Trailer Yacht News
15 April, 2010 : Has anyone else been following the fortunes of Jessica Watson, the young sailer who is now on her final 3000 nautical mile leg of her circumnavigation of the globe? Remember the criticism Jessica received in the media after being run over/running into a tanker at the beginning of her first attempt. What element does she possess permitted her to weather the criticism, recover from this setback and go on to something great, the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe non stop single handed and unassisted? Is it strength of character, the support of family and friends, are we borne with it, do we learn it, maybe it’s the drugs, or is it related to some sort of mental illness? I am sure that it is probably a combination of many factors. No doubt there are other examples you could think of where this ability can be observed including where a family recovers from the loss of a loved one. It’s an ability that fascinates me; one that I think extends further than just the ability to go on existing. It allows you to recover and thrive. My colleague James calls this ability to recover from significant setbacks resilience.
I am going to bravely suggest that there may be some clues to how the ability to be resilient is acquired through the sailing experience. For example all of us who race sailing boats can recall seemingly magical moments where everything comes together. The wind is the right strength and from the right direction the waves are just right, the weather suits us and we are out in front and looking famous. Then the fickle finger of fate intervenes and everything turns to s……..t. We do not usually give up but sail on to the finish and, even come back the next week and do it again with added vigour. So what is it that makes us keep on going? I think it’s that ability to look at these setbacks as interesting experience (maybe not immediately but on reflection, sometimes improved with the effects of alcohol). You could say it’s to do with perception. We can respond in a negative way by looking at these events as failures, or, in a positive way by considering them as interesting experiences we can learn from and apply any newly realised solutions to the quest for improvement. From my observations of my sailing colleagues I would suggest it is usually the latter response that is adopted.
There must have been other moments in Jessica’s quest that made her consider quitting. Imagine living on a pink boat (inside and out) for months on end. That’s got to be enough to test anyone’s resilience and resolve to continue. I think that sailing is one of those endeavours where you gain benefit from previous experiences, whether good or bad. If life is viewed from this perspective then the big benefits must come from the finishing not the winning. That must mean for this Saturdays handicap event Digger and Danny aboard “Grey Fox” who were first and therefore the least successful, with Josh, Peter Alan and me aboard “Frou Frou” second the next least successful. Then John, Ray, Debbie and Ian aboard “On Fire” finishing third were in essence the second most successful boat.
Congratulations therefore must go to Wayne, Norm and Shaun aboard “Serenity”. They were the most successful coming home in forth place on the day. Its all a matter of perspective I guess but considering there was just over 2 minutes difference between the first and last boat over the line on handicap it’s a very good result for all participants, just the difference between a good start and a couple of good tacks. I hope we are all resilient enough to come back rejuvenated for the next sailing event.
3 April, 2010 : I have been reading a book called Outliers. Maybe some of you have read it. For those who have not the book discusses the attributes required for success. The author presents a number of examples of individuals who have or are successful and reviews a number of studies that looked and the characteristics of successful people. The answer as always is not that simple. It appears to be a combination of factors including intelligence, hard work, money, and luck (or more accurately where and when you were borne). The top 3 themes in my opinion were the combination of Intelligence, practice and opportunity.
Intelligence is important. But It turns out that intelligence, measured as IQ, is important to a point (115 for IQ). Above that point it does not seem to make much difference in the success stakes.
Practice is important. Practice, lots of practice at a specific task (could be computer programming, tennis, playing a musical instrument etc) is important to give you a deep understanding and skill set for completing a task well. The magic number is 10,000 hours of practice accumulated within a 10 year period. That translates to at least 19 to 20 hours of practice ever week for 10 years.
Opportunity is important. You need to be in the right place at the right time, preferably the right time historically too. For example on most measures Bill Gates would be considered a success. That may not have been the case if he was not around at just the right moment when advances in technology meant that people with his ability were in the right place at the right time. He happened to be the right age, and living in the right place, one of very few young people in the world at that time to have access to computers that were programmable. He had a unique opportunity to rack up the magic 10,000 hours to hone his computer programming skills. He was ready just the right moment in time when these skills were desperately needed for developing operating programs for the personal computer boom.
How do we rate in the sailing success stakes then. Obviously all PKSC sailors and the people they associate with have above average intelligence, so that’s a given. But what about the other two factors. We do have easy access to water and live at a period of time when owning a sailing boat is affordable so that could cover opportunity. Practice is another matter. If you think about it we sail for roughly 30 weeks of the year, we are on the water for between 11/2 to 2 hours for a normal club race, 4 hours per day for a State or National title, 12 hours for a Marley Point race and 10 hour in total for a Bay to Bay race. That roughly translates to 100 hours of race experience per year. Nothing like the 1000 hours per year for 10 years require for entry into the very successful league. Some of us of course sailed more than 100 hours per year during our youth, but very few could claim to have reached the prerequisite of 1000 per year for 10 years. And yet I would argue we are very successful. We get to float around on the water we get wet (some wetter than others) we get to swear at each other, we have fun, we get to eat fantastic hamburgers and we all have above average (in my opinion) intelligence.
This brings me neatly to Saturday’s race results. Kurt Griffiths and crew aboard Midlife Express were very successful because they were sailing a new boat for the first time in difficult conditions and they finished. Jim Curry and crew aboard Rosstered Off were very successful because they crossed the line first and were first on PBH and CBH. Digger and Danny aboard Grey Fox were very successful because they were 2nd on PBH plus they flew their spinnaker. John Bubb and crew were very successful because they crossed the line a close second and were 3rd on PBH and CBH. Andrew Curry and crew were very successful because it was the first time they had sailed together and the first time in a long time the boat had been in the water. Alan and I were very successful because we sailed Frou Frou two up and finished the race, still friends.
24 March, 2010 : I was genuinely surprised when I first caught sight of Port Kembla Sailing Club on my approach along Northcliffe Drive. Lined up along the shoreline were a fleet of trailer yachts huddled together, with a few more spilling over into the parking lot. And all ostensibly take kids and their parents out for a sail in support the junior sailing camp weekend. What a wonderful sight. This made Saturday’s event one of those time you could honestly say that the game was the winner. Even the weather was kind, dishing up a sunny skies and a 5-10 knot breeze.
I am sure that there will be news letter reports of how the race went and stuff like that so I will concentrate on the more important aspects of the afternoon’s event, like if our adopted crew enjoyed their sailing experience.
Frou Frou was lucky enough to welcome aboard Meghan and Crista. The first thing we learned from their presence aboard was that the boat was not ideally set up or organised to suit 10 year old girls. For example we were unable, on enough occasions, to manoeuvre ourselves close to other boats so that Crista and Meghan could exchange insults with other friends and family members. Eventually we did implement an ‘only call out complements’ rule. There were occasional comments about the temperature being a little hot and of the boat tipping at angles that made it difficult to move around the boat elegantly. Comments were also made about having to tack so often which meant expending energy moving from one side to the other. Come to think of it even the regular crew made similar comments.
All of this stopped however when we gave Meghan and Crista control. Obviously, we, the regular Frou Frou crew, are only stupid males. We should have realised long before the half way point that handing over control was essential for improving relationships and happiness aboard. I have to admit that both Crista and Meghan were very competent sailors steering us up the final work, then the spinnaker leg to the P mark, and on to the finish, with only the occasional laps of concentration and wiggle.
Confirmation of the success of the event became apparent to me in two post race moments. The first moment was witnessing the excided positive tone of the conversations Megan and Crista were having when we returned them to shore. They were eager to share their experience with family and friends. The second moment was the conversations going on amongst sailors during the very important after race debriefing session. From my point of view other TY skippers had similar optimistic stories about the day’s event, and, like me, would welcome the opportunity to do the same again.
19 March, 2010 : Have you ever thought about weather what you make a positive contribution to your community and world around you? This conversation isn’t aimed at pushing any moral or ethical barrow. It’s just lately a number of events, including family, friends and personal illnesses and work pressures have made my beloved Margaret and I reflect on our own contributions in this regard, and about our friends and colleagues we believe have made significant contributions.
What is Trevor waffling on about and what does this have to do with Port Kembla Sailing Club TY Delegates Report I hear you say. Well maybe the following story will make it clearer. There was a point in my life when I thought what I was doing was a waist of time. Some of you may know that I was once a professional boat builder. After 17th years of doing this I concluded I was making expensive toys for a small indulgent group of people who could afford it and that this was a frivolous way to make a living. Since then I have made quite a few career changes into areas where I though my efforts would contribute in a more positively way to the community in which I lived. But to my surprise the outcomes I anticipated, at least from my memory of events, have not been achieved. The thing that constantly surprises me is that many years on from my boat building days I still meet people I made or fixed boats for who say how much they appreciated my efforts and how these craft still enrich their lives. I realise now this to be a pretty good outcome even though at the time it did not remember it that way. What I find interesting now about my memory of events and of relevance to this discussion is that the impact you think you have is often a matter of perception. To others you can be making a very positive difference without realising it yourself.
So I thought I would take this opportunity to remind some of our PKSC members who are busy making things happen, that they are enriching our lives and making a big contribute. Take Brad, Todd, Haden, Hugh, Rob and Bob plus all the other helpers who organising the junior sailing. They make a lasting and positive difference for those kids. Take Linda Rebecca, Sue, Sylvia, Barbara, Pauline and many others who run the canteen. We all benefited from their friendly service culinary efforts. Take Bill who cleans up after us. He has probably prevented us from exposure to some horrible infectious clubhouse diseases. Take Paul, Ross, Richard, Teresa, Tony and all the other members of our sailing committee. They keep the club running for all of us to enjoy. Take Wayne who shared with Norm the experience of a Marley Point race. Take Gail who every week puts this newsletter together that gives all who read it pleasure. Take Marne who rehabilitates the injured, helping them to restore their independence. I apologise to all the other people I have missed that fit within this category. You are still just as deserving of recognition. I am sure that we could add more examples of how their efforts, however small and insignificant they may appear to them at the time, have a lasting impact on others, and by so doing make those peoples lives that little bit better.
On reflection then mucking around in boats may not be all that frivolous. True we do it for fun and our own pleasure, but we also share the experience with others in a way that enriches their lives too.
11 March, 2010 : It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was blowing the rain in our eyes and down our necks. Lightening flashing horizontally across the sky with the loud deep rumble of thunder just behind. Conditions for a typical Marley Point race really. After nearly one hours delay that allowed the first series of storms to pass and to get thoroughly soaked a good sized fleet were sent off across Lake Wellington in the remaining 5 knots of head winds. It was looking like a long and soggy night. Rain and variable light winds persisted for the whole of the overnight event making for very frustrating sailing conditions. At least it was not cold.
All credit to Wayne and Norm in Serenity who, I believe, were the sole Port Kembla Sailing Club representatives (apart from me in a foreign vessel). It was Wayne’s maiden Marley as skipper so I do hope all went well. Have any of you ever taken the time to look around the Gippsland Lake System? This year was my 22nd Marley and the first time ever I have spent a few days cruising the Metung, Lakes Entrance area. For those of you who can, and have not looked around this area before, I would highly recommend setting aside extra time before or after next year’s race. It’s very beautiful, with lots of public wharf and protected beaches to pull up on.
Upcoming Events : Bay To Bay Race 1st and 2nd May. Tin Can Bay to Harvey Bay Queensland. If any of you are considering travelling north for the Bay to Bay race, please let me know. Frou Frou and crew will be heading off the week before to do some Fraser Island exploring and would welcome company.
3 March, 2010 : Probably like most of you, I had a very busy and tiring week leading up to Saturdays race. One of those physically demanding weeks where at the end you have reached your problem solving capacity but only realise it when confronted with just one additional question or one small obstacle is put in your path. I realised I had reached this point during the course of the race when asked a simple question simple question about the origins and ownership of a competitors boat by my loyal crew member Alan. I found I was incapable of giving him an answer. All energies were focused on the moment, of getting to the next mark as quickly and safely as possible. It was one of those moments when there seemed to be no more room in my brain for any additional information or mental processing. In moments like this being a bloke can be an advantage. Less important information (like birthdays, anniversaries, babies and in-laws names) can be easily filtered out. I was able to dispose of what I thought was the unnecessary in order to make a little extra room for stuff that would provide leeway to process the next moment.
This overload moment prompted me to reflect on one of the hidden benefits I get from sailing. The mental restorative benefit bestowed by being fully focused on one endeavour and in the moment. Events need only be anticipated just fare enough ahead to get you out of trouble, get to the next mark and get to the finish as fast as you can. If something negative happens you must quickly get over it and move on to meet the challenge thrown up by the next moment. The process of sailing gives my brain a breather. It makes me focus on the moment, a luxury not readily attainable in the complexity that is adult life.
Coming event: Marley Point Race 6-7 March 2010. Good luck to all PKSC boats heading south for this coming weekends Marley Point overnight TY race.
24 February, 2010 : Saturday’s race became a challenge for TY starters with the typical summer nor-easterly building over 20 knots. The conditions caused a degree of havoc amongst the junior fleet competing in the IYC junior even with Junior dinghies tipped up everywhere near the approach to the windward rounding mark.
Just over half way through the race Wayne, Leonnie and Kurt on Serenity were compelled to make an unplanned tack to avoid some of the juniors, and, in the process, lost a person over board. Performing a person overboard pick up demonstrated a great degree of seamanship in the choppy conditions backed up with another good seamanlike decision to retire for the welfare of the crew.
John and Ray aboard On Fire also showed a great deal of seamanship sailing two up in these conditions and after amazingly completing over half of the course they to came to the conclusion that discretion was the better part of valour and retired before breaking something or themselves.
To me the race results belie the true value of the afternoons sail for those of us who participated. That is it should not be all about winning at the expense of enjoyment. Retiring when conditions could harm your crew or the boat is always a wise decision. Although I do like to win it is after all only a game
10 February, 2010 : On Saturday night the Frou Frou crew were dining at the Sussex Inlet RSL Sport and Recreation Club Restaurant. We got to talking about how nice our meals were and how efficient the service was. We were also talking about how difficult we found Saturdays race to be and of course how every other boat in the fleet had better luck than us. I will get to the sailing bit later.
The topic of the conversation turned to other happy dining experiences. The memory that sprung to my mind was dining at the Flame Tree Music Café in Wollongong. Alas the café no longer exists. Many of you may also have dined there and remember that this was not a fancy place. It had a set menu where you could get a nice sandwich and a good cup of coffee. If you timed it right you could also be in the café for a poetry or book reading, or if I recall correctly, a quilting class. The café had nice places to sit, interesting pictures on the walls created by local artists, and you could even pick up some interesting music as the café’s name implied. It was a great place to enjoy a meal and a cupper and people watch. But for me that is not what made it special. What made it special were the people who worked their, the owner and the staff she employed. The owner’s business philosophy was about creating a hospitable environment and to make customers feel welcome. That is how it made me and my beloved Margaret feel whenever we dined their. Café staff may not have been employed for their efficiency but they made up for it with there colourful personalities and enthusiasm. Their eccentricities added immensely to the dining experience. For example, you did not always get what you ordered, but it was always what you needed. This meant that you could either be wonderfully surprise to be served what you had picked out from the menu, or even better, be served something else that in fact was, by some sort of miraculous wait staff intuition, exactly what you really felt like at that moment.
In my mind there seemed to be a parallel between the Flame Tree Music Café dining experience and this weekend St Georges Basin Sailing Regatta, just in a different time and setting. I know this may sound like a tenuous link but maybe I can explain the similarities. The St Sussex Inlet and St Georges Basin Sailing Club members make you feel welcome. The unpredictability of the weather can make the sailing experience that little bit more interesting. We did not expect one of the club members to venture out of their warm and dry club on the Friday evening into the pouring rain and down to where we were floating and invite us to dine with them. We did not expect the very kind offer of a dry bed and a shower from Mark and Barbara. Todd Curry did not order his centreboard winch wire to break, and that Hayden Sellers would have a spare. Hayden did not order his trailer springs to break and need replacing or his outboard to play up. We did not order the 30 knot plus southerly (it felt like 30 + to me) on Saturday or the gusty 10 to 15 knot southerly on Sunday or the torrential rains that came as an accompaniment to both days. But that is what was served up, and, given that everyone I spoke with appeared to have had a great weekend experience, that was exactly what we all needed.
As usual the TY’s from the Port Kembla Club handled the variable conditions admirably. I witnessed some superb crew work on Tranquillity with Todd, Brad and Dean doing some amazing spinnaker launches in the wild Saturday and more manageable Sunday conditions. They deservedly took out second place in division 2. Hayden and crew (apologies for not remembering names) powered up the final work on Saturday to pick up a number of positions. On the same day Mark, Paul and Kurt on Woopachang recovered surprisingly well after being driven over onto the final rounding mark by a particularly nasty gust, and Wayne and Rob on Serenity, accidentally sailed with a larger headsail and remarkably finished the race. Quietly battling it out in division 3 Digger and Danny were making Grey Fox perform and ended up with a very credible third place.
We all seemed to have had some difficult getting our act together moments in the variable weekend conditions, but I think I can safely say that we learnt lots about getting the best out of our boats and at the same time strengthened our friendships. It even gave us grumpy old blokes something to talk about when we got home.
2 February, 2010 : It’s amazing what a difference a week makes to the weather. Or if we are talking about last Saturdays race, what a difference 30 minutes makes. In the short time we were hanging about waiting for a start, it went from near dead calm to a nice 5 to 10 knots of south easterly breeze. On Fire with John, Ray and Barry aboard got off to a brilliant start on a Port tack at the leeward end of the line. We thought that would be the last we would see of them. However as the fickle finger of fate would have it the wind came in from the eastern side giving those of us on a starboard tack an early advantage. Although there was not enough wind to let Rob Lawler and crew shine as brightly as they are capable of, they still looked fantastic down wind under spinnaker. All in all it was a very pleasant race, and from Frou Frou and crews perspective a nice change from the 20 knots plus we have raced in of late. In the end it was another truly great day out on the water.
Two messages
27 January, 2010 : I had spent nearly 5 years talking my friend Wil into come sailing with us. This Saturday was the day. It was looking promising to as we had what I consider to be a very good role up with Rob Lawler, Digger Harmer and Rob Porter turning up keen to sail their boats. We spent the usual time getting prepared, rigging up, talking about outboards, masts, trailer wheels and stuff. We ate hamburgers, admired the view over the calm waters of the lake, chatted more about sailing adventures and life in general. All very pleasant but not yet on the water. We had some extra time to chat because prudently, the start was delayed to see what would happen when the predicted southerly change arrived around the 2 pm. Another cup of tea later, more deep meaningful discussions, and finally signs of the change appeared rippling across Lake Illawarra. What surprised us all was how ferocious its impact was. One moment the hot north westerly was wafting around us, then it all changed with 40 + knots of southerly bring surfing sized breaking waves on the beach and crashing over the breakwater. A real Southerly Buster. All credit must go to Richard Hipsley and Ross Fife our duty crew for delaying the start. They saved us from what would most certainly have been a very unpleasant and very dangerous watery experience. Many thanks to Richard and Ross for their good judgement. After about 30 minutes of watching the southerly change show that was not abating we decided it would be prudent to abandon sailing for the day, pack up and go home. Packing up is usually a very simple exercise, but took on a different character in 40 knots of breeze. Dropping the mast became a major logistical exercise, and by the end of all the packing up and putting away activities it felt like we had completed a race. Wil did not get his day out on the water. However he did not go home dissatisfied, enjoying his “everything except getting out on the water sailing experience” and indicated he will be back to try his luck again. That I thing is a very positive outcome for a Saturday spent at the sailing club.
Just another reminder that the St Georges Basin regatta is on the weekend of 6 and 7 of February.
Looking slightly further into the future of TY sailing events is the Bay to Bay Race that is held usually on the first weekend of May. I will confirm this time and keep you informed.
21 January, 2010 : Last Saturday’s demanding weather conditions reminded me of a trait often honed through the sailing experience, the value of being persistent.
This is the sort of spirit of overcoming what appear to be insurmountable odds that Digger and Danny displayed sailing Grey Fox during the very windy conditions for our Saturday race. Even though they were unable to reduce sail any more, and between the two of them did not have enough weight to hold the boat down in the gusts, they battled on regardless. We aboard Frou Frou were suffering a similar fate and were secretly hoping that Grey Fox would pull the pin and retire, then we would go home too. But they did not. They finished the race as victors over the elements. Congratulations go to Digger and Danny for not throwing in the towel. Your admirable persistence inspired us to complete the race as well, and all in all, was a good day out on the water.
9 January, 2010 : I am sitting hear this Monday nursing a product of the holiday fun time, a swollen foot, and contemplating what sort of story would be appropriate for this addition. Only 2 TY starters. And apart from Wayne’s outstanding skippering of Serenity, even with a ring in crew that included Barry Grant as a handicap, and a very pleasant 10 to 15 knots of northerly breeze which made for a quick race, there isn’t much more I can think to say about another PKSC nice day on the water.
If you will indulge me there is one other thing I would like to talk about with you. It’s a phenomenon that maybe you have also experienced. The “not recognising someone you know well in a setting or environment different from where you would normally see them” phenomenon. I am hoping you can confirm that it’s a trick of perception related to not expecting to see that person there, rather than a function of my failing eyesight. So there Margaret (wife) and I were enjoying a few days break floating around Port Hacking on Frou Frou. If you can imagine there we were lazing at our morning anchorage near Audley, not a ripple on the water in this very protected and quiet part of the river, when we noticed an unusual craft. Different from the usual morning kayakers paddling silently by. It was two canoes lashed together catamaran style powering along under outboard. The four people aboard also looked a little suspicious, all kitted out in long selves hats and sun glasses. Sort of like a boat load of drug smugglers without the hoodies. Then, on their return journey the unusual looking craft stopped very near us and one of them called out my name. How could this be, we thought we were miles away from work, Optus salesman and Seventh Day Adventists (not that we have anything against these groups), or anyone else that would recognise us. In my most authoritative voice I said something like “who wants to know” or “what’s it to you”, or something equally creative. And a very friendly response came back, “Its Richard Hipsley, your sailing buddy (Captain of the Port Kembla Sailing Club). Richard and a friend were taking their boys for a spot of communing with nature to try and balance off the sitting in front of computers they were apt to do. A commendable holiday diversion to do for your kids (they did look a little board though). Richard I guess this is by way of apology, I honestly did not recognise you. My only defence is that it was out of context from how we usually interact. Am I the only one this happens to?
17 December, 2009 : I had this perception that today’s race would be windy and unpleasant. I was wrong of course everyone who was there knows that truly fantastic sailing conditions were dished up for the last race before the Christmas break. It was nice to be able to welcome the visitors aboard Nirvana who gave us all a run for our money. It was also great to see Andrew Curry who participated in the true spirit of the occasion taking along some very new and very young crew members aboard his Castle 650. As a result of having a good roll up of starters we unanimously agreed to sail the around the lake course, traditional for the last race before the Christmas break. This plus the moderate North Easterly breeze and the predicted arrival of Santa in the evening combined to ensure a great afternoon of sailing and celebrations.
Rosstered Off and Momentum took on extra crew, which I think created the appropriately festive mood for sailing today. Aboard Frou Frou we were doing our best to join the celebrations on the bigger boats but could not keep up with them on the long down wind leg to the Oak Flat mark. We did however remember to bring refreshments but alas I forgot the opener. The après race beers tasted even better though at our sailing club race debriefing session. Andrew and crew sailed to the conditions and crew strengths, and, even though they did not use a spinnaker, sailed exceptionally well to be hot on the heals of the leaders all the way. In the end Momentum sailed a very good race crossing the finish line first just ahead of Nirvana and Rosstered Off with Frou Frou and Andrew Curry and crew not far behind. I am unable to provide official finishing results for this race as Barry has taken the excel results spread sheet away to make it Trev proof. However given that everyone I spoke to who participated enjoyed their afternoon on the water immensely, I hope that this will not be too disappointing and will do my best to have them posted before our first race next year.
TY season to date results can be found on the PKSC website.
11 December, 2009 : It was supposed to be the big TY City of Canberra Regatta for us. However the planets did not align and Frou Frou did not make it to the start spending a lonely weekend in the front yard. Margaret (wife) and I did travel to Canberra spending a very pleasant non sailing weekend visiting friends, attending the Sparkle school of dance end of year performance to watch them dance and Christmas drinks on Sunday. I suppose I am not being totally truthful about the sailing as I did go and watch some of race one (see photos). The number of starters were down from previous year but still a respectable roll up of around 30, enough for a Sports Boat and TY division. There was even some wind on the first day (not much for day two so I have been told). Frou has not raced for a few weeks now and is getting withdrawal so will be raring to go for this last race before the Christmas New Year PKSC break. See you Saturday.
3 December, 2009 : No doubt all you readers are quivering with anticipation to finding out about the TY sailing action for this weekend. The short answer = nothing. The end.
Well not exactly nothing because the Kembla Klassic provided us TY sailors with other on the water activities. Under the watchful eye and project management guidance of Barry Grant the TY sailers were well represented in all races. This should not for a moment taking anything away from all the other volunteers who facilitated the smooth running of the regatta who no doubt will receive appropriate recognition in other sections of this news letter. Being on the other side of the course we were all in positions to take observational advantage of the gusty westerly windy in the relative comfort of our yachts on the starting and finishing lines or on the support power boats flitting around the 2 sailing courses. We witnessed some spectacular high speed nose diving capsizing Catamarans Sharpies and Flying Ants, including some amazing saves, plus some heart in the mouth high speed and close quarter mark rounding manoeuvres. Saturday’s second race provided particularly good conditions for tip ups and dismasting. The conditions kept us very busy with rescue duties and provided visual material for pronouncing in hindsight judgements on how, if it were us out there we would have handled it much better (NOT).
This commentary sounds a bit like I take great pleasure observing the misfortunes of other sailors, not so (except when it is your close competitor on the day, then of course you would all agree that’s a perfectly OK), but I think we all enjoyed the opportunity to be in supporting roles to take vicarious pleasure observing the fine sailing action and skills of the competitors managing these testing conditions in the relative comfort on the starting and finishing lines on our Trailer Yachts or duty boats.
It was fun.
The real end.
26 November, 2009 : Down by, in or on the water was, I think, a good place to be on Saturday. We at Port Kembla Sailing Club were lucky enough to have all those options open to us as the temperature increased during the day. I know I am supposed to be talking about TY things, but the day really belonged to the Flying Ant fleet competing in one of their state title events. Observing their sailing skills on land then by water gave me and I hope any other onlookers a great deal of pleasure. They handle the light conditions with great skill and proficiency, and since there were only two TY starters, Rosstered Off and Frou Frou, there was plenty of time to look around at the action on the water. I suppose I can justify commenting on the dingy fleet as there was the TY connection of Barry Grant and crew aboard Momentum who kindly gave up their time to start and finish the Ants allowing Rob Porter and crew aboard the duty boat additional freedom to keep a closer eye on the fleet. We also had time to observe the Illawarra Yacht Clubs Fleet sailing in the Lord Mayors Cup event. Something I was totally unaware was scheduled for that weekend. They had a reasonable sized fleet with, Johnno Bower leading the way in his Sonata 760. Watching the Lord Mayors Cup fleet, one in which we have sailed with and enjoyed many times caused me some reflection about why I did not know of the scheduling of a sister sailing clubs event, a club less than a nautical mile away. It made me feel a little sad that communication, for whatever reason, have deteriorated between Port Kembla Sailing Club and the Illawarra Yacht Club to the point of not being able to share a like passion for the sport. Life is too short so perhaps its time to build some bridges. All you TY sailors do not forget that the weekend after the Kembla Klassic, December 5 is the ACT regatta in Canberra.
19 November, 2009 : Jervis Bay put on a beautiful Saturday of sunny weather and 10 to 15 Knots of breeze for the annual Jervis Bay Sailing Club JB Challenge. Of the approximately 50 starters 6 were PKSC boats - Katie II, Rosstered Off, Momentum, Hail Storm, Ross 650 020, and Frou Frou. Digger and Danny Hamer with Grey Fox were also planning to compete but had some rigging difficulties on the way from the parking lot to launching ramp and were forced to abandon their race attempt. We all wish Grey Fox the resilience to recover from this misfortune to make a speedy repair and an early return to the water.
Although only my opinion, Saturdays weather conditions benefited those boats with a bit of lard on the rail to assist with managing the, at times, gusty conditions, Boats with svelte crew just had to hang in there and enjoy the ride. We all needed lots of sun screen to protect our delicate complexions against the burning UV rays.
You do get good opportunities to look around and enjoy the scenery during the long works, runs and reaches that were dished up for the 5 hour circuit around Jervis Bay. Some boats were even lucky enough to be joined during part of their journey by inquisitive dolphins. No whales were spotted as far as I know.
In the wash up of TY race results for Saturdays event PKSC boats featured strongly in the top 10 finishers on CBH with Katie II taking out first place honours, and given the conditions, Bob Porter and crew in Ross 650 020 scoring a very worthy 4th place. The JB sailing club has kindly offered to send us the full results sometime during the week, so I should be able to display them for all to enjoy this coming weekend.
My apologies for not being able to report on Sundays races as, due to other commitments Frou Frou could not hang about. No doubt the two Ross 650’s sailed by Rob and Bob Porter and crew who I am lead to believe stayed on for the series, (They were looking a little shaky when I spoke to them at 21:00 hours at the Husky pub celebrations Saturday night), would have done us all proud.
31 October, 2009 : You do get a totally different perspective of sailing from the starters/rescue boat. These are my observations of last Saturday’s race from the duty crew perspective. We clocked wind gusts of up to 25 knots in the hour before the race, averaging out at 15 to 20 before start time, so we decided to go ahead lay the course and start the race. We considered very carefully where rounding buoys were placed to allow for greater manoeuvring room and hopefully a kinder angle given the wind strength. We hope this in fact was the outcome for participants.
The vigorous conditions were quite challenging and caused a number of pre start capsizes. We needed to delay the starting sequence to assist capsized crew at the club house end of the course jibe mark. We got a little wet.
The start for all divisions at least from where we sat , looked very civilised even in the windy and choppy conditions. No collisions or early starters were observed.
We took a camera along with the intent of getting some good action shots, but alas the choppy conditions did not permit this indulgence. The flying ants and sharpies were spectacular off the breeze. The sharpies speed upwind was also something to behold. The Cats, large in particular appeared to glide through the rough conditions.
We had some debate about the best place to hang out so we could effectively monitor the fleet and respond quickly if and when assistance was needed. We eventually decided to bob around in the middle, moving every now and again to get out of competitors way. We have admiration for the skippers and crew who made the decision to retire when conditions were no longer fun for them.
We think we fulfilled our role as duty crew effectively. At least we hope we did.
Next Saturday Frou Frou and crew will not be sailing. Barry Grant has kindly offered to pick up race results so there may be a delay in publishing them on the website. The Saturday after is a big one for TY’s who may be travelling south for the Jervis Bay Challenge. The around the bay course is always a wonderful event and, with any luck, we could be privileged to see migrating whales heading south for the summer.
On the same topic but with a different objective, Jim Curry, Barry Grant and myself will travel south with our boats to participate in this event. I recall that Rob and Bob Porter may also be doing the same. That does not leave many TY’s available to sail Saturday at PKSC. Last year we used the JB results for our Pointscore number 9 and, given the numbers, it is suggested that this may be a good option for this year as well. I do not want to disadvantage anyone who will be sailing at PKSC that Saturday so please let me know and we will ensure that results reflect your efforts.
24 October, 2009 : Doing the TY results for this Saturday’s race got me thinking about handicaps, how they are determined and how contentious they can become. In very recent times some boat class handicaps have been questioned for their liberalness or their unfairness and has generated lively discussion on the topic of how established handicaps can influence the perception of fair play. How then do we establish a fair handicapping system where every type of craft starts a race with an equal chance of winning? When we consider the great number of variability’s including weather conditions, competency of the skipper and crew, quality of the rig, differences in boat design construction, and overall weight, and differences within a class and between classes, all could potentially provide an individual boat an advantage in some condition or another. Given these and many more variables the establishment of a fair and equitable handicapping system could appear a distant dream. It is my understanding, and I am happy to be corrected, that the current practice for establishing a handicap considers a particular crafts previous performance, sometimes over many years. In this way the most successful boat of a particular class is compared against the most successful boats of other classes. This class based/yardstick handicap can then be applied to a particular class when sailing in mixed fleets with the aim of establishing an even playing field, so that the fastest class may not always win. In the past we also had regular multi class events organised specifically for testing if these allocated handicaps were current. The Victorian Yard Stick events come to mind. In theory this method should work, if all things remained equal. However we know that in practice this is not the case. Very few classes remain static, except for those where class rules are strictly enforced and as far as I am aware, regular class to class racing comparisons are no longer held. Over time changes get made to most classes in the way they are constructed, particularly in development classes, and in their design parameters. This gives in most cases the newer boats of a particular class or upgraded boats of the same class a potential advantage. There are other examples of a class or boat allocated a handicap, for whatever reason, without ever being validated through the performance based system and therefore never altered. Good if you sail a boat in a mixed fleet with a comparative good handicap, but bad if you have a boat with a comparative bad handicap, reinforcing the view that all boats of a designated class are not always equal. One suggested way around this handicapping fairness dilemma is to use the historic performance based method and review class handicaps regularly taking into consideration any new innovations outside the previous class rules that may impart advantage to a boat of a particular class. Of course this would take a degree of honesty and a great deal of consultation and good will between boat owners if we are to establish a more equitable system. Even within the current system I would suggest that if we consider objective performance history, plus any modifications made to a boat, for the purpose of negotiating adjustments to handicaps a more equitable and fairer sailing environment could be created. What do you think? As to Saturdays race results, it was a beautify day for sailing. Three TY starters meant 3 winners. We all benefited from showing up and sailing together that day.
17 October, 2009 : One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the way many of our club members give so generously of their free time to run races and staff the canteen, and almost exclusively for the benefit of others. Take for example this past weekends Trailer Yacht event. There were at least 6 people making food and serving in the canteen and 3 running the starters/rescue boat. I am embarrassed to say that I do not know all their names well but would like to thank them for giving up their day to serve the competitors. Although we did not get a big roll up from other clubs we were lucky enough to have Greg and Rhonda Brown in their very well sailed Timpenny 670 “Fly Navy Too” from the St Georges Basin Club join us for the 2 day event. What encouraged me was the number of club trailer yachts lining up to lend support to the event, The ten starters making it the biggest roll up for the season including the two new Ross 650s from the Porter family. I will not bore you with to many details of the racing except to say that the quality team of Todd and Brad Curry and Haydon Sellers sailing Tranquillity showed everyone how it should be done in 10 to 15 knots of south easterly dished up for Saturdays race. They had an impressive race clearing out at the start winning convincingly. Greg and Rhonda did keep the rest of us honest finishing second overall. Sundays race was a different story all together. Digger and Danny Hammer won the first in the water, launching Grey Fox well ahead of the rest of the fleet. Alas no wind ment no sailing and, although the motoring out on our beautiful lake Illawarra was very pleasant for the first hour or so we hand to conclude that an abandonment was the only reasonable option for race 2. I would have to conclude thought that this was a very successful event made even better by all who enjoyed the Octoberfest celebrations on the Saturday night.
19 September, 2009 : For those lucky enough to ventured out , great weather set the scene for exceptionally good sailing conditions for the start of our sailing season. This year promises to attract some new TY 's onto the water, including 2 Ross 650s from the Porter family Rob's and Bob's, and Wayne McKinnon taking over the controls of Serenity. This should be a good season. This means an extra effort to attract some new crew members. Jim Curry and Wayne McKinnon expressed a need for a couple of crew each with the following criteria:
The Race - We had such a great time on the water that I feel talking about the race may spoil the memory. Needles to say that we all agreed the Duty Crew set us a great course, and, after an initial shaky start,Jim Curry and crew aboard Rostered Off and me and my loyal crew aboard Frou Frou enjoyed some close competition during the journey around the buoys and back to the clubhouse. I expect someone came first but given how nice it was sailing around out there that does not seem so important to mention. So, if you are hiding a boat, especially a trailer yacht, get it out and come join us for next Saturdays event. And buy a hamburger, you will never eat a better one. (thanks to the exceptional crew in the kitchen who give their time to us freely).