Jacklines for safety

Safety is my first priority, and as I will be alone doing night sailing, I think it is a must to prepare the boat with a jackline, to prevent to fall over board.

We already have on Mamma Mia the jack-line connectors, that I will attach to my personal auto-inflatable life vest 150N, what is missing on Mamma mia are the jackline itself. Many websites suggest how to install them, and I will follow the suggestions to mount them as close to the centerline as possible (the aim is not to stay attached to the boat when overboard, but not to fall!). 

For the dimension: Most site recommend a load of 1.5-2tons for the jackline, it seems a lot but it is reasonable if you think it should sustain more than one people during a potential fall, so the dynamic factor has to be considered.  So I got a 9mm Polyester rope with 3.5tons load and some spectra that I will use to fix the jackline on multiple points, using the beautiful prusik knot.

In addition I also got some elastics lines, that will be very helpful to keep the sail down in case I will have to switch from Genoa to Jib.


Image found on :
http://www.velablog.it/utilita/legarsi-alla-barca-le-jacklines
https://www.animatedknots.com/prusik-knot

ST1000 measurements

A first video about the autpilot installation .

2018 track analysis

Thanks to google earth, I managed to plot the track of the previous edition 2018 of the Translemanique. Unfortunately wind data are missing, but we could easily guess from the track which kind of wind they got.  I have decided to plot below, the first 4 surprises, here almost at the middle of the race, Nelson Mettraux on CER1 Sophies was the winner skipper, followed by Skirimm and Allegretto. It is impressive how close they sail all the regatta. 

 It is clear what everyone says, to avoid the middle of the lake in the gran lac.I see no real difference in the performance between who choose different side in the petit lac. It is clear that good skipper do a minimum number of tacks, that is also quite surprising. 

I can already see some reference waypoint for my navigation: A passage almost in the middle between Nyon and Yvoir, completely avoid the Thonon gulf, stay on the Evian side in the directrice NyonMontreux. 

First challenge ST-1000 - Most expensive connector ever!

Thanks to Andrin and Dirk, I discover we have an ST1000 autopilot at YCC, and I do not have to buy a new one.  According to notice of race of  Translemanique 2019 , rules 52 is not applied (that forces that everything on board should be human power driven). So I think it is  essential to have a proper Autopilot. 

Previous YCC Members, did the full regatta only with the tiller-lock rudder blocking system. I am really impressed by that, as I have tested sometimes it and even tried more advanced  elastic-based auto-tiller systems, and I have always found that downwind, the probability to have a stable configuration for enough time to raise the spi is a pure gamble. 

So I will focus on my first challenge: to Install the ST1000 on Mamma Mia. 

This is the Raymarine ST1000 plus as installed on the gibsea, I think they choose the port side configuration just because the electrical system is installed on port. This is sub-optimal when going by engine, as the skipper usually should sit on the port side, to see who is coming on the starboard side... by the way, I have tested it on the gibsea, and it works, so good news!

ST1000 uses a (crazy) connector, it is a round 6 pin. After some research, I discover it is a out of production Bulgin Buccaner 6 pin connector, specifically designed for Raymarine, not directly avaialble from Bulgin, but only via RayMarine parts. D338 is the female I need, D337 is the male that is connected to the tiller-pilot. 

Guess what: the most expensive connector ever, only available in UK, luckly should be given with installation screw and gaskets. The cheapest I found, is 33 euros (but I have seen up to 80Euros). 

If I had not to keep compatibility with the gibsea, I would have just cut the cable and switched to another connector. I only need the 2 wires for 12v DC , the other ones are for NMEA Raymarine gps integration, that I will not have. 

So... let's at least place the order, and next step, do the measurement. 

Mamma Mia, something about the boat

 Mamma Mia is a Surprise class sailboat
bought brand new by the Yachting Club CERN in 2009.

Boat preparation: I will work hard to prepare the boat for the regatta, as priority:

Check all the components in particular the electrical system, and make a list of items to improve

Design and build the mount for the ST1000 autopilot and do the electrical connection properly

Clean the hull (at least, first big cleaning)

Why I like Mamma Mia: I immediately liked the Surprise class not only for the well known maneuverability, but mainly for the general purpose design of the boat, that performs extremely well in almost all the weather conditions I managed to sail it on the lake. It offer a lot of space inside, and a compact cockpit, perfect for solo outing.

Knowing the boat I am sailing: Surprise is the most popular sailing boat on the Geneva Lake, it is a Class C 6 people boat (10 people in class D according to constructor plate). First designed and builded by Archambauld Chantier in 1976, it has a fiberglass hull 7.65 meter lenght, a beam of 2.58m, a draft of only 1.6m, and a displacement of 1.350kg of which 600kg are cast iron ballast.

An aluminium Deck stepped Mast is 9.8 meter, with a classical Sloop Marconi 7/8 rig capable of hoisting a Main sail of 16.5 sqm, a Genoa of 14sqm or a Jib of 10sqm and a symmetrical spinnamer of 45 square meters. Total sail area upwind: 30.5 sqm, Downwind: 61.5sqm.
Mamma mia is equipped with a modern outboard Yamaha four stroke 6CV, that I will probably keep on board during the regatta... just in case.

A 12v battery power the navigation and interior lights, and will be crucial to validate the efficiency of the electrical system, as disqualification is expected in case of issue on navigation lights, plus, I would be happy to install and power properly a Raymarine ST1000 autopilot.

Registration number is GE-19209, I will sail with number  SUI 702 

Approximate hull speed (2.43xsqrt(LWL of 7.5m)) = 6.65 knots

I will sail the Translemanique 2019 - Thank you YCC !

 A first post to share my happyness! YCC committee has approved my candidature to be Translemanique 2019 en Solitaire.

 I will have the pleasure to sail the YCC Surprise Mamma MIA with Sail Number SUI 702

Below is the screenshot of my registration... that is now official.