18-02-2011, 11:04 PM (This post was last modified: 18-02-2011, 11:08 PM {2} by IanR.)
29 January, 2011 : I have been away for a few weeks so have not been able to do reports - if anyone has info on the last couple of races please send to me for inclusion. Regular reports will resume after the 5th Feb.
10 January, 2011 : Sorry for the late arrival of this report - we have been driving back from Melbourne and then down at the first two days of the MG nationals at the club. Firstly to wrap up the Sharpie nationals, the last heat was held in 5 knot breezes in smooth water - what a relief !! Both Road Kil and Mainiac had excellent starts only to have the race recalled. In the next start both got boxed in and were near the back of the fleet. Mainiac sailed through the fleet to be battling for 4th place - would have been great to have these conditions all series ! Road Kill suffered in the light conditions and could not make any headway. On the last work Mainiac decided to cover the boat they were closest in the championships to which was a bad move as they lost a few places to finish ninth. Road Kill came home in 30th. Overall, Mainiac ended up 13th on scratch, 2nd on handicap and second country boat, Road Kill was 29th overall - not sure of their handicap postion. The series was fantastic fun and very well run - roll on Brisbane next year.
Meanwhile the MG nationls is under way with 4 heats having been completed. We have 4 boats competing - Dylan and ALex/Nick just for the first 4 heats on Knot e nuff, Dino and Dante on Intensity, Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent and John and Emmett on Skulker. The first two heats were sailed in variable NE breezes. In heat 1 our boats all sailed well with Skulker 12th, Knot e nuff 13th, Intensity 19th and Wilful Intent 30th and in heat 2 Skulker was 13th and Knot e nuff 17th - the other two did not start - both with broken gear.
Heat 3 and 4 were held in NE-SE breezes with Skulker showing they are learning to sail the boat well - third around the first mark in heat 3 and second in heat 4 !! Unfortunately for them they forgot to check for weed in heat 3 and broke some gear in heat 4 ending up 13th and 15th - still and excellent result. Knot e nuff was sailing very well with a 15th and a 16th and Intensity 21st and 14th. Wilful Intent did not manage to finish in the time limit in either race which was most disapointing for them - 30 minutes after the first boat is not really enough when we are encouraging new sailors into the class.
I will do more updates on the titles as I get more news.
6 January, 2011 : Since my last report we have had a lay day and heats 5 and 6. Heat 5 was a touch lighter - still about 15 knots - once again with large waves for the conditions. Half the flet went left and half right after the start with the wind swinging to favour those who went right. Road kill had their best start to a race and were 10th round the first mark. Mainiac went left and was about 25th !! About half way through the race, Mainiac had sailed through to about 10th while Road Kill was losing ground on the reaches. Mainiac then had a "half swim" on a tack and lost heaps of ground eventually finishing 17th - with Road Kill coming in 25th.
The 6th heat was sailed in strong seabreeze of up to 25 knots - biggest waves so far !! I had been very sick overnight and didn't look as though I would be able to sail but came good enough to go out. Frank had also suffered an injury on Road Kill but a few panadols had him raring to go. John sailed on a heavyweight Sharpie - not too many people can say they have done that !! From the start Mainiac was doing well circulating in around 10-13th with Road Kill sailing their best full race distance so far. Unfortunately at the start of the run leg Mainiacs spinaker would not go up completely - we couldn't really see why. Worse was to come as it wouldn't come down at the drop !! After much messing round a capsize was in order to disconnect the halyard from the spinaker so the last lap was done jib and main only. Mainiac ended up 19th with Road Kill storming up the last work to have the best place so far of 20th.Overall Mainiac is running 13th and Road Kill 30th.
2 January, 2011 : Good news from Melbourne today - Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile won the last heat of the Flying Ant titles at Parkdale. They ended up 5th overall which is really great. Also, Ryan Dryden and Victoria Liddle from IYC won the titles overall - well done guys !! I will try to get hold of the overall results and post on our results section.
Heat 3 of the Sharpies on New Years Eve was almost looking as though it would be called off. 40 degree temperatures and 30 knot winds from the north - similar to our westerlies. Not all boats took part - which most regreted as it wasn't bad once on the water. Mainiac was in 7th or 8th for most of the race but did a big nosedive coming in to the bottom mark the last time - and missing the mark ! A few boats got through before the finish and they finished 12th - still an improvement. Road Kill and Shazam decided not to compete.
Heat 4 today was back to the same old sea breeze with huge waves. We must be getting used to it as on Mainiac we were in 8th for most of the race - got overtaken again on the last work when the wind filled in even more to finish 11th - our best result so far. Road Kill broke a tiller extension and Shazam broke a trap wire.
After 4 heats Mainiac is in 11th before drops.
31 December, 2010 : Heat 2 was held in slightly lighter conditions but still with huge waves. Road kill was doing really well until a swim on the last lap put them back in the fleet - a bit of family dis-harmony resulted I think !! Mainiac ended up 15th and Shazam was 14th. Best of the NSW boats was Chris Ablet who has a huge forward hand for the series - he was 13th. Today is going to be wild with 40 degrees and 30 knot northerlies forecast - at least it will be relatively flat water.
30 December, 2010 : We had the first heat of the Sharpie nationals yesterday - perfect conditions for Mr Freeze - pity you guys are not here !! The wind was a steady 20 knots gusting higher with the most awesome chop (swell ??) - many boats getting into difficulty due to the very challenging conditions. Of the PKSC boats Mainiac got off to a reasonable start and was about 10th round the top mark - in a group of boats - lost a few places during the race ending up 14th. This was much better than expected given the conditions so quite happy. Road Kill had a poor start but was then powering along - overtaking heaps of boats upwind. At the top of the windward-return they had to capsize to fix a spinaker issue - unfortunately when they righted the cord that hold the main to the quick release had snapped so they had to retire. John Richardson is sailing on a Canberra boat name Shazam - they were going well in about 16th but capsized on the way to the bottom mark and ended up 21st. We are all praying for flat water but the forecast is for a very windy choppy series.
28 December, 2010 : The link to Sharpie championship results is now up on our monohull results page - I will put the other classes up as I find the right links.
22 December, 2010 : With last Saturdays blowout there is not much to report for the monohulls apart from wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We do have some members of our fleet participating in National Championships so good luck to all doing so. Those I am aware of are :
* Flying Ants - Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile are heading off to Parkdale in Melbourne from 27/12
* Sharpies - Nick, Alex and Frank on Road Kill and Ian, Michael and Dylan on Mainiac and John R on a Canberra boat will be at Black Rock in Melbourne starting on 27/12
* MG14 - Dino and Jacina on Intensity, Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent and John and Emmett on Skulker with be at our club starting 8 January
* 420 - Dean and Angus on Sproose Moose will be at Middle Harbour starting
13 December, 2010 : Heat 4 of the Club Championship and heat 13 of the pointscore were held on Saturday - it was also the final heat of Pointscore A which covers the first half of the season. A reasonable fleet turned out - but we were missing a number of boats due illness, broken masts and I think approaching holiday season. It was good to see Marc and the boys on Rockets Fuels on the water - the lake in Canberra was closed due to the recent rain so they came for a drive to sail with us.
All the boats in the monohull fleet are sailing really well now - with picking of windshifts, etc now being more the deciding factor than boat speed.
At the start there was a lot of east in the breeze, but almost straight away it swung back to NE - so the course ended up being quite offset - making the reach to the wing mark very tight. Mainiac led round the first mark followed by Rocket Fuels and both decided to set kites straight away - the rest of the fleet heading high jib and main. Noone made the mark directly but all seemed to work out even anyway. At the wing mark Mainiac led from Blowflies and a very close battle between Mr Freeze and Rocket Fuels. Road Kill and Pleasure & Pain rounded close behind. In the short course fleet Skulker pulled out a good lead from the rapidly improving Wilful Intent.
Mainiac held its lead for the remainder of the race with Mr Freeze settling in to a safe second. Sheet hand on Mainiac Michael decided to fall off the boat heading up to the top mark but a quick recovery meant no loss of position. Pleasure & Pain caught up to Road Kill on the reach to mark X and both got past Blowflies. It was an exciting finish between the three boats with Pleasure & Pain just getting Road Kill on the line by 7 seconds followed by Blowflies 8 seconds further back.
John and Emmet on Skulker were well in front on the short course - on the run Emmett fell overboard so a little time was lost in recovery and then on the way to the X mark a big gust hit them and they capsized. A few minutes were lost again but they still came in first. Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent were sailing really well downwind but still have a little work to do on their upwind skills to be able to keep pace with the other boats.
Results for the Long Course club championship heat were Mainiac first, Mr Freeze second and Blowflies third. On the Short Course, Skulker was first with Wilful Intent second. Results for the pointscore race were Pleasure & Pain first, Mainiac second and Road Kill third.
Pointscore A was decided with Road Kill taking first place, Mainiac second and Pleasure & Pain third.
6 December, 2010 : Before I discuss our club racing my understanding is that Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile won both state title heats on the weekend - one at IYC on Saturday and one at our club on Sunday. They did have a bit of trouble in the morning race on Sunday but managed to repair their boat in time for the afternoon race. Well done boys !!
Also, looking at the MG14 website where they have the association results from the Kembla Klassic, John and Emmett on Skulker finished 8th on scratch overall and were equal first on handicap - a great result for their first MG regatta.
We had a reasonable fleet on Saturday for club racing - the Flying Ants were away and monos were on duty - thanks to the Road Kill team for running the racing. The course was a little on the short size as the top mark was set to not interfere with the Flying Ant states course.
The race started in a steady 10kt NE breeze which stayed pretty consistent throughout the race - a novelty after the last weeks! It was great to see Hayley and Jackson back on the water in Cobra and also Andrew and Ben on Crews Control. All boats were showing very good pace on the first work with not much time between the whole fleet round the first mark. Mr Freeze led round the first mark closely followed by Mainiac, Windandsea, Crews Control, Pleasure & Pain, Skulker and Sproose Moose. Cobra was sailing well in their first race back after a lengthy enforced absence ! When setting their spinnaker, Windandsea had a swim - Neil said same place as last week - but they were soon up and running again. Mr Freeze hit the wing mark and had to do a 360. Cobra had a swim at the bottom mark and managed to get their mast stuck in the mud - better luck next time.
Windandsea pulled out a bit of a lead on line honours by the end of the race. Mainiac snuck in front of Mr Freeze at the windward mark the last time. Pleasure & Pain and Crews Control were close together with Skulker only a minute or so further back. Sproose Moose opted for the short course so were finished early. Mr Freeze just managed to get back past Mainiac before the finish line.
Pointscore results saw Skulker take out first by quite a margin - they are hoping for this type of breeze at the MG nationals !! Mainiac was second with Mr Freeze pipping Pleasure & Pain for third by just one second.
This coming Saturday is heat 4 of the Club Championship and I think most boats will be on the water. In addition it is the last heat of Pointscore A with probably 5 boats still with a chance of taking first place. Road Kill is in the lead at the moment. See you all on the water.
21 November, 2010 : The weather bureau didn't really know what to forecast for last Saturday - they hedged their bets and forecast everything from southerly through to northerly. What we ended up with was a light northeasterly which ranged between about 5 knots up to maybe 12.
Everyone chose different tracks up the first work which split the fleet somewhat. Mr Freeze picked well and led comfortably. Mainiac with its super lightweight crew gradually caught up to take the lead on the last lap. Dino and Jacina were having a great race with their new sails on Intensity and pulled a lead on the first work over the other MGs and the 420. Pleasure & Pain were trying to sort out how to get their new sails working in the light breeze with no success. Road Kill and Southern Cross sailed consistently. Kian and Amelia on Wilfull Intent were really coming to grips with the spinaker on their new boat and had some good rides. In the Flying Ants Missguided Missile was going really well as usual and Kamikaze were having some difficulties but managed to keep going with dad watching from the rescue boat !!
On the last lap things started to hot up - at the front, Mainiac led round the top mark the last time and managed to hold off Mr Freeze until the spinaker drop at mark X - where Mr Freeze managed to sneak inside on the mark and take a narrow lead to the finish. Jackson Walsh who was sailing on Mainiac decided he was too hot and fell off the boat coming up to the finish line - a quick retrieval was in order ! As the breeze freshened, John and Emmett on Skulker pulled back some time on Intensity only to lose it again coming up to the finish line.
A good time was had by all. Results for the pointscore race had Intensity first followed by Dante and Lachlan on Missguded Missile with Mainiac third.
The progress results on the website now have the drops taken into account. There is about 10 points covering first to eigth in the season pointscore !! Road Kill is leading on 11.5 points with Missguided Missile on 13.5 and Pleasure & Pain on 13.75
Pointscore A which is for the first half of the season only has two heats to run. Road Kill is leading this on 27.5 points from Pleasure & Pain and Mr Freeze tied on 31.75, Mainiac on 32 and Wilfull Intent on 33.5
For everyones information - PS11 is scheduled for Saturday 27th - however with the way the Kembla Klassic is run its not practical to have a pointscore so I will be counting it as an abandoned race.
14 November, 2010 : Everyone had been hoping for a good north easter after a season of light shifty breezes - and boy did we get it on Saturday. A few boats couldn't make it due to other commitments however those who did turn up had a very exciting days sailing in 20+ knots with occasional gusts well over 25 !!
Before the start, Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent got into some difficulty and ended up with their mast stuck in the mud. We went over to check they were OK and looked round - only a minute to go till the start so were a bit late.
Mr Freeze and Sproose Moose both got good port tack starts and led up the first work. At the top mark, Mr Freeze led comfortably. In that sort of breeze giving Mr Freeze a couple of minutes head start is a recipe for disaster but they decided to help us all out by capsizing at the wing mark - allowing Mainiac and Rick Shortridge on Proud Aussie to almost catch them. Sproose Moose and Southern Cross were not far behind. Southern Cross had to withdraw then with some broken gear. John and Emmet on Skulker were sailing consistently and made it round the course with no issues - well done boys - it was a tough day out there. Blowflies found that some of the new rigging on the 505 works well in 5-10 knots but not in the stronger breezes and had to withdraw after spending some time capsized. Meanwhile, Wilful Intent was still capsized - they ended up being towed back after all of us had finished - a long cold day on the water for them.
The rest of the race saw Mr Freeze maintain its 2 minute lead over Mainiac with Proud Aussie crossing the line third. Dean was looking good on Yardstick but the wind died a little as he was heading to the X mark.
Final results for Ht3 of the Club Championship were Skulker first on the short course and Mr Freeze, Mainiac and Sproose Moose taking the placings on the long course. Overall pointscore results were Mr Freeze, Mainiac and Sproose Moose.
I think most boats should be back on the water next Saturday - and hopefully we will have a nice steady enjoyable breeze.
8 November, 2010 : We got some great news on the weekend - in the first weekend of Flying Ant state titles, Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile won a heat and are currently third overall - only a point behind the leaders - well done boys !! It certainly shows that our junior program is producing some excellent sailors.
The club race on the weekend followed the trend that this season seems to have set - light shifty breezes. We are all longing for the regular NE winds we expect at this time of year - in fact on Sunday for the try sail day there was a perfect one - oh well we just have to take what we get.
The racing was very close as seems to have been the case lately. Mainiac led at the first mark closely followed by Mr Freeze and Blowflies. Some boats took the wrong side of the course on the first work and lost out badly - Sproose Moose and Skulker were in that group. Road Kill, Pleasure & Pain and Southern Cross were not far behind. Mr Freeze overtook Mainiac coming in to the bottom mark and led into the next lap. With the wind shifting all over the place the fleet bunched up with all the Sharpies and the 505 within a minute or so half way through the race. Sproose Moose and Missguided Missile were both sailing well after slow starts
At the finish only a few minutes covered the first five boats with Mr Freeze winning from Mainiac and Blowflies. Road Kill just pipped Please & Pain on the line.
Overall pointscore results saw Road Kill in first place from Blowflies and Pleasure & Pain. Thanks to Dino and Hugh who did duty.
The progressive season pointscore is looking wide open so far with only 4 points covering the first three places. Pleasure & Pain is leading from Road Kill and the rapidly improving Wilful Intent.
Next Saturday is heat 3 of the Club Championship so hopefully we will have a full fleet in attendance.
3 November, 2010 : Last weekend three boats from PKSC attended the ACT Dinghy Championships - Road Kill, Mr Freeze and Mainiac - and John Richardson sailed as sheethand on one of the Canberra boats on the Sunday. The format of the racing was back to back races on Saturday and Sunday
The weather in Canberra was supposed to be raining all weekend but at least some breeze was forecast. Luckily for us most of the rain happened late Saturday and overnight so it wasn't too bad.
The breeze on Saturday was about 2-15 knots and very shifty. In the first race, Mainiac got away to a good start but almost capsized near the shore when missjudging the speed of a Flying Dutchman - so it was catchup for the rest of the race. Mr Freeze picked the first work well after an initially slow start and led for the rest of the race followed by local hotshot Smoke. Mainiac managed to sail through to third. Road Kill was learning the conditions and finished 8th. The second race had a windshift just after the start and local boat Smoke pulled out a good lead followed by Mr Freeze and Mainiac. These positions stayed consistent until at the last mark Mainiac managed to sail into a hole and was overtaken by Proud Aussie. Road Kill came in 10th.
Sunday ended up being fine with a 15+ knot breeze for the first race and up to 30 knots for the second. The racing in the first race was very close with Mr Freeze just leading round the wing mark followed by a group which included Mainiac and a quickly improving Road Kill. A gust hit the fleet and we all watched as a fitting on Mr Freeze let go causing a most spectacular mast collapse. Mainiac, Smoke, Proud Aussie and Shazam (the boat John was sailing on) had a race long battle for the lead with Proud Aussie winning followed by Shazam and Mainiac - only about 15 seconds covering the first 5 places. Road Kill recovered from a lengthy capsize to finish 7th. The second race was quite eventful with some gusts hitting 30 knots on the first work. Mainiac led at the first mark from Smoke, Proud Aussie and Shazam. However, with kite set Mainiac had a lower stay snap - lucky not to lose the mast - and Rocket Fuels pulled a forestay fitting out of the boat - also lucky to not break theirs. This left Smoke to go on and win the race from Shazam and Proud Aussie.
Overall results in Division 1 (Sharpies and FD) for PKSC boats had Mainiac 3rd, Mr Freeze 5th and Road Kill 9th. Without the broken mast I am sure Mr Freeze would have been close to winning and Mainiac would have also improved without the broken gear. All in all it was a fun but frustrating weekend.
24 October, 2010 : The second heat of the Club Championship was held on Saturday with an excellent fleet of 12 boats fronting the starter. Mother nature was not wanting to help much with the wind going round in circles as rain cloud came through on either side of the course - although thankfully not much directly on us. After much consideration, the starters decided that we would start with a NE oriented course which was probably the best thing - we could have waited all day for the wind to settle.
Long Course : From the start, Mainiac led closely followed by Mr Freeze - both boats deciding to head for the eastern side of the course. The wind shifted left and the rest of the fleet caught back up and looked to overtake the leaders by the top mark.Winandsea aventually led round the mark followed by Blowflies with the Sharpies in close pursuit. By the wing mark, Blowflies and Mainiac were leading and this is where it got interesting. Mainiac and Road Kill tried for the wind line near the island, Blowflies went down the middle and the rest went to try to pick the eastern side which ended up being the way to go. Mr Freeze, Pleasure & Pain and Windandsea led round the bottom mark followed by Blowflies with Mainiac, Southern Cross and Road Kill being becalmed. By the time Mainiac reached the bottom mark the leaders were about half a leg in front but all was not lost - the leaders took their turn at being becalmed and Mainiac picked a SE wind followed by the rest of the fleet. By the top mark, Mainiac was back in the lead !! The rest of the race followed the same pattern with Mr Freeze, Pleasure and Pain, Mainiac and Blowflies swapping the lead based on the latest wind change. Final line honours had Mr Freeze followed closely by Mainiac, Pleasure & Pain and Blowflies. While all the action was going on up front, Dean on Sproose Moose was not far behind, taking advantage of the wind changes to only cross the line 5 minutes behind the leaders - a great effort. The final yardstick positions saw Sproose Moose win by almost 20 minutes followed by Blowflies and Mr Freeze. The rest of the fleet was not far behind - during the race Road Kill lost touch with the leaders after leading during the race by capsizing - not easy to drain the boat in that wind !!
Short Course : A close battle between Skulker and Intensity all the way through the race had the line honours lead swap many times. As in the long course, the changing breeze favoured the slower classes with Missguided Missile managing to keep the lead boats in sight. Kian and Amelia had their first race on the new MG Wilful Intent and did well when the wind was blowing - they struggled a little when there was almost none. At the last mark, Skulker had a reasonable lead over Intensity, however they split tacks on the way to the finish line - Intensity picked up a good breeze almost managing to overhaul Skulker. Final results had Skulker beating Intensity by 16 seconds. Meanwhile on Yardstick, Missguided Missile finished 15 minutes behind the leaders across the line which was enough to take out first place by over 15 minutes.
Pointscore : As could be expected from the CC results, the pointscore heat was a closely fought battle between Missguided Missile and Sproose Moose with Missguided Missile taking first place by less than a minute. Third place was taken out by Southern Cross who have decided to make PKSC their main club - welcome to the fleet guys !!
Next weekend most of the Sharpies are sailing in the ACT Dinghy Titles - good luck to those boats.
9 October, 2010 : Once again the Flying Ant training as well as school holidays impacted our club fleet numbers although we still had a really good fleet of monohulls on the water for the first heat of the Club Championship. Although the pointscore is combined between the two courses the club championship is still being run as separate events.
From the start in a light NW-E breeze it was obvious a number of boats had been doing some practice and tuning. Mainiac led initially but was overtaken by Mr Freeze at the first mark. By the time the wing mark came, Mainiac was back in the lead with Pleasure & Pain, Road Kill and Blowflies all rounding the mark in front of Mr Freeze. By the bottom mark the positions had changed again with Mr Freeze back in second place. The I14 also showed its speed on the downwind legs and overtook everyone to lead up the next work. They were never headed on line honours. Mr Freeze and Mainiac had a race long battle as did Pleasure & Pain, Road Kill and Blowflies. Mainiac was in front of Mr Freeze at the top mark for the last time but hit the mark, letting Mr Freeze slip through. Blowflies passed both the other Sharpies before the line followed closely by Road Kill and P&P.
Dean on the 420 opted to do the long course for the Club Championship series. He had a stand in crew who had never set a spinaker or been on trapeze but still managed to sail competitively. Only one boat completed the Short Course - so Sticky Moments is now leading the Short Course CC - watch out guys - the other boats will be back next race !!
The Long CC results were very close with Blowflies winning on yardstick followed by Mr Freeze and Mainiac. For the Pointscore, Road Kill snatched the win from Pleasure & Pain and Blowflies.
Although Hayley will be out of action for a while the Walsh family had good representation in the fleet with Emmett sailing on Mainiac and Jackson sailing with Dean on Sproose Moose - its great to see some of our juniors getting out on boats in the afternoon racing.
In other news, Kian and Amelia will be retiring their NS in the next couple of weeks - it is being replaced by an MG - bringing our MG fleet to four regulars.
26 September, 2010 : A good fleet of monos sailed this week - even though we had a few missing for the Flying Ant training weekend. A number of the boats had "ring-in" crew due to school holidays but all managed to do the course.
Rick Shortridge came down from Cooma to sail - which was great !!
We were not sure what wind we were going to get - but by the time of the race a reasonably steady westerly had come in giving surprisingly good sailing conditions. Unfortunately it was full of holes - you had to be in the right place at the right time.
From the start, Proud Aussie started at the port end of the line which turned out to be the right move - they led comfortably at the top mark. Mr Freeze and Mainiac were gradually catching them however on the second work Mainiac went the wrong way and lost out severly. Sproose Moose, Pleasure & Pain, Road Kill and Skulker were sailing not far behind the leaders. Sticky Moments continues to improve and were sailing really well in the conditions.
At the finish, Proud Aussie just pipped Mr Freeze in the Sharpies. Overall the race was won by Sticky Moments, followed by Road Kill and Mr Freeze.
The Pointscore is already looking to be a close fought event with only 4 points separating first to fourth. Sticky Moments leads from Skulker, Pleasure & Pain and Road Kill.
Our next event is the first heat of the Club Championship on 9th October - looking forward to seeing you all on the water then
20 September, 2010 : The forecast for Saturday was SW-SE about 10 knots for the race - we actually got a NE breeze of about 5-8 knots. Very pleasant on the water but maybe not quite exciting enough for some ! It was monohull duty day - thanks to the Pleasure & Pain crew for setting a good course. Paul took heaps of photos during the race - they are now up on the website photo gallery.
A reasonable fleet of boats turned out with Hayley and Emmett out for their first sail on the MG14 and having a great battle with Amelia and Kian. Hayley mentioned that she could feel muscles she didn't know she had at the end of the race. Also, Simon and Neil had their first outing for the season on their new I14 and went very well. Good to see father and son back sailing together
From the start, Mainiac, Mr Freeze, Road Kill and Skulker lead up the first work. This changed quickly once the I14 set its kite - by the end of the first lap they had taken the lead and pulled away for the rest of the race. As seems usual, Mainiac and Mr Freeze had a race long battle with Mainiac just coming out on top. Skulker, who had opted for the short course were home and showered by the time most of the rest of the fleet arrived home. Road Kill continues to show signs of speed with the new crew combination working well together.
Missguided Missile were displaying their great turn of speed in light airs - only hampered by a gear failure on the last lap. They still finished well. Cobra managed to hold off Sticky Moments by a few seconds on the line.
Pointscore results had Skulker 1st, followed by Road Kill and Missguided Missile. Once again the combined pointscore is working well with boats from both courses figuring in the results.
Lets hope for a record fleet of monohulls on the water next Saturday.
12 September, 2010 : What great weather we had for the first day of sailing for the season - and a fantastic fleet of monos on the water. Welcome to Tim Butler and crew on Southern Cross who joined us for the first time - they will be sailing with us as often as they can. Also welcome to Lachlan and Nick on Kamikaze - this is Lachie's first year of skippering.
The starters made the best of a difficult wind direction to set a really good course and we got off to a clean start right on time. Everyone seemed to be sailing very well.
In the Sharpies, Mainiac and Mr Freeze had a race long battle with Mainiac finally finishing first across the line. Pleasure & Pain and Road Kill battled together all race with Southern Cross very close behind. On the last reach to mark X there was a bit of turmoil between P&P and Road Kill with Road Kill capsizing leaving P&P to take third and Southern Cross fourth. On Road Kill it was Franks first day as foreward hand - he could hardly walk after the race - but Nick says he will get him in shape quickly.
Skulker and Intensity had a close race in the MGs - with Skulker opting for the long course so we didn't really know the result till after the race. Sticky Moments had their best race yet - looks as though the CHS at the end of last season has been great experience for them.
Missguided Missile, Sproose Moose and Blowflies all sailed very well.
The first race with the combined results worked very well with only 7 minutes between first and last on handicap. Missguided Missile won from Skulker and Southern Cross - so a sprinkling of boats from both courses featuring in the top placings.
The results are up on the website - and this year I am also puting the individual race details up there as well so you can see times.
Thats all for now - see you on the water next Saturday !
9 September, 2010 : Only two days to go - but who is counting !! Lets get a really good fleet of monos out for the first race. The forecast looks good with 10kt SE for the race - what more could we want for the first day ?
4 September, 2010 : With the season starting only a week away just a quick reminder of how the different monohull courses will work. For the Club Championship you must decide before the first heat what course you will sail and stay with that for the series. For the pointscore you can sail either as long as you let us know which ones. After discussion with some of the sailors on the weekend we will make the default for MG14 the long course and for NS14 and less experienced MG14 sailors the short course. Our intention is to have a signon sheet where you specify which course you are sailing.
23 August, 2010 : Only a few weeks to go till the season starts and everyone I talk to in the monohull fleet is itching to get back on the water. It looks to me as though we will have a bumper season with a few new boats to hit the water, and the MG14 championships being held at PKSC creating more interest in that class.
We have one extra confirmed Sharpie with Tim Butler having purchased a boat from Tasmania. Tim will sail semi-regularly at or club and also at Port Hacking. Pleasure and Pain have a new sheethand who will share the duties with Richard, on Mainiac we tried out a new 3rd crew last Saturday in freezing 30 knot winds - if he enjoyed that he will enjoy anything ! Road Kill will be the dark horse this year with Nicholas and Alex joining the crew to make an all Marzano combination.
I have had a few people contact me trying to find MG14s to sail at the club - unfortunately there is a severe shortage of reasonably prices boats available so I expect as they do come on the market they will be snapped up. I have even heard rumours (unconfirmed) of a husband and wife team ! John will be sailing the MG he bought at the end of last season with Bryn who was his Flying Ant crew. Late news is that Hayley has just purchased an MG and will be sailing with one of her sons !
Lachlan Beavan has purchased Kamikaze from John and will be sailing in the Flying Ants with his brother Nicholas - lots of family harmony expected there.
Sam and Kevin have purchased Franks 505 to use at the club as theirs does not arrive back from overseas (World Titles) till a long way into the season. Neil has purchased a new I14 so we could have two of those on the water.
Brad and his team have had great success with the junior training fleet - with his target this year being to have the kids racing from early in the season. This is really great for the future of the monohull fleet as it will not be long before the kids want to start racing in the afternoon as well !
As mentioned previously we have been doing a lot of testing of a pointscore system where the long and short courses are combined. The tests worked out very well last season so this season all the Pointscore events will cover the whole fleet regardless of which course you sail. The Club Championship will still be split between the two courses for this season.
I will see you all on the water on the 11th.
24 July, 2010 : Some good news just in on the Sharpie front - we have one more confirmed Sharpie for next season already - Tim Butler has purchased T826 and will be sailing at our club as well as Port Hacking. Also, the Sharpie Association has announced cash prizes for this years national championships for Junior skippers. A poster with the details is here
Only 48 days to go till the first race of the season !!
27 May, 2010 : Well - the presentation night is now over and what a fantastic night it was - thanks to all those who made it such a success. We had a really great turnout from the monohulls. Results have all been published elsewhere, what is really impressive is the way the monohull class has grown at the club. During the season we split the fleet into short and long course to cater for all levels of monohull performance and had separate championship and pointscore for each. The Short Course Championship was only decided after countback as two boats had equal points and equal results ! Other highlights from the season included the resurgence of the Sharpie class, many excellent results in championships, some new MG14s and NS14s - the list goes on. As Hayden would say - "How good was that ??"
For me, one of the real highlights was that Dylan Zanin was awarded the new Junior Sailor of the Year trophy - he works tirelessly with the junior classes in the morning and is one of the best Sharpie forward hands on Mainiac in the afternoon.
We can now look forward to next season - it seems an awfully long way away. Some fine-tuning of the monohull competitions will take place. During last season some testing was done on how to combine the results of the short and long course events - and we are now confident that we have a good way of doing this. For next season, the monohull pointscore will cover the whole fleet from both courses while the club championship will still be based on short and long course. If this is successful then the following season we will combine the championship events. Some other ideas being raised include a trophy for best junior in the pointscore, and class based trophies if we have a number of boats in an individual class (sharpie, MG, FA, etc). Please let us know any ideas you have to improve our class !
29 January, 2011 : I have been away for a few weeks so have not been able to do reports - if anyone has info on the last couple of races please send to me for inclusion. Regular reports will resume after the 5th Feb.
10 January, 2011 : Sorry for the late arrival of this report - we have been driving back from Melbourne and then down at the first two days of the MG nationals at the club. Firstly to wrap up the Sharpie nationals, the last heat was held in 5 knot breezes in smooth water - what a relief !! Both Road Kil and Mainiac had excellent starts only to have the race recalled. In the next start both got boxed in and were near the back of the fleet. Mainiac sailed through the fleet to be battling for 4th place - would have been great to have these conditions all series ! Road Kill suffered in the light conditions and could not make any headway. On the last work Mainiac decided to cover the boat they were closest in the championships to which was a bad move as they lost a few places to finish ninth. Road Kill came home in 30th. Overall, Mainiac ended up 13th on scratch, 2nd on handicap and second country boat, Road Kill was 29th overall - not sure of their handicap postion. The series was fantastic fun and very well run - roll on Brisbane next year.
Meanwhile the MG nationls is under way with 4 heats having been completed. We have 4 boats competing - Dylan and ALex/Nick just for the first 4 heats on Knot e nuff, Dino and Dante on Intensity, Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent and John and Emmett on Skulker. The first two heats were sailed in variable NE breezes. In heat 1 our boats all sailed well with Skulker 12th, Knot e nuff 13th, Intensity 19th and Wilful Intent 30th and in heat 2 Skulker was 13th and Knot e nuff 17th - the other two did not start - both with broken gear.
Heat 3 and 4 were held in NE-SE breezes with Skulker showing they are learning to sail the boat well - third around the first mark in heat 3 and second in heat 4 !! Unfortunately for them they forgot to check for weed in heat 3 and broke some gear in heat 4 ending up 13th and 15th - still and excellent result. Knot e nuff was sailing very well with a 15th and a 16th and Intensity 21st and 14th. Wilful Intent did not manage to finish in the time limit in either race which was most disapointing for them - 30 minutes after the first boat is not really enough when we are encouraging new sailors into the class.
I will do more updates on the titles as I get more news.
6 January, 2011 : Since my last report we have had a lay day and heats 5 and 6. Heat 5 was a touch lighter - still about 15 knots - once again with large waves for the conditions. Half the flet went left and half right after the start with the wind swinging to favour those who went right. Road kill had their best start to a race and were 10th round the first mark. Mainiac went left and was about 25th !! About half way through the race, Mainiac had sailed through to about 10th while Road Kill was losing ground on the reaches. Mainiac then had a "half swim" on a tack and lost heaps of ground eventually finishing 17th - with Road Kill coming in 25th.
The 6th heat was sailed in strong seabreeze of up to 25 knots - biggest waves so far !! I had been very sick overnight and didn't look as though I would be able to sail but came good enough to go out. Frank had also suffered an injury on Road Kill but a few panadols had him raring to go. John sailed on a heavyweight Sharpie - not too many people can say they have done that !! From the start Mainiac was doing well circulating in around 10-13th with Road Kill sailing their best full race distance so far. Unfortunately at the start of the run leg Mainiacs spinaker would not go up completely - we couldn't really see why. Worse was to come as it wouldn't come down at the drop !! After much messing round a capsize was in order to disconnect the halyard from the spinaker so the last lap was done jib and main only. Mainiac ended up 19th with Road Kill storming up the last work to have the best place so far of 20th.Overall Mainiac is running 13th and Road Kill 30th.
2 January, 2011 : Good news from Melbourne today - Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile won the last heat of the Flying Ant titles at Parkdale. They ended up 5th overall which is really great. Also, Ryan Dryden and Victoria Liddle from IYC won the titles overall - well done guys !! I will try to get hold of the overall results and post on our results section.
Heat 3 of the Sharpies on New Years Eve was almost looking as though it would be called off. 40 degree temperatures and 30 knot winds from the north - similar to our westerlies. Not all boats took part - which most regreted as it wasn't bad once on the water. Mainiac was in 7th or 8th for most of the race but did a big nosedive coming in to the bottom mark the last time - and missing the mark ! A few boats got through before the finish and they finished 12th - still an improvement. Road Kill and Shazam decided not to compete.
Heat 4 today was back to the same old sea breeze with huge waves. We must be getting used to it as on Mainiac we were in 8th for most of the race - got overtaken again on the last work when the wind filled in even more to finish 11th - our best result so far. Road Kill broke a tiller extension and Shazam broke a trap wire.
After 4 heats Mainiac is in 11th before drops.
31 December, 2010 : Heat 2 was held in slightly lighter conditions but still with huge waves. Road kill was doing really well until a swim on the last lap put them back in the fleet - a bit of family dis-harmony resulted I think !! Mainiac ended up 15th and Shazam was 14th. Best of the NSW boats was Chris Ablet who has a huge forward hand for the series - he was 13th. Today is going to be wild with 40 degrees and 30 knot northerlies forecast - at least it will be relatively flat water.
30 December, 2010 : We had the first heat of the Sharpie nationals yesterday - perfect conditions for Mr Freeze - pity you guys are not here !! The wind was a steady 20 knots gusting higher with the most awesome chop (swell ??) - many boats getting into difficulty due to the very challenging conditions. Of the PKSC boats Mainiac got off to a reasonable start and was about 10th round the top mark - in a group of boats - lost a few places during the race ending up 14th. This was much better than expected given the conditions so quite happy. Road Kill had a poor start but was then powering along - overtaking heaps of boats upwind. At the top of the windward-return they had to capsize to fix a spinaker issue - unfortunately when they righted the cord that hold the main to the quick release had snapped so they had to retire. John Richardson is sailing on a Canberra boat name Shazam - they were going well in about 16th but capsized on the way to the bottom mark and ended up 21st. We are all praying for flat water but the forecast is for a very windy choppy series.
28 December, 2010 : The link to Sharpie championship results is now up on our monohull results page - I will put the other classes up as I find the right links.
22 December, 2010 : With last Saturdays blowout there is not much to report for the monohulls apart from wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We do have some members of our fleet participating in National Championships so good luck to all doing so. Those I am aware of are :
* Flying Ants - Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile are heading off to Parkdale in Melbourne from 27/12
* Sharpies - Nick, Alex and Frank on Road Kill and Ian, Michael and Dylan on Mainiac and John R on a Canberra boat will be at Black Rock in Melbourne starting on 27/12
* MG14 - Dino and Jacina on Intensity, Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent and John and Emmett on Skulker with be at our club starting 8 January
* 420 - Dean and Angus on Sproose Moose will be at Middle Harbour starting
13 December, 2010 : Heat 4 of the Club Championship and heat 13 of the pointscore were held on Saturday - it was also the final heat of Pointscore A which covers the first half of the season. A reasonable fleet turned out - but we were missing a number of boats due illness, broken masts and I think approaching holiday season. It was good to see Marc and the boys on Rockets Fuels on the water - the lake in Canberra was closed due to the recent rain so they came for a drive to sail with us.
All the boats in the monohull fleet are sailing really well now - with picking of windshifts, etc now being more the deciding factor than boat speed.
At the start there was a lot of east in the breeze, but almost straight away it swung back to NE - so the course ended up being quite offset - making the reach to the wing mark very tight. Mainiac led round the first mark followed by Rocket Fuels and both decided to set kites straight away - the rest of the fleet heading high jib and main. Noone made the mark directly but all seemed to work out even anyway. At the wing mark Mainiac led from Blowflies and a very close battle between Mr Freeze and Rocket Fuels. Road Kill and Pleasure & Pain rounded close behind. In the short course fleet Skulker pulled out a good lead from the rapidly improving Wilful Intent.
Mainiac held its lead for the remainder of the race with Mr Freeze settling in to a safe second. Sheet hand on Mainiac Michael decided to fall off the boat heading up to the top mark but a quick recovery meant no loss of position. Pleasure & Pain caught up to Road Kill on the reach to mark X and both got past Blowflies. It was an exciting finish between the three boats with Pleasure & Pain just getting Road Kill on the line by 7 seconds followed by Blowflies 8 seconds further back.
John and Emmet on Skulker were well in front on the short course - on the run Emmett fell overboard so a little time was lost in recovery and then on the way to the X mark a big gust hit them and they capsized. A few minutes were lost again but they still came in first. Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent were sailing really well downwind but still have a little work to do on their upwind skills to be able to keep pace with the other boats.
Results for the Long Course club championship heat were Mainiac first, Mr Freeze second and Blowflies third. On the Short Course, Skulker was first with Wilful Intent second. Results for the pointscore race were Pleasure & Pain first, Mainiac second and Road Kill third.
Pointscore A was decided with Road Kill taking first place, Mainiac second and Pleasure & Pain third.
6 December, 2010 : Before I discuss our club racing my understanding is that Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile won both state title heats on the weekend - one at IYC on Saturday and one at our club on Sunday. They did have a bit of trouble in the morning race on Sunday but managed to repair their boat in time for the afternoon race. Well done boys !!
Also, looking at the MG14 website where they have the association results from the Kembla Klassic, John and Emmett on Skulker finished 8th on scratch overall and were equal first on handicap - a great result for their first MG regatta.
We had a reasonable fleet on Saturday for club racing - the Flying Ants were away and monos were on duty - thanks to the Road Kill team for running the racing. The course was a little on the short size as the top mark was set to not interfere with the Flying Ant states course.
The race started in a steady 10kt NE breeze which stayed pretty consistent throughout the race - a novelty after the last weeks! It was great to see Hayley and Jackson back on the water in Cobra and also Andrew and Ben on Crews Control. All boats were showing very good pace on the first work with not much time between the whole fleet round the first mark. Mr Freeze led round the first mark closely followed by Mainiac, Windandsea, Crews Control, Pleasure & Pain, Skulker and Sproose Moose. Cobra was sailing well in their first race back after a lengthy enforced absence ! When setting their spinnaker, Windandsea had a swim - Neil said same place as last week - but they were soon up and running again. Mr Freeze hit the wing mark and had to do a 360. Cobra had a swim at the bottom mark and managed to get their mast stuck in the mud - better luck next time.
Windandsea pulled out a bit of a lead on line honours by the end of the race. Mainiac snuck in front of Mr Freeze at the windward mark the last time. Pleasure & Pain and Crews Control were close together with Skulker only a minute or so further back. Sproose Moose opted for the short course so were finished early. Mr Freeze just managed to get back past Mainiac before the finish line.
Pointscore results saw Skulker take out first by quite a margin - they are hoping for this type of breeze at the MG nationals !! Mainiac was second with Mr Freeze pipping Pleasure & Pain for third by just one second.
This coming Saturday is heat 4 of the Club Championship and I think most boats will be on the water. In addition it is the last heat of Pointscore A with probably 5 boats still with a chance of taking first place. Road Kill is in the lead at the moment. See you all on the water.
21 November, 2010 : The weather bureau didn't really know what to forecast for last Saturday - they hedged their bets and forecast everything from southerly through to northerly. What we ended up with was a light northeasterly which ranged between about 5 knots up to maybe 12.
Everyone chose different tracks up the first work which split the fleet somewhat. Mr Freeze picked well and led comfortably. Mainiac with its super lightweight crew gradually caught up to take the lead on the last lap. Dino and Jacina were having a great race with their new sails on Intensity and pulled a lead on the first work over the other MGs and the 420. Pleasure & Pain were trying to sort out how to get their new sails working in the light breeze with no success. Road Kill and Southern Cross sailed consistently. Kian and Amelia on Wilfull Intent were really coming to grips with the spinaker on their new boat and had some good rides. In the Flying Ants Missguided Missile was going really well as usual and Kamikaze were having some difficulties but managed to keep going with dad watching from the rescue boat !!
On the last lap things started to hot up - at the front, Mainiac led round the top mark the last time and managed to hold off Mr Freeze until the spinaker drop at mark X - where Mr Freeze managed to sneak inside on the mark and take a narrow lead to the finish. Jackson Walsh who was sailing on Mainiac decided he was too hot and fell off the boat coming up to the finish line - a quick retrieval was in order ! As the breeze freshened, John and Emmett on Skulker pulled back some time on Intensity only to lose it again coming up to the finish line.
A good time was had by all. Results for the pointscore race had Intensity first followed by Dante and Lachlan on Missguded Missile with Mainiac third.
The progress results on the website now have the drops taken into account. There is about 10 points covering first to eigth in the season pointscore !! Road Kill is leading on 11.5 points with Missguided Missile on 13.5 and Pleasure & Pain on 13.75
Pointscore A which is for the first half of the season only has two heats to run. Road Kill is leading this on 27.5 points from Pleasure & Pain and Mr Freeze tied on 31.75, Mainiac on 32 and Wilfull Intent on 33.5
For everyones information - PS11 is scheduled for Saturday 27th - however with the way the Kembla Klassic is run its not practical to have a pointscore so I will be counting it as an abandoned race.
14 November, 2010 : Everyone had been hoping for a good north easter after a season of light shifty breezes - and boy did we get it on Saturday. A few boats couldn't make it due to other commitments however those who did turn up had a very exciting days sailing in 20+ knots with occasional gusts well over 25 !!
Before the start, Kian and Amelia on Wilful Intent got into some difficulty and ended up with their mast stuck in the mud. We went over to check they were OK and looked round - only a minute to go till the start so were a bit late.
Mr Freeze and Sproose Moose both got good port tack starts and led up the first work. At the top mark, Mr Freeze led comfortably. In that sort of breeze giving Mr Freeze a couple of minutes head start is a recipe for disaster but they decided to help us all out by capsizing at the wing mark - allowing Mainiac and Rick Shortridge on Proud Aussie to almost catch them. Sproose Moose and Southern Cross were not far behind. Southern Cross had to withdraw then with some broken gear. John and Emmet on Skulker were sailing consistently and made it round the course with no issues - well done boys - it was a tough day out there. Blowflies found that some of the new rigging on the 505 works well in 5-10 knots but not in the stronger breezes and had to withdraw after spending some time capsized. Meanwhile, Wilful Intent was still capsized - they ended up being towed back after all of us had finished - a long cold day on the water for them.
The rest of the race saw Mr Freeze maintain its 2 minute lead over Mainiac with Proud Aussie crossing the line third. Dean was looking good on Yardstick but the wind died a little as he was heading to the X mark.
Final results for Ht3 of the Club Championship were Skulker first on the short course and Mr Freeze, Mainiac and Sproose Moose taking the placings on the long course. Overall pointscore results were Mr Freeze, Mainiac and Sproose Moose.
I think most boats should be back on the water next Saturday - and hopefully we will have a nice steady enjoyable breeze.
8 November, 2010 : We got some great news on the weekend - in the first weekend of Flying Ant state titles, Dante and Lachlan on Missguided Missile won a heat and are currently third overall - only a point behind the leaders - well done boys !! It certainly shows that our junior program is producing some excellent sailors.
The club race on the weekend followed the trend that this season seems to have set - light shifty breezes. We are all longing for the regular NE winds we expect at this time of year - in fact on Sunday for the try sail day there was a perfect one - oh well we just have to take what we get.
The racing was very close as seems to have been the case lately. Mainiac led at the first mark closely followed by Mr Freeze and Blowflies. Some boats took the wrong side of the course on the first work and lost out badly - Sproose Moose and Skulker were in that group. Road Kill, Pleasure & Pain and Southern Cross were not far behind. Mr Freeze overtook Mainiac coming in to the bottom mark and led into the next lap. With the wind shifting all over the place the fleet bunched up with all the Sharpies and the 505 within a minute or so half way through the race. Sproose Moose and Missguided Missile were both sailing well after slow starts
At the finish only a few minutes covered the first five boats with Mr Freeze winning from Mainiac and Blowflies. Road Kill just pipped Please & Pain on the line.
Overall pointscore results saw Road Kill in first place from Blowflies and Pleasure & Pain. Thanks to Dino and Hugh who did duty.
The progressive season pointscore is looking wide open so far with only 4 points covering the first three places. Pleasure & Pain is leading from Road Kill and the rapidly improving Wilful Intent.
Next Saturday is heat 3 of the Club Championship so hopefully we will have a full fleet in attendance.
3 November, 2010 : Last weekend three boats from PKSC attended the ACT Dinghy Championships - Road Kill, Mr Freeze and Mainiac - and John Richardson sailed as sheethand on one of the Canberra boats on the Sunday. The format of the racing was back to back races on Saturday and Sunday
The weather in Canberra was supposed to be raining all weekend but at least some breeze was forecast. Luckily for us most of the rain happened late Saturday and overnight so it wasn't too bad.
The breeze on Saturday was about 2-15 knots and very shifty. In the first race, Mainiac got away to a good start but almost capsized near the shore when missjudging the speed of a Flying Dutchman - so it was catchup for the rest of the race. Mr Freeze picked the first work well after an initially slow start and led for the rest of the race followed by local hotshot Smoke. Mainiac managed to sail through to third. Road Kill was learning the conditions and finished 8th. The second race had a windshift just after the start and local boat Smoke pulled out a good lead followed by Mr Freeze and Mainiac. These positions stayed consistent until at the last mark Mainiac managed to sail into a hole and was overtaken by Proud Aussie. Road Kill came in 10th.
Sunday ended up being fine with a 15+ knot breeze for the first race and up to 30 knots for the second. The racing in the first race was very close with Mr Freeze just leading round the wing mark followed by a group which included Mainiac and a quickly improving Road Kill. A gust hit the fleet and we all watched as a fitting on Mr Freeze let go causing a most spectacular mast collapse. Mainiac, Smoke, Proud Aussie and Shazam (the boat John was sailing on) had a race long battle for the lead with Proud Aussie winning followed by Shazam and Mainiac - only about 15 seconds covering the first 5 places. Road Kill recovered from a lengthy capsize to finish 7th. The second race was quite eventful with some gusts hitting 30 knots on the first work. Mainiac led at the first mark from Smoke, Proud Aussie and Shazam. However, with kite set Mainiac had a lower stay snap - lucky not to lose the mast - and Rocket Fuels pulled a forestay fitting out of the boat - also lucky to not break theirs. This left Smoke to go on and win the race from Shazam and Proud Aussie.
Overall results in Division 1 (Sharpies and FD) for PKSC boats had Mainiac 3rd, Mr Freeze 5th and Road Kill 9th. Without the broken mast I am sure Mr Freeze would have been close to winning and Mainiac would have also improved without the broken gear. All in all it was a fun but frustrating weekend.
24 October, 2010 : The second heat of the Club Championship was held on Saturday with an excellent fleet of 12 boats fronting the starter. Mother nature was not wanting to help much with the wind going round in circles as rain cloud came through on either side of the course - although thankfully not much directly on us. After much consideration, the starters decided that we would start with a NE oriented course which was probably the best thing - we could have waited all day for the wind to settle.
Long Course : From the start, Mainiac led closely followed by Mr Freeze - both boats deciding to head for the eastern side of the course. The wind shifted left and the rest of the fleet caught back up and looked to overtake the leaders by the top mark.Winandsea aventually led round the mark followed by Blowflies with the Sharpies in close pursuit. By the wing mark, Blowflies and Mainiac were leading and this is where it got interesting. Mainiac and Road Kill tried for the wind line near the island, Blowflies went down the middle and the rest went to try to pick the eastern side which ended up being the way to go. Mr Freeze, Pleasure & Pain and Windandsea led round the bottom mark followed by Blowflies with Mainiac, Southern Cross and Road Kill being becalmed. By the time Mainiac reached the bottom mark the leaders were about half a leg in front but all was not lost - the leaders took their turn at being becalmed and Mainiac picked a SE wind followed by the rest of the fleet. By the top mark, Mainiac was back in the lead !! The rest of the race followed the same pattern with Mr Freeze, Pleasure and Pain, Mainiac and Blowflies swapping the lead based on the latest wind change. Final line honours had Mr Freeze followed closely by Mainiac, Pleasure & Pain and Blowflies. While all the action was going on up front, Dean on Sproose Moose was not far behind, taking advantage of the wind changes to only cross the line 5 minutes behind the leaders - a great effort. The final yardstick positions saw Sproose Moose win by almost 20 minutes followed by Blowflies and Mr Freeze. The rest of the fleet was not far behind - during the race Road Kill lost touch with the leaders after leading during the race by capsizing - not easy to drain the boat in that wind !!
Short Course : A close battle between Skulker and Intensity all the way through the race had the line honours lead swap many times. As in the long course, the changing breeze favoured the slower classes with Missguided Missile managing to keep the lead boats in sight. Kian and Amelia had their first race on the new MG Wilful Intent and did well when the wind was blowing - they struggled a little when there was almost none. At the last mark, Skulker had a reasonable lead over Intensity, however they split tacks on the way to the finish line - Intensity picked up a good breeze almost managing to overhaul Skulker. Final results had Skulker beating Intensity by 16 seconds. Meanwhile on Yardstick, Missguided Missile finished 15 minutes behind the leaders across the line which was enough to take out first place by over 15 minutes.
Pointscore : As could be expected from the CC results, the pointscore heat was a closely fought battle between Missguided Missile and Sproose Moose with Missguided Missile taking first place by less than a minute. Third place was taken out by Southern Cross who have decided to make PKSC their main club - welcome to the fleet guys !!
Next weekend most of the Sharpies are sailing in the ACT Dinghy Titles - good luck to those boats.
9 October, 2010 : Once again the Flying Ant training as well as school holidays impacted our club fleet numbers although we still had a really good fleet of monohulls on the water for the first heat of the Club Championship. Although the pointscore is combined between the two courses the club championship is still being run as separate events.
From the start in a light NW-E breeze it was obvious a number of boats had been doing some practice and tuning. Mainiac led initially but was overtaken by Mr Freeze at the first mark. By the time the wing mark came, Mainiac was back in the lead with Pleasure & Pain, Road Kill and Blowflies all rounding the mark in front of Mr Freeze. By the bottom mark the positions had changed again with Mr Freeze back in second place. The I14 also showed its speed on the downwind legs and overtook everyone to lead up the next work. They were never headed on line honours. Mr Freeze and Mainiac had a race long battle as did Pleasure & Pain, Road Kill and Blowflies. Mainiac was in front of Mr Freeze at the top mark for the last time but hit the mark, letting Mr Freeze slip through. Blowflies passed both the other Sharpies before the line followed closely by Road Kill and P&P.
Dean on the 420 opted to do the long course for the Club Championship series. He had a stand in crew who had never set a spinaker or been on trapeze but still managed to sail competitively. Only one boat completed the Short Course - so Sticky Moments is now leading the Short Course CC - watch out guys - the other boats will be back next race !!
The Long CC results were very close with Blowflies winning on yardstick followed by Mr Freeze and Mainiac. For the Pointscore, Road Kill snatched the win from Pleasure & Pain and Blowflies.
Although Hayley will be out of action for a while the Walsh family had good representation in the fleet with Emmett sailing on Mainiac and Jackson sailing with Dean on Sproose Moose - its great to see some of our juniors getting out on boats in the afternoon racing.
In other news, Kian and Amelia will be retiring their NS in the next couple of weeks - it is being replaced by an MG - bringing our MG fleet to four regulars.
26 September, 2010 : A good fleet of monos sailed this week - even though we had a few missing for the Flying Ant training weekend. A number of the boats had "ring-in" crew due to school holidays but all managed to do the course.
Rick Shortridge came down from Cooma to sail - which was great !!
We were not sure what wind we were going to get - but by the time of the race a reasonably steady westerly had come in giving surprisingly good sailing conditions. Unfortunately it was full of holes - you had to be in the right place at the right time.
From the start, Proud Aussie started at the port end of the line which turned out to be the right move - they led comfortably at the top mark. Mr Freeze and Mainiac were gradually catching them however on the second work Mainiac went the wrong way and lost out severly. Sproose Moose, Pleasure & Pain, Road Kill and Skulker were sailing not far behind the leaders. Sticky Moments continues to improve and were sailing really well in the conditions.
At the finish, Proud Aussie just pipped Mr Freeze in the Sharpies. Overall the race was won by Sticky Moments, followed by Road Kill and Mr Freeze.
The Pointscore is already looking to be a close fought event with only 4 points separating first to fourth. Sticky Moments leads from Skulker, Pleasure & Pain and Road Kill.
Our next event is the first heat of the Club Championship on 9th October - looking forward to seeing you all on the water then
20 September, 2010 : The forecast for Saturday was SW-SE about 10 knots for the race - we actually got a NE breeze of about 5-8 knots. Very pleasant on the water but maybe not quite exciting enough for some ! It was monohull duty day - thanks to the Pleasure & Pain crew for setting a good course. Paul took heaps of photos during the race - they are now up on the website photo gallery.
A reasonable fleet of boats turned out with Hayley and Emmett out for their first sail on the MG14 and having a great battle with Amelia and Kian. Hayley mentioned that she could feel muscles she didn't know she had at the end of the race. Also, Simon and Neil had their first outing for the season on their new I14 and went very well. Good to see father and son back sailing together
From the start, Mainiac, Mr Freeze, Road Kill and Skulker lead up the first work. This changed quickly once the I14 set its kite - by the end of the first lap they had taken the lead and pulled away for the rest of the race. As seems usual, Mainiac and Mr Freeze had a race long battle with Mainiac just coming out on top. Skulker, who had opted for the short course were home and showered by the time most of the rest of the fleet arrived home. Road Kill continues to show signs of speed with the new crew combination working well together.
Missguided Missile were displaying their great turn of speed in light airs - only hampered by a gear failure on the last lap. They still finished well. Cobra managed to hold off Sticky Moments by a few seconds on the line.
Pointscore results had Skulker 1st, followed by Road Kill and Missguided Missile. Once again the combined pointscore is working well with boats from both courses figuring in the results.
Lets hope for a record fleet of monohulls on the water next Saturday.
12 September, 2010 : What great weather we had for the first day of sailing for the season - and a fantastic fleet of monos on the water. Welcome to Tim Butler and crew on Southern Cross who joined us for the first time - they will be sailing with us as often as they can. Also welcome to Lachlan and Nick on Kamikaze - this is Lachie's first year of skippering.
The starters made the best of a difficult wind direction to set a really good course and we got off to a clean start right on time. Everyone seemed to be sailing very well.
In the Sharpies, Mainiac and Mr Freeze had a race long battle with Mainiac finally finishing first across the line. Pleasure & Pain and Road Kill battled together all race with Southern Cross very close behind. On the last reach to mark X there was a bit of turmoil between P&P and Road Kill with Road Kill capsizing leaving P&P to take third and Southern Cross fourth. On Road Kill it was Franks first day as foreward hand - he could hardly walk after the race - but Nick says he will get him in shape quickly.
Skulker and Intensity had a close race in the MGs - with Skulker opting for the long course so we didn't really know the result till after the race. Sticky Moments had their best race yet - looks as though the CHS at the end of last season has been great experience for them.
Missguided Missile, Sproose Moose and Blowflies all sailed very well.
The first race with the combined results worked very well with only 7 minutes between first and last on handicap. Missguided Missile won from Skulker and Southern Cross - so a sprinkling of boats from both courses featuring in the top placings.
The results are up on the website - and this year I am also puting the individual race details up there as well so you can see times.
Thats all for now - see you on the water next Saturday !
9 September, 2010 : Only two days to go - but who is counting !! Lets get a really good fleet of monos out for the first race. The forecast looks good with 10kt SE for the race - what more could we want for the first day ?
4 September, 2010 : With the season starting only a week away just a quick reminder of how the different monohull courses will work. For the Club Championship you must decide before the first heat what course you will sail and stay with that for the series. For the pointscore you can sail either as long as you let us know which ones. After discussion with some of the sailors on the weekend we will make the default for MG14 the long course and for NS14 and less experienced MG14 sailors the short course. Our intention is to have a signon sheet where you specify which course you are sailing.
23 August, 2010 : Only a few weeks to go till the season starts and everyone I talk to in the monohull fleet is itching to get back on the water. It looks to me as though we will have a bumper season with a few new boats to hit the water, and the MG14 championships being held at PKSC creating more interest in that class.
We have one extra confirmed Sharpie with Tim Butler having purchased a boat from Tasmania. Tim will sail semi-regularly at or club and also at Port Hacking. Pleasure and Pain have a new sheethand who will share the duties with Richard, on Mainiac we tried out a new 3rd crew last Saturday in freezing 30 knot winds - if he enjoyed that he will enjoy anything ! Road Kill will be the dark horse this year with Nicholas and Alex joining the crew to make an all Marzano combination.
I have had a few people contact me trying to find MG14s to sail at the club - unfortunately there is a severe shortage of reasonably prices boats available so I expect as they do come on the market they will be snapped up. I have even heard rumours (unconfirmed) of a husband and wife team ! John will be sailing the MG he bought at the end of last season with Bryn who was his Flying Ant crew. Late news is that Hayley has just purchased an MG and will be sailing with one of her sons !
Lachlan Beavan has purchased Kamikaze from John and will be sailing in the Flying Ants with his brother Nicholas - lots of family harmony expected there.
Sam and Kevin have purchased Franks 505 to use at the club as theirs does not arrive back from overseas (World Titles) till a long way into the season. Neil has purchased a new I14 so we could have two of those on the water.
Brad and his team have had great success with the junior training fleet - with his target this year being to have the kids racing from early in the season. This is really great for the future of the monohull fleet as it will not be long before the kids want to start racing in the afternoon as well !
As mentioned previously we have been doing a lot of testing of a pointscore system where the long and short courses are combined. The tests worked out very well last season so this season all the Pointscore events will cover the whole fleet regardless of which course you sail. The Club Championship will still be split between the two courses for this season.
I will see you all on the water on the 11th.
24 July, 2010 : Some good news just in on the Sharpie front - we have one more confirmed Sharpie for next season already - Tim Butler has purchased T826 and will be sailing at our club as well as Port Hacking. Also, the Sharpie Association has announced cash prizes for this years national championships for Junior skippers. A poster with the details is here
Only 48 days to go till the first race of the season !!
27 May, 2010 : Well - the presentation night is now over and what a fantastic night it was - thanks to all those who made it such a success. We had a really great turnout from the monohulls. Results have all been published elsewhere, what is really impressive is the way the monohull class has grown at the club. During the season we split the fleet into short and long course to cater for all levels of monohull performance and had separate championship and pointscore for each. The Short Course Championship was only decided after countback as two boats had equal points and equal results ! Other highlights from the season included the resurgence of the Sharpie class, many excellent results in championships, some new MG14s and NS14s - the list goes on. As Hayden would say - "How good was that ??"
For me, one of the real highlights was that Dylan Zanin was awarded the new Junior Sailor of the Year trophy - he works tirelessly with the junior classes in the morning and is one of the best Sharpie forward hands on Mainiac in the afternoon.
We can now look forward to next season - it seems an awfully long way away. Some fine-tuning of the monohull competitions will take place. During last season some testing was done on how to combine the results of the short and long course events - and we are now confident that we have a good way of doing this. For next season, the monohull pointscore will cover the whole fleet from both courses while the club championship will still be based on short and long course. If this is successful then the following season we will combine the championship events. Some other ideas being raised include a trophy for best junior in the pointscore, and class based trophies if we have a number of boats in an individual class (sharpie, MG, FA, etc). Please let us know any ideas you have to improve our class !
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