Zippier

On Saturday 16 November, 2013, after nearly six years between sails on the boat, I joined the Zippier team for a sail.
Zippier is a Thompson 8, true to it’s name, and if you love a bit of square top action, on this boat,you get not only the square top main, but a square top jib as well (as can be seen in the image above).
We launched at RANSA (next door to the Cruising Yacht Club in Rushcutter’s Bay) and sailed out to the heads to race in the sound.
I jumped into the mainsheet and tactics spot.
We sailed well and had some great rides to win the first race on scratch. Unfortunately our kite trimmer rolled his ankle during the second last gybe into the finish. The lumpy sea at that part of the Harbour, while making for some good rides was not his friend. We of course pulled out of the racing for the day. We were already sailing a man down, so the gybe into the finish, and drop of the spinnaker was interesting with only three up the front. Nevertheless, we managed to do it in style!
We enjoyed the cruise home and headed off to the hospital. It had been a while since I had seen a major injury on a boat, and was a good reminder after Cabbage Tree and playing on a variety of boats to take care. Training and recovery are easy parts of sailing programs to slack on over winter, or for me, after a winter of training and a World Championships. It has been a great rest period, but I know what it is like to be out due to injury! So especially at the start of the season as I am leading up to a few major regattas training, injury prevention and recovery will be my focus. I encourage you to do the same.
In any case, a big thanks to the team for having me – we had some great rides and worked together really well. So great to focus on roles and responsibilities on a number of different boats before heading back to more serious sailing.
There is a video below of some of the highlights!

Enjoy your adventures and take care!
Sailor Girl out!