First sailing trials with new control system...

It was a pleasure to return to the water yesterday with a view to going sailing. Conditions were light and the tide was running out... but we decided to have a go anyway.

As we launched VESTAS SAILROCKET on the Walvis Bay Yacht Club slipway a small pod of dolphins came around the corner only meters away. They escorted us out into the lagoon lazily swimming around and under the boat in the shallow water before cruising slowly off to deeper water. Brad mentioned that he thought it was good karma for what is to follow with the new steering system... I'd like to think this was true... but our past has ripped such romantic notion from me. There is no magic, only our ability to understand the facts and apply our knowledge to the situations at hand. Some times, if we have worked dilligently and are prepared for an opportunity... it all falls into place. Sometimes it goes the other way.

Quietly I was happy to have the dolphins accompany us out.

We set up quickly to make the most of the falling tide. Brad bet me a bottle of rum that I wouldn't be able to get VESTAS SAILROCKET up and going in the light winds. It was only gusting to 16 knots and generally around 14-15. There were a number of things I wanted to try out beside just going sailing at speed. One of the tests was to see what the low speed response of the new single rudder steering system was going to be like. We had limited the rudder range to plus and minus 15 degrees. The last low speed rudder could deflect to almoist 30 degrees... but it had to work against the fixed skeg.

So we headed out on Run 58 with all systems up and running. The boat seemed very reluctant to turn up onto the course and I had to ease the wing further than normal to make the pod sail out around the outside and assist the turn. This becomes easier in stronger winds. The foot steering controls are now reversed to tie in with the hand steering setup. A couple of times I found myself reverting to the old inputs and having to rethink my inputs. With practice it should become more natural. The fact is that there is no right or wrong way to set up the foot steering as many different craft use different inputs i.e. an aircraft and a landyacht or billycart. I used to push with the right foot to go right but now I push with the left to turn the foot pedastal with my left foot to orientate the boat to the right. I used to fly ultralight aircraft that would steer on the ground with the front wheel in the same way... I just have to remember what I'm strapped into!

As VESTAS SAILROCKET jumped up onto its new rear planing surface I radioed to Brad that he owed me a bottle of rum. The bear away went well and I cruised down the course peaking at 28.6 knots. The steering felt lovely but then it always does at these low speeds. All of the systems we have trialled work well below the mid thirties. We called it a day after one run having seen what we needed to see. next up was to download all the run data and check that all the secondary systems were working as expected.

recently we had uncovered a serious problem affecting the quality of the data recorded on each run... and every run we have recorded since its installation. It's an area that continually frustrates me and I still find it amazing that we are the ones who are constantly left to finish the work of other supposed experts-in-their-field. Still... we will work through it and all come out the wiser. We are a team and must keep working to maintain thius aspect as it will be what ultimately leads to our success. Whilst someone may get their wrists slapped today, they may solve our woes tomorrow. Go the team.

Today looks like it will be windier so we will try and raise the game a notch and head into the dreaded mid thirties.

Cheers, Paul.