Hi everyone , Firstly just a reminder that there is no juniors this Sunday as its Easter Sunday and despite the rumour that the club is closed because I want to eat easter eggs ( chocolate of course ) its actually because we have found in the past that its just to hectic both on the water and in the park and carpark especially if its sunny weather but we are back the following Sunday weather permitting .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors;
With the forecast looking good for all classes Casey and I started unpacking all the gear and launching boats as it was looking like a big morning Junior sailor wise, what was Charlie doing well putting his lace up sailing boots on! now there's a story! As usual we had a few budding new sailors signing on for their first try while everyone else started getting their boats ready Jack and Dean even asked if they could use the jib on the taz but I had to say no as it was just a bit to strong for their first go . Taine and Josh just took off in the Tera and as they did last week just cruised around the course, there were a few collisions and apparently one really good one as for the first time a tera actually got a hole punched in the side . Our budding new Instructor Edwina ( Eddie ) rigged up bad decision and we loaded 4 new sailors on board and off they went with Eddie even getting a few to use the main like Ashley and even a bit of steering so well done Eddie .

10.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
With the mid winter cup fast approaching we again set an upwind and downwind course to the canal and back . After a briefing where we went off the previous week which had the same course and the struggle everyone had with both legs and how they should approach the same course this week we sent everyone off with fingers crossed .. Well how did everyone go.... they all went well with all the girls sailing well in both upwind and downwind and I should include Ollie in that. Aidan struggled a bit but with his determination to learn I am sure he will get the idea. We put Ben and Mason together and after many visits to the sand back we managed to coach them all the way to the top mark and back so hopefully now they have a better idea especially on the upwind. All in all I was very happy with everyone's performance great work guys !!!

Green fleet training ; This was the first day of green fleet sailing and from all reports it was a bit of a difficult day for both the sailors and their instructors (Glen, Ben and Simone) apparently as soon as you add the words race practice to a session everyone has trouble remembering what they were doing in 10.30 class but don't worry everyone it was only your first go !

1.30 pm Open Race ;
With a reduced fleet because a couple of sailors were helping green fleet training Declan and I set up a start down at the runners rocks sign with a couple of short windward leewards then a long run all the way to the top of Soverign then a reach back to the finish line at A mark . The start was hotly contested with nearly everyone at the line as the hooter went with Greg breaking first just followed by the rest oh except for Casey who had a bit of a brain snap and was caught out barging at the start line nearly taking out Steve in the process .

The windward leeward section was over quickly well except for Brendan Charlie and Torin who decided to do an extra lap! not sure who's idea it was as they are all blaming each other. Peter Fell just blitzed it with his power full rig sail its just to good on the reaches and Greg just had no answer. Casey after a disastrous start came back well finishing up with the full rigs like Russel and Steve.  Russell's glasses worked well apparently they help with seeing where he is going! 

Note; Over the last couple of Sundays there has been a new face in front of the white board at the 8.30 class Casey who is now taking on the task of teaching on the white board and after a very nervous start she is now really settling in to her new duties great work Case !

Have a great Easter everyone 

CU on the water
John Murphy

Hi everyone, Well its back again strong winds and heavy rain and looking at the weather maps its looking like its here for the week but hopefully its going to clear by the weekend so that everyone can have another great Sunday sailing experience like last Sunday so fingers crossed .

8.30 am Sunday Juniors :
After having to cancel sailing last weekend due to the previous Sundays wild weather we we expected a big group for this class and we weren't disappointed with 17 budding junior sailors signing on grabbing their helmets and PFDs and straight into rigging boats with parents with Charlie, Edwina and me helping the process.

With  a good high tide and winds around 5 knots it was perfect conditions for setting up a nice reaching course out to the middle of the channel. Everyone went really well and our newest junior instructor in training ( Edwina) with a crew of 4 new sailors just cruised around in the laser showing the new kids what sailing is about . Taine and his crew Joshua really nailed it as well as did Jack and Dean who not only did most of the rigging on the Taz but also sailed the best  in the conditions with perfect tacks and spot on sail settings and for their efforts on the day they received a Hungry Jacks award  . A special thanks goes to the kids their parents and our volunteer instructors who all got stuck in de-rigging the boats which always makes Casey's ,Charlie's and my job at the end of the day much easier when it comes to pack up.

10.30am Sunday Juniors:
With the midwinter cup fast approaching and everyone keen to do well especially our green fleet sailors we had a good turn out for this session . The conditions were much the same as the 8.30 class with just a bit more runout tide and probably around six knots of wind so I decided that an upwind, downwind course would be not only a great challenge but also good practice for the Mid Winter Cup . Everyone at times struggled with the upwind even after I explained how the have to watch the luff on the upwind not the top mark . We did manage to succeed with nearly everyone but it was definitely a serious sailing learning curve . The standouts were Eddy, Addy and Ollie well that was until the drone started flying around the fleet which caused everyone to look up but unfortunately not at the sail! so there was a bit of luffing followed by tacks to get back on course to the upwind mark down at the canal . The drone also showed certain people not going around the buoy which will cause a penalty in the mid winter cup just so you know Ollie and Addy.

1.30 pm Open Race :
With the winds basically staying in the s/e at around 6/10 knots I set a start /finish in front of the club with a short upwind then a long upwind with triangles down near runners . Tom had a good start and slowly got away from the fleet and looked unbeatable until I opened my big mouth and caused him to go to the wrong mark allowing Greg to catch up on the way to the finish but just not enough to beat Tom across the line . It was a day for me giving wrong advise as I also did it to Casey when I sent her on a different tack when she was chasing Charlie ( radial ) sorry case I will shut up in future . The whole fleet of adults sailed well as did our newest Youth sailor Torin who has definitely improved in the last few weeks and our other youth sailor Ryan found out the importance of a clew strap because when its not on you cant let the outhaul off on the downwind ? so where was his clew strap in his PFD of course yep forgot to put it on .

Upcoming : 
The Mid Winter Cup now known as the John Murphy Invitational Mid Winter Cup is really taking shape and with a new sponsor in Hungry Jacks coming on board and the Event now open to both open fleet and green fleets in the Opti , Sabot , Laser4.7 and Open Bic plus also now Laser Radials being added to the fleet  it looks very promising for a even bigger event than last year now all we need is more than the average 1.5 knots that we suffered through last year fingers crossed!  Enter now!

The Pan Pacs in November already has competitors registered so even though its a while away don't forget there is a discount for early registrations.

Easter Holidays: The Club will be closed Easter Sunday due to it being a long weekend and not only are a lot of people going away but the waterway and the park usually becomes very crowded especially on the water causing safety concerns.
 
School Holiday Sailing Camp Date's : 5th/6th & 9th/10th April booking is essential as positions are filling fast 

CU on the water
John Murphy

Hi Everyone . After a week of wild winds and rain it was always going to be a slim chance that sailing would be on last Sunday and with the conditions at 6.00 am comprising of 20 knot winds and rain and not changing by 6.30 am I made the decision to cancel Juniors due to Safety concerns . So what was it like at 8.00 am yes you guessed it winds around 10 knots and just grey skies but of course that didn't last as each rain squall came through with some of the squalls very nasty with heavy rain and wind which would be the pattern for the rest of the day.

We did at least have the opportunity to lay a new anchor and extra chain for Public Nuisance so that now she rides at anchor much stiffer at the pontoon and we even did a bit of maintenance around the club. As usual Charlie ended up covered in mud as did Casey but that was because we wiped our muddy hands on her but at least now with the heavier anchor she should ride much better.

With no takers for racing at 1.30 I decided to take Casey , Charlie and Torin out for a laser training run just down at the canal and conditions were generally perfect with winds around 15 / 17 knots for some practice race starts and triangles . Torin hopefully learnt a valuable lesson in not showing off and giving Charlie cheek when he overtook him as soon as he did he capsized  and of course as Charlie passed him he laughed and laughed .We did get one squall around 20 plus but the best was saved for the trip back to the club where we were doing whistle gybes when the biggest squall came through at around 25/28 knots which resulted in Torin under the bridge Charlie out of control with his mainsheet caught on the stern and Casey spearing off towards Ephriam with her mainsheet wrapped around the boom ! so all in all an exciting return.

For next weekend the weather is looking much better and with our experience and not so experienced sailors needing practice for June's Mid Winter Cup in both open and green fleet. Lets hope for good conditions 

Sponsors ; Many thanks to Hungry Jacks for again supplying food vouchers which will be used for Prizes in the Mid Winter Cup and Bendigo Bank for again supporting the Event and through Simone,s great work it looks like we also have Zhik coming on board as well so stay tuned for some great deals on Zhik gear 

Pan Pacific Masters Games ; With this bi yearly event fast approaching and competitors already signing up for the event we will be looking for a few volunteers so I you have any spare time from the 2nd to the 12th of November just let us know!

New Club Shirts ; With at least half the ordered shirts already sold the order has been placed and the new shirts should be available in a couple of weeks so if you are one of the people who has ordered shirts just keep in touch with us at the club .

CU on the water
John Murphy

Hi Everyone , After a great weekend with perfect sailing weather even if it was a bit hot on Sunday our Queensland wet season has come back again with torrential rain and then just to round it off near gale force winds with wind gusts at the seaway measuring 39/40 knots which you have to admit is pretty wild but at least no cyclones as yet which is always a good thing .

8.30am Sunday Juniors ; 
Last Sunday dawned with blue skies and light winds and heaps of humidity which Charlie , Casey and I really felt while setting up even at seven thirty in the morning  even Casey was drinking water . With what has become pretty standard for this session we had a good group of seventeen sailors signed on with a couple of newbies so it was all hands on deck rigging boats and doing quick repairs and finding new rigging ropes as the clubs phantom rope eater has been active again especially with the tera downhaul ropes ? The winds were basically north / west so it was perfect for everyone to practice not only their tacks but also their gybes . Jack and dean are getting really good at rigging and sailing the Taz with a little bit of help from Dad with rigging and Mary and Taine just cruised around while most of the reat just had a good session . There was the accidental bucket of water problem which was always accidental ! and we wont talk about Charlie's and Mason's efforts at mastering this skill and then of course we finished with lots of accidental capsizes so all in all there were a lot of minor water accidents on the day .

10.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
It was amazing to watch the transformation in set up speed from a month ago where it took until 11.20 am to get people on the water and on last Sunday everyone was ready by 10.45 absolutely great work everyone .
With the sun really beating down the effect on the wind as to set it from n/w to n to n/e so I set a long reach across the water with three buoys sounds easy right well it wasn't as the wind constantly shifted making everyone really get their thinking hat on . I have to say it was a great effort from everyone as they at times struggled to find the wind but everyone finally got there with Addy, Ollie, Aidan, Eddie, Abby, Ben really standouts and although a few of the others struggled a bit with the conditions they at least had a go . As part of the clubs endeavors to teach our kids even more about sailing its been decided to add a third session for our up and coming green fleet sailors buy now running a 12.30 class dedicated to green fleet racing which will be run by Simone and Andrew which is really great news for our keen young sailors .

1.30 pm Open Racing;
With ten boats setting up to race Declan and I went out to try and set up a decent course in what was very shifty and flukey wind conditions and to top it off the tide was really picking up speed out the run out .Again at the start we didnt have to use any recall flags as everyone really nailed the start and then the struggle began . It was one of those days where the sailor 50m metres in front of you just sailed away in good breeze while you just sat there going backwards getting more frustrated by the minute and then when you finally did get started and managed to make the turning buoy you of course hit the buoy causing more frustration having to do a penalty turn . Greg managed to break free of Andrew and Roger and was first over the line and then the chaos started ? So what happened well as Greg went through the finish line a large cruiser nearly ran him down but instead ran over our bright yellow finish buoy setting it off down the broadwater so Dec and I up anchored and took off after it and after managing to grab it and finding that this inconsiderate waterway user had actually cut the Buoy rope chain and anchor off we just finished everyone under a blue flag and gave everyone average times . All in all a very different end to the days racing !

Upcoming ;
Our Midwinter Cup is getting closer and its getting bigger with now four green fleet divisions and the inclusion of laser radials it should be a great weekend as long as mother nature gives us a bit more wind than last year .
Pan Pacific Masters Games preparations are also starting to gather momentum even though its 8 months away yes it takes that long to set everything in place especially for such a large event .
Volunteers ;
We will be looking for volunteers for both these events from beach control to greeting competitors and their families to on water so if you would like to help in whatever capacity you are comfortable with just let us know at the club. 

CU on the water
John Murphy

Hi Everyone , I cant believe how fast the year is going with Easter only four weeks away and with mother nature constantly keeping us guessing its certainly been a challenge with our sailing program with not only our Juniors but also the Adults.

8.30 am Sunday Juniors;
After all last weeks rain sunday started out hot and humid early with Charlie Casey and I already perspiring at 7.30 when we were unpacking the club and it just got hotter as the morning progressed . With 17 juniors signing on for this session we soon had the boats rigged and ready then off to briefing where I talked about both the wind roughly north and the strong outgoing tide . As you can guess because of these conditions and no matter what we said on the water everyone tried to point into no sail zone so consequently Casey in the banana boat and me in Sarah c did a lot of towing back from down south of the club . I have to admit that conditions were tricky for our beginners but a few did start to come to grips with these challenging conditions even Eddie who had for students on a laser which is a challenge at the best of times . All in all everyone seemed pretty happy with their efforts and apparently being towed was fun !

10.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
Even with this class it was always going to be a struggle as the wind swung from n/w to n/e especially at first as we had to go and retrieve the marker buoy that Eddie managed to snag with her rudder and drag south and with everyone not realising at first that it was too far south had big trouble getting back to the mark near shore .
Once we moved it everyone really had to think and look at the sail for the tell tale signs of where the wind was coming from . We extended the course making it even more of a challenge trying to beat both the current and flukey winds . Everyone sailed well in the conditions watching their sails and wind shifts even Nelson didnt capsize which made his instructor ( Torin ) happy at not getting wet . We also had a talk about the Mid Winter Cup in June having a green learners fleet for Open Bic and that the opportunity to book a boat for the event will be opening as soon as we finalise the Insurance on the stolen parts .

1.30 pm Open Racing ;
With the winds finally tending n/e to e/n/e and the current on the turn we set a course starting down at runners and mark at at the club we set a triangle course combining windward leeward and triangles and yes we did put t a mark over near the rocks again but at least this time everyone went the right way ! The start was hotly contested with Greg having to come back after being just on a boat length over at the start but that set back didn't deter him as he set about catching the front runners in Steve , Tom and Peter with Casey in a radial hot on their heels . As the race progressed the wind picked up to around 12 knots giving everyone a chance to hike out and get some speed . Brendan had to pull out after breaking mum's tiller extension while Simone just couldn't get the try out boat to perform . For the injured sailors Tom ( bandage on head ) and Steve ( left over bump from last weeks gybe ) no swimming was involved on the day which was a great relief to both of them at the end of the day . Also thanks to Charlie for finishing everyone while I went out and helped Torin with his upwind on the last leg , I bet his hands were sore on Monday ! Finally Ben said he was glad he was flying to South Korea the next day as he was going to need the sleep after really hiking out on the reaches .

Public Nuisance is now registered for racing so all I have to do now is convince another adult to help sail her on the  Wednesday night twilights and sort out the Youth crew !

Volunteers ; Again thanks to everyone who helped out in the canteen on Sunday without your help this vital fundraising activity wouldn't be able to support the club and its support of our junior sailors .

CU on the water
John Murphy