Gear: Bad News: Flaky paint

Pulled Kraken out of the water a couple of weeks ago and as she started drying up a couple of paint flakes came off, then some more, then... lots.

Looks like an earlier layer - not sure when but it was dark bottom paint coming off and at times red paint left underneath, had been applied wrong - with a primer that hadn't bonded to the underlying paint.

Solution? 5k of sodablasting, in SD. Likely some fairing, and new primer and paint. The end result, looking on the positive side, is we'll lose ten years of bottom paint and its weight. Also we'll know that it's done right.

Still - annoying!

Don't look here

Or here...

but still looks pretty if you don't look too close!

Race: Good way to end the year

We wrapped up 2014 with the Holiday Regatta in Oceanside. This was a three race series with the A fleet consisting of a J/130, a couple of Shock 35s and Kraken. Winds were light and shifty, 30 degree plus swings, no respect for a forecast, the upwind leg of race becoming the downwind leg of race two.

We placed well up the first beat and were in a solid position at the gybe mark - then got super lucky with a shift and crossed the line first, despite being the slowest boat of the fleet. In fact only Rasa from the previous fleet finished in front of us and only by a boat length. Nice start!

Second race we were doing really well but snagged some kelp near the end. having been right on Rasa's tail (Rasa swept the B fleet) we started dropping back but crossed the line some distance behind Shamen and Sirocco in our fleet. Turns out we won by 17 seconds over Shamen on corrected time and 19 over Sirocco. Woot!

The third race we split from the fleet and hit the wrong side of a shift. Never recovered from there. I never checked the corrected times but we won't have been too far off the others. Anyway, damage done at that point, regatta won.

Fun day, Kraken's first win under me and a great way to wrap up 2014!

I particularily like the second picture below as we're about to cross the finish significantly ahead of Sirocco with the yellow sail! Okay okay not significantly but if you add the 60 odd seconds a mile in...