Archive for April 2016

Well done  to club members David Edmiston, Geoff Lucas and Kevin Phillips who competed in the 2016 Laser Worlds in Mexico on Banderas Bay.

Geoff was 4th in the ‘Legends Fleet’ (75 and over) out of 8 competitors and Kevin 5th and David 6th out of 36 competitors in the Radial Masters Fleet. Full results listing and information can be found on the competition website https://www.laserworlds2016.org/index.php

Trophy

 

The annual Prize Presentation will be held at the club house TODAY Saturday May 21. This event should not be missed it is a celebration of GFS Sailing for both the prize winners and all competitors.

 

Skite plates are awarded to winners and place-getters for each Series. If you have achieved a place please attend.

 

For others it is a great chance to add to the wind which always blows across the ‘Deck of Knowledge’.

 

Kick off 1500Hrs.

Again great weather and just enough wind for the final Down Harbour race of the season. Well done to the series winners.

In Blue Division the Etchells team battled the yachts as they made for Clark Island.  Solitude made a great start and escaped through Humbug which was at its fickle best.  The light wind justified the choice of course and resulted in a journey of about 2 hours. Saints II sailed a great race to be second and not far ahead of Flashback which had a good run back under their huge asymmetrical kite. Handicap results were Saints II, Blue Chip and Chloe.  Series results to Eggshells, from Blue Chip with Flashback and GWhizz equal third with exceptionally small margins.

White Division headed off to round Fort Denison and Umzimkulu II established an early lead with Tana, Out of Africa and Joka endeavouring to catch up. They ended up very close together at the finish.  Wind Charmer were not far behind them as was Paca.  Umzimkulu II were back ahead of Joka and Tana.  On handicap Umzimkulu II from Joka and Out of Africa. Series results to Joka from Umzimkulu II with Tana and Out of Africa equal third.

In Red Evo took the water and handicap double after a close race.  Flair led momentarily at the start but were hampered by a lack of sail area.  Evo were ahead at the Goat Island rounding and held the lead on the spinnaker run to Cockatoo.  Flair nearly caught up on the next spinnaker run from Cockatoo to Humbug but to no avail and Evo crossed the finish line just over a minute ahead.  Series results to Flair from Evo and Barubi.

Since its inception in 2013 the WHWS has been a huge success and we are hoping to build on that success in 2016.  The Notice of Race for the 4th Annual West Harbour Winter Series (WHWS) is here.  As with previous years, there will be 7 races, commencing with Race 1 on the Sunday the 15th of May 2016.

We are again looking forward to some great racing across at least 4 divisions.

The inaugural 2013 Series was hosted by BSC however in 2013 it was DSC who out-performed the other clubs. In 2014 DSC hosted the series which was dominated by GFS.  GFS hosted the 2015 series which was dominated by BSC.

In 2016 the WHWS has come full-circle with Balmain Sailing Club becoming the host club.

With support from Yachting Australia we are planning on introducing the measurement handicap system ‘ORC Club’. This will not replace the usual PHS handicapping system. Results under the ORC Club rule will be published alongside the PHS results.

Unlike other measurement based systems ORC Club is an inexpensive, ‘owner declared’, measurement system that has a transparent formula for determining a boats rating. (Anyone who holds a current ORCi Certificate can compete without having to apply for an ORC Club certificate).

I’d encourage people to read the information on the following links:

https://www.yachting.org.au/sport-services/ratings-and-certificates/orc/rating-website/

https://www.orc.org/index.asp?id=24

https://www.orc.org/index.asp?id=25

PHS favours consistent sailing, and occasionally favours those that consistently improve. However, unlike PHS, ORC Club won’t penalise you for sailing well – it will give you a fixed rating based on the design characteristics of your boat (it will favour those with clean hulls, decent sails and good teamwork!).

Yachting Australia will be hosting a Q&A seminar on ORC Club and local Sailmakers and sponsors of BSC and DSC, Sydney Sailmakers have agreed to assist owners with boat measurements following the seminar.

The Balmain Sailing Club invites all competitors interested in getting an ORC Club rating to the Q&A session at 10am on Sunday the 10th of April at the Balmain Sailing Club.

Yachting Australia have agreed to process Certificates for a promotional rate of $60.00 (cost).

The WHWS, with support from GFS, DSC, BSC, Yachting Australia and importantly competitors will be the first in Sydney to embrace this initiative.

Please, get on board and support this initiative and help us to position the WHWS at the forefront of racing development in Australia.

All competitors need to enter the WHWS via the Balmain Sailing Club website. There is no fee payable for entrants from BSC, DSC and GFS who have paid their club’s annual entry fee. Your entry automatically puts you into the PHS series and you will have the option of entering under the ORC Club rating rule.

Come along to the Q&A seminar and consider having your boat rated under the ORC Club rule.

Race 1 of the inaugural BSC Friday Afternoon Non-Spinnaker Series saw a fleet of 5 sail in perfect sunny conditions that saw NE breezes averaging around 10 knots.

For most, the finish was close with Balmain Tiger taking the win. See the link to the results below.

https://www.topyacht.net.au/results/clubs/balmainsc/2015/kb/fanss/01RGrp31.htm

All of the competitors came back to the clubhouse for drinks and the consensus was that this series will surely grow.

We have since had additional entries.

The series will run every Friday afternoon until the end of July and will appeal to those who are retired and can muster a crew – or, those who ‘work from home’.

This is a Non-Spinnaker Pursuit Race commencing at 1330 hours. The series will be split into 2 (Series 1 and 2). There will be 3 discards in Series 1 (9 races) and 3 discards in Series 2 (also 9 races).

This is a low-management series with no laid marks, no starters and no tender services. The BSC will publish offset times on their website every Friday morning. There is ONE course and start times will be determined by the forecast on the day.

Skippers will be required to text their first lap and finish times to me on my mobile [0411206347]. Please ensure that your finish time includes hours, minutes and seconds!

Following the race, boat owners are invited to come back to the BSC for drinks and a sausage sizzle. Those coming from further afield are welcome to tie up in our new marina.

For those who have yet to enter, you can do so by clicking on the link below:

https://www.topyacht.com.au/db/aus/entry_menu.php?EventID=480

The list of entrants and their handicaps/offset times for Race 2 will be published on Friday morning prior to the race.

Below is the link to the Sailing Instructions

https://www.balmainsailingclub.com/downloads/BSC_2016_Friday_Afternoon_Series_Series_SIs_.pdf

If you are not on the current entry list and intend competing, or, if you intend entering and require assistance, please feel free to email me for further information.

Light winds prompted the choice of Course 17A which at one point looked like it was too long.  However, the starters were aware and prepared to finish the race ‘outside’ if the wind had not filled in late as it more-or-less did.

In Division 1 Sweet Chariot powered away in the conditions to leave the fleet in their wake to record a comprehensive victory on the water and on handicap.  Velocity and Irukandji kept together and escaped marginally from the others.  Chloe led the Etchells group with 4 boats racing, others were Forte Forever, Eggshells and Foxy.  Blue Chip managed to fit in somewhere in amongst the Etchells ‘Fleet’.

Welcome to Peter Francis in Wind Charmer for their first Saturday race in a different boat, although they started in Division 2 they may be better suited to Division 1 especially when Gwhizz and StarElan are sailing. They were so far ahead that the computer has momentarily missed them.

In the rest of Division 2 each boat led the race albeit momentarily in the case of Flair. Paca eventually escaped to lead the fleet in pursuit of Wind Charmer. Umzimkulu II made a supreme effort to catch them and Flair continued to sail into every hole in the breeze at every point on the course.

Next Saturday, April 9, is the last Down Harbour Race of the season.

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