There have been 15 races to date in the Combined Clubs Winter Series. The racing consists of 3 back to back races at each of the clubs on a rotational basis. As each of the clubs are at different locations on Whangarei harbour it makes for three different, interesting venues. My placings to date have been:
10 First places.
2 Second places.
2 Third places.
1 Fourth place - for a total of 24 points.
After 15 races I continue to lead the series by 9 points.
There are 6 more races to go in the series.
After 15 races I continue to lead the series by 9 points.
There are 6 more races to go in the series.
After having spent the last 12 months doing a complete restoration on the boat these placings are very pleasing and justify all the hard work that went into this restoration and refurbishment.
The enhanced boat performance is due to a combination of small and big improvements in various areas which I outlined in the previous blog post.
I agree with one of my competitors who once said, "In yacht racing it's the nut behind the wheel that makes the difference and wins the races" - True enough I say, so long as it's a level playing field. I think the restoration has now created a level playing field. But the locals races are among differing classes of yachts and with different handicaps making up the mix. Although there are 3 Zephyrs that usually race I am the only Zephyr competing in this years winter series. The true test will be when I take the boat down to Auckland and race in true one design races in a fleet of other Zephyrs.
Having said that, one yardstick that is significant is the four hours I spent recently on the harbour racing against Don in his Zephyr 'Venture'. Before I did the restoration he was beating me in races by a country mile. During our friendly four hours of racing the boats were pretty evenly matched with Don (being 20kgs lighter than me) having a slight advantage downwind while I had a slight advantage upwind.
I agree with one of my competitors who once said, "In yacht racing it's the nut behind the wheel that makes the difference and wins the races" - True enough I say, so long as it's a level playing field. I think the restoration has now created a level playing field. But the locals races are among differing classes of yachts and with different handicaps making up the mix. Although there are 3 Zephyrs that usually race I am the only Zephyr competing in this years winter series. The true test will be when I take the boat down to Auckland and race in true one design races in a fleet of other Zephyrs.
Having said that, one yardstick that is significant is the four hours I spent recently on the harbour racing against Don in his Zephyr 'Venture'. Before I did the restoration he was beating me in races by a country mile. During our friendly four hours of racing the boats were pretty evenly matched with Don (being 20kgs lighter than me) having a slight advantage downwind while I had a slight advantage upwind.
One of the main improvements has been a new set of light weight carbon fibre foils. These have made a palpable difference to the performance. The boat simply slips along without any turbulence around the rudder head at the stern and without that feeling in the tiller that the boat is dragging a small bucket. My line honours winning margins have increased significantly so that I am now able to save my handicap, something that in the past was problematic as it has been very difficult to get enough of a winning margin on the courses which are of moderate length to save my handicap.
Above is a photograph from XPL Composites website. These are the bare carbon fibre versions of my new Zephyr foils.
The dagger board has been finished in a similar manner to the rudder.
A good matching pair that are making a considerable contribution to the boats extra speed.
As I type this I am watching and listening to our Great Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who is addressing the nation on television regarding a new community outbreak of Covid19 and the new lockdown procedures. I hope these dark times both in New Zealand and around the world pass sooner rather than later so that we can all go sailing again - literally and metaphorically.
14 comments:
Congratulations, Alden. Man, what beautiful foils! Your restoration work has leveled the playing field for sure, or maybe did it tilt slightly in your favor with such a superb craft to sail? Do your competitors have such stunning boats?
I envy you New Zealanders. I wish we had a version of Jacinda Ardern here in the US. Instead we have the polar opposite of a leader in the White House, our way too White house.
Now that you’ve got the practice foils, when are going to make Pohutukawa timber ones for the nationals?
I know Jacinta isn’t universally loved in Aotearoa, but she outperforms the rest of the world.
Thanks Dan. Most of the Zephyrs fall into three groups - The old boats that have had full restorations as my boat has, the new fiberglass models and the older non restored boats that have continued to be well maintained and are in sailing condition.
The restored boats are real labours of love and all have been restored to a high standard.
New Zealand has done really well so far in dealing with Covid19, with strong and decisive action being taken by the government lead by Jacinda Arden (Commeth the time, commeth the woman).
But we are not out of the woods yet and as I type this we are all reeling from news of another outbreak of Covid and another shutdown. These new outbreaks are very alarming because they seem to be community outbreaks not the more easily contact tracing versions that have arisen in immigrants or returning New Zealanders doing their compulsory two weeks quarantine isolation. I don't think any country will be back to normal until there is an effective vaccine.
I agree with your sentiments regarding your leader and your 'way too White' house. But the rest of the world knows he was elected on the basis of a majority of state wins, not by winning a majority of the popular vote. Also most people I know of, of intelligence and good will don't judge the USA or its people on the basis of the Buffoon installed in Washington.
Thanks for your comment Barubi ........ Practise foils?... LOL..... If I chopped down a Pohutukawa tree to get the timber for a wooden set of foils I would probably end up in jail or nailed to a Pinus Radiata tree with a stake through my heart by those of a Green political persuasion. Of course if I wanted a set of wooden foils an untreated Pinus Radiata set would be more in keeping with the provenance of my Zephyr which was built over 60 years ago by the designer of the Zephyr class Des Townson of .......... untreated Pinus Radiata!
Yes Jacinda Ardern is not universally loved in New Zealand, but as you state she out performs the rest of the world. The last Colman Brunter political poll.....
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1-news-colmar-brunton-poll-collins-up-preferred-pm-but-national-still-in-deep-trouble
........has some pretty unprecedented approval ratings for her as preferred Prime Minister, and the party she represents (The New Zealand Labour Party) is also high in the ratings with a lead of more than 20% over the parliamentary opposition National party. Of course the only poll that counts is the general election due on the 19th of September, but like everything else surrounding Covid 19 this also may be postponed until later in the year or early 2021.
Well done that man, I guess practice also makes perfect, so keep it going and you’ll be super match fit come summer!
Thanks Paul. Yes, time on the water is crucial and practise makes perfect, although in my case practise keeps the creaky bones, muscles and reaction time in reasonable condition. It can get quite cold even here in the so called Winterless North but with the right sailing gear its ok. Actually at my age the biggest challenge is pulling the boat up the ramp after the racing (gets harder to do as each year passes).
That's a seriously cool boat Alden - sure you're going to have a good season.
Max
Thanks Max. For a boat that was built over 60 years ago she has scrubbed up well. I am enjoying the current winter series despite the cold and are really looking forward to the more frequent summer racing - Covid19 allowing.
Ooh, Carbon Fibre: now you're getting serious! The dinghy looks amazing.
Hope the Voldemort virus doesn't put a damper on proceedings.
Thanks Mark. The renovation of the boat has been about creating a level competitive playing field for myself - carbon fibre foils have been part of that upgrade which unfortunately has been expensive. If I had my way I would have this sort of kit banned by the class rules. It doesn't really matter what the foils are made of so long as all the boats are competing on the same basis, but all of these issues are moot points really - it is what it is (an arms race of sorts) and at the moment its good carbon foils if you want to keep up.
We live north of Auckland which is presently back in lock down. Here in Whangarei we are back on a heightened alert but luckily this doesn't rule out sailing which I will be doing this coming weekend - the forecast is for around 10 knots; perfect.
Stunning set of results... ample justification for the time you put in on the boat in the first place!
Yes, I am pretty pleased so far Steve, it's good that the boats performance has been improved by all the work, I would be pretty glum if there had been no improvement in performance - but as it's said, you are only as good as your last results, I'll see how I go this Sunday - forecast for 10knts plus - Yippee!
I am impressed by your racing results! I can’t wait to see you perform in the nationals in Auckland next year. Good luck!
The new carbon fibre equipment has some similarities with modern racing bikes. Carbon fibre for the light weight and for the freedom of shape to make the shapes to reduce air (water) drag.
Personally I like my classic racing bike made out of light weight high strength steel more, because of te feel and sound it produces. It weighs about 9.8 kg, heavy compared to the 7 kg of a pro racing bike. But what the heck, for me it does not matter as long as the terrain is flat and I do not have to win a race. 😊
Thanks Ben - The racing results are encouraging and I hope to improve on my last performance when I sail in the Nationals in Auckland next year.
Yes you are correct about the advantage of carbon fibre, light weight and the ability to make complex shapes with this material. The real key for boat foils (centre boards and rudder blades) is to get really accurate aerofoil shapes. This is more important actually than the weight although light weight is still important. Also the very smooth surfaces that are able to be obtained with modern fiberglass mouldings is important in the complex equation of reducing friction. I read that the Spitfire, the famous British WW2 fighters performance was enhanced through having an aerofoil shape of a thin rather than a thick wing and having all the rivets flush with the wing rather than protruding. This reduced drag and improved the speed of the aeroplane.
I agree with your philosophy of not worrying about the 2.8kg difference between the steel and carbon fibre bike frames. There is probably only an advantage with the lighter weight at the olympic racing level - being happy with aesthetic feel and sound will I am sure make you ride faster anyway! 😊
Post a Comment