Inland Revenue

The last time I sailed... photo Brian C-B

Throughout this winter the Campione Speed Trophy is keeping me going. I won it in 2005 racing Rohan Veal and Adam May. It's in my toilet and in this cold weather I see it a lot. It has the 11 winds of Garda on it and I now know them off by heart. Campioni is a tricky place to sail, six to eight tacks to the windward mark mean you need to keep your head up, I think it calls for a simple boat with minimum fiddling and not one of the multi adjustable Moths you see, which in any case seem to go no faster and remind me of nautical versions of an Ascot hat. Anyway our apartments are booked in Tremosine, which is so high up on the cliff top that even if you p**s on me on the water, I'll be able to do the same to you on land ;-).

Perhaps I shall sail this weekend. Lots of time in the gym means I now have thighs like Zorba the Greek, pre austerity measures. Last time I sailed the boat seemed fast but its been in the fridge ever since. Last time I made lasagne it was great, but after a month in the fridge it was uneatable and I'm full expecting the same theory to apply.

I'm loathe to take my fixed wheel road bike out after last years injury which saw me catapulted into my ex wife's newly planted Lavender bush after a visit to see the boys. An event that caused much amusement which I've decided to put down to the the essential oil/anti inflammatory properties of the crushed plant.

I guess I'll try to go to Queen Mary Sailing club early next month for the first event of the season, it could be good practice for Campioni, being Inland, although I'm unsure if they name the winds in the same way.

Below is the latest picture of the KA MSL16 (foreground) next to a KA MSL13.2.


MSL16 on left, MSL13 on right. Blackrock last weekend

Happy Birthday Sweet 16!

The new KA MSL16.

Good news! I'm really excited about KA Sail’s new baby, the MSL16, which will make her UK debut at the London Dinghy Show next month on the International Moth class association stand. Built for the conditions expected at the 2012 World Championships at Campioni, Lake Garda, with its “light at the windward mark, breezy at the leeward mark” wind variation, the sail will be featured on my Mach2. One of two International Moths on display.

This is what Andrew McDougall says about the new sail “The MSL16 has taken me a long time to develop, after all we are trying to improve on an already very high level of existing performance with our stock designs. I’m very happy with it though, and sailing against the top Aussies in Sydney the other day I was really fast. I’ve always believed it was possible to create a sail that would have the flexibility to be fast in all conditions and with the 16 I think we’ve succeeded.”

Here are the features of the new sail

• Complete redesign from the previous MSL at 10 and 13
• Wider luff pocket
• Combination of soft and light materials for the pocket
• Shape moved forward and down to reduce drag /increase power
• Gap between sail and boom closed.
• Extra cam and batten in at the bottom of sail
• Suits medium mast/soft with high forestay for improved response to the vang and Cunningham.
• Brand new cams for better entry profile

The MSL16, which is a limited edition sail will be available to order from March 1st.

Mach2 masts with the new hound configuration are now available. A hounds kit which allows people to convert existing Mach 2 masts is also available

Another sunny day. Although about 30 degrees colder than the pic above! Pic courtesy of Brian C-B.

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