The Lapwing likes some wind

[John Turpin]

I entered Blue Peter into a race yesterday. The race, the Lake Eufaula Bucket Run, covered fourteen miles across a large, meandering Oklahoma lake. This has historically been an exclusively big boat race, but the race organizers reached out to the small boat community and asked us to join them this year. Of the thirty-or-so boats competing, there were eight or nine boats that they put into their "small boat" division. This included my Lapwing, Kevin Nicolin's Core Sound 17, a Welsford Scamp, a brand new Sabre, a pair of Sunfish, a Catalina 22 and a Ranger 23(?) and maybe another boat or two. (Note: this particular Scamp will be featured heavily in the next Small Craft Advisor. Don't miss that edition.)

The forecast called for 10-15 winds, but as we launched at 9:00, we knew that we were already over 20. They gave the small boats a 30 minute start and our horn went off at 10:00. First across the line (timed perfectly, btw) was the CS17 with me about a boat length behind. The little Scamp with two of my close friends aboard (Mike and Dockdog) crossed just after me.

Quickly, the little Sunfish(es) and the Sabre (an Australian one-design racer) ran off and left us. The CS17 and I both had single-reefed mains and mizzens. For that wind, a single reef was perfect. For a while, I stayed fairly close to the Core Sound but he slowly creeped ahead. At the end of the race, he had gained ten minutes on me. But, about two minutes of that lead came when my main sheet block disconnected from my main sprit. That created a two minute Chinese Fire Drill while I fixed that in high winds. But, the slippery Core Sound 17 is consistently a faster boat than mine. But, not by much.

But, the reason I'm mentioning all this is a discovery I made. This is only the second time that I've sailed Blue Peter in high winds. Over the winter, I added a hiking strap to my cockpit so I could experiment with hiking out. The Lapwing design tends to sail on her feet and really doesn't tend to heel much (one of the reasons I chose her). But, I learned that she does like some weight on the rail. In that race, with a gusting 25+ wind on the starboard beam, she became a different boat when I moved my 210 pounds onto the side deck. With my toes under the hiking strap, my hiking stick in one hand and the mainsheet held firmly in the other, she really sped up. She really didn't seem to heel differently, but something changed. I watched my GPS speed climb from around 5.5 mph to a consitent 6.6 mph. I guess she started planing or planed more or something. But, she turned into a little rocket ship.

So, with the security of that hiking strap, I may be spending more time out on the rail. She likes it when I do that. I'd hoped to fly my new mizzen staysail, "Tandy's Bloomers", but the wind was just too strong this time. The race was fun. The wind was too strong for a return run on the next day, there were numerous Sunfish capsizes and the Scamp broke a mast under that heavy wind, but a good time was had by all.

My hiking strap (a modified Laser strap):

Blue Peter's Website

[Gordy Hill]

Thanks for sharing John!

I found my CS17 was much happier with my hugeness on the rail. Then I got around to adding the coaming and it cut into the back of my legs. I then added a decorative teak "step" on the side deck right where I sat. Looked good. Felt much better.

Have you gotten to the point where you just can't imagine sailing a sloop-rigged boat again?

[Tom Lathrop]

I sailed Lapwing with the WoodenBoat Regatta in 9 races at Rock Hall Saturday and Sunday. Winds varied from a drifter in one race on Sat to good wind up to about 15 or 16 on Sunday. The boat was much better in the higher wind but is under powered with only 105 sq ft for racing against real racing boats. We were only competitive in the higher wind and did not need to have both crew on the rail very often. Close tacking with sloops and catboats should be avoided as our ketches do not come out of tacks very fast and we always loose in these situations. Our starts were timed at the windward end of the line on starboard to allow us to tack and clear a our air right after crossing the line since we could not point with the other boats. Of course, we already knew that.

Lapwing performed beautifully and we had a great time for a couple of old farts. While some labored in the higher wind, we just cruised and never needed any hiking straps. I have rigged straps a couple times but have not used them. One thing noted was that the blocks on the sprits should be fixed instead of swiveled to prevent twisting of the sheets, especially on the mizzen with a central cleat just aft of the mizzen mast. Racing in close quarters with other boats really verifies the wisdom of the centrally located swivel cleats for both main and mizzen sheets.

Another item is that, if you want to race a sprit boom sail competitively, you do need full wishbooms. Not important for most of our sailing but vital in close competition. The boat is noticeably slower with the boom interfering with the sail and the trim must be adjusted on each tack to allow for a significant change in angle of attack due to the boom holding the sail. I may not add such finery, but would if I planned to sail Lapwing competitively.