First sail in my F16 in proper wind

Blowing about F5 with gusts into top 6+. Tops were blowing off the tops of the waves in the gusts to give some idea of the wind.

Sailing at the last race of the year at the club which is an open event. Sailing windward leewards with other cats and Asym 1/2 boats.

Was a little late for the start(30 seconds) and so have 49ers and one F18 (team Kearns and Burns) in front of me. First beat was a fairly wild affair but max downhaul calmed things down a little as did raising the plates 12 inches (30 cm), still spent most of the leg just staying in control and keeping the thing upright so I was very pleased to only be 70yds behind the F18 at the windward mark. no problem bearing away at the windward mark (thanks T-foils <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />) and then go for the kite (bugger) the halyard is wrapped around the spreader (must add shock cord to stop this again) so decide to forget the kite for this leg and so dump the traveller, DH off, rotation off and go "wild thing". Blast off on a big gust and a quick gybe and i'm close the to leeward mark so leave the kite where it is. VERY pleased to see that the F18 has only gained 30 yds on the run when I round up. Next beat is even windier and so mega-max the DH, rotation pointing at the back beam and as a result, the top 2/3rds of the sail are inverted and the boat is shifting some. Very pleased to note that the F18 is not moving away from me. 1/2 way up the beat the F18 goes over (did I say it was windy?) and so I'm moving from racing mode to survival mode.

Get to the windward mark and I feel the wind is building so I'm considering going in. Bear off and decide I don't need to come in at the moment as I am on the front of a massive gust, at the back of the boat and the hull is flying, bear off some more and boat just keeps accelerating and I just cannot stay in contact and end up off the back of the boat. Not sure how, but I end up in the water behind the boat with a broken tiller extension ! steer the boat up almost head-to and get back onboard and decide enough is enough. Had a wild sail, learned the hi-wind upwind settings for the boat and proved that I can keep pace with a Top F18 (they are a little rusty, so, Wouter, no claiming that modern F16's sailed single handed can keep up with F18's in a blow) but I am very pleased with the show of speed this boat has.

To give some idea of the wind speeds, the annomoter at the club was reading F7-8 at times (but I don't believe it) and the GPS track is reading 13mph upwind and 19mph downwind without the kite up!

It's cost me a new tiller extension, but it was a giggle !

Boat held up very well which is a testament to the build quality of the Stealth. Spoke to John and ordered a new Tiller extension, so top service there too.

Now, just need some more practice, when is the training weekend ?