Racing the RS Aero Against Lasers - Marc Jacobi

On Monday I published a guest post by Marc Jacobi about his first impressions of sailing the RS Aero. The next day he raced the RS Aero with the Laser frostbite fleet at Cedar Point YC in Westport CT. Here is his account of that day....

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Can you spot the RS Aero?

Race day!

38 Standard and Radial Lasers vs. 1 RS Aero 7 in 12-3 knots. NW breeze with big phases, holes and puffs; mostly WL courses, except one double-Harry Anderson (look it up). I was hobbled by a top batten that was too tight, making run-to-run gybes pretty much impossible in the light air and thus limiting tactical options downwind.

Since the rest of the fleet was racing "for real," I started at the unfavored boat end of the line in all but one race, tacking immediately to stay out of the way. Rarely was this the right way to go, but the Aero's quick acceleration and option of high or low modes meant I rarely rounded the weather mark out of the top 3.

The Lasers seemed to go by-the-lee better than the Aero, which accelerated faster in puffs and favored less windward heel. The Aero seemed a bit more sticky in traffic but generally held its own on the runs.

The committee set pretty broad first reaches on the one double Harry Anderson course, but the second reaches were on the beam and really showed off the Aero's light weight, excellent blades and superb acceleration. The poor Lasers didn't have a chance and I pulled out to a commanding lead, despite hitting very light winds on the final beat to the finish.

Between races I let a few people try out the boat for a few minutes. Everyone enjoyed the boat's light responsiveness and comfy hiking position.

On yeah: in my second time in the boat, starting at the unfavored end, racing against the 2012 US Laser Olympic rep and other fast locals, my on-the-water scoreline was 2-1-1-1-1-1.

Statement made!

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Thanks to Marc for letting me share those two reviews of the RS Aero which he originally posted on Facebook. I hope they are useful to others who may be considering purchasing an RS Aero.

Windy RS Aero Antics - Big Sunday - Barcelona

OK. We had enough words about RS Aero sailing in yesterday's post.

Here is some video for a change.

This movie was taken from the Barcelona RS Aerocup last year. Racing was cancelled on Sunday, the final day of the regatta, due to the waves in the narrow marina entrance and steadily worsening conditions.

A few boats made it out for a play and the movie tells the story.

Starring...
David Lynall GBR 1009
Hilde van Susante-Geerling NED 1175 (5 rig)
Per Christian Bordal NOR 1205
TeamRolfeJnr, Ben Rolfe GBR 1581
Peter Barton GBR 1175 (7 rig)
Antony Lynall GBR 1007


Thanks to SBG Films for the video.

RS Aero - First Impressions - Marc Jacobi

Marc Jacobi sailing some boat that is not an RS Aero

Here is a "guest post" from Marc Jacobi, a New England Laser sailor who has recently bought an RS Aero.

Actually it's slightly misleading for me to call this a guest post. More accurately, here is Marc's account of his first trial sail in an RS Aero last November, which I cut and pasted from Marc's Facebook page (with his permission.)

It's also slightly misleading for me to say Marc is a Laser sailor. Marc isn't just any old Laser sailor. Marc is an awesome Laser sailor.  He is a former Olympic campaigner who qualified to sail in every US Laser Olympic Trials in the good old days when the US actually held Olympic trials in the US.

More recently Marc's achievements include...
2015 Laser District 7 Champion
2015 Laser District 10 Champion
2015 Laser World Master Championship - 4th Place
2013 Laser North American Master Champion
2012 Laser US National Master Champion

I could go on, but you get the picture...

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Went out for a practice sail in the RS Aero today in 5-10 knots and relatively flat water. Also sailing were two Lasers, one helmed by a very good local Laser sailor. Some observations:

Upwind I could foot or point at will, pulling away in either mode. In the lulls I could ease the vang, stay high and just VMG the hell out of them. In puffs it was hike hard, vang on, smidge downhaul, ease sheet and just accelerate away (or stay up and climb 3-5 degrees higher). The good Laser guy was sailing with the new radial-cut full sail and working very hard, sailing lower but not pulling forward. He mentioned that there was no way he was going to start above me in tomorrow's actual races...

Running it was closer, as my technique was still adjusting. The Aero has a higher aspect ratio main that takes some getting used to, plus the boat is so much lighter. In the puffs I just accelerated away though. Overall, running I would call it about even or Aero slightly ahead. Impressive, considering this was my first time in the Aero and one of the two guys I was trialing against is *very* fast downwind and also a former Olympic campaigner.

Reaching it wasn't close--the Aero blew them away. I was able to sail lower than the two Lasers and stay planing, which allowed me to head up in a lull approaching the leeward mark while they had to sail lower and slower on the final approach. After less than 2 minutes I'd pulled out a 4 BL advantage after starting 1 BL astern and passing them to leeward.

Other observations: - the boat and rig are SO LIGHT pulling around on the dolly! - the blades are nice and quiet (no humming) - the boat accelerates (and decelerates) beautifully - it's more difficult to roll-tack because the hiking strap isn't as high off the deck (making it harder to really fly over to the other side with confidence) - the boom is quite high making it easy to get around without fear of getting conked in the head. - the mid-boom sheeting makes for effortless gybes and roundings - slow-speed sailing is challenging because the boat just stops when hit by waves. I found it easy to get into irons or knocked onto the other tack when maneuvering at low, pre-start-like speeds. - the halyard tail came off the mid-mast mushroom and slapped against the sail going upwind. Minor niggle. - it's really nice not having to step the mast every time, and dropping the sail with the halyard is a breeze at day's end.

The vang on the boat I'm sailing seems to be missing one of the cascade portions so it's quite hard to pull the last bit on. The side-deck-led downhaul and outhaul were a bit fiddly, the shock cord wasn't really doing it's job on the downhaul tail and the outhaul wasn't easing out well when bearing off to a run (McLube-ing the hell out of everything might help).

Overall, the boat was enjoyable, light and quite responsive. Imagine less-skilled sailors might have a bit of a learning curve getting used to such a light boat, but it rewards the effort. Great fun!

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Do you think he liked the RS Aero?

By the way, Marc, as well as being an excellent sailor, is always very friendly and helpful and willing to pass on his sailing knowledge to those of us further down the fleet. We are lucky indeed to have him in the RS Aero Class.

Coming soon... another "guest post" from Marc about his attempt to race the RS Aero against Lasers.

RS Aero News Roundup March 2016

There is so much going on in RS Aero world that I am having to be more and more selective in choosing a few items to include in my monthly reports. Apologies to the sailors at all the regattas and events I haven't covered below, but you have to do something really newsworthy or spectacular or photogenic to make the cut these days.


1. New RS Aero World Speed Record

Is totally smashing the RS Aero world speed record newsworthy enough?

I included a video about this in my February news round-up but I didn't know then the full details of the new record. At Northampton SC in the UK with the club anemometer peaking at 37  knots, Anthony 'Chunky' York obliterated the old record with an amazing 23.9 knots (27.5 mph.)

Who can beat that?



2. Estonian RS Aero Sailors Looking Forward to End of Winter

The caption for this photo was in Estonian. But have no fear - thanks to Facebook, here is the English translation.

Let's take one last winter and we have been waiting since long eyes Tallinn Maritime Trade Fair (18-20. March), Where you can get from the rs sailing centre with boats (Rs Aero, Rs grain, Rs quest). Bye Sea Fair Rs sailing centre area!

OK. I don't understand it either, but it's a nice shirt.



3. RS Aeros are Manufactured in Boston

Tillerman - why have you posted this photo of a very boring building? Please let's have more photos of that Estonian lady in her RS Aero T-shirt - CabinFeverWisconsin.

Sorry CabinFeverWisconsin but didn't your Mummy and Daddy tell you where baby RS Aeros come from?

I did know that RS Sailing contracted out the manufacture of RS Aeros (and all their other boats I believe) and that the factory that builds the RS Aeros is somewhere in the East Midlands of England.  A couple of weeks ago,  jeffers revealed on Dinghy Anarchy that the builder is Mtag Composites Ltd who are based near Boston, Lincolnshire in England.

Although I don't necessarily believe everything I read on Sailing Anarchy, this sounds plausible. Mtag Composites do list RS Sailing as one of their clients on their website and report that they do build the RS Venture. Check out their website. They build a lot of other cool stuff there as well as boats.



4. Demos. Demos. Demos.

In the northern hemisphere everyone is planning RS Aero demo days to help RS Sailing sell a gazillion RS Aeros and earn oodles of overtime pay for those hard-working guys building RS Aeros in Boston.

There was a demo day at Daytona Beach in Florida on March 12.

The Seattle fleet had a demo day on April 3.

The sailors at my old stomping ground, Rutland Sailing Club are having a "Taster Weekend" this weekend.

Mmm. Sounds yummy. With hors d'ouevres I assume?

Of course those balmy Brits have demo days four times a week and twice on Wednesdays.

And the Boston fleet (that's Boston USA) is planning an RS Aero Taster Weekend for Memorial Day weekend. Unless someone can come up with a better name. Any suggestions?



5. Aussies and Batman and Dented Head

Ron Fergusson, the current Australian RS Aero speed record holder has been racing at Portarlington Sailing Club.

One of the first European settlers at Portarlington according to Wikipedia (which is never wrong) was  Batman...

No. Really. You can look it up

And, of course, Portarlingon is also famous for Indented Head.

I couldn't make this stuff up.

And apparently, according to Ron Fergusson's GPS, they also have very unusual race courses for RS Aeros.

Tillerman- have you been drinking? You seem to have forgotten my plea for more pictures from Estonia - CabinFeverWisconsin.

OK. OK. OK.

Never let it be said that I don't listen to feedback from my readers. Here is another nice photo of RS Aero T-shirts.

But let's get back to RS Aero sailing



6. Antigua

Al Buzz Keck went to Nonsuch Bay in Antigua and it looks like he had a lot of fun blasting around there.

7. Easter in England

And some other crazy Brits went racing at Keyhaven on Easter weekend.

Unbelievable!

I think I'll take a nap now.

More on the CRACUNS

Some people - including Tillerwoman - thought I was making up that story I posted yesterday about the drone that would work underwater and in the air.

Not at all. It's real.

The CRACUNS wakes!

KILLERDRONE! Flying Chainsaw

The Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System was all very well.

But I think this flying chainsaw drone would be a lot more useful.

I do need to trim some dead branches of trees on my property and this looks like the perfect solution.

What could possibly go wrong?

CRACUNS - The Perfect Drone for Sailing Clubs

There has been some discussion at our sailing club about using an aerial drone to make videos of the racing. It sounds like an excellent idea but some of the more pessimistic members have pointed out that if you lose control of the drone it will crash into the lake and never been seen again.



At last, there is an answer to this problem.

The CRACUNS (pronounced krakens.)

CRACUNS stands for Corrosion Resistant Aerial Covert Unmanned Nautical System.

CRACUNS is a drone that is designed to work in the air and underwater.  So it can lurk and move around underwater for a while until the operator decides to give it the command to rise from the water and up into the air where it can perform whatever mission you desire, such as making a video of the Flying Scot start or taking out the chairman of the protest committee.

Brilliant!

I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of the sailors in the Sunfish fleet when a CRACUNS rises from the water in front of their fleet just after the start of a race!

Scam?

Phone rings.

I answer phone. After what seems like an unusual delay for a normal call, someone with an adult male voice comes on the line.

"Grandpa, it's me."

Hmm. My eldest grandson is 7 years old.

It's not him. In any case all my grandkids call me "Granddad" not "Grandpa."

"Hello!" I say cautiously.

"It's me, your grandson."

"Who?"

"It's me. Your eldest grandson!"

"Really? What's your name?"

"Steve!"

"Sorry. My eldest grandson isn't called Steve. You obviously have the wrong number."

I hang up.



Did I just dodge one of those "Your grandson is in jail and you need to send $5,000 to bail him out!" scams?

Hey Mr. Aero-Man

Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
I'm just jealous and there is no place I'm going to
Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
In the sailing blogosphere I'll come followin' you.

Though I know the former empire is turning into sand
Vanished from the land
Left me blindly here to stand
But still not sleeping.

My weariness amazes me
I'm stranded on the beach
I'm much too old to teach
This ancient empty crowd's too dead for dreaming.

Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
I'm just jealous and there is no place I'm going to
Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
In the sailing blogosphere I'll come followin' you.

Let me take a trip upon your brand new shiny ship
My ratchet block's been stripped
My hands can't feel to grip
My toes too numb to hike
Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering.

I'm ready to sail anything,
I'm ready to upgrade
I'll even do a trade
Cast RS Sailing's deal my way
I promise to consider it.

Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
I'm just jealous and there is no place I'm going to
Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
In the sailing blogosphere I'll come followin' you.

And we all can hear wiser voices
Saying my old boat is done
This old tub is such a yawn
I'm just looking for more fun
And I have no idea why I've lost the joy in racing.

And if you hear vague traces
Of voices bleating in the wind
Saying you're too fast for him
It's just some losers way behind
I wouldn't pay them any mind
It's just a wave that I'm seeing that I'm chasing.

Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
I'm just jealous and there is no place I'm going to
Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
In the sailing blogosphere I'll come followin' you.

Then take me Aero sailing
On endless screaming planes
Without any hiking pains
It's easier on my knees
And way more fun in breeze
Out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.

Yes, to sail beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Surrounded my friends
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
I'm just jealous and there is no place I'm going to
Hey Mr. Aero-man sail your boat for me
In the sailing blogosphere I'll come followin' you.

The Boat Races - and Wellington Boots

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, Tillerwoman and I were able to watch the Boat Races today on American TV only about 6 or 7 hours after they actually happened. They were shown on the Universal Channel which, according to Wikipedia is "a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres."

I am not sure which of these genres the Boat Races are classified in, but they are certainly a "series" as the men's University Boat Race has been held 161 times going back to 1829. A bit older than the America's Cup you should note.

What is even more amazing is that my own alma mater, Cambridge University, has qualified for the boat race finals in every one of the 161 times it has been held. A bit better than the New England Patriots record in making the Superb Owl you should note.

Anyway, the program on the Universal channel - in line with its reputation for horror series - first of all showed the plucky ladies from Cambridge almost sinking on their way to a honorable second place in their race.

And then on to the men's race featuring Cambridge and some other dudes.

I must admit both Tillerwoman and I very much admired those fetching Wellington boots that the Cambridge men wore when launching their boat, and again while spraying each other with champagne at the awards ceremony. I can just see me wearing some boots like this when launching my RS Aero at Massapoag Yacht Club.

Apparently "The Official Men's Cambridge Boat Race Boots" can be bought for only £100 at this website but it doesn't say if they deliver to the USA or if £100 is the price for one boot, or a pair.

I did point out to Tillerwoman that I would look even more fetching if I had a pair of those matching pale green tights worn by a couple of the Cambridge men in the photo at the top of this post. Not to mention that they would be very convenient for protecting my sensitive parts from the very rough anti-skid on the RS Aero. Tillerwoman didn't seem to share my enthusiasm for this option.

Anyway, be that as it may, Cambridge beat the other dudes... making it a very happy Easter.

For anyone interested in my own Cambridge rowing career, check out My Rowing Career.