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  1. TalonF4U

    North American Mini Fleet

    Anyone active these days? Anyone sailing or got a boat for sale? 
  2. TalonF4U

    SF3200s in CA--contacts?

    I've just got my Sun Fast 3200 going in SF Bay and a little Internet sleuthing reveals there's a couple of the boats in SoCal. Can anyone help me get in contact with those owners? Trying to do some research on setup. Thanks in advance! 
  3. TalonF4U

    Vendee Globe 2020

    I am not sure what's cooking in AT's kitchen right now, but he doesn't have legs on those 'near' him and hasn't for a while and I don't quite understand why.  I'm a huge AT fan and am struggling right now to keep the faith. 
  4. TalonF4U

    Worst/scariest moment in a dinghy?

    Fairly early on in my IC sailing career, I had borrowed a friend's boat while my new build was under construction. It was winter in SF and I was rusty, having not sailed much in a year or so. I sailed out into the bay--chilly-and suddenly the breeze turned on to about 22kts. I stuffed the boat...
  5. TalonF4U

    Sngle handed head sail arrangement

    A bit suprising that you take the jib down first. The jib keeps a bit of pressure away from the kite while it goes up. The jib up is also what keeps my botched set from going truly pear shaped when the kite decides to hourglass around the headstay. For this reason I run a tall, skinny staysail...
  6. TalonF4U

    Suggested 30' Boats for Short Handed Long Distance Racing

    This.  I am singing this tune right along with you.  I wonder if we could build something in the 25' range, reasonably fast but sturdy and trailerable, for ~75k all up. US needs a one-design shorthander. If it's OD it doens't matter much if the hull is carbon or glass, and we don't need sprits...
  7. TalonF4U

    Symmetric Spinnaker Handling

    Toad, have a scotch and relax, man.  1) Letterbox. I generally do not do them. They're money if it's windy but my space between the boom and my sail isn't big, and they're a pain to unpack. I don't have overlapping jibs. I take the kite down aft of the jib and under the boom into the...
  8. TalonF4U

    Symmetric Spinnaker Handling

    My strategies (32' boat) in order of preference for shorter-course racing:  1) If it's windy, or the slightest bit reachy, I use an asym on a furler, because solo symmetric kites in bouy racing are epic pains in the ass.  2) I have a bunch of kites. I launch out of a bag on the foredeck and...
  9. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    You guys assume I am old enough to do the Transquadra! Shit.. I will be in a couple years.
  10. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    Great stuff! Thanks!  I've definitely been down the "completing vs competing" road in my head. As a human, it is impossible for me not to compete; but as a matter of practical sense, I don't think I have the time/money/mental energy to 'compete' per se and would probably be best served by a...
  11. TalonF4U

    I.C. Down wind question

    Right on, fastyacht (how do I know you...? from the Farm...?). Canoes are just kinda special. They make me afraid. 
  12. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    Of course, I will do those races. SHTP is an obvious one. Longpac, of course, a mere long weekend's work. Sailing shorthanded in the Bay--once I can flick this virus booger and get my boat out of Houston and into her slip at RYC!!--is clearly going to be fun. I'm West-ish now, penned up in...
  13. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    Yes... of course... to do "good" sailing of this sort, I know I have to move to France.  Je suis desole, but that time in my life has probably passed. It's romantic, the thought of abandoning one's family to pursue one's dreams. I wonder how Moitessier's wife felt about it when her hubby parked...
  14. TalonF4U

    I.C. Down wind question

    Here's why I race ICs on handicap races instead of boats I can actually sail fairly well, like Lasers: it is just about as awesome to lose in an IC as it is to win. It's fun to get around the course, period. 
  15. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    Fiagro III rental just makes sense as an American looking to do the Solitare. That boat isn't cheap. For the Mini, I'm trying to weigh the costs of shipping vs chartering. It may actually make sense to buy a well sorted boat in Martinique, sail it to the East Coast, race a bit to get things...
  16. TalonF4U

    I.C. Down wind question

    In my experience, sail the boat well, and the hardware is no problem. RYC frequently runs longer races with a big mix of boats. Nobody other than a Moth should be near you at the first windward mark. For the big pursuit race, with its long reaches, it was only a question of angle. If the I-14s...
  17. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    I know Natalie. I'll ask her. 
  18. TalonF4U

    Sngle handed head sail arrangement

    My boat has an inner forestay setup and a RF jib as well. Back when the RF genoa was my racing headsail (have now shifted to a "J1.5" with hanks and a reef point), I wouldn't roller-reef the sail going upwind for the aforementioned shape issues. The inner forestay with an 85% jib was a much...
  19. TalonF4U

    Bad ideas with Vanguard 15s

    Because I already own a V15  and my yard is full of boats already, mostly.  FD would probably do the trick on the family cruising end, but I have to say, I'm not 100% sure I could recover one solo if I dumped it. I had a memorable crash with a friend in about 22kts in SF with the kite up on a...
  20. TalonF4U

    Chartering Minis / Fig IIIs in Europe

    I appreciate the marketing effort for a cool looking boat, but it doesn't quite address my original question. I suppose I can start ringing phones in Europe, but was hoping there was some collective wisdom on the subject here. 


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