June 6th marks the transition to WVYC for the RNSA Single Handed Race. Due to the Covid issue it is being run as a day race, at this time Single Handed only.
NOR has been published and Registration is now open.
Well that was fun – an actual not-cancelled race, and in pleasantly solid, steady breeze as well! I hope everyone had a good time – I know I did.
The only unpleasant surprise was when I turned around following a spinnaker gybe and my Lazilas-brand safety tether (made by Trem in Italy) flopped unbidden off the jack line.
The design leaves your safety entirely dependent on a small, semi-exposed spring, and apparently they specified a 3-cent spring rather than the more expensive 50-cent spring.
In the time since I bought it I learned that a good tether should really have a quick-release ability at the wearer’s end anyhow, just in case you ended up overboard, still tethered on and getting towed (which tends to pull you underwater and drown you). Any recommendations for good brands that have better shackles, with a secure-but-still-releasable quick release at the wearer’s end?
Yeah, local recommendations and my web own research and all seem to point to the Kong and Wichard lineups.
I’m leaning toward the Wichards myself. Bloody expensive, but I like Wichard’s ProLine shackles, and the Wichard tethers topped Practical Boating’s comparison test (Kong came a close second).
It was a busted spring. And looking closely now, the spring on the still-working hook is busted on one side too – so it’s half-dead itself.
That’s on a tether that’s been used maybe a dozen times, tops. Not impressed!
