Pin ups

This is Tom Driscoll's new Prowler that I'll be sailing next week at the American titles at The Gorge. Its gorgeous and looks like a Pokémon. Anyway I have my passport and I'm all set, and so to practice for the 3 knot (upwind?) tide and the 20+ knots wind I was out today in my own boat trying the third (and best) iteration of my Amac style broke back wand. I've stiffened it a lot and it was very very good, but possibly now a little over engineered as, unconnected to the boat it is made of 4 components. Anyway it all part of my new resolve to find big boat speed improvements through development. I'm done with half a kilo here etc..

Today I rigged up and screamed around the harbour for a short time. I had trouble turning round (except gybing) but I was out and it was windy! Before the worlds I wouldn't have dreamt of going out in that wind (and still wont in February) but I will get faster in a breeze, even though I'm light.



So here's the front cover of Yachts and Yachting, One for the grandchildren and OMG I'm getting a double chin (and less importantly, seem not to have pulled the kicker on)

The best picture though was of "Skiff Man" himself Tom Whicher, "He ticks a lot of the super hero boxes, a macho yet slightly camp posture..."



These last two days I've been glued to the computer silently cheering on Team GBR in Qingdao. They are doing great, and I wished we'd had those conditions in Weymouth!