jT - sunny and moderate winds
05/27/2012, Sydney Harbor

Crew: (Doug, Chris, Luke, Yvette, Manuel , Jeff )

(Guillermo have a great trip to Spain and see you on your return!)

We all staggered on board to a sunny winters day. Brisk temperature with consistent southerly winds from the south, due to be building over the afternoon. The crew prepped the boat while I fussed around with the course in the GPS. Last week the course was trying to start mid-course, so some gentle coaxing and a few choice words later all was fixed.

We motor over past the start line, with course "A" being declared. This is the most common course of the winter series, so we know it quite well. The tide was due to be high around an hour after our start so we shouldn't see too many tidal effects until late in the race.

Hoisting the main and #2 jib in Rose Bay, we heel over in the 18 knot breeze. Full main and #2 is a good balance. The #2 jib is one of the oldest on the boat, and it had to be re-cut quite high in the foot (in a Yankee sail style to get rid of some sun damage from a previous owner rolling it the wrong way with the sun protection furled INSIDE the sail). Our sail maker is rubbing his hands together in glee as we will be replacing this #2 next!

We jockey for position and get the time set within a second of the start boat's display. Off to a good start we chase after L'eau Co. and HubcapII that are off just three minutes in front of us. We get close on the first mark, just past Clark Island, but just can't reel them in on the reach back to Bradley Head. I time the leading boat, L'eau Co., as she rounds the mark and we are still 00:03:20 behind her so on the first two legs she has gained twenty seconds on us. By the first leg of our downwind run, poled out and wing-on-wing on a Starboard tack we quickly eat up the distance to EC2. So much so that we take all that time back from L'eau and beat her to the mark. Sights set on the next few boats in sight we beat back up to Shark Island. We trade tacks with Star Ferry and she is just slightly faster and able to point much higher on this tack (we are missing the weight of Dan, Ollie and Guillermo up on the rail!)

Passing the start boat, with the first lap completed in just under an hour, L'eau and Star Ferry are hot on our heels. We fight the entire leg to hold off L'eau, but just can't with her taking us just before the Garden Island turning mark (L'eau took the mark so close we thought she hit it). Hubcap passes around the mark before us, and the crew hiking on the side are making obscene gestures as the pass us. Pretty rich from a boat and crew we don't even know, but good sportsmanship obviously doesn't click with every crew on the harbor, I personally think a boat's crew tend to mirror the skipper's attitude. Dashed we pursue her for the rest of the race. A few of our tacks were sloppy and too slow, so we change over crew positions and try to squeak the most speed out of Nemmy as we can.

At the Nielsen Point mark we see HubcapII has rounded and is charging down the line on port tack. L'eau is closing and I'm baffled to see Hubcap not give way or tack? She is trying to hold as high to the wind as she can, but L'eau must have called Starboard on her! I watch as L'eau violently swerves and barely missing being ran down by Hubcap, who I don't even see change course! Expecting Hubcap to take her penalty turn, she glides by us with the crew grinning and snickering. Very poor form.

We continue to chase L'eau around the course and end up just seconds behind L'eau and Star Ferry. As we near the finish, I put on our little red protest flag as does L'eau. Pulling up after the finish line we have a quick chat with L'eau and let them know we will support their protest.

After clearing the fleet that was returning to Rushcutter's Bay, we did a few practice tacks to help everyone with the things Doug and I noticed during the race. We also poled out the headie a few times to let everyone get a hand at running the strings for the topping lift and downhaul. We'll do a few more practice items before next week's race as well.

Analyzing the race results, we ended up in sixth place, not even a minute behind L'eau and a minute and a half behind Star Ferry. In looking at elapsed time for the entire race, us and Hubcap completed it in 01:38 with us just six seconds slower than him. The top three boats in our division's cumulative results all finished within three minutes of each other, with the winner nine minutes faster than us. All in all the handicapping is pretty good, with wind patterns and local conditions making for the differences in finishes. Still hard to know our Nemesis, L'eau, was passed by us but we couldn't hold them behind us. ARRGH! Later in the bar I joked with L'eau's owner, Grant Pollock, that he must have emptied his water tanks as we just couldn't match his speed today. Till next week!

15 Audi Winter Series 2012

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jT - cool and wet, with light winds
05/20/2012, Sydney Harbor

Crew: (Chris, Dan, Sam - Dan's sister, Luke, Yvette, Ollie, Guillermo, Jeff ) - (last minute weather regrets from Doug and Kirsty when they found out it would be light and raining!)

Race 4 was fairly light winds, off at 35 minutes after the rest of the fleet, and on course "B" that would take us in the opposite direction to what we normally do... We had some new people on board, Dan's sister Sam was visiting from New Zealand, and Luke brought Yvette, his girlfriend.

Everyone settled in to a light air start, and with issues seeing the timer on the start boat we were about a minute off the start. The rain came and went and we started with water cascading down the main sail! Ahhh, Winter sailing in Sydney! Chris was on the main, with Guille, Luke and Dan trimming the big #1 jib. Soon we passed the buoy at Shark Island and started our downwind run. The vang hydraulic was acting up and the main looked like hell without being pulled down as we let out the main. Putting the boom brake on helped to some degree, but will be re-bleeding the hydraulics before the next race!

The first lap found us gaining on most of our division with most of them just in front at the last mark near Garden Island. It was more than frustrating to not be able to close the gap with them during the next few legs.

Around Shark Island again, the wind had shifted just enough to need the headie poled out, so Luke took the helm while I went forward with Dan and Ollie to get everything set. The pole went out with only a few dramas, but the quick release on the beak is too hair trigger and forced us to reset the jib sheet once...

Finally all was out and down the harbor we fly on Starboard. Funny how a few port tacking boats that are coming at us down the harbor try to press for rights that don't have! With a few hollers of "Starboard" we move down for the second turn at the Sow N' Pigs reef. Just before the turn Luke takes the wheel as I move forward to drop the pole. It goes down fairly smoothly, but pole work is definitely on the list of training we need to do with the newer crew members...

We round the mark and not liking the feeling of the boat as I look back... the main hasn't tacked! With the pole down and the foredeck free to tack, I return to the wheel and take her head to wind so we can safely release the boom brake. This kills our forward progress and after we get moving we are heading opposite of the next mark. I figure we burned about five minutes on this mistake, but with the vang out of commission we've had to be creative.

We finish the race without seeing any of our competitors, only beating two of them (our friend Circe being one of them). Back at the club we look at the results, and found ourselves in 5th. We were eight minutes behind the first place boat "L'eau Co." from elapsed time around the course, but with the handicap and offset staggered start we lagged by 11 minutes. If we took off the approximately five minutes we lost at the top mark we would might have moved up 1 or 2 places. Wet and light winds, without a vang were not our friend today! We had a few rums in the bar with spirits and core temperatures quickly rising.

15 Audi Winter Series 2012

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jT
05/13/2012

Great shot of our new 'Nemesis', L'eau Co. After race three we are tied with her for first place. Cheers to www.SailPix.com.au for a great shot, gunna have to buy that one! I have a feeling this will be a prelude of our battle for the rest of the season with L'eau!

15 Audi Winter Series 2012

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Doug
05/13/2012, Sydney Harbour

Race no. 3 had another solid attendance of eager and willing sailors.
The wind was a repeat of two week's back and gusting up to 30 knots.
There was no becalming to have us aimless bored for hours upon end.....after Kirsty warnings of "keeping on till the bitter end". Phew!

Mental note: need to over stock the boat with food and drink for calm weather forecasts. Aga you can be in charge.

The weather demanded the No 3 Jib as the best defence for the gusty conditions. Battens were place (unlike last time), and gave the sail support that it was missing.

The Sydney 38s started at their usual early call time, and the CYC committee boat was ranting on the VHF that all other boats should keep well away from the start line or else. Noted.

So we did the big leg out towards the ferry channel to avoid traffic and around the backside of Shark Island for out late start of 34 min after the General division gun.

Pre-race, the gusts had Nemesis on its side and a prudent 1st reef put into the main sail. This was a good call as we maintained control of the boat for most of the day on the water.....no latina's dragging bottom side in the harbour.

We had a reproduction of the Guille winch wrap (not Guile this time).
I might guess that Shano is not used to manual winches!? (His boat has push-button hydraulic winches - it must be nice!) He did a good job both tailing and winching relentlessly. Where was the Grinder??

The ugly wrap on the winch required another knife slashathon.
Jeff had wondered why we cut the rope in squarely in half last time rather than at the clew end (corner of the sail). He was instantaneously on the foredeck knife in hand to ensure only a foot was cut off the Jib sheet.

The upwind leg(s) of the race required additional attention to the Main sail to keep the boat stable. Both Guille and Chris were doing a double-act on the sheet and traveller. Good effort guys.

Nemesis got the hooter for the line honours for the division, and first place on handicap. Well done team!!!

Quick Note on the competition or lack thereof:

· Mothers day may have been a reason the lack of boats on the field, and I would prefer to think it was the strong wind and stiff competition that kept them away.

· S/V Star Ferry starts closest to our time and is the dark-horse than we should keep an eye on. Why we still have the worst handicap in the division I do not know. Star Ferry came in a close second 2min 57sec on adjusted course time behind us. Watch out.

· S/V Circe - No show. All recommendations from visiting boats will be ignored and considered clueless.

· S/V Anna - has the most favourable handicap and a 0 min offset time should have done well but had a DNF.

Special efforts noted:

Kirsty - keeping her cool with all of Jeff's yelling, and drinking salt water on the bow.
James - getting involved - long time no see.
Hai-yen - Running backstays were floorless
Dan - keep watch for collisions and relaying warnings.
Doug - making lunch wraps to 1 am but forgetting to get them on deck until the boat was dockside.

15 Audi Winter Series 2012

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Doug
05/06/2012, Sydney Harbour

10 of 11 the confirmed attended for a light day in the Sun.

Pre-Race: Saturday Captain John Smith (his mother really wasn't creative with picking names) of Sailing Vessel "Circe" decided to come by at the dock and have words about us rounding the wrong marker the previous week. He was convinced that he was robbed of his fair placing in Race 1....3rd to Nemesis by 10 min.

Guillermo studied the Race Course A for Division K (same course this week) and there is no way we went around the wrong buoy. Either way the LC and LC2 marker could not be greater than 2 min apart. So we might need to set him (and his wife?) straight.

The attendance was duly noted and positions set with the all-star line up of:

Aga - Cyc rep
Bruce - Special appearance
Chris - keeping the streets safe (DPP)
Dan - fashioning a new pair of sunglasses and a Cyc race bag
Guille - Keeping the dream alive for Lance Armstrong having completed a 10km cycle to get to the yacht club
Hai-Yen - The bruises on the legs are not domestic violence Chris. I promise.
Luke - supplying the best deals on Diesel jeans this week
Ollie - MROCP training required
Tris - Putting up with a sail change for a race that we didn't even finish
Myself

The weather was according to Luke "Ace" Watson, blowing white caps in the morning in Rose Bay. He came over prepared with jacket and fleece for a re-make of last week's challenges. King Neptune decided to change the wind from South to Westerly before the race start. The blow gradually dropped and became a little warmer than cool and not stronger than a puff.
The number 2 head-sail (jib) was hoisted and it became very obvious that it needed to be replaced by the number 1 (big berther). Thanks Tris.

Once everything was set, all positions were assumed and crew cohesion was at a high. The race was another time staggered start and we got our timing perfect. The committee boat end of the line was the favoured side and we got close and crossed within seconds. We picked the right side of Clark Island as the wind started to peeter out. Guillermo got caught on an override again but has promised to have the 2 wraps sorted and rope knife now stowed below deck.

The Clarke Island buoy became elusive as the wind direction began to swing 40-50 degrees, altering the lay-line on every tack. The down-wind leg was looking extremely slow and all surrounding boats (not under motor) were nearly motionless. Aga jumped at the suggestion by stand-in Cap that maybe we should crack out the drinks. Wine and beer hit the deck in record time.

After a review of the course, the 1 knot boat speed and the lack of any wind we decided to pull the pin. Motoring back to the Cyca we passed the far trailing S/V Circe, Mr Smith appeared to be happy to see our withdrawal and was determined to finish today race to ensure his victory over Nemesis.
They clocked out a record time of 03 hours 27min, finishing at 3pm (last in the fleet). It must have been tough on his crew for the gruelling hours of wondering if the Committee boat might still be waiting for their finish on the shortened course.

Thought of the week: Work Less, Sail More

15 Audi Winter Series 2012

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Doug
04/29/2012, Sydney Harbour

First of all, thanks for all those who came to Sunday's race. Everyone's contribution big and small helped us pull together an action filled water drenching (rail riders), that had ropes slashed & head bashed.

The weather was forecast to set some pressure on the new season of debutants and old salts. 18-20 knots of breeze and blowing from the South prompted last minute preparation of reef lines on the main sail (never used) and the number 3 jib on deck in a bag. Who would of thought of checking the number 3 for battens?

Luckily Nemesis had a full crew of 10 p.o.b. as gusts reached 30 knots according to the trusty instruments, (woops, did someone press a button - speed over the ground, but no wind or depth).

Guillermo (aka Guille) was able to place an extra 3 Spainards on the wet foredeck for ballast. One of them was very green on boats (in both senses). Sea sickness pills were not going to save this latina from her white knuckled deck scramble on each tack, and lower-side water plunges (just managing to stay aboard). Nada Mas.

Misinformation was ripe from our friends (?) from S/V Grasshoper during sunset drinks on the eve of the race, about the type of start line we would be running. Alex and Andrew of Grasshopper argued and then agreed that it was an usual line start. The notice of race didn't provide any clues of the staggered time start as it said: Sydney 38's at 11.20am, and Rest of the fleet at 11.30am. I guess none of us saw the title of the race.

Our stand-in Navigator (Tristan - brought out of retirement from S/V Sarabande) had the timer working off the start boat hooter. An obvious post-ponement occured, and in our confusion we decided to rely on another division K boat for our start line crossing (10min ahead of our true staggered start time). New crew member Ollie Comedy Brown (still looking for a new gig - anyone employing?) was down below to catch the VHF recall for our early start.

The first lap went without much complication, until we navigated in inner part of Watsons Bay for a marker that rested mid-harbour. The windward leg back up the harbour, Guille wrapped a jib line good and proper in a knot on the winch. The rope had little hope so we cut them into dog leads for Jeff and Kirsty.

Crew came together well for the rest of the race, while boats around us were wiping out. Broken masts, popped spinnakers, bent spinnaker poles, and rounding up boats gave us piece of mind that we weren't the only ones being put to the test.

The race finished with no clear indication of our placing but happiness to survived without any injuries....until. The sail drop in the shadow of Darling Point was super busy - we had enough room to drop the jib, then a quick jibe and re-set to drop the main. Dan received the boom mid back of the head despite the boom being in tight midships, the swing was enough cause vision blur and a trip to St Vincents Hospital for thorough check up.

The final result has us place 2nd, and Dan received the memorabilia/Prize bag as a token for putting his body on the line and losing his sunnies. Big thanks to Chris for his good work on the Main and Hai-yen (also newbie) on the runners.

Thought of the day: Keep your head low

15 Audi Winter Series 2012

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