Jul 31, 2005 – 1247hrs UTC │Lymington

1247hrs 31 Jul 2005 UTC Lymington

Sock practice. In the very best Chinese sense, an interesting morning. I think we have learned that sox are a good idea that can go wrong very easily and – if it does – it has the potential to stop the show for some time while sorting out and even repairs are arranged. Too long to describe but basically, just too many bits of string for two people and the technique must be close to faultless or the whole lot can wrap around the forestay… and so on.

We discovered that we can gybeGybe - A sailing term for turning the boat so that the stern passes through the wind. Potentially dangerous if not controlled because the wind can fill an uncontrolled mainsail from the wrong side and crash it across the boat, possibly causing damage to the rig and anyone getting in the way. the assymetric spinnaker by letting it fly forward of the forestay like the 18 footers do in sydney – tricky and needs careful timing and sometimes a bit of unwrapping but not that difficult. So I think we’ll go without sox, with lots of wool for the hoists and a standard drop between the mainsail and the boom. We will = probably – not use a kiteSailors’ slang for a spinnaker very often and it isn’t worth the hassle to complicate it.

And – shame – we got a kiteSailors’ slang for a spinnaker sheet wrapped around the prop – we were lucky to get it off, but it destroyed the sheet. Pete went over the side in his knicks to unravel it as the CowesSeaport town on the Isle of Wight (UK). A home for international yacht racing. racing fleet of 1000 boats bore down on us. The water is 17.5 degrees, for those who care. Miore Chinese interest!. Just too many things to keep under control, particularly when we also have to steer the boat.