More outings, and more things that I learn

Another training outing yesterday, this time with Andrin (thanks for your time!) - again in very good conditions 2-3 Bft and no waves. It's nice to see that manoeuvres, though far from perfect, work increasingly smoothly. Certainly my tacks become more efficient - or less chaotic, depends how you look at it :-)

Andrin shared with me a lot of hints and tricks dating from his participation in the Translemanique back in 2017 on a Surprise. We've discuss many aspects, such as lifelines, way to block the helm during manoeuvres, comfort and resting onboard (important to survive a long race!), and so on. Very useful!!!

Safety is crucial, of course. All competitors are obliged to wear lifejackets at all time. Needless to say, it's a very good practice to stay attached to the boat, especially in heavy weather or at night. My lifejacket has a built-in harness, but where to connect it to? I'll need to install proper lifelines all along both sides of the boat, from bow to stern - but they are inevitably on the sides, and not in the centre of the boat, where it would be the best to stay attached. With Andrin, we've figured out a much better solution: a line spread across the front of the cockpit, attached on each side to a solid metal fitting. Andrin made a loop in the middle of this line, I've clipped myself to it, did a number of manoeuvres - and it was excellent, not disturbing at all! The picture below show this red line across the cockpit, and how I am attached to it.