pmr sailing
Wednesday 8 May 2024
UTSC Title Sequence
Creating a new title sequence for the Upper Thames Sailing Club. We have many videos to create this year for the club, so starting with a brand image title sequence.
The animation of the flag was done in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Tuesday 7 May 2024
Out in the Safety Boat
Out in the Safety Boat
We missed our turn in the Safety Boat at Easter because of the bad weather, so Paul and I were out in the Safety Boat on Sunday for the Late Spring Race Series. We did the morning and afternoon races. We get points in the race for this; maybe they are the only ones we will get.
Setting up the Course
The course needs to be set up before racing can begin, and this is the first job for the Safety Boat crew. We set out to deploy the buoys.
H for Home
S for the Dog leg
W for the end marker
This was my first time deploying a buoy, so I had my first lesson. Take out the anchor for the bucket and set it so the digging-in bits stick out. These anchors were like grappling hooks; the digging-in bits I learned were called flukes.
So, I dropped the anchor and chain at the desired location and put the buoy in the water.
Let the Race begin
Being very new to these racing sailing boats, I have little to no idea about starting, racing, and finishing. Paul has an app on his phone that listens to the Klaxon for the 5-minute warning and then goes through the start sequence, the flags, and a countdown. The app also listens for other klaxons to keep the timing accurate. Paul could give me a countdown to the start of the race, the same as race control.
The Dinghy Sailing Race Controller app for Android only, seems to do everything, recording the times for the laps and calculating the winner. It's good on the water to know when the race starts, and it's good in the box, too, for taking all the hard work out of racing.
Camera Boat
There is a lot of time to spend in the Safety boat, slowly chasing down the stragglers and being in the mix of things so that if the boat is needed, it is where it is needed.
Much of this spare time was converted into filming. We had some great angles on the boats and plenty of time. The weather was fair in the morning, with just a few clouds in the sky. With light winds and a strong stream, only three competitors entered the race. Two Safety boats were required: one with the boats ( the one I was on) and the other ready to launch in case of problems.
Tuesday 30 April 2024
Our first race
Our first Race of the Season
It was a cold and wet Sunday morning. The Temperature was 8C, and the wind was light, falling from 14mph in the early morning to nothing in the late afternoon when there might be some sunny intervals. Today was the day of the A-Rater 9-mile race and a handicap race for other boats. We were going out for some fun sailing, but Paul got talked into us entering the Race.
The A-Rater Race
With the wind coming directly downstream, going upstream against the wind required much tacking. The wind was also variable, so sometimes, when we turned the boat with no wind to push us, we drifted back downstream with the river's flow. It was like one step forward and three to ten steps back.
Everyone else in the race seemed to be going up and down the river. We seem to have opted for a more across-the-river and back race. We indeed managed to cover some 3 miles but only managed to travel at best 250m upstream. We are not sure due to a lack of data from other boats, but we may now hold the record for travelling the longest distance to have made the least progress.
Monday 22 April 2024
1st Day Sailing
Rigging the sail and getting on the River
We watched the first proper race of the season, and then Paul and I went to the water. It did take us a while to get ready, being the first time we were in the water this year. We needed to tighten the shroud lines and haul the boat from the car park across the railway crossing to the river. With advice, we turned the boat into the wind and set the mainsail. Because this was effectively my first lesson, Paul decided to use only the main one and get me to practise moving from one side of the boat to the other to keep us balanced.
Then I discovered we had to raise the sail to the correct side of the gnav so we could connect the downhaul rope.
I was grateful for my decision to wear a helmet as the boom clouted me a few times as I didn't duck quite low enough as I scrambled past it.
All too soon, we were back at the club, taking down the sail and hauling the boat, two safety boats out of the water, and other boats from the field where they had been stored away from the floods back down to the river. The Toura was moved back into the boat park, where we covered it up until we could get out on it next time.
Tuesday 16 April 2024
Watching some sailing
Monday 12 February 2024
The logo design process
Designing the logo for the T-shirts hats and Mugs to go with the sailingThe dye sublimation printer can then print out the log at any size onto some paper in reverse.
Sunday 28 January 2024
RYA First Aid Course
UTSC Title Sequence
Creating a new title sequence for the Upper Thames Sailing Club. We have many videos to create this year for the club, so starting with a ...
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