(see photo here - http://arwenberg.com/artwork/355435.html)

This is from an email I sent to friends and family immediately following the Ottawa Skiff Grand Prix earlier in 2008. But I think it really captures my feelings about the I14, plus a fun event, so I am posting it here. Plus, this blog was looking pretty neglected (understatement.) So enjoy!


(June 8, 2008) So I had a pretty eventful weekend of sailing. Normally this regatta (Ottawa Skiff Grand Prix) is light air, but not this weekend. Yesterday it peaked at 28 knots gusting to 33. We were super keen. But about 2 min after the first start, we broke our mast. Right at the gooseneck where the lower shrouds attach. We had been going upwind, and i just pulled in on the mainsheet, and kkkkrrunch. Carbon fibre breaking is not a nice sound. Brent and i both fell backwards off our trapezes of course, but managed to scramble through the water back to the boat. There was lots of 'sailor talk' (i.e. swearing) going on, as it was such a dissappointment. But we got everything together and kind of sorted out, and finally a safety boat came over to tow us in. It took us a long time to get in, as there was a lot of other carnage on the water.

There were a few single handers (from a different fleet) having a really hard time, so we actually tied to a navigation buoy for a while, while our towboat went and helped a single hander (no rudder) first.

We were so disappointed, because you don't get wind like this very often, and we were so enjoying the sailing and the regatta. So we were thinking about how to repair the thing, and there was talk of carbon fibre and epoxy repairs, sleeves, etc. None of which are anything i was looking forward to doing or even assisting on. Until another boat from ottawa mentioned that he had a mast that was just like the one we broke, at home. Well then! So we (Brent actually) bought it from him, and away we go. But it is not like a laser, where you just plonk the thing in and go, because they call the International 14's a 'development fleet '.

Now, you must understand, that Development Fleet is code for "a-bunch-of-engineers-who-love-to-mess around-with-blocks-and-lines-and stainless and rivets-and-carbon fibre." So on this boat, there are three sets of shrouds, all with spectra high ratio purchase systems for adjustments, plus the spinnaker, jib and main halyards. Also we had a different boom vang system than the boat the new-to-us mast came from. I don't put myself in the engineer group(my standard line is 'i just drive'), but if we were going to be ready for today, i had to pitch in. So between rounds of Mount Gay, we slowly got the thing set up, we were done by about 11 last night. But it was good to go, and we got to go out sailing today.

Once you get a new mast, there's a lot of tuning that has to happen, and we didn't have much time for that. So we didn't do very well, but we had a super good time. (Great thing about these boats, you can be in last place but you are still having a great time (usually)). The wind piped up again, and we were often way overpowered. but it wasn't as much as yesterday, and it was up and down, so it was more manageable. There were still a few screaming reaches, which were just amazing. I am smiling just thinking about it.

I have to explain the feeling of sailing these boats on a reach. The reaches turn on almost like a switch. You get the spinnaker up while heading deep downwind, and then when you're ready, you head up, sheet in, and BOOM - lift off. It's as if you are driving the boat into the outside edge of, say, a giant magic energy cookie. You just want to take a little piece of it and be on your way. Not too much, or you'll go insane. But just a little piece.

Having caught a piece of that energy, you bear away as the boat starts to plane. The crew or both of you go out on the wire, right at the back quarter of the boat, and the boat literally 'takes off'. Suddenly you are flying, and laughing. And hoping that you don't wipe out. It's surprisingly not very wet, as you're up and away from the spray. And the tiller is very light. At one point i had my hand open on the extension, and the boat was perfectly balanced - we were going about 12 knots and i wasn't steering at all. It was a downwind finish, and i must say it is an unbelievable feeling to zoom by the committee boat going 13 knots in a boat that's only 14 feet long. Any pictures that come from that finish will show me with a huge, silly, grin. Anyway we got in at about 2:30 and it wasn't too much of a scramble to get me to the train station for 5, and i am on the train now. won't get into london until late tonight. And i have a ton of work to do, urgently, to be ready for the conference, plus other things (another proposal) i have due this week, and will probably be up a lot of tonight. But it was so worth it.

Kisses, Tracy.