8th July ROLLERBOX and Jib

during the week i had been building a new boat stand and ordered some rollers so the boat could slide onto the stand easy, my guess was 3 would be enough and it was

 with M8 bolts and washers to fix them down to the box which was 1 metre long,












the old back boxs were taken away and the boat stand props from the front and all the other wood that had congragated around the boat. finally around 1130 i was finnished and ready to go sailing.
spent more time sorting the jib and changing the shackle to hook onto the clew, this was a cheap snap shackle from B&Q for £2.79
then it was a case of sussing out the furling drum and how to do it. eventually i sorted it. launched into what looked like light wind. eventually i pulled the job out to give it a go. and found it had slipped down and hada kink in it near the bottom. oh well. after talking to greg after we wrked out a way of rigging it better.  sailed 9.6nm approx and around 1h 37

off Ballard, looking back toward Old Harry (right hand side of pic looking )

wind around 7-10knts

Sailing Diary latest

1.  6.1nm   "ERL"  1H   SOLO      010417
     STRAYCAT with John Russ        020417
2   6.0nm   "ERL" 1H SOLO        250417
3   1.1nm   "ERL"  30M  SOLO   220517
4   4.1nm   "ERL"  44M   RACE  SOLO   270517
     STRAYCAT  with John Russ    100617   14.3nm  3hr 5m
5.  8.4nm   "ERL"  1H30M  SOLO  160617
6. 6nm approx "ERL" 1H55  SOLO  020717
7.  5nm  "ERL"  1H  approx  SUMMER RACE SERIES   020717
8. 9.6nm "ERL"  1H37M (test sail with jib  first time)  080717

2ND jULY 2017 early morning sail and first race complete on Sprint15 since 2006

 an early start to get to swanage and park.
on the water by 0850   sailed for 2hrs almost before the race got under starters orders.
wind was more further out into the bay bu the forecast was due to drop so a small triangle was set.
had to remember to start with the mono s as sprint15s start with them now.
i messed the start up as i went head to wind and had a job to gwet going again.
went over the line almost 2 mins late. played catchup but it wasnt to be. adrian passed me in the 2 sail version as i was on main only.
race was about an hour and 5nm after reseting my trip.
the first part wasnt recorded for some reason.
pics and vid to follow

heading out for sail and not paying attention

rehearsal for Poole bar bouy 16th June

the plan was to geta sail in for the folloing poole bar race on saturday afternoon,  the forecast wasnt good for that, but the friday was ok.
on the water 1015 and met alan and john returning saying the wind was getting up.
after a brief meander in the bay i decided to just look around the corner off ballard to see what it was like and then decided go for it.
halfway along i was becalmed and headed out to sea slowly to be greeted by a good breeze , which took me past old harry and hurtling toward pool bar and then all the way back to old harry again.
after that it was ok but the tide was against me on one of the tacks.
made it back in good time , not sure which headcam or bow cam turned off but found out  that it was the one i thought had tuned off in actual fact was filming, but did run out in swanage bay.
it was very sunny and hot and comming into the beach i jumped off the boat to find it was deeper than i thought. i just managed to touch the bottom and get the boat in. close thing

the rest of the day was spent eating fish cake and chips then  3 pints from 3 different pubs back to the club. a few photo sessions later and then a very later spag bol in the van i was ready for sleep.
the forecast for saturday was 8mph which may pick up later . i woke and decided  nah, not for me
it was le mans on tv for the weekend so i got home ready to start the usual marathon tv watch .

      bowcam vids to follow

1hr30  8.4nm

first race of season on "ERL" #2007

dashing to swanage to get parked earlyi was held up my every slow driver and tractor ont he planet.
got in with just enough space to park the van, the plan was to sail early am then go to sail johns boat in pool on straycat. the weather at swanage was misty and windy.
i went for a few zzz in the van and then a cornish pasty from the cornish pasty shop.
then i decided after looking at the wetaher it would do the cup race as it looked CALM
boat on the beach and eagerly waiting.
afew 15s were racing, linda and adrian and myself amda few dart18s
the wind was ok but the waves were choppy and building.
prior to the start my mainsheet hook came off and that led to me missing the start, the nearest boat had cleared the mark as i started,  at mark 2 a few lasers gybed and fell over. from 2 to 3 was entertaining as was 1 to 2
rounding the 3rd i niced i was catching linda, by mark 1 i had caught her as she mistimed the rounding.
it was a bit more relaxed wind wise going upto 2 so i gybed with easy being well right of it.
when i came out of the gybe i was sheeting in and bang
the mark was between both hulls. ?????
how did that happen. after watching the vid from headcam i still do not know how it appeared so fast  on me
the safety of nigel and cliff came to the rescue, it took a while asa nother boat capsized while i was hiding the mark in my boat.
after eventually releasing it i was then in irons and very close to the ledge  was it going to be 2005 all over again as it was a strong ebb tide and the wave state was the same.
i beckoned the boat over again and asked for the bow to be pulled around as with one sail i couldnt tack around . they did manage it and i wthen made it safely back to the club.
it was good fun in the conditions just to survice, i was a tad upset i didnt finnish but it wasa story to talk about and everyone had a laugh about it.

4.1nm   "ERL"  44M   RACE  SOLO   270517

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJMOVyLxDg&t=45s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTYDYaHJ7qI

22nd May 2017

was supposed to be 10 to 15knts south south east.
struggled to get off the beach with lack of wind. then the main fell down and then the rudder decided to unhook, as a bent retain clip didnt help
managed to clear the pier and then decided to see what it was like getting back. the social group were heading out slowly and aln in the mirrow never ever made it past the old pier.
i headed back out for one more try then decided no.
wind was no existant of tide and a bit of a chop, but it was sunny
back on the beach i struggled to get the boat up the beach as i forgot to place the trolley in the right place and made it heavy.
after finally packing the boat away and not feeling to good i headed home
30 mins sailing and 1.1nm  not good
sorted a few problems with the laser, ie wrong trolley under another laser. all sorted, hull delaminated on port side where gunwhale support is, boat was full of water.
old repair i think gone bad.

2nd sail of season 25th April 2017

an early start 0630 on the road, i wasnt going to go but had a reason to go and that was to drop pff the laser tiller i forgot to put in the box last time when i dropped the laser off.
i had redone the front stands and added some struts to reinforce them.
"ERL" was rigged and then by 0900 was on the water. had trouble getting the main to click on the top of the mast, also the mainsheet slipped thru the cleats, so either
its warn or the cleats are or both,
boat went well, i was waitng for the wind to pick up as i knew it was going to be 13knts gustings 18 from nw
everything seemed ok, just took it easy. had a really good sail, went out to see the "pelican of london"
sailed for an hour and covered 6.0nm wind was 13knts to 18knts nw
time to test the boat stand, all worked well. wind was cold but sunny
glad i sailed, all filmed with headcam on gopro and bow cam gopro, screenshots later if they came out

new reinforced front stands

after launch from the bowcam

Pelican of London in background

2017 sailing diary

1.  6.1nm   "ERL"  1H   SOLO      010417
     STRAYCAT with John Russ        020417
2   6.0nm   "ERL" 1H SOLO        250417
3   1.1nm   "ERL"  30M  SOLO   220517
4   4.1nm   "ERL"  44M   RACE  SOLO   270517
     STRAYCAT  with John Russ    100617   14.3nm  3hr 5m
5.  8.4nm   "ERL"  1H30M  SOLO  160617
6. 6nm approx "ERL" 1H55  SOLO  020717
7.  5nm  "ERL"  1H  approx  SUMMER RACE SERIES   020717

"ERL" maiden sail at swanage

an early start as allways and off to swanage to sail "ERL" , managed to move the boat around ok on my own, and got it on its side to replace the mainsheet halyard.
then it was a case of sorting the wind indicator and then meet rob who had a look at the boat as well
i launched with a bit of apprehension , thinking if something wasnt right i would be stuck.
i put the phone in the cocktal cabinet and forgot to set the gps running,  i sailed for an hour just over, praticing a few gybes and tacking
boat went ok and very pleased, tacks very well on main only.
6.1 nm and 1hr10min
my first sail for over 6 months, so very pleased, wind was about 8 to 10knts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVs-UCJcTKY

10th march visit

well leaving home at home at around 7am i hit the fog and the nutters on the road, arrived at 0830 and picked up my laser kit the whole trip was about,

polished the hulls and sprayed the hatch covers
renewed the batten tension ropes
adjusted the trapeze ropes and bungy rope
added go pro mounts to tiller bar
starboard bow by jib halyards and one under the port beam.
mist never lifted so after the work and a trip to the pasty shop time to head home
for around 1445.  some more work is needed like the mainsheet halyrd which arrived when i was down at swanage
the old one stretched as i hoisted the main, doh.