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Aruba 2007 Tek Kat arrived in the Happy Island as it is known with a new mast which needed to be fitted out, still with blue sky’s and temperatures in the 30 degrees nothing would delay us fitting the boat out. First Day practice race had us trying three up with the Main only as winds blowing 25 knots with gust of 30 knots, this proved the formula for the rest of the week as wind strength stayed around the 25 knots all week. The new mast proved to be excellent having a larger section has solved any fears of failure. However with the new mast section being 20mm wider this has highlighted the fullness of the main. We have found that the main will need re-cutting to suite the new mast section. With the first days practice it was apparent with short courses and high winds that the regatta would be a rigging and sail plan test bed. The SCHR rating given would also mean no realistic chance of getting any other result than last place. With this knowledge we went about obtaining all the mast rake settings and fine-tuning all the control lines. We found a couple of cam cleats need upgrading and the mast rotation needs to be easier to adjust while racing in high winds. We then went on to set up the Asymmetric kite used to conform with the SCHR rating for Texel. This meant attaching a pole to the chute. This proved successful but as it was attached by ropes it never worked for a complete race. Once back in the UK we will fit a fixed bonded system with a longer pole section to maximize the efficiency of the Asymmetric kite. This will be removable so the code zero can be used . The long distance race was the only race the Tek Kat would be able to pull some distance out on the F18’s but lady luck was not to be on our side as we hit a reef and clean broke off our daggerboard. The Tek Kat hull construction proved it can withstand this type of accident and went on to complete the 25 mile race. Overall we came away with many positive ideas from this regatta and a thoroughly tested boat. |
Tek-Kat Ltd
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