The Big One - Wrap up of 2010 States regatta The Wild West - report on the Javelin Nationals in WA Cruising the French canals - it’s not all fine wine and pastry Stephen Whiteside recounts a few “experiences” at Somers The Eye In The Sky - musings from the tower
ver the recent March Labour Day long weekend, BYC hosted the 2010 Pacer State Titles and four heats of the Javelin State Titles. It was a great success with 40 Pacers entered which the Pacer President advised was the largest fleet seen since the late 1980‟s. Your club has a very proud Pacer history. Club members have won over half of both the National and State titles held since 1971. Successful sailors still involved in the club are our Vice Commodore, Peter Sharp, who tops the list with 9 National and 10 State titles; Russell Kemp, with 4 Nationals and 4 States, his son Peter with 1 National title as crew to his father and 2 State titles as helmsman; Jim French (we have to share him with Albert Park), 3 Nationals and 1 State, and Les Sharp, 1 National and 1 State. Seven Beaumaris Pacers entered the event. Five of these were competing in their first series and three were crewed by new sailors with two or less seasons of sailing experience – a wonderful effort by Xafina Dendrinos, Kyla Woods, Tim Rance, Cam Bromley, Luke Cromie, Warrick Sheppard, Greg Dallas, David Merenstein and Daniel Neistat. The best Beaumaris result was a win in the Junior (helm), Senior (crew) class by Olivia and Dianne Angus. Another happy success was Peter Lesic and Greg Dallas winning the new jib donated by South Eastern Sails. Our eighth Beaumaris entry was Paul and Judy Hardie sailing the new Pacer Pursuit as a demonstration class. Jim French has built the Pursuit to expand the performance of the Pacer to cater for the stronger and fitter of our juniors at a reasonable price. With a larger sail area, a trapeze and an asymmetric spinnaker the increased performance is there and we wish Jim success with the project. Six Javelins sailed their heats on the Sunday. The speed and skill with which the best crews handle these powerful boats through the tacks, gybes and spinnaker handling of racing is awesome, especially when performed in wind speeds of over 20 knots. For many of the stronger and fitter monohull sailors the Javelin is the next step after the Pacer. Our successful running of this regatta was due to a wonderful response from all our volunteers. Thankfully not all went quite as far as our Duty Officer, Bruce Fraser, who almost knocked himself out on the winch on Sunday afternoon, but then returned, bandaged and ready for duty on the Monday morning. Several of the volunteers are not current members; Russell Kemp returned to skipper Narina as the Javelin course boat, Greg Sinclair from Royal Geelong Yacht Club performed the role of Principal Race Officer in Rod McCubbin‟s absence and Alex St John returned as Race Officer. Hampton Sailing Club provided two fully crewed rescue boats to assist with the running of the event. When asked, we find that exmembers return very willingly to help out; such
are their happy memories of their time at the club. The canteen was magnificent! The famous Beaumaris rolls complemented by homemade Florentines and “Ricketty Ann” cookies give a wonderfully comfortable family atmosphere to our club. The welcome dinner on the Saturday evening was a good success despite the weather, thanks to the salads donated by Beaumaris members and the meat packs supplied by Aspendale Quality Meats (owned by Aaron Hirst who sails Javelins at Chelsea).
2 Commodores Report 3 Sailing Report 4 Javelins, Puffing Billy
Our food, our happy, welcoming, competent volunteers, our large clubrooms and our boating facilities create an excellent venue for our visitors as was proven by the 40 Pacers which attended with the complete absence of any complaints.
5 Editorial, recollections
We run events like this for two reasons; it helps the club financially, but more importantly it exposes our sailors to all the benefits of top-class racing. Sailing in large fleets with all the congestion at the start-line and the marks, plus the ability to observe the best and compete with others, whether at the front or the back of the fleet, certainly sharpens the boat-handling skills and builds self confidence.
8 Canal Cruising
The Christmas social function on the last sailing day before the break was a great success with about 80 people attending. It started with Santa Claus‟s arrival on the rescue boat to the wideeyed amazement of the children and the delight of the mothers and spectators. Santa, (Peter Lesic), ably assisted by the not very elf-like Mike Kenyon, distributed presents upstairs with the children‟s reactions varying from fear to awe -struck delight. The meal was a barbecue with lovely salads donated by the members and the piece-de-resistance was real French crepes made and served by Natalie Ruether, Ann Aubree and their families. A great family oriented Christmas celebration with our sailing friends. On the maintenance and major-works side of things, the Sharp family completed the upgrade to the men‟s change rooms where the toilets area has been largely refurbished with a new ceiling, new handbasin and walls tiled in club colours. Paul Hardie and Thomas Ruether spent much time and effort maintaining the training fleet, while Phillip Connard and myself rebuilt the Minnow shed ably assisted by Thomas Ruether and Bruce Fraser. Resplendent in club colours, the Minnow Shed now outshines the neighbouring boat shed which recently sold for around $180,000. We‟re approaching the end of a season in which we‟ve lost quite a few days to bad weather, but the winter is long so come and enjoy the last few sailing days in the atmosphere of our wonderful club. Ian McHugh Commodore.
from Stephen Whiteside
6 Report on 2010 States regatta
9 Training report, Cadets and Minnows
10 Report on the 09-10 Javelin Nationals
12 Musings from the tower
Stick these in the diary!
April 11 Championship Race 5 Roger Fagan Trophy
April 18 Closing regatta End of season function after sailing - all welcome!
TBA BYC AGM and Presentation Function - Come along and catch up over the winter! Details released soon.
ell if there is one aspect of club sailing this season that will be at the forefront of most people‟s minds it would have to be the weather. Since October Sundays seem to have attracted ALL the windy weather for the week and on the weeks when it wasn‟t windy the weather did some very strange things instead! Despite Sundays seeming to attract all the weird weather from the week there has still been a lot of sailing going on at BYC. Right back in November (if you can remember that far back!) the Club participated in Yachting Victoria‟s Go Sailing Day. This day was a great success as we had more than 30 people come down and try our great sport. With breezes of 5 -10kts we even managed to snare a few memberships out of it! Go Sailing Day was also the first session for the 2009-10 adult and junior training programs. These programs have been of huge benefit to the Club with more than 40% of our current membership resulting directly from them. A great benefit to the current group in the adult training program was the hosting of the Pacer State Championships over the Labour Day long weekend. Nine new sailors from the training programs sailed in the series, a great turnout in some very demanding and variable weather. Getting out there in a big fleet is beneficial for every sailor. Sailing for long periods on consecutive days means it is less likely you forget those little mistakes and lessons from the previous session – details like these tend to be forgotten when there is a week between sailing sessions. In my experience you learn more about sailing and making a boat go quickly in three days (seven for a Nationals) than you will in three months. The Pacer and Javelin States regatta was a great success, the sailing side of the event went smoothly despite the efforts of some very atypical weather and the club made a profit of around $5,000. All in all it was a great weekend and good fun for eve-
ryone involved. A full report on the event can be found on page 6 of this issue. As has been the case for the past few seasons the club is down on numbers for the rescue boat team. Rod McCubbin deserves a huge thank you from the whole club for giving up his time to be Race Officer every Sunday and the Club is very lucky to have one of Australia‟s premier Race Officers associated with it. However he needs help! If you or someone you know may be interested in joining the rescue boat team please contact a member of the committee. A new face some may have seen around the rescue boat shed this season is Ian Gallagher. Ian has been working with Rod learning the ropes and we hope he will return to the club next season. It‟s great to see people wishing to get involved in non-sailing roles – without these people there would be no organised sailing. Finally the committee would like to announce that the Lee McMillan Trophy which was contested as the fifth and final race of the club championship series will be retired and replaced with the Roger Fagan Trophy in honour of a much loved and much missed character of BYC. The inaugural Roger Fagan Trophy race will be held on Sunday April 11 – come along and show your support. So while the weather has apparently had it in for us, fleets continue to grow and we are starting to nudge 20 boats a week which is fantastic. To all those who participated in both the adult and junior training programs this season – well done, you leant to sail in varied and challenging conditions and I hope to see you back at BYC next season. It‟s a great sport and the more you sail, the more you love it. See you at the start line.
Will Sharp Rear Commodore.
or many sailors a gybe is something that just has to be endured. Almost everyone will have memories to some degree of crazy half-controlled heavy weather gybes with the boom whipping across the boat threatening to decapitate anyone in the way before the boat rounds up and tries to throw everyone out. However if you look at it from another perspective a gybe can be a golden opportunity to make up ground (or extend your lead) on other boats by a considerable margin. Critical elements of a good gybe are speed, control and balance. And the best way to maximise speed is to catch a wave and surf through the gybe. This is not „gung ho‟ talk. By doing this the apparent wind moves forward and de-pressures the rig which will result in a reasonably easy manoeuvre with the boom passing across the boat rather than slamming from side to side. So now to the how. There are several stages to a gybe that all contribute to making it fast and (relatively) smooth. Gybing from run to run:
Step 1 Preparing: Catch a wave (you may need to pump the main to do this) ease the main fully, bear away to a dead run and hold course. At the same time skipper and crew move inboard along the centre line of the boat and sheet the jib to weather with the same tension as for the previous run (this will mean that the jib is automatically set for the new run and will also minimise the risk of rounding up when the gybe is complete – obviously the jib action is not necessary for a cat rig – Sabre, Impulse etc).
Step 2 Through the gybe: Steer the boat about 5 to 10 degrees further to leeward and hold course. This is critical as steering through any greater angle will significantly increase the risk of loss of control. At the same time assist the boom through the gybe (the crew can use the vang or the skipper can use the mainsheet falls).
Step 3 Adopting the new course: Steer the boat for the new course which will most likely be slightly higher than the direction of the gybe exit. At the same time skipper and crew move to the correct trim position for the conditions. In reality the steps link seamlessly and the time to complete the gybe will only be several seconds. If done correctly the boat will have been surfing through the gybe and the boat track will be an elongated “S”. Gybing from reach to reach is the same process except that the first bear away in step 1 will be through a greater angle (and as the boat is starting from a reach catching a wave will be easier) as will adopting the new course in step 3. So the core of a safe and well executed gybe is to move the boat from run to run as fast as possible for the conditions. If it is windy and the boat slows down as you are going through the gybe it is far better to abandon the manoeuvre and start again. Less ground will be lost than risking a capsize. A well executed gybe will come from practice, practice, practice.
Useful tips
Put a knot in your mainsheet to stop the boom about 70mm from the leeward side stay. This will reduce the risk of breaking a boom and keeps the mainsheet falls taught on a run.
Wave direction may not always indicate true wind direction. Look for the surface ripples and try to sense the wind direction on the back of your head when looking directly forward.
Peter Sharp.
An active club member for nearly 20 years, Roger died early this year from cancer. He was 58 years old. t was while we were sailing Javelins in who had travelled there several times before Perth that we sadly heard of Roger‟s passmade transporting the boats a slick operaing. Ever since our Pacer days I remember tion. I encourage anyone who is contemplatRoger as always enthusiastic about getting ing sailing in the next Perth championships his boat on the water; borrowto give it a go. ing ropes, drilling holes, sandOver this summer our associaing foils, whatever it took to get tion won some cold hard cash out there for a sail. And this in the Four of a Kind regatta, enthusiasm has helped to exMicky Smith is now regularly pand our local Javelin fleet to using Sunday sailing as his the point where we now have a recovery session after basketdedicated Javelin storage area ball, the Javelins continue to and we have hosted two Javelead the effort to make the gap lin titles in the last 18 months. in the reef bigger, Alison has On behalf of all the Javelin sailbriefly got back on the water ors I wish to extend our sympaPeter with Samantha, the after an 18 month hiatus, and, thies to Roger‟s family. newest member of the well, the recent addition to my The weather conspired against Kemp clan family was sensible enough to us when trying to get some hold on until we had finished heavy weather practice in for Perth, but it racing our State championships. They say was a successful series for both BYC boats. the youngest one is the best at fitting in… Pete Beare and I made the trip for the first Peter Kemp is the Secretary of the Javelin Assotime, and the experience of the other crews ciation of Victoria
Roger sailed a Pacer, “Manta”, with each of his three children, Sarah, Claire and David, before changing to a Javelin as David grew in size and strength. Having sailed as a child, on his day Roger was an excellent sailor, but he tended to suffer mishaps more than most which made for very entertaining conversations in the after -race post-mortems. A keen and active sportsman, he was a member of Doncaster Golf Club, a skier and a dedicated “Petrol Head”. His ownership of an SS Commodore and Subaru Liberty gave him much status amongst the young males which he happily enjoyed, while his charm and enthusiasm provided sufficient friends to share the inevitable licence demerit points incurred speeding. As a GP practising in Mitcham, his medical skills and character provided many staunch and admiring patients, several of whom have become keen yacht club members. With his intelligence, wide ranging interests, inter-personal skills, passions, and his boyish enthusiasms and charm, he was a very entertaining club member who is sadly missed. Our thoughts go to his wife Kim, his children Sarah, Claire and David, to his extended family and to his many friends. Ian McHugh
he Beaumaris crew headed down to Belgrave for the 7pm steam train to emerald, and obviously Puffing Billy isn‟t run by Metro because it actually left on time! Nibbles and some refreshing beverages were shared on a trip so relaxing you could barely tell the train was moving. Just don‟t let go of your glass. 2 sauv blancs later we were at the Packing Shed, where the party really started.
ing the way for a waltz so lively it had some thinking that the winch lit a fire in his hips as well as his face. And Ian McHugh must have filled out Avril‟s dance card in advance, because they were still shakin‟ it to the cassette tape as the band packed up. Even Peter Sharps‟ foot began to tap in time to the... wait, no it didn‟t...
The rowdy rabble staggered back onto the train, and enjoyed some dessert wine on the way back to Belgrave with After a sumptuous 3 course the conversation at a slightly feast, shoes were kicked off, the last few drops in the bottle Maybe Metro could learn a higher decibel level than experienced on the journey a were polished off (maybe a bit thing or two here... few hours before. So with more than drops), collars were high spirits and still swaying hips (though not loosened and the dance floor was set alight to the music anymore) the revellers disemby the smoothest movers you‟d be likely to barked and headed home via the backsee this side of Saturday Night Fever... streets, still singing sha la la la la la la la la la By day, Rod Smith might be a respectable la te da.... family man, but by night he has the moves that have mothers locking up their daughters. Lachlan Sharp. Bruce and Lorraine Fraser had a circle clear-
GET PROTECTED! On behalf of the club I would like to thank Brian Gridley for his very kind donation of more than 30 bottles of SunSense SPF30+ sunscreen. It‟s 4 hours water resistant so make sure you get some on next time you‟re out! Brian joined BYC this year through the training program and we all hope he decides to return to the hallowed sands and seaweed of BYC next season!
ANOTHER KEMP! Samantha Lesley Kemp was born 8lbs Monday March 8 (thankfully after her father had finished sailing in his State Championships). Peter, Tanya and all three girls are doing well.
learnt to sail as a kid at Somers in Westernport Bay, and over the last few years, Thomas and I have tended to sail at Somers once a year, in their annual Boxing Day Regatta. In 2008 we missed it. We had just bought the Javelin, and I did not feel confident navigating Somersʼ rocky waters. In 2009 I thought it was time to bite the bullet! I spent a fair bit of time prior to launching the boat discussing the various contingencies with Thomas, and probably built it up to be bigger in my mind than it really was. There was a stiff onshore breeze, and the tide was out. This meant we had to tack out through a fairly narrow pass between the rocks. It proved quite manageable, however.
gunwhale, and I couldn‟t see how I was going to make my way around to the bow without my hands slipping off. Sure enough, that‟s exactly what happened. Fortunately, the spinnaker sheet landed in my hand, I gave it a yank, and Hey presto! the bow came round to meet me! There just remained the tedious task of waiting for the waves to take us ashore. As Thomas remarked later, “We didn‟t so much land the boat, as wash ashore like Matthew Flinders!” Still, no gear was damaged, so nothing else really matters.
All of this reminds me of a very memorable Somers Boxing Day Regatta a couple of years earlier, when we still had the Pacer. It was a fierce day, and there was only a few other Pacers, and probably a couple of Sabres, in Our principal comour Division. (Possibly petition consisted of also a Solo.) By the three 470s. We end of the first lap, we more or less were the only boat still matched them on standing. As we finthe beat, but then ished the beat of the we had to head out second lap (the windto a distant wing ward return) and paid mark. We had to out the mainsheet to drop the kite very commence the run, all early, as we were the main-block rivets not coming even pulled out of the close to laying the boom, depositing the mark. Even the block together with the 470s struggled to fly main-sheet in the bottheir spinnakers, tom of the boat! describing it later as “Whoops! There goes Having a chat - essential prea Tasar course. our race!” I said to race preparation Thomas, as the boom At the end of the pressed hard against second beat, the 470s were still vaguely in touch. We the side-stay. “We‟ll be flat out just maknow had a windward return, and felt we ing it safely back to the beach!” had a good chance of hauling them in if Halfway down the run we passed the club we acquitted ourselves well. We were power boat heading out to sea. They exthumping along, making great ground plained the course had been shortened, and feeling really pumped, until yours which was only of academic interest to truly tipped us in on the gybe! Not a us. Or was it? It took a while for the happy camp, I can tell you. That was penny to drop. pretty much the end of our race! “Thomas, if we gybed, we could lay the The only other event of the day worth bottom mark.” So we did, and we did. recounting was our style of landing. I didn‟t want to go charging in on a run, “If we gybed again, we could lay the trying to rip the foils out at the last min- straightening mark.” Again, we did. ute, and hoping for the best, so we After that, it was just a matter of Thomas dropped the main. I could have sailed in holding on to the boom to give us enough under jib, I guess, but even that felt too drive to limp along the final short reach to adventurous. The plan was for me to the finish line. jump in and grab the bow, turn the boat around, and float it in backwards. Who says you need a main-sheet to win a race? Two problems. First, I jumped in far too early, where the water was still deep. Second, there is no hand grip on the
s is the way with most sporting organisations, many of those who participate in the sport itself simply do not see the vast amount of effort required to keep sporting organisations functioning. It is exactly the same for cricket clubs as it is for bowls clubs and indeed, sailing clubs. Beaumaris Yacht Club is no exception to the rule. For almost sixty years there have been a host of people every weekend giving up their time so that others may enjoy theirs. The duty roster covers many of the roles required to be filled every weekend however there are many more that most members simply do not see. There are those who buy supplies for the canteen, there are those who staff the tower every weekend, there are those who assist in running our extremely successful training programs, there are those who skipper the rescue boats, those who put the bins out during the week and so on. These people do these tasks because they see something that needs doing and simply get in there and do it. They do not ask for recognition or admiration – for many seeing the club function as it should and seeing it grow through such aspects as the training programs is enough. While these volunteers may not seek attention nor desire it by no means does that suggest that we should take them for granted. While many of them enjoy helping out is it wise to remember that they may not be there forever doing those tasks and that one day the club may find itself with a hole that proves hard to fill. So to those who sit in the tower all afternoon, those to whom Sunday means selling rolls, cakes, drinks, dummies and beer, those who are first down and last to leave, those who spend Sunday afternoons getting rained on, sunburnt, seasick, stressed, cold and so on standing in a rescue boat, those who spend all morning in the water helping with training, the list goes on. To all of you, on behalf of the club, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart for without you we wouldn‟t have the wonderful club we do. Will Sharp Rear Commodore.
inety-two sailors. Fifteen Race Management staff. Thirteen canteen and bar staff. Three people sleeping at the club each night. One tireless Duty Officer. It takes a very large number of people to run an event like the Pacer and Javelin State Championships but the members of BYC rose to the challenge as usual and we ended up with a very successful event. This was the largest regatta run by the Club for a number of years and I‟m sure those who attended left with very positive impressions of a fantastic Club and a smooth, well organised and professional sailing event. You will have to forgive me, I spent the regatta on a rescue boat so this will be written more or less from a race management point of view!
THE SAILING It‟s what they all come for and is certainly the hardest part to organise. Organising racing for forty six boats was certainly a challenge but the many, many hours of preparation ensured that the sailing side of things went off without a hitch. Firstly, the
weather. If there is one thing people will remember about this regatta it‟s the completely ridiculous weather on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday saw Melbourne hit with what the Bureau of Meteorology called a “mini-cyclone” (a large thunderstorm rotating around a low pressure system) and while we certainly didn‟t get the worst of the storm we definitely got enough of it to remind everyone of the awesome power of large weather systems. Indeed if it weren‟t for the large array of weather monitoring systems in place in the tower the boats may have not got off the water in time to avoid the storm. With Saturday a blow out the pressure was on to fit the full racing program into the remaining two days. Sunday dawned with ominous dark grey clouds and drizzle but soon cleared up into 10kts and flat water which made for good racing. Sunday afternoon was a totally different story! With wind ranging from 3-15kts and the wind moving through 300 degrees it was a very challenging situation to set a course in. Indeed after
two 180 degree wind shifts and subsequent shifts of up to 60 degrees at a time those on the boats tasked with moving the marks were soon very tired and quite confused as to what mark was what. When Todd Fraser and myself were tasked to pick up a wing mark we spent a good 5 minutes trying to ascertain which mark was the wing after so many course changes! Indeed, when we were moving the starting mark for the committee boat I had to radio the Alex St John to see if he would like to set the starting line for a northerly or southerly breeze... Not something I‟ve ever had to do before. However after a long and difficult afternoon both the Pacers and Javelins got two races in each just sneaking in before the cut off time for racing. Monday dawned with a pretty marginal forecast and yet more rain. Expectations for a full racing session were low but the BYC race management team yet again showed what they were made of and got things underway quickly enough so that the Pacers
Race Management Greg Sinclair Alex St John Frank Leipper Russel Kemp Stewart Simmons Will Sharp Todd Fraser Ian Gallagher Neil Watson Chris Neyland Charles Bagossy Steve Price Luke Cromie Russel Brown William Brown
Duty Officer Bruce Fraser Tower Mike Kenyon Pam Sharp Tim Halls Doug Gallagher Sentries Rod Smith Mickey Smith Brian Gale Tom Gale
Bar/Canteen Susan Sharp Lorraine Fraser Avril McHugh Christine Kenyon Elizabeth Barker Natalie Cromie Charmaine Smith Kyla Woods Rachel Connard Annie Doran Howard Jacobs Peter Lesic Cam Bromley
Image courtesy of Tony Menz were able to sail two races in the morning before the next storm rolled in from the north. The clouds soon cleared and the winds started off in a beautiful 12-14kts and had built to a pretty stiff 22kts by the start of the second race. After a delayed start due to a dragging anchor on the committee boat the pacers got in one and a half laps before the decision was made to shorten the race at the top mark and get the boats back to the beach before the big weather hit. All in all it was a very smooth and safe sailing event and was run very efficiently and professionally by the Race Officers. A big thank you to Principal Race Officer Greg Sinclair who made the trip from Geelong each day and Race Officer Alex St John who trekked in from Coburg. The time and effort that goes into staging an event like this is huge and experienced, professional Race Officers are essential to making it all work.
THE SOCIAL SIDE With the wild weather cancelling racing quite
early on Saturday many of the Pacer sailors chose to head home early making the welcome BBQ a much more relaxed affair than was first thought. That being said, there were still enough people to keep resident barmen Peter Lesic and Cam Bromley busy! Lunchtimes on all three days were a pretty hectic affair with the canteen staff feeding around 130 people each day. Needless to say, those who were making salad rolls would now be able to do it in their sleep! The Pacer presentation function on Monday afternoon was a great success with finger food piled high and many hungry hands devouring it as fast as the canteen could prepare it. During the presentation Pacer President Campbell Martin praised BYC for the way the regatta was conducted both on and off the water.
THE WRAP UP So after many months of preparation and organisation the biggest event run by BYC for many years went off without a hitch with
the race management team coping exceptionally well with a variety of challenging weather conditions, the canteen and bar staff coping very well with over a hundred hungry and thirsty sailors and Duty Officer Of The Year Bruce Fraser giving the winch a solid headbut on Sunday afternoon to keep it in line and stop it getting any ideas about not working when we needed it most. Special thanks must go to Greg Sinclair and Alex St John for running the on-water side, the guys from Hampton Sailing Club who assisted in their two power boats. For a full list of those who deserve thanks from everyone who sailed, see the Honour Roll above . To all those who helped out in any way shape or form for the regatta, thank you. You contributed to a huge event for Beaumaris Yacht Club and everyone who helped should be proud to have been a part of it. Will Sharp. More images from the weekend are available from Tony Menz. Ph 0447 499 954
Km2 of water in Port Phillip Bay
Sailing clubs
Thousand
around the bay, most of which are grouped on the eastern shoreline
nautical miles the length of the Volvo Ocean Race
Drowning is the cause of death in 80% of all fatal boating accidents. In 90% of these cases the person was not wearing a life jacket.
Each issue this section will aim to give a brief look at a club member. This issue Phil Connard, BY C Secretary. relaxing holiday on a French canal boat! We imagined sitting on deck sipping wine and nibbling on baguettes, fromage and pâté while we idly floated past chateaux, villages and white cows sitting under trees; and maybe passing the time doing embroidery. How naïve were we? In late 2008 we joined a syndicate of five Melbourne families that owns a 30 year old, Dutch-built, steel canal boat based in France. The canalling season extends from May to September so each member gets a full month each year, and August 2009 was our first t u r n o n „Robert‟ (pronounced Robair).
decorated – always with flower beds but many with elaborate scenes from fairy stories or with amazing collections of brightly coloured bric-a-brac. Being holiday season, the locks were often manned by University students keen to practice their English (and us, our poor French) and we met an interesting array of fellow canal boaters – ranging from responsible private boat owners to some irresponsible and carefree boat charterers.
The canal was bordered by grasslands, fields of corn, small forests, with the occasional chateau or castle, and rolling hills with views of vineyards. There were many tiny villages within either a short walk or a few minutes bike ride of the We took over „Robert‟ canal, and a common th in the beautiful 12 start to the day was to century city of Auxpurchase fresh croiserre and travelled sants and pain-ausouth along the Niverchocolat (chocolate in nais Canal through puff pastry) for breakthe picturesque BurChilling out after a hard day's eat- fast from the patisserie, gundy region to ing, drinking and chatting... Tough! then head off for a couDecize on the Loire ple of hours travel beRiver. The Nivernais was built in the fore the „eclusiers‟ stopped for lunch at 1770s to transport logs from the Morvan 12.00 (precisely). In the afternoon we Forest to Paris for firewood, but is now a might or might not continue on depending tourist canal with no commercial traffic. It on what the plan was (if we had one!). is said to be, and we concur, one of the loveliest canals in France. It is about 175 We particularly enjoyed the small villages km in length with about 120 locks as they were off the tourist route and the („ecluses‟ in French) which are all manulocals were extremely friendly, but virtually ally operated so, on some days, there no English was spoken so there was lots was a lock every 15 or 20 minutes. We of shoulder shrugging and pointing. If we soon sorted out a „lock routine‟ – Miwere lucky there was a nice bar in the chael: drive in and stop at the ladder; village square to enjoy a quiet drink in the Christine: climb the ladder, tie boat lines late afternoon. to the bollards, help the lock-keeper We are currently planning our 2010 canal („eclusier‟) open or close the lock gates, adventure which looks like taking us norththen back in the boat and off again with a east of Paris through the Champagne re„merci beaucoup, au revoir‟. Restful – no, gion. but an enjoyable way to get fit. A glass of Moet for breakfast anyone? The locks themselves were a sight to behold as most were brightly painted and
When did you join the club and why? I was walking by with my wife Janette and my children Thomas and Rachel on a Go Sailing day three years ago and was swept up by Bruce's enthusiasm and hard sell of the club training program.
How did you come to hold the position of secretary? I was asked at the AGM if I would like to be on the committee – and resulted in becoming secretary.
What do you like most about the club and sailing in general? The training program gives to trainees generously, the location of the club is superb and the views to the sunsets after s aili n g, ma g nif ic en t . When sailing you go to another place and leave thoughts of work and domestic duties behind. When on the water I am inspired by the views and contact with the element.
Favourite sailing memory? Becoming slightly competitive as we get our act together!
Knots
Million
the current world sailing speed record set by French tri-foiler l'Hydroptère
cubic metres of material dredged from the shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay
e had a very exciting season with 10 young faces signing up for our junior training sailing course. We started in early November and it was fantastic to see how the expressions in their faces changed from a little hesitant and unsure early on to enjoying and eager controlling a small boat called a Minnow. The beginning of the season was a bit slow due to the weather gods not behaving very well but eventually we were able to do some very fine sailing and I‟m happy to congratulate everybody to their first Yachting Australia sailing certificate. While practicing a range of different skills I was surprised to even hear from one or the other young sailor that they quite enjoyed the capsize drill.
unior sail training can lead to many exciting experiences on the water, and a number of the past trainees have gone on to sail in junior national titles around Australia this summer. A total of 39 Victorian Cadets together with their supporting families and friends made the journey to Adelaide to compete in the 2009/10 Cadet Nationals from January 12-17 2010. All the Victorian Cadet Sailors performed well and were in every respect a credit to their Clubs. In a particularly windy series with tidal influence creating big seas, it was particularly pleasing to see some of our past junior trainees complete in this series.
of sail area on a Javelin (compare that to a Minnow at 36 square feet)
cessful season wouldn‟t have been possible without your commitment. And finally, but equally important, I can‟t thank the parents enough for their tremendous help from day one to the end whether it be carrying boats to the water edge, helping us guiding their children on the water or putting all the gear back to where it belongs after each session – I heard one of the instructors commenting „this runs like a well oiled machine‟. I think most of you are now proficient in rigging a Minnow.
Junior Trainees 2009-10
Here I also want to say many thanks to Bruce, Chris, Di, Marc and Phil who made the very much appreciated effort to leave their comfortable beds early in the morning to stand with me in the coolish waters and lend me their support during training – a suc-
Square feet
So in short: well done Adam, Damon, Floyd, Holly, James, James, Nathan, Nell, Owen and Shania – I‟m looking forward to another good one next season!
P.S.: Ian & Phil deserve a special mentioning for renovation work giving the minnows an almost new home. Thomas Ruether.
Just after Christmas the Australian National Minnow championships were held at Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club in Queensland which actually took place from 27th to 30th December 2009. 13 Victorian boats participated, and they were very fortunate to receive expert coaching from Minnow Class Coach Sarah Blanck (an Australian Laser Olympian). To quote from the Minnow association website “Special mention must also go to Harry Jacob who had just stepped into his Minnow “Willow” for this Regatta from crewing on his International Cadet, and sailed an excellent regatta (coming 7th). Harry is a distant relative of Rex Fettell, who designed the Minnow back in 1970 as well as the Sabre and had a hand in the 125, which added a very nice sense of historical providence to the regatta!”
Out of a fleet of 81 boats Harry Jacobs (SYC & BYC) and his skipper Charlie Rae (SYC) Vamoose working hard upwind All in all the kids had some great experiences out came 36th in VAMOOSE while Alice and on the water and made some good friends- what th Grace Endersbee (SYC & BYC) came 26 in more can you ask for from a sport! UNFINISHED BUSINESS In the recent Victorian Cadet Championships, raced out of RYCV The International Cadet was designed by Jack Holt in England in off Williamstown on the long weekend in March, Harry Jacobs and 1947 to be double handed training boat for children and is sailed in his skipper Charlie Rae came 11th closely followed by Alice and over 20 countries. Purposely made to be too small for an adult to Grace Endersbee in 12th place in a field of around 45 boats. sail but with all the attributes of a racing dinghy. Strictly controlled measurements have kept this „one design‟ boat at the front of junior training world wide. Howard Jacobs.
Brett Taylor and Jon Newman 2010 Australian Javelin Champions
one on the start boat ate a rather digestibly disagreeable lunch and will fart. Crude, yes, but it would create the first air movement in half an hour, and by this point you aren‟t too concerned if that breeze comes from the ocean or from some not too recently curried egg. Strange beginnings, considering the promises of the men of the Perth Dinghy Sailing Club will tell you if you don‟t have a Sean Connery-esque chest of hair at the time of the invitation race, you had better get a comb to tame that jungle by presentation night. They revel in striking fear into the hearts of Victorians with the obligatory tales of ambushing rocks, squalls and masts snapping like toothpicks. corched earth. The fireball in the sky spares none. With nowhere to hide, the endless red desert heats up like a blast furnace. Sand chars, skin blisters, the asphalt of gun barrel straight roads shimmers like a dream... And the wild southern ocean answers. Galloping winds charge the beaches, tearing at all, suffering none in their journey into the desert. A prehistoric wind, the
same wind that terrorised sailors of centuries past, driving their ships upon the savage reefs of an hostile coast. The wind that shrieks up the Swan River at a terrifying speed. Skiffs don‟t sail on the river. They fly. Like a bullet out of a gun, destined for death or glory. Or so any West Australian will tell you. These stories count for little when you are floating towards the start line of the first heat, praying to all that is holy that some-
So on that river, which can be a pond or a battlefield, the 39th Australian Javelin Championships were contested. Team Beaumaris, proudly represented by Peter “Slogger” Kemp and Peter Beare in For Better Or Worse and Peter Sharp with the rather dashing Lachlan Sharp in possibly the most poorly named boat in the fleet, Razor (with the exception of the Chelsea entrant Liquor Box, who would name a boat after a grog shop?) did the club proud, consistently in the top 10 on the
Start of Race 3 with the Vics showing those sandgropers how to start a race!
Elite athletic preparation!
course and in the last 10 to leave the bar.
there have been a few more breezy races, the winner‟s trophy may not have made such a long journey.
Maybe not...
Oh crap...
On the several occasions the Fremantle Doctor did make his rounds one thing did become clear, these sand gropers sure know how to handle a breeze. And one sand groper duo in particular, Russel Hanrahan and Chris Woodward in Racing Red, certainly enjoyed the higher wind ranges. The brand new boat, with enough gadgets to make you blush, was a missile. Had
But in the conditions we had, the consistency of the Chelsea boats across all wind ranges proved the difference. Accustomed to four seasons in one day, a couple of wind shifts didn‟t slow them down a lot, and we saw our fellow brave Victorians, Brett Taylor and John Newman in Liquor Box and Aaron Hirst and Paul Newman in Himalayan Woman take out first and second respectively. For Better or Worse finished an impressive 7th with Razor coming in 10th. And so ended our foray into the west. Any hairs our chests may have gained were lost
Get on the board!
Varying conditions made for tough racing. The mill pond morning races, the breeze going through 100˚ in one memorable outing, had Peter Sharp tearing out what little hair he has left, as well as some fairly colourful comments from the crew also.
The two Peters showing the Swan River who' s boss from our heads (some more than others). We didn‟t quite get that thumping breeze and flat water that makes skiff sailors go misty eyed, but there will be a next time. But if they want the trophy back next year they‟ll have to come and get it. They‟ll have to sail on our bay, and our wind isn‟t a nice little sea breeze, it comes from the glaciers of Antarctica, and our waves come in men‟s sizes.
Lachlan Sharp is an expert crew who, like all crews, (especially the editor of this magazine) is undervalued by his skipper.
Bugger!
Perth Dinghy Sailing Club
Commodore Ian McHugh tial dim-sims) are enough to watch over you all, but on this occasion there were four or five of us. Sailors will recall that on Saturday the storm closed in much faster than had been anticipated and racing was cancelled. We had recorded all boats leaving the beach and checked this list against the sign-on sheet, so we knew exactly who was on the water and who had to be accounted for. Still, with the race cancelled and the fleet heading fast for home, conditions became a little stressful. The tower does not have windscreen wipers and no-one could see through The scuba divers are still with us most weeks, the windows due to the horizontal rain. So still without flags, generally a little to seaward two of our team climbed outside in the pourof the reef and often in just the wrong spot for ing rain and sat under the northern speaker, boats returning to shore... Quite recently a shouting sail numbers to a third, luckier perlone (strong) swimmer has appeared. Apparson who remained cosily inside keeping her ently on a daily basis he enters the water paper dry as she struggled to hear above the near the spot favoured by the scuba divers, din of the elements and the noise of the radio. swims off to Quiet Corner or thereabouts, Fortunately all made it to shore, with sail passing our markers closely, and then returns numbers visible, before the worst of the by the same route. All of this between 10.30 whiteout, during which our Rear Commodore – 12ish. Trainee fleet, beware. found himself wondering which way the club might be. Why then did it matter that there Speaking of trainees, how good it is to see so were a few blanks in the sign-off column? many of them. Please all of you, stay with us There were no points to and if you haven't albe counted. Well, ready done so, join in apart from this being a afternoon racing and mandatory requirecome back next seament, in the conditions son to do more of the then prevailing, had a same. It is the opinion portion of the fleet of a certain patriarchal come in behind the figure of the establishrest, or under jib, as ment that once the happened on Monday, groundwork (or should it is possible that we it be waterwork?) has might have needed to been done, the best check the sign-offs and way to learn more is to physically find anyone race. And from long experience he main- The tower staff had their work cut out whose signature was tains one never stops in the crazy weather over the Labour missing. learning. There's also Day weekend Happily, all was well. the fun at day's end, Up in the tower it was a explaining while de-rigging or eating dim sims lot more exciting than usual but Honda Exjust how much better one would have been press, Hampton Red and Lady Isa together placed had one gone in this direction, got that with Mulloka and Narina provided a high level windshift or not hit the leeward buoy. of safety on the water and much of our time n watch every Sunday whether needed or not, the eye in the sky has noted many things during this frustrating season of blow-outs and drifters. The rocks under the wandering reef markers, for instance. More of them have been seen recently than the eye can remember, meaning there is less water under boats leaving the beach or coming in. There is sometimes a collective shudder in the tower as we watch and a small prayer offered that this skipper or that will choose the northern buoy instead.
The number of dogs on the beach continues to escalate and although so far this year none has been noticed claiming boats or sails as personal canine territory they are of concern. One watches them with trepidation, bounding around among Minnow sailors and smaller children building sandcastles while owners (not all, of course, but more than enough), oblivious to their antics, chat happily with the like-minded. We now have more very junior members than for many years - welcome to the newest, Miss Samantha Kemp - and will have still more by next season. It would be good if they could all be introduced to the joys of the beach without having to share our little patch. The tower was a busy place during the Pacer and Javelin State Championships regatta over the Labour Day weekend. Usually two and a half people (the half being the D.O., who has other duties, like heating the essen-
was spent closely monitoring weather conditions and advising Race Control thereof. The kitchen spoilt us with morning and afternoon teas, for which we were all grateful, knowing how much else they were doing. Our two junior team members, Doug and Tim, were a great help. Doug leapt out into the rain without a second thought on Saturday to help Christine call sail numbers and Tim not only watched the radar as storms approached but is probably still tired from running up and down the stairs with messages. Now we are back to club racing, hopefully on each of the Sundays left in the season. Don't get lazy now all the titles are over - there are still trophies to be won. Make sure your name is on one of them at the presentation in July.
Pam Sharp and Mike Kenyon
Vice Commodore Peter Sharp Rear Commodore Will Sharp
Secretary Phillip Connard Treasurer Chris Neyland Membership Susan Sharp Training Paul Hardie, Thomas Ruether, Bruce Fraser
Committee Stephen Whiteside, Michael Looker, Howard Jacobs
Webmaster Phil Connard
Contact: Email: phil@beaumarisyc.com P.O. Box 16, Black Rock Vic 3193 Phone 9589 6222
www.beaumarisyc.com The Reef Editor Will Sharp Email: will @ beaumarisyc.com Ph: 9878 1997
Contributors Ian McHugh, Lachlan Sharp, Thomas Ruether, Peter Kemp, Paul Hardie, Howard Jacobs, Pam Sharp, Mike Kenyon, Stephen Whiteside, Peter Sharp