Taipan sailors face a Tiger!

In November Jennifer Lindsay and Kelly Gray won the Alter Cup area D qualifier sailing a Taipan 4.9. To prepare for the Alter Cup race (April 2005) they have been sailing the larger Hobie Tiger. Last weekend they won the Dunedin Winter Dash on their Tiger while their friends Seth Stern and Gordon Isco took second on a Taipan 4.9. When setting up the boat Jennifer commented on how heavy the Tiger is, weighing in at nearly 400 pounds compared to her Taipan at only 240 pounds. When it came time to pack up the boat I took the attached photo of these four Taipan sailors coming to grips with dropping the heavy Tiger mast. I had to laugh.

Speaking for all the Dunedin locals, good luck to Jennifer and Kelly at the Alter cup!

I have to remain neutral in my capacity as a member of the committee that puts on the Alter Cup each year, but I can say that I'm excited to be from Area D South, and to have Jennifer and Kelly representing our area in the finals. Last year, Annie Nelson and Kathy Kulkoski (what we think was the very first women's team in the event's history) finished in second, only two points out of first. There are talented women in our sport - I'm glad to see some of them in the finals again this year.

Helps if you de-tension the rig before you try to take the mast down

/damn mast is heavy, though.

Like I said before- 3 Hobbits at work! (Speaking as one myself) 8^)

Hey, I've seen Jennifer rockin' on her Taipan; she has a good chance. (Lest ye forget- A-class NAs, 2003: "The Lesson" by Pease Glaser)

Just to clarify things a little. The boat is used and has a broken mast base. Kelly and I needed help lowering the mast to make sure the mast didn't jump off the ball and damage the boat or anyone near by. On my Taipan, I can raise and lower the mast by myself using the trailer winch and I intend to rig up the same for the Tiger when I can find the time.

Jennifer Lindsay
Taipan 4.9 #262
Tiger #870

What I find amazing is that my boy Trey can heft up the Nacra 6.0 mast (weighting in at like 68lbs or something) by himself from the mast base.

Not only that but he can bearclaw the forestay and have the rig tensioned when its connected to the bridle.

I think he nearly went pole vaulting with the N20 mast the first time.

Every time I see a pic of you seppo's putting a mast up the boat is always on the trailer, That has to be the single hardest way to put a mast up I have ever seen! Why don't you put the boat on the sand and make it easy on yourselves??

I don't see how its any different.

Except you just don't get a big of a lift from the guy in the back.

It makes a big difference.

Where does the mast feel heaviest when you start stepping it?

That is...unless you use the winch on the trailer!

Seppo??? I had to look it up...
______________________________________


What's a "Seppo"?
"Seppo" is Australian rhyming slang for "American". It works like this:

-- American, goes to...
-- Yankee, goes to...
-- Yank, goes to...
-- Septic Tank, goes to...
-- Seppo

It is a word that can be used as a teasing term of endearment. It is more often used to single out the subject -- whether as a group or as an individual -- for ridicule and shame.

So....shame on us trailer-stepping seppos!

Macca,
ya bladdy whinging Pom, you have no idea of the conditions at most American regattas.

Most of the time we have to rig the boat, on the trailer, in a parking lot and Cat Trax it down to the beach.
Most of us travel with our wires on.
Many of us also travel with our rudders on.
I know of one Tiger sailor who installed a bracket on his trailer mast support in order to travel with his spin pole rigged.
He has cut his rigging time in half.

We often have a lack of beach space for boats at our regattas.
Rolling boats in on Cat Traxs takes up far less room than bringing in hulls first and then stepping masts in the middle of a crowded beach.

One person is able to step the mast on the trailer, pull the boat off onto the Cat Trax, roll it down to the beach and rig the sails.

It is much more work to unload the mast, find a SAFE PLACE(YES, I have seen a mast run over by a car)to put it, unload the hulls and roll/carry them to the beach, unload and untangle the various wires, place the mast on the boat, attach the wires to the mast and boat, step the mast, attach the trapeze bungies and rig the sails.

It looks like YOU are doing it the "hard way".

it could just be that we're naturally stronger than our international counterparts and therefore don't really care about doing things the "easy way". Everyway is the easy way for us :P

In many cases, sailors like to keep their boat attached to their vehicle as long as possible, because the rigging (and derigging) ritual is combined with a tailgate party, and the key to a successful tailgate party is the cooler of beer that rests just inside the tailgate of the vehicle. It greatly increases rigging time if you first put the boat on the beach and then have to make several trips between boat and tailgate.

I hope this clears it up.

Pom? Sam, Macca is an Aussie! Not a Brit...

Macca, had any crok pizza lately?

For the Alter Cup, we will be sure to have the rigs up for all you lightweights out there.

<**** in a frog on a rock.

Wouter

<**** in a frog on a rock.

Wouter