Jen here,
Our coach, Dave Hughes, arrived yesterday evening and so we've been busy getting the coach boat and his logistics sorted. Today we and the three other teams that we're working with for the worlds spent the day re-tuning our rigs and doing more general boat work. Fortunately, Dave was able to guide us through some of the remaining rigging problems that we've been experiencing with our boat and so we're keen to get back on the water tomorrow morning with our boat in better shape.
We've got a four boat training group for this regatta. There are two Canadian teams from Halifax- Teddy and Jono in the men's fleet and Dana and Karen in the women's. We're also working with Barry and his crew, Thomas, who we bought our boat from. While we've been in Den Hague for nearly two weeks now, the other teams have just arrived and so it's nice to have our group together for the event, as well as our coach!
Tomorrow the measurement process begins and competitors start getting their equipment checked for the event. While some sports grapple with doping issues, the main issue in sailing is whether or not your equipment is legal. Boats are weighed to ensure that they're not too light, sails are checked for measurement stamps, rudders, centreboards, masts, and booms are all measured for length and angles and to make sure that sails can't be pulled up too high or to far out on the outhaul. This is all something that we don't really deal with in Canada, especially with strict one design boats like lasers or 29ers. It will be very impressive seeing all these boats go through measurement...especially now that there are 210 teams registered for the Worlds. Every day new teams are showing up and setting up their boats. The jam packed boat park just keeps getting more and more tightly packed. To make matters more interesting, the harbour master has scheduled all of the bricks that pave our road to be re-laid. This is absolutely hilarious as every few minutes a large tractor rolls down the thoroughfare amongst all of the 470's and nearly clips off a boat's rudder. You see a spandex clad sailor running to create a human shield from the tractor in order protect his or her beloved rudder while trying to finish applying sunscreen to his face.
Jen
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
July 5th - Back on the Water
We had a good weekend off of sailing and returned to the water today. Saturday Jen and I met up with Remco, a local who was interested in hanging out with us and showing us around. We met beside the Parliament buildings, and while locking up her bike Jen knocked her pannier into the canal and had to do a bit of wading/climbing to retrieve it, so we made quite a first impression on Remco. We went to the Mauritshuis; a museum of 15 and 16th century Dutch artists including Vermeer and Rembrandt as well as the Escher museum which is inside a former Queen's Palace. When we left the Palace it had started to rain, so Jen took refuge in a coffee shop while Remco and I biked around the gardens of a different palace. I love going to parks when it is raining, as they are empty and quite and I tend to notice things I wouldn't otherwise, like the improvised chess set. Plus you can always find some dry spots under the trees.
We had asked Remco to recommend a good Indonesian restaurant and the one he took us to was great! So much tasty food it was good there wasn't a fourth person as they wouldn't have had anywhere to sit! Then we watched the Spanish football match and got lost on our way home. Sunday I visited the Gemeente Museum and the Museum of Photography, which were both excellent.
Today we sailed in light wind from the SW. We have decided our venue is just like Miami: light thermal breeze with steep choppy waves; unless there is a storm cell in which case it is rainy and windy. Today was also *technically* the first day we are allowed on site to train (we had permission to train last week as well) so many more teams arrived today, including the two Canadian men's teams and our friends the Israeli women's team.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
July 3rd - Pacific Yachting Article
Check out the article about us in this month's issue of Pacific Yachting! Click the image to view the article full size.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
July 1 - Training Day 5
Jen here,
Training is going and going and going. This morning we finished our standoff with the spinnaker halyard...we won. Oh yes, a nice brand new 5mm spectra halyard and new blocks on the uptake system. We didn't realize this until we took the old halyard off, but the blocks on the uptake system were so bent that they didn't even run. Hmm...ever feel like you don't want to look in that drawer or under that pile of junk because you're afraid of what you might find there? More and more this seems to be how I feel about 470's.
We trained with some members of the German team today. Very nice folks who all were very welcoming and came over to chat with us in the boat park. We've been working on surfing because the waves here are much bigger than in Victoria. It's fantastic. Sailing in waves upwind is a bit of a challenge, because they're short and very steep. It's great practice though.
Oh our bike rides home, we usually stop off at our favourite grocery store: the JUMBO, pronounced Yimbo in Dutch, which meant that for the first 2 days I rode my bike right past the Jumbo while looking for the Yimbo. I'm becoming proficient at riding my cruiser bike through rush hour traffic with twenty pounds of groceries dangling off of my left handlebar. One piece of advice to those who want to try this out in the future: pack your canned goods in your panniers. I discovered this trick after cycling for three kilometers and cracking my kneecap on a can of diced tomatoes with each pedal. It made for some lovely bruising!
Jen
Training is going and going and going. This morning we finished our standoff with the spinnaker halyard...we won. Oh yes, a nice brand new 5mm spectra halyard and new blocks on the uptake system. We didn't realize this until we took the old halyard off, but the blocks on the uptake system were so bent that they didn't even run. Hmm...ever feel like you don't want to look in that drawer or under that pile of junk because you're afraid of what you might find there? More and more this seems to be how I feel about 470's.
We trained with some members of the German team today. Very nice folks who all were very welcoming and came over to chat with us in the boat park. We've been working on surfing because the waves here are much bigger than in Victoria. It's fantastic. Sailing in waves upwind is a bit of a challenge, because they're short and very steep. It's great practice though.
Oh our bike rides home, we usually stop off at our favourite grocery store: the JUMBO, pronounced Yimbo in Dutch, which meant that for the first 2 days I rode my bike right past the Jumbo while looking for the Yimbo. I'm becoming proficient at riding my cruiser bike through rush hour traffic with twenty pounds of groceries dangling off of my left handlebar. One piece of advice to those who want to try this out in the future: pack your canned goods in your panniers. I discovered this trick after cycling for three kilometers and cracking my kneecap on a can of diced tomatoes with each pedal. It made for some lovely bruising!
Jen
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
June 30 - Training Day 4
We are starting to get into our routine of boatwork and training. Monday we spent the morning installing a new traveller bar on the boat so now Jen can trim the mainsail properly, which has led to fewer angry exclamations from the back end of the boat. We found an awesome machinist shop right by the marina where the machinist cut the bar down to size on a giant machine. He was very careful to put out his cigarette whenever he adjusted the machine and then lit up again immediately afterward!
We got on the water later in the afternoon and were immediately waved over to join in some training with the Croatian and Turkish mens teams. The coach would emphatically shout and wave at us "Girls! Tack!" Then we were joined by the German national team for some small races. These proved to be a bit of a gong show for us as we haven't done any short course work in a while and with a new boat and all the systems in the boat in constant flux we weren't very quick off the line or around corners.
Tuesday we launched with the Australian boy's and girl's teams and tuned up with them upwind. It was about 8-12 knots from a dark cloud in the SW with big short waves that were hard to get over smoothly. The Australian teams sail like skiff sailors - footed off and lots of sheeting. It was a bit strange to sail with them as we sail totally differently. We rarely were pointing the same direction; sometimes they had more speed but we were sailing higher, and sometimes we had equal speed but were sailing lower. We did some upwinds and downwinds together for a few hours until the cloud moved through and the breeze died down and swung around to the SE. The Aussies headed in, we stayed out for a while and worked on our boat handling.
Tuesday evening we met up with a French Canadian who has been living in Den Haag for the past two years. He works for the cartography company and gave us free charts and a current book for Den Haag, which is amazing! We cycled into Central Den Haag and he showed us the International Court of Justice, the Palace and the Legislator. We then went to a local pub to watch the Spain vs. Portugal match with a whole bunch of Spanish people.
Today when we arrived at the Marina a fog and a bit of rain was moving in. We did a bit more boatwork and the fog blocked our view of the marina entrance. It retreated and we headed on the water around noon. It was hard to tell how windy it was with the big short waves, fog and current, but somewhere around 16 knots. We were sailing around in the fog by ourselves when we found the Singapore mens team, and tuned up with them upwind. We were fairly evenly matched for speed (they don't sail like skiff sailors) except they were doing a better job of managing the big waves. By this I mean they did NOT get washed off the boat while I did! Eventually the fog cleared and the wind died down to around 6 knots. We joined the other boats for one race and then headed in. We had yet more boatwork to do. We have been trying to nurse along our spinnaker halyard by replacing some core and splicing in some extra line but it is a losing battle, so we are going to have to replace it.
Our boat parking spot has slowly been moved by some Australians who have arrived over the past two days. I guess we will be nice as one of them is the Bejing Men's 470 Gold medallist. I found this out after asking if he was the coach. Whoops! Maybe they will have some tips for us? Pictures from around town below.
We got on the water later in the afternoon and were immediately waved over to join in some training with the Croatian and Turkish mens teams. The coach would emphatically shout and wave at us "Girls! Tack!" Then we were joined by the German national team for some small races. These proved to be a bit of a gong show for us as we haven't done any short course work in a while and with a new boat and all the systems in the boat in constant flux we weren't very quick off the line or around corners.
Tuesday we launched with the Australian boy's and girl's teams and tuned up with them upwind. It was about 8-12 knots from a dark cloud in the SW with big short waves that were hard to get over smoothly. The Australian teams sail like skiff sailors - footed off and lots of sheeting. It was a bit strange to sail with them as we sail totally differently. We rarely were pointing the same direction; sometimes they had more speed but we were sailing higher, and sometimes we had equal speed but were sailing lower. We did some upwinds and downwinds together for a few hours until the cloud moved through and the breeze died down and swung around to the SE. The Aussies headed in, we stayed out for a while and worked on our boat handling.
Tuesday evening we met up with a French Canadian who has been living in Den Haag for the past two years. He works for the cartography company and gave us free charts and a current book for Den Haag, which is amazing! We cycled into Central Den Haag and he showed us the International Court of Justice, the Palace and the Legislator. We then went to a local pub to watch the Spain vs. Portugal match with a whole bunch of Spanish people.
Today when we arrived at the Marina a fog and a bit of rain was moving in. We did a bit more boatwork and the fog blocked our view of the marina entrance. It retreated and we headed on the water around noon. It was hard to tell how windy it was with the big short waves, fog and current, but somewhere around 16 knots. We were sailing around in the fog by ourselves when we found the Singapore mens team, and tuned up with them upwind. We were fairly evenly matched for speed (they don't sail like skiff sailors) except they were doing a better job of managing the big waves. By this I mean they did NOT get washed off the boat while I did! Eventually the fog cleared and the wind died down to around 6 knots. We joined the other boats for one race and then headed in. We had yet more boatwork to do. We have been trying to nurse along our spinnaker halyard by replacing some core and splicing in some extra line but it is a losing battle, so we are going to have to replace it.
Our boat parking spot has slowly been moved by some Australians who have arrived over the past two days. I guess we will be nice as one of them is the Bejing Men's 470 Gold medallist. I found this out after asking if he was the coach. Whoops! Maybe they will have some tips for us? Pictures from around town below.
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| Den Haag, NED |
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June 27 - On the water in Den Haag
Today we went training! It feels like it's been awhile since we did that! The wind was light out of the north about 4-6 knots, and about 3 knots of current from the north as well. It is quite warm here, so we could finally wear a few less layers then we have been at home and in Kiel. We were supposed to meet up with the Aussies at noon but we have no phone and they have no internet so somehow that didn't work out. We spent a good 3 hours focusing on boat handling and boat speed now that (most) of the systems on the boat are working. It felt really good to get back into the boat and work on things on our own for the first day. The wind is a thermal breeze which doesn't seem to appear until 11 or 12 and increases in velocity throughtout the day.
We have made up a schedule for ourselves for the next two weeks so we can get back into a routine. We will sail everyday this week then take the weekend off, then sail again next week. There is organized group training for the event July 6-8. Measurement takes place the 9-11th. The practise race is July 11th and racing is July 12-18.
There is a small group of boats training out of the sailing venue including the German and British teams but most teams are taking this week off and will show up next week.
Our apartment is a block up from the Scheveningen Pier and Strand. This is basically the beach where everyone in Holland comes for summer vacation, so it is packed full of people. Jen and I have both already been scolded in dutch for riding our bicycles on the Strand (apparently it's pedestrian only). Riding our bikes to the club is very nice as we cycle along in the bicycle lane with bicycle stop lights. We have rented one speed's with pedal brakes and panniers. I do enjoy cycling in an upright position, but sometimes I forget how to stop.
We have made up a schedule for ourselves for the next two weeks so we can get back into a routine. We will sail everyday this week then take the weekend off, then sail again next week. There is organized group training for the event July 6-8. Measurement takes place the 9-11th. The practise race is July 11th and racing is July 12-18.
There is a small group of boats training out of the sailing venue including the German and British teams but most teams are taking this week off and will show up next week.
Our apartment is a block up from the Scheveningen Pier and Strand. This is basically the beach where everyone in Holland comes for summer vacation, so it is packed full of people. Jen and I have both already been scolded in dutch for riding our bicycles on the Strand (apparently it's pedestrian only). Riding our bikes to the club is very nice as we cycle along in the bicycle lane with bicycle stop lights. We have rented one speed's with pedal brakes and panniers. I do enjoy cycling in an upright position, but sometimes I forget how to stop.
June 26 - Boat Setup
Our boat is set up and ready for training tomorrow. We've still got some more work to do on the boat, but it's definitely coming along, and we got it rigged and tuned today. The only downer today was that after all of the trouble that we've had with our top cover, the bottom cover completely disintegrated today when we unpacked it! Hopefully we can save it...we'll keep you posted!
The harbour here is huge, I've never seen anything like it. We're in an industrial looking area, and to get to the sailing centre we ride our bikes past herring canneries and through commercial chandleries. To get out of the actual harbour we have to launch down a massive ramp and sail out through a huge concrete harbour that leads to the open water. Outside of the harbour is open sea, which is why they need to have such big breakwaters, but it's very impressive. We'll post pictures so that you can get an idea of how small the 470's look when they sail out of the harbour. You can see it on google maps.
Tomorrow we train with our Australian friends, and we're looking forward to getting out into the current-something that we Victorians know so very well.
Jen
The harbour here is huge, I've never seen anything like it. We're in an industrial looking area, and to get to the sailing centre we ride our bikes past herring canneries and through commercial chandleries. To get out of the actual harbour we have to launch down a massive ramp and sail out through a huge concrete harbour that leads to the open water. Outside of the harbour is open sea, which is why they need to have such big breakwaters, but it's very impressive. We'll post pictures so that you can get an idea of how small the 470's look when they sail out of the harbour. You can see it on google maps.
Tomorrow we train with our Australian friends, and we're looking forward to getting out into the current-something that we Victorians know so very well.
Jen
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