Abersoch & Surfing for a Miracle

So last week was the Enterprise Nationals in sunny Abersoch, I was sad not to be attending, I love Abersoch it's a great place to sail and this year was the 2nd year in a row that I havent done the Nats...I kinda miss the tension, competition, happiness, dissapointment, drunkeness, ginger-awards, champagne-sailing conditions and just a general relaxed-life-sailing-drinking-karma kinda week.

So the usual suspects were there, a few helms with random crews which I guess effected the results, Nick Craig had a cracking event an won on the penultimate day...Richard Estaugh 2nd and after a fantastic set of results, Richard Adams and Martin Wetherstone came 4th in their first Nationals for years... well done guys...

The rest of the Midlanders had fairly good results, but certainly had one hell of a good time, and that is a good part of the idea...

So while pinning after not being at the Nationals, I continued my search to get a boat for me and the kids to sail and eventually raced...

So, I ask you all, why can I not actually find a boat that is even vaguely in the ball-park of what I am after?

It seems that everyone is trying to sell me sub £1000 boat that are old, maybe without spreaders, trailer-and-trolley rather than combi-trailor, crap sails etc etc Where are the £1,200 - £1,700 boats, race-ready, combi, less than 10 years old, decent set(s) of sails? The only one that I have found that vaguely touches the mark was an ex-demo boat from Bell that some muppet had power-sanded the decks with, I asked for photo's before dragging my ass to see it, they havent been forthcoming!

So, while I wait for the right boat to come along, hoping that someone has a crap Nationals (this week) in a great boat and decides to sell next week, I've been working hard, doing "some" gardening and managed to go for a sail yesterday at Draycote!

It was one of those days, set a deadline for 3pm to be at the club, my dad sailed the Solo in the first race, left it rigged for us...so me and the kids rocked up on time, my dad was there so we got changed, suited-and-booted and I took the eldest out...

Once launched I realised that it was actually fairly breezy and as my son sat on the side-deck and hooked his foot under the end of the toestraps, I hauled the main in, eased the outhaul, tweaked the kicker and blast, off we plained...within seconds waves were splashing spectacularly over the bow and into our faces yeee-haaa... he shouts "were living the dream!", dunno where he got that from, but it's pretty accurate.

So we did some great reaching, went on the beat, it felt good to stretch the body out hard to keep it flat, son was happy, enjoying doing some leaning out etc etc... so we had a cool 20-30 mins blast, then took the youngest out, but he had been playing in the water so he was cold, so just took him for a reach across the reservoir and back, again we were planing, lots of waves crashing, but he enjoyed his quick blast.. dumped him back with my dad and off to join in with the last race...

So I joined in pretty much at the back... it was about the top of the breeze I can sail in really competitively, hiked hard (for me!), plenty of kicker and flat sail, not cunningham... long beat, got into 2nd or 3rd place, for some reason wasn't fast downwinf on the borad legs, but going like a train on the tighter reaches, enjoying the sail.. next bear full length of the reservoir (ouch thats gonna hurt in the morning)... sailed ok, lost a place... but holding position, having fun, headed back early boat away, chatted with kids, grabbed a beer and crisps, chatted in the club, home for Sunday dinner.... beautiful!


sailing boat soulsailor