 LSC
member Mike Moody spent March 21, 2004 through March 26, 2004 in Primm,
Nevada, participating in the North American Land Sailing Association's
2004 America's Cup for land yacht racing. These are his reports from the
Championship. |
Final Results
Friday, March 26, 2004. Competition wrapped up today in the North American
Land Sailing Championship. New Zealanders, with some new equipment that
makes the mast stiffer, dominated the BloKart contingent. A total of 27
BloKart pilots participated. Our own Mike Moody placed sixth and was the
leading US sailor in the competition.
Mike noted for us that the group was very excited about the turnout
and has plans for expanding the competition next year. Among the ideas
is to run their own races in another part of the playa - making an effort
to get a lot of races in every day that wind conditions cooperate.
"It has been a great week," said Mike. "One of the highlights
was having Paul Beckett, originator of the BloKart, a part of the
racing. He gave liberally of this time and brought a lot of new
equipment for everyone to check out. I
can't wait until next year."
|
Final Standings - Mini Yachts |
| Position |
Name |
Points |
1 |
Russell Harray (NZ) |
9 |
2 |
Grant Clark (NZ) |
14 |
3 |
Stuart Clark (NZ) |
14 |
4 |
Paul Beckett (NZ) |
29 |
5 |
Don McKenzie (NZ) |
31 |
6 |
Mike Moody (US) |
34 |
7 |
John Culler (NZ) |
42 |
8 |
Gordon Browne (NZ) |
44 |
9 |
Chris Bouzaid (NZ) |
59 |
10 |
Bob Casey (NZ) |
62 |
11 |
Tom Rymill (US) |
63 |
12 |
Edward Peirmann (US) |
65 |
13 |
Erin DeBooy (US) |
69 |
14 |
Jon DeBooy (US) |
70 |
15 |
? |
75 |
16 |
? |
76 |
17 |
Daniel Feldman (US) |
77 |
18 |
Carl Rozmarek (US) |
78 |
19 |
Jason Robbins (US) |
80 |
19 |
Sandee Schmidt (US) |
80 |
19 |
John Hawthorne (US) |
80 |
19 |
Carla Cook (US) |
80 |
19 |
Barry Cook (US) |
80 |
|
|
|
Too Much Wind
Thursday, March 25, 2004. There may not have been enough wind on Wednesday,
but there was plenty today. According to Mike Moody, winds in excess
of 35 mph made only one race possible. While the BloKart drivers can
put smaller rigs on their yacht, most of the other classes don't have
this option - and there was simply too much wind to deal with.
|
|
Lack of Wind
Wednesday, March 24, 2004. A lack of wind made for a slow day half way through
the North American Land Sailing Association's Championship according
to Lansing Sailing Club voyager Mike Moody. Everyone has their hopes
up for better conditions Thursday.
|
Speed Secrets
Tuesday, March 23, 2004. The New Zealanders continue to dominate Mini Class
racing at the North American Land Sailing Association 2004 "America's
Cup" Championship. With winds in the 10 to 12 mph and gusts to 15,
two races were completed. The Kiwi contingent won both.
In addition to being outstanding sailors, Mike also notes two key
technical differences. First is a reinforcement device inside the
mast that makes the lower section much stiffer. Second is a "pod" attachment
which wraps around the driver to protect from sand and dust as well
as provide aerodynamic advantages and a means of helping control
the flow of wind across the sail.
Although they are not part of the racing, two other innovations
are on display. One, called "Shadow" is an special axle
to support kind of a side car. This enables passengers to join in
the fun. A photographer and a reporter are expected to be among the
passengers given rides - so a news story may be in the offing. A
second innovation is a way of joining two BloKarts, one behind the
other, to become one yacht. The result is a boost in speed due to
greater sail area without additional wheels to produce drag.
|
A picture from the BloKart web site captioned
"blokart heaven at Romo, Denmark!" |
|
Kiwis Are Fast
Monday, March 22, 2004. Racing finally began today and the Kiwis from New
Zealand immediately showed their skill. The first four places in race
one went to New Zealanders and they did well in race two as well.
Mike tells us that the Blokarts are considered to be in the "Mini" class
- and they share their starts with a design known as the Manta. About
a dozen Blokarts and eight Mantas are in this group. Mike believes
he finished around 7th or 8th in the two races today - but results
had yet to be posted when he had to leave. Monday evening was spent
with daughter Michelle seeing a show.
|
A picture from 2003 showing one of the land yacht
classes getting ready to start a race |
|
|
Wind Delay
Sunday, March 21, 2004. A dozen Blokart sailors, along with many other land
yacht owners in other classes came together at the Ivanpah Dry Lake
about 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately the wind
didn't cooperate and no races were held. However, this was an opportunity
for Mike to get to know some of the other sailors and to share ideas.
Mike reports that seven Blokart sailors came from New Zealand to participate
- including the inventor of this class of land yachts. Everyone is
anxious to learn from them as they seem to have all the latest in features
as well as a lot of knowledge about how to make these craft go fast.
|
 
Mike Moody sailing his Blokart configured
as an iceboat - December 2003 |
|
