Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

By Tom

I am posting this blog as a warning to all of you who may fall prey to the same temptation.

I have been sick for a week now. It started last Tuesday which I had to take off as I simply could not get out of bed. I think it is just a cold, but a very bad one. So after a week of sickness and missing some really good wind I was getting frustrated.

Yesterday it was just too good to ignore.



With winds solidly over 30 knots (which it has not done for months) I felt it was too good to miss. So at 2:45pm I raced up the hill to grab my speed board and GPS then headed to Sprecks. When I got there everyone was on 4.0/4.2 sails. Perfect, I rigged my 6.0. I put my Vector 23cm Axis speed fin in which Jeff Fagerholm had given me to try 6 months ago. This was to be the first time I used it. The tide was low and getting lower so I donned my helmet for the first time in a year.

My first run was my fastest with a 37.1 knot 100m. I could feel all the energy and strength rapidly draining from my body. I kept telling myself I just need 5 runs to post on GPS Speedsurfing. But I was struggling. Every time I dropped the sail in the water I could not get it back out to waterstart. I just had no strength. The tide was getting super low and it was too shallow to go all the way down the course. I tried to run the top section but the wind was a bit too east and there was not really enough room to work with.

It took me an hour to do my 5 runs with rests and struggles waterstarting in between. By that time I was completely wiped out and could not sail anymore. It was also way too shallow and I had solidly run aground a number of times on what was a brand new fin.


The Results of my struggle:

max:
time m km/h knots
16:02:29 19.4 69.898 37.742
15:43:50 19.3 69.528 37.542
16:39:29 19.2 69.124 37.324
16:18:32 18.8 67.847 36.634
16:31:16 18.6 67.083 36.222
15:43:31 18.6 66.798 36.068
16:35:58 17.3 62.284 33.631
17:04:06 16.8 60.492 32.663
17:16:51 16.1 57.896 31.261
17:03:50 14.9 53.615 28.950
average[2]: 69.713km/h 37.642knots
average[3]: 69.516km/h 37.536knots
average[5]: 68.696km/h 37.093knots

100m:
time s km/h knots
15:43:52 5.2 68.794 37.146
16:02:30 5.3 68.488 36.980
16:39:31 5.4 66.927 36.138
16:18:35 5.4 66.719 36.025
16:31:18 5.5 65.483 35.358
15:43:36 5.8 61.672 33.300
average[2]: 68.641km/h 37.063knots
average[3]: 68.069km/h 36.755knots
average[5]: 67.282km/h 36.329knots




My GPS is set so it does not record speeds below 30 knots. That is why the runs are joined with straight lines.

So in retrospect it was a really stupid thing to do. I proved nothing except that you should not sail when sick. I was not really sailing, just hanging on letting the gear do it's thing. I got really lucky and had no big crashes despite turning my board into a submarine on one occasion. The whole thing duck-dived under a wave and came out the other side. I don't know how I did not get pitched - I was lucky it was the start of the run and sub 30! There were a lot of small crashes, every run seemed to end in a crash. I think I made 3 gybes all day. My 5x10 speed was a pathetic 35.3knots. It was a day it should have been 38.

Today I feel terrible. I feel more sick than ever and everything hurts. So learn from my mistake and don't do it! Today is less wind and epic wave conditions, but I learned my lesson, I am not sailing again until I get well.

German warehouse opens

Torben has opened a new warehouse in Kiel, Germany for the Hot Sails Maui distribution there. Since Torben took over distribution in Germany sales have increased more than double and he is shooting to triple sales this 2009. Torben is an extremely good sailor and has really put Hot Sails Maui back on the map in Germany. Stop by next time your in Kiel, or on your way to Denmark!

Fire Power Almost Ready!

By Tom,

This is just a quick note to let you know The Fire Power sails will be production ready very shortly. For 2009 they will be available by special order only so contact your importer (the loft in USA) to get your order in.




Fire Power 5.5




Tom is happy with his work on the 5.5!



The 5.5 and 6.0 sizes are ready to go. The 6.5 will be ready shortly. Big Will V. this sail is for you!




Tom working on the 6.5





The 6.5 after the re-cut




Proposed Fire Power Edition Colour


There is also a lot of work being done on 2010 sails, but I can't show you that! You will have to wait another 6 months or so (unless there are some leaks).

The Tale of Two Motors

By Tom

Once Again I got super busy and neglected to post anything on the blog. Sorry about that one, I already got chastised, so please give me some slack!

I had a bit of a problem a month ago when I was working in the loft. I turned the sewing machine on and was promptly distracted by some customers. While outside on the deck talking to them one of the boys came out of the shop and delivered this little gem: "I think your sewing machine is on fire!" Sure enough smoke was billowing from the motor and the air was filled with the acrid stench of electrical melt-down. Doh! I gingerly reached for the off switch hoping I would not be electrocuted in the process. Damn piece of junk - it was only used for about 25 years! So motorless things ground to a halt in the loft.




The old motor is retired!


Strangely industrial sewing machine parts are hard to come by on Maui. If we were on the mainland I could have got a replacement the same day, but here there is a lot of water between you and your parts. I ordered another motor the next day from California and was promised it in 7-10 days. Two weeks later I still had no motor and I was starting to freak out (not in the good dacrony way). I discovered the motor had been sent parcel post, which according to the Post Office could take as long as 6 weeks! In a panic I had another motor Fedexed over. Naturally 2 days later the parcel post motor showed up and the day after that the Fedexed one! In theory it should have been a straight exchange requiring nothing more than 3 bolts and a plug to be changed. Unfortunately the new clutch-motor was slightly different and the fan belt that drives the head was slightly too short. The only auto-parts store open late was of course out of the size I needed. What else could go wrong?! The next day I got the fan belt and finished the installation. I pressed the power button and success! Finally back in business, now I just had to deal with the giant stack of sails that had piled up.




The new clutch-motor is finally installed!


I have to say that the new clutch-motor is so much better and smoother in operation than the old one. I had promised Ben Severne I would have a new motor for the next time he was on Maui and needed to re-cut some sails. The Severne boys had not been impressed with the performance last time. Now I realise what a beast the old one was - I was just used to it. They will have nothing to complain about now!

So if anyone on Maui wants a nice 110/220v 1740rpm 1/2 hp clutch-motor I have one for sale!