MBM #7424 at Weston 2015 a watercolour by KJ Sandover 2016

24th june 2016

an early start so i could meet with Rob PARKINSON,to pic up some oil paintings he did for me.
after we met time had passed us by and the wind picked up, peter couldnt make crewing and that meant i had to take the jib down on the dart.
then the jib halyard snapped and jammed and luckily i hada new one in the van just couldnt find it.
eventually i did, and then i tipped the boat on its side hurting my back in the process.
eventually i got out and found the wind a bit too strong for solo. a few times up and back on the reach and i headed in. cooked lunch in the van and then headed home int he pouring rain. Bournmouth race tomorrow but the wind and back says no.  always next year

Peter Jaggs poole bar bouy

got up and on the road by 0530 to avod the traffic that was still on the road early  lol.
it was sunny and reasonable breeze.
cleaned the laser bottom after turning it over and then go padling with it to wash the sand off
tidied the box so the lase kit could go in, sorted the laser full rig so it could be used.
i asked richard if he wanted to sail and also peter, both said no until peter jaggs rang back and said he could after all.
showed him the rigging to set the boat up and then off we headed into the bay, we then decided to go along ballard and then decided to go for poole bar bouy. we got there after 51m and then made good progress back to swanage only to find very light patches of wind.
eventually we did get back with the tide helping.
a good mornings sail

poole bar bouy

4.6 nm 54 mins out to PBB
4.2 nm 76 mins  return to SSC

Peter Jaggs on the way back to old harry

route to poole bar bouy after initial sail in bay

Peveril cup race

Peveril cup race, i had agreed to do the race with John Russ,. when i arrived at swanage early morning i thought   BAD idea. after milling around the club and taking some pics in sunny weather i came around to the idea that i would start the race and then if not happy  abandon.
the weather changed a lot from early am and the sea was flatter then expected. After the start we tacked to port and got clean wind and helped move up the fleet. we rounded peveril eventually losing some spots having to tack again or we would miss the mark. we still had greg behind us and Pete had overtook us around the mark.
then it was stay ahead of greg time as pete was gone.,we managed to keep pace with malcolm and anne emery  thats how slow we were, she did shout starboard on us  which made me chuckle when she realised she was on port and we were starboard to her. so next time we crossed i shouted starboard and laughed.  after 58mins of racing and 2 laps we finnished and on handicap  didnt come last, all the cats were bottom of the fleet.
a good day afterall and a few pints in the bar after  helped.
next day was bar duty and decided not to sail and it was not so inviting at the time. first night in the van away as well and found it cold which didnt help the asthma.. the race was filmed on the go pro hero,

up close to Pevril bouy

MBM 7424 on its stand

solo sail and 1974 cup

R1 1974 CUP

R2 1974 CUP

early start again to get to swanage and do a race with John Russ. it was the 1974 cup which was 2 shorter races. the weather was really nice and when i got to the club decided to launch solo and go for an early sail. on the water by 0830 and back by 0945 in time for the launch for swan 1 in memory of Bill Mcmillan. the boat is known as Swan Bill.
The wind picked up after we launched and i was a bit apprehensive. i made a poor start and ducked the fleet on port. the boat went well, we got snowed under by other boats but never mind. we finnished along way behind the 7th cat but considering this was my first race at the club for over  1.5 years.
race 2 we made a good start and had 3 cats behind us. we did well to keep them at bay and even managed to pip GREG !! by 5 seconds.fantastic weather and the early sail was captured on my new go pro hero 4 session.
total time on the water
solo  over 4nm   45mins
r1 1h19  7nm
r2  1h23  5.4nm
r2 includes in beach
r1 included out from beach

looking left toward SwanBill on the start line

april 1st

first off a trip into Kemp Sails to add cringles to the main sail clew plate
then into swanage for the TGIF group
gary mike and mark all decided to go solo on the 18s  so we launched and found it quite gusty and the waves building.  gary went over first and spent ages trying to get the boat upright. we circled him making sure he was ok. when the other 3 regrouped they were reaching down towards the far end of the bay and next mike went over. then i seen him on garys boat and he was dropped off , it was ages again with no sign of the boat coming upright. some of the double handed monos even helped.
i sailed into the club and saw gary richardson about to launch  i said i think we need the rescue boat for mike.  we launched and got mike back to shore eventually.  he had broken his harness and tiller extension whilst trapezing .
with the same forecast for saturday i made my way home rather than stay overnight.
an entertaining sail for the 2nd of the season.

first sail 2016

2016 kicked off for me with a nice sunny light wind sail with richard.
launched around 1030 in light winds and sailed along the coast admiring the coast and activity.
at times the wind dropped to nothing ,and with no paddle and radio we did think what are we doing.
then as we were thinking of going in the wind suddenly picked up as it was forecast.
we stayed out to make use of it, sailing for over 2hrs in total but only 7.0nm
for a first sail of 2016 couldn't complain.

fishcake and chips after and soaking up the sun, what more could u ask for
sailing time 2h approx
fastest speed 11.9knts
distance 7.0nm

29th December 2015 first sail /last sail

7am start to Swanage and a diversion later the heavens opened on my arrival. a cup of tea later and i took the old tramp cover off which was acting like a swimming pool. Richard arrived and we then replaced about 6 tramp clips to tension the trampoline . we eventually launched into bright sunshine around 11.30am
Ben was out on his laser as well.
the swell was deceiving from the shore  but on the sea was quite a bit. the gusts came in fits and starts. we stayed close to the shore to avoid bigger waves further out.
after about an hour of some enjoyable sailing we headed in when it started to rain again
it was still sunny as well.
new tramp cover put on and boat tucked away for the new year
3.5 miles 49 minutes
max speed was 15.4 knts

sailing 2014 compared to 2015

new tramp cover

just ordered a much needed new cover as the old one is always attracting a lot of dirt and grime in damp weather.

Swanage return

7am 2nd  Dec i set out for weston to bring MBM back to Swanage. it was a long trip due to how busy the m27 was.
after some 2.1/4 the boat was derigged and on the trailer
we headed out around 11.50 and in swanage 1335.
Greg came to put the mast up as everything else was done. boat box in place as well we headed off to the white lion 1500, for some well earned food.  all done and dusted we were home by 1735.
hopefully now i can do a bit more social sailing like i did in 2014. and a few races as well.

racing 2015

completed 20 races total in 2015 at weston.sc   25h 46m racing time plus the warm up times extra
in 2016 i will be back at Swanage. hopefully  the return will be ist week in December.
social sails in 2015 were non existent as I had planned to do some longer distance stuff.
the sailing was good but the venue for after sailing was lacking and not as fun as Swanage.

hopefully will get back into the swing of it and maybe do a bit more on days off when i can launch any time I like from the beach  unlike weston  governed by the tide.
also the racing was a tad boring if no other 18s were out as well. basically the fast cats were in a race of their own and we had our own race.

I miss the out of bay sails to poole bar bouy and of course the Bournmouth race.

what made me stop and think was returning to swanage after sailing on Straycat with john russ.

2015 DIARY

SAILING DIARY 2015

1. 4th JAN.Weston S.C  New year cup.  2 races. 6.6 MILES 2.5 HRS   light wind

2. 14th JAN Weston S.C freezer 1 & 2  14.8 miles  2h 15m   wind nw 15-25knts  

D. 7th FEB  DUTY DAY WESTON S.C 

3. 21st FEB  FREEZER 3 & 4     wind 15-23knts nw 

D. 3rd April...... DUTY Weston Grand Slam  R1

4. 4th april R4 and R6 WESTON GRAND SLAM 

D. 5TH APRIL......DUTY  R7, R8, R9.  RESULTS

5. 25TH APRIL spring 3&4 race Sam harper wind sw 15knts++

6. 30th MAY SPRING RACE BACK TO BACK  CREW MIKE FOOTER wind 10-15knts nw. 2h 40m 18.3miles

7. 20th JUNE  JUNE CUP SERIES (3 RACES DONE)  WIND 8-15KNTS , CREW RICHARD STAINIER

8. 9th august  late summer series 1 CREW RICHARD STAINIER about 45 mins 15knts plus 5.8 miles  

9. 15th August late summer r5  r6 solo  2 races in about 10 knts of wind 2hrs 

10. 29TH AUG AUGUST CUP.   R1  R2  R3  solo   8- 10knts  sse

11. 5th SEPTEMBER LATE SUMMER 9 &10  crew Patrick Conduit  wind 10knts to 20++  8.2miles & 6.1miles

1h40 & 1h 15 

12. 19TH SEPT. LATE SUMMER 11&12 SAM HARPER Wind r1 light  wind r2 10 knots plus r1 2.2 miles r2 4.6 miles 

S.C 4TH OCT sailed straycat strider club with john russ, shell bay to swanage and back 14,6nm 3h28
17th October. WINTER SERIES sam harper  
S.C 20TH Nov sailed straycat shell bay back to its winter mooring 6.8nm 2h plus
13.  29th dec MBM pleasure sail Richard Hart  3.5 miles 49minutes wind 7-17knts  wind 240-230 deg 

summary
25h 46m racing time in 20 races

Winter series 17th Oct

race one track, wind was forecast to be 1112-18 knts nw, it was lower than that but got up in the 2nd shorter race, sam was good on his tactics today and made for some good racing against mike.
we started  late in r1 over 2m 20 late
we are 140 behind and the tetra mark in the channel and then led at the end of the lap. we kept the lead all the way tot he finnish.
r2 was windy and mike was catching fast after we had a good start.
at the end of lap 3 mike just took the lead but to the tetra we were racing neck and neck, we tacked off and made our own way back to the line, made allowances to get to the blob mark but then found out we were finishing. mike went straight for the line which was a shorter distance, so they beat us. good racing. i feel better racing myself and sams a very good crew.
7miles  57m

spare rudders overhaul

bought a set of rudders on ebay for a good price, in good condition it said, not used much so very tight to unlock.
i got them and found they were in good condition apart from one. the blade where it meets the arm had been repaired. it snapped of during undoing.
the rudder bolts were the metal sort and seized solid.
after drilling out with no success on one i then decided to whack it with a hammer hard . the insert and bolt came out as one. new replacement rudder service kit job done.

the other that i had drilled out i then hit as well and the whole lot came out. outer sleeve as well
so ordered that as well, this was then epoxied back in place and the rudder reassembled. no problem
cleaned up all working fine.

the broken rudder end bit basically is now spare like i had a spare blade before.
i will try to bond some isopan p40 and reshape it. more on this later

all fixed, the isopan p40 was really good. a bolt the same size as used was placed in the slot where it had to go wrapped in paper. the isopan fibreglass was mixed and then spread on top to make the shape of how it should have been, it soon went off, after a while it was sanded down with a bosch dremmel type machine and then mouse sander, the holes showing were filled with just some glue.
it was then sprayed with plasticote white paint.
all looking good. hopefully will do the job.
 

final of series

it was foggy when i left home at 730 and little wind predicted.
after a snooze i was woken by the sun shinning into the van, new launch wheels were added to the boat and worked very well.
sam arrived after a long spell of no crewing with me, the job to do was to beat mike and kamil.
the first race i got to a good start in hardly any wind. after going way right when i tacked  kamil had done much better.
by the end of the lap we were not to far behind, course was  triangle(laid by club) far beacon club.
2nd l;ap the tide was getting us to go around the windward mark. we fell behind and mike was catching. we made up some goround on kamil and the wind filled slightly.
it wasa long race 1h 13m
durng the break we quickly replaced the lower batten which was broken.
r2 was far beacon (s) 3(s) club(s)  a funny start as we went to early headed off mike to the pin, he was over so was i and kamil was behind, i quickly went behind the line and started again and soon got close to kamil. it was close for the rest of the race even doing a port starboard on them at far beacon.
i made one mistake gybing off to soon on one lap so we fell behind a little.
mike was behind but catching slowly.
we ended 2nd again and enjoyed the wind that made up for r1.
kamil took the series and i was 2nd, first time ever a 2nd in a series.

RACE 2

RACE 1

home built big wheel launch trolley

finally finished.
thanks to cadkat.de for the wheels , wheel bearings and cups.
all terrain tyres for the tyres
and ebay for the alluminuim 50mm bar.
total cost posted approx £400, i did buy some bolts to fix the cups but didnt use them in the end,
=====================================================================
working on a handle extension, carbon pole 25mm   6ft long,  pics to follow

5th september

busy day ahead, picked up richard and got to the club early.
task 1 put new adhesive protection on old launch trolley, too small and not sticky enough FAIL
so off we went to force 4 which i didnt know was only down the road. we got some skiaflex 291 black and used that to stick my old rubber backed carpet i had in the van.
stuck it on the trolley put it under the boat job done.
job 2 measure up the new big wheel trolley for wheel position and cup postion. job done

just waiting now for the cups to arrive from cadkat. saved a fair bit on the price i would have paid from windsport doing it myself.
£550+ postage for them , mine came out around £420 posted.
the next job was to sort the trapeze on the contender and pratice on land getting in and out. sorted.

the race wasnt until 4pm and around 2.30pm patrick turned up to crew for the day. many question s were asked which i didnt mind.
we launched early with the course in my head
when we were out there we were told it had changed. when we did it everyone did what it

was before. ???
we started well behind the line and it wasa one start for all out to boundary which was very flukey on the wind. a good reach and we cleared most of the pack going to moorehead, then off too netley for the downwind section.
mike and ugly duckling were well in front.
patrick came up with good ideas about the taletales on the sail and i tried to adjust to get them sorted. tactics wise we tried different to mike. at the end of the race were were surprised we just edged mike on the line, his tiller rubber joint had broken. not sure when it happened but a 2nd is a 2nd either way.

next race again we were behind the line and soon caught up again. this time we were ahead of mike.
at the end of lap 2 we caught U.D and then lost it going to boundary. mike caught up as well and off netley we went our own ways . we met on aport starboard but mike covered us instead and then started to luff, i tacked off knowing going on starboard was the best sailing direction. we made good speed ad then by the time we tacked for the pin end of the start line we were way ahead. good job done, and patrick did a good job too. no tack messed up by moving over early, so well please
all richard said after was we were sat to far back, patrick was a tall guy and thatw as the only problem really, needed to be the other side of the shroud most of the time.
both races about 45mins +  course was (boundary) (moorhead) (netley) (club)

race 1

race 2

  

August cup 29th aug

with no crew because richard wasnt well and not alot of wind i was looking forward to 3 races.
by the end of 2 i was looking forward to some sleep.
we decided to enter in to the med fleet with the contenders,  it made for a intresting starts and we never really pulled away from them much..
all 3 races i had a good battle here and there with mike , highlight of the day was launching after lunch,  the wind was behind and i failed to notice, the boat went down the slipway into the water and started sailing straight away even with the launch trolly., i tried to hold on but fell over and then shouted runnaway boat lol, luckily a fisherman in a small tender stopped it for the safety team to pick it up, i hitched a ride on a dinghy and got took to the boat. all good fun
course was  no2 (s) weather (s) boundary (s)

R1

R2

R3