So the season is almost upon us and after the first real winter in a while, trips out into the workshop have been few and far between.

I did manage to get out there today and yesterday, and after seeing the “almost Aussie” (well he spends enough time here) Bora ripping around to win the Worlds in fine style, I have set myself a goal for this season.

Move from back of the pack to mid pack.

Ok there have been some key fundamentals that I have been getting wrong, and I am determined to right them and get my ass up the fleet, this includes some really basic things like:

• Getting my ass out of the workship and onto the water.
• Getting fit and loosing 10 kilos.
• Grow some cahones and learn to really leverage my weight in 15 knots plus.
• Learning how foil gybe and nail it every time
• Turning my OK tacks in to consistently good tacks
• Finally take Les’ advice and build some new spreaders with the correct geometry. If necessary get a new, stiffer mast.
• Get my foil’s “finished”. Which I was doing today … see pic.
• Find another 10 knots of boat speed.
• Did I mention more sailing and less boat work.

To that end, all the technical work that is being done for the 2009-10 season is refinement, refinement, refinement. Cleaning up things, getting details right, solving little niggles. To that end I got around to painting the “franken foil”, aka my 2008 foil design. I realised when I took the photo that my garage is quickly becoming a hall of hanging foils with my old school square foils tied up behind.

I already have another main foil horizontal, although it needs a vertical which I will build in the coming weeks, as well as starting on the designs for the foils that I will use in Belmont in 2011.

I am not going to Perth, so my “nationals” will be the SIRS regatta in Sydney. I am freezing my equipment for that regatta today, as if there is one thing I have learnt, it is that you can’t turn up to a regatta with new, untried gear (like I have for the last two nationals) and expect it to provide you with a string of results other than DNF’s.