Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
Newsletter Items, Idle Gossip, etc to [email protected] (deadline midnight Tuesday)
Club Newsletter 12/9/19
Sail Training course a great success A full course of adults and juniors were “thrown in the deep end” last
Saturday, with adventures on the river in a blustery Westerly. Our volunteer
members did a great job, and kept everyone safe and happy. More pics
throughout the Newsletter.
SAIL TRAINING. Next course day is Sat 14 Sept. Volunteers please let
Phill know if you can’t make it as offered.
Also, the Club is looking for someone, or preferably a small team, to run an
Intermediate Sail Training course on 4 Sunday mornings - 6, 13, 20, 27th
October. Please let Phill know, if you’re available.
PHOTOS. If anyone is going through withdrawals from the heaps of Jane’s
great photos that Trent was putting in the Newsletters – be sure to check out,
and “like” the club’s Facebook Page and Instagram, which they manage.
Commodore Phill Robbins 0466668541 Vice Commodore Jonathan Horsley 0412798505 Rear Commodore Chris Hallett 0414866998 Secretary Nola Hallett 0414866999 Treasurer Col Woodbury Class Reps Gennakers – Michael Wiley Catamarans – Michael Cocks Trailers – Paul Morris Monos – Graham Hams Rowing Officer Graham Hams Website Admin Mark Pierce Publicity Officer Trent Morgan Training Club Committee
ALL EMAIL
CORRESPONDENCE TO: [email protected] CONTENTS
2. Club News 4. Race Reports 9. Idle Gossip 9. Quiz 9. Upcoming Away Events 10. Marketplace
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
2
CLUB NEWS
DUTY ROSTER (from Duncan)
ATTENTION SKIPPERS Dates are being grabbed as on the attached roster Roster 5/9/19 You may also find it on the club's website, where updated version will appear weekly or so. Each boat will be given a date to complete this Round 5, which runs until April 2020. If you haven't already, you are invited to select a date that suits you up to and including March 2020. If you don't select a date, one will be allocated at random. Grab your date by email to Duncan on [email protected].
Could boats with multiple crew please grab the two vacancies in September, when Ric is away. Big thanks, Duncan
Please note: Meredith and Graham Hams will be in Japan for six weeks. So…..we won’t
have Meredith there to “spoon-feed” us when we’re on Kitchen Duty. Meredith and
Graham’s daughter (Lisa) has very kindly offered to help out. Have a great trip folks
- Ed
Charlie and Jonathon, putting some of the trainees through their “Pacers”, on Saturday
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
3
CLUB NEWS (contd)
LOCKS All locks in the club have been changed. Pick up a
new key from Rear-Commodore Chris. New key will
require a refundable $50 deposit, however you can
get $10 discount by returning your old key.
MEMBERSHIP FEES Membership fees have increased by 5% (for the
first increase in several years). Invoices have been
issued for Membership and Storage Fees (plus a
$10 Correction Invoice). You can renew as before
on the website under Registration tab. We prefer
payment by bank deposit as it saves us 2%.
DONATIONS You can also make tax deductible donations to the
club by bank deposit and an email to Phill notifying
us that the donation is to go to Australian Sports
Foundation.
Pic left – Debbie Pullyn preparing our new buoy
covers system – thanks Debbie
Unknown: “The good seaman weathers the storm he cannot avoid, and avoids the storm he cannot weather.”
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
4
RACE REPORTS 8/9/19 (No race pics, because Jane was away, and all other regular photographers were concentrating on
surviving the weather, or rescuing people – so I’ve put in more Sail Training pics - Ed)
GENNAKERS (thanks Michael and Duncan)
Very testing conditions confronted the gennaker fleet for the second race of
the season, also the first heat of the club championship. At about 17 knots
at the start, straight down the river from the west, the wind wasn’t extreme
and at times faded from that. But, during the race, gusts up to 25 knots
were recorded, the wind was shifty and gusty and the water was chopped up
badly by wind against tide conditions causing standing waves in some areas.
That was compounded by a large swell coming in through the heads and
breaking across landward sections of the course.
High Performance Skiff Trainer Michael W, toning things down a bit at Sail Training on Saturday
(pic compliments of Graeme Fleming, who was on the Rescue boat – thanks Graeme )
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
5
The start was close, with Secret (Barry and Anna) getting the cleanest one.
Just about all the boats shared the front rank with them. After some tussle
with high pointing RS100’s, the Fifteens broke away and a close race
developed between all four of them. Magic Formula (Clare and Justin) and
Second Wind (Michael and Tara) at times got the best of a lift or gust and
took the lead. Mr Bond (Zac and Francine) also shared the front grouping
but it was Secret around the mark first.
On the second work, Second Wind took the lead early and held it to the next
mark where it was again overtaken by Secret setting up a close running dual.
Secret broke away at the bottom mark when Second Wind overlaid the buoy and
had to circle around to avoid an incoming cat, losing much ground in the
process.
By this time Magic Formula had fallen back after a number of capsizes (and
some spectacular saves) but Mr Bond was still close on the heels of the
leaders. The race changed dramatically at the start of the fourth run. By
now the crews were feeling exhausted and errors were starting to creep in.
Second Wind capsized when a gust hit it on the bear away at the top mark.
Shortly after that, Secret found itself running dangerously by the lee with
the spinnaker goose-winged. A gust drove Secret down towards the rock wall
with no room for a safe gybe and a capsize ensured. After that Secret
capsized again when Anna’s enthusiastic dive onto the trapeze ended up being
a dive out of the boat. Exhaustion set in and Secret withdrew.
With the capsizes of Second Wind and Secret, Mr Bond took the lead and held
it to the finish; a flawless sailing display by Zac and Francine giving them
a well-deserved first over the line and yardstick win. Second Wind was
second over the line and third on yardstick.
Second on yardstick and third over the line was RS100 5BuckaRoo$ - Vince
sailed a perfect race interrupted by only one capsize towards the end.
Congratulations to all who finished because two didn’t, including Casper
(Duncan). Casper lead the RS100 contest early but took too many swims on
gybes. It eventually buried the mast tip in sand, requiring a rescue.
Exhaustion was a factor.
Garry brought Hooray in last over the line and fourth on yardstick, followed
by Magic Formula fifth.
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
6
MONOS (thanks Colin Hinwood)
Mono Report CC – 080919 (pic is of Corsair “Collette” – the new club training boat)
Blustery Westerly type winds, and bushfire smoke covering the river, didn’t make for a happy watercraft day,
and fleet sizes were down.
Seabreeze wind graph was a bit radical, and we all turned up not knowing what to expect.
The reduced fleet of Retro – not looking too Retro these days with a smart new rig and sails – Hamin it,
Caddy and Flotatious, started in a fading WSW breeze, down at Missingham, then to Tower, across to a wind
mark, then back down to the Dinghy Mark and round and round. A really great course, with a tricky run into
the tide.
The run had a choice of a wide sweep across away from the tide then over to round or .. straight down the
barrel into the tide… and as the wind varied each leg, so did the choices … nice.
A minute after the Start the wind went to .. zero .. like ..
zero! so off we drifted for a minute or so, then the wind
came in as SW, and built and built until we were in 15-
20knots – wind against current – crazy steep wave patterns
that had the Impulses with all bailers open and still adding
water as we went over one chop and thru the next. Retro
had a better time with an open back boat and the waves just
emptying straight thru the back. I’m a thinking the 125
would have had water aboard issues as well.
In the stronger breeze, the runs became wave chasing, and
by-the lee squirts adding tension to the day.
A reach would have been awesome .. crazy in those waves,
but the works were so good, and the runs the best we can
get in the river, so stuff the reaches ... we get reaches
anytime.
Can say .. no Monos went for swims .. unlike the cats and Gennakers.
Retro led the fleet after the Start, doing the best job on the zero wind which became a .. swinging on and off
puffy nonsense, and kept the lead until second run, where the strong wind and waves allowed Caddy to get in
front.
Flotatious pulled out, leaving the 2 Impulses and Retro as a group never far apart, so nice little group.
Now becoming a signature move for Caddy, an ungracious capsize at the beach for the dismount, allowed
Impulse sailor Zac, sailing a skiff, to rescue the poor old fella struggling to hold the bucking Impulse and get
it onto the trolley... more help again needed to help the boat up the Ramp.
Pretty wild conditions really, but .. I suppose 20knots against a tide .. anyway a lot of grinnns on the beach
once we were in.
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
7
TRAILERABLES REPORT CH Race 1 8th September (thanks Graeme Fleming)
Wind was westerly dropping off at the start but building again during the first work. A few small lulls during the race but generally 15 - 20kts building to 20 plus later in the race. The course was westerly (almost unheard of!) start was off Shaws bay with a windward near Mobbs, boats had to go through the gate on the upwind. Ended up a true upwind/downwind course with no reaches to speak of. The tide was coming in for most of the race which meant going into it downwind. Reg and Shades both started well (front row) with Bella, Spudgun and Treasure isle second row. Incy broke its main sheet bridle with a minute to go before the start did a rough quick fix and started just behind. Reg and Shades were close together for the first lap with Reg slowly pulling away over the course of the race to finish about 5 min in front. Reg lost its bulb on the last work but apparently not noticed until they winched up the board??? Spudgun was going well until its spinnaker halyard broke about mid race and eventually came in 3rd but looking at the times would probably have taken 2nd without the halyard issue. Bella had its first outing for a while and had a good race with no issues coming home 4th overall in the blustery conditions with it being more suited to lighter winds. Incy came in 5th followed by Treasure Isle who advised later that they were in cruising mode so probably not posting a relevant time. I actually though we had a new RL racing as Boris was unrecognisable with the wooly beard! Not sure about Serenity although I did see them having some sort of sail issue about mid race.
Parents help Phill in one-on-one Bic lessons
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
8
CATS
Cat Report (thanks Jonathan)
A fleet of seven cats faced the starter for the first race of the club Championship. At the start a
westerly breeze of 12 knots with gusts to 18 knots had the fleet spread out with only Ozspray and
First Strike jostling for position at the boat end. First Strike was pushed up into the start boat after
trying to barge in on Ozspray with 2 FOOT Extra also calling First Strike up. Shore Thing was forced
to go above the start boat and tack back after First Strike blocked the boat end of the line after
hitting the start boat. N52 and No Waiting crossed the start line well with Finely Tuned about 2
minutes late.
The first tack of the work was in good breeze, but this dropped off very quickly as the first tacks
were completed to avoid the half tide wall. The remainder of the work was in light breeze with 2 Foot
Extra reaching the top mark first only to sail into a big hole to the south of the mark. The breeze
started to come in from the north-west and Shore Thing made it to the lead for short time. Ozspray
and First Strike followed closely around the top mark. As the wind strengthened, 2 FOOT Extra
sailed back to the northern side of the river hunting the better breeze. The downwind leg involved
many gybes chasing the best breeze. 2 FOOT Extra made the best of downwind and rounded the
bottom buoys clear ahead, and stayed ahead until the finish, despite several issues. One was a slow
trailer sailor (ex cat sailor) pinching at the gate mark forcing avoiding action and the second a
mainsheet hook coming off the sail the next time through the gate. Shore Thing and Ozspray had an
ongoing battle until the wind strengthened even more and this suited Shore Thing and it pulled clear
ahead to finish second across the line and First on Club Yardstick. Ozspray finished third.
With the strengthened wind, No Waiting decided to retire and First Strike capsized and floated
across the half-tide wall with only minor scratches. First Strike then sailed out of Mobbs Bay and
continued racing.
Finely Tuned sailed with a first-time crew, Kirah Goodey. This was Kirah’s first real taste of racing.
What an introduction to racing, sailing on one the biggest cats in the fleet, in conditions that
challenged even the experienced crews. Well done Kirah, we hope you will come back for more. Finely
Tuned crossed the line ahead of N52, having made up time from the late start. First Strike crossed
the line about 18 minutes later, having recovered
from the capsize and wall crossing.
The race had a wide range of conditions from almost
nil breeze to gusts upward of 20 knots, which
challenged all the crews. The westerly course with
the incoming tide and the swell through the
entrance allowed for some fun in the waves for the
cats. Several were claimed to have become airborne
when sailing into the waves. Eg>>
Many thanks to the club members who volunteered
to do the duty so the rest of us could go racing on
an unusual spring day.
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
9
IDLE GOSSIP
Please send anything interesting sailing or club related to [email protected].
No goss this week……….
QUIZ (no replies received yet, so the glory could still be yours)
Winner (to be announced next Newsletter) is the first person to email me the correct answer
(including why) [email protected]
A river runs straight from West to East at 10 knots. A 10 mile race is held: the boats sail downstream, from West to East. The first heat is held in the morning, when there is no wind. The second heat is held in the afternoon, when there is a 10 knot wind from the West. In which heat are the faster times recorded, and why?
Upcoming Away Events
This section is a “work in progress”
If anyone knows of any events or would like an event posted please let me know - Ed
Away Events - next one is Harwood Single Handed Regatta 19th 20th
October, for "Invited Classes" which are Laser, OK and Impulse Classes. The next "away Regatta" is Big River's ... Bridge to Breakers Regatta
23rd 24th November
Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au
P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478
10
Crew Available/Crew Wanted………………
For Sale/Wanted/Free to a Good Home
If you have any sailing related items for sale or if you want to buy something sailing related and want it put in the newsletter please let me know – Ed [email protected]
Castle 550 Trailer Sailor
Number 15. On a single axle un-braked trailer so no rego
check required. Very easy to tow – fine behind my Audi
A4. NSW rego.
Castle 550’s are light and easy to launch and sail.
Gypsy is in very good condition. She has a brand new VHF
radio, depth sounder, CD/ipod player, 12v battery.
Mariner 5hp outboard runs well. Two stroke but quiet.
The rudder has a dagger foil but a brand new blade for a
swing rudder is included (bought from the manufacturer).
A friend recently had a swing rudder box made for less
than $300.
Two mains, one jib, storm jib, and spinnaker.
V Berth has plenty of room for two people.
Brand new porta-potty. Bearing buddies on trailer.
$12,900 neg. Contact Dave Scott 0428 854800
Castle 650, Mr Squiggle, Sail Number 61.
Generally good condition.
New Doyle Main and No 1, near new No 2
and No 3. Older Main and No 1 (Still
usable).
Old Dacron Main.
Spinnaker with launching shute.
Near new 8hp Tohatsu.
Trailer in good condition.
New complete storage cover/tarp.
Price $15,000.00 Neg.
Ph Todd Goldsmith 0427002571.
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