ISO Training Day - King George SC (12th July 2003)
A couple of weeks back, Bob Ladell made an offer on the message board to run a training session at KGSC, so on 12th July we duly turned up at the allotted time and place to find that we were the only boat there!!
The day was hot, with not much prospect of wind, so we spent some time looking over the set up of the boat. I had already carried out most of the mods described in the ISO Tweaks section, but Bob has a keen eye and we spent about 2 hours with knife and cigarette lighter, tape measure and pliers, shockcord and plastic rings.
By the time the temperature had reached 80 degrees we had checked and reset the rig tension and mast rake (now 300lbs and 7.325m respectively), re-rigged the cunningham, jib sheets, strops, toestraps, pole launch halyard and kicker, and added take up systems for both the kite halyard and kite sheets.
There was also a list of jobs to do back home, because they need spare parts or a pop-riveter a new plastic guide on the entry to the mast slot, re-rivet the gooseneck fitting, replace the eyebolts for the shrouds with 6mm versions (as per the Buzz), re-rig the outhaul with a less stretchy line Dyneema or similar - and replace the trapeze handles with discs (less injurious to the crews face, apparently).
Finally, Bob produced a can of Pro-Lube from the back of his car and gave all the blocks on the boat a gentle squirt, which made a huge difference to the feel of all the rigging. Definitely good stuff
With most of a roll of PVC tape added to the front of the boat, covering anything that might be remotely sharp and therefore likely to shred the kite, Bob said he thought it was time to get on the water.
If the wind in the boat park had been light all morning, on the water it was lighter still. However we made best use of it, practising roll tacks and gybes, steering without using the rudder, and cuddling the mast. My daughter, who had really only come along because there was nothing better to do at home, ended up as crew on the chairmans boat how fantastic is that?
I'd like to thank Bob for all his time and effort he gave up a whole Saturday and was very patient and encouraging. We had a fantastic day and learnt a great deal. Unfortunately, we won't be in Garda (!), but we're hoping that there will be a Beginners training weekend in August or September to take us on to the next level.
ISOs are fantastic boats, but it is not possible to learn to sail them effectively without help from someone who knows what they are doing.
I strongly recommend any ISO novices reading this to get along to a training session or go to an open meeting and talk to the people who know! Thanks Bob.
