We are now 3.5 days in since the container doors were opened and VESTAS Sailrocket 2 was released into the Walvis Bay speed-sailing wilderness. We have spent that time getting all the basic facilities organised and finishing off the trolleys to make actually getting from the container to the the water a safe and reliable process. The new boat is bigger and heavier... and hence is more cumbersome. With the beam and the rig now at the back of the boat, the whole rig raising process will need to be changed. We could probably do it out on the water if we wanted to spend a lot of time setting up all the little systems and procedures to make this possible but I am going to start by simply pulling the whole nose of the boat up on the beach until the back floats are also aground. This way we can all walk around the boat and it will be very stable. Throughout this process we need to protect the front mounted rudder and the rear foil so we need to have special cradles made to suit. This will be different from the launch trolleys. The truth is that we won’t really know until we try some of these methods. For starters I simply want to do things simply and reliably with as little risk as possible.
The wind has been blowing in a manner that would suit our current agenda i.e. not too much... but enough. There haven’t been any record breaking days recently...but that’s not what we are here for yet.
BEN MAKES FRONT RIGGING CRADLE WHICH WILL PROTECT THE RUDDER WHEN WE LIFT THE BOW ON TO THE BEACH. HE HAS HAD TO REACQUAINT HIMSELF WITH POLYESTER RESIN.
JEFFRO PADS UP THE NEW LADDER. THE NEW BOAT SITS MUCH HIGHER THAN VSR1 AND WE NEED A LADDER TO GET IN TO THE COCKPIT. WE ARE TRYING TO PREVENT SCRATCHES FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE...PERHAPS SWEEPING BACK THE TIDE.
JONNY AND PAUL TRY OUT THE NEW/PROTOTYPE INTERPHONE INTERCOM SYSTEM FOR THE TWO CREW AND FOR BOAT TO SHORE COMMS.
PAUL LIES INSIDE THE TAPERING FUSELAGE OF VSR2. SETTING UP THE COMPLICATED RIGGING WHICH WILL ALLOW THE BOAT TO BE STEERED AT LOW SPEED BY SWINGING THE BEAM FORE AND AFT AND TO RAISE AND LOWER THE RIG FROM THE COCKPIT.
So the plan is pretty much to get all the platform systems (without the wing) functioning so that we can do some basic launching and tow tests behind the RIB. The idea is to test the launching trolleys and get the new team members familiar with the procedure. With the tow tests we can also get an idea of the ‘hump drag’ of the basic platform i.e. how much force it takes simply to get the boat up and planing on its floats. It will also be interesting to see how the much response we get from the small front rudder at sub 25 knot speeds. Many of these things will obviously change drastically once we add a big wing sail to the equation... but you always see some things that are interesting, unexpected and often relevant. Once we are happy with all the platform trials we will put the wing onto the boat and start doing some static tests outdoors. Once again we will get everyone familiar with the systems and their individual roles in the procedures. The next step will be to take her down to the water on a clam day and rig her up in front of the Walvis Bay Yacht Club. Once we are happy that we can basically handle the rig in a secure manner, either upright or laying down, we will tow her across to speed-spot, pull her up the beach and begin doing some trials in some breeze. We need to make sure that the new wing is as balanced as she is supposed to be. We need to see how well she ‘feathers’ i.e. how well she de-powers when we release the mainsheet. The last wing on our first boat was a bit of a ‘monster’ in this area! If all goes well here... then my friends... I reckon it will be time to go sailing. And you have no idea how nice it is to even to begin to be talking about this.
So, I reckon that we should be doing the towing tests on Wednesday night if it’s calm... or Thursday Morning if Wednesday night is windy. If this goes well then I reckon the rig trials will begin on the weekend. It will probably be around the middle of next week before we can actually go sailing but I am throwing in a random weather contingency there. It could be sooner or later. As I said in an earlier blog, I’m in no hurry to get to the scene of our first crash... but I am very keen to go sailing so I won’t delay the decision for any longer than is necessary.
A couple of days ago, Hiskia and I launched the new RIB and went across to speed-spot. It felt like I was there last week. I went and checked out the timing hut which is our office/home/shelter/HQ when we are on speed-sailing action stations. It was in a very sorry state and was obviously missing our attentions. It will be a good half days work for the whole team just to ‘re-float’ it above the sands. The only foot prints inside it were those of wandering jackals. It will be fine and I look forward to setting her right again. That little ‘sugar cube’ sits out there and watches over that magic mile day in and day out like a guardian. It is our only sanctuary in that harsh environment and for now we are pretty much its only custodians. This means it will probably be bright orange when we leave ‘heh heh’!
Cheers Paul.
Yeehaa - not long now to a new record!
Submitted by luvmyboat on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 11:29.Great to hear the mighty sailrocket arrived intact. We're looking forward to hear of your achievements. Best of Luck - Our thoughts are with you.
Cathy and Geoff