Tillerman rather cheekily accused the sailing blog community of apathy in the lack of response to his latest group writing project, namely the bucket list of sailing things to do before heading down to Davy Jones's locker.

In this case it was the difficult combination of trying to run a small business while fighting a lingering 'flu virus which has delayed this post.  read more »

I have put three days of sailing behind me. A lot of fun meeting with friends from different classes and on Friday evening with a boat, that I had never sailed before. The Optimist Dinghy. Yes, I have folded 190cm into this little pram and it did not feel as bad as I thought. It all started with a promise or better a birthday present which I had given to K. last week. She got a voucher to take part in the local women Opti regatta and I promised to organise everything. From the fully rigged boat right on the pier to jump in, to babysitting our little one.  read more »

Ian Thomson and his Nestaway folding dinghy Yvonne Green, principal of the Boat Building Academy at Lyme Regis has kindly sent us some photos and details of boatbuilding projects by recent students. Thanks Yvonne! Ian Thomson joined the Boat Building Academys 38-week course because he wanted to develop a sectional dinghy, now known as Nestaway. Since leaving [...]

You cant get it any better. Have a look at the great shots which photographer Sommerwerck at: Sommerwerck, Maritime Photografie took during a typical race day in Kiel last week. The appetizer here at the front (Christian in typical airborne style) is one of these shots. I think we will see a couple of them in some future magazines and advertising about some fresh products, mens aftershave or whatever. I am glad that I have been one of the fleet. I am not so happy that I did not find myself in one of the shots.  read more »

It had been planned for a long time. To start the sailing season with a little bit of Foiler Mothing down at the Med. At first we wanted to meet with friends at the Easter week but due to a very early Easter holiday this year, we delayed this until the beginning of April and it happened that the boatbuilding of our new Moth by Felix had been progressed to a near finish of the project. The trip took about 20 hours on the road. When we arrived in Bormes des Mimosas (le Lavandou) it was sunny with a strong offshore wind. Blue sky and a nice temperature wetted my appetite for some flying hours with the Bladerider. I should have known better On Sunday the 6th it was blowing cats and dogs and even worth it was a strong offshore wind. White caps appeared not far from the shore. Waiting for our friends was disrupted by a call from Felix being only about 2 1/2 hours away: We have a flat tyre. Not one. It is a twin tyre in the back and we cannot get a replacement on the Sunday. We will get there on Monday. Some sightseeing into the local boatyard and marina did not bring much satisfaction as most of the boats moored there had been white plastic boats from the well known sources. Oh well, yes there were a couple of boats on the hardstand, more than 50 foot long and these boats featured double rudder blades. Boats which I hadnt seen before. Not the typical Open50 or Open60 style boats. More cruising orientated, but with a wide stern. Thus the twin rudders.  read more »

Posted by: dawesboat  read more »

Here's what I get with a cross of my sailing "to do" list and sailing dreams... and maybe this also prefigures some New Year's resolution-like-wishful-thinkings.

* replace electrical harness on first doubled Sunfish trailer and mount replacement rear lights

* install inspection ports in rest of Sunfish fleet, do fiberglass repairs on Sunfish hulls and install replacement traveler bridles, get most of Sunfish fleet functional, perhaps order or make more rudder assemblies, possibly get more sails, get a second Sunfish trailer "doubled", look for a trailer that could be customized to transport four to six 'fish

* replace and re-locate through-deck turning blocks for Etchells traveler car and re-run traveler lines, replace Etchells upper shrouds, replace through-console vang turning block, replace port spinnaker cam cleat, other cleats as needed, apply Easypoxy to hull dings, install replacement manual bilge pump, install mast butt mover  read more »

Being on holiday this week and staying home, I was playing with the Moth after the frustrations of loosing the foil from the centerboard last week. On Monday I had some good time out here on the Schlei until I lost my rudder foil. In hindsight I think there must be an old fishing net or a rope where I hooked in and sheared the foil off. It happened quickly and I did not come to a halt. Frustrating after the boat felt so nice and quick. The good thing is that I am prepared for these misshapes. I have a second set of foils (ordered for the aim to help out people in Kiel when the dealership between Bladerider and Christian Brand was not settled) and as you can recognize that this helped me immensely this week. First the wing from the centerboard, now the wing from the rudder. My stocks of spares is running down as Felix still has a few important parts which can break or need to be replaced when abused or used a lot. Enough of this, back to sailing. Tuesday searching the shores for the foil with no success. Wind around the 15kn mark gave me good practice on the adjusted set up (2 turns in) Ride height in the waves not too much. Downwind I think I am sailing way too conservative. Should risk more, should steer more aggressive. But all in all some gains here and there. I have the feeling that my tacks are improving faster than my still "nonfoiling jibes". Wednesday evening the wind was on for the last beer-can-race before the school holidays and with K. not available and my crew at the 14s worlds, I asked young Adrian if he would crew me. He is out on his Europe dinghy at many evenings and very much interested in all aspects of sailing. No wonder, his father is a designer and engineer of yachts and commercial ships. OK, here we go. I helmed the start and the first beat and Adrian took over after rounding the weathermark middle of the fleet. We were overpowered, overcanvased or simply put: we did not have enough weight on the rail. The two of us. Around the mark, I rigged the boom, hoisted the kite, got it up without watering it. A bit of sailing on the port tack and than we had to jibe. We wiped out. Hard. Layed flat. Dropped the halyard and had luck that we, or better the others, avoided to hit us, to break our 2m bowsprit which stuck out on the front end like a sword. After I had peeled all the wet 60msq of gennaker back into the hatch we needed time to catch our breath. We were last boat by now and sailed without the red monster but after a while hoisted it again to dry it out and to catch some boats. Arent we racing here?  read more »

Walker Bay Boats announced today that Land ‘N’ Sea will now have complete national coverage of Walker Bay’s Rigid Dinghy line, AirDock and Breeze sailboats. “Land ‘N’ Sea has an excellent long standing reputation for servicing the marine industry, ...