Hi Everyone , The cyclones up in the gulf and in WA have certinly affected the weather this week with heat and humidity first now 10 degree lower temperatures and consistant rain and winds , i even had to cancel a school group yesterday and luckily my prediction turned out true for their 1.30 lesson with the winds up around 20 knots and heavy rain which is just no fun especially for learners . Luckily the forecast is a bit dryer for the weekend so fingers crossed .
8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
Last Sundays beginner session started well with a good group of sailors again signing on including the usual couple of first timers and everyone ws soon rigging Teras , Lasers and even the TAZ was back out with a replacement centreboard which was a tight fir but still worked . The winds were light from the S/E so the crew set a course basically up and down the channel but with the incoming tide the bridge came into play with quite a few tows as people got too close to the bridge and tacked late in the wind shadow but once we moved it further away most everyone avoided drifting under the bridge . I was really impressed with Aithan who rigged a tera ( dads help )with the smaller sail and sailed the boat alone and was tacking and gybing in the light conditions and looked very comfortable in the boat . Eddy took a new sailor Maria out on the laser with sasha as crew and by the end of the session they both looked to be really enjoying herself . Especially the capsizing at the end . The Taz boys had a few early issues but a stern word then an explanaition on the beach soon had that sorted . All in all a great session .
10.30 Sunday Training;
With the winds morel from the north east for this session and still very light we firstly had a talk about where we sit in the boat and why so where ? well up the front near the centreboard to get the back of the boat out of the water to reduce drag . I set a course down to the second green channel marker and a red buoy at the club but with the flukey winds it was certainly a struggle for everyone . Mason was really slow at first but once I showed him how to pick up speed by sitting on the boom side both he and jade started moving forward . The laser were ok having more sail area but the bics did struggle a bit right addy? .What surprised me the most was that half the training fleet was alsomost of the race fleet for 1.30 and apparently they were out there to practice for their race now that shows dedication amongst our young racing sailors . I normally pick a few people who went well on the day but considering the light and shifty conditions everyone did very well so give yourselves a pat on the back for a great effort.
1.30 Youth Racing ;
With the winds picking up and turning more E/N/E but still a bit light I set a longer but similar course as their first race two weeks ago with a start line just south of the canal and a turning buoy down near runners . As for how the racing went I had to ask andrew and Peter as I got caught on shore with a broken down jet ski ( not ours) but thats another story but from what I was told the start was a little hectic but everyone took off well and yes the winds had picked up to around 8/10 knots so everyone was flying . Addy said her new longer mainsheet made her boat much easier to control and Eddie,s laser with no leak was much more competitive but just needs the sail pulled on a bit harder right eddy? Felix ( the boat breaker ) lost his deck fittings ( the mounting screws were to short ? ) Ben capsized and hit his head but we are going to fix that next weekend by changing his tacking style which will result in a lot less capsizing , Ebony pulled out after seeing a enormous stingray apparently big enough to swallow her boat ? but it didnt and then there were the rest with Jackson looking very tired at the end and Eddy being pipped at the finish again by you guessed it Abby and yes she again was the one yelling as she returned to shore somewhat excited !
1.30 PM Open Racing;
Again thanks to Glen Charlie and Casey who manned the start boat for the club race so that I could concentrate on our Youth Group . I set a course starting near runners then over to the sand bank adjacent to the starboard mark then a long run up to the top of Ephriam which I thought would be plenty considering the winds were only around 5 knots and an outgoing current . Even though I was stuck on shore I soon saw that the course was way to short as the winds had picked up to around 12 knots so I contacted the start boat to have them ask the sailors once they finished if they would like a second race as the first was only about half an hour which of course everyone said yes to so Casey helped Glen and Charlie sailed her boat yes Casey loaned her boat ! Tom and Greg told me after the race that they backed of a bit to let Charlie overtake them then the plan was to hunt him down but they forgot to tell Charlie the plan and they just couldnt catch him even his dad was impressed watching from the shore , I could have told them to watch him as his speed has been increasing over the last couple of months especially on the reaches .
Upcoming :
Laser states this weekend with Casey , Greg , Tom , Ben and Simone competing so good luck everyone and enjoy the competition
Easter weekend and a reminder that there is no juniors or club racing that weekend
Mid Winter Cup ;
We are starting to have sponsors come on board with Ronstan and PSA already committed with a couple more to make their decision soon. We are also looking for volunteers to help with the event so if you may be able to spare some time either or both days check with the Office and put your name down .
NEWS ! Evolution sails have finished the new sails for the club Teras and are now at the signwriters have the sponsors (Newhaven Funerals ) Logo fitted before they are ready for use . A special thank you to Phil Colloney who organised this generous support package .
CU on the water
John Murphy
8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;
Last Sundays beginner session started well with a good group of sailors again signing on including the usual couple of first timers and everyone ws soon rigging Teras , Lasers and even the TAZ was back out with a replacement centreboard which was a tight fir but still worked . The winds were light from the S/E so the crew set a course basically up and down the channel but with the incoming tide the bridge came into play with quite a few tows as people got too close to the bridge and tacked late in the wind shadow but once we moved it further away most everyone avoided drifting under the bridge . I was really impressed with Aithan who rigged a tera ( dads help )with the smaller sail and sailed the boat alone and was tacking and gybing in the light conditions and looked very comfortable in the boat . Eddy took a new sailor Maria out on the laser with sasha as crew and by the end of the session they both looked to be really enjoying herself . Especially the capsizing at the end . The Taz boys had a few early issues but a stern word then an explanaition on the beach soon had that sorted . All in all a great session .
10.30 Sunday Training;
With the winds morel from the north east for this session and still very light we firstly had a talk about where we sit in the boat and why so where ? well up the front near the centreboard to get the back of the boat out of the water to reduce drag . I set a course down to the second green channel marker and a red buoy at the club but with the flukey winds it was certainly a struggle for everyone . Mason was really slow at first but once I showed him how to pick up speed by sitting on the boom side both he and jade started moving forward . The laser were ok having more sail area but the bics did struggle a bit right addy? .What surprised me the most was that half the training fleet was alsomost of the race fleet for 1.30 and apparently they were out there to practice for their race now that shows dedication amongst our young racing sailors . I normally pick a few people who went well on the day but considering the light and shifty conditions everyone did very well so give yourselves a pat on the back for a great effort.
1.30 Youth Racing ;
With the winds picking up and turning more E/N/E but still a bit light I set a longer but similar course as their first race two weeks ago with a start line just south of the canal and a turning buoy down near runners . As for how the racing went I had to ask andrew and Peter as I got caught on shore with a broken down jet ski ( not ours) but thats another story but from what I was told the start was a little hectic but everyone took off well and yes the winds had picked up to around 8/10 knots so everyone was flying . Addy said her new longer mainsheet made her boat much easier to control and Eddie,s laser with no leak was much more competitive but just needs the sail pulled on a bit harder right eddy? Felix ( the boat breaker ) lost his deck fittings ( the mounting screws were to short ? ) Ben capsized and hit his head but we are going to fix that next weekend by changing his tacking style which will result in a lot less capsizing , Ebony pulled out after seeing a enormous stingray apparently big enough to swallow her boat ? but it didnt and then there were the rest with Jackson looking very tired at the end and Eddy being pipped at the finish again by you guessed it Abby and yes she again was the one yelling as she returned to shore somewhat excited !
1.30 PM Open Racing;
Again thanks to Glen Charlie and Casey who manned the start boat for the club race so that I could concentrate on our Youth Group . I set a course starting near runners then over to the sand bank adjacent to the starboard mark then a long run up to the top of Ephriam which I thought would be plenty considering the winds were only around 5 knots and an outgoing current . Even though I was stuck on shore I soon saw that the course was way to short as the winds had picked up to around 12 knots so I contacted the start boat to have them ask the sailors once they finished if they would like a second race as the first was only about half an hour which of course everyone said yes to so Casey helped Glen and Charlie sailed her boat yes Casey loaned her boat ! Tom and Greg told me after the race that they backed of a bit to let Charlie overtake them then the plan was to hunt him down but they forgot to tell Charlie the plan and they just couldnt catch him even his dad was impressed watching from the shore , I could have told them to watch him as his speed has been increasing over the last couple of months especially on the reaches .
Upcoming :
Laser states this weekend with Casey , Greg , Tom , Ben and Simone competing so good luck everyone and enjoy the competition
Easter weekend and a reminder that there is no juniors or club racing that weekend
Mid Winter Cup ;
We are starting to have sponsors come on board with Ronstan and PSA already committed with a couple more to make their decision soon. We are also looking for volunteers to help with the event so if you may be able to spare some time either or both days check with the Office and put your name down .
NEWS ! Evolution sails have finished the new sails for the club Teras and are now at the signwriters have the sponsors (Newhaven Funerals ) Logo fitted before they are ready for use . A special thank you to Phil Colloney who organised this generous support package .
CU on the water
John Murphy
RSS Feed
