Inside: Return of The Reef! A new beginning Honouring our life members A different view of sailing from Stephen Whiteside The eye in the sky - observations from the Control Tower Report on the 2008-09 Javelin National Championships
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It is a great thrill to be part of the revival of our club magazine, “The Reef”. Our Rear Commodore, Will Sharp, was the initiator and supplies most of the sheer hard work which delivers it to your mail-box. “Snail-mail” might seem oldfashioned but it does allow retreat to your favourite reading place at home to simply enjoy the news at your own pace. The intention is to publish twice a season but to achieve this Will needs your contributions. Our Sailing Year Despite it being one of our worst seasons for weather we regularly had good fleet spread between our three major classes, Javelins, Pacers and Sabres. On the positive side, the days that weren't blown out gave us a great variety of conditions from 0-5 knots right up to the pointy end with 20 knot averages. Your club, which now has the largest fleet of Javelins in Victoria with nine boats, hosted the 2008 Australian Javelin Championships over the Christmas New Year holidays. This was the first national titles hosted by our club in over 20 years and thanks to the efforts of our members it went off without a hitch, and we made a profit of about $4,000. A full report can be found on page 7 of this issue. Here we must acknowledge the great contribution made by Rod and Lesley McCubbin. They market TopYacht software which is used Australia-wide by sailing clubs to administer their racing. As part of their after-sales service they often travel to regattas to help out. Their prestige within the sailing fraternity allied with their skills and knowledge are an enormous asset to our Club. On the strength of our success with these titles, we will be holding the State titles for both the Javelins and the Pacers on the Labour Day long weekend in March 2010. The Pacer fleet has been depleted somewhat by defections to the Javelins, so we will be encouraging all our Pacer sailors to savour the sheer fun, thrills, delights and exhaustion of a series in their own waters. Our Training Fleets On Sunday mornings it is a pleasure to see our Junior trainee sailors happily bouncing their Minnows between helpful parents and Club members standing waist deep in the sometimes frigid waters within the reef. Coordinated by Thomas Ruether and ably assisted by Chris Neyland and Dianne Angus, there were occasional tears and bruises but heaps of excited chatter and high energy activity. To cater for the more advanced Juniors, Peter Sharp took them deep water sail-
The Reef
ing beyond the adult training fleet with some spinnaker work to heighten the thrills. The Adult Training program coordinated by Paul Hardie, with assistance from Bruce Fraser and myself is always great fun and last season nine trainees completed the course which was great to see. Making the transition from training to racing is rather a large step but to help it happen more frequently, Paul will be inviting the trainees from last season back to the Club in the early part of the season to give them further training to ease the transition. Our training programs are vital to the health of the Club and are a great way to get involved in sailing! Thanks to our Committee On behalf of all members I wish to thank the committee for their tireless efforts. They have replaced the roof, upgraded the clubhouse exterior, hosted a successful championship, coped with the loan repayments and managed to produce a surplus. I thank Peter Sharp for having the benefit of his life in sailing and his love for the club. I thank Will Sharp for his hard work, enthusiasm, freshness and ideas. I thank Phillip Connard for his organizational skills clearly displayed in his first year as Secretary. I thank Chris Neyland for managing our finances and providing a small surplus. I thank Susan Sharp for our canteen, social activities and her job as membership officer. I thank Paul Hardie for Adult Training, liaising with Yachting Victoria, and his wide-ranging skills and ability to get the job done. I thank Bruce Fraser for his persistence with obtaining the lease, the roof and his unstoppable nature. I thank Thomas Ruether for his fine efforts and his enthusiasm in his first year of running the Junior Training Program. I thank Don Wilson for his maintenance skills, his ideas for social activities and simply his happy character. Unfortunately Don cannot continue on the committee due to work commitments. However we look forward to witnessing his and Rob’ s efforts in taming their newly acquired 470 sailing dinghy. Both Michael Looker and Howard Jacobs were restricted in their committee activities by their commitments to their careers but their abilities and knowledge make them very valuable committee members. I thank Cameron Chick who has resigned from the committee but will continue in his role of coordinating hall hire. Finally, we welcome Stephen Whiteside to the committee. He is a passionate sailor since childhood and a writer of poems that rollick along! Ian McHugh Commodore.
Stick these in the diary!
October 4 BYC Opening Regatta
October 10 BYC display at Beaumaris Concourse
November 1 Melbourne Cup W/end - No Club Sailing
November 8 Yachting Victoria “Go Sailing Day” Start Junior and Senior Training Programs
December 13 Xmas break up BBQ All welcome!!
January 17 Sailing resumes at BYC
January 24 Australia Day W/end No Club Sailing
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Spring - Summer 2009
Welcome all to season 2009-10 at Beaumaris Yacht Club! The year ahead promises to be an exciting and busy one for BYC. Many of us are here to sail however organising and running the sailing events requires a huge amount of organisation, effort and people willing to volunteer their time to make the sailing events at BYC so successful. This season we are without long time Rescue Boat skipper Alex St John who is leaving the rescue boat team after many years of dedicated service. On behalf of the Club I would like to say thank you to Alex for the time and effort he has invested in the Rescue Boat team and we wish him all the best for the future. Be sure that despite us currently being short a rescue boat skipper there will be no compromise in on-water safety! Sailing will continue as normal. Javelins continue to be the dominant class at BYC with Pacers a close second. With Sabre numbers on the rise we hope to have sufficient boats to run a Sabre series in season 2009-10. Interestingly there appears to be a new class emerging on the Beaumaris beach – Rob Parton and Don Wilson (previously sailing Pacer 2636 “Titan”) will be sailing an as-yet-unnamed 470 this year. There are also rumours of a new look Javelin on the beach this season... see Bar Talk on page 7 for more.
November 8 sees the start of both the junior and senior training programs. The training programs at BYC are fantastic for all involved and it’ s great to see members getting out there and lending a hand to our coaches and instructors – investment in training will help ensure the continuation of our great sport! Hopefully this year we will be more fortunate on the weather front – last season we had seven sailing days blown out which is not much fun by any account. Even on the days with terrible forecasts it is still great to see the number of people who make the trip down to the Club anyway in the hope that the weatherman will be wrong – diehards! BYC will be hosting the State Championships for not just the Pacers in 2010 but the Javelins as well! This promises to be a HUGE weekend of sailing and will be a great opportunity to showcase the race management skills of BYC! Championships are crucial to the promotion of our Club and many volunteers are required to help in the running of the Club over Labour Day Weekend in 2010. Please note that the revised ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012 are now effective. For those wishing to read the new rules the Club has a copy in the tower or a full online copy is available on the Yachting Victoria website www.vic.yachting.org.au. Well done to all those who participated in Club sailing in season 200809, I look forward to seeing everyone (and some new faces) on the water in 2009-10!
Will Sharp Follow the leader at the ‘ 08 Javelin Nationals Image courtesy of Shane Baker Photographs
Rear Commodore.
DID YOU KNOW that if you are sitting in a comfortable position going upwind in a light breeze you are probably too far back in the boat? Quite simply the lighter the breeze, the slower the boat goes and the less crew weight the aft sections can support. Fore and aft crew position in light winds is critical to achieve a situation where water flows cleanly off the trailing edge of the transom rather than up and around it. If you cannot see the water exiting cleanly (such as in a false floor boat with an open transom) then a good indicator is the amount of wake turbulence (less is good). Moving forward also reduces the wetted area of the hull as a result, the overall drag. Where possible the crew should move significantly further forward than the skipper to help stabilise the boat over small waves which might otherwise disrupt airflow over the sails. However, it should be noted that being too far forward on a boat with full bow sections can also have a detrimental effect on boat speed – it’ s a big balancing act and one that takes some trial and error to get right! The opposite of this is true for heavier winds – here the best strategy is for the sailors to stay close together at the balance point of the boat - ie. at a point at which neither bow nor transom is in too much contact with the water and where the boat is just on the plane (if appropriate). By keeping the sailors close near the balance point there will be less resistance when the boat pitches over the waves – less resistance equals greater efficiency and more speed! Correct crew positioning is often forgotten in the process of fine tuning sails however remembering to alter the weight distribution in accordance with weather conditions can make a vast impact on overall boat speed and can be the difference between first and second... WS.
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The Reef
Our “Lifers”
The Reef will be a familiar publication to those members who have been with BYC for some time. It was a regular arrival in letterboxes of Club members for many years however has been somewhat dormant in the past few seasons due to a lack of editor. Well now its back with a fresh new look! We aim to bring you a bi annual magazine which will inform, entertain, educate and ... well let’ s just say it’ s going to be good! Inside each issue you will find the Commodore’ s report, sailing updates, results, photos from the water and around the club, sailing hints and tips and much more. The contents will vary from issue to issue and submissions from members or those connected with the club are always welcome. I will do my best to publish as many submissions as possible! This issue of The Reef will highlight the big issues from both the past and coming season including a rundown on the 2008-09 Javelin Nationals for those who may have missed it, a different look at sailing from Stephen Whiteside, training updates for 2009-10 and much more. We hope you enjoy the return of The Reef and with everyone’ s help we can ensure that it is here for many years to come. Will Sharp Editor
Probably the greatest thrill of being Commodore is to witness the many unselfish acts by members which benefit the Club. As volunteers, there’ s no money, no prestige and often no recognition for the effort, but these people see a need and commit the necessary time and effort to making it happen. Not all are recognised, but as Commodore I sincerely thank you all for those unselfish acts which make this such a happy, successful family Club.
Bruce Fraser (Life Member in 2009), joined the Club in 1989 sailing a Pacer with his son Todd. He has for years been involved in Junior & Adult Training and joined the committee in the late 1990’ s after serving as the President of the Pacer Association. Bruce can often be seen around the Club and on the beach doing all those jobs that must be done, but which often fall between the cracks. One of his most valuable contributions is the new lease with Bayside City Council which enabled the Club to secure the bank loan we used to pay for our new roof and other building repairs. Over the years Bruce developed the contacts with Bayside City Council and recognised the community aspirations of the Bendigo Bank which led to these deals.
The outstanding volunteers are recognized through being awarded Life Membership of Beaumaris Yacht Club. If you look at the Life Members honour board in the Ron Richardson Room you can see that is not lightly awarded. In the past two years two members have been awarded this honour. Bruce Fraser accepting his Life Membership at the 2009 AGM Paul Hardie (Life Member in 2008) joined the Club in 1992 and was almost immediately co-opted onto the committee to coordinate Hall Hire. Continuously on the committee since then, he has been Treasurer, Membership Officer and attended all the various Yachting Victoria courses to become our official Club Coach. Often found on Sunday afternoons sailing a Pacer called Limelight with his wife Judy. Paul is a very capable and hard-working member.
I’ ve always admired the Royal Navy’ s naming of their ships. HMS Indefatigable was a WW2 aircraft carrier. Indefatigable, “never getting tired or giving up”, is an apt description of Bruce’ s efforts. The Club must also thank Lorraine Fraser, Judy Hardie, Avril McHugh and all the other wives and husbands who provide support to their other halves. Without this support our Club could not function as well as it does. Ian McHugh
The new financial challenge The club enters the new season soundly positioned. We anticipate a balanced budget on the expectation that we can maintain and hopefully grow membership. The work that was done over the last year in this area was fundamental to maintaining our inancial position. The challenge will be to continue to meet our new loan repayments. This aim is achievable thanks to negotiations which have delivered a positive outcome with our lease. We have secured a significant rent reduction that will help to offset the loan.
The Javelin Nationals, hall hire and of course the canteen has supported our ambitious infrastructure projects. These activities have involved much hard work by members. The Pacer State Titles will be a significant event the coming year. We have budgeted for continuing upgrades and capital works including the male toilet renovations and the Minnow Shed upgrade. Chris Neyland Treasurer
Spring - Summer 2009
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A Few Reflections
STATE TITLES 2010 BYC will host both the Pacer and the Javelin State Championships over the Labour Day Weekend in 2010 (March 6-8). This will be a huge three days for the club with over 45 boats expected to attend. Rod McCubbin will again be Race Officer for the weekend and we look forward to the vast amount of experience and professionalism he brings to events such as these. Anyone interested in assisting with the running of the club over this great weekend should contact a member of the BYC committee. WS.
LOST HISTORY FOUND! At the 2008 Christmas function, Joan Adshead, a founding member and Life Member of the Club mentioned that she had some photos of the Club’ s early years. When the Club expressed interest, she went straight home to return with her shoebox of history. The prints were rather small and generally taken with a Brownie Box camera, but Mike Kenyon had a friend who worked a little scanning & enhancement magic while Paul Hardie found some frames at work so seven of the best photographs were mounted in the Richardson Room during the AGM. I. McH.
THE REEF Sev'ral sailing seasons past, Amongst my pleasures chief Was sitting here With chips and beer, Poring through " The Reef" . But then things took a nasty turn, And brought me untold grief. I paced the floor. There came no more My copy of " The Reef" . Imagine, then, my pleasure now, My unreserved relief! My joy's complete! Oh, what a treat! They're bringing back " The Reef" ! Stephen Whiteside.
It’ s easy to forget that there is more to sailing than racing. On one of the mornings of the Javelin Titles held at BYC over New Year, we found ourselves, together with several other boats, blown onto the very shallow water lying over the reef to the south of the club. We all had to get out of our boats, turn them around, and tow them back into deeper water.
mers sailors were not great racers. They didn’ t have feature prominently at State and National Titles, but they had a lot of fun messing about in boats. Everybody seemed to have a boat in those days, and apart from sailing in my family’ s Sabot, Minnow, Mirror, Cherub and OK Dinghy (all owned at various stages!), I also enjoyed charging around in Herons, Cadets, Sparrows, Moths, Gwen 12s, Lazy Es, assorted small catamarans, and even the odd Mirror 16, VJ Dinghy, Rainbow and Sailfish! Then there was the occasional joy ride on a larger cat, a Lightweight Sharpie, or a Flying Dutchman!
In one of those moments that can come and go so quickly, I suddenly realised I was the only person who could stop one of the boats being damaged on the rocks. Fortunately, I took the appropriate action, and damage was averted. What The geography was particularly of Westernport interesting to Bay was ideally me was that it suited to cruiswas one of the ing, and the top boats. Prior club would sail to this, I had annually for never imagined racing to that these guys Cowes, Weswould ever ternport, need me for Leaving the beach in very light winds during Merricks and the Javelin Nationals anything. It was Point Leo Yacht a privilege to Clubs. Cruises be able to offer assistance, and a to Sandy Point, and around French timely reminder that we are all fallible Island, were also on the calendar! and, at the end of the day, dependent I sometimes feel wistful for these upon each other to some degree. carefree days, but it is much more As a kid, I learnt to sail at Somers difficult for a club like Beaumaris to Yacht Club. Somers and Beaumaris are organise its sailing in this way. I’ m very different types of clubs. They told that similar cruises in the past both have their strengths and weak- have had to be cancelled due to lack nesses. Somers is what I would call a of interest. I have chosen to sail at “holiday” club. Fleets tend to be larg- Beaumaris because, apart from the est during the summer holiday period, fact that it is a wonderful family club, when a club like Beaumaris, being I appreciate the convenience of its much closer to the city, will more proximity to the city. likely be closed down. On the other It is not surprising that racing domihand, Somers is too far from the city nates the sailing, and I do certainly to attract large numbers of race enenjoy racing... but every now and trants at other times of the year. (I then it is good to be reminded that should qualify this comment by saying there is more to sailing than racing! that I am talking about the times when I was there. Things might have changed.) Stephen Whiteside With a few notable exceptions, So-
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The Reef
2009-2010 Training update With the season rushing up towards us we all have plenty to think about and do in preparedness for this racing season. Take care, the eye in the sky is hibernating at present but will soon be on watch again. From our elevated position in the tower we see many interesting things, not always directly connected with sailing. Like the 'lady' who raised a certain finger to us one balmy dog-walking afternoon when politely requested to use the poo bag she was carrying. To his credit, her escort obliged, without rude gestures. On a similar theme, all kinds of nautical property is irresistible to some dogs. Last season the DO (not the same one) had to be requested - via the PA for the owners' benefit - to wash a suit of sails, and on another occasion, the transom of a Minnow. There were probably other instances we missed. Then there was the Sunday morning when a bunch of skin divers gathered for a chat BETWEEN the buoys when the trainee boats were about to head for home. A little nerve racking. Usually they snorkel between the buoys and the end of the reef and seawards from there but they don't always use flags and it can be very hard to see them. Bear in mind if you decide on some a.m. practice. The tower is manned - or personed! on Sundays from around 10a.m. to derigging time. We record boats leaving the beach, check this list against the sign-on sheet - PLEASE all sign ON and OFF, every Sunday this season, specifying crew and any strange borrowed sails - and during races are constantly counting sails on the water and heads beside boats if anyone capsizes. We are in radio contact with the rescue boats and between us make sure everyone enjoys the day and comes home safely. We look forward to the start of the new season. Pam and Mike.
This seasons Training will be scheduled a little differently than previous years. The first 4 weeks of sailing (October) will be dedicated to last years post Christmas trainees who missed a number of sessions and to further introduce them to spinnakers and to encourage Sunday afternoon racing.
committee and you can appreciate the value of the effort put in by a small and regular group of volunteers that assist Thomas and myself with the training programs. Without the assistance of these loyal and dedicated volunteers we would not be able to run these extremely beneficial programs for the well being of the Club.
So don’ t underestimate the value of your sailing knowledge and There will be a experience. Theory Session You’ d be surTraining is an invaluable part of the Club and is scheduled for prised how reextremely rewarding for all involved these trainees, warding it is the and indeed for anyone who has missed see a trainee suddenly appreciate and previous 2nd theory sessions. This will be understand what you’ ve just shown scheduled for the end of September. them. So why not get involved and volunteer some time into the training proIf anyone is interested in attending please grams. contact Paul Hardie. For any information regarding the training The 2009 Adult course will commence the programs at BYC please contact either: first week in November. As in previous years it is imperative that club members Paul Hardie assist with both Adult and Junior Training. phardie@ozemail.com.au These programs are essential for the continued success of the Club. Simply have a Thomas Ruther look at the ex trainees on the current nathom@optusnet.com.au
The European Experience Can you have it all in one season? Yes you can. We’ ve seen some wild weather causing a little disappointment in the Club training programs although, on a positive note, I had a few more Sundays to sleep in! But my son Leo and I got to feel the real extremes when travelling to Europe over the New Year. Coming back to Australia meant getting out of a white dream of 10
inches of snow chilled to -15 °C at my parents’ place in Germany and returning to 30 + ºC of dryness in Melbourne. Well, a brief transit in Singapore softened the shock a bit! Thomas Ruether
Spring - Summer 2009
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Javelin Nationals wrap up BYC hosted the 38th Australian Javelin Championships from December 28 2008 to January 4 2009. We had 21 boats enter the series from a range of clubs across Victoria and Western Australia including Chelsea Yacht Club, Elwood Sailing Club, Lysterfield Sailing Club, Perth Dinghy Sailing Club, Esperance Bay Yacht Club and of course Beaumaris Yacht Club. It was the first National Championships that BYC has hosted in over 20 years and the whole event proceeded smoothly with no major dramas along the way. We were blessed with a great range of weather over the seven days of racing with a few days of moder-
Brett Williams on Unzipped (390) chasing Gary Kerman on Windrush (677) in Race 3
ate conditions, a couple of heavy days and a really light, shifty last race which tested everyone’ s patience! Only one scheduled racing day was a blow out and the racing committee was able to make up the races the next day with no trouble at all. The series was an excelMeasurement Day on Dec 28 lent showcase of what BYC is capable of and was a great promoevery day, staffing the tower, duty offition for the Club. We had many comcer, four BYC sailors who slept at the ments from both Victorian and Western Club every night to mind the boats on Australian sailors saying tha it was a great the beach and the numerous people series and that everyone had a really good who helped out in many and varied time. BYC ended up making just over ways. All in all there were over fifty peo$4000 in profit from the series which was ple involved in running the series and it absolutely fantastic (this effectively was absolutely fantastic to see everyone equates to nine months of loan repaypitching in and helping to make the 38th ments!!) Australian Javelin National ChampionIt was great to see the support from the ships a smoothly run, professional, members with the organisational side of friendly, successful and above all else, things and really good to see some ex fun series. members returning to the Club to assist Thank you to everyone who helped run with on and off water race control. Jobs this event in any way, shape or form, it that needed doing every day included was a great week and it really showed staffing the canteen before and after racwhat we can do! ing, staffing the bar in the afternoon and evening, manning three rescue boats Will Sharp.
Image courtesy of Shane Baker Photographs
There’ s something strange going on with Javelin 386... Rumours abound of the foredeck coming off the lime green monster. Inside knowledge says its true - the results will be on display when the season returns on Oct 4. Will the awesome green paint stay? We can only hope!
Word is that the Rob Parton and Don Wilson will be branching out to a class as yet unseen on the Beaumaris beaches - they will be sailing a 470 in season 2009-10. Judging by the steep learning curve endured by most sailors who shift to a new class we can only hope that we are treated to a fine display of capsizes and crashes in the endless quest for speed and perfection! Check out the male toilets (for those who are allowed in there) next time you’ re down - Something’ s going on in there...
WANTED!! Volunteers for the BYC Rescue Boat team Do you know someone who is at a loose end on Sundays? Do they like powerboats? Are they interested in sailing? If so they might be the right person to join the BYC rescue boat team. BYC is always looking for adults to join our rescue boat team on a voluntary basis during club sailing on Sunday afternoons from October to April. Rescue boat work is an enjoyable, exciting and vital part of organised sailing on the bay and involves diverse and challenging situations in all types of weather conditions. No experience is necessary, our team members will teach you all you need to know about rescue boat operations, from simple activities such as the launching and retrieval of the boats to more challenging tasks such as laying courses, assisting boats in distress, towing other vessels and recovering sailors from the water. BYC will happily cover the costs for volunteers to attend Yachting Victoria’ s Powerboat Handling Course, Safety Boat Handling Course and Race Officer Course where appropriate. For additional information or if you have any questions please don’ t hesitate to contact Will Sharp at will@beaumarisyc.com or on 9878 1997.
CLUBROOMS FOR HIRE Looking for a location to hold your next corporate event, celebrate your next special birthday or anniversary, or somewhere a bit different to hold the next family reunion? Why not hire the Beaumaris Yacht Club rooms? BYC offers two large rooms looking west over the bay, a fully carpeted room and the other with a polished hardwood floor.
WANTED USED PACER SAILS The training fleet is looking for used Pacer sails.
Mainsails in particular. View from rooms at sunset
Contact Paul Hardie: phardie@ozemail.com.au
CONTACT: Cameron Chick on 0407 501 536 or at cameron@beaumarisyc.com
Vice Commodore Peter Sharp Rear Commodore Will Sharp Secretary Phillip Connard Treasurer Chris Neyland Membership Susan Sharp Training Paul Hardie, Thomas Ruether, Bruce Fraser
Committee Michael Looker, Howard Jacobs, Stephen Whiteside
Webmaster George Solonari
Contact:
Need to be in reasonable condition.
Northern Room
Commodore Ian McHugh
Email: phil@beaumarisyc.com P.O. Box 16, Black Rock Vic 3193 Phone 9589 6222
www.beaumarisyc.com The Reef Editor Will Sharp Advertising enquiries contact: Will Sharp Email: will@beaumarisyc.com Ph: 9878 1997