Greetings, and happy Friday from the Great Eden of the unexamined life ( and one of the windiest places on Earth...).I'm Paul Kilkenny a Nor Cal sailor eagerly awaiting delivery of an AHPC Taipan 4.9 the specifics of which I'll relay at a later time !
Wouter asked me to post an introduction and though I'm crazy busy at the moment ...:
- I've been sailing for only about two years. My first regatta was last December ( hit a submerged object while reaching with the kite...).
- In my short tenure I've only sailed skiffs and can't imagine sitting while under sail ,( expect then to see me flat wiring wind or no wind!).
- My first boat was a Vanguard Vector within which I still own the North American record for decelleration : 18.8kts. to 0.0kts in 0.02 seconds (hit submerged object while reaching...). I holed the hull , sold the Vector and set about purchasing a single hander - something sedate, stable, and, you know , tailored to a great paragon of the mean such as myself...
- Bought a Musto Performance Skiff ; a boat that is very much Courtney Love to my Kurt Cobain...
- I dislike being called "Skipper" regardless of context.
- I'm sponsored by Zinnia's Classical Ballet the logo for which is an enormous pink Tutu. I've declined Madame Zinnia's
request that I tack en pointe...
- My clerkship as skip...,er, the guy who steers has been an unambiguous chronical of calamity for my crew. My son for example refuses to sail with me after just one outing (around the forestay following clip with an unseen submerged object while reaching with the kite... no lie...). Friends and colleagues amassed various hematoma, gashes ,one broken rib, mild hypothermia's etc. Some still hold a grudge - muttering "skipper"as we pass in the hall or at the grocery...
I'll be sailing single handed, cat, with the gennaker.
- really though, I'm very serious about winning regatta's, have in the MPS - expect to do the same in 16hp's.
- with limited time to do what I really love, I've chosen this class very carefully and am extremely excited about being a part.
Warm Regards,
Paul Kilkenny
S.F. Bay Area
P.S.
Thanks Wouter
Welcome Paul,
I enjoy your writing style. Hopefully you'll be a regular contributor to this forum.
Rob.
Taipan 4.9 AUS175
Hmmm. That's exactly why I sail singlehand a lot... Sure, I've sent the kids 'round the forstay. Another time, I went round the forestay and he steered right over me...Neighbors, work colleagues, former friends, brothers-in-law--they've all come sailing with me...once.
Welcome to the class. I'm from the SFBay area originally (Half Moon Bay)--where the wind always blows.
When will your boat be here?!! Contact me if you run into any hitches putting it together.
Do you have access to a digital camera? If so, could you take some pictures while you are assembling your new boat so we can create an assembly instruction page on the US Taipan Association web site to help future Taipan owners assemble their new boats?
Jennifer Lindsay
Taipan 4.9 # 262
Welcome, Paul. Good to see another dare devil strenghening the ranks.
About attempting to set a record for decellerations I must admit that yours beats mine fair and square.
Robin and myself (two hefty guys at 375 lbs) tried to impress a monohull crew comming in the bay to dock at the little harbour. We were sailing a F18 Hobie Tiger in trully 20-25 knots of wind. We turned down to a good flaming reach throwing up some impressive spray. We thought we were making an impression then only to find out that my fingertip sensitive steering wasn't quite accurate enough so we did a lightning major submarine job at top speed right in front of the yacht which was some 10 boatlengths away. The only thing I remember was actually hanging horinzontally from the rear beam with one arm followed by the sound of the safety boat outboard reving up and coming towards us a few seconds later. The yacht made a beautiful circle around the spot where we wipped up out ourselfs (or white out ourself ?) Then a voice rang out amidst the foam that was still all around saying :"Man, that was the fattest picthpole I ever saw ! and ooh are you guys alright ?" I could only knod affirmative as it definately felt like the fattest pitchpole I ever witnessed.
By we climbed back on that horse straight away and my brave crew handed me the helm once more and only said "A little less wild this time, mate".
We had a great day and a great week of sailing then and I think we scored some big points with that submarine job. It certainly ranks highest in my personal score chart and I made some real spectacular capsized and pitchpoles in my time.
But your 0,02 sec job is king of the hill.
It is great to see such a spirit sailor chosing a Taipan 4.9/F16 as his wapon of choice in Western USA. It my not be a vanguard product but you are definately in the vanguard of our "little boat that could" class. Together with Mark and Eric I hope you are the beginning of the Californian branch.
Welcome,
Wouter