August 29 - Disaster Strikes

Click on to enlarge

We reversed out of the Pen at 11:53am. The pressure was 1026 mBar and increasing, with clear skies, cool breeze on flat seas and a temperature of 15C. Conditions were near perfect for sailing. We lowered the keel, hoisted sails and were under sail. We were reaching at 60-70 TWA on a SW heading of 240degrees with full main and light heady at a speed of 7.2 knots in 8-10 knots of breeze from SSE (170-180 degrees). There was an outgoing tide at around 0.6 m with a minimum depth of 0.5 m expected at 3.28pm. We were just setting up to hoist a kite and bear away to the North when it felt like an explosion. We hit a submerged object that we presume to be rock at position 32 04.295 S 115 43.670 E at 12:08:33 hrs + 2 secs, 15 minutes after we left the pen. This about 0.8 nm SW of FSC harbor entrance about halfway between L and F mark. We hit harder than anything you can imagine. We hit once and stopped dead with nothing else felt. No bottom drag, no second hit. Watching the reply on Expedition is not enjoyable. Analysis of the track log on the computer shows the depth gauge was reading 5.3 to 5.5m depending the exact second we hit. Whatever we hit did not register. The minimum depth shown on the sounder on our track around the area was one measurement at 4.4 m about 15 secs after we hit but was generally showing in the 5.5 - 7 m mark for the minute prior and after the incident. Chart Depth indicates 5.1m and according to the tide charts we had 0.6m of tide at the time, meaning we should have had around 5.7m which is in line with what the depth gauge was showing. And yes the depth gauge is correct, it was showing 2.7 in the pen. We draw 3.6m of water with the keel fully down and therefore should have had more than 2m below the keel. We were reaching so there was very little heel. The point of impact looks like 200 mm from the base of the bulb therefore we hit an object that is at a water depth of around (3.4-0.6) 2.8 m Datum height. There is definitely no indication of any obstruction near this depth in this area marked on any chart. I have checked paper charts, CMaps, and Mapsource. Some charts suggest 3.7 near this area but with 0.5 we are still at 4.2m. There are rumours of old tall ship moorings in this area but we suspect a bit of reef sticking up here as anything else would have been destroyed with the impact 12 tonne at 7.5 knots coming to a dead stop. The lead on the bulb has been shortened by around 100mm and peeled back.

Nav was at the back of the boat and went flying into the wheel on the port side badly bruising a knee and chest and losing consciousness for a moment after being winded. My glasses ended up near the hatch and were smashed to pieces such was the force. The skipper flew through the air ending up near the hatchway. Another crewman nearly lost his head with a cut neck after flying into the hatch. Another was down below and flew the length of the galley. Another badly bruised his thigh against the winch. But overall everyone seems okay with just bruises and broken souls. We were lucky no one was seriously injured. Once we recovered from the shock we removed some floor panels and could see some water running in so we knew it was serious. We immediately rang Fremantle to start organizing the tammy lift ready for us while we lowered sails, started the motor and headed home. We were at the jetty at 12:21pm around 13 minutes after the incident and on the tammy lift shortly thereafter. The hydraulic keel lifted without any issues to full height for marina entry. The keel pin was inserted prior to the lift. The boat was taking on water we estimate at about 20Litres per minute and got to about 3 inches in the bilge by the time we got the boat out of the water. We had the manual bilge pumping as well as the auto bilge pumps. Here is a couple of downloads of our track showing where we hit, near L mark. We hit where I have marked “rock”. We have sailed within 10-20 metres of this spot many time before without any hint of a problem and previous log data shows the depth in this area to be 5-7 metres. The harbourmaster and DPI have stated they will be surveying the area to find out what we hit. The front of the keel is flat and the bulb has shunted on the skeg. There is damage to the carbon under the floor at the base of the keel. We cannot see any damage anywhere else. We will just have to wait and see. Could be a while before we are back on the water. I think I need therapy to get over this one.

The great card robbery

Magic Numbers! We have had the first Charlotte card night and some interesting stories can be told from the happenings of the night, although maybe not all the happenings……eh paddy! Must admit though the flying Irishman has new meaning for me now……lol The night started well and Navigator made an appearance showing off his latest scar from the shoulder operation, although he was making the most of it with us having to deal on his behalf. We all stood in awe of the piles of silver to which Brenton placed in front of him creating the scene of an impenetrable fortress. Mattman arrived with a marble bag of silver which underwent full inspection to ensure the cheap currency had been removed. Somehow Odam managed to stake a claim to some New Zealand funding which soon got withdrawn when it was realized that Odam could no longer make out what the pretty pictures were on the cards, this strategic maneuver by Mattman was timed perfectly as shortly after Odam had passed out of the couch! The ever so cautious Capt Blow Hard slowly let funds out whilst trying to read the opposition but after half a carton of Wild Turkey and coke forgot what he started so reverted tactics to just handing cash out. Navigator joined forces with Brenton’s impenetrable fortress of fear, but it was BJ and the little Irishman we call Paddy that reduced the castle to a mere shadow of itself, in fact I would say it resembled a paupers shack! There was a particular hand where the betting got confident to the point where there surely would have been a leprechaun whispering in someone’s ear and whoever took notice would take the pot, onya Paddy! Best hand of the night went to BJ for the four of a kind she had hidden away springing a trap on many newcomers to the game (not me). The thoughts of many turned from winning a great size pot to how many hash browns one could afford for tomorrows breakfast . On that note we called it an early morning and money bags were filled by some and not by others. All in all it was a great night which seemed to just fly by like the Irish exchange rate and looking forward to the next card night. Capt Blow Hard Nav note: Meanwhile poor Paddy is feeling guilty taking home $100+ more than he came with, but the rest of us don't mind as we just had a great time. Cheaper than a night club and You didn't mention that Paddy displayed his fine pole dancing characteristics at the end of the night. Mind you he may not remember, and don't want to!

Race 3 winter rerun

Time for the race report for all those intrepid followers of this blog site! As we were heading out to the start line we had our usual debate as to whether the keel was fully down or not, as for the past few weeks every now and then felt a movement within the yacht that just didn’t feel just right but everything we checked seemed to be alright. Well shortly after the gun OP seemed to have just slightly better height with the boat speed to go with it, our speed log seemed to be out which required us to double check how the log was inserted “just to be sure” but alias it was plunged correctly so it forced us to revert to using speed over ground to get some more accurate numbers which has its obvious inherent problems. During the first windward leg some discussion was going on as to if the keel was fully down as an out of sequence shudder could be felt every now and then, this resulted in various crew members going downstairs to press the button that lowers the keel. By this time OP was getting to the second mark ahead of us with their kite up in quick time from some good crew work, making it hard for use to make any inroads on the distance between the two yachts. Then the fun started as we were coming to the jibe point as the stand in navigator seemed to have a moment as the navigation system we use suddenly went deceptive and changed our boats position by some 800 meters. So the call came to get down to OPs line as we must be too high, unfortunately this proved to be incorrect as we shortly found both OP and ourselves trying to find a mark that was 800 meters to the West of us. By the time we rounded the mark we were at the back of the fleet playing catch up. On a good note we managed to successfully deploy the kite using the sock technology twice and with a few more practices under our belt look out! After the race and with a successful mission being achieved of missing all land we managed to locate Australia again! As when trying to pen her we found the keel would not lift up, so with reverse gear being used parked her alongside the re-fueling jetty, whilst some hydraulic oil was being purchased the crews fluid level needed topping as well, so some crownies were purchased. After fixing the problem and finding out the keel hadn’t been fully down all day, which could explain the log issue, decided a few quite drinks were needed prior to us heading home. Capt Blow Hard

(Nav note: sounds like a list of excuses to me!, Could have just said you stuffed up and you miss me)

Inshore Winter Series Race 7

Unfortunately the weather forecasts were not correct (how unusual). We were hoping for the wind to be around the 23 knots and decreasing in pressure but found it to be more like 30 knots at 10:30am with a good possibility of it greeting stronger.

 

However, we decided to head out and tackle the elements and if we were not joined by other yachts then at worst it would be a good training session.

 

As soon as the main was up 40+ knots was being felt and with the 4 to 5 meters of swell we knew this would be a good training day, as we have not had the opportunity to experience Charlotte in these conditions.

 

So out came the Offshore Musto Wet Weather gear and the inflatable lift vest/harnesses were taken out of their packaging and issued to the crew so all could get use to fitting them, reefs were put in the main and small head sails came out.

 

After about an hour and a half of tuning the gear it was about time to head in and pack Charlotte away, with sails down we found ourselves with an uneasy 15 degrees of heel from the near 50 knots of pressure hitting the bear stick as we were coming into the pen.

 

There was no need for worry as the man on the wheel (crewmen of the day) parked her without any hesitation and the boys got the lines on with plenty of time to spare.

 

So that’s all till next week when we can look forward the re-run of Inshore Winter Series Race 3.

 

Yours Truly

 

Capt Blowhard

 

Photo's

Latest photo's courtesy of Vanessa from Fremantle Sailing Club.

Stop press: Well todays weather looks interesting with seas of 5 metres and gusts of 40-50 knots overnight abating and the chance of a sail looking better by the minute. Depends on what is happening offshore I guess with Rottnest just getting another 30 knot squall. Not that it matters for me because nav is safely tucked up in bed at the moment after a successful operation on the wing to repair the damage from Geraldton last year. Off the happy juice now now and on to simple pain killers. I'm expecting race reports from the crew for editing later today (if they go well) or in a day or two (if they don't).

Saturday 1 Aug winter race 5

If there is nothing written here for a few days you can pretty much guarantee that we didn’t have a great race, or more importantly that we didn’t rank in the top few.

Saturday was one of those days, were well we just couldn’t get it right. We choose one way the wind chose to go the other etc etc. We didn’t do too bad but OP kept going the right way and we kept going the wrong way, add a couple of stuff ups and its all over.

Had an interesting start with a few boats playing bumper cars on the port end of the line and us hard on the breeze looking like we weren’t going to make the line, we had to throw over to port tack to clear the line. It would be safe to say there was a major bias in it. Crossed the line around 20 secs after the start but so did everyone else. Pretty much us verses OP up front from the start but they were higher and stayed that way. We were forced to try different tacks to get some ground back but as mentioned this just put us further behind. Think its best to stick with them when this happens, as it has never worked for us to separate.

Tried to use a retrieval line but that got ditched quite quickly after a couple of poor drops. We tried the new sock for the kite and after a couple of slow hoists we think we got it right and it could prove worthwhile for the shorter races.

Good sail selection but some poor jybes and kite work left us a few minutes behind OP at the finish and mid fleet on handicap. Touched to bottom again at M mark! We are pretty good at finding all the shallow spots that are not marked on the charts.

Put this one down to a training race I think.

That’s Nav out for at least 3 months now. Off to get the shoulder fixed from Geraldton last year, so hopefully there will be willing contributions from others for the next 4? weeks, until I can type again.

7 all with OP but whos counting?

Valmadre Race 4 25 July

A wonderful day on the water. Good breeze for a change. Clear skies but a bitterly cool breeze. Wooley hats and thermals were the common amongst the crew. Wind averaged 12-14 knots instead of the 40+knots or <2knots.

A brief hiccup before the race when Tactician bugs showed off his new gadget only to realise he had forgotten the batteries and USB cable. Never mind we would just have to use the tablet and PC to work out were we were going.

The approach to the start was good with the gismos telling us that we were smack on for the start, one problem , other boats in the way. The longboat were between us and the line and we had to get around them somehow. We had to jam ourselves up for maximum height to climb over them and this killed boat speed but enabled us to get over the line and then tack early to get into clear breeze. We opted to stay out on port tack where the breeze looked stronger, unfortunately it was lifting inshore on the other tack and we were third around the top mark behind occy pot (OP) and Knee Deep.

Kite up and the tactical duel commenced. It was a great race with us and OP going head to head and within 20 feet at times around the course. Sometimes they were higher and faster , sometimes we were higher and faster. It was like match racing lasers around the course and Knee Deep were always there waiting to pounce on any error but had a poor kite selection costing them dearly until they peeled to a bigger one. Close racing. On the beats cross tacks to see who made gains. At one stage OP managed to get out 100 metres in front of us but we managed to climb back to within a boat length. OP did a great job of covering us by dumping on us ,and matching jybes. This was match racing at its best with each of us using the other as a bench mark to see were we could adjust the trim to get better boat speed.

At one stage we were next to each other with OP holding us out less than 15 feet to windward as we headed for the beach until we were forced to call water on them when we nearly ran over some surfers, Matt says he could read the quicksilver labels on their boards and the Nav started to squirm uncomfortable when we were quickly approaching the shallows off cottlesloe beach. In the end it came down to one poor tack by OP that let us get an edge and gain a boat length over the top of them which we managed to keep until the finish.

We finished 20 seconds in front of OP with Knee deep another minute or so behind. The NeXt factor were doing their usual good sailing and were only a few minutes behind that and looking in good contention to take out handicap honours but its always difficult to tell how the smaller boats are travelling until all are in.

Unusual for a Valmadre race we were in before 1pm and sat in the pen and had lunch before the trek to the bar for refreshments and the wait for results. In the end as we thought Next factor took out overall honours with us as second and fastest but happy that we had another great day on the water. For the first time we have hit the lead against OP and are now 7-6. We are sure they will hit back next time if we are not on our toes. Stay tuned for more stories of boys and their toys with nothing better to do.

Results will be here shortly:

http://www.fsc.com.au/2/343/1/_valmadre_cup_series_results.pm

Nav out

Mark E has been removed

Fremantle Sailing Club haved removed Mark E from all winter series courses. This is great news for us and many thanks to the new Rear Commodore of Sail for quick action on our concerns. The marks could not be moved as we suggested as they are on the charts and the process for moving them is long and drawn out. The only option the club had was to remove them. I'm sure many of the larger boat owners are happy to hear this, I hope it doesn't upset any of the smaller boat owners and hope it doesn't cause to much inconvenience. Apparantley there is an official process that we should have followed if we have any concerns, so we will have to watch for this if we have any concerns in the future. Nav out

Inshore Race 5 - 18July 09

Wind. what do we do now? At last we had some decent wind. Forecast was for 25-30kt NW increasing to a front later in the evening. The wind on the start was 18-20knots NW so we went full main and No.3 heady. Out on the water an hour before the start as we had only raced this boat once before at these wind strengths, and severe lack of wind over recent races meant we were somewhat rusty in these conditions. Course 9 : NW, We pinged the line so we were able to read the start quite well and nailed it. Hit it at almost full speed at the boat end with a couple of seconds to spare. We stayed out to the left with X factor underneath us dropping below and over onto port searching for clear air. We decided to stay out to the left with OP down and to to the rear we could do some serious match racing enabling us both to learn a better sail set up. We were lower and faster learning how Charlotte handles in a bit of chop (this is new for us). Everyone was geared up expecting it to get very wet but apart from a bit of spray we stayed surprising dry, apart from those up front, in frontier land but then they always get wet (because they can). Trim trim trim and the speed was gradually building, OP much higher so we had a retune of the main to try to find the groove. On the lay line and over to port ...bloody hell theres the mark 200 m away. The boat moves very fast in a bit of wind. The angles look to shy in these conditions so we opted not to fly the kite and were happily reaching at 15 knots. OP behind went for their kite but were being hindered by Syrenka from sailing their optimum angle and had trouble carrying it. Around Lygnern "kite up" and set. Down to F mark, pretty good drop with Bill deciding to drag the kite down in a rather unique way....by falling in hatchway with it. Luckily a nice soft landing but neary collected poor Trev who was already down there. Navs instruments went crazy (murphys law again, instruments never work when you most need them). Looking a the tablet but then noticed nothing moving and no instruments showing. Dived downstairs to reboot the main display but back in seconds "TACK" we nearly found Charlotte's bank again and the depth showing 3.4 m shortly after. A 40 knot squall hit us with the full main flapping in the breeze but the boat handling it quite well. The Tablet put away , can no longer trust it, reboot of the PC " Is that the mark , the call coming from upstairs" Oh crap are we there already says the nav "Yes" Some mild expletives coming from upstairs and downstairs. Wind is shifting, Can we carry a kite?, whats the angle?, whats the wind strength?, Crap Crap Crap.. We will have to wait and see still running blind, "go that way" (technical jargon for have no bloody idea). Around the top mark and settle everything skipper calling for an angle, the nav still trying to get everything working again after the reboot, skippe losing his cool and briefly sacking the tactician. No kite was the call. OP behind us opted for the Kite and went way off course to leeward, too shy in this wind strength but they had to try something, and probably had a great ride, they were fairly moving. Nav thinking..... now have we done one lap or two? as the PC has lost all history and doesn't know where we are. Do we go to E mark or F after Lygnern? When all else fails. Consult the manual, checking the course "E mark then finsh" the call from nav. Ummnn suppose its too late to call a bear away set as we round Lygnern... Kite up and away. Nav calls "at the bottom mark in 3 minutes" and the eyes of the skipper widen somewhat. . "Oh and dont forget its E mark, you know the shallow one that was removed from course 6 because its too shallow. Oh and we have a lwer tide today. We cannot go past it, and will have to tack on it to get into deeper water but we are likely to touch ". The skippers eyes widen alot more. We have to gybe, get the headsail back up and the kite down and away and tack on a 49 foot boat in 3 minutes in a strengthening wind. But somehow we did it. We hit the bottom at E mark (not surprisingly- 2.7 m plus 0.6 tide gives 3.3m, and we draw 3.6m hardly rocket science) but our strategy payed off, and it didn't slow us down but we were NOT happy at all about this mark being in the course. This is not good for the boat. The club is forcing us to seriously consider retiring from future races with E mark on the course or knowingly hit the bottom. We cannot understand why the club removed the mark from only one course!! (There were some informal discussions after the race and I am told this issue is due for discussion at the meeting during the week. If we can move the mark even 50 metres North would greatly assist, 100m would solve the problem. ) Race time 66minutes. Didn't see much else out on the course Someone said there were other boats out there , as a matter of fact someone said things were happening on our foredeck but I didn't see much , it was all a little too busy. First and Fastest IRC 1. Great race guys.... apart from the abuse results http://www.fsc.com.au/2/281/1/_inshore_winter_series_results.pm

Real score 6 all with OP

Nav out.

Mayflower float (Race?)

Last weekend was the Mayflower float. one of those races without any wind at times and when there was it was very hard to read, more luck than anything else. And we didn't have any luck. If we went one way to chase some wind, the wind went to other. OP on the other hand seem to be in the right place at the right time on each shift. Sometimes it happens this way. The wind came from every direction on the compass during the day, except from where it was forecast. Not having a go at the forecasters as looking at the synoptic chart my prediction was the same, thats just nature I guess. We driftead around for hours and for about an hour we headed directly towards the mark at 1 knot in current and zero boat speed. OP anchored for 30minutes at the mark so they didnt continue to drift past it in the wrong direction. Great to be out on the water but the race was not fun, we were just lucky there was no alcohol on board or it could have been very messy by the finish. Oh well another one to to OP making it 6:5 in their favour. One to forget.

We actually had a sail

After the Foul weather over the last 2 weekends it was great to get back on the water. Well I nearly didn't. I was off playing with OP only to find out the boat have left without me, thankfully they realised and came back for me. I managed a flying leap from the dock back on board. Could have been a wet start to the day. They did leave 60 minutes before the start thats how eager everyone was to get back on the water. Or was it because they wanted to have a look at the US carrier sitting off fremantle. Our youngest crew, Junior Babel was left behind when he decided to sleep in that little bit more and was looking quite dejected when we returned after the race.

It looked like a NE course with the weather forecast NE and the wind blowing a light NE. But alas not to be. Hewy decided to throw a curly just before the start and we had 7 knots from the SW come in against all odds. Oh dear course 6, the shallow one only 0.75m of tide. This could get interesting at E mark.

A shocking start with us not quite together after a 3 week lay up. Wedged in behind 3 boats much smaller than us and forced to hold the handbrake on until the traffic cleared costing us dearly in time. Bit of a soldiers course as we really had no chioce of where to go due to depth dictating where to go. This allowed a number of well sailed smaller boats to go where the wind looked best. Syrenka, OP and a foundo 36 (yep well sailed guys) to beat us round the first mark. Popped the kite and thats about the last we saw of most. OP stilll in front and some really great match racing with them around the course until the depth alarm sounded "loudly". E mark is always interesting and with 0.75 m tide by me made the depth at the shalloweset point around 3.25 m (we draw 3.6m). Hold on boys 3.9, 3.8 , 3.7 , 3.6 .....OP stopped just in front of us. We aimed between them and the mark and I could fel the sand ripples touching the keel as we sailed past OP and off to deeper water. OP managed to hook some sort of occy pot or similar and ended up behind Syrenka again. The race for us was not a challenge after that and we cruised around to finish with line honours. Had a great shy kite run to the finish managing 50 AWA in 10 knots of breeze, good numbers for the polar updates.

We finished with 3rd and fastest on IRC, 2 minutes behind the "Terns" in first. The start killed us. Well done boys on the Tern, it would have been a big night for them last night.

Oh and the results from Race 1 were announced we did finish first on IRC.

Till next week. Naviguesser signing out.

Cannot believe it

The race has again been cancelled for tomorrow because apparently the Weather is supposed to be bad.

winter inshore race 3

Postponed due to 30+ knots forecast :o(

Arlene results

Results as expected in order of handicap especially in YAH

Arlene Ocean Race

Some would say we won the first race, stuffed the second and did okay in the third, but there was officially only one race. The wind did as predicted and went from 5 knots north east to east taking the big boats out to eastern windmills and halfway back before dying completely. We sat there for a few hours waiting for the breeze that tended south to bring the smaller boats (and some of the bigger boats) back to the leading boats for a restart and sprint to the finish. There was a fair bit of luck involved in terms of should we go left or right, head for shore or stay on the line. The boats that won out did what we would normally, head towards the breeze and hope that it doesnt fade near the shore. This enabled boats like syrenka to sail from oblivion back into the race around the outside and be third around campbell.

OP had line honours and we managed a second over the line but well out of contention on handicap. The results were not out before the boys on the bus wanted to leave so not sure of the outcome but likely to be a small boat. Next factor did well finishing just behind Knee Deep a few minutes behind us.

That makes OP5 -4 up on us but who is counting.

Winter Inshore Race 2

Another great day on the water. Second and fastest on YAH with IRC results to be posted next week. But with a little bit of primary level calculating unofficially and assuming I have the correct IRC numbers it looks like its out of us, x factor, and southern star. Most of the roving correspondence has already been duly completed by others and can be found here: http://www.fsc.com.au/3/319/1/latest_news__information.pm Results here: http://www.fsc.com.au/2/281/1/_inshore_winter_series_results.pm Picture Vanessa Cornwall FSC The track from the race is here:

Stories from after event activities at Little Creatures are abundant (apparently) but I can't remember much and my head hurts. Have spent most of the day finding my gear in several different cars.

Any questions?

Big boat summary

Sunday’s racing was very light with no wind before the start. We discussed the possibility of having a race without sails, engines only just to keep the competitive spirit alive but the wind picked up slightly and the need for alternatives disappeared. The start boat again tried to set a course that would have had the windward mark sitting in about 2 meters of depth, not so good for a big boat series, so there was a slight delay again to allow them to move North. Wind at around 7 knots and 100degrees (SE) on a forecast of 10-15 knot north to North westerlies (?). Mediocre start with Jaffa in front OP to windward and I think knee deep to leeward, nowhere to go and couldn’t tack until we had enough bad wind off Jaffa to allow us to tack across into oblivion, and probably enough said on this race. We dropped this one. Second race a better start but OP was sailing better than us and managed to stay ahead on a soldiers course not leaving us much scope to fight back on a one lapper shortened course with the wind dying. Overall out of seven races Next factor took the overall honours with OP second and us in third. Great racing and we enjoyed the competition. We are pleased to see OP back up there and happy that we still have much to learn with plenty of races coming up. Should be some very competitive sailing to look forward too in the coming months. Bring it on.

Big Boat Series

The start boat decided to drop anchor right on the shallow spot from last week so the start was delayed until we could direct them to a more suitble location. First three races over and the competition is close. After a great start we led most of the first race only to surrender the lead to op on the last kite drop due to a fouled halyard on the drop and then forgetting to remove the short sheet . Second race second over the line again behind knee deep. Third race the wind dropped out and only a one lap race with a shocking start, dead last over the line but a good comeback to finish second behind op. Great to see the boys on OP competitive again. Yet to work out positions on handicap so off to the bar now. Nav out for now

Winter inshore race 1

After a pretty wild and windy week we managed to get out okay. The wind was strong and had that wintery feel today, the strongest by far this year. The strength averaged 22knots but was dense and felt a lot stronger, stronger than the 26 knots from a few weeks back. Still full main was the call due to an expected drop in wind pressure as the day went on. Time to test the no 4. This was quickly lowered again when we saw how small it was. More like a 5. No 3 back up just in time for the warning gun. Things happen so fast on the new boat and the day was not without incident. A good start, right on the gun and away until we had enough clearance from the fleet, we had planned to stay on starboard as the wind looked good from this side but after looking at the mark we realized that we were already easily on the layline and had to go over on to port in the clear. Trucked along in a squall that shifted 15 degrees then making the mark difficult to reach and we needed a couple of short ones to get around.

No 3 kite up and away. The plan was a quick gybe but the pole hadn’t locked in properly (still) and caused some distraction for a few minutes. At 16 knots things happen fast and before we knew it we were way past the downwind mark and heading for the harbor. Tactician remained calm and we got the heady and the kite down without incident but almost hard on again to get back into shore and covering a fair bit of ground. A couple of quick tacks then to E the shallow one. Fingers crossed but with 0.7m and some storm surge still about we were okay with the depth gauge dropping briefly to 3.6m at the mark. Phew past the shallow bit ……or so we thought.

Now back out to s mark almost hard on the breeze 2 miles. ¾ the way along the leg and crunch. We hit the bottom hard at about 6-7knots and it slowed us to 2-3 knots, a lot of force. According to the charts we should have had 4.1 meters plus 0.7m tide , plenty of water but touched again. Keel up to almost half and we were still touching at 4-5 knots. A sound no one was happy to hear especially naviguesser and of course the RO. Finally clear. Keel back down and off. Looks like the sand banks had moved during the bad weather.

Analysis of the data shows the depth dropped to 2.8 metres at the point of contact and for a long stretch!! This is with 0.7 metres of tide, so this means the sand was 2.1 AHD. Below is the area in question, and showing the tracks from previous races over this area. We have been over this with the kite up at 12-15 knots!! This is now an exclusion zone for us.

No obvious damage and no signs and any damage upon internal inspection but we need to send someone down below to check the keel and around the top of the keep support just to make sure. Back to the top mark and around with the no3. Late hoist due to the distraction of running aground but off again and the call was for another gybe. Again slow gybe and sailed along way down wind but managed to get the kite down cleanly and over the line for the gun.

Phew what happened! It’s like a short sprint, don’t get time to think about anything until we are there.

We averaged 9 knots for the day and finished 2nd on IRC around 1.5 minute behind X factor. We lost a good couple of minutes when we ran aground and sailed a lot further at each kite drop so there is plenty of room for improvement. Fifth on YAH so hopefully this will improve our FSC handicap back to something realistic.

The Sunday Times newpaper WA

Click to enlarge

The caravan proves a match for Knee Deep.

The morning greeted us with a 10-12knot North Easterly clear skies and a forecast of 28 degrees. Winds said to lighten further then tend SE to 10-15 knots. Pleasant cruising conditions. Bit more would have been good for racing, but cruising it was for the eagerly anticipated match up with Knee Deep. The start line was almost as long as the first leg (measured at 600m) so it was always going to spread the fleet. Nav and tactician called pin end start early on. Nailed the start and a short run before tacking to port clear of the fleet and first to top mark.

Kite to West windmill with Knee Deep having slightly more downwind boat speed than the caravan and managed to pass us. However just as we were approaching the mark the wind died and knee Deep stopped as we glided past to be first around windmill.

Someone also said there were two other martin 49s in the race but we didn’t see them after they gybed early into oblivion and never recovered. Fickle winds lead to imaginary wind lines being spotted from all directions. Personally I think there was more wind from the crews behinds at this stage as we drifted around at speeds of up to 0.8 knots. It did what no one expected and turned into a very light SW sea breeze reaching the smaller end of the fleet first and playing right into the hands of Jaffa who did very well and kept up with the front end of the fleet (that’s us). We managed to keep a cover on Knee Deep from there on coasting along with them on our tail for the rest of the race. Wind didn’t recover over 7 knots till the end so gently does it for the rest of the race. The downwind legs were interrupted by football on the TV with Hot pies in the microwave being preferred by some. Just lacked beer , but we lose the plot with a few beers so just as well. We finished with line honours a minute or two in front of Knee Deep but we don’t think we were far enough in front of Jaffa to give us the 38 or so minutes we needed on corrected time. Great race great day and a few drinks on the bus home. Only one stop for drinks and one toilet stop this week. Till next time, the roving reporter logging off.

Iberia Course

Guys here is the course for the weekend. Wind is expected to be a 10 knotish ENE going SE ish. ish ish. 09:25 warning signal.

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ANZAC Cup

Handicap starts, lots of speed bumps.

At a guess there were 40 yachts competing in the ANZAC race on Saturday. We started last with Sue Sea around 30 minutes after the first yacht. They were almost out of sight by the time we crossed the line. Very late over the line as there was much debate over what time were actually meant to start. Bloody handicap starts, we never get them right. Anyway we started either 30 secs late or 30 secs early… whatever. Sue sea parked in front of us and giving us the right blocking tactics but at least making it interesting. Navigator couldn’t get the angles right and was calling tacks way to early but somehow we managed to shake Sue sue and we were off. Screaming through the fleet with excited anticipation wondering how on earth we were supposed to catch some of the yachts that were around the 4th mark before we were around the 1st and on such a relatively (big boat talk) short course. Still we didn’t give up and kept screaming along, some nice shy kite runs (new territory for us) and managed to hold it all together. Good crew work and good kite drops.

Still 2 legs to go and just a few, about 20-30 yachts, still in front. Put the big one up and the turbo thrust put us into hyperdrive. Comments were bloody hell that’s big from The longboat as way waved goodbye , and the one that made us laugh was a yacht that we so in awe they had to stop for a photo as we screamed past doing a leisurely 9 knots…… in 11 knots of breeze. Still about 10 boats in front with one leg to go. Sailed past the last mark and kept going to get the right angle to attack the finish, whoosh, jybed across and off. 7, 6, 5, 4 yachts still in front but to no avail Windslyce already over the line. Only 3in front just before the line and that’s how we finished. 4 th behind the boat that started 30 minutes in front, and obviously fastest. Damn is that it already, just getting warmed up.

Good race good fun and now waiting for the next.

Stumbled across an interesting resemblence

Hammy the foredecky also known to appear in movies such as "Over the Hedge". You know the hyperactive one!

Results

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I think we won. Just.

The Cape Vlamingh race that wasn’t to Cape Vlamingh

Another race another good performance, and more tuning time and lessons learnt. We were looking forward to the race to see how we would stack up against OP and Sue Sea both being the same boats. Match racing on 50 footers now that’s fun!

The budding meteorologists on board predicted correctly. The wind turned out to be a light north easterly tending north easterly to nothing.

A better start, still 10-15 seconds late but in clear air and away to be first around the day bouy. OP were very late for the start and I don’t recall what Sue Sea were up to as I was still trying to pick which flags were up for the course. Course 2, damn, short course just to Rotto and back.

Had my head in the tablet and trying to find the day bouy with bugs watching the puffs trying to pick a bear away or jybe set. Bear away it was big kite up and gone.

A couple of jybes to get through windwills, still haven’t got the angles right and need to work on laylines. Found the day bouy it was near Rotto after all, not near Subiaco as listed in the yellow book. Can’t follow anyone when we are in front, this is different and perhaps a little too close to the Quokkers arms for many thirsty rebellers, still there was no mutiny as the motley crew were still on intravenous rum and we continued on our way.

Out to Fairway with a short dig, no3 kite up to head back to windmills, A radio sched, a little late due again to being out in front, and despite I told all 13 crew to remind me!!! But managed it well before we got to windmills. Dropped the kite around the mark and home. Did I meantion the prawning? (whoops!) keep that one quiet, no damage done.

We made good use of the wind before it dropped out and led all the way in 7-10 knots of breeze to the finish. We arrived back in the bar at around 2pm in Freo to a very unfamiliar scene. Well there really wasn’t a scene as were the only ones there. Will take some getting used to this big boat stuff..! Not only that but need at least 4 jugs before you get a beer. Now I know why the RO drinks wine.

When other crews did finally arrive the news was that wind died completely and most were parked for a great deal of time. Goods news for us I guess. We didn’t suffer this but the wind did drop down to 4-6 knots for a period just before the finish.

Now waiting for corrected results, Monday night at east freo.

Freo race 8

Pictures: Vanessa Cornwall FSC

The morning was spent getting Charlotte ship shape and getting all those sails ready to go.

Then out for a small play before the start of the FSC Round the Bouys Race 8. A cautious start (another name for late) but not to worry with the waterlength now to power ahead in small chop. One reef and no3 in 18-26 knots of breeze and naviguessor spitting out numbers to find those little sticks the big ocean. (not as much time to sort things out now).

Popped the masthead kite on the last run and hang on.....as we reached warp speed with acceleration.

Finished two legs in front of the next boat. Great fun. First and fatest just to top it off. The learning curve has just begun.

Training Weekend

The motley crew had a slick trip down to Mandurah on the weekend to test systems and get familiar with the new babe and she’s gorgeous. My wife says there are now too many women in my life!

Didn’t take long to break the delivery record to Mandurah. We actually shattered it without even trying in tame conditions with a self furler up. It now stands at only 3hours and 10 minutes.

Skipper alias “Joe” is the new boat mascot. He even sometimes takes over the helm when we need a rest, has been found sleeping with the crew and guards the boat when we are not around. Judging by the damage to O damn’s ankle he is an expert at self defence.

From the top of the mast

Well Charlotte is in the water, rig is in and today we underwent sail trials. She is one sweet thing. instrument commissioning and setting up the sail computer along with the first sail hoists and sail tests. An absolutely perfect day with 9knots of breeze (doing 7 knots) and no swell to speak of. Perfect for calibrating instruments setting sails and tuning of rigging.

Is that the time, last I looked it was 8am and the day is over already. Time flies when we are having fun.

Boys were up the mast (hence the photo) for marking spreader patches, most instrumentation is now set and calibrated, just fine tuning to go. We flew the no 1 kite just because we could and we wanted to see how big our houses really are in sq meterage. Only after when packing does it it hit home just how big it is. Takes 5 minutes just to stuff it in the bag! Plenty of sail area.

Discovered that the autohelm can tack the boat so we dont really need a helmsman! And I am a bit worried about the buttons on the display up the back. Should only be one toy in the playpen.

The crew is now eagerly anticipating the weekend for the planned training sail to Mandurah on Saturday.

News is that Charlotte is somewhere in WA due to arrive tonight or tomorrow in Fremantle.

On the road

Charlotte left Sydney yesterday and right now is around about Broken Hill cruising her way to Fremantle by road. ETA is expected to be this weekend and all are pretty excited in anticipation of the launch on 3rd March. Meanwhile back in geograph we are busy racing to distract our minds......

Ready for Shipment

Shrinkwrapped and ready to roll on Monday.

Confirmed arrival in Fremantle

Charlotte will be launched in Fremantle 2 weeks today, with mast stepping and tuning soon after. This means that she will be ready for the westender on March 14th....Oh yeah..

Change of Plan

Well the news hot off the press is that Charlotte is coming home earlier than planned. Yet to be confirmed but she is due to ship out of Nowra on 23rd February. I must say she is looking mighty fine with her makeup now complete. Not quite here in time for Geograph but hey as if we would know how to please her to perform by then.

Keel is on

Two weeks before the boat is shipped to sydney for the mast and rigging. Staunchons and Life lines are on, antofoul is on. Getting very close now. Now all we have to do is figure out the race program! Excited apprehension is still the flavour in the air!!

Not Long Now

Two very important items on the new boat: 1 Bulb and a fairly big one at that; 2 Microwave: at last no more kero stoves.. or cold casseroles.

Official launch date 27 Feb during Busselton race week in WA! How this is going to work we have no idea but we are going to geograph.

The boat yard is a hive of activity with last minute details being applied to the finish, and build. The last of the electrics are being installed the boat has been polished and finishing touches are being applied to the internal set up.

The boat is due to shipped to Sydney within the next couple of weeks to have the mast and rigging fitted and the boat will be commissioned. The sails are now almost complete thanks to our friendly sailmakers at Avalon Sails, but of course will need final tuning in situ on a date yet to be determined. All very interesting but a little unsettling as its all a little fluid at the moment.

The race program is nearing completion ; avid followers of this site will see a program starting to grace the page on the right hand side over the next week.............stay tuned.

And we are pleased to officially announce a new sponsor on board .....Welcome to MUSTO, the new member of the crew and second to none in offshore conditions......

Charlotte is blushing

Well here she is boys in all her glory.

Work is still progressing well in preparation for the launch date in February.

Excited,,you bet. JM has a permanent smile at the moment!