Marcel's Moth Blog

moth video!

2011-05-21T13:10:00.001-07:00

Bladerider X8 - 10,000 Euros, Free Shipping!

2010-08-03T03:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I am selling my moth to get a Laser again so i can sail throughout Uni...
Please forward this onto anyone you know that might be interested in my boat and getting into mothing, it would be greatly appreciated! :

I have a Bladerider X8 in excellent condition for sail, with 3 masts, 4 sails, 2 booms, 3 riggings and extras and spares for everything to keep the boat going for ages!
The boat has been set up and tuned to perfection, with the latest technology including ride height adjuster, carbon fibre North Sails, aluminium and carbon gantry, beach trailer, spliced controls, carbon backstay and forestay. The boat has been maintained very well and raced to its ability, finishing 25th at the Dubai World Championships in a superstar packed fleet!

The boat has been used to train by numerous of the top 10 moth world sailors and I purchased it second hand a year ago from the world no. 7 at that time, Andrew Brown (NZL).

I can provide videos, photos, and absolutely anything on the boat, which is worth in excess of 60,000 dhs with the upgrades added to it, making it the second fastest bladerider in the worlds, according to the moth worlds, and also the second fastest junior sailed boat, likewise at the Moth worlds. I am not going to ask for this amount of money, but im looking more at the 50,000 mark.

The boat has done me very well over the last year and has made me enjoy sailing like never before with many heads turning to check it out, it has taken me from a complete beginner level to finishing in the top 25 at the moth worlds, being an incredible achievement which I always enjoy reflecting back upon!

However as I leave for university, it is time that I sell me boat in order for it not to sit and rot in Dubai, when im stuck in the UK!

Please let me know if you are interested in the boat, I would gladly take you out for a test sail and can deliver it and help rig it and give beginners pointers on how to sail it, gladly!

Give me a shout if your interested!
marcelsailor@yahoo.com

Moth For Sale!!!

2010-07-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

Moth For Sale!

2010-05-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

happy days :)

2010-03-16T07:45:00.001-07:00

Vice Junior Puma Moth World Championships 2010 :)
Next stops on the circuit: Switzerland, United States and Australia

nearly there

2010-03-01T10:01:00.001-08:00

Boat is a machine
Splicing is the sex
Photo's are amazing!
http://www.stuartgordonphotography.com

Bring on the worlds!

15 days to go

2010-02-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

15 days to go until the worlds! - wow

The last few days have been pretty full on! JP and Arnaud have arrived and have been getting sorted for the worlds everyday so far! They have also pulled a new trick out of the bag! You will have to wait until you get here to see their secret!

Two days ago there was very little wind, very marginal for most people, but weighing a good 7 or more kilos less than Alex helped in taking off quicker! I have been using my KA sail recently, because I fell through the North V8, But I can't wait to get that sail back and get into using it properly!

Today's wind was Nuclear, and I only got out at around 2. By then JP and Arnaud already went out for a morning training session and came back in, when I joined them for their second time, the waves were measured at 1m and choppy and the wind was 20 - 25. Far too much wind for a light weight like me, and a pushrod that had snapped, but was still functioning marginally...

That meant I thought I screwed my boat over, the push rod connector had snapped and I was on very low lift most of the time, until the axle got caught and then stayed on a reasonably high lift. Very confusing at first! but when I sailed to Jumeirah Island and pulled my boat up onto the beach to have a look at what was going on, I realized the problem, and made my way back to DOSC. Would have been the perfect day for getting the GPS out and doing some speed runs! piss warm water and strong wind!

JP came to my rescue, and I should literally pray to him! He had the exact piece to fit a Bladerider, even though he is a Mach 2 sailor, so he helped me replace the piece. He also helped me cut down my pushrod length so that I get more lift from it and that the foil flap reached the bottom edge of the centerboard, for reverse lift.

I have a plea! If there is anyone coming out for the worlds, and has a packet of batten spacers still spare, and would like to sell them to me, please let me know, I am in need of putting a few onto my KA, so the battens don't keep going awol!!

Sail numbers are on, next thing to sort out is Name on the sail! That will be interesting getting it sorted out, along with the UAE flag.

More sailors set to arrive soon, so Game On!

skin?

2010-02-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

About to put a coat of polishing on my foil, and i happened to come across some info on the web talking about sharks being the most effective animals in the water, does that mean that their skin is perfectly adapted to what all moth sailors are looking for on their foils? Well the skin is very rough when you touch it outside of the water, so my automatic thought about that was that it is not ideal, but then thinking deeper... because the skin is a living organism, does it produce fats and oils (to keep the shark warm) which also have a secondary function of lubricating the skin to make it less water resistant; so if that is the case, where can I get some shark oils from? :-D

on a more serious note, I will be using teflon polish tonight to coat my main foil, and the horizontal of my rear foil, think this will be the substantial parts, and I will just sand the vertical rear foil to stop it ventilating on the reaches and down winds!

Had some misery today, hit 2 fishing pods which has at least 30m of slack line floating around, the first I managed to nearly clear with an emergency tack, but still got caught on the rudder, and the second one was hopeless, and I couldn't help but capsize and fall onto my sail. Now there is a footlong rip going down the foot area of my spanking new North V8, bad times!

Washed the sail off and took the battens out, then gave it to Gareth, the owner of Marine Tech LLC; who is really doing a lot for the Moth fleet at the moment, and supporting us in every way! with spare parts, repairs and all other needs!. He then took the sail home, and estimated about 3 days in order to get it fixed and stitched up again! Hopefully it will still have all its shape in the foot once repaired, so that I can still be as happy with it as before, and don't have to result in using the KA Sail!

Other than that training went well today, got into the motions of doing more gacks, as the breeze was just marginal at the beginning of my session, but then when it built a bit more, I worked on quick gybes and tacks, as if it was in an unexpected race scenario which I needed to get out of, that was helpful, and at one point did a gybe so fast and clean, that I could have gone round once more without coming off the foils! haha...

Next time down at the club, quiet possibly tomorrow, will be all boat work I fell, getting the new stays up and everything, and then making it sure it all comes together nicely! Need to do more checkups, so think wings will come off and be emptied of any water and sand mixtures that have resided there recently, and also will be putting on my new Gantry! fingers crossed. That would be the icing on the cake, to make my boat look sexy!

Tomorrow morning, one hour run, Im only 68 - 70 kgs, but im still looking at shaving off those extra kilo's and replacing them with muscle in my legs to keep my hiking going harder and longer. Glenny is set to join me, will be too much of an early rise for him though I predict... but should be good if we get into a proper routine and get in shape for the worlds...

how do i make more progress?

2010-02-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

I've reached the stage, where I am comfortable with having a consistent boat speed, having tacks that are as good as can be at 90% of the time, and gybing 100% of the time. Now how do I move on, how can I make my boat speed even better? How can i notch up a level?

I went out again today in the morning to late afternoon, and at the beginning i was focused on what my target was (foot work during a tack) but once I had it sorted out perfectly and couldn't complain anymore, I jut didn't feel the urge of working at 100% anymore, so I was just cruising around, putting in a few tacks here and there, until I got bored and then I sailed in.

Thought my time would be better spent putting together my new EC6 shrouds, which I did, and no matter how sexy they look, how light they are and how little give they have; there is always one though in the back of my head haunting me: what happens when I do pitchpole? will they slice me up because they are as thin as cheese wire? hmmm hesitant about leaving them untouched, will go out to the electrical shop down the road tomorrow and see if they have any heat shrinkable stuff in stock, which I could sleeve my shrouds with.

Still haven't got round to getting a packer in the main foil that I am using at the moment, but then again, should I really? thing is I am waiting at the moment to get my own foil fixed, as the sika flex has come off once again, and I need to get that fixed asap, probably my number one on the priority list now!

Whilst playing with the thought of what it would be like riding a little bit higher out of the water, I got a little bit hesitant, because I am riding quiet high at the moment on reaches and downwind, so If i go one higher, will I be at a ridiculously high risk of pitchpoling all the time, or can I correct that by adjusting the amount of lift on the rudder?

Had the V8 up again today, great shape and great power throughout any maneuver, so I am really happy with that, and will use it 2 or 3 more times before the worlds and then store it away and go back to my KA 13. Very similar to my EC6 shrouds, not sure if I want to be using them for the whole time before the worlds, or if I want to put them up, train a few times with them and store them away...

ARGHHHH so many more questions! and so little time to find answers!!!!

Anyways, the swiss boats are at customs now, and I go back to school tomorrow, so only sailing in the afternoons unfortunately!

my ponders...

2010-02-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking quiet a lot recently about ways in which I can boost my performance... I think here is my hierarchy at this stage in preparation to the worlds...

1. Technique, getting everything absolutely bang on perfect, the tacks fast and clean, the gybes at 100% success rates and the take offs slick
2. Boat Work, getting the boat in a perfect shape, eliminating absolutely any breakages, this i think will mean doing checklists before and after every sail, replacing every rope as soon as it shows signs of wear and tear, having all the necessary spare parts for the boat, and having a bulletproof boat. (no relation to having special kevlar reinforced wings!)
3 Fitness, going to the gym every night, getting my cardiovascular endurance, core strength and muscular endurance to its peak. My target is to be able to hike full on for 20 minutes, that consists of the equivalent of a race, taking into account that each beat is less than 20 minutes long, but then getting a rest when going downwind.
4. Diet, this ties in directly with my fitness, as the better i eat, the better i will be able to train/exercise and the better I will be able to perform during the week. Another aspect of my diet is it in relation to my weight. At the moment I am in my ideal weight range of 67 - 70 kgs, making light winds and early takeoffs a lot more favorable in the standard dubai conditions that we are expecting in Dubai in early March!
5. Parties, yerr, ermmm, yerr, ermmm... as much as I hate it, they are becoming less likely to be the magic ingredient to doing well at a world championship event! But i do suppose the boom of doom during the worlds will be an exception, and I also here there are some Barasti Beach Parties sponsored by Puma lined up!
6. School, sorry what? that wont be an issue, rumor has it anyway that you don't need a job to be a high rolling Moth World Champion! :P

Whats the agenda for tomorrow? Packers Packers and more Packers in my main foil! need to get my ride height up! it was better yesterday after I put one more in, but ideally could do with at least another! In order to get more lift on the rudder, and send the bow down. That is where I have been struggling recently, having to dial less lift on the rudder and go bow up, in order to have a good ride height where the boat isn't sitting in on every wave!

btw 22 days to go! :O

Boooooom Time

2010-02-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I last blogged so here it goes (if i can still remember how to do it)

Its been really busy the last couple of weeks with all the hype about the worlds coming to town! Alex and I are both right in the middle of our preparations for the event, and have been using every opportunity to get out on the water! However when the wind hasn't been playing along, then we ended up doing hours and hours of boat work, and making everything on our boat bullet proof and sexy for the worlds.

I got my new rig up a couple of days ago, with the North V8 Sail, my Southern Spars Standard Mast, My Southern Spars Boom and my EC6 carbon shrouds, forestay and backstay. It is safe to say that the boat looks really sexy now, with my new Wild Wadi branded sail and hull. Wild Wadi are the only Arabic Themed Water park in the middle East and it is a must for those of you coming over for the worlds to do on the lay day! I can ensure you will be gobsmacked! (http://www.jumeirah.com/en/Hotels-and-Resorts/Wild-Wadi/)

I found that the EC6 shrouds and backstay look really good and are really stiff, however they aren't the most user friendly when doing boat work, as when you walk into them, they leave bruises and cuts on your skin! (note to self; don't walk into EC6 Carbon!)

My new tramps are on, and I have been tightening them on a daily basis in order to get them solid for the worlds. Because you are suppose to soak them before tightening, it has been quiet useful that the sprinklers on the rigging area go off at 5:15 precisely and I can time it to see when I should soak the boat!

Bladerider have been holding back on any media releases lately to what is going on with them, making it extremely hard to get new boat parts when they break! but Gareth did manage to get in touch with them, and is now ordering bulk for all the Moth sailors over here to have spare parts, I requested nearly every single part, because who knows what will happen with Bladerider's Spare Parts availability!

Went out sailing last Sunday in about 20 knots and big seas! My boat did not last it, as my pushrod bent out, and I Had to low ride back in and de-rig as I did not have any spares! Alex came after school finished and we quickly rigged one of the Puma boats and took it for a sail to 'the Island' where there is flat water Ideal for some speed stuff! I had my Speedpuck with me, and it should be interesting to see the results when I play it onto my computer!
Only downside from that training session was on the way in, just before getting to the beach, I decided to send it one last time to get max speed out of the thing, but that didn't end so good for me, probably the worst pitchpole I ever had because I was still stuck in the Toe Straps when my momentum got carried forward and legs bent right round the shrouds! not good! but luckily they weren't the EC6, else wise I don't think I would be blogging now!

Not only have I been training on the water, but I have also cross trained in many other aspects; such as doing running and cycling for some Cardiovascular Endurance, doing the cycling for also muscular endurance (hiking), swimming to get my upper body strength up to scratch, and eating healthy to flush out all the junk food I have recently had! last thin I want is to be sick for the worlds!

Chris and Glenn have got their new Mach 2's up and running, and I must say I am amazed, they have got some great pace and height up wind and from my point of view, will occupy all the top 10 spots!

Which leads me to my form guide...out of the 43 boats entered...
It is in no particular order, but just the top ten!

Simon Savage
Simon Payne
Arnaud Psarofaghis
Bora Gulari
Chris Graham
Glenn Raphael
Amac
Dalton Bergen
Rob Gough
Adam May

Looks like most of the top guns from the Gorge are in there, so it should be a good event, and if anything a big learning step to see what it is like sailing in such a big moth fleet!

This weekend is going to be full program again, not sailing for me today though, I have to film my Media Coursework Trailer on Friday, but then I will be out on the water all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday which will hopefully be an intense training marathon!

See you in Dubai!

Wild Wadi

2009-12-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

hmmm, so nothings really going on in my moth sailing that is worth noting...
I am writing this from Iran, and because there is no facebook, youtube or any other decent website available, I thought I would update my blog. It's been some time, but also some time since I have sailed on a regular basis, which is taking direct effect on how good I want to do at the worlds here in March.
However I have hooked up a sponsorship with Wild Wadi, the arabic themed water park in Dubai, who are taking care of my spars and sails needs for my world campaign :)
http://www.jumeirah.com/en/Hotels-and-Resorts/Wild-Wadi/
They are definetly worth checking out during the lay day at the world, and are in spitting distance from the sailing club!!!

Status Updatus

2009-10-10T06:03:00.001-07:00

Just finished off the weekend with not enough wind to go sailing, but despite that effort, there was enough breeze on Friday for us to host our monthly Premier Composites Dubai Moth Grand Prix. Firstly an introduction to Premier Composites. These are the guys in Dubai who specialise in boat work, they are building TP52'S and Farr 11 Kanting Keels at the moment so they know what their talking about. Thy are also the guys who take upon themselves the smaller tasks of fixing our Moths when things don't go to plan, so we are very gratefull for that, and we are proud to have them affiliated with our Moth Grand Prix.

The Friday Race day hosted some mixed conditions, with light winds, dropping off to bare foiling breeze, and then picking up again to comfortable foiling winds. This was more of a test of our persistence and ability to adapt to the wind changes, rather than being consistent, as the results show:

Race Results:

R1 – Chris Graham, Marcel Herrera, Kerstin Sommer, Barnaby Houk, Jonny Marshall, Glenn Raphael, Rob Gough (DNR), Rob Fordyce (DNR)

R2 – Chris Graham, Barnaby Houk, Glenn Raphael, Kerstin Sommer, Jonny Marshall, Rob Fordyce, Rob Gough (DNR), Marcel Herrera (DNR)

R3 – Rob Gough, Marcel Herrera, Chris Graham, Barnaby Houk, Kerstin Sommer, Glenn Raphael (DNR), Jonny Marshall (DNR), Rob Fordyce (DNR)

R4 – Glenn Raphael, Marcel Herrera, Kerstin Sommer, Barney Houk, Rob Fordyce, Chris Graham (DNR), Rob Gough (DNR), Jonny Marshall (DNR)

R5 – Marcel Herrera, Rob Gough, Barnaby Houk, Kerstin Sommer, Glenn Raphael (DNF), Jonny Marshall (DNR), Chris Graham (DNR), Rob Fordyce (DNR)

DNR – Did Not Race

Rob Gough stopped over in Dubai for the event, in order to get some training in and measure himself against us. On the Thursday before he came out with me to get some training in on Chris' boat. We had a quick swap over on the water because he felt that I had some setup issues. After sailing it for a minute or so, and looking at it closely, he realised what the problem was, sent me in to get a spanner, and then fixed it for me. It was to do with my wand set up, and he loosened things off a little bit and now they are all running smoothly.

In the mean time when I was getting the spanner, Rob had stayed out and got some action in with the Official UAE Moth Class Association Photographer, Stuart Gordon. You can check out his album's here: http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartgordon92
by looking under the 'Moth Fly By's' and 'Moth Race' headings. Some Great Shots!

After Rob Had setup up my boat differently, it turned out to feel much lighter sailing through the waves, and it reacted much quicker. Only problem it was bouncing too much, but I suppose I'll get used to that!

I'm really glad Rob came over to sail with us for the weekend, as it turned out I learnt a lot of new tricks with boat setup and sailing tips.

I also have laid down my ideas for equipment selection for the worlds so far, and I think I will settle in and get used to a North V8, with Southern Mast and Southern Rigging.

I have also decided that I will get myself a new rudder foil made with Premier Composites, thats a little bit longer than the standard BR.

Worlds 2010, make sure your there!

Dubai Moth Grand Prix

2009-09-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

This is what we are all about at the moment, racing on a monthly basis, to see how we stand amongst each other and then also to learn a few racing tips and tricks. It will also help those sailors who would never have competed at such a high level as the Moth Worlds here in March 2010 getting used to a competitive atmosphere and knowing what to do and how to act in regards to rules.

Here is a short promotion video that I threw together yesterday, it will hopefully get out into the public and help us in finding a small sponsor for the Grand Prix series. We are not looking for large amounts of cash, we just want a sponsor who is willing to provide the top 3 overall places and top under 18 with a decent prize at the end of the season, acting as an incentive to keep racing!

If there is anyone out there who is interested, please get in touch with me: marcelsailor@yahoo.com

Here is the newspaper report of the event:

‘Mothing’ the Arabian Gulf

The past weekend has seen one of the most spectacular forms of sailing exhibited in Dubai. Eight sailors from Dubai competed in the newly launched Dubai Moth Grand Prix Series which is to take place once a month from September in the lead up to the World Championships in March. Moth Sailing is at the forefront of modern day racing with each sailor flying about a meter above the water, with the help of modern hydrofoil technology, in boats just over three meters long and reaching speeds in excess of 25 knots.

Saturdays racing took place in close proximity to the Jumeirah Beach Park, where on lookers were amazed by the sheer speed and aesthetics of these nimble boats soaring across the water. “These boats are just phenomenal, ripping across the water today in 12-15 knots of breeze and reaching speeds of up to 40 km/h, it was perfect racing conditions” said Glenn Raphael, President of the UAE Moth Class Association. He added “Short Course Slalom Racing, similar to the professional windsurfing tour is the way to go with this type of sailing, never have we had this many spectators watching a day of racing”. The Beach Park was well visited by “Beach-goers” and truly spread the word about Moth sailing in Dubai.

This was the first ever edition of the Dubai Moth Grand Prix, with seven more events planned throughout the season. Marcel Herrera, a youth Moth sailor representing the UAE, explained the set up for such a race day; “A normal race consists of one mark and a start line. The start line is somewhere close to the beach usually, and the mark is about 400m away, directly into the wind. The boats start at the same time on the start line indicated by a horn and have to race around the mark and back to the start line, the first boat back wins!” He added “But it’s really not as simple as that, you could consider such a race to be like a horse race; a good combination of technique, fitness and tactical thinking is what makes you win”

Round one of the series was won by Brit Chris Graham, who merely took the lead away on a points count back from Aussie Glenn Raphael on equal points, with Marcel Herrera finishing up the podium in third place. The conditions were tough with the heat draining most energy reserves very quickly, but the tough competition was the biggest challenge that Chris Graham had to overcome to take the honours.

Chris Graham, fellow Moth sailor, gave us a heads-up about the class’s ambitions in the future in regards to Moth sailing in Dubai “We are hosting the Moth World Championships at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club in March 2010. To be given the opportunity to host such a prestigious event is a huge privilege on its own, but most of the organisers will be racing themselves, which just adds to the thrill factor.” The local sailors will be joined by about 70 other sailors from over 18 nations, providing the UAE with by far the most exciting sailing event yet.

Contenders will carry their points through to the next round of the Dubai Moth Grand Prix scheduled for the 10th of October, followed by the 14th of November, 5th December, 16th January, 20th February, 27th March and 7th May.
If you are intrigued by this forefront of modern sailing and want to see what it’s all about, we strongly encourage you to get in touch with some of the sailors or come down one afternoon to watch it yourself!

ice breaker

2009-09-06T04:07:00.000-07:00

Seeing the recent akwardness that is going around the Moth blog community, I thought that I would help break the silence and promote getting out of your pram and picking up all your toys to some people. hmm.

Saturday was a testing day for the moths that went out. Me and Max had organised some short course very informal racing, to sort out where everyones gaps in training are when it comes to getting around the course. Some of the points that we picked out:
Alex: tacks were really good, and it showed how much work he has put into it, all he has to do now is have the boat's set up sorted out, and watch out Dave Lister. He was fast around the race course but needs to be consistent with his foiling angles, and over stepping the layline didnt help, because it meant that I could sneak in just ahead of him, and carry my momentum around to give him shit air.

Kerstin: needs to sort out her tacks and gybes, mentally she made all the right decisions, but her tacks and gybes let her down in the long run, especially when the gybe goes wrong and she capsized. As for her starts, she needs more boat speed, just to get off the line with pace, so Low riding is a definet no-no, rather risk having to duck the few boats there are on the start and lose a little ground to windward, than have to low ride until reaching clear air to get on the foils.

Marcus: Put spacers on the vang spinlocks, so that you can actually pull it in all the way and not get that ugly twist at the top that all Moth sailors have become really used to. Manoeuver's were well planned and upwind speed was good, but that vang could have been critical in getting that boat speed, helping the sail go throught the tacks and stop the sail from crashing across on gybes. Speaking of gybes, it would really help both Marcus and Kerstin if they pitched their boats to leward abit before gybing in order to get it to carve its way through the water, and also so that the steering can be quicker to keep the boat speed up and let the battens 'pop' easier. Also change the mainsheet strops configuration to be an upside down V again instead of the A at the moment, this combined with lengthening them a bit more, will mean that the sail is being pulled sideway to sheet in, instead of diagonally up and down, which loses both effectiveness and time, because the boom will never be centreline, and the distance and strength needed to pull the main in block to block is much greater.

That all for today.

Dubai Worlds 2010 will be amazing! so put it in your diary, book the airfare, get your visa, get a shipping quote & BE THERE!

One of the best moth videos (what another one)

2009-08-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

2009-07-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

Im never any good with thinking of a witty or clver title, so ill just leave it blank.

I got my boat back about an hour ago from Premier Composites, and I must say that they have done an excellent job on repairing my deck, wing bar rack and gantry bolt. So now the boat is back, I will get onto the job of re-assembling it tomorrow morning before it gets too hot, and then I might go for a sail over lunch. Which will be me reunited with my machine once again :)

Sailing for me is desperately necessary as I need to get back into a sailing rythm before the DXB worlds next March. I have got my physical training sorted, with going running nearly daily and swimming, playing badminton and visiting the gym becoming more frequent too!

I am 100% certain that the worlds here will set the benchmark so far. I heard that no matter how little you do, it will be better than Weymouth. But Dubai will be good, Chris, Glenn, Joel and Lisa know what they are doing and will have it all planned out, so, BE THERE!.

form guide 2009

2009-07-12T22:47:00.001-07:00

So this is my form guide for the 2009 Moth worlds at the Gorge:

1st- Nathan Outteridge

2nd- Arnaud Psarofaghis

3rd- Rohan Veal

4th- Bora Gulari

5ht- Scott Babbage

6th- Simon Payne

7th- Chris Graham

8th- Amac

9th- Glenn Raphael

10th- Kevin Hall

no questions asked.

limping along

2009-06-29T02:21:00.000-07:00

For those who were curious about my entry into the Europeans and not showing up, its because I had problems with the freight company :( So I have set my sights on the 2010 Moth Worlds in Dubai instead of anything in between.

In the mean time, I am looking for a set of racing foils! My foils have been scratched badly over their time in use, and are no longer in a good racing condition, so if anyone knows of any bladerider foils for sale, then please let me know.

But that isnt the only problem I have at the moment, my deck is cracked about a foot long, my gantry bolt was one of the not stainless steel ones and my rear wingbar attachment to the deck is cracked! But i strongly belive it wasn;t because of my way of sailing or treating the boat, but rather the previous owner and the sun combined :(

So I predict a trip to premier composites, to fix all that and whilst im there I will get my trailer strengthened too.

confused water

2009-06-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

So this is what the water flow in Dubai looks like. The red dot labeled 'UMMS' is the sailing club and for the worlds we will be racing all over the sheltered area. This kind of makes it hard to apply tactics, etc.

catastrophy

2009-05-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

Today my mast cmae down as I wass doing tacking practice down by the island, and I was getting somewhere when I did one last tack from port onto starboard, so I could be on the layline back to the club. But that was not meant to be, I tacked across, catapulted myself onto the new side, when I hear a bang and a screech and see myself going into windward and my mast going the other way.

First thought, oh shit, I was nowhere where anyone could rescue me, and therefor spent over an hour de-rigging my boat in the swell, and using the windward trampoline as a sail to slowly but surely make my way to the beach, about a half a kilometer away, the only fault, I was being pulled into the bay area from the suction flow, so as I got closer to the 'ladies beach' (where I am not allowed) I had to turn more upwind and attempt to get to the beach club next door.

Whilst I was drifting I had 4 boats come past, who neither were bother helping me, and even a coast guard helicopter hover above me and then do nothing.

Once I got to the beach I had to fight my way over a restriction line to stop swimmers going to deep, which wasnt easy with my foils still being in!

Once at the beach, three helpful lads came over to help me lift the boat onto the beach, after completing that effortful tast, as they had no-idea what to do, I went with one of them to borrow their mobile. There I called for help.

Joel our sailing manager then arrived on a rib, and we loaded the boat and gear up and drove back. At the club, I investigated the damage, and it didnt seem too bad. I only have to replace the shackle, bend the bracket back and find a new boom gooseneck shackle.

On the bright side, I tried my new 4-1 mainsheet purchase, and it is definetly the way to go!

-m

Charged Up

2009-05-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Im all set, with my batteries charged for my speedpuck and my boat in top top tune, I have been sailing pretty much 12 hours a week until now, and im on the right track to be ready for the worlds.

Im also thinking at going to the europeans, thinking? well ive already entered. The only issue I have now is getting my boat there :( I dont want to go through the hassle of taking my boat all the way there and back again, so im looking at borrowing or renting one from someone, but havent found anyone yet. As for accomodation, I will be camping, as for flights I will ship myself on a standby ticket, as for family? I dont know, they don't have to come if they dont want to.

So if anyone knows of anyboat for hire at the europeans, please let me know.

Video game Moth Racing

2009-05-18T22:14:00.001-07:00

According To Chris, Moth racing is like a video game:

Level one: Going in a straight line, while very easy when you know what you are doing there is always some stupid little part in the level that is slightly above your skill set and you always wind up falling down a hole in the ground like in the Mario Brothers.

Level Two : Sailing Upwind and Downwind, While almost as easy as level one, hell you might even have the exact same level in a game, there is one extra gold coin that makes all the difference.

Level Three : Veal Heal, again uber easy when you have the know how, but a significant jump in level difficultness which makes any game onlooker think you have a fair idea about what you are doing, a complete red hearing as a true gamer knows.

Level Four : Gybing, This is a crux level or you could class it as the first big boss man in most shoot em ups. While you may beat the boss man with a bit of luck the first time , you always find a better and quicker way to beat him each time you play the game.

Level Five : Competitive Race : While its all well and good being able to play the first four levels, at some point you need to actually learn what each button does and some different button sequences to do different moves..... and remember them. This is a bit like Tony Hawks skateboarding where there are at least 1 million different combo trick things you can do (an experienced gamer told me this). When you learn the correct combinations, a race comes together and you look fairly respectable.

Level Six : now even for an experienced Gamer things are becoming tricky and deaths more common. In Moth sailing, this is gacking in my book. Its pullable most of the time but even the top boys still fuck a few of them up. But when you pull the most ridiculous trick in Tony Hawk and meant to do it, then you can sit back on the couch with a air of smugness.

Level Seven : learning to Foiling Tack. There is a massive difference between learning and doing consistently. This is the level where a top gamer can look decidingly average. An inexperienced eye will look at the sailor and gamer and say to his muscle bound mates on his power boat that this sailor is shit and have a good laugh at him while blasting out the Venga boys on his crappy radio. Other experienced gamers and sailors will look and go, this kid is pretty fucking good if he is close to doing one of those quadruple back flips while pulling out a gun and killing off the first big boss man with his eyes shut.

Level Eight : This is the daddy big boss man, this is it, the top, the impossible, the holy grail. No matter how many times you think you have him down, he still gets back up with a full energy bar and gives you the smack down. Pulling a foiling tack under pressure from starboard to port off the start line at the pin end to cross the whole fleet. Foiling tacks on request coming in on port layline with 100 plus foilers on starboard.

Can you complete the game?

Looking good so far

2009-05-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

I have been able to sail for the last three days, which is amazing for this time of year in Dubai. Whilst blowing a steady 12-14knots, I was happy with my boat speed both up and downwind, so i decided to do some tacking, or shall I say facking, practice. I still havent got it right, but I feel that im coming awefully close to pulling one. I clocked over 20km worth of sailing today, which is more than once around the world Islands. I checked my speedpuck after today, and speedplay told me that I could have completed the round the world trip, in under 1 hour and 30 minutes, taking into account upwind, wind angles, etc. Therefor I will have a stab at Rohan's Round the world record on Saturday, providing that the wind is blowing more than 12 knots from a westerly to southerly direction, or Northerly, meaning that I spend the backside of the palm, on a run or reach.

I clocked 20.2 knots 10 seconds average in a strong gust today, so I think the Dubai water temperature is favourable for attempting to break a speed record ... you can bet that I will be out next time it blows.

Kerstin got her new KA Sails today, for which I managed to find her a sponsor to buy them. Hopefully my new North and Souther Spars kit will get organised fairly quickly, as I cant stop thinking about it...bit of a dejavu from when I wanted a Moth!

I will be running for commodore for the next year...sort of as a pisstake... but we will see, If i get voted, I have alot of changes that I will propose, for the benefit of the Moth Class.

VOR, next time around might be seen in the gulf, so I was thinking, if India was a problem to get to because of piracy, then wont the gulf be a disaster?

Moth Nationals, will be in late October, and we will have round two of the Nationals acting as a pre-moth worlds event, on the week before the Worlds here in Dubai.

thats pretty much it from the frying pan!

-m

Rigging Partner

2009-05-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that Precourt Rigging (http://www.precourt.ca) will be supporting my 2010 Moth World Championships campaign, and everything leading up to that, as my Rigging Partner. They are supporting me with their outstandingly useful and effective thimbles and other rigging solutions, which can be found (or should be) on many of the foiling moths and high performance dinghies around the world.

I will have a few spares with me where ever I go, so let me know if you want to try them out and see for yourself.

-m

Chris' times in Rio

2009-04-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

I dont know why this got deleted, but here it is again (click on it to make it bigger)

www.moth.ae

2009-04-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

We are in the process of launching our new IMCA UAE website, www.moth.ae!

Its going to be alot of work keeping it running and up to date, but that should be no problem accomplishing.

Stickers are on their way too, to advertise the website and the IMCA UAE here.

BTW, this is an old picture, this is how they treat Cargo here in Dubai!, the box nearly fell off when they moved it!

Invitation

2009-04-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Pre Moth Worlds Regatta

Early October, dates yet to be confirmed, will be out on Sunday.

6 Boats Confirmed already

Possibility of Prize Money

Good practice and tuning help for the 'Dubai Chop'

Have a good time!

contact me for the NOR or more information:

marcelsailor@yahoo.com

first real racing

2009-04-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

today was most probably the greatest turn-out yet, with 5 boats on the water and 4 of them making it in time for our 'make-shift' racing. We joined in with the Laser League racing and it looked like a good 12 knot north westerly. Heres my report: Glenn, Alex, Marcus and Me got off the start line at equal times, with glenn being covered by Marcus and Me and having to tack off to get clean air. whilst this was happening, Johnny was messing about taking ages to rig and launch, Kerstin having wing bar problems and not making it out in time, and Chris just about getting out of bed, at 2pm. We then continued our ways up the course, with Glenn having the best pointing ability and speed, but alex seemed pretty close too. Approaching the layline, Glenn tacks short and hit a Lull, whilst I sail past and clear it to then tack. Glenn then pulled out of the race because his pushrod pin had come undone, leaving Alex a good 100m ahead of me, and Marcus just behind me. On the downwind I thought I had better boat speed and pointing than Alex, him dropping out on another foiling gybe, helped things my way, and I managed to climb just behind him. At the leeward mark I got caught up behind two Lasers which got me nose diving down the next wave.

As we rounded the mark, the wind seemed to completely drop and we just enjoyed our momentum in the sub foiling conditions, we abandonned the race in what seemed 2 knots.

By then I spotted Johnny Launching, leaving it too late to get some foiling in though.

I was happy with my boatspeed up and downwind, but still have some bridle issues that need sorting out.

All-in all a good days training and it was good to sail around a race course again!

-m

First Sail

2009-04-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday I had my first sail on my new boat! It was an awesome feeling, everything was perfect except for that it was 4 knots of wind, gusting at 15! so It was pretty much on/off/on/off. I have to tighten everything up next time Im going sailing, but also resolve my vang problem, it seemed to long, so I couldnt get any tension on itand had a very twisting sail at the top.

A pulley on the vang system broke half way through aswell, so I had to make something up and tie the kicker directly to the boom, with out a pulley.

I also think that I have to get some acetone or something and get rid of all the sponsorship from Andrew Brown and Nick Fentons sails, there is alot!

anyway, have to work mornings on the weekend, so wont do much sailing then, but im trying to rally people up and go for a sail on tuesday

-m

Two more

2009-04-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

First Vlog

2009-04-08T03:37:00.000-07:00

This is a video that I spent 3

hours making last night after

4 hours of sailing, Boy was I

tired this morning when I had

to get up at 6.30 to do some

work in the garden, before it

got too hot. Anyway, picking

my boat up tomorrow so I will

be able to sail on the weeken,

at least Inshallah.

-m

sail-less

2009-04-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Still cant fit sailing into my schedule, wait...schedule? I liked it better when there was nothing to do or needed to be done, so I could always revert to sailing. But things have changed, Im now trying to make some extra money on the side by coaching and giving sailing lessons. as well as having to study for my GCSE's in 4 1/2 weeks, as well as the numerous trips that my parents have planned. yes Im going to the Musandam for a dive trip on the weekend, so I will have to fold on the UAE Nationals!

Dont think I will miss much sailing though, Chris who was going to do some boat tuning runs is now on his Puma Ocean Racing all expenses paid Holiday in the Rio. lucky sod. So he wont be back before long, but all is good, hes promised me that he will bring me back some puma gear :)

I lost my camera the other day, but the agony is that i dont know where, so i might not have lost it but just cant find it. which means that I cant make some movies...i was feeling very creative this week.

Word on the street is that volvo wanna bring the race next year to Abu Dhabi:

The Pros, we get them over here, advertise sailing in the middle east, have better chance of some high profile sponsorships, maybe get to sail the boats, and enjoy their presence.

The Cons, the harbour will need dredging out (like when the alinghi came over), we will have to drive to Abu Dhabi to see them, they will be bored shitless in the gulf and they will spend forever in the 0 knots Musandam.

I hope to get on the water soon, until then good sailing

-m

Planning ahead

2009-03-21T02:26:00.000-07:00

Good winds today, and im gutted that I cant sail for the whole day, Ive got loads of work that I need to catch up on before Sunday, so im afraid it will only be a half days worth of sailing, but thats life. Now that I have my boat, there are a few things I have to get straight, firstly and most importantly my sailing... I have to train hard and sail loads in the near future, so that I can compete with the others. Once that has been ticked off from the checklist, it is time to improve the boat, start making minor changes and the usual boat work crap. I got myself a job in the summer, so I can make back the money I have spent on the new boat, and hopefully it will financiate whatever else I might need

Im also glad that Im not Chris' boat bitch anymore, good news for me, but chris now has to rig and pack away his boat himself. Chris is going to Rio soon to sail the Puma Mini Il Mostros...lucky guy!

Genesis

2009-03-16T10:18:00.001-07:00

So this is it, the start of my moth campaign :) the moment I have been waiting for for nearly two years, when Chris and Glenn got their first boats in Dubai, ever since I have been bugging my parents to buy one for me and also bugging Chris and Glenn to let me use their boat... this has come to an end now! end of the nonsense, I have got my own boat now, bought it from Andrew Brown in NZ, but im not really sure whos boat it is, but that doesnt matter much.

Shipping the boat here with Weiss-Roehlig, because of their awesome fares, and it should be here end of the week, but not intime for the weekend to sail it. As soon as it gets here I can gaurantee I will be training loads, I have nearly 3 weeks easter break, so Alex and Me will be on the water for the majority, whilst Marcus has his A-levels to worry about. After that I have a 2 week exam study leave, but I can already guarantee no work will be done then :)

But where there was joy, there was pain. I was forced to sell my laser in order to have enough money to buy the Moth, it has done me good, got good results and some good money from the numerous cash regattas. But I compared my interests, and the moth exceeded. It is a fairly old boat, hull # 69, but has been sailed rarely, and when it was sailed last it was Andrew sailing it, so it will be tuned fast.

Who is out there? well we now have nine moths at the Club, and some tough tough competition, theres the two experts Glenn and Chris, and then there is Johnny who is sort of in an intermediate level, and then there is Marcus, Alex, Kirsten and me who fit into the beginner slots. That still leaves Richard and Allesandro, but I havent seen either of them race so I am in no position to judge.

Worlds in 2010, with enough effort and hard work I recon I can become decent enough to make it in the top 25, I will get to know the ugly 'Dubai Chop' as my own back yard, Still being in the lower 70 kilo category, I have an ideal weight for the light airs that we get all year around and can already predict for March/April. The other thing that aids the sailing in Dubai is the 12 month sailing season!

-m