Dirty Air
The 2008 Ivanpah blokart Open and Rally
I thought the
wing mast was cool.
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A
few days before our event saw the big landsailors ripping around the California desert at the Ivanp[ah dry lake bed. Our regatta took place in what some would
call sailing's “go-karts.” Everyone knows how fun driving
a go-cart is – now imagine a quiet one, powered by wind, that goes
40 mph. Then imagine starting with 40 of them. Dave Trude put this report together
for us. Enjoy.
The bloKart is small,
fun, cheap, and easily transported. It's supported by a great group of
Kiwis and is a must for every sailor to try. Races start like any regular
sailboat race - The mark is set upwind and after a 3-minute countdown
– WHOOSH – you're off. Races are timed for 15 minutes, and
the object is to get more laps done than anyone else. Your finish place
counts if there are several on the same lap, and laps and position are
tracked with radio transponders.
This
event, sponsored by Class
Action Racing, brought pilots from around the world - 2 from France,
1 from Spain, 2 from Britain several from Australia, and of course, the
NZ team headed by bloKart inventor Paul Beckett. There were several East
Coast, Great Lakes and Southwest sailors from the US, too. I had a chance
to chat with Sean Fidler, who knows several of the sailors/organizers
from Florida I have sailed against in disabled sailing. Sean is fast and
it was obvious from the seminars he gave on-site that he knows racing.
This
was my first time landsailing in the desert, and WOW once you go fast
you can't go back. On Saturday pratice (so everyone gets to know each
other), things were going fine until the wind piped up. In the second-to-last
race someone was barging at the start and there was a collision. In the
last race, I was around 5th and hauling ass at something around 40 mph
into the leeward mark. When turning upwind, 2 things happen - you turn
and the wind changes direction, and then it accelerates incredibly fast.
POW - I was down and it was hard. So hard I felt like my head had been
hit. I cracked my lower carbon section, tore my mast sock, and rattled
my beginner's nerves. To the rescue came Paul Beckett (Mr. bloKart) and
replaced the section with a new stiffer ultra carbon bottom section. Right
on Paul!
Similarities
with sailboat racing are everywhere - timed starts, upwind technique,
shift playing and general tactics, and rounding marks are pretty much
the same. Port/starbord rules apply, except the closing speeds are considerable.
During the start, there's a box set up on the downwind side of the line
that no sailor can enter until the 10-second point. Once entered, you
can't turn around if you're early – you have to circle all the way
around and you can't enter the box from the side. This is necessary to
avoid collisions at huge closing speeds. When completing a lap you have
to sail through the finish line to get your transponder to register your
lap. This gets tight when you are lapping slower sailors.
Racing
started at noon on Sunday, with the wind up big time. I was still unnerved
so I went with a 2-meter sail (bad choice), and stayed in contact but
finished mid fleet all day. I even had a spin out where I eneded up going
backwards on a reach. After slowing down, I spun around and was headed
in the right direction. Think NASCAR meets sailing - this is the only
way to sail.
Monday
saw 2 races that probably should not have counted and Tuesday was dead.
But Wednesday was really fun. Choosing the 3-meter sail, I was hanging
right with the top guys - it really pays to know how to sail upwind. Many
competitors would foot for speed after the start. Being able to point
right up to the wind paid big gains. I finished in the top 10 all day
and had a blast.
We
had 2 types of courses. A typical triangle and a sort of rectangular one,
with a mark set inside on the long leg, just oppsite the start that we
all had to jibe around. It was very easy to change courses if the wind
changed. Our race chairman Mike Moody did a fine job of keeping us all
happy.
So
after one crash and lots of fun, all I can say is "I will be back
in the desert going fast." Not too bad for my first time racing in
the desert.
The
bloKart worlds will be in New
Zealand this October. All I need is a sponsor.
Results: Overall and by Category
Photos
from
Jason
Robins (some of these are videos and can you find me)
Sean
Filder
Fran Gramkowski:
IvanpahFritzSatWarmUp
IvanpahRacingSunday
WOOF |
