On the Water and in the bar.
The stories of the H28's on the Swan River in 2019
Spring Wednesday Sailing the 18th of December 2019
Out the back again &
Things that go bump.
Eight boats on the water, it must be Christmas and the jetty was pumping as we settled into a great afternoon of sailing with Aloha coming up from jetty seven to join the other 7 boats. The starters gave us a course two on a decent west sou westerly that was moving about a bit and the 10 to 15 knots was enough for all the boats to perform.
As can be expected the start was all, with only a few passing lanes on the way up to Hallmark, but we were going to make it work. Unfortunately we were rolled by Judith on board Alma and we found ourselves at the tail end of the fleet once the race started. So trying another tactic, the skipper went low and fast and surprisingly we were doing well, in contention with the rest of the fleet.
John Wright had made a cracking start with the lead in his hands and Corella, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella stomping down the line after him. No taking people up, just speed. The First Jindarra was running fifth and clearly meant to catch up on the way up the breeze after Sampson. We had the privilege of sitting behind the first 6 boats and our skippers main problem was to 2nd guess Judith in front.
Correctly we tacked away after Sampson and began our own race up the middle on clean air. Soon to be followed and challenged by those who came across from the north, we held our breath or dipped alternatively as we crossed them. Good, three boats behind us now and we were halfway there. Then in front of us, two boats had come together. Whilst I didn't observe the accident and can't comment on the event, it essentially put one of the four leading boats behind the other, once a penalty turn was taken, and gave one of the boats a chance to progress further that he possibly may have been able to prior to the incident.
Be that as it may, our job was to get to Hallmark as fast as possible and by the time we had made it there we were looking at a good 5th place and a chance to improve on the way up to Armstrong. Which we did making it up to 4th place. Around Armstrong with a crash and a bang, the pole was set for a run to Como and we were then looking for a way to get past John Wright who had slipped back a little into third place. The leaders at this stage were Corella followed by The Jin with Anna beside us on the run down the breeze. And Anna stayed in front until Como where a smart rounding had us get above her and some good trimming had us run over the top of her and into third place.
Up went the shortened course flags and it was a bolt for home.
Over the line: Corella, The First Jindarra and Mariner
On handicap: Wynella, Corella and the First Jindarra.
Then, Christmas drinks on hill where everyone settled into a chance to talk about the days racing and have a drink of one version or another.
Results: Well I don't trust the scoring system, but it appears that Swiftsure Saga drew with The First Jindarra on 23 apiece but won the day on a superior number of firsts over the spring season. Though this result may be under review.
Enjoy the photos.
Out the back again &
Things that go bump.
Eight boats on the water, it must be Christmas and the jetty was pumping as we settled into a great afternoon of sailing with Aloha coming up from jetty seven to join the other 7 boats. The starters gave us a course two on a decent west sou westerly that was moving about a bit and the 10 to 15 knots was enough for all the boats to perform.
As can be expected the start was all, with only a few passing lanes on the way up to Hallmark, but we were going to make it work. Unfortunately we were rolled by Judith on board Alma and we found ourselves at the tail end of the fleet once the race started. So trying another tactic, the skipper went low and fast and surprisingly we were doing well, in contention with the rest of the fleet.
John Wright had made a cracking start with the lead in his hands and Corella, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella stomping down the line after him. No taking people up, just speed. The First Jindarra was running fifth and clearly meant to catch up on the way up the breeze after Sampson. We had the privilege of sitting behind the first 6 boats and our skippers main problem was to 2nd guess Judith in front.
Correctly we tacked away after Sampson and began our own race up the middle on clean air. Soon to be followed and challenged by those who came across from the north, we held our breath or dipped alternatively as we crossed them. Good, three boats behind us now and we were halfway there. Then in front of us, two boats had come together. Whilst I didn't observe the accident and can't comment on the event, it essentially put one of the four leading boats behind the other, once a penalty turn was taken, and gave one of the boats a chance to progress further that he possibly may have been able to prior to the incident.
Be that as it may, our job was to get to Hallmark as fast as possible and by the time we had made it there we were looking at a good 5th place and a chance to improve on the way up to Armstrong. Which we did making it up to 4th place. Around Armstrong with a crash and a bang, the pole was set for a run to Como and we were then looking for a way to get past John Wright who had slipped back a little into third place. The leaders at this stage were Corella followed by The Jin with Anna beside us on the run down the breeze. And Anna stayed in front until Como where a smart rounding had us get above her and some good trimming had us run over the top of her and into third place.
Up went the shortened course flags and it was a bolt for home.
Over the line: Corella, The First Jindarra and Mariner
On handicap: Wynella, Corella and the First Jindarra.
Then, Christmas drinks on hill where everyone settled into a chance to talk about the days racing and have a drink of one version or another.
Results: Well I don't trust the scoring system, but it appears that Swiftsure Saga drew with The First Jindarra on 23 apiece but won the day on a superior number of firsts over the spring season. Though this result may be under review.
Enjoy the photos.
Summer Saturday Sailing the 14th of December 2019
The Frank Sampson Trophy.
You know its Christmas when..... &
A bunch of numbers
On a reasonable summers day ( well it was 40 degrees by 11 am ) the seabreeze made its way in positively, but didn't affect the temperature one iota. It was a stinker of a day. Good for drinking lots of fluids and that's about it. The race was a a pursuit race and the H28's were close to the middle of the fleet with Wynella getting away early along with Karoleeya. But no matter, there were enough of us to chase them down.
But we had made the fatal mistake of going too far away from the line and the breeze dropped out. Ooops. Stranded! So 25 seconds late we trundled over the line hoping for a little speed. Hughie wasn't obliging and David Locke in Corella was closing on us fast. Not enough pressure to help us along. And everyone in front of us including John Wright's Anna who was out today were getting away from us. And they continued to do so.
You know its Christmas when you can pick up Brick landing Spit from the party boats hanging off it. And as had happened earlier during the start to the race … a party barge floated right through the assembling fleet with noise and people everywhere. Oh well, Santa comes but once a year :-) poor fellow.
So the trip up to Brickies A and B was fine, but we found ourselves coming out of Waylen Bay on a good lift, but in front of us the others were doing as well and another dip back into the south had us looking at a ley line from miles out, but on the lifts that were coming through it really a matter of keep the boat going flat out and get ready to avoid the mass of Freshie boats descending on the mark with us. Rounding Brickies B we threw up a pole and settled into a run to Dolphin West.
There were a few silly attempts to burst through the squad of boats we were in and one sports boat from Freshie that involves the thought of quick squid rings tried really hard to cross us on port and as the windward boat. Naaaa! go away. The camera caught him. A little further down the track nearing Dolphin West, we'd had a chat to the boats around us and sorted out priorities as to who and what. Then a lot of shouting began. We'd broken the overlap and were heading into the mark, however the boat on our port transom hadn't broken the overlap, but was following us just as hard. The numbers being hailed were SP one, one, one ,two and of course we were SP112. Turns out the transgressors were SP1112 a Spacey Twenty Seven and quite rightly were being abused for fouling the other boats. Oh well, it was only a matter of numbers.
Back up to Brickies for another rounding and our guest Elliese was given the job of pulling on a rope on the way up. The breeze was beginning to rotate into the sou sou west by now and the occasional Moth was seen fluttering around as they tried to make the best of the afternoons breeze once we had disappeared from the river. But we were intent on making our way down to Como and apart from the occasional Cole 32 there was little to amuse us. Going into the south we'd hoped to do a little better, but the breeze was already softening and Lockie, Glen and John Wright were well ahead and it was not going to be a famous day for us.
However we had a little bit of excitement when Glen ran out of luck approaching the finish line and we were close enough to shoot the line. But he had enough lead to double tack and to roll over the line first, so well done him.
Over the line: in 10th place and first H28 Corella. In 17th place Anna, in 24th place Wynella, in 25th place Swiftsure Saga ( yes it was close) and in 34th place Karoleeya.
Welcome back to Mark Holland, doing a guest appearance while his family are away and he sailed with Karoleeya.
The Frank Sampson Trophy.
You know its Christmas when..... &
A bunch of numbers
On a reasonable summers day ( well it was 40 degrees by 11 am ) the seabreeze made its way in positively, but didn't affect the temperature one iota. It was a stinker of a day. Good for drinking lots of fluids and that's about it. The race was a a pursuit race and the H28's were close to the middle of the fleet with Wynella getting away early along with Karoleeya. But no matter, there were enough of us to chase them down.
But we had made the fatal mistake of going too far away from the line and the breeze dropped out. Ooops. Stranded! So 25 seconds late we trundled over the line hoping for a little speed. Hughie wasn't obliging and David Locke in Corella was closing on us fast. Not enough pressure to help us along. And everyone in front of us including John Wright's Anna who was out today were getting away from us. And they continued to do so.
You know its Christmas when you can pick up Brick landing Spit from the party boats hanging off it. And as had happened earlier during the start to the race … a party barge floated right through the assembling fleet with noise and people everywhere. Oh well, Santa comes but once a year :-) poor fellow.
So the trip up to Brickies A and B was fine, but we found ourselves coming out of Waylen Bay on a good lift, but in front of us the others were doing as well and another dip back into the south had us looking at a ley line from miles out, but on the lifts that were coming through it really a matter of keep the boat going flat out and get ready to avoid the mass of Freshie boats descending on the mark with us. Rounding Brickies B we threw up a pole and settled into a run to Dolphin West.
There were a few silly attempts to burst through the squad of boats we were in and one sports boat from Freshie that involves the thought of quick squid rings tried really hard to cross us on port and as the windward boat. Naaaa! go away. The camera caught him. A little further down the track nearing Dolphin West, we'd had a chat to the boats around us and sorted out priorities as to who and what. Then a lot of shouting began. We'd broken the overlap and were heading into the mark, however the boat on our port transom hadn't broken the overlap, but was following us just as hard. The numbers being hailed were SP one, one, one ,two and of course we were SP112. Turns out the transgressors were SP1112 a Spacey Twenty Seven and quite rightly were being abused for fouling the other boats. Oh well, it was only a matter of numbers.
Back up to Brickies for another rounding and our guest Elliese was given the job of pulling on a rope on the way up. The breeze was beginning to rotate into the sou sou west by now and the occasional Moth was seen fluttering around as they tried to make the best of the afternoons breeze once we had disappeared from the river. But we were intent on making our way down to Como and apart from the occasional Cole 32 there was little to amuse us. Going into the south we'd hoped to do a little better, but the breeze was already softening and Lockie, Glen and John Wright were well ahead and it was not going to be a famous day for us.
However we had a little bit of excitement when Glen ran out of luck approaching the finish line and we were close enough to shoot the line. But he had enough lead to double tack and to roll over the line first, so well done him.
Over the line: in 10th place and first H28 Corella. In 17th place Anna, in 24th place Wynella, in 25th place Swiftsure Saga ( yes it was close) and in 34th place Karoleeya.
Welcome back to Mark Holland, doing a guest appearance while his family are away and he sailed with Karoleeya.
Wednesday Spring Sailing the 11th of December 2019
A consistent Easterly? &
A soldiers course.
There's one thing that's consistent about an easterly, its going to fluctuate like a windvane on steroids. And the starters had it in mind to set us off on a run up to Martin - Weaver on a course 4 and had the temerity to hoist a Y Flag telling us to put on PFD's. They thought it was gusty. Fortunately they rescinded that decision. However our six strong fleet was loaded and ready for bear as we moved around the line and the plan was to go for the pin and move down the breeze to Martin.
Unfortunately The First Jindarra had the same intention and took us up and beyond the pin end. Oh well I guess that made up for last week. However Bill Richards on Swiftsure Saga was nimble enough to duck in and get through while The Jin was busy taking us up and found himself sharing the lead with David Locke on Corella who had started a little lower and in clean air. So having rounded the pin, we found ourselves behind Wynella and Anna with the need for speed. Making Martin last, we continued to head up into the south east and the skip thought that Anna might call us because of the moorings ahead of us and tacked early. A pity because we didn't have to. John Wright could have kept going through the moorings and if we had gone on that extra 20 meters we may have made the mark in one.
Sure enough we were too low and had to double tack to get around Weaver, but by this time the first three boats were already away and Swiftsure Saga was leading with Corella hot on his tail. The Jin was in third place and was going to stay there as the rest of the course was a soldiers course with reaching being the main feature of the day. Our job was to try to power past Wynella and Anna and with some luck and sail management, we arrived at Sampson ahead of the other two and then it was a case of chasing The First Jindarra's transom all the way up to Robins on a power reach.
Rounding Robins the skipper announced a general amnesty for three cold beers and we took the opportunity of whipping off the tops and consuming them happily. We made it to Dolphin East with an easy gybe and another power reach. However the fleet split with Lockie deciding to go into the south to try and get past Swiftsure Saga who was still thumping along, going for speed and dropping down furiously. Eventually Bill tacked and was clearly well over the ley line, but he had speed. The Jin tacked on the ley and went for Como with the same thought, get there before Bill. In the meantime Corella had a huge run down the breeze and was clearly doing fine, even though he had also gone further than he needed. But he had speed.
Como was waiting and as Bill slipped past it, Corella made the mark and tacked in behind Swiftsure Saga with The Jin thumping along behind the pair of them. What a spectacle. Everyone tried hard to make a difference and at Como, when it mattered, they came together as they started. And one more surprise was instore for us. The starters had hung out a shortened course. It was only 1600 hrs. Bugger, we could have kept going for that extra half an hour and perhaps a change in the order of the fleet. So over the line we went as we were.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Corella and The First Jindarra
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Corella and The First Jindarra
A matter of note. This has been a champion series for Swiftsure Saga as Bill has picked up no less than 5 wins over the 10 races run so far and next week is the final. And his handicap still looks respectable.
And there was an award of sorts to Chairman Glen. The Sympathy award-- presented to Glen for doing such a great job of being chairman for such a long period. Made by Bill Richards I'm sure it will be presented to others over the next few years.
A consistent Easterly? &
A soldiers course.
There's one thing that's consistent about an easterly, its going to fluctuate like a windvane on steroids. And the starters had it in mind to set us off on a run up to Martin - Weaver on a course 4 and had the temerity to hoist a Y Flag telling us to put on PFD's. They thought it was gusty. Fortunately they rescinded that decision. However our six strong fleet was loaded and ready for bear as we moved around the line and the plan was to go for the pin and move down the breeze to Martin.
Unfortunately The First Jindarra had the same intention and took us up and beyond the pin end. Oh well I guess that made up for last week. However Bill Richards on Swiftsure Saga was nimble enough to duck in and get through while The Jin was busy taking us up and found himself sharing the lead with David Locke on Corella who had started a little lower and in clean air. So having rounded the pin, we found ourselves behind Wynella and Anna with the need for speed. Making Martin last, we continued to head up into the south east and the skip thought that Anna might call us because of the moorings ahead of us and tacked early. A pity because we didn't have to. John Wright could have kept going through the moorings and if we had gone on that extra 20 meters we may have made the mark in one.
Sure enough we were too low and had to double tack to get around Weaver, but by this time the first three boats were already away and Swiftsure Saga was leading with Corella hot on his tail. The Jin was in third place and was going to stay there as the rest of the course was a soldiers course with reaching being the main feature of the day. Our job was to try to power past Wynella and Anna and with some luck and sail management, we arrived at Sampson ahead of the other two and then it was a case of chasing The First Jindarra's transom all the way up to Robins on a power reach.
Rounding Robins the skipper announced a general amnesty for three cold beers and we took the opportunity of whipping off the tops and consuming them happily. We made it to Dolphin East with an easy gybe and another power reach. However the fleet split with Lockie deciding to go into the south to try and get past Swiftsure Saga who was still thumping along, going for speed and dropping down furiously. Eventually Bill tacked and was clearly well over the ley line, but he had speed. The Jin tacked on the ley and went for Como with the same thought, get there before Bill. In the meantime Corella had a huge run down the breeze and was clearly doing fine, even though he had also gone further than he needed. But he had speed.
Como was waiting and as Bill slipped past it, Corella made the mark and tacked in behind Swiftsure Saga with The Jin thumping along behind the pair of them. What a spectacle. Everyone tried hard to make a difference and at Como, when it mattered, they came together as they started. And one more surprise was instore for us. The starters had hung out a shortened course. It was only 1600 hrs. Bugger, we could have kept going for that extra half an hour and perhaps a change in the order of the fleet. So over the line we went as we were.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Corella and The First Jindarra
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Corella and The First Jindarra
A matter of note. This has been a champion series for Swiftsure Saga as Bill has picked up no less than 5 wins over the 10 races run so far and next week is the final. And his handicap still looks respectable.
And there was an award of sorts to Chairman Glen. The Sympathy award-- presented to Glen for doing such a great job of being chairman for such a long period. Made by Bill Richards I'm sure it will be presented to others over the next few years.
Saturday Summer Sailing the 7th of December 2019
Relentless Wynella &
A moody nor wester to begin.
"It wasn't going to be a nice day" mused Rita as she announced that she and David weren't going to join us on the water (well, two up it may have been a little hard) and apparently Les Brooker from Nerrima had the same feeling as he and his crew sat in the boats cabin and opened up the first beer of the day. So it was down to the same three as usual. Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Karoleeya.
The front came and went with a spattering of rain and a few gusts as well. We'd elected to go for a small reef in the main and a flat number one, with Wynella putting a smaller jib on. Interesting. Karoleeya put up what they had on the boat and were ready to soldier on. The breeze was still out of the nor west as we started, but the starters knew better and gave us a course one. And sure enough it eventually wandered around to the west sou west. Still, it didn't drop below 16 knots on the bottom and kept pumping into the low 20's, well above the predicted 10 to 15 knots.
Off the start line and across to the day buoys with the hope getting past Glen on the first big run. But he had his own problems and had a track, or block blow up on the first or second dig into the middle, but we weren't worried, we were aiming at Brickies and of course we were knocking as we climbed past Applecross and up into the bay past Deepwater. But we kept going as far as possible and then flicked over to look at Brickies. Beauty, there goes Farrago around Lucky and Smith, now we know where Brickies A and B are. So around we go and set a pole as we slid around the mark. Set for a long run, we then got to watch the Moths go past as they looked to get their training time in on the water.
Print and we are well away, so the next leg is to Sanders and the breeze is as sprightly as ever, buckets of spray and people getting a soaking just sitting on the rail. But get there we did and the next set of showers came through so our run to Como was a chance to wash the salt out of jackets. More Moths went past including couple of sets of Sharpies, beginning to prepare for their nationals in a months time. Just as fast as I remember them from the last Nationals I did years ago.
Sure enough as we were settling in to the last up wind run, out came the Duyfkin powering into the breeze on motors prior to her downwind run from the top of the breeze near Point Walter back to South of Perth. But we could notice that Wynella was beginning to gain and the query was whether we should shake out the reef in the sail. The decision was comfortable, our handicap needed no improvement. Leave it in. By the time we had reached Deepwater we had opened up the lead again and it was the down wind that would let them catch up again. We had good speed indeed and the reach from Addison to Thelma was spectacular with the heel on the boat quite impressive. Perhaps a little ease on the main might have helped but the helm didn't have the rudder under his chin so we were ok. Then the breeze relented and we were able to point straight at the finish line making it easy to get a finish.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Karoleeya
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Karoleeya
To the images, frankly there weren't many chances to take photos of the H28's, we were too far apart except for the occasional cross and there were lots of other boats around. Enjoy.
Relentless Wynella &
A moody nor wester to begin.
"It wasn't going to be a nice day" mused Rita as she announced that she and David weren't going to join us on the water (well, two up it may have been a little hard) and apparently Les Brooker from Nerrima had the same feeling as he and his crew sat in the boats cabin and opened up the first beer of the day. So it was down to the same three as usual. Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Karoleeya.
The front came and went with a spattering of rain and a few gusts as well. We'd elected to go for a small reef in the main and a flat number one, with Wynella putting a smaller jib on. Interesting. Karoleeya put up what they had on the boat and were ready to soldier on. The breeze was still out of the nor west as we started, but the starters knew better and gave us a course one. And sure enough it eventually wandered around to the west sou west. Still, it didn't drop below 16 knots on the bottom and kept pumping into the low 20's, well above the predicted 10 to 15 knots.
Off the start line and across to the day buoys with the hope getting past Glen on the first big run. But he had his own problems and had a track, or block blow up on the first or second dig into the middle, but we weren't worried, we were aiming at Brickies and of course we were knocking as we climbed past Applecross and up into the bay past Deepwater. But we kept going as far as possible and then flicked over to look at Brickies. Beauty, there goes Farrago around Lucky and Smith, now we know where Brickies A and B are. So around we go and set a pole as we slid around the mark. Set for a long run, we then got to watch the Moths go past as they looked to get their training time in on the water.
Print and we are well away, so the next leg is to Sanders and the breeze is as sprightly as ever, buckets of spray and people getting a soaking just sitting on the rail. But get there we did and the next set of showers came through so our run to Como was a chance to wash the salt out of jackets. More Moths went past including couple of sets of Sharpies, beginning to prepare for their nationals in a months time. Just as fast as I remember them from the last Nationals I did years ago.
Sure enough as we were settling in to the last up wind run, out came the Duyfkin powering into the breeze on motors prior to her downwind run from the top of the breeze near Point Walter back to South of Perth. But we could notice that Wynella was beginning to gain and the query was whether we should shake out the reef in the sail. The decision was comfortable, our handicap needed no improvement. Leave it in. By the time we had reached Deepwater we had opened up the lead again and it was the down wind that would let them catch up again. We had good speed indeed and the reach from Addison to Thelma was spectacular with the heel on the boat quite impressive. Perhaps a little ease on the main might have helped but the helm didn't have the rudder under his chin so we were ok. Then the breeze relented and we were able to point straight at the finish line making it easy to get a finish.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Karoleeya
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Karoleeya
To the images, frankly there weren't many chances to take photos of the H28's, we were too far apart except for the occasional cross and there were lots of other boats around. Enjoy.
Wednesday Spring Sailing the 4th of December 2019
A Swinton sort of a day &
A little breeze that blew.
Half a dozen boats on the line and the father and son combination of Swintons ( Les and Keith ) electing to jump off the already supercharged "The First Jindarra" and join both Lockie (Les) and Brian (Keith). As we were missing our regular main man, it was a case of snap him up and go to town with him on board. Lockie must have been thinking the same as Les is no slouch and neither is the lovely Rita. However to the weather and the promised little sou wester was already showing signs of building and a Northerly start made it a flat out race to Sampson with a clear run up the wind to Deepwater.
Much to our skippers surprise, he had the boat in place on the line and with Keith whispering in his ear we cracked on to a magnificent lead with The First Jindarra on our tail, grimly hanging on. "Up we go" chortled the skipper as he carted The Jin up and away from the racing line and The Jin came up with us, ever pressing to get that little bit faster so he could run over us. Mind you with a clean bottom, he was going to, but not for a while. Corella wasn't going to miss a chance like this and he aimed at the mark relishing the chance to get away. The rest of the fleet wasn't far behind and even Aloha who had come out four up was looking fine, though two of the crew may have been new chums.
So around Sampson we went, with Corella leading, The Jin next and Mariner followed by Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Aloha. We decided to tack off and get clean air, then with a fair assessment of the breeze which was already sneaking into the south, we looked down the river and decided to set off toward Deepwater. Then the others started to come back with The Jin and Corella crossing in front of us, so we took another dig in and out again and this time we managed to get inside Corella but having to duck the Jin. Right, now we're chasing The First Jindarra.
You can see how optimistic we were. But despite our best attempts, Andrew and the Jin just kept on getting further away. Not so with Corella; we were doing fine and the leg back from Deepwater to Print was our finest with a pole out and the boat hurtling along. Swiftsure Saga was looking a little bedraggled and shortly after the run across river from Print you could see air between Swiftsure's main and the mast. He's been replacing a few slugs recently, but with some of the gusts today I'd say the rest decided to go and as we barrelled up to Robins, he sadly slipped back to the pens. As for us, the run up to Robins was fine and a pole was set for the run to Dolphin East. A decision to two sail reach across to Como had the boat absolutely howling with 8 knots popping up on the GPS. Not without risk of course, as one dip of the pole in the water could break our mast. Its possible that Aloha retired about this time as well.
But down to Como we went and across to the outer startline where much to our disgust we had to tack and retack as the boat just dropped down below the mark. Lost a bit of time to Corella there, but we were on the run across to Sampson pretty quickly and we managed to catch a glimpse of Wynella as she sailed past us. Back to King where we went a little too early on the ley line costing us a lot of time to Lockie and then to Print with Corella doing well in the chase. Then the final two marks, Como and Thelma with faint hopes of Lockie getting run over by SP53 (Morning Star) a known trouble maker. But no. At Thelma all we had to do was to keep ourselves between Lockie and the line, which we did. Second over the line.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
On handicap: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
A comment from several people about the Canning river and the huge round ups we saw on the water as the gusts roared through. Is it possible that the new buildings are affecting the wind patterns on the water? The Raffles knock is documented and understood, but the southerly gusts were unpredictable and on occasion almost spinning the boats around. Mind you it would take a lot to shift an H28, but some of the smaller boats were in a little strife.
A Swinton sort of a day &
A little breeze that blew.
Half a dozen boats on the line and the father and son combination of Swintons ( Les and Keith ) electing to jump off the already supercharged "The First Jindarra" and join both Lockie (Les) and Brian (Keith). As we were missing our regular main man, it was a case of snap him up and go to town with him on board. Lockie must have been thinking the same as Les is no slouch and neither is the lovely Rita. However to the weather and the promised little sou wester was already showing signs of building and a Northerly start made it a flat out race to Sampson with a clear run up the wind to Deepwater.
Much to our skippers surprise, he had the boat in place on the line and with Keith whispering in his ear we cracked on to a magnificent lead with The First Jindarra on our tail, grimly hanging on. "Up we go" chortled the skipper as he carted The Jin up and away from the racing line and The Jin came up with us, ever pressing to get that little bit faster so he could run over us. Mind you with a clean bottom, he was going to, but not for a while. Corella wasn't going to miss a chance like this and he aimed at the mark relishing the chance to get away. The rest of the fleet wasn't far behind and even Aloha who had come out four up was looking fine, though two of the crew may have been new chums.
So around Sampson we went, with Corella leading, The Jin next and Mariner followed by Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Aloha. We decided to tack off and get clean air, then with a fair assessment of the breeze which was already sneaking into the south, we looked down the river and decided to set off toward Deepwater. Then the others started to come back with The Jin and Corella crossing in front of us, so we took another dig in and out again and this time we managed to get inside Corella but having to duck the Jin. Right, now we're chasing The First Jindarra.
You can see how optimistic we were. But despite our best attempts, Andrew and the Jin just kept on getting further away. Not so with Corella; we were doing fine and the leg back from Deepwater to Print was our finest with a pole out and the boat hurtling along. Swiftsure Saga was looking a little bedraggled and shortly after the run across river from Print you could see air between Swiftsure's main and the mast. He's been replacing a few slugs recently, but with some of the gusts today I'd say the rest decided to go and as we barrelled up to Robins, he sadly slipped back to the pens. As for us, the run up to Robins was fine and a pole was set for the run to Dolphin East. A decision to two sail reach across to Como had the boat absolutely howling with 8 knots popping up on the GPS. Not without risk of course, as one dip of the pole in the water could break our mast. Its possible that Aloha retired about this time as well.
But down to Como we went and across to the outer startline where much to our disgust we had to tack and retack as the boat just dropped down below the mark. Lost a bit of time to Corella there, but we were on the run across to Sampson pretty quickly and we managed to catch a glimpse of Wynella as she sailed past us. Back to King where we went a little too early on the ley line costing us a lot of time to Lockie and then to Print with Corella doing well in the chase. Then the final two marks, Como and Thelma with faint hopes of Lockie getting run over by SP53 (Morning Star) a known trouble maker. But no. At Thelma all we had to do was to keep ourselves between Lockie and the line, which we did. Second over the line.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
On handicap: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
A comment from several people about the Canning river and the huge round ups we saw on the water as the gusts roared through. Is it possible that the new buildings are affecting the wind patterns on the water? The Raffles knock is documented and understood, but the southerly gusts were unpredictable and on occasion almost spinning the boats around. Mind you it would take a lot to shift an H28, but some of the smaller boats were in a little strife.
Summer Sailing Saturday the 30th of November 2019
The Don Bourne Memorial Trophy race.
Another day on a dodgy sou easter &
A decision to J&M.
Well, the first thing we did once we got out of the pens, was to fish Peter Shepard out of the water. Peter had elected to come out with us, as John and Fay Wright were traipsing around on a cruise boat somewhere. Peter was up on the foredeck and managed to get on the wrong side of the jib as a gust slapped into the boat and Peter took a plunge off the lee side of the boat.
He was pulled out of the water promptly and as he was wearing sailing gear, he managed to dry out reasonably quickly. We then made sure he was on the sunny side of the boat for a while, till he warmed up from his adventure. Though I will comment that one of his first questions was, "did you get a photo of it? "No," was the response, "I was more interested in getting you out of the water."
So three boats ventured forth today with Ernie Little taking Wynella out as Glen had a birthday party or similar to attend. No matter, he had good people to take the boat away. Steve Hills had Karoleeya rolling with his two on board and as such it was decided to J and M the day as we were all a little short of crew. But on a stiff sou easter and apparently with a Y flag in evidence (for PFD's to be worn) we were given a course one. Contrary to all thinking, but that's what we got.
This time Bill made sure he was top boat in the stack on the line and held Ernie out till he was ready to go, then the dash to the day buoy and away down river to Brickies A and B. A pole was set up and as the breeze varied, it was used to take the sail out when required. On our way past Robins for the first time we had an edifying moment when four red witches under spinnaker approached us at a fair pace and decided to cross Wynellas path both in front and behind. Have a look at the sequence in the pictures. I reckon that they would be good H28 sailors given the chance.
So up to Brickies and settle into the familiar pattern of searching for the next mark with every eye out of the boat scanning the near horizon for the land marks that indicate where we should be next. Really it was an easy day as the breeze was dropping a little from the 15 to 20 knot starters to a very comfortable 15 knots on the top. But we had the number one on so it was ok for us. Our relatively high handicap was going to be the problem. Away to Dolphin West with the boats still hugging our transom, but both lost on the way down. Talking to Ernie, they fell out of phase on that leg and by the time they made it to Dolphin West and crossed to Foam, Swiftsure Saga was away.
Then to Sanders, that lonely mark in the middle of Melville West. Hard to find on a rainy day and just as hard in the sun. But find it we did and began to work our way back to Como.. A long way to go. By this time we had a good five minute lead, but always we knew that Karoleeya had a low handicap and could get us regardless. So plug on, this time against the clock and it was necessary to keep in mind that one mistake could catch us out. Around Como and back down the breeze to Robins and then Deepwater with the main having to be gybed a couple of times to work our way around Applecross Spit, literally skimming the shallows edge as we went. Deepwater to Dolphin East and then to Addison with a reach on the way across to Thelma. Just going fast was all we could do and stay out of the way of boats that weren't in our class. Then to Thelma and a tack and run for the line.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Karoleeya
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya and Wynella.
The Don Bourne Memorial Trophy was awarded to Swiftsure Saga and Peter got the "unfortunates" prize for falling in the water (a bottle of Port) By the way.. Karoleeya was behind by just under 13 minutes but lost first place on handicap by 34 seconds. As Steve commented in the bar afterwards; "If I'd not stuffed up the start."
I've put the sequence of the red witches on a separate slide show so you can see why I was so impressed by them. Balls to the walls sailing.
The Don Bourne Memorial Trophy race.
Another day on a dodgy sou easter &
A decision to J&M.
Well, the first thing we did once we got out of the pens, was to fish Peter Shepard out of the water. Peter had elected to come out with us, as John and Fay Wright were traipsing around on a cruise boat somewhere. Peter was up on the foredeck and managed to get on the wrong side of the jib as a gust slapped into the boat and Peter took a plunge off the lee side of the boat.
He was pulled out of the water promptly and as he was wearing sailing gear, he managed to dry out reasonably quickly. We then made sure he was on the sunny side of the boat for a while, till he warmed up from his adventure. Though I will comment that one of his first questions was, "did you get a photo of it? "No," was the response, "I was more interested in getting you out of the water."
So three boats ventured forth today with Ernie Little taking Wynella out as Glen had a birthday party or similar to attend. No matter, he had good people to take the boat away. Steve Hills had Karoleeya rolling with his two on board and as such it was decided to J and M the day as we were all a little short of crew. But on a stiff sou easter and apparently with a Y flag in evidence (for PFD's to be worn) we were given a course one. Contrary to all thinking, but that's what we got.
This time Bill made sure he was top boat in the stack on the line and held Ernie out till he was ready to go, then the dash to the day buoy and away down river to Brickies A and B. A pole was set up and as the breeze varied, it was used to take the sail out when required. On our way past Robins for the first time we had an edifying moment when four red witches under spinnaker approached us at a fair pace and decided to cross Wynellas path both in front and behind. Have a look at the sequence in the pictures. I reckon that they would be good H28 sailors given the chance.
So up to Brickies and settle into the familiar pattern of searching for the next mark with every eye out of the boat scanning the near horizon for the land marks that indicate where we should be next. Really it was an easy day as the breeze was dropping a little from the 15 to 20 knot starters to a very comfortable 15 knots on the top. But we had the number one on so it was ok for us. Our relatively high handicap was going to be the problem. Away to Dolphin West with the boats still hugging our transom, but both lost on the way down. Talking to Ernie, they fell out of phase on that leg and by the time they made it to Dolphin West and crossed to Foam, Swiftsure Saga was away.
Then to Sanders, that lonely mark in the middle of Melville West. Hard to find on a rainy day and just as hard in the sun. But find it we did and began to work our way back to Como.. A long way to go. By this time we had a good five minute lead, but always we knew that Karoleeya had a low handicap and could get us regardless. So plug on, this time against the clock and it was necessary to keep in mind that one mistake could catch us out. Around Como and back down the breeze to Robins and then Deepwater with the main having to be gybed a couple of times to work our way around Applecross Spit, literally skimming the shallows edge as we went. Deepwater to Dolphin East and then to Addison with a reach on the way across to Thelma. Just going fast was all we could do and stay out of the way of boats that weren't in our class. Then to Thelma and a tack and run for the line.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Karoleeya
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya and Wynella.
The Don Bourne Memorial Trophy was awarded to Swiftsure Saga and Peter got the "unfortunates" prize for falling in the water (a bottle of Port) By the way.. Karoleeya was behind by just under 13 minutes but lost first place on handicap by 34 seconds. As Steve commented in the bar afterwards; "If I'd not stuffed up the start."
I've put the sequence of the red witches on a separate slide show so you can see why I was so impressed by them. Balls to the walls sailing.
Spring Sailing Wednesday the 27th of November 2019
Lockie got away &
Bill followed him all the way.
Its not very often that the race starts in one breeze and finishes in another, but we had a course one with a seabreeze out on Melville water and a cockeyed sou easter blowing down the Canning. So the starters promptly sent us up the Canning to Martin and Weaver with all that entails.
Wynella started the day with a difference by having great difficulty getting their boat out of the pen and then kept the occupants of jetty three amused while they helped Wynella turn the head of the boat around. Which they did eventually. Meanwhile Mariner finally returned to the water ready to test out the boat after its refurbishment at the hands of Lockie and Ian. With us were Alma ( still having trouble with the engine) Swiftsure Saga, Corella and The First Jindarra.
The start as ever is the important moment and the clever ones went well into the freeway and came out looking ok. In fact Bill and David went that way and rounded Martin - Weaver cleanly in front with ourselves taking advantage of a couple of good lifts as we fought off Wynella and The Jin. So on our way to Sampson and then the seabreeze took effect and bang, up went the speed and across the water we flew.
However the settings on the blocks of the jib were a little suss and the boat was heeling furiously. Adjustments were made and the boat flattened out and our speed rose by another half a knot. There was no sign of Royal Perth curiously and we sailed on an empty river. Fantastic. Our needs were simple, stay in front of the three behind us and it was to our chagrin that we saw The Jin slip past us on the way up to Deepwater. Ok two to keep behind us and that we were able to do. But it was the return trip to Robins that had us wondering where the mark had gone to. We knew where we should have been, but the mark had gone walk about and was wandering off into the middle of the river with everyone chasing it. So with howls of protest by the skipper we made it to the mark, and ran down the breeze ready to throw up a pole if required on the dash to Como.
But the breeze had already swung into the south and no pole was required. We were just pumping along on a screaming reach knowing that the dash to Como would turn into an on the nose run to the outer start line ready to go back again. But there were flags fluttering at the box and a shortened race was called. Much to Andrew Bells disgust as he was doing well and may have very well overtaken Swiftsure Saga on the next lap.
We didn't mind.. we'd tested the boat and ourselves, earned a cold beer and the boat was still in one piece. Happy to get a fourth.
Over the line: Corella, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Corella and Wynella.
Lockie got away &
Bill followed him all the way.
Its not very often that the race starts in one breeze and finishes in another, but we had a course one with a seabreeze out on Melville water and a cockeyed sou easter blowing down the Canning. So the starters promptly sent us up the Canning to Martin and Weaver with all that entails.
Wynella started the day with a difference by having great difficulty getting their boat out of the pen and then kept the occupants of jetty three amused while they helped Wynella turn the head of the boat around. Which they did eventually. Meanwhile Mariner finally returned to the water ready to test out the boat after its refurbishment at the hands of Lockie and Ian. With us were Alma ( still having trouble with the engine) Swiftsure Saga, Corella and The First Jindarra.
The start as ever is the important moment and the clever ones went well into the freeway and came out looking ok. In fact Bill and David went that way and rounded Martin - Weaver cleanly in front with ourselves taking advantage of a couple of good lifts as we fought off Wynella and The Jin. So on our way to Sampson and then the seabreeze took effect and bang, up went the speed and across the water we flew.
However the settings on the blocks of the jib were a little suss and the boat was heeling furiously. Adjustments were made and the boat flattened out and our speed rose by another half a knot. There was no sign of Royal Perth curiously and we sailed on an empty river. Fantastic. Our needs were simple, stay in front of the three behind us and it was to our chagrin that we saw The Jin slip past us on the way up to Deepwater. Ok two to keep behind us and that we were able to do. But it was the return trip to Robins that had us wondering where the mark had gone to. We knew where we should have been, but the mark had gone walk about and was wandering off into the middle of the river with everyone chasing it. So with howls of protest by the skipper we made it to the mark, and ran down the breeze ready to throw up a pole if required on the dash to Como.
But the breeze had already swung into the south and no pole was required. We were just pumping along on a screaming reach knowing that the dash to Como would turn into an on the nose run to the outer start line ready to go back again. But there were flags fluttering at the box and a shortened race was called. Much to Andrew Bells disgust as he was doing well and may have very well overtaken Swiftsure Saga on the next lap.
We didn't mind.. we'd tested the boat and ourselves, earned a cold beer and the boat was still in one piece. Happy to get a fourth.
Over the line: Corella, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Corella and Wynella.
Summer Sailing Saturday the 23rd of November 2019
The 3rd Championship Race.
Five on the river.
Once again, as my Saturday boat doesn't do championships I had the chance to take a very big lens and sit on the rocks near Tawarri and watch the boats try and find Sanders out in the middle of the river. Sure enough it was blowing pretty hard and trying to prevent lens shake was interesting, but with Sanders over a kilometre away, any clean detail was going to be hard to achieve. But sure enough they came parading around and hats off to those that chose to race and to Andrews mob who threw up a kite. The chosen course one had lots of breeze and 19 on the bottom and 25 in the gusts was a classic seabreeze.
I wasn't there long enough to follow everyone down the river, just too far away, but from reviewing the results T,he First Jindarra has the usual strangle hold on the top spot and Karoleeya has eased into second. Well sailed Steve. But Glen on Wynella won't take that lying down and will continue to plug away to restore his rightful position. Well sailed also to Napier of Carrick and Jim Spittle who is proving himself more and more each year.. The boat was always a good one and as time passes and Jim settles into the boat, his confidence will improve. Les Brooker managed to get hold of enough crew this week to put the boat on the river and managed to stay in front of Steve.
But on handicaps: A clean win again to The First Jindarra, then Wynella and Karoleeya.
A few snaps. enjoy.
The 3rd Championship Race.
Five on the river.
Once again, as my Saturday boat doesn't do championships I had the chance to take a very big lens and sit on the rocks near Tawarri and watch the boats try and find Sanders out in the middle of the river. Sure enough it was blowing pretty hard and trying to prevent lens shake was interesting, but with Sanders over a kilometre away, any clean detail was going to be hard to achieve. But sure enough they came parading around and hats off to those that chose to race and to Andrews mob who threw up a kite. The chosen course one had lots of breeze and 19 on the bottom and 25 in the gusts was a classic seabreeze.
I wasn't there long enough to follow everyone down the river, just too far away, but from reviewing the results T,he First Jindarra has the usual strangle hold on the top spot and Karoleeya has eased into second. Well sailed Steve. But Glen on Wynella won't take that lying down and will continue to plug away to restore his rightful position. Well sailed also to Napier of Carrick and Jim Spittle who is proving himself more and more each year.. The boat was always a good one and as time passes and Jim settles into the boat, his confidence will improve. Les Brooker managed to get hold of enough crew this week to put the boat on the river and managed to stay in front of Steve.
But on handicaps: A clean win again to The First Jindarra, then Wynella and Karoleeya.
A few snaps. enjoy.
Spring Sailing Wednesday the 20th of November 2019
Chickening out &
It takes two!
Ok, I'll be the first to admit it. If its blowing dogs off chains and there's a fair chance my dodgy shoulder will give me grief; I'll step off the boat. As did John P leaving Bill to face the music with Eric and Graeme. And Glen had decided to brave the elements as well. So there were two boats going out as Andy Bell decided to park up as well and Judith is still discussing motors and a lack of skippers to help her. So reluctantly I headed back to the house while the resolute few started setting up the boats. I decided that this was a chance to test the view from the Como overpass next to the pier and so with a very large lens on, I wandered down to the over pass and watched the starts of the fleets on a run up to Martin Weaver and then the dash down to Sampson.
The breeze had the lens shaking like a leaf, but some reasonably good images were taken at over a km distance. Though it was hard to pick out the individuals. But I noted that Swiftsure Saga was four up and checking with Brian Cross today he acknowledged that he joined them to give them a chance on the water. Bill had put a reef in as well and I think both boats were running small jibs considering the base 20 with gusts up to 30 knots. And surprise .. a course 3 that acknowledged the southerly that was blowing.
All the fleets got away well and it was clear that some weren't making Martin with some of the big boats having to tack and retack to make the mark. However both the H28's did well and were seen galloping down to Sampson under a fair bit of speed.
The results had Swiftsure taking a good win over Wynella but according to my source, it should have been a lot better as they had included a run to Dolphin East on the way down when there was no need to do so. Ummm, someone needs check to see that you are reading the right course to begin with. Cause that's what I think happened. No matter, it was a good day on the water apparently.
Over the line. Swiftsure Saga and Wynella
On handicap: The same.
At this stage Swiftsure Saga is clear ahead on points ( 3) to The First Jindarra and has racked up 3 wins so far. But clever man, it hasn't affected his handicap very much.
Chickening out &
It takes two!
Ok, I'll be the first to admit it. If its blowing dogs off chains and there's a fair chance my dodgy shoulder will give me grief; I'll step off the boat. As did John P leaving Bill to face the music with Eric and Graeme. And Glen had decided to brave the elements as well. So there were two boats going out as Andy Bell decided to park up as well and Judith is still discussing motors and a lack of skippers to help her. So reluctantly I headed back to the house while the resolute few started setting up the boats. I decided that this was a chance to test the view from the Como overpass next to the pier and so with a very large lens on, I wandered down to the over pass and watched the starts of the fleets on a run up to Martin Weaver and then the dash down to Sampson.
The breeze had the lens shaking like a leaf, but some reasonably good images were taken at over a km distance. Though it was hard to pick out the individuals. But I noted that Swiftsure Saga was four up and checking with Brian Cross today he acknowledged that he joined them to give them a chance on the water. Bill had put a reef in as well and I think both boats were running small jibs considering the base 20 with gusts up to 30 knots. And surprise .. a course 3 that acknowledged the southerly that was blowing.
All the fleets got away well and it was clear that some weren't making Martin with some of the big boats having to tack and retack to make the mark. However both the H28's did well and were seen galloping down to Sampson under a fair bit of speed.
The results had Swiftsure taking a good win over Wynella but according to my source, it should have been a lot better as they had included a run to Dolphin East on the way down when there was no need to do so. Ummm, someone needs check to see that you are reading the right course to begin with. Cause that's what I think happened. No matter, it was a good day on the water apparently.
Over the line. Swiftsure Saga and Wynella
On handicap: The same.
At this stage Swiftsure Saga is clear ahead on points ( 3) to The First Jindarra and has racked up 3 wins so far. But clever man, it hasn't affected his handicap very much.
Summer Saturday Sailing. The 16th of November 2019
Three in hand &
40 in the shade.
It may have been a stinker in the burbs, but when that westerly kicked in, it was heaven on the water as we three fortunate ones set off onto the Swan with a course four on a west sou westerly of about 12 knots that was to bend into the south west later on. Too few a number of boats were present (again) and the management team at results were pleased to announce that there were 40 something boats out there. About 40 too little in my book.
But it was a hot day and beer always tastes best on a stinking hot day when the breeze begins to cool your fevered brow. But that wasn't our concern as we roared away from the start line, lowest of the fleet and headed into Heathcote with full knowledge that we would have to dip Karoleeya and possibly even Wynella further back. Oh dear.. so we accepted our fate, dipped the two boats and shot out to the middle to try for a crack at Frenchies in Waylen bay.
But wait, Steve on Karoleeya was still going in under Heathcote. Bloody hell it was going to be close and the tide wasn't particularly high today either. Sure enough, as she rolled from one tack to the other, she shuddered to a halt. Now what was Steve going to do? And slowly she began to move again, not caught tight, but as the boat heeled in the west sou wester so the keel was loosened from the mud and she began to gather pace. Free but at the cost of the putative lead.
Then away we went with Wynella sitting a little higher and going just as fast as us. But a look down the river had us thinking. It's the Governors Cup today, when the two Royal Fleets combine to bash each other up and drink lots of beer. Lots of chances for a diversion. But they were miles away and we had a course which would keep us away from the top end of the river. So wait a while perhaps. We still had to get to Deepwater clear of Wynella and a few of the lead boats from the Governors Cup.
Which we did and then off to Armstrong via Hallmark and that dip into the shallows near Nedlands, looking for the marks to tell us where to go. Away then to Print under a pole with a couple of gybes of the main to get us to where we needed to be. Then back to Deepwater again using the preferred route into Waylen Bay and out to Applecross spit. The wind was now very much a sou wester and the lift out was pleasing, but there were a few more boats around by now and we had to thread our way through a multitude of hulls on our way to our top mark. Then down again via Dolphin East with the big fleet of boats from the royals heading back en mass for the final turn at Brickies and the glorious run to Foam under spinnaker. It used to be quite a sight and I was looking forward to watching it. Karoleeya by this time was using the day to get their new foredeckie trained up and Steve had the kite up and flying for two of the three down wind phases. Well done the crew on Karoleeya.
So turning at Addison, we looked up the breeze to see maybe 60 or 70 boats charging down under kites, with the convergence point at Foam. Beauty, we would skim it on the way past into Waylen Bay for the final time. A few photos taken and we watched as Glen decided to go away from the royal fleet to give himself clean air. And it worked out, but I'll tell you what happened later. We though he was gone and lost. But we were ahead of the masses and our run up to Deepwater was relatively clear of incident as the Royal fleet were tacking off to go up the middle and didn't give us a hard time. And up popped Glen, he'd skirted the fleet, coming across on starboard and had done really well. So the chase was on again and we found ourselves looking at creating some space. Find a bunch of boats and try to get one or two between Wynella and us. Some creative use of the pole had us speeding up and even though the breeze was dropping we had a good turn of pace and this time we were looking at the dash to Thelma from Addison and the reach had the bow foaming as the last of the gusts came through.
Then a chance for a "John Wright" lift to take us to the line from Thelma and we weren't disappointed. Harden up and watch the boat lift up to the finish line. Nice one.
Over the line and on handicap. Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Karoleeya.
There's talk that Georgina may be joining us shortly as her owner Cameron reported that she was " Almost ready to go". And an electric motor as well.
Three in hand &
40 in the shade.
It may have been a stinker in the burbs, but when that westerly kicked in, it was heaven on the water as we three fortunate ones set off onto the Swan with a course four on a west sou westerly of about 12 knots that was to bend into the south west later on. Too few a number of boats were present (again) and the management team at results were pleased to announce that there were 40 something boats out there. About 40 too little in my book.
But it was a hot day and beer always tastes best on a stinking hot day when the breeze begins to cool your fevered brow. But that wasn't our concern as we roared away from the start line, lowest of the fleet and headed into Heathcote with full knowledge that we would have to dip Karoleeya and possibly even Wynella further back. Oh dear.. so we accepted our fate, dipped the two boats and shot out to the middle to try for a crack at Frenchies in Waylen bay.
But wait, Steve on Karoleeya was still going in under Heathcote. Bloody hell it was going to be close and the tide wasn't particularly high today either. Sure enough, as she rolled from one tack to the other, she shuddered to a halt. Now what was Steve going to do? And slowly she began to move again, not caught tight, but as the boat heeled in the west sou wester so the keel was loosened from the mud and she began to gather pace. Free but at the cost of the putative lead.
Then away we went with Wynella sitting a little higher and going just as fast as us. But a look down the river had us thinking. It's the Governors Cup today, when the two Royal Fleets combine to bash each other up and drink lots of beer. Lots of chances for a diversion. But they were miles away and we had a course which would keep us away from the top end of the river. So wait a while perhaps. We still had to get to Deepwater clear of Wynella and a few of the lead boats from the Governors Cup.
Which we did and then off to Armstrong via Hallmark and that dip into the shallows near Nedlands, looking for the marks to tell us where to go. Away then to Print under a pole with a couple of gybes of the main to get us to where we needed to be. Then back to Deepwater again using the preferred route into Waylen Bay and out to Applecross spit. The wind was now very much a sou wester and the lift out was pleasing, but there were a few more boats around by now and we had to thread our way through a multitude of hulls on our way to our top mark. Then down again via Dolphin East with the big fleet of boats from the royals heading back en mass for the final turn at Brickies and the glorious run to Foam under spinnaker. It used to be quite a sight and I was looking forward to watching it. Karoleeya by this time was using the day to get their new foredeckie trained up and Steve had the kite up and flying for two of the three down wind phases. Well done the crew on Karoleeya.
So turning at Addison, we looked up the breeze to see maybe 60 or 70 boats charging down under kites, with the convergence point at Foam. Beauty, we would skim it on the way past into Waylen Bay for the final time. A few photos taken and we watched as Glen decided to go away from the royal fleet to give himself clean air. And it worked out, but I'll tell you what happened later. We though he was gone and lost. But we were ahead of the masses and our run up to Deepwater was relatively clear of incident as the Royal fleet were tacking off to go up the middle and didn't give us a hard time. And up popped Glen, he'd skirted the fleet, coming across on starboard and had done really well. So the chase was on again and we found ourselves looking at creating some space. Find a bunch of boats and try to get one or two between Wynella and us. Some creative use of the pole had us speeding up and even though the breeze was dropping we had a good turn of pace and this time we were looking at the dash to Thelma from Addison and the reach had the bow foaming as the last of the gusts came through.
Then a chance for a "John Wright" lift to take us to the line from Thelma and we weren't disappointed. Harden up and watch the boat lift up to the finish line. Nice one.
Over the line and on handicap. Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Karoleeya.
There's talk that Georgina may be joining us shortly as her owner Cameron reported that she was " Almost ready to go". And an electric motor as well.
Spring Sailing Wednesday. The 13th of November 2019.
The relaunch of Anna &
Alfresco results.
Great anticipation for today, it was the relaunch of Anna. The weather decided to co operate and even the starters got it right. A course four and a breeze out of the sou west at about 10 to 12 knots. Perfect for Anna and John. Willing helpers gathered around and helped John get the boat uncovered and the main put in place ready for his regular crew to come down and finish off the boat. Meanwhile onlookers were gathering to see her in her pristine condition. Sparkling was the word and even Rear Commodore Carl was seen admiring the glow on the lustrous timber work.
Meanwhile we on Swiftsure Saga had another task and that was delivering the ashes of Bobby Page onto the start line at 1400 hrs , which was duly done and the container returned to those gathered on the start jetty. Farewell Bobby and best wishes to Val, his wife of many years.
The combined fleet began to gather on the water and while we were at rest on the T section of Jetty three waiting for things to start we saw the boats pour out onto the water. It was going to be a big fleet for a Wednesday, even the H28's had 6 and when Brian Cross gets the boat to rights our fleet will be even better. As mentioned it was a warm day and the hustle for the start line began early with the H28s's gathering above the start box ready to swoop down onto the line. As usual too much confusion and fluttering of sails near the top of the line, while Andrew Bell had elected to go low and take clear air from mid way up the line. Smart move, as the lift at the end near Martin -Weaver was pronounced and he was first around the mark and away. Anna was next ( surprise surprise?) and we had our task to keep a raging Corella off our tail. Swiftsure loves a breeze and 12 knots just wasn't cutting it. But try we did and while Corella was behind us, they tacked off immediately and shortly after The First Jindarra went as well with Anna deciding to cover them to keep in phase. We went a little further and then went left only to watch Anna roll Corella near the channel markers leaving us as the only challenge to The Jin. Who promptly decided to tack on top of us and drowned us with his bad air. Tough luck for us, but good sailing otherwise.
Lockie managed to get away however and he began to hustle after Andrew Bell while we held Anna against the channel till we could see he was almost ready to call for water. Then away again up toward Robins, but by this time we were well out to the middle and we were running into the second wave of the Royal Perth fleet. More to deal with. But we now had three boats in front of us as John Wright hadn't forgotten how to sail in the last 12 months and he had his foresail trembling as he continually drove the boat up into the breeze. Our best chance was to go out to a right hand lay and come in on starboard hoping to roll all, but as usual when you come across a sou wester you tend to knock. We'd gone too early I guess, so just push along in the hope of someone fouling up. Meanwhile Alma and Judith were fending off Wynella and so far successfully.
Around Robins and away to Dolphin East with a pole and then bend down to Como with Bill on Swiftsure Saga indulging in a bit of stern chasing of Anna causing John to look back occasionally in case we tapped his pristine transom. No; it wasn't to happen and Bill was far too kind to do something like that (well, on the first day anyway). Then around Como and off to the outer start line with a small chance of catching Anna that disappeared before the rounding of the line. Back to Sampson and we found ourselves in a quiet spot with a breeze fall out that had those behind us catching up and the boats in front getting away. Annoying, but it was a slow sort of day anyway.
Then to King trying to keep Olive Marie off our tail ( lord knows where she came from ) and fortunately we got there before she became a problem. Parting company with her was a pleasure and we looked forward to Print and the remainder of the run. But behind us, Glen had his skates on and was finally overhauling Judith. On the way to King he'd poked his nose in front and then away he went, off to Print and following us around Como, to Thelma and the finish line. In front of us; well The Jin had taken off along the beach and predictably Corella tacked off to see what the breeze would offer him further up the run to the line. Andrew Bell covered him and then it was a drag race to the line. If there had been some div one or div two boats coming down the line, then possibly a different result but it was clear that Andrew Bell had him covered. For us, well we and Anna had taken the beach (freeway) line and we tossed a little after Anna in hope. Faint, but still in hope.
No way. Fourth over the line and a good day on the water, though it was very hot.
Pack up and onto Herreshoff Hill for celebrations and the relaunch of Anna. Glen had us down on the jetty and Fay was pouring sparkles onto the bow as if she'd been doing it all her life. Well done Fay and a quick speech by Commodore John Midolo to congratulate John and Fay on the return of Anna. John responded by thanking all that had helped over the last 12 months and his speech was received with general cheers.
Then, never to be repeated, the flags came down and did the results for the H28's on Herreshoff hill amid the general festivities. Andy Bell got third and fastest, Bill Richards took a surprise second and to a round of cheers Anna was given first on handicap. A fitting result for John and Anna. (I think Chairman Glen burnt a few favours today)
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Anna
On handicap: Anna, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
Thanks to all who were able to come down for the day and help celebrate and in particular to Ian Weaver (shipwright) who had done such a good job on Anna.
A note to end the story. Rita's mother passed away suddenly and Rita has returned to be with her family. We'll expect her back when she's ready.
The relaunch of Anna &
Alfresco results.
Great anticipation for today, it was the relaunch of Anna. The weather decided to co operate and even the starters got it right. A course four and a breeze out of the sou west at about 10 to 12 knots. Perfect for Anna and John. Willing helpers gathered around and helped John get the boat uncovered and the main put in place ready for his regular crew to come down and finish off the boat. Meanwhile onlookers were gathering to see her in her pristine condition. Sparkling was the word and even Rear Commodore Carl was seen admiring the glow on the lustrous timber work.
Meanwhile we on Swiftsure Saga had another task and that was delivering the ashes of Bobby Page onto the start line at 1400 hrs , which was duly done and the container returned to those gathered on the start jetty. Farewell Bobby and best wishes to Val, his wife of many years.
The combined fleet began to gather on the water and while we were at rest on the T section of Jetty three waiting for things to start we saw the boats pour out onto the water. It was going to be a big fleet for a Wednesday, even the H28's had 6 and when Brian Cross gets the boat to rights our fleet will be even better. As mentioned it was a warm day and the hustle for the start line began early with the H28s's gathering above the start box ready to swoop down onto the line. As usual too much confusion and fluttering of sails near the top of the line, while Andrew Bell had elected to go low and take clear air from mid way up the line. Smart move, as the lift at the end near Martin -Weaver was pronounced and he was first around the mark and away. Anna was next ( surprise surprise?) and we had our task to keep a raging Corella off our tail. Swiftsure loves a breeze and 12 knots just wasn't cutting it. But try we did and while Corella was behind us, they tacked off immediately and shortly after The First Jindarra went as well with Anna deciding to cover them to keep in phase. We went a little further and then went left only to watch Anna roll Corella near the channel markers leaving us as the only challenge to The Jin. Who promptly decided to tack on top of us and drowned us with his bad air. Tough luck for us, but good sailing otherwise.
Lockie managed to get away however and he began to hustle after Andrew Bell while we held Anna against the channel till we could see he was almost ready to call for water. Then away again up toward Robins, but by this time we were well out to the middle and we were running into the second wave of the Royal Perth fleet. More to deal with. But we now had three boats in front of us as John Wright hadn't forgotten how to sail in the last 12 months and he had his foresail trembling as he continually drove the boat up into the breeze. Our best chance was to go out to a right hand lay and come in on starboard hoping to roll all, but as usual when you come across a sou wester you tend to knock. We'd gone too early I guess, so just push along in the hope of someone fouling up. Meanwhile Alma and Judith were fending off Wynella and so far successfully.
Around Robins and away to Dolphin East with a pole and then bend down to Como with Bill on Swiftsure Saga indulging in a bit of stern chasing of Anna causing John to look back occasionally in case we tapped his pristine transom. No; it wasn't to happen and Bill was far too kind to do something like that (well, on the first day anyway). Then around Como and off to the outer start line with a small chance of catching Anna that disappeared before the rounding of the line. Back to Sampson and we found ourselves in a quiet spot with a breeze fall out that had those behind us catching up and the boats in front getting away. Annoying, but it was a slow sort of day anyway.
Then to King trying to keep Olive Marie off our tail ( lord knows where she came from ) and fortunately we got there before she became a problem. Parting company with her was a pleasure and we looked forward to Print and the remainder of the run. But behind us, Glen had his skates on and was finally overhauling Judith. On the way to King he'd poked his nose in front and then away he went, off to Print and following us around Como, to Thelma and the finish line. In front of us; well The Jin had taken off along the beach and predictably Corella tacked off to see what the breeze would offer him further up the run to the line. Andrew Bell covered him and then it was a drag race to the line. If there had been some div one or div two boats coming down the line, then possibly a different result but it was clear that Andrew Bell had him covered. For us, well we and Anna had taken the beach (freeway) line and we tossed a little after Anna in hope. Faint, but still in hope.
No way. Fourth over the line and a good day on the water, though it was very hot.
Pack up and onto Herreshoff Hill for celebrations and the relaunch of Anna. Glen had us down on the jetty and Fay was pouring sparkles onto the bow as if she'd been doing it all her life. Well done Fay and a quick speech by Commodore John Midolo to congratulate John and Fay on the return of Anna. John responded by thanking all that had helped over the last 12 months and his speech was received with general cheers.
Then, never to be repeated, the flags came down and did the results for the H28's on Herreshoff hill amid the general festivities. Andy Bell got third and fastest, Bill Richards took a surprise second and to a round of cheers Anna was given first on handicap. A fitting result for John and Anna. (I think Chairman Glen burnt a few favours today)
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Anna
On handicap: Anna, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
Thanks to all who were able to come down for the day and help celebrate and in particular to Ian Weaver (shipwright) who had done such a good job on Anna.
A note to end the story. Rita's mother passed away suddenly and Rita has returned to be with her family. We'll expect her back when she's ready.
Spring Sailing Wednesday 6th of November 2019
Sailing with Wynella &
That B@#*dy boat again!
Its not very often that a boat, not in your fleet receives so much publicity, but this boat seriously needs to get their sh%t together.
I was sailing with Glen on Wynella as Mariner was still getting fixed up, so very kindly Glen took me on board as a trimmer. Colin stepped up onto the cabin in a breeze of 15 to 20 knts and the muttered curses floating back were directed at the bullets of spray coming over the bow in his direction. It was a curious day, as we copped a course 3 with that bend back to King then up to Robins, but it was a good choice on a breeze that was moving into the south as the day progressed.
Unlike Glens normal starts, we got caught at the line on the way to Martin and found ourselves, low and buried under the rest of the 6 boats in the fleet. So we had no choice but to sail low and try to look for clean air. Then along came Olive Marie. They had missed their start and so decided to start with us. OMG. Good seamanship would require you to not interfere with a racing fleet, but this was the furthest thing from his mind as he sailed over the top of us ( we were already suffering ) and sent us to oblivion and the back of the fleet again. So a double tack and around Martin and then to Weaver to see Lockie and Andrew Bell battling it out with Andrew already beginning to pull away. Behind them was Alma, sailing very well with Bill Richards Swiftsure Saga and Aloha and the Minto's doing better than we were.
Sure enough, they (O-M) had stuffed us up and then began to interfere with Aloha and Swiftsure Saga. Wisely Bill went low and the Minto family learnt their first lesson in regard to Olive Marie. Fortunately O-M took off up the breeze toward Print and we bent away to King. ( a little karma here.. O-M had started too late and were recorded as a Did Not Start. )
From then on it was a painful series of recovery as we battled our way past the Minto's who were enjoying a clean hull and full sails. The major need was then to chase down Alma who had fallen behind Swiftsure Saga on the way up to Robins and it was going to be a long haul as Mark was driving on this frisky day and had already taken a good position. But with John Mewitt whispering in Glens ear we began to improve and the down wind runs were positive for us. All the way to Print and it was fortunate for us that we were able to use the run to Foam to catch up with Alma so that a good dig into the bay and Frenchies had us pointing at Robins, our next top mark. We managed to get past Alma at this stage and the next part of the race was going to be dealing with the down wind run and Como and the expected knock onto the finish line.
Sure enough, it happened and we bent ourselves back up the mark narrowly avoiding Alma who was charging through on starboard, but we were around and in front. Away to Sampson again and watch Andrew Bell and Lockie disappear toward King. Oh well. Just stay in front of Alma. And we did so, but a small fright on the way back from Addison. we had dropped slightly below the start line and required a double tack to make the line. And on my winch... an overwind. Embarrassing, but quick work and some help from Andy, it was unwound and we made it over the line in front. So 4th out of 6. Not too bad on a fairly blowy day.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Swiftsure Saga
On Handicap: Swiftsure Saga, The First Jindarra and Corella.
The funeral service for Lorraine Peden (Loz) a long serving crew member on Mariner under P.C. Gerry Drysdale, was held at Karrakatta last Thursday. Both Gerry and I were present.
Bobby Page will be remembered next Wednesday with a ceremony prior to the start of racing. (Bobby sailed with both Swiftsure Saga and on John Heydon's Nerrima with John's wife Christina as helm.)
There will be a presentation for the re launching of Anna by John and Faye Wright with shipwright Ian Weaver and his wife Denise. This will follow racing on Wednesday, but some sparkling wine will be spilt prior to racing to re launch Anna.
Sailing with Wynella &
That B@#*dy boat again!
Its not very often that a boat, not in your fleet receives so much publicity, but this boat seriously needs to get their sh%t together.
I was sailing with Glen on Wynella as Mariner was still getting fixed up, so very kindly Glen took me on board as a trimmer. Colin stepped up onto the cabin in a breeze of 15 to 20 knts and the muttered curses floating back were directed at the bullets of spray coming over the bow in his direction. It was a curious day, as we copped a course 3 with that bend back to King then up to Robins, but it was a good choice on a breeze that was moving into the south as the day progressed.
Unlike Glens normal starts, we got caught at the line on the way to Martin and found ourselves, low and buried under the rest of the 6 boats in the fleet. So we had no choice but to sail low and try to look for clean air. Then along came Olive Marie. They had missed their start and so decided to start with us. OMG. Good seamanship would require you to not interfere with a racing fleet, but this was the furthest thing from his mind as he sailed over the top of us ( we were already suffering ) and sent us to oblivion and the back of the fleet again. So a double tack and around Martin and then to Weaver to see Lockie and Andrew Bell battling it out with Andrew already beginning to pull away. Behind them was Alma, sailing very well with Bill Richards Swiftsure Saga and Aloha and the Minto's doing better than we were.
Sure enough, they (O-M) had stuffed us up and then began to interfere with Aloha and Swiftsure Saga. Wisely Bill went low and the Minto family learnt their first lesson in regard to Olive Marie. Fortunately O-M took off up the breeze toward Print and we bent away to King. ( a little karma here.. O-M had started too late and were recorded as a Did Not Start. )
From then on it was a painful series of recovery as we battled our way past the Minto's who were enjoying a clean hull and full sails. The major need was then to chase down Alma who had fallen behind Swiftsure Saga on the way up to Robins and it was going to be a long haul as Mark was driving on this frisky day and had already taken a good position. But with John Mewitt whispering in Glens ear we began to improve and the down wind runs were positive for us. All the way to Print and it was fortunate for us that we were able to use the run to Foam to catch up with Alma so that a good dig into the bay and Frenchies had us pointing at Robins, our next top mark. We managed to get past Alma at this stage and the next part of the race was going to be dealing with the down wind run and Como and the expected knock onto the finish line.
Sure enough, it happened and we bent ourselves back up the mark narrowly avoiding Alma who was charging through on starboard, but we were around and in front. Away to Sampson again and watch Andrew Bell and Lockie disappear toward King. Oh well. Just stay in front of Alma. And we did so, but a small fright on the way back from Addison. we had dropped slightly below the start line and required a double tack to make the line. And on my winch... an overwind. Embarrassing, but quick work and some help from Andy, it was unwound and we made it over the line in front. So 4th out of 6. Not too bad on a fairly blowy day.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Swiftsure Saga
On Handicap: Swiftsure Saga, The First Jindarra and Corella.
The funeral service for Lorraine Peden (Loz) a long serving crew member on Mariner under P.C. Gerry Drysdale, was held at Karrakatta last Thursday. Both Gerry and I were present.
Bobby Page will be remembered next Wednesday with a ceremony prior to the start of racing. (Bobby sailed with both Swiftsure Saga and on John Heydon's Nerrima with John's wife Christina as helm.)
There will be a presentation for the re launching of Anna by John and Faye Wright with shipwright Ian Weaver and his wife Denise. This will follow racing on Wednesday, but some sparkling wine will be spilt prior to racing to re launch Anna.
Summer Saturday Sailing 2nd of November
The Windward- Leewards first round.
Best of Three &
A JaM session.
With last Wednesday blown off the water with the high winds and rain experienced last week, we were concentrating on Saturday, but to our desolation, only two other boats were going out. Karoleeya had picked up Kate and Phil along with their regular team and Glen had a full boat. We were three up so in the spirit of kindness the fleet JaM sailed the afternoon. Well, there was another issue. Bill wanted to do two races, I was good for three (the world cup rugby was on) and John wanted four. So it was agreed to do two and see where we were at.
The first race was the tester and two quick laps had us out in front and staying there all the way around. And possibly we resolved that jib and main was the way to go, rather than stuff around trying to put up a kite between the three of us. The boat was quick and we knew what we had to do. Not that Wynella was shabby. He got underneath us on the second race at the start line and took us up and over prior to the start so we had to dip the line again and then do a 360 once we were in clear air. Yes our boats had made contact on the way.
And so it remained with Wynella getting away well and truly, despite our best attempts and even a dash up the centre to try and get some height on the wandering sou wester. We were working hard to get past Karoleeya and only because they went further into the north and lost height on the way back, did we manage to squeeze in front of them, but we were handicapped back to third.
We looked at each other.. another was decided on and this time, stay away from Glen and Wynella, just get clean air at the line. And we did... this time we crossed all the way over into the channel near the club and then tried our luck to find that we were aiming right at the top mark. Glen had tacked a metre further in, but wasn't able to hold the height and fell away, from then on we were in the hot seat as Karoleeya had gone north again, falling out of contention. But hang on, they'd moved the marks and they were about 50 metres further to the south. (to the left) Inspired sailing was required and so long as we were above Wynella all was well. All about us were the other fleets with the red witches causing most of the bother as they were numerous and found themselves falling into our race line quite often. No matter, a few shouts of starboard cleared the path for us and we ducked them otherwise.
Over the line first again and the decision was to retire while we were still ahead, with two wins under our belts. The results were to be at 1730 hours , but we were still packing up at 1730 and the racing was going on with a finish possibly around the 1800 mark. So no results till at least 1830. Naah. too late.
Wynella took two wins as did Swiftsure Saga and Karoleeya manfully upheld third place and took a second on the last race.
Two recent deaths must be advised.
Lorraine (Loz) Peden, who sailed with Mariner for many years as crew under both Gerry and Brian died in hospital with a re-occurrence of cancer.
Bobby Page, (a former SS22 skipper and sailed with Bill Richards once his SS22 had been sold) passed away at the nursing home where he had been in residence for a couple of years.
The Windward- Leewards first round.
Best of Three &
A JaM session.
With last Wednesday blown off the water with the high winds and rain experienced last week, we were concentrating on Saturday, but to our desolation, only two other boats were going out. Karoleeya had picked up Kate and Phil along with their regular team and Glen had a full boat. We were three up so in the spirit of kindness the fleet JaM sailed the afternoon. Well, there was another issue. Bill wanted to do two races, I was good for three (the world cup rugby was on) and John wanted four. So it was agreed to do two and see where we were at.
The first race was the tester and two quick laps had us out in front and staying there all the way around. And possibly we resolved that jib and main was the way to go, rather than stuff around trying to put up a kite between the three of us. The boat was quick and we knew what we had to do. Not that Wynella was shabby. He got underneath us on the second race at the start line and took us up and over prior to the start so we had to dip the line again and then do a 360 once we were in clear air. Yes our boats had made contact on the way.
And so it remained with Wynella getting away well and truly, despite our best attempts and even a dash up the centre to try and get some height on the wandering sou wester. We were working hard to get past Karoleeya and only because they went further into the north and lost height on the way back, did we manage to squeeze in front of them, but we were handicapped back to third.
We looked at each other.. another was decided on and this time, stay away from Glen and Wynella, just get clean air at the line. And we did... this time we crossed all the way over into the channel near the club and then tried our luck to find that we were aiming right at the top mark. Glen had tacked a metre further in, but wasn't able to hold the height and fell away, from then on we were in the hot seat as Karoleeya had gone north again, falling out of contention. But hang on, they'd moved the marks and they were about 50 metres further to the south. (to the left) Inspired sailing was required and so long as we were above Wynella all was well. All about us were the other fleets with the red witches causing most of the bother as they were numerous and found themselves falling into our race line quite often. No matter, a few shouts of starboard cleared the path for us and we ducked them otherwise.
Over the line first again and the decision was to retire while we were still ahead, with two wins under our belts. The results were to be at 1730 hours , but we were still packing up at 1730 and the racing was going on with a finish possibly around the 1800 mark. So no results till at least 1830. Naah. too late.
Wynella took two wins as did Swiftsure Saga and Karoleeya manfully upheld third place and took a second on the last race.
Two recent deaths must be advised.
Lorraine (Loz) Peden, who sailed with Mariner for many years as crew under both Gerry and Brian died in hospital with a re-occurrence of cancer.
Bobby Page, (a former SS22 skipper and sailed with Bill Richards once his SS22 had been sold) passed away at the nursing home where he had been in residence for a couple of years.
Spring Wednesday Sailing 23rd of October
A rainy day &
Despite the best of intents.
It had been blowing its head off in the morning and despite the best of intent, Sailability kept on going with a few skippers glad to get back in before the advancing fronts rocked up. Suffice to say it was a little frisky. John Wright had also turned up with the idea of sailing, but with a sore shoulder I was already out of the picture and he was a little short of crew. He decided it wasn't a good idea and took off home with one of the other crew who had decided not to sail.
It had already been sprinkling us with showers around lunchtime and five boats were preparing to go out regardless. So I slipped home to get a camera and prepared to watch the start from the box. The battle was to be between David Locke and Andrew Bell with the start all important on a course two with a westerly in evidence. But Bill had his old sail suite on and with four on board he was happy to go flat out. Glen had a strong team on board and Judith was staying low and below the fracas developing further up the line.
And sure enough Corella got away well, below The First Jindarra , but in front and the name of the game was to stay there and if that meant taking the Jin all the way up, so be it. Andrew on the other hand had new sails and a clean bottom. He also had Mark Rodreda sitting on the bow calling the possible over lap on the way down to Sampson and so it was. Despite David Locke having both Rita and David's daughter with Brian Cross on the starboard trim, they couldn't stay far enough in front.
Rolled at Sampson, Lockie could do nothing but follow that man in front and did so very well and Glen on Wynella pulled a swiftie on Swiftsure Saga, looming up out of the bottom of the racecourse to snaffle third place around the mark. Alma joined the four boats at the mark and I watched them disappear into the rain that was coming up the river from the west. Oh dear. A soggy day for the fleet.
However the wind dropped a little and Bill on Swiftsure Saga managed to get back into third place over the line.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, The First Jindarra and Alma.
Mariner is remaining off the water for the next week or so until repairs are finalised and I will be away for the next week down south as Swiftsure is not sailing the championships this year.
A rainy day &
Despite the best of intents.
It had been blowing its head off in the morning and despite the best of intent, Sailability kept on going with a few skippers glad to get back in before the advancing fronts rocked up. Suffice to say it was a little frisky. John Wright had also turned up with the idea of sailing, but with a sore shoulder I was already out of the picture and he was a little short of crew. He decided it wasn't a good idea and took off home with one of the other crew who had decided not to sail.
It had already been sprinkling us with showers around lunchtime and five boats were preparing to go out regardless. So I slipped home to get a camera and prepared to watch the start from the box. The battle was to be between David Locke and Andrew Bell with the start all important on a course two with a westerly in evidence. But Bill had his old sail suite on and with four on board he was happy to go flat out. Glen had a strong team on board and Judith was staying low and below the fracas developing further up the line.
And sure enough Corella got away well, below The First Jindarra , but in front and the name of the game was to stay there and if that meant taking the Jin all the way up, so be it. Andrew on the other hand had new sails and a clean bottom. He also had Mark Rodreda sitting on the bow calling the possible over lap on the way down to Sampson and so it was. Despite David Locke having both Rita and David's daughter with Brian Cross on the starboard trim, they couldn't stay far enough in front.
Rolled at Sampson, Lockie could do nothing but follow that man in front and did so very well and Glen on Wynella pulled a swiftie on Swiftsure Saga, looming up out of the bottom of the racecourse to snaffle third place around the mark. Alma joined the four boats at the mark and I watched them disappear into the rain that was coming up the river from the west. Oh dear. A soggy day for the fleet.
However the wind dropped a little and Bill on Swiftsure Saga managed to get back into third place over the line.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, The First Jindarra and Alma.
Mariner is remaining off the water for the next week or so until repairs are finalised and I will be away for the next week down south as Swiftsure is not sailing the championships this year.
Saturday Sailing 19th of October 2019 The Jim Leach Memorial Trophy.
Again, where was everyone &
Lost without a chance of redemption.
A pleasant surprise, with The First Jindarra joining us on the startline for the afternoon. And Aloha bobbed up as well. Fortunate that they arrived as we would have had a fleet of 2 otherwise. Swiftsure Saga and Wynella were the regulars and again the MIA were Alma, Nerrima, Corella and Karoleeya to mention a few. Lockie's been working on his boat and Brian's Mariner repairing the damage, fair enough. Shortage of crew seems to be the issue and perhaps the chairman needs to get a little more active in this area. Bodies on boats would be the call here.
However the carpark was empty and the pens were distressingly quiet. No rattle of gear being prepared, no cheerful throngs in the bar afterwards and even a club which thrived on the function work was bare of guests preparing for weddings and the like. "oh we've got one tomorrow" said a staff member when queried. It wasn't like this 10 years ago.. And out on the water, it was the same. 34 boats sailed from the club today. Even with RFBYC's opening day and their hordes on the water, it was still quiet. Sure we have 17 boats out on the Gero race.. but they weren't all ours!
So on an uneasy east-nor easter we were given a full course one and we set off around the day buoy, ready to head down wind to Brickies with a kite up. Easy enough and once the spinnaker was set, the fleet began to separate with The Jin forging away and with our kite up, we were also holding our own and getting away from Wynella. Aloha were following their own dictates and moved along behind Wynella on a pleasant father and son bonding experience. By the time we had reached Brickies, the Freshie startline was starting to fire up and we now had to work our way up to Print and then away to Foam. A few howls from the crew as the skipper pushed in deep into the freshie start area and the sight of an advancing fleet of boats on port heading toward their start line had the crew thinking that despite being on starboard, we really shouldn't have been there. However we tacked and got out of the way in time. Just.
Back up the river with Wynella still behind us and The Jin roaring away in the lead. A tough day for us and the lessening breeze wasn't giving us the speed we wanted. By Dolphin West, Wynella was on our tail and at Foam, as we looked back up to Sanders, Wynella had passed us and despite a kite up on our boat, he sailed away on a breeze of his own that took him away from us. The radio began to crackle and sure enough they shortened up the race. The rest of the race took us back to Como with very little to help us and the leeside of the boat stacked with bodies to keep the boat heeling. So turn at Como and head for home. Hopefully our adversaries hadn't heard, but its rather hard to miss a start box full of flags, even from Como.
Distressingly third we were probably saved even more embarrassment as the easterly whipped up and we began to hit middle 5 to 6 knots on the way home.. but not enough to catch Wynella. Across the line some 18 minutes after the Jin and 6 minutes behind Wynella. Aloha retired saving herself any further ignominy.
Over the line and on handicap: The First Jindarra, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga
Andy Bell and crew took the Jim Leach Memorial trophy for 2019.
After the day was done, we stripped off the "new" sails and Bill is going to check his older sail suite to see what can be could put on the boat for future use. Anything but what we have at present.
Again, where was everyone &
Lost without a chance of redemption.
A pleasant surprise, with The First Jindarra joining us on the startline for the afternoon. And Aloha bobbed up as well. Fortunate that they arrived as we would have had a fleet of 2 otherwise. Swiftsure Saga and Wynella were the regulars and again the MIA were Alma, Nerrima, Corella and Karoleeya to mention a few. Lockie's been working on his boat and Brian's Mariner repairing the damage, fair enough. Shortage of crew seems to be the issue and perhaps the chairman needs to get a little more active in this area. Bodies on boats would be the call here.
However the carpark was empty and the pens were distressingly quiet. No rattle of gear being prepared, no cheerful throngs in the bar afterwards and even a club which thrived on the function work was bare of guests preparing for weddings and the like. "oh we've got one tomorrow" said a staff member when queried. It wasn't like this 10 years ago.. And out on the water, it was the same. 34 boats sailed from the club today. Even with RFBYC's opening day and their hordes on the water, it was still quiet. Sure we have 17 boats out on the Gero race.. but they weren't all ours!
So on an uneasy east-nor easter we were given a full course one and we set off around the day buoy, ready to head down wind to Brickies with a kite up. Easy enough and once the spinnaker was set, the fleet began to separate with The Jin forging away and with our kite up, we were also holding our own and getting away from Wynella. Aloha were following their own dictates and moved along behind Wynella on a pleasant father and son bonding experience. By the time we had reached Brickies, the Freshie startline was starting to fire up and we now had to work our way up to Print and then away to Foam. A few howls from the crew as the skipper pushed in deep into the freshie start area and the sight of an advancing fleet of boats on port heading toward their start line had the crew thinking that despite being on starboard, we really shouldn't have been there. However we tacked and got out of the way in time. Just.
Back up the river with Wynella still behind us and The Jin roaring away in the lead. A tough day for us and the lessening breeze wasn't giving us the speed we wanted. By Dolphin West, Wynella was on our tail and at Foam, as we looked back up to Sanders, Wynella had passed us and despite a kite up on our boat, he sailed away on a breeze of his own that took him away from us. The radio began to crackle and sure enough they shortened up the race. The rest of the race took us back to Como with very little to help us and the leeside of the boat stacked with bodies to keep the boat heeling. So turn at Como and head for home. Hopefully our adversaries hadn't heard, but its rather hard to miss a start box full of flags, even from Como.
Distressingly third we were probably saved even more embarrassment as the easterly whipped up and we began to hit middle 5 to 6 knots on the way home.. but not enough to catch Wynella. Across the line some 18 minutes after the Jin and 6 minutes behind Wynella. Aloha retired saving herself any further ignominy.
Over the line and on handicap: The First Jindarra, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga
Andy Bell and crew took the Jim Leach Memorial trophy for 2019.
After the day was done, we stripped off the "new" sails and Bill is going to check his older sail suite to see what can be could put on the boat for future use. Anything but what we have at present.
Spring Wednesday Sailing 16th of October 2019
The First Jindarra has a new main &
Keeping yourself between the finish line and your opponent.
The first sign of The Jin loading up her new main was the rustle of the old main being put on board Geoff Reasons Carina. Yes he bought it and I hope that he gets some good use of it. However Andrew Bell has had the hull given a good going over to ensure that she was in good shape and a new coat of antifoul on the bottom. She had to be slick. However on the start line it was a different matter and Lockie was hunting for bear. We were too early on the line and had to toss and go around while Corella got under The Jins stern and began to take him up. Nearly did it too.
However on a course one with a dash up to Martin and Weaver, the drag race up to Martin had all the boats in front of us with Alma slotting into a very good third and Wynella sandwiched between Alma and my ride for the day, Swiftsure Saga. This time we had to get past Wynella, but it was no laughing matter as despite a good run down the jetties, we were still last around Weaver and looking to be tail end Charlie for the day. Our saving grace was a stiff sou wester and we know that the boat can perform well in a breeze.
Off to Deepwater and having taken a quick dig out to get clean air we set off up the river with the view of getting up and then across into the bay. But the Royal Perth fleet had other ideas and they poured over us on the way to Foam. (yes we tacked too soon) The result had us falling down under the bad air and then having to go all the way into Heathcote before we got a chance to go up the breeze. The others had penetrated the fleet and were already well away, bar Wynella, but they were doing well enough. So we finally worked our way onto a port tack to go up and then flipped into the bay to make a decent go of it. But Wynella was way out to the North? You take your blessings as they come and we continued on our way bending around Applecross spit and then tightening up for the work up the breeze to Deepwater. Along the way we saw Stella Leap parked on the putty at Applecross, fortunately on the muddy side rather than the other side (west) where the rocks lie.
The new sail was working for Andrew and he managed to roll David L before the top mark and the next sighting we had was the pair of them setting poles for the down wind leg to Print with Judith driving Alma hell for leather up to the mark. She has been getting better each week and with her confidence building, the boat and she are starting to look the goods, So around she went and we then had to sort out our own race with Wynella a lot closer now. Down to Print and bend around the mark with a look at Robins next. This time we went all the way into the beach and we had some of the crew sweating on how close we were to the bottom. No matter we got around and had a chance to get up to Robins with only a small double tack to make the mark.
Then to Dolphin East with a screaming reach, a gybe and a pole on the other side that varied from one side to the other as the breeze kept changing all the time. Como at last and by this time we had Wynella behind us. Hooray, lets start chasing Alma. We watched as the lead boats all made the outer start line in one dig, so we knew we could do it as well. Around we went and then onto the small triangle with a dash to King from Sampson. After King we were looking to Print as our next mark and curious things were happening to Alma who did a slow down and go around. MOB ..possibly and sure enough Alma had managed to put their fore-decky over board along with the spinnaker pole. A chance for us while they are fishing him out of the water. Yes we were watching to see that he was ok, but any chance will do us.
But no, they had enough people to get him in quickly and get going again. But a lot closer than before. So down to Como from Print and a rollicking ride as we had managed to lose our wind indicator somewhere around King and both Bill and I were working on feel rather than knowledge. Still, ease the boat on the gusts and she fairly flew. We made it to Como and then to Thelma with a wall of Div two boats following us and then along the beach, getting closer to the beach as we suffered from the boats above us. Finally we called for water and flipped only to see Wynella continue on. Bother. Then we went a bit too far above the mark and sure enough Wynella managed to slip over the line just in front of us. Last again.
If Judith hadn't thrown a man overboard, she would have had a fair chance to get the win on handicap as she was only behind by 1 minute and 59 secs. However it didn't hurt her handicap and she shared second with Corella who took the same time on handicap. For once Wynella had a handicap larger than Swiftsure Saga's and despite our last we still picked up a fourth.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Alma.
On handicap: The First Jindarra, with Corella and Alma sharing second place.
The First Jindarra has a new main &
Keeping yourself between the finish line and your opponent.
The first sign of The Jin loading up her new main was the rustle of the old main being put on board Geoff Reasons Carina. Yes he bought it and I hope that he gets some good use of it. However Andrew Bell has had the hull given a good going over to ensure that she was in good shape and a new coat of antifoul on the bottom. She had to be slick. However on the start line it was a different matter and Lockie was hunting for bear. We were too early on the line and had to toss and go around while Corella got under The Jins stern and began to take him up. Nearly did it too.
However on a course one with a dash up to Martin and Weaver, the drag race up to Martin had all the boats in front of us with Alma slotting into a very good third and Wynella sandwiched between Alma and my ride for the day, Swiftsure Saga. This time we had to get past Wynella, but it was no laughing matter as despite a good run down the jetties, we were still last around Weaver and looking to be tail end Charlie for the day. Our saving grace was a stiff sou wester and we know that the boat can perform well in a breeze.
Off to Deepwater and having taken a quick dig out to get clean air we set off up the river with the view of getting up and then across into the bay. But the Royal Perth fleet had other ideas and they poured over us on the way to Foam. (yes we tacked too soon) The result had us falling down under the bad air and then having to go all the way into Heathcote before we got a chance to go up the breeze. The others had penetrated the fleet and were already well away, bar Wynella, but they were doing well enough. So we finally worked our way onto a port tack to go up and then flipped into the bay to make a decent go of it. But Wynella was way out to the North? You take your blessings as they come and we continued on our way bending around Applecross spit and then tightening up for the work up the breeze to Deepwater. Along the way we saw Stella Leap parked on the putty at Applecross, fortunately on the muddy side rather than the other side (west) where the rocks lie.
The new sail was working for Andrew and he managed to roll David L before the top mark and the next sighting we had was the pair of them setting poles for the down wind leg to Print with Judith driving Alma hell for leather up to the mark. She has been getting better each week and with her confidence building, the boat and she are starting to look the goods, So around she went and we then had to sort out our own race with Wynella a lot closer now. Down to Print and bend around the mark with a look at Robins next. This time we went all the way into the beach and we had some of the crew sweating on how close we were to the bottom. No matter we got around and had a chance to get up to Robins with only a small double tack to make the mark.
Then to Dolphin East with a screaming reach, a gybe and a pole on the other side that varied from one side to the other as the breeze kept changing all the time. Como at last and by this time we had Wynella behind us. Hooray, lets start chasing Alma. We watched as the lead boats all made the outer start line in one dig, so we knew we could do it as well. Around we went and then onto the small triangle with a dash to King from Sampson. After King we were looking to Print as our next mark and curious things were happening to Alma who did a slow down and go around. MOB ..possibly and sure enough Alma had managed to put their fore-decky over board along with the spinnaker pole. A chance for us while they are fishing him out of the water. Yes we were watching to see that he was ok, but any chance will do us.
But no, they had enough people to get him in quickly and get going again. But a lot closer than before. So down to Como from Print and a rollicking ride as we had managed to lose our wind indicator somewhere around King and both Bill and I were working on feel rather than knowledge. Still, ease the boat on the gusts and she fairly flew. We made it to Como and then to Thelma with a wall of Div two boats following us and then along the beach, getting closer to the beach as we suffered from the boats above us. Finally we called for water and flipped only to see Wynella continue on. Bother. Then we went a bit too far above the mark and sure enough Wynella managed to slip over the line just in front of us. Last again.
If Judith hadn't thrown a man overboard, she would have had a fair chance to get the win on handicap as she was only behind by 1 minute and 59 secs. However it didn't hurt her handicap and she shared second with Corella who took the same time on handicap. For once Wynella had a handicap larger than Swiftsure Saga's and despite our last we still picked up a fourth.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Alma.
On handicap: The First Jindarra, with Corella and Alma sharing second place.
Saturday Sailing 12th of October 2019
Where was everyone? &
Up the front again.
Its not very often that you get a bell ring for 33 boats on the water, but the management team were desperate. Half of our fleet were over at Royal Perth for their Opening Day, and we had a few of our other normal skippers and crew away on the Geraldton classic.
And the H28's are suffering with Lockie still putting his boat together and Brian is away in NZ, Steve is recovering ( Karoleeya that is ) from a sad lack of insurance and Andy Bell is up on the slips with Ian Weaver working on the boat and no sign of Les Brooker or the Minto's at all.
Consequently three boats went out on what would have been a perfect day. 15 to 20 knots and out of the southwest. Sure enough the battle was between Wynella and Swiftsure Saga with Alma providing vocal support as they passed us going the other way. With a decent breeze the racing was even between the two boats and it was a serious bit of match racing where the decision to go an extra few yards to make a ley line may cost you the lead. Glen had Ernie Little whispering in his ear most of the race and clearly he had good advice, as all the way up to Brickies A and B they were challenging.
A bit of luck had us around first and the pole set on the other side gave us the chance to relax for a few seconds until the gusts started to bring Wynella down on us. More hard work all the way to Dolphin West and then a dash to Foam with a return up the hill to Sanders ( the hard to find one). Fortunately we'd taken bearings prior, on the first work up the hill to Brickies and we could spot it clearly. Slam bang and around we went to look down the river and watch the entire Royal Perth fleet begin to emerge from Matilda Bay. OMG from a quiet river to a boiling mass of boats all suitably primed on singing syrup and fortunately for us.. all on a port tack as they worked their way up the breeze. Bill just calmly flicked the main over; we were on starboard and in a comfortable spot to be. Wynella promptly followed suit and both boats made their way down to Como amongst the hubble and bubble of the various fleets as they shot up to Brickies or Lucky.
Then to Robins and Deepwater with a slight oops as we nearly handed back the lead to Wynella. A small mistake in timing had us drop too far down and if Wynella hadn't followed us we would have been in strife. But follow us she did and our saving grace had us up to Applecross Spit and away up to Deepwater with a swarm of RP boats around us. Not fun! However a gap presented itself and across onto starboard we flipped. Around Deepwater and our premise was simple. Stay in front of Wynella. A bit of speed sailing in the gusts and 7.7 was registered in the puffs, but Wynella was getting the same, so keep on going down. Find Addison and then bend away on a reach to Thelma and the finish line not too far away. But Glen had done his job and he was too close for comfort.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Alma
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Alma.
Hope we have a few more boats next week..
Spring Wednesdays 9th of October 2019
The Girls were in town &
A slow day at the back of the fleet.
I was asked to slip onto the Quarterdeck where the H28 girls were settling into lunch and a quick photo was taken with Chairman Glen lurking in the background to ensure he was seen to be seen. Great to see them all and I hope that one day we join them for lunch. It could be a long afternoon.
Sailing on Swiftsure Saga today as Brian is off to New Zealand to visit family and possibly to chill out a little. Good travelling Brian and he was last seen dropping the fleet flag at the start box as we roared off the line on a course one with 10 knots and a sou wester to play with.
We were doing fine up to Sampson and had established a fine 3rd place behind Lockie and Andrew Bell, then we made the decision to peel off to get clear air and then continued all the way across to Heathcote. Possibly the smart move would have been to establish clean air and then go up the middle of the river as there was a lot of westerly in the breeze, but banging corners was what SSS was about and off we went.
By this time we were already being gazumped by Judith on Alma and Wynella was thinking hard as well. We had one great problem on the day. Not enough pressure. 3 days ago and we had 20 knots, the boat was roaring. Today … back of the fleet. And going further back. However Corella with Lockie, Rita ( who returned on Monday ) and Chloe were in fine form. He had established a great start and wasn't headed at all. Did the right thing, shot up the northern side and then came across above the Royal Perth Fleet to establish a good lead. And so did Alma. Blow me down, Judith is a natural or she's listening to John Mewitt on the main; whatever, the boat was doing well. The First Jindarra had followed Corella and had a good second, but seemed to linger a little and we were catching him on the odd occasion.
But by Deepwater all bets were off and we were following Alma around, unfortunately she went the wrong side of us (below us) and ran into a fleet of starboard tackers while she was running down wind and on port. A lot of shouting ensued and she survived, but a salutary lesson was learnt. Keep your eyes open and understand the movements of fleets as they relate to you. Then away down to Print with Wynella pushing us. Not a good day. But we had a new chum on board and Phil was literally learning the ropes. Off to Robins and another battle to stay in touch. Just. Even the downwinds had us running slowly and all the moves we were making, just weren't working. Down around the Outer Start line and the prospect of looking at Wynellas transom grew boring so with great delight we watched Alma sail off into the distance toward Foam from Sampson forgetting that King was now our preferred turning mark.
A chance for us may be? Nope. They eventually twigged and came galloping back to get around just in front of us and possibly blew their chance of taking a good win on handicap. So stare at Alma's transom for a while. Chatter, natter, chatter and a Bakewell 8 came into view stocked to the gunnels with Pelican sailors joining the fleet for the afternoon and waves to all and sundry were exchanged. At least we passed someone! So to the finish line and a strong last.
Over the line: Corella, The First Jindarra and Wynella
On Handicap: Corella, Wynella and Alma.
John Wright was quietly working on Anna, putting the final touches to her. She looks a dream and I only hope that he can sail her for a season or two to take the pleasure from her as she really is easy on the eyes. Pete Shepherd seems to have found his spot in life as the able assistant and is there to give John a hand when necessary.
As to Mariner, well Brian is thinking that some Sikaflex and ply might seal the boat up if repairs aren't forthcoming immediately and the boat will still be able to sail. Wait and see.
The Girls were in town &
A slow day at the back of the fleet.
I was asked to slip onto the Quarterdeck where the H28 girls were settling into lunch and a quick photo was taken with Chairman Glen lurking in the background to ensure he was seen to be seen. Great to see them all and I hope that one day we join them for lunch. It could be a long afternoon.
Sailing on Swiftsure Saga today as Brian is off to New Zealand to visit family and possibly to chill out a little. Good travelling Brian and he was last seen dropping the fleet flag at the start box as we roared off the line on a course one with 10 knots and a sou wester to play with.
We were doing fine up to Sampson and had established a fine 3rd place behind Lockie and Andrew Bell, then we made the decision to peel off to get clear air and then continued all the way across to Heathcote. Possibly the smart move would have been to establish clean air and then go up the middle of the river as there was a lot of westerly in the breeze, but banging corners was what SSS was about and off we went.
By this time we were already being gazumped by Judith on Alma and Wynella was thinking hard as well. We had one great problem on the day. Not enough pressure. 3 days ago and we had 20 knots, the boat was roaring. Today … back of the fleet. And going further back. However Corella with Lockie, Rita ( who returned on Monday ) and Chloe were in fine form. He had established a great start and wasn't headed at all. Did the right thing, shot up the northern side and then came across above the Royal Perth Fleet to establish a good lead. And so did Alma. Blow me down, Judith is a natural or she's listening to John Mewitt on the main; whatever, the boat was doing well. The First Jindarra had followed Corella and had a good second, but seemed to linger a little and we were catching him on the odd occasion.
But by Deepwater all bets were off and we were following Alma around, unfortunately she went the wrong side of us (below us) and ran into a fleet of starboard tackers while she was running down wind and on port. A lot of shouting ensued and she survived, but a salutary lesson was learnt. Keep your eyes open and understand the movements of fleets as they relate to you. Then away down to Print with Wynella pushing us. Not a good day. But we had a new chum on board and Phil was literally learning the ropes. Off to Robins and another battle to stay in touch. Just. Even the downwinds had us running slowly and all the moves we were making, just weren't working. Down around the Outer Start line and the prospect of looking at Wynellas transom grew boring so with great delight we watched Alma sail off into the distance toward Foam from Sampson forgetting that King was now our preferred turning mark.
A chance for us may be? Nope. They eventually twigged and came galloping back to get around just in front of us and possibly blew their chance of taking a good win on handicap. So stare at Alma's transom for a while. Chatter, natter, chatter and a Bakewell 8 came into view stocked to the gunnels with Pelican sailors joining the fleet for the afternoon and waves to all and sundry were exchanged. At least we passed someone! So to the finish line and a strong last.
Over the line: Corella, The First Jindarra and Wynella
On Handicap: Corella, Wynella and Alma.
John Wright was quietly working on Anna, putting the final touches to her. She looks a dream and I only hope that he can sail her for a season or two to take the pleasure from her as she really is easy on the eyes. Pete Shepherd seems to have found his spot in life as the able assistant and is there to give John a hand when necessary.
As to Mariner, well Brian is thinking that some Sikaflex and ply might seal the boat up if repairs aren't forthcoming immediately and the boat will still be able to sail. Wait and see.
Opening Day at SoPYC 6th of October 2019
20 What! &
Only the brave.
A number of the H28 fraternity gathered at the pens and previewed the afternoon to come. Light breezes and an easy day on the water. Put on the number one and lets have a few beers on the way around. Apart from the difficulty of trying to get the boats to come out for the sail past, the ceremonial part of the day was easy enough with a loud bang signifying the start of summer once again. The assembled hordes of visitors duly filed down to the power boats to be carted around the river while we cavorted on the water having a good time.
However someone forgot to tell Hughie. The sou wester amped up to 20 knots or better in the gusts and all of a sudden the number one was running a bit ragged and there were boats and skippers have seniors moments all over the river. In fact the pursuit race turned into a knock down drag out race for all, as those throwing up kites and even those not throwing up kites ran into serious trouble.
We should have guessed what was in store when we saw a visiting S80 launch itself head first onto the putty next to Heathcote, but there was going to be more as the day drew on. We were off 17 minutes and had a job to do to catch the ones in front. Fortunately Wynella had blown his timing, so he wasn't going to be a problem as he was behind us from the beginning. However Judith was helming Alma with Steve Hill from Karoleeya on the main and Jim Spittle had a crack crew and one of Andrews old sails on board, he was going to be pretty quick too. But Swiftsure Saga had a big breeze and that's all that mattered.
Around Sampson and up to Deepwater entailed a couple of digs into the bay and with those under our belt our biggest problem was going to be Mariner who was doing rather well. However midway between Applecross and Deepwater they ran foul of a SS27 and retired precipitously with a large hole on her port side. More work for the shipwrights. Having circled back to assist, we found ourselves behind the other H28's as we'd done well up to that point so our job was to get around Deepwater and on our way to Dolphin West where we were entertained by the sight of another SS27 attempting to hoist a kite and hold it. Several round ups later and with everyone keeping well clear they managed to get it set and promptly cleared out. However it passed the time nicely for us and kept The First Jindarra off our tail for a while as they negotiated their way past the flailing SS27.
Bu life wasn't meant to be easy and sure enough on the way to the outer startline, we started to fall below the mark and our problem was to get back above it .. too late to tack so we suffered the torture of the damned as we waited for that gap in the stream of yachts and watched our opponents get away. Finally around and we looked ahead to see ourselves in a fair position.... we could still see the H28s we had to catch. One more trip up the breeze to Robins and a big fright for Bill when Peter Vlaar of Farrago dodged one boat and then found himself looking at the whites of our eyes as we called starboard on him again and again. Finally he slammed the 40 ft boat over and then found himself caught in the same trap we had been in at the outer start line. On port and vulnerable to everyone coming in on starboard. A lot of boats got through.
Away down to Dolphin West again on a screaming reach and a gybe at the mark that set us up for the run to Como and home. By this time we had regained our second spot amongst the H28's, partly I'd say to the fact that Les on Nerima hadn't cleaned his hull for a while and the barnacles were lining up to go into second story accommodation on his boat. Slow as slow does on that boat. But he was still trying. Hit the corner at Como and line up the finish line, this time we had gone a little higher and we had clear air once we cleared the smaller boat above us. A good finish and the boat was packed and stacked before long. Easy to do and the beers were acceptable on the hill.
enjoy the photos
20 What! &
Only the brave.
A number of the H28 fraternity gathered at the pens and previewed the afternoon to come. Light breezes and an easy day on the water. Put on the number one and lets have a few beers on the way around. Apart from the difficulty of trying to get the boats to come out for the sail past, the ceremonial part of the day was easy enough with a loud bang signifying the start of summer once again. The assembled hordes of visitors duly filed down to the power boats to be carted around the river while we cavorted on the water having a good time.
However someone forgot to tell Hughie. The sou wester amped up to 20 knots or better in the gusts and all of a sudden the number one was running a bit ragged and there were boats and skippers have seniors moments all over the river. In fact the pursuit race turned into a knock down drag out race for all, as those throwing up kites and even those not throwing up kites ran into serious trouble.
We should have guessed what was in store when we saw a visiting S80 launch itself head first onto the putty next to Heathcote, but there was going to be more as the day drew on. We were off 17 minutes and had a job to do to catch the ones in front. Fortunately Wynella had blown his timing, so he wasn't going to be a problem as he was behind us from the beginning. However Judith was helming Alma with Steve Hill from Karoleeya on the main and Jim Spittle had a crack crew and one of Andrews old sails on board, he was going to be pretty quick too. But Swiftsure Saga had a big breeze and that's all that mattered.
Around Sampson and up to Deepwater entailed a couple of digs into the bay and with those under our belt our biggest problem was going to be Mariner who was doing rather well. However midway between Applecross and Deepwater they ran foul of a SS27 and retired precipitously with a large hole on her port side. More work for the shipwrights. Having circled back to assist, we found ourselves behind the other H28's as we'd done well up to that point so our job was to get around Deepwater and on our way to Dolphin West where we were entertained by the sight of another SS27 attempting to hoist a kite and hold it. Several round ups later and with everyone keeping well clear they managed to get it set and promptly cleared out. However it passed the time nicely for us and kept The First Jindarra off our tail for a while as they negotiated their way past the flailing SS27.
Bu life wasn't meant to be easy and sure enough on the way to the outer startline, we started to fall below the mark and our problem was to get back above it .. too late to tack so we suffered the torture of the damned as we waited for that gap in the stream of yachts and watched our opponents get away. Finally around and we looked ahead to see ourselves in a fair position.... we could still see the H28s we had to catch. One more trip up the breeze to Robins and a big fright for Bill when Peter Vlaar of Farrago dodged one boat and then found himself looking at the whites of our eyes as we called starboard on him again and again. Finally he slammed the 40 ft boat over and then found himself caught in the same trap we had been in at the outer start line. On port and vulnerable to everyone coming in on starboard. A lot of boats got through.
Away down to Dolphin West again on a screaming reach and a gybe at the mark that set us up for the run to Como and home. By this time we had regained our second spot amongst the H28's, partly I'd say to the fact that Les on Nerima hadn't cleaned his hull for a while and the barnacles were lining up to go into second story accommodation on his boat. Slow as slow does on that boat. But he was still trying. Hit the corner at Como and line up the finish line, this time we had gone a little higher and we had clear air once we cleared the smaller boat above us. A good finish and the boat was packed and stacked before long. Easy to do and the beers were acceptable on the hill.
enjoy the photos
Winter Wednesdays 2nd of October 2019
The final of the Winter sailing &
Champagne sailing for all.
First of all, we had a visitor on the boat. Brian took his grandson Josh onto the boat, rigged him out and sat him on the skippers side of the traveller. Lucky fellow. It was going to be a big day for show and tell after the holidays.
The course was a number two with a wandering west sou westerly around 9 to 13 knots. Full of holes and different directions.. so beloved of the late winter sailors. It was going to be a cracker of a day as this breeze suited every one and The First Jindarra was to be helmed by Les Swinton with the aim of emulating his son, though he only had one crew. And very nearly did it. (More later)
We all hit the line racing and as most know, it was a case of trimming to go faster than the boat breathing on your neck. We had Bill Richards hunting us and the only way was up, so up we went to take him away from the mark. Fortunately we had opened a gap by then and the others didn't manage to crack through us and take the mark first, but it was a near thing and the boats streamed around Sampson once again with nary 100 meters to cover all five boats. Alma and Swiftsure were hard on our tail as was Wynella a few yards back and it was Wynella who blinked first and tacked off for clear air and a chance to get a little closer to the west sou wester. Bill as usual, had gone low for clear air and followed us across as we decided to take the dash over to a position to cut across to a ley line into Hallmark, but as usual, there were a few tacks in between and we had lost a few yards on the way up. More so it gave Swiftsure Saga a chance and he'd taken a high line near the north side and came across in front of us as we looked in despair as a lead turned into a chase. Wynella wasn't too far way and we kept them behind, but noticed that Les on The Jin had closed the gap as well and was working his crew hard to get closer.
Gosh, they all want to lead.. So get around Armstrong following Swiftsure Saga and the run to Como ensued. A little speed sailing with the occasional gybe to hot us up....yes we were getting closer, but marginally and Les and Glen were playing their own games off on the side, preparing to gybe across under speed. and eventually would do well from it. So Como and closer to Swiftsure Saga, but still not there, The dash across to the outer startline had us right on his tail with the hope of pulling off an inside attack.
Ok we made it, but as usual Bill took us up, returning the favour from the prior dash an hour ago. But this time, Bill may have forgotten that its not the done thing to take people up into the on coming fleet and a swerve to avoid collision with Alma, coming the other way, prevented the loss of two H28s. A near thing indeed. However it was the incentive to drive us on and though the final dash down to Sampson was almost square, we avoided the overtaking from the boats behind us, but again it closed the gap and this time Wynella and the Jin were hunting us and all of a sudden The First Jindarra helmed by Les Swinton took the lead on a cross. Shades of his son Keith. Now we had to run him down.
Fortunately he went a bit too far out to the left, as did Glen and Swiftsure took the second place at Dolphin East, just as close as he could be. But the skipper had a plan; the RP fleet was streaming across into Matilda Bay and we had cleared them. Unfortunately the boats behind us had to deal with them and Bill was seen swerving up out of the path of the oncoming Royal fleet. He found a gap, but by then we were home free and the rest of the race was a formality. After all, with our handicap we couldn't win the race on handicap, but fastest is still the premium.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Alma
Well sailed all on the day, it was tight, hard sailing and fun to be on the water. About time you bought an H28 Les, you're competitive enough.
To the winter racing results. Well we thought that Bill had it.. After all he'd done the yards and got the win. However there was a surprise in store. Each race is marked out of the 12 boats registered. Any boat that didn't sail automatically gets 13 against their name. Ok. Our surmises were built on that premise. Bill had the best set of points.
But the winter season is marked out of the actual race scores with one drop ( only 11 races remember ) and if you didn't race you only got penalised the number of boats that raced, plus one. Ummmmmm! Ok.
So Bill and Glen actually drew for the season and Glen had more wins than Bill. So Glen took the winter series. No doubt that Glen hadn't worked hard to get it, but Bill had too and a little more transparency would be of use here. EG. no more 13's. Keep it so we can understand it.
Otherwise:
John Wrights boat is nearing completion with the fittings being put on while we raced with Peter Shepard coming down to help John with the putting on of the bits and pieces. We may see him on the water on Sunday for opening day. Hopefully.
Lockie's boat is back on the water and was floating the last time I saw it (today) He'll be joining Mariner to sail the opening day.
The final of the Winter sailing &
Champagne sailing for all.
First of all, we had a visitor on the boat. Brian took his grandson Josh onto the boat, rigged him out and sat him on the skippers side of the traveller. Lucky fellow. It was going to be a big day for show and tell after the holidays.
The course was a number two with a wandering west sou westerly around 9 to 13 knots. Full of holes and different directions.. so beloved of the late winter sailors. It was going to be a cracker of a day as this breeze suited every one and The First Jindarra was to be helmed by Les Swinton with the aim of emulating his son, though he only had one crew. And very nearly did it. (More later)
We all hit the line racing and as most know, it was a case of trimming to go faster than the boat breathing on your neck. We had Bill Richards hunting us and the only way was up, so up we went to take him away from the mark. Fortunately we had opened a gap by then and the others didn't manage to crack through us and take the mark first, but it was a near thing and the boats streamed around Sampson once again with nary 100 meters to cover all five boats. Alma and Swiftsure were hard on our tail as was Wynella a few yards back and it was Wynella who blinked first and tacked off for clear air and a chance to get a little closer to the west sou wester. Bill as usual, had gone low for clear air and followed us across as we decided to take the dash over to a position to cut across to a ley line into Hallmark, but as usual, there were a few tacks in between and we had lost a few yards on the way up. More so it gave Swiftsure Saga a chance and he'd taken a high line near the north side and came across in front of us as we looked in despair as a lead turned into a chase. Wynella wasn't too far way and we kept them behind, but noticed that Les on The Jin had closed the gap as well and was working his crew hard to get closer.
Gosh, they all want to lead.. So get around Armstrong following Swiftsure Saga and the run to Como ensued. A little speed sailing with the occasional gybe to hot us up....yes we were getting closer, but marginally and Les and Glen were playing their own games off on the side, preparing to gybe across under speed. and eventually would do well from it. So Como and closer to Swiftsure Saga, but still not there, The dash across to the outer startline had us right on his tail with the hope of pulling off an inside attack.
Ok we made it, but as usual Bill took us up, returning the favour from the prior dash an hour ago. But this time, Bill may have forgotten that its not the done thing to take people up into the on coming fleet and a swerve to avoid collision with Alma, coming the other way, prevented the loss of two H28s. A near thing indeed. However it was the incentive to drive us on and though the final dash down to Sampson was almost square, we avoided the overtaking from the boats behind us, but again it closed the gap and this time Wynella and the Jin were hunting us and all of a sudden The First Jindarra helmed by Les Swinton took the lead on a cross. Shades of his son Keith. Now we had to run him down.
Fortunately he went a bit too far out to the left, as did Glen and Swiftsure took the second place at Dolphin East, just as close as he could be. But the skipper had a plan; the RP fleet was streaming across into Matilda Bay and we had cleared them. Unfortunately the boats behind us had to deal with them and Bill was seen swerving up out of the path of the oncoming Royal fleet. He found a gap, but by then we were home free and the rest of the race was a formality. After all, with our handicap we couldn't win the race on handicap, but fastest is still the premium.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Alma
Well sailed all on the day, it was tight, hard sailing and fun to be on the water. About time you bought an H28 Les, you're competitive enough.
To the winter racing results. Well we thought that Bill had it.. After all he'd done the yards and got the win. However there was a surprise in store. Each race is marked out of the 12 boats registered. Any boat that didn't sail automatically gets 13 against their name. Ok. Our surmises were built on that premise. Bill had the best set of points.
But the winter season is marked out of the actual race scores with one drop ( only 11 races remember ) and if you didn't race you only got penalised the number of boats that raced, plus one. Ummmmmm! Ok.
So Bill and Glen actually drew for the season and Glen had more wins than Bill. So Glen took the winter series. No doubt that Glen hadn't worked hard to get it, but Bill had too and a little more transparency would be of use here. EG. no more 13's. Keep it so we can understand it.
Otherwise:
John Wrights boat is nearing completion with the fittings being put on while we raced with Peter Shepard coming down to help John with the putting on of the bits and pieces. We may see him on the water on Sunday for opening day. Hopefully.
Lockie's boat is back on the water and was floating the last time I saw it (today) He'll be joining Mariner to sail the opening day.
Winter Wednesdays 25th of September 2019
When the big boys come to town &
Zigging and Zagging
Today was the penultimate of the Winter Wednesdays and fittingly Swiftsure Saga took the win on handicap and looks likely to win the winter series. Bill and John have laboured through a long winter with a shocking handicap and finally he has managed to a) get the boat moving again and b) get his handicap down to a manageable level. Well sailed Swiftsure Saga.
However, while the win was to Swiftsure, the battle for first over the line was a different story. Keith Swinton was to take out Andy Bells boat and there were an interesting mix of new sailors around the H28's this week. A few newbs and some old faces renewing their love of the H28 again.
Brian Cross is still working on Lockies boat and now that the glassing is done, was busy smoothing down the fill that they had used to finish the boat for painting. But he took a break and came sailing for the afternoon with five boats hitting the water.
Alma, helmed by John Mewitt, Swiftsure Saga, Mariner, Wynella and The First Jindarra with Keith helming made up the five and we had a quick reshuffle of crews to accommodate the extras. The battle was always going to be between Mariner and the Jin, but on a day with a breeze between 10 to 15 knots on a wandering west sou westerly, the rest of the fleet were certainly competitive. A course two was handed out and the dash to Sampson commenced with a fine start by the fleet, everyone pouring over the line in a timely manner.
Then Keith started the age old pattern of "I'll take you up as far as I can go to break the over lap." So the rest of the fleet came thundering down the reach catching up quickly so that the boats again hit Sampson in a rush, pouring around the corner and trying to out guess the boat in front. The drag race up to Hallmark commenced with those behind or below making the move to create clean air for themselves. We stuck with The Jin until she tacked to put herself in a good position to work her way through the Royal Perth Fleet who were advancing down to Foam from Matilda Bay. We decided to pick the gaps and found the necessary hole in the fleet with a chance to close up the lead that Keith had developed. We were now on the way to Hallmark having successfully got around Inner Dolphin and it was a tight race alright as the boats behind had closed up during the run through the RP fleet.
Then we zagged, well we held on to a tack when we should have gone to cover a boat. Then we zigged.. another whoops and it left us vulnerable to Wynella, close to the mark and Glen was no slouch with Ernie Little whispering in his ear. Bingo we went from second to third and we knew it was going to be hard yards to get that particular boat back. Up to Armstrong and then down to Como with a slow chase ensuing. Surprisingly both boats in the lead went wandering off toward the right ensuring that they would have to gybe to make Como and Keith put on a display of running across the wind and gybing a few times to get more speed, forgetting that H28's aren't really that fast and that the H28's behind him were doing just as well as he was.
To Como and still chasing Wynella with Swiftsure and Alma having their own private tourney behind us. Around the outer start line with every one streaming out along the line down to Sampson again and we had caught up with Wynella again. Time to do something different and we tacked off after the mark crossing over to below Heathcote, while Wynella and The Jin continued along the northern side. And then we tacked and immediately the boat began to lift into the sou wester. So well did we lift that we noticed Wynella coming back and it was clear even then, that we had made it past them. So only one to catch. Off to Dolphin East and around that we went, getting closer all the time.
The down wind run was the next part with the div three fleet catching the last three H28's at Dolphin East and creating mayhem. All that and the lonely sight of Olive Marie, a fugitive from Div 2, wandering her solitary way around the course. Stone motherless last as usual and causing problems for anyone who wanted to pass her. But it didn't stop a lively battle between Wynella and Swiftsure Saga with Bill getting through Glen thanks to the confusion caused by the Div 3 boats. Anyway we had our hands full trying to chase down Keith and his chuckling father who was enjoying looking back at us.
Down to Print and then to Como with both boats coursing along. The reach across to Thelma had us moving quite quickly and at the mark we turned on their tail and took a higher stance. Taking a chance on the John Wright effect, the skip kept the boat aiming forward and the lifts kept on coming through. Closer and closer to the mark we got and at the last moment we found ourselves looking at holding Keith below the pin while we tacked. But no. Keith invoked the 3 boat length rule and asked us to tack immediately while he tacked. Damn. So a tack and then another, but The Jin was across the line first and we were on her tail only seconds later. {I think its rule 18 (2) a & b}
Still you couldn't wipe the smile off the skippers face. To get that close to taking the win was enough and it made his day, even though our handicap took a hammering again.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella, The First Jindarra.
The video is a quick look at the boys doing the glassing of Corella on Monday. Special thanks to Ian Weaver whose advice was invaluable.
When the big boys come to town &
Zigging and Zagging
Today was the penultimate of the Winter Wednesdays and fittingly Swiftsure Saga took the win on handicap and looks likely to win the winter series. Bill and John have laboured through a long winter with a shocking handicap and finally he has managed to a) get the boat moving again and b) get his handicap down to a manageable level. Well sailed Swiftsure Saga.
However, while the win was to Swiftsure, the battle for first over the line was a different story. Keith Swinton was to take out Andy Bells boat and there were an interesting mix of new sailors around the H28's this week. A few newbs and some old faces renewing their love of the H28 again.
Brian Cross is still working on Lockies boat and now that the glassing is done, was busy smoothing down the fill that they had used to finish the boat for painting. But he took a break and came sailing for the afternoon with five boats hitting the water.
Alma, helmed by John Mewitt, Swiftsure Saga, Mariner, Wynella and The First Jindarra with Keith helming made up the five and we had a quick reshuffle of crews to accommodate the extras. The battle was always going to be between Mariner and the Jin, but on a day with a breeze between 10 to 15 knots on a wandering west sou westerly, the rest of the fleet were certainly competitive. A course two was handed out and the dash to Sampson commenced with a fine start by the fleet, everyone pouring over the line in a timely manner.
Then Keith started the age old pattern of "I'll take you up as far as I can go to break the over lap." So the rest of the fleet came thundering down the reach catching up quickly so that the boats again hit Sampson in a rush, pouring around the corner and trying to out guess the boat in front. The drag race up to Hallmark commenced with those behind or below making the move to create clean air for themselves. We stuck with The Jin until she tacked to put herself in a good position to work her way through the Royal Perth Fleet who were advancing down to Foam from Matilda Bay. We decided to pick the gaps and found the necessary hole in the fleet with a chance to close up the lead that Keith had developed. We were now on the way to Hallmark having successfully got around Inner Dolphin and it was a tight race alright as the boats behind had closed up during the run through the RP fleet.
Then we zagged, well we held on to a tack when we should have gone to cover a boat. Then we zigged.. another whoops and it left us vulnerable to Wynella, close to the mark and Glen was no slouch with Ernie Little whispering in his ear. Bingo we went from second to third and we knew it was going to be hard yards to get that particular boat back. Up to Armstrong and then down to Como with a slow chase ensuing. Surprisingly both boats in the lead went wandering off toward the right ensuring that they would have to gybe to make Como and Keith put on a display of running across the wind and gybing a few times to get more speed, forgetting that H28's aren't really that fast and that the H28's behind him were doing just as well as he was.
To Como and still chasing Wynella with Swiftsure and Alma having their own private tourney behind us. Around the outer start line with every one streaming out along the line down to Sampson again and we had caught up with Wynella again. Time to do something different and we tacked off after the mark crossing over to below Heathcote, while Wynella and The Jin continued along the northern side. And then we tacked and immediately the boat began to lift into the sou wester. So well did we lift that we noticed Wynella coming back and it was clear even then, that we had made it past them. So only one to catch. Off to Dolphin East and around that we went, getting closer all the time.
The down wind run was the next part with the div three fleet catching the last three H28's at Dolphin East and creating mayhem. All that and the lonely sight of Olive Marie, a fugitive from Div 2, wandering her solitary way around the course. Stone motherless last as usual and causing problems for anyone who wanted to pass her. But it didn't stop a lively battle between Wynella and Swiftsure Saga with Bill getting through Glen thanks to the confusion caused by the Div 3 boats. Anyway we had our hands full trying to chase down Keith and his chuckling father who was enjoying looking back at us.
Down to Print and then to Como with both boats coursing along. The reach across to Thelma had us moving quite quickly and at the mark we turned on their tail and took a higher stance. Taking a chance on the John Wright effect, the skip kept the boat aiming forward and the lifts kept on coming through. Closer and closer to the mark we got and at the last moment we found ourselves looking at holding Keith below the pin while we tacked. But no. Keith invoked the 3 boat length rule and asked us to tack immediately while he tacked. Damn. So a tack and then another, but The Jin was across the line first and we were on her tail only seconds later. {I think its rule 18 (2) a & b}
Still you couldn't wipe the smile off the skippers face. To get that close to taking the win was enough and it made his day, even though our handicap took a hammering again.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella, The First Jindarra.
The video is a quick look at the boys doing the glassing of Corella on Monday. Special thanks to Ian Weaver whose advice was invaluable.
Winter Wednesdays 18th of September 2019
Washed out Wednesday &
The Last Frostbite
It wasn't the sort of day that you would want to go out onto the water. Rain showers by 1300 hrs and during the arvo it was gusting up to 25 knots in an errant nor wester, but the skip had decided long ago that he wasn't going out and had been working on Lockie's boat for the last three days. And a fine job too with the hull completely stripped back ready for a glassing. No water to enter that hull from now on.
However there was little movement in the camp with only Bill and the crew poking their heads up over the transom and seeing that there was no one else to play games with, the entire fleet was shut down for the afternoon. Les Swinton with son Keith and friend were seen heading for the bar, so it was assumed that they had also decided not to sail. Not that it meant much as only 12 boats from the club went out for the day. Notably they sailed a shortened course so the starters must have been observing the gusts and decided to finish the race early to provide safety for the yachts.
However the last frostbite was another story with Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya and Mariner taking off with visitors Fiona and John Peate from Hobart coming out for the ride. Fiona and John own one of our wandering Swan River H28's by the name of Jeanita/Anita aka Oyster and its possibly to be named Swift once the restoration is finished. Hopefully the work will be finished by the time of the AWBF in 2021 and she will join the WA H28 Marquee at the AWBF. But lets not spoil a good story as it was a brisk day and Mariner got away to a good start with Swiftsure Saga hot on her heels. For once with a good breeze we could sail fast and we had a great battle with Bruce Uren on Wildfire and simply dragged him off on a run up the breeze to Deepwater. Nice. Phil and Kate Lammonby came out for the sail and Glen joined Karoleeya to flesh out the crew as well.
From then on it was chase Brian all day and our guests were treated to a nice bit of sailing with only Mariner popping up a kite, we still had plenty of speed in the breeze and had left all behind us, save for Mariner and the rounding at the outer startline had a breezy gybe and a quick dash around the small triangle with the other fleets not interfering with us thankfully. Over the line and pack everything away with the troops heading up to the bar. Unfortunately the race finished at 1600 hrs and the wait till 1730 hrs was a little long, but the soup was enjoyed and the red wine drunk with appreciation. Fiona and John were presented visitors pennants by the Commodore John Midolo.
After the presentations and the hampers were handed out, all three H28's, Mariner, Karoleeya and Swiftsure Saga were in the glory box with a second on the race to Bill, a fastest to Brian on Mariner and an overall second to Steve and the crew on Karoleeya for the season. A good result for all. It would be a shame to miss mentioning Mark Walters and his boat Koomela, but he was sailing his Flying 15 on Sunday and whizzed past us on our way. A pity that he didn't sail the Frostbite.
A few photos, but as I don't officially take a camera out on Sundays, its just a few glimpses.
Washed out Wednesday &
The Last Frostbite
It wasn't the sort of day that you would want to go out onto the water. Rain showers by 1300 hrs and during the arvo it was gusting up to 25 knots in an errant nor wester, but the skip had decided long ago that he wasn't going out and had been working on Lockie's boat for the last three days. And a fine job too with the hull completely stripped back ready for a glassing. No water to enter that hull from now on.
However there was little movement in the camp with only Bill and the crew poking their heads up over the transom and seeing that there was no one else to play games with, the entire fleet was shut down for the afternoon. Les Swinton with son Keith and friend were seen heading for the bar, so it was assumed that they had also decided not to sail. Not that it meant much as only 12 boats from the club went out for the day. Notably they sailed a shortened course so the starters must have been observing the gusts and decided to finish the race early to provide safety for the yachts.
However the last frostbite was another story with Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya and Mariner taking off with visitors Fiona and John Peate from Hobart coming out for the ride. Fiona and John own one of our wandering Swan River H28's by the name of Jeanita/Anita aka Oyster and its possibly to be named Swift once the restoration is finished. Hopefully the work will be finished by the time of the AWBF in 2021 and she will join the WA H28 Marquee at the AWBF. But lets not spoil a good story as it was a brisk day and Mariner got away to a good start with Swiftsure Saga hot on her heels. For once with a good breeze we could sail fast and we had a great battle with Bruce Uren on Wildfire and simply dragged him off on a run up the breeze to Deepwater. Nice. Phil and Kate Lammonby came out for the sail and Glen joined Karoleeya to flesh out the crew as well.
From then on it was chase Brian all day and our guests were treated to a nice bit of sailing with only Mariner popping up a kite, we still had plenty of speed in the breeze and had left all behind us, save for Mariner and the rounding at the outer startline had a breezy gybe and a quick dash around the small triangle with the other fleets not interfering with us thankfully. Over the line and pack everything away with the troops heading up to the bar. Unfortunately the race finished at 1600 hrs and the wait till 1730 hrs was a little long, but the soup was enjoyed and the red wine drunk with appreciation. Fiona and John were presented visitors pennants by the Commodore John Midolo.
After the presentations and the hampers were handed out, all three H28's, Mariner, Karoleeya and Swiftsure Saga were in the glory box with a second on the race to Bill, a fastest to Brian on Mariner and an overall second to Steve and the crew on Karoleeya for the season. A good result for all. It would be a shame to miss mentioning Mark Walters and his boat Koomela, but he was sailing his Flying 15 on Sunday and whizzed past us on our way. A pity that he didn't sail the Frostbite.
A few photos, but as I don't officially take a camera out on Sundays, its just a few glimpses.
Winter Wednesdays 11th of September 2019
Wynella will never cease. &
Back to the front again.
Once again Wynella has taken the win on handicap. Damn it, the man and his boat is as sticky as honey, on a day when the breeze is light. Plus he came up with a couple of good moves during the shortened course two on a nor wester. Both he and Bill Richards took a bit of a punt by ducking over to the east next to Heathcote and then riding a lift across the river. They then decided to run along the North side of the river closest to the breeze and managed to nail us on the way through.
Back to the start again. The skipper decided to do some practise starts and it seemed to work as we hit the line pretty much on time, but Andy Bell was doing well and sat in front of us taking us up well beyond Sampson. Oh well, eventually we had to come down to the mark, but those behind us had profited by it and Sampson was a steady flow of H28s one behind the other. We then had to stay above Andrew and once again we found ourselves in competition with him on the long drag up to Hallmark. ( This is where both Wynella and Swiftsure Saga left us to go over to the east) A quick tack to avoid Inner Dolphin and then back on the run again, but by this time we were separated from The First Jindarra and our major contention was going to be Bill and Glen who were charging down the north side of the river and indeed we had to dip them both on the way in.
It was to our advantage however and we were on starboard coming into Hallmark. A win of sorts as we made our way around the mark while everyone behind us found a dead spot and our lead lengthened considerably. Not to be outdone, Glen was the first to find the freshening breeze and took off after us and stuck like glue to out transom for the rest of the day. Andrew and Bill decided to go over into the west in the faint hope that a sou wester might come in; and there they remained, slowly plodding up the river on a diminishing nor wester that was turning into a wandering westerly.
The discussion on the boat turned to shortening the race and a quick check of the course led us to ascertain that we only had a small triangle to do on the second lap and we may very well get that second triangle handed to us, so it was with a bit of relief that the flags were seen fluttering from the start box and we glided across the line with Wynella two minutes and 44 seconds behind. But in truth the real battle was still behind us as Andy Bell had managed to get in front of Bill and Judith and those two were only a matter of seconds apart.
Over the line: Mariner, Wynella and The First Jindarra
On handicap: Wynella, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
To the first two photos.. Anna has a new hatch and the windows have been finished. She looks pretty flash. I'd imagine that the seats are at home at Johns place, being carefully brought back to their original state and may be she'll come out for a run on the next few weeks. I hope to be there.
There is a call out from Brian (Mariner) who is going to do a glass job on David Locke's boat next week. Anyone who has time free is asked to contact him and give him a hand.
Andy Bell is in Europe for a while tasting the German beers ( I think) and he will have a couple of guest helms (the names Keith and Les Swinton come to mind) so be prepared for anything.
Your scribe.. "the chatterbox"
Wynella will never cease. &
Back to the front again.
Once again Wynella has taken the win on handicap. Damn it, the man and his boat is as sticky as honey, on a day when the breeze is light. Plus he came up with a couple of good moves during the shortened course two on a nor wester. Both he and Bill Richards took a bit of a punt by ducking over to the east next to Heathcote and then riding a lift across the river. They then decided to run along the North side of the river closest to the breeze and managed to nail us on the way through.
Back to the start again. The skipper decided to do some practise starts and it seemed to work as we hit the line pretty much on time, but Andy Bell was doing well and sat in front of us taking us up well beyond Sampson. Oh well, eventually we had to come down to the mark, but those behind us had profited by it and Sampson was a steady flow of H28s one behind the other. We then had to stay above Andrew and once again we found ourselves in competition with him on the long drag up to Hallmark. ( This is where both Wynella and Swiftsure Saga left us to go over to the east) A quick tack to avoid Inner Dolphin and then back on the run again, but by this time we were separated from The First Jindarra and our major contention was going to be Bill and Glen who were charging down the north side of the river and indeed we had to dip them both on the way in.
It was to our advantage however and we were on starboard coming into Hallmark. A win of sorts as we made our way around the mark while everyone behind us found a dead spot and our lead lengthened considerably. Not to be outdone, Glen was the first to find the freshening breeze and took off after us and stuck like glue to out transom for the rest of the day. Andrew and Bill decided to go over into the west in the faint hope that a sou wester might come in; and there they remained, slowly plodding up the river on a diminishing nor wester that was turning into a wandering westerly.
The discussion on the boat turned to shortening the race and a quick check of the course led us to ascertain that we only had a small triangle to do on the second lap and we may very well get that second triangle handed to us, so it was with a bit of relief that the flags were seen fluttering from the start box and we glided across the line with Wynella two minutes and 44 seconds behind. But in truth the real battle was still behind us as Andy Bell had managed to get in front of Bill and Judith and those two were only a matter of seconds apart.
Over the line: Mariner, Wynella and The First Jindarra
On handicap: Wynella, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
To the first two photos.. Anna has a new hatch and the windows have been finished. She looks pretty flash. I'd imagine that the seats are at home at Johns place, being carefully brought back to their original state and may be she'll come out for a run on the next few weeks. I hope to be there.
There is a call out from Brian (Mariner) who is going to do a glass job on David Locke's boat next week. Anyone who has time free is asked to contact him and give him a hand.
Andy Bell is in Europe for a while tasting the German beers ( I think) and he will have a couple of guest helms (the names Keith and Les Swinton come to mind) so be prepared for anything.
Your scribe.. "the chatterbox"
Winter Wednesdays 4th of September 2019
"Hey Jude" &
A broken mainsheet.
Both of the titles relate to Alma and with great pleasure I can announce that Judith took to the helm yesterday in charge of Alma.
We had been given a course three with a 14 to 18 knot breeze out of the sou-sou west and it was a great course to run on. Martin and Weaver were in the mix and it was interesting to see Geoff Bishop and friend step on board The First Jindarra to go for a ride. I smell a new mainsail in the offing. However this wasn't the issue today as Andrew got away with a good start and despite our attempts to pull him back he was gone and away. But not too far off and neither was Bill on Swiftsure Saga who relished the stronger breeze. All of a sudden he was in form and the sails were working for him. Wynella wasn't far away either and Judith driving Alma for the first time was accompanied by Ernie Little and Warren? ( all MG car club members). They were there to help her with the yacht and did a great job of managing the boat for her.
The dash to Martin-Weaver had us behind the 8 ball right from the start as we were late and behind The Jin, working hard to get above her. Swiftsure Saga and Wynella were both lower as was Alma and all three had to tack on the ley line with boats being cut off on their way. We had put in an early tack so we were aiming for the mark easily. Around the marks we went and set up for the chase down the breeze with a half hearted pole that disappeared once we had popped out from the shelter of Heathcote into the southerly breeze.
From Sampson we had to go out a way to get a good line to King and we watched as The Jin dropped and dropped across the line and our resolve to go a little further paid off as we made King (near the channel) and then took off to Robins, keeping an eye out for the RP fleet who were making their way across to Foam and thence up the breeze. Fortunately we knew that they would toss around where we were sailing and it proved to be the case and we had no interference on the run up. We were a little wide of the mark, but a quick double tack had us around the mark and away to Print with gybes occurring as we had the breeze right up our collective backsides. Still Swiftsure Saga clung to our tail and we had Wynella and Alma powering along nicely, the whole fleet was relishing the day and all the skippers were in tune with the breeze.
Down to Print, across to Foam then off to Robins again with The Jin going in deep and we ran along the outside of the bay trying to get the lifts across the water. Didn't do badly, but again a double tack kept us in touch with Andy Bell. Still as we looked back we only had perhaps a hundred yards to Swiftsure Saga and possibly another hundred to Wynella. Tight racing, as The Jin wasn't much further away from us. Down to Print again and behind us Bill was experimenting with sailing angles rather than popping up a pole. Sure he was going faster, but it was all angles and he was covering a lot more ground. Then to Como and a work up to the outer start line.
Alma parted company with the fleet at this stage and was seen to drop her sails and quietly motor home. Her main sheet had come adrift, exactly how, I'm not sure but from what I understand it was the failure of a shackle. Instant pandemonium and fortunately Judith had two seasoned hands to help her. But the rest of the fleet kept on going. Somewhere around here we fell into a hole and while The Jin got further away, the rest of us found ourselves slowing down. Not a good omen. Oh well, the breeze came back and we took off for the rest of the adventure off to Sampson, then to King again and back to Addison, out in the middle of nowhere. Then the rest of the race was easy, down to Como on a hot angle and across to the finish line. A good race for all as the last three crossed the line only 40 seconds apart and Andy Bell on the Jin made it across the line about one minute and 40 seconds in front of us. However the handicap results were different. Low handicaps and a tight finish meant that the low markers were in for a chance.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
On another note.
We all know of the Raffles knock on a sou wester. It will slam into you and take you away from Martin (the mark). Now we have three more towers going up, I wonder how they will affect the breezes on the river, sure they are further away, but the sheer number of them must deflect the wind or cause eddies. It will be interesting.
"Hey Jude" &
A broken mainsheet.
Both of the titles relate to Alma and with great pleasure I can announce that Judith took to the helm yesterday in charge of Alma.
We had been given a course three with a 14 to 18 knot breeze out of the sou-sou west and it was a great course to run on. Martin and Weaver were in the mix and it was interesting to see Geoff Bishop and friend step on board The First Jindarra to go for a ride. I smell a new mainsail in the offing. However this wasn't the issue today as Andrew got away with a good start and despite our attempts to pull him back he was gone and away. But not too far off and neither was Bill on Swiftsure Saga who relished the stronger breeze. All of a sudden he was in form and the sails were working for him. Wynella wasn't far away either and Judith driving Alma for the first time was accompanied by Ernie Little and Warren? ( all MG car club members). They were there to help her with the yacht and did a great job of managing the boat for her.
The dash to Martin-Weaver had us behind the 8 ball right from the start as we were late and behind The Jin, working hard to get above her. Swiftsure Saga and Wynella were both lower as was Alma and all three had to tack on the ley line with boats being cut off on their way. We had put in an early tack so we were aiming for the mark easily. Around the marks we went and set up for the chase down the breeze with a half hearted pole that disappeared once we had popped out from the shelter of Heathcote into the southerly breeze.
From Sampson we had to go out a way to get a good line to King and we watched as The Jin dropped and dropped across the line and our resolve to go a little further paid off as we made King (near the channel) and then took off to Robins, keeping an eye out for the RP fleet who were making their way across to Foam and thence up the breeze. Fortunately we knew that they would toss around where we were sailing and it proved to be the case and we had no interference on the run up. We were a little wide of the mark, but a quick double tack had us around the mark and away to Print with gybes occurring as we had the breeze right up our collective backsides. Still Swiftsure Saga clung to our tail and we had Wynella and Alma powering along nicely, the whole fleet was relishing the day and all the skippers were in tune with the breeze.
Down to Print, across to Foam then off to Robins again with The Jin going in deep and we ran along the outside of the bay trying to get the lifts across the water. Didn't do badly, but again a double tack kept us in touch with Andy Bell. Still as we looked back we only had perhaps a hundred yards to Swiftsure Saga and possibly another hundred to Wynella. Tight racing, as The Jin wasn't much further away from us. Down to Print again and behind us Bill was experimenting with sailing angles rather than popping up a pole. Sure he was going faster, but it was all angles and he was covering a lot more ground. Then to Como and a work up to the outer start line.
Alma parted company with the fleet at this stage and was seen to drop her sails and quietly motor home. Her main sheet had come adrift, exactly how, I'm not sure but from what I understand it was the failure of a shackle. Instant pandemonium and fortunately Judith had two seasoned hands to help her. But the rest of the fleet kept on going. Somewhere around here we fell into a hole and while The Jin got further away, the rest of us found ourselves slowing down. Not a good omen. Oh well, the breeze came back and we took off for the rest of the adventure off to Sampson, then to King again and back to Addison, out in the middle of nowhere. Then the rest of the race was easy, down to Como on a hot angle and across to the finish line. A good race for all as the last three crossed the line only 40 seconds apart and Andy Bell on the Jin made it across the line about one minute and 40 seconds in front of us. However the handicap results were different. Low handicaps and a tight finish meant that the low markers were in for a chance.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
On another note.
We all know of the Raffles knock on a sou wester. It will slam into you and take you away from Martin (the mark). Now we have three more towers going up, I wonder how they will affect the breezes on the river, sure they are further away, but the sheer number of them must deflect the wind or cause eddies. It will be interesting.
Winter Wednesdays 28th of August 2019
Riding the pressure lines &
Up the mast!
Without further ado, lets get straight into it. Alma was going out onto the water with John Mewitt helming and somehow they had managed to take the main halyard up the mast. Bugger.
So getting it down was going to be the first chore of the afternoon and a willing bunch of people gathered to hoist none other that Glen, the class chairman up the mast in a bosuns chair to retrieve the said halyard. The two class heavyweights combined to hoist him into the sky and with encouraging noises we cheered them on. Down he came and it was a round of applause that greeted him as his feet touched the cabin top. Not bad for a fellow in his 70's. John Wrights Anna is coming on nicely and he's cleaned out the boat. Decades of stuff has "gone away" and perhaps his garage will need emptying out shortly. The finish on her is superb as is the boat itself, Ian Weaver has done a fine job.
And onto the water with 5 boats on show. The gusty nor easter was abruptly replaced with a westerly around 1.45 in the arvo and the starters hoisted the V flag sending us up to Martin - Weaver on a southerly start with a course one as well. Interesting ….. as the breeze was already moderating. A quick dash out on the breeze to test that everything had been put back together properly had the vang go bang. The swaging had given way and we had to put a quick repair in. Oh and we forgot the tie down for the outhaul (another piece of rope).
At the start, a bit of luck had us right on Andy Bells tail and we managed to get up above his gas half way down the jetties and we were able to get close to him at Martin as we swung around the mark. But he kept on going out higher toward Canning Bridge and the skip took a punt and cut across to Weaver. The tide wasn't pushing through as heavily as it was an hour before and we turned the corner in front. And stayed there.
It wasn't going to be all jam and cream though as the breeze decided to drop out even further and despite the prediction of a sou wester (Course one) it was very much a westerly influence and we decided to stay in the middle, as did The First Jindarra, while Wynella made a very brave call and shot over to Heathcote in the east and then snuggled their way along the beach to Frenchman's buoy to launch their attack from there. If the breeze had been a sou wester they would have been home and hosed. We've seen him do it before, but this time it wasn't to be. Unfortunately Alma and Swiftsure were already well behind the pace and despite some fine work by John Mewitt in bringing Alma back into contention on the way up to Deepwater, the lack of a breeze in the bay was killing everyone there.
However there were lines of pressure coming down from the north west and you could see them developing down river and they would make their way up toward us. So we rode the pressure lines all the way up to Deepwater and caught another down to Print. By this time, parts of the river had almost locked down and there were boats parked up in big schools around the marks, but the lucky ones who were in pressure seemed to be able to move from one pressure line to the next and we were, for once, one of the "lucky ones". Not that we could relax as The Jin was still on our tail, but it certainly helped the mood on the boat.
Around Print and start to look for pressure lines again. Spot one in the north, mid river and head over there. Get into it and flip over pointing toward Robins. Yes we were doing ok. The other three were sailing a little better now as the breeze filled in over the river. But they were still up to a couple of legs behind and despite their efforts weren't going to do any better. Robins and up to adventure land on the foredeck to set a pole only to find that a hasty repair to the vang had included tying the spinnaker pole into the vang. So undo it all and free the pole, then re tie the vang again. Prepare for a pole and then as we went down the breeze, gybe and reset. Watching behind us we saw a steady stream of RP boats attack The Jin on their way back to their finish line and the bellows of "Starboard" gave rise to the thought that had the positions been reversed, that could have been us warding off the RP fleet.
From then on, all we had to do was to avoid the slower boats of the div two fleets and make our way to the outer start mark from Como with the help of another pressure line that whipped us up to a very healthy 6 knots on the reach across to the line where shortened course flags were welcoming us. A horn and a hoot from the skipper. A nice day out on the water.
Over the line: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Alma.
On handicap: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Alma.
Swiftsure Saga is still suffering from her sails and as soon as Bill either gets rid of them or has them re cut, the better he will be. Its a pity seeing him lingering at the back of the fleet and I think that even he is smarting a little. But Glen still has the lowest handicap... don't know how.
Riding the pressure lines &
Up the mast!
Without further ado, lets get straight into it. Alma was going out onto the water with John Mewitt helming and somehow they had managed to take the main halyard up the mast. Bugger.
So getting it down was going to be the first chore of the afternoon and a willing bunch of people gathered to hoist none other that Glen, the class chairman up the mast in a bosuns chair to retrieve the said halyard. The two class heavyweights combined to hoist him into the sky and with encouraging noises we cheered them on. Down he came and it was a round of applause that greeted him as his feet touched the cabin top. Not bad for a fellow in his 70's. John Wrights Anna is coming on nicely and he's cleaned out the boat. Decades of stuff has "gone away" and perhaps his garage will need emptying out shortly. The finish on her is superb as is the boat itself, Ian Weaver has done a fine job.
And onto the water with 5 boats on show. The gusty nor easter was abruptly replaced with a westerly around 1.45 in the arvo and the starters hoisted the V flag sending us up to Martin - Weaver on a southerly start with a course one as well. Interesting ….. as the breeze was already moderating. A quick dash out on the breeze to test that everything had been put back together properly had the vang go bang. The swaging had given way and we had to put a quick repair in. Oh and we forgot the tie down for the outhaul (another piece of rope).
At the start, a bit of luck had us right on Andy Bells tail and we managed to get up above his gas half way down the jetties and we were able to get close to him at Martin as we swung around the mark. But he kept on going out higher toward Canning Bridge and the skip took a punt and cut across to Weaver. The tide wasn't pushing through as heavily as it was an hour before and we turned the corner in front. And stayed there.
It wasn't going to be all jam and cream though as the breeze decided to drop out even further and despite the prediction of a sou wester (Course one) it was very much a westerly influence and we decided to stay in the middle, as did The First Jindarra, while Wynella made a very brave call and shot over to Heathcote in the east and then snuggled their way along the beach to Frenchman's buoy to launch their attack from there. If the breeze had been a sou wester they would have been home and hosed. We've seen him do it before, but this time it wasn't to be. Unfortunately Alma and Swiftsure were already well behind the pace and despite some fine work by John Mewitt in bringing Alma back into contention on the way up to Deepwater, the lack of a breeze in the bay was killing everyone there.
However there were lines of pressure coming down from the north west and you could see them developing down river and they would make their way up toward us. So we rode the pressure lines all the way up to Deepwater and caught another down to Print. By this time, parts of the river had almost locked down and there were boats parked up in big schools around the marks, but the lucky ones who were in pressure seemed to be able to move from one pressure line to the next and we were, for once, one of the "lucky ones". Not that we could relax as The Jin was still on our tail, but it certainly helped the mood on the boat.
Around Print and start to look for pressure lines again. Spot one in the north, mid river and head over there. Get into it and flip over pointing toward Robins. Yes we were doing ok. The other three were sailing a little better now as the breeze filled in over the river. But they were still up to a couple of legs behind and despite their efforts weren't going to do any better. Robins and up to adventure land on the foredeck to set a pole only to find that a hasty repair to the vang had included tying the spinnaker pole into the vang. So undo it all and free the pole, then re tie the vang again. Prepare for a pole and then as we went down the breeze, gybe and reset. Watching behind us we saw a steady stream of RP boats attack The Jin on their way back to their finish line and the bellows of "Starboard" gave rise to the thought that had the positions been reversed, that could have been us warding off the RP fleet.
From then on, all we had to do was to avoid the slower boats of the div two fleets and make our way to the outer start mark from Como with the help of another pressure line that whipped us up to a very healthy 6 knots on the reach across to the line where shortened course flags were welcoming us. A horn and a hoot from the skipper. A nice day out on the water.
Over the line: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Alma.
On handicap: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Alma.
Swiftsure Saga is still suffering from her sails and as soon as Bill either gets rid of them or has them re cut, the better he will be. Its a pity seeing him lingering at the back of the fleet and I think that even he is smarting a little. But Glen still has the lowest handicap... don't know how.
Winter Wednesdays 21st of August 2019
Left in their wake &
The return of Ernie!
Repairs are underway already on the damage and Brian managed to straighten out the spinnaker pole sufficiently well enough to use it in place of the boom which is undergoing some welding around the joint to the gooseneck. Needed it. David Locke has mended the damage to the bow and will finish it shortly while Ian Weaver has commenced surgery on Glens transom and reports that the boat will be back on the water shortly.
No, not Ernie the milk cart driver of legendary fame, but Ernie Little, doyen of the H28 fleet and part owner of Wynella. Ernie has been seen around the pens recently, but hasn't really taken to the water in vengeance till now. He, John Mewitt, Russell, Judith and Judith's daughter (sorry missed your name) took Alma out and Bill in his kindness suggested that they try the newer sail. Oh dear.. not a good idea... more later.
Andy Bell was in evidence and in a fit of kindness or something of that ilk snaffled a couple who were watching the sailing under the start box and offered them a ride for the day. Must have been the lass, she was a looker. However that gave him something to sail for, for the day. Swiftsure Saga had four up with your scribe and Craig B joining the usual pair of John P and Bill.
A course one and the north east wind dropping away gave us only one chance and we were doing fine, putting The First Jindarra out of contention at the start line and bettering Alma for speed to Sampson. However a dubious call at Sampson had The Jin wedging herself between Swiftsure Saga and the mark, much to Bills annoyance and from there the Jin was away.
Then we had to deal with Alma who blanketed us on the down wind, slipped past us and with the new sail up she went like the clappers with Ernie's work on the main helping as well. From then on it was a slow day on the river with the breeze below 8 knots and the blanketing effect of the Royal Perth fleet making our life miserable on the way to Deepwater. Away to Print and a hope of catching Alma on the way to Print, but to no avail and we found ourselves a lot closer, but not close enough. Then of course we ran into a South of Perth boat who took us way past the ley line. Damn. They eventually realised that we wanted to go to Print, but it was too late by then.
Off to Robins and back to Dolphin East but by this time the betting was on a shortened course and sure enough as we neared Como, the flag went up and the leading boats of C fleet and the H28's were greeted with a hoot from the horn.
A day that we really didn't appreciate, but sure enough it helped with Bills handicap,so it wasn't all that bad.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Alma and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: The First Jindarra. alma and Swiftsure Saga.
Congrats to the young couple who went for the sail with Andy Bell. That's the lass waving the fastest pennant along side Les Swinton.
And the cool dude with the flash glasses is none other than Steve Hill wearing a pair borrowed from Georgina's owner Cameron who came out with us on Sunday during the frostbite. And that was another appalling day with no breeze either.
Left in their wake &
The return of Ernie!
Repairs are underway already on the damage and Brian managed to straighten out the spinnaker pole sufficiently well enough to use it in place of the boom which is undergoing some welding around the joint to the gooseneck. Needed it. David Locke has mended the damage to the bow and will finish it shortly while Ian Weaver has commenced surgery on Glens transom and reports that the boat will be back on the water shortly.
No, not Ernie the milk cart driver of legendary fame, but Ernie Little, doyen of the H28 fleet and part owner of Wynella. Ernie has been seen around the pens recently, but hasn't really taken to the water in vengeance till now. He, John Mewitt, Russell, Judith and Judith's daughter (sorry missed your name) took Alma out and Bill in his kindness suggested that they try the newer sail. Oh dear.. not a good idea... more later.
Andy Bell was in evidence and in a fit of kindness or something of that ilk snaffled a couple who were watching the sailing under the start box and offered them a ride for the day. Must have been the lass, she was a looker. However that gave him something to sail for, for the day. Swiftsure Saga had four up with your scribe and Craig B joining the usual pair of John P and Bill.
A course one and the north east wind dropping away gave us only one chance and we were doing fine, putting The First Jindarra out of contention at the start line and bettering Alma for speed to Sampson. However a dubious call at Sampson had The Jin wedging herself between Swiftsure Saga and the mark, much to Bills annoyance and from there the Jin was away.
Then we had to deal with Alma who blanketed us on the down wind, slipped past us and with the new sail up she went like the clappers with Ernie's work on the main helping as well. From then on it was a slow day on the river with the breeze below 8 knots and the blanketing effect of the Royal Perth fleet making our life miserable on the way to Deepwater. Away to Print and a hope of catching Alma on the way to Print, but to no avail and we found ourselves a lot closer, but not close enough. Then of course we ran into a South of Perth boat who took us way past the ley line. Damn. They eventually realised that we wanted to go to Print, but it was too late by then.
Off to Robins and back to Dolphin East but by this time the betting was on a shortened course and sure enough as we neared Como, the flag went up and the leading boats of C fleet and the H28's were greeted with a hoot from the horn.
A day that we really didn't appreciate, but sure enough it helped with Bills handicap,so it wasn't all that bad.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Alma and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: The First Jindarra. alma and Swiftsure Saga.
Congrats to the young couple who went for the sail with Andy Bell. That's the lass waving the fastest pennant along side Les Swinton.
And the cool dude with the flash glasses is none other than Steve Hill wearing a pair borrowed from Georgina's owner Cameron who came out with us on Sunday during the frostbite. And that was another appalling day with no breeze either.
Winter Wednesdays 14th of August 2019
A hard day on the water &
What do we do now?
It was a day that the fleet would rather not have had happen. Two boats retired and the last returning with 29 knots whipping around their ears.
To be frank, Swiftsure Saga had no one to sail against and returned to park up and ensure that the other two were ok.
The starters had given us a course one with a run up to Martin-Weaver to begin and there was plenty of weather to go with. Surprisingly a Y flag wasn't hung out, but it didn't seem to be a problem at this stage. We watched as the first two fleets got away with Div one slim on the ground and a big fleet of Div 2 boats. We were third away and Glen and Bill were first off the mark with us slow off the line on that vital second or two. No matter we had plenty of time to catch them.
Dash down to Martin with Glen swooping up and down in the gusts. He wasn't handling the gusts as well as we were and he came quite close to us on occasions, but survive we both did and around Martin and away to Weaver with considerable aplomb. Then the dash to Sampson started and we were stuck behind Wynella and he took us up unmercifully. Eventually Brian gave up and tried the low approach, but with not enough separation we were continually gassed by him and couldn't get past the yacht.
And so to Sampson. With Brian running the main I was going to be the loose man, but I was asked to do the main on this vital corner, so having discussed the moves we launched into our attack on Glen at Sampson. We were to go out wide and try to get inside him on the mark. However Glen slowed abruptly on the mark (probably turned too quickly) and we had nowhere to go.
The bow became an icebreakers prow, ripping into Glens transom and despite easing the sails, we continued to munch away on the starboard quarter of his transom. Eventually we managed to ease away and we were thankful that his mast was still upright and that the rudder was still there. Everyone was intact on both boats and Brian called for a 360 to expiate our sins. Our next problem.
Brian had called for the vang to be tightened as we ran down the breeze and with speeds of 7 + knots on the reach, it was a fair call. However in the building breeze (25 to 29 knots in the gusts and a base of 22 knots) any gybe was going to be fairly wild. And the vang blew out. Up went our boom and the spinnaker pole developed a bowyang as it hooked onto the backstay and tried to hang onto it. Just about took out the mast as well. The headsail had hooked onto the snotter ring at the mast as well and despite attempts, it wasn't letting go. Urk! Ron very bravely went forward and cleared it, but by this time Brian had called it off and asked for the motor to be fired up as we were to retire forthwith.
Behind us, Wynella was lowering their sails and began to make their way in as well. It was a quiet trip back with the headsail coming down and being stowed prior to landing the boat at the marina and the main was flaked onto the boom with the bent spinnaker pole removed for re-sleeving and repair. Then to check on Wynella and ensure that everyone was alright. Brian assured Glen that he would cover the repair costs and looked at the damage that few seconds had caused. Not a pretty picture.
If the bow had continued to grind away, then its quite likely that the plate holding the backstay on Wynella may have given way. A de masting was likely. If we had gone harder into the boat, we would likely have ridden over Glen himself. Not an idea to contemplate. If we had gone a little closer to the centre of his transom, we would have taken his rudder off.
In the bar afterwards the discussion was light, with Brian shouting a couple of jugs to settle the crowd. Didn't have to, but he did anyway.
The handicaps didn't change.
A hard day on the water &
What do we do now?
It was a day that the fleet would rather not have had happen. Two boats retired and the last returning with 29 knots whipping around their ears.
To be frank, Swiftsure Saga had no one to sail against and returned to park up and ensure that the other two were ok.
The starters had given us a course one with a run up to Martin-Weaver to begin and there was plenty of weather to go with. Surprisingly a Y flag wasn't hung out, but it didn't seem to be a problem at this stage. We watched as the first two fleets got away with Div one slim on the ground and a big fleet of Div 2 boats. We were third away and Glen and Bill were first off the mark with us slow off the line on that vital second or two. No matter we had plenty of time to catch them.
Dash down to Martin with Glen swooping up and down in the gusts. He wasn't handling the gusts as well as we were and he came quite close to us on occasions, but survive we both did and around Martin and away to Weaver with considerable aplomb. Then the dash to Sampson started and we were stuck behind Wynella and he took us up unmercifully. Eventually Brian gave up and tried the low approach, but with not enough separation we were continually gassed by him and couldn't get past the yacht.
And so to Sampson. With Brian running the main I was going to be the loose man, but I was asked to do the main on this vital corner, so having discussed the moves we launched into our attack on Glen at Sampson. We were to go out wide and try to get inside him on the mark. However Glen slowed abruptly on the mark (probably turned too quickly) and we had nowhere to go.
The bow became an icebreakers prow, ripping into Glens transom and despite easing the sails, we continued to munch away on the starboard quarter of his transom. Eventually we managed to ease away and we were thankful that his mast was still upright and that the rudder was still there. Everyone was intact on both boats and Brian called for a 360 to expiate our sins. Our next problem.
Brian had called for the vang to be tightened as we ran down the breeze and with speeds of 7 + knots on the reach, it was a fair call. However in the building breeze (25 to 29 knots in the gusts and a base of 22 knots) any gybe was going to be fairly wild. And the vang blew out. Up went our boom and the spinnaker pole developed a bowyang as it hooked onto the backstay and tried to hang onto it. Just about took out the mast as well. The headsail had hooked onto the snotter ring at the mast as well and despite attempts, it wasn't letting go. Urk! Ron very bravely went forward and cleared it, but by this time Brian had called it off and asked for the motor to be fired up as we were to retire forthwith.
Behind us, Wynella was lowering their sails and began to make their way in as well. It was a quiet trip back with the headsail coming down and being stowed prior to landing the boat at the marina and the main was flaked onto the boom with the bent spinnaker pole removed for re-sleeving and repair. Then to check on Wynella and ensure that everyone was alright. Brian assured Glen that he would cover the repair costs and looked at the damage that few seconds had caused. Not a pretty picture.
If the bow had continued to grind away, then its quite likely that the plate holding the backstay on Wynella may have given way. A de masting was likely. If we had gone harder into the boat, we would likely have ridden over Glen himself. Not an idea to contemplate. If we had gone a little closer to the centre of his transom, we would have taken his rudder off.
In the bar afterwards the discussion was light, with Brian shouting a couple of jugs to settle the crowd. Didn't have to, but he did anyway.
The handicaps didn't change.
Winter Wednesdays 7th of August 2019
Return of a seabreeze &
Bill was a little eager!
A great day on the river with the usual four on the water. Andy Bell shot around to get his hull tidied up and it was noted that he had a bit of rust on his keel. Between the keel plate and the foot of the hull. I can see a bit of work coming up with the angle grinder before summer starts. But his hull was nice and slippery for the day. David Locke and John Wright were both working on their boats and great to see.. Johns got his mast up on the boat and when I spoke to him, he was sorting through 30 years of accumulation (tools and bits and pieces ) I sort of know his problem as I've recently shifted house and I'm still throwing stuff out.
Back to the racing, but before we do, John Pierzak was seen seated up on the hill with a jacket over his head and what's worse Andy Lane joined him. Must have been watching something interesting but neither was telling.
The southerly was in and the starters hung out a Y flag to begin with and we all started to shuffle around on the city side of the line. Then it disappeared. Oops, everyone change sides. Len Randell piloting The Avenue for John Forde didn't see it and a precarious start ensued in Div 1
So away the fleets went, on a course four for all with not much pressure on the Canning, but a tasty breeze further out on the Swan. Just enough to get us started and surprisingly Bill on Swiftsure Saga was a little too eager and he managed to jump the line. A pity, cause it would have been a cracker of a start and would have given him a jump on Andy Bell as he and we were about two seconds and three seconds respectively off the line. But no, it didn't happen and Bill had to roll around the box end pin and come back to start again.
Once The First Jindarra was away, it was going to be a hard chase and we gave it a good try, following Andy B as closely as possible. We had an interesting moment when we met up with the RP fleet and for once we were on starboard and they were windward going down to Foam. You beaut! Enjoyed that and even more as we continued across and got them again as they made their way up the breeze on port. That made up for a lot tough times in previous days.
Up to Robins and then away to Dolphin East with Swiftsure Saga and Wynella hammering away at each other swapping the lead as they came up the breeze to Robins and turned towards DE as we did. Then to Como with a pole and then not with a pole as the breeze was rotating into the sou west and back again. Hard to make a solid call on this one. But our friends were back, none other than Olive Marie and Wandering Star. Both of them known to refuse to give you any room at all and frankly it would be a pity to T bone them, but accidents do happen. Anyway with the battle between them underway, the Spirit 28 had to deal with us as well and he wasn't in a giving mood. Despite the suggestions from the crew the skipper was dead set in pushing the line with him.. frankly, in my opinion, we would have been better off going low and using a separation to keep the boat flowing rather than pinching up and up. But in the heat of the moment....
So at the outer start line we looked forward and the separation that the Jin had, had grown and the boats behind us were a lot closer. Damn. We watched as both Bill and Glen battled to make it to the outer start line and it was a close thing for the pair of them as they shared the rounding side by side. They had their race to finish.. we had to go fast as we knew that our handicap was going to kill us and so it did. The dash around the small triangle was mercifully quick and the two annoying boats that were on the same tack went away further up the breeze and we headed to Print after King and made our way around Como and Thelma with a long run along the beach to get us to a ley line on the finish line. No lifts available to us along the freeway but we watched as Bill and Glen lifted up to the line nicely. We were going to be last .. definitely.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Wynella, The First Jindarra and Swiftsure Saga.
Yes, the Spirit 28 cost us heaps. I still like the idea of a 2 inch gun on the foredeck.
The recent frostbite had three boats on the water with Karoleeya, Koomela and Swiftsure Saga. Swiftsure Saga had gone out to try out a new/old spinnaker and Steve on Karoleeya had something to work for as he was doing very well for the series. However the spinnaker let him down with a block at the top of the mast splitting and swallowing his halyard. Damn, a Jam! He retired spitting chips and as we pulled into the pen he was thinking of dropping the mast to get at the problem. Fortunately the people on Naughty Black Shorts came good with a bosuns chair and the newest member of the crew was sent up to replace the block and incidentally release the spinnaker. The job was done and all were happy in the end. But it cost Steve heaps and there are no more drops to help him keep in the running. :-(
Enjoy the photos
Return of a seabreeze &
Bill was a little eager!
A great day on the river with the usual four on the water. Andy Bell shot around to get his hull tidied up and it was noted that he had a bit of rust on his keel. Between the keel plate and the foot of the hull. I can see a bit of work coming up with the angle grinder before summer starts. But his hull was nice and slippery for the day. David Locke and John Wright were both working on their boats and great to see.. Johns got his mast up on the boat and when I spoke to him, he was sorting through 30 years of accumulation (tools and bits and pieces ) I sort of know his problem as I've recently shifted house and I'm still throwing stuff out.
Back to the racing, but before we do, John Pierzak was seen seated up on the hill with a jacket over his head and what's worse Andy Lane joined him. Must have been watching something interesting but neither was telling.
The southerly was in and the starters hung out a Y flag to begin with and we all started to shuffle around on the city side of the line. Then it disappeared. Oops, everyone change sides. Len Randell piloting The Avenue for John Forde didn't see it and a precarious start ensued in Div 1
So away the fleets went, on a course four for all with not much pressure on the Canning, but a tasty breeze further out on the Swan. Just enough to get us started and surprisingly Bill on Swiftsure Saga was a little too eager and he managed to jump the line. A pity, cause it would have been a cracker of a start and would have given him a jump on Andy Bell as he and we were about two seconds and three seconds respectively off the line. But no, it didn't happen and Bill had to roll around the box end pin and come back to start again.
Once The First Jindarra was away, it was going to be a hard chase and we gave it a good try, following Andy B as closely as possible. We had an interesting moment when we met up with the RP fleet and for once we were on starboard and they were windward going down to Foam. You beaut! Enjoyed that and even more as we continued across and got them again as they made their way up the breeze on port. That made up for a lot tough times in previous days.
Up to Robins and then away to Dolphin East with Swiftsure Saga and Wynella hammering away at each other swapping the lead as they came up the breeze to Robins and turned towards DE as we did. Then to Como with a pole and then not with a pole as the breeze was rotating into the sou west and back again. Hard to make a solid call on this one. But our friends were back, none other than Olive Marie and Wandering Star. Both of them known to refuse to give you any room at all and frankly it would be a pity to T bone them, but accidents do happen. Anyway with the battle between them underway, the Spirit 28 had to deal with us as well and he wasn't in a giving mood. Despite the suggestions from the crew the skipper was dead set in pushing the line with him.. frankly, in my opinion, we would have been better off going low and using a separation to keep the boat flowing rather than pinching up and up. But in the heat of the moment....
So at the outer start line we looked forward and the separation that the Jin had, had grown and the boats behind us were a lot closer. Damn. We watched as both Bill and Glen battled to make it to the outer start line and it was a close thing for the pair of them as they shared the rounding side by side. They had their race to finish.. we had to go fast as we knew that our handicap was going to kill us and so it did. The dash around the small triangle was mercifully quick and the two annoying boats that were on the same tack went away further up the breeze and we headed to Print after King and made our way around Como and Thelma with a long run along the beach to get us to a ley line on the finish line. No lifts available to us along the freeway but we watched as Bill and Glen lifted up to the line nicely. We were going to be last .. definitely.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Wynella, The First Jindarra and Swiftsure Saga.
Yes, the Spirit 28 cost us heaps. I still like the idea of a 2 inch gun on the foredeck.
The recent frostbite had three boats on the water with Karoleeya, Koomela and Swiftsure Saga. Swiftsure Saga had gone out to try out a new/old spinnaker and Steve on Karoleeya had something to work for as he was doing very well for the series. However the spinnaker let him down with a block at the top of the mast splitting and swallowing his halyard. Damn, a Jam! He retired spitting chips and as we pulled into the pen he was thinking of dropping the mast to get at the problem. Fortunately the people on Naughty Black Shorts came good with a bosuns chair and the newest member of the crew was sent up to replace the block and incidentally release the spinnaker. The job was done and all were happy in the end. But it cost Steve heaps and there are no more drops to help him keep in the running. :-(
Enjoy the photos
Winter Wednesdays 31st July 2019
Snakes and Ladders &
Log Jams
Life aint easy when you're dealing with a wandering nor easter and even the starters had no option but to hang out a course 4 and then shorten it.
The day got away with the Div. one and two boats letting us know that it wasn't going to be easy to get to Sampson as they tacked all over the place. A good start had us challenging The First Jindarra but by the time we got to Sampson the lead had swapped a couple of times and although we were ahead, nothing was set in stone. So down the breeze to Robins we went, with the fleet spread out over a kilometre or so. We were in front, but only just, and the lead fluctuated all the way. We were joined by the Royal Perth fleet and they could have caused some grief for Bill on Swiftsure Saga but he managed to make it to Robins successfully, almost edging The Jin out, but was caught in a really bad situation on the mark.. really bad. All the fleets hit Robins at once and there were boats everywhere. A Log Jam indeed.
Andy Bell made it around and we were struggling ourselves as the last of the nor easter fell out. Then wham bam and in comes a westerly and The Jin slid over the top of us. At the same time, Glen on Wynella had successfully found his way around the melee at Robins and came out with clear air. Well done that man. So, all of a sudden we have a race again as Bill had sorted himself out and was making good time. Turn right at Dolphin East and then a poled out chase ensued down to Como. As it swung into the south, the poles were put away and we were looking at Como. So was the rest of the 40 odd boats comprising of the backend of Div 2 and C fleet with the Royal Perth fleet hopping in as well.
No politeness here, and accusations of barging were flowing everywhere. Andy had got away and Glen was sailing in clean air.. in fact he was sailing so well that he managed to move into second spot. Admittedly, we had had a bad moment at the rounding and foul air didn't help, but now Swiftsure Saga was on our tail. Oh well, hero to zero again. And so it ended with Mariner over the line in third place and last on handicap. But Brian was happy and I guess that's what counts.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Wynella and Mariner
On Handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra
Nice to see Geoff Reason back on the water ( with Andy Bell) and he's happy that he's got the motor going. And Eric turned up again. good to see and finally Craig B is back from a little trip to Norway.. lucky fellow.
Snakes and Ladders &
Log Jams
Life aint easy when you're dealing with a wandering nor easter and even the starters had no option but to hang out a course 4 and then shorten it.
The day got away with the Div. one and two boats letting us know that it wasn't going to be easy to get to Sampson as they tacked all over the place. A good start had us challenging The First Jindarra but by the time we got to Sampson the lead had swapped a couple of times and although we were ahead, nothing was set in stone. So down the breeze to Robins we went, with the fleet spread out over a kilometre or so. We were in front, but only just, and the lead fluctuated all the way. We were joined by the Royal Perth fleet and they could have caused some grief for Bill on Swiftsure Saga but he managed to make it to Robins successfully, almost edging The Jin out, but was caught in a really bad situation on the mark.. really bad. All the fleets hit Robins at once and there were boats everywhere. A Log Jam indeed.
Andy Bell made it around and we were struggling ourselves as the last of the nor easter fell out. Then wham bam and in comes a westerly and The Jin slid over the top of us. At the same time, Glen on Wynella had successfully found his way around the melee at Robins and came out with clear air. Well done that man. So, all of a sudden we have a race again as Bill had sorted himself out and was making good time. Turn right at Dolphin East and then a poled out chase ensued down to Como. As it swung into the south, the poles were put away and we were looking at Como. So was the rest of the 40 odd boats comprising of the backend of Div 2 and C fleet with the Royal Perth fleet hopping in as well.
No politeness here, and accusations of barging were flowing everywhere. Andy had got away and Glen was sailing in clean air.. in fact he was sailing so well that he managed to move into second spot. Admittedly, we had had a bad moment at the rounding and foul air didn't help, but now Swiftsure Saga was on our tail. Oh well, hero to zero again. And so it ended with Mariner over the line in third place and last on handicap. But Brian was happy and I guess that's what counts.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Wynella and Mariner
On Handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra
Nice to see Geoff Reason back on the water ( with Andy Bell) and he's happy that he's got the motor going. And Eric turned up again. good to see and finally Craig B is back from a little trip to Norway.. lucky fellow.
Winter Wednesday 24th July 2019
Bills got his MoJo back &
A dash for the finish &
Dacron rules.
It was a gloomy day with the wind out of the nor west, moody and shifting periodically. Our friends SP 68 and SP 1117 were out on the water and fortunately neither caused any grief to the fleet. Though a little bird told me that they have caused grief to other members of the sailing community. And this little bird happens to be an international judge.
Moving on, with a course two, it was going to be a drag race to Samson and with four boats on the water and a new fellow, Eric who has sailed with Steve Hill on Sundays joining Bill to replace John P who was unavailable for the day. Of interest to some, Wynella now sports the number SP 104 on his main and this will bring a sigh of relief to the starters who can now readily identify him. But Glen was away today and John Mewitt was driving with Col and Andy to help him.
Sure enough Mariner and the First Jindarra raced neck to neck all the way to Sampson with Bill on our tails all the way. Then the corner and we tacked off with Andrew covering us. Then the work up to Hallmark.....one long board with trimming and attention to detail as the corner stone. Taking the lifts and covering the knocks as we sailed beside each other all the way up. Then crucially we both tacked and found ourselves aiming at the mark as a knock came through. we were on starboard with the JIn on port and had the chance to sail through the knock and then take the lift on the other side. We were through the mark and bearing away as The Jin struggled head to wind with Swiftsure Saga on his hammer. Wynella was a fair way behind at this stage, Bills old sails weren't making her any faster on this reaching course.
Then a case of follow me and Bills sails having been stretched a bit by last Sundays frostbite were bellying nicely and he managed to get through Andrew. A case of tit for tat for last week, Andrew rolled Bill down wind. This time though, Bill just powered past him. The MoJo was working. And to add insult to injury, a flurry of div 2 boats sailed through the pack behind us and sorted out the tail which unfortunately included Andrew. We had our own tussle with Peter Burtenshaws Minds Eye, but he was over us and gone in seconds and we picked up our speed and continued on.
Follow me was the call and the boat slipped over the line around 4.27 pm and we were parked by 4.30. Why the hurry? Well I had an appointment at 4.55 pm in Como and I wasn't going to miss it. We made that dash around the course in good time and the dash for the finish had a double meaning. I was in a hurry. Thanks to Brian and Graham who packed up behind me.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
On handicap; Swiftsure Saga, Mariner and Wynella
Last Sunday was the 7th Frostbite and while a lot didn't turn up, three H28's turned up and we had a rollicking good time. Bill, John P and I took off with the new number one and the new main and proceeded to stretch the sails into shape. Pretty alarming, but we led by over 4 and a half minutes at the finish and probably wrecked our handicap for good, but Mark Walters had couple of heavies with him and despite putting a reef in, he sailed well, shaking out the reef for the down winds. It kept him in good stead as he took a handicap second with Steve Hill on Karoleeya coming in for a handicap fourth. However Steve holds the lead overall for the frostbites and good on him for persevering, putting together scratch crews but being consistent through out. .
Bills got his MoJo back &
A dash for the finish &
Dacron rules.
It was a gloomy day with the wind out of the nor west, moody and shifting periodically. Our friends SP 68 and SP 1117 were out on the water and fortunately neither caused any grief to the fleet. Though a little bird told me that they have caused grief to other members of the sailing community. And this little bird happens to be an international judge.
Moving on, with a course two, it was going to be a drag race to Samson and with four boats on the water and a new fellow, Eric who has sailed with Steve Hill on Sundays joining Bill to replace John P who was unavailable for the day. Of interest to some, Wynella now sports the number SP 104 on his main and this will bring a sigh of relief to the starters who can now readily identify him. But Glen was away today and John Mewitt was driving with Col and Andy to help him.
Sure enough Mariner and the First Jindarra raced neck to neck all the way to Sampson with Bill on our tails all the way. Then the corner and we tacked off with Andrew covering us. Then the work up to Hallmark.....one long board with trimming and attention to detail as the corner stone. Taking the lifts and covering the knocks as we sailed beside each other all the way up. Then crucially we both tacked and found ourselves aiming at the mark as a knock came through. we were on starboard with the JIn on port and had the chance to sail through the knock and then take the lift on the other side. We were through the mark and bearing away as The Jin struggled head to wind with Swiftsure Saga on his hammer. Wynella was a fair way behind at this stage, Bills old sails weren't making her any faster on this reaching course.
Then a case of follow me and Bills sails having been stretched a bit by last Sundays frostbite were bellying nicely and he managed to get through Andrew. A case of tit for tat for last week, Andrew rolled Bill down wind. This time though, Bill just powered past him. The MoJo was working. And to add insult to injury, a flurry of div 2 boats sailed through the pack behind us and sorted out the tail which unfortunately included Andrew. We had our own tussle with Peter Burtenshaws Minds Eye, but he was over us and gone in seconds and we picked up our speed and continued on.
Follow me was the call and the boat slipped over the line around 4.27 pm and we were parked by 4.30. Why the hurry? Well I had an appointment at 4.55 pm in Como and I wasn't going to miss it. We made that dash around the course in good time and the dash for the finish had a double meaning. I was in a hurry. Thanks to Brian and Graham who packed up behind me.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra.
On handicap; Swiftsure Saga, Mariner and Wynella
Last Sunday was the 7th Frostbite and while a lot didn't turn up, three H28's turned up and we had a rollicking good time. Bill, John P and I took off with the new number one and the new main and proceeded to stretch the sails into shape. Pretty alarming, but we led by over 4 and a half minutes at the finish and probably wrecked our handicap for good, but Mark Walters had couple of heavies with him and despite putting a reef in, he sailed well, shaking out the reef for the down winds. It kept him in good stead as he took a handicap second with Steve Hill on Karoleeya coming in for a handicap fourth. However Steve holds the lead overall for the frostbites and good on him for persevering, putting together scratch crews but being consistent through out. .
Winter Wednesday 17th of July 2019
A Sunny Winters Day &
There's another one out there! :-(
We have to thank Andy Bell for coming out for a race today as otherwise we would have come last on handicap.. But then he's got a bigger handicap than we have so it didn't really matter. The race was officially between Swiftsure Saga and Mariner, but Bill would have had to come first and we had to come third to get even points for both of us. But if he'd got even points, he would have won the Autumn handicaps on a countback of first places. He had 4 to our two.
Otherwise there was a lot of work going on around the slips and jetties with Wynella up on the slips getting a work over ( new ribs, a bolt or two and a slap of paint from the hard workers Glen had assembled.) John Wright was down on Anna putting the bits and pieces on the boat and considerably happier than in the past... I guess he's reached the end of his treatment. And Geoff has the motor in and was looking around for a 3 /32's hex wrench. Someone came up with one and he was happy. But it won't be long before winter is over now, we are half way through winter already
A sunny winters day and another course four with the clear knowledge that it was a soldiers course for the day. And a nor wester to boot.
Fortunately we got away on the start line and managed to get in front. Just behind us, the two challengers had their own battle and Bill had his old sails on. The ones he bought from Geoff Bishop all those years ago. He was doing fine and got in front of Andrew and led him all the way up to Robins on a reach, so there's nothing wrong with Bill folks. He can still sail his backside off with the help of John P and Peter Shepherd.
The race continued with the run across the river to Dolphin East as a speedy reach and then down to Como, where Andrew began to nudge up behind Bill and took his breeze. Slowed him down and tucked himself inside his transom for the rounding at Como. However we had another problem.
An Elan belonging to the club ( SP1117) was coming down to Como also, helmed by a skipper who hadn't finished a race this series and was clearly not aware of the three boat length rule at the mark. He barged his way in despite loud and vociferous protests and took off to the outer start line after swinging his transom into our boat by going too high at the mark. To cap off our comments, a Royal Perth boat (Mon Jolie Beneteau) on our port side (further out) saw the whole thing and called out that indeed there was no overlap. All comments from us were totally disregarded and the boat owners arrogance was only matched by his ignorance. The boats name is Dart V and the skipper is Ian Anderson. Be wary of him.
The race continued and The First Jindarra did get through with Bill still putting up a spirited defence and its good to see his boat performing a better. May be his new sails will be a little better this time.
Over the line: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Mariner and The First Jindarra.
This apparently was the last day of the Autumn Series and we now launch into the Winter Series.
Yes I know, I cant make any sense of it either, but that's the call by the club.
A Sunny Winters Day &
There's another one out there! :-(
We have to thank Andy Bell for coming out for a race today as otherwise we would have come last on handicap.. But then he's got a bigger handicap than we have so it didn't really matter. The race was officially between Swiftsure Saga and Mariner, but Bill would have had to come first and we had to come third to get even points for both of us. But if he'd got even points, he would have won the Autumn handicaps on a countback of first places. He had 4 to our two.
Otherwise there was a lot of work going on around the slips and jetties with Wynella up on the slips getting a work over ( new ribs, a bolt or two and a slap of paint from the hard workers Glen had assembled.) John Wright was down on Anna putting the bits and pieces on the boat and considerably happier than in the past... I guess he's reached the end of his treatment. And Geoff has the motor in and was looking around for a 3 /32's hex wrench. Someone came up with one and he was happy. But it won't be long before winter is over now, we are half way through winter already
A sunny winters day and another course four with the clear knowledge that it was a soldiers course for the day. And a nor wester to boot.
Fortunately we got away on the start line and managed to get in front. Just behind us, the two challengers had their own battle and Bill had his old sails on. The ones he bought from Geoff Bishop all those years ago. He was doing fine and got in front of Andrew and led him all the way up to Robins on a reach, so there's nothing wrong with Bill folks. He can still sail his backside off with the help of John P and Peter Shepherd.
The race continued with the run across the river to Dolphin East as a speedy reach and then down to Como, where Andrew began to nudge up behind Bill and took his breeze. Slowed him down and tucked himself inside his transom for the rounding at Como. However we had another problem.
An Elan belonging to the club ( SP1117) was coming down to Como also, helmed by a skipper who hadn't finished a race this series and was clearly not aware of the three boat length rule at the mark. He barged his way in despite loud and vociferous protests and took off to the outer start line after swinging his transom into our boat by going too high at the mark. To cap off our comments, a Royal Perth boat (Mon Jolie Beneteau) on our port side (further out) saw the whole thing and called out that indeed there was no overlap. All comments from us were totally disregarded and the boat owners arrogance was only matched by his ignorance. The boats name is Dart V and the skipper is Ian Anderson. Be wary of him.
The race continued and The First Jindarra did get through with Bill still putting up a spirited defence and its good to see his boat performing a better. May be his new sails will be a little better this time.
Over the line: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Mariner and The First Jindarra.
This apparently was the last day of the Autumn Series and we now launch into the Winter Series.
Yes I know, I cant make any sense of it either, but that's the call by the club.
Winter Wednesday 10th of July 2019
Mayhem after the outer startline &
What was SP 68 ( Olive Marie ) doing?
First of all welcome back Geoff Reason. First time seen on the jetties for a while, but he's got the engine fixed and its going back in shortly. Great. Just in time for summer!
The day was a course four with a light nor wester down where we were at the mouth of the Canning, but the official records state that we had a sou wester for most of the afternoon. No matter the race was on for the regulars and despite seeing the Minto family, we didn't see them on the water.... a pity as they would have enjoyed the day.
For once Mariner got away and despite having Glen below us, waiting to come up, we managed to hit the mark first. That didn't last on the work up to Robins but there were a number of challenges on the way up and we found ourselves behind Wynella and The First Jindarra. Oh well.. try and get back on Wynella on the down wind and surprisingly we got through them. Second again. However, Bill had strapped on his old UK sails to see if he could get something out of them and indeed he was. Right back up with Glen and from then on the race was between the two of them. We had a good chance of catching the Jin, but smart trimming on their part had them staying in front. Across to Dolphin East and bend away to Como with the div three fleets looming behind us. turn at Como and then begin a tight reach across to the outer start line.
Buried under the avalanche of div 3 boats we suffered badly and Wynella stormed past below us. At the same time we observed the craziness of the div 3/div 2 fleets as the fought imaginary battles and took each other up and into the approaching fleets coming from Como. Several skippers were disadvantaged and should have protested the offenders in the leeward fleet. As I said, buried and chasing not only The Jin, but Wynella and Swiftsure Saga. Thoroughly disheartening.
But on the way back to King, luck was on our side and we managed to put Wynella and SSS behind us and the next problem occurred at King when Olive Marie fell into irons behind Swiftsure Saga and blocked several boats in the process. It may be worth while discussing this with the helm of Olive Marie. However we were on our way and Print fell to us on a spritely breeze and we prepared for the gallop down the breeze on a dying Sou Wester. Made it to Como and by then Swiftsure Saga had already rolled Wynella and was doing well. Off to Thelma and a fat sou wester gave us the chance to run along the beach and employ a John Wright lift to take us to with in coo-eee of the line. A double tack did it and despite our efforts .. well the handicap results will tell you.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap; The First Jindarra, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
Mayhem after the outer startline &
What was SP 68 ( Olive Marie ) doing?
First of all welcome back Geoff Reason. First time seen on the jetties for a while, but he's got the engine fixed and its going back in shortly. Great. Just in time for summer!
The day was a course four with a light nor wester down where we were at the mouth of the Canning, but the official records state that we had a sou wester for most of the afternoon. No matter the race was on for the regulars and despite seeing the Minto family, we didn't see them on the water.... a pity as they would have enjoyed the day.
For once Mariner got away and despite having Glen below us, waiting to come up, we managed to hit the mark first. That didn't last on the work up to Robins but there were a number of challenges on the way up and we found ourselves behind Wynella and The First Jindarra. Oh well.. try and get back on Wynella on the down wind and surprisingly we got through them. Second again. However, Bill had strapped on his old UK sails to see if he could get something out of them and indeed he was. Right back up with Glen and from then on the race was between the two of them. We had a good chance of catching the Jin, but smart trimming on their part had them staying in front. Across to Dolphin East and bend away to Como with the div three fleets looming behind us. turn at Como and then begin a tight reach across to the outer start line.
Buried under the avalanche of div 3 boats we suffered badly and Wynella stormed past below us. At the same time we observed the craziness of the div 3/div 2 fleets as the fought imaginary battles and took each other up and into the approaching fleets coming from Como. Several skippers were disadvantaged and should have protested the offenders in the leeward fleet. As I said, buried and chasing not only The Jin, but Wynella and Swiftsure Saga. Thoroughly disheartening.
But on the way back to King, luck was on our side and we managed to put Wynella and SSS behind us and the next problem occurred at King when Olive Marie fell into irons behind Swiftsure Saga and blocked several boats in the process. It may be worth while discussing this with the helm of Olive Marie. However we were on our way and Print fell to us on a spritely breeze and we prepared for the gallop down the breeze on a dying Sou Wester. Made it to Como and by then Swiftsure Saga had already rolled Wynella and was doing well. Off to Thelma and a fat sou wester gave us the chance to run along the beach and employ a John Wright lift to take us to with in coo-eee of the line. A double tack did it and despite our efforts .. well the handicap results will tell you.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga
On handicap; The First Jindarra, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
Winter Wednesday 3rd of July 2019
You can't have a beer unless we're in front.
Chasing the gusts
With four boats to go out for a run and all signs pointing to a great days sail, we set off backwards up the avenue between the two jetties. Inglorious I know, but eminently practical as trying to get your head into the wind in a nor easter is a sod. Particularly when you are in an H28.
Welcome back by the way to John Pierzak who returns after a bit of surgery.
No matter, there was a certain amount of conjecture as to the course and this was happily resolved once the A fleet flag fluttered from the flag staff. Course one, with some glorious down wind runs to have fun with. The day was warm and it was to be our last day of sun for a while. Right from the start The First Jindarra was in control of the race, moving imperiously in front of the others before the line as we on Mariner hung on our sails waiting for the go. And we launched our selves away and found ourselves behind the Jin with the other two, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella a little higher on the breeze and doing as well as we were. The mad dash to Sampson rolled on and by the mark, both Swiftsure and Wynella had rights on us and The Jin was leading us, so gracefully we let them through and then split the pair when we popped up a poled out jib and moved through them.
Then to Deepwater and it was another day of chase the gusts, but they weren't as giving this time around and while we caught up a fair bit, no chance of getting ahead. We rolled around Deepwater on our way to Print and had fun dodging the RP fleet who were up wind of us anyway. By this time the fleet had separated into two halves with Mariner keeping The First Jindarra honest ( Andrews words ) and Wynella who had a good lead losing it to an underpowered Swiftsure Saga (small head sail). The story was he might have gone too far on a corner...? No matter.
On a quiet river with not too many boats on it, the trip back up to Robins was a nice chase scene and again the gusts were kind to us, but still not enough. "Good one" the skipper said, "I'd almost be able to get a beer in on the way up to Robins", well no one moved toward the esky so I guess the rule still stands. " You can't have a beer unless we're in front" Thence to Dolphin East on a rollicking 7 knot reach where we watched the boys on Jindarra sort out an overwind on the fly and we tacked across to make our way to down Como hoping like hell that we'd make the mark. A few prayers and some hard work by the skipper and Graham on the main, got us there and we managed to get around the mark and off to the outer start line.
Around we went and again a bit of pressure as we headed off to Sampson and good speed with careful trimming required. The small triangle presented with the run to King and then off to Print. We had a mad moment at Print with a well known Cole 32, who was coming down sun at us and we were sure he could see us, but then again. By now the gap was widening and The Jin was beginning to pull away. Work as hard as we could, they had the bit between their teeth and they were gone. But by the same token we were well away from the other pair (some 9 minutes by the finish) and it was a case of get around the marks and pack the boat up.
Over the line and on handicap. The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
As a moment of interest: 9 races into winter The Jin and Mariner are within a point of each other on handicap and Swiftsure Saga and Wynella are dead even. You can see where the battles will be for a while.
You can't have a beer unless we're in front.
Chasing the gusts
With four boats to go out for a run and all signs pointing to a great days sail, we set off backwards up the avenue between the two jetties. Inglorious I know, but eminently practical as trying to get your head into the wind in a nor easter is a sod. Particularly when you are in an H28.
Welcome back by the way to John Pierzak who returns after a bit of surgery.
No matter, there was a certain amount of conjecture as to the course and this was happily resolved once the A fleet flag fluttered from the flag staff. Course one, with some glorious down wind runs to have fun with. The day was warm and it was to be our last day of sun for a while. Right from the start The First Jindarra was in control of the race, moving imperiously in front of the others before the line as we on Mariner hung on our sails waiting for the go. And we launched our selves away and found ourselves behind the Jin with the other two, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella a little higher on the breeze and doing as well as we were. The mad dash to Sampson rolled on and by the mark, both Swiftsure and Wynella had rights on us and The Jin was leading us, so gracefully we let them through and then split the pair when we popped up a poled out jib and moved through them.
Then to Deepwater and it was another day of chase the gusts, but they weren't as giving this time around and while we caught up a fair bit, no chance of getting ahead. We rolled around Deepwater on our way to Print and had fun dodging the RP fleet who were up wind of us anyway. By this time the fleet had separated into two halves with Mariner keeping The First Jindarra honest ( Andrews words ) and Wynella who had a good lead losing it to an underpowered Swiftsure Saga (small head sail). The story was he might have gone too far on a corner...? No matter.
On a quiet river with not too many boats on it, the trip back up to Robins was a nice chase scene and again the gusts were kind to us, but still not enough. "Good one" the skipper said, "I'd almost be able to get a beer in on the way up to Robins", well no one moved toward the esky so I guess the rule still stands. " You can't have a beer unless we're in front" Thence to Dolphin East on a rollicking 7 knot reach where we watched the boys on Jindarra sort out an overwind on the fly and we tacked across to make our way to down Como hoping like hell that we'd make the mark. A few prayers and some hard work by the skipper and Graham on the main, got us there and we managed to get around the mark and off to the outer start line.
Around we went and again a bit of pressure as we headed off to Sampson and good speed with careful trimming required. The small triangle presented with the run to King and then off to Print. We had a mad moment at Print with a well known Cole 32, who was coming down sun at us and we were sure he could see us, but then again. By now the gap was widening and The Jin was beginning to pull away. Work as hard as we could, they had the bit between their teeth and they were gone. But by the same token we were well away from the other pair (some 9 minutes by the finish) and it was a case of get around the marks and pack the boat up.
Over the line and on handicap. The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
As a moment of interest: 9 races into winter The Jin and Mariner are within a point of each other on handicap and Swiftsure Saga and Wynella are dead even. You can see where the battles will be for a while.
Winter Wednesday 26th of June 2019
Blowing its rocks off
Abandoned.
I think that just about says it all, but just to be sure.
See below.
Blowing its rocks off
Abandoned.
I think that just about says it all, but just to be sure.
See below.
Winter Wednesday 19th of June 2019
A course four and
The ghost writer.
Its all very well to go to Melbourne and catch up with friends and family, but the blog/column must continue and I had help from a "ghost" writer for today. Unfortunately I hadn't loaned him a camera so we'll just have go without.
The term ghosting comes to mind as we approached the start line, having watched fleets one and two set off on a very light breeze. Fortunately the tide must have been going out at the time so there was a little movement toward the line. Craig was driving Swiftsure Saga today and with Peter having disappeared (??) Judith was rounded up onto the boat and Glen was kind enough to send that man for all seasons (and boats) Colin over to help.
The First Jindarra had had her bottom scrubbed as she's not been out for a while and relieved of the growth, was expected to be quick. But today was going to be a game of "snake and ladders" with madam Luck playing a big part in the day. But the question was which way to go at the line. The Jin, Wynella and Swiftsure went left with Mariner going right looking to pick up something from the freeway. And they did. However the nor easter is a fickle breeze and it dealt a solid knock that took Mariner into the tail of the Fleet 2 boats and the dirty air was a show stopper.
By this time, Andy Bell on the First Jindarra had found his own little patch of pressure unlike Wynella and Swiftsure Saga who were still engaging in a private tussle at the back. The Jin was going well and rounded Sampson al least 20 lengths in front of Mariner with the other two well behind. The job was now to use the down wind leg to catch up with the Jin and then to get past the bloke on the stick. And it was all important as the breeze wasn't getting any better.
Down to Robins on a northerly with every puff taking Mariner closer to the Jin and by the time the mark came into contention, the two were together with Mariner to leeward. Not for long though, with good trimming by the crew Mariner managed to climb the ladder to put herself in front of the First Jindarra and the tight reach across to Dolphin East turned into an "on the nose" as the breeze swung back into the nor east. After DE, the battle became a case of cover/cover /cover with 7 or 8 tacks involved. But good things don't last for ever and Mariner broke away, going into the north and The Jin remained committed to the south.
That was the breaker and The Jin slid further down the snakes back; going north was favoured and by Como the fleet knew they were heading to the finish line and it was a case of increase your length as best you could. Six minutes was enough to separate the first two boats and four minutes to Wynella with Swiftsure Saga following on.
Over the line: Mariner, the First Jindarra and Wynella
On handicap: Mariner, Wynella and the First Jindarra
Unfortunately the starters had to scrap Swiftsure Saga as they were too late to cross the line. More than 5 minutes and you're out. But they made the fourth boat and it was great to have them along.
The frostbite series (16th of June) and four boats (H28) made it out onto the water with Mariner, Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya and Koomela joining the merry mob. Of the H28s, only Brian was serious and he threw up a kite an every opportunity (well he does have a bunch of rock stars with him). and if they weren't drinking beer and having a good time, they were getting away from the rest of us. But there is a consequence to this and Brian's handicap has started to head skyward. Ooops :-), .
However Karoleeya with Stephen Hill at the helm took the win on handicap (4th over the line), Brian on Mariner was second, Koomela and Mark Walters were fifth on handicap though they finished at the back of the fleet (9th) and Bill Richards on Swiftsure Saga was a good third over the line with a light breezes headsail up that was tested in the 10 to 14 knots. However our handicap got in the way and Swiftsure was relegated to 6th spot. But our handicap looks a little better now, as it has dropped some 40 points so far.
A course four and
The ghost writer.
Its all very well to go to Melbourne and catch up with friends and family, but the blog/column must continue and I had help from a "ghost" writer for today. Unfortunately I hadn't loaned him a camera so we'll just have go without.
The term ghosting comes to mind as we approached the start line, having watched fleets one and two set off on a very light breeze. Fortunately the tide must have been going out at the time so there was a little movement toward the line. Craig was driving Swiftsure Saga today and with Peter having disappeared (??) Judith was rounded up onto the boat and Glen was kind enough to send that man for all seasons (and boats) Colin over to help.
The First Jindarra had had her bottom scrubbed as she's not been out for a while and relieved of the growth, was expected to be quick. But today was going to be a game of "snake and ladders" with madam Luck playing a big part in the day. But the question was which way to go at the line. The Jin, Wynella and Swiftsure went left with Mariner going right looking to pick up something from the freeway. And they did. However the nor easter is a fickle breeze and it dealt a solid knock that took Mariner into the tail of the Fleet 2 boats and the dirty air was a show stopper.
By this time, Andy Bell on the First Jindarra had found his own little patch of pressure unlike Wynella and Swiftsure Saga who were still engaging in a private tussle at the back. The Jin was going well and rounded Sampson al least 20 lengths in front of Mariner with the other two well behind. The job was now to use the down wind leg to catch up with the Jin and then to get past the bloke on the stick. And it was all important as the breeze wasn't getting any better.
Down to Robins on a northerly with every puff taking Mariner closer to the Jin and by the time the mark came into contention, the two were together with Mariner to leeward. Not for long though, with good trimming by the crew Mariner managed to climb the ladder to put herself in front of the First Jindarra and the tight reach across to Dolphin East turned into an "on the nose" as the breeze swung back into the nor east. After DE, the battle became a case of cover/cover /cover with 7 or 8 tacks involved. But good things don't last for ever and Mariner broke away, going into the north and The Jin remained committed to the south.
That was the breaker and The Jin slid further down the snakes back; going north was favoured and by Como the fleet knew they were heading to the finish line and it was a case of increase your length as best you could. Six minutes was enough to separate the first two boats and four minutes to Wynella with Swiftsure Saga following on.
Over the line: Mariner, the First Jindarra and Wynella
On handicap: Mariner, Wynella and the First Jindarra
Unfortunately the starters had to scrap Swiftsure Saga as they were too late to cross the line. More than 5 minutes and you're out. But they made the fourth boat and it was great to have them along.
The frostbite series (16th of June) and four boats (H28) made it out onto the water with Mariner, Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya and Koomela joining the merry mob. Of the H28s, only Brian was serious and he threw up a kite an every opportunity (well he does have a bunch of rock stars with him). and if they weren't drinking beer and having a good time, they were getting away from the rest of us. But there is a consequence to this and Brian's handicap has started to head skyward. Ooops :-), .
However Karoleeya with Stephen Hill at the helm took the win on handicap (4th over the line), Brian on Mariner was second, Koomela and Mark Walters were fifth on handicap though they finished at the back of the fleet (9th) and Bill Richards on Swiftsure Saga was a good third over the line with a light breezes headsail up that was tested in the 10 to 14 knots. However our handicap got in the way and Swiftsure was relegated to 6th spot. But our handicap looks a little better now, as it has dropped some 40 points so far.
Winter Wednesday 12th of June 2019
Hold everything. We're in a tangle! &
Then there were three.
Its getting lonely on jetty three. Where once there were at least 5 or 6 boats ready to rumble on a Wednesday only three boats took to the water today. And its getting to be a habit now. Sure its the middle of winter, and yes we are getting a bit older and getting wet isn't the nicest thing. But seriously its reaching the point that we may have to join C fleet just to get a decent race in. I hope that this might be a discussion point for the fleet, as a serious race would be appreciated and if we have to contend with the SS27's etc, it might just make it interesting on the startline once again. There are some cunning sailors in that lot and it would make the day worth it.
The start line was great and the skipper had his mojo working. We were moving up on the line and a course four on offer with the company of Wynella and Swiftsure Saga around us and with 30 seconds or so to go.. two sound signals and an AP. Oops; one of us? No. A change in the breeze ? No. The starters had a bad day?.. Yes. The one minute flag was tangled around another halyard and officially was still being shown. The starter had no choice but to abort the race. So round we went again, re set the countdown clock and start the battle all over again.
It was going to be a follow me course so the start was important, so the dash to Sampson was the one for Wynella and Swiftsure to contest. Bill is still misfiring on those sails, but the company of Russell Shannon, the banana bender from Tin Can Bay on the main was enough to keep Bill competitive for a good period and they even got across Glen on the work up to Robins that followed. So around Sampson and look up the river. It was going to be a dig into the bay and then out again. For once we were ahead of the Royal Perth fleet and it was a clean run for all.
The dip into Frenchies was fine, but the leg out of the bay wasn't good as we still had a west sou westerly with us. Knocking a little as well, but the next tack paid for all as we lifted right up to Robins. Great stuff and the trip to Dolphin East had us running away from the other two. Then to Como and bend around the mark to aim at the line. A reaching course meant that all the boats had the speed and trimming was the thing, but the boats behind us had faired well on the down wind with a following breeze that pushed them down toward us. So think fast again, but at this stage it was noticeable that Bill was suffering on the downwind, just not catching as much breeze as Glen was. Those sails just didn't seem to be as full as the ones on Wynella.
So the dash to Sampson again and off to King on the course change that had been brought in. Then to Print and everyone has to remember that Print is now " up there", not straight across. We made it and it was really a matter of us piling enough of a lead to see if we could do any better than third. Down to Como and then away to Thelma and we had to fight for every inch as there were no lifts for us as we battled to the finish line. Looking back, we saw Glen get a John Wright special to cross the line in one leg with Bill behind him and missing only by a few metres but he had to tack as we did.
Over the line: Mariner, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga.
On Handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner. It was that lift to the finish that made the difference. The boats were separated by 11 seconds with Swiftsure Saga 9 seconds in front of Wynella and Mariner 2 seconds behind Wynella. If Wynella had had to double tack, perhaps a different story.
Hope you like Col wearing the new Wynella shirts. Glen has reached into his very deep pockets and managed to find enough coin to dress the boys up. Good job Brian the fellows look smart.
And Lockie's boat is up on the slips for a bit of remedial work as the boat has developed some serious splits along the splining done in April/ May. I hope that that is the end of it and he can make it back into the water successfully.
Hold everything. We're in a tangle! &
Then there were three.
Its getting lonely on jetty three. Where once there were at least 5 or 6 boats ready to rumble on a Wednesday only three boats took to the water today. And its getting to be a habit now. Sure its the middle of winter, and yes we are getting a bit older and getting wet isn't the nicest thing. But seriously its reaching the point that we may have to join C fleet just to get a decent race in. I hope that this might be a discussion point for the fleet, as a serious race would be appreciated and if we have to contend with the SS27's etc, it might just make it interesting on the startline once again. There are some cunning sailors in that lot and it would make the day worth it.
The start line was great and the skipper had his mojo working. We were moving up on the line and a course four on offer with the company of Wynella and Swiftsure Saga around us and with 30 seconds or so to go.. two sound signals and an AP. Oops; one of us? No. A change in the breeze ? No. The starters had a bad day?.. Yes. The one minute flag was tangled around another halyard and officially was still being shown. The starter had no choice but to abort the race. So round we went again, re set the countdown clock and start the battle all over again.
It was going to be a follow me course so the start was important, so the dash to Sampson was the one for Wynella and Swiftsure to contest. Bill is still misfiring on those sails, but the company of Russell Shannon, the banana bender from Tin Can Bay on the main was enough to keep Bill competitive for a good period and they even got across Glen on the work up to Robins that followed. So around Sampson and look up the river. It was going to be a dig into the bay and then out again. For once we were ahead of the Royal Perth fleet and it was a clean run for all.
The dip into Frenchies was fine, but the leg out of the bay wasn't good as we still had a west sou westerly with us. Knocking a little as well, but the next tack paid for all as we lifted right up to Robins. Great stuff and the trip to Dolphin East had us running away from the other two. Then to Como and bend around the mark to aim at the line. A reaching course meant that all the boats had the speed and trimming was the thing, but the boats behind us had faired well on the down wind with a following breeze that pushed them down toward us. So think fast again, but at this stage it was noticeable that Bill was suffering on the downwind, just not catching as much breeze as Glen was. Those sails just didn't seem to be as full as the ones on Wynella.
So the dash to Sampson again and off to King on the course change that had been brought in. Then to Print and everyone has to remember that Print is now " up there", not straight across. We made it and it was really a matter of us piling enough of a lead to see if we could do any better than third. Down to Como and then away to Thelma and we had to fight for every inch as there were no lifts for us as we battled to the finish line. Looking back, we saw Glen get a John Wright special to cross the line in one leg with Bill behind him and missing only by a few metres but he had to tack as we did.
Over the line: Mariner, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga.
On Handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner. It was that lift to the finish that made the difference. The boats were separated by 11 seconds with Swiftsure Saga 9 seconds in front of Wynella and Mariner 2 seconds behind Wynella. If Wynella had had to double tack, perhaps a different story.
Hope you like Col wearing the new Wynella shirts. Glen has reached into his very deep pockets and managed to find enough coin to dress the boys up. Good job Brian the fellows look smart.
And Lockie's boat is up on the slips for a bit of remedial work as the boat has developed some serious splits along the splining done in April/ May. I hope that that is the end of it and he can make it back into the water successfully.
Winter Wednesday 5th of June 2019
Pushing his luck &
Another Nor Easter.
This time we got a course two with no Martin and Weaver. Go figure it out for yourself. We couldn't. It was going to be another soldiers course and the start was all important.. This time, we got it right but Glen wasn't so lucky and the horn sang out its repeat tone and caught Glen on Wynella pushing his luck just a little on the line. Bad luck Glen, you have been accused of doing well in the past on the starts and if you'd cracked that one, it would have been hard to catch you up.
Meanwhile back on the jetty Alma was being worked on by Mark and Andrew to get the Hifield lever off so that they could adjust the mast more completely. I think they also put a new main halyard in as well, but I'll stand to be corrected. Mariner had a quick bottom scrub on the hard stand as Brian couldn't be bothered cleaning the hull again wearing a hookah. Bill had put new batteries into Swiftsure and was looking forward to going out under his own steam. He had Craig driving as he (Bill) is off to the UK next week. A chance for Craig to learn what the boat is like.
There we were, in front of Alma and powering along. We made it to Sampson and then settled in for the down wind dash to Hallmark. And along came Alma, slowly but surely pulling us back. Every puff and tickle of breeze was to his advantage as he was behind us and closer to the wind. Oh well. The only thing that may have helped us was the crossing of the Royal Perth fleet. For once we were on starboard. Hooray. Wynella had done very well and dragged their sorry hides back into third place. Well done gents. Meanwhile Craig was coming to terms with the helm of Swiftsure Saga and its clear that the new sails aren't living up to the previous set. They were off the pace by a fair bit.
So to Hallmark and find ourselves looking at Alma rapidly gaining on us and by Armstrong, it was a case of see where Alma is going to go and then make our minds up. But so much of it was reaching rather than works and there's no chance to catch a boat in such a race. The next trip was a run across to Como (another reach) and then away to the outer start line where we had a slightly un-nerving moment. The Dunbar powered racer/cruiser was set to roll over us, so the skipper snuggled up to a boat coming the other way to stop the Dunbar boat from doing as advertised, the issue was that our mast heads were separated by a foot in the old talk. If they'd hit, we may have lost our mast.
Around we went and then off to Sampson again and still very much second. And so it went, as all that was happening was that the gap increased a little as we followed each other around.
Over the line: Alma, Mariner and Wynella
On handicap: Alma, Mariner and Wynella
Enjoy the photos. Thanks to Andy Bell for the cute snap of Judith guiding the boat home. Andrew was fondly promoting the fact that you could see Mariner in the distance. Nope, sorry Andrew, your phone wasn't set for deep focus. But we knew where we were.
Pushing his luck &
Another Nor Easter.
This time we got a course two with no Martin and Weaver. Go figure it out for yourself. We couldn't. It was going to be another soldiers course and the start was all important.. This time, we got it right but Glen wasn't so lucky and the horn sang out its repeat tone and caught Glen on Wynella pushing his luck just a little on the line. Bad luck Glen, you have been accused of doing well in the past on the starts and if you'd cracked that one, it would have been hard to catch you up.
Meanwhile back on the jetty Alma was being worked on by Mark and Andrew to get the Hifield lever off so that they could adjust the mast more completely. I think they also put a new main halyard in as well, but I'll stand to be corrected. Mariner had a quick bottom scrub on the hard stand as Brian couldn't be bothered cleaning the hull again wearing a hookah. Bill had put new batteries into Swiftsure and was looking forward to going out under his own steam. He had Craig driving as he (Bill) is off to the UK next week. A chance for Craig to learn what the boat is like.
There we were, in front of Alma and powering along. We made it to Sampson and then settled in for the down wind dash to Hallmark. And along came Alma, slowly but surely pulling us back. Every puff and tickle of breeze was to his advantage as he was behind us and closer to the wind. Oh well. The only thing that may have helped us was the crossing of the Royal Perth fleet. For once we were on starboard. Hooray. Wynella had done very well and dragged their sorry hides back into third place. Well done gents. Meanwhile Craig was coming to terms with the helm of Swiftsure Saga and its clear that the new sails aren't living up to the previous set. They were off the pace by a fair bit.
So to Hallmark and find ourselves looking at Alma rapidly gaining on us and by Armstrong, it was a case of see where Alma is going to go and then make our minds up. But so much of it was reaching rather than works and there's no chance to catch a boat in such a race. The next trip was a run across to Como (another reach) and then away to the outer start line where we had a slightly un-nerving moment. The Dunbar powered racer/cruiser was set to roll over us, so the skipper snuggled up to a boat coming the other way to stop the Dunbar boat from doing as advertised, the issue was that our mast heads were separated by a foot in the old talk. If they'd hit, we may have lost our mast.
Around we went and then off to Sampson again and still very much second. And so it went, as all that was happening was that the gap increased a little as we followed each other around.
Over the line: Alma, Mariner and Wynella
On handicap: Alma, Mariner and Wynella
Enjoy the photos. Thanks to Andy Bell for the cute snap of Judith guiding the boat home. Andrew was fondly promoting the fact that you could see Mariner in the distance. Nope, sorry Andrew, your phone wasn't set for deep focus. But we knew where we were.
Winter Wednesday 29th of May 2019
A bad day for Bill &
AB is back. ( on Alma )
Ruining a perfectly good pair of Volley's. John Pierzak rocked up to see the fleet take off ( and be sociable ). He was sporting a new pair of Volleys with the top cut out of the port shoes bow section to give that toe of his plenty of room. Old football injury was all he would say. That and he's sporting a fair sized scar from the hack job they did on his shin. But it was nice to see his face and we are looking forward to seeing him back shortly.
Give a bloke a bad day and it multiplies. Getting out of the pen on a stinking nor easter that's blowing its head off. Oh dear, what a mess and for our best efforts we were almost part of it too. Bill set out to get his bow into the wind, but as bad luck would have it, it didn't eventuate. So we took off to get a grip on him and take him out. We did a lap around him trying to hook up and ran into the odd bow and anchor poking out from the big power boats. But eventually we made our way out, towing Swiftsure Saga behind us. This was the start of a bad day.
Meanwhile Alma was seen being given a power wash up on the tammy lifter. " didn't get the barnacles", grouched Andy Bell, but that was enough to give him a slick hull and with the company of a couple of his regulars and Judith who was thrilled to go out with them, they fired up Alma and treated her to Andrews main sail from The First Jindarra. And it worked too. A quick boat as ever and sailed by AB.
Off to Martin- Weaver on a course one with a breeze around the 16 to 20 knots out of the nor east. Switching and twitching, sometimes high, sometimes low the gusts were pouring down on us as we took off to Martin and saw Alma slip away. Bugger! Around we went and then the cross to Weaver had us in front of the rest of the pack. David Locke had visitor Tin Can Bay Commodore Russell Shannon on board and was firing very well. The presence of Wynella was noted as well with Glen and his usual crew. So five boats all together.
Then away to Sampson watching Alma get further ahead on that hot gust that made them winners and get around the corner with a port pole hoisted as we hit the down wind track. By this time Bill and Swiftsure were doing poorly and despite their best efforts they could do nothing but tag along at the back. The run down to Deepwater was good until the Royal Perth B fleet hit Foam behind us and then began pouring down the breeze toward us. A little interesting, but we put ourselves into a position where we would tack across on starboard to the mark. Easy peasy. a clear run to the mark. But Lockie had been able to get through.. just drag raced us. Somethings not working on the boat and the skips not happy.
Then to Print and back up to Robins with the boat responding poorly to the urging of the crew. Around Robins and the comment from the skipper summed it all up. " Bloody soldiers course" as we charged our way across to Dolphin East on a reach. Thence to Como and the outer startline. You have to give David Locke full marks for trying as he pushed his way toward Andy Bell and nearly had a chance on the way to D.E. But as usual Andy Bell got away. We were holding out own against Wynella and trying hard to get closer to Lockie with reasonable success.
The small triangle completed and across the line, we waited till Swiftsure Saga finished and offered them a lift home if required, but down wind they were ok and the breeze had calmed considerably by then. Easy for them to get home.
Over the line: Alma, Corella and Mariner.
On handicap: Alma, Wynella and Corella
Anna was up on the hard again with several small leaks being patched by Ian and a bit of caulking being laid in as well. But she's doing fine and we hope that John is managing well with the radiotherapy.
A bad day for Bill &
AB is back. ( on Alma )
Ruining a perfectly good pair of Volley's. John Pierzak rocked up to see the fleet take off ( and be sociable ). He was sporting a new pair of Volleys with the top cut out of the port shoes bow section to give that toe of his plenty of room. Old football injury was all he would say. That and he's sporting a fair sized scar from the hack job they did on his shin. But it was nice to see his face and we are looking forward to seeing him back shortly.
Give a bloke a bad day and it multiplies. Getting out of the pen on a stinking nor easter that's blowing its head off. Oh dear, what a mess and for our best efforts we were almost part of it too. Bill set out to get his bow into the wind, but as bad luck would have it, it didn't eventuate. So we took off to get a grip on him and take him out. We did a lap around him trying to hook up and ran into the odd bow and anchor poking out from the big power boats. But eventually we made our way out, towing Swiftsure Saga behind us. This was the start of a bad day.
Meanwhile Alma was seen being given a power wash up on the tammy lifter. " didn't get the barnacles", grouched Andy Bell, but that was enough to give him a slick hull and with the company of a couple of his regulars and Judith who was thrilled to go out with them, they fired up Alma and treated her to Andrews main sail from The First Jindarra. And it worked too. A quick boat as ever and sailed by AB.
Off to Martin- Weaver on a course one with a breeze around the 16 to 20 knots out of the nor east. Switching and twitching, sometimes high, sometimes low the gusts were pouring down on us as we took off to Martin and saw Alma slip away. Bugger! Around we went and then the cross to Weaver had us in front of the rest of the pack. David Locke had visitor Tin Can Bay Commodore Russell Shannon on board and was firing very well. The presence of Wynella was noted as well with Glen and his usual crew. So five boats all together.
Then away to Sampson watching Alma get further ahead on that hot gust that made them winners and get around the corner with a port pole hoisted as we hit the down wind track. By this time Bill and Swiftsure were doing poorly and despite their best efforts they could do nothing but tag along at the back. The run down to Deepwater was good until the Royal Perth B fleet hit Foam behind us and then began pouring down the breeze toward us. A little interesting, but we put ourselves into a position where we would tack across on starboard to the mark. Easy peasy. a clear run to the mark. But Lockie had been able to get through.. just drag raced us. Somethings not working on the boat and the skips not happy.
Then to Print and back up to Robins with the boat responding poorly to the urging of the crew. Around Robins and the comment from the skipper summed it all up. " Bloody soldiers course" as we charged our way across to Dolphin East on a reach. Thence to Como and the outer startline. You have to give David Locke full marks for trying as he pushed his way toward Andy Bell and nearly had a chance on the way to D.E. But as usual Andy Bell got away. We were holding out own against Wynella and trying hard to get closer to Lockie with reasonable success.
The small triangle completed and across the line, we waited till Swiftsure Saga finished and offered them a lift home if required, but down wind they were ok and the breeze had calmed considerably by then. Easy for them to get home.
Over the line: Alma, Corella and Mariner.
On handicap: Alma, Wynella and Corella
Anna was up on the hard again with several small leaks being patched by Ian and a bit of caulking being laid in as well. But she's doing fine and we hope that John is managing well with the radiotherapy.
Winter Wednesday 22nd May 2019.
A sou wester came in.
Trying not to win.
There was a clear decision made before we started. We didn't want to win. Well not by a lot anyway. Perhaps a 4th and fastest was on the cards. However it wasn't in our hands at the start line and the blood haze settled over the skippers eyes as we headed toward Sampson third over the line. We had been given a course four on a westerly that was beginning to rotate into the south and our choice was to continue up from Sampson or take the punishment and cross over early into Heathcote.
The race was between Wynella helmed by John Mewitt with Glen suffering from a cold, Swiftsure Saga's Bill with Craig and Peter on board, ourselves on Mariner and we were joined by the Minto's on Aloha. No sign of Andy Bell, Lockie and Judith. (The First Jindarra, Corella and Alma).
We were chasing Bill and John with the Minto's filling fourth spot as they settled into a nice afternoons sail. But the need was for us to get past Bill and John and the choices we had were picking the breeze as it continued to rotate. The first couple of crosses had us letting Wynella through and we managed to get past Swiftsure Saga on the second as they managed to lose a few meters when they went further than we did on the first beat out of Sampson. But the Royal Perth Fleet was approaching and our thought was to infiltrate them and get them on starboard if needed further up the course. Our top mark was Robins and we watched as Swiftsure Saga went all the way in to Frenchies and looked to be on a good thing as they made their way out of the bay. Meanwhile we had Wynella to deal with and it was by the grace of the RP fleet that we were able to put Wynella behind us as they were entangled with the flow of boats around them.
We were working our way up to Robins on good lifts and then bang the shackle on the genoa popped open. Damn, didn't put it on properly. So a minute or two later we had a jury rig shackle on and began to point again. We'd kept going while Brian went forward to do the jury rig and surprisingly hadn't lost much on the way. A toss onto starboard had us put a couple of RP boats over and we took Swiftsure as well. Great, first round Robins and the race was to stay in touch with Swiftsure. And they complied by pushing hard as did Wynella. Off to Dolphin East and a gybe and the down wind leg had us discussing the possibility of a short course.. no, the breeze was picking up and we had a good sou wester, light but consistent. A follow me race from now on. Down to Como with a SS 34 beside us. Should have passed us, but couldn't or wouldn't. So did the right thing and got inside his transom so that by Como he was easy enough to pass. Then down to the outer startline and make our way around the small triangle shouting encouragement to Bill, telling him to sail faster.
The last leg had us around the bottom at Thelma, running along the freeway and away from the H28 crowd so it was a case of fight off the two SS27's who had decided to push us a little harder. So Brian took them up and naturally they slowed. We managed to get enough seperation to make the tack and get clear of the two followers and fortunately we managed to run a clean run up to the finish and flick across the line as soon as possible.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner.
There's a fair bit of seaweed growing on the boats that haven't been sailed for a while and they will possibly need some attention. Meanwhile Ian Weaver and John Wright were working on Anna and frankly she's turning into a treat. Both Peter and Craig are lookin forward to her return to the water. Another coat went onto the varnish and she's being measured for the fittings to go back on. The decision to put windows back in the cabin is being reviewed by John, but perhaps a coat of white paint would help internally if the boat was to remain window less.
A sou wester came in.
Trying not to win.
There was a clear decision made before we started. We didn't want to win. Well not by a lot anyway. Perhaps a 4th and fastest was on the cards. However it wasn't in our hands at the start line and the blood haze settled over the skippers eyes as we headed toward Sampson third over the line. We had been given a course four on a westerly that was beginning to rotate into the south and our choice was to continue up from Sampson or take the punishment and cross over early into Heathcote.
The race was between Wynella helmed by John Mewitt with Glen suffering from a cold, Swiftsure Saga's Bill with Craig and Peter on board, ourselves on Mariner and we were joined by the Minto's on Aloha. No sign of Andy Bell, Lockie and Judith. (The First Jindarra, Corella and Alma).
We were chasing Bill and John with the Minto's filling fourth spot as they settled into a nice afternoons sail. But the need was for us to get past Bill and John and the choices we had were picking the breeze as it continued to rotate. The first couple of crosses had us letting Wynella through and we managed to get past Swiftsure Saga on the second as they managed to lose a few meters when they went further than we did on the first beat out of Sampson. But the Royal Perth Fleet was approaching and our thought was to infiltrate them and get them on starboard if needed further up the course. Our top mark was Robins and we watched as Swiftsure Saga went all the way in to Frenchies and looked to be on a good thing as they made their way out of the bay. Meanwhile we had Wynella to deal with and it was by the grace of the RP fleet that we were able to put Wynella behind us as they were entangled with the flow of boats around them.
We were working our way up to Robins on good lifts and then bang the shackle on the genoa popped open. Damn, didn't put it on properly. So a minute or two later we had a jury rig shackle on and began to point again. We'd kept going while Brian went forward to do the jury rig and surprisingly hadn't lost much on the way. A toss onto starboard had us put a couple of RP boats over and we took Swiftsure as well. Great, first round Robins and the race was to stay in touch with Swiftsure. And they complied by pushing hard as did Wynella. Off to Dolphin East and a gybe and the down wind leg had us discussing the possibility of a short course.. no, the breeze was picking up and we had a good sou wester, light but consistent. A follow me race from now on. Down to Como with a SS 34 beside us. Should have passed us, but couldn't or wouldn't. So did the right thing and got inside his transom so that by Como he was easy enough to pass. Then down to the outer startline and make our way around the small triangle shouting encouragement to Bill, telling him to sail faster.
The last leg had us around the bottom at Thelma, running along the freeway and away from the H28 crowd so it was a case of fight off the two SS27's who had decided to push us a little harder. So Brian took them up and naturally they slowed. We managed to get enough seperation to make the tack and get clear of the two followers and fortunately we managed to run a clean run up to the finish and flick across the line as soon as possible.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner.
There's a fair bit of seaweed growing on the boats that haven't been sailed for a while and they will possibly need some attention. Meanwhile Ian Weaver and John Wright were working on Anna and frankly she's turning into a treat. Both Peter and Craig are lookin forward to her return to the water. Another coat went onto the varnish and she's being measured for the fittings to go back on. The decision to put windows back in the cabin is being reviewed by John, but perhaps a coat of white paint would help internally if the boat was to remain window less.
Sunday Frostbites 19th May 2019
Another drifting day. &
Never, ever give up. The lesson.
Four H28s rumbled toward the line with Brian Cross adding to the merry throng with a crack team that were going to hoist a spinnaker no matter what. And they did. But that's another story. There were about a dozen boats hitting the line and we on Swiftsure Saga had left our run a little late, and why not? Our handicap is monstrous and coming mid fleet would be appreciated. But we had a nor easter and for once there appeared to be enough breeze so we made our way up to Sampson doing the zigs and zags appropriate to heading into a northerly breeze.
Nearly good enough and Mariner managed to get going earlier than we did and were around the mark on the way to Sampson early. The radio chatter warned us of breezes dropping down the river and as we hit Sampson we prepared for a pole only to find ourselves on a broad reach that fluctuated with the breeze. Mariner popped up a shy kite and quickly dropped down, but kept moving forward.. we were doing fine, but we were swarmed by a number of smaller boats running kites and our breeze suffered accordingly. But we were still moving and had better height that Karoleeya and Koomela. Karoleeya by the way had been lent a spare sail from Swiftsure Saga and promptly improved in speed and height. But sails are one thing, cunning is another and we were well ahead of the other two.
The trek continued with Mariner making the best of it and around Hallmark in what could be politely be described as doldrums, I looked down the river and sure enough there was a seabreeze coming in. Beauty! Put the pole away and set the boat up for a dash to Armstrong and across to Bond. Then the breeze dropped out again, it was a flash in the pan. But Mariner had the best of it and got around Bond and were well on their way to Print. Damn. And worse.. Karoleeya was catching up; as was Koomela who had been flying a kite religiously but not getting any further along.
Then finally after playing the angles on the way down the last of the breeze we passed Print. Then we looked down the breeze to see if there was any more.. all the other clubs on the river had abandoned their races so SoPYC was the only club left on the river. Bill looked at me, I looked back at him and sure enough we agreed. Pack up and go home. The resignation was sent by radio to the start box and we turned on the motor. After two or three minutes we looked up toward the city to see a band of pressure coming toward us out of the North. Oh bugger.
Sure enough, as we trundled past the start box under power, the rest of the C fleet sauntered over the line as did our main rival Karoleeya who had picked up the breeze and came down with smiles on their faces. Mariner was well and truly home by then and were sitting on the boat drinking, ready with the smart remarks about our resigning. Should have, could have, never- ever given up.
Mariner picked up a good second and fastest, Karoleeya 7th and Koomela 9th.
Another drifting day. &
Never, ever give up. The lesson.
Four H28s rumbled toward the line with Brian Cross adding to the merry throng with a crack team that were going to hoist a spinnaker no matter what. And they did. But that's another story. There were about a dozen boats hitting the line and we on Swiftsure Saga had left our run a little late, and why not? Our handicap is monstrous and coming mid fleet would be appreciated. But we had a nor easter and for once there appeared to be enough breeze so we made our way up to Sampson doing the zigs and zags appropriate to heading into a northerly breeze.
Nearly good enough and Mariner managed to get going earlier than we did and were around the mark on the way to Sampson early. The radio chatter warned us of breezes dropping down the river and as we hit Sampson we prepared for a pole only to find ourselves on a broad reach that fluctuated with the breeze. Mariner popped up a shy kite and quickly dropped down, but kept moving forward.. we were doing fine, but we were swarmed by a number of smaller boats running kites and our breeze suffered accordingly. But we were still moving and had better height that Karoleeya and Koomela. Karoleeya by the way had been lent a spare sail from Swiftsure Saga and promptly improved in speed and height. But sails are one thing, cunning is another and we were well ahead of the other two.
The trek continued with Mariner making the best of it and around Hallmark in what could be politely be described as doldrums, I looked down the river and sure enough there was a seabreeze coming in. Beauty! Put the pole away and set the boat up for a dash to Armstrong and across to Bond. Then the breeze dropped out again, it was a flash in the pan. But Mariner had the best of it and got around Bond and were well on their way to Print. Damn. And worse.. Karoleeya was catching up; as was Koomela who had been flying a kite religiously but not getting any further along.
Then finally after playing the angles on the way down the last of the breeze we passed Print. Then we looked down the breeze to see if there was any more.. all the other clubs on the river had abandoned their races so SoPYC was the only club left on the river. Bill looked at me, I looked back at him and sure enough we agreed. Pack up and go home. The resignation was sent by radio to the start box and we turned on the motor. After two or three minutes we looked up toward the city to see a band of pressure coming toward us out of the North. Oh bugger.
Sure enough, as we trundled past the start box under power, the rest of the C fleet sauntered over the line as did our main rival Karoleeya who had picked up the breeze and came down with smiles on their faces. Mariner was well and truly home by then and were sitting on the boat drinking, ready with the smart remarks about our resigning. Should have, could have, never- ever given up.
Mariner picked up a good second and fastest, Karoleeya 7th and Koomela 9th.
Wednesday Winter Sailing 15th of May 2019
Peter is the new Rita ? &
Wandering on a Westerly
The Safety boat kept their distance this week, so perhaps we'll put it down to a momentary aberration. We could have had 6 boats out today, but no sign of Andy Bell or Judith and that left us begging again. Just enough for a result. But the big improve of the day was Peter Shepherd who went out with David Locke and ran all over the boat doing what was required. Well done Peter, but somehow you'll never fill Rita's shoes. Oh well.
The breeze was comfortably in to begin with and the starters had no hesitation sending us off on a course two with that giant leap of faith (and a chance to pass each other) on the way up to Hallmark. The dash to the line was on and while some thought that the pin end was good, perhaps the box end was better.. but we all had the same object in mind.. hit the line running. Perhaps 2 seconds late, but the fleet hit the line at the same time and really it was all about getting ahead of Lockie and Glen as they were sitting in the hot seat slightly above us and with the same speed.
By Sampson it was clear that they had the running and they had to sort out the rounding between themselves and this is where Wynella came unstuck, having to be fended off by the crew and skipper of Corella. An immediate 360 was requested and by the time they had completed the whizzie, the other three boats were well away. The next task was to catch up to Corella and our only hope was to try and stay in phase on the trip up and catch him on the cross near Hallmark as he had gone into the north bank to try and use the last of the nor wester while we stayed out in the middle. A moot point and he crossed in front of us by perhaps 10 meters. Not bad, but not good either as he tacked in our face and we had to keep the boat up above his disturbed air wake all the way to Armstrong. You can do it, but its the slow way.
Behind us Bill Richards with Craig and Andy Minto had overhauled Wynella and were setting out to square the ledger from last season (or is Glen hell bent on improving his handicap). Wynella has shown us she has the legs in light breezes, but its a worry when she suddenly slips backwards on a light day.
By Armstrong the breeze was already dropping out as we headed off down the breeze to Como and the outer start line and we had Graham up on the boom keeping an eye out for the gusts as they came down the river towards us. Neither faster or slower for most of the down hill, we resorted to using gybes to give us hotter angles. And it worked, we were getting closer to Corella and with only two on board, matching our tactics just wasn't going to happen. They were doing well as it was. And then surprisingly Corella wandered out to the north a little, just enough for us to get our bow inside her transom near the mark (Como). The Flag was up on the start box and it was a dash to the finish and we had the inside running. A nice way to finish the day.
Over the line: Mariner, Corella and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Corella, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
There are signs of life on board Carina as the cover was rolled back during the afternoon.. no sign of Mr Reason but he's around somewhere.
Peter is the new Rita ? &
Wandering on a Westerly
The Safety boat kept their distance this week, so perhaps we'll put it down to a momentary aberration. We could have had 6 boats out today, but no sign of Andy Bell or Judith and that left us begging again. Just enough for a result. But the big improve of the day was Peter Shepherd who went out with David Locke and ran all over the boat doing what was required. Well done Peter, but somehow you'll never fill Rita's shoes. Oh well.
The breeze was comfortably in to begin with and the starters had no hesitation sending us off on a course two with that giant leap of faith (and a chance to pass each other) on the way up to Hallmark. The dash to the line was on and while some thought that the pin end was good, perhaps the box end was better.. but we all had the same object in mind.. hit the line running. Perhaps 2 seconds late, but the fleet hit the line at the same time and really it was all about getting ahead of Lockie and Glen as they were sitting in the hot seat slightly above us and with the same speed.
By Sampson it was clear that they had the running and they had to sort out the rounding between themselves and this is where Wynella came unstuck, having to be fended off by the crew and skipper of Corella. An immediate 360 was requested and by the time they had completed the whizzie, the other three boats were well away. The next task was to catch up to Corella and our only hope was to try and stay in phase on the trip up and catch him on the cross near Hallmark as he had gone into the north bank to try and use the last of the nor wester while we stayed out in the middle. A moot point and he crossed in front of us by perhaps 10 meters. Not bad, but not good either as he tacked in our face and we had to keep the boat up above his disturbed air wake all the way to Armstrong. You can do it, but its the slow way.
Behind us Bill Richards with Craig and Andy Minto had overhauled Wynella and were setting out to square the ledger from last season (or is Glen hell bent on improving his handicap). Wynella has shown us she has the legs in light breezes, but its a worry when she suddenly slips backwards on a light day.
By Armstrong the breeze was already dropping out as we headed off down the breeze to Como and the outer start line and we had Graham up on the boom keeping an eye out for the gusts as they came down the river towards us. Neither faster or slower for most of the down hill, we resorted to using gybes to give us hotter angles. And it worked, we were getting closer to Corella and with only two on board, matching our tactics just wasn't going to happen. They were doing well as it was. And then surprisingly Corella wandered out to the north a little, just enough for us to get our bow inside her transom near the mark (Como). The Flag was up on the start box and it was a dash to the finish and we had the inside running. A nice way to finish the day.
Over the line: Mariner, Corella and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Corella, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
There are signs of life on board Carina as the cover was rolled back during the afternoon.. no sign of Mr Reason but he's around somewhere.
Wednesday Winter Sailing 8th of May 2019
East meets West &
That blasted Safety Boat.
Well it depends on what you want to call it, but when the breeze is out of the east and swivels into the south and then eventually a little hint of a sou-westerly wandered across the course before disappearing back into the sou east again. A course three was on offer with that dig back into King on the table and then a run up to Robins.
But its a little early to tell this tale as yet. Judith had Mark Whimhurst available so Alma came out for a run and had a decent crew aboard. Bill had John P back and we lent him Graham from our crew, as we had Ron back from his overseas sojourn. Having done the share around of crew we went out onto the water to see what the starters had to offer. A course three with a start toward Martin-Weaver. It was going to be a hard slog as we would have to tack two or three times. And getting to the line first was going to be important as there were no passing lanes after Martin and we needed to be quick to the mark.
It was a worry to at least two of the H28's and possibly others, as the alleged safety boat had taken up a spot directly opposite the pin end of the line purportedly to take photos. Commonsense dictates that if 4 tonnes of yacht gets pushed up over the line at the pin end they will want to get around the mark and back to the line as soon as possible. You simply don't want to be in their road. Even more so if two or three boats are going at the line and one boat takes the ones above them up to the line at the pin end. Instant chaos. And it would only be worse if the safety boat was in the road. Perhaps they should take the view that safety was the best policy and they stood back from the line a little. Say 25 meters or so.
The challenge was to see how long you would have to hold the tack into the east bank and fortunately we were able to get into a lifting breeze that took us up and along the bank, so our next tack took us clear of the pack. Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra were in lockstep and it was a matter for them to sort out as we were on our way. Alma and Wynella were lingering a little, but Glen's Wynella appeared to have lost their touch for this race.. Or was it a matter for adjusting his handicap again.
We made Martin and from then on it was a case of follow me. The breeze was on our side and even on the down winds we weren't caught as the breeze would push through before the boats behind us caught up. The day was successful and apart from a mad moment when the skipper aimed at Foam buoy instead of Print Buoy we were reasonably successful. The Jin had her own mad moment when she fell short of Foam on the second leg up to Robins after Print but she should be congratulated to have taken a punt and taken a huge lift across to Foam instead of playing the angles as we did.
By the time we had rounded Robins for the second time, we knew that the race was going to be shortened and looking down to the start box on the way to Print, you could see the on station flag fluttering in the new breeze out of the sou west. Go fast.. make your way through the Royal Perth boats at Como and then tack and tack for the line as the southerly had come back.
Over the line: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Mariner and The First Jindarra.
Lockie's boat is back in the water with a few more scars where Dave had to patch up planks that had split thanks to the time out of the water. but it was a good job and we'll see him sailing shortly. The top has finally been put onto Johns boat and a great job has been done. The fittings need be put in place and possibly once she's ready to go she might get a run to test her out before summer. Patience is the word here and John appears to have plenty.
East meets West &
That blasted Safety Boat.
Well it depends on what you want to call it, but when the breeze is out of the east and swivels into the south and then eventually a little hint of a sou-westerly wandered across the course before disappearing back into the sou east again. A course three was on offer with that dig back into King on the table and then a run up to Robins.
But its a little early to tell this tale as yet. Judith had Mark Whimhurst available so Alma came out for a run and had a decent crew aboard. Bill had John P back and we lent him Graham from our crew, as we had Ron back from his overseas sojourn. Having done the share around of crew we went out onto the water to see what the starters had to offer. A course three with a start toward Martin-Weaver. It was going to be a hard slog as we would have to tack two or three times. And getting to the line first was going to be important as there were no passing lanes after Martin and we needed to be quick to the mark.
It was a worry to at least two of the H28's and possibly others, as the alleged safety boat had taken up a spot directly opposite the pin end of the line purportedly to take photos. Commonsense dictates that if 4 tonnes of yacht gets pushed up over the line at the pin end they will want to get around the mark and back to the line as soon as possible. You simply don't want to be in their road. Even more so if two or three boats are going at the line and one boat takes the ones above them up to the line at the pin end. Instant chaos. And it would only be worse if the safety boat was in the road. Perhaps they should take the view that safety was the best policy and they stood back from the line a little. Say 25 meters or so.
The challenge was to see how long you would have to hold the tack into the east bank and fortunately we were able to get into a lifting breeze that took us up and along the bank, so our next tack took us clear of the pack. Swiftsure Saga and The First Jindarra were in lockstep and it was a matter for them to sort out as we were on our way. Alma and Wynella were lingering a little, but Glen's Wynella appeared to have lost their touch for this race.. Or was it a matter for adjusting his handicap again.
We made Martin and from then on it was a case of follow me. The breeze was on our side and even on the down winds we weren't caught as the breeze would push through before the boats behind us caught up. The day was successful and apart from a mad moment when the skipper aimed at Foam buoy instead of Print Buoy we were reasonably successful. The Jin had her own mad moment when she fell short of Foam on the second leg up to Robins after Print but she should be congratulated to have taken a punt and taken a huge lift across to Foam instead of playing the angles as we did.
By the time we had rounded Robins for the second time, we knew that the race was going to be shortened and looking down to the start box on the way to Print, you could see the on station flag fluttering in the new breeze out of the sou west. Go fast.. make your way through the Royal Perth boats at Como and then tack and tack for the line as the southerly had come back.
Over the line: Mariner, The First Jindarra and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Mariner and The First Jindarra.
Lockie's boat is back in the water with a few more scars where Dave had to patch up planks that had split thanks to the time out of the water. but it was a good job and we'll see him sailing shortly. The top has finally been put onto Johns boat and a great job has been done. The fittings need be put in place and possibly once she's ready to go she might get a run to test her out before summer. Patience is the word here and John appears to have plenty.
Wednesday Winter Sailing The 1st of May 2019
A fresh start at wrecking a handicap &
Bloody Freezing.
We're down to 4 boats at present and Andy Minto (Aloha) and Judith Magee (Alma) were wandering around on Bills boat while JP is getting the attention to his foot. Lockie's boat is still up on the slips as he's taken the rudder off for serious reconstruction and a boat just isn't a boat until you can steer it. But there was some grumbling about the weather this afternoon. It was freezing and the wind was cutting through the light shirts we were so used to wearing for summer. Jumpers and jackets were dug out of bags and the mob shot out onto the water well covered.
The Starters decided on a course two which was going to turn into a follow me course as the day progressed, but the wind was a beast as it dropped in and out through out the day. A sou easter of about 4 to 8 knots.
We got away on the line well slipping past Wynella and The First Jindarra as they battled to get to the pin end and found ourselves then being blown away by Wynella driven by John Mewitt (Glen's main sheet hand). For some reason he had Wynella humming and the boat was just too fast for us. Andy Bell was gassed by the boats in front of him and he dropped out of contention with Bill Richards and his blended crew from 3 other boats doing well to be alongside him. We hardened up to gain height and then tacked to get a line to Weaver where we found ourselves chasing Wynella. The boats behind us were having their own troubles with neither getting the angles right to make Weaver in a hurry. So we were free to chase Wynella.
Down to Sampson and aim for Hallmark with the chance of rolling Wynella on the long drag down the river. And we had to deal with the Royal Perth fleet as well, with very little trouble for once as they were content to wave us through, though it was close for Wynella. Still make our way forward with one or two gybes to keep us awake and follow the Div two boats as they aimed at Hallmark. Then up to Armstrong and then go all the way across for the run up the river to Como. Great to watch Bill and Andrew engaging in a little argy bargy on the way up to Armstrong with both of them slewing all over the river. Someone won, but Andy ended up in front of Bill eventually.
Then eventually we arrived at Como having heard the sound of the start box horn minutes prior to our arrival at Como. We knew it was a run to the finish and just settled into a comfortable groove After all, we didn't want to win by too much and wreck our handicap.
Over the line: Mariner, Wynella and The First Jindarra.
On handicap: Mariner, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga
The work on Anna continues with the cabin top being completed, glassed and eventually the cabin windows will be cut in. John has been able to keep the interior wood work and cabinets, though I guess he would probably give it a good clean up before she hits the race track again.
Oh and Geoff Reason has been seen, he's just keeping a low profile while he got over a dose of the flu. He's looking to get some work locally so he can sail Saturdays, rather than do the FIFO thing. Thanks also to Andy Bell for a couple of photos from the day.
Sacha is up for sail! :-(
Wanted a new person to love her and look after her. She's an H23 Prudence (according to LF Herreshoff) and has been kept in good condition right throughout her stay at the club. If you know someone who is prepared to love her and care for her, she's on Jetty seven, pen 26 and Gina Pickering owns her. This link will get you through to see her.
https://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/herreshoff-prudence-23/231152
A fresh start at wrecking a handicap &
Bloody Freezing.
We're down to 4 boats at present and Andy Minto (Aloha) and Judith Magee (Alma) were wandering around on Bills boat while JP is getting the attention to his foot. Lockie's boat is still up on the slips as he's taken the rudder off for serious reconstruction and a boat just isn't a boat until you can steer it. But there was some grumbling about the weather this afternoon. It was freezing and the wind was cutting through the light shirts we were so used to wearing for summer. Jumpers and jackets were dug out of bags and the mob shot out onto the water well covered.
The Starters decided on a course two which was going to turn into a follow me course as the day progressed, but the wind was a beast as it dropped in and out through out the day. A sou easter of about 4 to 8 knots.
We got away on the line well slipping past Wynella and The First Jindarra as they battled to get to the pin end and found ourselves then being blown away by Wynella driven by John Mewitt (Glen's main sheet hand). For some reason he had Wynella humming and the boat was just too fast for us. Andy Bell was gassed by the boats in front of him and he dropped out of contention with Bill Richards and his blended crew from 3 other boats doing well to be alongside him. We hardened up to gain height and then tacked to get a line to Weaver where we found ourselves chasing Wynella. The boats behind us were having their own troubles with neither getting the angles right to make Weaver in a hurry. So we were free to chase Wynella.
Down to Sampson and aim for Hallmark with the chance of rolling Wynella on the long drag down the river. And we had to deal with the Royal Perth fleet as well, with very little trouble for once as they were content to wave us through, though it was close for Wynella. Still make our way forward with one or two gybes to keep us awake and follow the Div two boats as they aimed at Hallmark. Then up to Armstrong and then go all the way across for the run up the river to Como. Great to watch Bill and Andrew engaging in a little argy bargy on the way up to Armstrong with both of them slewing all over the river. Someone won, but Andy ended up in front of Bill eventually.
Then eventually we arrived at Como having heard the sound of the start box horn minutes prior to our arrival at Como. We knew it was a run to the finish and just settled into a comfortable groove After all, we didn't want to win by too much and wreck our handicap.
Over the line: Mariner, Wynella and The First Jindarra.
On handicap: Mariner, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga
The work on Anna continues with the cabin top being completed, glassed and eventually the cabin windows will be cut in. John has been able to keep the interior wood work and cabinets, though I guess he would probably give it a good clean up before she hits the race track again.
Oh and Geoff Reason has been seen, he's just keeping a low profile while he got over a dose of the flu. He's looking to get some work locally so he can sail Saturdays, rather than do the FIFO thing. Thanks also to Andy Bell for a couple of photos from the day.
Sacha is up for sail! :-(
Wanted a new person to love her and look after her. She's an H23 Prudence (according to LF Herreshoff) and has been kept in good condition right throughout her stay at the club. If you know someone who is prepared to love her and care for her, she's on Jetty seven, pen 26 and Gina Pickering owns her. This link will get you through to see her.
https://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-for-sale/used/sailing-boats/herreshoff-prudence-23/231152
Saturday Summer Sailing 27th of April 2019
Closing Day Capers or
A race of inches.
Setting off on a pursuit race on a dying nor easterly, it was going to pay off to be one of the early birds. And wisely Karoleeya, helmed by Steve Hall had got his fall number down to 14. Not that he was first, there were a bunch of slower and smaller boats in front, but he was the first of the H28s by 4 minutes. Then Wynella and Nerrima with Swiftsure Saga after them and The First Jindarra 2 minutes behind us.
We got to Sampson on what might have been described as the last gasp and once around the mark we set off to follow the breeze, or what there was of it. Andy Bell had done well on a flicker of an Easterly and had turned at the mark well inside the 2 minutes separation, but he too was looking for a puff, a zephyr, a whisper of breeze.. well anything that would drive him on his way down to Brickies A. We all had the same problem, it was how we dealt with it that differed.
We chose to stay out in the middle, following the gusts that were coming through. Andy Bell followed us for a while and then decided to go over to the southern side of the river where Nerrima and Wynella were. There was a developing line of pressure there and he wanted to be in it. We wanted it too, but to get there meant sailing through a soft patch. Nope, stay where we were! And the pressure was there, very light, but enough to keep us moving. The tide had peaked on our way to Sampson and we were possibly in the general flow down the river. What ever it was we were going toward Brickies. They surged, we surged, they picked up a hundred metres we gently clawed it back. And then added a bit for ourselves.
Passing Applecross we looked back to see the river littered with dishrag spinnakers and boats going no where. Only the sight of an enterprising " Don't Panic " with an asymmetric on, busily crisscrossing the fleet showed any action, but even then, they were in slow-mo.! A little puff an few minutes later had Farrago seize a chance and they came storming down the course at a heady three knots. Absolutely steaming they were. Nothing lasts for ever though and they too fell into slumber again.
The course was shortened by the starters and shortly afterwards the sight of Coffee Pointers making her way down to the river gave us hope that they were going to set up a line at Brickies. Now all we had to do was get there. Karoleeya was still ahead of us; though not going anywhere. Wynella, The Jin and Nerrima were swapping places over in Lucky Bay and hoping for a miracle as we all were. But we were still moving.. slack sails or whatever and possibly there was some movement in the air, we still were approaching the now set up finish line and had edged past Karoleeya.
A brief smell of sea air had us set for a port board and a dash to the line, but all it did was get a block of flats (Farrago) moving and they took our breeze from us and stifled the breeze for the SS27 beside us. But we had achieved our objective, we were moving again and the line was in sight. Slowly, oh so slowly we made it to the line and received the horn as the first H28 over the line. "Nice one" said Bill and we set off for home with a set of batteries that were dying as we passed Karoleeya and Mingara still on their way to the line. A hail to Natalouka gave us a lift home on the end of a tow rope and before long we were parked up in the pen and the thought of a bevvy and a bowl of chips in our minds.
Despite the comments I heard around the fleet, the starters did what they had to do.. they gave us a race and results.. contrived of course, but something the flags could announce. The last couple of "Closing Days" have spoilt us, but it won't be long before Lockie is back on the water and a little later we'll have John Wright back as well. All we need is crew now and a couple of spare skippers as well to keep the boats moving.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya, Wynella and dead heated Nerrima and The First Jindarra
But it was a lottery today, anyone could have won it. Or was it?
Two cameras were used and there may be discontinuity in the flow of images.
Closing Day Capers or
A race of inches.
Setting off on a pursuit race on a dying nor easterly, it was going to pay off to be one of the early birds. And wisely Karoleeya, helmed by Steve Hall had got his fall number down to 14. Not that he was first, there were a bunch of slower and smaller boats in front, but he was the first of the H28s by 4 minutes. Then Wynella and Nerrima with Swiftsure Saga after them and The First Jindarra 2 minutes behind us.
We got to Sampson on what might have been described as the last gasp and once around the mark we set off to follow the breeze, or what there was of it. Andy Bell had done well on a flicker of an Easterly and had turned at the mark well inside the 2 minutes separation, but he too was looking for a puff, a zephyr, a whisper of breeze.. well anything that would drive him on his way down to Brickies A. We all had the same problem, it was how we dealt with it that differed.
We chose to stay out in the middle, following the gusts that were coming through. Andy Bell followed us for a while and then decided to go over to the southern side of the river where Nerrima and Wynella were. There was a developing line of pressure there and he wanted to be in it. We wanted it too, but to get there meant sailing through a soft patch. Nope, stay where we were! And the pressure was there, very light, but enough to keep us moving. The tide had peaked on our way to Sampson and we were possibly in the general flow down the river. What ever it was we were going toward Brickies. They surged, we surged, they picked up a hundred metres we gently clawed it back. And then added a bit for ourselves.
Passing Applecross we looked back to see the river littered with dishrag spinnakers and boats going no where. Only the sight of an enterprising " Don't Panic " with an asymmetric on, busily crisscrossing the fleet showed any action, but even then, they were in slow-mo.! A little puff an few minutes later had Farrago seize a chance and they came storming down the course at a heady three knots. Absolutely steaming they were. Nothing lasts for ever though and they too fell into slumber again.
The course was shortened by the starters and shortly afterwards the sight of Coffee Pointers making her way down to the river gave us hope that they were going to set up a line at Brickies. Now all we had to do was get there. Karoleeya was still ahead of us; though not going anywhere. Wynella, The Jin and Nerrima were swapping places over in Lucky Bay and hoping for a miracle as we all were. But we were still moving.. slack sails or whatever and possibly there was some movement in the air, we still were approaching the now set up finish line and had edged past Karoleeya.
A brief smell of sea air had us set for a port board and a dash to the line, but all it did was get a block of flats (Farrago) moving and they took our breeze from us and stifled the breeze for the SS27 beside us. But we had achieved our objective, we were moving again and the line was in sight. Slowly, oh so slowly we made it to the line and received the horn as the first H28 over the line. "Nice one" said Bill and we set off for home with a set of batteries that were dying as we passed Karoleeya and Mingara still on their way to the line. A hail to Natalouka gave us a lift home on the end of a tow rope and before long we were parked up in the pen and the thought of a bevvy and a bowl of chips in our minds.
Despite the comments I heard around the fleet, the starters did what they had to do.. they gave us a race and results.. contrived of course, but something the flags could announce. The last couple of "Closing Days" have spoilt us, but it won't be long before Lockie is back on the water and a little later we'll have John Wright back as well. All we need is crew now and a couple of spare skippers as well to keep the boats moving.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Karoleeya, Wynella and dead heated Nerrima and The First Jindarra
But it was a lottery today, anyone could have won it. Or was it?
Two cameras were used and there may be discontinuity in the flow of images.
Autumn Wednesday Sailing. The 24th of April 2019
Swab the skipper! Wynella nearly did it again.
& Mariner takes the summer Wednesday series.
I'm pretty sure that Glen doesn't mind soft days as that boat of his is getting progressively quicker, or he's developing more cunning. Either will do. For once the start team sent us up the Canning on a course two to do a Martin-Weaver and on a fluctuating Easterly that had a bit of north at times, it was a recipe for disaster if you didn't get it right.
Four boats were in contest while Lockie's boat Corella has her bottom finished, but we were delighted with the turn up of crew and each boat took off with at least four and Bill was seen chasing Mariner to transfer Rita over to Brian's boat at the last minute. Well he had six at that stage!
So with Irish guests on at least two boats and stacks of people, we could have easily taken another boat out. What a pity we hadn't given it more thought. Alma would have been the obvious choice.
We had a good start and our approach to Martin was fine, but the skipper tacked across a little early and we found ourselves watching the other three climbing up the easterly to get a starboard tack into Weaver. Even then I think Bill didn't make it and, but as usual we were tail end Charlie and working the sails to catch them up. Deciding wisely not to go too close to the scout hall on the eastern bank, we ducked around the port side of Wynellas transom and essentially sailed past them. This gave us the ability to tackle Bill and Swiftsure Saga with a chance to get to second place by Sampson. Which we duly did. Then the down wind slog to Hallmark commenced.
A little gust here, a little gust there and the new sails and the longer pole were working in our favour. Peter Shepperd was trimming for us with Rita up forward or trimming as required and our august Irish guest John Mc Inerny making himself available where necessary. We caught up to The First Jindarra and Andrew waited patiently to see what would happen. Sure enough down comes Bill on Swiftsure Saga and causes grief to us both. Oh well, but the pressure changed and we managed to get away once we had pointed the boat at Hallmark and then made ready to go for Armstrong following The Jin.
The question at Armstrong was; do we go after one hundred yards? Do we go after 400 yards or do we bite the bullet and go all the way across? We elected to keep a cover on The Jin and Bill elected to go early, but both Brian and Andrew only went another couple of hundred yards before tacking. Glen continued into the south east. He was looking to be closer to the breeze and to pick up that hook up the river that you can get. I've seen John Wright do it and have been on board when he did it. But the skipper had chosen his race line and Glen was left all alone.
Coming down on Como, we looked across and by this time Swiftsure Saga had gone across to join Wynella and was faring well. We were making our way across to Como from the northern side and looking up it was going to be a close thing. Then Wynella and Swiftsure Saga hit a savage knock. It stopped SSS cold and Wynella fell into us. In fact it was so close we had to dip Wynella and then immediately tacked to aim at Como. As we hit the mark, we had all the rights and could have taken Wynella to the freeway if we'd so desired. But our aim was to get to the finish line because we could see the flags flying.. shortened courses for all. So straighten up and fly right with our bow tickling The Jins transom. But Glen wasn't slacking, he was doing his level best and was only thirty seconds behind. Bill on Swiftsure had a bit of a problem recovering and took another three minutes to make it over the line, but it was exciting sailing for a slow day.
Of note; Bill left his flag on the backstays. Yes we have the photo!
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Wynella
On handicap: Wynella, Mariner and The First Jindarra.
It was a bit of a relief for Brian Cross today as finally he managed to get a seasons win under his belt. Its been a long time and now he can look forward to aiming for another over the next few seasons.
Down at the club today: bumped into John Wright and Ian Weaver as they worked on the new top for Anna and it looks like a top notch job. Solid and tidy and a replica of what was there. John mentioned that he'll be keeping the original hatch as its still in good shape and some of the internals are remaining as well. However it will be a chance for him to reduce the accumulated detritus of the years. Johns not in a hurry, he reckons that next season will be good enough and that will let him get the boat finished off properly as once the cabin is topped off, she'll be glassed, painted and then the bits and pieces can be put back together with the mast as the crowning achievement.
And Bill launched his new boat today. No it didn't sink, but there was a gentle weep from the port side somewhere. And Bill is about to learn what a kill switch looks like (once he finds it ). More to come including pix as well.
Autumn Wednesday Sailing. The 17th of April 2019 .
Wonderful Wynella or is that Glorious Glen.
Glen had a bonzer day and found a run up the bay that put him so far in front that no one could catch him. But lets tell the story about how we got there.
It was a day wherein the breeze had dropped out and the starters threw up an AP and left us sitting on our fingers for 25 minutes until something came in. Eventually the breeze filled in enough for the starters to get the fleets going on a course four in a very light westerly and the starters fired us off one after the other.
Mariner found themselves chasing the other three boats and were lucky enough to get through Wynella and Swiftsure Saga when they got foul wind from other boats above them. (Slow fleet two boats) However we were close on The First Jindarra's tail and were sticking rather well. Around Sampson we went and kept going out to the North while following the Jin and I watched as Wynella and Swiftsure tacked off to go into the channel markers and thence up the breeze.
Eventually we tacked away and watched as we knocked and lifted our way into Heathcote. In the process we passed the visiting Batavia longboat and thanks to Craig Balmer we have some close ups. He had jumped on board with Bill Richards and the pair of them were taking their time, not in a hurry on a soft day. But Glen had gone in close and then tacked off ready to make his move into the bay. We'd stayed out on the theory that the west sou westerly would be to our advantage. And we were quite happy with it as was Andy Bell, out there with us.
And Glen found his groove, sailing smoothly he simply soared up the bay and had a great angle to come out on and then tacked back on a blinder that had him lifting above the rest of us and across to Robins. We rolled around the mark a few minutes later and then found ourselves in a merry tangle when we attempted to fit in between a SS22 and The Jin at Dolphin East. Bugger! A 360 was the result and a disgruntled skipper settled down to make the best of it. In front of us Wynella had all the free air on the river and away they went and the last we saw of them was as they ducked the Royal Perth Fleet as they rounded Como as well.
We were lucky and found ourselves able to get around Como without too much disturbance, but we watched with a certain amount of illicit pleasure as a RP boat "Wasabi" went too far into the area bounded by the channel markers and planted herself firmly on the mud. The horn sounded as Glen skated over the line, well ahead of The Jin and ourselves and Bill. Yes another short course, but we were happy to get around on what looked like being a total disaster of a day. But well sailed to Glen and he was happy to carry the port around on a first and fastest day. Well done to the crew as well, because you can't have a win without them.
Over the line: Wynella, The First Jindarra and Mariner.
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Mariner.
To the recent Retro racing and all three H28s or variants thereof did well on handicap with Steve and Karoleeya taking a good fourth to Jim Spittles Napea of Carrick coming in first in Div two. But the prize was Gina and her Sacha ( H23 ) picking up a 1st in Div. three. Well sailed all three boats.
The First Jindarra had to be sailed out of the pen today. Sad story as the motor refused to kick in. Oh well, we hope that the lad in Albany knows how to fix it. The betting amongst the cognisi is that it's a blocked air filter, but who knows? Lockie is up on the slips, he's got to spline the hull over the weekend and Brian has offered to help.
Roghan Anderson ( Tehana ) is moving back to Melbourne and this wonderful H28 is up for grabs. He's made it known that he'd prefer it stayed in the community on the river, so this is a chance to get a well cared for craft. Go and see it at Freshie.
It takes all sorts. Judith's boat Alma is getting a new cover and the young lad came down to collect the cover to make a pattern off it. But hang on.. big storms and foul weather this weekend. And the cabin was left wide open. So a large plastic cover was taped over the cabin entrance and Lockie has mentioned that he will keep an eye on it on Friday.
Wonderful Wynella or is that Glorious Glen.
Glen had a bonzer day and found a run up the bay that put him so far in front that no one could catch him. But lets tell the story about how we got there.
It was a day wherein the breeze had dropped out and the starters threw up an AP and left us sitting on our fingers for 25 minutes until something came in. Eventually the breeze filled in enough for the starters to get the fleets going on a course four in a very light westerly and the starters fired us off one after the other.
Mariner found themselves chasing the other three boats and were lucky enough to get through Wynella and Swiftsure Saga when they got foul wind from other boats above them. (Slow fleet two boats) However we were close on The First Jindarra's tail and were sticking rather well. Around Sampson we went and kept going out to the North while following the Jin and I watched as Wynella and Swiftsure tacked off to go into the channel markers and thence up the breeze.
Eventually we tacked away and watched as we knocked and lifted our way into Heathcote. In the process we passed the visiting Batavia longboat and thanks to Craig Balmer we have some close ups. He had jumped on board with Bill Richards and the pair of them were taking their time, not in a hurry on a soft day. But Glen had gone in close and then tacked off ready to make his move into the bay. We'd stayed out on the theory that the west sou westerly would be to our advantage. And we were quite happy with it as was Andy Bell, out there with us.
And Glen found his groove, sailing smoothly he simply soared up the bay and had a great angle to come out on and then tacked back on a blinder that had him lifting above the rest of us and across to Robins. We rolled around the mark a few minutes later and then found ourselves in a merry tangle when we attempted to fit in between a SS22 and The Jin at Dolphin East. Bugger! A 360 was the result and a disgruntled skipper settled down to make the best of it. In front of us Wynella had all the free air on the river and away they went and the last we saw of them was as they ducked the Royal Perth Fleet as they rounded Como as well.
We were lucky and found ourselves able to get around Como without too much disturbance, but we watched with a certain amount of illicit pleasure as a RP boat "Wasabi" went too far into the area bounded by the channel markers and planted herself firmly on the mud. The horn sounded as Glen skated over the line, well ahead of The Jin and ourselves and Bill. Yes another short course, but we were happy to get around on what looked like being a total disaster of a day. But well sailed to Glen and he was happy to carry the port around on a first and fastest day. Well done to the crew as well, because you can't have a win without them.
Over the line: Wynella, The First Jindarra and Mariner.
On handicap: Wynella, Swiftsure Saga and Mariner.
To the recent Retro racing and all three H28s or variants thereof did well on handicap with Steve and Karoleeya taking a good fourth to Jim Spittles Napea of Carrick coming in first in Div two. But the prize was Gina and her Sacha ( H23 ) picking up a 1st in Div. three. Well sailed all three boats.
The First Jindarra had to be sailed out of the pen today. Sad story as the motor refused to kick in. Oh well, we hope that the lad in Albany knows how to fix it. The betting amongst the cognisi is that it's a blocked air filter, but who knows? Lockie is up on the slips, he's got to spline the hull over the weekend and Brian has offered to help.
Roghan Anderson ( Tehana ) is moving back to Melbourne and this wonderful H28 is up for grabs. He's made it known that he'd prefer it stayed in the community on the river, so this is a chance to get a well cared for craft. Go and see it at Freshie.
It takes all sorts. Judith's boat Alma is getting a new cover and the young lad came down to collect the cover to make a pattern off it. But hang on.. big storms and foul weather this weekend. And the cabin was left wide open. So a large plastic cover was taped over the cabin entrance and Lockie has mentioned that he will keep an eye on it on Friday.
Autumn Saturday Sailing the 13th of April 2019 & the last day of the consistency series for summer.
Once there were Wooden Warriors.
Yep, you guessed it, four boats went out to contest the last day of the Consistency series with two of them battling for the title and the other two going along for the ride.
Long gone are the fleets that battled on the water with no less than 15 to 20 boats every Saturday and 15 years ago when I started sailing with the H28's there were at least 8 to 10 boats every Saturday and the racing was hard and fast. The names like Williams, Court, Sneezby, Jones, Colhoughn, Midolo, Lammonby, Bourne, Fury, Little, Coddington, Newnham, Cooper, Klopper, Billings, Solomon, Weaver, Hudson, Youngs, Goss, Frean, Drysdale and so on and so on. I've not included the current owners, but they know who they are. Some have sailed for decades and their contribution has been immense as were the contributions of those in the past. To see the fleet at this stage is devastating and it makes me feel ill to see such a noble class of boat being in the main, neglected and ignored. Sure I know the arguments pro and con but it hurts.
Four boats made their way out onto the water.
The chance to win was there for Les Brooker ( Nerrima ) or Glen Stanley ( Wynella ) and Corella and Swiftsure Saga were along to provide entertainment. Glen did a noble thing and gave us one of his crew as we were left with only the two of us with John P in hospital. Lockie set off with four and had a pretty slick bunch of operators on board, as had Les and Nerrima.
The breeze was forecast to offer a slow day out of the nor west at about 5 to 10 knots. What we had was 15 to 18 and building. The Y flag was put up and PFD's were issued to all. A course three was on offer and it was going to be interesting. We took off with a # two we'd hardly used before and rapidly worked out why it had rarely been used. It was a very twitchy sail and trying to balance the boat on the foresail was working the helm hard. No height and it was not quick off the breeze. But we took off after Lockie and for the first part of the race we were in the hunt managing to get in front of Nerrima and Wynella knowing that we would be swallowed up on the down winds as we were not rigged for a kite.
Eventually we found Bartlett, having tacked in a little early but as we had towed the other two in behind us, no problem. Lockie had gone out again and then tacked into the mark with the idea that he would round and put up a spinnaker on the spot. That reminded me to tell the helm that we did have to leave the mark to starboard. "Starboard, I thought it was a port rounding?" he said. Oh well it was going to be a slow rounding. And then away to Dolphin East and then to Thelma with Nerrima running us down and having a torrid time doing so. Glen held his own and stayed kite less, but just as quick as us thanks to the smaller sail we had up.
Our second run was up to Deepwater and while they all went out to the middle, we chose to dip into the bay around the Applecross Jetty and then take a bending breeze out along to the Spit post. And then further as we went for a ley line to Deepwater. We were doing all right and hadn't lost anything as we rounded the top mark, just behind Nerrima and a handy gap between us and Wynella. Across to Bartlett again and then make our way down to Addison, the longest run for the day. We had various fleets go whizzing past us and even the kite boarders were running risks with the tops of our masts, but I noticed a SS22 that had had a meeting with one of the channel markers (too far away for a clean shot) and then had the pleasure of watching Farrago going past under a stressful spinnaker. We later heard the radio chatter that had her trawling for prawns down near the freeway. We think we found the missing SoPYC mark Frenchman's (see the pix) and then set off for the last triangle.
Off to Dolphin East and in a steady file we made our way around to Addison and Thelma and off home. It was a soldiers course and we were suffering under the smaller sail now that the wind had begun to drop, but stay ahead of Wynella we did and watched as both Lockie and Les hit the line. Then it was our turn and we had Wynella on our tail as well.
Over the line; Corella, Nerrima and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Wynella, Nerrima and Corella.
However the seasons Consistency goes to Les Brookers Nerrima with a strong challenge from Glen Stanley's Wynella. Les had to finish fourth to lose and with his second place he snaffled second place on handicap and took the season with one point to spare. If it had been a draw and equal points Glen would have taken the season by reason of his superior handicap win ratio. 5 wins to 3 wins.
Now, rumour has it that Geoff Reason (Carina) has been suffering with the flu and hasn't popped his head out of his house for a few weeks. Get better Geoff, we're missing you already. John Dennis, who has helmed Alma for Judith when Mark has been away is currently heading north in his new boat. Good luck John and fair winds. John Pierzak (Swift sure Saga) had a successful op and is to have something else worked on next week, taking him out for at least another three weeks so anyone who wants a yot can report to Bill on Swiftsure Saga every Wednesday as his other Wednesday sailor (Graeme) begins his winter bowls season shortly.
See you next week.
Once there were Wooden Warriors.
Yep, you guessed it, four boats went out to contest the last day of the Consistency series with two of them battling for the title and the other two going along for the ride.
Long gone are the fleets that battled on the water with no less than 15 to 20 boats every Saturday and 15 years ago when I started sailing with the H28's there were at least 8 to 10 boats every Saturday and the racing was hard and fast. The names like Williams, Court, Sneezby, Jones, Colhoughn, Midolo, Lammonby, Bourne, Fury, Little, Coddington, Newnham, Cooper, Klopper, Billings, Solomon, Weaver, Hudson, Youngs, Goss, Frean, Drysdale and so on and so on. I've not included the current owners, but they know who they are. Some have sailed for decades and their contribution has been immense as were the contributions of those in the past. To see the fleet at this stage is devastating and it makes me feel ill to see such a noble class of boat being in the main, neglected and ignored. Sure I know the arguments pro and con but it hurts.
Four boats made their way out onto the water.
The chance to win was there for Les Brooker ( Nerrima ) or Glen Stanley ( Wynella ) and Corella and Swiftsure Saga were along to provide entertainment. Glen did a noble thing and gave us one of his crew as we were left with only the two of us with John P in hospital. Lockie set off with four and had a pretty slick bunch of operators on board, as had Les and Nerrima.
The breeze was forecast to offer a slow day out of the nor west at about 5 to 10 knots. What we had was 15 to 18 and building. The Y flag was put up and PFD's were issued to all. A course three was on offer and it was going to be interesting. We took off with a # two we'd hardly used before and rapidly worked out why it had rarely been used. It was a very twitchy sail and trying to balance the boat on the foresail was working the helm hard. No height and it was not quick off the breeze. But we took off after Lockie and for the first part of the race we were in the hunt managing to get in front of Nerrima and Wynella knowing that we would be swallowed up on the down winds as we were not rigged for a kite.
Eventually we found Bartlett, having tacked in a little early but as we had towed the other two in behind us, no problem. Lockie had gone out again and then tacked into the mark with the idea that he would round and put up a spinnaker on the spot. That reminded me to tell the helm that we did have to leave the mark to starboard. "Starboard, I thought it was a port rounding?" he said. Oh well it was going to be a slow rounding. And then away to Dolphin East and then to Thelma with Nerrima running us down and having a torrid time doing so. Glen held his own and stayed kite less, but just as quick as us thanks to the smaller sail we had up.
Our second run was up to Deepwater and while they all went out to the middle, we chose to dip into the bay around the Applecross Jetty and then take a bending breeze out along to the Spit post. And then further as we went for a ley line to Deepwater. We were doing all right and hadn't lost anything as we rounded the top mark, just behind Nerrima and a handy gap between us and Wynella. Across to Bartlett again and then make our way down to Addison, the longest run for the day. We had various fleets go whizzing past us and even the kite boarders were running risks with the tops of our masts, but I noticed a SS22 that had had a meeting with one of the channel markers (too far away for a clean shot) and then had the pleasure of watching Farrago going past under a stressful spinnaker. We later heard the radio chatter that had her trawling for prawns down near the freeway. We think we found the missing SoPYC mark Frenchman's (see the pix) and then set off for the last triangle.
Off to Dolphin East and in a steady file we made our way around to Addison and Thelma and off home. It was a soldiers course and we were suffering under the smaller sail now that the wind had begun to drop, but stay ahead of Wynella we did and watched as both Lockie and Les hit the line. Then it was our turn and we had Wynella on our tail as well.
Over the line; Corella, Nerrima and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Wynella, Nerrima and Corella.
However the seasons Consistency goes to Les Brookers Nerrima with a strong challenge from Glen Stanley's Wynella. Les had to finish fourth to lose and with his second place he snaffled second place on handicap and took the season with one point to spare. If it had been a draw and equal points Glen would have taken the season by reason of his superior handicap win ratio. 5 wins to 3 wins.
Now, rumour has it that Geoff Reason (Carina) has been suffering with the flu and hasn't popped his head out of his house for a few weeks. Get better Geoff, we're missing you already. John Dennis, who has helmed Alma for Judith when Mark has been away is currently heading north in his new boat. Good luck John and fair winds. John Pierzak (Swift sure Saga) had a successful op and is to have something else worked on next week, taking him out for at least another three weeks so anyone who wants a yot can report to Bill on Swiftsure Saga every Wednesday as his other Wednesday sailor (Graeme) begins his winter bowls season shortly.
See you next week.
Autumn Wednesday Sailing the 10th of April 2019
Smokin! &
Back in front.
A new RO graced the river today. Lynne Newton was given the task as apparently the incumbents (John Rooke and Jeff Sneezby) are going on holidays shortly. Fair enough. It was a course four as expected and a wandering westerly had filled in the water sufficiently to give us the impetus to go sailing. Nothing more than about 10 to 12 knots but enough to test our skills.
"Smokin". Well Andy Bell is going to have to do something about the motor on his boat The First Jindarra. She's been making funny noises recently and getting harder to start and today she blew a cup of oil onto the water and belched black smoke as she made her way onto the water. Sounds expensive. Oh well, summer sailing will come to a close shortly and if he's nice to those around him, we can tow him out on Wednesdays. Les Swinton deserted Andy by the way and sailed with Lockie for the afternoon. Did a fine job too with Rita on the main.
A good start had Mariner dashing to the front and we stayed there across to Sampson on a breeze that had us working every inch of the way. A broad reach and enough wind to matter if it flicked forwards or back. The turn at Sampson was effective and The First Jindarra tacked off on a run across to the channel. We went a little further and watched as the others flicked off as well. Then it was our turn with Swiftsure Saga following on our line as well a few seconds later.
Mariner took the cross successfully and then laid over to make our way up the breeze towards the top mark Robins with neither of us making the mark successfully at the first try. In retrospect we should have sat on The Jin when we had him on port and then kept going until we had a ley line. However it didn't happen and Andrew was successful on the second try and made Robins a few meters ahead. Good racing none the less. Corella wasn't too far behind either and the similarly marked sails of Swiftsure Saga and Wynella complemented each other as they tussled on the water for fourth and fifth place.
Away to Dolphin East and as close to the Jins transom as we could be. Pre set for the gybe, we hit the corner with the pole in place and travelling well. Immediately Andrew began to take us up, so we refused his ploy and began to run him down to port. Got level with him as well and had we had a longer run, then the results may have differed. But Como loomed and around we went, aiming for the outer start line. The usual knock had us thankful of pinching a bit to stay up above the Jin and the turn around the outer start line mark was only a second or two behind Andy Bell. Come to think of it.. Corella wasn't too far behind as well.
Then away from Sampson to the new course change mark of King with our skipper looking at Anderson, not King. Whew.. straightened that one out in a hurry and we began to make our way up to the mark and then across to Print on starboard. For some reason Corella had been dropping down and they lost a bit of time on the leg, but we were above The Jin and pushing along nicely. All of a sudden, an overwind and we were in a little trouble. We used the normal get out of jail technique and only made it worse. We took the port side sheet around to the starboard side and roved it through the same block and then to the cabin top winch. Out came the knife and the sheet was cut at the clew. We were able to hoist a port pole and then considered what to do next. Only losing a little speed, we brought the pole and sail in, tied a fresh bowline and then brought the sheet back through the port blocks. (well alright, it wasn't a bowline but it held)
Over all we'd lost perhaps 15 meters to The First Jindarra and Corella had caught up about the same amount. Could have been a lot worse. Once that was sorted, the boat settled in for the dash to Thelma and then a run almost on the breeze to the finish line. A successful afternoon having given our competitors a hard time and tested the sails out thoroughly.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
On handicap: Corella, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga { Corella was one second ahead on handicap of Wynella)
Work on John Wright's Anna progresses with the cabin sides being put on and the roof being finished at Ian Weavers workshop at home. John was down for a few minutes on the day and let me know that he's feeling fine at the moment, but is to undergo 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy, so keep him in mind folks.
John Pierzak is having a chunk cut out his leg and will not be sailing for a while, so there's a spare spot for a willing sailor until Johns fit and ready to go again. Just speak to Bill Richards of Swiftsure Saga.
Smokin! &
Back in front.
A new RO graced the river today. Lynne Newton was given the task as apparently the incumbents (John Rooke and Jeff Sneezby) are going on holidays shortly. Fair enough. It was a course four as expected and a wandering westerly had filled in the water sufficiently to give us the impetus to go sailing. Nothing more than about 10 to 12 knots but enough to test our skills.
"Smokin". Well Andy Bell is going to have to do something about the motor on his boat The First Jindarra. She's been making funny noises recently and getting harder to start and today she blew a cup of oil onto the water and belched black smoke as she made her way onto the water. Sounds expensive. Oh well, summer sailing will come to a close shortly and if he's nice to those around him, we can tow him out on Wednesdays. Les Swinton deserted Andy by the way and sailed with Lockie for the afternoon. Did a fine job too with Rita on the main.
A good start had Mariner dashing to the front and we stayed there across to Sampson on a breeze that had us working every inch of the way. A broad reach and enough wind to matter if it flicked forwards or back. The turn at Sampson was effective and The First Jindarra tacked off on a run across to the channel. We went a little further and watched as the others flicked off as well. Then it was our turn with Swiftsure Saga following on our line as well a few seconds later.
Mariner took the cross successfully and then laid over to make our way up the breeze towards the top mark Robins with neither of us making the mark successfully at the first try. In retrospect we should have sat on The Jin when we had him on port and then kept going until we had a ley line. However it didn't happen and Andrew was successful on the second try and made Robins a few meters ahead. Good racing none the less. Corella wasn't too far behind either and the similarly marked sails of Swiftsure Saga and Wynella complemented each other as they tussled on the water for fourth and fifth place.
Away to Dolphin East and as close to the Jins transom as we could be. Pre set for the gybe, we hit the corner with the pole in place and travelling well. Immediately Andrew began to take us up, so we refused his ploy and began to run him down to port. Got level with him as well and had we had a longer run, then the results may have differed. But Como loomed and around we went, aiming for the outer start line. The usual knock had us thankful of pinching a bit to stay up above the Jin and the turn around the outer start line mark was only a second or two behind Andy Bell. Come to think of it.. Corella wasn't too far behind as well.
Then away from Sampson to the new course change mark of King with our skipper looking at Anderson, not King. Whew.. straightened that one out in a hurry and we began to make our way up to the mark and then across to Print on starboard. For some reason Corella had been dropping down and they lost a bit of time on the leg, but we were above The Jin and pushing along nicely. All of a sudden, an overwind and we were in a little trouble. We used the normal get out of jail technique and only made it worse. We took the port side sheet around to the starboard side and roved it through the same block and then to the cabin top winch. Out came the knife and the sheet was cut at the clew. We were able to hoist a port pole and then considered what to do next. Only losing a little speed, we brought the pole and sail in, tied a fresh bowline and then brought the sheet back through the port blocks. (well alright, it wasn't a bowline but it held)
Over all we'd lost perhaps 15 meters to The First Jindarra and Corella had caught up about the same amount. Could have been a lot worse. Once that was sorted, the boat settled in for the dash to Thelma and then a run almost on the breeze to the finish line. A successful afternoon having given our competitors a hard time and tested the sails out thoroughly.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
On handicap: Corella, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga { Corella was one second ahead on handicap of Wynella)
Work on John Wright's Anna progresses with the cabin sides being put on and the roof being finished at Ian Weavers workshop at home. John was down for a few minutes on the day and let me know that he's feeling fine at the moment, but is to undergo 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy, so keep him in mind folks.
John Pierzak is having a chunk cut out his leg and will not be sailing for a while, so there's a spare spot for a willing sailor until Johns fit and ready to go again. Just speak to Bill Richards of Swiftsure Saga.
Autumn Saturday Sailing the 6th of April 2019
Three boats on the river &
Peter takes the main.
A seabreeze arrived on Saturday and while it was moderate, the starters said righty oh you lot, off on a course one. Well, a quick decision amongst the skippers had us sailing a course four as we were Jib and Main for the day and it was a non consistency day after all. The breeze started around 10 to 15 knots and built to a respectable 15 to 18 knots. This had us sailing slowly to begin with but more later. Glen had Peter ( from John W's boat ) and John Nolan (Nova), there were we three on Bills boat and the Aloha mob who played phone a friend and had four on the boat. Going quickly too.
Having had to go back to tell Aloha what was happening we were behind the start and Glen took every advantage to get away with a new main hand ( Peter ) and John doing jib. Sailing well too and much to our chagrin Aloha rolled us on the first cross. Bill is a little worried as the boat seems to need a bit of a breeze to perform. Shouldn't have to, but the new sails seem to have slowed him down in light breezes.
It took us the entire work up to Deepwater to get past Aloha and we were still chasing Wynella who was doing very well. But the breeze was still building and we began to pick up speed with the breeze getting past 15 knots. In the meantime I was having fun with various boats whizzing past us on the way up the top marks and on the way down as well and we managed to see a Royal Perth boat out of control. Hooray!
Across to Hallmark, up to Armstrong and then down to Print getting past Wynella on the way, back up to Deepwater then away to Addison via Dolphin East and repeat it for good measure to ensure we were well away from the other two. On the way around we saw Gina and her yacht Sacha out for the day and both she and her boat made for a pretty sight out on the water. A couple of racing Nacras spiced up the day, but wouldn't come closer to be photographed. Oh well.
By 1630 hrs, we were heading for the pens and beginning to put the boat away, it had been a long day on the water for me as I'd photographed the inter clubs that morning and so I slipped away before results. Well, it was a non consistency anyway.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Aloha.
On handicap: Aloha, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga.
John Nolan picked on me for not having put up the photos he sent last week. so they are up as of now. Sorry John.
The cabin for Anna is nearly ready, keep your eyes open please and Karoleeya spent the weekend up on the slips. Looks a damn sight better for it too. Glen really needs to get his numbers correct. He's not SP 1. Or has he done something that no one else knows?
Three boats on the river &
Peter takes the main.
A seabreeze arrived on Saturday and while it was moderate, the starters said righty oh you lot, off on a course one. Well, a quick decision amongst the skippers had us sailing a course four as we were Jib and Main for the day and it was a non consistency day after all. The breeze started around 10 to 15 knots and built to a respectable 15 to 18 knots. This had us sailing slowly to begin with but more later. Glen had Peter ( from John W's boat ) and John Nolan (Nova), there were we three on Bills boat and the Aloha mob who played phone a friend and had four on the boat. Going quickly too.
Having had to go back to tell Aloha what was happening we were behind the start and Glen took every advantage to get away with a new main hand ( Peter ) and John doing jib. Sailing well too and much to our chagrin Aloha rolled us on the first cross. Bill is a little worried as the boat seems to need a bit of a breeze to perform. Shouldn't have to, but the new sails seem to have slowed him down in light breezes.
It took us the entire work up to Deepwater to get past Aloha and we were still chasing Wynella who was doing very well. But the breeze was still building and we began to pick up speed with the breeze getting past 15 knots. In the meantime I was having fun with various boats whizzing past us on the way up the top marks and on the way down as well and we managed to see a Royal Perth boat out of control. Hooray!
Across to Hallmark, up to Armstrong and then down to Print getting past Wynella on the way, back up to Deepwater then away to Addison via Dolphin East and repeat it for good measure to ensure we were well away from the other two. On the way around we saw Gina and her yacht Sacha out for the day and both she and her boat made for a pretty sight out on the water. A couple of racing Nacras spiced up the day, but wouldn't come closer to be photographed. Oh well.
By 1630 hrs, we were heading for the pens and beginning to put the boat away, it had been a long day on the water for me as I'd photographed the inter clubs that morning and so I slipped away before results. Well, it was a non consistency anyway.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Aloha.
On handicap: Aloha, Wynella and Swiftsure Saga.
John Nolan picked on me for not having put up the photos he sent last week. so they are up as of now. Sorry John.
The cabin for Anna is nearly ready, keep your eyes open please and Karoleeya spent the weekend up on the slips. Looks a damn sight better for it too. Glen really needs to get his numbers correct. He's not SP 1. Or has he done something that no one else knows?
Autumn Wednesday Sailing 3rd of April 2019
Heading off into a dying Nor Easter &
Sailing with Geoff Barr.
Its not every time that you get a chance to sail with a bloke who you've respected for a long time, but never had a chance to sail with. Geoff sailed long years with Vic Court and with Vic selling up to Geoff Reason, it was a bit of a stopper for Geoff. He's owned Manta another H28 and parked down at FSC for years, but has sailed with the Wednesday H28 fleet till recently. He responded to Glens email cry for crew and noticing that he was already three up and we could do with an extra having lost Graeme to an accident at home, he offered to sail with us. Geoff was accepted with alacrity and we set out on a fair sort of day with a nor easter that threatened to die.
A course 4 was on offer and with Andy Bell and crew sitting up in the bar having lunch, we took off with Wynella, Alma, Corella and Swiftsure Saga around us. Getting a good start we did fairly well to get to Sampson still in front and I've no doubt Geoff trimming helped. Then the down wind game began with a pole set out and we began to chase the pressure down to Robins. Nothing to begin with and our stiff new sails were a thorough pest as they wouldn't hold the faint pressure that was there. I found myself holding the main out with a foot and my left hand keeping the pole forward whilst on top of the cabin.
Then the Royal Perth fleet made it to Foam and we were looking at a blanket of sails as they rounded Foam yelling and screaming at each other and headed off toward Bartlett away from us fortunately. But Bill Richards was nearest to them and he suffered dreadfully. Mean time Dave Locke was slowly sliding up to us on the tiny puffs that were available and we were doing exactly the same to try and get away, even gybing to see if we could hot up a little.
Thank goodness, we made Robins and bent around the mark still in front and the slingshot effect kicked in and we gained several boat lengths, staying in pressure we watched as Wynella (last) decided to tack off and try something different. Fair enough you can't win by following the leader. Working our way down to Dolphin East, we were still well above the mark, when we decided to follow a new patch of breeze that was forming on the other side of Dolphin East and looked up river to see what was available. Several boats up wind of us had begun to use a new patch of breeze way down toward Como and this was then our goal, so we had to hop from one patch to another. Successfully it turned out as Corella had turned to starboard and fallen into a hole and Glen on Wynella had regained a bit more by his move. However Bill on Swiftsure Saga had been blocked by a power boat that crossed his bows with a big wake and effectively stopped him dead. What to do, what to do! Slowly he regained his speed and began his dash to the line from Como. Lockie was dead in the water and poor Alma with Mark Whimhurst at the helm was stranded out in never-never land. A sad and sorry spot to be in.
A little more luck got to us Como and we saw pressure coming off the freeway, almost a southerly and enough to point us straight to the line. Fantastic, just keep the boat moving forward. But the breeze had dropped out for those behind us and Bill Richards took 11 and an half minutes to take second with David Locke behind him a further 5 minutes and 40 seconds having found another hole to park in. Glen made it in 6 minutes later and we were sitting up on the hill when Alma finally wandered in some 36 minutes after we crossed the line.
But feel some pity for the A fleet sailors. They ran out of wind, time and probably beer as well, with none of the fleet able to cross the line before 5 pm. Over two and a half hours on the water and not a result to talk about.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and Corella
On handicap: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and Corella.
Farewell to Mark Whimhurst and his wonderful partner Barbie. They are on their way back to the UK and will return like the swallows of spring once the summer season returns next year. Happy sailing you two.
Heading off into a dying Nor Easter &
Sailing with Geoff Barr.
Its not every time that you get a chance to sail with a bloke who you've respected for a long time, but never had a chance to sail with. Geoff sailed long years with Vic Court and with Vic selling up to Geoff Reason, it was a bit of a stopper for Geoff. He's owned Manta another H28 and parked down at FSC for years, but has sailed with the Wednesday H28 fleet till recently. He responded to Glens email cry for crew and noticing that he was already three up and we could do with an extra having lost Graeme to an accident at home, he offered to sail with us. Geoff was accepted with alacrity and we set out on a fair sort of day with a nor easter that threatened to die.
A course 4 was on offer and with Andy Bell and crew sitting up in the bar having lunch, we took off with Wynella, Alma, Corella and Swiftsure Saga around us. Getting a good start we did fairly well to get to Sampson still in front and I've no doubt Geoff trimming helped. Then the down wind game began with a pole set out and we began to chase the pressure down to Robins. Nothing to begin with and our stiff new sails were a thorough pest as they wouldn't hold the faint pressure that was there. I found myself holding the main out with a foot and my left hand keeping the pole forward whilst on top of the cabin.
Then the Royal Perth fleet made it to Foam and we were looking at a blanket of sails as they rounded Foam yelling and screaming at each other and headed off toward Bartlett away from us fortunately. But Bill Richards was nearest to them and he suffered dreadfully. Mean time Dave Locke was slowly sliding up to us on the tiny puffs that were available and we were doing exactly the same to try and get away, even gybing to see if we could hot up a little.
Thank goodness, we made Robins and bent around the mark still in front and the slingshot effect kicked in and we gained several boat lengths, staying in pressure we watched as Wynella (last) decided to tack off and try something different. Fair enough you can't win by following the leader. Working our way down to Dolphin East, we were still well above the mark, when we decided to follow a new patch of breeze that was forming on the other side of Dolphin East and looked up river to see what was available. Several boats up wind of us had begun to use a new patch of breeze way down toward Como and this was then our goal, so we had to hop from one patch to another. Successfully it turned out as Corella had turned to starboard and fallen into a hole and Glen on Wynella had regained a bit more by his move. However Bill on Swiftsure Saga had been blocked by a power boat that crossed his bows with a big wake and effectively stopped him dead. What to do, what to do! Slowly he regained his speed and began his dash to the line from Como. Lockie was dead in the water and poor Alma with Mark Whimhurst at the helm was stranded out in never-never land. A sad and sorry spot to be in.
A little more luck got to us Como and we saw pressure coming off the freeway, almost a southerly and enough to point us straight to the line. Fantastic, just keep the boat moving forward. But the breeze had dropped out for those behind us and Bill Richards took 11 and an half minutes to take second with David Locke behind him a further 5 minutes and 40 seconds having found another hole to park in. Glen made it in 6 minutes later and we were sitting up on the hill when Alma finally wandered in some 36 minutes after we crossed the line.
But feel some pity for the A fleet sailors. They ran out of wind, time and probably beer as well, with none of the fleet able to cross the line before 5 pm. Over two and a half hours on the water and not a result to talk about.
Over the line: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and Corella
On handicap: Mariner, Swiftsure Saga and Corella.
Farewell to Mark Whimhurst and his wonderful partner Barbie. They are on their way back to the UK and will return like the swallows of spring once the summer season returns next year. Happy sailing you two.
Autumn Saturday Sailing 30th of March. 2019
The 7th and final Championship race for the season.
Wynella nearly did it. &
Sailing with Karoleeya
Ok, its official, Glen and his crew on Wynella have been dragging their chains for at least 6 months. A life saving dash for the line by The First Jindarra was the only thing that held Glen away from taking an unprecedented win. For months now, everyone has had their suspicions and it was brought out in spades on Saturday as Glen tackled Andy Bell with his rock star crew and very nearly got past him.
For my pains I'd been offered a ride on Les Brookers Nerrima and I was happy to go about the day on his boat until Steve from Karoleeya came down looking for a ride as he had lost all his crew to other pursuits. Another spare crew member was nearby and an halloo to Ralph from Eun na Mara had him throw up his job as third man on the rescue boat to join us on Karoleeya. All the boats had a certain difficulty getting out of the pens in the stiff easterly, but were successful and we made our way to the line to be joined by Aloha to get our fifth boat on the line.
Little did we know but Karoleeya ( a known leaker ) hadn't been up on the slips for at least 6 months and was dragging around a fish and chip shop. We were slow, but with 3 competent sailors on board to assist him, Steve had a good chance to get around the track. A fair start had us competitive with Wynella and keeping up with the fleet but the first down wind on a course three in a east- nor easterly separated the boats into two fleets and Wynella, Nerrima and The First Jindarra got away with the last two under kites and Glen saving his chances till later. We hadn't rigged for a kite with a bollard used for the trimming sheets gone missing, but by the end of the first downwind we had jury-rigged up the boat and were set for the next leg down wind.
They were gone and our biggest competition was Aloha who must have had a cleaner bottom than ours and better luck in picking the pressure. Behind us yes, but never gone away, always there. Meantime the racing up front was getting a little hot with Wynella slipping past Nerrima and then proceeding to harass Andrew Bell. This time Andrew couldn't use a strong breeze to just simply out sail him and he was subject to the same vagaries in breeze as we at the back were. Surprisingly Les on Nerrima didn't have any more luck than Glen and slipped back into a following role with his troupe of well drilled crew throwing up and bringing down kites on request. After the first leg to Bartlett and then back to Thelma via Dolphin East we had a long haul kite run back up to Deepwater and then back to Addison via Bartlett again.
Slowly going backwards we had plenty of time to reflect on the fact that Glen was still pushing Andy Bell and Les Brooker hadn't made any inroads on the two of them. ( Les had confided in me that he had to beat Glen by at least 3 minutes to get in front of him on handicap) Our only chance of not finishing dead last on handicap was to use the kite to get away from Aloha and be at least 5 minutes in front. It wasn't to be.
As we brought ourselves around the third triangle and began to work our way back up the breeze to Addison and back to Thelma we watched the first three H28's throw up kites for a spirited kite finish and decided it wasn't worth the while. We'd sail to the line under a jib and main. So over the line they fell, with Andrew taking the win from Glen by some 40+ seconds and Les Brooker 77 seconds after Glen. We toppled over the line 21 minutes and 47 seconds after Nerrima with Aloha 3 minutes and 19 seconds later. Every one was packed and into their beers by the time we pulled into the pen, but we were told of Glen's amazing effort by Andrew as he came down to replenish his beer supply from the esky on the JIn.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Wynella and Nerrima.
On handicap: Wynella, Nerrima and The First Jindarra.
Unfortunately Rita wasn't able to get a crew together to take Corella out while David recovers and there was no sighting of Geoff Reason (Carina) who must still be away on FIFO. Bill (Swiftsure Saga) wasn't sailing championships this year except by mistake and Judith (Alma) is still looking for a full time skipper now that her summer skippers have moved on or returned for the Northern summer in England.
I'm still looking for a decent boat camera as loaned ones just aren't up to the task and the big K7 is too bulky to just pull out of a pocket to shoot with. So, only a few photos today.
By the way, isn't it about time Glen and Russell spent some money and put the right numbers on the sail ? SP 1 is not the registered number on the boat. (though it might be a leader to their ambitions)
Autumn Wednesday Sailing 27th of March 2019
How does Glen do it? &
6 of the best.
I'll have to be frank today, Brian had asked other snappers in the fleet to pull out their cameras and take some photos of Mariner because I'm too busy to take photos of Mariner.. So all the photos bar one or two are of Mariner .. thanks to Craig Bulmer and young Barb.
Half a dozen boats went out today with Rita driving David Locke's boat while he recovers from surgery, She did well David, and managed to sneak past Swiftsure Saga on the finish line to beat them into third place. Let her drive a couple more. Even the starters were in a good mood and sent us off to Sampson on a course one with a nice reaching start. We'd hit the line flying and then a moment of poor hearing dragged us back as the requested putting up of a leeward pole was delayed and we fell back through the fleet to second last. Only a bit of luck had us tucked under Swiftsure Saga's transom with Swiftsure doing the same to Wynella, who was also showing a decided lack of interest in the call. No matter, dive in and push them all out at Sampson, claiming rights you knew you had. ( does that sound like something that happened a while ago)
Tacking away after the rounding we went over to Heathcote Dolphin and then worked our way back up to a point where we could take into the bay. We were winning our crosses now and the boat was running well in the 13 to 17 knots we had. Still a bit of west on the water though and those who went out into the middle still did well. Up to Deepwater and by now the Royal Perth fleet was humming around our ears, but we were all on the same beat and rolling over to starboard tack had them cursing and dipping if required. Around Deepwater with The First Jindarra not far ahead and Alma on our tail as well as Mark had helmed well and kept the boat moving forward all the time. Behind Alma; Wynella and Swiftsure Saga were contending with Corella and I'm sure the advice of Crowbar and Ian Weaver would have kept Rita on the straight and narrow.
However the down wind to Print had us searching for gusts as we could see the boats behind us starting to close up a little as we were to The First Jindarra. Go fast is the call. Around Print and across into the bay on a true sou wester with the lift out of the bay pointing us at Robins nicely. Alma had a problem with her jib at this point and lost way to the pack on her heels and they simply spat her out the back end. Not nice, but a little bad luck with a jib sheet can kill your chances. From here on it was a follow me course {as we've had in the past} and the positions didn't change in the pack until the final dash from Thelma to the finish line. Somehow Swiftsure Saga overstood the mark on the way along the freeway and Corella had taken a chance, by going early, and had managed to get across the line before Bill Richards. However the surprise winner today was Glen Stanley on handicap with those new sails of Bills keeping him in sight of the rest of the fleet.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
On handicap: Wynella, Mariner and The First Jindarra
How does Glen do it? &
6 of the best.
I'll have to be frank today, Brian had asked other snappers in the fleet to pull out their cameras and take some photos of Mariner because I'm too busy to take photos of Mariner.. So all the photos bar one or two are of Mariner .. thanks to Craig Bulmer and young Barb.
Half a dozen boats went out today with Rita driving David Locke's boat while he recovers from surgery, She did well David, and managed to sneak past Swiftsure Saga on the finish line to beat them into third place. Let her drive a couple more. Even the starters were in a good mood and sent us off to Sampson on a course one with a nice reaching start. We'd hit the line flying and then a moment of poor hearing dragged us back as the requested putting up of a leeward pole was delayed and we fell back through the fleet to second last. Only a bit of luck had us tucked under Swiftsure Saga's transom with Swiftsure doing the same to Wynella, who was also showing a decided lack of interest in the call. No matter, dive in and push them all out at Sampson, claiming rights you knew you had. ( does that sound like something that happened a while ago)
Tacking away after the rounding we went over to Heathcote Dolphin and then worked our way back up to a point where we could take into the bay. We were winning our crosses now and the boat was running well in the 13 to 17 knots we had. Still a bit of west on the water though and those who went out into the middle still did well. Up to Deepwater and by now the Royal Perth fleet was humming around our ears, but we were all on the same beat and rolling over to starboard tack had them cursing and dipping if required. Around Deepwater with The First Jindarra not far ahead and Alma on our tail as well as Mark had helmed well and kept the boat moving forward all the time. Behind Alma; Wynella and Swiftsure Saga were contending with Corella and I'm sure the advice of Crowbar and Ian Weaver would have kept Rita on the straight and narrow.
However the down wind to Print had us searching for gusts as we could see the boats behind us starting to close up a little as we were to The First Jindarra. Go fast is the call. Around Print and across into the bay on a true sou wester with the lift out of the bay pointing us at Robins nicely. Alma had a problem with her jib at this point and lost way to the pack on her heels and they simply spat her out the back end. Not nice, but a little bad luck with a jib sheet can kill your chances. From here on it was a follow me course {as we've had in the past} and the positions didn't change in the pack until the final dash from Thelma to the finish line. Somehow Swiftsure Saga overstood the mark on the way along the freeway and Corella had taken a chance, by going early, and had managed to get across the line before Bill Richards. However the surprise winner today was Glen Stanley on handicap with those new sails of Bills keeping him in sight of the rest of the fleet.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Corella
On handicap: Wynella, Mariner and The First Jindarra
Autumn Sailing Saturday the 23rd of March 2019
A visitor to the fleet &
Then the breeze came in.
First of all, a welcome to John Nolan ( hope that's right) who sailed with the fleet on Wynella. John owns Nova a well respected H28 and one sailed and owned by Loyal Weaver in earlier years. She's now parked in Challenger Harbour at Freo and is chiefly used for offshore cruising. There is a standing invitation to go out for a run with him when he's up from Margaret River.
We had seven boats on the water today and we had what looked like a lazy afternoon with a sou easter in evidence. Nowhere on the river could you see a taut sail or spinnaker and the prospects of a cancellation loomed at us. But the starters persevered and after an AP we were started with a course 3 on a breeze which had a distinct southerly flavour. As usual the start was everything and Glen on Wynella took a lesson from George on Mingara in Division 2 who had snuck out on the right and then hurtled back on a lifting breeze on starboard putting everyone to shame. Around he went, first boat to the mark.
Bu tit wasn't to be and The Jin popped a shy kite and made her way to the front and we attempted to follow suite. The blasted spinnaker halyard clip popped open and thankfully we didn't pull the damn thing up the mast to the top. SO after a frantic 10 minutes and people climbing all over the mast and boom, the halyard was retrieved and the kite hoisted. But we were nearly at Hallmark by then so a drop was indicated and we looked at the mark in confusion... was that the beginning of a westerly? Sure was and down came the spinnaker in a rush. The sails were set and then as the breeze flicked around us we went from port to starboard in under 5 seconds and then back again. No matter we were moving, but The Jin had taken off in the breeze and while we were also getting away, Andrew Bell and his boat were well off into the distance.
So on a down wind run to Dolphin East and then to Thelma we had the kite up again and we were maintaining 6.5 knots down a steady breeze that was moving further and further around to the south. This was a seabreeze no less. Reaching Dolphin East we looked back and Mariner with two up was doing a great job of keeping up with jib and main no less. The others were doing well and even Aloha with the Minto father and son pairing were keeping up. Good to see. Half way down to Thelma we could see The Jin falling into a hole as they ran out of seabreeze and the fleet was catching up holus bolus. In fact if we'd been a little luckier we would have caught them up. They were certainly within hailing distance.
Back up to Deepwater and on a by now roaring sou wester ( 20 knots or better) we were certainly over powered but we had enough weight on the boat and the cars on the jib were moved back a little to vent a bit of the breeze. The dip into the bay was made and we took off up to Applecross spit swinging around it and very shortly tacking across to Deepwater to make the rounding. Who needs a kite when a poled out jib is a damn sight safer? Down to Addison we went and we were hitting low 7's on the run, nice work and less stress on the helm. By now the field was spreading out despite the hard work from Les Brooker and his crew who insisted in flying a spinnaker at every opportunity. He'd moved ahead of Steve Hill and Karoleeya and his crew of newbies and Glen on Wynella who was lacking that vital ingredient to stop him from flying a kite. No fordeckie. But everyone was trying and we knew that Steve only had to finish the race to do well on handicap. Les had the problem that he has been winning a few and his handicap was going north as a result.
From Addison to Thelma and then back up to Dolphin East, a great chase scene with Mariner still pounding along on our heels and Andrew and the Jin steadily drawing away as they took their boat into the middle of the river looking for D.E. Around they went and we aimed our boat at the mark that they had indicated for us. Then it was just trim the boat and go quickly as it was all down hill from here on until we got to Thelma. We must have found a few more fractions of a knot as we drew away from Mariner on our way to Thelma and it was only the John Wright effect that made us stare back in dismay as we watched Mariner begin to lift from Thelma up to the finish line. We'd already battled our way along the freeway and tacked off toward the line to finish the race. But nothing lasts for ever and Brian was hit by a monster knock and was last seen running the freeway again. He too bent his boat back up to the finish line, but by then we had made the line and were busily getting our sails down.
The pleasing part of the day was that all the boats made it home in one piece and even if they took a little time to do it, they'd got around the course on a busy day. Well sailed the fleet, all seven of them. Just think if Lockie, Geoff and Judith had been available, that would have been another three boats.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Swiftsure Saga and Mariner
On handicap: Karoleeya, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
Of note. We all felt sorry for George Ruul as he flew his spinnaker from his mast head all the way back to his pen. The sheets had been taken off and possibly one of the clews had gone as well. But his spinnaker had jammed at the mast head and wasn't going to come down. To add insult to injury one of the aforementioned sheets had wrapped itself around the propeller and when he started the motor to go home, the result had the prop jammed by the sheets and the motor stopping abruptly. He was escorted back into the pen by the club rescue boat amid the cheers and whoops from the other crews who had made their way in already. Poor bastard. I'd say he's got a bit of work to do.
A visitor to the fleet &
Then the breeze came in.
First of all, a welcome to John Nolan ( hope that's right) who sailed with the fleet on Wynella. John owns Nova a well respected H28 and one sailed and owned by Loyal Weaver in earlier years. She's now parked in Challenger Harbour at Freo and is chiefly used for offshore cruising. There is a standing invitation to go out for a run with him when he's up from Margaret River.
We had seven boats on the water today and we had what looked like a lazy afternoon with a sou easter in evidence. Nowhere on the river could you see a taut sail or spinnaker and the prospects of a cancellation loomed at us. But the starters persevered and after an AP we were started with a course 3 on a breeze which had a distinct southerly flavour. As usual the start was everything and Glen on Wynella took a lesson from George on Mingara in Division 2 who had snuck out on the right and then hurtled back on a lifting breeze on starboard putting everyone to shame. Around he went, first boat to the mark.
Bu tit wasn't to be and The Jin popped a shy kite and made her way to the front and we attempted to follow suite. The blasted spinnaker halyard clip popped open and thankfully we didn't pull the damn thing up the mast to the top. SO after a frantic 10 minutes and people climbing all over the mast and boom, the halyard was retrieved and the kite hoisted. But we were nearly at Hallmark by then so a drop was indicated and we looked at the mark in confusion... was that the beginning of a westerly? Sure was and down came the spinnaker in a rush. The sails were set and then as the breeze flicked around us we went from port to starboard in under 5 seconds and then back again. No matter we were moving, but The Jin had taken off in the breeze and while we were also getting away, Andrew Bell and his boat were well off into the distance.
So on a down wind run to Dolphin East and then to Thelma we had the kite up again and we were maintaining 6.5 knots down a steady breeze that was moving further and further around to the south. This was a seabreeze no less. Reaching Dolphin East we looked back and Mariner with two up was doing a great job of keeping up with jib and main no less. The others were doing well and even Aloha with the Minto father and son pairing were keeping up. Good to see. Half way down to Thelma we could see The Jin falling into a hole as they ran out of seabreeze and the fleet was catching up holus bolus. In fact if we'd been a little luckier we would have caught them up. They were certainly within hailing distance.
Back up to Deepwater and on a by now roaring sou wester ( 20 knots or better) we were certainly over powered but we had enough weight on the boat and the cars on the jib were moved back a little to vent a bit of the breeze. The dip into the bay was made and we took off up to Applecross spit swinging around it and very shortly tacking across to Deepwater to make the rounding. Who needs a kite when a poled out jib is a damn sight safer? Down to Addison we went and we were hitting low 7's on the run, nice work and less stress on the helm. By now the field was spreading out despite the hard work from Les Brooker and his crew who insisted in flying a spinnaker at every opportunity. He'd moved ahead of Steve Hill and Karoleeya and his crew of newbies and Glen on Wynella who was lacking that vital ingredient to stop him from flying a kite. No fordeckie. But everyone was trying and we knew that Steve only had to finish the race to do well on handicap. Les had the problem that he has been winning a few and his handicap was going north as a result.
From Addison to Thelma and then back up to Dolphin East, a great chase scene with Mariner still pounding along on our heels and Andrew and the Jin steadily drawing away as they took their boat into the middle of the river looking for D.E. Around they went and we aimed our boat at the mark that they had indicated for us. Then it was just trim the boat and go quickly as it was all down hill from here on until we got to Thelma. We must have found a few more fractions of a knot as we drew away from Mariner on our way to Thelma and it was only the John Wright effect that made us stare back in dismay as we watched Mariner begin to lift from Thelma up to the finish line. We'd already battled our way along the freeway and tacked off toward the line to finish the race. But nothing lasts for ever and Brian was hit by a monster knock and was last seen running the freeway again. He too bent his boat back up to the finish line, but by then we had made the line and were busily getting our sails down.
The pleasing part of the day was that all the boats made it home in one piece and even if they took a little time to do it, they'd got around the course on a busy day. Well sailed the fleet, all seven of them. Just think if Lockie, Geoff and Judith had been available, that would have been another three boats.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Swiftsure Saga and Mariner
On handicap: Karoleeya, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
Of note. We all felt sorry for George Ruul as he flew his spinnaker from his mast head all the way back to his pen. The sheets had been taken off and possibly one of the clews had gone as well. But his spinnaker had jammed at the mast head and wasn't going to come down. To add insult to injury one of the aforementioned sheets had wrapped itself around the propeller and when he started the motor to go home, the result had the prop jammed by the sheets and the motor stopping abruptly. He was escorted back into the pen by the club rescue boat amid the cheers and whoops from the other crews who had made their way in already. Poor bastard. I'd say he's got a bit of work to do.
Autumn Sailing Wednesday the 20th of March 2019
Where shall we wander &
Two for the price of one.
Five boats out today with a course one on offer. Mind you, the breeze appeared to be out of the west with a hint of the north in it, but the starters knew best and sent us off and on our way with a dash into the north off the line. ( It does really hint that it might have been a good course two) Notably there were two SP112's on the water with Glen on Wynella trying out the old sails from Swiftsure Saga. I presume that Glen had spoken to the starters prior to the start, but they might have been excused for thinking that they were seeing double.
Our boat hit the line with a dash and the skip was happy with the speed of the boat. One percent's he kept mumbling under his breath and we dutifully trimmed the boat to get the extra one percent. Seemed to work though. By Sampson we were still in the lead with Lockie on our quarter wave, six feet behind and we knew that he'd have to tack off as he'd end up in our bad air. He held for a moment too long and Andrew was long gone by the time he took off on a starboard tack.
We followed shortly after with only Bill in Swiftsure Saga going later.. mind you Bill had Colin on board as John P is away for a while, something different perhaps. The crosses were instructive with our run across looking fine until Andrew slipped past us to take the lead. We headed out into the middle expecting to get the lift from the West and watched as most of the fleet dug into the bay and came out winners. Oh poo!
From first to last in one leg. Not a good look. So the race recommenced for us and we had to chase down Wynella on the down wind and Brian's magnificent new pole was earning its keep keeping us moving along nicely down to Print.
And then David Locke decided to take Andrew on the First Jindarra off for a wander. Andrew had locked himself inside David's transom in order to get the inside at Print and David said to himself …. I wonder how far we can go.. see the photos for details. At Print Bill was well in front and the dash back to Robins had Corella and Wynella tucked in behind us and The Jin and SSS in front. It was pleasing to see we could keep up with The Jin and it was only variations on the breeze that made the difference.
By the time that we were heading back from Robins we were aware that the possibility of a shortened course was on the agenda and we saw in the distance that the startline was active with a flag in place. But Swiftsure Saga was well in front and it was a pleasure to see Bill pick up first and fastest on the line, with The JIn steaming along just in front of us and Mariners crew being urged to make her go just that little bit faster. Oh we knew what he wanted, but on a reach we could only go so fast and although we had put the last pair well behind us, Wynella and Corella hadn't gone that far away though and the fleet crossed the line in 3 minutes and 31 seconds. Pretty good for a bunch of wooden boats.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, The First Jindarra and Mariner.
On handicap : Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner.
A note that Bill has had 4 wins so far this summer season, that new mast is working wonders for him.
And Ian Weaver has got the new deck on Anna glassed in, still a work in progress though, but the boat is looking good.
Now for last Saturdays results. It was a championship round and unfortunately I was away. Sailed on a moderate seabreeze the boats sailed as predicted with The First Jindarra taking the win with Corella a good second. Nerrima was third with Wynella and then Aloha finishing up the fleet. However on consistency, Les on Nerrima did very well to take the win with the First Jindarra second and Wynella in third place. At present Nerrima and Wynella are contesting for the win over the series and Swiftsure Saga is a possible third if both the lead boats decide to retire unexpectedly.
Where shall we wander &
Two for the price of one.
Five boats out today with a course one on offer. Mind you, the breeze appeared to be out of the west with a hint of the north in it, but the starters knew best and sent us off and on our way with a dash into the north off the line. ( It does really hint that it might have been a good course two) Notably there were two SP112's on the water with Glen on Wynella trying out the old sails from Swiftsure Saga. I presume that Glen had spoken to the starters prior to the start, but they might have been excused for thinking that they were seeing double.
Our boat hit the line with a dash and the skip was happy with the speed of the boat. One percent's he kept mumbling under his breath and we dutifully trimmed the boat to get the extra one percent. Seemed to work though. By Sampson we were still in the lead with Lockie on our quarter wave, six feet behind and we knew that he'd have to tack off as he'd end up in our bad air. He held for a moment too long and Andrew was long gone by the time he took off on a starboard tack.
We followed shortly after with only Bill in Swiftsure Saga going later.. mind you Bill had Colin on board as John P is away for a while, something different perhaps. The crosses were instructive with our run across looking fine until Andrew slipped past us to take the lead. We headed out into the middle expecting to get the lift from the West and watched as most of the fleet dug into the bay and came out winners. Oh poo!
From first to last in one leg. Not a good look. So the race recommenced for us and we had to chase down Wynella on the down wind and Brian's magnificent new pole was earning its keep keeping us moving along nicely down to Print.
And then David Locke decided to take Andrew on the First Jindarra off for a wander. Andrew had locked himself inside David's transom in order to get the inside at Print and David said to himself …. I wonder how far we can go.. see the photos for details. At Print Bill was well in front and the dash back to Robins had Corella and Wynella tucked in behind us and The Jin and SSS in front. It was pleasing to see we could keep up with The Jin and it was only variations on the breeze that made the difference.
By the time that we were heading back from Robins we were aware that the possibility of a shortened course was on the agenda and we saw in the distance that the startline was active with a flag in place. But Swiftsure Saga was well in front and it was a pleasure to see Bill pick up first and fastest on the line, with The JIn steaming along just in front of us and Mariners crew being urged to make her go just that little bit faster. Oh we knew what he wanted, but on a reach we could only go so fast and although we had put the last pair well behind us, Wynella and Corella hadn't gone that far away though and the fleet crossed the line in 3 minutes and 31 seconds. Pretty good for a bunch of wooden boats.
Over the line: Swiftsure Saga, The First Jindarra and Mariner.
On handicap : Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner.
A note that Bill has had 4 wins so far this summer season, that new mast is working wonders for him.
And Ian Weaver has got the new deck on Anna glassed in, still a work in progress though, but the boat is looking good.
Now for last Saturdays results. It was a championship round and unfortunately I was away. Sailed on a moderate seabreeze the boats sailed as predicted with The First Jindarra taking the win with Corella a good second. Nerrima was third with Wynella and then Aloha finishing up the fleet. However on consistency, Les on Nerrima did very well to take the win with the First Jindarra second and Wynella in third place. At present Nerrima and Wynella are contesting for the win over the series and Swiftsure Saga is a possible third if both the lead boats decide to retire unexpectedly.
Autumn Sailing Wednesday the 13th of March 2019
Brian's got a brand new pole &
Anna gets her deck put on./Dolphins in the Marina
Ok, I'm pushing it for something interesting today. The dolphins moved in between Jetties two and three and for a few mad minutes, the crowd were hanging off the backs of boats and the finger jetties were sinking into the water as we watched. Over too soon unfortunately, but gee whizz. Fantastic to see. Well done Brad from the First Jindarra, whipped out the phone faster than you could say "dolphin" and started recording. A little work and its fit for presentation. Remember to hold the phone in landscape in the future everyone.
Six boats went out for a run today on a course one with a building seabreeze and we had local boy made good Paul Eldred along for the ride. Brian's new spinnaker pole was put to good use with Paul threatening to put a bend in it before we had even made it to Sampson. But we were fast. The start had us working hard to get the boat on the line in time and a little movement up on the line to kill speed had other boats rearing in alarm. Sorry guys we were hit by a change in the breeze, it could happen to anyone.
So off to Martin, then Weaver hanging on to the lead by the skin of our teeth, roll around Martin and then to Weaver with The Jin swarming all over us and the rest of the fleet on our tails. It was going to be a fast race.
Andrew and the Jin were ahead and we were chasing with the thought of a pole being used to two sail reach across to Sampson. Quick I tell you, but it was still the same with Bill Richards and the rest of the fleet storming along on our transom. Hit Sampson and tack off immediately going a fair way before going back. Possibly could have gone back earlier and then dipped in, but its a moot point. Our big problem was going to be the Royal Perth fleet as it has been for the last 15 years. Weave your way through them or go. We went! Nearly took out one boat, but eventually managed to get clear. Another time another day, we might have worked our way through, but not this afternoon. 4 sets of tacks.
So work our way up the bay toward Applecross Spit and then bend the boat a little further toward Deepwater with Andrew well away having threaded his way through the RP fleet successfully and picked up a handy lead. But no one behind us had been any luckier and we still had Swiftsure Saga hanging onto our tail very closely. The battle between the other three, well Lockie needed a third person and his third was working on Anna and has been for the last two weeks. But he was holding his own, a minute behind Bill and in front of Alma and Wynella.
The comment from the sailmaker came back from the foredeck where he had made himself at home. "Its a Blxxdy railway track this course, no passing lanes". Couldn't fault his reasoning, but it was worth trying to go faster. Even if only to keep Bill off our tail. Down to Print and back up to Robins with a little double tack to make it. Then bend away with a two sail pole set to allow a quick change into a poled out jib on the way to Como. By this time the camera was cranked out to the max trying to see Andrew, for as usual he was gone for all that mattered and Bill was not far behind. Down to the outer start line and fire ourselves back toward Samson and the small triangle. A bit of fun on the reaches and the run along the freeway was ordinary to say the least. As we made our way up to the finish line you could see the rest of the fleet enjoying the John Wright effect and lift all the way as they had on the way to Foam on the small triangle. Sometimes you get lucky.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner.
Anna progresses well with the new deck going on over the last two or three days. Wonderful to watch and the work will ensure that she will be a lot tighter as well. Sails higher etc. The deck is 9 ply and with glue and screw method will hold that deck down fairly well. Then the deck will get glassed as well. Water tight as well and then the work can go ahead on the cabin.. then the finishing work can commence with all the fittings being replaced, wiring sorted out and eventually the mast and rigging. A fair job, but if it lets Anna sail for another 20 years or better, then worth it.
The H28 model that resided up stairs has been brought downstairs and sits next to the fireplace on a new shelf modelled after the old fireplace. A little bit of information, its an inch to the foot and was made using L.F. Herreshoff's plans and the builder, one Alan Skinner was pretty chuffed to have made it.. reckons it one of the best he's ever made.
Brian's got a brand new pole &
Anna gets her deck put on./Dolphins in the Marina
Ok, I'm pushing it for something interesting today. The dolphins moved in between Jetties two and three and for a few mad minutes, the crowd were hanging off the backs of boats and the finger jetties were sinking into the water as we watched. Over too soon unfortunately, but gee whizz. Fantastic to see. Well done Brad from the First Jindarra, whipped out the phone faster than you could say "dolphin" and started recording. A little work and its fit for presentation. Remember to hold the phone in landscape in the future everyone.
Six boats went out for a run today on a course one with a building seabreeze and we had local boy made good Paul Eldred along for the ride. Brian's new spinnaker pole was put to good use with Paul threatening to put a bend in it before we had even made it to Sampson. But we were fast. The start had us working hard to get the boat on the line in time and a little movement up on the line to kill speed had other boats rearing in alarm. Sorry guys we were hit by a change in the breeze, it could happen to anyone.
So off to Martin, then Weaver hanging on to the lead by the skin of our teeth, roll around Martin and then to Weaver with The Jin swarming all over us and the rest of the fleet on our tails. It was going to be a fast race.
Andrew and the Jin were ahead and we were chasing with the thought of a pole being used to two sail reach across to Sampson. Quick I tell you, but it was still the same with Bill Richards and the rest of the fleet storming along on our transom. Hit Sampson and tack off immediately going a fair way before going back. Possibly could have gone back earlier and then dipped in, but its a moot point. Our big problem was going to be the Royal Perth fleet as it has been for the last 15 years. Weave your way through them or go. We went! Nearly took out one boat, but eventually managed to get clear. Another time another day, we might have worked our way through, but not this afternoon. 4 sets of tacks.
So work our way up the bay toward Applecross Spit and then bend the boat a little further toward Deepwater with Andrew well away having threaded his way through the RP fleet successfully and picked up a handy lead. But no one behind us had been any luckier and we still had Swiftsure Saga hanging onto our tail very closely. The battle between the other three, well Lockie needed a third person and his third was working on Anna and has been for the last two weeks. But he was holding his own, a minute behind Bill and in front of Alma and Wynella.
The comment from the sailmaker came back from the foredeck where he had made himself at home. "Its a Blxxdy railway track this course, no passing lanes". Couldn't fault his reasoning, but it was worth trying to go faster. Even if only to keep Bill off our tail. Down to Print and back up to Robins with a little double tack to make it. Then bend away with a two sail pole set to allow a quick change into a poled out jib on the way to Como. By this time the camera was cranked out to the max trying to see Andrew, for as usual he was gone for all that mattered and Bill was not far behind. Down to the outer start line and fire ourselves back toward Samson and the small triangle. A bit of fun on the reaches and the run along the freeway was ordinary to say the least. As we made our way up to the finish line you could see the rest of the fleet enjoying the John Wright effect and lift all the way as they had on the way to Foam on the small triangle. Sometimes you get lucky.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Mariner and Swiftsure Saga.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Mariner.
Anna progresses well with the new deck going on over the last two or three days. Wonderful to watch and the work will ensure that she will be a lot tighter as well. Sails higher etc. The deck is 9 ply and with glue and screw method will hold that deck down fairly well. Then the deck will get glassed as well. Water tight as well and then the work can go ahead on the cabin.. then the finishing work can commence with all the fittings being replaced, wiring sorted out and eventually the mast and rigging. A fair job, but if it lets Anna sail for another 20 years or better, then worth it.
The H28 model that resided up stairs has been brought downstairs and sits next to the fireplace on a new shelf modelled after the old fireplace. A little bit of information, its an inch to the foot and was made using L.F. Herreshoff's plans and the builder, one Alan Skinner was pretty chuffed to have made it.. reckons it one of the best he's ever made.
Autumn Sailing Saturday the 9th of March 2019
Can't blame the starters &
Soggy Saturday Sailing.
The grey day has turned into a grey week and with a capful of wind the starters set us off on a course three.. reminiscent of Wednesday, n'est -ce pas? As today was the makeup for the promised Wooden Boat regatta that was gazetted for Sunday, no one turned up. Well four of us did, Corella, Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Nerrima. With crews varying between three and four and a soft day we were all going to throw up a kite anyway, but we were going to follow Lockies lead as he was as usual... out the front.
With a little bit of coaching on which lines went where ( it has been a while) we set the spinnaker up and made our way to the start line. Quickly away we made our way around the buoys and headed off to Bartlett near Nedlands where a bunch of scouts were holding a sail-a-thon.
(in fact the whole river was full of them, scouts and boats that is.) Chasing Corella we had the wind abeam and were sailing quite well, Wynella and Nerrima began to drop back and we resolutely followed Corella, shadowing their movements.
With Bartlett out of the way we looked at another run across the breeze down to Dolphin East and as we got to D.E. the wind was almost onto a tight reach and it became a chase down to Thelma our next point of call. And then the rain started...….. and the breeze dropped. Making it to Thelma became painfully slow and we progressed in spurts as a puff wandered past and excited our sails occasionally. The starters chimed in with an "all boats except for H28's, your course has been shortened." Can't blame the starters, they were sure we would have enough wind..
So off to Deepwater in a freshened breeze we went, with a feeling of dread in our hearts. So badly we felt, that I turned off the radio in despair expecting no mercy from the mob in the box. The first three boats ( yes Wynella had joined us while Nerrima was caught in the doldrums down near Thelma) were working their way around Deepwater and over to Bartlett again and the rain set in again. But the breeze had deserted us once more and we were stuck in a bunch of Div two boats who were having their own problems with spinnakers looking like limp dish rags. Speaking to Corella we learnt that they had shortened the H28 race as well, but since we were out at Bartlett, the gesture was pointless. The radio was switched back on again and the idle chatter of the river filled our ears once more. Nerrima and her team were doing a fine job, quietly utilizing a very shy kite to make their way around the marks in a painfully slow manner. But they were trying and that's what mattered. In fact all the H28's had hoisted a kite over the race with Wynella popping one on the final leg down from Bartlett.
Suddenly the other river clubs began to set off 'abandonment of racing' calls with their boats dashing about with N over A flags on show. The Royal Clubs packed up and went home. But our starters were of sterner stuff, "We will Continue" and any calls to the SoPYC finish line were dealt with, in that frame of mind.
It was 1700 hrs and a little more. The first sign was Corella dropping their main sail. "Right" said Bill, "that's enough, drop the spinnaker, hoist the jib and lets get moving." Rita radioed in their retirement as we did shortly after with Wynella and Nerrima following suit. It wasn't the starters fault at all, they cant expect the breeze to drop out as it did; so the trip home was a pleasant one with Bill stopping to offer a tow in to all the scouts on the water, only to find out that they were going to continue their efforts on the water for the next 24 hours. No help required.
We packed up and hopefully the sails will be dry enough by Wednesday if we get a little sun or breeze to do a dry out.
Apparently one boat did finish their race. We'd noticed Div. one's Arajilla making their way around the river and its a nod to Dave Gilham and the monstrous spinnaker he was flying that got him around the track. Every other boat was lingering in the lack of breeze mid river. Without David G finishing the race so early the starters could have closed out, with clear consciences.
So it wasn't their fault at all. It was Arajilla's fault.
Can't blame the starters &
Soggy Saturday Sailing.
The grey day has turned into a grey week and with a capful of wind the starters set us off on a course three.. reminiscent of Wednesday, n'est -ce pas? As today was the makeup for the promised Wooden Boat regatta that was gazetted for Sunday, no one turned up. Well four of us did, Corella, Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Nerrima. With crews varying between three and four and a soft day we were all going to throw up a kite anyway, but we were going to follow Lockies lead as he was as usual... out the front.
With a little bit of coaching on which lines went where ( it has been a while) we set the spinnaker up and made our way to the start line. Quickly away we made our way around the buoys and headed off to Bartlett near Nedlands where a bunch of scouts were holding a sail-a-thon.
(in fact the whole river was full of them, scouts and boats that is.) Chasing Corella we had the wind abeam and were sailing quite well, Wynella and Nerrima began to drop back and we resolutely followed Corella, shadowing their movements.
With Bartlett out of the way we looked at another run across the breeze down to Dolphin East and as we got to D.E. the wind was almost onto a tight reach and it became a chase down to Thelma our next point of call. And then the rain started...….. and the breeze dropped. Making it to Thelma became painfully slow and we progressed in spurts as a puff wandered past and excited our sails occasionally. The starters chimed in with an "all boats except for H28's, your course has been shortened." Can't blame the starters, they were sure we would have enough wind..
So off to Deepwater in a freshened breeze we went, with a feeling of dread in our hearts. So badly we felt, that I turned off the radio in despair expecting no mercy from the mob in the box. The first three boats ( yes Wynella had joined us while Nerrima was caught in the doldrums down near Thelma) were working their way around Deepwater and over to Bartlett again and the rain set in again. But the breeze had deserted us once more and we were stuck in a bunch of Div two boats who were having their own problems with spinnakers looking like limp dish rags. Speaking to Corella we learnt that they had shortened the H28 race as well, but since we were out at Bartlett, the gesture was pointless. The radio was switched back on again and the idle chatter of the river filled our ears once more. Nerrima and her team were doing a fine job, quietly utilizing a very shy kite to make their way around the marks in a painfully slow manner. But they were trying and that's what mattered. In fact all the H28's had hoisted a kite over the race with Wynella popping one on the final leg down from Bartlett.
Suddenly the other river clubs began to set off 'abandonment of racing' calls with their boats dashing about with N over A flags on show. The Royal Clubs packed up and went home. But our starters were of sterner stuff, "We will Continue" and any calls to the SoPYC finish line were dealt with, in that frame of mind.
It was 1700 hrs and a little more. The first sign was Corella dropping their main sail. "Right" said Bill, "that's enough, drop the spinnaker, hoist the jib and lets get moving." Rita radioed in their retirement as we did shortly after with Wynella and Nerrima following suit. It wasn't the starters fault at all, they cant expect the breeze to drop out as it did; so the trip home was a pleasant one with Bill stopping to offer a tow in to all the scouts on the water, only to find out that they were going to continue their efforts on the water for the next 24 hours. No help required.
We packed up and hopefully the sails will be dry enough by Wednesday if we get a little sun or breeze to do a dry out.
Apparently one boat did finish their race. We'd noticed Div. one's Arajilla making their way around the river and its a nod to Dave Gilham and the monstrous spinnaker he was flying that got him around the track. Every other boat was lingering in the lack of breeze mid river. Without David G finishing the race so early the starters could have closed out, with clear consciences.
So it wasn't their fault at all. It was Arajilla's fault.
Autumn Sailing Wednesday the 6th of March 2019
Bills got new sails too &
What on earth were they thinking?
It was a grey day and with the breeze more or less in the nor east we could have been excused for thinking it would have been a course one short or a course four, but the reaction from the skippers last week to the short course had the starters coughing in their beer and chips. Not likely to get one. So they threw up a course three. Fair enough. Something different. All that and about 6 to 9 knots.
Bill was seen pulling up his new Taskers sails and we expected big things from the new set. Alma, for some reason had forgotten to put the battens into their main and were seen putting them in on the water before the race.. ok. We went out to give the sails a good look over as they had been recut to fit a bit better. Lockie had the redoubtable Rita on board and they refused a third person when offered. Glen had Russell A on board with Andy and Colin so he was in a fair condition to sail. So 5 boats altogether.
The start was a fiasco for us. We had identified the pin as the place to be at and had it in mind during the prestart manoeuvres. We wanted to tack and found ourselves held up by Lockie, who unbeknown to us was trying to tack as well, so we sailed slowly past each other cursing our luck and watched as Swiftsure Saga and Wynella followed Alma across the line.
So the race began and we watched in disgust as stone last and 50 seconds late we followed the fleet off to Sampson. But we managed to get inside one boat and rounding Sampson we watched in disbelief as Alma took off into the west. What on earth were they thinking? Our course lay in a dash over to King and then to Robins and then a couple of loops around Robins and Print. But they kept going and we set our course to King. By this time they had worked out what was going on and were starting to return but the lead was gone, never to return. We did well and overtook the rest of the fleet using the little puffs to get us there. But it wasn't to last as Lockie found his own little channel of breeze and made it to the front before Robins with the fleet trailing him. Then the work down to Print with animated discussions as to where it was. I waited it out. I remembered a few weeks ago and the discussions then.
Back up to Robins on the poled out jib and it was noticeable that Alma was catching up ( well sailed Mark ) and Bill for some reason was dropping back further. Oh dear, new sails too. Sounds like I may have some work to do on Saturday. Around we went again and this time it was a dash down to Como and away to the outer start line. Then simply Sampson, Foam, Addison, Como to starboard and the finish line.
Again bad luck had us tack one way while the breeze went the other way and while we had some speed, those behind us were riding the puffs that were pushing through from the freeway. Damn. Alma was really closing the gap. And continued to do so all the way around to Como. We also had a problem with the champion SS27 who decided sail over us and then once we had tacked off to get separation picked the perfect time to tack on top of us again and dumped foul air on us. We had a very unhappy skipper who then dealt out something of the same to two other SS27's who were having a battle on the water on the run home past Como. Karmic retaliation I guess.
Over the line, pack up the boat and then settle down with Lockie and Rita who'd come across to scoff the olives on offer.
Over the line. Corella, Mariner and Alma
On handicap: Alma, Mariner and Corella
John Wright was seen working on Anna today and with the deck completely off, its a good chance to clean out the hull and take the boat back to the minimum before repainting her insides. Ian Weaver is currently replacing the deck beams where needed and the hatch frame has been replaced as well. The bow has been attended to and surprisingly is in good condition. Its been sanded back and finished with some filler to take it back to top condition
At present her motor is to stay and if there's any one out there who knows someone that could do a restoration on the little Stuart -Turner, now is the time to do it. It would be a fair job, but if successful, would keep the motor running in the hull where its been for years and years.
Andy, who sails with Glen, was caught on camera at a Glory game in Melbourne.. don't worry Andy - your secrets safe with us.
Bills got new sails too &
What on earth were they thinking?
It was a grey day and with the breeze more or less in the nor east we could have been excused for thinking it would have been a course one short or a course four, but the reaction from the skippers last week to the short course had the starters coughing in their beer and chips. Not likely to get one. So they threw up a course three. Fair enough. Something different. All that and about 6 to 9 knots.
Bill was seen pulling up his new Taskers sails and we expected big things from the new set. Alma, for some reason had forgotten to put the battens into their main and were seen putting them in on the water before the race.. ok. We went out to give the sails a good look over as they had been recut to fit a bit better. Lockie had the redoubtable Rita on board and they refused a third person when offered. Glen had Russell A on board with Andy and Colin so he was in a fair condition to sail. So 5 boats altogether.
The start was a fiasco for us. We had identified the pin as the place to be at and had it in mind during the prestart manoeuvres. We wanted to tack and found ourselves held up by Lockie, who unbeknown to us was trying to tack as well, so we sailed slowly past each other cursing our luck and watched as Swiftsure Saga and Wynella followed Alma across the line.
So the race began and we watched in disgust as stone last and 50 seconds late we followed the fleet off to Sampson. But we managed to get inside one boat and rounding Sampson we watched in disbelief as Alma took off into the west. What on earth were they thinking? Our course lay in a dash over to King and then to Robins and then a couple of loops around Robins and Print. But they kept going and we set our course to King. By this time they had worked out what was going on and were starting to return but the lead was gone, never to return. We did well and overtook the rest of the fleet using the little puffs to get us there. But it wasn't to last as Lockie found his own little channel of breeze and made it to the front before Robins with the fleet trailing him. Then the work down to Print with animated discussions as to where it was. I waited it out. I remembered a few weeks ago and the discussions then.
Back up to Robins on the poled out jib and it was noticeable that Alma was catching up ( well sailed Mark ) and Bill for some reason was dropping back further. Oh dear, new sails too. Sounds like I may have some work to do on Saturday. Around we went again and this time it was a dash down to Como and away to the outer start line. Then simply Sampson, Foam, Addison, Como to starboard and the finish line.
Again bad luck had us tack one way while the breeze went the other way and while we had some speed, those behind us were riding the puffs that were pushing through from the freeway. Damn. Alma was really closing the gap. And continued to do so all the way around to Como. We also had a problem with the champion SS27 who decided sail over us and then once we had tacked off to get separation picked the perfect time to tack on top of us again and dumped foul air on us. We had a very unhappy skipper who then dealt out something of the same to two other SS27's who were having a battle on the water on the run home past Como. Karmic retaliation I guess.
Over the line, pack up the boat and then settle down with Lockie and Rita who'd come across to scoff the olives on offer.
Over the line. Corella, Mariner and Alma
On handicap: Alma, Mariner and Corella
John Wright was seen working on Anna today and with the deck completely off, its a good chance to clean out the hull and take the boat back to the minimum before repainting her insides. Ian Weaver is currently replacing the deck beams where needed and the hatch frame has been replaced as well. The bow has been attended to and surprisingly is in good condition. Its been sanded back and finished with some filler to take it back to top condition
At present her motor is to stay and if there's any one out there who knows someone that could do a restoration on the little Stuart -Turner, now is the time to do it. It would be a fair job, but if successful, would keep the motor running in the hull where its been for years and years.
Andy, who sails with Glen, was caught on camera at a Glory game in Melbourne.. don't worry Andy - your secrets safe with us.
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 27th of February 2019
No longer the grey ghost &
Too short a course.
Its a funny day when the starters send you off on a course four and you know you'll be back by 1600 hrs. We had a west sou wester of about 10 to 14 knots and just before the boats left the pens the sou wester crackled over our heads and the breeze jumped a little before subsiding back to that 10 to 14 knots. Half a dozen boats on the fleet and we had new white Dacron sails on (no longer the grey ghost) . Really a testing day for us as we found that the main was a little large and some quick adaptions were made that helped us get the main working. As for the headsail, well some adjustments were made, but they were minor and it was going to work right from the start.
A fair start had us heading for the line with a good pace and we were looking at a hitting the line low, but fast. 2 seconds late probably, but the ones above us weren't any quicker and it was a line ball race with The Jin who was above us slightly. We had clear air and the best part of 6-7 knots so the next move was to come up into the gap that was so providently open to us and then chase Andy B as hard as we could. At Sampson we were faced with the choice, follow AB or tack off and that's what we should have done as there's no use in having a brick wall in front of you. But we waited for that vital few seconds allowing Lockie to tack off and he secured second place from there. We tacked off shortly after and watched as the rest of the fleet flicked over with The Jin last, but on top of the stack.
The rest of the work up to Robins was a series of crosses that gave us a good idea of where we stood and the dip into the bay was enough to have us coming out on a fair angle that might have made it to Robins, but just a few metres short. Many thanks to Bill on Swiftsure Saga who waved us through ( though we may have made it ) , but we were one of many on the way up who pulled off some pretty spectacular crosses. Lockie and Corella skimmed past Swiftsure and it was only a matter of feet in it with Lockie on port. Did Bill wave him through? Don't know but the rest of the fleet was still close on our tails.
Around we went and headed off after Lockie on our way to Dolphin East and from then it was a case of follow me for the rest of the day, but we had a chance to see how the sails were performing and make some adjustments on the way through. Off to Como from Dolphin East and then bend around to another reach to the outer startline. Quick alright and the new sails seem to be ok, but we'll wait until the recut main is put on board. The next sequence was the small course of Sampson, Foam, Print and Thelma. And we were still sliding along very well. Plenty of pace.
As we rolled over the finish line, I glanced at the time, sure enough 1601 hrs. The boat was packed and away with in an half hour and we were sitting on the jetty with a cold beer. Yes we could have gone on a little bit longer perhaps a course one ( shortened ) but the breeze was dropping out by 1700 hrs so may be it was the right call. Funnily the div one boats got a course 2. I wonder what they thought.
The first five boats came across the line under three minutes or so and Wynella is still working on their handicap. AB had decided to go home a little earlier and he missed on his fastest flag.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and then Mariner.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Alma and Mariner
The camera was playing up again, but we got a few images.
No longer the grey ghost &
Too short a course.
Its a funny day when the starters send you off on a course four and you know you'll be back by 1600 hrs. We had a west sou wester of about 10 to 14 knots and just before the boats left the pens the sou wester crackled over our heads and the breeze jumped a little before subsiding back to that 10 to 14 knots. Half a dozen boats on the fleet and we had new white Dacron sails on (no longer the grey ghost) . Really a testing day for us as we found that the main was a little large and some quick adaptions were made that helped us get the main working. As for the headsail, well some adjustments were made, but they were minor and it was going to work right from the start.
A fair start had us heading for the line with a good pace and we were looking at a hitting the line low, but fast. 2 seconds late probably, but the ones above us weren't any quicker and it was a line ball race with The Jin who was above us slightly. We had clear air and the best part of 6-7 knots so the next move was to come up into the gap that was so providently open to us and then chase Andy B as hard as we could. At Sampson we were faced with the choice, follow AB or tack off and that's what we should have done as there's no use in having a brick wall in front of you. But we waited for that vital few seconds allowing Lockie to tack off and he secured second place from there. We tacked off shortly after and watched as the rest of the fleet flicked over with The Jin last, but on top of the stack.
The rest of the work up to Robins was a series of crosses that gave us a good idea of where we stood and the dip into the bay was enough to have us coming out on a fair angle that might have made it to Robins, but just a few metres short. Many thanks to Bill on Swiftsure Saga who waved us through ( though we may have made it ) , but we were one of many on the way up who pulled off some pretty spectacular crosses. Lockie and Corella skimmed past Swiftsure and it was only a matter of feet in it with Lockie on port. Did Bill wave him through? Don't know but the rest of the fleet was still close on our tails.
Around we went and headed off after Lockie on our way to Dolphin East and from then it was a case of follow me for the rest of the day, but we had a chance to see how the sails were performing and make some adjustments on the way through. Off to Como from Dolphin East and then bend around to another reach to the outer startline. Quick alright and the new sails seem to be ok, but we'll wait until the recut main is put on board. The next sequence was the small course of Sampson, Foam, Print and Thelma. And we were still sliding along very well. Plenty of pace.
As we rolled over the finish line, I glanced at the time, sure enough 1601 hrs. The boat was packed and away with in an half hour and we were sitting on the jetty with a cold beer. Yes we could have gone on a little bit longer perhaps a course one ( shortened ) but the breeze was dropping out by 1700 hrs so may be it was the right call. Funnily the div one boats got a course 2. I wonder what they thought.
The first five boats came across the line under three minutes or so and Wynella is still working on their handicap. AB had decided to go home a little earlier and he missed on his fastest flag.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and then Mariner.
On handicap: Swiftsure Saga, Alma and Mariner
The camera was playing up again, but we got a few images.
Summer Sailing Saturday the 23rd of February 2019
The Lyn Rue Davey memorial race.
Its just a small courtesy. &
What a wonderful day for a sail.
A summers day with a west sou wester on offer of 12 t0 14 knots. John Wright would have been licking his lips in anticipation and Lockie would have had the crew dancing in the cockpit with glee. But neither were there and we didn't see Aloha, Karoleeya, Napea of Carrick, Alma or even the First Jindarra to keep us company. On this day, to sail the Lyn Rue Davey memorial, four boats went out.. Wynella, Nerrima, Swiftsure Saga and Carina.
Now Geoff's been suffering from handicap issues, apart from trying to sail home with a boat full of water last time around and he was loaded for bear with Rita, Andy Williams and Bruce Miller with him. He was going to be trouble.. Wynella had five on the boat with at least two fore deckies and the apprentice (Russell) had a chance to learn the strings with a kite up. Nerrima again had five on the boat and looked positively dangerous with most of his regulars and Glen's Wednesday main sheet man aboard as well. Loaded with talent. Bill, John P and your scribe took out Swiftsure Saga with the new mast under test. Didn't expect much from the day, but we were there to have a good time and see how the boat ran.
A kindly gesture from the starters had us away on a course four and the start line beckoned, we'd left our run a few seconds late but somehow we got under the start boat and swung up to find ourselves top boat on the stack and well on our way in a westerly. The dash into Heathcote was predictable and we then swung the boat the other way getting Carina behind us on the tack. As we worked our way up the breeze we managed to get past the rest of the fleet and then aimed for the top of the course. The rules as I learnt them indicated staying out on a westerly and the compass was indicating a breeze of 255 (a good wsw) and so we stayed pretty much out, just dipping into the Applecross pier to come out on a run to Applecross spit and bend up toward Deepwater. As usual we had a dragon fleet coming toward us, but they began to tack off, so we loaded up the other side and fell down onto Deepwater with a tight rounding to Hallmark and all our troubles behind us.
We weren't quick across to Hallmark and the fleet (as it was) began to catch up. Glen had established a lead on the rest and had Les on his tail as we went out to try and use the breeze on the middle to get across to Armstrong near Perth Flying Squadron. We rounded a little further ahead and the down wind chase to Print began. Once they had their spinnakers up Les and Glen were going to pass us and Les did so reasonably well, however we were sailing angles to keep the boat moving and after a few gybes we were in a position to ask for mark room at Print on Wynella and we rounded, secure again that we would be able to outpace her on the way up.
As we did and we still had Les in front but we weren't able to pull him back this time.. more adjustments to the sails and we began to improve a little. Glen started to drop back and so did Geoff on Carina, despite their best efforts they weren't having a good day. Up to Deepwater again and that dip into the bay near the pier worked a treat and we watched in awe as Les went right in. Ok, if he can we can. and we lifted out looking at AppleX spit. Nice sailing. Glen was right behind us and followed suit.
Around at Deepwater and a reach across to Dolphin East. Lockie or Andrew would have carried a kite, but no one did on the first run, we popped up a pole about half way down and as the opportunity came, gybed and shot down to Addison following Nerrima. Sure a couple of gybes and hot angles helped us with speed and we managed to keep in front of Wynella as they were slow to get the spinnaker up for the run to Addison. Carina just wasn't firing and despite their talented effort with a spinnaker run from Deepwater to Dolphin East they were unable to drag back the people out the front.
Making Addison we began the run back up the track with Les slowly coming back to us, but our need was to establish a good lead on Wynella. Why, well if she put up a spinnaker on the run from Deepwater to Dolphin East, they could catch us. Then the run down to Addison would have slaughtered us. She didn't, Les did about half way down and Carina very courageously popped one up early on the run and suffered a slightly unstable spinnaker. Still they tried and good luck to them. They were certainly catching up though. But we'd got a good lead and all we wanted to do was to preserve it.
Making the mark we bent away toward Thelma and watched to see if the boats were making it on one board to the finish line from Thelma. Umm interesting some were, others didn't. Reaching Thelma we hardened up and pulled the traveller all the way up and tightened the leach a little. Nerrima made it, one of the little SS22's didn't, another did but by now we had height and speed as the wind gusted and took us up a little. Then drop down on the line and take a good second to Nerrima with Glen and Geoff not too far behind. In fact the 4 boats finished under 4 minutes apart. Not bad really! Tow Carina back into the pen and nearly fall over Vic Court who'd come down to see his old boat perform.
In the H28 fleet, a small courtesy of three cheers is offered by the crew finishing second to the victorious boat and it is responded to in kind by the victors. This courtesy has been around longer than I've been sailing at the club. Lets hope that in time all H28 skippers will help keep the tradition alive,
Over the line: Nerrima, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
On handicap: Wynella, Nerrima and Swiftsure Saga.
Well sailed to Wynella who is rejoicing in a handicap commensurate with his skill and determination. The Lyn Rue Davey memorial trophy will have your name on it.
We all need to give Geoff sympathy and support while he sails with an heavy handicap. He was the scratch boat today. There doesn't seem to be an adjustment mechanism that could help him. Perhaps time will be his saviour.
The Lyn Rue Davey memorial race.
Its just a small courtesy. &
What a wonderful day for a sail.
A summers day with a west sou wester on offer of 12 t0 14 knots. John Wright would have been licking his lips in anticipation and Lockie would have had the crew dancing in the cockpit with glee. But neither were there and we didn't see Aloha, Karoleeya, Napea of Carrick, Alma or even the First Jindarra to keep us company. On this day, to sail the Lyn Rue Davey memorial, four boats went out.. Wynella, Nerrima, Swiftsure Saga and Carina.
Now Geoff's been suffering from handicap issues, apart from trying to sail home with a boat full of water last time around and he was loaded for bear with Rita, Andy Williams and Bruce Miller with him. He was going to be trouble.. Wynella had five on the boat with at least two fore deckies and the apprentice (Russell) had a chance to learn the strings with a kite up. Nerrima again had five on the boat and looked positively dangerous with most of his regulars and Glen's Wednesday main sheet man aboard as well. Loaded with talent. Bill, John P and your scribe took out Swiftsure Saga with the new mast under test. Didn't expect much from the day, but we were there to have a good time and see how the boat ran.
A kindly gesture from the starters had us away on a course four and the start line beckoned, we'd left our run a few seconds late but somehow we got under the start boat and swung up to find ourselves top boat on the stack and well on our way in a westerly. The dash into Heathcote was predictable and we then swung the boat the other way getting Carina behind us on the tack. As we worked our way up the breeze we managed to get past the rest of the fleet and then aimed for the top of the course. The rules as I learnt them indicated staying out on a westerly and the compass was indicating a breeze of 255 (a good wsw) and so we stayed pretty much out, just dipping into the Applecross pier to come out on a run to Applecross spit and bend up toward Deepwater. As usual we had a dragon fleet coming toward us, but they began to tack off, so we loaded up the other side and fell down onto Deepwater with a tight rounding to Hallmark and all our troubles behind us.
We weren't quick across to Hallmark and the fleet (as it was) began to catch up. Glen had established a lead on the rest and had Les on his tail as we went out to try and use the breeze on the middle to get across to Armstrong near Perth Flying Squadron. We rounded a little further ahead and the down wind chase to Print began. Once they had their spinnakers up Les and Glen were going to pass us and Les did so reasonably well, however we were sailing angles to keep the boat moving and after a few gybes we were in a position to ask for mark room at Print on Wynella and we rounded, secure again that we would be able to outpace her on the way up.
As we did and we still had Les in front but we weren't able to pull him back this time.. more adjustments to the sails and we began to improve a little. Glen started to drop back and so did Geoff on Carina, despite their best efforts they weren't having a good day. Up to Deepwater again and that dip into the bay near the pier worked a treat and we watched in awe as Les went right in. Ok, if he can we can. and we lifted out looking at AppleX spit. Nice sailing. Glen was right behind us and followed suit.
Around at Deepwater and a reach across to Dolphin East. Lockie or Andrew would have carried a kite, but no one did on the first run, we popped up a pole about half way down and as the opportunity came, gybed and shot down to Addison following Nerrima. Sure a couple of gybes and hot angles helped us with speed and we managed to keep in front of Wynella as they were slow to get the spinnaker up for the run to Addison. Carina just wasn't firing and despite their talented effort with a spinnaker run from Deepwater to Dolphin East they were unable to drag back the people out the front.
Making Addison we began the run back up the track with Les slowly coming back to us, but our need was to establish a good lead on Wynella. Why, well if she put up a spinnaker on the run from Deepwater to Dolphin East, they could catch us. Then the run down to Addison would have slaughtered us. She didn't, Les did about half way down and Carina very courageously popped one up early on the run and suffered a slightly unstable spinnaker. Still they tried and good luck to them. They were certainly catching up though. But we'd got a good lead and all we wanted to do was to preserve it.
Making the mark we bent away toward Thelma and watched to see if the boats were making it on one board to the finish line from Thelma. Umm interesting some were, others didn't. Reaching Thelma we hardened up and pulled the traveller all the way up and tightened the leach a little. Nerrima made it, one of the little SS22's didn't, another did but by now we had height and speed as the wind gusted and took us up a little. Then drop down on the line and take a good second to Nerrima with Glen and Geoff not too far behind. In fact the 4 boats finished under 4 minutes apart. Not bad really! Tow Carina back into the pen and nearly fall over Vic Court who'd come down to see his old boat perform.
In the H28 fleet, a small courtesy of three cheers is offered by the crew finishing second to the victorious boat and it is responded to in kind by the victors. This courtesy has been around longer than I've been sailing at the club. Lets hope that in time all H28 skippers will help keep the tradition alive,
Over the line: Nerrima, Swiftsure Saga and Wynella.
On handicap: Wynella, Nerrima and Swiftsure Saga.
Well sailed to Wynella who is rejoicing in a handicap commensurate with his skill and determination. The Lyn Rue Davey memorial trophy will have your name on it.
We all need to give Geoff sympathy and support while he sails with an heavy handicap. He was the scratch boat today. There doesn't seem to be an adjustment mechanism that could help him. Perhaps time will be his saviour.
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 20th of February 2019
Apologies all round &
Nothings for free.
It was a great day to go for a yot and with 12 to 18 knots on offer as a WSW over the afternoon we probably should have used the black #1 and I apologise for that, but we went out with the old soft #1 and it was certainly was a help on the down wind legs. However we cracked it for a great start on a course two taking off into the north to Sampson. And we screamed across the river with the skip mouthing imprecations at the crew to make sure we stayed ahead.
At Sampson we were transom to bow with The 1st Jin and were able, we thought, to break the overlap and spun around the mark, only to find that the second boat was running up the inside forcing us out. To avoid damage, we moved away from the other boat and consequently dropped off the pace. We'd like to apologise for getting in Andrew's way.
We couldn't continue to go on in that position and sooner or later we had to go. We waited till most of the other boats had gone and then tossed to head into Heathcote. Already we had Lockie, Glen and Bill heading over there and on our first cross we managed to squeak past Lockie and then watched as Bill just lifted up past us. Our apologies for such a dreadful cross.
The next phase began with the run up to a ley line on Hallmark and watching the Royal Perth boats work their way around Foam.. no problems from them thank goodness. But Lockie had gone into the North and was working his way up the breeze, doing very well thank you and had nearly caught up with Andrew. After Hallmark the choice was to go early out into the river or hold on a little and see where you end up. We had a bit of luck and managed to catch up on Swiftsure Saga ( Bill ) and our rounding at the mark was quite good with (and I cant remember and I apologise) Mariner just in front of, or just behind of SSS. Never matter, the soft headsail came into play and we drew away from Swiftsure Saga over the run down to Como. Lockie was busily chasing Andrew ahead of us and the field was quite tight with Wynella hot on Bills heels and Bill working hard to separate himself from an S&S 34 who had decided to cause him grief.
Rounding Como, Bill had problems and was still battling with the S&S34. This continued all the way to the Outer start line and then the recalcitrant skipper decided to take him up after rounding the start line. Bill quite rightly sailed over him, just pushing the boat above his line, powering up his headsail and sailing away while the S&S 34 skipper battled with a flogging headsail. Well done Bill. But he'd lost a few lengths while doing it and I'm sure he'd apologise for what he might have said to the skipper of the S&S34. So, with clear air we all took off on the smaller triangle encompassing Dolphin East and a run through Print to Como and Thelma. Nothing much changed as we cleared Dolphin East and our next issue happened after Print.
We had our own problems with a bunch of B fleet sailors having a battle at Como. Fortunately they were above us and we watched as Ted on Maverick took Geoff on Minka way off into the distance. However not far enough, for they had returned by Thelma and had lined up in front of us with one or two others. But it was a lift to the finish line from Thelma and we cranked on the mast, hardened up the main and shot up above the two warring B fleet boats and made our own way to the line. Not that far away from The 1st Jin as we heard the hooter and watched Lockie flick over the line some 40 seconds later. The rest of the field was home shortly and the results show the difference in handicaps.
Over the line : The First Jindarra, Corella and Mariner.
On handicap : Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Corella.
Last week, Bill Richards was given a pin to commemorate the new mast on the boat. I forgot to put the photos up so here they are to show. This doesn't mean that everyone gets a pin from the chairman.. you have to break your mast at least 4 times to even be considered.
The Jin sailed with 6 people onboard and it was with great pleasure we had Vic Court come out for a sail on Andrews boat. Geoff Reason had just finished his last FIFO assignment and (looking a little tired) fronted up for drinks in the bar. Vic was heard to complain that Andrew had made him work too hard and I guess that running a winch can be hard on a bloke who had his 80 something birthday recently. Judith is recuperating from an illness and her crew spread themselves around the fleet. A pity as another boat on the water would have been good.
John Wright is still hors de combat with the doctors poking around him, but he's home at present..
Ian Weaver is working on the under pinning of the front deck on Anna and I believe they'll be looking at volunteers to take the back deck off shortly. Contact Ian for details.
And Karoleeya has made it over to jetty three and for the first time these guys will be able to dip into the resources available to the H28 fraternity. But nothings for free Steve, we'll still steal your crew if you leave them unattended..
And finally and I do need to apologise.... the camera packed up on the day and every photo I took was either streaky or with the shutter half closed. Have a look at a couple of examples.
Apologies all round &
Nothings for free.
It was a great day to go for a yot and with 12 to 18 knots on offer as a WSW over the afternoon we probably should have used the black #1 and I apologise for that, but we went out with the old soft #1 and it was certainly was a help on the down wind legs. However we cracked it for a great start on a course two taking off into the north to Sampson. And we screamed across the river with the skip mouthing imprecations at the crew to make sure we stayed ahead.
At Sampson we were transom to bow with The 1st Jin and were able, we thought, to break the overlap and spun around the mark, only to find that the second boat was running up the inside forcing us out. To avoid damage, we moved away from the other boat and consequently dropped off the pace. We'd like to apologise for getting in Andrew's way.
We couldn't continue to go on in that position and sooner or later we had to go. We waited till most of the other boats had gone and then tossed to head into Heathcote. Already we had Lockie, Glen and Bill heading over there and on our first cross we managed to squeak past Lockie and then watched as Bill just lifted up past us. Our apologies for such a dreadful cross.
The next phase began with the run up to a ley line on Hallmark and watching the Royal Perth boats work their way around Foam.. no problems from them thank goodness. But Lockie had gone into the North and was working his way up the breeze, doing very well thank you and had nearly caught up with Andrew. After Hallmark the choice was to go early out into the river or hold on a little and see where you end up. We had a bit of luck and managed to catch up on Swiftsure Saga ( Bill ) and our rounding at the mark was quite good with (and I cant remember and I apologise) Mariner just in front of, or just behind of SSS. Never matter, the soft headsail came into play and we drew away from Swiftsure Saga over the run down to Como. Lockie was busily chasing Andrew ahead of us and the field was quite tight with Wynella hot on Bills heels and Bill working hard to separate himself from an S&S 34 who had decided to cause him grief.
Rounding Como, Bill had problems and was still battling with the S&S34. This continued all the way to the Outer start line and then the recalcitrant skipper decided to take him up after rounding the start line. Bill quite rightly sailed over him, just pushing the boat above his line, powering up his headsail and sailing away while the S&S 34 skipper battled with a flogging headsail. Well done Bill. But he'd lost a few lengths while doing it and I'm sure he'd apologise for what he might have said to the skipper of the S&S34. So, with clear air we all took off on the smaller triangle encompassing Dolphin East and a run through Print to Como and Thelma. Nothing much changed as we cleared Dolphin East and our next issue happened after Print.
We had our own problems with a bunch of B fleet sailors having a battle at Como. Fortunately they were above us and we watched as Ted on Maverick took Geoff on Minka way off into the distance. However not far enough, for they had returned by Thelma and had lined up in front of us with one or two others. But it was a lift to the finish line from Thelma and we cranked on the mast, hardened up the main and shot up above the two warring B fleet boats and made our own way to the line. Not that far away from The 1st Jin as we heard the hooter and watched Lockie flick over the line some 40 seconds later. The rest of the field was home shortly and the results show the difference in handicaps.
Over the line : The First Jindarra, Corella and Mariner.
On handicap : Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Corella.
Last week, Bill Richards was given a pin to commemorate the new mast on the boat. I forgot to put the photos up so here they are to show. This doesn't mean that everyone gets a pin from the chairman.. you have to break your mast at least 4 times to even be considered.
The Jin sailed with 6 people onboard and it was with great pleasure we had Vic Court come out for a sail on Andrews boat. Geoff Reason had just finished his last FIFO assignment and (looking a little tired) fronted up for drinks in the bar. Vic was heard to complain that Andrew had made him work too hard and I guess that running a winch can be hard on a bloke who had his 80 something birthday recently. Judith is recuperating from an illness and her crew spread themselves around the fleet. A pity as another boat on the water would have been good.
John Wright is still hors de combat with the doctors poking around him, but he's home at present..
Ian Weaver is working on the under pinning of the front deck on Anna and I believe they'll be looking at volunteers to take the back deck off shortly. Contact Ian for details.
And Karoleeya has made it over to jetty three and for the first time these guys will be able to dip into the resources available to the H28 fraternity. But nothings for free Steve, we'll still steal your crew if you leave them unattended..
And finally and I do need to apologise.... the camera packed up on the day and every photo I took was either streaky or with the shutter half closed. Have a look at a couple of examples.
Summer Sailing Saturday the 16th of February 2019
A lovely day to go sailing. &
5 went out 4 returned.
No. not five boats, but I'll return to that later. This was a non consistency day and frankly the club had organised todays event as a response to the fact that the Little Wheel had been cancelled. As usual, when the yachties are given the day off well in advance, they make other plans and we were treated to four other skippers pottering around on their boats: Andy- new windows, Les B. cleaning the hull, Glen - just hanging around, and Jim S working on Napea of Carrick's engine. But Bill had a new mast on Swiftsure Saga and was wanted to go out onto the water on a fair day. So away we went, with Brian Cross along for the ride and Colin (Eun Na Mara) dropping in for a yacht as well.
As we went to go into the breeze to put up our main, out popped Karoleeya with Steve Hill on the helm and a lady crew to help him. The skipper called for volunteers to jump over and help and without further ado, Colin swapped boats and gave them the extra person to sail with. We then had another player on the start line and we made our way there, watching the SS22's making their way down the river for a separate set of races.
There were few on the river, but the pleasure of Pete Vlaars boat Farrago and a troupe of young and old dressed in blue shirts taking her up the river was a sight for sore eyes. However the breeze was starting to freshen and the sou wester had begun to hum. At least 18 knots in the gusts and 15 on the bottom. No problem with four of us on the boat. A chance to test the mast in the breeze and see how the main sail set.
The starters gave us a course four with its three visits to Deepwater, but on a JaM day it was perfect, as we couldn't get too bored on the long runs you get on a course one. The first dip into the bay had us looking up the river at AppleX spit and with a touch of westerly still in the breeze we took another dig in to try and nail the mark. At the same time, the Royal Freshwater Bay line was firing off a fleet of Dragons at us and it was touch and go for us as to whether they would roll us before we reached a lay line. Then one or two tacked and we realised that they were close to their own lay lines across the river. But we went anyway as we were close enough. Around we went and looked for Hallmark with a friendly squabble over whether it was the tall black building (the Hospital) or the University clock tower as the mark to look for. Didn't matter we got there anyway.
In a little further and then off to Armstrong and a run down to Print with an animated discussion between two of us as to where the mark was. At this stage we were also looking at the tension on the inners, but doing nothing about it. Then away to Deepwater again with a good dig into Frenchies and lift all the way up past Robins and Applecross Spit with a little flick to get us around Deepwater and then to Dolphin East. No traffic on the river to cause problems as the boat soared down the breeze to Addison and again we were looking at the mast.. Brian thought the mast was pumping and suggested various remedies. A video was taken but it was found that the inners were looser than expected and this may have been the reason why the mast was doing this. However Bill has a mast trimmer due on Monday, let him figure it out.
Around we went and back up to Deepwater again, the longest work of the day. The boat was pulling 5.8 - 5.9 knots consistently and the breeze was now up around 19 knots on the bottom and gusting to 23. A true Sou wester and only occasionally was there a hole in the breeze. Good for racing. Up and around again, we'd got it pretty right by now and the run to Dolphin East was without problems and the next phase had us on a hot reach from Addison to Thelma and knocking up 7 knots or better. Hardening up at Thelma we ran along the shore until we had a line for the finish and then rolled over. Where was Karoleeya I hear you ask? Well they were on a race of their own and were enjoying the experience, but Steve did mention that the old girl was taking in a bit of water and that he could see daylight (and water) between the planks occasionally when she heeled over. If anyone could mention that to Graham, it would be good.
Back to the chairs on Herreshoff Hill and discuss the day, with the crew of Karoleeya joining us and having a chat about their experiences. That was when were looked at the wind strengths and realised how good a day it had been. Well sailed to both crews and as there's no reason to worry about results, I shan't mention them.
I had news from Glen that five H28 ladies (wives and sailors) met for lunch at the club recently. They were Carol Little ( wife to Ernie Little X Karoleeya) and now involved with Wynella; Del Colhoughn nee Williams (wife to Bob) Carina; Nancy Bourne ( wife to Don Bourne ) builder of Wynella; Val Solomon (wife of Bill Solomon) Napea of Carrick and Jan Coddington (wife of Tony Coddington) Georgina. All five were heavily involved with the H28 fleet and have certainly contributed to the H28 history.
A lovely day to go sailing. &
5 went out 4 returned.
No. not five boats, but I'll return to that later. This was a non consistency day and frankly the club had organised todays event as a response to the fact that the Little Wheel had been cancelled. As usual, when the yachties are given the day off well in advance, they make other plans and we were treated to four other skippers pottering around on their boats: Andy- new windows, Les B. cleaning the hull, Glen - just hanging around, and Jim S working on Napea of Carrick's engine. But Bill had a new mast on Swiftsure Saga and was wanted to go out onto the water on a fair day. So away we went, with Brian Cross along for the ride and Colin (Eun Na Mara) dropping in for a yacht as well.
As we went to go into the breeze to put up our main, out popped Karoleeya with Steve Hill on the helm and a lady crew to help him. The skipper called for volunteers to jump over and help and without further ado, Colin swapped boats and gave them the extra person to sail with. We then had another player on the start line and we made our way there, watching the SS22's making their way down the river for a separate set of races.
There were few on the river, but the pleasure of Pete Vlaars boat Farrago and a troupe of young and old dressed in blue shirts taking her up the river was a sight for sore eyes. However the breeze was starting to freshen and the sou wester had begun to hum. At least 18 knots in the gusts and 15 on the bottom. No problem with four of us on the boat. A chance to test the mast in the breeze and see how the main sail set.
The starters gave us a course four with its three visits to Deepwater, but on a JaM day it was perfect, as we couldn't get too bored on the long runs you get on a course one. The first dip into the bay had us looking up the river at AppleX spit and with a touch of westerly still in the breeze we took another dig in to try and nail the mark. At the same time, the Royal Freshwater Bay line was firing off a fleet of Dragons at us and it was touch and go for us as to whether they would roll us before we reached a lay line. Then one or two tacked and we realised that they were close to their own lay lines across the river. But we went anyway as we were close enough. Around we went and looked for Hallmark with a friendly squabble over whether it was the tall black building (the Hospital) or the University clock tower as the mark to look for. Didn't matter we got there anyway.
In a little further and then off to Armstrong and a run down to Print with an animated discussion between two of us as to where the mark was. At this stage we were also looking at the tension on the inners, but doing nothing about it. Then away to Deepwater again with a good dig into Frenchies and lift all the way up past Robins and Applecross Spit with a little flick to get us around Deepwater and then to Dolphin East. No traffic on the river to cause problems as the boat soared down the breeze to Addison and again we were looking at the mast.. Brian thought the mast was pumping and suggested various remedies. A video was taken but it was found that the inners were looser than expected and this may have been the reason why the mast was doing this. However Bill has a mast trimmer due on Monday, let him figure it out.
Around we went and back up to Deepwater again, the longest work of the day. The boat was pulling 5.8 - 5.9 knots consistently and the breeze was now up around 19 knots on the bottom and gusting to 23. A true Sou wester and only occasionally was there a hole in the breeze. Good for racing. Up and around again, we'd got it pretty right by now and the run to Dolphin East was without problems and the next phase had us on a hot reach from Addison to Thelma and knocking up 7 knots or better. Hardening up at Thelma we ran along the shore until we had a line for the finish and then rolled over. Where was Karoleeya I hear you ask? Well they were on a race of their own and were enjoying the experience, but Steve did mention that the old girl was taking in a bit of water and that he could see daylight (and water) between the planks occasionally when she heeled over. If anyone could mention that to Graham, it would be good.
Back to the chairs on Herreshoff Hill and discuss the day, with the crew of Karoleeya joining us and having a chat about their experiences. That was when were looked at the wind strengths and realised how good a day it had been. Well sailed to both crews and as there's no reason to worry about results, I shan't mention them.
I had news from Glen that five H28 ladies (wives and sailors) met for lunch at the club recently. They were Carol Little ( wife to Ernie Little X Karoleeya) and now involved with Wynella; Del Colhoughn nee Williams (wife to Bob) Carina; Nancy Bourne ( wife to Don Bourne ) builder of Wynella; Val Solomon (wife of Bill Solomon) Napea of Carrick and Jan Coddington (wife of Tony Coddington) Georgina. All five were heavily involved with the H28 fleet and have certainly contributed to the H28 history.
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 13th of February 2019
And then the wind dropped out. &
Building picket fences may be injurious to your handicap.
It was classic summers day after Christmas. The easterly dropped out and a little breeze popped up from the west rapidly turning into the sou west. Clearly we were to get a course four, but we watched as they handed out a course two ( Westerly) to A fleet. Well, may be.. but sure enough, a course four popped up with a dash to Sampson on the card. Six boats on the water with Bill sporting his new mast and it was a day to test the mast more than anything else.
Don't follow, create a difference and sail your own course was the go and while we got a good start, we had to deal with Lockie below us and Andrew above. - Andy rolled us on the way to Sampson and Lockie tried very hard to get under us, but couldn't break our overlap. Fair enough, just get around the corner and two tacks later we were heading up the breeze toward Robins watching to see if we'd get Lockie on the cross. It wasn't to be and he got in front before Robins. We both went low and double tacked back onto a lay line, while Andrew Bell pinched his way around Robins but we were too far away see if he grazed the mark.. :-) .
Around we went and off to Dolphin East with a good chase on our hands. Poled out we were catching up with Lockie and incidentally the other three, Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Alma weren't far away either. Bills boat, albeit in testing mode was still pulling well and despite a large crease in the main was doing fine. Alma and Wynella were trading places I believe and trying to keep in touch with each other. Incidentally Glen was short of his normal tribe and his new co owner did a fine job on the main with Col handling everything else. Mark Whimhurst has returned from his work up in the north and drove Alma for Judith with Craig and a stray on the boat.
Back down to Como and off to the Outer start line with few problems making the mark, but the wind was dropping out even then. Around we went and a decent run up to Sampson had us in contact with the first two, but those behind us were starting to drop back. By Sampson it was a fair chance to go a little bit further up the breeze and then tack. Corella had already gone, but Andrew had gone well up the breeze and tossed to go for the mark. Wasn't doing to badly either. But Corella had tacked back and crossed us on the trip up to Foam, now will we get them on the next toss near Foam?
No we didn't, but we were closer than before. So chase Lockie and then aim to get even nearer to them. Around Print and down to Como with the bend at the mark and of course we watched Corella pull away at this point. Good trimming from Rita. Then to Thelma and look back. No one in sight. The breeze had dropped out down the river and we were sailing on a whisper out of the south.. down to 1.8 knots and a chance that it could drop right out. But 4 tonnes of wood, iron and lead kept the boat moving and another puff took us up to 2.4 knots and enough to get over the line in reasonable time behind the first two. We were parked and enjoying a beer when the next three arrived. Not a good sight.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Mariner
On handicap: Mariner, Corella and The First Jindarra.
Building picket fences.
That's our third win in a row and our handicap is starting to rise quickly. Wynella is on a handicap improver and is descending to a level where she can start winning again. However any more wins will frustrate the chance to keep a modest handicap and while the skip declaims that he's only here to be first across the line, I'm sure he'd like a win for the summer season.
And then the wind dropped out. &
Building picket fences may be injurious to your handicap.
It was classic summers day after Christmas. The easterly dropped out and a little breeze popped up from the west rapidly turning into the sou west. Clearly we were to get a course four, but we watched as they handed out a course two ( Westerly) to A fleet. Well, may be.. but sure enough, a course four popped up with a dash to Sampson on the card. Six boats on the water with Bill sporting his new mast and it was a day to test the mast more than anything else.
Don't follow, create a difference and sail your own course was the go and while we got a good start, we had to deal with Lockie below us and Andrew above. - Andy rolled us on the way to Sampson and Lockie tried very hard to get under us, but couldn't break our overlap. Fair enough, just get around the corner and two tacks later we were heading up the breeze toward Robins watching to see if we'd get Lockie on the cross. It wasn't to be and he got in front before Robins. We both went low and double tacked back onto a lay line, while Andrew Bell pinched his way around Robins but we were too far away see if he grazed the mark.. :-) .
Around we went and off to Dolphin East with a good chase on our hands. Poled out we were catching up with Lockie and incidentally the other three, Swiftsure Saga, Wynella and Alma weren't far away either. Bills boat, albeit in testing mode was still pulling well and despite a large crease in the main was doing fine. Alma and Wynella were trading places I believe and trying to keep in touch with each other. Incidentally Glen was short of his normal tribe and his new co owner did a fine job on the main with Col handling everything else. Mark Whimhurst has returned from his work up in the north and drove Alma for Judith with Craig and a stray on the boat.
Back down to Como and off to the Outer start line with few problems making the mark, but the wind was dropping out even then. Around we went and a decent run up to Sampson had us in contact with the first two, but those behind us were starting to drop back. By Sampson it was a fair chance to go a little bit further up the breeze and then tack. Corella had already gone, but Andrew had gone well up the breeze and tossed to go for the mark. Wasn't doing to badly either. But Corella had tacked back and crossed us on the trip up to Foam, now will we get them on the next toss near Foam?
No we didn't, but we were closer than before. So chase Lockie and then aim to get even nearer to them. Around Print and down to Como with the bend at the mark and of course we watched Corella pull away at this point. Good trimming from Rita. Then to Thelma and look back. No one in sight. The breeze had dropped out down the river and we were sailing on a whisper out of the south.. down to 1.8 knots and a chance that it could drop right out. But 4 tonnes of wood, iron and lead kept the boat moving and another puff took us up to 2.4 knots and enough to get over the line in reasonable time behind the first two. We were parked and enjoying a beer when the next three arrived. Not a good sight.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Mariner
On handicap: Mariner, Corella and The First Jindarra.
Building picket fences.
That's our third win in a row and our handicap is starting to rise quickly. Wynella is on a handicap improver and is descending to a level where she can start winning again. However any more wins will frustrate the chance to keep a modest handicap and while the skip declaims that he's only here to be first across the line, I'm sure he'd like a win for the summer season.
Summer Sailing Saturday the 9th of February 2019
Championship Round # 5
Aloha builds their profile. &
How do you like your fries?
Last comment first.
It was hot, extremely hot, and the boats who were on the water were out there for at least 3 hrs and in Karoleeya's case 3 and a half hours.
Sailing in these conditions was known as a two slab race, nowadays its 3 litres of water per person.
However 5 boats sailed today and I was watching from the sidelines with Swiftsure Saga having her mast being taken off in the afternoon. Frankly the idea of sailing was in my mind and if Les Brooker had called me last night he would have had a 4th man. But I'd made a promise to Bill and in the end I think it was the right choice.
The first Jindarra, Nerrima and Carina took off from jetty three and slowly they were joined by Karoleeya and Aloha. I watched as they moved their way down the Canning toward the startline and later, in the company of John P and Bill Richards we watched them sail, spinnakers up toward the other end of the river. Well the first three mentioned had spinnakers up, Karoleeya and Aloha didn't have spinnakers up.
Geoff appears to be having problems with his motor and its been taken out for some work... that's ok Geoff, Carina didn't have one for years.
Edit: Having emailed with Bruce Miller who was on Carina for the day.
Just read your comments on H28 club champ race. A bit more info.
Course was full course 1 from the start boat with a shorten course triggered by radio call and flags on finish box that you cant read from como during the race. Bit of everything out there even a beat (on or to) brickie a to b when carina got there. A lot of nothing and cases (of) kite up kite down then back up again all on same leg. ( the wind appears to be flicking between the sou east and sou west )
Bruce
Re: Race comments on website.
Thanks Bruce. I was flying by the seat of my pants on that one. None of us thought they would hang out a course 1. But then I did see a bunch of flags on the start box when we were leaving around 1600. I'll amend the info tomorrow.
Rick
Agree we were all stunned as well seeing a full 1 as course from the start boat. Given the forecast and the synoptic chart with trough line on coast. There was never a guarantee of sea breeze on the river after hitting the coast. Weather models including a few professional weather models (that) I have access to through my offshore nav role but also includes BOM meteye, was changing all week and moistly (mostly) very different (between) Melville water to coast line.
Bruce
We finished taking the mast off Swiftsure Saga and examined the crack in the top. Enough to say that they were right to stop then and there. But Bill reckons its fixable, so it may be held in reserve. The new mast is being finished on Sunday and will be installed on Monday. Its not exactly what Bill ordered, but he reckons it will do, though the triple reinforcement of the base of the mast is fascinating.
Into the bar at Bills urging and there were no qualms about a cold ale shared with Max and John who were there already. And we noted the slow passage of the boats up and down the river. Bill and I guessed on a course 4 ( light winds ) and even then, the fastest boat ( the First Jindarra ) took 3 hours and eighteen minutes and I'd say they were drinking the ice water from the bottom of the esky by the end of the day. As for the last boat over the line, Karoleeya 3 hrs 35 minutes and 53 seconds. I don't know what they were drinking by the end of the day, but the bar would have got a hammering.
The easterly didn't stop blowing out of the Canning, though it may have wandered into the south occasionally; as for the river there was a sea breeze of some 8 to 14 knots, but I think that the BOM site was recording the breeze on the northern side of the river.
But Aloha took the win on consistency today. 14 minutes ahead of Karoleeya on adjusted time and Karoleeya was a minute ahead of Nerrima.
Over the line and for the championship: The First Jindarra, Nerrima and Carina
Now for those in the East. We think that we have Judith , Ralph and Lynne, Lockie and Brian Cross, John and Fay Wright and Jay over at the Hobart Wooden boat festival and there may be several more. I'll wait to see what results when the mob come back.
Edit: Turned out that Judith had gone to the tennis in Melbourne, but was nowhere near Hobart and the Wrights were at home with John getting a few more C's cut out. Not the best of things.
Championship Round # 5
Aloha builds their profile. &
How do you like your fries?
Last comment first.
It was hot, extremely hot, and the boats who were on the water were out there for at least 3 hrs and in Karoleeya's case 3 and a half hours.
Sailing in these conditions was known as a two slab race, nowadays its 3 litres of water per person.
However 5 boats sailed today and I was watching from the sidelines with Swiftsure Saga having her mast being taken off in the afternoon. Frankly the idea of sailing was in my mind and if Les Brooker had called me last night he would have had a 4th man. But I'd made a promise to Bill and in the end I think it was the right choice.
The first Jindarra, Nerrima and Carina took off from jetty three and slowly they were joined by Karoleeya and Aloha. I watched as they moved their way down the Canning toward the startline and later, in the company of John P and Bill Richards we watched them sail, spinnakers up toward the other end of the river. Well the first three mentioned had spinnakers up, Karoleeya and Aloha didn't have spinnakers up.
Geoff appears to be having problems with his motor and its been taken out for some work... that's ok Geoff, Carina didn't have one for years.
Edit: Having emailed with Bruce Miller who was on Carina for the day.
Just read your comments on H28 club champ race. A bit more info.
Course was full course 1 from the start boat with a shorten course triggered by radio call and flags on finish box that you cant read from como during the race. Bit of everything out there even a beat (on or to) brickie a to b when carina got there. A lot of nothing and cases (of) kite up kite down then back up again all on same leg. ( the wind appears to be flicking between the sou east and sou west )
Bruce
Re: Race comments on website.
Thanks Bruce. I was flying by the seat of my pants on that one. None of us thought they would hang out a course 1. But then I did see a bunch of flags on the start box when we were leaving around 1600. I'll amend the info tomorrow.
Rick
Agree we were all stunned as well seeing a full 1 as course from the start boat. Given the forecast and the synoptic chart with trough line on coast. There was never a guarantee of sea breeze on the river after hitting the coast. Weather models including a few professional weather models (that) I have access to through my offshore nav role but also includes BOM meteye, was changing all week and moistly (mostly) very different (between) Melville water to coast line.
Bruce
We finished taking the mast off Swiftsure Saga and examined the crack in the top. Enough to say that they were right to stop then and there. But Bill reckons its fixable, so it may be held in reserve. The new mast is being finished on Sunday and will be installed on Monday. Its not exactly what Bill ordered, but he reckons it will do, though the triple reinforcement of the base of the mast is fascinating.
Into the bar at Bills urging and there were no qualms about a cold ale shared with Max and John who were there already. And we noted the slow passage of the boats up and down the river. Bill and I guessed on a course 4 ( light winds ) and even then, the fastest boat ( the First Jindarra ) took 3 hours and eighteen minutes and I'd say they were drinking the ice water from the bottom of the esky by the end of the day. As for the last boat over the line, Karoleeya 3 hrs 35 minutes and 53 seconds. I don't know what they were drinking by the end of the day, but the bar would have got a hammering.
The easterly didn't stop blowing out of the Canning, though it may have wandered into the south occasionally; as for the river there was a sea breeze of some 8 to 14 knots, but I think that the BOM site was recording the breeze on the northern side of the river.
But Aloha took the win on consistency today. 14 minutes ahead of Karoleeya on adjusted time and Karoleeya was a minute ahead of Nerrima.
Over the line and for the championship: The First Jindarra, Nerrima and Carina
Now for those in the East. We think that we have Judith , Ralph and Lynne, Lockie and Brian Cross, John and Fay Wright and Jay over at the Hobart Wooden boat festival and there may be several more. I'll wait to see what results when the mob come back.
Edit: Turned out that Judith had gone to the tennis in Melbourne, but was nowhere near Hobart and the Wrights were at home with John getting a few more C's cut out. Not the best of things.
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 6th of February 2019
Here we go around again; another crack & the championships sorted.
Bill Richards ( Swiftsure Saga ) is a patient bloke, but really the people who are getting his new mast to him need to consider their customer service. Apparently its arrived with only half the work done to it and while it doesn't need to go back across the continent, there is a problem here. Gosh, now I know why Bill built two masts waiting for this mast to arrive.
A decent seabreeze and 5 boats took off on a course one with a trip up to Martin - Weaver.. well that was the plan, but three boats were hoisted by the 4th boat on the line, up and above the inner mark and had to go around. So Mariner, Wynella and Corella started late, while those who were low shot off into the south toward the Raffles hotel.
We found ourselves mid way in the fleet and decided to defend our position with a great gallop down to Sampson that had us ahead of the other two. Heading up to Deepwater, Corella went out a little further and then gambled the cross with the Royal Perth fleet giving me some great shots as we drove past them and with David appearing to take the lead of the RP fleet as they bent around Foam and headed up toward Deepwater and beyond. We'd taken the option to go into the bay a little further and come out with speed and that we had with 6 knots registering all the time on the way up, unfortunately we couldn't keep our height as well, though not for the lack of trying. We started to drop down on a small sports boat from RP and he eased himself past us around Applecross.
Corella had come across by now and was in a perfect position to sit on our faces with a good tack when we neared Deepwater. Done and done and we then had to battle to catch him as well as we rounded Deepwater and set off for Print. No luck with passing him, but again we had good speed down the hill, just not fast enough. Swiftsure Saga was still ahead and had done well enough to keep both of us at bay, but the breeze was starting to build and Swiftsure has safety margins in the mast that were being explored as the wind hit 20 knots.
Across and up to Robins with another dip into the bay that came out ok. Good speed again and although the boat was nearly on her ear, she stayed up right and only drank a little river water. By this time the river had emptied a little and there was no dodgems being played, so speed and strategy were important. Robins to Dolphin East was a fair run and with a pole set on the gybe we fairly flew down to Como ( 8.7 knots ) on a two sail reach catching up with Corella and Swiftsure Saga. Didn't go hunting Corella, but it could have been done. A turn at Como and the dash across to the outer startline. It was a bit of a warning to us that we were knocking down as we drew nearer with a southerly in evidence, so a short tack was put in to get us to the line on the right side. However we had the sight of Swiftsure Saga bringing her sails down at the line... another crack had developed in the last metre and Bill quite rightly had no intention of risking all. Particularly when the breeze was still building.
Away we went and with no competition on either side.. Corella had cleared out again after Como, so we took off again and made our way around the small triangle with the boat rolling savagely in the wind generated slop at our end of the river. Made it to Thelma to watch Andrew in the Jin make it to the line well ahead and then chase Lockie along the freeway. He was well away and had no problem making the line in front. Wynella had had a little trouble dealing with the breeze even though he'd put up a 2 and found himself out the back end of the fleet. No matter, its a handicap improver.
Over the line, drop everything and then bring the boat in. Pack it away and have a well earned beer. The recorded wind speeds at 3.30 and 4 pm at Inner Dolphin were 20 to 26 knots. They built into the mid20's later in the afternoon before dropping in the evening.
Every one else had gone home and I had instructions from the skip to pick up what ever flag we got, if at all. Corella picked up the third, The 1st Jindarra received 2nd and fastest and lo and behold, Mariner got 1st on handicap. Brian's comment was Ooops !
Over the line.. The Jin, Corella and Mariner.
If Bill had stuck it out, the flag would have been his.. oh well.
Speaking of championships. You may have noted that until yesterday the championships hadn't been updated from December. An administrative oversight had left the work undone, but a quiet word with John P had the On Water people sorting it out for us.
Steve Hill has a crew member who's not averse to jumping into the water with the jellyfish and cleaning hulls. His name is Claudio and can be contacted on 0401428 290. Pricing negotiable around $50. According to Steve, he'll give you a clean bottom.. :-} }
The last 4 photos catch up with the work progressing on Anna. Ian Weaver has got the planks in and was busily finishing them off. Apparently John has decided to redo the entire top, deck, cabin, hand and toe rails and all. Speaking to Ian, John is going to retain the original cabin shape and structure, but that and a new deck will be the making of her. I wonder if that old Stuart Turner will get a new lease of life?
Here we go around again; another crack & the championships sorted.
Bill Richards ( Swiftsure Saga ) is a patient bloke, but really the people who are getting his new mast to him need to consider their customer service. Apparently its arrived with only half the work done to it and while it doesn't need to go back across the continent, there is a problem here. Gosh, now I know why Bill built two masts waiting for this mast to arrive.
A decent seabreeze and 5 boats took off on a course one with a trip up to Martin - Weaver.. well that was the plan, but three boats were hoisted by the 4th boat on the line, up and above the inner mark and had to go around. So Mariner, Wynella and Corella started late, while those who were low shot off into the south toward the Raffles hotel.
We found ourselves mid way in the fleet and decided to defend our position with a great gallop down to Sampson that had us ahead of the other two. Heading up to Deepwater, Corella went out a little further and then gambled the cross with the Royal Perth fleet giving me some great shots as we drove past them and with David appearing to take the lead of the RP fleet as they bent around Foam and headed up toward Deepwater and beyond. We'd taken the option to go into the bay a little further and come out with speed and that we had with 6 knots registering all the time on the way up, unfortunately we couldn't keep our height as well, though not for the lack of trying. We started to drop down on a small sports boat from RP and he eased himself past us around Applecross.
Corella had come across by now and was in a perfect position to sit on our faces with a good tack when we neared Deepwater. Done and done and we then had to battle to catch him as well as we rounded Deepwater and set off for Print. No luck with passing him, but again we had good speed down the hill, just not fast enough. Swiftsure Saga was still ahead and had done well enough to keep both of us at bay, but the breeze was starting to build and Swiftsure has safety margins in the mast that were being explored as the wind hit 20 knots.
Across and up to Robins with another dip into the bay that came out ok. Good speed again and although the boat was nearly on her ear, she stayed up right and only drank a little river water. By this time the river had emptied a little and there was no dodgems being played, so speed and strategy were important. Robins to Dolphin East was a fair run and with a pole set on the gybe we fairly flew down to Como ( 8.7 knots ) on a two sail reach catching up with Corella and Swiftsure Saga. Didn't go hunting Corella, but it could have been done. A turn at Como and the dash across to the outer startline. It was a bit of a warning to us that we were knocking down as we drew nearer with a southerly in evidence, so a short tack was put in to get us to the line on the right side. However we had the sight of Swiftsure Saga bringing her sails down at the line... another crack had developed in the last metre and Bill quite rightly had no intention of risking all. Particularly when the breeze was still building.
Away we went and with no competition on either side.. Corella had cleared out again after Como, so we took off again and made our way around the small triangle with the boat rolling savagely in the wind generated slop at our end of the river. Made it to Thelma to watch Andrew in the Jin make it to the line well ahead and then chase Lockie along the freeway. He was well away and had no problem making the line in front. Wynella had had a little trouble dealing with the breeze even though he'd put up a 2 and found himself out the back end of the fleet. No matter, its a handicap improver.
Over the line, drop everything and then bring the boat in. Pack it away and have a well earned beer. The recorded wind speeds at 3.30 and 4 pm at Inner Dolphin were 20 to 26 knots. They built into the mid20's later in the afternoon before dropping in the evening.
Every one else had gone home and I had instructions from the skip to pick up what ever flag we got, if at all. Corella picked up the third, The 1st Jindarra received 2nd and fastest and lo and behold, Mariner got 1st on handicap. Brian's comment was Ooops !
Over the line.. The Jin, Corella and Mariner.
If Bill had stuck it out, the flag would have been his.. oh well.
Speaking of championships. You may have noted that until yesterday the championships hadn't been updated from December. An administrative oversight had left the work undone, but a quiet word with John P had the On Water people sorting it out for us.
Steve Hill has a crew member who's not averse to jumping into the water with the jellyfish and cleaning hulls. His name is Claudio and can be contacted on 0401428 290. Pricing negotiable around $50. According to Steve, he'll give you a clean bottom.. :-} }
The last 4 photos catch up with the work progressing on Anna. Ian Weaver has got the planks in and was busily finishing them off. Apparently John has decided to redo the entire top, deck, cabin, hand and toe rails and all. Speaking to Ian, John is going to retain the original cabin shape and structure, but that and a new deck will be the making of her. I wonder if that old Stuart Turner will get a new lease of life?
Summer Sailing Saturday the 2nd of February 2019
The Windward Leeward races (second tranche)
Aloha has bragging rights!
I've got to take my hat off to the MInto family of Andrew and Drew. The rest of us warriors took one look at the weather and politely declined to hit the water. At least Swiftsure had an excuse of sorts with a new mast supposed to arrive and one of the two crew off at a wedding. Everyone else said no. And I guess it was fair enough with a predicted breeze in mid 20's with gusts to 28 knots. Not good for your boat .. at all.
And it was blowing exactly that.. Andrew and his son Drew still took their boat out ( they may have had friends ) logged in and started in the first race. That was enough to put them into the system and even though they didn't start the 2nd race ( they blew the vang ) they still scored two points per race, while the rest of us picked up the full 13 points each race. Aloha has taken second place in the windward leeward racing behind Lockie and I believe that they have taken bragging rights for the rest of the year.. aka where were you guys on Saturday?
The Windward Leeward races (second tranche)
Aloha has bragging rights!
I've got to take my hat off to the MInto family of Andrew and Drew. The rest of us warriors took one look at the weather and politely declined to hit the water. At least Swiftsure had an excuse of sorts with a new mast supposed to arrive and one of the two crew off at a wedding. Everyone else said no. And I guess it was fair enough with a predicted breeze in mid 20's with gusts to 28 knots. Not good for your boat .. at all.
And it was blowing exactly that.. Andrew and his son Drew still took their boat out ( they may have had friends ) logged in and started in the first race. That was enough to put them into the system and even though they didn't start the 2nd race ( they blew the vang ) they still scored two points per race, while the rest of us picked up the full 13 points each race. Aloha has taken second place in the windward leeward racing behind Lockie and I believe that they have taken bragging rights for the rest of the year.. aka where were you guys on Saturday?
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 30th of January
I wasn't there!
A brief summary for you as I've been involved with the Warren Jones regatta for the last week.
It was a course one with about 12 to 15 knots on the water out of the sou west. A lovely afternoon to go sailing (I should know as they were having a ball at the WaJo) and six boats lined up for a start. My usual boat was fresh in the water with a clean bum and the right sort of mind set. However there was only two of them as I was off the water and the other pair were elsewhere. But they tried. Broke the start by half a nose and were sent back having to chase the fleet until they had caught up and passed all the boats in front bar The First Jindarra and David Locke's Corella.
Well Lockie was going to be tough as it was the dash from Thelma to home and the only chance of getting there was to out sail him.. hard to do you'll agree. But who would have thought of a dead heat? So Brian tells me anyway. And the starters thought so as well, it was touted as a dead heat and the result was that Mariner took the win handsomely. So its worth cleaning the bum occasionally.
Well done to Graham who ran around the boat doing everything else and Brian who ran the helm and the main. Kept them both busy.
I wasn't there!
A brief summary for you as I've been involved with the Warren Jones regatta for the last week.
It was a course one with about 12 to 15 knots on the water out of the sou west. A lovely afternoon to go sailing (I should know as they were having a ball at the WaJo) and six boats lined up for a start. My usual boat was fresh in the water with a clean bum and the right sort of mind set. However there was only two of them as I was off the water and the other pair were elsewhere. But they tried. Broke the start by half a nose and were sent back having to chase the fleet until they had caught up and passed all the boats in front bar The First Jindarra and David Locke's Corella.
Well Lockie was going to be tough as it was the dash from Thelma to home and the only chance of getting there was to out sail him.. hard to do you'll agree. But who would have thought of a dead heat? So Brian tells me anyway. And the starters thought so as well, it was touted as a dead heat and the result was that Mariner took the win handsomely. So its worth cleaning the bum occasionally.
Well done to Graham who ran around the boat doing everything else and Brian who ran the helm and the main. Kept them both busy.
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 23rd of January
Dogs off chains and similar epithets.
The skip rang me last night and I was only to glad to agree, no sailing! It was going to blow and I frankly was looking a for a little rain for the garden as well. I popped down to the club around 1300 hrs on the way back from negotiations elsewhere and took a look at the river. It was blowing the water flat and the whitecaps were just rolling along. The masts were heeling in the pens when I bumped into Ian Weaver who is busily finishing off the planks he'd fitted to Anna. They were in good shape and didn't need to be steamed in, but he was in the process of cutting jigs to give him the shapes of the ribs? he was going to put in.
He packed up about the same time I did, as he'd finished his work and I'd finished checking our mooring lines (and everyone else's).
The bar was empty of sailors and even the bar staff were falling asleep. Mind you there were a few people dining, but not enough to rush you off your feet.
Dogs off chains and similar epithets.
The skip rang me last night and I was only to glad to agree, no sailing! It was going to blow and I frankly was looking a for a little rain for the garden as well. I popped down to the club around 1300 hrs on the way back from negotiations elsewhere and took a look at the river. It was blowing the water flat and the whitecaps were just rolling along. The masts were heeling in the pens when I bumped into Ian Weaver who is busily finishing off the planks he'd fitted to Anna. They were in good shape and didn't need to be steamed in, but he was in the process of cutting jigs to give him the shapes of the ribs? he was going to put in.
He packed up about the same time I did, as he'd finished his work and I'd finished checking our mooring lines (and everyone else's).
The bar was empty of sailors and even the bar staff were falling asleep. Mind you there were a few people dining, but not enough to rush you off your feet.
Summer Sailing Wednesday the 16th of January
Perched in the bar.
Half a dozen h28 skippers and crew in the bar drinking various beverages as the fleet ensign went up the flag pole.
You guessed it. It was blowing its ring off. We had a base 20 to 27 knots with averages between 2 and 5 pm of 21 to 25 knots.
The skippers collectively made up their minds to park up and reports came back into the bar as we sat there watching the smaller boats porpoising as they worked their way up the wind on a course one. A little yellow boat (SS22) was observed sailing right across the mudflats in an effort to make it home.
The reports included a skipper who came in … gusty, over powered, slapped about by the chop. And this was in a nice little Farr 30. We watched as boats came in under power with sails furled. Others just held on for dear life and made for the channel with their sails stretched to the max. 25 boats went out and at least a half a dozen retired. Speaking to a trailer sailor skipper in the carpark .. he was literally blown off the water and was having trouble with his hydraulics as well (keel lifting gear).
It was a sailmakers day and the smart ones stayed in the bar. We were short of crew anyway and of our usual 5, we only had 2. oops.
Otherwise John Wright has Anna up in the slips and she is in the hands of Ian Weaver who has assessed the damage and is undertaking the repairs to get the hull sound. It seems like he cant get the NZ Kauri that the top of hull was finished in and he's going over to jarrah to do the job. Trying to get the plank lengths is a problem, but I'm sure he'll get it under way. Three ribs are to be fixed, not sistering but scarfing in a top piece that is to reinforce the rib and after gluing they will be pulled in with roved copper nails. ( hope that's right Ian) Then she returns to the water and will go through a replacement of the foredeck ply with Colin (Wynella) in an apprentice role ( in his 60's ??? ) and anyone else who can carry a brush or scraper for the second time out of the water in two weeks time. She may have the cabin replaced, but speaking to Ian, there will be a whole number of issues that occur if that road is taken. Wait and see. I have noticed that she's drying out a bit (see the cracks in the hull) and perhaps she can be given a bit of a drink to prevent any problems.
More later
Perched in the bar.
Half a dozen h28 skippers and crew in the bar drinking various beverages as the fleet ensign went up the flag pole.
You guessed it. It was blowing its ring off. We had a base 20 to 27 knots with averages between 2 and 5 pm of 21 to 25 knots.
The skippers collectively made up their minds to park up and reports came back into the bar as we sat there watching the smaller boats porpoising as they worked their way up the wind on a course one. A little yellow boat (SS22) was observed sailing right across the mudflats in an effort to make it home.
The reports included a skipper who came in … gusty, over powered, slapped about by the chop. And this was in a nice little Farr 30. We watched as boats came in under power with sails furled. Others just held on for dear life and made for the channel with their sails stretched to the max. 25 boats went out and at least a half a dozen retired. Speaking to a trailer sailor skipper in the carpark .. he was literally blown off the water and was having trouble with his hydraulics as well (keel lifting gear).
It was a sailmakers day and the smart ones stayed in the bar. We were short of crew anyway and of our usual 5, we only had 2. oops.
Otherwise John Wright has Anna up in the slips and she is in the hands of Ian Weaver who has assessed the damage and is undertaking the repairs to get the hull sound. It seems like he cant get the NZ Kauri that the top of hull was finished in and he's going over to jarrah to do the job. Trying to get the plank lengths is a problem, but I'm sure he'll get it under way. Three ribs are to be fixed, not sistering but scarfing in a top piece that is to reinforce the rib and after gluing they will be pulled in with roved copper nails. ( hope that's right Ian) Then she returns to the water and will go through a replacement of the foredeck ply with Colin (Wynella) in an apprentice role ( in his 60's ??? ) and anyone else who can carry a brush or scraper for the second time out of the water in two weeks time. She may have the cabin replaced, but speaking to Ian, there will be a whole number of issues that occur if that road is taken. Wait and see. I have noticed that she's drying out a bit (see the cracks in the hull) and perhaps she can be given a bit of a drink to prevent any problems.
More later
Summer Sailing Sunday the 13th of January
The Retro Boat Race.
Just didn't happen folks. 10 H28s were lined up and ready to go, showing a great bit of solidarity and everyone was champing at the bit. Sure it was blowing a bit, but a reef and a number two on..surely we could hold our own. Crossy had the cut down headsail, Alma had John W and crew ready, Andy Bell had his number one, two, three on up front and we'd put a half tuck in the main and were ready to go. Les from Nerrima had a crew and Jim Spittle had sorted out his mast, Corella had the girls on board and young Geoff had Carina ready with Bruce on the main to help him. Even Glen had a decent mob as well. Like I said.. ready to go.
Then they canned it. Cancelled the sailing as it was too windy and there were a few boats that had already dropped out. We were on the verge of canning the food until the message got out that some were already coming over anyway. So it was set up for 1400 hrs and we went for a sail anyway. And a few extra did as well.. Swiftsure Saga, Mariner, Napea of Carrick, Karoleeya and Sacha amongst the Herreshoff fleet and Eun Na Mara set sail along with one or two others of a wooden nature from the club.
Yes it was windy, but no worse that we've had on a Saturday championship race. However we weren't the decision makers on this one. We went for a yot as mentioned and ventured out mid river with a load of punters from Portugal? Eventually we noticed Karoleeya turning slowly and they were retreating with a belly full of water. No sailing and a lot of sun had dried her out and she was taking in water steadily.
So back to the pier, up to the marquee and there's a stack of RP people in there munching into the tucker already. So we joined them. A couple of beers later a few announcements and a may be we'll do this at the end of April.. wait and see.
Till Wednesday.
The Retro Boat Race.
Just didn't happen folks. 10 H28s were lined up and ready to go, showing a great bit of solidarity and everyone was champing at the bit. Sure it was blowing a bit, but a reef and a number two on..surely we could hold our own. Crossy had the cut down headsail, Alma had John W and crew ready, Andy Bell had his number one, two, three on up front and we'd put a half tuck in the main and were ready to go. Les from Nerrima had a crew and Jim Spittle had sorted out his mast, Corella had the girls on board and young Geoff had Carina ready with Bruce on the main to help him. Even Glen had a decent mob as well. Like I said.. ready to go.
Then they canned it. Cancelled the sailing as it was too windy and there were a few boats that had already dropped out. We were on the verge of canning the food until the message got out that some were already coming over anyway. So it was set up for 1400 hrs and we went for a sail anyway. And a few extra did as well.. Swiftsure Saga, Mariner, Napea of Carrick, Karoleeya and Sacha amongst the Herreshoff fleet and Eun Na Mara set sail along with one or two others of a wooden nature from the club.
Yes it was windy, but no worse that we've had on a Saturday championship race. However we weren't the decision makers on this one. We went for a yot as mentioned and ventured out mid river with a load of punters from Portugal? Eventually we noticed Karoleeya turning slowly and they were retreating with a belly full of water. No sailing and a lot of sun had dried her out and she was taking in water steadily.
So back to the pier, up to the marquee and there's a stack of RP people in there munching into the tucker already. So we joined them. A couple of beers later a few announcements and a may be we'll do this at the end of April.. wait and see.
Till Wednesday.
Summer Sailing
Wednesday the 9th of January 2019
What are we going to do with Olive Marie? &
Champagne sailing on the Swan.
Ok, it was a great day on the water on Wednesday and the breeze was moving along well with a 14 to 18 knot breeze pumping the water up nicely. A small chop, but nothing to worry about. 35 boats out on the water and as usual the H28 class put out a fifth of the entire fleet.
We'd better acknowledge Russell Anderson as a new part owner in Wynella and the injection of a little cash has meant that Wynella could have a clean up with some paint and attention to some ribs that need work on. Great to see the yacht will continue to look good.
So with seven boats on the line and a northward facing reach to the line, we should have cracked it on hard, but oh well we were late and had to fight hard to get away from the foul air of those above us. Eventually we were doing fine in clear air, but poor advice had us trying to lift up into the flow of the fleet and we lost two boat positions just like that. As we turned at Sampson, we were lying 6th and the skipper wasn't enthused. Tacking off, we actually lifted into Heathcote and then held our position on the other tack. Sure Wynella crossed us, but we were closer and we'd shed Swiftsure Saga along the way as well. So two behind us.
Out once again and watch the RP fleet round Foam below us. Another dip into Waylen Bay gave us a nice lifting breeze and we hooked past Robins crossing above Wynella with Applecross spit in our sights. Even lifted enough to shut down a challenge from a RP boat who wanted to roll us. Closed the door on him and continued to Deepwater with a double tack to make it around. Easy peasy and we'd managed to get through Wynella on the way. So it was now a matter of holding them off on the way down to Print and then making our way back up to Robins. Again we found our way into the bay and went deep enough to get Robins in our sights and lift the boat up there. Notably Swiftsure who had tossed earlier than we had, missed the mark by a country mile and went back and Wynella struggled to make the mark, but rounded successfully.
Then away to Dolphin East and count the boats in front of us. Yes, the First Jindarra managed to get past Corella and the pair were getting well away from John Wright whose still driving Alma and doing well. We were getting closer to Alma as we approached the Outer start line ready for the rounding. Lo and behold but what should appear... Olive Marie.
Wise to the skippers behaviour, we kept clear of him, knowing that he would take us up for ever. That's fine, we can cope with that and we lost a little time tagging him to get to the mark. Almost had an over lap, but why bother. So dipped low to get up inside him and got there only to have him tack on us as we passed the mark. Instant dilemma. He corrected after a few words were said and apologised saying that he'd made a mistake. If we'd continued we would have punched a hole in his stern. Expensive mistake. Time was lost and we regained speed slowly, eventually tossing to get free of the thought of the boat any where near us. Across we went again over to Heathcote and for once we had gone far enough to get Foam in one shot. Around Foam and away to Print and then the usual gallop down to Como and Thelma, but we could see what Olive Marie had cost us. John Wright was long gone and Wynella was back on our heels again. Next time the protest flag comes out.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Alma
On handicap: Alma, Mariner and Aloha.
Talk in the bar has it that Jay Lawry lost his boat Mauvereen off the north tip of New Zealand recently. As I don't do FB, this is as much as I can say, but he's coming to sail with us on Sunday next, I may catch up with him.
Glens boat has just made it off the slips where she got a good clean up, but as Glen said, the handicap is still the skipper. The transom however has had the paint cleaned up and looks rather flash. There is a set of inlays on the transom, but I suggest that they may have been done during the restoration in the 1990's by the Fury bros.
Napier of Carrick. Jim's had to take the mast down as he's had problems with the cabin top and the support post under the mast. Not expensive, but better fixed now than later.
I was recently photographing at the World 505 championships and it appears from the stats this site collects, that we had a nice cross over onto the H28's.
We have the Retro race coming up on Sunday with a strong representation from the fleet. We look forward to your attendance.
Wednesday the 9th of January 2019
What are we going to do with Olive Marie? &
Champagne sailing on the Swan.
Ok, it was a great day on the water on Wednesday and the breeze was moving along well with a 14 to 18 knot breeze pumping the water up nicely. A small chop, but nothing to worry about. 35 boats out on the water and as usual the H28 class put out a fifth of the entire fleet.
We'd better acknowledge Russell Anderson as a new part owner in Wynella and the injection of a little cash has meant that Wynella could have a clean up with some paint and attention to some ribs that need work on. Great to see the yacht will continue to look good.
So with seven boats on the line and a northward facing reach to the line, we should have cracked it on hard, but oh well we were late and had to fight hard to get away from the foul air of those above us. Eventually we were doing fine in clear air, but poor advice had us trying to lift up into the flow of the fleet and we lost two boat positions just like that. As we turned at Sampson, we were lying 6th and the skipper wasn't enthused. Tacking off, we actually lifted into Heathcote and then held our position on the other tack. Sure Wynella crossed us, but we were closer and we'd shed Swiftsure Saga along the way as well. So two behind us.
Out once again and watch the RP fleet round Foam below us. Another dip into Waylen Bay gave us a nice lifting breeze and we hooked past Robins crossing above Wynella with Applecross spit in our sights. Even lifted enough to shut down a challenge from a RP boat who wanted to roll us. Closed the door on him and continued to Deepwater with a double tack to make it around. Easy peasy and we'd managed to get through Wynella on the way. So it was now a matter of holding them off on the way down to Print and then making our way back up to Robins. Again we found our way into the bay and went deep enough to get Robins in our sights and lift the boat up there. Notably Swiftsure who had tossed earlier than we had, missed the mark by a country mile and went back and Wynella struggled to make the mark, but rounded successfully.
Then away to Dolphin East and count the boats in front of us. Yes, the First Jindarra managed to get past Corella and the pair were getting well away from John Wright whose still driving Alma and doing well. We were getting closer to Alma as we approached the Outer start line ready for the rounding. Lo and behold but what should appear... Olive Marie.
Wise to the skippers behaviour, we kept clear of him, knowing that he would take us up for ever. That's fine, we can cope with that and we lost a little time tagging him to get to the mark. Almost had an over lap, but why bother. So dipped low to get up inside him and got there only to have him tack on us as we passed the mark. Instant dilemma. He corrected after a few words were said and apologised saying that he'd made a mistake. If we'd continued we would have punched a hole in his stern. Expensive mistake. Time was lost and we regained speed slowly, eventually tossing to get free of the thought of the boat any where near us. Across we went again over to Heathcote and for once we had gone far enough to get Foam in one shot. Around Foam and away to Print and then the usual gallop down to Como and Thelma, but we could see what Olive Marie had cost us. John Wright was long gone and Wynella was back on our heels again. Next time the protest flag comes out.
Over the line: The First Jindarra, Corella and Alma
On handicap: Alma, Mariner and Aloha.
Talk in the bar has it that Jay Lawry lost his boat Mauvereen off the north tip of New Zealand recently. As I don't do FB, this is as much as I can say, but he's coming to sail with us on Sunday next, I may catch up with him.
Glens boat has just made it off the slips where she got a good clean up, but as Glen said, the handicap is still the skipper. The transom however has had the paint cleaned up and looks rather flash. There is a set of inlays on the transom, but I suggest that they may have been done during the restoration in the 1990's by the Fury bros.
Napier of Carrick. Jim's had to take the mast down as he's had problems with the cabin top and the support post under the mast. Not expensive, but better fixed now than later.
I was recently photographing at the World 505 championships and it appears from the stats this site collects, that we had a nice cross over onto the H28's.
We have the Retro race coming up on Sunday with a strong representation from the fleet. We look forward to your attendance.