Taylor Reiss and I were the first ones to sail the new F18 in all of North America this weekend practicing for the Alter cup. The boat is amazing. It's a lot different than cat's we've sailed, but we are starting to figure it out. The design of the C2 is brilliant and I'm thankful that I have the oppurtunity to sail on one. We are racing it this weekend at the CatAtac regatta in Ft. Walton. We hope to see some other F18's there so we can have a good regatta.

You might be getting out front on time-on-the-boat, but JC is killing us all on miles. What changes in rigging did you notice between the 2009 Capricorn and the 2010 C2?

We haven't sailed on the old Cap before, but it seems to be quite similar to sailing the Viper, just with a good 'ol F18 twist. We had to tramp launch the chute because the snuffer hasn't come in yet. That was fun. I felt old school. So JC is doing pretty well? Me and Taylor want to do that race so bad. Maybe next year.

You guys are just about ready. Be smart and do some of the smaller events first - the Mug, 45x45, Macho Man, Miami-Key Largo, Steeplechase, etc. Don't make the Tybee your first distance race. Just like you've been training already, set the Tybee as a goal and chart a path to get there. You guys would be an awesome addition to the distance circuit.

Yea, it'd be fun to start doing more distance racing. We are doing the Round the Island race in June. When are those other events? Maybe we can add them to our schedule.
Thanks.

45x45 doesn't exist anymore and the Macho Man although a great race is all but kaput. Steeplechase is the weekend of December 11 & 12.

Miami to Key Largo, and the Keys 100 are at the end of April and The Mug Race is always the first weekend in May.

For 2010 the Macho WAS SCHEDULED for Sat Mar 27 and the Mini macho WAS Sun Mar 28.

But as Dave said the Macho didn't happen (due to a lack of interest as i heard it)

If there is interest and boats i am sure it could happen next year.

the Mini was rescheduled a few times due to weather and happened April 24 and as usual the weather was ... "challenging".

THe Macho man is from downtown tampa (davis island) out through tampa bay and up the gulf coast to Dunedin.

The mini used to be around Clearwater island but recently has been up around anclote and back (for low portsmith).. about 28 miles. this course (or similar) is run for almost all TBCS races

Okay, thanks. I'll talk to Taylor about doing some of those races. He is scared to distance race his new C2 right now, but we are going to spend plenty of time on the boat and probably start the distance racing on it fairly soon.

scared for the boat

We hope to get ours together and out for a sail tomorrow.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Looks like I get to pop the cherry on a new C2 next week. Kinda excited to try out the new rig.

JW- You going to Houston?

I am privileged to be going to Houston next Thursday. I'll get your first beer.

Heart broken...

Will see JW in Europe and he can mend it with rums.

Hope you guys love the C2 as much as we did while we where testing it... i'm jealous that I haven't been on one for months.

Thursday?!? All the work will be done by then. My bitch status will be in a holding pattern untill they need to come apart again. I'm not sure how many are actually going back to Clearwater anyway.

The camera batteries died before we got wet.

Is Jon drinking a 40??

That's the champaign we christened her with.
Farrar was prepared with the appropriate Caddyshack quotation.

Sailed the new baby this weekend. All I can say is wow what a machine.

There seems to be lot more power in the rig and you can drive the boat hard. I think currently the biggest limiter on it is us sailing it our 'old' way and just not pushing enough (we're sailing it more like a C1.8 and it already feels fast).

To me the boat just floats on water and is very easy to sail. Rudders have a nice feel and the boat really responds to that last inch of the main trim.

Houston is going to be fun next week.

I can't wait until Houston. Me and Taylor are pumped! The C2 sailed fast last weekend in Ft. Walton. I love that boat.

I arrived at the beach to find a new C2 in my spot. Finders keepers?

I wish we could figure out a way to keep it there.

Just curious...how many teams going to the Alter Cup have already sailed the C2? Wish Ian would let us sail his before we go...like that would happen. I think we would have to pry it from his cold dead hands. He will probably spend the first two days polishing and buffing it just to keep his hands on it. Sorry Ian, I couldn't resist!

See you in Houston.

Later,
Dan

So what's the trick with the main halyard lock? If I tie the halyard to the ring I can get the sail up but not down. If I tie the halyard to the shackle I can get the halyard down but not up. There must be a trick.

On the Cap we've always tied it to the top which makes it easy to lock and we did the same with the C2. The trick to getting it off is to:

1) Pull halyard while mast is pointing straight back, then hold the tension on it while rotating mast to one side.
2) Pull down on main while easing halyard tension and it will come down.

Depending on your angle to the wind you may need to try either side.

On my Capricorn, the starboard side always works better.

Matt, so jealous of you and Taylor and all the sailing you have been doing. Chris and I are driving to Florida in a two weeks to pick up ours! Can't wait!!! By then you guys will have all the tuning figured out for us, right? ;-)

-Patrick

I think living in LB has turned you into an OG

Exactly. We have figured the boat out, for the most part, but we still aren't experts. lol. How long are you guys coming down for? Just to pick it up and go? We should try to sail.

If you tie the knot to the top of the ring, I believe it's more efficient. Once it's tied, move the not to the side (depending on which side of the hook the halyard is on up top) so it will hook in without the knot getting in the way. Face the knot away from the hook too.

Then to take it down, rotate the mast away from the side of the hook that the line was running up top.