Thursday, 28 June 2007
All set for the IRC Nationals...With barely a chance to recover from sailing round the Island the members of team logic are preparing themselves for another full on weekend. After the success of last weekend everyone will be raring to go and enthusiastic to match the great result. Since Sunday's training session was short lived (due to a consensus to go to the prizegiving) Team Logic will be having an early start, and leaving the dock at 7.30am tomorrow in order to squeeeze in some pre race practise!!
The first start is at 10.30 and the format of the weekend will be three races on Friday and Saturday and two on Sunday... it's going to be pretty tiring!!! However, it looks like there is going to be a bit of breeze with up to twenty knots of SW forecast at the moment- great conditions for the Reflex's- so long as we don't break anything!!
Whilst Philippe is getting some extra driving practise in today (moonlighting for a well known Solent based charter company, who have a large fleet of 37 footers, for the day) Sara and SJ are busy preparing Puma Logic and getting her race-ready!!
Best of luck to Team Logic and all other competitors- hopefully it will be another brilliant weekend!!
posted by Sailing Logic at 1:53 PM 0 comments
Monday, 25 June 2007
Puma Logic takes first place in Round the Island Race!!All the Sailing Logic teams gathered in the Waterfront for breakfast and briefing on Friday morning before heading straight out on to the water for a training day. After a few practise tacks and gybes and hoists and drops the teams headed into Cowes in the early afternoon... with such an early start (5.30am race start for most of us!!) the skippers were concious not to wear their crews out!!!
The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club provided us all with a splendid barbeque on Friday evening, which gave the teams a chance to get fantastically well fed before the race!! Fortunately everyone was sensible enough to limit the beer intake.
4.00am on Saturday morning certainly felt like a ridiculous time to get up to start a race but dawn wasn't far away and it was an amazing sight to see 1750 yachts of all different shapes and sizes milling about the start area as the sun rose!! And you can imagine who began to get very excited!
The big boats started first, folllowed by some very little boats, and the majority of our yachts started at 0530 as part of fleet 4. With some 170 boats on the start line, around 10knots of westerly breeze and a strong west going tide, it was all about finding a clear lane, getting the timing right and not hitting anyone!!
Next was a beat up the Western Solent, trying to stay in the strongest tide and pick the right wind shifts to tack on aswell as not having to duck too many yachts whilst on port tack made for an interesting sail as the yachts picked their way through the little Gaffers and Etchells. Turning the corner at the Needles, there was a flurry of activity as kites were hoisted for the downwind run to St Catherine's Point; looking back though, was a spectacular sight of multicoloured spinnakers pushing hard to make up ground, as the wind built to 18knots. The kite run continued all the way to Bembridge, marking the Eastern corner of the island, where spinnakers were dropped and the yachts came up hard on the wind for the final beat back up the Eastern Solent to the finish line by Cowes. This also required negotiating our way round Ryde Sands and some boats definitely ventured further inshore than others... indeed, more than one or two could definitely be seen aground!!
It was a fantastic race for all our teams but particularly Puma Logic who battled it out with some very competitive boats all the way round. They finished just after 1pm, believing they might just be in the top five of their division, IRC class 1b, so it was a bit of a surprise, but a brilliant one, to discover they had actually won their division!!
Needless to say, Saturday afternoon and evening was spent celebrating... in fact, unsurprisingly, I can't really describe much more about the rest of Saturday as I can't remember anything other than champagne disappearing at a super fast rate!!
The Sailing Logic teams headed gently back to Shamrock Quay on Sunday, whilst those on board Puma made their way to the Island Sailing Club for the prize giving. It was a great occasion and the whole team felt really proud of such a superb achievement. Philippe's highlight though, was definitely getting to receive our prize and a kiss from Shirley Robertson!!!
Congratulations to all those who took part and some great results... I know I can't wait to do it all again next year!!
posted by Sailing Logic at 8:53 AM 2 comments
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
2 Places left for this year's Round the Island Race
With nearly 1800 boats entered, this year's Round the Island Race is set to be the biggest yet!! It is a superb race and quite a spectacle to see that many yachts descend on the startline off Cowes. There is a fantastic atmosphere, both on and off the water, and it is many people's favourite race in the sailing calendar.
Sailing Logic yachts have been placed in the top five for the past three years, and this year, with so much interest we have five boats entered in the race. Our race package includes a training day this Friday (22nd), the race itself on Saturday 23rd, berthing in Cowes overnight and a sail back to Shamrock Quay on Sunday.
We have just two places left on our Match 42 and we are opening these up to offers!! Each of these places will go to the two highest offers that we recieve by close of business tomorrow... so for one of the last chances to be on board a competitive boat in an amazing race email info@sailinglogicracing.co.uk or call us on 02380 330 999 with your bid!!
Good Luck!!
posted by Sailing Logic at 9:05 AM 0 comments
Monday, 18 June 2007
4 Sailing Logic Reflex's in the top seven!
The Morgans Cup race to Jersey this weekend was to be a wet and windy one! It begun on Friday evening and the fleet of around 100 yachts headed east out of the Solent in a SW force 3. Most of the boats decided it was a bit tight to hold spinnakers but a few were seen persevering with kites and A-symmetrics. As the yachts came round the corner and hardened on the wind, it became a case of short tacking to stay out of the worst of the foul tide round the back of the island. The wind was due to veer to the West (which didn't happen) and build (which definitely did happen!!) And so it turned out that we all had to tack all the way across the channel to Les Hanois in breeze that gusted to 30 knots and some very exciting seas! Of course some people (Bol) enjoyed this more than others!
Jaguar and Puma were neck and neck most of the way in their very exciting own little match race, pushing each other harder and harder after every tack and sail change. Staying in sight of another boat of the same type definitely raises everyone's game- unless of course you were on board Puma, who allegedly cruised across (!!!!)
Eventually though, it was Puma who rounded Les Honois rocks off the western edge of Guernsey first, out of the Reflex's, and from this point on it really became a drag race as the boats could bear away and reach to Jersey.
Puma finished just before seven pm on Saturday, just ahead of Jaguar and followed not far behind by Pink Panther then Lion, taking 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th respectively in IRC1... which really is a fantastic and superb result for Sailing Logic, especially considering the next best placed Reflex was 20th!
Unfortunately, due to sail damage, both Bongani and Sidney had to retire. The others all turned around and had a great sail back to Shamrock yesterday afternoon.
It really was a cracking race and everyone worked so hard to achieve the much deserved results... and after a good night's sleep last night I can't wait for the next one now!!!
posted by Sailing Logic at 3:01 PM 1 comments
Friday, 15 June 2007
Second Fastnet Qualifying Race
It’s all very, very exciting here this morning. The first crews of the Fastnet Teams are beginning to filter in to Shamrock Quay and things are a hive of activity as last minute jobs are finished up, sails and food is loaded on and we all get set to go.
The weather looks to be a little breezy and typically, of course (this is sailing!!) from the SW… perfectly on the nose for a race to Jersey!! The Morgan’s Cup Race starts this evening at 1930 and looks likely to take us into tomorrow afternoon before we reach the finish.
This means that we don’t get to spend any time on Jersey as we will have to turn round and head straight back again to get home on Sunday!!
Philippe is looking fairly relaxed today with everything under control, perhaps that’s because he is quietly confident about racing to his home port… Only one thing is for certain though, all the skippers and mates are competitive and absolutely no one is complacent!!
Good luck to all the teams, have a great and safe race.
It’s all very, very exciting here this morning. The first crews of the Fastnet Teams are beginning to filter in to Shamrock Quay and things are a hive of activity as last minute jobs are finished up, sails and food is loaded on and we all get set to go.
The weather looks to be a little breezy and typically, of course (this is sailing!!) from the SW… perfectly on the nose for a race to Jersey!! The Morgan’s Cup Race starts this evening at 1930 and looks likely to take us into tomorrow afternoon before we reach the finish.
This means that we don’t get to spend any time on Jersey as we will have to turn round and head straight back again to get home on Sunday!!
Philippe is looking fairly relaxed today with everything under control, perhaps that’s because he is quietly confident about racing to his home port… Only one thing is for certain though, all the skippers and mates are competitive and absolutely no one is complacent!!
Good luck to all the teams, have a great and safe race.
posted by Sailing Logic at 9:34 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Team Logic Training Camp
It’s been another full on week for Sailing Logic and Team Logic have just finished their five-day training camp. It proved to be an intensive week for everyone. Day One was spent getting back into the swing of things and working together as a team. Everyone has swapped roles again for the rest of the campaign, (except of course, Philippe, who will have to suffer the chafe to his fingertips a bit longer!!) so we were each getting to know new positions on board. This is a fantastic way to improve all round skills as well, since a great racing team is made up of people who can all work together and think one step ahead for each other.
The rest of the week was spent building on these news skills with classroom sessions on weather and tactics, as well as time on the water. Despite the forecasted lack of wind we managed to pick our way round the Solent and Southampton Water and find enough breeze to get some superb sailing in each day- it certainly put our pressure spotting skills to the test!!
There was only one day that there was so little wind that we anchored for lunch, after which Bol managed to end up a bit muddy. All in all it was a great week, assisted by our coach, Peter Conway, and of course Philippe and Sara. Everyone learnt loads and by the end of the week we were all working together really cohesively, with all our spinnaker hoists and drops improving each time!! (Ref: Craig the Bowman in the photo!!) Hopefully we now have the foundations for a great team for the rest of the season!
The rest of the week was spent building on these news skills with classroom sessions on weather and tactics, as well as time on the water. Despite the forecasted lack of wind we managed to pick our way round the Solent and Southampton Water and find enough breeze to get some superb sailing in each day- it certainly put our pressure spotting skills to the test!!
There was only one day that there was so little wind that we anchored for lunch, after which Bol managed to end up a bit muddy. All in all it was a great week, assisted by our coach, Peter Conway, and of course Philippe and Sara. Everyone learnt loads and by the end of the week we were all working together really cohesively, with all our spinnaker hoists and drops improving each time!! (Ref: Craig the Bowman in the photo!!) Hopefully we now have the foundations for a great team for the rest of the season!
Team Logic is now looking forward to meeting again for the Round the Island Race in a couple of weeks time and this is followed by the IRC Nationals the week after. Sailing Logic also has Jaguar, Lion, Bongani and Sidney entered in the RTI race so there should be plenty of competition amongst the crews!!
For the moment though, there is barely a chance to stop and think as we get the boats ready to go again for the next Fastnet Qualifying race this weekend.
For the moment though, there is barely a chance to stop and think as we get the boats ready to go again for the next Fastnet Qualifying race this weekend.
posted by Sailing Logic at 12:43 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Eddystone Race Blog
As the sunset on Thursday evening, the Sailing Logic Team and their Fastnet teams were still beavering away to get the boats in top racing condition for the coming weekend. It looked set to be an interesting race with generally light winds forecast for the weekend, meaning that the tactics would play a very important part.
The teams left Southampton to head down to the start line off Cowes. The race began with a very light South Westerly Breeze and an interesting decision whether to choose to tack down the island shore, with the last of the favourable tide, or the mainland shore, where the wind would be more likely to be increase first. Most of the Sailing Logic Teams chose the latter option. Only Puma and Jaguar chose to stay on the island side and after a tussle with each other all the way out of the Solent, Jags was last boat out.
The next tactical decision was to stay inshore or head offshore. Jaguar Logic took the decision to head out early on which proved to be a good decision and they held their lead over the other Reflexes round Eddystone, with Bongani, Lion and Puma hot on their heels.
On the way back Puma clawed their way back overtaking Lion and Bongani and Philippe was working his crew hard with sail changes, to gain every last bit of speed possible as they tried to catch up with Jaguar too, eventually gaining back over twelve miles on them.
The last of the wind petered out almost everywhere and on the turn of the tide much of the fleet chose to anchor, as they realised how quickly they would they would drift backwards!!
With the end in sight but so little wind, the frustrated crews all put in a fantastic effort to keep the boats going, realising the importance of weight distribution and moving slowly and gently round the yacht.
The last few miles were slow going for all the fleet but eventually Jaguar Logic was the first Reflex to cross the line and took 4th place in IRC 1. Puma, Lion and Sidney were not far behind (7th, 12th and 15th respectively) and Bongani took 9th in IRC 2.
It was a very interesting race but a complete change for all the teams from the training weekend with lots of wind, but everyone again went away with lots more to think about, and the difference that such light wind conditions make. Congratulation to everyone for a superb effort all round. There were certainly lots of exhausted faces on Sunday!!
We are looking forward to the next race, the Morgan’s Cup, on Friday 15th June.
As the sunset on Thursday evening, the Sailing Logic Team and their Fastnet teams were still beavering away to get the boats in top racing condition for the coming weekend. It looked set to be an interesting race with generally light winds forecast for the weekend, meaning that the tactics would play a very important part.
The teams left Southampton to head down to the start line off Cowes. The race began with a very light South Westerly Breeze and an interesting decision whether to choose to tack down the island shore, with the last of the favourable tide, or the mainland shore, where the wind would be more likely to be increase first. Most of the Sailing Logic Teams chose the latter option. Only Puma and Jaguar chose to stay on the island side and after a tussle with each other all the way out of the Solent, Jags was last boat out.
The next tactical decision was to stay inshore or head offshore. Jaguar Logic took the decision to head out early on which proved to be a good decision and they held their lead over the other Reflexes round Eddystone, with Bongani, Lion and Puma hot on their heels.
On the way back Puma clawed their way back overtaking Lion and Bongani and Philippe was working his crew hard with sail changes, to gain every last bit of speed possible as they tried to catch up with Jaguar too, eventually gaining back over twelve miles on them.
The last of the wind petered out almost everywhere and on the turn of the tide much of the fleet chose to anchor, as they realised how quickly they would they would drift backwards!!
With the end in sight but so little wind, the frustrated crews all put in a fantastic effort to keep the boats going, realising the importance of weight distribution and moving slowly and gently round the yacht.
The last few miles were slow going for all the fleet but eventually Jaguar Logic was the first Reflex to cross the line and took 4th place in IRC 1. Puma, Lion and Sidney were not far behind (7th, 12th and 15th respectively) and Bongani took 9th in IRC 2.
It was a very interesting race but a complete change for all the teams from the training weekend with lots of wind, but everyone again went away with lots more to think about, and the difference that such light wind conditions make. Congratulation to everyone for a superb effort all round. There were certainly lots of exhausted faces on Sunday!!
We are looking forward to the next race, the Morgan’s Cup, on Friday 15th June.
posted by Sailing Logic at 3:07 PM 0 comments
