Second training part two

After tacking upwind, it was time to prepare the launch of the spinnaker. For this I locked the tiller, put the tangoon in position and then started to prefeed the tack. Once this was done I beared away on  to a broad reach and pulled up the spinnaker.

Once the spinnaker was up, I practised several gybes with the spinnaker.

My first two attemps didnt go very smooth. I gybed the main first and then went to the foredeck to get the tangoon on to the other side. I then had to find out that I didnt release the downhaul and I also had the sheet to tight. The result was that I could not attach the pole on the new side and had to release the downhaul before clipping in the pole. You can see this in my video (the difficulties with the pole start around 42 sec):

We then tried a second approach that worked better:
This time I went on a dead run and eased the sheet much more. I also didnt forget to release the downhaul this time:) After locking the tiller, I went to the foredeck and changed the tangoon.
On the way back, I tightened the downhaul again and adjusted the sails. Once this was done, I could  gybe the mainsail. Here is a video of this too:

 Too soon it was time to get the spinnaker down and head home to the port.

For dropping the spinnaker I unfurled the Genoa and started to ease the foreguy/line that controlles the tangoon, so I could start taking in the foot of the spinnaker. Once I had the foot, I  released the haliyard and packed the spinnaker in its bag. For the next time, I would release the haliyard a bit before the drop, so it would not require that much force to pull it down (you can see this in the video at 40sec).

Second training part 1

Today I managed to have a second training session for the Translemanique. After yesterday's training with almost no wind, the forecast looked much more promising. When we arrived at the port the wind had built up to a steady 2 Bf from north.
As my crew and advisors I had Magnus and Tim F. Thank you guys for coming along and helping me achieving this adventure.

We left under sail alone, wich was a bit challenging as the wind was coming from the north and we had to rock the boat out of the channel before we could set the sails. A good excersise in boat handling and very useful in case I want to do the race without taking the motor.

Briefing before the tack

First we sailed upwind and I performed some singlehanded tacks.
For the tacks I used the following technique:

-Cleating the rope at the autopilot, so I could start preparing the sheets
-Putting 2 turns on the lazy whinch/ 'soon to be' working whinch
-Preparing the working sheet, so I later can grab it easely
-Lowering the travaller, so it would be in the right possition after the tack= dont forgett to cleat it on the new position
- Grabbing the two genoa sheets
-tacking with the tiller between my legs, this allowes me to have both hands free for the sheets
-working the sheets during the tack
-sailing the new course, adjusting sails, vola!

Conclusions:
Practise makes perfect, I am glad I will have some more trainings:)
The headsail sheets need to be longer
It is good to prepare the sheets before lowering the traveller, otherwise I will loose too much power in the mainsail

Checking the winches after the tack

Part two to follow soon....

First singlehanded training

Today I finally had the chance to go out for a first singlehanded training. As Mic Mac was reserved by someone else, we weren't sure if it was even at the harbour (in our club people often book a boat and then dont go out). We arrived an hour into the booking period and to our delight the boat was not taken out.
The conditions were very light. Most of the time, the wind was so light that it was just enough to keep the sails from flapping. My main objectiv was to find out how the very simple autopilot works and how to put up the spinnaker and gybe it.
I managed to do two spinnaker hoists and drops plus four gybes. After a good hour of practise the wind dropped to zero, so we decided to call it a day. After a refreshing swim in the lake we motored back to the port.

My conclusions from today:

If the wind is very light, it is hard to fill the spi. It might help to roll up the genoa beforehand to make sure it doesnt block the wind.

Before the gybe, it is important to make sure all the lines are running free.

The line for the autopilot needs to be longer.

It is more fun to train if there is wind to fill the sails:)

The autopilot
The autopilot is made out of a rope that leads from one side of the cockpit to the other, this rope is than held by a little cleat under the tiller. This way it is possible to block the tiller and prevent the boat from turning, while adjusting sails or doing work on the foredeck

Geneve- Rolle-Geneve 10.-11.06.17

As a preparation for the TL en solitaire, I was able to do the Geneve-Rolle-Geneve race on Mic Mac. My crew were Heather, Kirill and Jean-Louis.
The GRG is one of the classic Lac Leman regatta and always attracts a lot of competitors. My motivation to do this race was, beside that long regattas are always lots of fun, to gain more experience on Mic Mac and also to get to know a bit more the parts of the lake that are further away from Versoix.

Here is my side of the GRG story:

The day started with a very promising breeze that allowed us to sail towards the starting line doing all sorts of manouvers. We felt this helped us a lot to get to know the boat better (1. outing in more than 1bf since the boat is back in the water) and to work as a team.

Start

After last years experice s a crew in Bol d or with a very crowded starting line and all boats bunched up,touching each other, I wanted to be more conservative. We stayed at the back of the crowd. Of course we soon found ourselve at the back of the fleet.

Upwind to Nernier

With lots of short tacks, playing the windshifts and staying close to the french coast we could catch up to the fleet and soon found ourself racing against Thierry and Tim.

Crossing the lake

The wind eased off around Nernier and we decided to cross the lake before the wind would get even lower.

During that crossing the wind dropped even further, giving our stiff genoa a horrible look around the sailing/shrouds. As soon as we had a windshift, we managed to set the spi and use it like a giant genoa. Crossing earlier, instead of sailing to Ivoire, didnt prove to be very in our favour, as the boats further in to the grand lac seemed to do have a tiny bit more wind and boatspeed.

Rolle

Crossing the mark at Rolle took a long time. After rounding the mark, we werent sure if we should cross back to the french coast or stay on the swiss side. So we just sailed a bit off the swiss coast while a big part off the surprise fleet stayed very close to the shore. Soon they found themself in a windhole and we were sailing past them, now sailing towards france.

Back at Nernier

The crossing went very well and we were happy about our position and that we have made it to the side of the lake that had good wind forcasted. Hoping to find that wind we stayed close to the coast, making very little progress. When the wind allowed we set the spinnaker, but mostly had to take it down after a short time again due to the very unstable wind.

The Night

Then we tacked in to a bay and got stuck for about 2 hours till 2am.

Thats when we tried to call YCG to announce our retirement. They didnt answer the call and we finally got some wind again. We decided to try to finish......

I The forcasted wind never returned on our side of the lake and in hindsight I think it would have been better to stay in the middle of petit lac during the night, like some of the other boats that slowly past us.

Morning

We made very slow but steady progress during the rest of the night. At 5am we were just off Coppet approaching Versoix and still had our hopes up to at least finish the race, but the wind stayed very light.

Towards the end..

At 7 am we could easily see the finishing marks ahead of us and also clearly hear the loud signal that told us that the finishing line was closed now. 

We quickly motored to the YCG to return the tracker before motoring back to Versoix.

Conlusions

-Seeing that the wind was very light during almost the whole race, I feel like it would have been good to use an older, less stiffer genoa.

-It paid out to tack early in the shifts and tack back once the wind changed again (not sure about this during the TLS, as tacking is much less efficient)

-To go closer to the shore did not proove to be the best decision at night. Some of the other boats, that stayed more in the center of the petit lac seemed to do better than us. 

-In the morning it would have been good to go closer to the shore (Collonge-Bellerive side).

For me as the skipper it was a very good experience and I think I learned a lot during those long hours. 

A big thank goes to my crew for the great time on the water, I am very happy with all of them and would sail with them again with great pleasure.

A big thank also to Tim, Kirill, Rob and all other volonteers for the long hours they spent getting the boat back in to the water and helping to prepare it for the race.

The Boat

To take part in the Translemanique, the most important thing  to have is a boat. Luckily, my sailing club (Yacht Club Cern) owns Mic Mac, an almost 35 year old Surprise. Despite the age of the class, the Surprise is still a very poular boat on the Lac Leman, in big races, such as Bol d'or it attracts more than 100 boats.


Maintenance
Because of its bad hull condition, some members of the club worked really hard (a special thank to Tim and Kirill) over the wintertime to remove old antifouling, sand rough areas, reseal the hull against osmoses and to put a new shiny antifouling on. We also replaced several pulleys on the mast to make it easier to hoist and controll sails.

Mic Mac's hull before the maintenance

In the beginning of June, just one week off the Geneve-Rolle-Geneve race, the boat was ready to be put back in to the water.

It was quite a shock when we found out that someone climbed over the fence at Ba 5 and not only vandalized the two trailers outside by smashing all lights, the person also scratched the newly finished hull whit a sharp object.......

Scratches on the hull after the vandalism

The keel was damaged the most

We managed to repair the trailer the same afternoon and towed Mic Mac to Versoix. The goal now wasn't anymore to have the boat in the water, we also had to re-sand the affected areas and apply new antifouling before we could even lift her in to the water. The work took us almost the whole evening and by 11pm Mic Mac was back in the water.

Mic Mac ready to lift in to the water

The next couple of days the mast got put up, the rig sensioned, the gelcoat cleaned and the sails came on. Now the boat was ready for everyone to sail again. A huge thank to all of you that contributed to get her back on the water!!!

The Race

The translemanique en solitaire is a regatta for single handed monohulls. The course went, until the upcoming edition, from Geneva to Lutry and back. It attracts around 100 sailors, local ones from surrounding Geneva and also international ones.

For the first time ever this year the race-commitee has decided to lengthen the course. The new course will go all the way to le Bouveret and back, which makes it to something like the length of the Bol d'or.

If you draw a direct line from the start to Le Bouveret and back, the total distance would be a minimum of 70 nautical miles or almost 130 kilometers. Given that it is almost never possible to sail the most direct way under sail and that the wind is more favourable on the swiss side, the actual distance to sail is way longer.
They race has now a similar character to the Bol d'or, with the difference that it is sailed singlehanded.
Making this race longer will certainly make it also more difficult to finish. The haute lac, the area from Lausanne towards the Valais is well known for its difficult wind conditions and will add to the challanges the race already provides.

February 2017, or sailing is calling

It is freezing cold outside and all the streets are covered with snow. Despite these perfect ski conditions, I cant wait for the beginning of the sailing season.
During this waiting time, my wish to participate in this Translemanique en solitaire is growing stronger and stronger.
By the end of February I made up my mind and sent the Commitee of the YCC Sailing Club an email about my plans and ask them for permission to use one of our clubboats to compete in this event.