Mojo31

I've done it, and can tell you it's a killer. I sailed a two day regatta in a boat that required that type of hiking about 5 or 6 years ago, and will tell you that I could barely walk for about a week after due to the strain it puts on your knees. It was fun, but no mas!

I suspect that VV would not even get on the boat, so I peg the over/under at -0-.

genejockey 

"Host Error" sounds like not putting out enough snacks for a Super Bowl party, or that commercial about wimpy paper plates collapsing under the load of barbecue, potato salad, and macaroni salad.

LesterOfPuppets

Ouch. I've never done it for more than a half hour or so, even before then I was totally ready to run downwind to give my legs a break.

Mojo31

No harness when hiking like that. The only thing keeping you on board is a hiking strap running down the cockpit into which you hook your legs:




You only use a harness when it gets windier and it's time to move to the trapeze:



College sailing does not use trapezes, so the only thing you can do is hike. And, there is no harness for that. What you are probably seeing is their life jackets.

genejockey 

I may have mentioned it before, but several decades ago, Mrs. GeneJockey and I benefited from a friend's breakup with her BF, in the form of sailing lessons. I guess they had a membership in Olympic Circle Sailing Club over in Berkeley, which included lessons (must have cost a fair chunk of money, that membership!).

We had lots of fun, learning something completely outside our experience, since we both grew up landlocked. We'd each do a lesson out on the Bay in the sun and wind, then eat at Spenger's (now defunct) before heading back home to SF and sleeping like the dead that night. But it turns out that I get seasick running downwind, and Mrs. GJ could never shake the feeling, when the boat was heeled over, that she was going to fall from her seat on the windward side, right over the leeward gunwale and into the briny deep. Intellectually, she knew otherwise, but fears don't care what you actually know.

Mojo31

Wrong again. The upwind legs where most of the hiking is done can last for quite some time depending on the length of the course and the wind speed. Add to that, on each tack upwind the crew has to turn the boat, hook into the foot straps, and then throw themselves off the side of the boat in order to roll tack it and then flatten it out. Kills your knees and back if you are not in the right shape. Higher wind speeds equals more pain. After you get to the first upwind mark, sail the rest of the triangle and then do it all over again once or twice. Try three or four races in a day with about a 30 minute break between them, and then do it again the next day.

The boat that I mentioned sailing on is the VX One. The US distributor is a friend of mine, and I sailed on his when they first hit the market. It was quite fun.

BillyD

This is just too ludicrous to respond to.

BillyD

How could that be if Vol doesn't think so.

BillyD

What *we* are seeing is a desperate effort for Vol not to look foolish. Fail.

I make a firm effort to not criticize things I know nothing about, but it was obvious to me the girls were definitely exerting considerable effort. It wasn't like doing a 30 sec plank exercise or something.

rjones28 

You're in Atlanta?

rjones28 

Prolly

big john

5 of us on today's 50 mile ride. Pizza guy, who is way faster than I am but started this Tuesday thing for my benefit, and another faster guy and the e-bike couple.
After several miles of chasing the one faster guy, the others convinced him to cool it and just cruise at my speed, or thereabouts. Then it became a thoroughly enjoyable ride and I even had something left for the last few little hills.

Mojo31

You are completely correct. Those girls had to do all of the following and at the same time to be successful on the race course:

1. Keep the boat flat, but not too flat,
2. Keep the sails trimmed for optimal performance which requires constant adjustment while doing the other stuff you have to do.
3. Be proficient with their strategy and tactics.
4. Get the boat to the start line at the gunshot, with a clear flow of air over the sails that is not disturbed by other boats, in a good position relative to competitors, with full speed, with a good idea of how the wind is shifting, and with an understanding of which side of the course is a better course to sail.
5. Steer the boat through and around waves in a manner that does not slow you down.
6. Know the rules so you can avoid fouls and use them to your tactical advantage.
7. Keep a constant eye on the wind shift patterns, and be prepared to adjust to velocity changes and shifts.

It's both physical and mental, and there is probably more than I listed. It's not easy, and it's certainly much harder than playing with toy boats in the bath tub.

I don't know how those girls did, but they looked in the "zone."

indyfabz

Wow! Bear kills cyclist. I’ve ridden near Ovando twice.

Update: Victim was a woman.

https://helenair.com/news/local/griz...me-top-story-1

datlas 

The house next to ours is about to go on the market. It even has a 'Coming Soon" realtor's sign in front of it.

Mrs datlas told me that earlier today she was in our backyard and heard a funny sound coming from next door. She looked around and discovered it was a drone, presumably the realtor hired someone to take some pictures with it.

After hearing this story, I suggested that the seller must really want to create some buzz about the listing.

genejockey 

If you had to think about all the things you have to think about, you'd be unable to think about all of them.

About 20 years ago, a company I was working for was trying to automate an assay that involved lots and lots of repetitious pipetting. Everyone's first thought was that this would not only reduce work, but also improve accuracy and reproducibility. But the machines could never achieve that. It turns out that there are many, MANY things a human will do in the course of running an assay that they never think about, like when you're pipetting, you tend just naturally to move the pipet in the tube to keep the opening at the same depth in the liquid the whole time, and then when you lift the tip out of the liquid you tend to 'touch off' on the side of the tube to get rid of any liquid on the outside of the tip. You don't think about it, you just do it. All these subtle little things make for more uniform pipetting, and you have to figure them out and program them into the machine.

big john

Here is a pic someone else took from the road we were on Saturday.

LesterOfPuppets

The Legnano has been loaded into minivan #1.

indyfabz

He’ll be here all week, ladies and germs. Make sure you try the Beyond Veal.

seedsbelize 

First time I've packed the bike in three years. It took the bulk of the day, including the changing of the brakes yet again, and wrapping the bars yet again. only the second time in the proper case. I was not going to cave to the prices they were asking for new cases, back then, so I built my own and used it until I found a used case for $150. Hopefully I will pack it in the new case as many times as I did in the old one. I'm sure TSA just loved seeing than one coming down the line. I used it for many trips.

Velo Vol 

I see things got dumb in my absence. Shocking.

indyfabz

Your presence keeps us grounded.

You weren’t in Montana, where you? See post #414.

Velo Vol 

Nope.

rjones28 

One of our local racers is going to Tokyo.

BillyD

Correct. Serious. Focused and intense.