Gennaker Trial

[Trim50]

I now know that I waited far too long to cough-up the money for a Gennaker! Yesterday the crew took the boat out for a trial sail with our new gennaker prior to the Newport to Ensenada race in two weeks. All I can say is WOW!

When we pulled it from the sock in just 12 knots of air, WOOMP the boat lurched forward and started to accelerate like it never has before. My spinnaker was nice, complicated, and nothing compared to this new gennaker. The matrix cut design in 1.5 oz material is tremendously stable across a large range of apparent wind. We were easily moving along at 9knts in 12knts of wind.

[Hud3]

Trim,

I had the same feeling the first time I flew my new asymmetrical. It's absolutely amazing to feel the power of the sail coursing through the boat.

Good luck in the race! Nice color--they'll definitely see you coming!

[Trim50]

Red is Lori's favorite color...everything she has is red. As such, I had no choice in the matter

[MMNETSEA]

Well Done !

I can see the handicap committee rubbing their hands !!!!

[Trim50]

Originally Posted by MMNETSEA

Well Done !

I can see the handicap committee rubbing their hands !!!!

They gave me a 105 with all the measurements. My primary competition is S/V Veloce Hunter 54 from my dock and yacht club. His boat weighs half what mine does...but I now have twice the sail area

http://www.nosa.org/documents/4-10_N...ntsByClass.xls

[MMNETSEA]

In the order for all things fair - would it not be fair for the handicap committee to provide Veloce with a handicap that gave her at least a fighting chance against the newly invigorated enhanced Trim ?

[Trim50]

According to Jason the owner of Veloce, he will sail circles around me! This has been an on going rivalry of words ever since we met-up out on the water one day and I had two women as crew that knew nothing about sailing and Jason had a crew of 5 highly experienced men and his wife. We raced each other all over the harbor for about 3 hours. I was never able to pass Veloce, but he never really gained ground on me. We were one boat length apart the entire day.

Over the past year his story has gone from how well we hung with him and how surprised he was, to how badly he kicked our butts that day...I think he also throws a "I sailed circles around you" just for good measure when at the club house bar. If you aren't familiar with the Hunter 54, it is a racer cruiser...nothing to do with the new Hunters of today. It is a very sleek, low to the water, long waterline narrow hull.

http://www.honsail.com/?page=cat&cat=c...id=5&sub=32

Jason's wife seems to know that we may just pass them without corrected time...and if we do, we plan to start-up the BBQ and smoke them as we pass with the smell of rib-eye steaks cook'n.

[Trim50]

I can't believe it! Jason (S/V Veloce) dropped out of the Gennaker class today and is now in Spinnaker class A...

http://www.nosa.org/documents/4-17_N...ntsByClass.xls

[Footprints]

lol.....at you all....

I thought this was a cruising website not a racing one.... how easily we all drop back into what is inherant in us all..... the want to go the fastest..

Now the only reason I laugh.. is that for my whole life I have raced, and it is the only type of sailing I have every known.... but since having to "cruise" with my novice "captain" I find it funny how easily the topic of a new gennaker can so easily be swayed into the pure need to win...IE "RACING"

[MMNETSEA]

Footprints, Thanks for telling it as it is !!!!!!!!

[Lighthouse]

Originally Posted by Trim50

I can't believe it! Jason (S/V Veloce) dropped out

Trim, he is running scared!

[Trim50]

Originally Posted by Footprints

lol.....at you all....

I thought this was a cruising website not a racing one.... how easily we all drop back into what is inherant in us all..... the want to go the fastest..

Now the only reason I laugh.. is that for my whole life I have raced, and it is the only type of sailing I have every known.... but since having to "cruise" with my novice "captain" I find it funny how easily the topic of a new gennaker can so easily be swayed into the pure need to win...IE "RACING"

Uh yeah, but it is a REAL stretch to call Newport to Ensenada a race. It is more of a general agreement to sail South with a lot of other boats in hope for wind It is actually more of an excuse to to throw two big parties...one at the start and one at the finish. Many of us end-up in Catalina playing a round of golf.

[Hud3]

If two sailboats are sailing in the same direction, it's a race!!! Just can't be helped...tweak, tweak the sails.

[imagine2frolic]

Trim,

It doesn't seem that lobng ago you were even debating purchasing the gennaker. Good decision, and BEST WISHES to Ensenada QUICKLY....... I am also sure you can see the cost of fuel getting less & less with your new RED sail.

[Trim50]

Jason is now back in the Gennaker A class after I gave him lots of grief this weekend. Also, wind predictions are looking promising with 15 knots at start of race. The BBQ grill has been cleaned and made ready ;-)

[Lighthouse]

Good luck!

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Trim50

The BBQ grill has been cleaned and made ready ;-)

Now that is supreme confidence, Trim--grilling while racing under gennaker!!!

[imagine2frolic]

Grillmaster reporting for duty SIR!

[Trim50]

The whole grilling while racing thing started back in the early 90s during the Newport to Ensenada race. We were crewing for a friend on his Islander 36 which was kinda slow. We were passed by this boat that was grilling up a storm of smoke that smelled really good. The person in charge of food on our boat didn't bring anything but cold cuts and all we could think about was how nice it would be to have a grill with steaks cooking.

Ever since, we make a effort to grill-up some smoke generating Rib-eyes.

[imagine2frolic]

Those rib-eyes do set out the smoke! Are you sure it is not a plan of distraction against the competition?....lol