As this rather disappointing summer draws to its close we decided that our promise to the grandchildren of a ride in 'our boat' would have to be very soon or left to next year. We were looking for a sunny day with winds below 10 knots. The forecast for today seemed ideal, winds of 8 knots and temperature of 23°C. Plenty of safety boats on the Reservoir was also a comforting factor.

We launched the Xenon with a full rig, including the Gennaker. The grandchildren were aged 6 &  7 yrs (boys) and 3 & 4 yrs (girls).  Originally we had no intention of taking out the girls - far too young. However it became clear that "anything the boys can do, we can do" was the argument being deployed, so being weak and having no control we agreed to take out the girls also.

We set out for a pleasant Wednesday evening sail - attracted by the forecast of stronger winds. The racing format for Weds evenings is very informal. Each race consists of a single lap and there are usually 3 races. The Race officer very kindly and cheerfully volunteers his services for the enjoyment of us all, even though he also is a keen sailor.  Those racing on Weds evenings are often the very knowledgeable ones, so we are used to trailing in at the end of the field.

Today promised to be very lively. When we arrived the wind was a steady F4 gusting to over F5 and the forecast was for a slight increase during the evening. We seriously considered reefing the Xenon,  however the flotation system is not so good with lowered sails and we fancied our chances of staying afloat so we set sail with the full rig. In practice we feel very comfortable with the Xenon in strong winds although after three capsizes in the evening you would be forgiven for wondering about our judgement!

It was Weds evening and strong winds were forecast. In the event the winds averaged around 12 knots with some strong blasts and very sudden lulls. Not ideal for a first attempt at Trapezing in the Xenon dinghy.

Set off on a sunny day looking forward to a big Competition Racing day at Bewl Water. Discovered that my usual partner was crocked. Apparently a degenerative disease called Twomushracing. Instead of competing I thought a might give my newly acquired basic qualification of Club Race Officer an airing, so off I trotted off to the Race Officer for the day.  He took one look at me and said I don't need anybody but you can come along anyway! By the time I returned ready to take off on the Committee boat he had the solution to getting rid of me, "We are short of a safety crew, would you do that?". So I made myself known to the Officer of the Day and he duly assigned me to a Safety Boat into which I was made very welcome.

The racing fleet (too many dinghies to count!) were already heading across to the start line. Conditions for racing were almost ideal, wind 10-11knots and a clear warm day. However the wind was changeable. The course was basically around 4 markers, marked 1 -4 on the briefing board with the buoys marked with letters. Nothing like confusing the fleet before the race starts!

Pleasantly warm day starting at 14C and rising to 17C. Showers at first but then sunny spells. The broadly westerly wind averaged 11 knots for most of the day but the wind was fitful and changeable requiring a lot of concentration by the Helm.
The race course was a complicated 'around the houses' path. We made a reasonable start on a starboard tack and made good progress upwind. The other Xenon also made a good start along with a Vareo and K1, boats with a similar performance to that of the Xenon. During the race it was difficult to track the progress of these boats as much concentration was needed to keep the Xenon flat and on course. Wind shifts were quick, significant but very short lived and required a lot of work by both Helm and crew. The Xenon was throwing up plenty of spray.
 

One of the best days sailing in the Xenon so far.

Cold day, started at 2°C with water temperature 4°C, but lovely sunny sky and the view from the reservoir was beautiful. The wind was a consistent 14 knots with gusts up to 18 knots. Ideal spinnaker weather. The Race Officers choice of course did not disappoint. See the layout below. Incidentally the symbols at the top of the layout indicate the buoys on the course and how they should be passed, ie to port or starboard.

From the Start line it was almost possible to make buoy W without a tack by starting at the inshore end of the line as the wind at that point tended to be more northerly. In practice we never quite avoided the need to jink.

Temperature 11°C sunny but fierce winds average 19 knots with gusts in excess of 30 knots. The water was very cold at 4°C with the largest waves I have seen on the reservoir.
Not possible to easily launch stern first as is usual. Instead pulled trolley into the water and turned into the wind to keep boat stable.  The wind strength determined that we set off with a reefed mainsail

Setting off was lively and a bit of a shock after several months of quiet sailing followed by a long break over Christmas.  In the last few months an immediate launch of the spinnaker just to make decent progress had been the order of the day, not today however. With only a reefed mainsail the Xenon took off like a sports car and needed rapid shifts to maintain balance - helm understandably complained I was slow! Tried a few tacks to get used to conditions.
 

Day started cold (-4°C) and later warmed to +1°C.  Wind was very light at 4 knots with very little by way of gusts.  Light wind sailing techniques were all important, keeping as much weight as possible forward when going upwind.

Key need was to keep warm. I used a winter steamer (5/3) wetsuit with both lycra and thermal rash vests underneath and woolly and spray top on top. Also neoprene winter gloves - a pain to put on or get off but excellent in such cold weather. Body wise I was warm, hands were Ok but ..... feet were frozen despite decent boots and thin socks.  Have not yet solved the foot problem. The conditions were extreme, -3°C for most of the morning and the ice drops frozen to the mast and boom remained solid all day.

Racing again although our speed made the term one of misrepresentation. One of the lightest wind sailings I have done. Difficult to launch the gennaker and difficult to keep it flying..  It was a relatively cold day 10C, and the lack of physical jumping about encouraged the cold to seep in during the morning.
 
In the upwind sections we concentrated on keeping our weight forward.  In the first two races in the morning there was no hiking needed. Indeed for some of the time we were sitting opposite each other simply keeping balance and doing our best to tilt the Xenon to reduce the wetted area.
Notwithstanding the poor winds we looked to be very near to the front, although we have yet to see the official results.
In the afternoon the winds increased to a max of 12 knots and this provided a little more excitement and we may even have won the afternoon race amidst the pouring rain.

Started sunny and cold 4C. Wind gradually rising through the morning reaching a max of 12 knots but with strong gusts up to 23 knots.

Set out to race.  The course set was relatively short with a windward leg and downwind run. The reservoir was a little choppy and plenty of light wind flurries sprinkled with some stronger blows. Most difficult was the downwind runs using the gennaker. No problems in launching but wind changes in strength and direction required concentration by both helm and crew..

First race initially went well but on the end of the downwind leg we gybed with the gennaker in fairly strong wind conditions. The gybe appeared to be successful if a little vicious. The Xenon was almost stable when a strong gust and change of wind direction took us over.  No time to react. We both ended up on the centreboard discussing who was to get into the water to free the gennaker!