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| Home >> Top Tips >> TopTip2020 #58 - Survival Weather - Anthony York, GBR |
23.9kn - Northampton, UK, Feb2016Here is the video!
Be sure you are stable on your chair and MAX the volume!
The second (port) reach was the big one with max speed peaks of both 23.9kn (27.5mph) and 23.1kn (26.6mph) recorded, visible at 0:28-0:39 seconds on the vid.
Notice how flat the RS Aero is during that period. Otherwise it would be slower and uncontrollable at that speed.
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30/05/2020 12:14:00
Peter Barton
Posts: 4662
TopTips 2020 #58 - Survival Weather - Anthony York, GBR
Anthony York, AKA 'Chunky', of Northampton SC is our Class webmaster and our heavy air stuntman too! In Feb 2016 he launched at Northampton into a winter gale as 40+kn gusts were recorded at the clubhouse. He latched onto the front of one of those gusts as it smashed down onto the lake and sent his RS Aero bouncing over the wave crests at 23.9kn, a GPS speed yet to be beaten and the rest is history! He has learnt a few lessons sailing his RS Aero in extreme weather and shares them here to save us all having to learn them the hard way too!
My favourite weather is when it takes 3-4 people to hold the boat down on the shore while you rig!
Preparation: Check all your shackles are done up, your knots are tight, the hidden traveller horse knots are OK and the string isn’t frayed, the gooseneck bolt is done up, your battens are secure and the centre jammer is clipped in correctly and clevis ring OK. And of course, the GoPro is switched on and working! ;0))
Don’t try to fight the boat, try and release it, it will shoot from underneath you if you do. Make sure you’re ready for the acceleration though!
The boat is very light and the rudder works very well, so try not to use it as a brake as everything on the boat will then become very heavy. Bear off, keep your kicker on at least half for control and enjoy the ride (on my record run in 40+knots I had the controls set the same as upwind (everything was on full!).
Flat is fast! Hike hard to pin the RS Aero bolt upright on a planing reach to benefit from the planing hull form.
If you are racing in those conditions, always try to be aware of what could happen going into a mark and give yourself plenty of space. Quite often you will see incidents happening from quite a way from the mark, so prepare and make the most of their misfortune rather than becoming part of it!
To Gybe or Not To Gybe? If you can’t bear off to gybe, don’t force the gybe, you will most likely go in, wear round as it can be done quickly and quicker than pulling the boat up from a windward capsize. A word of warning, the boat may lift out of the water and spit you out the back if you try and wear round too quickly. The non slip of the RS Aero can come in use then! So be controlled in the manoeuvre and hang on!
Let’s hope we get back to it soon. Happy sailing. Chunky '
*With any limited safety provision of the current CV19 situation we should limit the wind strength we might sail in. As with any conditions, be sure to make adequate safety provisions and sail within your ability, only progressing that in a safe and controlled manner. (See TopTip2020 #48 on Safer Sailing.)
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29/05/2020 16:17:00
Peter Barton
Posts: 4662
