Zen master says “Practice, Practice, Practice”

Was it Scott or John or Matt or Luka who said it’s quite mystical reaching downwind and so easy to spend time in the joy of it all - not practising. So the theme must be to train.

Back in the mistress days I dreaded the time to gybe, when I would go in with nerves, hit the sea and come out with bruises. No foiling gybes then. In fact I did wonder if I’d ever crack it, and if I didn’t then that would be the end of racing in the close company of my mates. (I got lapped at the 08 Poole Moth Open.)

But the gybes did come and thanks to Cookie for that Axbridge training, and whoever it was who said – get your weight on the inside of the turn… Credit to the Prowler, she’s a joy and held my hand through it all.

So after Hayling, the beer and black pudding I resolved to practise. Get out there and gybe… Gybe, get breathing back to normal, and gybe, gybe again. It was easier when the breeze was solid with lots of time to go deep and calm, but it took work and more time to nail the lighter stuff when I would come out too low or too high and fall off the foils. The little orange windex really helped out there. Top toy.

And then I saw the video of Dave Lister. And the gybes and the tacks are suddenly an Artform. Inspired, I went out to practise; I picked a couple of channel marks and did figure of eights, trying to tighten the line of the gybe and get the pressure back on quicker and quicker. - Lets put this into context – tighten the line less than a great circle and get the pressure back on before I’m at the next mark again…or in the yacht club bar….(fortunately Parkstone Yacht Club doesn’t sell black pudding)

Before I first got the foiling moth I did wonder if once I’d been foiling for a bit, whether the novelty would wear off. Not only did the novelty not wear off the sailing has just got richer and richer, and deeper and fuller. And now everyone's aiming at foiling tacks, and foiling tacks and gybes strung together with only an inch of foil in the water…. Suddenly attempting this stuff feels like freestyle and not a means to an end but a great end in itself.

So next time I’m going to add more wand height, and try and move my game on some more. Can’t wait…

Best

Rod