scott.projectsomewhere

The race to February’s JJ Giltinan has started in earnest.

The last couple of Sunday’s have seen up to 7 18s in the park, working out new boats and new teams in preparation for the League season start on the 14th of October.

The fast improving 7 boys are using their time well, despite not joining the weekend sessions, they’ve been out a couple of days a week last week, and are on the water again with their coach in today’s light Nor-Easter.

And it’s only September.

I’ve got a feeling this season is going to be tough.

After sailing pretty much everything that floats in Sydney in the last couple of years, up til Saturday I was still yet to give the historical (hysterical) 18s a run.

But it was forecast to blow 25+, and Herman & Pete were roped in, so why not give it a run.

We were on board with Woody and the guys on Australia IV. A 1940’s replica launched late last season. As scratch boat, we had a bit on trying to work out how to get the thing around without sinking, let alone winning.

Anyway, after getting acquainted with the lee-cloths, 3-piece spinnaker pole and bailing bucket, we were off and racing. Not quite hydrofoil moth speed upwind, but downhill we had some great gusts and just launched the creaking and groaning beast across the harbour. The aluminium plate centreboard was humming away and the spray was going everwhere… at least it felt quick… loud but quick.

The old blokes sailing the hystericals over at SFS are definitely passionate about what they’ve got going. Not exactly my thing right now, but good fun every now and again. Not something you can do every day.

As for rigging and de-rigging… geesus. I wasn’t much help there. The comment from one of the guys afterwards was apt… “it takes 20 years to learn how to do this”.

I think in 20 or 30 years I just might be in form to sail one regularly.

Someone has also uploaded footage to youtube. More info on the sailinganarchy forums.

The newspapers today are running a story on Russell Crowe trying to get rid of the pokies at his South Sydney Leagues Club - and forego the $7M a year they generate.

It’s unfortunate that most of the successful dinghy sailing clubs in NSW are also dependent on pokie revenue, with Belmont 16s, Manly 16s and the 18 footer League among them. If we didn’t have our pensioner’s social security cheques paying (at least partially) for our heavily subsidised (and expensive) racing boats… where would we be?

I hope Souths can make a go of it, and do some good, but in reality the punters are just going to move their pokie addiction somewhere else. Same goes for the sailing operations, we’d probably lose our fleets and the pub down the road would rake in the cash.

Sad but true.

A sad day for Euan today, with news he has handed over his much loved 18 footer Club Marine to it’s new owner.

It will be a tough year for the League fleet. Without Euan being there to dump shit on at the bar after racing, someone new is going to have to step up to the plate. Thankfully rumour has it that Seve is front runner to take the mantle of most hated boat in the fleet.

Anyway.

Losing one of the best sailors in the fleet is never great. Luckily though, the League has been able to pick up TNZ’s America’s Cup windspotter/afterguard/traveller Adam Beashel (sans finger) to fill the spot.

Not a bad coup. It looks like the coming season will be stronger again than the last.

Now to see who Beasho brings along for the ride.

With the 18 season still a month away, and no Moth to play with, I’ve been roped into doing some 29er coaching lately.

The last weekend I spent with the new fleet in Melbourne. Port Phillip put on a good show, with warm weather and a good range of conditions to train in. 12 fairly new teams showed up, making up what is easily the most organised youth training fleet in the country. Despite being fairly young, and very new to the 29er, the guys and girls showed some good skills and were keen to improve. It’s definitely more rewarding to work with enthusiastic people wanting to learn. It’ll be good to see how the new Victorians fare against the more experienced NSW, WA and QLD guys that are getting the same coaching treatment from either myself or Nathan over the next few months.

One of the most interesting aspects of the weekend was the new coaching toys they were trialling. 5 or 6 radio headsets from the Australian company HeadZone were distributed through the fleet so that I could literally get inside the kids heads as they sailed around the track, no matter where I was on the course, or how loud the wind, waves or engine was. I’d have to say these kits are the most effective sailing coaching tools I’ve ever used. Now that I’ve used them - I can’t go back. I think if you’re paying for a coach without having this instant feedback, you’re just pissing money up the wall.

I’m going to get myself one to use.

It was pretty funny to talk to one of the boats, but have another couple hearing the same advice, and it was often pretty dangerous given that I’d often be holding down the talk button when blowing up at something or other with some more colourful skiff euphamisms.

The parents on shore or on the water were also tuned into the same frequency, and did hear me get a bit animated at times… lucky they didn’t hear all of it.

The new gear ended up making it a bit difficult to work with the teams that weren’t wearing them. I felt as though I couldn’t get through to those teams very well, and they probably ended up feeling a bit neglected. But that’s life.

Anyway, there’s another day of coaching with the NSW fleet (or part of it) at Illawarra this Saturday. Hopefully I can get hold of at least one of the head sets before then.