|
Well, the RM’s have been run and won for the year, and what a collective improvement the club has made throughout. Looks like Ray has found some very welcome competition, which will make our collective competitiveness so much better. Only wish I could have been on the water, but thems the breaks. Maybe the results show that I should build and let others sail....... The fleet started off with a mixed bag of B and C rigs, with the wind shifting towards the West just before racing started. I only got to see one and a half races, but the competition was quite close and respectful (as we always aim to be). Stu Dawes started well out of the blocks with a couple of bullets in the first two races (looks like that’s not such a bad yacht, Stu), and maintained some great consistency over the day. Consistent enough to take the honours on the day with 12 points, with Ray Joyce coming in second on16, and Lisa Blackwood taking out third just two points back on 18. In the “classic” division (my own rules there), Joh Hall took the honours, edging out Les Hanson by two points, with Phil Turnbull coming in third. In all, a good day at MBYC, and hopefully with the warmer weather coming on, we will see some more “Classic” and “Modern” RM’s hitting the water. We do have an RM Boogie available for Sunday use if there are sailors interested in having a go. While not up to Modern performance standards, it is a very good yacht to sail and will perform very well. Just contact me if you’d like to put it on the water on an RM Sunday. Next Week
Sunday, 15th December is our last Sunday sailing for the year. We will be having a BBQ and presentation of awards on this day, after the scheduled sailing is finished. Please lock the date in if you can for the presentations and BBQ, and we will provide more detail as it gets closer. 
0 Comments
An excellent mornings sailing at the dam today with a solid fleet of 13 boats enjoying mid to top B rig conditions in gusty NW breeze, with the usual westerly tinged shifts. With some very solid gusts coming through, boat handling & picking the shifts determined the results. Don McLeod returned with his refurbished V7, which no longer leaks & was going well today. Also Paul Jewell, Peter Germein & Lisa were also sailing. Ray was sailing Rob Gavin’s Mad Max which found its boat speed as the morning progressed. Last weeks winner of the wine was Jammy. Had a few questions about the wine fund & it still stands at a bit over $200 with a stock of about 8 bottles. I will stock up this week & we will start the $2 wine contribution in January. Well done today to Wayne Behrens, a comfortable winner on 4 points – the handicapper has got you again now. Second was Don, sailing his refurbished V7 very well, on 10.9 points, with Andrew Wardrop rounding up the top three on 12.9 points.  A small, but keen contingent arrived for the Sunday Taste-Test of the DF95 class. We had four sailors contact us offering apologies for the day, which is very appreciated as this was a litmus test for future sail days for the class ad it is good to know others were wanting to come, but had other commitments, which is absolutely fine. That said, we had eight sailors for the day (so could have been a very healthy 12 starters on any other day), but unfortunately, we had two retire while preparing for the first race – one with a transmitter range issue, the other a burned out rudder servo.. We started in very strong A rig conditions, and held that for the first three races, where we all opted to change to the B Rig, with Paul going for a borrowed C rig as his B rig is not ready yet. Towards the end of the day, we considered changing back to “A”, but the occasional gust kept the actual decision at bay, subsequently, that made the borrowed C rig quite uncompetitive so a shortened course for Pauls C rigged yacht was sorted to event things up again for all competitors. There was some great racing, especially amongst the top three, with the results showing that it was tight right to the end, with Chris Wood coming out on top for the day with 11 points, with Lisa close behind in second on 13 points and Stu Dawes snapping on Lisa’s heels in third on 16 points. Paul’s first efforts at sailing at the club were rewarded, taking out a second and third throughout the day. With time and some guidance, consistency will improve and he will be much further up the field with his results.  Afterwards, we had a chat about the future racing for the DF95, and initially considered a twilight race for Thursday 5th December, but that follows the DF95 handicap day the day prior, so will move it out two weeks to Thursday 19th December for those who would like to sail the DF95’s again. Details for this will be coming soon. We also discussed the possibility of moving the DF95’s to the dam, where a shorter course and flatter waters may be of benefit, so we will trial it there and see how it goes. If supported well, we will schedule more days for the DF95 fleet.
Next Week
Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December is our RM State Championship Regatta. We would like to hear from anyone who would like to help us with the various volunteer roles for that weekend. Pro, observer/s and rescue boat handler are amongst a number of volunteer roles we will need to fill. If you would like to help us out on this weekend, please contact John Hall or myself as soon as possible, so we can ensure all plans are set in place as soon as possible for that weekend. The RM fleet is not very large, and we would hope to expect around 10 competitors, but it would be a real shame if one of the competitors has to withdraw to Pro the weekend, so please, if you are not sailing that weekend, consider a go at PRO on one of the days. It would be very appreciated by all competitors. Put it on the calendar Sunday, 15th December is our last Sunday sailing for the year. We will be having a BBQ and presentation of awards on this day, after the scheduled sailing is finished. Please lock the date in if you can for the presentations and BBQ, and we will provide more detail as it gets closer. Our first IOM Wednesday back at the dam saw a competitive fleet of 10 boats on the water for an hour of scratch racing in a light to moderate breeze which was predominently NW, with a bit of westerley thrown in to keep everyone on their toes. At the end of the scratch series, we then had eight races under our handicap system in typical dam conditions with picking the shifts being the name of the game. Rod Marshall launched his new woody a Bantam 2 design ( the chook ) from Fred Barrett. It had good boat speed at times & will no doubt be competitive with further tuning. Thanks to those who were doing PRO duties today under the rotating system  I wasn't there today for the sailing, but from reports to me, it was a good days sailing, with wind mostly in the B to C1 range. Seven sailors competed today, with Les Hanson very kindly offering up his Vibe to Stuart Dawes for the day and taking over the PRO duties instead. Thanks for sacrificing your sail day to do this Les, it is very appreciated by all. Slowly but surely, Ray Joyce's Grunge is getting some competition, which is great for everyone, especially since we are planning a contingent to go to Yarrawonga for next year's Nationals. Rod Marshall's Mantra 2 is improving each and every week, with Rod taking out two races, and having a lowest result of 3rd (not including the discards) showing extremely good consistency and pace. Not quite enough on the day though taking third spot by countback to Ray Joyce in second spot with four wins for the day - both on 20 points Winner of the day today though, was Lisa Blackwood, with a borrowed Indie, four points ahead of Ray on 16 points. From the bar talk after the day's sailing, it was a very enjoyable day. Next Week
Call for volunteers Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December is our RM State Championship Regatta. We are likely to have some sailors amongst us from the mainland this year, which is very encouraging news. We would like to hear from anyone who would like to help us with the various volunteer roles for that weekend. Pro, observer/s and rescue boat handler are amongst a number of volunteer roles we will need to fill. If you would like to help us out on this weekend, please contact John Hall or myself as soon as possible, so we can ensure all plans are set in place as soon as possible for that weekend. Put it on the calendar Sunday, 15th December is our last Sunday sailing for the year. We will be having a BBQ and presentation of awards on this day. Please lock the date in if you can for the presentations and BBQ, and we will provide more detail as it gets closer.  Well, the championship has been run and won. 27 races over two days, superbly controlled by PRO John Hall and ably assisted by Phil Turnbull. Many thanks to the volunteers over the two days. It does take a lot to successfully run an event, and the things behind the scenes are all very important to ensure smooth running on the day. Rescue craft don’t get set up and packed away by themselves, the buoys aren’t maintained and set by themselves, so the volunteer efforts are hugely appreciated. Saturday contained a set of 13 races in all, in what was a really difficult day to master. Variable wind conditions, combined with the inclement weather and a spattering of weed on the course kept us all on our toes. Unfortunately, for a few competitors, yacht breakdown affected their results, but that is an unfortunate part of sailing – especially in a salt water environment. At the end of day 1, Rod Jackman was the leader, on 32 points, just ahead of Lisa Blackwood (32) and Ray Joyce (37) in third place. Sunday got another 14 races in, with conditions much more sedate than Saturday, and with little to no weed issue present. A few sailors found a new gear with their sailing, with quite a change on the leaderboard by the end of the day. Big mover for the day was Mike Hickman, who won five out of the 14 races. In the end though, it wasn’t quite enough to return the championship to him, with Lisa Blackwood being the most consistent performer over the two days, taking out the State Championship with 63 points. Mike Hickman took out second place on 71 points, with Rod Jackman in third, on 77 points. We also had an amount of Woodies in the mix on the weekend. The ranking Woodie over the championship was Chris Wood. Of note also, Ted Stevens came down from the north of the state with his Mad Max IOM. With an older yacht, he had some pretty humble goals over the weekend, which he exceeded. A second in race 7 and 3rd in race 13 showed the Mad Max had some life in her yet. Pretty sure he enjoyed the weekend, especially since he is heading home tomorrow with a new 2nd hand IOM to sail in future events. Thanks for making the trip Ted, and we look forward to both returning the favour in future events up north, and to you returning for more events in the south. In all, a very enjoyable weekend’s sailing. Congratulations to all sailors and volunteers for a fine weekend. Next Week
Call for volunteers Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December is our RM State Championship Regatta. We are likely to have some sailors amongst us from the mainland this year, which is very encouraging news. We would like to hear from anyone who would like to help us with the various volunteer roles for that weekend. Pro, observer/s and rescue boat handler are amongst a number of volunteer roles we will need to fill. If you would like to help us out on this weekend, please contact John Hall or myself as soon as possible, so we can ensure all plans are set in place as soon as possible for that weekend. Put it on the calendar Sunday, 15th December is our last Sunday sailing for the year. We will be having a BBQ and presentation of awards on this day. Please lock the date in if you can for the presentations and BBQ, and we will provide more detail as it gets closer.  A great day was had by most today on the new course at MBYC, now located back where the nationals were held. Ample opportunity to make course changes with wind changes now exists for us with both windward marks and lee marks being four wide, so we can again chose two of the four based on the wind for the race. Thanks to the people who came out on Saturday morning to move the buoys to the new location. It really helped set up a successful sail day today. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to see it all unfold, but the impression at the end of the day when I did get there was very positive. The racing on the day certainly did not disappoint, and a quick glance at the results sheet showed a very close and competitive day overall. Mike Hickman won the day overall, with 15 points from the nine races. Returning member, Stuart Dawes (welcome back Stu) came in second with his borrowed Cheinz (thanks Les) on 18 points, and we had a three way tie for third, with Ray Joyce winning the third spot on 20 points, on countback to Wayne Behrens and Lisa Blackwood. Again, it showed the close, competitive nature of the fleet, especially amongst those who were able to complete every race without issue. Upcoming events this week
 Sorry for the late posting, but here are the results of yesterday’s handicap racing. I turned up at the end of the day, and it looked to be a nice little breeze for the last race and a half, with dead flat water. The 10 yachts on the water when I turned up looked fantastic out there. Sounds like a few weed issues this week, but that cannot be helped. Of note, today’s top three all completed every race. Shows how important it is to get across that finish line. John hall enjoyed a return to form, well in the lead at the end of the day, on 4 points, with Rod Marshall throwing in another consistent effort in second on 13 points, beating Rod Jackman in third by countback. Next Wednesday is going to be an attempt at sailing at Risdon Brook Dam, to see how it is sailing there with the still reduced dam level. It is thought that it will be quite sailable, albeit with a bit of a walk to the shoreline. Nothing we have not done in the past, so get the DF95’s ready and we hope to see you there next Wednesday. 10am scratch for a warm up, and then Handicap from 11am. This Sunday has a return of the IOM’s to Montrose Bay, and we will be sailing off the championship course this week, with a Jet Ski day also planned outside the clubhouse. It will be a great tuneup for those there for the IOM Tasmanian Championship the following weekend. If you are not sailing in the Championship, and would like to give it a go, we are always looking for volunteers to assist with the PRO duties, rescue boat duties and observer duties. Please give John Hall or myself a call if you would like to help out. We will give you as much assistance and support for it, including making sure you fully understand what will be needed for each role.  Well, what a challenging day we had today Started in B Rig conditions, but the wind was all over the place on the water, and for many, it seemed that most tacks were into unseen headers. Very difficult conditions. A very low tide also made things difficult, with event he rescue dinghy finding issue with the lack of depth around stricken yachts. Just eight races were completed, as we had some extended breaks to move buoys out a bit further to reduce the casualty list with grounded yachts. That said, the cream, as always still rises to the top, and this week, Lisa Blackwood came out well on top with just 8 points from the 8 races. Ray Joyce came in in a rare second position on 15, and then we had a three way tie for third, with Rod Marshall on 27 points, taking the place on countback from John Hall and Les Hanson. Unfortunately, a hard day on the water, but we hope to have the championship course set up by next weekend, so when the conditions aren’t entirely favourable, we will have a choice of courses to use. Upcoming events this week
 A glorious day greeted the sailors for the fun sail day. A great turnout of eleven skippers, with three classes represented. We raced a handicap format per class, with the DF95’s on scratch, IOM’s on 1 minute, and RM’s on two minutes.
The handicapper’s decision on the times was very well calculated, and there were many close finishes on the single lap course. Initially, we had quite light, but consistent conditions from the NW, but decided to take a bit of a drink break (it was close to 30C out there), when the wind died right off, but a fresh, but still pretty light sea breeze pushed through and we sailed the rest of the afternoon off the back of that, eventually packing up a bit after 4pm. At a guess, there were 12-15 races in all. The day was enjoyed by all. Great to see a good mix of sailors, young and not so young, new members, regular members, and members who have not been able to turn up quite so much. On the back of this day, I am pretty sure we will do similar on other public holiday and long weekend Sundays maybe. Reminder RM’s sailing this Sunday. If you might be interested in having a sail, but don’t have an RM, I can have a Boogie RM ready to sail on the day. Just let me know so I can have it ready for you. We are also always on the lookout for assistance on the sail days, so if you’d like to have a go at PRO, observing, or rescue boat duties, please call out. |