Artforms nearly ready for the off |
| Thursday, 27 May 2004 |
Footing in a rare eight knots of breeze north of the Gulf Stream
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Artforms completed safety scrutineering on Saturday, passing with flying colours, another hurdle behind for Tim Sadler and Kip Stone in their preparations for next week’s start off Rame Head. Kip and designer Merfyn Owen then set off onboard Artforms on Sunday night for an extended test sail. They glided out into the light winds off the English coast with the aim of running through the boat’s new light airs sail wardrobe to verify the sail cross-overs and best sailing angles. Kip had decided to sail from New Zealand without a code 0 and Code 3, the most important sails in the inventory for this kind of work and so verifying their place in the sail wardrobe was an important exercise before the off.
An extended trial (18 hours) in the week prior to the race start is also an important last check of all the yacht’s systems as the boat is cycled though a complete battery charge/discharge and pilots are worked constantly for the entire period. They’re looking for any gremlins that may have worked their way onboard during the weeks when the boat has been ashore or tied mainly to the dock during the preparations for the race.
In winds varying from 4 to a ‘thumping’ 13 knots the guys worked their way steadily through the spinnaker, code 3, code 5 and code 0 sails, noting boat speeds, angles and true wind speeds. Forward forecasts show the boats heading out on a starboard tack in a moderate breeze before having to negotiate their way across a high-pressure ridge in exactly the conditions they were working up the boat in the early hours of Monday morning. By lunchtime, mission was accomplished and the boat returned to the dock to the attentions of Tim Sadler for the rest of the week.
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