March 2020 NewsletterSoutheast Sailboats at the RYA Dinghy Show; news from Micky Beckett and Matilda Nicholls; but first, our turbocharged kicker/vang systems are a real success...Success at WPNSA - let us turbocharge YOUR existing kicker/vang system! Sailors using our kicker systems with the new 'high load' kicker top blocks took the following places at the first 2020 UK qualifier at a windy WPNSA last weekend: Radial 1st Men, Radial 1st Woman, Radial 1st U17, Standard 2nd, 4.7 2nd. Luke Anstey, 2nd in the 4.7 commented "Big thumbs up on the kicker" about his updated system using the Allen XHL block and Robline Polytech secondary. Luke said it was so easy that he kept pulling on too much, so it will be a big help when he’s back in the Radial next weekend. Let Southeast Sailboats turbocharge your system. You can buy the new top blocks from us, or we can re-rig your existing system for you. Sailors have been sending their kicker/vang systems to us for a retrofit with the latest top blocks and lines. The two systems above were retrofitted last week with the amazing Allen XHL top block and free running but durable Robline Polytech secondary lines. Turnaround time was within 24 hours. If you want us to turbocharge your existing system just order the new top block and lines you want and tell us you are sending in your system to be retrofitted - we will splice it all up for free! Southeast Sailboats on the UKLA Stand at the RYA Dinghy Show Southeast Sailboats Laser was on the UK Laser Association stand at the RYA Dinghy Show just over a week ago. Amongst many visitors it was an honour to have both the 2012 Radial Olympic Gold medallist Lijia Xu and GBR's Olympic representative Elliot Hanson visit the stand... The World Down Under - by Team GBR sailor Michael Beckett In this great article by Micky Beckett, he shares his summary of the last two key events in Australia ...
"Typical of an Olympic year, the World Championships were held early as part of a season culminating with the Olympics in summer. For the sailors it’s not just another year, it has a different feeling of momentum and pressure about it. For some it’s the last chance to become World Champion, for others it’s a fight for Olympic selection against their own team or for others their very first attempt at the most competitive sailing race it’s possible to do. The 2020 World Championships were held at Sandringham Yacht Club on the Eastern edge of Port Phillip Bay. At an initial glance on Google Maps, one could be forgiven for thinking that it would be lake sailing, but in reality the enclosed bay is huge – 50 miles at its widest point. When sailing out the marina into huge steep breaking waves it felt like more like the North Atlantic. Seeing as the Worlds were in February a lot of sailors, myself included, opted to do a month of training before the event began, rather than training in Europe as I usually do. Flying shortly after New Year, I jumped from a bleak British winter to a hot and ever-so-slightly smoky Australian summer.............. Matilda Nicholls on life since joining the GBR Team! Southeast Sailboats sponsored sailor Matilda Nicholls gives great insight into what it is like to be a part of the GBR Team.... It’s been a super busy few months since I was crowned the Radial Youth World Champion and then joined the British Sailing Team! As this winter began I was put straight onto a 5 week fitness programme in Weymouth, Dorest at the British Sailing Team base. This is going to be a big focus for me over the years to come if I’m to reach the top level of international athletes in the Laser Radial. Anytime I’m not on the water, I need to be training in the gym or off on a long cycle ride! I am currently on a Gap Year focusing on my sailing full-time before I start studying Psychology at Exeter University in September. During this year, most of my sailing is based in Europe. At the moment I’ve been lucky enough to be competing and training with the British Sailing Team and many other top foreign sailors in Vilamoura, Portugal. Sailing abroad has also meant more chances to go sailing and cycling without the cold British rain getting in the way!! I was super pumped to do my first regatta of 2020 and come 5th at the Europa Cup in Portugal, winning the Under 21 category at the end of January! Last week I finished 2nd at the Vilamoura Grand Prix and then packed my boat up and drove to Palma for a few days of training in preparation for the Princess Sofia Regatta. It was definitely a shock to the system coming back to the UK this weekend for the Weymouth Qualifier and in usual Weymouth form it was blowing 20knots!! I was very happy to finish Top Woman at our first Qualifier of the year and definitely going to need to give my legs a rest this week before the next one. After the Spring Qualifiers I’m back out to Europe for some Senior events, including the Princess Sofia Regatta and Hyeres Olympic Week, before taking part in my first Senior Europeans! It’s definitely going to be a big jump from the Youth international fleet into the Seniors but I’m ready to learn from the best in order to become the best. I’m very excited for what this summer has to bring with my main focus being the Under 21 World and European Championships. A big thank you has to go to Southeast Sailboats for providing me with such smooth rigging that has been so easy to rig and take back and forth from home to Europe. Recently I have also loved using the Harken Fly Block which has made my Kicker much more easy to pull on which was definitely key in the breeze this weekend!! Robline Polytech Southeast Sailboats met with Robline at the Dinghy Show and discussed the recent changes to their Polytech line. Up until now Polytech had been a 'thin' 3.5mm line which we recommended for the outhaul as it was durable, super flexible and ran beautifully. Polytech has now been made slightly thicker and is now the 'standard' 4mm which makes it suitable for all control lines. We have updated our guidance on what rope is best for what system. The main change is that we now recommend Polytech for the kicker/vang as well as the outhaul......
Additional 29mm Clew Block Options We have added two additional clew blocks to our already wide range! The first is a Harken 29mm soft attach carbo block with a soft shackle. This clew block is designed for when you really want to leave your clew block attached to the sail as an alternative to tying the block on. The second uses a Harken 29mm ‘hard attach’ block with a captive shackle designed for releasing the clew block every time you rig. In Case You Missed it! Our Ten Point Start of Season Checklist While it probably doesn't cover everything, you may find the following ten point checklist useful to get your boat in top shape for the season... 1 – Check your gudgeons for signs of wear…. Replacement gudgeons are just £3.95 each 2 – Check your traveller for wear, especially at the edges where it rubs the alloy traveller eyes. Our spliced Dyneema traveller is just £17.50. 3 – Has your centreboard brake seen better days? Upgrade to the newer Mk2 friction pad for just £8.95 4 – Protect the front top of your centreboard slot from wear with our wear protect pad. It also provide increased friction at the front to help keep your centreboard down. 5 – Check your control lines for wear, especially where they pass through the cleats. Also check where they rub up against the kicker fitting as this can also wear away your lines. Most control line ropes have an outer cover and a core, and the cover can suddenly give way when it is excessively worn. The signs of impending failure are a 'fluffing up' of the cover where it has been subject to wear in the cleating area, or where it has snagged. 6 – Have a look at your tiller extension universal joint for the first signs of any cracking… 7 – Mast wear – reduce wear of both your boat and mast with mast wear strips and mast step protection disk. 8 – Check your kicker key for signs of distortion/cracking where the flat top disk meets the shaft. The MkII rig is especially tough on kicker keys. We sell stronger kicker keys from both Harken and Allen from just £4.95 9 – Check your downhaul primary line for signs of excessive wear. 10 – Often neglected as it is a bit hidden away – have a look at the small black fairlead on your kicker assembly and look to see how grooved it has become. Turn it around to get more life out of it, or buy a new one for just £2.95 Southeast Sailboats 'Away Dates' Southeast Sailboats competes at events in the UK and in Europe. As a result, occasionally the 'away sailing' banner is put up on the website. My next major event is the Spanish EuroMaster event in late April. We will be closed for 8 days from 20-28 April. Express International Shipping via UPS In addition to our normal and tracked postal services, we have added express shipping using UPS to our wide range of international shipping options. Flat pricing for UPS express shipping is £16.95 to mainland Europe and the Republic of Ireland, and £26.95 to the US and Canada. Delivery is typically 2-4 days. Pricing is fixed irrespective of parcel size/weight but please note that it excludes really large items such as spars and foils. For other countries please contact us for an instant quote. All our international shipping options which start at just £4.00 are listed on the website (link below). Tax Free Sales! If your delivery address is outside of the European Union you can now benefit from Tax Free sales. Click on the button below for more details of how you can save the 20% UK Value Added Tax that is included in our web prices. |