S I WRITE this, season 2010-11 is drawing to a close. The summer-thatwasn’t has finished and we are enjoying relatively stable weather patterns leading to some consistent breezes. The wind this season has been rather one-dimensional with most Sundays seeing wind speeds of around 11-14 knots – great for sailing however the challenges offered by strong breezes and light days are missed. Up until five to six years ago the regular weather for a Sunday afternoon was 16-19 knot sou’westerlies with BIIIIIG 1.5 - 2m seas rolling through (not too bad going upwind but definitely something else downwind for two teenage brothers who had only recently made the jump from Pacers to Javelins!!) This being Melbourne, who knows what next season will bring?
Speaking of weather, there are three different forecasting services that provide fairly accurate forecasts. The first is of course the Bureau of Meteorology Port Phillip Bay forecast (www.bom.gov.au) the second is Seabreeze (www.seabreeze.com.au) and the third is the BOM Forecast Wind model also found at www.bom.gov.au. Taken together, these three forecasting services can provide a reasonably accurate picture of what Mother Nature intends to throw at us sailors each Sunday. But I encourage everyone to KEEP CHECKING the forecasts!! A forecast is just a prediction of what may occur and will often change significantly between when it is first issued and the day it is predicting. So if you have a look at a forecast on Wednesday and don’t like what you see, don’t write Sunday off! Give it time as things may look much better a few days later. With the end of the season drawing closer, both the Junior and Senior training programs are also winding up (A full report on both these programs can be found on Pages 6 and 7 of this issue) and it is great to see some of the members from the Senior training program making the jump into afternoon racing. Thank you to Ian McHugh, Lachlan Sharp and Peter Sharp for taking people out in the afternoons and introducing them to racing... it’s not the big scary event it may appear to be! Staffing the Rescue Boats has been a bit of a struggle over the past couple of seasons however this is set to change. Rod and Lesley McCubbin are aiming to spend more time at BYC in the coming weeks and next season and I cannot stress enough how lucky we are to have them in our Club. Since late January the Club has been running a Rescue and Race Management training course to teach potential Rescue Boat skippers all aspects of the role. The course is run most Sunday mornings and teaches new skippers how to drive the boats in all conditions, the safety aspects of sailing, rescue and recovery procedures, starts and course laying. Results! They’re what we race for and the first thing everyone wants to know when they get back to shore. Well done to everyone who competed
in State and National Championships over the past few months. There were no entries in the Pacer Nationals at Robe in SA this year however a fleet of seven BYC boats headed to Williamstown SC over the Labour Day Weekend to vie for the State Championship. Results are listed below. The Javelins had a fleet of four BYC boats at the Australian and South Pacific Championships at McCrae Yacht Club this season, followed by a looooong State Championship stretching out over the length of the season and incorporating 10 races... more than a Nationals! Results from both these events are also listed below. Congratulations to Peter and Lachlan Sharp, the 2010-11 Javelin Victorian Champions. Pacer State Championships 2010-11 11th – Limelight, Paul and Judy Hardie 13th – Viper, Di and Harry Angus 20th – Buttercup, I McHugh, Paul Virgo, Sarah Lincoln, Meg Cairns and Bill Lincoln 21st – Kanooka, Luke Cromie and Warrick Sheppard 26th – Wildwood, Phillip and Jeanette Connard 30th – L’O, Thomas Ruether and Martin Aubree 34th – Gotcha, David Merenstein and Silke Weber Javelin Australian and South Pacific Championships 2010-11 3rd (4th South Pacs) – For Better or Worse, Peter Kemp and Will Sharp th
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5 (7 South Pacs) – Razor, Peter and Lachlan Sharp 16th (18th South Pacs) – Happy Pants, Rod and Mickey Smith 17th (19th South Pacs) – Firefly, Michael and Ollie Looker Javelin State Championships 2010-11
GPS MARKS THE SPOT BYC greatly appreciates the support received from the Beaumaris branch of the Bendigo Bank over the past few years. This year we were successful in a grant application for new GPS units (and their associated brackets, power cables and cases) as well as new anemometers for both the Rescue Boats. This was a huge help for the Rescue Team as we now have BYC-owned equipment that is always on hand to assist with laying courses, performing starts etc. Thank you Bendigo Bank!
60 YEARS STRONG For those who may not be aware, BYC was founded in 1950 and season 2010-2011 is the 60th season of the club. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our wonderful history and I hope to see everyone on the beach when we celebrate our 70th season!
1st – Razor, Peter and Lachlan Sharp 4th – Warren, Michael and Will Sharp 5th – Happy Pants, Rod and Mickey Smith 7th – Firefly, Michael and Ollie Looker I look forward to seeing everybody on the beach for the last few weeks of sailing; let’s make the most of the good weather before the cold wind, short days and damp conditions of winter set in! For those who are planning to do some work on their boats over winter I have a suggestion: get it done early. There is nothing worse than trying to finish the sanding, painting, refit, repairs, or replacements when the countdown to the 2011-12 Opening Regatta can be measured in days rather than months... I speak from experience! Will Sharp Rear Commodore.
MERCHANDISE The BYC merchandise range is still available! Currently the range is comprised of BYC stubby holders and BYC branded polo shirts in both a standard and a CoolDry style. Samples of sizes and styles are available. The range is easily added to - if you have suggestions or questions please contact Will Sharp (contact details inside front cover).