Sailors, more than most people, are likely to turn their gaze skyward. Sails need trimming and the next weather system is forever on the approach. I have been looking up in a different sense, searching for an opportunity to build upon my experiences in last year’s Mini Transat and move up to bigger boats and longer races. Read the rest of this entry »
Taking on the Route du Rhum
August 21st, 2010 | Published by Conrad Colman in Route du Rhum | 1 Comment
Class 40 World Championships
July 27th, 2010 | Published by Conrad Colman in Sailing News | 3 Comments
I just finished the Class 40 World Championships in Gijón, Spain and wanted to share the experience as communications in English appeared to be non-existent.
Class 40s are designed for the classic short handed Transat races- their coming out party was the 2006 edition of the Route du Rhum- so when I heard that the Worlds was going to be in a coastal region known for as a wind hole, my heart sank. Doing short course racing on a boat designed for solo offshore is a little like asking an elephant to do ballet… even if you manage do it it’ll never be pretty! And so dancing without wind turned out to be. Read the rest of this entry »
Cyclists v. Sailors
July 4th, 2010 | Published by Conrad Colman in Sailing News | 3 Comments
I appeared to be out of the room when passion for kicking pig skin was handed out, so the vuvuzela buzz of the World Cup passed me by without incident and I tend to only feign interest in the all conquering All Blacks when I fear I’m about to be accused of being a bad Kiwi.
Alert! Code Red Code 5
June 21st, 2010 | Published by Conrad Colman in Mini 6.50 | 2 Comments
The annoyingly confusing and contradictory sailmaker’s parlance can lead to a Kiwi’s Genny being a Brit’s Spinnaker and a Frenchman’s Spinak. A solent is not the water the separates the Isle of Wight from England, but a small jib, unless it’s a maxi-solent in which place takes the place of a genoa, which is normally a big jib. Read the rest of this entry »
