Passion X

The fine weather brought out the sailors at Greenwich Flying Squadron for the fourth race of the spring series. The largest genoa was hanked on in anticipation of a dying breeze and the extra 5 sq metres of sail area was needed.
The line was biased to the club end and the angle down the line was such that for the most part it could not be crossed on starboard tack. We were early and dumping sail as we approached the club clearance mark while Joli came in from below with speed. Fortunately Adrian made it clear he was not going to force us over the line but wanted us to get as high as possible. The clearance mark was below the actual line from the club flagstaff so we were able to oblidge without going over early but Joli with speed nailed the start and tacked to port from a clear ahead position.
Further down the line Meridian also made a good start and was able to point up from below while Joli reached across our bow from above. We were the proverbial meat in a J112 sandwich. Next Avalon reached over the top and the four of us headed out of Humbug with a handy lead over the fleet.
Meridian took the inside line around Goat Island to port and kept good air and momentum. We went wider for better breeze and when we did head up sailed onto a hole letting Avalon slip further ahead.
The work to Goat Island to port was progressing well and we were keeping in close touch to Meridian, Joli and Avalon until a slow ferry got in the way and we ended up tacking back and forth on knocks trying to find a path through.
Once around Goat Island we set the 6 metre whisker pole and went off in chase of the distant trio. With the large projected sail area we made up some ground although the following fleet could be seen picking up streaks of breeze from behind and running up to our position.
Into Humbug we skirted the whole fleet but ran into a hole to leeward of Street Fighter where it was so calm that they were drifing down on us in the tide.
In this state of suspended animation Much Ado V appeared from leeward hugging the shore line and sailed right around the fleet.
Just behind Much Ado V was Dump Truck, Flashback and Utopia with Irukandji in the mix. Fortunately for us they sailed into our hole as we were emerging from the other end.
The late charge by Much Ado V earned then third place on handicap behind the J112 twins, Meridian and Joli. Avalon and Utopia are still suffering from very severe starting handicaps which seem to be adjusting very slowly to their actual performace.
That left Passion X with another 4th place on handicap, we maintain our place on the top of the table and take a handicap hit into next week.

Joli grabs the prime start position from leeward

Joli reaches over the top while Meridian climbs up from below

The 6 metre long whisker pole was not enough to make up lost ground

Much Ado makes the right move and slides through close to the shore

Table in the up position

A view of the base supporting the table in the up position

Base collapsed into the double berth position

Alternative coffee table top for the base

Room for four bottles of wine in the upper section of the base

I am sure it will end up doubling as a foot rest.

It was good temperate weather for working on the dinette table on Passion X so I loaded up the car with all the components and headed to the club. I first fitted the cleats to the seat fronts to support the table in the down position where it forms a double berth. The table top fitted on the cleats squarely and the base just needed to be screwed to the keel king plank structure. With the base in place and the table screwed in position to the top part of the base the next task was to position the two boxes so that the table top was level. As the boat is sitting a little stern down for heavy air performance the levels were measured off the tops of the settee seats and the two sections of the base screwed together in the up position. A few photos will make it all a little clearer.

Encouraged by the results of slackening our D2’s to allow the mast to be more flexible and flatten the main more when required we set the 40m2 old faithful genoa off the original Passion and a full sized but very flattened main. The first leg was a windward work out of Humbug to take Cockatoo Island to starboard and while the breeze was hitting 20 knots I knew there would be light patches through Humbug and the course was more free after the Cockatoo rounding.
Out start was timed to perfection and we were windward boat on the pin end of the line. The only downside was that we had to pinch hard to stop the yacht behind working to windward of us and preventing us tacking for the passage through Humbug. Avalon the Sydney 38 was right on our tail so we took the first available knock to tack and they tacked in perfect timing with us. The problem for us was now they were leeward boat and pointing higher. To make Onion Point we were above our sweet spot and in their dirty air so it was a pretty slow work up the Woolwich shore. Joli above with a bit less disturbed air was quickly alongside and Utopia was charging up from behind. Approaching Clarke Point we found ourselves again pinching with Utopia to leeward calling us up while we were avoiding a starboard tacking yacht. Utopia kept calling after we passed the starboard tacker so we felt obliged to pass on the call to Joli who was above us. Joli responded and we tacked into their dirty air but that left Utopia charging up past Clarke Point on a nice lift while Joli and Passion X took the nasty knock on the other tack.
Joli tacked back for Cockatoo island early and were rewarded with a lift along the shore that regained some of the ground on Utopia for them.
As the fleet converged on the corner of Cockatoo Island for the starboard rounding it was tightly bunched except for Avalon who with a large crack crew on board was enjoying their powerful rig and making a clean break for a fastest time win by 5 minutes.
Back with the mere mortals we were behind the two J112e’s,, the two Sudney 38s, the two Ker 11.3 and the one J 122 but with a good gap to the rest of the fleet. From behind we could pick our path around the fleet where there was some pretty aggressive attempts for inside room on the island. Fortunately the outside path while a lot longer had more breeze and we were able to sail around several competitors and set off chasing Jackpot the J122, the two Ker 11.3 and the two Sydney 38s. Out in the less disturbed air between Cockatoo and Long Nose we were off the hard beat and going quite quickly up the course. In front the Utopia, Dump Truck and Much Ado V were giving us a good guide to the next wind shifts and we were aggressively adjusting sail trim for the next wind phase. Around Goat Island we were a little lower than ideal and again had to pinch in slow model to clear the lee shore. Dump Truck had the worst of the wind shifts around the Goat Island navigation mark as both Much Ado V and Passion X had a good lift well inside the line that Dump Truck had been forced to sail. From Goat we had a good following breeze for a short time and in this section our large genoa held out to windward worked well to make up time on Utopia, Dump Truck and Much Ado V. We stayed on the outside line for the approach to Long Nose but when we thought Much Ado V was going to shake out the reef in their main we went above and perhaps into too much disturbed air. Utopia from below was into the new breeze just as early and Dump Truck to windward did not suffer too much.
Avalon was still not to be seen but the four boats in our group were enjoying a very tight tussle. (All four boats have very similar ORCi ratings) Dump Truck with full main was overpowered on occasions but the reef in the main of Much Ado V did not stop her rounding up hard in the big gusts.
As we followed these three around Cockatoo for the last time we held out the genoa to windward for good effect and skirted the Island by the largest margin possible. Utopia in closest lost the most ground and Dump Truck pulled ahead while we managed to get to leeward of Utopia and the reefed Much Ado V.
Into Humbug our leeward position was rewarded with fresh wind from over our leeward quarter which gave us clear air but still had us on starboard tack for rights.
French Connection from Blue Division sensed our charge towards the finish and gave us room to attack the finish line. Dump Truck thought they were home and unknowingly started to close our path to clear the mark but fortunately responded in time.
To our surprise the finish time was only 2 seconds different with Utopia 10 seconds behind followed by Much Ado V just 8 seconds later.
We did win on handicap but only by 19 seconds from Fireball enjoying the fresher conditions.
Full credit is due to the two Ker 11.3 who sailed in the gusty conditions very lightly crewed and seemed to enjoy the family rivalry. I am sure if they had the gorillas that were aboard Avalon the extra crew weight would have made a big difference. It was also interesting to see that there was only seconds difference in the finish time of Dump Truck and Much Ado V despite Much Ado V carrying the reefed main for the whole course.
That is our best result in a breeze since we launched Passion X. The lesser tension on the D2 has allowed the mast to bend more letting us carry more sail area through the gusts and be better powered up for the lulls. We were very attentive to back stay tension and had them quite slack every time the breeze died. We were also more diligent in letting the genoa off during gusts on the tight reaches and that let us track straighter and faster.
We will leave everything as it is and see if our light air performance will still be ok.

For the record top wind speed was over 22 knots and top boat speed was 10.2 knots.

Sailing into a light patch around Long Nose Point

Much Ado V rounding up across the course in a gust approaching Goat Island

Holding out the genoa to run deep around Cockatoo Island. Utopia and Much Ado V already reaching for Clarke Point

Held out genoa and wind over the port quarter helped us catch Utopia and Much Ado V

That is the finishing mark with Dump Truck oh so close 2 seconds in front.

I have been making glacially slow progress on a table for Passion X. The original plan was for the table to be supported by a box sliding inside a box so that in the lower position the settee would convert to a double bed and in the upper position it would be a standard table. The square box concept did not fit in the space and so it became a very odd shaped four sided box on the outside and an even odder eight sided box sliding up on the inside. The sided of the outer box are joined with standard triangular timber cleats while the inside box is glassed inside and out. Carbon fibre has been used for the outer side of the inner box and the base of the outer box has been joined with carbon fibre to ensure the box can take the weight of the crew leaning against the column.
Progress has been glacial because of the need for a very close fit over a very large area but it has progressed to the point of a final trial fit to locate the table top perfectly in the double bed position.
As the table and bed are just for cruising occasions I have made a small top of coffee table size to be left in the down position during the racing season. The box has room for four bottles of wine and that might come in handy over the summer.

The original keelson specification was 15mm by 150mm meranti which Dudley increased to 18 mm due to the deep keel we fitted. In practice I used 19 mm by 150 mm meranti and instead of individual packers under each of the keel bolt washers I used continuous hardwood stringers 19 mm by 50 mm thick down both edges to match the keelson and this gives an effective top plate on the keel for and aft I beam structure of 19 mm by 250 mm and over 2 times the original cross section. The extra width matches the keel and provides a very strong support for the table due both to the extra width and the strength of the hardwood compared to meranti.

The coffee table sized lid for the table support with the small hatch for storing the four bottles of wind

The eight sided inner box sliding inside the four sided outer box. The two holes in the inner box floor are to clear the keel bolt nuts

The two boxes separated. There is an 82 mm wide slot in the base of the outer box where it sits around the 82mm wide full width keel bolt backing plate.

Driving to the club early for the twilight race the temperature was a very pleasant 27 degrees C but as I prepared to launch the dinghy for the trip to the moored Passion X the rain came and I sheltered in the club for a good hour.
The rain radar showed that there was a second band of rain following but as luck would have it the second band did not arrive until we were safely on the way home post the BBQ on the deck.
After being under powered last week we set the 40m2 genoa and a full main but in a concession to the threatening breeze has the sails set very flat. During the afternoon one of the crew hoisted me aloft to slacken the D2’s. These had been on very tight and with the D2’s eased the mast adopted a more even bend and the mainsail did seem a bit flatter. Regardless of cause the effect seemed to be a more responsive boat and we handled the gusty conditions as well as any time since we launched.
The race however did not go all our way. We had a mighty tussle with Much Ado V going out of Humbug and were perhaps third out only to have almost all the fleet sail through on the inside in what is usually a nasty wind shadow around Greenwich Point. Now at the back of the fleet we were squeezed between Much Ado V to windward and Utopia to leeward with a large group including Joli and Flashback ahead. Not liking the dirty air from Much Ado V we worked to windward of the tight reaching fleet only to have Much Ado V repeatedly round up in front. That was enough to kick in the caution mode and we went well high of the fleet and eventually into the disturbed air around Balls Point. I did keep as low as I thought was safe from the rounding up yachts below but Lisdillon from behind went low all the way to the Goat clearance mark and made up some good ground. The front of the fleet was very tightly bunched at Goat Island and closed up tightly in the wind shadow of the island. As the leading yachts nudged forward into the oncoming breeze the fleet started to spread out. Just in front were two J112e, two Sydney 38 and one Ker 11.3 and we were giving close chase hoping for a lucky break through Humbug.
No lucky break came and we were forced to tack onto starboard by a Blue fleet yacht well before out clear line to the finish. The extra two tacks were costly and we made up little ground except at the very finish when we had a little more breeze and crept up to the transom of Avalon, but no further.
As we finished quite close to the leaders we expected to do well on handicap. We were declared the winners but when I saw the result sheet I could see that we were finished 2 minutes early in a transcription error. After correction by Harvey at 9:30 pm we lost by 7 seconds to Meridian. We had both received the bottle of wine we deserved for first and second places but in the wrong order but only those who read the blog will know that Stephen was the real winner on the night.

Considering the breeze and the quality of the fleet I was very pleased with our performance. It was the closest we have finished to the similar rating Sydney 38, Avalon and just one minute behind the similar rating Ker 11.3, Much Ado V. I continue to be impressed by the performance of the lower rated J112e, both Joli and Meridian, but the design is a current IRC champion.

For the record the wind did gust to over 20 knots and our boat speed reached into the mid 10 knot range.

Passion X squeezed out by Much Ado to windward and eventual scratch winner Utopia to leeward

Passion X overtaken by the following fleet around Greenwich Point

At the finish catching up to Avalon with Joli and Much Ado V just across the line. Utopia and Meridian had already cleared the frame.

I am still reflecting on the fourth place on Wednesday and only 54 seconds out of first place. It did help that we had a very good start and protected our position going through Humbug. It did not help that we were triple cautious with the No3 jib up, a reef in the main and the boom bag and lazy jacks set up for a second reef.
The very nice Mark Palmer photo of Joli, Passion X and Avalon approaching the start line shows well the sail area we had up for the day. We were giving away 7m2 to Joli and 18m2 to Avalon. That is Ok when the breeze is honking but as it dies we have the largest wetted surface of the three and need the sail area.
While the trend for yacht racing these days is to reduce the jib area first it might be a better solution for Passion X to keep the overlapping genoa on and reef the main more. That will keep the centre of effort lower which might be a good thing as Passion X is quite tender.
The other lesson is that I need to be more conscious of the sail settings as the breeze dies. It took quite a while for me to realize that the back stay was on too tight and the foot too tight for the dying breeze and the jib halyard also too tight.
And when we did shake out the reef in the main I forgot to check that the runner was on the correct side of the head of the main and that the outerhaul was tight enough. It did not help that we went from a reefed flat main to a full main with a large round in the foot and without the backstay a very loose forestay and full genoa.
Well it was a good week to relearn all these lessons and the small fleet ensured our finish place was a keeper for the seasons progress scores.

With the forecast for a stiff breeze we set the No 3 genoa and a reef in the main for the first race of the Greenwich Flying Squadron Twilight series. We were not the most cautious as Flashback with their repaired mast on it first outing had two reefs in the main but the rest of the fleet was fully clad in big jibs and full mains.
While the breeze was fresh we sailed above our handicap and a good start got us out of Humbug first with Sydney 38 Avalon below and the J112e Meridian above. A big persistent shift helped us against Avalon but we gave up a lot of our lead on Meridian who tacked below us for the leg to Goat Island. As the breeze eased we were overrun by Avalon and Joli while Meridian established a handy lead. Much Ado V went a bit low going into Balls Head and had to pinch for the mark so much that we held our ground. Joli tacked away from the point rather than pinch and did better at maintaining speed in the dying breeze. At this point we got desperate and took out the reef in the main forgetting to get the port backstay on correct side of the sail. Once around Goat we quickly dropped the main below the backstay and rehoisted it correctly in a move that seemed to lose very little time.
We were still down 14m2 of sail area on the run home compared to our No 1 genoa but to our surprise we held Much Ado V and were alongside them just metres from the finish line. With the reduced rig we still hit over 8 knots on the run home although this was tide assisted.

Up in front Joli ran down Meridian and Avalon for a close fastest times victory and a first on handicap.

The surprise of the night was that we were only 54 seconds from first place, 11 seconds from second and 8 seconds from third.

A cautious Passion x sandwiched between Joli and Avalon. Photo from the GFS facebook page courtesy of Mark Palmer

A more cautious Flashback from the GFS facebook page courtesy Mark Palmer

Passion X is back in the water ready for another season. The sprayed on antifouling looks very slick and I am very happy with the quality of the service at Woolwich Dock. The proximity to our mooring in Greenwich Bay is a great convenience and I motored the dinghy over on the Torquedo outboard to pick up Passion X from the dock and used just 20% of the battery power for the task.
While Passion X was on the hard stand I torqued up the rear keel bolts with the load of the hull sitting on the keel and got a tiny movement in the back nut so that should be right for the life of the yacht.
I have opened up the hole for the dyneema bobstay at the bow as I want to increase the size of the bobstay so that I can tension up the luff rope of the Code Zero sail. I think with a bit more tension we will improve the pointing angle and also be prepared to carry it on broad reaches in heavier airs. I have the bowsprit off at present for cosmetic treatment as i want to see how it looks in the light grey trim instead of the clinical white of the hull.
The last job was a touch up of the stern where the sharp edge of the sugar scoop stern has been hitting the dock. The angle of the stern leaves the sharp edge of the hull to sugar scoop join slipping under the dock fenders and I feel it would be more practical to have the last 100 mm of the stern cut off vertical. Not only would it be easier to protect the stern we would have 100 mm less water line length in the rating equation. in the meantime the touch up was very minor and an interim measure might be a bit of vinyl wrap.
Today in warm spring conditions a small team of GFS safety auditors finished off another seven yachts ready for the start of the sailing on next Wednesday.

Waiting for the antifouling to harden before the relaunch

Ready for the relaunch

Another angle on the finished antifouling