Been out on the water a few times since I last posted. We had the SB3 race day last week and I was racing with local celeb sailing superstar and god, Yousef Lahej, one of the only Arab sailors that understands the difference between a shy reach and close hauled. Anyhow, it was completely glassy when we went out and we were sailing upwind with our spinnaker up at teh same time our competitios were sailing downwind with only their jib up, safe to say a gnats fart would have created more breeze. Just as we were making it back to the yacht club…. an hour later the breeze finally kicked in and started to build. First race we won by getting in phase early and openeing up a nice old lead, almost throwing it away on the last run by being too lazy to cover gybe.
By the start of the second race it was 20 knots and still building, we were three pretty small dudes racing for the first time together on an SB3 so that made it a touch interesting. We were leading until the leeward mark where someone that didnt know the rules decided we could not ask for water to gybe with a boat doing 16 knots towards us on starboard. Not a good look from them and you really need to learn the rules you retard. And no, you are not in the right, mast a beam is from the 80′s!!! ahhh idiot.
Race three was 25 knots plus, we had lost our main batten in race two so were sailing uphill with no battens in the main. We had a shocker hoist due to our pole getting stuck and not going out, at which point we went shrimping, race over. Early bath.
During the week my Mach two arrived, just been putting it together the last couple of days, I really wanted to get out on the water today on boxing day and do some training with Magnus and Emma from Sweden but I have not got round to putting my foils together yet, or figuring out how anything works. So instead I took a rib out, it was absolutely glamour today. 18 knots and building out the west, quite a big seaway running and 30 degrees. You could not ask for better conditions to be sailing on boxing day anywhere in the world. Magnus and Emma have been out all day long and are making fast gains with their time on the water. I had a couple of goes on their boats just to try and get some sharpness back to my sailing, i am pretty blunt right now its safe to say. So dinner tonight, followed by some boat work and then bed. Back to work tomorrow, YAWN! Props to the Turk for pushing 32 knots, now that is fast.
Also, glad we are going to have at least two women here in Dubai for the Worlds, I think we really need to push the class to get more women racing. Maybe as a class we can give free entry to women racing at international events? We need some sort of plan for sure.
Yesterday Victory 1 flipped at 180 km/h and both Mohammed Al Meheri and Jean Marc Sanchez died in the crash. We had only been with Jean Marc last week when sailing in the national day parade on the creek.
Sad sad news. The guys over at victory are a great bunch of guys and they must be in total shock.
All is good in Dubai, sun is shining, breeze in ON and my moth deilvery inches ever closer. As do the Worlds. Things are looking really good for the Worlds now, with a few discussions talked about and a slight change with the RTW race in store….. You will love it! The Dubai Fleet gets ever faster, and more new boats on route. ITs all very healthy and no signs on the woes of the last few weeks.
So yeah, get involved with the worlds and lets get mothing even more into the limelight. Do I have any takers for a radio interview on Dubai Eye in the lead up to the event?
Puma have announced sponsorship of the Moth Worlds for 2010 in March. We do not know what to do with the sailors on the lay day though althoughwe have had a new idea. We think we are going to take you on a tour of the Iranian Coast, I know some of you think its dangerous and you might go to jail, but we will give yo some guns and stuff to keep yourselves entertained. If you see anyone that you think is Iranian coast guard then they will actually probably be pirates and we encourage you to blow them up.
I deleted my other post about team Pindar, i felt sorry bagging them out when I do not know any of the sailors on the boat, and now they had a big press conference the other day. Anyway, Puna are onboard, its all looking good and the updated entry list will go up this week, apologies for slackness on this, we have had a bit on the UAE!
