East Coast girly-girls

I'm sorry. Maybe I am a wimp (or a wuss, or a girly-girl, or whatever euphemism that Bruce may come up with,) but I have no inclination to go out in cold water. I'm reading of those crazy Brits trying to learn how to sail a moth in frigid water and I just shake my head. Noel Coward wrote that "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun," but if he saw the wanna-be mothies flailing about in 5C water, he'd pen a line about "only penguins and Englishmen..." More guts than brains, I'd say.

Here on the East Coast of the US, recreational dinghy sailing is a non-starter until March at the absolute earliest. There may be some college sailing teams knocking around in dry suits this time of year, but for some venues it's not even possible (see the above pic of sea ice in Long Island Sound.) I suppose that the folks in southern California are usually better off, but even there things can be crazy. They just had a huge storm come ashore, with torrential downpours and such.

So yeah, mothing on the mid-Atlantic coast is on hiatus. I'm stuck ashore and I bet that the collective wisdom of the Annapolis crowd is also causing that bunch to stay dry and warm. I hope I'll get my new foil and strut soon so I can fit it and at least dream about sailing. Until then, I'll listen to warmer tunes. Enjoy the Beach Boys.



California Girls, by Brian Wilson and Mike Love (1965)

Well east coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there

The mid-west farmers daughters really make you feel alright
And the northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night

I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california girls

The west coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a french bikini on hawaii island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand

I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the states
Back to the cutest girls in the world

I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california
I wish they all could be california girls

I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)
I wish they all could be california
(girls, girls, girls yeah I dig the)

Ruminations

While I'm waiting for the new foil to come from OZ I've enjoyed armchair mothing. First I have to give Adam May huge kudos for his successful Carbon Footprint project. The conversion of a lowrider to foiler makes Katherine happy and encourages me to try the same with my old Magnum2. When Susan, my wife, saw Katherine's grin, she could picture herself foilborne as well. Thanks, Adam.

I guess Karl maight as well give up on his adjustable AoA project, since Bruce's latest Mothcast seems to indicate that it won't work. I hope Karl can prove him wrong just to show that the concept is valid.

And what's with the Aussie habit of naming cute girls Sam? I sorta like the smoky grey hair, but dirty blond works for me, too.



Enjoy Sam Brown



Stop!, by Sam Brown (1988)

All that I have is all that you've given me
did you never worry that I'd come to depend on you
I gave you all the love I had in me
now I find you've lied and I can't believe it's true

Wrapped in her arms I see you across the street
and I can't help but wonder if she knows what's going on
you talk of love but you don't know how it feels
when you realise that you're not the only one

Oh you'd better stop before you tear me all apart
you'd better stop before you go and break my heart
ooh you'd better stop

Time after time I've tried to walk away
but it's not that easy when your soul is torn in two
so I just resign myself to it every day
now all I can do is to leave it up to you

Oh you'd better stop before you tear me all apart
you'd better stop before you go and break my heart
ooh you'd better stop

Stop if love me
(you will remember)
now's the time to be sorry
(that day forever)
I won't believe that you'd walk out on me

Oh you'd better stop before you tear me all apart
you'd better stop before you go and break my heart
ooh you'd better stop

Classic Moth Midwinters

The results are in from last weekend's classic moth midwinter championship sailed out of Gulfport YC just west of Tampa. Jeff Linton, pictured above, won, followed by Mark Saunders. Even though I wasn't able to make the trip this year, two of my boats were sailed. Greg Duncan competed in a modified woden Europe renamed "Gypsy," pictured below. For that rebuild I installed a new well and built a humpy deck to accept a deck stepped stayed mast. The huge camber was to affect a raised boom, since at the time there was a rule restricting the height of the boom above the deck to a maximum of 12 inches.


My other boat that was sailing at the Midwinters was a modifed Skol design (a production International moth from the 1960's era.) That particular rebuild is documented here.

The photos above are by Len Parker. The YouTube link below is a slide show by Rod Mincher. Enjoy.

Winter!

Whether it's snow in London or 10 degree F windchill in Virginia this morning, I'm longing for summer. Just a perfect excuse for some Jimmy.



Boat Drinks, by Jimmy B. (1979)

Boat drinks
Boys in the band ordered boat drinks
Visitors scored on the home rink
Everything seems to be wrong

Lately, newspaper mentioned cheap air fare
I gotta to fly to Saint Somewhere
I'm close to bodily harm

Twenty degrees and the hockey game's on
Nobody cares they are way too far gone
Screamin boat drinks, something to keep 'em all warm

This mornin', I shot six holes in my freezer
I think I got cabin fever
Somebody sound the alarm

Id like to go where the pace of life's slow
Could you beam me somewhere Mr. Scott?
Any ole place here on earth or in space
You pick the century and I'll pick the spot

Oh I know, (I know)
I should be leaving this climate
I got a verse but cant rhyme it
I gotta go where it's warm

Boat drinks
Waitress I need two more boat drinks
Then I'm headin south 'fore my dream shrinks

I gotta go where it's warm (I gotta go where it's warm)
I gotta go where it's warm (I gotta go where it's warm)
I gotta go where it's warm!

I gotta go where there ain't any snow
Where there ain't any blow
'cause my fin sinks so low
I gotta go where it's warm

YYURYYUBICURYY4ME

Math can be considered the systematic study of patterns. So if x causes y when z is present then y may be dependent (or not) on both x and z. Boy, maybe figuring out the right boat set-up does require a rocket scientist, or perhaps, just a lucky combination of settings that be be duplicated in a given set of conditions.

We have always twiddled with the wand settings such as length, paddle shape, stiffness, flap gain at various angles, and so forth. Add to the mix the AoA of the main foil (without considering the flap) and the "neutral" flap angle and things really get confusing. Up until a couple of weeks ago all of these settings were done on the beach but now with the Luka Wand (patent pending) there's the added underway adjustment of wand length and ride height.

I found an interesting piece on the Wall Street Journal about Math and Music. So if my foiler is a Siren, perhaps she's calling to me with the music of the Beatles...

Enjoy the tune "A Million Whys" from Dr. Jason Brown up in Nova Scotia.

Oh yeah, did you figue out the text message in this post's title? Here's a hint: It's a rhyme about your genius and my inadequacies....and it doesn't have a million whys, ony two.

Super Sunday

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and the US media is gaga over the football game to be played in Tampa, Florida. Today is also the second day of the Classic Moth Midwinter championship, sailed in nearby Gulfport. Susan and I made the 14 hour drive to Florida to compete in this race for seven consecutive years, first held at the St Petersburg Sailing Center, and three years ago shifted to Gulfport. We didn't make the trip last year because I was in the middle of building the foiler and all our pennies went into that project. This year we're still at home. The debt from Weymouth is being whittled away, the credit charge for new foil is yet to be paid off, and because of the Gorge Worlds (now 189 days away) we're trying to squirrel away vacation days and $$$.

So good luck to the guys sailing in Gulfport. I'm thinking about you up here in Virginia. And who wins the super bowl? I'm sorta rooting for the underdog Cardinals.



Money, by Roger Waters (1972)

Money, get away.
Get a good job with good pay and you're okay.
Money, it's a gas.
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a football team.

Money, get back.
I'm all right jack keep your hands off of my stack.
Money, it's a hit.
Don't give me that do goody good bullshit.
I'm in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet.

Money, it's a crime.
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise it's no surprise that they're
Giving none away.

Huhuh! I was in the right!
Yes, absolutely in the right!
I certainly was in the right!
You was definitely in the right. That geezer was cruising for a
Bruising!
Yeah!
Why does anyone do anything?
I don't know, I was really drunk at the time!
I was just telling him, he couldn't get into number 2. He was asking
Why he wasn't coming up on freely, after I was yelling and
Screaming and telling him why he wasn't coming up on freely.
It came as a heavy blow, but we sorted the matter out