With the trusty old trapeze harness looking not quite so trusty, I looked at replacing it before going out on my recent International 14 excursion to Lake Garda. But I hate using new harnesses or boots just before a major regatta, and so I resorted to getting the old one patched up for a few more months' use.
I would have bought a new one from Graham Scott, the former Contender World Champion who runs a specialist boat chandlery business called Wavelength down in the West Country. I rang him up and asked if he could make me one, but he doesn't make them any more, and for the most bizarre of reasons.
Apparently his insurance broker got wind of the dangers of being trapped by your harness in a capsize and being drowned, and so the insurer was worried that if Graham was ever sued as a result of an accident involving a Wavelength harness, then the insurance bill could be massive. So Graham's business insurance premium rocketed up. So he stopped making harnesses. The nanny state strikes again.
So I could have considered buying a harness from elsewhere, and I did have a look around on the web and in this magazine, but I see that nearly all new harnesses come supplied with a quick release hook. Apparently one of these quick release hook systems even releases when under load. Ideal! So when my helmsman gets hacked off with my constant twittering in his ear, he can just reach over and ping me off the wire!
Quick release postponed
Seriously though, I suppose I shouldn't judge these things before I've tried them, but I certainly wasn't going to put a quick release hook to the test at Garda in the heat of competition. And having seen ISAF's latest decision from its mid-year meeting, I'm quite glad I didn't rush out and buy one. The plan was that all of us using trapeze harnesses would have to be wearing one of these quick release versions by next January. But now ISAF have issued this statement:
"RRS 40.2 Quick Release Harness is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2006. However, concerns have been raised on the need to establish standards so that sailors know exactly what equipment fits within the rule and a three-pronged approach has been taken:
· That ISAF proceed as quickly as possible to obtain an international standard for trapeze and hiking harnesses.
· That ISAF undertake a programme to alert sailors to the dangers of entrapment by harnesses and ways to reduce the risk of entrapment.
· That the Equipment Committee and the Racing Rules Committee review the current wording of RRS 40.2 and consider making a submission to modify or rescind that rule or defer its effective date."
That's a bit more like it. Let's have a bit more time testing this new gear before we're forced to use it. After all, if your hook accidentally pinged off while sailing out at sea on a trapeze singlehander like a Musto Skiff or RS700, that could land you in all sorts of trouble. On the second of ISAF's points, entrapment, I've mentioned it many times before but I'll say it again - the best policy is to carry a sharp knife on board. We have a diver's knife in a quick-release scabbard, permanently attached to the tiller of the International 14. It hasn't been used yet (we don't use it for doing boat work or everyday cutting), so it is as sharp as the day we bought it.
If you want to know more about how to avoid entrapment, David Ritchie of the RYA has produced an excellent research paper on the topic, analysing 44 incidents. Getting caught up in ropes was the main cause, closely followed by trapeze harness problems. For a full look at it, go to: www.rya.org.uk/images/uploaded/93ce8ee5-f220-43a3-8749-bc7d260137d8/Entrapments_Paper.pdf. Might be simpler just to do a search for "David Ritchie entrapment" on Google though.
Incidents and Accidents
The RYA also deserves praise for heading off the latest bit of nanny state legislation from the Government. Get this. If the Government had had its way, every time you were involved in an ‘incident' or ‘accident' while sailing your boat, you would have been expected to file a report of said ‘incident' or ‘accident'. It would be bad enough having to file a separate report on every protest hearing, but what about every capsize? Would that be considered an ‘incident' or an ‘accident'? In an average year of sailing an International 14 I could imagine we would easily a fill an A4 Lever Arch file's worth of ‘incidents' and ‘accidents'.
So thank the Lord for small mercies and the RYA for big efforts in cutting through this red tape, because the Government has now agreed to amend the reporting requirements of the Merchant Shipping (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting Requirements) Regulations 2004, which applied to all recreational craft.
The RYA's statement says: "The reporting requirements on owners of smaller craft has now been reverted to the legal position prior to the 2004 regulations. Once again, craft under 15 metres are excluded from reporting ‘incidents' or ‘accidents'. Without the Amending Regulations it would now be a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000, if skippers of recreational craft did not comply with strict reporting requirements when a craft was involved in an ‘incident' or ‘accident'." It just goes to show the RYA aren't spending all their money on our Olympic or Youth stars, but that they really do something for all of us.
Professional foul
It's good to see some former Olympic campaigners spreading their wings into other classes. 49er helmsman Alister Richardson is no longer on Lottery funding, and what with getting married and other growing up type stuff, he has retired from Olympic campaigning at the grand old age of 26. Luckily we've got him in the 14 fleet now, while his crew for many years, Pete Greenhalgh, has been working hard at getting good at RS700 sailing. It's great to see guys like these retain their passion for the sport and want to carry on racing in some form, rather than jack it all in, as many campaigners have done in the past.
Some 14 sailors seem to resent the arrival of pro sailors in their midst, thinking that it should be left to the amateurs to take all the glory. Well, if that's the case, the class constitution should be rewritten to preclude professionals from competing. But there's no point in whinging when they turn up and decide to race in your class. As long as the pros treat the class and its regular sailors with respect, then they should be welcomed with open arms. They have great knowledge which they can pass on to the rest of the fleet, and make it better for everyone.
Richard Stenhouse is no longer a pro, but he did represent GBR in the Finn at the 96 Olympics, and he is a great example of a top sailor willing to share his passion and knowledge for Musto Skiff sailing. Apparently, Sten regularly takes other sailors out for two-up joyrides between races, to pass on a few hints and tips to competitors less accomplished than himself. His wife Kit once lent me her Musto Skiff to take out for the first time ever at the John Merricks Tiger Trophy a couple of years back. It was blowing 25 knots and I was all over the place, but Kit's generosity and that of other Musto Skiff sailors never fails to amaze me.
Learn on land
There is quite a fleet of these things growing at Whitstable, and recent Northampton open meeting winner Rick Perkins told me about the training weekend that they ran recently. It was way too windy to go out on the Saturday, so they lashed one of the boats to the ground and anchored the mast on both sides at the hounds, and did some land drills. Rick found that some of the sailors were rushing through their tacking and gybing, so he got them to slow it all down and put more of a defined pattern in place.
These land drills are a great way of sorting out your footwork and hand co-ordination in an unpressured environment, where you're not worrying about capsizing or avoiding other boats. One of the common tendencies that he sought to iron out was the desire to sit down during manoeuvres. All the top Musto Skiffers go through the boat on their feet, but in some there is a strong instinct to sit down for security's sake.
One of Rick's apprentices just couldn't shake his desire to sit down, so Rick challenged him to race for a five pound note. He placed a five pound note under a stone on the sea wall, and with Rick and apprentice spaced equally far apart from the note, except that the apprentice had to start from a sitting position while Rick was crouched on his haunches. It's not hard to guess who won the money, but it's a great little way of illustrating the value of staying on your feet. Quite often the notion of sitting down on a skiff-type boat gives you a false sense of security. More often than not you'll be safer and quicker to respond to any changes by staying on your feet.
Another sailor had problems with going into irons as he came out of a tack, so Rick looked at his ratchet block, which was a standard always-on version. Of course there are many reasons for going into irons, but a common one in fully-battened singlehanders like Musto Skiffs and RS600s is not releasing enough sheet on the new tack. If you've got a fixed ratchet block, this could be part of the problem. Try an autoratchet, and the sheet should run out more easily as you bear away on to the new tack whilst helping you keep the boat flat or heeled to windward.
Getting tips like these can save you weeks or months of frustration. And the onshore training drills prove that you can still have an extremely productive training weekend even if the wind isn't behaving. The 49er class is also blessed with getting free training, from RYA Olympic coach Richard Parslow, and the first weekend took place at Ullswater recently. The remaining dates are:
· Weymouth 11/12 June
· Datchet 23/24 July
· Weymouth in the Autumn - date TBA.
For booking forms please go to www.49er.org.uk or call Dave Hall on 07071 293949.
