Rear Commodore WILL SHARP sums up the season at BYC and reflects on sailing in the big wide world Pacer National Results NOTHER GREAT SEASON AT BYC has drawn to a close – thank you to everyone who made it a success. We have had our occasional challenges as usual, mainly in the form of uncooperative weather, however the weather overall this season has been reasonably good, and certainly better than recent seasons.
Fleets BYC has been experiencing a slow, but consistent rise in fleet numbers for the past few years and the 201415 season has been no exception to this trend. I hope everyone has been enjoying the sailing; the Race Management Team has been working hard to keep the sailing program on track and the racing running smoothly for everyone. It has also been good to see further diversification of the classes represented in our Sunday fleets. While the Pacer contingent remains the strong core of the fleet, this season has seen regular appearances from our two new Tasars, a pair of 125s, another Laser, and of course Lauren Kemp in her Minnow (who features on the front cover of this issue). Seeing Lauren sailing takes me back over fifteen years when we regularly had a junior fleet sailing in afternoon races. I encourage all of our young sailors to try sailing in the afternoon, racing on a larger course will help you develop your skills far beyond what can be done in a regulated Learn to Sail environment. BYC is committed to providing an accommodating environment for our young sailors including shorter courses, dedicated rescue boats, separate starts and more.
National/State results Congratulations to all our sailors who competed at their respective State or National Championships over the past few months. As I have written many times before, sailing in a multi-day event improves your sailing in a way that weekly sailing cannot. Lessons learnt one day are built on the next, with very little lost in the blur of life between Sundays State and National event results are listed in the breakout, right.
once learnt it will be a skill which will be with you for life. Even if you choose not to remain involved with BYC after this season, you will always be welcome if you return in the future.
The big wide world Away from BYC and the Australian sailing community never ceases to amaze me. Early in the year I went down to Sorrento to check out the Moth World Championships and eyeball some of the fastest boats and sailors on the planet. Virtually every big name in sailing was there along with some very special boats. Sailors from all four 2013 America’s Cup teams were competing in the event and famous faces were everywhere on the beach. Despite some rather fearsome reputations among them, every sailor I spoke to was happy to stop for a chat about the event, weather, the boats and life in general.
2nd – Peter and Lauren Kemp
Bebop th
10 – Paul and Judy Hardie
Limelight th
13 – Phillip and Janette Connard
Wildwood
Pacer Pursuit National Results 1st – Jon Pulham and Danny Marrinon – Spray (sailing for APYC) 4th – Ian McHugh and Conor Gallagher - Bluebottle
Javelin National Results
The next day I caught up for a chat with Julian Bethwaite, who was in Melbourne for the start of the Moth Worlds. Over a couple of hours we discussed the common challenges facing sailing, both on a local and international scale. Stay tuned, he is currently writing an article for the next issue of The Reef…
3rd – Peter and Lachlan Sharp
It sounds like I’m name dropping here but the point I’m trying to make is that across various classes, events, states and countries, sailing is a universal sport which unites people from around the world. Despite our various backgrounds, most sailors face the same challenges with regards to cost, access, weather and time. What unites us is a love of the water and a passion to win.
Pacer State Results
Razor th
9 – Rod Smith and Silke Weber
Spun Out
1st – Peter and Lauren Kemp
Bebop th
6 – Phillip Connard and Thomas Ruether – Wildwood 9th – Ian McHugh, Gabrielle Theron, Pat King and Robert Wood – Buttercup 14th – Silke Weber, Nicole Jenvey and Justine Walden
Pocket Rocket
Javelin State Results 1st – Michael and Will Sharp
Learn to Sail Once again both our Adult and Junior Learn to Sail programs were fully booked and very successful. BYC takes pride in the way we introduce people to sailing, preferring to spend more time with the one group to ensure quality instruction rather than running two shorter, less effective courses during the season. These programs continue to be highly successful with many of the participants remaining members after completion of the course. More than half the current membership at BYC can be directly attributed to our Learn to Sail programs. An in depth report on the Adult Learn to Sail program can be found on page 6 of this issue. Well done to everyone who participated in the programs, sailing can be challenging to learn but
Warren th
4 – Peter and Lachlan Sharp
Razor th
5 – Rod Smith and Jon Pulham
Spun Out
Minnow State Results 30th – Lauren Kemp - Sparkle
Impulse State Results 4th – Jon Pulham – En Bateau (sailing for APYC)