Race 8 Spring Series

Not a bad day on the water as we rounded off the Spring Series with a 9th place from 14 starters. Daz, Dani and Ruth shared the workload with Dani re-learning the roles as she had not been sailing for quite some time.

The breeze was forecast at 20-22 knots NE to ENE so the main was reefed to balance RW out nicely. Unfortunately speed is sacrificed when reefing to some degree when crew numbers are low and all weight is in the boat and my number one reef is very large. With five bodies on the rail to keep her on her feet and sailing flatter, she would have more speed.....but hey, its not sheep stations!

The start was late but trouble free, however port tack in the NE was not the best course for the strong ebbing conditions (king tides) as we were carried away from the mark to some degree. My bad. We did make up some ground and were about mid fleet for most of the race. Dave on Chilli (Corsair Tri) rocketed past as usual with the lads grinning from ear to ear. RW had a good tussle crossing tacks with Geoff and Kerry on Kindred Spirit, which shows RW badly needs her bum wiped as we normally fly past her. On the long run home from Dutchies Buoy we were neck and neck with Ken and Tim on Anneliese which made for a great sail and gave us some company during the slowest passing manoeuvre!

Race 8 results
1st - Tickety Boo
2nd - Tanami
3rd - Exhalte

Woodstock raised

At the NCYC yesterday and Woodstock has been raised from the depths and is in Noakes shipyard awaiting repair. Fortunately the mast and gear appear to be all intact and the what looks to be a triple diagonal ply laminate hull should be repairable. I hope the insurance company comes to the party to get her back on the water quickly, as I understand it Woodstock is the skippers home.

Spring Pointscore Race 6

The forecast strong afternoon NE breeze failed to show its true form and barely made 15 knots at best, but sufficient to keep the heat down to a comfortable level.

I think next week its time for a dive and a scrub as Rogue Wave is starting to feel sluggish under sail and engine power, which generally means she has a coating of the brown slime with weed starting to attach. The folding prop does not have antifoul applied so when the growth gets noticeble the prop does not open fully and boat speed drops by up to a knot. Its been 11 months since the last antifoul and six months since her last last dive scrub, so she is certainly due.

 

The Rogue Wave crew of Daz and Ruth welcomed aboard a seasoned offshore sailor by the name of Saxon, for his first outing on RW. It was great to have a an experienced decky on board to run the foredeck and trim the boat. You could see my crew were suitably impressed as they listened intently to his calm voice and coordinated approach, sponging up all the good information......most likely an information overload, but none the less all good stuff to build their experience and confidence. Saxon, you are welcome back anytime.

 

The start was nearly a blinder.....I say nearly as the ebb tide got me in the last 20m as we broke the start by mere seconds. By the time I picked a gap, returned over the start against a strong tide and tacked off on port, the fleet had bolted and it was going to be very tough to catch them. The course was START, WC, SAL, MI, WC, SAL FINISH with beats, beam and broad reaches. The first mark we set the older lighter Williams Sails Assy from the bag in lieu of the 1.5oz Doyles Assy in the sock. Not a powerful sail but we still hummed along at around 7.2 knots.

 

Having Saxon on board streamlined the hoist during the bear-away-set and the sail was quickly set  allowing me to concentrate on helming. Ruth's spinnaker trimming is progressing nicely with each launch and Daz as usual filled every other role that was needed to hoist, trim, tail, grind, furl,douse and pack the sails. Saxon and I discussed options for the next leg, opting to trip the assy and hoist the new Doyles Symmetrical Spinnaker that has never seen the light of day and also a first time for a symmetrical set for my regular crew. The pole was pre-set, the turtle clipped on and the tack pre-pulled ready for the launch. The assy was tripped and quickly stowed through the companionway by some great teamwork.

 

The big 76sqm black and blue spinnaker was launched from its turtle and set quickly. The cut of the sail is for a deep running spinnaker as this is where the boat needs a helping hand given her design. It is a tad too deep for a reaching sail, however it would hold set up to around 80 degrees if pushed and 90 deg comfortably.   A blast reaching spinnaker would be great addition....maybe for the Solo Trans Tasman.

 

So now we are humming along toward the second mark and readying for the crews second first of the day....a Dip-Pole-Gybe. Saxon led the guys through the process and with flurry of sheets, guys, topper and kicker the sail was gybed and trimmed. Nearing Middle Island the genoa was unfurled and the kite tripped and stowed quickly...great work by the crew.

 

We circulated the course making up some ground but not enough to pull back any chance of a place. By race end we did manage to reign in four boats and score 11th on handicap. After taking the gun we kept sailing NW and ran through a few more gybes to build the crew confidence in the manoeuvre's. Finally the sail was quickly doused and we prepped RW for home.

 

Overall a great training day so a big thanks to Saxon for his contribution and to Daz and Ruth for working hard to keep up with the taskings. Yachty talk, its a whole different language! Hopefully the spinnaker will see some more use with a few more regular hands on board. Oh...I promise I won't blow any more starts.......trust me!

 

1st - Watch Me

2nd - Anneliese

3rd - Kindred Spirit

11th - Rogue Wave (more realistic 888 handicap next week so we are back in the game)

Woodstock sinking

Any day on the water is a great day except when you get T-Boned by another yacht while racing.

That's what happened on the weekend when the wooden classic yacht Woodstock whilst club racing out of NCYC, was holed just after the race start, quickly sinking due east of Newcastle. The club rescue boat pick up the crew who were all unharmed.

Sternchaser ....no offshore yet again

Unfortunately there were only two contenders for the offshore race so we had to cancel and tag along on the Sternchaser. All crew were 'off-watch' so another opportunity to hone the solo skills.

The weather forecast  ENE10-15 building to 20 knots and backing to the NE later in the afternoon....and it was almost spot on. My start time for the 20M course (Start/WC/MI/WC/SAL/WC/Finish) was 1324h and I hit the line at speed with 10 secs up my sleeve....so pretty chuffed. The beat to WC was against a flood tide and with the stiff breeze gave me a great workout.....3 times!

We managed to hold off  Young Pretender and Exalte until leg 3 and Chilli blasted past on a reach during leg 4. We had a tacking duel with Kindred Spirit and managed to sneak ahead on leg 6 and finally we nailed Hanni Bay on the final run to the finish. We kept Nelson J at bay all the way and pulled out some distance in the end. So fourth from the backend markers was ok and a great day sailing.

I think a couple of Hoods took the win and place but they started around 1300h. Chilli had a start time of around 1354h and I think they managed a 3rd. If it wasn't blowing as hard he could have popped the chute and blasted to victory.

Spring Pointscore Races 4 and 5

As posting time draws closer Daz and family are busy preparing for their departure to the Southern colonies. Daz is a great guy and a very high achiever, driven by a desire to do the best he can at whatever he turns his hand to.....and he has a lot of hands! You will be sorely missed onboard Rogue Wave Daz, however I still have plans for you so keep up with the courses, get your bum on a SA boat and a weather eye on the Jetstar website!!

How can such a small package have so much energy.....well Rogue Waves pocket dynamo Ruth just does not stop! What she lacks in experience she certainly makes up in spades with dedication, enthusiasm and reliability. Ruths new posting mid year has certainly presented her with some big career challenges and how she manages to do all she does in 24 hours defies logic. I also commenced my new posting in Aug so I think its fair to say the Rogue Wave crew have been a little  distracted over the past few months and are certainly off the pace. Anyway enough excuses - so how much off the pace you ask...proof is in the pudding!

Race 4
1st - Somerset of Oz
2nd - Chilli
3rd - Tanami
11th - Rogue Wave
Race 5 - Kev solo. Lets just say the mind was still not in sync with the game at hand. Great start and about 10 secs off the gun. Five blew the start and Tanami did a U-Turn in front of me so a quick luff up and RW was off beating her way to Salamander Bay. Had some ordinary tacks and lost ground and then I flew the Assy on the pole for the dead run back around Middle Island. Again had some issues and a 2-3 knot ebb tide made going very slow. I think it was about that time when the first beer was cracked! From then on it was just circulate back to Salamander, across to Wedding Cake and then finish.....all the while enjoying a few beers. Played with the tailenders and still beat Anneliese home! At least our handicap is levelling back to a more realistic figure.

I think I will use the older Assy in the Turtle in future as its much lighter and quicker to launch and douse when racing. I will leave the sock for cruising.
 
1st - Yulunga
2nd - Nelson J
3rd - Kindred Spirit
16th and 4 beers later - Rogue Wave

Jack Hollman Memorial Race

The Jack Hollman race is a one-off race that does not impact the Summer Series so it was a good opportunity with the forecast 7-10 knots to try out the symmetrical spinnaker with new pole. I spent Friday rigging up blocks for the correct leads and trimming the guys to reduce the amount of line in the boat all ready for Saturday. Well, once again the forecasters sort of had it right.....except there were no showers and the wind came from the South and it was about 12-15 knots.

 

Max joined Ruth and Kev to crew again after being absent for the past month training for the Hawkesbury kayaking marathon in which he won his over 50 division....well done Max and great to have you back on board sharing the workload.

 

Our start was not looking great when we were boxed in and headed for the line with a minute to go on an ebbing tide. Fortunately a gap opened and a quick tack about-turn and reach saw us sailing back into the fleet as they bore down onto Rogue Wave going in the opposite direction! Now this was not a bad thing entirely as we were able to harden up across the stern of the fleet and pop out to windward in clear air...albeit behind by 300m. When heading for Salamander Bay mark on an ebbing tide, the trick is to stay out of the main current or you get dragged out and away from the mark. The other tip is to tack as you get knocked (i.e. windshift causing you to sail away from the direction you want to go).  By the time we made Salamander mark we were ahead of all our normal rivals except Young Pretender. The ebb tide made for some fast beating to Shoal Bay mark.

 

The new pole was set however the breeze was now about 18 knots and gusty. I chose to pole the headsail rather than fly the chute which cost us a lot of places.......but no beers were spilled in the making of this event!! I messed about on the foredeck with the pole trying different adjustments whilst Ruth helmed and Max trimmed. On the final run for the finish the breeze had again shifted more to the south so my planned Assy run to the line turned in a couple of gybes before we crossed under spinnaker. It was nice to see Goodlife 2 have a good race and cross ahead of Rogue Wave. We would have finished well down the batting order however it was a great day sailing in good company with cold beers! 

Todays craft beer was a My Wifes Bitter which ranked 10/10.

Next week is race 4 of 8 in the Spring Series. We need to put in some solid performances to keep our club championship hopes alive.