Report on Vortex National Championship 2018 

  14th & 15th July 2018  

At Yorkshire Dales S C

The weather was perfect, a force 2-3, from the west and hot and sunny. The visitors from Scotland and London joined the local fleets to give 10 boats on the start line.

Jonathan Lister dominated race 1 from start to finish, Phil Whitehead leading the rest of the fleet until the last lap when he succumbed to cramp letting Angus Winchester and Neil Spink through.

John Turley and Jonathan Lister had a significant lead at the first windward mark of race 2 only to "slip on a snake" as a big gust from behind pushed the rest of the fleet over them on the downwind leg. Phil Whitehead, Neil Spink and Jonathan Carter pulled away and led for most of the race until JL found a useful last downwind "ladder" with extra pressure on the left, which hadn't paid before, just squeezing ahead at the last mark. 

Jonathan Carter led from the start of race 3 with Phil Whitehead and Mick Collins in contention and the rest of the fleet some distance behind. Jonathan Lister slowly recovered from a shocking start and spinnaker halyard tangle but again left it until the last downwind leg and another left hand side "ladder" to sneak in front of JC, with Mick Collins just pipping Phil.

Overnight JL had a comfortable lead with three bullets but there were three boats in equal second place with all to play for tomorrow.

The fleet joined the Blaze sailors for an Indian takeaway, enjoying a beer in the hot tub overlooking the magnificent scenery of Yorkshire dales.

Enjoying a beer in the hot tub at Yorkshire Dales SC after the Vortex National Championships - photo © Phillip Whitehead

Neil Spink. won the start and together with Jonathan Carter they dominated race 4, enjoying a wind shift that made the course a follow-the-leader with limited tactical opportunities for catching up until the last lap when the wind swung back giving JL the chance to close the gap on the leaders. Neil held his lead for a well deserved win but JC just lost out to JL in a tacking battle to the line. The Scottish contingent and clubmates Angus Winchester and Steve Cochrane battled it out for fourth and fifth. Phil had bad luck with a broken halyard so had to sit this one out.

Jonathan Lister and Neil Spink made the early running in stronger wind for race 5, this time it was Mick Collins on a last lap charge - he passed Neil who was having spinnaker dropping issues but couldn't quite catch JL before the finish.

The wind swung left and picked up another notch for the last race. Phil stormed off the line with Neil Spink in hot pursuit. Whilst JL didn't need to sail the last race it was such a lovely day it would have been a crime not to; he made yet another shocking start, late and at the wrong end of the line, flipped onto port picked up a nice lift and judged the layline to the new windward mark to perfection, taking the lead as half the fleet overstood going to the wrong mark.

The battle for the minor places played out behind with Neil cementing second, Phil third, whilst JC was struggling for power in the stronger wind with a broken spreader.

A very enjoyable weekend, with a deserved winner showing unattainable speed (must be all that skiff sailing!). A big thanks to Terry Pressdee and crew for good race management and of course the legendary galley food and facilities. Next venue is Rutland for the Inland Championships on 22-23 September.   See Results Below

Tacking in a Blow (strong wind)

How to tack a Vortex successfully is one of the first questions new sailors ask after taking the boat out in a blow. The other first question is 'why'?.Here's some tips from Jonathan on how to keep the boat moving through a tack when the wind's up.

Jonathan Lister says:I will probably regret saying this, but I don't have too much trouble tacking, even in a blow.

I think there are a couple of important factors.The first is getting through head to wind properly, the second is sailing off on the new tack without screwing up into wind.

My technique for the first part is to keep the power on all the time. Don't even think about easing the mainsheet. Just before the tack I throw the mainsheet away, landing in a coil just behind the jammer. Of course, this is the moment that you get a lift, so you wait for a while.. then, when you have picked the moment to tack, EASE the tiller down - too much steering will kill boat speed. As the rig starts to de-power come in off the wire, landing close to the main jammer.The next bit is crucial in a blow but can be ommitted in light / medium stuff. Uncleat the main and ease it out a couple of feet.

To ensure that you power out of the tack make sure that you bear away onto a fetch. Hook on the trapeze and as you push out simultaneously sheet in. Only as boat speed builds start to come back close to the wind.

When you have ducked under the boom and got to the other side try to move forward quickly up to the dagger board and avoid putting your weight on the transom end. Weight on the transom slows the boat dramaticly but you can use this to your advantage when you want to slow down, ie approaching a start line too soon.

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Vortex Open  Meetings for 2018

This year we will hold 3 official Vortex open meetings.  These events run over 2 days (Saturday and Sunday)  and we usually aim to do 3 back to back races each day.  If wind conditions are forcast to be very light on the Sunday we may do 4 races on the Saturday  and visa versa if the wind is very light on the Saturday.

The first Open event is  the Scottish National Championship:-  on 19th and 20th May 2018.

Host for this event is Largs Sailing club.:-

Largs Yacht Haven, Irvine Rd, KA30 8EZ Largs

This is the Largs regatta weekend and Musto Skiffs will holding their event on the same course, each class having their own start.

The first race on the Saturday will start around 12:30      The last race on Sunday will finish around 14:30

The 2nd evemt will be the English National Championship  on the 14th and 15th of July 2018

Host for this event is Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club

Getting the Sail Up

A Vortex mainsail can be tricky to hoist in a breeze, especially if your boat isn't pointing in the right direction. Here's a couple of tips pulled from the old site's forum:

Make sure the rig tension is loose/light.

Make sure the Gnav is loose/free.  

Do not apply your rig tension until you have hoisted the sail.

Make sure that the boom is parallel to the bottom of the sail...ie if the wind has blown it off to one side, then move the boom around to be under it (or move the boat) As the mast rotates the angle of entry to the groove changes - this makes it all much easier.

I usually unroll the sail and lay it folded on the starboard side of the boat and feed the clew into the track on the end of the boom.

You can then stand on the deck next to the mast (starboard side) and feed the sail into the mast track with one hand while pulling the halyard with the other. When you have fed about a foot of sail into the mast track you can loop the halyard down to your foot and pump the halyard with your foot hoisting the sail up the track. Be careful feeding the batten webbing reinforcement into the track, as it can get caught on the track entry guide. Just apply a little pressure with your thumb to push the webbing into the track guide.

It is also much easier if the boom is not sitting on the deck. To suspend the boom in mid air a short piece of string tied to the eyes in the center of the boom round the bottom of the gnav, holds the boom off the deck if you get the length right.

This means that as the wind veers everything remains lined up. You also don't get that nasty black scratch from the end of the boom as it doesn't touch the hull when you bring the sail down!

Check that your battens are not too tight as over tightening will press the sail hard against the mast track and increase friction making it difficult to hoist the sail. And finally,do make sure you are pointing dead into wind and when it does all go tight feed some of the sail in from the bottom to get past the tight spot.

A squirt of silicon lube up the mast track or on the luff of the sail helps lubricate things whilst you sort out your technique as describe above.