Tidings Magazine - March 2016

MARCH 2016

WARREN JONES INTERNATIONAL YOUTH REGATTA COUTA BOAT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

LEARN TO SAIL AT RFBYC

BUNBURY AND RETURN OCEAN RACE

CONTENTS MARCH 2016

Brava 45”

$799,000

One of the biggest platforms available, this 2007 model is powered by twin Yanmar diesels and and all necessities required for long range cruising including solar power, genset, inverters and a desalination plant. Beautiful three cabin interior with an enclosed flybridge.

Precision 56’

$389,000

One of the all time greats this boatman maintained twin cabin two bathroom model is powered by twin MAN diesels with an Onan genset and a beautiful beach timber interior. Equipped with long range tanks and a desal for extended cruising and a massive teak cockpit.

Precision 45’

$279,000

This example has been re- powered in 2006 with twin C9 Caterpillar diesels with digital controls and has only completed 480 hours since. The generator was also replaced in 2008 and is the preferred 9 Kva model. Superb exterior presentation and a twin cabin layout.

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NEWS FROM OUR FLAG OFFICERS Ian Clarke - Commodore Dean McAullay - Vice Commodore Peter Chalmer - Rear Commodore Sail Evan Moore - Rear Commodore Juniors Richard Williams - Rear Commodore Power ANOTHER GILMOUR ON THE TROPHY John Roberson

Well done to the team on Indian, they smashed the 21 year old race record in the 68th Bunbury and Return Ocean Race.

Read the race wrap up on page 18.

11 Caribbean 45’

$319,000

Renowned for their sea keeping abilities and perfect for our conditions with a massive 128 square feet of cockpit and accommodation for up to ten people if required. This 97 model has a full length cockpit awning with tender storage cradle and davit. Twin GM diesels and Onan genset.

Riviera 40’

$379,000

Perfect 2005 model with twin disc controls for the twin Cat diesels and a big Onan genset. Luxurious Cheery wood interior with a a twin cabin layout. Fully air-conditioned with an ice maker, teak decks and foredeck dinghy davit. This is truly one fine low hour example.

Riviera 39’

$199,000

Great family boat with all the comforts. Twin Cummins Diesel’s gen Set. Teak Cockpit. Tender with motor and winch for lifting. Raymarine GPS, Auto Pilot, Sounder. Muir Anchor winch. Very good U- Tec refrigeration’s. This boat comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

13 CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ARCHIVE TEAM

30 WELCOME NEW CLUB MEMBERS

14 MORNINGTON COUTA BOAT ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015

32 2016 LITTLE WHEEL MATCH RACING REGATTA

Lachy Gilmour

17 CLUBHOUSE NAVIGATION ENTRANCE LIGHTS

Ron Fletcher

34 FROM THE ARCHIVES

Basil Twine

18 BUNBURY AND RETURN OCEAN RACE

Susan Ghent

37 505 AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS 2016

26 PRINCE PHILIP CUP HOBART 2016

John Moncrieff and Sandy Anderson

38 SUMMER REPORT

Hayley Clark

29 NATIONAL AND WORLD CHAMPIONS

Gulf Craft 36’

$99,000

This big volume cruiser is perfect for going wide fishing with a large cockpit and huge marlin board and can sit on a comfortable cruise speed of 25 knots. Beautifully appointed saloon and two cabin layout provides ideal accommodation for the whole family. Late model motors.

Mustang 28’

$59,900

Highly sought after as a great family cruiser for those looking for a bigger boat experience then they have been used to. Capable of accommodating the whole team with a large cuddy cabin under he helm with a double bed and a forward V-berth for another couple or a pile of kids.

Kingfisher 33’

$249,000

2014 model with every extra required for economical and reliable offshore pursuits. Powered by twin Yamaha four-strokes giving a cruising speed of 25 knots and a top speed of 35 knots. Accommodation includes two double beds, separate shower and toilet and galley with dining.

Riviera 30’

$109,000

The Riviera 3000 Offshore is the ideal boat with a large flush cockpit and makes a great family cruiser for weekend stays at the islands. Accommodation for four with an Onan genset. With the reliability of twin diesels and the low maintenance cost of shaft drives.

Searay 30’

$32,900

Representing unbelievable value, this large volume sports cruiser is a great opportunity for a young family to enjoy this summer on the water or perfect for a couple of mates who want to be a part of the action. The port motor is new with one hour’s running time.

Baveria 37’

$159,000

Spotless 2007 model in absolutely as new condition with a superb timber interior and all the necessities for leisurely cruising and the ability to be competitive when required. Complete with teak decks, cockpit canopy and swim platform. Keep everyone in the family happy.

CLUB STAFF Chief Executive Officer Accountant Communications Yachting Operations Mgr Yachting Operations Assistant Dinghy/Junior Club Power Administrator Membership Accounts Assistant Administration Assistant Bosun Receptionist Training Centre Principal Sailing Administrator

Paul Bayliss Catherine Ramsey Deb Hanrahan Debbie Blaauw Jenn Suffield Jenn Suffield Casey Walsh Susan Ghent Karen Ozkara Zoe Rostron Nathan Stronach Pauline Rhodes Barry Martin Sharon Skinner

FLAG OFFICERS Ian Clarke - commodore@rfbyc.asn.au Dean McAullay - vicecommodore@rfbyc.asn.au Peter Chalmer - rearcommsail@rfbyc.asn.au Evan Moore - rearcommjuniors@rfbyc.asn.au Richard Williams - rearcommpower@rfbyc.asn.au GROUNDS STAFF Timothy Donahue, Laurie Martin, Shane Ramsey, Joel Sheppard PUBLICATION Registered by Australia Post Publication No 63312300018 To contribute or advertise in the next issue send your copy by Monday, 2 May 2016 to pr@rfbyc.asn.au

CONTACT US Keane’s Point, Peppermint Grove Western Australia T +61 8 9286 8200 www.rfbyc.asn.au rfbyc@rfbyc.asn.au

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IAN CLARKE COMMODORE

DEAN McAULLAY VICE COMMODORE

Not that long ago, the new year was welcomed with the traditional Club New Year’s Eve twilight sailing event. Here we are, well entrenched into another year and we’ve barely touched the ground. Busy is an understatement!

As we enter the last few weeks of the sailing season, it’s timely to look back at the last few months and all that has happened since Opening Day. Our Club continues to perform at a high level yachting wise and we are delighted and proud of our sailors that have been successful at State, National and World Championships in a very diverse range of classes.

Elsewhere in this edition of Tidings, you’ll read the wash-up of our #RFBYCgoeseast campaign. I applaud this initiative which united sailors travelling over the championship period under one common banner… Whether it was a junior sailor competing in their very first interstate event or seasoned professionals striving to win one of the biggest yacht races on the planet, the 100+ sailors are all members of our wonderful Yacht Club. If you’re like me and don’t have any idea how a social media “hashtag” really works, it doesn’t really matter. What is important is that the campaign united common threads of news and brought people and activities together in a way that related to each other.

Speaking of Opening Day, you’ll recall I announced the launch of the campaign to raise funds for a new Junior Clubhouse back in October and by December we were able to announce that everything had been put in place to start fundraising in earnest. I’m delighted to tell you that to date we’ve raised nearly $200,000. However, we’ve got a very long way to go to raise the $2M that we think we’ll need to complete the project, so expect to hear more about this campaign in the near future.

A number of members have taken the time to give their feedback on the “artist’s impressions” of the new junior Clubhouse and surrounding area. All input is very gratefully received and should be submitted via the usual channels to the Club office.

More recently, a new generation of sailing was borne in the guise of M32 catamarans competing in the highest level Match Racing event to take place in Western Australia since the America’s Cup in 1987.

The Fremantle event was the very first World Match Racing Tour event to be held in these impressive machines and it was great to see so many young local sailors competing. Notably, Club members Sam Gilmour, Adam Negri, Mark Spearman and Justin Wong flew the RFBYC flag as a result of their victory in the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta.

Whilst a professionally owned and run outfit, the World Match Racing Tour events rely on an army of volunteers to deliver these events.

I was immensely proud to run my eyes down the lists of roles and responsibilities and see so many Club members giving up their time to help run this event. I would guess that there were more RFBYC members volunteering than the rest of the Clubs combined. Well done and thank you.

I recently took the better part of a week out of my otherwise busy life to volunteer at the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing first-hand the professionalism of the RFBYC volunteers in action. And of course I came away in full admiration of the skills of the sailors, and was very proud to see so many of RFBYC’s younger members represent the Club so proficiently both on and off the water.

My congratulations go to Sam Gilmour and his crew on their victory.

Almost 700 members and guests enjoyed a beautiful night on 31 December to celebrate the New Year. It is without doubt one of the highlights of the Club’s events. Regular twilight sailing has seen a steady level of activity spiked by good weather, holiday demands and the desire to take advantage of the Club’s undoubted attractions to just simply enjoy.

Regular Club offerings are still well supported. Sunday breakfasts have been changed to a once-a-month Sunday Buffet and so far have been well supported.

Sunday sessions are scheduled until April and the Quarterdeck and monthly Sunday buffet lunches are still attracting a healthy number of attendees. The member dining offerings are proving to be popular with the casual menu being recently updated. The Bowline menus are constantly being fine-tuned with the seasonal changes and it’s fair to say that the quality and consistency are of a high standard which is pleasing. Member feedback has been overwhelmingly positive in this regard.

On another note regarding members - the last Tidings issue mentioned member behaviour and the simple things that make our Club better. I’m pleased to say that it’s noticeable that members and their guests are taking heed of the simple but important messages about what is appropriate behaviour. Let’s keep it in mind and please ensure that your guests are made aware of why we have a great Club.

The Club continues to strive to meet the needs of members as well as looking to create new and innovative ideas to retain and attract new members. We welcome constructive feedback and it’s important to understand that not everything is able to be incorporated into the busy and ever changing calendar.

On Friday, 11 March we held another Junior Member transition to Ordinary Member night. The evening provides an opportunity for the Junior members to be welcomed into the Senior Club environment in a less formal manner than a regular New Members’ night.

This initiative was introduced last year and has proved popular with both young and older members. The Club is also looking at ideas to re-engage with other less active members of various demographic groups to ensure that everyone has a desire to keep the activity at the Club at a high level.

We are very fortunate that we have a strong membership base and it’s important to preserve that ‘vibe’ that makes us such a strong Club. It is important and we strive to do it well.

To you all, I encourage you to make the most of the last few weeks of the season, to embrace the activities at the Club and most of all, have fun!

We value our members’ opinions. Feel free to send any comments, suggestions and feedback to rfbyc@rfbyc.ans.au

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EVAN MOORE REAR COMMODORE JUNIORS

PETER CHALMER REAR COMMODORE SAIL

As we enter the last half of this season I am again very happy to report that we are seeing more positive returns on our programs and ambitions. These come about purely because of the dedication and hard work of Club members, volunteers and staff and I thank them all for making this happen.

The Monday Night Keelboat programme continues as a work in progress and the late afternoon sail is a great way to enjoy good breeze and a deserted race track. Courses have been shortened marginally to allow for a daylight finish. The race is open to any division keelboat and spinnakers are used. My thanks to Kim Laurence and his team of start volunteers that make this happen.

The crew finding service on the Club website is taking shape and is available for crew seeking boats as well as boats seeking crew. There is also the whiteboard available outside the sailing office that lists the daily updates for Saturday sailors caught short.

This service is being supervised by Casey Walsh.

Feedback from the Fleet Captains is that the Windward/Leeward race days are being well received and enjoyed by all fleets with over 100 yachts on our start line this time.

The St Ayles Skiffs have been launched and one will race representing the Club at the 2016 Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong in early March. They are a fine example of the co-operative spirit in the Club and are also of the boat building skills of some of our members.

Barry Martin retired from his role as Training School Principal in midNovember and I thank him for the work he has done over many years in that role. Jenn Suffield is acting in that role at the moment as well as fulfilling her normal role as Yachting Operations Assistant for the Junior/Dinghy Club.

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The training courses continue to show growth and I anticipate that growth will be reflected in the school term enrolments also.

The 2015 Sydney Hobart delivered mixed fortunes for RFBYC yachts Indian and M3. Indian finished a fantastic 11th on Line and 4th on IRC Div1. M3 suffered gear failure shortly after the start and retired. She then scored a 2nd on Line and 9th on IRC Div1 in the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race.

A new race record was set by Indian in the 2016 Bunbury and Return Ocean Race as they claimed line honours from the 26 boat fleet.

The Warren Jones International Youth Regatta was won by Sam Gilmour (crewed by Adam Negri, Conor Nicholas, Jay Griffin and Jack Breislin) from Chris Steele (NZL) and Matt Jerwood (SoPYC, AUS). The event delivered all conditions and produced great racing from all teams. All three placegetters received a direct entry into the World Match Racing Tour event that will have just taken place off Bathers Beach, Fremantle in early March. The event is sailed in M32 catamarans and is a fantastic spectacle.

Over the Christmas break we had sailors in World, National or State Championships. My congratulations and respect goes to all of you that have worked hard to gain the skills to sail and represent the Club at that level. Our new champions are Dave Gilmour (49er, National), Conor Nicholas (Laser Radial, National and Youth), Rome Featherstone (Laser 4.7, National and Youth), Alistair Young (Laser Radial, Youth World), Clay Cook (Contender, National), Liam Wilson and Alex Thornton (Mirror, National). Recognition is also deserved by those that achieved a personal best or provided the challenge to determine exactly who was worthy of being crowned champion.

I look forward to sharing this great Club with you all in the next months.

The summer dinghy sailing season is progressing well. Our sailors have been very busy with many travelling to the eastern states to compete in various youth and national championships.

The International Classes Regatta was held at our Club in December with over 185 boats entered. It was a credit to our club officials and volunteers to see how the regatta was professionally run.

Thank you to all those involved.

Over the Christmas period the Club hosted the 50th Australian Mirror Championships. I am pleased to report that RFBYC sailors took out all the podium positions with Liam Wilson and Alex Thornton crowned as the National Champions. After the Mirror Championship the Club then hosted the Australian Contender Championships where Clay Cook sailed a dominant regatta to take out the title.

Congratulations to all our Mirror and Contender sailors who competed at these events.

There were 100 Club members who travelled to regattas overseas and on the east coast of Australia during December and January. It is interesting to note that these sailors were aged between 7 and 78 years old.

The following Club members were crowned champions: Conor Nicholas Laser Radial (National and Youth Champion) Rome Featherstone Laser 4.7 (National and Youth Champion) David Gilmour 49er (National Champion) Alistair Young Laser Radial (Youth World Champion) Liam Wilson and Alex Thornton Mirror National Champions Clay Cook Contender National Champion The training school was very busy over the summer school holidays. The On-Water departement has done an excellent job of promoting the school to the local community and this has shown in good enrolment numbers. A quick comparison of enrolments at our school versus other clubs shows that Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club is the club of choice for dinghy sail training.

The success of the school is now translating to an increased number of sailors in our Bronze Fleet, which also has the benefit of increasing our junior membership base.

I would like to remind all our sailors, volunteers and coaches of the need to operate safely on the water. It is important to use the correct safety equipment and remain alert at all times.

A good example is the use of kill cords which are attached to each one of our Club RIB’s. Please remember to attach the cord to yourself whenever you operate a RIB to prevent a tragedy should you fall overboard. Our Yachting Operations team is working hard to ensure compliance with all safety requirements within our dinghy racing program and we look forward to your assistance with keeping all participants safe.

Our dinghy racing schedule relies heavily on volunteers and lately we have found it challenging to fill all the positions each Sunday. If you can assist either in the canteen, on a support boat, or maybe raising flags on the start boat we would really appreciate your help. No experience is necessary, as our friendly volunteers will show you how it is done. Please contact Jenn Suffield our Yachting Operations Assistant if you can volunteer some time.

I wish good luck to our dinghy sailors who are competing in state championships and Easter Regattas over the coming weeks.

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RICHARD WILLIAMS REAR COMMODORE POWER

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS What a wonderful summer season here at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. Our members have been busy. We hope that you have been enjoying the Club, participating, relaxing and socialising here with your friends.

See you at the Club.

rfbyc.asn.au OFF-WATER EVENTS

Welcome to the 2016 power season.

I hope everyone has been able to enjoy some quality time on the water over December and January.

The weather was certainly very kind for those that stayed in Perth after Christmas with light winds and low swell. Fuel is the cheapest it’s been for over ten years so it has never been better to be out on the water.

ROCKINGHAM RACE WEEKEND

In late November thirteen power boats met at Rockingham to join in the annual Rockingham Race Weekend with a further twenty-seven yachts. The weather could not have been more perfect with clear skies and strong southerlies making for exciting sailing conditions in Cockburn Sound and perfect calm mooring conditions in front of TCYC in Mangles Bay. The power fleet were offered moorings that enabled an excellent view of the yachts as they powered into the finish only metres away before dropping sail. Talk about being right in the action.

As usual TCYC provided an excellent water-taxi service into their yacht club where everyone enjoyed the evening’s food and entertainment. Following a relaxed breakfast the southerly breeze soon kicked in making for a perfect trip back to the Swan River where many of the powerboats joined in a raft-up for the afternoon in Rocky Bay. The keen interest and strong support from different sections of the power fleet will mean that this event will grow in stature. We have several good initiatives in place to provide more guidance for first-timers travelling to Rockingham and build on the social activities through the day and afternoon.

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The year got off to a flying start with the Abrolhos Fisheries Information Night on 11 February. With inexcess of 50 attendees registered this indicates the interest from boat owners in this destination be they our seasoned Abrolhos veterans, fishing enthusiasts or budding first timers.

Clear understanding of the rules and gaining an appreciation of the sensitive environment is key to maintaining and respecting this incredible location for the enjoyment of all.

We look forward to announcing some further information evenings in the months ahead.

POWER OPENING DAY

Scheduled for Saturday, 7 May the Power Yacht Committee extends an invitation to all members to join us for the party on the main wharf following the sail past and short time trial to officially open the Power Season.

Participation in one or all of the activities is completely acceptable and your attendance does not bind you to the Time Trialling Season. This is a fun day and an opportunity to invite your friends and enjoy the festivities on the main dock as part of this annual event.

The Power Committee is focused on encouraging and assisting more power boats to consider Time Trialling in 2016. It is not like signing up for the local football team as your attendance is welcome on a part-time basis in the Club competition. There are many names that appear on the registration list each season but fail to participate in one event. In 2015 we introduced some technology options for firsttimers to make time keeping easy for beginners so family and friends can more easily participate.

PLASTIC TIDE – DO YOUR BIT

While I have a soapbox excuse me for having a whinge. Like many members I spend a lot of time boating on or walking around the Swan River. There are not many rivers adjacent to a capital city anywhere in the world where you can swim and catch fish like we do and I have seen plenty of bad ones in my travels! I always find it hard to understand why the local population accept it and it is part of the reason I have always felt Perth is such a special place in which to live. Maybe it is something to do with getting older but in recent years I seem to have noticed the presence of plastic so much more.

It is a rare trip down-river to the heads where I do not see a plastic bag or three floating on the surface and a morning walk around the river bank can have a rubbish dump feel about it.

My message is that it is hard to avoid the conclusion that boaters and fishermen are primarily responsible for a lot of the plastic rubbish as we all know how easy it is to lose things over the side when gear is not stowed carefully. On the river banks one of the most common plastic bags I see are the small, tough bait bags that we all know sit empty on the floor after a day’s fishing and blow out as we head home at speed.

My own ‘save the planet’ response is to stop the boat and deploy the kids with boat hooks to fish out the bags and I end up walking off the river bank with bags (fortunately, finding a shopping bag is never hard) filled with flotsam and jetsam destined for the nearest bin. I treat this as my moral credit for the times I have been the polluter and encourage all of you to do the same because, as they say, many hands make light work.

I look forward to seeing you at Power Opening Day.

#rfbycGoesEast What a great way to bring all members together and share news.

Thank you to RFBYC Offshore Committee for this new initiative, we plan to make it an annual occurrence. Enjoy the wrap up for 2015-2016 in this edition of Tidings magazine.

Connect with the Club Great to see our members and guests enjoying the Club at Sunday Sessions and other special events. Keep in touch with what’s going on through Gybe Sheet, our weekly Club email and connect with us on social media. If you are not receiving your Club emails, go to rfbyc.asn.au and sign up again. There are so many great things to get involved in both on the water and on shore. Jump in and make it yours.

Membership Enquiries If you have a friend or one of your crew members keen to join the Club, membership enquiry packs are available from reception or at the main noticeboard pigeon holes. You can also find all of the information including our benefits of membership table and handy question & answer sheet on the Club website under the tab ‘participate’. Contact the Membership Coordinator (Susan) with any questions. Our Club relies on the support of membership to continue to provide a wonderful facility with top notch activities. Please encourage others to respect our Club by becoming a member.

Welcoming our new members We had a wonderful evening in February to welcome our newest members to the Club. Thank you for supporting these important evenings, they make our new members feel very pleased to be a part of the Club. In March we will welcome our previous juniors and new young adults to Ordinary Membership. They will participate in a twilight sail on keelboats before their traditional welcome in the Members’ Bar. Youth and Young Adult Sailing We have something very special brewing for our youth and young adults. They are the future of our yacht club and we would like to keep them involved in sailing and engaged with the Club. Stay tuned.

ANOTHER GILMOUR ON THE TROPHY

BY JOHN ROBERSON Team Neptune grabbed the advantage and went on to collect the trophy.

The Warren Jones International Youth Regatta has always been a great springboard into the world of big time match racing, and this year provided a unique opportunity for the competitors. The top three finishers were given automatic entry into the World Match Racing Tour event being held off Fremantle at the beginning of March.

As the World Tour moves into a new phase of its life, with events all around the world being sailed in foiling catamarans, it will be interesting to see how these young crews make the transition from traditional keelboats to these new and turbo charged craft.

It is difficult to know what will happen to match racing in monohull keelboats, will it fade from relevance, or will the basic skills that it teaches continue to be valued in the world of professional sailing? Perhaps a whole new circuit of monohull match racing will develop.

For Sam Gilmour it has felt like a long time coming, that chance to get his name engraved on the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta trophy, but he concedes that victory in this event has not been as elusive for him as it has been or his crew mate Adam Negri.

This was the fifth time that Sam has contested the regatta, starting out in 2012, when he finished 7th, then improving to 5th in 2013, but it has been the two most recent years that have been the most frustrating for him, losing out in the final in both 2014 and 2015. Finally this year he nailed it in a replay of last year’s final against Kiwi skipper Chris Steele, only this year the results were reversed.

However for one of Sam’s headsail trimmers, Adam Negri, the frustration of losing in the final is a situation with which he is very familiar, having been on the losing side for the previous four years. As Sam commented, “I’m ecstatic, but he’s happier than me”.

Sam and his Neptune Racing Team of Jay Griffin, Conor Nicholas Adam Negri and Jack Breislin were near the top of the scoreboard from day 1 of the event. After day one, South of Perth Yacht Club’s Matt Jerwood with Sam and his team second, the boys from up the river had been undefeated through the first day, while the RFBYC team had suffered two losses.

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On day two Neptune Racing Team went through the day undefeated, but still trailed Jerwood’s Redline Racing on the leaderboard. Sam continued his winning ways on the third day, to hold the top spot at the end of the double round robin, with Chris Steele from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in second place.

Away from the sailing, one of the highlights of the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta, is always the Gala Lunch on the Friday, which is a very important part of the fund raising that keeps the event going. Over the years we have had a star-studded list of guest speakers, and this year was no different, with Mark Richards skipper of Australia’s favourite yacht, Wild Oats, entertaining the lunchers.

Jerwood and the Redline Racing team had tumbled to third place; another echo from last year’s event, when they led for the first two days, then fell off the pace.

Due to long periods of light winds on the first three days there was not enough time to run a quarter-final round, so it was straight into the semi-finals, with Sam electing to sail against Sydneysider Murray Jones, leaving Jerwood and Steele to fight for the other place in the final. The home team dispatched Murray Jones and his team from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in two straight races, to claim their berth in the final for the third year in succession. Chris Steele and his 36 Below Racing Team took three heats to defeat Redline Racing to claim his finals place.

Any competition between Chris Steele and Sam Gilmour is going to be hard fought, and this final was to be no exception.

Though Sam and his crew went 2 – 0 up, both contests were close, then Steele won the third race.

The Kiwis took an early advantage in the fourth heat. It looked as though we would need a fifth confrontation to decide the winner, but on the downwind leg Gilmour closed the gap, and in defending his position Steele gybed too close to his opponent.

He was penalised by the umpires, who thought the infringement was sufficiently serious the penalty must be taken immediately.

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Photo by Terri Dodds

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ARCHIVE TEAM ON THEIR AUSTRALIA DAY AWARD Each year the Shire of Peppermint Grove recognises a local organisation for its contribution to the local community over a number of years by the presentation of the Community Group of the Year Award.

The RFBYC Archive Committee was selected as the winner/of this award. Pictured below are Club members Basil and Jenny Twine receiving the award on behalf of the Archives Committee.

Yachties in the know know Doyle Locally

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MERCEDES BENZ MORNINGTON COUTA BOAT ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015

Andrew McMillan, co-owner Roulette and RFBYC Couta Fleet Captain.

Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club is a superb sailing facility and is the Mecca for couta boat racing at the highest level with a large fleet of more than 60 couta boats of various ages and designs and most sailed with competitive spirit.

The 12 boat couta fleet at RFBYC has a long history of competition and it seemed inevitable that the lure of big couta boat fleets would draw Western Australian crews to have a crack at the East Coast competition. Previous forays have been lead by Michael Ahearn/Geoff Ogden (the Victorians are still taking about that one!), Rob Cameron and Marty Jurat.

The Roulette crew had a good season in 2014/2015 so decided it would be worthwhile to put a campaign together for the 2015 Couta Nationals to be held off Sorrento in Victoria.

In our campaign preparation we focused on couta fleet coaching sessions provided by RFBYC and we are grateful for the knowledge and experience imparted by John Standley and Mark Lovelady.

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Transporting Roulette to the regatta was not practical so we sourced through Tim Philips (Couta Boat guru and owner of the Wooden Boat Shop in Sorrento) and “the Tram” was kindly provided by George Kimpton for this and previous visiting crews. Upon arrival we reset and refitted much of the Tram’s running rigging to replicate the Roulette layout although the relatively small main sail and jib would be a challenge in lighter winds we still figured we could achieve our objective of a top 10 result.

A race from Sorrento to Portsea the day prior to the nationals provided shakedown and an opportunity to get a look at the locals and although the dreaded handicapper had given us a tough TCF we were pleased to achieve a 6th place.

Light breezes of 7 to 12 knots were predicted for the series of 4 races over two days so with trepidation we set out to the course on day 1 with 30 division 1 couta boats.

In race 1 we made a brave (crazy) attempt at a port tack start and when nerves settled we got over onto a starboard tack and managed over the rest of the race to claw back 15 places and achieve a mid-fleet finish over the line and ninth on handicap.

The second race we got a great start (after 3 general recalls) and were able to keep in touch with some of the quicker boats and record a 4th on handicap. At the end of Day 1 we were pleased to be placed 6th on the leader board and feeling that if we could be consistent we might do a bit better.

We got an excellent start in the 4th race and were pleased to be well up the fleet at the top of the first beat and with some good downwind work put ourselves in a great position at the bottom mark which we managed to hold through to the finish giving us an equal 3rd for the final race on corrected time.

As we crossed Port Philip Heads on the ferry to Sorrento early on Day 2 we knew the forecast of light winds would be the order of the morning and could only hope that the breeze would pick up in the afternoon.

The presentation held a very pleasant surprise as the results were announced and we were elated to surpass our top 10 objective and achieve 3rd overall for the regatta.

A reasonable start in race 3 was not enough to overcome light winds and our small sail plan and the consequent challenge of low boat speed and strong tide and we managed a 14th on handicap and 20th over the line.

The breeze came in just prior to the start of the 4th race which gave us some heart that we could recover from our disappointing result in race 3.

Our hosts at SSCBC are to be congratulated for running an excellent regatta and providing us with much appreciated assistance around the club.

We hope to put another Roulette campaign together for 2016 and with the coaching support of RFBYC, who knows what we might achieve!

15

CLUBHOUSE NAVIGATION ENTRANCE LIGHTS RON FLETCHER North Freo Stand Up Surf Shop

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S ta n d U p S u r f S h o p. c o m . a u

In the last edition of Tidings I wrote a small article explaining why the red and green navigation lights affixed to the wall of the clubhouse main entrance show red to the right and green to the left when approaching the clubhouse at night. My article explained that the only time in which vessel sidelights can both be seen is when the observer is right ahead of an oncoming vessel. Subsequently, by mounting two sidelights at the entrance to the clubhouse for decorative purposes it was important that they be seen red to the right and green to the left therefore conforming to a true observation of a vessel end on.

Secondly, with respect to the opinion that the clubhouse lights be green to the right and red to the left, the member explained that a visit to the clubhouse was always a warming experience in that the clubhouse represented a refuge or a safe harbour from the turmoil of life. In order to proceed through the entrance to this haven and where calmer waters prevail the lights should be green to the right (starboard) and red to the left (port).

The article caused a bit of chatter between members but one member in particular wrote and proposed a different slant on the purpose of the lights as to why they should show green to the right and red to the left.

It is indeed a different slant on lighting our Club entrance however it must be pointed out that when approaching an entrance channel or passing between two breakwaters in order to seek shelter, the red and green entrance lights are always of a flashing sequence. This is so arranged that they can be easily identified against any other lights and therefore provide that quick reference to the entrance to the safe haven.

Firstly, agreeing that the explanation was correct in regard to end on view of a vessel underway at night; the member suggested that the lights alone depicted a vessel aground. Of course this is not the case. A vessel aground does not show the red and green sidelights, it shows instead two all-round red lights in a vertical line. I doubt that our Commodore and Flag Officers would agree to extinguishing the two lights on the clubhouse wall and hoisting two all-round red lights above the roof line so as to advise all and sundry that the good-ship RFBYC is permanently aground!

A wonderful description of one member’s view on Club life and in particular, the satisfying feeling of coming to the Club and enjoying good fellowship in a welcoming environment.

To comply with the members impression of entering a safe haven it would be necessary to remove the existing clubhouse entrance lights and replace with flashing red and green lights.

I doubt this would enhance the entrance. Our Club after all is a vessel. We have a stern with a mast, yardarm and gaff and appropriate flag etiquette. We have a bow which is depicted by our wall mounted navigation side lights showing green to starboard and red to port as we exit the club or disembark.

The feedback and alternative viewpoint is appreciated.

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16

17

BUNBURY AND RETURN OCEAN RACE SUSAN GHENT Hot on her heals, Craig Carter’s Indian was only five minutes behind and with the wind then turning to the south the Carkeek 47 would fly back to the Fremantle finish. At Preston Beach, the guys at Southern Race Control were monitoring the fleet for the 12th consecutive year and could not believe the speed of the fleet, absolutely charging past.

Chasing the two bigger yachts was Alan Stein’s Dirty Deeds. She and Trevor Taylor’s Optimus Prime were tracking a little west of the rhumb line. The pair arrived in Bunbury within a minute of each other but were behind Brian Todd’s Martyn 49, Sue Sea who had taken a route closer to shore.

The sun rose and the turning yacht Teelia Bell, positioned in Koombana Bay had a great view of the yachts while they lapped the bay. This was a new treat for Stuart Thompson and the team who usually monitor the fleet turning in darkness.

RFBYC’s Indian, racing in the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Photo: ROLEX Steffano Gattini

TWO YACHTS BREAK 21 YEAR OLD RACE RECORD, 68TH BUNBURY AND RETURN OCEAN RACE This year, the Club ran its 68th Bunbury and Return Ocean Race. The 170 nautical mile race started off Port Beach on Friday 29 January and took the fleet south to Koombana Bay. They completed a short lap of the bay along the Bunbury foreshore before turning north to head for the finish off South Mole in Fremantle.

Yachts come in all shapes and sizes but they are all able to compete together. Each is measured and given a handicap rating, whichever team sails their own yacht to its best potential in favourable conditions will win overall on corrected time. Then, there is line honours of course, fastest time in the race which is usually reserved for the larger vessels and race records waiting to be broken.

26 yachts contested this iconic event including Craig Carter’s Indian from RFBYC, fresh from the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The Carkeek 47 finished the race to Hobart in 11th position over the line, a fantastic effort in what will be known as one of the toughest editions yet with 31 retirements.

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Indian didn’t come away unscathed, the team lost the bow sprit early on in the great race and worked hard to get her ready to contest the race to Bunbury and return.

The race got away at 6pm. A short leg towards the shore and then the fleet set spinnakers and turned west, towards the gorgeous sunset, it had to be one of the most beautiful offshore starts ever. With a cyclone in the north of the state, the weather was unusual for the middle of summer. It set the stage for a likely race record, playing out perfectly for the front runners over the 170nm course to Bunbury and back again. As the fleet turned to head south the easterly stayed steady and they sailed a fairly direct course to Koombana Bay, arriving a bit before 4am. Walk on the Wildside was first to appear out of the darkness, Garth Curran’s Inglis 57 looking good to grab her tenth fastest time in the race and take the 21 year old race record of 18hours 57minutes from Syrenka.

In Division Two, Chris Higham’s Argo had suffered in the fickle winds early on in the race, so her navigators called an inside run through the reefs. They report “we passed so close to the beach that the fishermen camping along the shore were spotlighting us!” sounds like they had a bit of fun and enjoyed the flat water and steady offshore easterly wind. They did well on the south bound leg and entered the bay ahead of Giddy Up, Robert Halvorsen, and well clear of their other rivals, Ian Clyne’s Joss and Wasabi, Paul Arns.

Making the best of the breeze, the two front runners were relishing in the southerly breeze for the run home. Indian had passed Walk on the Wildside and the Carkeek 47 had her eye on the 21 year old race record. She wasn’t the only one, both yachts arrived to the finish in record breaking time. Garth Curran’s team did not manage to claim their 10th line honours but they too beat Syrenka’s time, Walk on the Wildside finishing in 18:20:55.

Indian had clearly broken the record by completing the 170 nautical mile course in 17:47:03. The 2016 race course was 1nm longer than previous years, the exact time for the honour board is 17 hours 42 minutes 09 seconds.

Alan Stein’s GP 42 Dirty Deeds managed to pass Sue Sea on the run back, it may have been the hungry crew working harder than usual, they reported not packing food heating equipment for the race. She finished third over the line and the first three Division One yachts placed in the same order overall on IRC.

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BUNBURY AND RETURN OCEAN RACE CONT...

Meanwhile, Phil Somerville’s S&S 34 Huckleberry was cruising up the coast in 28 knots of wind. With plenty of rain and squalls around, they ensured that their blind sailor, Ryan was tethered to the yacht, just in case. The weather did not play out well for the three S&S 34’s but they had a good race together anyway. Simon Torvaldsen’s Blondie ahead this time, then Huckleberry and RFBYC’s own Le Jag coming in last. Roger Raymond and crew did well to hang in there when the wind dropped out to nothing in the darkness of Saturday night and came in to the finish at 4:14am taking 34 hours and 2 minutes to complete the race.

Double Handed division, Todd Giraudo’s Kraken, Matt Dickmann’s Fifty Four and Alison Stock’s Selkie finished in that order across the line and overall. The other four retiring due to lack of wind. A huge change from the strong winds and rain squalls earlier in the day.

Giddy Up was the first Division Two yacht across the finish in 24 hours and 24 minutes but was second to Argo on IRC corrected time. Another RFBYC team, Ian Clyne’s Joss, made good progress on the return leg catching up to third across the line but fourth overall, Max Pelleschi’s Prime Factor overtaking them on corrected time.

Well known in Australian yachting circles, Bernie Kaaks followed the race and wrote afterwards “At the exact moment that race leader Indian crossed the South Mole finish line in Fremantle, the tail ender Vision was rounding the turn boat in Bunbury Harbour. There is no disgrace in this statistic – Indian is a 47-foot, carbon fibre ocean greyhound using the very latest technology while Vision is a fiberglass 27-foot Spacesailer 27, identical to the yacht sailed to Britain and back by John Woodhouse. In technological terms, the two yachts are worlds apart. In practical terms, it is a reminder about how accessible the sport of ocean racing has become.

There is no doubt that the big budget boats attract most of the attention but with today’s handicapping systems and safety features, ocean racing yachts costing no more than a small car can still enjoy the sport and be competitive.”

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The new format of the Friday evening start and additional lap in Koombana Bay is a great start to lifting the profile of this iconic race in the lead up to the 70th edition in 2018. For the competitors who arrived in Bunbury in daylight, they enjoyed seeing the City of Bunbury before turning to head north. This is an opportunity to connect offshore racing with our regional partners at Koombana Bay Sailing Club and share yachting with the locals. Sailing is accessible to everyone, it is a sport for all ages. Yacht owners are always looking for enthusiastic crew and there are plenty of options for kids and young people.

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HF Radio Communications

An RFBYC Offshore Committee initiative

#rfbycGoesEast – Sharing our sport

#rfbycGoesEast

These days, social media is a popular way to communicate to a wide spread of people in an easy to use manner. In sailing, even race committees and regatta organisers are now using these modern tools to publicise race information and share event news and race updates.

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Instigated by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club Offshore Committee, #rfbycGoesEast is a social media campaign. Its purpose is to provide a platform for travelling members to share their news during competition. The effect is a display to the community that sailing is a lifetime sport, accessible to a broad range of people. It also connects the membership of RFBYC and yachting community together.

For the 2015-2016 championship season, 100 RFBYC members signed up to the team. We flooded the east coast of Australia with our members proudly wearing their #rfbycGoesEast team t-shirts and team members included the hashtag in their related social media posts. All posts using the hashtag collected together leaving a public trail of news from our team for anyone around the world to see.

Sailing truly is a gender equal lifetime sport. The age range in this year’s #rfbycGoesEast group was 7 to 78 with a healthy mix of boys and girls, men and women. #rfbycGoesEast connects so many different people together. From kids travelling to their first interstate event with their parents, young adult teams finding their own way, mates who sail together and enjoy the opportunity to catch up with lifelong friends and our volunteer race officials who are committed to giving back to our sport. The added bonus is to inspire the juniors who relish the opportunity to be mentioned alongside their mentors and follow the news of their bigger boat racing idols. Put yourself in the boots of an 11 year old O’pen BIC sailor who gets his name on the same t-shirt as the guys from Indian Sailing Team who are off to compete in their second consecutive Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, chuffed and inspired?

Sailing is family friendly and provides an opportunity to travel together, make new friends and catch up with old friends. It is a great environment for kids and a sport which opens doors, providing them with valuable life experiences as they grow. It is a healthy reason for families to share a sport together and a great motive to travel and see new places. My own family experience this year involved three generations of sailors exploring new places together. The kids both competed in the Optimist Australian Championship, they made new friends from all over the world and hung out with their WA team mates.

The best thing for them was their grandparents joining in the family holiday and supporting their grandchildren in the sport they also love. We also competed in our class nationals, hung out with old friends, raced competitively all while the kids caught up with their interstate mates in that group of friends. Along the 9700km journey by road, we bumped in to many friends that we’ve known for a long time all because of our sport. We may otherwise never have met and it is these sort of mates, from all walks of life who may just become very handy contacts to have. #rfbycGoesEast has a wonderful collection of pictures and news from our team members, click on it and have a look. Visit on social media by searching the hashtag or read about it on the Club website rfbyc.asn.au There are so many different ways to participate or compete in yachting. Individuals, teams, couples, families, any age or gender, just about anyone can have a go. Sailing is a healthy sport, it builds confidence in kids, opens doors for youth and keeps adults active and social. For those who get hooked, it is a lifelong journey that is even better if you share it and pass it on.

`

#rfbycGoesEast #rfbycGoesEast "Sydney had it all, ferries, liners, sea planes, 18 foot skiffs and crazy weather. It was awesome! My first 9er Nationals will be one to remember." (Murray, 29er helm, age 12.)

“Our tour over east was exiting whilst also challenging, especially when it's your first year in the 49er class. With the countless hours of training and racing against Australia's elite we managed to gain unmatched experience.”

(Shannon, 49er helm, age 19) “Never mind the race, the satisfaction and achievement of pulling the campaign together, the way the team worked through huge logistic and administrative challenges just to get to the start line, that still made it all worthwhile. “ (John, TP 52 crew, age 34)

ROYAL FRESHWATER BAY YACHT CLUB S A I L I N G T E A M 2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6 Optimist: Lucy Alderson, Molly Alderson, Jamie Bougher, Astrid Fleet, Axel Fleet, Ezra Kaye, Mia Lovelady, Roberto Martelli, Thomas Ostergaard, Grace Owen, Lachy Owen, Catherine Pile, Assisi Torre, Marcello Torre, Raffael Torre, Henry Townes. O’pen BIC: Aaron de Longville, Emily de Longville, Will Drew, Jenna Everett, Jonathon Everett, Rosie Hennessy, Genevieve Hennessy, Oliver Mitteregger, Florian Mitteregger, Sam Rose, Jack Saggers, Kaiella Taylor. 29er: Andrew Buchan, Murray Buchan, Hayley Clark, Annabelle Davies, Sarah Hales, Holly Hunt, Isabelle Kenny, Oliver Medd, Josh O’Dea, Sophie Townes, Brendon Wright, Aaron Wright.

International 420 Class: Liam Forrester, Josh Pang. International 505: Andrew Cawley, Josh Mewburn. Match Racing and 49er: David Attwell, Will Boulden, Doug Campbell, Emerson Carlberg, Ryan Donaldson, Nick Gale, Damian Garbowski, Lachy Gilmour, Sam Gilmour, Max Giudice, Cameron Seagreen, Shannon Wright.

Hobie 16: Susan Ghent, Cam Owen. Laser: Romë Featherstone, Alice Gallen, Zac Littlewood, Mark Spearman, Campbell Stewart, James Stewart, Zoe Thomson. Star: Mark Lovelady. Etchells: Gus McBriar, Gordon Blaauw, Ben Durham, Andy Fethers, Sean Gregory, Bruce Maloney, Alistair Murchison, Matt Smith, Dirk van der Struyf.

Couta Boat: Mark Butler, Simon Hadlow, Andrew McMillan. International Dragon Class: Sandy Anderson, Stephen Collibee, Peter Massee, John Moncrieff, Geoff Totterdell. Officials: Remy Donraadt, Trish Ford, Peter Hay, John Standley.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Tim Barton, Craig Carter, Paul Eldrid, John Enkelmann, Brent Fowler, Peter Hickson, S t e p h e n L o c k e , Ti m o t h y L y n c h , B r i a n M cM a s t e r , J o h n N a u g h t o n , J a y H a l l i g a n , S a r a h Wa r e .

PRINCE PHILIP CUP HOBART 2016 JOHN MONCRIEFF AND SANDY ANDERSON Two crews from RFBYC travelled to Hobart for the 2016 Ted Albert Memorial Trophy and the Prince Philip Cup regattas being held out of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania (RYCT) on the Derwent Estuary.

Sandy Anderson had towed Linnea (AUS 210) across the Nullarbor to attend the Dragon Tasmanian State Championships in early-December. She was joined by long-term crew John Moncrieff and Hobart local Andrew Roberts for the regattas. Geoff Totterdell sailed a local Tasmanian boat as Allegra (AUS 199) with crew Stephen Collibee from RFBYC and boat owner Wayne Wagg from the Hobart Dragon fleet. The regattas saw the return to Dragon competition of Nick Rogers, 10 times PPC winner and winner of the 1995 World Championship off Fremantle, in Karabos IX (AUS 205) with his long-time crew of Leigh Behrens and Simon Burrows. Gordon Ingate in Whimsical (AUS 217), the current Prince Philip Cup holder at 89 years of age, with his expert crew of Olympic medallist David Giles and David Brittain from Sydney, were also there to defend the title.

The spare day was used for Bubbles’ famous BBQ at Kettering where the crews of Linnea, Whimsical and Allegra enjoyed a marvellous evening overlooking the d’Entrecastaux Channel to Bruny Island.

TED ALBERT MEMORIAL TROPHY

With one heat to go Karabos IX had the series sown up while Linnea was ahead of Whimsical by one point with no other challengers for the podium positions. Whimsical had to beat Linnea and place third or better to climb back into second spot.

Race 1 was sailed in moderate breeze with Sandy establishing an early lead followed by Geoff, however fickle winds left Linnea 4th and Allegra 8th at the finish. The breeze had increased slightly for race 2, with Linnea this time capitalising on their early lead to take the win. Race 3 was sailed in similar breezes, and Linnea again led at the first mark, however fell foul of a few more holes in the breeze once again to finish third. This left the overall result as 1st - Karabos IX (5 pts).

2nd - Linnea (8pts). 3rd - Whimsical (11pts)

PRINCE PHILIP CUP

Day one and Race 1 saw a biased start line give the pin end boats the advantage off the line which saw Linnea lose out, but favouring local boat Karabos IX, who led from start to finish with a commanding performance. Linnea having been 7th at the first mark fought back to finish fourth.

After a long postponement, race 2 got underway at the second attempt. Linnea rounded the top mark second to Whimsical, followed by Allegra and Karabos IX a fair distance back. Linnea and Whimsical split tacks up the second beat, and at the cross Linnea was comfortably ahead, taking a lead she’d hold to the finish.

With only a little more wind, race 3 saw a left sided beat leading to a bit of a drag race. Karabos IX led for the entire race with Linnea covering Whimsical and finishing in that order.

Race 4 saw Karabos IX nail the start while Linnea and Whimsical were in trouble near the middle of the line.

Whimsical was able to tack off early where she picked up some good breeze to be only two lengths behind Karabos IX at the first cross while Linnea was still struggling further back. Linnea however, fought back through the race and at times may have had the chance to snatch the win, however spurned the chances to finish third.

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Day 2 and Race 5 started in just as many knots and the three series leaders resumed their battle at the front of the fleet.

Linnea got a great start at the favoured boat end of the line, snatching the lead at the start of the first run with a snappy hoist. From there she extended up to ended up finishing over a minute in front of second place Karabos.

Race 6 took place in a light but building breeze, but to make things more interesting occasional big shifts and “bullets” of up to 25 knots! Linnea started well again however picked the wrong side of the first beat. To add insult to injury, she then touched the windward mark meaning a penalty turn was required, leaving her last. A brave fightback saw Linnea move up to fourth going to the finish, however luck was again not smiling on her as another competitor pipped them on the line.

Race 7 saw similar conditions to race 6, and with the main protagonists all starting well. The battle for second overall created a split from the main pack and those two ended up well down after the first windward mark, however Linnea led the pair by a short margin. From a seemingly conservative position, Linnea was then deal a cruel hand, sailing into a completely dead patch and with the current setting her backwards, whilst the close rival managed to keep sailing in light air. A major windshift didn’t do anything to improve matters and with the wind now puffing up to 18 to 25 knots. Whimsical worked up to third while Linnea finished tenth.

For Sale “HYDROTHERPY”

The Tasmanians were extraordinarily welcoming and helpful.

The regatta was very well run and most enjoyable. Many thanks to RFBYC for their encouragement and support.

The final top three were: PLACE BOAT NAME CREW NUMBER

CLUB

SCORE

1

KARABOS IX AUS 205

Nick Rogers Lee Brehens Simon Burrow

RYCT

8.0

2

WHIMSICAL AUS 217

Gordon Ingate David Giles David Brittain

RSYS

15.0

3

LINNEA AUS 210

Sandy Anderson RFBYC 16.0 John Moncrieff Andrew Roberts

Farr 36 Launched December 1996. Well maintained.

She is a great club racer/cruiser/social twilighter. With a light and airy interior she will safely and happily race or cruise to Busselton, Rottnest or further afield.

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OUR RECENT NATIONAL AND WORLD CHAMPIONS Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club congratulates all of our sailors who competed in World and National Championships over the past three weeks. Outstanding sportsmanship was demonstrated by all our sailors - a special congratulations to those placed in podium positions or achieved a personal best!

2015 2015 Horizon Horizon PC52 PC52 $2,890,000 $2,890,000 2015 Horizon PC52 $2,890,000

2009 55 $1,180,000 2009 Maritimo Maritimo 55 Maritimo $1,180,000 2009 55 $1,180,000

2006 Riviera 60 $980,000

2006 2006 Riviera Riviera 60 60 $980,000 $980,000

2007 Mustang 37 $299,000

Maritimo Maritimo M48 M48 –– From From $1,280,000 $1,280,000 Maritimo M48 – From $1,280,000

2006 60 2006 Maritimo Maritimo 60 $998,500 $998,500 2006 Maritimo 60 $998,500

Alistair Young: Laser Radial ISAF Youth World Champion

2007 Jenneau Sports Cruiser 50ft $390,000

Clay Cook: Contender National Champion

David Gilmour and Crew: 49er National Champions

Conor Nicholas: Laser Radial National & Youth Champion

Conor Nicholas

Romë Featherstone: Laser 4.7 National & Youth Champion

Liam Wilson & Alex Thornton : Mirror National Champions

2007 2007 Jenneau Jenneau Sports Sports Cruiser Cruiser 50ft 50ft $390,000 $390,000

1986 Randell 41 $115,000

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WELCOME NEW CLUB MEMBERS

NEW MEMBERS NIGHT

ORDINARY Member Proposer Adrian Strang Gordon Blaauw Tobias Byrne Gary McNally Ross Dennis Garry Manners Gres Vukman Richard Williams Zlatan Golic Bradley Stout Jack Griffin Ian Deany Daniel Lane Evan Moore

Seconder Dan Fisher Bruce Maloney Clive Hawkes Ian Olson Ian Clarke Ian Williams Grant Alderson

ORDINARY 18-20 Member Proposer Damian Garbowski Manfred Speicher

Seconder William Boulden

ASSOCIATE Member Proposer Jane Broadhurst Dan Fisher Janie Walton Gordon Blaauw

Seconder Ben Riley Dean McAullay

JUNIOR 16-17 Member Zavier Riches Silke Walton

TRANSITION TO ORDINARY MEMBERSHIP EVENING

JUNIOR UNDER 16 Member Lachlan Norcott Max Jones Angus Dodd Sophie Lane Jemima Lane Jyles Coad-Ward Keanu Schipper

IMPORTANT DATES FOR MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS

Membership applications (with signature and endorsement of two Members with five+ years membership) must be submitted to the Membership Coordinator by post, deliver to the Club or email to membership@rfbyc.asn.au 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.

Ordinary membership applicants will be invited to attend an interview with the Membership Committee on the first Monday of the following month or thereafter.

Membership applications are placed on the notice board for a period of 26 days (except Juniors) All membership applications which progress to the next stage of the membership process will be ratified by General Committee on the last Tuesday of the month.

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Friday, 11 March we welcomed our younger members to adult membership of the Club at a ‘Transition to Ordinary Membership’ evening. Thank you to our race yachts, The Next Factor, Black Betty and Joss.

TRAVEL GRANTS The Club is pleased to confirm the following members were recipients of travel grants for December, January and March.

Raffe Torre Stefan Golic Andrew Cawley Angus McBrian (Gus) Ella Giudice Bruce Maloney

Emilia Horn Marcello Torre Lachy Gilmour Sandy Anderson Annabelle Davies Hayley Clarke

Lucy Alderson Molly Alderson Gordon Blaauw Peter Massee John Moncrieff Dirk Van der Struyf

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2016 LITTLE WHEEL MATCH RACING REGATTA LACHY GILMOUR

LEARN TO SAIL CLASSES AT RFBYC

SCHOOL HOLIDAY FUN

RFBYC will be running childrens’ holiday courses during the coming school holidays.

2016

Photo: Perth Sailing Photography Rick Steuart

This year’s Little Wheel Match Racing Regatta hosted by South of Perth Yacht Club once again brought a tough line up including number 6 in the ISAF world match racing rankings, Matt Jerwood, as well as five RFBYC teams, 1 other SoPYC team and a young team from Queensland.

Raced in the high performance Bakewell White 8’s, there was guaranteed to be some carnage and exciting action throughout the three-day regatta in January.

The first day brought some excitement as for some teams it was their first event and it provided a great opportunity for those to challenge themselves against the world’s best.

The easterly breeze was incredibly unpredictable and shifty which produced significant entertainment for the spectators watching from the end of the South of Perth jetty. The opening round robin was completed in the first day which found Matt Jerwood on top going undefeated with 7 wins while Will Boulden, Mark Spearman and the Gilmour Racing Team boys all on 5 wins and 2 losses.

Day two saw very similar conditions, however with greater shifts and a larger range in the wind strength. The second round robin began and upsets between teams included the match between Ethan Prieto-Low and Matt Jerwood where Matt was awarded a penalty midway through the race for a lousy touch between sails, with Ethan going on to with the race quite comfortably. Will Boulden again conceded against fellow club member Mark Spearman and his team.

The semi finals saw Matt Jerwood unsurprisingly finish on top, myself in second, Will Boulden in third and Mark Spearman in a comfortable fourth place.

For the final day of racing, Matt Jerwood chose to race the first-to-three semi final against Mark Spearman, while we battled the morning against Will Boulden. Unfortunately Mark was unable to take control early against Matt and lost 3-0, which enabled Matt to go through to the final. In the other semi final, it was Will Boulden who took the first blood in a very close race of many penalties.

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The second race went to Gilmour Racing Team with the scores now level. In the third race, we were awarded a tough penalty for scraping into the exclusion zone, and were then unable to offset the penalty and subsequently lost the race. It was a do or die for the boys having to win the next two races to stay alive. In some of my closest racing to date, we managed to dig deep and stay in front from the beginning and stay clean without penalties to sail through to the final by winning both remaining races.

It was once again a Jerwood/Gilmour final showdown. The first race we took an early lead and claimed the race win.

We couldn’t hold on in the second race with Matt levelling the scores. The third race went to the RFBYC boys after a solid prestart inflicting a penalty on Matt and leading him round the course to win the race. The final race again saw some top quality boat handling with both teams slithering down past the jetty in the prestart, however it was the GRT boys who got off the start with the advantage. Incredible shift play allowed us to extend throughout the race and cross the line to claim the regatta win 3-1.

Week 1

Monday, 11 April – Friday, 15 April

Week 2

Monday, 18 April – Friday, 22 April

Private lessons are also available during both weeks.

For Sale S97, DIV 1

WELL KNOW YACHT AROUND THE CLUB. Full or part share available (6 owners) POA

GRANT ALDERSON ALL LEVELS OF COACHING YACHT RIGGING & SPLICING YACHT FITOUTS & MANAGEMENT HARDWARE SERVICING MAST & BOOM SUPPLY & MAINTENANCE RACE PREPARATION & TUNING BALUSTRADE / TRELLIS WIRES

FINAL PLACINGS: Lachy Gilmour (RFBYC) Matt Jerwood (SoPYC) Mark Spearman (RFBYC) Will Boulden (RFBYC) Matt Lingard (SoPYC) Ethan Prieto-Low (RFBYC) Douglas Campbell (RFBYC) Annie Eastgate (QLD)

Recreational Skippers Ticket courses are available for children 14 years and over. Participants must be able to swim and be water confident.

BOAT MAINTENANCE & DETAILING

Big thanks to SoPYC for hosting the event and to RFBYC for the continued support. Looking forward to what the coming year brings.

1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH 7TH 8TH

Conducted on the safe, sheltered waters of Mosman Bay, the Club offers a range of courses designed for children 6 years and upwards, for complete novices to learn to race.

Fees start from $160.00 for Little Tackers (10 hours) including use of Club boats and safety equipment.

WORKSHOP & ONSITE MOBILE SERVICES Fantastic yacht for racing and cruising.

Fast and very forgiving to sail.

Very strong local one-design fleet. Ready to race this season and in class racing. Division 1, IRC and AMS. Rates very well for IRC (optimised) & IMS as well. Current IRC and IMS champion at RFBYC. Sleeps up to 8. Many sails included, Yanmah 18hp shaft. Auto helm. Safety gear, toilet, Stove, Sink, 2 Ice chests, GPS, Radio. Simple mast lowering gear Has been a fantastic yacht, just upgraded to a larger yacht.

$70000

Please call Tim Gardner 0414489148

DEALER FOR PINNELL & BAX SAILS More Than 25 Years Professional Experience Flying 15 World Champion Paralympic Coach Mobile: 0412 944 909 Email: grant.alderson@gmail.com Unit 2/ 23 Carrington Street Nedlands 6009

ASTERN - FROM THE ARCHIVES BASIL TWINE THE LADIES OF RFBYC

Today there is no differentiation between the sexes within the membership of RFBYC. However, it was not always that way. At the November 1968 General Committee meeting Stephen Parker mentioned that a female Junior Club member had had to leave the club because of her age in order to continue sailing.

But it was not until the 86th AGM on 17 June 1982 that the Constitution was changed to allow females to become full members of the Club.

The matter of female membership had been raised and discussed heatedly many times over these years.

Female Associate membership had been allowed but with limitations and an infamous sign fixed to a pillar at the eastern corner of the bar which read “NO FEMALES SOUTH OF THIS POINT”.

We would love to have this sign back for historical purposes. A reward could be issued.

In the early days of the Freshwater Bay Yacht Club the “Ladies” were permitted on the premises on Opening Days and were expected to provide afternoon tea. Later still the wives of some of the “Committee” were asked to provide afternoon teas on a regular basis to the sailors after racing. Commodore Percy Oliver recalled in his oral history where for sixpence they could go upstairs and purchase a sandwich, a small cake and a cup of tea. After consuming this they would sneak back into the boatshed below and share an illegal bottle of beer.

In fear of being beaten to death with an umbrella or a handbag one might jest that maybe we shouldn’t have allowed such a radical change. But quite seriously, there is no doubt that the female members of the Club have contributed enormously to the history of the Club and are now well and truly part of it’s culture. Although we are yet to elect a female member of General Committee or Flag Officer, in many ways we would be lost without their contribution and wisdom.

Some of our better known female members include: Molly Best Who remembers Molly now? Apart from being a pretty competent crew she sailed with Lucius Manning in Scud for many years. She was also probably the only lady to be involved in a mutiny at RFBYC.

Lucius had become a bit deaf, somewhat arthritic and reluctant to give way to other yachts. One day, when he prevailed on Molly to sail with him and Frank Ackland she extracted a promise that he would hand the tiller over to Frank. After leaving the pen this did not happen so she asked several times and Lucius replied “don’t distract me Molly”. So about 100 yards north of the main wharf she jumped in and swam back to the Club.- No mean feat for a young person in appropriate garb. Molly was neither young nor appropriately dressed - The men had no option but to return to the pen. Molly, later over a beer, explained to Lucius that she was simply afraid to sail with him.

Dr Mary Surveyor At one stage State Women’s Champion and also President of YAWA. Mary and husband Ivor sailed together for years in their SS22 Pulsar. One day she appeared carrying a rather mangled bow rail and was asked who had been on the tiller.

She admitted that she had been “but Ivor was on the mainsheet and that is a lot more powerful than the tiller”. Ivor had sheeted the mainsail in too early and they rounded up into Bond Spit.

Jill Craig (Cassidy) was a champion Cherub sailor but had to leave the Club in 1968 when she reached the age for full membership because females could not be full members. Her father, Past Commodore Steve Craig was devastated when, to continue sailing she transferred to MBSC. Subsequently with husband John she toured with the JESS team on several occasions. Once the rule excluding women members was changed Jill Craig was the first ever female member accepted.

Patricia Ann Ford: Trish joined the Club in 1987 and immediately demonstrated her considerable ability in sailing – particularly in Dragons. She has served on several sub-committees and in 2003 created Club history when co-opted to serve on General Committee. She still sails her Dragon but has also joined her husband John Standley as a rules expert.

In 1997 Trish was honoured by having one of the rooms at the Club named after her. I hear that she took the wooden name plate home long ago so you would need to ask her which room it was.

More of our illustrious ladies in next edition.

I am not sure quite how the America’s Cup challenge system works now but in 1987 it was like this: The holders of the America’s Cup, Royal Perth Yacht Club recognised the Yacht Club Costa Smerelda from Sardinia as the “Challenger of Record”. It then fell on YCCS to select their representative to race against the defender as selected by RPYC. The YCCS needed a host club in Perth to help them with the infrastructure and resources needed to run a selection series which was known as the Louis Vuitton Cup – Louis Vuitton being a major sponsor for the event. The founder of the YCCS and President was H H Aga Khan IV who owned two magnificent motor yachts at the time Shergar and Kalamoun. RFBYC became the host club for the event and Kalamoun was loaned to YCCS as the start boat for the series.

INTERESTING QUESTION

In the early Opening Days of the Freshwater Bay Yacht Club there was always a particular event included in the program. This was a “Duck Hunt”. Now, without ideas of sneaking about with a shotgun what was a “Duck Hunt”?

I enquired of several older members but no one could enlighten me so I turned to Google.

The process is repeated with the dead ducks becoming hunters until there is only one left.

Maybe we could invent our own version of this: Imagine four or five dinghies with oarsmen stern on to the main wharf (ducks). The hunters standing on the wharf with one light plastic ball each. On the command GO the ducks row like hell and on the count of ten the hunters have to lob a ball in a dinghy.

Jill Cassidy

One day when H H Aga Khan visited Perth Commodore Gianfranco Alberini from YCCS brought him to RFBYC to meet some members, see the view etc. That afternoon there were quite a lot of people in the bar and our Commodore Dick Kernot tried to keep it all fairly low key.

Without making any announcement he simply walked around with Commodore Alberini and the Aga Khan introducing them to those present. When he reached a circle of FF15 sailors he tried to introduce Graeme Lillingston (as a former world champion). Now Graeme is a little hard of hearing and also being caught in the middle of telling his own story did not hear the introduction so he did what any thoughtful and caring member would do: He turned towards the two illustrious guests, held out his hand and said “Sorry mate, missed the name. What was it again?“

For Sale “EILEEN”

The description there was : Assemble about ten people on the edge of a field, lining up and facing inwards. Each alternate person becomes a hunter and is given one “frisbie”. The others become the ducks. On the command GO the ducks walk away at a steady pace – no running or looking back, but they are allowed to take a side step. At the count of TEN the hunters throw their frisbies at the ducks. Those ducks who are hit are dead.

WEIRD!

Trish Ford

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ANECDOTE

And here is the best bit: The last duck gets a prize of a bottle of whisky. (Single malt of course).

6.4m Timber Gaffer Pretty little boat built by Ken Crabbe in East Fremantle in 1949 Excellent condition; Yanmar YSE 8 diesel engine; new sails by Shoreline in 2015

$12,500 ono

Enquiries: Anne Arnold 9286 3367

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Wonderful Winter Events at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club

505 AUSTRALIAN NATIONALS 2016 505 ASSOCIATION REPORT MIKE QUIRK AND LUKE PAYNE WIN 505 NATIONALS 505 Worlds and Nationals Bid for Fremantle Jan 2019 – support from Nationals and moves towards a vote at Weymouth worlds in July 2016. A well attended event, three WA crews competed.

30 boats competed, on the fabulous waters of Waterloo Bay off Darling Point Sailing Squadron, Queensland.

Decent wind, shallow water and plenty of jellyfish! A nine race nationals was the program, 1-2 long races every day.

Gate starts were as normal for large 505 events, and most races got away cleanly without any recalls

Menu Warm bread rolls served to the tables Set entrée Alternate drop main course (2 options) Set dessert Cheese platters served to the table Tea and coffee station included

Beverage Champagne cocktail on arrival House beverage package for 5 hours (beer, wine and soft drinks) Port with cheese

$155.00 per person Available in June, July and August 2016 Limited dates available Normal price $195.00 per person Includes staffing, venue hire. Function length time is 5 ½ hours For further information contact Natalie or Kaidy on 9286 8212 weddings@rfbyc.com.au

Mike Quirk (NSW) with Luke Payne (WA) as crew won his 5th Australian Championship in convincing style without having to race the last two races in the nine race series.

Using the World Championship scoring format, the “Quirk / Payne” team had a score of only 10 points after 7 races, comprising of 5 x 1st a 2nd and a 3rd.

In 2nd place with a total of 16 points, was the current double World Champion Mike Holt with Rob Woelfel. (Mike & Rob won the 2014 World Series held in Kiel and Mike won his 2nd World Title last March in the 2015 Worlds in Port Elizabeth, South Africa with Carl Smit.)

Five times Australian Champion, Sandy Higgins (SA) & Paul Marsh secured 3rd place Michael Duffield (RFBYC) teamed up with Doug Hagan from USA, and RFBYC’s Andrew Cawley and Josh Mewburn chartered a vintage 505 (only boat available) to get some valuable championship experience, They certainly did that!

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SUMMER REPORT HAYLEY CLARK Sail Melbourne was a great experience with a steep wave state, winds up to 17 knots and strong competition. The regatta reinforced our surfing skills which we found very enjoyable as the waves were easily caught and resulted in a great increase in speed. The second day of the regatta saw the 29er fleet (thankfully) staying ashore as gale force winds tore through St Kilda beach. All in all it was a great regatta from which we learnt lots and finished 5th overall and first female team.

After hurrying up from Melbourne on the 14th Dec, The Australian Youth Squad Sailing Camp began at 12pm the following day. Our first training session was testing as we attempted to conquer the washing machine that is Sydney Harbour. Our second organised day of training was also interesting as two torrential storms, one with destructive winds tore through the Eastern Suburbs, resulting in the 29er fleet staying grounded. Day one of racing saw the 29er fleet on ‘A’ course in Elizabeth Bay with an inherently left handed track as significant gains could be made off the left headlands. Our starts were more conservative than usual, leaving us in dirty wind as we chased the left side of the course.

The day finished with us trailing another female team in the top ten. The second day of racing had the 9er fleets shift to the ‘C’ course where there were significant gains to be made from the right headland. Our starts were less conservative as we pushed the limits of the line sag and got into clear air as early as possible. An incident with a ferry and two 29er’s as well as our stronger racing saw us end the day in fourth and first all girl team.

The final day had the 9er’s on the ‘C’ course again, though in contrast to the day before in which the morning winds were light, the afternoon start meant that the seabreeze was in and building from 10 knots, reaching 20 in the final race.

The first two races were not the best as we made a few silly mistakes (don’t go downwind of the lighthouse in the middle of the harbour, the wind shadow will be bigger than you think!) seeing us clawing back from the tail end of the fleet. By the third race, the wind had increased dramatically and we were ready for it after adjusting our settings. We dropped two spots on the leaderboard though maintained the first female position for the regatta.

VALE RFBYC MEMBERS Congratulations to the top three boats being ‘Hong Kong 9’, Jim Colley and Kurt Hansen, and Tom Crockett and Tom Grimes.

The 2015/16 Nationals was a challenging regatta as the weather gods delivered days of strong winds and relentless rain for majority of the regatta. Despite this, we pushed through and fought for consistent results leaving us in 6th position overall heading into the final day. The lighter winds and sunshine that the last day brought were perfect and we finished the day with a 6, 1, 3, 2. These results saw us climb the leaderboard to fourth overall and second female team.

The Australian Youth Championships was the final regatta in our summer series, and like the rest it was fought in difficult conditions the harbour relentlessly provided. Majority of the races were held in the building NW seabreeze with steep chop. Day two saw the 29er’s race in the morning with lighter breeze, however, the first race was started while three quarters of the fleet were still upwind testing. We managed to get back a minute later and climb our way back to 5th overall, which was an incredible feat. The second race was postponed though as “26 knots was coming from the South and was already in Botany Bay’. The predicted wind did not arrive for an hour and a half, though the RO was determined to wait despite the consistent wind that was on the course.

Eventually the race was raced yet again in windy conditions.

Coming into the final day we were sitting 13th on the leaderboard and second female team. In true Sydney style, the morning of the last day brought sunshine and light winds.

We finished off the regatta with a bullet which lifted spirits and took us up the leaderboard to 10th overall and second all female team.

Congratulations to John Cooley and Simon Hoffman, Tom Crockett and Tom Grimes, and Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot on they’re strong performances throughout both regattas. As a team we are motivated in our progression, to analyse, account for and iron out the challenges we faced during the summer to present a stronger, more well rounded unit at Queensland Youth Week in July. Thank you for all the support, stay tuned!

DR GEOFF MEWS

Geoff was a junior member from about 1961 and sailed in the Pelican and Gwen 12 classes with distinction. His father and uncle owned and raced the Dragon “ Rowena” D KA 14 and Geoff had some years sailing this boat during his University studies. He became a very prominent cardiologist and regarded as one of Australia’s best.

His grandfather was a boat builder in Fremantle after whom Mews Road was named. His family also had a significant involvement in the establishment of the Fremantle Sailing

FRED ROBINS 23/5/1921 – 2/1/2015

Frederick Charles Robins was born in Meekatharra in 1921 and so grew up during the tough depression years. Having left school at 15 his first job was as a telegram delivery boy with the PMG. At the age of 18 he joined the RAAF, “earned his wings” and became a Sgt Pilot.

His service in the RAAF was mainly in Catalinas based in Darwin and PNG from where they were engaged in reconnaissance, rescue and low level mine laying missions in the South West Pacific region. He subsequently wrote a book entitled “The Cat Has Nine Lives” which refers to the crew of nine in a Catalina. The book recounts many incidents and anecdotes of this period and a copy is held in the Club library in the Edward Keane Room.

After the war Fred joined the WA Public Service as a Child Welfare Officer and spent some time in Bunbury where he sailed as a crew in VJs.

ROSS HUGHES

Ross Edward Hughes joined RFBYC in 1943 as a Junior member along with Stephen Parker and others. During those war years materials for building boats and especially for sailing boats had to be scrounged from scrap or salvage. Marine glues had not appeared and everything had to be nailed or screwed together then caulked or tarred. Ross was well aware of this and made best use of whatever he could find. He prevailed on his mother to stitch sails for him on her treadle sewing machine.

Youngsters of that era also learned the art of “sculling” a dinghy with a single oar over the transom so that they could ferry older members out to their boats on moorings.

In 1948 he acquired the Cadet Dinghy “Minerva” (no 20) and became a member of the Club’s illustrious fleet. Also in that year he was one of Stephen Parker’s crew in “Philante” participating in the Lady Stonehaven Cup in Hobart.

Ross (Hughsie) was an ideal club member in that he was a “participant” if not in his own right as a boat owner then as a crew with someone else, Keith Stevenson (Maid Marion), Steve Craig (Hawa Rani), Merv Finn (Haze) and Des Hill (Sjofarer).

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Club and by their initiative secured land for a clubhouse in Fremantle in the concluding stages of World War 2 which enabled the continuation of that Club.

Geoff had many recreational interests including farming, aviation, motor cycling and sailing. At the time of his death he owned a Bavaria 42 which was moored at the Fremantle Sailing Club.

He was a particularly modest and unassuming man but an outstanding individual by any measure. He had many friends at RFBYC and will be remembered with fondness.

Subsequently he studied law and became a Stipendiary Magistrate, again serving in country centres as well as Perth.

He joined RFBYC in 1962 and with his handyman/carpenter skills helped Tally Hobbs build one of his early Flying Fifteens.

This culminated in his buying “Sheba” from Alec Tregonning.

Although Fred was not one to seek fame or “high profile” as a member he was a willing contributor to Club life in many ways.

He served in the Start Team then, after purchasing the 8.4m power boat “Molokai” joined the Power Yacht Committee.

Later he and his wife Alison became the Twilight Sailing starters.

Most of Fred’s contemporaries have pre-deceased him however his influence and contribution will be remembered and is part of club history.

Alison is still an Associate Member.

Over the years he sailed Sharpies, Dragons and a Soling (Hopscotch, in Div II) He built a great little yacht he named “Light Crest”. He owned and participated in Club events in the launch “Sarah J” and in later years he owned and raced a SS22 “Alcyone” in Div III. (Hey, its fun and it keeps me out of the garden.)

Ross served on many Club committees some of which have been renamed: Mooring Committee, Protest Committee, Ocean Racing Committee, Foreshore and Grounds Committee and General Committee. In 1965 he was elected Rear Commodore (Sailing) and would undoubtedly have progressed to Commodore had he not been transferred to Melbourne in early 1967. He was also a trophy donor.

Sadly his health deteriorated to the stage that he resigned his membership in 2014.

Ross was one of our finest members, a delightful character and a great contributor, he died in the Spring of 2015

39

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 19 MARCH

KEELBOAT RACING

19 MAY

MID WEEK RACE

20 MARCH

DOC OF THE SWAN

26 MAY

MID WEEK RACE

20 MARCH

DINGHY RACING (AM)

29 MAY

DINGHY WINTER SERIES RACE 1

20 MARCH

PACER ADVENTURE DAY (1230 AT DINGHY/JUNIOR CLUB)

29 MAY

KEELBOAT FROSTBITE SERIES RACE 2

21 MARCH

INAUGURAL MONDAY KEELBOAT INVITATION SERIES – RESAIL IS REQUIRED

2 JUNE

MID WEEK RACE

23 MARCH

TWILIGHT SAILING

9 JUNE

MID WEEK RACE

24 MARCH

MID WEEK RACE

12 JUNE

SEA SAFETY EXPO

25 MARCH

FLYING 15 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (RPYC ANNEXE)

16 JUNE

MID WEEK RACE

25 & 26 MARCH

NO CLUB RACING – EASTER LONG WEEKEND

19 JUNE

KEELBOAT FROSTBITE SERIES RACE 3

30 MARCH

TWILIGHT SAILING

19 JUNE

DINGHY WINTER SERIES RACE 2

31 MARCH

MID WEEK RACE

23 JUNE

MID WEEK RACE

1 APRIL

QUARTERDECK LUNCH

26 JUNE

DINGHY WINTER SERIES RACE 3

2 & 3 APRIL

ROTTNEST FESTIVAL OF SAIL

30 JUNE

MID WEEK RACE

2 APRIL

KEELBOAT RACING

3 APRIL

DINGHY RACING (AM)

3 APRIL

PACER ADVENTURE DAY (1230 AT DINGHY/JUNIOR CLUB)

6 APRIL

TWILIGHT SAILING

7 APRIL

MID WEEK RACE

8 TO 10 APRIL

INTERCLUB CHAMPIONSHIP (FOUNDATION 36)

9 APRIL

ETCHELLS METRO SERIES 15 & 16

10 APRIL

OLD GAFFERS REGATTA

13 APRIL

TWILIGHT SAILING

14 APRIL

MID WEEK RACE

16 APRIL

CLOSING DAY

17 APRIL

DINGHY CLOSING DAY

17 APRIL

SWAN RIVER RETRO SERIES RACE

21 APRIL

FINAL MID WEEK RACE FOR SPRING SUMMER SERIES

23 & 24 APRIL

A R BENNETT WEEKEND – JUNIORS

25 APRIL

ANZAC COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE

ANZAC TWILIGHT

ANZAC REMEMBRANCE DAWN SERVICE

Date

ANZAC Day. Monday, 25 April 2016.

Venue

Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club upper lawn adjacent to the flagpole.

DINGHY RACING (AM)

Time

6.30am. (Duration approximately 35 minutes. Sunrise 6.44am.)

28 APRIL

FIRST MID WEEK FOR AUTUMN WINTER SERIES

Invitation

Members and guests.

1 MAY

COLLEGE CUP (FOUNDATION 36)

6 MAY

QUARTERDECK LUNCH

6 MAY

KEELBOAT PRIZE NIGHT

7 MAY

POWER BOAT OPENING DAY

12 MAY

MID WEEK RACE

13 MAY

DINGHY PRIZE NIGHT

15 MAY

KEELBOAT FROSTBITE SERIES RACE 1

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An indication of numbers would be helpful. Ph: 9286 8200 or email rfbyc@rfbyc.asn.au

Ian Clarke Commodore

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Rottnest Island is situated just over 10 nautical miles off the Perth city coastline. The stunning A-Class Nature Reserve is rich in history, a haven for WA’s unique flora and fauna and home to a very cute marsupial, the Quokka. Rotto is a popular boating destination and an outstanding natural backdrop for the annual Rottnest Festival of Sail. Now in its sixth year, the Rottnest Festival of Sail raises funds to support the Rottnest Foundation and their mission to conserve the unique cultural and natural assets of the island. To follow the event visit, rfbyc.asn.au

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