The Right Stuff

Moth Pilot Gary Ireson salutes a senior officer at Parkstone Open Meeting.

Really good to see everyone again after all this time, and to welcome new faces too! But shit the water was cold. and that may have been the problem. On the first day of Parkstone open I kept crashing the boat, which was ironic as the previous week I'd crashed the car. I'm not flying next week by the way.

Anyway it was the wand guv I swear! The new one I'd made which kept tripping both foils. I've never had the main foil vent before but I can assure you it does if the wand is bent under the boat, about ten inches in front of it. I left the wand I used in Australia in err..Australia. And cold water makes matters worse.

Jason Belben sailed really well to get two bullets on the first day, Mike Lennon and Adam May were also up there. I ponced around in fourth, then third with a drunken boat.

That night I undertook some wand tank testing, in my bath. I learnt mainly that a bath isn't long enough to tank test in, but I made a new wand anyway.

Sunday was better, I led around the last mark of the first race that day only to throw it away by getting the lay line to the finish wrong, possible a product of not having raced since August last year. Possibly also by being a stupid twat. Anyway the next race and I got into the lead again but Jason and I split gybes downwind on the last run (which was stupid of me, you never leave your wing man) .. and he got it.

Race 3 I won.

Jason deservedly won overall, he's been training and it shows. I got second, Adam May was third, Gary Ireson was fourth, Mike Lennon was fifth, or Tim Boon was. Special mention to Gary and Tim who both led a race at some point in their new boats.

Now I've got the boat which arrived in its box and upside down on friday I need to sail. You can go to the gym all you like but nothing beats time on the water... and judging by this weekend, I need it.