GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF.. erhmm I’ve never liked sailing gloves! I find they take away any feeling that your supposed to get and normally, anytime you have to fix anything, the gloves have got to come off! So ages ago, i just decided they weren’t worth the effort and it was better just to let my hands toughen up. Again Alice asked me to try out a pair of these rubberised formula gloves... so I did. Well in a word, fantastic!

They’ve got grip like you wouldn’t believe and they’re thin enough so that you can feel things, they’re light and you won’t even know you’re wearing them. So I tried them out sailing and gave them a big thumbs up! Then one day while I was surface preparing a cat for paint, the skin on my fingers were wearing out from the abrasive rubbing compounds so I decided to try THE gloves - better them than my skin right! They worked perfectly and so since then, I’ve tried then in all sorts of aquatic-environs like paddling my kayak, riding the mountain bike, wake-boarding and my latest application - in the F3000 boat!

These things are versatile so now one pair of gloves, that will roll up into your shirt pocket, will cover a bunch of adventurous pursuits! Best bit, they’re even cheaper than normal sailing gloves! Go get a pair...

HOME / US / BOATS/ TECHNIQUES / BLUE LIZARD SPORTS / GALLERY / BLOG

KEEP DRY I KNOW that sounds like a really dumb statement but! First of all, we sail right on the Equator - how could you possibly get cold? Try dropping temperatures when the Sumatras roll through. It buckets rain, the wind jumps up 10 notches, you get wet, you get wind chill. Last seasons winning statement “just like Brittany!”.

The other factor is, it’s not really that cold in ambient temperature so invariably, you end up sweating inside and then smelling terrible!

I tried the Musto Dinghy Smock during the peak of the Monsoon. When I try stuff, I give it a GOOD go! First of all it breathes, so NO MORE of that tropical dilemma of being wetter inside than out! Gone, no more. Then it is really water proof, a ride on the good old Ducati through a monsoon tested that bit. The cuffs are snug, the thing doesn’t flap around, it’s fitting yet allows all movement.

But the bit that really impressed me, is the pocket on the chest. I put a phone in here and a little piece of note paper. Coincidentally, someone bucked me off the Nacra 20 numerous times. This included bailing off the top hull and swimming under the boat. At the end of the day, the note paper was a just a little moist and the phone, perfectly ok! Plus the pockets in a place that when you need stuff, you can actually get at it! Waterproof zips, they amaze me!!

Not cheap by jacket standards but way cheaper than replacing a smart phone every outing! A range of Musto gear is available from the Blue Lizard Sports, the pro-shop in Changi Sailing Club.

THIS STUFF RULES Built for those who like to get into the thick of action. The only thing I really know about sun screens is, if you don’t wear any you’ll surely get burnt! So a sun screen is only good if you wear it! I have tried many over the years and none have had any staying power. They’re either to greasy or to smelly.

Blue Lizard’s a lot different. It’s odourless and non-greasy - you don’t know even know you’re wearing any sun protection! Applied once in the morning, on dry skin, it stayed on the whole day! It didn’t matter if I was working and sweating or getting dunked! Also you don’t have to cake it on, a little bit goes a long way. I was using it every day and a regular tube lasted me 3 months, so it also makes great value.

It is endorsed by dermatologists around the world and, in most cases is available only through their respective clinics.

On top of all that, it’s also a funky platform and the Blue Lizard will be making an adventurous cruise up the East Coast of Malaysia this southerly season. It’s a great sun screen, it’s a boat and it’s a program... Get with the program.

The full range of Blue Lizard Sunscreens is available from the Blue Lizard Sports, the pro-shop in Changi Sailing Club.

THIS WAS OUR MOST INNOVATIVE way thus far, to ‘test’ something out. F3000 powerboats do about 160 kmh and pull a good 2 - 3 G’s in a turn - you have to love cats in all their guises! This bit of equipment testing was done with Fernandez Team Racing on a Lake in Kuala Lumpur. Yes, the Zhik Gloves worked really well but the big test was a small piece of kit, really small! Look at the of the cockpit canopy and you see a tiny camera.

It shots stills and captures footage, not at the same time mind. And it does a great job of it too.

The Go Pro camaer was introduced to us by a another denizen in the speed world, James aka the Moth Man! When I saw the tiny camera I just knew it would fit perfectly into my ‘world’. Sadly the wind ran out before I received my camera but, it’s doing a great job atop the F3000 right now.

The next mounting base I’m to try will definitely be the Ducati on some sorte’ through the great Malaysia Expressway network. It’ll mount on just about anything that moves, well why would you strap it to something that doesn’t move fast! I wouldn’t, would you? To purchase the camera you’ll need to go online and search GoPro Camera. If you want to rent one for a day, contact Blue Lizard Sports.

If you’re interested in buying a F3000 Power boat, contact us, they’re not as expensive as you might think - about the same price as a F16 or Nacra 20!

NAUTEEK TACTICAL ELECTRONICS This was another good find by Alice. If you’re into racing fast cats you NEED one of these babies! It’ll do all the normal GPS stuff like way points and navigating etc... But it’s more interesting on the Tactical side.

True Upwind Direction that’s handy at the high level but most peple will love the DISTANCE TO START LINE - and I know a lot of people who really can’t judge that, so let a little machine do it for you! We ran it back-to-back against the Velocitec and while the Velocitec has a bigger touch screen, the Nauteek is altogther more water proof - and that’s a huge thing on a fast beach cat!. The Velocitec needs to have the case opened up to change the batteries whereas the Nauteek has an internal battery that only needs charging every few weeks! The Nauteek also has this neat histogram that shows speed as a bar graph, you’ll clearly see your highs and your LOWS!

Worthy investment particularly if you have to train by yourself!

WATERPROOF BAG Invented by the water water rafting chaps years ago and what a great idea. A simple pvc bag that’s cheap, ligh and tough, oh yeah water proof too! Sure you can strap it to you trampoline and keep valuables dry. If you trap enough air inside as to the usual, squeeze the air out, it’ll even float  with your stuff in it! Of course you could test it that way but a better ‘test’ was... Strap it to the back of a motorcycle and ride around the top of Bali. That was a good ‘test’, the scenery was spectacular and after we crested the volcano, we got dumped on by the hugest downpour I’ve ever seen. Guess what, all the gear in the cheap bag perfectly dry. Expensive bags, zero!

They come in a variety of colours so you can buy one to match your ride! Different colours, different sizes available from Blue Lizard Sports.

Here’s the list of stuff we tested out over the course of the Monsoon Season. But we’ve always tried everything before we support it plus there are some novel ways to testing gear too!..