_luukleclercq.nl

Well, that was odd. When I woke up this morning it was absolutely dumping. Within minutes Soton started to look pretty white and to be honest I didn’t look forward to going out in those conditions. But my lift showed up so it was off to Hamble for a second day of racing on a X-41. On the way conditions became worse and a serious layer of snow had fallen in Hamble when we arrived. Docks, boats and cars all had a serious layer of snow for what only had been about an hour of snow falling out the sky.

Shortly after parking we heard the race committee on the radio telling that all racing for the day was cancelled due to the conditions. For the guys from ROARK this was a shame as they had made the trip from Holland for just this weekend’s racing (and they did well on the first day). But it was cold and miserable outside so a quick photo and then back in the car to Soton.

Otherwise it was a quiet week, didn’t do much other than recharging the batteries. Went to Hamble and Cowes because the weather was very nice and just strolled along. Got a busy week ahead now (as it is the final week of the break) but really looking forward to getting on with my course again (I still think it’s strange that I’m thinking that but it’s nice though).

Oh and about last week’s racing… Ehhm there was hardly any wind to start with… Then we were over early (as was most of the fleet), went up the wrong side of the beat because the seabreeze was building earlier and had quite a big gap in front of us to the rest of our fleet. Then downwind we did okay but the decision by Jochem to keep the spinnaker flying proved important to do well last week. We closed the gap and overtook plenty of boats at the downwind mark by keeping the spi up. We then had a bit of luck and some great cooperation between the trimmers (Tim, Tom and Al) and Jochem and managed to finish second in our class. The wind never did show up properly, but sailing with a bunch of new guys taught me some more lessons about it all.

That’s it from me and with the sun back and the snow gone I think it is a good time to do some more work on my maths assignment (or I could just keep reading the new seahorse…)

Ciao!

After a couple of days in the Flatland (to quote a famous Dutch sailor) it is back in the UK..:

Oh and if you can’t see it… it is raining in Soton. And as near as makes no difference the rain is horizontal.

Tomorrow’s promising to be better: no rain, 10-15 knots of breeze and a new boat with new (and well respected) crew. Life is good!

Ciao!

After the joys of caravan racing (mind you the racing was tough with a lot of banging boats) it was time for another weekend with the lovely Ker31. After the damage on Sunday the week before, Fred (from Radical Marine) and skipper Chris had done a great job in preparing her when I showed up on Friday morning. With a postponement in place the crew did a bit more tweaking and replaced some small bits and pieces resulting in a lovely shiny Sanguma. With all racing being cancelled about halfway through the afternoon the mooring lines were secured (and some added) before heading to Sue and the PV. Thanks to Rory and Will (two guys I know from Ship Science) I had a place to stay on the island and thus there was no need to worry about ferry-times.

Saturday was an early start with the crew of Hooligan VI (a farr40) with hopes of actually getting some races on the board. That was until we had looked outside and seen the state of the Solent. However still thinking there actually could be some racing we made our way to the marina only to see the ‘All racing cancelled’-notice to be put up by the RORC. This meant waiting at the boat till a seminar started on rules and preparation. The finishing of the seminar was the kick-off for my attempt to become a member of the PVYC (Pier View Yacht Club)… It was a long, long session but I succeeded. That is good thing since Sanguma features on the wall of the PV.

Sunday morning and conditions looked to have calmed down a bit. Still the wind was around 20 knots, quite shifty and with some challenging gusts but at least the RORC could get some racing in. Two races for the day and prize giving at the end of the afternoon. The first race was a windward-leeward-windward-leeward-short beat to finish. Even though the conditions did not allow Sanguma to get on a plane downwind, she showed good pace both up- and downwind. Even a small issue on the drop was resolved quickly and could be overcome. The result was a first across the line of the class and first on corrected time.

photo by Rick Tomlinson: Mark rounding with Sanguma in the windshadow of an inside overlap boat.

Time for the second race and the committee opted for a W-L type course around set marks. We seemed to have lost a bit of pace in both up- and downwind but persistence paid off and again we were first across the line in class. However on corrected time we finished third. That would make things interesting as the number two of the first race came either first or second in the second race and thus the end result depended on that. After cleaning up the boat (what a great thing to sail a single purpose boat, you’ve only got to put away the gear and you’re done) it was on to the prize giving where skipper Chris Walmsley could collect two Easter eggs and the trophy for first place. This then was celebrated in the beloved PV…

Ciao

Last time I updated is some time ago and a lot has happened. I’m sorry to disappoint you all but there are not a lot of photo’s from it all because I was busy with paying attention and what not.

In chronological order it started more than a week ago with the Petit Bateau Solo racing festival. A fairly long day with a huge variety of speakers. Some more interesting than others in my opinion but then again I was there primarily to enjoy the technical aspect of solo (and short-handed) sailing. The yachtdesigners and builders gave a very interesting insight into their work and thinking and I like to think I learnt quite a lot. Hearing the sailors talk about what to do with those designs only increased my respect for them. The event was very well organised and it was a joy to have been part of it.

The next day was the kick-off of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series. Quite a decent breeze (20 knots or there about). A bit of a warm-up before the Red Funnel and Yachting Nationals for me personally. Sanguma was performing great, we were at the front of our class and it looked as if a top finish was on it’s way… Unfortunately the mainsheet brace on the boom parted and the mainsheet rocketed forward making the mainsail hard to control and with that the boat. A Chinese jibe later and we had to retire. Well you never win the practice race, right?

Sunday night was the start of a few days of student sailing. A big gathering of yachting hopefuls in Port Solent (Portsmouth) on the sunsail caravans set the tone; fun on shore but tight racing on the water. For me it was the first time racing a roller furler and the first time sailing with everyone of the crew. However everyone had the same issue of having to deal with the furler and the crew was a great bunch of guys. Racing started on Monday with a practise and two real races. We could have done with a bit more practise races because our results were a 20th and 16th in 32 boat fleet… Not something to be happy with. That all changed on Tuesday when we sailed a 4th, a 2nd and a bullet. Our top-5 finish goal became a possibility. With that in mind and the cookery bet for Wednesdays long race we gave it our best shot. A visit to all parts of the fleet (front, middle and back of the pack) resulted in a 5th across the line and a victory with our Roast Chicken Dinner. The final two races on Thursday and the discard we were allowed saw us finish 5th overall behind Solent 1 and 2 (congratulations on the victory there guys) and Southampton 1.

After all this it was straight on to the Red Funnel but that one deserves a post of it’s own…

Ciao!

Well that was a great week, the maritime ball was a blast and the deadlines were all made. Now it is spring break, jippie!!!

So what’s on the agenda? Well curtosy of a good friend I am going to the Solo Racing Congres (or something) on Saturday. Then on Sunday the spring series start and I get to sail with the lovely Ker31 Sanguma. After that it is off to Portsmouth to pick up the Sunsail37 for the BUSA Student Yachting Nationals with the Southampton team (or one of the three that is). After racing on the Solent from Monday through Thursday it is back to Southampton and Cowes for the Red Funnel Easter Regatta. With racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday it should be a good event with a couple of lovely new yachts to look at. Then on Monday it is time to visit the low country for a couple of days.

Ahh life is good…

Oh and after that? Well time to get back to work and get prepped for the summer term and the final ten weeks of the first year.

I’ll try to get some photos and results up but hey the water is way more interesting than a computer.

Ciao!

With one packed week left before the end of term, one can’t help but look ahead a bit. First to start of with the week itself, well there are three deadlines plus the usual large number of lectures, classes and labs. The deadlines are for a lab-report on boundary layers, a report on hydrostatic calculations for a vessel (including GZ and of course damage stability) and some more coursework for fluid mechanics. This is not too bad and is certainly interesting, but the fact that one of the years main events of the ship faculty is amidst all this requires some tight planning.

Talking about that main event, Tuesday should be a great night out: A black-tie dinner with academic staff and students at the Royal Southampton. Based on the stories told the past few weeks a recipe for success. And after all this?

Well Friday will not only be the end of the week, it will also be the end of term (and as such followed by spring break). With term finishing it also promises to be the kick-off for 2008’s big boat sailing season. Unfortunately my ride for the early part of the season has been sold… However this means I can do some more sailing with the great crew on board Sanguma, the lovely Ker31. That is something to look forward to!

Oh yeah the weather the past weeks has been incredible here on the south coast, but tonight a very low pressure system is rolling in and a lot of rain and high winds are expected throughout tonight and tomorrow. Good thing I’m having a long day inside tomorrow… That’s it for now,

Ciao!

And life itself is the biggest one of them all (in my humble opinion that is).
Even without spectacular sailing or nights of great parties it still is treating me really nicely here in Soton. However it starts itching again… wanting to go sailing again that is but it’ll only start in two weeks time. And having a great time last night with the only Dutch guy I know around here didn’t help. But it was a fun night anyway.

So the focus is on other things (as much as possible). The time of coursework has started again, so it’s back to work. The deadline for the first report on ship design is also looming, but it’s all good. Got two fun weeks ahead of me with Ship Science, next week we’re having another w(h)ine and nibbles event (drinking with academic staff) and one week later the big maritime society dinner with all of ship science in a black tie event. After that it’s four weeks of vacation before the last 10 or so weeks of the year.

The title however refers to this website from a charity, that I found through a friend. As a way of thanking people or any other reason you can think of to celebrate something for people who have a lot (or just no room for more) it is absolutely marvellous. You can buy them animals or other stuff based on the old saying that it is better to teach a man to fish then to give him a fish.

However I’m not quite sure if I’ll use it for Mother’s day this Sunday…

Enjoy Life!
Ciao!

oh and the link: http://www.greatgifts.org

I hadn’t been there since November and now twice in 8 days. Last week I took my sister on a visit to England’s capital, partly because I still hadn’t seen where some friends are living now. And with the sunny weather it was a beautiful day for a stroll through the nice parts of London and some lovely food and drink stops.
London with my sister and friends ^vThen I got a call from my dad earlier this week and on Friday went again to London. Nothing planned other than a stroll into town and it ended up having a very, very nice dinner with some very good friends who happened to be complete in London at the same time.
the food tasted even better…

As a result there was no chance of getting a train back to Soton last night… The result was a lovely breakfast in the London morning sun with a good cup of coffee…

Good times… Definitely good times.

Ciao!

The second semester started last Monday and looks to keep me occupied to say the least. The time table is pretty full on, laboratories are numurous and coursework is there to finish it all. On the other hand there are 4 week off around easter and halfway June the year ends so no complaints from me.

The greatest thing ahead this semester? Probably the first design assignment. Other stuff involves working with metals in the workshop (bending, welding, etcetera) and the usual enginering basics like fluid mechanics, electrical systems and mechanics.

Besides four 9-6 days in the week life isn’t too bad. Both life at home and life at Uni are more or less back to ‘normal’.

All in all things are a bit uneventful but that doesn’t mean life ain’t good. It still is!

Ciao!

Pffff

Finally finished and got a good feeling about the past four weeks. Glad it’s over with, learning is fun, but studying..
I’m feeling really tired now, but the Shippie Social should solve that tonight. Not much more to say actually, so time to get me piraty outfit, aaarrghhh

Ciao!