Downwind January 2013

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JANUARY 2013

DOWNWIND Racing Association Newsletter CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Diary Dates

Firstly a big and hearty “welcome back” to all of our Sydney-Hobart competitors. It has been gratifying to see all boats back home in SA waters (albeit with a few minor issues to fix). For those who haven’t managed to catch up on the bar-talk, we’ve included a comprehensive S2H report in this newsletter.

February Sat 2:

Offshore R4

Sat 2:

Coaster R7

Wed 6:

Twilight Series 2 - R3

Sat 9:

Inshore R9 & R10

Sun 10

RSAYS Ladies R5

Wed 13:

Twilight Series 2 - R4 (CYCSA)

Thurs 14: Lincoln Briefing (CYCSA) Fri 15:

Offshore R5 (Lincoln)

Mon 18:

Lincoln Week Regatta & Sydney 38 States

Tues 19:

Lincoln Week Regatta & Sydney 38 States

Wed 20:

Lincoln Week Regatta & Sydney 38 States

Thurs 21: Lincoln Week Regatta & Sydney 38 States

The Sailing/Racing fraternity in SA is a close-knit group and over the past weeks I’ve managed to sneak away to some non-keelboat shindigs. The Sharpie Nationals at Brighton enjoyed a huge turnout (there’s nothing like a good chug-a-lug to remind one of what dinghy regattas are all about ), and it was pleasing to see many big-boat sailors out on the water or among the spectators. Thanks to Mike O’Reilly, I also had my first experience of the “Dash for Cash” a fast and furious Friday Night prelude to The Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club’s Milang/Goolwa race. Some “South Coast” sailors are semi-regulars at the CYCSA (Davin from Two True, Harry from Asylum) and it was wonderful to see them on their home turf. Among the CYCSA ring-ins that weekend was Geoff Boettcher, moonlighting on a Restricted 21 (he claims he was only ballast but I’m sure he had some input into their Milang-Goolwa division win).

Twilight racing these past few weeks has been glorious. We’re finally seeing some of those warm nights and fair breezes! We’ve received some feedback regarding our stand alone Sternchaser twilight and would love to hear more. Many seemed to enjoy the sequential starts and some people have suggested that a Sternchaser be included in our regular twilight series. Please let us know your thoughts so that we can take the information into account as we formulate our coming program.

March Sat 2:

Inshore R11

Sun 3:

RSAYS Ladies R6

Sun 3:

CYCSA Crabbing Day

Wed 6

Twilight Series 2 - R5

Sat 9:

J24 State Championships

Sun 10:

J24 State Championships

Mon 11:

Adelaide Cup Public Holiday

Wed 13:

Twilight Series 2 - R6

Fri 15:

Island Cup Offshore R6

Sat 16:

Coaster R8

Wed 20:

Ladies Helm Twilight Race

Sat 23:

Inshore R12 & R13

Sun 24:

Vicsail Beneteau Regatta (CYCSA)

Wed 28:

Twilight Series 2 - R7 & Series Presentation

Fri 29:

Good Friday

In the countdown to Lincoln I look forward to seeing you at our briefing night and of course out on the water for the big race. The CYCSA is local host club for the Port Lincoln Yacht Club this year so Jess will be able to steer you in the right direction if you have any inquiries.

Good luck to all club members who will be flying the CYCSA flag during Lincoln week, hopefully we can secure the Team Trophy again this year!

TRACI AYRIS RACING CHAIR

DOWNWIND • CRUISING YACHT CLUB OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA RACING EXECUTIVE WWW.CYCSA.COM.AU

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FROM THE RACE OFFICE

Happy New Year to our Racing Members, and welcome to our 2013 Sailing Season!

We’ve managed to kick the year off in good fashion, and haven’t missed a race yet - unlike last year when we had to postpone the first race of the year. Speaking of the first race of the year, do you think the program starts back too early? We will be sending around a survey closer to the end of the season where you can have your say on these issues. Feedback is important to the Racing Executive so please remember to give it to us!

We have an exciting second half of the season coming up, with loads of special events such as the Pre-Lincoln Combined Twilight Race, the Adelaide to Lincoln Race and of course, Lincoln Week. This year is our turn to host the Adelaide based Lincoln festivities, so get along and support your Club for the pre-Lincoln Twilight race on Wednesday 13th Feb - we will be putting on some great entertainment and food for the evening.

Speaking of Lincoln, we will once again be organising spot safety checks on the morning of the Race, so be prepared that this year it could be you! Of course, everyone has their boats up to scratch so this shouldn’t be an issues for anyone!

In addition to the excitement of Lincoln, we are also hosting the 2013 J24 State Championships over the Adelaide Cup long weekend, the annual Vicsail Beneteau Regatta in late March, and the Great Southern Regatta in early April - this season is going to keep everyone busy and will fly by!

This year the Racing Association is running a fantastic raffle to help raise money for a new GPS Clock in the Patio Area. We are also raising funds to update our antiquated equipment on the Start Boat to make life that little bit easier for our hard working Duty Crew.

The raffle has some amazing prizes, with first place winner going home with a $2,500 Travel Voucher from Phil Hoffmann Travel. Our wonderful sponsors have once again come through for us with the rest of the prizes: a magnum of Yalumba Menzies Coonawarra Cabernet (2008), a $200 Stag Hotel voucher plus a Magnum of signed Schild Estate Shiraz (2010), a pair of 9ct Yellow and White gold earrings from EverettBrookes Custom Jewellers, $250 worth of Canegrass Saltbush Lamb BBQ packs, and a night’s accommodation at the Majestic Rooftop Garden Hotel. Plus, if you purchase a book, you go into the running for our special book buyers prize! You can purchase tickets from the Race Office, Reception or any REX member. Don’t miss out!

In closing, a bit of housekeeping - please do not leave your sails out on the lawns. Someone has left one out recently and it has killed a large patch of lawn, so please be aware of this when drying your sail.

JESS HARGREAVES RACING MANAGER

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MARINE ACADEMY NEWS

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RACING ASSOCIATION SPONSOR

RACING RULES OF SAILING 2013-2016 UK Sailmaker’s online Rules Quiz has been called “the easiest way to learn the Racing Rules of Sailing.”

Every four years, when the International Sailing Federation updates the Racing Rules of Sailing, UK’s Rules experts go back to the drawing board and create a fresh collection of animated quizzes to test sailors’ knowledge of key Rules, providing interpretations of the Rules, and giving detailed answers to the question of “who was right and why.” This year, along with updating the content of the quizzes themselves, UK has revamped the technology driving the Rules Quiz, creating more informative and interesting interactive quizzes.

The new Rules Quiz program has been retooled from stem to stern, reflecting the latest techniques in online learning tools. To help better understand the situations as they unfold and the ultimate answers, UK has added graphic teaching aids including overlap lines, a circle showing the zone, a rotatable grid in one-boat length increments, the ability to see the past positions of the boats as they advance through the situation, and the ability to see the track lines of the boats. A user-friendly slide bar allows users to easily advance or reverse the animation to a precise position. The new animations are bigger, more colorful, and the boats moving across the screen are more realistic and lifelike.

With this program being hosted in the Cloud, you’ll be able to access it from multiple platforms, like your office computer, home computer, iPad, phone or even the computer on your boat – as long as you have Internet access. Another major difference from past versions is that these new Rules Quizzes are not being developed using Flash technology whereby they can be run on virtually any device.

As an added benefit, all the answers are written in the same format in which protest committees write up their decisions. The facts found come first followed by the Rules that apply; and wherever a Rule or a defined word is used in the text, it is linked to the actual written Rule or definition. Everything you need to learn the new Rules is right there on one screen.

Click here for more information and to try the quizzes!

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STARTS PHIL HOFFMANN TRAVEL TWILIGHT RESULTS

The following article on ‘Starts’ was found here and may be of interest to some of our Racing Members: Most weeks in our Laser frostbite fleet, the winners (or near winners) offer up Words of Wisdom on the fleet Facebook page.

Looking back over the WOW in the last few weeks it is surprising (or maybe it really shouldn't be surprising) how many of the winners attributed their success, at least partly, to their starting tactics and technique. So without further ado, for your education I offer these words of wisdom from Fleet 413 hotshots on STARTS...

Stuart Streuli a.

Research: A couple of years ago, in a silent auction, my friend won a clinic with Scott Ferguson. For those of your who don’t know Ferg, he’s one of the great sailors to have sailed with 413. He’s a little busy now designing Oracle’s masts, so he hasn’t sailed with us a few years. But he was always up there when he did. He had a very specific routine he went through before each start. He would always check the breeze, the line bias, and get line sights for both ends. It seems simple, but when Moose is firing off races in quick succession there isn’t a lot of time between races, so it takes some discipline to get it all done. The line sights, or transits [shore based reference points you can line up with either the pin or boat end and which will tell you when you’re on the line] are key, even on a small line. I don’t use them every start, but they’re the only accurate way to know how close to the line you are. The more you use them, the better a feel you get for the line, and the less you actually have to use them. Often times, the best use of a transit is to determine how far off the line you are at 20 seconds.

b.

Set up early: In light air and flat water, it’s possible to hold your position on the line for a while and if you want to start at or near the favored end, you must get there early. I was setting up on starboard near the line right around a minute to go. Make sure to ease off your vang—if it’s tight—once you start luffing. A tight leech makes the boat really hard to control .

c.

Protect your hole, keep the bow out. Aggressively protecting your space to leeward is really important. Put the bow down (ideally without the sail filling, so keep the main sheet loose) when anyone comes on port (or sailing behind the front line on starboard) hoping to poach your space. The doesn’t always work, so then it’s a matter of trying to keep your bow even, or slightly ahead of the people who are around you. The one exception to this rule is if someone comes in with a head to steam and steals my space to leeward. Because we were so close to the line from 30 seconds onward, anyone with some speed would eventually slide forward and then when we got inside of 15 to 20 seconds they would have to peel away early to ensure they were not over, re-opening that space to leeward. In that case, I remained patient and let them slide through and away.

d.

Pull the trigger: This simply takes practice. Make sure all your sail controls are set. Outhaul and Cunningham I set before the start. Vang, I pull on just before I start to sheet in. Then it’s a matter of knowing how much time and space you need to get up to speed and using what you have to get going as fast as possible and as close as possible to the line at the gun. I generally have found that the big swoop down to a reach to accelerate and back up to close-hauled isn’t fast simply because there’s so much rudder involved. Subtle movements are better, especially in flatter water when the boat accelerates so easily.

John Kirkpatrick: I attribute my good starts to a variety of things. Most of all, I use a consistent pattern for every start. I check the wind and favored end of the line, then I set up early, slightly to windward of where I wanted to start. Additionally, I didn't hold back and pressed the line on every start.

Ed Adams : It is very dangerous to try and win the pin in strong breeze, as you drift sideways so much in the last 30 seconds.

It's even more dangerous in a unstable breeze, where a left shift before the start makes it hard for anyone to fetch. In those situations, it is much safer to set up high and early closer the midline, so you don't risk not fetching. The weather end is a relatively easy start when it's windy, and is preferred unless you really want to get left.

Stuart's discussion pretty much says almost everything there is to say about starting technique. I should try and remember all that and do it all more consistently.

John says it in fewer words, but I like his comment about "pressing the line" on every start. I should do better at that.

And Ed's expert insights on a couple of situations when it may not be optimal to go for the pin even if favored are worth remembering.

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1st 2nd 3rd

PHILHOFFMANN HOFFMANN TRAVEL TRAVEL TWILIGHT 2 PHIL TWILIGHTSERIES RESULTS

RACE 1 9 JANUARY 2013

STANDALONE CYCSA 16 JANUARY 2012

CRUISING A

CRUISING A

Another Planet - Alan Hambly Aquila - Mark Johns Marnico - Graeme Footer

1st 2nd 3rd

CRUISING B 1st 2nd 3rd

1st 2nd 3rd

CRUISING B

Synergy - Mal Hutton War & Peace - Stefan Marcel Kudos - Vlad Humenuik

1st 2nd 3rd

Julia - Richard Harries Young Einstein - Andrew Lloyd Adria - Claude Marchesi

RACE 2 23 JANUARY 2012

PRESCOTT SECURITIES STERNCHASER 30 JANUARY 2012

CRUISING A

CRUISING A 1st 2nd 3rd

White Knight - David Knights G-Wizz - Greg Patten Rapid 1 - Keith Finch

Dr Feelgood - Dan McHolm White Knight - David Knights Two True - Alex Saies CRUISING B

CRUISING B 1st 2nd 3rd

G-Wizz - Greg Patten Shining Sea - Andrew Corletto Rapid 1 - Keith Finch

1st 2nd 3rd

JJF - Doug Watson Flying Circus - Steve Power Ghost of Xmas Past - David Ketteridge

JJF - Doug Watson Good Company - Robin Townsend Ghost of Xmas Past - David Ketteridge

Perfect sunny conditions greeted the excellent felt of 27 starters. The forecast of 10 knots WSW did not eventuate, with the first yachts starting at 1800 in 3 knots from SSW. The course was start – orange mark 2 miles 190 degrees - finish.

The last 2 hours of a strong incoming tide did not help on the first leg. Most yachts hugged the coast which paid off handsomely.

JJF, Ghost of Christmas Past and Flying Circus were among the first group to round the windward mark.

The second leg was a true dead run with the fleet split on either port or starboard gybe with spinnaker poles to hold out their headsails. A slight increase in the breeze to around 6 knots from the south assisted the fleet to just finish in time.

First over the line was JJF (Doug Watson), just 21 seconds in front of Dr Feelgood (Dan McHolm), with Good Company not far behind in 3rd place.

Another perfect evening on the water!

~ William Strangways

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IRC NEWS with WILLIAM STRANGWAYS

Of the 4 starters from SA in this year’s Sydney /Hobart, special mention goes to ENCHANTRESS (3rd in Div 4), who was the highest placed SA yacht in their division.

Our other 3 yachts (Secret Mens Business 3.5, Two True and Asylum) all had tales to tell of ‘if only’, however they all completed the course, which is an achievement in itself!

On the 5th January we ran the ‘feature race’ of the State IRC Champs (Division 2), in conjunction with the Coaster Series.

The plan was to make this a long race down the coast to try and promote Keelboat Yachting.

We had a 1200 start to accommodate the extended time limit of 5 hours – the forecast was good with 15-20 knots SE to SW during the afternoon. Although we had a range of course lengths to choose from it was decided to go with the shorter course (a turning mark off Henley Jetty) due to the 9 knots around the start time to ensure all yachts finished. As it turned out the predicted winds came in and the fleet enjoyed some exciting racing. On the run home the winds gusted up to 28 knots with most yachts surfing down the waves.

Vertigo continued their improvement, gaining line honours in approx 2 hours and 12 minutes. The last yacht home was Peer Gynt in 2 hours and 44 minutes. It was great to see the smallest yacht in the fleet (Freedom) handle the gusty conditions so well and take out first place. Young Einstein came in 2nd with Vertigo in 3rd place.

Our thanks to the duty crews for riding out the bouncy conditions on CYC1 and CYC2.

Without these people we would not have racing at all.

VICSAIL BENETEAU REGATTA The Vicsail Beneteau Regatta is rapidly approaching!

PAST WINNERS, WAR & PEACE

This year the Regatta will be run by CYCSA on Sunday 24 March 2013.

Beneteau owners, don’t forget to lock this date into your diaries !

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COASTER SERIES RESULTS RACE 6 5 JANUARY 2013 1st: 2nd: 3rd:

Another Planet - Brenton Pegler Vertigo - Jamie Goode Liberator - Geoff Catt

CLUB INSHORE SERIES RESULTS RACE 7 - 12 JANUARY 2013 D1 1st 2nd 3rd

PHS Alliance - Jim Hallion Shining Sea - Andrew Corletto Another Planet - Brenton Pegler 1st 2nd 3rd

IRC 1st Another Planet - Brenton Pegler 2nd Shining Sea - Andrew Corletto 3rd Black Label - Jason Ward

D2 PHS Rock On - Trevor Conyers Young Einstein - Rob Sellick Carioca - Beth Hutton

RACE 8 - 19 JANUARY 2013 KAESLER CUP D1 1st 2nd 3rd

PHS Shining Sea - Andrew Corletto Alliance - Jim Hallion Another Planet - Brenton Pegler 1st 2nd 3rd

J24 1st 2nd

IRC 1st Shining Sea - Andrew Corletto 2nd Another Planet - Brenton Pegler 3rd Concubine - Jason Ward

D2 PHS Medosa - Brian Smith Rock On - Trevor Conyers Carioca - Beth Hutton

PHS Such Is Life - Dave Nicolson Good Company - Robin Townsend

OD 1st Such Is Life - Dave Nicolson 2nd Good Company - Robin Townsend

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FESTIVAL OF SAILS - 2013 GEELONG WEEK The Festival of Sails is Victoria’s oldest ongoing sporting event, and the largest annual keel boat regatta in the Southern Hemisphere. Each year, Geelong comes alive over the Australia Day long weekend as around 100,000 people flock to the picturesque Geelong waterfront and the crystal waters of Corio Bay to take part in the event.

The event annually attracts over 400 yachts and 4,500 competitors to compete, and the 2013 event did not disappoint with 15 different race series catering to the highest performance Grand Prix racers through to Trailable cruisers.

The CYCSA had two entrants this year: Game On (Julian Newton) competed in the Sportsboat Division That’s Life (Greg Manuel) took part in Cruising Division A.

Both boats had great results from the regatta, with Greg and his crew from That’s Life placing 8th overall out of 45 competitors, and Julian and his crew placing 5th out of 15 other sports boats. Special mention to fellow South Aussies, & our friends from PASC: Troppo (Sam Gaylard) who placed 7th and Mighty Fine Lyons (Bill Van Reit) who came in at 13th position in the Sportsboat Division.

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2012 SYDNEY TO HOBART TWO TRUE (Skipper: Andrew Saies) The 2012 Rolex Sydney to Hobart was Two True’s 4th time competing in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

In her maiden year, Two True survived a protest to win the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall.

Her second attempt at the Sydney to Hobart was not to be when Two True suffered mast damage on her delivery to Sydney. Although generously loaned a mast by fellow Beneteau owner and then CYCA Vice Commodore, Howard Piggott, Saies made it to the Boxing Day start only to retire on the morning of the 28th December with engine problems which prevented the batteries being charged.

In her third year, Two True crossed the line in 33 rd place, and came in an equal 3rd in Division 4 IRC, & 3rd in Division 3 ORCI. This year, Andrew and his crew (Davin Conigrave, Brett Young, Les De Wit, Mark Hutton, Rob Human, Rob Last, Simon Langbein, Alex Saies and Jason Flak) crossed the line in 44th place, and came in an 4th in Division 3 IRC, 24th in Overall IRC, 13th in Division 3 ORCI & 27th overall in ORCI. Congratulations Two True!

HOLDENS SECRET MENS BUSINESS (Skipper: Geoff Boettcher) After winning the 2010 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, skipper Geoff Boettcher took a break from the Race after competing in 23 Hobart races in total. He made his return to ocean racing in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race where he finished sixth overall and second in division. After that result with little training, he and his crew decided to try for Hobart one more time.

SMB 3.5 was re-launched in Mornington by Hart Marine in late 2009 after undergoing a rebuild and hull modification designed to correct upwind performance, and increased her waterline length by four foot. As SMB 3, the boat broke the record for the fastest boat under 50ft and fastest ever South Australian Yacht to reach Hobart in 2008; and broke the race record for the Adelaide to Port Lincoln in 2009.

This year, Geoff and his crew (M. Dunstan, N. Burridge, J. Freeman, S. Cunnington, D. MacLeod, N. Partridge, A. Hutchinson, T. Cowen, J. Paterson, C. Howard, D. Oliver & C Kosecki) crossed the line in 12th place, and came in 10th place in Overall IRC, 5th in Division 1 IRC and 8th place in Division 1 and Overall ORCI.

Well done SMB 3.5!

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2012 SYDNEY TO HOBART ASYLUM (Skipper: Derek Morrison) Asylum, a Sydney 38 is Morrison's first keelboat, purchased in October 2010 from Tasmania. Derek decided he needed an offshore boat with One Design class status to establish and rate his skippering skills; and a boat big enough to compete in the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The Sydney 38 fulfilled both needs and Derek sent professional yacht manager Brett Young to review three boats he had selected on the East coast and Tasmania, and nominated Asylum as pick of the crop.

Derek and some mates from the CYCSA then sailed the yacht home from Hobart, arriving early hours on a Saturday morning ahead of a wild storm - and later that day contested his first club race with a quickly gathered crew and finished on the podium.

Derek has committed totally to bringing the boat up to high standards of performance, engaging local experts and club members (such as Brett Young and Richard Fidock) to work with a group of friendly crew to hone their skills and to refine the operating procedures of the boat.

Derek and his crew (Steve Nogare, Tony White, Di Schwert, Tom Abbott, Paul Hicks, Harry Cooper, John Clarke, A Dunphy) crossed the line in 48th place, 12th in Division 3 IRC & 39th in Overall IRC. Congratulations Asylum!

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2012 SYDNEY TO HOBART - ASYLUM’S STORY

The start of the Sydney to Hobart was truly magnificent with the media and spectator fleet all around us in the harbour. It was especially intense as the gun went at onepm and the first leg required a spinnaker. We sailed past several yachts with our hounds kite up, giving us an advantage over many of our rivals. We had a scare rounding the first mark as Helsal 3’s bow sprit came very close to clipping our stern. We shortly rounded the second mark at 1.20pm and were pleased to be ahead of boats like Two True coming out of the heads.

It was time to settle on a course south as plotted by Tony and Derek making use of ‘Expedition’ navigation software. A combination of weather predictions, current conditions and local knowledge are all taken into consideration when plotting a course. All in all we were off to a good start.

Our first major challenge was dealing with the cold front that hit us on the second night which blew out our new hounds spinnaker in just over 20 knots of breeze. The heavy upwind sailing which followed was so demanding that we changed to a two watch system allowing more time for rest and recovery. Later we made the mandatory radio call at Green Cape prior to Crossing Bass Strait. Here we encountered steady winds with dolphins and seals along with the odd albatross to keep us company. We were within visual range of many yachts including Papillon and Toybox 2. It was a relief when we had Flinders Island on our beam, although we had to wait a long while before we sited the Tasmanian coast line.

The east coast of Tasmania to Tasman Island was possibly the most tactically dramatic part of the race – some going inshore whilst we tacked out to sea. After three days at sea we were pleased to be still in close contact with our rivals including Two True. The second cold front with strong winds up to 30 knots and large waves came through that night. The conditions were more difficult as the air and sea water were much colder. On Asylum we got down to two reefs in the main and the storm head sail which Brenton and I set at in the early hours of the morning with waves breaking over the bow. Conditions gradually moderated as we approached Tasman Island, requiring a change of gears to full main and no.5 headsail.

We were greeted by Richard Bennet’s light plane flying over us at mast height, taking photographs. We stayed on the north side of Storm Bay and got a close up look at the Organ pipes (a remarkable geological rock feature on the cliffs of the coast).

After sailing past the Iron Pot, the last leg along the Derwent River saw us make many sail changes in the variable breezes, even making use of the jib top along with the code zero and masthead spinnakers. We again stayed on the north side of the river which allowed us to catch the boats ahead which were caught in a dead zone close the south bank. We crossed the finish line with a great sense of achievement and relief at 3.58pm on 30 th December completing the race in 4 days 2 hours 58 minutes 53 seconds. The welcome by the crowds, family and friends at Constitution dock was incredible. We will remember this race for years to come.

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