DID YOU KNOW Technical hints and tips to improve your game from eight time Victorian and current Australian Pacer Champion, PETER KEMP RATCHET BLOCK TURNS FREELY WHEN the sheet is pulled in one direction, but does not turn in the other direction. It will also have a higher level of grip if the sheet bends around the block more. The ratchet will grip twice as much in Fig. 2 compared to Fig. 1. So consider the placement of your ratchet block in your mainsheet or spinnaker system. More grip means less effort to hold it which is particularly important as the breeze gets up.
Fig 1. While still providing grip, a
Fig 2. A 180° turn (where possi-
90° turn doesn't make full use of the block’s holding power
ble) is be the most efficient way of utilising a ratchet block.
When I was learning to sail I was taught that the wind passing through the slot between the jib and the mainsail was sped up as it squeezed through, and this helped to push a boat along (similar to a jet engine exhausting air out the back). It was only in the 1980s that aerodynamicist and yachtsman Arvel Gentry published research into what actually happens; that the air in the slot is slowed down which helps both the main and the jib and allows the boat to point higher. - PK
LAUREN KEMP gets her very own Minnow and sails it with style ADDY BOUGHT A MINNOW for Eliza and I to sail. We picked it up in May. It was very exciting. The boat then sat covered under an oversized boat cover. I couldn’t wait to start working on it! Finally work began. Daddy and I sanded lots of paint off the bottom. We filled some holes and then sanded again. At last we could start painting it. Reef blue was decided as the best colour. It was great to see the boat change colour. After a week of drying fittings and ropes were replaced. At the dinner table we all agreed the boats name would be changed from ’Spark of Light’ to ‘Sparkle’. The glittery name could finally be applied. At last the day came to launch the boat. The winds were perfect. A crowd gathered and photos were taken. Eliza and I sailed together.
Right (L-R): Lauren, Peter, Eliza and Samantha before the maiden voyage.
FOR SALE BYC POLO SHIRTS NEW SEASON STYLE CONTACT WILL SHARP (03) 8819 0672 will@beaumarisyc.com
WANTED USED PACER, SABRE, MINNOW AND OPTIMIST SAILS FOR THE BYC TRAINING FLEET. CONTACT PAUL HARDIE (03) 9583 3363
FOR SALE JAVELIN 367 ‘Spun Out’
$ 6,500 ONO
Minimum weight Good racing record CST mast Irwin sails in good condition Aluminium beach trolley Registered road trailer
Phone Rod Smith 0409 172 583