17 May
DeeTour to WildWind, Vasiliki
It is said in engineering type circles that ?If it breaks it is not strong enough and if it doesn't break then it's too heavy?. Applied to the state-of-the-art F18 racing cats this dictum has evolved boats that are designed and built to exploit the maximum power from a given energy source (the wind) whilst minimising the losses due to friction in the water and unnecessary weight of construction materials. So despite their awesome strength in strong winds and rough seas they are in many circumstances?fragile, easy to break. In fact sails will rip and tear if handled badly or abused (merely falling on a mainsail during a capsize can rend it in two), parts will bend and twist if misused, hulls will dent easily with careless manoeuvring or fracture and shatter on impact with solid or semi-solid objects. In the hands of an expert, of course, they are veritable flying machines, but otherwise not for use by duffers. That is why you do not normally find this kind of advanced hardware on an average sailing holiday.
Simon & Mark 'showboating', unusually without a spinni or an appreciative crowd.
So close your eyes and imagine a location with azure skies, turquoise and aquamarine seas, and pods of Dolphins playing as they arc out of the surface to descend with barely a splash, a gentle plop perhaps. Place this image in a stunning south facing bay with a geological wind engine in the form of a long valley and steep mountains. This can generate a catabatic wind that drives a steady cross-shore wind from midday to teatime at anything from a force 4 upwards. This sailing wind will arrive on at least 60% of the days in May and more for the rest of the summer. Then dream that a man has a fleet of boats including F18 Hobie Tigers and the 20 foot Hobie Fox. He then invites members of the public, for a nominal fee to come and sail in this blissful bay.
There are comfortable lodgings and delicious food available and the staff are amazing, relaxed, friendly and totally supportive. They would encourage you to ?go for it' and max out rather than mince feebly at minimum tilt, but then again if to ?pootle about' is your thing then that is fine too. There are daily training sessions and evening social get-togethers with the sort of entertainment you just can't buy. You can rise and shower at leisure and enjoy a breakfast on the open patio in the sunshine. You can be on the tide-less water by 10:30 and if you choose to you can stay out until evening time. There is rescue cover and a lifeguard watchtower to ensure your safety. Still dreaming? Then dream on that if for you there is a day of no wind, flat calm and the Bay like a millpond, then you can take a mountain bike and explore the tracks through olive groves and villages up to the hills to look down on the sea and the valleys. You could even laze by the pool?
You may never have sailed before in your life, instructors will teach you from the basics upwards with theory in the shade of a wooden pergola as the waves lap gently on the shore. There are sessions on the water in a range of mono hulls or cats including Olympic lasers from Athens 2004. Study a qualification level recognised by the RYA and take home a certificate of your achievement. All levels from beginner to the more advanced are welcomed. This sounds like a brochure? Maybe but this is how it was and I was not dreaming.
Sunday 08 May.03:45 Wake bleary eyed, cup of tea, shower and head for Manchester terminal 1
06:05 Take off
11:20 Arrive at Prevesa (trying not to take too much interest in the aeroplanes)!
12:00 Taxi to Vassiliki. It was 20 minutes into the journey before I remembered that in Greece they drive on the right. Our taxi driver spent most of the time on the left (generally to overtake everything, but not exclusively), well into middle aged this man had still retained his youth as a boy racer. By the time we arrived both of us felt a little seasick and relieved to be alive. Short of kissing the ground we checked in and unpacked.
Basic essentials: 1 sailing kit, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 1 pr undies, 1 pr socks. (sorted, in a nutshell)!
14:00 As the first arrivals, we were invited to get changed, rig a boat of our choice and hit the water. So even though Sunday is maintenance day, we had an early glimpse of the encouraging attitude the staff displayed all week.
Did not look at the clock again except for the 3-minute countdowns on race day.
Day 2. Briefing, sailing, lunch, sailing, tea stop, sailing, dinner then bed. (my crew ever so slightly ripped a spinnaker, big ooops!) 1 capsize to me.
Day 3. Briefing, sailing, lunch, spinnaker training (inc how to avoid ripping one), sailing, the staff cooked up a BBQ and entertainment was by Simon (the boss), Joe and Bish. Some Jazz and stuff. Funny?. Oh yes and then some, or not? In a nutshell? Then it was off to bed.
Day 4. Briefing, sailing, lunch, boat tuning training (very light winds), sailing, dinner, bed.
Day 5. No wind, mountain biking, lunch, more mountain biking, cocktail and curry night, bed.
Mark trying out some new equipment to find wind. Or maybe not.
Day 6. Race day against all comers. Since the fleet was a mix of 20' cats through to Lasers, Team Stannard/Emptage were especially focused on beating our very friendly rivals Steve and Paul in the Hobie Tiger, as well as the other Tigers and Hobie 16s. Team Emptage/Stannard had a similar objective whereas Steve and Paul were none too keen to allow Team Dee any kind of victory. Team Dee were generously allowed the use of the Fox for races 1 and 2 (thanks to Steve & Paul, who had a second week to look forward to). Best use was made of the Hobie Fox with Team Dee scoring one outright win on handicap and 2-0 in the private Fox/Tiger competition, before lunch. After lunch, Team Dee were persuaded to race head to head on a Tiger, on a course that had been set to favour the non-spinni boats, with a heavy emphasis on reaching. Team Dee drew 1-1 against Steve & Paul, who were making better use of the spinni for reaching but couldn't match us upwind. During prizegiving it transpired that Team Dee had finished well up the order in every race, securing an overall Race Day victory, the spoils of which were shared by all at a quay-side dinner later that night.
Day 7. Briefing, then off for the Sail away day. Aiming to sail out of the bay and around the coast we hit very light winds and drifted to the end of the western tip. Lunch on the water then the wind filled as we blasted back under full spinnaker. The evening was reserved for the final group dinner at the Indian/Chinese Greek restaurant in Vassiliki. A final rendezvous at the Zeus bar and spot prizes for highlights of the week.
Day 8. 09:15 Packed and head for home. There was a slight chance that we could make it back to Dee in time for the second race that afternoon but the flight delay held us up.
During the week we made some great new friends. Steve and Paul own a F18 Hobie Tiger and promise to further our education at the F18 Nationals in August. A note for their friends and colleagues at home just in case they forget to mention it: Anna girlfriend and novice sailor, helming a Hobie 16 (two up) beat them soundly in a race. Dentist Nick, who normally sails a Laser managed to very slightly kill the Fox on the sail away day [Ed - it has to be said that he was rather encouraged to helm the Fox on an extended spinni run by the aforementioned spinni ripping crew - I hope that Nick now remembers the grin he wore for the 30 minutes or so before we succumbed to heading too high and achieving the inevitable capsize...]. He secured 5th place in almost every race on a laser proving to be the most consistent in every event but defying the fundamental principals of mathematics slipped to 6th place on the final leader board. Chris and Nicky formally racing a Dart vow to upgrade their new Hurricane 5.9 with a downwind turbo booster kit, they managed an unusual level of harmony in their racing team despite being married. They quietly led early races in the week but on the big day took to the water without bungs in either hull. At that point the harmony of this couple may have been strained seeing that the culpability for this basic gaff was never established publicly (no greater love has a man for a woman than to resist the laying of blame? especially if it was his fault). Joff will return to Ireland next week with a well-earned Cat endorsement to his instructor's ticket. He will also take the taste of defeat as the highest place loser with a well earned second place overall. Ruth, Anne and Andy earned a level 1 and 2 level 2's respectively in the RYA sailing programme. Finally Mark who despite a cunning strategy of boats selected for each race depending on conditions deserved a better fate with 1 win on race day on a RS 400. He also holds the record for the quickest solution without the use of pen, paper or hod to the question, ?If one brick weighs 1 Kg plus half a brick, how much does a brick and a half weigh'?
Steve & Paul, Simon & Mark, Joff, chatting between Races 1 & 2.
In summary we had a fantastic week. The Wildwind did not show up due to the predominately southerly breeze during our week and it would have been nice to get some experience in a Force 6. Frankly it did not detract from what was a brilliant week of sailing and learning. Thanks to the Wildwind team for their friendship and hospitality.
Mark Emptage
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