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Changing Address

It is an exciting time for me and the Mini Transat at the moment. Part of this will mean a change to my blog. I am in the process of changing all the information to my new site dandytchoceanracing.blogspot.com. All my information and blogging will now be posted on this address!

At moment I'm busy working putting some money together for next season. I'm also spending a lot of time organizing and preparing the new boat and logistics for 2011.

I am dingy sailing whilst back in the UK to keep my sailing brain working hard, mainly an RS400 but this last weekend I sailed an RS Elite with Keith that I did the Mini Fastnet with. The boats are very interesting. We finished second (by a few seconds) in a very competitive fleet, it was great considering we have never sailed the boat before.

Plans for the next few weeks involve the Paris Boat Show, where we can pay for the entry to the Transatlantic and we also have the Mini AGM and class party. In the same trip I hope to get back to Lorient to check on Night Fever and with any luck, if everything is organized with the new boat head down to La Rochelle to take the new boat to Lorient.

For Sale

IT'S OFFICIAL- Night Fever 312 is FOR SALE

Villenave 2001

Night Fever is ready to race.The boat had a large re-

fit in 2009-2010. I have taken part in the 2010 series, racing in the Demi Cle, Select, Map, Fastnet and Les Sables-Azores-Les Sable and had a great season.

Hull Airex/epoxy 2006 CLP Marine, Carbon Mast and 2 stage boomerang spreaders, carbon boom Profile composites, carbon bow sprit AMCO, carbon rudders AMCO, carbon out riggers AMCO.

PBO rigging, DSK 75/78 running rigging, All purpose sails, NKE Electronics, safety and security kit, Max Power fuel cell.

32,000 Euro

312 Night Fever A Vendre

Villenave 2001

Night Fever est prêt à courir. Reconditionné en 2009-2010.

J’ai participé en 2010 aux courses Demi Cle, Sélect, Map, Fastnet et Les Sables-Les Açores-Les Sables et ai passé une excellente saison.

Coque Airex/époxy 2006 CLP Marine, mât carbone

(2 étages de barres de Flèches boomerang. Bôme carbone Profil Composite,1 bout-dehors carbone AMCO, 2 Outrigger AMCO, 2 safrans carbone AMCO.

Gréement PBO, Gréement courant DSK 75/78. Voiles All Purpose, électronique NKE, armement sécurité complet, Max Power Combustible.

32,000 Euro

For more information and inventory

email- ddsailing@hotmail.com or tel +447753632163

Soitec

So the big news... I have been to look at a new boat for the 2011 season.

Prototype 617 Soitec, built in 2005 at d'ISOTOP marine and designed by Axel de Beaufort, it is the first Nacira.

The boat has had some excellent results, finishing 3rd and 5th in the last 2 Transatlantics.

Fingers crossed I can take over as the new skipper for Soitec.

Back In France

I have a lot f traveling since I last wrote. After the trials I was straight off back to the med to join the Wally again. After a few days setting up we were ready for Les Voile de St. Tropez.

We had a great weeks racing, with a mixed bag of result and finally finishing 5th out of 11. The best thing was the crew work all came together and we were sailing the boat to its full potential.

Now I am back in West France, currently in La Rochelle to visit a friend Will Carson who is the reporter for the Velux 5 Oceans Race. They are busy getting ready for the start on the 17th October. Tonight I head to Les Sable to reunite with Night Fever and finish packing her up for the road trip back to Lorient, where i will base over winter. Then I have plan to help a Classe 40 prepare for the start of the Route de Rhum. So busy time again!

I have had some exciting news regarding sponsorship but I am keeping it under wraps until the details are clarified....

Artemis

I've just finished 3 days of trails for the Artemis Offshore Academy in the Figaro's in Weymouth. It was an interesting few days but unfortunately we have been asked to not give away any detail until the last group have finished next week.

Also to the right I have started a new photo folder from the Wally.

Post Wally

I've just got back to the UK after Porto Cervo. I had a great week, we didn't have our best racing but everything came together on the last day, so we're looking good going in to the next event Le voile de St. Tropez in 2 weeks.

While I'm back in the UK I have the Artemis trials for the Figaro and hopefully some RS400 racing.

I have loaded some more photos from the Azores race, if you click on the small scrolling photos on the right you can make them larger for a proper look.

Thanks and Dark Shadow

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to Laurence Caille, she has been an absolute star helping Ryan and I before and after the Azores, feeding us, washing for us and letting us use here house. Its made life so much easier and taken all the race stress away.

Now I'm back to the Wally. I'm stuck in the airport in Nantes until 7am so thought I just add a picture if Dark Shadow to show the contrast of the sailing. Its crazy the Mini would fit on the foredeck of the Wally and ropes I use as halyards they use as lashing to tie bits up in the container. Its a different world.

I’m back in the civilised world, well France anyway….

I’m sad to say I’m disappointed with the race back from the Azores.

I got off to a great start in very light breeze I managed to keep with the front few boats. Going into the first night I decided to opt for a shorter course more on the rhum line than the routing had suggested. This paid off and the 2^nd day I was in 2^nd position with a long gap behind. But in the second night as the breeze came up my problems began. Through the night all 3 spinnakers I have ripped! The worst thing was that it wasn’t down to human error or trying to push to hard, they just started disintegrating.

So I had another 6 days of downwind sailing with no spinnakers, trying to soak down with a code 0. It was very painful; especially knowing the rest of the fleet would be flying along.

I changed my tactics and tried to sail the best route to be most I range for the 0 but it was hard with the wind direction.

I was sure I’d be one of the last boats back but I ended up doing okay somehow. There are still boats coming in. I’ll find out official results soon.

Now, some busy days packing the boat away on the trailer and getting it ready to take either back to Lorient or the UK. Then off to Dark Shadow in Sardinia for the Maxi Worlds.

On my way back!

So the holiday is over and we're heading back to France tomorrow.

The weather is looking in a great direction, mainly reaching and downwind, but it is looking very light at times with many wind holes along the route. The general plan is to stay North of rhum line to try and get the edge of the good breeze.

The routing predicts a 26th finish. I'm feeling very positive, its defiantly a race for the newer prototypes but some hard work and no more breakages, I think I can do well. Top 10 here I come! Next blog from back in France!

Return weather

The weather is looking great for the return leg. The Azores high is normally very stable meaning the return sail is against the trade wind beating back to France. For the mini that's slow and boring, but it looking like the high changes on the 17/18th and could give us a lot of reaching maybe even some downwind on the way back.

Not the fastest conditions for Night Fever but happy for a good forecast. Its great news because I need to have Night Fever back and packed away by the 30th so I can head to Dark Shadow.

The repairs have all gone according to plan, sails are back and I even have a new jockey pole (made from the end of a wind surfer mast). We have the prologue race today here where we take out some local guys on our boats, its a good chance to test all the repairs.

I made it.....

So leg 1 is complete and I'm enjoying the sunny Azores!

What a race, so many highs and lows!

I had a great start off the line in around 20knots crossing the line in the top few but had no time to take on ballast for the short 1 mile upwind leg (they start us upwind for safety), so got knocked having to spill wind with a tippy boat.

We rounded the mark, next stop Horta Azores. Out of the Bay of Biscay was perfect conditions for the big code zero, which I left behind because we have an 8 sail allowance and my code 5 covers almost the same wind ranges. So I wasn't overly fast coming out of Biscay, but thought my time would come rounding Finisterre with more wind and the 5.

We rounded the corner of North West Spain and I went far South to try and get in the big breeze and catch up some positions. It was going great and I was sailing hard and fast, but the breeze kept building. I had around 25-30 knots so reduce to the medium spi, as soon as it filled it exploded in 2 pieces. So I went to the code 5. It was great. The boat was going well and was very stable so I got some much needed sleep. I woke up with the boat in mid broaching laying on its side, I went on deck to find the code 5 in pieces, a missing jockey pole, the spi pole at the wrong end of the boat and dragging in the water and the push pit unattached. So begun a 4 hour period of repairs by night. God bless head torches!

The repairs went well and I got the boat back together but the big problem was I now had no medium spinnakers which were the sails I'd need for the next 3 days. It was very painful and played strange trick with my mind knowing I had to sail for so long on the wrong sail and let the fleet disappear into the distance. I was patient and changed my tactics to allow me to go a future route but fly the big and only spi all the way to the islands. It worked well, everyday by radio we get everyone distance to the finish and I was rapidly catch and overtaking boats.

Arrival to the islands was interesting, I had spent a lot of time on routing for the race but not much time on the routing through the islands, so I went for the simple tactic that it would be faster to sail a little further but stay on the windward side of the island as they are towering mountains. It worked well and ended up being the fastest and most common route, the only thing I did differently to most was cut inside 1 island as I thought there would be wind acceleration due to the wind angle. There was but then a period of choppy light breeze in the lee so think it made little difference.

I ended up finishing where I had hoped I would without the breakages, with the other old protos but ahead of the series boat. I actually beat many boats I was not expecting too. Considering all my drama's I'm relatively happy.

What I learnt and what I happy with; I need to be more conservative on the longer races and take down more sail as the breeze comes up, especially if I'm sleeping with the pilots on, its all about being consistent. I need to make more planning for the whole route not just the tactical side. And mentally you can't let problem get you down you have to be positive and work to your strength.
I was very with my tactical decisions, especially after my breakages to get the most from the boat. And its nice to know I can sail fast when I need to and take out miles from the faster boats.

The guys from Horta have been so helpful with repairs, the marina manager even said "Don't worry your problems are now my problems and everything will be fixed". Just what I wanted to hear. So a week to relax and prepare on the islands then hopefully an uneventful return trip but it looks like it will be upwind!

Departure

A quick final message before I leave. I'm in my camp bed in the car, after just having a great steak and lots of vegetable, a final hearty meal before getting stuck into the freeze dried. I am all ready, the boat is packed, the weather routing is done and I'm feeling all set. A good nights rest and straight into it tomorrow.

For the race tracker, the easiest way to find it is to go to the race website http://www.lessables-lesacores.com/, its in French but on the right hand side if you scroll down to this logo and click it will re-direct you. So fingers cross and au revoir France Ola Les Azores!

Pre Les Sables-Azores

Everyone has arrived and we are well underway with the briefings and safety checks for the first leg of this seasons major event, from Les Sables d'Olonne to Horta on Ilha do Faial in the Azores. The Leg is around 1300Nm.

Unfortunately the number of competitors is not as many as was hoped. There are around 35 boats taking place. It is going to be a very tight fleet as it is only the most competitive boats that have entered, so the standard will be very high.

The weather has looked very stable up to now with the Azores high doing what it should, but thinks are looking as if they may change before our start on the 1st August. I have been running daily routing programs and making detailed pressure logs to analyse which will be the fastest route, this is how it is looking so far.

I will write again with an update before the start with the link for the race tracker.

A Strange Delivery

What a bizarre trip, planning times on the mini is very difficult. With no engine and a boat that does between 5-20 knots, your very weather dependent. Before I leave I always use a weather routing program call Maxsea that takes wind speeds, angle, tidal info etc into consideration and give you a target route, speeds and timing.

The routing said 17 hours, not including messing around at the dock both ends so I planned for 20 hours... it took 10 hours. With great code zero conditions. This would normally be a great thing, but I was heading to Les Sables, that had a very tight high walled channel that you are forbidden to sail up, even if it was physically possible. So you have to contact by radio for a tow if you have no engine. Great if you arrive between 6am and 10pm. I didn’t!

When I had 30 miles left to go I started to do something I have never done on the boat before and slow down. First I dropped the zero , then I took a reef and finally dropped the jib too. So I had 12 knots of breeze and just a reefed main, but for some reason Night Fever the rock ship didn’t want to slow down and we were still doing 7-8 knots SOG. I ended up arriving a 2am and doing circles for 4 hours till I could contact the marina.

I only hope that I’m going too fast in the race!

It didn’t stop there, I was all tied up by 7 and there were people everywhere by the boat, I thought it was very kind of them to make such a fuss but I’d only come from Lorient, then the penny dropped as I saw a procession of boats leading the Mini Transat sailed by Alessandro Di Benedetton. He had just completed his solo round the world. Here are a few pictures, you can barely make out the mini under as the modification. My favourite is he broke his mast and rather than throwing it away he lashed it to the front of the bow sprit to make the longest pole you’ve ever seen. Congratulations to him!

Ocean Works

2 Blogs in 1 day, I want to say a big thank you to Claes Richter at Ocean Works for the sponsorship of new wet weather gear and polo shirts for the Azores race. The kit looks great, very technical. I look forward to putting it to the mini test, starting tomorrow.

Lost in Translation

I had a funny French and English situation today. Up to now I have been racing under FRE sails as the boat was already registered in France, but recently I found out I could have GBR and keep the boat registration the same.

When we were working on my new jib, I cut new GBR to bring back and put on the sails. Today I laid out all my sails in the French Mini clubhouse where I keep the boat and pulled off the FRE’s and replaced with GBR’s, but I hadn’t realised how many of the locals were looking with dismay at what I was up too. Oops all that I could have done to be less subtle was have the national anthem blaring in the background…. Nice work on the foreign relation!

Other updates, I had no problems with the ECG test so I have the all clear on the medical side. And I am waiting in Lorient today for a package to arrive but if there is no sign of it by tomorrow morning I will leave for Les Sables anyway.

I also I have started my detailed weather analysis for the start of the Azores, getting daily forecasts and running different routing options. It looks like the Azores high has started to do what it is supposed. Hopefully it will remain stable and make the routing simple. The general plan will be beating out of Les Sable to lay Finisterre, Spain before heading south of rum line and coming in fast to the Azores... but all could change.

Azores Preparation

Its been a few weeks since my last post, I'm now back in Lorient after delivering my boat and 772 back from Douarnenez. I have been sail testing with my much needed new jib, which I'm very happy with. Thanks to Conrad and Gerry from Medina Sailcare.

I have also been working through all dream list jobs I wanted to do before the Azores. Fitting stacking lee cloths for all the kit and water to be properly positioned for downwind surfing. Working on a new adjustable bobstay so I can get better code 5 luff tension. Some new electronics and lots of rope work repairing bit after the Fastnet.

My big job that left on the boat is NKE and pilot cal liberation, so early next week I plan to head offshore for a few nights to do lots of sail changes and electronics testing.

I have also been doing some work on mini 772, helping to get Ulf Branstroms boat ready for his 1000Nm qualifier.

I am feeling very happy with the boat and I am close to ready for the Azores, I have to go for the ECG and stress test medical next week and will then think heading down to Les Sables.

Now I just need to spend a lot of time planning and looking at weather/routing so I have an idea of which way I'm going in the race.... it always helps!

Thumbs Up From Classe Mini

I have had my 1000Nm qualification confirmed and am now official able to take part in the Azores race and next years transat. What a relief!