It was good and windy when I arrived at the Dam this morning. The strong North-Wester had gusts which exceeded 25 knots. Some of the skippers who lacked C-rigs were talking about not sailing and others were wondering if the fleet should be sailing at all. But sail we did, and by the time that the 11:00 button-press occurred the wind had moderated quite a bit and a mixture of B and C-rigs took to the water. Those that chose the C-rig ended up being under-powered and quickly up-sized. 
 
It was great to see Kim Potter again today. Kim has done himself an injury during his move and for that reason did not race today but it did mean that he could take the PRO’s chair. Kim was assisted by Rob Cooney during the morning before the urge to race came too much for him. Thanks to you both for your work today.
 
I am getting used to my new Venti every time I sail it and, thanks to a tune-up and rigging lesson from Mat Gray, managed to take out third spot overall today.
 
Generally however it was a bit of a day out for the scratch boats. The really experienced skippers relished the challenging conditions and came through with the results. Ray Joyce took second overall with a couple of race wins in the tally and Mat won the day with an ‘all podium’ scorecard and a total of minus 4 points once bonuses and discards were taken into account.
 
As today’s winner was one of the scratch boats a handicap ‘shake-down’ occurs. Normally the top third of the fleet have their starting handicap increased by 10 seconds and the bottom third have theirs decreased by 10 seconds. But when a scratch boat wins the top third retain their starting handicaps and the rest of the fleet have theirs reduced. (That is all of the boats that have completed 7 or more races.)
 
This weekend RBRYC hosts the Marblehead State Titles. Volunteers are always needed for championship events so if you can assist please give Kyle a call and, even if you cant, then get down to our Montrose course to watch some racing. It’s a hot field with six interstate entries including the current national champion. Saturday’s briefing is at 10:15 for a 10:30 button-press.
 
Next Wednesday’s handicap at the dam will be for DF95’s. Button-press at 11:00. 
 
John S

​Sorry, not much to say today as I wasn't shoreside.

that said, it did sound like one of the more difficult days, with varied wind directions and all speeds from 2 knots to 20 knots. A good prep for next weeks RM State Championship

Wednesday is our regular IOM Mid Week Handicap at the dam, from 11am.

Today's winner was John Cole-Cook on 12 points , whose F6 was certainly on song and ready for next week. In second place was Ray Joyce on 16 points. Third place today was taken out by Stuart Dawes on 24 points.

On handicap, Mat Gray took out first with 2 net points. John Cole-Cook and Andrew Wardrop took second place with 1 net point.

Next Saturday is the commencement of the RM State Championship, which will conclude on Sunday. We have six mainland skippers coming to compete, so it will be the most competitive field seen in the state since we held the 2018 National Championships. If you can spare some time, it would be very worth coming down to Montrose to watch. It will also be the most RM's to sail there since the 2018 Nationals as well, with a fantastic field of 14 yachts.

We have some volunteers across the two days, and we are already really appreciative of those who have volunteered. There is always room for more to help out and share the load, so if you feel you'd like to help - even for part of the day, please get in touch with either myself or John Hall.

Kyle

There was a blustery westerly of 25 knots with gusts from both the North-West and South-West which made for difficult course setting and challenging sailing.
 
One of the starting buoys had moved from its spot due to the heavy winds over the last few days and needed repositioning before we could race. It was good that the rescue dinghy was not needed other than this as it would have found the conditions at its limits.
 
B-rigs were the universal choice today. Stuart Dawes did try the C-rig for a couple of races but struggled in the lighter patches.
 
A triangular course using buoys 10, 2 and 1 was used. Buoy 10 caused plenty of headaches as it seemed to be continually at the central calm spot of a wind vortex. This together with it’s distance from shore made it a challenge every rounding.
 
Winner’s today came from across the handicap spectrum with Andrew Wardrop claiming overall honours with six podium finishes including two race wins in his tally. Its great to see Andrew back in the winner’s circle.
 
Second place went to Rod Marshall who also had two race wins today.
 
And third was Phil Jackman whose Idiom really looked at home with the blustery and choppy conditions.
 
Finishing races today was quite a triumph in itself, so well done to all skippers today.
 
Coming up:
This Sunday is RM Scratch at Montrose. (Button Press at 1pm) 

Next Wednesday’s handicap at the dam will again be for IOM’s (Button press at 11:00)
 
John S

​Laying in bed this morning, wind blasting through the trees, rain bashing on the window, thinking that it would not be too nice at the dam. Check the BoM website, and then the Hobart Water site and the dam is still open.

Get to the dam, and a very strong WNW with gusts of about 35 knots blasting down the length of the dam. Instantly changed my mind - this is going to be fun. As I mentioned to another sailors today "fun starts at 30 knots :) )

We had eight like minded souls there today for the second last DF scratch for the year. All dressed in C Rigs, with the exception of one D rig.

After the first race, they all had matching C Rigs, and had a blast for 11 races, with the heavy wind, waves to surf and a course to navigate.

Not one breakdown today, or rescue, showing how reliable we ahev got these yachts now.

Mat Gray and Stuart Dawes showed their class and consistency throughout the day, registering half the wins for the day. Everyone got in soeme great races, but some fortunate drops as well, as a bad tack cost very dearly today, as did not selecting the right wind phases for what tack you were on.

After 11 high octane, (mostly) heavy winded races, Mat Gray ended up being the most consistent, winning the day with just 18 points.

Stu Dawes came in second, with 22 points with Kyle Stewart taking out third on 26 points.

On handicap today, Mat Gray tied for first with Kyle Stewart, both on 4 net points, with Phil Turnbull taking third, with 1 net point. Gotta say, I double checked the spreadsheet with the handicap results, but Mat had a lean previous 6 rounds with the DF, but the system will start to catch up with him now.

In other news, we had Richard Fisher in Qld competing in the Laser National Championships. Missing the first 4 races yesterday as he had flown in yesterday morning, he finished day 1 in fourth position with a number of first places. Hoping for a good day today to scrub off his missed races, but unfortunately didn't eventuale for him. Cruelled by some poor reception betwene the transmitter and receiver due to a mobile phone tower being rather close caused him to finish just a few races today, and finished the championship in 6th position.

Congrats for such a great showing in the races you could compete in Richard.

Wednesday is IOM Mid Week Handicap at the dam, from 11am, with RM Scratch next Sunday, button press at 1pm.

Kyle

​There was a fairly thick snow cap on the mountain this morning and the Southerly that created it was cool enough too. It was South-West on the river but presented Southerly on the dam with scuds and cats-paws spilling across the surface. It provided for tricky sailing conditions for the 11 skippers that came for racing today.
 
A-rigs were universally chosen and needed for the calm patches. There seemed to be a lot of weed around today and most skippers fell to its snare at some time.
 
We welcomed Rex Calvert to the group today. Rex is a regular with the Forcett Lakes club. With the name of Calvert, Rex is no stranger to yachting and pulled off a couple of podium finishes during the course of the day. We hope that you enjoyed your sail with us Rex.
 
Pete Sylvester turned up at lunch-time - just running an errand - but was happy to jump into the PRO’s position for the afternoon. Thanks for your work Pete. I was particularly appreciative of Pete’s volunteering as it freed me up to sail in the afternoon session. There is still work for me to do in setting up and tuning the new boat but I can feel its potential.
 
Third place today went to Wayne Behrens with a couple of wins in his race tally. Wayne’s vast experience of the dam under different conditions helped in today’s challenging conditions.
 
Stuart Dawes rigged the Plan B with much looser jib sheeting and was please with its performance. He took second place overall today.
 
Today’s winner was Ray Joyce. Ray had nothing worse than 4th in his total today (after discards), which was a great effort on a day when it was difficult for most skippers to maintain consistency.
 
Congratulations to all.
 
Sunday’s racing will be for DF95’s at Risdon Brook Dam (1:00 button press).
Next Wednesday’s handicap at the Risdon Brook Dam will be for IOM’s (11:00 button press).
 
John S 

A much different day today by the looks of it. Some light showers early, descending to large downpours later on in the day, making things rather uncomfortable. A popular and wise decision in the end to call the day a bit early, with the rain looking to remain for the day.

Just the 8 races completed today, to make 24 for the championship. Not a lot of change in the leaderboard. We did have a few yachts not quite make the full journey, with some back soreness and a mystery electrical issue calling an early end to two yachts.

Mat Gray came out champion for 2022, on 47 points, making it back-to-back victories for him. In his acceptance speech, he recognised the fact that it was much harder for him this year, and the overall standard of competition had really picked up in the last 12 months.

Michael Hickman came in second, on 56 points. A very consistent championship, with a 5th being his lowest counted finishing place in the races. Very well deserved 2nd.

Chris Wood took third place, on 58 points. Two wins from the 8 races today really challenging the two ahead of him. Again, a very deserved third place.

A big thanks to our volunteers for the weekend. Les Hanson, our ever-reliable PRO. Ken Dobbie, Rod Marshall and Andrew Wardrop on various start line, observer and boat operating duties. The volunteer work cannot be appreciated high enough, without this, we would not be sailing at all Thank you all for your work on the weekend.

It was interesting to note that we not only had a very wide and varied field of yachts, with 10 different designs out of the 14 yachts sailing, but we also had two "Woodies" sailing (Frank Russell Ellipsis and Jeff Byerley Idiom), as well as a "Classic" (Jeff Byerley Mad Max). Half of the fleet also got to win at least one race, showing the true competitiveness of the fleet.

Thanks also to the non-regulars, who contributed to the fleet size and success of the weekend. By the sounds of it with the chat during the weekend, you all really enjoyed the weekend, and hope to see you all much more often into the future with our sail days.

Coming up on 3/4 December is our Marblehead Class State Championship. This looks to be a fantastic field of entries so far, with up to 6 mainland entries so far. We will need assistance throughout that weekend in order to make the weekend as successful as possible, so if you feel like you'd like to lend a hand, please get in touch with John Hall or myself, so we can keep you in mind when we sort out volunteer roles for the weekend. It doesn't have to be the full weekend, or even a full day. Any time that you can volunteer will be really appreciated.

Photos from yesterday have been posted to both facebook's RC Sailing Tasmania page, and on the RBRYC Website.

Sailing coming up

Wednesday is IOM Handicap at the dam, starting at 11am

Next Saturday, 19th is the "David Murfett IOM Shield" Woodie day, held at Forcett Lakes. This shield is in rememberance of past Commodore, David Murfett. David's family kindly bequeathed David's yachts to the club, to be used as club yachts in order to encourage new members. He was also the first dual member of both MBYC and RBRYC. MBYC have generusly donated the shield for the Woodies in David's honour.
Racing starts at 10am, with a BBQ lunch (bring your own meat) and will conclude at about 2pm.

Next Sunday is DF95 Scratch, at the dam, commencing at 1pm.

​A fantastic day on the water by the looks of it today. A fresh 10-12 knots early on when I was there, and when I returned later in the afternoon, all but two yachts were on B Rigs.

From reports, the wind was quite shifty, both making it difficult for the PRO in setting the courses, but also for the sailors in picking the correct shifts to chase.

Sailing at a good clip, we got 7 races finished prior to lunch, with Mat Gray continuing his sizzling form - in the lead on 13 points, from Chris Wood on 18, tied with Ray Joyce in equal second. Three more yachts followed inside 5 points of third. A very close mornings sailing.

A further 9 races were completed in the afternoon, with time called just as the wind was starting to falter - great timing.

At the half way stage, we have Mat Gray comfortably in the lead, on 28 points, with Michael Hickman blasting through the pack into second, on 37 points, with Chris Wood in third, on 43 points.

Chatting with various sailors after the days sailing was real nice to hear the enjoyment of the day, with quick turnarounds between races, and a great atmosphere amongst the sailors.

It was great to see some out-of-club competitors as well as club members who have not been able to make regular Sunday sail days. Thanks, Ted, for making the trip down again from Launceston, and also to Ricky (representing MBYC) competing in the state level event

Big thanks has to go to Les, who as PRO got things under way after his briefing - all nicely on time, and kept things moving nicely as the day went on.

Thanks also to Andrew Wardrop, Ken Dobbie and Rod Marshall, who all gave their time to help with observing duties throughout the day. It's really appreciated guys.

Tomorrow will be the resumption of the championship, briefing at 1015, and button press at 1030 through to 1530.

Photos to come later, but in the meantine, results are below;

​Sailing today attracted 14 boats. John Short was absent with other duties. 10 races were completed in a light & variable breeze before lunch, which made sailing difficult - but at the lunch break a nice sea breeze arrived for some good sailing.

Stu Dawes was sailing 81w as he has ordered a blitz & Rod M was sailing 81wood - both had some good results. We used a rotating PRO system today.
 
Good to see our Quasmanian Pete Germein has migrated south for the summer. Also Peter Webberley short migrated north, sailing his immaculate TS2 also with some really good results.

Winner of the handicap today was Peter Webberley, on 15 points.
Wayne Behrens was 6 and a bit points behind, on 21.38 (averaged points when he pro'd a race).
Third place went to Stu Dawes, on 27 points. 


Coming up:
IOM State Championship this weekend - Saturday and Sunday. Briefing at 10:15 for a 10:30 button.  (Still time for a late entry on-line.)

Next Wednesday: IOM handicap at the dam. Button press at 11:00.

Andrew W

​A wonderful warm day th Montrose today. a stiff 10 knot northerly to start with  - with some sailors opting for the B rigs, and then to an A after the first few races. The wind did increase a little bit, before subduing, with most of us expecting a good sea breeze to come in, but a warm 6-10 knot westerly filled for the rest of the day, before dropping right off in the last race.

9 sailors made it for the day, and after a brief briefing, play got under way for 8 races in total.

Explained in the briefing was the committee's decision based on the experiences reported from the SA A Class Nationals, where there was no tolerance for unwanted behviour - any arguments, or carry on would me met with a 720 penalty after the start of the next race (per rule 2).

As expected, this was not required at all through the day, but sets the expectations for our sailing into the future. This is not only to maximise our enjoyment of competitive sailing, but also because we are in a highly exposed public area, and we want to be seen from the outside as a great club to become part of, with newer members feeling like they want to continue to sail with us and learn from the many skilful skippers we are so lucky to have at the club. A positive move that will only increase our membership numbers and numbers sailing on race days.

Unfortunately, we had a few casualties today, with Mat Gray's boat not happy with the rudder servo, and Martin Svensen having some issues with his sheet loop system.

Welcome back to the waters edge to Andrew Price, sailing for the first time in quite a few months. He must be real happy with a solid 3rd place on race 2. Great to see you back.

A great contest for first place today between Michael Hickman and Lisa Blackwood, sharing 5 wind fromt he 8 races.

Lisa came out victor for the day today, with a lowest counted score of a 3rd. Winning the day with 10 points.

Second place was Michael Hickman, also very consistent, on 14 points.

John Cole-Cook rounded out the top three on 15 points. His Venti showing fantastic speed.

On handicap, Lisa took out the double, with 5 rank differential points. Her points ranking will now be returning to where it belongs. Well done Lisa.

Tied for second place was Andrew Price and Kyle Stewart, both on 2 rank differential points. Fantastic effort Andrew, for your return to the water.

Wednesday will see the return of IOM Handicap at the dam, button press at 11am.

Next weekend is the Tasmanian State IOM Championships on Saturday and Sunday - button press for both days at 1030. If you haven't done so already, please get those entries in as soon as possible.

Kyle

A cold, blustery and shifty north-wester of 20 knots gave skippers plenty to contend with at today’s DF95 handicap at Risdon Brook Dam. I am guessing that quite a few skippers exercised discresion and chose to stay warm at home as it was a small intrepid group that turned up to race.
 
B-rigs were the order of the day and were universally chosen by the skippers for the morning session. After lunch the A-rigs were given a try as conditions had been moderating but as soon as the change had been made the wind returned with its former fierce gusts and so skippers all changed down again.
 
Andrew Floyd turned up with his IOM today after mistaking the monthly schedule. Luckily Wayne had brought a spare boat and so Andrew was able to get the feel of a DF95. The truth Andrew, is that having one radio yacht in not nearly enough!
 
Gear failure played its part today and noticeably the three who took overall podium honors were the only ones to finish all the races. Stuart Dawes retired after the first race with servo problems, my winch called it a day at lunchtime and Phil Turnbull’s mainsheet kept him at the repair shop for most of the morning. 
 
Third place was taken by Ian Hey who sailed well in the difficult conditions.
 
Second was Wayne Behrens who very quickly took his handicap from 40 to the maximum of 90 with handicap penalties from first four races. 
 
Today’s winner was Ray Joyce who finished with ‘all podium results’ and -2 points overall once discards and bonuses were taken into account.
 
Thanks as always to Andrew Wardrop for his work as PRO. 
 
It was a tough day in the cold and blustery conditions but it is pretty well always worth going out to race radio yachts.

REMINDER - ADFRSA AGM
The ADFRSA is having their AGM tomorrow night, Thursday, 3rd November at 7.30pm. You shoudl ahve received a few emails from the Secretary for this, the last one being tonighs reminder email. It would be great to get some Tasmanian representation at the meeting. If you cannot find your AGM email, contcat Kyle and he'll forward the one that was sent to him for log in details etc.
 
Reminder of upcoming sailing
Saturday will have the A Class yachts returning to Montrose for some scratch racing. Button press at 11am
Sunday’s scratch racing will be for IOM yachts at Montrose at the summer-time start time of 1:00. 
Next Wednesday’s handicap will be for IOM’s (button press 11:00)
And don’t forget that there is still time to enter for the Tasmanian IOM Championships at Montrose 12th -13th  November. (Enter on-line)
 
John S