A man in a dress?

The Duckams Award for Gross Over-Achievement is a Firefly tradition to recognise events worthy of mention that the perpetrators would probably prefer to keep quiet. The fleet gathers each evening to hear nominations and vote for them.

The winner of the Duckams- and his crew/helm - then have the honour of wearing a specially chosen dress, wig and accouterments for the following 24hrs, on and off the water!

Good reason to keep out of trouble

Race 1 of 8 - Mid-fleet madness

Enjoying a less-deserved beer this afternoon after a difficult race. Despite the moderate winds it was super-tricky out there. While some made the most of the very-fluky winds, we became somewhat slave to them. Seemed like we could never quite get on the right side of the beat or shift. And once you are in mid-fleet, it is difficult to get out what with all the dirty air and water.

Our start would heve been OKhad it not been for 3 or 4 late bargers to windward. Once out we continued left while the majority of the fleet lifted out to the right. The right side was the place to be. On the final beat we went right and the left was the place to be. Que sera sera.

While we finished 31st, RSC scored some better results: Phil&Jilly 13th, Peter and Dawn 22nd, Sophie and Alan 24th.

But some of us had it worse than others. Poor Patrick (RSC) managed to capsize right on the start practically in front of the gate boat. A lack of buckets and leaky tanks ensured immediate retirement - and probably a nomination for the Duckhams Award for Gross Underacievement. (see Blog: 'A Man in a dress')

Catcha later,
Ben

Practice Race - Kong did good!

Enjoying a hard-deserved beer this evening after a windy choppy race. About 20mph – not our kind of wind, but we’ve outdone ourselves, finishing 6th out of the 41 boats that chose to do the practice race. Yeeha.

Olympic Victory 60 years on...

The winning boat today, beautifully restored F498, raced in the Torquay Olympics in 1948. How appropriate is that?

Knackered after the first race - what we gonna be like by the end of the week????

We chose to get away early across the gate-start, which did us well since we could begin sailing the shifts straight away, and earlier than the boats starting further along the gate. 5th around the windward mark – but we had to keep our cool because there was a hungry pack chasing us down the reaches - and Liz just might fall out the boat yet! Time for a rhyming game - the word to match was "fifth".

4th at the leward mark - we cant quite believe it. A difficult beat; we went up the middle and closed the gap on those to the left but those behind on the right came right back to us. Windward mark 7th.

The run - yikes it almost all goes very wrong - Im losing control in the difficult chop - the rudder feels very heavy - and we nearly go over on a jibe. The rudder pin has come out and the rudder has raised a bit - it makes an alarming difference. Thankfully we sort it and get to the final leward mark in 9th. A good short beat to the finnish to see us 6th over the line and first Restonguet Boat. Hurrah - but don't forget this is a team effort.

The reach home. Check out the boat behind nose-diving!!

If only this race counted! Hope we havent peaked too early!

Check out the results at http://www.royaltorbayyc.org.uk/

Catcha tomorrow,

Ben and Liz

ps - bigup to my gorjus better half and part time crew Nikki.

Team Kernow in Devon

The weigh-in....

Thanks for the comments and wishes of luck - LUCK? We need pasty-power!!! Please keep the comments coming...

Here we are at last in Torquay – the harbour has been completely taken over by Fireflies! Measurement was a slick operation, but it was a nervous time as Kong was hoisted under those scales – but she passed – phew!












The rule is the boats must weigh minimum 185llb. Kong checked in at 190llb – not as light as some – but it is windy out there today so will the extra weight help or hinder? At least we don’t have to go and rob some church-roof lead to bring her up to weight!!





All the serious sailors are here and most of the recent National Champions. No Steve Tylecote yet though, our Endeavour Champion - hopefully he'll be here with family in tow tomorrow.


Nerves are building now - a quick pint at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club should take the edge off...


More after the race..

Getting ready

Best sailing moment: Winning the Whitsun Cup with two 1sts and a stonking hangover

Worst sailing moment: Falling out the boat while leading the beat during the SWern Champs!



Hi there, I'm Ben and that's my crew Liz in the photo with me. Liz and I have known eachother since were were nippers, abandoned on the beach at RSC while our parents raced each other in Fireflies - Outrageous!

It's the last day in the Museum for me before we head to Torquay, and it is packed in here. The wet weather is driving everyone to our front door; the queue right now (12:30) is out the door onto the square. The office staff will be washing dishes over lunchtime again today.






Kong (my Firefly) is on her trailer ready to go first thing Saturday morning. Last minute repairs to the centreboard and mast are just about done. The forecast for the champs looks like a mixed bag at the moment. Saturday's wind says 17 gusting 36mph - YIKES! Liz and I do best in light to moderate winds, with a combined weight of 19 stone. But when the wind gets heavy we hand the advantage straight back to the competition.

Still, can't wait to get there now and get stuck in.

We had some last minute practice last night during club racing at RSC. I sailed a friend's boat for a change. Up the first beat we tacked, I put my feet where my toestraps usually are and leant out hard - and fell straight into the water. Whoops, his toe straps arent quite where mine are. Glad to provide some cabaret! Seriosly hope neither of us fall out in the Nationals.

The first thing we have to do on arrival in Torquay is go through measurement. Each boat is carefully checked it complies to a few key measurement rules, like weight (each boat is hoisted under weighing scales), length of jib poles, distance of shrouds from transom etc etc. We all want to be as near to the limits as possible, but fingers crossed Kong passes the checks!

Talk to you from Torquay -


Ben