flattest water I’ve ever sailed a moth on. Gybing was brilliant and for once consistent. Even tacking on the foils (although not quite finishing them off) was easy.

Scarily though, I was out of breath to start with as the air really is thinner than down at sea level!

Once back in, I had time to knock up a new rocker arm for the wand block as the last one was a little short. This should give me a little more ride height as I was maxed out at 450mm from the horizontal and couldn’t get any higher which I know changed when I reset the wand block angle to nearer 30 degrees as opposed to the 60 previously as I chopped a little too much off!).

So tomorrow things will kick off and I guess everyone will go into serious mode including me so good luck to everyone and hopefully we’ll get some good racing in.

Stokes Bay was the scene for our last training session before the Europeans. Once again, our local guides Kevin and Jo played the perfect hosts on hand to offer setup tips and discuss control configurations.

A good number of Team GB also turned up as it was the staging point for the boats going over with Mike Cooke and Rod Harris. It was great to see everyone and then watch with excitement as all the boats got dismantled and loaded on to the trailer.

Nestled in amongst the boats was Rod’s brand new Mach2 still in all it’s wrapping and shiny travel box.

Surely it’s going to be named “Hot Rod”??

The winds were not playing ball for most of the day until most of the boats were packed up and Jonnie and I were getting ready to head back when at around 3:30 it swung and filled in to a sublime 16 knots which gave us one last opportunity to sail before the Euros. Kevin, Jo, Jonnie and myself enjoyed a couple of hours on the water and thanks to Kevin’s set up tips, I was really happy with the boat. I managed one super sizzling gybe where I finally was in control the whole way through and came out at full speed. I worked out the error was in the final stages and footwork. Hopefully after the euros we (Ninjario and I) will be in a different zone as we develop a better understanding of each other as I hear the lake is long and thin which means plenty of gybes downhill.

Kevin and Jo are ones to watch as they have been sailing in the Solent chop without adjustable wands which baffles me as I found it not too different to Worthing. If the nationals are there next year and we get good winds, I envisage a lot of carnage downhill.

So Friday is drive day for us, we’ll dismantle the boats and load up the van ready for the ferry crossing at 9:25 pm followed by a looooong drive over to switzerland. I’ll be taking the camera so hope to bag loads of good pics for the blog and the UK site.

So for now it’s good bye to Rod, Mike, Emma, Martin Fear and 2 litres of bulmers as they make their way to Switzerland. Pete Barton and Ben Paton are on the ferry before us on Friday and I guess everyone else will be heading over in drips and drabs.

Having received a distress call from one black hawk down, we made our way over to Hayling yesterday to have a blast around our new home for next year.

Upon arriving, the winds were really light and gusty but the one black hawk (aka Graham) was out and about already and had sent out a false SOS. Once we rigged up and headed out, Graham had come in having been on the water for ages. So we missed our opportunity to sail together still, as luck would have it, the sea breeze decided to kick in and we enjoyed a couple of hours of flying around the harbour in 12 – 15 knots. What a sublime joy it was too! No string weed, no swell, no shore dump and plenty of gybing practice.

I have made some small changes to the setup and they have made a big difference in the handling. Changes were to things like pushrod lengths and the bias adjuster. The main difference in handling was that the boat now “floats” through gybes and tacks and it’s only my handling that needs working on.

My gybes are 3/4 there with the error coming on exiting, steering out and switching hands. If I am brutally honest, I am pulling off 10% of PROPER foiling gybes with clean exit and full speed/ no touch down. Otherwise the remaining 90% are ok and I get through them but either drop off the foils whilst fumbling with the main/ tiller or dip in to leeward on the new tack and have to let go of everything and lean over the wing to recover and avoid a full capsize.

Jonnie and I swapped boats and it was great to see Ninjario from a 3rd person perspective, riding nice and high (could still go a little higher) and level (after tucking the rudder in loads)

No more fiddling now before the Euros. Just another session next weekend before heading off.

The blog has been quiet since the Nationals for one reason… I’ve not been this busy since 2008 and unfortunately for my sailing, I’ve not even seen Ninjario since Torbay! She’s been covered up at the yacht club.

Despite a server meltdown last night where I lost the databases of a good few client websites (including the extreme 40 world championships site), I’ve been able to set aside some time to go into production making adjustable wands. Following the nationals, several (nine in total so far) people asked about the one I had on Ninjario so I ordered up 10 meters of carbon rod and fired up the oven.

7 of the 9 will be complete on monday/ tuesday and I’ll just be waiting on some bits to make up the “plug and play” kit.

Si Propper kindly lent me the Mach2 “bullhorn” fitting so that I could manufacture a fitting for the Mach2 which means literally unplugging the existing wand and plugging the new one in.

I’ve managed to sort out a bit of a system so I can build two at a time which saves time.

I also had my first stab at spraying with Durepox and it is lovely stuff. You can paint like an amateur and it still goes on smooth with no runs. So I finally have a couple of shiny foils ready for the Europeans.

Talking of the Euros, I’m hopefully heading over to Hayling tomorrow to join one lonely Mach 2 for a bit of a training session. Then one more stop next weekend before heading off to Silvaplana.

In the words of Simon Payne over a coffee on day 3 of the nationals… “The UK fleet is in really good shape” Nowhere was that more apparent than from where I was seeing the racing unfold.

My objectives were reached and I am really happy with the new boat and even the improvements in my sailing over three days.

But my god, when did the entire fleet shift up two gears without me knowing it?

I always expected that the frontrunners would steam away from the start but how the remaining  boats found so much speed all round the track remains a mystery to me.

DAY ONE >

Finding my feet and lacking confidence, I clocked up a 28 and a 22 in light shifty winds. I was pleased overall but felt the boat wasn’t quite set up right. It was fairly nose up and I adjusted that by tucking the rudder in and giving more lift at the rear.

The conditions were definately geared towards the “less portly gentlefolk” but it didn’t seem too bad in terms of them having an advantage.

My biggest problem was my inability to pull off a foiling gybe without crashing. It wasn’t like I was sailing any worse than before, it was just that everyone else was sailing so much better. People I’ve never heard of in the moth class were effortlessly pulling off every gybe and disappearing off in to the distance while I righted from capsize after capsize. Needless to say, I got lapped by the frontrunners at some point or another, having said that, I also scored what was to be my best result of the event with a 22.

DAY TWO >

This was another day of shifts and holes and light winds with the promise occasionally of the wind filling in. I clocked up my worst results with 32, 28, 28 clearly showing that everyone else had dialed in to the conditions and race environment and I hadn’t although I was pleased to say that sporting a new race watch, I remembered how to use it and get to the start line in time and for the first time since sailing lasers as a youth, I was over the line in the second race which was strangely satisfying! In the end, I pulled what was to be my worst results of the regatta with a 32, 28 and 28 I also forgot to wear my gloves which meant “we had a bleeder” with some juicy blisters opening up… Never again!

DAY THREE >

A much windier affair with winds getting up towards the 18 knot mark. Much more to my advantage being 80 kilos… or so I thought! Those skinny little devils just rose to the challenge and continued to steam around the track rendering my weighty advantage null and void! Watching people like Doug Pybus (10 kilos lighter than me) holding it down upwind and even pulling away was disheartening and blew away my theory about the advantages of having a pot belly. Mind you, Doug was sporting a new “Rambo” impact vest so maybe I’ll get one of them!

This was to be the bast day of sailing for me as I felt more comfortable in those conditions which also had some weird “worthing style” swell and chop running which meant a whole load of crashes from those nearest to me round the track.

The highlight for me was the last two laps of the third race where I was dueling with Andrew Friend all the way round the course. The runs were wild and furious and each of us stacked it a couple of times but we would always end up neck and neck again by the windward mark and in the end I just pipped him at the line.

Ironically, my prodder attachment had given way on the way to the first race and somehow I still went ok round the track! The only worry was the occasional loud “clunk” as the rig flipped during a gybe and the prodder would swap sides of the mast!

DAY 4 >

There was absolutely no wind to start with and the race officer started sending everyone out to the course in 6 knots of wind. Un inspired by the possibility of a drift off coupled with a really poor forecast and by now really painful hands, I opted to sit out the final day. In hindsight I am a little annoyed with myself as the wind did fill and they managed another two races. If I had completed them and even come last I would have secured a 27th place overall but as it was I ended up 30th out of 42.

SUMMARY >

My first proper regatta since I was 18 and the second one in a foiling moth and overall I am happy. I do still have several mountains to climb in order to get to where I want to be (I appear to not be as gifted as some of the bright sparks in the fleet who have learnt to foil gybe and go fast in a ridiculously short space of time) but I have learned loads and gained the all important valuable experience and have hopefully set myself a nice solid foundation on which to build.

Once again Ninjario was rock solid and held up nicely in the varying wind conditions, huge courses and back to back racing over three days. I am getting a much better feeling for how she works and by the end was foil gybing consistently without realising it.

I’ve got some work to do on tuning the rig before the europeans but apart from that, it’s just time on the water between now and then. (Oh and a gantry rebuild for Jonnie!)

Spooky really.. Since building the boat and launching, I have been unable to gybe. I sort of forgot up until today. Thankfully, I have remembered now so I won’t crash at every corner. I have no idea what I was doing wrong before but today I was suddenly able to foil gybe again.

I had a wee breakage yesterday where the top of my ninja rudder/ tiller tube broke (same place as Jonnie’s did a while back) however it was nothing I couldn’t fix overnight in the oven and with some unidirectional. I also had to sleeve the tiller but that is now rock solid too. Interestingly, I was not that keen to be back in the workshop. I would have much rather been sailing…

Once again the boat held out in the strong winds of yesterday and the marginal stuff of today. The set up appears to be pretty spot on now with the boat riding really high, I mean REALLY high. I’ve stopped pulling the retractable wand at the first sign of trouble so that is helping too. Maybe this had something to do with my gybe failures?