Most fun I've Had with my Day Clothes On!

After recuperating from 3 months of illness, I am pretty frustrated at not yet being allowed on the water. My fevers have finally subsided, informatory markers have halved, haemoglobin is up and I am now doing some pretty limited training - like cutting the lawn; which incidentally nearly finished me off! At the weekend my birthday treat was to race my Father in Law and Step son in Model Laser's® on Emsworth Pond. The wind was a nice force 3-4 easterly - and these boats could move!

Armed with a Rooster Superlite Hybrid Jacket and a Tech Sweater sample, I wrapped up warm and had the time of my life. What was most amazing was that the Model Lasers® behaved exactly like real dinghies in terms of rudder trimming - so all the secrets from the first Boat Whisperer DVD's were put into practice. When on a run with the sail out too far - a gust would make it roll to windward, but with a quick bear away and sheet in - she was back on her feet and the acceleration from the manoeuvre was obvious - against the option of spinning out - this was a cool trick. Also gybing at the leeward mark - showed the classic sheeting in too early as the bear away was started meant the boat encountered a leeward heel that countered and slowed the rudder turn taking all the speed off the boat. The Boat Whisperer trick alternative was to turn slightly upwind, ease the sheet slightly before using the rudder to bear away - then start sheeting in as the boat is turning in its outward heel due to the turning force - and the boat would come out of the gybe speedy and trimmed ready for the beat. The only negative about the radio controlled boats was that I could not get in there with it. I wished I could have sat aft in the big gusts downwind to promote a plane rather than a nose dive - perhaps one day long in the future, there will be a radio controlled boat with ballast that can be moved fore and aft - then I would have to grow and extra hand or become an octopus to race that one effectively.