Tidings Magazine - March 2023 Edition

RFBYC HOSTS THE 50TH CONTENDERS

CRUSHING THE SYDNEY TO HOBART HEADING EAST FOR THE PRINCE PHILIP CUP

Sailing/Power Administrator

Dinghy & Training Operations Manager

Dinghy Administrator

Training Centre Principal

Sharon Skinner

Patrick Anderson-Loake

Libby Boyd

Chelsea Hall

Training/On-Water Admin Assistant Holly Hunt

HOSPITALITY

Operations Manager

Bar/Restaurant Manager

Nic Gaunt

Paul Morgan

FLAG OFFICERS

Peter Chalmer – commodore@rfbyc.asn.au

Tim Cummins – vicecommodore@rfbyc.asn.au

Martin Jurat – rearcommsail@rfbyc.asn.au

James Kornweibel – rearcommdinghy@rfbyc.asn.au

Geoff Wells – rearcommpower@rfbyc.asn.au

HONORARY TREASURER

Andrew McMillan

PUBLICATION

Registered by Australia Post Publication No 63312300018

To contribute or advertise in the next issue send your copy by Friday 12 May 2023 to pr@rfbyc.asn.au

CONTACT US

Keane’s Point, Peppermint Grove Western Australia

T +61 8 9286 8200

Events/Weddings

Kaidy Raag, Natalie Neal GROUNDS

Bosun

Nathan Stronach

Laurie Martin, Joel Sheppard

www.rfbyc.asn.au

rfbyc@rfbyc.asn.au

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

We’ve had another fun filled summer season at the Club.

The Dinghy and Training Centre (DTC) was a flurry of activity over the holiday period with 380 participants completing a Learn to Sail course in dinghies. Our young instructors are excellent mentors for these keen young participants and many of the budding sailors continue on to regular Club activities and membership.

Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club is a great place to relax with friends, but we do put on an excellent party and what a great Rock the Dock Party we had in February! The main wharf area came alive. There was a main stage and places to sit and enjoy the band when not out rocking the dance floor! The power yacht fleet added to the atmosphere in a raft up, parked stern in along the wharf allowing members and guests to mingle, what a great night out.

Special events on the water, the Club was host to the Contender Australian and World Championships in January, in February we held the 75th Bunbury and Return Ocean Race including a display of race history in the Clubhouse and we approach the end of the summer season with the Flying Fifteen Australian and World Championships which RFBYC will run off Fremantle.

See you at the Club.

rfbyc.asn.au

New Members’ Night

After a break over the festive period these fun filled functions are back. All members are encouraged to join us in the Members’ Bar to welcome our newest members to the Club. The evenings are a great way to meet your fellow members and we have a guest speaker segment, affectionately referred to as an Old Salt, speak about their connection with the Club and what it means to them. For this part of the evening, the Membership Committee will be mixing things up a bit. The February event included a guest panel of sailors who contested the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. You may see this interview panel style again in future after a special event, or perhaps a sailing team of two to share their exciting adventures in the sport.

What’s on at the Club?

View the club calendar on the website or by logging in to the app. Book in to an evening out at the club, register for a course or plan your summer season on the water.

Check out Front of House and Gybe Sheet (weekly club emails) to know what’s on at RFBYC.

We welcome new applications for membership

Do you know that we now have an online application form? It’s easier than ever to apply for membership of the Club. Members who would like to nominate a person for membership should have at least 5 years of membership themselves and can provide their details to the applicant. View more information about eligibility and the process on the membership page in Tidings or on the Club website.

Visit the membership section of the Club website by using the ‘Join RFBYC’ button or get in touch with our Membership Coordinator for assistance.

PETER CHALMER COMMODORE

VICE PATRON

In early March I attended the three-day ICOYC European Conference in Gstaad, Switzerland. The agenda for the conference was of great relevance to us and was an opportunity to see what challenges our peers are dealing with and the solutions created. A total of 27 other yacht clubs attended. Information gathered will be part of the General Committee’s discussions going forward.

This edition of Tidings focusses quite heavily on Club infrastructure and processes as we review and implement some important changes for the future of the Club.

The first of these is Our Club Strategic Plan update which is nearing completion and should be finalised in the next quarter.

Going hand in hand with that, the Marina and Site Master Plan which address-

es how we see the Club in the future. We are aiming for a goal of 5 years out, a vision 10 years out and up to 20 years for our direction. This work will always be ongoing with meetings and negotiations although drawings and quotes for the shorter term are falling into place.

More immediately, the Athol Hobbs Room and Members’ Bar roof renovation is progressing well with the concept plans and costings being finalised in preparation for Member and key stakeholder engagement in the near future. Two-way discussion with valuable feedback has been held with staff to inform and prepare them for the works that are being envisaged and how those works may affect members and functions.

The implementation of new Northstar software is progressing well with several meetings held with the project delivery team, the developer for the App set up and creating an Ezidebit account. The project is on track to go live in May 2023.

To all those members who completed the Food and Beverage survey, thank you for doing so. The information you provide is important and appreciated.

JOHN BARON-HAY (aka The Baron) passed away recently and the Club will miss his presence greatly. He joined in 1951 and has held offices of Commodore and Vice Patron and was a Life Member. In addition, he served on many Boards including the Western Australian Yachting Foundation, Ron Tough Yachting Foundation and the Dragon Association. ‘Baron’ was highly respected for his business skills, sailing ability, good humour and long-term commitment to the Club. His many years of input will continue to benefit our Club into the future.

We welcome Patrick Anderson-Loake, joining us as the Dinghy and Training Centre Operations Manager. Patrick has been the CEO of the City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club and has valuable experience in Clubs, their management and physical training in sports.

Australian Sailing figures for DTC show us tracking very well and are still the best performing Discover Sailing Centre in Australia for the December quarter.

Furthering the benefits of the DTC, a permit to serve food has been obtained, as has a Liquor Licence for the building and surrounding grassed areas.

Our Liquor Licence was also extended to cover our main wharf and was put to great use for the ‘Rock the Dock’ party recently. A great night of camaraderie and music was shared by all.

TIM CUMMINS VICE COMMODORE

ROYAL FRESHWATER BAY YACHT CLUB was again well represented at various championships and regattas over the New Year period both locally and interstate. Well done to all those who competed.

Our Club also performed exceptionally well hosting the Contender World Championships on the Swan River with our own Simon Barwood not only playing a pivotal role helping to facilitate a marvellous regatta but to also finish second overall in the event. Appreciation and gratitude go to Race Officer Hon John McKecknie and his large team of volunteers for an outstanding job coordinating the series.

We also had a number of Club members compete on all three Western Australian entries in the 2022 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. A special mention goes to Anthony Kirk and crew on his GP42 Enterprise Next Generation who won the seamanship award for assisting Koa who lost her rudder during the race and David Davenport’s TP52 Crush who finished 16th overall. Crush then backed it up to take out the 75 Bunbury & Return Ocean Race and in doing so break Craig Carter’s record set on Indian

Our attention now moves to the Flying Fifteen World Championships commenc-

ing in March off Fremantle with 79 entries which we are looking forward to. It is a huge commitment from our volunteers who give up long and countless hours so that we can enjoy our sport of sailing. It simply wouldn’t happen without you and encourage all who are interested to get involved with your fellow members.

Off the water our Club staff have performed wonderfully well closing out an extraordinarily busy festive season with no less than 51 functions in the month of December alone and of course a visit from the Prime Minister in February. The Club also recently presented proceeds totalling $29,138.07 to Zonta House Refuge Association as the beneficiary of last year’s Melbourne Cup charity event which is a fantastic result.

The Club also held for the first time a magnificent ‘Rock the Dock’ party for close to 400 members and their guests held on the main wharf to hear the main act ‘Some Like it Yacht’ perform till late in the evening. 18 boats were

rafted and lit up on the main wharf which added to the terrific atmosphere. An event we will certainly look to repeat next year.

House Committee recently invited members to an online survey to gauge valuable feedback on our food and beverage offerings. The results were overwhelming supportive for our friendly and professional staff, superb venue and outlook, with constructive comments for other areas. House Committee is now tasked to look at these elements moving forward.

Some survey feedback also related to minor cases of member and guest behaviour at the Club. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all members that they are responsible for their guests and children whilst at the Club. We are a contemporary family member based Club, and as members we all have an equal responsibility to ensure members and staff are treated respectfully and that all members and their guests follow the simple house rules for the benefit and enjoyment of all.

MARTIN JURAT REAR COMMODORE SAIL

THESTART OF THE YEAR has been fantastically busy, and generally fantastic. The Contender Nationals and Worlds held in January are covered elsewhere. Four boats from RFBYC attended the Dragon Nationals at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron over the new year achieving great results: 5th Wizzardry (Ray Chatfield), 6th Mirage (Robert Campbell), 7th Saphira (Ian Malley) and 11th Plum Crazy (Sandy Anderson).

Etchells National Championships were sailed at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia in early January with two teams from the Club: Animal House (Dirk Van der Struyf, Nick Deussen and Ethan Prieto Low) and Forte (Mark Crier, Andy Fethers and Robbie Gibbs) placing 11th and 12th respectively.

The Jess Cup was cancelled due to insufficient entries and was replaced with a match racing training session. Typically, this is a lead up event to the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta in early February, with three entries from RFBYC; Ethan Prieto-Low (1st), Marcello Torre (6th) and Lucy Alderson (8th). Will Boulden coached the teams. The outstanding result with chess move precision by Ethan Prieto-Low with Adam Brenz-Verca, George Boulden, Raffe Torre & Louis Schofield defeating the open world match racing champion Nick Egnot-Johnston.

Couta Boat State Championships were sailed in early February as a one day event, with some frustrat-

ing racing in variable and light winds. Championship results: 1st Roulette (David McDonald) 2nd Swift (Andrew McMillan) and 3rd Ajax (Marty Jurat). Consistency results saw Roulette retain 1st with Hero (Duane Hand) gaining 2nd place and Swift 3rd place.

Etchells State Championships were held in mid-February: 1st The Rat (Highlander) (Grantham Kitto, Ethan Prieto-Low and Chris Pratt), 2nd The Cure (Raymond Smith, Michael Hughes and Alan Smith) and 3rd Screaming Plum (Greg Kerr, Luke Paterson and Richard Rowell).

Dragon State Championships were held in late February, Championship results: 1st Scoundrel (Willy Packer, Julian Harding, Jack Packer), 2nd Gordon (Richard Lynn, Ethan Prieto-Low, Adam Brenz-Verca) and 3rd Akula (Peter Bowman, Steven Cole, Jeremy Shellabear, Rowan McFarlane). Consistency results: 1st Aeolus (Jennie Fitzhardinge, Mat Selby, Daniel Arndt, Peter Hood), 2nd Blue Marlin (Sandy Anderson, Susan Parker, Caroline

Gibson, Fred Haes) and 3rd Sea Joy (Gerry McGann, Robyn Johnston, Shane Attwell, Jill Darby).

The National and World Flying 15 Championships hosted by RFBYC have just been sailed off Fremantle. This and the summary of races above illustrates the incredible capacity the team of staff and volunteers have for running state, national and international events. However, exhaustion can set in, and the time is right for new volunteers to become involved in race

management to help spread the load for next season. Programs are being developed to facilitate this with training, mentoring and participation and we are reaching out to those who have expressed interest and anyone else; please contact our YOM Debbie Blaauw.

Part of the incredible team are Sharon Skinner (Sailing and Power Administrator) and John Anderson (mark layer, arbitrator and any job that needs doing) pictured below at the Dragon States.

Pat will report to Andy Fethers and will be responsible for the Dinghy, Training and associated venue areas, which were previously overseen by Debbie Blaauw. Debbie will continue focus on Keelboat racing, Offshore, Power and Regattas. Please join me in welcoming Pat to RFBYC and introducing yourself as he settles in.

Over the summer season, 50 of our junior and adult dinghy sailors travelled near and far to represent the Club and State in National Championships. They achieved great results and had a lot of fun. Congratulations to Axel Fleet and James Randall for win-

JAMES KORNWEIBEL REAR COMMODORE DINGHY

IWOULD LIKE TO EXTEND a warm welcome to Patrick Anderson-Loake, who has joined as the Dinghy and Training Operations Manager.

ning the National Junior 470 Championships, Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas for winning the 470 Open National Australian Championships, and Brenn Armstrong, who won the O’pen Skiff Nationals held here in Perth.

Our Optimist sailors also represented well at the Nationals. Thomas Cooper earned a spot on the Australian Optimist team and will sail in the 2023 Optimist European Championship in Greece. Nicholas Cooper and Orlando Ligovich will join the Australian Optimist Development Squad, providing the opportunity for Nicholas to compete

in the Singapore National Sailing Championships and Orlando to compete in the Eastern Seaboard Regatta in Thailand later this year.

The annual DTC Campout was a lot of fun for everyone who attended. It started with a BBQ after Friday sailing, followed by a quiz night and the Jessica Watson movie. With tents set up on the lawn, it was great to wake up on the river’s edge and enjoy a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Thank you to the 65+ parents and kids who helped make it a great night.

Around the DTC, keep an eye out for the DTC café, which is open on Sunday mornings and

during racing. We’re happy to see many Club members dropping in and enjoying the space. The DTC gym fitout is currently in progress, and we look forward to offering exercise classes for all members soon. Please stay tuned for session announcements through the Gybe Sheet and Dinghy Digest newsletters.

Save the date for the Dinghy Prize Night on Friday, May 26th! This year’s theme is Disney, and we’ll be awarding prizes for the best fancy dress. We hope to see you there!

Finally, we hope you enjoy the remaining weeks of the season.

below: DTC Campout 2023

GEOFF WELLS REAR COMMODORE POWER

IHOPE ALL OUR MEMBERS and their families had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. There was some ideal weather to make the escape to Rottnest or ports further afield on boats or other forms of transport. It was great to see all the power yachts (and one yacht!) rafted up for the recent ‘Rock the Dock’ party in all their finery. It was a great evening with special mention going to David Grocutt’s Sirius, becoming an impromptu flybridge saxophone platform during one of the band’s songs.

We held our annual Twilight Time Trial on Friday, February 17 where we had 18 boats compete, which included competitors from Royal Perth, Claremont, Perth Flying Squadron and Fremantle yacht clubs. Taking out first place was Havana (Tim Cummins and Ken Stevenson) on 4 points, closely followed by Kizuri (Evan Moore and Neil Clegg) on 5 points and Azure (Stephen and Emma Lewis) on 6 points. Thank you to all our volunteers who provided race management and manned the eight checkpoints, we greatly appreciate it. The BBQ that followed on the lawn was enjoyed by all.

You may have received, by the time you read this,

a request to support our Camp Quality Day on Sunday, April 2. If you are able to supply yourself and your boat to take out some well deserving families that would be greatly appreciated. This year the focus is on Kids with Carers who have Cancer (KICC) so it is generally one of the parents who are going through their treatment and may not always have the time or opportunity to spend time with their children. We are looking to be able to take out 120 – 150 people so a few boats will be needed. Please consider volunteering if you can, even if to just provide a hand on land. It is a very rewarding day for all involved.

I’d like to thank all those members who have been supporting the Saturday Keelboat racing by performing their river safety boat duty. We’ve had a few windy Saturday’s and knowing that support isn’t far away is always comforting. In return, we hope that we can count on some of our sailors to support the

forthcoming Time Trialling season by volunteering to man a checkpoint on a Saturday afternoon.

Speaking of which, our Time Trialling Season Opening Day is Saturday, May 6 which isn’t far away. We’re looking to have a great season with lots of good competition and a strong State Team. New time triallers are always welcome and we can provide training to get you up to speed (usually 8 knots!) quickly. It is a fantastic way to use your boat regularly over the winter months and get familiar with different parts of the river. On the day there will be a short time trial followed by a raft-up on the main wharf for the Opening Ceremony and live entertainment. It is a fun day so make sure you bring your friends as well. Look for the nomination details soon and I hope to see you there on the day.

Simon Barwood

CONTENDER 50TH WORLDS RFBYC, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

RFBYC WON A COMPETITIVE SELECTION process to host the 2022 Contender World Championship way back in that innocent and carefree time that will henceforth be known as pre-COVID. Following the French 2019 World Championship the subsequent Worlds, the classes 50th scheduled for Denmark, was postponed twice, then cancelled due to COVID-19. This resulted in our event being promoted from the 51st to the 50th Worlds which also had to be postponed for a year due to COVID-19 and the State’s border closures.

The 50th Contender Worlds was, it seemed, a poisoned chalice. At the 11th hour containers coming from the UK and Europe were cancelled due to high shipping costs and uncertainty but a late scramble put international competitors into charter boats including two brought to Perth in the NSW container.

After so many challenges over more than four years planning it was a little surreal when the Victorian and NSW container were delivered and then the first competitors, South Australians having driven across the Nullabor, began arriving in early January. The 50th Contender Worlds and the preceding 2023 Australian Championship was finally, it seemed, actually going to happen.

Competitors were officially welcomed and the handful of internationals received a comprehensive welcome pack that included practical items to keep them safe in Australia including zinc cream, a fly net, blue bottle anti-venom (faux urine) and shark repellent with simple directions ‘spray directly into shark’s mouth from a distance of less than one metre’. After a few cautionary words about the hazards posed by snakes, spiders and drop

bears they were looking forward to the relative safety being on (but not in) the water offered.

Following a couple of days of unofficial practice in the usual 15–20kt sea breeze the practice race delivered more of the same. Support boats were kept busy including a rescue of AUS2323, formerly owned by RFBYC member Clay Cook, following her rig coming down. Broken forestays are not uncommon but nobody had seen a forestay chainplate break from within the hull before. Thankfully Grant Alderson was on hand to do some tidy late night repair work to get James Ellis back on the water for the first race in the Nationals.

Results from racing were panning out as expected with three times World Champion Mark Bulka leading the way from three times National Champion and heavy conditions expert Matt Mulder until the final day when the breeze built to a consistent 20–25kts with gusts to 28kts. The conditions took their toll, with less than half the fleet finishing both races on the final day, no more so than on Lindsay Irwin who was lying in third place overall when his rudder snapped.

I managed to stay upright for a win in Race 5 and then Matt streaked away to an easy win in the final race when the breeze was really honking to finish on equal

points with Bulka but Mark’s three bullets saw him take the title on countback. I was delighted to have achieved what I considered to be the best result possible against these two champions sneaking onto the podium in third place.

With similar conditions forecast for the first day of the Worlds, racing was brought forward to the morning. We managed only one race before conditions become un-sailable, consistently above the class limit of 25kts. For the remainder of the regatta the fleet enjoyed a mix of conditions with the last three days sailed on moderate and shifty easterlies which saw some different boats at the pointy end including a win, particularly memorable for the celebration after he crossed the finish line, by Italian Luca Bonezzi whose family business is the most prolific boat builder for the class.

Racing became intense on the final day. Mark Bulka was clear in the lead but pointed out, much to my surprise that ‘you could still beat me’. This was really only a mathematical possibility but leaving nothing to chance Mark pushed me around the course for the whole of the penultimate race. Then in the last race Linsday Irwin, having closed the gap on me, received a close cover up the final beat. The rest of the top ten was even more intense with fourth to ninth places

Simon Barwood battling with Lindsay Irwin on the reach

Second place Simon Barwood

World champion, for the fourth time, Mark Bulka

CONTENDER 50TH WORLDS CONTINUED

separated by only three points. Matt Mulder, despite three race wins, slipped to 9th after having to carry some double figure results in the lighter conditions. Mark Bulka deservedly claimed his fourth World Championship and Masters (O50) Title; the top five were as follows:

The next placed West Australian was Fremantle Sailing Club representative Paul Green who finished 7th on 49pts. Results for other RFBYC sailors were as follows:

Congratulations also to Pim Langendijk from the Netherlands who won the Grand Masters (O65) division and Victorian Ned Lindholm who took out the Youth (U24) prize.

It was a great honour and immensely satisfying to assist our amazing on-water team in delivering the first major events hosted by RFBYC at the newly built DTC. Competitors and visitors repeatedly commented on the remarkable facilities at RFBYC, and all agreed

with my sentiment that the facilities we enjoy are surpassed only by the quality of our people. The positive feedback from competitors, officials and visitors has continued to flow through after the event, I have never been prouder to be an RFBYC member.

Thank you particularly to Debbie Blaauw and Sharon Skinner whose customary hard work behind the scenes ensured everything ran like clockwork. Many thanks to RO John

McKechnie who lead an incredibly experienced on-water team and to all the volunteers that made the event possible.

The fantastic photos and videos courtesy of Tom Hodge and Lindsay Preece have received record engagement across Contender class social media worldwide and highlighted what a fantastic place we have to sail here in Perth, on the Swan at RFBYC.

Johnny Fullerton of Regatta Services

FLYING 15 CHAMPIONSHIPS

FREMANTLE, MARCH 9 – 25

SAILORS ENJOYED BLUE SKIES, late summer warm sunshine, crystal clear warm waters and light to moderate breezes for the long awaited Endeavour Homes 2023 Australian Championship and Flying Fifteen World Championship sailed off Fremantle in the Indian Ocean.

Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club organised and ran the regattas with support from South of Perth Yacht Club and Fremantle Sailing Club.

A total of 79 boats from 4 continents entered with overseas entries travelling from as far away as South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, New Zealand and all over Australia. Flying 15’s travelled from NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, the majority of those taking the 2–3 day trip across the Nullabor Plain to get to WA. Over 40 boats came from West Australia with 11 boats representing RFBYC. Containers of boats arrived from the UK, New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia courtesy of the MSC Shipping Group.

Twelve days of Flying Fifteen racing opened with an Invitational race followed by four days of racing for the Australian Championship. Another lay day was followed by seven days of World Championship racing with a lay day in the middle.

Launching required a small army of volunteers marshalled by Paul Bayliss and ably assisted by ‘Lillo’ Graeme Lillingston who is an 11 time Flying 15 Australian champion and former world champion who was supervising the crane operation and no doubt offering a few of his own tips about racing a Flying 15.

Racing took place on the ‘Owen Anchorage’ race course with an assortment of race courses using the windward/leeward and triangle formats. The PRO’s for the event were the Wilson brothers, Kevin and Ross with a huge Race Management team including many past Flying 15

sailors and members from RFBYC, SoPYC, FSC and EBYC.

INVITATIONAL RACE

The Invitational race was raced in perfect sailing conditions, providing an opportunity for all sailors to test the waters. Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan (AUS) finished comfortably ahead of Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) with Greg Tonnison and Nick Robinson (AUS) taking third spot.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

The Australian Championship consisted of four days of racing with a total of 7 races sailed in predominantly light to moderate breezes with anything from shifty offshore easterlies to the regular sea breeze from the South West.

On the opening day the fleet were treated to ideal sailing conditions with moderate winds and warm sunshine. Three British boats started the regatta strongly taking the top three spots in the first race. In the second Philippa Packer and Dean McAullay (RFBYC) led from start to finish from the first windward mark. Grant Alderson and Luke Paterson (RFBYC) chased hard all around the course to settle for second place.

There was more champagne sailing on day two. Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) led race 3 from the first windward mark to the finish line. The battle for second place was a bit more intense. Grant Alderson and Luke Paterson crossing 3rd. Race 4 became a battle of the British boats for the podium places.

Fremantle just kept on delivering with the weather for race day 3. As had become a regular occurrence Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) led briefly at the windward mark but Grant Alderson and Luke Paterson (RFBYC) overtook by the time they reached the downwind gate and went on to claim the race win. After races 5 and 6 on day three of the regatta, Grant Alderson and Luke Paterson took the lead in the series with two race wins.

On the final day with ominous black clouds and an encroaching storm, Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR), crossed the finish line in the drizzle to become Australian Champions and by finishing third in the final race, Grant Alderson and Luke Paterson (RFBYC) had to settle for second overall missing out on the title by one solitary point.

Brits Ian Pinnell and Ian Cadwallader finished third overall and another British boat, Hamish Mackay and Andrew Lawson finished fourth overall. Fifth overall went to local sailors Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan (SoPYC).

The remaining top 10 places were taken up by Australian teams with notable performances by the ex-Olympic sailors Lachy Gilmour and Ryan Donaldson (RFBYC/Esperance Bay YC) in 6th. Philippa Packer and Dean McAullay (RFBYC) finished 8th.

A lay day followed the Australian Nationals to allow for re-tuning, rigging and relaxing with the help of MonkeyFist mobile chandlery set up by Peter ‘Muddy’ Mudford.

FLYING 15 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Seven days of world championship racing began on Saturday 25 March with three consecutive days of light to moderate winds sailing under warm Fremantle skies.

On day one, current world champions Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) were out of sight to finish the opening day with two bullets in 12–16 knots of SW breeze.

Sunday, race day two, was sailed in 7–8 knots from the east, shutting down and swinging south late in the afternoon. The youngest crew at the regatta RFBYC sailors Lachy Gilmour and Ryan Donaldson held off the competition in a fading breeze to win race 3. Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) made it three wins out of four races to establish an overall lead.

The fleet enjoyed a real treat of a Wagyu beef BBQ served on the sundeck, supplied by legendary Western Australian Match Racing guru Peter Gilmour and his family including his son Lachy, the race winner of the first race of the day.

Race day three served up another 10–12 knot easterly going very light later in the day.

The second race of the day was a first race win for Philippa Packer and Dean McAullay, as it turned out later the first race win at a world championship for a female skipper!

Just one race took place on day four of the regatta in 7–11 knots from SW. As the championship went past the half way mark after seven races with one discard, Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) led overall but the gap was closing to second placed Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan. Another GBR boat sailed by Ian Pinnell and Ian Cadwallader remained third overall. The fleet then enjoyed an evening at Gage Roads Brewery on the Fremantle Harbour wall followed by daily presentations at the WA Maritime Museum with an entertaining

chat with the 1983 America’s Cup winning crew members.

The lay day on Wednesday will be remembered by the fleet for a very long time.

An epic day where the vast majority of the fleet of 150 competitors took a boat trip to ‘Rotto’ organised by the legendary hospitality gurus, the ‘Glamour Buoys’.

David Yu and Levo’s good ship the Four Seasons was loaded to the gunnels with grog and a smorgasbord of grub. Having rafted up with other vessel’s at Parker Point for a mass swim they joined others who had gone by ferry for a massive lunch at the pub.

After racing resumed on day five, two more races were held in 10–12 knots of SW breeze. Two boats were edging ahead of the rest of the fleet. Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) won both races just ahead of Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan (AUS) (2/2). Both crews were putting a bit of daylight between themselves and the rest of the fleet. The British team had now racked up five race wins in the series.

No sailing was possible on the penultimate day of the regatta due to insufficient wind and a rare phenomenon in Fremantle, some light rain! Only one race was sailed on the final day of the championship. With an unassailable lead Graham Vials and Chris Turner (GBR) won their unprecedented fifth World Championship in the class. Vials and Turner from Derwent Reservoir / Lyme Regis SC won 5 of the 10 world championship races and with drops of a 4th and 8th they could not be beaten.

Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan from South of Perth YC/Fremantle SC led the final race from start to finish extending on every leg. The Australian pair did everything possible to close the points gap on ‘Floaty McFloat Face’ (Vials and Turner) but ended up just three points shy of the British boat.

Going into the last race there was only one point difference between third and fourth place overall. The youngest crew in the fleet, ex-Olympic sailors Lachy Gilmour and Ryan Donaldson from Royal Freshwater Bay YC / Esperance Bay YC, had steadily improved throughout the regatta and again had to work their way through the leading bunch to take second in the last race and secure an excellent third overall.

Other top 10 placings included Grant Alderson and Luke Paterson who steadily improved throughout the series to finish a credible 6th overall. Philippa Packer and Dean McAullay finished an excellent 8th overall.

Sailors, families and friends all enjoyed presentations at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club with a large banquet to celebrate a thoroughly successful regatta. The camaraderie and mateship was noted within the fleet and the vast group of volunteers marshalled by John Anderson a key factor in the success of the regattas. FFI Commodore Chris Waples described it as the best that he had attended and it bodes well for the future of hosting major regattas in Perth and Fremantle.

RFBYC SAILORS

OVERALL POSITIONS:

3RD LACHY GILMOUR / RYAN DONALDSON

6TH GRANT ALDERSON / LUKE PATERSON

8TH PHILIPPA PACKER / DEAN MCAULLAY

12TH DAVID YU / CHRIS NELSON

19TH GREG LEAVERSUCH / PETER BARBLETT

22ND HAMISH CARNACHAN / PETER MUDFORD

25TH JOHN WILSON / MATTHEW SUMMERS

31ST CLIVE BEETON / JUSTIN TREMAIN

59TH JENNIFER SIMS / CHRIS HOWELL

65TH MURRAY JOHNS / NATALIE WADDELL

68TH SETH EGGLESTON / ROB NAISH

72ND DARIN MAHER / KEVIN NORCOTT

76TH HUMPHREY HALE / MENNO WEUSTINK

SPILLS, THRILLS, FRILLS AND SKILLS IN PRINCE PHILIP CUP

SYDNEY 2023

PRINCE PHILIP CUP SYDNEY 2023

THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP for the International Dragon Class was held on Sydney Harbour in early January. The regatta combines the 3-race series for the Ted Albert Memorial Cup and the 8-race series for the Prince Philip Cup (PPC).

Thirteen yachts attended including the WA/RFBYC entrants of Sandy Anderson Plum Crazy AUS 185, Ian Malley Saphira AUS221, Ray Chatfield Wizzardry AUS201 and Rob Campbell sailing a borrowed Mirage AUS228. The four WA entries were supported by 14 sailors – and every kilo was needed!

Both Ian and Ray made the return journey of 7,600km towing their boats between RFBYC and Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. They were helped by crew members Leonie Rochford, Graeme Fardon, Geoff Bell and Karen Chatfield. It was smooth driving most of the way except for an early hiccup for Ray who had a faulty tyre valve. And as fate would have it, the local tyre repairer in Coolgardie was the regional Naval Cadet leader and bumped the repair job up to high priority, getting it done in just half an hour for no cost! His help was worth a plug for his business—Oka Kalgoorlie.

Sandy Anderson already had Plum Crazy in Sydney, delivered earlier from Tasmania, and Rob Campbell had borrowed a yacht that was waiting, but not ready, for him at RSYS.

The first task on arrival for each of the crews was to step the masts and Rob’s ‘boys’, Mark Cubitt and Brad Stout, became adept at this task installing their own on Mirage and with

that success, efficiently dropped Plum Crazy’s in too. And then they did it a few more times during the week!

The Ted Albert Memorial Cup Series was sailed in classic Sydney sunny north-easterly conditions with 3 races on one day in a windward/leeward format. Nick Rogers from Tasmania on Karabos IX AUS 205 won the cup, David Chapman from New South Wales on Ascalon AUS 209 came second and Damien Daniel from Victoria on Imagination AUD 179 was third. Rob Campbell in Mirage suffered a damaged mast and was unable to complete Races 2 and 3, but it gave ‘the boys’ another opportunity to perfect their mast stepping technique.

Tragically on the first leg of the first race of the first day, Liquidity AUS 216 sailed by Richard Franklin was struck amidships by a large charter yacht. The charter yacht, under power, came from behind and was unseen until it struck. Liquidity was rolled on to its side, took water and sank within seconds of being hit. It is believed the mast broke and the hull split in half. It rests in one of the deepest parts of Sydney Harbour just off Bradley Head. Miraculously Richard and his crew escaped uninjured but not before great concern that they had been trapped in the hull as it turned upside down and sank. Two competing Drag-

Compiled from contributions by Brad Johnson, President IDA NSW and Susie Parker, crew Plum Crazy AUS 185.

Sandy Anderson’s Plum Crazy

ons crews, including Ray Chatfield witnessed the accident and stood by, eventually rescuing the three crew who, like a martini, were well shaken.

The Race Committee awarded Wizzardry and Ascalon, the two yachts that stood by and rescued the sailors and therefore unable to complete the first race, redress of equal first place. The fleet were in full agreement with this decision.

Whilst the sinking of a Dragon is not entirely without precedent, it is unusual that the same one should sink twice. During the 2009 Prince Philip Cup also held on Sydney Harbour, Liquidity sailed by Richard Franklin sank after a collision with another competitor. The crew were once again safely recovered and fortunately on that occasion Liquidity was able to be re-floated.

One wonders if her fate was written in her name.

The Prince Philip Cup races were then sailed on Tuesday, 3 January to Saturday, 7 January with a layday on Thursday, 5 January 2023.

Sandy Anderson’s Plum Crazy safely

returned to RSYS after breaking the backstay and vang just prior to the first race, but repairs were made and she was back out on the water for the second race of the day. Rob Campbell’s Mirage also suffered some gear issues and retired from Race 1.

As it turned out the lay-day coincided with a major change in the weather with Tuesday and Wednesday enjoying continuing north-easterly breezes of around 15 knots and sunny days before the weather turned to the south and south-east for the balance of the regatta with breezes of 25-30 knots and plenty of rain.

The tougher conditions on Saturday were such that Plum Crazy and Charles Stanton’s Amazing Grace were unable to safely depart the marina in time for the first race. Plum Crazy’s crew were unanimous in sitting out the day and we made our way to Bradley Head to watch the fleet rock and roll its way through the course. Occasional white-outs from the heavy rain made for difficult visibility on water

– quite a significant risk when one is on the permanent look out for Manly Ferries and rogue charter yachts. Lady luck eventually came the way of Mirage, albeit at the misfortune of Ian Malley in Saphira The strong winds and rough chop in Race 6 caused Saphira to roll into a Chinese gybe jettisoning crew Margot Matthews from the foredeck. Before she had time to think about being in the water in the middle of Sydney Harbour, the lack of visibility and plying ferries, ‘the boys’ came from astern in Mirage

below, left: RFBYC Women Sailing in PPC. L-R: Sandy Anderson, Caroline Gibson, Susie Parker, Karen Chatfield, Deb Henderson, Leonie Rochford, Margo Matthews

below, right: the WA Contingent sailing in PPC. L-R: Ian Malley, Susie Parker, Greg Bell, Kate (host), Graeme Fardon, Sandy Anderson, Brad Stout, Caroline Gibson, Karen Chatfield, Deb Henderson, Mark Cubitt, Leonie Rochford, Rob Campbell, Margo Matthews, Ray Chatfield.

below, bottom: Skippers and Crew for the 2023 Prince Philip Cup

PRINCE PHILIP CUP

SYDNEY 2023

this image: AUS 221 – Ian Malley’s Saphira below left: Winning Team – Ascalon AUS 209 David Chapman (Helm) Crew: Robert Wilmot, Annie Wilmot, Charlotte Griffunder below right: Plum Crazy ready to depart for Metung and the Vic State Championships.

and hoisted her from the turbulent waters. All week ‘the boys’ had been complaining about being underweight without Penny Anderson on board, but now they had their extra kilo’s!!

Mirage was rewarded with a first place by the Race Committee for making the mid-race rescue in difficult conditions. However, luck doesn’t last long and in the last race of the series the reign of mast-terror persisted for Rob Campbell as Nick Rogers in Karabos IX misjudged crossing Mirage’s stern and took out

her back stay – yet another mast stepping for ‘the boys’!

The heavy breezes made for some exciting racing. David Chapman was heard to comment that he did not realise ‘Dragons could get up and plane’! Other skippers were heard to comment less glowingly about the conditions.

Despite Sydney turning on her charm and her tempest, it was an excellent regatta with plenty of close finishes. The final results of the Prince Philip Cup in which all eight

races were sailed and with one ‘drop’ were as follows:

Ascalon AUS 209 | 8 Points | David Chapman (Helm) Crew: Robert Wilmot, Annie Wilmot and Charlotte Griffunder

Trio AUS 130 | 16 Points | Matt Whinall (Helm) Crew: Michael Bartley and Peter Bevis

Karabos IX AUS 205 | 18 Points | Nick Rogers (Helm) Crew: Leigh Brehens and Chris Steilberg

Accordingly, Ascalon AUS 209 with David Chapman and crew won the Prince Philip Cup. Trio AUS

this page: Ray Chatfield’s Wizzardry facing page: Rob Campbell’s Mirage

PRINCE PHILIP CUP

SYDNEY 2023

130, which is owned by Michael (Wally) Bartley and is a beautifully maintained wooden Dragon built c1964, won the Prince Philip Cup Corinthian Trophy and the Jack Ayres/Ediss Boyes Trophy for the first wooden Dragon in the Prince Philip Cup.

It was an interesting regatta with the PPC experiencing nine 1st placings in eight races and the Ted Albert experiencing five 1st places in three races.

All of the competitors agreed that the race management under-

taken by RSYS Sailing Manager Rob Ridley and Race Officer Ian Kingsford-Smith and the volunteers was first class and the hosting of the regatta at RSYS was also excellent.

In addition to the fine sailing experienced on Sydney Harbour, IDA NSW hosted two delightful on-shore events. A Welcome Soiree on the terrace of Richard Franklin’s house in Mosman provided a fabulous opportunity for a ‘team photo’ of all the participating sailors. It was noted that there was a significant increase in the number of women

making up the crew on many of the yachts, including one all-female team sailing Sandy Anderson’s Plum Crazy AUS 185.

The second event was the Awards Night held at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. Over 100 people comprised of sailors, family and friends attended for the seated dinner. Everyone enjoyed the presence of veteran Dragon sailor and former Olympian 96-year-old Gordon Ingate. As usual Gordon entertained with his wealth of sailing anecdotes.

Alexander Eyles

2023 MUSTO AUSTRALIAN OPTIMIST CHAMPIONSHIP PITTWATER, NSW

THE2023 AUSTRALIAN OPTIMIST Championship regatta was held at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, in Pittwater, in the beautiful Northern Beaches of New South Wales.

There were approximately 200 entries in the regatta between Open, Intermediate and Green fleets.

I was excited to have the privilege of representing Western Australia and RFBYC in my first major regatta as an Intermediate fleet sailor, although I felt a bit overwhelmed at first, as there were 62 entries in Intermediate fleet, which is about four times as many boats as I had previously raced against.

Being my first season of racing and feeling relatively inexperienced, I didn’t know what to expect, so my goals for the regatta were simple: to have fun, focus on fundamentals and to finish every race.

The conditions were light and shifty for the first couple of days, and my results were mixed as I grappled with the congested start line and unfamiliar water.

As the regatta progressed, I gained confidence, and by the end of the regatta I had managed a few top ten results, including a second place in a race heat, which was a highlight of the regatta. A few errors early in the regatta saw me in 20th place at the beginning of the final day of racing, but I was determined to improve my overall placing by the end of the day.

I gave it my best in the freshening conditions in the final two races and managed to climb up the leader board to achieve a final result of 12th place in Intermediate fleet, and 1st under 9-year-old skipper for the regatta, which I am thrilled with.

I learned so much from participating in the Australian Optimist Dinghy Championships and improved my understanding of the racing rules of sailing. It was

an amazing experience, and one I hope to repeat next year in South Australia.

There were many regatta highlights, including meeting Jason Waterhouse and Tash Bryant from Sail GP, and legendary Olympic sailor John Forbes. I especially enjoyed the camaraderie of being part of the RFBYC Optimist team.

I am grateful for the support from RFBYC, and the incredible coaching and mentoring I have received from the junior coaches that have shared their wealth of knowledge to help me learn and succeed in my sailing journey.

Congratulations to all the sailors who participated, the regatta winners and special award recipients.

MIRROR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Peter Judge

MIRROR STATE CHAMPIONSIPS

MAYLANDS YACHT CLUB

AFTER TWO YEARS OF TRAVELING TO ALBANY for the state championships, the event returned to the metro area, more specifically Maylands Yacht Club. Instead of strong coastal winds and cool temperatures we were confronted with 40 degrees and light shifty winds. Going into the regatta the forecast was for light to no wind in the morning and a light sea breeze in the afternoon which was not encouraging. Luckily there was a bit more wind than forecast in the morning and a full program of eight races was run.

For those who haven’t sailed at Maylands it’s situated on a big bend in the river upstream of the Windan Bridge. With trees lining the river on both sides, views of Perth and the open expanse of Belmont Racecourse nearby, it’s quite picturesque. The effect on the wind however is

not so pretty. The wind finds gaps in the trees, hills and buildings and funnels through creating lifts, knocks, wind holes all within a few meters of each other. This makes for very interesting—read frustrating— sailing and those with local knowledge have a distinct advantage. The light winds only exacerbated the issues we faced.

To make matters worse, many years ago, some sadistic motorboat owner, wanting get back at all people who use sails for propulsion, convinced the club to put a rounding mark near the bank under

the steep hill and trees just where the wind has no chance of ever being undisturbed. Getting to this mark was at times akin to torture. There were 180-degree wind shifts, random holes that let everybody behind catch up and left you wondering what you had done to upset the wind gods. We even had the bizarre situation of two boats pointing in the same direction but on opposite tacks! Leaving this mark and heading down river was not much better, wind indicator showing a starboard breeze and the sails full and on a port breeze.

MIRROR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS CONTINUED

On Sunday the wind was a little fresher but still no more predictable even though it was for the most part coming from the southwest. We still had no clear strategy on where to go for the best wind as it changed every time you sailed a particular leg, with plenty of wind holes appearing at random places. To make it even more interesting a local motor launch owner decided the best place to watch the racing from was the middle of the course. By the time they had realized their error in getting too close, it was too late, and they were surrounded by 20 mirrors going in all directions to avoid them. The solution, stop 15m downwind from the top mark and turn sideways. This meant as you rounded the top mark and looked up before putting the spinnaker up, you were confronted with a 8m x 3m high white timber wall. The skipper did all this while on

the phone to Maylands Yacht Club criticising them for running a regatta on the river, an impressive effort! Anyway, to the racing. With 20 yachts in the regatta, it was quite a spectacle. The start line was relatively short and made for interesting starts. Some of us proved that you can’t win a race at the start, but you can lose it. A lack of concentration, missing the late wind shifts and multiple other excuses meant the leaders, who knew what they were doing, were 100m up the course before we got going. Playing catch up in light winds was never going to end well.

All through the fleet there were tight battles going with regular position changes. In the tricky conditions there was no real pattern of results except up front where the same boats were regularly jostling for the win. The result was multiple race winners and by the end of

the regatta the last race was just as important as the first as the title was still up for grabs. At the end of the regatta first, second and third were separated by 2 points with fourth not far behind. After that the spacings increased as local knowledge and ability to sail in the conditions eventually caught up with those that were not so adept at picking the wind.

From RFBYC Simon & Tyson Barwood took several wins and second place overall. Guy & Lauchlan Naylor, in their first Mirror regatta and having only been sailing the boat for 6 weeks were the standout performers of the regatta. They came in a close fourth despite not flying a spinnaker, earning themselves the rookie trophy. A bit further back were Peter & Janine Judge who took out the Cruiser Weight trophy.

Susan Ghent

75TH BUNBURY & RETURN OCEAN RACE RACE RECORD FALLS

YACHTS SAILED OUT TO THE START AREA for the 75th Bunbury and Return Ocean Race on the morning of Saturday 11 February. With a moderate southerly wind, flat water and sunny conditions it was a comfortable beginning to the 170 nautical mile race.

At the race briefing, Paul Eldrid had provided his weather predictions for the race and was calling ideal conditions for the larger boats to break the race record. The current holder of the title was Craig Carter’s Indian who completed the race in 17 hours, 42 minutes and 9 seconds and Paul was part of the team. They had held this title since 2016 but were expecting David Davenport’s yacht Crush, a J/V TP52 to challenge this race record time.

As the fleet began their journey south, it was looking like a slow trip to Bunbury but it would definitely be a quick run back. The turning point was again a yacht from Koombana Bay Sailing Club, Phil Truman and Danielle Parkers Courtesan They anchored on station at the coordinates in Bunbury in the mid afternoon and reported in that the conditions were great, sunny and

RESULTS

DIVISION ONE – IRC

warm with a south westerly wind reaching 20 knots.

Crush pulled out ahead of the pack early, Rob Appleyard’s Secret Weapon (Fast 40+) followed with the rest of the fleet in tow. A few boats managed a more direct route on the trip south. There were several including Roric Smith’s Surfer Rosa, Alan Stein’s Fat Bottom Girl and Dan Cannon’s Cannonball who hugged the coast more than the others and put in a few tacks before Port Bouvard.

David Davenport’s team had great timing to reach the Bunbury turn at 7:25pm with quite a direct route south. The rest of the fleet experienced more of the change in wind direction and had to tack a lot more to get to Bunbury.

Crush absolutely flew back to the finish at speeds of over 20 knots. They crushed the race record by

1ST CRUSH DAVID DAVENPORT

2ND CHECKMATE GEOFF BISHOP

3RD SIRENE BILL HENSON

DIVISION TWO – IRC

1ST CANNONBALL DAN CANNON

2ND FOURTH DIMENSION LYN POWELL & IAN WHITEHEAD

3RD SAGACIOUS IV CHRIS HIND

DIVISION ONE – PHS

1ST CRUSH DAVID DAVENPORT

2ND SIRENE BILL HENSON

3RD CHECKMATE GEOFF BISHOP

DIVISION TWO – PHS

1ST CANNONBALL DAN CANNON

2ND SAGACIOUS IV CHRIS HIND

3RD FOURTH DIMENSION LYN POWELL & IAN WHITEHEAD

finishing in 16 hours, 26 minutes and 21 seconds. This was a goal that they had after the 2022 race and they were ecstatic to achieve it. From the team, Ben Durham said ‘The 75th Bunbury Return marked a year for team Crush racing in the WA offshore blue waters, so it was fantastic to win IRC, PHS and break the race record. Was great to be able to use so many of the lessons we took from the Sydney to Hobart in our preparation and boat performance and achieve such a great result with the team.’

As well as taking the record the Division One boat placed first overall on corrected time in the combined fleet using IRC and PHS handicap and in their division.

In Division Two Cannonball took the win with both IRC and PHS handicap.

© JOHN CHAPMAN SAILSONSWAN

75TH BUNBURY & RETURN OCEAN RACE

NEW STAFF APPOINTMENTS

NEW DINGHY AND TRAINING OPERATIONS MANAGER

A warm welcome is extended to our new Dinghy and Training Operations Manager Patrick Anderson-Loake.

Patrick was previously CEO at the City of Perth Surf Live Saving Club and has valuable experience in clubs, their management and has a strong background in competitive sport and fitness.

He also sailed 29ers as a teenager so is no stranger to competitive sailing. Please join us in welcoming Pat to the Club and drop by the DTC and introduce yourself as he settles in.

NEW PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT

A warm welcome is extended to Phil Holt who joins the staff team at the Club this month. Phil is a qualified accountant with over 20 years’ experience working in a variety of industries including:

• 12 years as Senior Accountant/ Finance Manager with the 2nd largest independent fuel distributor in the UK.

• 3 years as Senior Accountant/ Acting Finance Manager with Hollywood Private Hospital.

• 2 years as Senior Accountant with The Mix Australia (Thermomix distributors).

Phil and his family moved to Perth almost eight years ago. The family are very pleased with their decision to move and wish they had have moved years earlier.

Phil enjoys cooking, trying new foods, discovering new wineries and exploring WA. ‘There is so much to see here and we have only scratched the surface.’

CRUSH

SYDNEY TO HOBART DECEMBER 2022

here we come! HOBART,

Sailors & non sailors have been asking lots of questions about our campaign with Crush in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart 2022 Race so here are the answers from Dave Spearman (after his first Sydney to Hobart).

WHAT IS CRUSH? Crush is a TP52 (52 foot long) carbon fibre racing machine which is currently the largest boat regularly racing offshore in WA. It’s kept out of the water on a hardstand at FSC and is the 26th boat owned by David Davenport. It is normally raced with between 12-15 crew and has completed three Sydney to Hobart races with previous owners.

TEAM The team was a mix of RFBYC and FSC members with a combination of experience and youthful energy (though I’m not sure where I fit into this definition!). Hence, we had world champions, SailGP coach, America’s Cup and Olympic sailors; I considered our boat to be a largely amateur offshore racing team and somewhat different to many of the PRO teams that we were racing against. It’s worth highlighting that the Crush squad

in WA over the last 12 months has created an opportunity for many younger local sailors to shine and create their own pathway for the future.

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

The team worked hard in the lead up to Christmas with a focus in making the boat water-tight such that the front hatch was sealed shut. I doubt if the Eastern State boat owners realise the huge effort required to truck a boat across the Nullarbor and compete in this race. We celebrated our preparation with a great lunch on 25th December, prepared by Michelle, the skipper’s wife and our number one supporter.

SYDNEY START The start had an electric atmosphere with boats everywhere and loud noise from cheering crowds, boats horns and deafening helicopters. I had never appreciated the tight manoeuvrers required in the small pre-start area especially when it’s being shared with four super maxis. A real adrenalin high which probably isn’t the ideal way to start a race which relies on a tight-knit team operating together for best results.

Dave Spearman

top: rounding Tasman Island, southeast Tasmania (© Richard Bennett)

middle: celebration lunch in Hobart left to right bottom: Crush manouevres at the start; sharing the pre-start area with maxi Hamilton Island Wild Oats; nothing prepared me for the sun fish facing page, clockwise from top: Dave and Mark Spearman together on Crush; finish in Hobart; Mark Spearman with the christmas ham; Team Crush

DID YOU GET MUCH SLEEP?

Sleeping inside a noisy drum in tight spaces with limited access is difficult though fortunately the first part of the race was down-wind, so we had a relatively flat boat for 35 hours or so. We operated with three, two-hour watches which meant that in theory we had two hours sleep in every six, except when all crew were needed on-deck. A simple pleasure was finding a blown up goon bag to use as a pillow.

FOOD Food was surprisingly good and fresh for the first 24 hours then freeze dried or meals to be heated up in a bag when it was rougher. My favourites were the morning porridge and the butter chicken curry.

WET We never experienced the treacherous gnarly conditions that are known to occur in the Bass Strait. Though very different, WA’s weather

conditions had prepared us well with good safety gear and personal survival equipment. In a recent offshore race off the WA coast, we had huge spray coming over the entire boat and windy conditions this lead to several crew becoming very wet and subsequently very cold and unable to trim the sails. This resulted in many of Crush’s crew buying new heavier quality wet weather gear in preparation for our race to Hobart.

surface. We heard on the radio that a boat had lost its rudder from hitting a sunfish early in the race. Shortly after, we saw a large sunfish a few metres from our hull and I wondered whether they swam around in shoals and had visions of us hitting one!

BIGGEST CELEBRATION Entering

My scariest moment was not what I had expected even though we experienced 60 knot winds just past Tasman Island as we entered Storm Bay. I’d heard lots of stories about massive waves and huge winds and even read several books about the race but nothing had prepared me for the sunfish. They don’t attack you but they can weigh around a ton, are very bony and swim slowly just under the

SCARIEST TIME

Constitution Dock in Hobart was amazingly emotional and very rewarding with a large group of family members and supporters cheering together with a big crowd. After several hours of celebrating on board and a well-deserved shower we continued to enjoy our successful race in Hobart – absolutely no stories can be printed here!

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

My best memory in this race was sailing with my son, especially as it wasn’t expected. He was on the crew of Warrior Won ‘WW’, another TP52

which had come from the US with a PRO team and a high expectation of winning. On 24th December, based on the weather forecast, they cut their crew number from 15 down to 12 which excluded Mark. He’d known that this was a possibility as he had only recently joined the team. Later when he walked down the dock to let me know, he was immediately recruited by our skipper without my knowledge – imagine my surprise when he appeared wearing a Crush shirt! He had also checked back with WW who were happy for

him to race with us despite knowing that they were paying him to race against them – unfortunately we didn’t beat them, though we were ahead of them at the middle stage of the race.

RESULT The challenge was ‘to get to Hobart safely with a smile’ and hopefully lots of learnings for future campaigns. The outcome was a big tick and a smile from the skipper. Statistically we finished 16th out of 109 starters and just ahead of the four super maxis on handicap.

NOTE Team: David Davenport (skipper), Kai Colman, Kevin Costin, David Cunningham, Simon Cunningham, Ben Durham, Niall Morrow, Kenneth Riley, Adam Shand, Dave Spearman, Mark Spearman, Graeme Spence, Ken Stevenson, Mark Wheeler and Justin Wong. Shore support: Max Godfroy.

HOBART NEXT YEAR Ask the skipper.

IMAGE

Rob Hubbard & Susie Parker

DRAGON BITES

WA STATE DRAGON CHAMPIONSHIPS

WAS A NAIL-BITING FINALE to the State Championships for the Sir Charles Gairdner Trophy on 24–26 February with all podium places being contested right up to the end of the last race.

Race Officer Rob Hubbard hailed it as one of the best regattas he had been involved with based on the quality and closeness of the sailing, and the sportsmanship shown both on the course and at the Clubhouse.

The 17 starters were warned by the RO that he’d not hesitate to hoist the U Flag after the first general recall and apply it for the rest of the regatta. But that was not to be. Apart from a few individual recalls, all eight races had clear and fair starts.

Skippers and tacticians were challenged by winds from the east to the south west. There were lifts and breaks of around 20 to 30 degrees and large differences in pressure across the course in all races, requiring sailors’ nous in navigating which course to take and the constant need to change gears to optimise speed.

At the end of Day 1 Willy Packer in Scoundrel and Richard Lynn in Gordon had both taken out first places. By the end of Day 2, Richard and Willy were still vying for the top spot, whilst there was a group of four with only four points (net) between them - Grantham Kitto in Hotspur (21 points), Trish Ford in Canewdon Witch (21 points) Rob Campbell in Penny Farthing (22 points) and Peter Bowman in Akula (25 points).

The battle had hardly started though. Willy and Richard had a protest to sort out and Richard had finished an unusual 11th place in Race 6 – it might have been nerves from having father Bun watching from the spectator boat Swansong! Rob Campbell had a retirement to

carry. Peter Bowman had ground to make up on the last day. Trish had some mid-fleet placements to shake off. Andrew Foulkes had dropped placings when caught up in a skirmish between Penny Farthing and Relentless. And just to mix it up, both Grantham Kitto in Hotspur and Sandy Anderson in Blue Marlin had joined the elite FOTL* group!

With such competitive racing the RO was impressed to have only a few protests to consider and claimed it was testament to the sailors’ knowledge of the rules and their preparedness to sail within those rules. However, Mark Cubitt was a man to be avoided if things weren’t going well for a skipper and crew. He kept a close watch over the weekend’s proceedings and was amused by Andrew Foulkes’ issues with mast and halyards, awarding Foulksie Mug of the Regatta. Seems it’s left to me to call out Mark himself (together with Penny Anderson, Brad Stout and Rob Campbell) who had their own mast/halyard problems twice with Penny being strung up by the spinnaker halyard and then Penny Farthing losing the backstay in an altercation.

On Sunday, 100 or so sailors, volunteers and friends enjoyed a relaxing wind-down at the Club as the results were announced.

BUN LYNN TROPHY

The inaugural Bun Lynn Trophy for first place in the first race was awarded to Willy Packer in Scoundrel. Willy warmly acknowledged the extraordinary commitment, or better, love of the sport and especially of the Dragon class, that Bun

has shown in his 81 years of RFBYC membership.

TONY FITZGIBBON TROPHY

The Tony Fitzgibbon Trophy for consistency was won by Jennie Fitzhardinge. A well-earned outcome for both a determined skipper and a favourite old girl of the Club, Aeolus

SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER TROPHY

The coveted Sir Charles Gairdner Trophy for State Champion 2022–23 was presented to Willy Packer in Scoundrel, who battled it out with Richard Lynn both on water and in the Protest Room. Willy, and his crew of Julian Harding and Jock Packer, has now held the title for seven consecutive years. I will need to check the Archives to see if this is a record!

CHAMPIONSHIP :

1st Scoundrel – Willy Packer, Julian Harding, Jock Packer

2nd Gordon – Richard Lynn, Ethan Prieto-Low, Adam Brenz-Verca

3rd Akula – Peter Bowman, Steve Cole, Jeremy Shellabear

CONSISTENCY :

1st Aeolus – Jenny Fitzhardinge, Mat Selby, Daniel Arndt, Peter Hood

2nd Blue Marlin – Sandy Anderson, Susie Parker, Caroline Gibson, Fred Haes

3rd Sea Joy – Gerry McGann, Robyn Johnston, Jill Darby, Shane Atwell

WA State President David Meager, sailing Icefyre, was unable to complete the regatta due to a health issue. It was with huge relief that rapid on-water assistance was provided to the Icefyre crew via the RO and Richard Lynn’s support

DRAGON BITES

SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER TROPHY

top left: Bun Lynn presenting the Bun Lynn Trophy to Willy Packer

top right: Sir Charles Gairdner Trophy –Jock Packer, Willy Packer, Julian Harding

below left: Helmspeople L-R –Ethan Prieto-Low for R Lynn, Ray Chatfield, Rob Parker, Rod Williams, Peter Bowman, Sandy Anderson, Grantham Kitto, David Lynn, Jennie Fitzhardinge, Gerry McGann, Ian Malley, Trish Ford, Willy Packer, Andrew Foulkes, Rob Campbell, Kevin Palassis

below right: Volunteers – Johnny Fullerton, Deb Henderson, David Riddle, Richard Wright

RIB. Fortunately David was back on deck for the presentations and to welcome Fred Haes, President of the Australian International Dragon Association and Martin Jurat, Rear Commodore Sail, and to thank the following for their dedication and commitment to the Regatta and Dragon Class:

Andrew Locke Patron of WAIDA; Bun and Dee Lynn and the Lynn family for the donation and presentation of the Bun Lynn Trophy; Tony Fitzgibbon for the donation of the Consistency Trophy; Yacht Grot for the donation of gift vouchers; Steve Cole for the donation of Cape Olives Olive Oil and Hamman Soaps; Rob Hubbard Race Officer; Debbie Blaauw and Sharon Skinner RFBYC Sailing Operations; Kevin Palassis Class Captain; Ian Slater spectator boat Swansong;

and George Vaskovics and Lindsay Preece for photography.

RO’s Start Boat Team – Deb Henderson, Sandra Whelan, Jonny Fullerton, Katie Mileham and John Anderson.

Mark Layers – David Riddle, Mark Crier, Richard Wright, Tony Vlachou, John Anderson, Commodore Peter Chalmer, Peter Massee, George Vaskovics and Matt Zimmerman.

Protest Committee – Ian Burvill, Kim Lawrence and David Riddle.

WAIDA Committee – John Anderson, Ian Malley, Ray Chatfield, Rod Williams, Jack Lynn, Kevin Palassis, Susie Parker, Robyn Johnston, Sandy Anderson, Willy Packer and David Meager (President).

A very special thank you to John Anderson for his oversight and guidance with the planning and organisation on and off the water.

PRINCE PHILIP CUP

No need to repeat – there’s a full report elsewhere in Tidings on the four teams who toughed it out on Sydney Harbour in early January for PPC2023. Given RFBYC provided 30% of the entries, we’re leading the nation in interest and enthusiasm in the Australian Dragon fleets. Congratulations to the 14 RFBYC sailors for making it there and back and putting in a fine effort. Thanks to the owner/skippers Ian Malley, Ray Chatfield, Sandy Anderson and Rob Campbell who entered their boats and provided the representation from WA.

The PPC 2024 will be held in Metung, Victoria from 21–28 January 2024.

DRAGON BITES

2023 VICTORIAN STATES

2023 VICTORIAN STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – METUNG

Following the Prince Philip Cup in Sydney, Sandy Anderson and I towed Plum Crazy down to Metung on the Gippsland Lakes in readiness for the Victorian State Championships. It was a faultless 11-hour drive. We departed Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron early on Sunday morning via the Harbour Tunnel and on to the M1, M5, M31, M23, then the picturesque Monaro Highway and over the Snowy Mountains to East Gippsland. We left Plum Crazy grazing in a paddock near Metung. A few weeks later Sandy, Caroline Gibson and I returned to Metung to compete in the Victorian State Championships, January 27–29.

Sailing on Lake King, part of the chain of Gippsland Lakes, was a delight. Especially after the wind, rain, tide, chop and water traffic on Sydney Harbour a few weeks earlier. We sailed three-up (Sandy Anderson, Caroline Gibson, Susie Parker) and were pleased to complete all three races on Day 1 in 18–20 knots of breeze. Days 2 and 3 were milder, perfect 12–15knots. We held our own well in these conditions and were in the middle

of the small fleet of seven, with our best being 2nd place in Race 5.

Lake King is a vast body of water and enables longer windward/leeward courses to be set – up to 1.2 nautical miles between marks. The course can also be established in the middle of the body of water, so with no built-up areas and a relatively low-lying land mass surrounding the racing area, there are few sudden shifts. The locals were often split as to whether to go left or right.

The contest was very close with local Metung identity and AIDA President Fred Haes in Wicked II taking out first place in the first three races, whilst Nick Rogers grabbed second place. Nick Rogers, having also left his Karabos IX in Metung after the PPC, then took first place in Races 4–6. With Sandy Anderson and Damien Daniels (Imagination) taking 2nd places in the latter races, Fred had to do more than just come 1st in the last race of the Regatta – he had to bury Nick down the bottom of the pack. It didn’t happen and Nick won the title from Fred Haes (2nd) and Damien Daniels (3rd). We were 4th and faced the same challenge as Fred. To come 3rd, we had to beat Damien

in the last race by several places. That wasn’t to be – Damien had a great last race, a befitting performance for another Metung local.

Metung Yacht Club is a smart, friendly club with a rich sailing history going back to the 1930s. Their recently refurbished club house is near the centre of town, walking distance from a great pub and plenty of accommodation. However, the town fills up quickly in summer as it is one of Victoria’s most loved holiday spots. If you are thinking of entering the PPC 2024, then book early. And you won’t be disappointed with the sailing venue.

FORTHCOMING REGATTAS

Dragon Class Regattas for the diary:

• 2024 Prince Phillip Cup National Championship; 21–28

January 2024, Metung, Victoria

• 2025 PPC; January 2025, Perth dates TBC.

Don’t forget you can follow the Australian International Dragon Class on Facebook for local and world Dragon fleet news. If travelling, view the IDA website for events being held around the world: www.internationaldragonsailing.net/ fixtures-results/regattas-2023

right: left to right at the 2023 Victorian State Championships Lake King: Damien Daniel Imagination AUS 179, Fred Haes Wicked II AUS 226, Sandy Anderson Plum Crazy AUS 185 far right: Metung Yacht Club; Host Club for PPC 2024.

BECAUSE... THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO SPEND YOUR DAY!

Robert Parker

CLUB ARCHIVES TIDINGS MAGAZINE

THEARCHIVES GROUP have now completed scanning of all Tidings in our possession since the 1st issue in June 1961. This is in excess of 400 magazines!

These scanned versions have been stored in the Archives Filemaker database and can be searched by keyword, member name, boat name etc. This will prove invaluable in researching and preparing archives articles etc in future.

Members can seek digital copies of whole Tidings or specific articles – just give us a thumb drive or email address and what you are seeking. Ultimately these will be available via a suitable member portal. This functionality is some time away.

However, despite the huge catalogue above, we still have some significant gaps. We are appealing to all members, particularly those older members, or those with parents, grandparents etc who were members, to source the following missing copies. Note, some months may not have had a publication.

1960’s

1962 January & July

1963 February, May, August & November

1964 January, April & June

1965 January & March

1966 February & June

1967 January, June & October

1968 March, July, September & December

1969 February, July, September & December

1970’s

1970 January, April, July, September & December

1971 January, April, June, September & December

1972 January, March, May, August, September & November

1973 January, April, June, September & November

1974 January, March, May, June, July, August, September & November

1975 January, February, May, June, August, September & November

1976 January, February, April, June, July, August, October & December

1977 January, February & December

1978 February, March, May, July, August & October

1979 January, February, April, May, August & October

1980’s

1980 January, March, June, July, August, October & November

1981 January, February, March, June & July

1982 July

1984 February

1987 January & February

If you have any of these months, but wish to keep them, we would scan them immediately and return them to you.

Please contact the database project coordinator, Past Commodore Robert Parker, on 0419 906 753 or rpar1957@gmail.com, or come down to Archives on any Tuesday morning (please give notice if coming).

OPENING DAY AND TIME TRIALING SEASON NOMINATION IS NOW OPEN

Power Opening Day

Saturday, 6 May

Sail Past Commences at 1300

Short Time Trial 1330

Raft Up on Main Wharf at 1430

O cial Opening on Main Wharf 1500

Dock Party with live entertainment 1530

TRAVEL GRANTS INFORMATION

RFBYC Travel Grants are awarded to assist and encourage our members to participate at national and international competitions. The funds are derived from member donations and are awarded to help offset the costs incurred when travelling away. The following members received travel grants between January and March 2023:

above left: the alfresco taverna in Tinos

ASTERN OUR GREEK ODYSSEY

WHEN RE-READING AN OLD EDITION OF TIDINGS I was reminded of the wonderful times Jenny and I spent in the Greek Islands and the various club members who have either chartered yachts there or who are of Greek background.

I was first made aware of the facility to charter a yacht and go sailing about the Aegean Sea when John Tout and Tom Kernot tried to interest me in such a venture. Yes, I was most interested but at that time it was no more than a pipe dream. Several years later after Jenny and I got together I mentioned it to her and of course she just had to make it happen.

We spoke to some other members who had done this – Jonno Farmer, John Mackay and Clare Brittain, Eric Moyle and some others. It was all just too easy and not as expensive as I had expected particularly if arranged through Tom Kernot and John Tout with their connection with ‘Padomar Yachts’ in Athens. I was somewhat nervous about sailing in foreign waters but Tom said: ‘You have sailed to Rottnest haven’t you, and along the coast a bit? Well, this is easier because you are never out of sight of land.’

CUSTOMS

We also found some delightful customs on the islands: In a Taverna the host may ask the guest to ‘Come into my kitchen and see what we have. You can choose’. An invitation like this is an honour and must be accepted otherwise they will be offended. Once having made a decision on food the host will probably return with small glasses of ouzo and a flask of water. Adding water to the ouzo makes it cloudy but it cleanses the palate.

Greeks have been making wines for a long time and they are good at it! Each island seems to have its own special vintage and some of these, particularly the reds we found to be excellent. Problem is that they mostly make just enough for their

own needs and it is not available on the next island.

There are commercial producers like ‘Achaia Domestica’ on the mainland which we found quite pleasant. But the Retsina is special. It has been around for over 2000 years and originated from the custom of sealing clay containers with a pine resin which then leached into the wine giving it a resinous flavour and nose. These days it is made and stored in stainless steel containers to which a measure of pine essence is added. You either like it or hate it but we find it is perfect when served cold, fresh from the barrel accompanying a strong flavoured food such as BBQ squid.

From that initial trip we have visited over 40 islands in the Aegean Sea (only a small number compared with some of our friends) sometimes chartering a yacht and sometimes by ‘ferry hopping’. The lovely thing about chartering is that you are free to visit remote islands and bays and the downside is that if the weather gets a bit stroppy with a howling ‘Meltemi’ you may have a battle on your hands. When we were twenty-five years younger we managed perfectly well. These days with old age and ‘galloping decreptitude’ catching up, my preference would be to use ferries.

Our memories of some of those wonderful occasions need to be shared:

KALAMAKI

Our first charter cruise began from Kalamaki (small boat harbour just south of Athens) and headed south-east to Kea. The convention is that one must moor stern on to the land backed wharf to allow room for others. Those already there will

help by taking your stern lines and you must help the next boat coming in the same way. This time the boat crew helping us actually made it most difficult: It included a number of lissom blond females with long legs, bikini bottoms and bare tops. Where do I drop the bow anchor? How do I steer the boat going astern? Where is the wharf? Jenny calling: Watch where you’re going! Later, when we all ate together at the adjacent Taverna they had put their tops on; must have got cold.

TINOS

On entering the harbour at Tinos I circled looking for a space to moor but there did not appear to be any space left for yachts. My attention was drawn by an official looking fellow in white uniform with pistol on hip. A large ferry had just left and he was standing on the vacant wharf reserved for commercial vessels. He was blowing a whistle and beckoning. I thought ‘I am in trouble here’ so I took the boat over to see what he wanted, expecting to be told to clear out. He said in good English ‘throw me your lines’ and proceeded to secure us beam on to the wharf. I thanked him and assured him we would vacate the spot as soon as possible. He answered ‘Why you go? You not like the place I put you?’ Understanding Greek officials is about as easy as trying to pin them down to a time schedule. That evening we were exploring the village when my olfactory senses were excited by the aroma of something wonderful cooking. I said ‘Jenny, follow me, I don’t know what that is but it is what I am going to eat for dinner’. Around a couple of corners we found a bus stop beside a small brick shed. In front

ASTERN OUR GREEK ODYSSEY

of the shed were some charcoal barbecues and above, what looked like a clothes-line. The man cooking would periodically reach up to the line with a stick and bring down something to the BBQ. It was squid which had dried in the sun. But when over the coals it seemed to squirm. He cut it up with what looked like secateurs and put it on a plate. I still don’t know what marinade he used but that squid, washed down with fresh Retsina was just delicious. The buses stop running at sunset so he had set up an alfresco Taverna using the seat at the adjacent bus stop, in front of which he placed a small metal table. A perfect setting!

MYKONOS

Mykonos is very popular because as Jonno Farmer pointed out; it is beautiful: The windmills and colourful buildings with waves breaking gently against the rocks at their base and also the beach and bay where the film ‘Shirley Valentine’ was made. The houses are painted white and blue with bougainvillea climbing up the walls. The little alleyways just wide enough for a hand cart or donkey.

SERIFOS

Serifos is about half way between Mykonos and Hydra. This particular day there was no wind. The sea was glassy and the sun rays penetrated straight down to the depths. Dolphins danced on their tails to entertain us as we motored along. There was a strange sea mist hanging around Serifos and it gave the island a weird appearance in the distance. I pictured huge sea creatures; but they morphed into rocky promontories and headlands as we approached. It is easy to imagine

how Greek mythology and legends came about.

HYDRA

The main harbour of Hydra is very small and being a popular ‘touristy’ spot was overcrowded so we anchored nearby in Mandraki and paddled ashore to the fishermen’s wharf where there was a taverna. By this time it was dark. The taverna owner had been fishing for whitebait using a light and scoop net and putting his catch into an enamel bowl on the wharf. This was being guarded by a large fluffy cat which lay with its forelegs around the bowl and nose on the edge. The rules were clear: He was not allowed to pinch anything from the bowl but if any actually jumped out, they were his! By the way, whitebait cooked in garlic oil like the prawns we used to get at the ‘Witches Cauldron’ are delicious. Life on Hydra is slower than most because the only traffic is by bicycle with hand cart or donkey for loads. There were no trees on the island because they had all been cut down to build ‘ships’ generations earlier.

(It is interesting that in February 2023 a travel documentary showed a major tree planting project on the island of Hydra. The transformation is quite remarkable. At last an individual not a government, is taking steps to correct about a thousand years or so exploitation and neglect.)

TILOS

Our first visit to Tilos was in half a gale and there was no way anyone could moor at the main wharf. One of the local men directed us to the other end of the bay where there was a kaiki harbour (kaikis are small local fishing boats). He drove quickly in his small truck and

met us there. He then re-moored some kaikis to make room for us to moor bow and stern inside the sheltered area. To get ashore we had to use our rubber duck propelled by pulling ourselves along under the line to the wharf. There were no facilities there and the nearest taverna was about 500 metres back around the bay. When we walked in and asked what food was available the lady indicated there was only her husband’s ‘special dish’. As far as we could make out this was a ‘perpetual’ stew. That is to say a huge pot on the stove into which they threw a goat and a heap of local vegetables and herbs. As the level in the pot went down they just added another goat and more veg etc. It was delicious; those Greeks really know how to cook! From then on we always asked: What is your special dish?

NISEROS

The island of Niseros is basically square; a ‘mostly dormant’ volcano. People actually live inside the crater at the top farming, oblivious to the smell of sulphur coming from cracks in the shaky ground. Having managed to moor our yacht in Mandraki harbour Jenny and I went for a long walk. It was getting dark as we walked through the village and tavernas were opening up. As we talked a voice with a very ozzy accent behind us said: ‘Ullo, can I offer you people something nice to eat’? I turned to see a lady aged about 30 standing in the doorway of a taverna. I asked: ‘Where do you come from? Melbourne?’. She replied ‘Nah Fremantle!’ Stella was born in Fremantle, went to school there but when her grandmother died she had to go back to Niseros to run the family taverna. And it was nice to eat!

AGOTHANNISSIS

A few days later we approached Agothannissis but were unable to start the motor. This meant we had to sail into the wharf, drop the sails and get lines ashore all at once without running up on the rocks. Fortunately a man on the wharf caught Jenny’s bow line and secured it for us. He then introduced himself as George (it had to be George!). He said he had a taverna and we must come and eat there that evening. It was good: Grilled fish. When it came to paying I gave George a handful of Dracma which made him quite excited saying: ‘This all for me? You very generous man’. I was very generous. It transpired I had misplaced the decimal point and had given him ten times the amount required. But he was an honest Greek gentleman and laughingly returned the surplus.

Next day needing to replenish some supplies, we walked up the hill to the Chora (a Chora is the main village, remote from the harbour so that it is better defended from marauding pirates). It was Nanna Nap time so everything was all closed up. We sat in the square and waited. Eventually doors and shutters opened and ladies came out to chat and to sweep away imaginary leaves. One lady, seeing us sitting patiently walked over to a nearby tree and broke off a small branch laden with bright green fruit. She came to us and said: ‘Froot, froot, you have’. We could not refuse despite the evil green colour. As we walked back down the hill with the branch over my shoulder we found that we had acquired a small herd of goats apparently trying to get at the ‘froot’. This ‘froot’ turned out to be some type of plum

and despite the colour, was fully ripe and delicious.

SAMOS

A few days later we were at the harbour of Pythagorion on Samos. Again we were met by a man who said ‘My name is George (of course). You need fuel? Water? Rent motor car? I am also travel agent so can arrange for you to go to Ephesus.’ I replied that actually we only needed water whereupon he walked across the wharf to a nice little boutique and giving the pretty owner a kiss, produced a hose which he dragged across to the boat. After we had filled the tanks and paid him he said ‘Good; I am also Harbour Master. Now you bring ship’s papers to my office down there and pay the fee.’

KALIMNOS

At Kalimnos there is a fascinating little harbour called Vathi. It is like a fjord, several hundred metres long, very narrow and with steep sides. At the end is a small land backed wharf which can take about three yachts. It had been recommended by some friends that we eat at the taverna on the left (or was it the right?), and to mention their name. Actually, there were three tavernas so we started on the left with snacks, ouzo and retsina. No! That was not it, so we moved on to the centre one: BBQ squid, ouzo and retsina. That wasn’t it either so we moved on to the one on the right: Our host was all over us; sat and chatted with us while we shared several more retsina and ate a third course. As we parted he asked where our boat was moored and promised to bring us some cakes for breakfast. Next morning, we were woken from a fog by ‘himself’ with a large box of baklava-type sweet-

cakes swimming in honey. Just what my stomach needed at that stage. Anyone reading this would be forgiven for thinking that I am of the type who does not eat to live but rather one who lives to eat! That is probably not far wrong.

LEMNOS

My most profound memory of Greek generosity is of an occasion some years later when we found ourselves unexpectedly on the island of Lemnos. It was mid-afternoon and we had just arrived from Turkey. Looking for somewhere to stay we walked across the wharf with our luggage to an Hotel where we explained our circumstances. We had no Greek money and the bank was closed. We needed an ATM or something. The hotelier said ‘No matter, you come and see our nice rooms. You choose. But for money, the bank is not open and I think ATM is out of order. How much money you need? I will lend you.’ We did find an ATM at the other end of the town so his generosity was not needed. The following day we asked if he knew how we could rent a car for the day. Within ten minutes a lady appeared with a set of car keys and pointed to a near new Suzuki outside. I asked about papers, deposit or whatever and she replied: ‘No need, you have nice faces, you are from Australia.’ We spent several days exploring that island and the bay where the base hospital and adjacent cemetery had been established during the Gallipoli debacle in the ‘Great War’. A very poignant episode.

There have been many occasions such as these and too numerous to write about here. Maybe more later!

MEMBERSHIP NEW CLUB MEMBERS

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS

We welcome new applications for membership which can be completed online via the Club website. Applications need to be endorsed by two current members with at least five years of eligible membership. Members who are nominating a person should provide their Club membership number and email address to be included on the application. When the form is submitted online, an email request to verify the application and write a few words in support will be sent to the member. Further information about completing an application for membership is available on the Club website. Go to rfbyc.asn.au or scan the code.

DATES TO BE AWARE OF:

• Submit completed application forms to the Club by the last Monday of the month.

• General Committee reviews applications on the last Tuesday of the month. Successful applicants are selected into the process of becoming a member.

• Membership applications are placed on the notice board for a period of 26 days (except Juniors).

• Applicants for Ordinary and Reciprocal membership will be invited to attend an interview with the Membership Committee, usually on the second Monday of the following month.

• All membership applications which progress to the final stage of the membership process will be ratified by General Committee on the last Tuesday of the month.

• Applications for Junior membership are not required to go though the selection process and are tabled at the next General Committee meeting for election (last Tuesday of the month).

If you would like assistance with our membership process or have a few questions about the Club activities and benefits of membership please get in touch with Susan, our Membership Coordinator. Use the contact form on our website, phone the Club (9286 8200) or send an email to membership@rfbyc.asn.au

MEMBERSHIP NEW CLUB MEMBERS

ORDINARY

Member Proposer Seconder

Rohan Dalziell

John Annells

Hugo Packer

John Toll

Georgina Byass

Mark Kitson

Susie Grant

Polly Phillips

Paul Raggart

Benjamin Knight

Charles Welker

Deryck Graham

Sam Fogarty

Paul Begley

Sam Freeman

Vikki Baldwin

Past Commodore Dean McAullay

Trevor Lord

Willy Packer

Robert Black

Humphrey Hale

Sean Martin

Michael Hunt

Rob Black

John Royce

Vice Commodore Tim Cummins

Derek Carew-Hopkins

Jenny Fitzhardinge

Tory Packer

Andrew Jordan

Luke Paterson

Past Commodore John Anderson

Shane Yensch

John Naughton

Tony Packer

Willy Packer

Sheldon Coxon

Martin Ashby

Ian Freedman

Philippa Packer

Will Hammond

Ken Stevenson

John Wallis

Peter Hollings

Josie Clough

Justin Boelen

Nick Gray

Peter Bowman

ASSOCIATE Member Proposer Seconder

Christopher Charlwood

Sally-Ann O’Neil

Natasha Kornweibel

Sue Haywood

Louise Endersby

Patricia Lafontaine

Ian Hicks

Nadine Knight

Grace Tan

Hayley Clark

Sean Martin

Rear Commodore James Kornweibel

Grant Alderson

Mark Butler

Sean Martin

Michael Hunt

Vice Commodore Tim Cummins

Jenny Fitzhardinge

Chelsea Hall

Martin Ashby

Murray Kornweibel

John Hay

Frederic Flipo

Martin Ashby

Ian Freedman

Ken Stevenson

Peter Hollings

RECIPROCAL Member Proposer Seconder

Mark Thornburrow

Adam Santa Maria

JUNIOR MEMBERS

Gordon Blaauw

Past Commodore Rob Parker

Vice Patron Peter Ahern

Andrew Stavrianou

Member Member Member

Liam Luis

Aria Nevjestic

Alessandro Shareef

Bianca Knight

Chiara Kitson

Oliver Freeman

Josephine Hoar

Alice Travlos

Sienna Knight

Elise Kitson

Lucas Facey

William Hoar

Klara Travlos

Nina Kitson

Jayden Epari

MEMBERSHIP NEW CLUB MEMBERS

VALE 2023 PAST CLUB MEMBERS

CONDOLENCES are extended to the families of the following Members whose recent passing is known to the Club

Vice Patron John Baron-Hay 1934 – 2023, joined in 1951

NEW MEMBERS’ NIGHT

Held in February in the Members’ Bar, we introduced another great group of members and heard from a guest panel of sailors. Interviewed by Skip Lissiman, they shared their experience in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Our guest speakers were Ken Stevenson and David Cunningham from the yacht Crush and Anthony Kirke from the yacht Enterprise Next Generation.

Crush is a J/V TP 52 owned by RFBYC member David Davenport. The team placed 9th in IRC Division 1 and were the 20th boat to cross the finish line in Hobart. A terrific effort which you can read more

MEMBERSHIP NEW MEMBERS’ NIGHT

about in the article in this edition of Tidings magazine.

Crush crew list – David Davenport, Kai Colman, Kevin Costin, David Cunningham, Simon Cunningham, Ben Durham, Niall Morrow, Kenneth Riley, Adam Shand, Dave Spearman, Mark Spearman, Graeme Spence, Ken Stevenson, Mark Wheeler, Justin Wong.

Enterprise Next Generation is a Botin Carkeek GP 42 which came off the Fast 40 circuit and was modified for offshore racing. She is owned by RFBYC member Anthony Kirke and his boat partner Andrew Nuttman. They are the current holders of the SISKA Trophy. The team

convincingly placed first overall in IRC Division 2, winning even before a time adjustment was given and were awarded the Rani Trophy (most meritorious performance as judged by the Race Committee). This award for seamanship was presented to the team for standing by to assist a competing yacht who was in distress during the race. Well done team!

Enterprise Next Generation crew list - Anthony Kirke, Andrew Nuttman, Paul Eldrid, Tom Coker, Will Drew, Brenton Edwards, Simon Kirke, Mark Robins, Christian Stevens, Daniel Taylor, Josh Wijohn.

top left: Crush; middle left: Crush Team top right: Enterprise NG middle right: Enterprise NG Team bottom: Ken Stevenson, David Cunningham and Anthony Kirke

AT RFBYC

Dawn Service 06:30

Twilight Sail 16:00

DJ Entertainment from 16:30

Tables available in the Roland Smith Ballroom for dinnerbookings essential

John joined RFBYC in 1951, a member for 72 years. He was Commodore from 1984 – 1986 and was appointed Vice Patron in 2003.

John was educated at Wesley College, South Perth and went on to complete an Engineering degree at the University of Western Australia. Four days after marrying Bette they moved to the UK. Bette was the ‘bread winner’ while John attended London University where he attained a PhD in Engineering.

In 1961 John was one of the founders of Consolidated Constructions, one of Perth’s premier commercial construction companies who were responsible for several large projects in Western Australia.

VALE JOHN BARON-HAY 1934 – 2023

WITHDEEP sadness, the Club informs members of the passing of Life Member, Vice Patron John Baron-Hay aka ‘Baron’.

Amongst those projects were Royal Perth Hospital and the three-tiered grandstand at Subiaco Oval.

Together with his many achievements John was a founding trustee and current Governor of the Ron Tough Yachting Foundation and a former Chairman of Yachting Western Australia in 1973.

John began sailing in Cadet Dinghies with Jim O’Grady and George Winning (both Wesley College students) then moved onto heavyweight Sharpies. From there he graduated to Hornets, winning four national titles. John also represented the Club at the Hornet World Championship held at Hayling Island, UK.

After Hornets John progressed to sailing Solings, in which he won a state title. Following Solings, he moved into the Etchells class and in his last year of sailing Etchells in 2008 (the same year he retired from sailing), at the tender age of 74 he was awarded ‘Most Improved Skipper’, an award he was very proud of.

Whether you sailed with John, crossed tacks or enjoyed camaraderie after racing, you warmly felt his presence!

His guidance and friendship will be missed.

The Club expresses its deepest condolences to Bette and the extended family.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

She is a competitive boat having all the latest ‘go fast’ gear (including a complete set of sails) but also likes a gentle sail with easy to manage trim systems • Honduras mahogany hull with teak deck and floor.  Exquisite craftsmanship. Launched in 1965. Beautifully maintained with refit in December 2019. (She has been at the Club since 1982 and it would be wonderful to keep her here)

FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2023

A celebration of the Season’s endeavours and to announce the Club Champions and Consistency Trophy Winners.

Roland Smith Room

Friday 12 May 2023 commencing at 1900

$40.00 per person

Price includes a welcome drink

Food Stations

DJ Entertainment Cash Bar available.

Make your booking at https://www.revolutionise.com.au/rfbyc/ eventsregister/183660/

RFBYC

Or book using the QR Code