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Paddaman

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  1. Paddaman
    Friday Fun: Why is this person in the news?
  2. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    We normally have an open start. Everyone understands that there is a difference in the boats and the guys on the classics normally land up racing against each other at the back of the fleet. However, occasionally (more than what the modern Finnsters will admit) we get a classic finishing in the top end of the fleet. This is often due to some luck (as Rietvlei is notorious for its fickle winds) and bag loads of skill. In the end all the Finn sailors want to do is go out and race hard, the results are not that important. (I still am battling to get a handicap system working as with series racing, not everyone races each race)
  3. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    The gypsy is unfortunately one of the few South African boats that just did not make it. It has had a number of design flaws, especially the centreboard casing and the cheap wooden centreboard that tends to break when jibbing. Also it only really starts moving in a 20 knot wind, as It was originally conceived as a family cruiser and not as a racing boat. As some-one said "it takes a special kind of sailor to capsize a gypsy." You can also consider a dolphin, enterprise, GP 14 and mirror, if you are looking for a family boat. If you want a real challenge there is always the sprog.........(many teenagers have learnt how to swim sailing these....)
  4. Paddaman
    Great I will have to run after other runners to lick their arms.....
  5. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    At this stage at the Pretoria Sailing Club, we have a large fleet of finns and dolphins. The Finns range from Finn No 5 all the way up to the latest Pata Finn and even a Devoti Finn from Europe. (why we are strong in finns is a long and complicated story which involves the demise of sailing at President's dam in Springs and scrap metal theft in Germiston) We attempt as far as possible to keep the boats in the club. New members are encouraged to buy up boats from old members, and we "recycle" the hulls in this way. This allows us to both keep the two classes alive and strong and to provide beginners with inexpensive boats and chances to upgrade as they get better, financially stronger or as better boats become available. However, we also have a large number of lasers, GP14, Enterprises, mirrors, 505 and FD. Our numbers of sprogs, spearheads, fireballs, sonnets and laser II have fallen off. Our biggest challenge is to get the smaller fleets onto the water. It seems that as soon as a class falls below 5 active crews then the chances of recovery are limited.
  6. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    A lot of this could be avoided if there was a proper progression strategy from Oppies, to say dabbies then onto lasers/Finn or sonnets/dolphin/505. I am not sure whether the 420/470 is even necessary as a stepping stone to 505. It seems SAS is unwilling to come out and "favour" a set of classes for this progression, but then in the same breath there is an entire fleet of a "new" class purchased (in the Cape only) instead of supporting an already established class. This also undermines boat building in South Africa....
  7. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    Why do we constantly invest in new classes of boats. In South Africa we have had a full range of South African designed boats that could fulfill the purposes of each manifestation of the sport. We have the dabchick as a youth development boat, which can be sailed as one up (competition) and two up for training, We have the Sprog and Sonnet for club racing and team racing We HAD the spearhead which was a very fast and competent trapeze boat with a spinnaker (some say faster than a fireball) We have the dolphin for inland waters (used successfully for team racing for the last three years in NorthVaal). The two gaps, being early development and singlehanded dinghies are closed down by the Optimist and the Finn/Laser classes Added to that is a raft of keel boats like the mistral ext There should not be a reason for SAS to source designs and boats from international suppliers when throughout RSA history he have had many solid designs which talk to local conditions.
  8. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    The challenge is always to be able to match crew, with sailing conditions and boat. A new Finn (Pata or Devoti) in the right hands and wind conditions can be a monster boat to race, (considering it is seen as a heavy weight Olympic boat which really gets going in 15-20 knots) Older Finns in light winds are harder to move around. In the Cape the Sonnet (with their heavy winds) is very popular and responsive. In the TVL (Pretoria) the dolphin with its massive sail area is a popular choice, but then the Finn is also very poplar with a lighter skipper (as there is less wind)
  9. Paddaman

    Sailing

    Paddaman replied to Witkop's topic in Chit chat

    The best one man boat every is a FINN. However, a laser can provide a lot of fun and challenges as well. For pottering about, with no intention of really committing to sailing as a sport a hobie 14 or any other cat is great as there is space to take friends for a sail. However, cats can be a challenge to tack and few people are eager a gybe in heavy winds. A Topcat attempted to solve this with a fully battened mainsail without a boom. Also at one stage every Tom, Dick and Harry had a cat in his drive way, and not every cat is the same. Maintenance of the shrouds and stays may be patchy on the cheap second hand boats, so it would be wise to get a boat shop, like New Generation Yachting to do a check up and refit if you buy a "bargain".
  10. Paddaman
    So you lose/ misplace things regularly then?
  11. Paddaman
    Just being helpful, no-one wants to die and be remembered as a poor speller....
  12. Paddaman
  13. Paddaman
    He has nothing on Jacob Zuma, who is showing no interest in quitting yet
  14. Paddaman
    SAB maintains a discrete footprint in most beer variant markets. There are some "craft beers" which are just cunning disguised SAB offerings. As soon as SAB believes that there is sufficient market share to go big, then they declare themselves. (Making proper beer is expensive) This is why we have Castle Chocolate Milk Stout and now Castle Zero. Sneaky Bastards
  15. Paddaman
    The arguments for quality vs quality training are ongoing. The "comrades"mentality of more is better is popular in South Africa. It got so bad in the 1980's that Tim Noakes even dedicated a few paragraphs in "the Lore of Running" to debunk this theory. On the opposite extreme is the FIRST (Fulman's Institute) training programme which advocates three "quality" sessions a week interspersed with "cross training". The truth lies somewhere in between the two ideas. However, from reading a few books on training the following remains true, if you want to run far, you must have some long runs (the true of thumb is you must train between the race distance to twice the race distance per the week) The "science" points towards a training band of 50km-85km a week for a marathon. If you want to run fast, you need to train for that too. One to three quality sessions (ie track, hills, and intervals) a week, where you push yourself at race intensity for SHORT periods. These two activities need to be alternated and rest/recovery days included in weekly cycles. Which in the end brings us back to Noakes/Newtons 15 rules of running: Law 1: Train frequently, all year-round Law 2: Start gradually and train gently Law 3: Train first for distance, only later for speed Law 4: Don’t set your daily training schedule in stone Law 5: Alternate hard and easy training Law 6: Achieve as much as possible on a minimum of training Law 7: Don’t race when in training or run at race pace for distances above 16 kilometers Law 8: Specialize Law 9: Incorporate base training and sharpening Law 10: Prevent overtraining Law 11: Train with a coach Law 12: Train the mind Law 13: Rest before a big race Law 14: Keep a detailed logbook Law 15: Understand the holism of training Remember Bruce Fordyce is accredited for never finishing a RAC pre comrades training run. He always bailed about half way when he know his body was ready for the big day.
  16. Paddaman
    Norrie Williamson, in his book Distance Running for Everyone (or something to that effect) was clear, to race fast you have to train running fast (duh). He did warn however, that to race far you have to also train far (duh). The challenge is to balance both distance and speed ito training. Tim Noakes in the Lore of Running gives 15 rules (9 rules by Authur Newton). http://www.duhac.tcdlife.ie/Training/15laws1.php Some of the important rules: Rule 2: Training gradually and gently Rule 3: Train for distance first, and then for speed. Rule 5: Alternate hard and easy days RULE 6: ACHIEVE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ON THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TRAINING Rule 10: Don't overtrain Rule 14: Rest before a big Race
  17. Paddaman
    maybe this thread should be mirrored on the trail hub as well. A small server/ database setting?
  18. Paddaman
    Pretoria Side: Tuesday 18:00 Trail Time trial at Wolwespruit is 4.4km or 8.8km. R20 is the admin fee Saturday 07:00 is the Respek en eiers coffee shop Wonderboom/Moot trail walk/run also about 4km/8km and 15km and can be extended to 20km of trail running. Entry is free but etiquette is breakfast afterwards
  19. Paddaman
    I am not concerned about the km's but rather intimidated by the pace. As Norrie Williamson said, it is not enough to run far, but you also need to be able to run fast as well.
  20. Paddaman
    Joined
  21. Paddaman
    use a bit of clothing elastic (from a haberdashery) costs about R1
  22. Paddaman
    Anyone with a secondhand on one inbred or 456 26inch frame, size 16 inch or 18 inch they want to part with?
  23. Paddaman
    and I now lose faith in humanity. Image soon we will have supporters wear for comrades. The real mcCoy is to only trust "limited edition race" race apparel or even worse trust only confirmed BMI assessments.
  24. Paddaman
    One day for the Hobbit as it is on a long weekend Mweni will be a day to drive to KZN (drive back on sunday) Rhodes will be two days before and two days after (family comes with) Golden Gate will be the major challenge. In all 6 days leave (excluding GG which will be another 4) Entries for Mweni is cheap, Rhodes and Hobbit will be about 3K together. The real expense is accommodation and travel
  25. Paddaman
    Next years calendar is filling out: Hobbit 38km Mweni 38km (a bit close to Hobbit but good training for Rhodes) Rhodes Run 50km Maybe Golden Gate stage race?
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