Published by the Open Canoe Sailing Group

was a bit different, quite frightening winds.

A nice and quite different group from other meets - 10 boats, and fairly new sailors wanting to learn. I would definitely vote for going back again - and antimidge machines on site! Some jet-skis on Sunday, but not crowded at all.

Racing At Loch Lomond (SteveR)

When I recently contacted DaveS to find out how the Loch Lomond meet had been, I naturally enquired as to how the racing had gone. I was somewhat taken aback to discover that there had not been any racing. Only a few years ago it would have been unthinkable to have a Loch Lomond Meet with no Four Nations Cup, so what has changed? Was this just an unusual set of circumstances caused by the weather? Or has racing gone out of vogue? Is coastal cruising the new aspirational activity? Should we include less racing in next year's calendar? Will sailing standards suffer if we do? This is a subject that has inflamed strong opinions in the past. Letters and emails to Gossip if you please!

New Solway Dory Website (SteveR)

Solway Dory have a new website. As well as promoting their products, the website promotes itself as "The home of canoe sailing" and features articles on canoe sailing in general. Their website contains some great photos and videos from the Mull circumnavigation that was featured in Gossip 212. Have a look.

DaveS (who these days is spending more time on Facebook than the average teenager) has requested that OCSG members get in touch and tell him what they would like to see on Solway Dory's website and Facebook pages.

World Speed Sailing Record (SteveR)

L'Hydroptère has set a new world speed sailing record with an average speed of 51.36 knots over 500 metres. This returns the honours to the sailors, after the 50 knot barrier (sailing's four minute mile) was broken by kite boarders last year. L'Hydroptère's use of hydrofoils to reduce drag is not without its dangers; in trials last year a 60-knot burst of speed flipped the giant multihull, and some wondered whether the craft would be capable of the sustained speed needed to break the 500m record.

Next year the French team are making plans to start testing a design that is intended to go after the non-stop around the world record. If all goes well, there will be a hydrofoil on Lake Geneva by next summer, and with Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire V scheduled for round the world attempts this winter, there is likely to be a new round the world record by the time the L'Hydroptère Maxi takes to the sea.

News of the exploits of the French sailors has not gone unnoticed amongst OCSG members. TyroneC was sighted on a tropical beach making balsa wood models of a hydrofoil canoe, while Solway Dory are working on a set of GRP hydrofoils which they will retrofit to one of their Osprey outrigger canoes for £100,000 (+VAT). Selway Fisher have also got in on the act and have produced a set of plans for a plywood hydrofoil trimaran which Paul Fisher guarantees will sail at speeds in excess of 70 kts. (Incidentally RobertB is believed to have broken the 50 kt barrier on an inflatable banana in the '90s but the record was never officially ratified).

Crocs (SteveR)

I first came across Crocs as a pair of easy to clean shoes for use in hospitals, and as such I've worn a pair at work everyday for the last three years. I find them to be by far the most comfortable work shoes that I have ever worn, and consequently, when I noticed Jan and DaveP wearing them for sailing, I did not take much persuading to try adopting a second pair of Crocs as canoe sailing shoes.

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