ISO Training Weekend - King George SC (1st & 2nd December 2001)
AH SO - that's how you do it ! King George SC Training Weekend 2001 King George SC Training Weekend. 1st & 2nd December 2001
Saturday morning was wet, very wet, with a good breeze helping it along. Three of the four ISO crews who had booked for the weekend lined up for the traditional bacon butties. Pete and Johnny soon sniffed out the butties and coffee - try keeping them away!!
We started with a shore talk all about the effects of kicker, cunningham and mainsheet on sail shape. Strop length being key to pulling the boom to the centre rather than doing the kicker's job. Similar commentary about the jib and barber lengths in varying wind strengths, so that the main isn't backed, giving a smooth air flow over the main and all that malarky!
From there we moved on to checking the rig set up on each boat. Surprise, surprise we all found at least one thing needed adjustment - a mast rake of 7.6m might help downwind but doesn't do a lot for pointing up the beat. Take another look at the tuning sheets on http://www.isoracing.org.uk - we thought we had ..... !
By this time the last of Friday night's low had blown through taking the rain with it and leaving perfect conditions for a training session. Being Saturday morning, club racing doesn't start before 2pm, we had the water to ourselves - all 500+ acres of it!
Assessment time. Sail windward, leeward and Pete and Johnny follow round in the Dory, video camera in hand shouting instructions. More kicker! Mainsheet in - block to block! Flatten it out! Too much! Too little! Tack! Tack! Tack! Roll it! No - rollll it!! Bear off! Pole out! Kite up - come on crew - today! Gybe! Come on Gybe now! Roll it! Gybe again!
OK, adjust your strops - see you later. And on to the next boat for the same treatment. And then it was our turn again ..... A few rounds of that combined with swapping out crew and helm with Pete and Johnny for some one to one tuition and everyone had a good work out.
After about 4 hours of that we came off the water and retired to the Viewing Cabin to watch the video. Good stuff! We could easily see how we started out, the effects of kicker and so on under load and the improvements achieved in that short space of time. Not to mention a few laughs at Pete and Johnny going swimming! Demonstrating recovery techniques keeping the kite up of course ..
The social. The weekend was cunningly arranged to coincide with the KGSC Annual Prize Giving Dinner. The odd beer or two and a couple of bottles of wine later - would we ! - and the prize giving got under way. A table full of trophy's and glassware going to Club Champion, Contenders, Solos and a few others; we got to the ISO winnings. Steve and Declan (ISO 760) won fast handicap club championship and fast handicap summer series, beating off a few of the other top crews in Laser 4000 and MRX, etc. Well done guys.
Then came the real shock of the evening with yours truly winning the Henley cup for Most Improved Helm. Just shows the merits of Pete and Rob's ISO training at Thorpe Bay back in May. Taught the crew to "communicate" with the helm! Most important in the ISO. Good one Mark. Very satisfying as we only bought 814 in February this year. Must be doing something right, contrary to opinion earlier in the day!
Sunday morning was rather different to Saturday. About 30 metres visibility across the pond - and no, it wasn't the haze the morning after the night before! The Sun soon got to it and burnt it away giving us the lightest of breezes. We were joined by Wyndham and Paul sailing Pete's boat - four ISOs out on KGSC. Anyone want to make it five, six ...??
Briefing session, a look at the way Pete rigged his boat ( photos on the web site ) and back out on the water. The light airs gave us the ideal opportunity for slow roll tacks and gybes in one lap races with plenty more instruction all round. Johnny crewed for Steve (Declan had gone home to Ireland), which might account for them winning all but one of these short races.
Finished the day when the wind dropped completely at about 2.30 and retired to the video room again to take another look at what we were doing versus some of the other experts. A quick flash back to our complete novice manoeuvres from May and we all packed up and went home.
Many thanks to Taskmeisters Pete and Jonny for another excellent weekend - we all really enjoyed being put through our paces. Now to get back on the water, remember what we've been shown and put it into practice before the proposed refresher around March time - just before the season starts. So any takers to make it five or six or ....?? Also thanks to the support crews on the Dory and in the Galley - not forgetting the Sailing Committee support for the event. Thanks everyone.
Bob Ladell & Mark Clay (814)
Steve Bell & Declan O'Keeffe (760)
James Hamilton & Adrian Jones (533)
Wyndham Lewis & Paul Wilson (Borrowed 1013)
And so how do you get Pete to train you on your water?? Just ask him!
