No. I'm not referring to Rapid Antigen Tests. I'm referring to the grain, and now sail eating, rodents.
Matt did a bit of a clean out of the Teralba club boat shed last weekend and found a few rats nesting in VS sails. He chased the rats out and told them not to return, but suggested sailors who have sails stored under the club check their quiver soon and take the necessary steps to avoid a recurrence. Sorry this is not applicable to our Hawkesbury members but, if we can catch these rats, I'm sure we could export them so you don't miss the experience and feel left out. On other news, I'm currently liaising with the Formula 15 reps to finalise the upcoming nationals at Teralba. They are very keen so hopefully it will be a great regatta. Unfortunately they want a joint NOR so it is stuck in the consultation stage but the key item for VS sailors is that T shirts will be included as part of the entry. But we need to know your sizes!!! If you are going to enter the nationals please let me know the T shirt sizes for your crew by Teralba regatta. 3 shirts will be provided per boat as part of your nationals entry. Additional shirts can be purchased for $30. MIchael Northanm is already working on the design so expect another classic from the legend. Please contact me if you need more info. Cheers John Hi all,
Not long now until the season begins! I've already seen a few (crazy) singlehanders out sailing at Teralba (Gary Bellamy was one) but pretty soon the nor'easters will be back and you'll be itching for some racing too. So to prepare for the season's racing please find attached the NOR's for the VS state & Travellers series. Also attached is the association membership form. We have been relaxed about chasing boat registrations and memberships for the past few seasons but with some renewed interest it is only fair if everyone makes an effort. Payment details for memberships are included on the bottom of the form. Please include some reference to your self or boat on EFTs so Dale can reconcile any deposits. Forms should also be returned to Dale or myself. The AGM agreed to sail the nationals at Teralba from 27-29 January so a NOR for that event will come out when the details are finalised. T-shirts will be included in the nationals entry but the orders need to be placed by the Teralba regatta so please start thinking of your requirements. Keep an eye on the web site and facebook page for updates. If you need any more info please let me know. Cheers John The winter solstice has just passed so that means one thing - the days are now getting longer! See. I did go to school...
But the solstice passing also means that Spring and Summer are approaching and so is the next sailing season. So now is the time to think about what you want from the VS association and our regattas. Do we arrange a traditional Nationals series over a week? Do we have it over a long weekend? Do we have it over several regattas, as we did last year? Similarly, what do you want for the state and travellers title series? The reason for me raising the topic now is not to circumvent any AGM discussions or decisions, but to get everyone thinking about what we want as a class and so we can start discussions with potential host clubs. Teralba club are also setting their calendar so want some indication of our class movements. I imagine Hawkesbury will be in a similar situation soon. So any thoughts are welcome. I'll follow up with Col when he gets back from the Kimberly. Cheers John I was going to give you a report after the Hawkesbury weekend but Covid has laid me low. I am recovering OK but I seemed to lose a week. All I remember of the weekend was:
Congratulations to all the winners. John. Are we getting back to normal life? It seems like just yesterday that we were locked down & gatherings were frowned upon. That began two years ago… Yep. Covid19 disrupted everything we knew, and that included VS racing.
But no more! Restrictions are being wound back and regattas are now back on the calendar as usual. Almost. As of November, we were still in a state of flux, so the AGM set a hybrid regatta calendar for the season. No traditional nationals series over a week at Christmas this season, instead replaced by the results from various regatta races. The states & travellers series have resumed in a format similar to previous seasons, being selected races from regattas. Apologies that the usual race documentation hasn’t been published but this would have been documenting details after the event, so as per the AGM resolution and minutes, the regatta schedule is:
So the story so far… Teralba regatta was sailed but not quite to plan. A stiff southerly lead to the Saturday race being postponed. Two races were sailed on Sunday. Firestorm & Incognito were the only finishers in the first race. Chris, Greg & Tom good enough to win on corrected time. But the starters were a bit cruel and started the second race before they could return to the start line L Race 2 was a better contest. TBS rejoited the fleet after suffering rig troubles in the previous race, but the revelation of the day was the performance of The Green Boat. 2226 is arguably the fastest boat in the fleet, but she is cranky. Craig and his crew are learning to tame the beast and showed the skills they have, sailing a great race and winning on corrected time. Good one. Sunshine was the next regatta & it was destined to be unusual. Many of us were still saddened by the recent passing of Alf, founder of South Lakes and long-time supporter of the VS class. Then there was the breeze that was weird. A moderate southerly blew as we rigged then, as the sail past tribute was about to begin, a 25-knot southerly kicked in. Boats capsized everywhere and many chose to stay on the bank. It looked like the race would be abandoned. Then by chance, or Alf’s intervention?, the wind dropped to a 8 to 10 knot SE’er with flat water. Bliss. The track was a bit one sided but there was still ground to be made with strategic tacking & gybing. Firestorm loved the conditions & took out the scratch & handicap double. The Sunday race was also sailed in lighter breezes but on an unusual Easterly course in “the gutter”. An unpredictable place to sail from previous experiences. And that continued. Steve, Gabe & Troy sailed Runaway magnificently all race and held a comfortable lead until the final spinnaker run. Here the breeze abandoned them, and they watched Meeks & Firestorm slip by on the other side of the course. But the bad luck of Meeks was to continue. On Saturday Geoff, Mark & Dave (yep Dave who sailed with Bozo more than a decade ago & survived) had 2nd place secured but went for a quick swim on the last tack and lost the place. Today, on the two sail reach home, the wind abandoned them and Runaway dipped below them and again relegated them to 3rd place. Bad luck boys. But the revelation of the day was Jock and this crew on Measurement Solutions. They have been quietly developing, and with a new set of sails, now regularly upend the established pecking order at Hawkesbury. They scored a 2nd on corrected time on Saturday; on Sunday they easily took the win. This leads to the reason for this report. To try to continue the renewed enthusiasm. For example we were expecting 10 starters at Hawkesbury for the regatta. That is a great fleet. Hopefully everyone makes the commitment to support the regatta on the new dates 19 & 20 March. Following this is the Newcastle Sailfest on 26 & 27 March. All races form part of our nationals, state or travellers series. Dropped scores will help you stay in contention if you have missed a race or two, but by far the best way to be competitive is to sail. Cheers John In the first year of Covid-19 how would you expect the first regatta to go? Without disruption? Yeah. Right…
As I have mentioned before the weather forecasts these days are pretty good. So, with forecasts of 40 degree plus days and gusty westerly winds, it was not surprising that only 7 boats rigged to contest the first state & TT race of the season. Covid & the weather is not the only reason the numbers are down though; Alex and the boys on Purple Haze recently broke a mast, Mick T is focussing on a new 16 footer (and running the races at Teralba), Bozo is helping Mick on the start boat, Matt is racing a car this weekend rather than Raptor, and Roger & Will are short a Sheethand on Devocean after Nick has retired. But whilst very hot and gusty, the conditions on Saturday were OK for racing and the boats were all close for a very biased boat start. Starting with us, ex VSer Lindsay Allan provided some entertainment when he crossed the line early and tacked to round the start boat. But Bozo had too much anchor rope out for Lindsay’s liking and the VJ(?) tripped over it and crashed into the start boat. Plenty of yelling followed. Typical of a Teralba NW’er there was plenty of big shifts and lines. But the crew to link them all together beautifully on the first work and lead around the top mark was Stowe, with Tim & Scott joined by Jock, who was making a cameo appearance. Next was Meeks, with Geoff, Luke & Mark, showing similar skills to join the dots. Luke is only a youth and new to VS’s, but is showing great skills, and will only improve as his experience builds. Think of the young sailors who started like Luke but are now the most sought-after sailors; Hugh, Brad, Gabe, Will, Lennon & Ryan to name but a few. Speaking of Ryan, he was back up front on Firestorm. Things seemed normal but the only thing behind him around the top mark was Dale & John. After picking every knock they were dead last. There were some big bullets down the run but the Stowe boys held their lead around the leeward mark for the first time. Firestorm had a good run & rounded second, helped by TBS being blown nearly to Valentine. Meeks, Incognito & SFC had swims. With the breeze up Firestorm quickly found their old mojo, passed Stowe, and sailed off for a win. Behind them Janine, Adam & Col returned to the course & kept the leader honest, especially after a near pin to pin 3rd run. They were smoking. Similarly, Steve, Jeremy & Hugh had Runaway jumping, hot on the tuck of TBS. This battle continued race long with TBS holding a small lead around the leeward mark for the last time. But a Teralba NW’er is anything but true – Runaway tacked on the mark and picked a nice line of breeze. When they next crossed the Runaway boys had second place and held it to the finish. TBS were a close 3rd. With an older rig, Stowe were a little under powered at times but sailed well for 4th over the line and a nice win on handicap. So Jock is 1 from 1… Just a little further back Griffin, Gab & Lennon sailed SFC well in the testing conditions that required many changes from high to low mode. The young guys are learning every time they go out and are a joy to watch in go fast mode. They will pick up when to ‘change gears’ and continue up the results sheet, and todays 5th is proof of that. Meeks were next in 6th and made it home without busting boat or crew. Unfortunately, not the same could be said of Incognito. Chris made the run up from Hawkesbury with Mike filling in for Greg on the sheet. Up front Tom has stepped up from the 13’s and is starting what I hope is a long run on a VS. Welcome to the fleet!!! But today the gusty conditions were not ideal for a new crew combination. Without the benefit of local knowledge, the boys ripped the bottom of the centreboard before the start. They soldiered on but then had a wild moment where Mike’s foot was stuck in a foot strap and the boat gybed. A suspected broken foot resulted in a DNF. For those that don’t remember Mike was sheethand on Incognito when they flew the kite in the strong southerly at Sunshine. Get well soon. The forecast for Sunday was for gale force winds and 40 degree plus temperatures. And that’s what we got. Racing was abandoned. As we know in this Covid age, nothing is predictable, except the weather. The next regatta is the Nationals. Sunshine. 2 – 8 January. Get there and enjoy a sailor’s life!! Cheers John Once again the weather forecasts were correct. After the previous weekend of 40+ degree days the forecast for Sunshine was for squallly winds with rain. And so it was.
The warnings and conditions unfortunately also thinned out the number of boats who made the trip to Sunshine. Five Vee Esses rigged in a total regatta fleet of 25. This would have to be the smallest fleet in history. Unfortunately our starters were reduced by one when 2 sailors + 1 launched the boat but found the rudder pin missing. Bugger. A replacement pin couldn't be found so Geoff, Mark & Pete only got wet from the rain. Despite the small numbers it was still a good race. We shared the start with a couple of skates so there was still some aggression on the line. TBS, with Gabe subbing in for Janine, won the start & were first round the windward mark, closely followed by Firestorm, Stowe & Incognito. And already a comfortable margin ahead of the skates. There has always been a friendly rivalry between the classes. For the record, and bragging rights, we lapped one skate & were not far off doing the same to the second. Another one for the VS !!! Up front TBS & Firestorm again pushed each other all race and cleared out, with Firestorm holding on for the gun. TBS were comfortable in second, until returning to the shore with a spectacular flip. Stowe did the same. It looked great but I'm not keen on following the trend... But back to the racing, Andrew & Chris on Incognito grabbed Joe for the weekend. They continued their performances from the recent Sunshine nats and pounced when Tim, Scott & Lennon had a quick swim on the home run. Incognito 3rd. Stowe 4th. Sunday morning and the rain was nearly horizontal. When we got to the club two flags were flying - AP over A. No racing today. So we lost a race but that's not the end of either the TT & state title series. Vaucluse regatta is in on in two weeks time - 22nd February. If you can please get make an effort to get there. It is a great club & they are great hosts. They looked after us in our 70th year and always make us welcome. Let's show them we appreciate their hospitality by having a good turnout. Happy sailing John So were the forecasts again correct? I think so. I use Predict Wind and 12 knot Southerly easing was their prediction. That was pretty much what the final two races were sailed in.
With both the scratch & handicap titles still open and all crews ready to attack a steadier breeze 9 boats lined up on yet another great start line. The 'top guns' TBS, Firestorm & Runaway were close together, sailing hard on the Wolstoncroft side of the course and feeling pretty satisfied, until they made their way back towards Sunshine. Matt, Troy & Mackenzie on Raptor were sailing well and holding a slight lead over Roger, Dom & Will on Devocean. And they were about 100m in front of Firestorm. Sweet! As usual Stowe and Black Diamond were again upsetting the hierarchy too. On the first run Tim, Hugh & Lennon on Stowe went hard toward the Sunshine side & once again were mixing it for the lead. TBS did similar and rounded the bottom mark with Firestorm. TBS sailed well but the weather was finally in the Firestorm go zone & Courtney, Dale & John sailed off to get the gun and seal the scratch title. Col, Adam & Janine were missing the power of their now broken mast but again sailed well to finish 2nd, from Chook, Hayden & Adam on Black Diamond in 3rd. Stowe continued to pick the breeze well & finished in a dead heat with Runaway for 4th. TBS & Runaway were now tied on points in the scratch series. Raptor took an easy corrected time victory from Devocean. After that first lap it was not a surprising result. The final race of the series started just like all previously - a long, even start line hotly contested. All boats got away well but unfortunately a big blank after this as to who did what in this race because the breeze was so shifty and puffy. You could dip the tuck of a boat and next time you'd cross 200m ahead. It took max concentration all race. Firestorm got the gun to claim the Coal Board shield. TBS seemed to be covering Runaway for most of the race but this is hard to do on a downwind finish and only 10 seconds separated them at the finish but TBS had done their job. Black Diamond was back on form and finished 4th ahead of Stowe in 5th. With a bit of separation in the fleet Firestorm took the corrected time honours for the race too. In summary John, Dale & Courtney sailed Firestorm well enough in a range of breezes to win the scratch title from TBS & Range. The Handicap title went to Andrew, Mike & Chris on Incognito, from club rivals Purple Haze with Stowe 3rd. Finally praise must be given to SLMASC for hosting the VS nationals in a style that suited the class well. Relaxed off water, competitive on. The key on water crew of Alf, Steve, Mark, Norm & Bob did an excellent job of setting true courses, fair start lines and coping with breezes from 5 knots to 25 knots. Thanks guys. Equal praise for the on shore crew of Marlene, Linda, Lynne, Kathy, Tracey & Wendy. Lunches were terrific every day, as were the afternoon nibbles with drinks on the verandah, only to be surpassed by the presentation night spread. Thanks ladies. It was the 75th time the VS national series has been contested so we reached a milestone that many other classes can only dream of. I think it was one of the best but I've only sailed in the last 25 or so of those. You'll have to ask Tim about the rest... Once again the weather forecast was correct. A fresh southerly was forecast and what did we sail in? A fresh southerly. Not as tough as on Sunday but enough to have the rigging area asking about whether racing would proceed. But we are a skiff class and it wasn't crazy conditions, so the starting boat crew set the course & got us away on time.
Eight boats made the start for the first race of the day. 2 Sailors + 1 had shredded a mainsail the previous day so was gone for the series. Raptor also headed for shore early after Matt had second thoughts about racing, much to the disappointment of Mackenzie... A nice, long start line saw the fleet get away to a very even start. I think all boats crossed tacks at some stage up the work & rounded the windward mark stem to tuck. And all flew kites. Wineglasses on a few gybes changed some places but everyone stayed upright. Close racing continued for the rest of the race to the point that Runaway rounded the left hand bottom mark just before Firestorm rounded the right mark for the final beat to the finish. The wind shifted left and Firestorm took a close win from Runaway. TBS was a comfortable 3rd before Incognito crossed in an impressive 4th and for a probable corrected time victory. Except that rival Purple Haze finished an equally impressive 6th across the line and once again took the handicap victory. Three in a row! Has Alex, Andrew & Rob peaked too soon? Race 8 was similar, except this time TBS really found their mojo and sailed mistake free race for an easy victory. Runaway kept them honest but (i don't think) crossed them in the race. Firestorm was even further adrift in 3rd but unfortunately did cross both TBS & Runaway when on the first run they gybed onto port only to have to luff to avoid both. They swum and started a long chase, eventually passing Incognito on the line. But this time Incognito were not to be done on corrected time and took a solid handicap victory. The ever consistent Tim, Hugh & Lennon on Stowe again crossed the line in 5th and scored a nice runner up place on handicap, which might prove crucial in the final wrap. So going into the final two races the regatta is close. Check the results. But in summary Firestorm, Runaway & TBS are all still vying for the scratch title with just a few points between. But the handicap series is even closer. Hawkesbury hotshots Incognito & Purple Haze are tied on points with Stowe ready to claim the title should either falter. The forecast for the final day of the regatta is another southerly. Some models predict light to moderate, some fresher. Let's just hope it is good VS sailing weather & we can all finish the regatta on a high. See you tomorrow A big day for all. With 3 races scheduled the fleet assembled around the start boat for a Northerly course. However just before the 5 minute signal the wind shifted 90 degrees. Steve, Mark & various assistants on the start boat have been doing a great job all regatta and continued so, pulling up the AP and resetting the course. So the early start now became a later than usual start, but the fleet was still keen. Firestorm more so than others and drew a IR flag when the fleet got away in an 8 knot easterly. But the breeze suited the lighter crews & Firestorm took the gun from TBS & Black Diamond. Runaway had held a higher place all race but lost out down a competitive last run to finish a close 4th. Check the race times!.
The lighter breeze was a welcome relief for some crews & kept the fleet close, with just over 10 minutes across the whole fleet. And everyone finished. This lead to close results on corrected time. Andrew, Michael & Chris on Incognito finally got to enjoy the reward for all their hard work and won the race on handicap, a whopping 20 odd seconds ahead of club mate Purple Haze, who in turn 'did' Raptor by a huge 4 seconds. Roger, Dom & Will were another 'lazy' 16 seconds further back in 4th. These places might be important come overall results. Second race for the day and the breeze had settled more in the ENE and was building. Building enough for Michael, Peter & Murray on 2 Sailors + 1 to tear their mainsail in half & have another DNF. A frustrating regatta for "the little master" but it was great to see the champ at yet another nationals. The stories around the rigging area are legendary... So back to the start & again it was keenly contested. This time it was Incognito to force a IR flag. Once again Firestorm, Runaway, TBS & Black Diamond all swapped tacks and gybes at the font of the fleet, with Tim, Hugh & Lennon on Stowe again lurking ready to pounce on any mistake. Plenty of passing but in the end Steve, Mick & Gabe on Runaway claimed another bullet, from Firestorm & TBS. But once again the corrected time results were important. And with less than 10 minutes spread across the fleet the results were always going to be close. This time Alex, Rob & Andrew on 'The Haze' got the gong from Stowe, Incognito, Devocean & Raptor. Third race for the day and the breeze was really freshening from the NE. This time no early starters but also no early finishers! Despite 15 - 20 knot gusts all boats finished & I think there was no swims. Nice. Again Firestorm, Runaway, TBS & Black Diamond lead the fleet, with Stowe again lurking. Firestorm sailed a good final lap and got the gun from TBS & Runaway. The fleet again finished closely so it was no surprise the corrected time winners were those with good handicaps. And once again it was Purple Haze that got the victory, this time from Rog, Dom & Will on Devocean with Incognito 3rd. Still four races left in the regatta so too early to call it but the scratch title looks like being a 4 way battle between race winners Firestorm, Runaway & Black Diamond and the comeback kings TBS. The handicap title appears also to be a 4 way battle - Purple Haze leading club mate Incognito, with Devocean close behind & Stowe again lurking!!! Southerly forecast for Wednesday. Let's hope it has less bite than the last one... it. |
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