Finally got it on the water, late Friday afternoon

After a frustrating day of glitch after glitch and issue after issue, stupid frustrations including the moment we hitch the trailer up to the car it being locked and no-one knew where the key was, we finally got her to the waters edge on a dodgy trailer we had to fit a bar to, to even get it there, Jamie elected to take her out for the first sail, as it was a bit breezy, I didn't argue so we got her rigged, there was a minor issue that made the mast sit a bit to far forward due to a splice not being accessible enough to release to get some rake, this was to prove tricky later on.

The tiller extension as I predicted it would (I hate tiller extensions and it was a massive thing which had hell and damnation written right through it) fell straight off as he left the slip.

Once he got it sorted, he appeared to give it it's head, difficult to spot because by now it was well offshore, but off wind it appeared to be performing quite well, I'd noted it sat well on the water, the release off the stern wasn't 'noisy' (too turbulent) and it appeared to accelerate well. Jamie weighs 96 kilo and it didn't squat, with my 67 kgs it's only going to sit higher in the water, at this stage I was very pleased.

He seems to be making O.K. ground against that ferry and the tide, I missed the kite episode, it apparently went well until the cleat slipped and he sailed over it, hence having to go forward to sort it out and take a swim.

A small crowd had gathered as we arrived, some folk from the local Cat club interested in it's unusual design, it was the last night of Cowes week so there were lots of people down there. 'There,' was Calshot, the tide was low so we'd had to go down to the lifeboat station to launch. It was here that the original Spitfire in its Supermarine sea plane guise was launched so as historic venues go, it didn't get any better. Then another frustration arrived, a couple of the local Rangers, very pleasant started off inquisitive enough but it all got down to me moving my car, then being directed to this absurdly complicated cash machine to buy a park and launch ticket, I'd been videoing the boat overtaking a Ferry which seemed to prove it was moving O.K. in what breeze there was, but ten minutes of my time distracted saw me returning to a very different scene, he'd totally vanished.

As I moved further round the corner to see if he'd gone down the coast, a rather agitated lady came hurrying up the beach from the line of fisherfolk, saying she was going for the lifeboat crew, because a boat had just suddenly flipped over and couldn't get up. My heart sank, ' Er it's an experimental boat' said I 'he could be deliberately testing it where is it?' She pointed, sure enough there he was way out in the channel getting blatted by fast cruising stink boat wakes, upside down stood on the bottom. Why couldn't he right it I wondered, he didn't appear to be even trying, then a rib made it's way toward him. I pointed out that help was at hand and delayed further embarrassment at the hands of the RNLI.

But as the minutes ticked by, I became increasingly dispirited, it had been such a shit day, I checked my watch, the date said 11th (it was wrong as it turned out but nothing was going to halt my slide into depression at this stage) doh, why the 11th, (9yrs ago i'd gotten myself killed on August the 11th at the hands of a kite and the promenade wall for a few minutes), I wished at this stage that something similar would fall on me now to end the humiliation, it was all obviously a waste of time, my unsinkable 'un tip over able' boat was there in perfectly flat conditions at the hands of a very competent sailor, upside down going nowhere, the bottom quite literally fell out of my world.

Eventually they righted it, but he never seemed to try, didn't get out onto the end of the plate, just let the rib pull him over and climbed up the back, it did at least just sit there and not fall over the wrong way, not bad since it had been a windward righting. He then slogged back upwind to the slip.

This last vid as you can see him coming ashore unable to sheet in, having to play the jib right out and sheet on and off with the foil pushing against the flow, nothing working right yet still it moves through the water O.K. the only worry I have is that the racks are high enough. O.K. on this stuff, but in the waves of the channel I can see me removing them and Trapezing or at least lifting them another notch.

Once ashore, he seemed surprisingly chipper, 'did you get me going in?' No said I explaining about the infuriating car and parking machine incident. 'It's like an ice rink' he said 'the primer, I had to go up front to untangle the kite hoist and slipped arse over tit and grabbed at something or other and pissed the whole thing in, it did turtle a bit quick, you're right about those rack covers'.

Thank God for that I thought, 'and it's got massive lee helm I couldn't get on the racks even, couldn't get a footing, it's way out of balance.' 'Nothing unusual' he said obviously looking at my long face '' If it had been any different with this dog rig set up, I'd have been really surprised, I told you not to expect much today (He had but i did anyway not being the patient sort).

"The plate needs to go the next notch forward, the rig needs rake, we need some deck grip there's lots to do, but I've sailed much worse first time out", he then went on to regale me with tales that I can't repeat publicly of incidents with quite well known boats which took up to 27 repeats of what we'd just done before finally sorted, so it looks like I've got a tad longer to wait, he's off on vacation for Salcombe week and I'm up to my ears at work so it'll be a while. In the meantime they'll be finishing the hull and I'll be writing a snagging list and next time, i'm hoping to get a go myself and this time we'll need a rib.