​Some extra wind was predicted today, but I think nobody expected what we got throughout the day…..
 
The eight competitors set up nice and early, but nobody seemed too sure on what rig to put on, so with 15 minutes before the first race started, we all took out best guesses. The wind was going from about 8 knots through to 20 at times. The mostly strong northerly breeze coming up against an incoming tide made for some exciting large wave sailing, surfing aplenty and punishing those very harshly who tried to tack at the wrong point in time. One of my own races tacking when in first position, and gaining control again on the opposite tack in last. Not only timing at the point of tacking but more importantly spacial awareness of the next gust that was coming and being on your preferred tack before it hit was paramount.

Initially, we were all shod in C1 Rigs, which was effective for the first few races, but before long, we ended up with an eclectic mix of C1, C2, C3 and B3 amongst the fleet.
 
PRO, Andrew Wardrop had us going in between races nice and efficiently, and the course became a pretty consistent one given the constant changing of both wind speed and direction. It is not an embellishment on the truth to say the we legitimately had gusts up around 30 knots, water twisters on multiple occasions – concerningly close to the yachts at times, and directions all around the compass. On one particular pre race period, we initially had a good strong southerly for the first time of the day, quickly changing to an Easterly, back around to my Nationals flashbacks of Westerly direct offshore, before stabilising again from the North West – all in the space of 5 minutes……

It was great to see Mat Bugg along today, sailing Lisa’s Walicki. Unfortunately his day ended early with a main winch failure, but stayed for the majority of the day and enjoyed some great sailing in hard conditions.

Stu Dawes had a difficult day today, with some hard fought podium finishes followed up by some very cruel wind shifts before eventually retiring from the last 4 races.
 
Rod Marshall had a good day today with his Mantra 2 – seemingly underpowered when he took the chance on his B3 rig, however sailed it really well with a few podium finishes and also taking a race win earlier on when he had his C2 on.
 
Ted Stevens was ready to go home after the first race of the day – having kept clear of a large tangle up on the start line – to show the fleet a clean set of heels and taking out the first race in convincing style. A wonderful day for Ted while he comes to terms with his F-6. Taking three wins for the day as well.
 
Lisa had some struggles with the C2 rig being a bit overpowered at times, but still came away with a strong performance today, taking third position with 36 points.

Ray likewise struggled a little bit. Having chosen his C3 rig for the last half of the day, he had blistering speed – especially downwind, but in the lulls that followed the big gusts, just lacked a little horsepower. Finishing second, 5 in front of Lisa with 31 points.

Kyle was also a bit hot and cold, putting together really good races, but followed up on a few occasions with reliability issues. Turning around the downwind mark with a very large gust hitting, causing the winch to stall out, requiring rescue. Again a bit afterwards losing power completely and finding that water had got in to the pot and the receiver, shorting everything out – again requiring rescue. That said, the good races were extremely good, navigating the heavy conditions with a good level of confidence – winning the Regatta four ahead of Ray on 27 points.

Big thanks today to Andrew Wardrop, for coming along and doing the PRO work for us. Your help is really appreciated by all of us.
 
Coming up:
 
Wednesday  - IOM Handicap (perpetual trophy round) at the Dam – button press at 1030
Sunday – DF65/DF95 Scratch Round 3 at the Dam, starting at 10am with the same format as we had in rounds 1 and 2. Any volunteers for PRO on the day please contact either Ray or myself.
 
Kyle

​Just four sailors made it along today for round 4 of the Marblehead Scratch series.
 
These four were rewarded with one of the best Katabatic northerlies we have had this season. Close to 10 knot North to North Westerlies throughout, gradually dying off just as we were packing up. Right at the top end of A Rig sailing, with some great upwind tacking duels and downwind surfing – a rarity for the Swing Rigged boats – an absolute blast throughout. Tacking proved very much make or break with a poor tack costing 50m very easily.
 
Ricky Price, our PRO for the day had us under way nicely on time and got in 11 races before we decided to pull the pin on the day and return to the boat shed.
 
Kyle had a great day out – the Indie loving the conditions, coming away with the round win on 10 points.
 
John Hall sailed a great day as well with plenty of boat speed in the F-6, taking second with 22 points.
 
Ray was also sailing very well with the Grunge, but finished the day a little early, taking 3rd with 25 points.
 
Although a small fleet today, everyone had a really enjoyable day and relished the conditions we don’t normally have with the Swing rigs. Generally, they are used at the top of the range in summer with the southerly sea breeze and there is not a lot of chop, but it was a really nice change getting the extra wave action from the longer fetch that we get when the northerlies are coming through.
 
Some photos will be posted later this afternoon from today’s sailing on the RC Sailing Tasmania Facebook Page
 
Coming  Up
 
DF95 Mid Week Handicap on Wednesday at the Dam from 1030
 
Marblehead Southern State Regatta next Sunday at the Dam, button press 1030. Please get entries in as soon as possible. Entries will be closing on Friday afternoon.
 
Kyle

​Very light conditions again for the eight skippers who turned up today for the Herb Tyson Memorial Regatta. Unfortunately, when rigging up, Phil found that the motor on his winch had seized up completely and had to withdraw. Thankfully, he stayed the day and helped out with buoy setting and RO duties – thanks Phil.
 
The event was transferred to Montrose today as Risdon Dam was closed following the recent downpours in the state – currently scheduled to open on Tuesday (fingers crossed).
 
Morning session PRO, Andrew had us starting right on time and had the difficult task of setting a course to the ever-changing wind. That said, he did a stellar job in getting us through 7 morning races before the lunch break. Some excellent racing but it soon became clear that Lisa, Kyle and Stu were in good form. 1 point the margin between Kyle and Stu at lunch, with Lisa a further 3 adrift – but with a good drop to have when we hit 8 races. Ian Hey also sailed very well for his first A Class sail with the club boat, just one point away from Rod, who was in 4th position.
 
After lunch, John Short took on the PRO duties and had us under way pretty efficiently after re-laying the course to suit the N-NW breeze and moving further W as the afternoon wore on. A further 7 races were completed to give the regatta a total of 14 races in all. After a small incident and loss of a side stay after lunch, Kyle strung three race wins together to take some control over the regatta, however, it was still far from over with Lisa reeling off three wind to close the day out. Not to be forgotten either, Stu stayed very consistent with 6 seconds in the last 7 races to keep things very tight at the top. The skippers vying for 4-7 were also having a great close set of races, often finishing within a boat length or two of each other.
 
At the end of the day, Kyle had done just enough to win the regatta with 21.3 points.
Lisa finished an extremely close second, less than 2 points away on 23 points.
Similarly, stu was just one point further adrift in third on 24 points.
 
The battle for 4th was just as tight between Rod and Bodge, with Bodge just getting the nod over Rod by 2 points.
 
An excellent days sailing with one of the most graceful classes of yacht.
 
Big thanks today to Andrew, John and Phil. Your help is very appreciated.
 
Coming Up
 
Tomorrow will see the Marbleheads in action at Montrose from 10am
 
Next Wednesday will have the DF95 Mid Week Handicap at the Dam, starting at 1030. If this changes with the dam remaining closed, I will send an email out to all members.
 
Kyle

An excellent field of 16 entered today for this year’s instalment of the DF95 42 Degrees South Regatta. Unfortunately the wind didn’t quite co-operate and we were given 0-3 knots to sail in for the duration of the day.

PRO, Andrew Wardrop, after long consideration, has us all on the water and started on time for the first race, however, the wind or what little there was, decided to abandon us and the race became one of the slowest we have had, coming in for a finish just inside the maximum allowed race time.

Just as we finished, the light breeze returned, and we finished a quick re-check of boats before returning to the water to sail the next four races back to back – just in case the lunch break proved the end of the wind for today and we at least had enough races for qualify as a ranking event.

Coming in to lunch, things were very tight with Lisa and Kyle fighting it out at the top of the leaderboard – one point between them and three points separating 5-8th place. Silver fleet had one point separating 2nd and 4th with 5-8 all tied on points as well.

At the conclusion of lunch, there was some breeze available, so “Boats on the water” was called and we all got out to the start line again. This ended up being the last race, with the start under rather benign conditions and maybe 6 sailors got away initially with the rest just sitting at the start with no breeze available any more, however things did turn somewhat and many stuck on the start line caught up to the lead fleet, with the exception of Nick and Kyle who were fortunate to maintain momentum throughout and a lengthy lead over the rest of the field.

At the end of that 6th race, the skippers were offered an early afternoon, which was accepted unanimously.

At the end of racing, Kyle came out on top, with a very consistent day, finishing with 11 points to win the 42 Degrees Sout Regatta.
Lisa, having sailed so well, with three race wins was somewhat unlucky with a few races and hurt badly with some soft patches on the water, taking second place, four adrift on 15 points.
Nick Connor also sailed very consistently with 3 podiums throughout the day, just one behind Lisa on 16 points for third place

In Silver Fleet, Phil Turnbull had a fantastic return to sailing, taking first place on 13 points, also with a race win in the Main Fleet.
Malcolm Watson represented the North of the state with aplomb, taking second, just two behind Phil on 15 points.
Third place went to Scott Brain, a further two behind on 17 points.

Well done everyone on a bit of a frustrating day with the wind. A lot of laughs and good humour throughout, which made the day a bit more enjoyable.

Special thanks to our three volunteers today, Andrew Wardrop, Ricky Price and David Woolley (Sheep). Your help is always appreciated, and today was a particularly difficult one in the very light wind, trying to get a good and fair course for everyone.

Photos of todays sailing kindly provided to us by Ray Joyce and Grant Wise
 
Coming Up:
Wednesday is “Super Wednesday” for IOM’s at the Dam – button press at 1030
Saturday, 30th May is the rescheduled Herb Tyson Memorial for A Class yachts – please get your entries in as soon as possible
Sunday, 31st May is RM Scratch at the Dam, button press at 1000
 
Kyle

After a slight downer with some weed affecting races at the end of the day yesterday, we wondered what might turn up for the last day of the state championships today.

Initially, it wasn’t the wind, with a delay expected as sailors were getting their boats ready to race.
 
However, at the race course, Ray and his team were feverishly re-laying course marks for “something” and when he came in for the briefing, told us that there was a slight breeze out there and we would be staring on time.
 
The first race today was very slow, however most got off to a reasonable start and subsequently taken out by Ted to bookend the end of yesterday and the start of todays racing. Brilliant stuff in the light conditions. However, soon after, the breeze did come in, albeit only about 4 knots but enough to get some great racing in through to lunch time.
 
Amusingly in the last race before lunch, most competitors had arrived to the start line in good fashion, only for the tide to change as the starting signal had started, and were almost all caught completely unaware with yachts drifting helplessly over the start early, when all the prior races had current flow in the opposite direction, helping us to sit just on the correct side of the start line until the race started. All good with a general recall and re-start….
 
After then, it looked a bit scarily quiet on the water again and the question was put to the skippers to continue or close the day out. Thankfully, a few did put their hands up and we went for the last session of the champs and got some nice, light conditions with a few shifts and importantly – no weed for the day.
 
Some very close racing today overall, as well as some great battles between individuals. The battle of the North of the State with Ted and Dicko having a great duel throughout. In the end, the battle of the North was won by Ted, albeit Dicko did get bragging rights with a 2nd in the last (last race counts, right?).
 
Likewise, Rod and John fought closely with Rod pulling back the 5 point deficit from day 1 to jump 8 up by the end of the champs.
 
The battle of the top three soon turned into one for the top two with Stu scoring very well, but unable to regularly crack in to the top two spots.
 
Kyle and Lisa had many close races, with a lot of technical elements on show. Lisa’s lighter Cuben fiber jib helping in the really light wind, but lost its advantage over 4 knots where Kyle’s setup was a bit more powerful and pointed a bit more efficiently.

In the end though, the consistency throughout the two days was the winning point, with Kyle having only podium positions counted throughout and a few 3rds counted as drops, winning the Championship convincingly on 38 points.
 
Lisa always not far away though, with great pace and efficiency, but not quite the consistency throughout, a convincing second place 12 adrift on 50 points.
 
Stuart had a few more issues today in getting his boat to perform as he would have liked, but was still very much at the pointy end of the fleet, taking third position 16 further back on 66 points.
 
As always, these events do not succeed without the assistance of the volunteer crews. From Ray Joyce’s handling of the entire event as PRO, as well as helpers in Peter Sylvester, Ian Hey and Andre Wardrop. Without your help, the weekend would not have been as enjoyable and successful as it was, so from all the competitors, thank you all for  donating your weekend so the rest of us can enjoy a two day championship event. To the three sailors from the north of the state, Ted Ian and Malcolm – thank you for coming down to compete and representing your home clubs in such fantastic manner. We will certainly be returning the enthusiasm, good friendly banter and competitive spirit next year when the Champs moves to the NW for hosting duties.
 
Photos were taken again by Ray today – thanks for these great photos – and available to look at on the RC Sailing Tas Facebook page
 
Coming Up
Wednesday 20th – Mid Week IOM Handicap at the Dam, button press at 1030
Saturday 23rd – Woodies IOM at Trevallyn Day, button press at 1100
Sunday 24th – DF95 42 Degrees South Regatta (Get those entries in as soon as possible). Details on the NoR
 
Kyle

​A fleet of nine yachts turned up for the first day of the State A Class Championship, and were greeted with a very calm morning, a light 2 knot northerly. Not quite the Katabatic we were hoping for.
 
PRO, Ray Joyce got us away right on time, and we decided to forgo the break after the first race to try to get some sailing in before the water glassed right out on us.
 
After 4 races, we took an early lunch with that last race coming in just under the timeout period and only 3 yachts had finished inside the 5 minutes after the first boat finished.
 
Obviously, as soon as we got in and settled into lunch, the breeze came up, rather than die off. It had abated a little bit before resumption, but we had a great afternoon with 6-11 knot N-NW wind, including some fantastic surfing conditions from the long fetch of the river with that wind direction.
 
Unfortunately, the change in tide in the early afternoon had us all encounter some weed issues, however, we sailed right to the scheduled 4pm finish and as soon as we got off the water, the wind died right off again.
 
Luckily the breeze was significantly more that predicted, and hopefully it will do the same again tomorrow as the current forecast is extremely light (3 knot nor-wester).
 
13 races were completed by the end of the day, and the clubhouse leader at the half way mark is Kyle Stewart on 21 points. A very consistent day with a 3rd being one of the discards.
Second place is Stuart Dawes, 6 behind on 27 points with Lisa Balckwood a a further 5 behind on 32 Points.

Big thanks today to Ray for his efforts as PRO. Keeping everyone in line with timeliness between breaks and weed checks, and Peter Sylvester on the scoresheet as well as rescue boat duties. Thanks also to Andrew Wardrop for assisting during the day and helping Malcolm get used to his nice new Blister yacht.
 
Sailing starts again tomorrow at 1015. After presentations, we will have our Club AGM at MBYC Members Bar from 4.30pm.
 
See you all tomorrow.

Although it was a chilly start the day unfolded gloriously to become warm and sunny for today’s IOM handicap shield racing at Risdon Brook Dam. A 12 knot Northerly katabatic greeted the skippers when they arrived but this lightened race by race as the day proceeded.
 
It was great to see Rob Cooney back again after the best part of a year away from our group. Rob wasted no time at all getting back into it and showed that her had forgot nothing by finishing the first race in second place, following it with a win in the second race and had another win later in the day too. So good to see you again Rob.
 
We sailed longer in the morning session and took lunch after 7 races to ensure that the dying breeze didn’t spoil the day. 11 races were completed for the day with just enough wind to keep us moving for a couple of the later races.
 
With most of the races completed in smooth and easy conditions it was a day when the back-markers found it difficult to make inroads into their handicap. Rod Marshall took out the day easily a clear 13 points ahead of the second place getter. Rod was one of 4 skippers to win more than one race today, sharing that honour with Peter Sylvester, Rob Cooney and Peter Turner. 
 
John Hall took out second place with the most consistent scorecard and Peter Sylvester took third place also claiming that lovely feeling that comes with winning the last race of the day. Congratulations and well sailed Rod, John and Peter.
 
I have been generally pleased with the fairness of the handicap system used with IOMs but today John Penman somehow outwitted it! John claimed 4th spot without making a podium appearance and gets handicap benefit for our next week. Impressive work John!
 
Coming up:
Saturday and Sunday: A class State Championships at Montrose. Saturday button press at 10:30. Club yacht is available is anyone is interested. Contact Kyle if you’d like to use it.
 
Next Wednesday: IOM Handicap Racing at Risdon Brook Dam. 10:30 button press.
 
Shorty

With a rain threat possible PRO Andrew Wardrop got us underway smartly and kept things moving well throughout the day. The B-rig was the obvious choice and was universally chosen by the 11 skippers sailing.
 
Boat setup was probably the deciding factor today as those well rigged could avoid in-irons situations which was a fairly common when tacking in the heavy conditions. So it was not surprising to see that it was the ‘all-star’ group of skippers who shone brightly today.
 
None more-so than Nick Connor whose performance today could only be described as a genuine sailing clinic for the rest of us. He simply had more boat speed, handled the conditions better than any one else and made the best decisions in a shifty wind. Nick was still winning races at the end of the day on a handicap of 85 and starting 30 seconds behind his nearest competitor.
 
That said Bodge’s efforts today were quite excellent too. Bodge took second place with nothing worse than 4th on his scorecard after taking discards into account. 
 
Richard Wylie (Tiles) took the third podium spot with two race wins. Richard travels from Orford  and Malcolm Watson travelled from Launceston just to sail with us today showing genuine commitment and passion for the sport!
 
There was a bit of lunchtime chat over the upcoming Southern Tasmanian DF95 Regatta to be held at Risdon Brook on Sunday 19th May. We are hoping for a good turnout for this so make sure that you make your on-line entry in good time. If you’re not intending on sailing but would like to help out as PRO, please let Kyle or Ray know as we are looking for someone to run the day for us.
 
Coming up:
Sunday: No Sailing (Mothers Day!)
Next Wednesday: IOM Handicap Shield at Risdon Brook Dam (10:30 button press).
 
Shorty

Sunny skies greeted twelve skippers for the next round of the Long-Distance Series held at Risdon Brook Dam.


There was a gentle northerly breeze blowing down the dam between 0-6 knts and sometimes depending where you were on the course it briefly came in from the south to occasionally make things interesting out on the water. Choosing where to sail was a bit of a lottery with those skippers choosing to stay close to shore paying off in some instances but also finding themselves becalmed. The same was happening further out where skippers were looking really good at times, only to see their advantage disappear.


We only managed a total of six races today  (with one drop) with close racing results being the order of the day throughout the fleet.
John Penman (JP) sailed his V11 to victory today by the narrowest of margins finishing on 14 pts, with Pete Sylvester only one point adrift on 15 pts with his bright orange K2. Gary McCarthy finished a credible third place with his orange GC26 on 19pts. Well sailed to all skippers.


Gary is off to the IOM Worlds in coming days, and we wish him the best of luck. Goodluck !


Ian (aka Bodge)
 
Coming up:-
Sunday 3/5/26 – John Emms Marblehead Regatta - Entries close Friday so get them in if you're intending on sailing


Wednesday 6/5/26 – Mid week DF95 Handicap Day
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