Pete

A taste of speed…

We spent the morning working through the jobs list, which never seems to get any shorter. Laid out on the the spinnakers in the park to put “V”s on with sticky tape (the V’s” help to see the shape of the sail at its leading edge) – working in the park under shade trees was much more comfortable than on the boat in the heat. After lashing up the bowsprit, which is no longer drooping, off we set for another…

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All present and correct (maybe not quite correct)

With the arrival of Rab, the crew is assembled and ready for the week of training ahead. Rob came straight from the airport to the boat and off we went to sail miles outside the heads, getting boat speed numbers for various jibs and angles, and had the foredeck deal with the three sails with very different fittings than we are used to. All went well and we wrapped up at 6 with a debrief, followed by giving opinions on…

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Pre-Race Day 8, the crew dribbles in

Air Canada delivered most of the remaining crew today, only Rab is left in the land of moose and maple syrup- he arrives tomorrow. Air Canada should really be one of our sponsors – they are really doing a good job in training our crew for sleep deprivation, which will benefit them in the race. They do this by simply ignoring the pre booked and purchased comfy seats, and slotting them randomly around the plane and in some cases I’m…

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Pre-Race Day 7 – Report

We weren’t allowed on the boat until 11AM as Brad had a ton of stuff to do and we were just in the way. You know the notices at mechanics garages that says the rate is $75 an hour or $100 an hour if you want to watch! He and Disco knocked a lot down. Boat is coming together. We sailed at 1PM out the Heads and set the strut… I prefer to call it a hard-hauler. We set the…

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Pre-Race Day 6 – Report (Sailor Girl Visits the Lindy – she is the one in the middle ?)

Nic is coming sailing with us in the next day or two, Joe is selling helming positions ? Hot and humid and overcast, but still melted… Great to meet Ed Cesare, he and Jay hung out and sorted all things Nav. Joe and I butchered various tasks but the list is shorter. Brad sorted through major stuff and Disco and Giancarlo set the fittings in the carbo mast for the reaching strut, a big job. Billy from North Sails spent…

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Pre-Race Day 5 – Report (of blast reaching & seafood)

Today was another awesome day dodging a 470 regatta, a Finn regatta, a Laser regatta, a 49er regatta, and of course the usual ferries and tour boats, cruise ships and general yachtie folks including others trying to practice. Sailing in Sydney Harbour is like a bad chess game trying to avoid contact, perhaps 3D chess is more accurate. Anyhow, we survived. We hadn’t seen the J5 or A5 yet and it was blowing so we threw in a single reef…

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