When is dragging a sheet fast?

Dragging a sheet is fast, when someone else is doing it... Last Thursday, I noticed the In-N-Out Boys were dragging a line in the water. It wasn't until after the start that we passed in front of them and I pointed out the dangling equipment. As they tried to correct the situation, we all discovered they had actually sailed over the top of their starboard spin sheet. That would not have been a fun discovery rounding the windward mark...

So, that's slow for them but it gets even better... for us. We were the first to tack to port on a nice left hand shift. The Boys have crossed behind us and hold their course on starboard as they get their spin sheet out from under the bow. Meanwhile, they're crossing in front of just about the entire fleet... either on starboard but wanting desperately to tack or on port with no rights. They were all held hostage for a while as we made our get away... gaining a lead no one could overcome.

I still think it's helpful to point out such things to other boats (maybe not everyone). It's just that it rarely works out as such an advantage. It almost felt unfair.

Lido Racing

The Lido 14 is a great boat to race with your kids. I have really enjoyed sharing this wonderful sport with my son this summer. It seems every night out brings a new experience or new lesson. It might be a huge wind shift at the start or taking on a little water over the rail in a tack or sailing very close to other boats. I've seen it before but it's been fun to experience it again with Mr. T. Many firsts for him... Good times for us!

A picture may be worth a thousand words...

After coming across this cool windsurfing picture on the horse's mouth, it became my desktop picture for a while at work. Several people commented on it and wondered... doubted even, if it was a real picture or some type of photoshopped deal. They certainly wouldn't buy that someone in this position could land such a trick and sail off for more.

Then I find this video on H2uhO. Apparently, it's from the Wave competition at this year's PWA Grand Slam at Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria. Wow!

So, let's see... the video length is 6:49. That's 409 seconds at about 25 frames (or pictures) per second for a total of over 10,000 pictures. At a 1000 words each, that's over 10.2 million words... Nough said.