Yet again another great VS 15’skiff state championship series!!!  The final two races of the series were sailed on the weekend & I think I can  accurately report that all had a good time.  I might get boring with this  line but if you don’t go to the Sydney weekend, you really miss some great sailing.  Both the Vaucluse & Yarra Bay clubs go out of their way to make us welcome & this year we had some decent sailing breezes.  For example, if anyone didn’t enjoy the NE’er at Yarra Bay on Sunday they might be in the wrong class.  I think two-on-the-wire planing conditions with clean, flat water and no obstructions is ideal for a VS race any day.  So plan now
for next year…
Another reason to attend?  The state series this year was again decided at the Sydney weekend. The major placegetters all gained points here.  The  state series is a good contrast to the National titles.  The states are
sailed over the entire season, have 1 long race per day and are sailed at venues that offer different conditions, whether it be tide, chop, traffic or breeze (or lack of).  It also keeps our presence at various clubs throughout the year.
So to a quick summary of Sydney…
Vaucluse.  Celebrating 80 years, VYC again turned it on for us. Doug, Ian & co allow us to postpone starts, select courses & use the  club as if it were ours.  And with great sponsorship from Winning  Appliances & SLAM and a boat full of beverages what could be better?  

On the water we had a light to moderate S to SE’er.  Ol’ Yella & SFC  Computers picked it best at the start but the difference was that Jason &  Hugh told Tim to go left (or so they claimed).  Measurement Solutions also
went towards the shore and joined SFC at the front of the fleet around the first  mark.  The rest of the fleet followed, trying to dodge the yachts &  laser ‘wall’.  Peter, Peter & Joey suffered downwind on Measurement
Sol’s allowing Ol’Yella, Firestorm & Range to take up the fight. Firestorm found a wind shift up the 3rd work to jump to the lead they would not lose but no one else would challenge the SFC boys.  Well sailed. 
But this was not good enough for handicap victory.  Marengo won on the  day!!  Alex, Peter & Myf showed great spirit & deserved their victory.  They borrowed a forestay and sailed a harbour cruise before (& after) the start but kept close to the fleet & easily won on handicap.  Measurement Solutions hung on for 5th over the line and 2nd on handicap whilst Wobbygong completed the Hawkesbury trifector to claim 3rd.

 Yarra Bay.  Phil, John & co at Yarra Bay are similar to the Vaucluse crew.  They really make us feel welcome.  And this year they delivered  a NE’er.  Not a black one, but a nice way to finish the series.  With open waters, the ‘big boys’ opened up with Firestorm, Range & Ol’Yella jumping clear (& finished that way).  SFC closed in at the finish to get 4th, whilst Gordon, Simon & Ryan on Stowe overcame the breakage (& an extra lap at Vaucluse) to finish a close 5th.  Marengo trailed Wobbygong around and finished a little further back but  again claimed the handicap victory.  Their perseverance early in the season was paying dividends.  If only for a few extra races…
Overall Results.  As noted earlier, both the scratch & handicap  series were decided on the final weekend.

 Scratch Championship.  On scratch Firestorm & Range went into the weekend level on points but in the end good speed, crew-work & some great  tactical calls (thanks Dale & Lindsay) saw Firestorm take two wins & the
series on 10 points.  The heartache of Hawkesbury is now  forgotten.   Range finished the series in 2nd on 13 points. Steve, Mick & Mark found something extra this season & really pressured Firestorm, beating them at Hawkesbury & Sunshine when the conditions got finicky.  Their teamwork is now flawless (no swims this season?) & they know how to win so they are ready for the next step.
Ol’Yella were consistently snapping at the heels of the big boys and  comfortably claimed 3rd overall.  Col, Adam & Troy are again moving up  the fleet, rising to the occasion at Sunshine when they comfortably beat the
fleet home.  The newly crowned national handicap champions SFC Computers had a great season.  Following on from the nationals, the SFC boys confirmed their overall aspirations with the 2nd at Vaucluse (see above) to
claim 4th overall.  Raptor had major places at Taree & Hawkesbury, but missed the Sydney weekend and dropped out of contention to end 5th on scratch.

Handicap Championship.  As with the scratch title, the handicap championship was up for grabs, dependant on the result of the final two races.
There were only a few points between all of the following boats, but the turning point for each could be noted. 
Raptor had to miss final  weekend and dropped from a winning position to 8th.  The usually reliable Stowe had a couple of DNF’s earlier in the series & finished 7th. Wobbygong missed the Taree weekend but sailed well thereafter to get 6th. Range DNF’ed at Manning Point and finished 5th.  Marengo chalked up two  wins in Sydney but missed a race at Sunshine and finished 4th overall. Firestorm was one of two boats to finish all races (so therefore had no ‘bad results’) and claimed 3rd place.
So, quite rightly, the title got down to the two most consistent &  improved boats of the season, SFC computers & Ol’Yella.  In the final wrap up there was only one point in it.  SFC won both heats on handicap at  Sunshine; Ol’Yella scored a handicap win at Manning Point. Ol’Yella was the other boat to finish all state heats; SFC had two DNF’s. 
In the end speed/breakages/luck/perseverance made the difference.  Col,  Adam & Troy on Ol’ Yella are the State handicap winners. Congratulations!!
The Travellers Trophy is an equally close championship – results will change  if boats do not start or finish the final race of the series at Port Hunter on 31 March. The committee is considering dates and venues for the AGM & state/TT presentation.  It is a good chance to come along, recap this season & plan an assault on the coming one.  And to have a good time with like-minded friends. 
Hope to see you then.
Cheers
John

  Dear  members, 
With  the nationals now but a faint memory, the serious part of the 2011/12 State & Travellers titles is well and truly here. And with generally lighter breezes post  Christmas; the racing becomes even closer than usual. 
And Sunshine was no exception.  But I’ll get to that later… 
Firstly to bring you up to date, after the Nationals most crews had a laid back  January, except for the hotly contested Manning River Marathon.  With a good southerly blowing and a run out tide, 7 VS’s lined up to have
a crack at Chooks record.  But this  wasn’t another easy run down the river; there was plenty of setting &
retrieving spinnakers, tacking, dodging boats & bullets.  All in all a tough day.   Good crew work was required& in the end Ol’Yella closely beat SFC Computers with Raptor 3rd.  All three held the lead at some stage and had a great race. Firestorm, Range, Stowe& Under Pressure all followed some time later  but Col, Adam & Troy sailed flawlessly & deserved their victory. 
So  why mention this?  Confidence & trusting your instincts is a big thing in sailing. With some momentum on their side Raptor, Ol’Yella & SFC were eager to show Firestorm & Range the way home again.  So on to Sunshine… 
Saturday. 
With a light breeze switching from E to S and a potential storm building, who knew where to go?   Looking
  at ½ way up the first work, Firestorm had a big lead & Ol’Yella was last.  Around the first mark Range had the lead from Stowe with Marengo up in the mix. From here the wind kept oscillating, and those that were game and backed themselves did well.  Ol’Yella, confident from the marathon, picked a good line upwind & downwind mid race to surge to an unbeatable lead. Steve and the Range boys always sail well in ‘awkward’ conditions and drew clear of the fleet for a comfortable 2nd. Bob, Adam & Hayden were in the major places all race until the storm hit on the final lap.  Caught on the wrong side of the final work with about 100kg light on the wire, the Raptor boys faded from 3rdbut still managed a good result.  In contrast Tim, Jason & Hugh backed themselves up the final work, went right, and nearly ended up 3rd on SFC Computers, if not for the heavyweights Firestorm spoiling their day. Unfortunately the southerly hurt some;  Stowe faded mid race after running 3rd for a lap or two. Wildtrack had probably the lightest crew on board & were blown away,  eventually retiring. Wobbygong & Marengo both finished solidly, good enough for 2nd & 3rdon handicap, but not enough to deny one of the stars of the day – SFC Computers.  On a high since the nationals& the marathon, Tim & the boys know they can beat anyone and are sailing like it.  Well done!!! 
Sunday. 
With another light breeze, this time from the NE, this looked like being another long day. Fortunately the
course was set out of the bay so there was some‘stringing’ to be had at times.  Firestorm got a good start
& jumped to an early lead that they would hold to the finish. As Ol’Yella showed the previous day, if a boat can jump into different breeze it is hard to catch.  Range put up a good fight & got within striking distance but could do no more than 2nd.  Ol’Yella similarly sailed well but was generally a comfortable 3rd all race.
SFC Computers & Raptor had a good battle until splitting sides up the  last work – Tim picked it correctly & ended 4th; Raptor in 5th.  Gordon, Brian & crews had steady days but it was pretty well much ‘follow the leader’.  Stowe finished 6th& Wobbygong 7th. On handicap SFC Computers again prevailed, this time from Firestorm & Stowe.  Overall both scratch & handicap State& Travellers titles are still undecided, with points
tied.  Check the results tab for the summary of the points to date. 
Needless to say the Vaucluse & Yarra Bay races will have a big influence on the results. They are on this coming weekend, and with forecasts for moderate breezes, it sounds like another great Sydney weekend.  VYC & Yarra Bay are fantastic hosts, so why not make the effort and come down for a sail.  I am often asked, “How can I make my boat faster”.  The simple answer is “sail it more”.  For example, every year the boats that sail in the nationals step up in the fleet.  So here is your chance to finish the season on the up, with Saturday night at VYC guaranteed to be big. I hope to see you there.  
Cheers John

Hi  All, 
How’s  this?  A regatta report in the same  week that it was sailed.  Must have  been a good weekend at Teralba.  So  what happened….:) 
Saturday.  
A rainy day with no breeze made an ominous start to the day. But things changed for the better quickly.   Firstly the fleet gathered for a special occasion.  Noel Robson visited the fleet to pass on the plaque awarded to his father Ken, who was the first VS life member.  Apart from being an accomplished sailor, Ken was instrumental in  promoting the fleet in the 60’s.  It was a nice gesture and it was good to hear some words from Noel, who
was also a championship winning sailor, describing the ‘good old days’.  This inspired the fleet because when
Raptor arrived at the club running a little late, the entire membership jumped in and helped rig the boat. The
result?  Boat rigged in 5 minutes and Bob, Adam & Hayden with spinning heads.  The TT leader made a good start but soon got lost on the first run & parked for 10 minutes or so.  Job done… 
So the race?  A light NW – NE breeze kept the fleet moving but it was again tedious at times (is there a pattern
emerging this season?).  After a competitive start the fleet was close at the top mark.  The usual suspects looked OK- Firestorm, Ol’ Yella & Runaway, but the standout was Wildtrack.  After a good 1strun Lindsay & the boys were 3rd around the leeward mark & quickly moved into the lead.  A few big wind shifts saw Firestorm & Ol’Yella move clear whilst Runaway & Add 123 climbed through the fleet  after being caught out on the wrong side of the first run. Further back, Measurement Solutions had a steady race, but wanted more wind.  Marengo, however, were going well & aiming competition in the fleet.  They forced Bozo, Oden & Kev on PBB into a mistake at the top mark to ensure they both didn’t receive the wooden spoon and also claimed 2nd on handicap.  A good day for Alex, Peter& Myf.  Also a good day for Jamee, the better looking forward hand on Firestorm. After crewing at Hawkesbury & thinking the rest of the crew can only curse, Firestorm managed the tricky conditions somewhat better, opening a gap on Ol’Yella upwind, only to be caught downhill.   But in the end, age & beauty prevailed (is that describing the entire crew or just me? - I have both…) & Firestorm got the victory from Ol’Yella with Runaway recovering for 3rd. Handicap saw star of the day Wildtrack easily winning from Marengo & Add 123.  Lindsay, Alex & Tom were always at the front of the fleet & even grabbed the lead for a while.  In the right conditions these guys are  fast. 
Sunday.
With a nice warm westerly blowing early the prospects of a decent course looked good.  However, much like
Hawkesbury, once the start gun fired everything changed. The breeze dropped & oscillated. One minute Ol’Yella looked to have a big lead, then Firestorm looked good, then Runaway, then Raptor until finally  Tim, Jason & Hugh picked up a nice line to tack in the lead at the top mark.  Cruelly the wind shifted one more time & Ol’Yella lead around the mark.  The run was tricky, with those heading left finally rewarded whilst those near Marmong wallowed.  Up front Ol’Yella & Firestorm were swapping the lead regularly with Runaway & Add123 always a danger.  Measurement Solutions was looking good for a while too until a couple of capsizes slowed them somewhat. Then the wind changed!  The 3rd work became a 2 sail reach, the next run became a square run & the final run became a full on work.  At least there was a bit of pressure in the breeze so there was some good spinnaker runs had by  all. In the final wash-up Firestorm from Runaway & Ol’Yella on scratch.  Another good performance on scratch saw Wildtrack get another handicap victory from Add 123 & Measurement Solutions. 
Full results elsewhere on the web site.  Next up is the Nationals at Port Hunter from the 2nd – 8thJanuary.   NOR
will be out soon so keep an eye on the web site & your email inbox. Brian from the Antarctic should be back so there should be some good tales to be heard. 
If you need more info let me know.   
Cheers
 John

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

Hi  John,
Purpose of my email was to perhaps start a conversation on future direction. I
  do this as a long term member and life member. Certainly don’t want to point
  fingers only make some observations based on the lower numbers that are now
  evident this season. Steve and his  committee does a tremendous job.
  Sometimes a forum where members can discuss concerns, raise issue or praise the
  class can be a good thing. I thought a conversation might kick that off.
  Something a member can more readily do than a committee  member. I
sat on the committee as president, registrar and vice president for some 13 or
so years so I know it’s not at all easy to get venues arranged. My
point is that the further we travel the more boats fall away. I think the
nationals is a marquee event for the class. It’s a chance for everyone over a
week  to get enthusiastic, socialise, network, discuss next season etc. I
wasn’t too excited about KI last year and expressed that concern at the Teralba
meeting, Mick Turton also expressed that same concern, Pete Richards and some
others also raised concerns. Apart from not attending the handful of boats that
did go meant the majority didn’t attend and I think this was a lost opportunity.
That’s all. Others I am sure would disagree. That’s OK too. But it doesn’t hurt
to discuss. 
So  please don’t think I am criticising the committee. It’s a tough and sometimes
thankless task and I totally empathise with the difficulty associated with
making a decision and trying to deal with what appears to be a totally lethargic
response from possible host clubs.  
My  comments are just based on observation. I am happy to be proven wrong. Perhaps
the numbers are there but people are for whatever reason not attending. I don’t know.
 As  I said, Firestorm is a great product. Perhaps if we can document your design and
make it easier for new members that are keen to build then I reckon that would
go a long way to getting things moving. Perhaps we need some of the senior guys
to split up and campaign a boat with younger crews. (just an idea) TD tells me
that the Belmont 16s fleet has halved. Perhaps they are a good potential. I’d be
surprised if a bunch of blokes sailing 16’s would shift to an NS a VS may be a
perfect compromise! I don’t think the 49er is something they would jump at. So
where do they go after sailing 16s? 
My  heart (like I know yours is) is the class continuing to grow. This is a class
made up of very good and capable people with good intentions. I’d be surprised
if the 16 ft. skiff  guys rallied around to rig another blokes boat. They’d
probably sneer and start early. Just want to harness that good will and increase
numbers.  
Best  regards
Peter T

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

Hi  all,
 Well  versed Peter, I guess we are one of the boats that should be but aren't sailing.
Our reasons are family ones but we still have an affection for the VS and the
great people who sail them. That's where the class's strength is ...and in a
weird way, to a point, it's weakness also. The demographic seems to be either
empty nesters with plenty of money and freedom to take time away, or for a
glorious couple of years at a time we'll get an injection of youngsters that
discover the class, enjoy it but can't fit in with the older crowd...as willing
as all parties may be. Because the numbers are so small, the racing gets boring
after a while as week in week out it's the same comers doing the same things
with a similar result. 
I  can definately say that we dropped the VS last year because the ntionals were in
KI. That's no secret, we were happy for the others to do what they wanted, and
we made it clear at meetings that we would not be able to afford to do the trip,
find baby sitters etc. and with our youngsters becoming more alive to the world,
it's selfish for us to fob them off to others to sit around waiting for the days
racing to end...for a week or so, and then have nothing left in the kitty to
give them a good holiday. That's our story, everyone has a different one, but I
wonder if we'd stayed "in" with a nationals locally, whether I would have upped
the ante and made a new rig, cleaned up the boat and had a red hot go, which may
  have grabbed us for this year. Having experienced cruising with the kids on the
  Careel, and relaxing the constant asking for favours of baby sitters every
  week, the whole exersize of running the VS seems "too hard" and not rewarding
enough. I get to keep contact with the crowd by popping in at Teralba which is
nice. The funny thing is, I had the chance to sail Pete Williams NS14 in the
state titles last year, and depite not having a spinnaker and having to lean
hard etc. I had an adrenalin filled week of dog eat dog racing against 70+ other
boats usually 20 of which at any time in the race could not fart without me
hearing it...which is where the NS14 gets it's fleet filling ability from.
  Excitement in numbers, racing. Sorry, but bucket loads of money to sail a
  "nationals" against 5 or 6 legit boats and a few other trumped up ones doesn't
do it for me. We have travelled all over the country competing in NS14's because
of the fleet numbers and quality of the racing. In the case of the VS I'd
rather save my money for a holiday with the kids than do an interstate nationals
with boats I can race at Teralba every week. That said, We love our VS and enjoy
seeing others use it when we can't ( or can't sell it ) - and cutting it up
would be a tragedy! 
Cheers
all, Mick the rambler.

Hi All,

The Teralba weekend was good fun. Measurement Solutions had some flashes of something good on both days, sneaking into third and fourth  then dropped back. Looking forward to the day where we can keep our act together for the whole race and get a result. Will keep trying.

As a life member and long-time dabbler in VS sailing I wanted to share some thinking on moving forward in the VS world. Just trying to be constructive here.  I am a little concerned about VS numbers that seem to be dwindling.

As we know we don’t buy a VS, or any class of boat, as an investment for return. Rather it’s a life style decision that we invest in. However the this year  we have seen emails with boats threatened to be chopped up and another  sold on E-bay . This is a concern and something  we need to reverse. Other members who participated in the class at a high level (new mainsail changes and pretty vocal about things (in a positive sense I mean)  etc) also gone. It just happens all the time. So I think the class needs to have a real good look at why people do sail a VS  and then stop sailing and what we can do to be attractive as a sporting activity to more people and more often.

The class as we know is brilliant both on and off the water. People new to the class were blown away by the troops rallying around to rig Bobs boat on Saturday because of a late arrival, and the same thing happened with Mick Turton’s boat at Yarra Bay. So where has everyone gone?

I expressed concern over the nationals at Kangaroo Island . I know those who travelled had a great time and I am sure the sailing was good fun however it pretty much took a marquee event out of the calendar  for 2 years (between nationals)  for the majority, me included. As I said back then 2 years is a long time and lots of things happen over that period. Keeping in touch and networking is vital if the class is going to prevail.

I wonder if travelling interstate is an ‘’it would be nice’’ event for the class and on the wish list at some time in the future. With the class struggling wouldn’t it be better to keep the Nationals closer to home and keep numbers sailing. I spoke to Bob about Gosford on the weekend and you might recall we  looked at Saratoga as a possibility. These are locations where you can take a week off and the family can readily travel and the location is great for a holiday and sailing. Maybe it keeps numbers together.

Seems that these days there are so many distractions that it’s tough to compete. You simply can’t twist arms to force people to sail. They have to want to sail. We haven’t built boats for a number of years. Johns boat is brilliant but I don’t see the average punter like me attempting to build a boat like Firestorm. The original plan was to supply a hull and deck mould that made the boat easy to build, look the same and standard to rig. I wonder if we need to get back to basics.

Newcastle (I believe) is a tremendous growth potential for the class. The area is pretty affluent, the lifestyle is great and the market is more captive than Sydney. Lots of clubs dot the lake. I think if we can make the boat easier to get into and people know that investing 17K in a new boat is worthwhile then I think we will be in better shape. Otherwise we will be in a position where the same boats continue to be re jigged and eventually they get too old and soft can’t  then  sold and lost forever to the class. No new boats being built. Older sailors like me and others eventually stop sailing and it’s not pretty.

Anyway just some commentary on how I see it as a long term player in VS sailing.

Best Regards

Peter

Hi All,

It’s taken me a little longer in therapy than I expected, but I’m out now & the doctors expect I’ll make a full recovery.  All that is needed is a nice 18 knot NE’er at Teralba (should be have one before 2020 I hope).  So what caused this condition?  If you were at Hawkesbury regatta you’d know……

Saturday. 

Once again the members at Hawkesbury made us feel very welcome.  With nice hot sand & an even nicer NE’er building, a great afternoon sailing looked assured. With plenty of juniors to look after the course was set inside Junno Point.  With 15 knots+ blowing at the start, this seemed no problem – until about 1 minute after the start.  By that time the breeze backed up the course & left many boats wallowing on the usually favoured LHS of the course.  A few saw this & headed right, against the tide, but into the breeze.  One of those was Measurement Solutions who was amongst the leaders around the top mark.  Most boats headed south down the run, with the wind & tide.  It was a good two stringer, until about the start line, where the breeze ran out.  From here the torture of the mind began…..

Put simply, the closer to the bottom mark the less the breeze.  And the direction the breeze would come from was also a question.  When combined, this resulted in many position changes, smiles, frowns and profanity.  In one example of many Raptor were parked at the bottom mark that long that they were nearly lapped, but then hooked into the breeze & almost caught the leaders.  Every boat copped this, but in the end Runaway picked a good final leg to get the major points from Firestorm & Ol’Yella.  Add 123 were looking set for 4th until Wobbygong brought the breeze to the final mark, sailed around Tim to finish a fine 4th.  Runaway, the result of a juicy handicap, scored the double & claimed the handicap victory from Ol’ Yella & Wobbygong.  With the prospect of sailing Sunday’s race out beyond Junno, everyone looked forward to Sunday.

Sunday.

With fear of showing my age & quoting from an all time classic movie, this was “groundhog day”.  A promising breeze before the start, only to die after the start gun & leave massive holes around the course.   Most boats fell into one or more.  Add a bit of heat from the NW’er & frustration grew.  Raptor was on the game though, & was always on the side of the course the breeze came from.  However, while Ol’Yella & Raptor battled on the last run, Runaway clawed back from a fine last position, slipped inside these two, to take a lead they would never surrender.  In the meantime, Firestorm, Add 123, Measurement Solutions & Stowe Australia were sucked into the ‘super massive black hole’ off Junno.  Only Firestorm somewhat recovered to finish 5th, but the mental damage was done, hence the therapy described earlier for sailing around in circles.  Apart from Runaway & Raptor, the star of the day was local boats Wobbygong & Marengo.  The Gleeson boys hit the throttle in certain conditions & jumped away to get an easy 4th on scratch.  Similarly Marengo sailed well and kept a level head for 6th scratch & 3rd handicap.  With this experience Alex & crew will only get better.  Bob, Hayden & Tarrick easily claimed the handicap victory from Runaway.  Has Raptor peaked too early?     

I need to add here that the Hawkesbury club once again were the perfect hosts.  They ferry visiting boats when required & make us feel very welcome.  The breeze is beyond their control.  Maybe next year we’ll be blessed with 15 knot Ne’ers…

So next up is Teralba regatta next week.  TT only but I’d ask all members to attend for a special occasion.  Noel Robson, son of the first VS association life member Ken Robson, is attending the regatta with the plaque presented to Ken.  Noel was an active sailor himself in the 70’s so it will be nice to hear about the good ol’ days.  We are planning a gathering at 1:30pm to welcome Noel.

Following that is the nationals at Port Hunter.  2nd to 8th January.  NOR will be out soon so keep an eye on the web site & your email inbox. 

If you need more info let me know. 

Cheers

John

Saturday:
·         14:30 start time is what we hoping to have.
·         $10 per day entry fee to Brian Gleeson
·         Getting to the club with your boat and gear: similar to last year if you can not rig up at Parsley Bay and have the club motor boats tow you around with all your gear, etc. it makes for a much smoother transition in the morning. The first tow round will happen at 11:00. With boats coming back round to tow until 12:00. If you are planning on coming and shoot me an email it’ll make it less likely to leave anyone behind if they are running late.
·         There is a canteen with salad rolls, sausage rolls, pies, refreshments, etc at the club. The canteen is the main funding supply for the club through the year and pays for much of our ongoing costs (your support would be appreciated).
 
Sunday:
·         13:30 start time provided  there is breeze.
·         $10 per day entry fee to Brian Gleeson
·         Presentation on the beach after the race.
·         Limited food available – probably sausage rolls/meat pies, possibly bbq?? 
 

 Hi All,

With the first VS association races run last weekend at Taree & Manning Point, it seemed appropriate for a quick recap.  I believe there is a detailed race report coming so I won’t go into too much detail here.

First of all the regatta race times & full results are posed on the web.  Official State & Travellers results are yet to be posted (because I am still updating the spreadsheets!!) but at this stage both series are the same.  You can see for yourself it was pretty close racing on Saturday & therefore plenty of smiles on Saturday night.  More on the racing later.

Taree club always makes us very welcome & we were privileged to be invited the weekend the club dedicated some new training boats to past members.  Amongst those honoured were Steve Masters - VS Life member, Dallas Eggins - multiple VS championship winner, and Wal Humphries – our recently passed mate & VS stalwart.  The new little training boats named after these guys look good fun & the kids were having a great time on the water.  I’m sure those honoured would be smiling.

So to the smiles of Saturday night?  Maybe because of some refreshments, but I think it was in relief that there was no more tacking & gybing that day!  A tricky breeze & a bit of traffic meant many changes of direction but to give credit, I don’t think I saw any swims in the race.  (We can forget one by Firestorm after the finish – I am trying too…).  All boats finished fairly close together with plenty of position swapping throughout the race. 


The fleet was down in numbers a little but it was nice to see Alex, Peter & Myff on the water in Marengo.  The boat is from Hawkesbury so if you think about it you might be able to reason the name.  Another change in the fleet is the latest Stowe Australia.  Gordon & the boys have quietly upgraded the boat (it is now the old Dynamic route).  Once they get used to the boat I expect them to step up another rung in the fleet.

Sunday at Manning Point saw the fleet rig in very slight breeze, but by the time we started the sea breeze was kicking nicely.  The slant of the wind resulted in a slightly shorter course than usual.  We chose to do 5 laps anyway, and I think that was a good choice.  By the time the fleet finished, less than an hour later, the breeze had built to 20 knots and again there were many tired sailors looking for a quiet lie down.  Today the fatigue was not only down to tacking & gybing; there was a few swims too.  Unfortunately many of these were due to breakages (rudder pins were popular) or hitting the bottom.  But it wouldn’t be a Taree weekend without a centreboard in the bottom, would it?

A reminder the next regatta is at Hawkesbury on 5th & 6th November.

Hopefully see you then.

John

 

Hi All,

With the season underway at many clubs it seemed a good time to give you a quick update & reminder of VS matters.  In no particular order, here goes:

National Championships.  This season’s national championships are to be held at Port Hunter from Monday 2nd January to Sunday 8th.  Final details are still being sorted but the club has confirmed that camping will be available at the club.  The harbour is a unique place to sail and, with shipping movements increasing on the harbour each year, the likelihood of sailing at this venue in future years might be limited.  We are looking to schedule our races around the shipping and might even consider an offshore race.

So if you missed last years nationals because of cost or distance, strike those excuses off and mark the dates in your diaries.  There is word a few locals are looking to get on boats too…..


State & Travellers Series.  In case you missed them the NORs for these series have been posted on the web site but here is a summary of the dates:

• 22 & 23 October          Taree/Manning Point               s & t    
• 5 & 6 November          Hawkesbury                            s & t
• 26 & 27 November      Teralba                                    t
• 11 & 12 February        Sunshine                                 s & t
• 18 & 19 February        Vaucluse/Yarra Bay                s & t    
• 31 March                     Port Hunter                              t          
  

Yep, you read it correctly.  The first regatta of the year is at Taree Saturday week!!  The Taree club is once again keen to see us, more so this year as it is their opening day.  They have planned a sail past, dedications to past Commodores & Life Members, and a BBQ after the race.  Always good racing & a good time up there so why not make the effort?  As requested at the AGM a meeting will be held on Sunday morning so a good chance to air your views.  Chook & Gordon put in the miles to support other regattas so let’s reciprocate. 

Please note that entries for the state & travellers series both close on 22 October.  (It’s near impossible to run a series when you don’t know who is in it).  Entry is free to members and can be done by either ticking a box on the membership form or completing the entry form in the NOR, or if that is too hard email a committee member!  Just let us know….

Memberships are due.  It always seems like a drain on the wallet at the start of the season but the good news is the fees are the same as last year! (and the year before).  $10 per member & $150 boat registration.  I’m sure payment before or at Taree would be appreciated by treasurer Mark Nugent.  But if you cannot arrange that cheques via post or bank transfer are options.  Contact Mark to discuss.
I might be preaching to the converted but why join?   The VS association has insurances & other fees (YA) that need payment to keep us as a recognised sailing class.  The majority of money disappears here.  We also have to pay clubs to host our nationals each year.  There are other costs, such as website & trophy maintenance but too. Outside of this we try to return the money to members by the way of prizes. 

But the prizes always go to the same boats?  On scratch there are a few established contenders, but don’t forget all boats are more than capable.  For example, who could forget the scratch results at the Nationals: Wobbygong winning 1 heat & leading another; Add123 getting two 2nd places & leading another heat by a leg until a wind shift; Ol’Yella winning a heat with daylight second. 

The VS handicapping system is pretty well refined, giving all boats that sail a good chance of victory.  Of the boats that competed in the Travellers series last year only 1 didn’t get a victory somewhere in the series.  Similarly at the nationals there was only 1 boat that did not get a victory on handicap (Firestorm).  The bottom line is the more you sail the better your chances…

But I can’t sail in all the regattas so it’s not worth entering the States or travellers or being a member?   For those members who have other commitments or cannot sail at all the regattas, not all is lost.  Remember each association regatta race is run as a separate event, with all registered boats eligible for the daily prizes.  All boats are allocated a handicap at the beginning of the season.  So if you don’t want to enter the States or Travellers series, but decide it would be good to come to say race on Sunday at Teralba – come along!!  You can drift around with the rest of us & might get a prize.  It would be a shame to have your best race of the season and not be in the race!

And if I haven’t convinced you yet to join/rejoin think about the intangible benefits the VS association offers.  Not many associations will help with all aspects of boat rigging or tuning, has a hull mould available, nor helps arrange replacement crews, boats & equipment, etc.  Where would we be without Tim?

Heard on the grapevine…

• Wobbygong has undergone a bit of surgery with the Gleeson boys opening the blue boat to see what is inside.  Maybe feeling the pressure to repeat the KI performance (or more likely repair Wobby after the KI performance).
• The bandages are about to come off Measurement Solutions after a nose job.  The things you do when you get old…
• Alex Stewart is making a comeback at the tiller of ex champion boat 2200.  Like most out of Hawkesbury, the crew is young and keen. Welcome back.
• Is Under Pressure 2213 making a return?  Very keen at the end of last season but no sign yet.  Making a surprise return at Taree (I hope)
• Speaking of Taree it is rumoured a very fast boat has made it’s way up there, to be steered by a multiple championship winning for’ardhand.  No more being first across the line (an old for’ardhand joke)
• Runaway has been preparing for Taree, checking the rudder is strong enough to handle a grounding should it occur.  The rudder is perfect, the back of the boat the weak link now…
• Add123 have unveiled one of the next generation masts from CST.  The tip is so slender Tim tried fitting a zipper…
• Rapid Fire might be back soon?  Brownie & Harro were seen drifting around in a couple of Impulses salivating as the VS’s flew past under kite.  After the race they were talking of needing one more crew.  Know anyone?

So now you are all enthusiastic, now is the time to get some paper work done.  Attached are membership & boat capitation forms.  Why not complete them now?

Regards

John