Regatta Report 2014
Well it's over! Thanks to everyone who helped, attended or participated. You are a great bunch of friends. That was our 13th Regatta and we have come a long way. Where to start, I think I'll do this;
Gymea Bay Port Hacking is not a bad place, I went aboard C29 Maeling at 17.30 and after a quick stow headed down river. I intended to stop at a sandbank to scrape the prop, it seemed odd for a sandbank to be showing at the top of tide. Drawing closer the sandbank resolved itself into a floating raft of flood rubbish in the murky water. A bit further on more rubbish helped define a line of murky fresh water against the clear salty incoming tide.
Maeling took to the ground gently and I dropped the hook. The first job was the prop that was heavily crusted after barely four weeks, then with the 200mm broadknife, I proceeded to shave off the slimy carpet of moss. By 19.00 the tide had turned and we, (Maeling and I) started to move down river to Jibbon. On the long reaches under tiller-pilot, I started stripping off the covers and setting up reefing lines and sheets. We slid along quickly with about 2 knots of ebb tide under us and picked up a mooring under the hook of Jibbon. Dinner and a quiet night.
Friday morning the alarm went off at seven so all hands to breakfast, wheeties, toast and coffee don't take long but preparing for an ocean trip is a little more tedious, jackstays laid, lifejacket donned (with 20:20 hindsight, I forgot to attach the EPIRB to it). Food and water handy and everything stowed to minimise its getting thrown around, finally V berth mattresses on edge to air during the day. Motoring away from Jibbon I hoisted the full main and #2 genoa. The came the gentle waft of a blessed westerly, the sea was flat calm and Maeling was back in her element. Having departed at 08.00 I suggested to Marine Rescue that I would round South Head at 13.00.
It was a lovely sail to Maroubra Head, though I left the engine ticking over to help keep up the pace on a broad reach. Off Maroubra a Mottle 33 came at me like an arrow, one of the Bruce Munros in Woden had heard my radio calls as he came down solo from Pittwater.
Then the wind veered into the north, so it was starboard tack to Coogee, the a big dig out to the north-east until Tamarama was in line with the cabin bulkhead, I timed another 15 minutes before tacking in. The north-east tacks gave me my best northing and I had to put in a third tack to Macquarie Light before a last one for South Head. Darn Marine Rescue! At 13.10 they were on, asking why I was overdue, I begged indulgence, South Head was 2 miles off and with the sheets eased Maeling was flying along. I always love to enter a quiet harbour after a trip and relax as I started clearing away.
The mooring in front of the VYC Clubhouse was free so I hooked straight onto it as I had arranged. “G'day Geoff.” a stranger called “G'day Shane, you're early!” Quick deduction there, it had to be Shane of C28 Lindeana Barbara.
The afternoon flashed by with getting things for the Regatta ashore, then a little while relaxing before members started coming in. I truly missed Lynne's organising ability this year, she had to stay home after having something cut off her shoulder and was under orders to “Keep it dry and not wave her arm around for 6 weeks”.
So we muddled along, not enough name tags, no nibblies put out, no frangipani on the tables. Thanks all, for your understanding and all the donations that have flowed in both on the night and as bank deposits.
It was good to see people mingling getting to know each other, Tish who was at the first Regatta, was there and Guy E30 The Black Pearl had also come up from Port Hacking. We had old friends and new friends there and the numbers came up a bit over 30. It was a lovely evening and VYC have ploughed a lot of money back into the facilities. They still have the second best urinal view in Sydney!
I muddled through the Lucky Door Prize/Raffle and someone, probably Marion, got an inverter courtesy of “Mick the Sparky” via Doug Cameron. We we partied on for a while, such a while that David, D29 Lea Rig slept in the boatshed.
Saturday we woke to a fine day though the predicted Southerly piped in about 08.30 so we went to breakfast, one of Doug's flaming BBQ Bacon,egg, tomato and hash brown specials. The morning became the usual pre-race pandemonium as crews tried to get out to boats, others arrived to try to come ashore to register. Course questions were handled. Still things must have been well handled because I noted it was only 10.30 and we were sailing toward the Line. The Southerly had come in at 15-20 knots so the southern course was chosen around Shark Is, Clark Is, Obelisk Bay, Lady Jane Beach finishing in Vaucluse Bay.
The start was a bit odd with half the fleet including Maeling being a minute late. The line was set wide and we charged out double reefed with #2 genoa. C28 Miro had the best start, C28 Secrets and C28 Emma began a close tussle followed by The Black Pearl. We trailed N28 Anna and C29 Kalina as we passed C28 Goose poor Hugh Aders and crew had lost the mainsheet attachment off the boom. Next we passed C28 Mulloka heading back to the start “Have we started?!”
In the first tack to Bradleys Head it was heavy going with the lee rail under at times and playing the mainsheet to avoid rounding up. Anna seemed to be heeling even more spectacularly under full sail. The second tack towards Rose Bay saw the boats diverge on different courses all hard on the wind. Some had tacked early for the eastern side while the rest of us tried to lay the YA mark off Shark Island. By then Miro was clearly in the lead but there was a good old C29, Kalina snapping at the heels of the C28s. As we rounded Shark, it was time to shake out the double reef and off the wind boatspeed increased. We had to harden up to round Clark and I was out to leeward to make sure Roger didn't rip my new main on on the starboard hand mark, I think he shot up into the wind to get around. Somehow Mulloka had caught us as we rounded the north-western tip of Clark and goosewinged down to Obelisk on Middle Head.
That was such a relaxing run with C28 Affinity close at hand. approaching Obelisk we could see the leaders strung across the Harbour, it was a fine sight to see the old girls together again racing as a fleet. Maeling rounded Obelisk slightly ahead of Affinity for the reach to Lady Jane then on our starboard was the Manly ferry, we were tacking on top of Affinity as the ferry horn blasted. Sorry Affinity, we really put them off. At Lady Jane, there was a strong ebb tide and while Maeling rounded cleanly there seemed to be three C28s caught up and we stole a march. It was a hard work again to Vaucluse Bay, the wind had eased a little and we carried a full main.
Tish, Michael and Pip were there running the finish line and they were busy trying to time and identify boats. Miro was the clear leader winning the Beta Diesel $100 Line honours prize, the Beta Diesel $150 C28 Handicap prize and the Yacht Domain Brokerage C28 Handicap Trophy. Second and third were separated by 0.4 of a second as C28 Secrets and C28 Emma IV made the final tack across the line. E30 The Black Pearl was next. Guy had sailed The Black Pearl up from Port Hacking solo for the regatta and convincingly won the Easterly Division! Anna got 5th on scratch,
Kalina was next across, winning the Beta Diesel $150 C29 Handicap First prize and the
Yacht Domain Brokerage C29 Handicap Trophy.
After that came Maeling, Affinity, Mulloka, C28 Arthur's Spirit and C29 Reverie
We all celebrated the race at VYC afterwards, sharing out the prizes and having a well earned lunch. Emma IV won the Beta Diesel $50 C28 handicap Second prize and Maeling the Beta Diesel $50 C29 Handicap Second prize. On behalf of C33 Nfiesa, Tish accepted the Jim Brown Trophy for the longest voyage by a Compass Yacht in the past year, supported by a good story. As usual we had to clear the VYC moorings by 15.00 to allow their fleet back and those Rafting Up to catch the 16.30 Spit Bridge opening.
The Raftup was a bit quiet this year with only four boats but was a convivial evening. We had a late afternoon tea (and fruitcake) aboard Sandia, made an inspection of the Black Pearl, for most of us, our first acquaintance with an Easterly. Then bridging over Maeling, had dinner in Reverie's cockpit.
Seven am the next morning found me taking in our shore-line while Guy silently slipped lines with the other boats, leaving a stern breast line attaching Sandia and Reverie. We pushed our two boat raft out into the tidestream before starting up, apparently only waking Tish. Being early for the 08.30 Bridge we tidied up for sea, me bringing aboard the dinghy and rigging jackstays, and getting food and drink on deck. Finally we bolted through the Spit and while heading across the Harbour Entrance, logged us in to Marine Rescue Sydney as “sailing in company', fortunately they had both our details against our Rego numbers.
The wind was of course south at 8-10 knots! We commenced a long starboard tack for over two hours. The sea was quiet but I kept the engine going, motor-sailing to keep the speed up let George-the-Tiller pilot do most of the steering. When I thought I could lay what I thought was Cronulla. We came hard on the wind on port tack.
The sandstone cliffs of Wattamolla look remarkably like the highrise of Cronulla when viewed through the murk from far enough away. Realising my error, I sprang the sheets, turned off the engine and began to enjoy the sail. From about 12 miles out we each sailed onto our mooring without further use of engine. It was still over two hours before we closed the shore and still with a hour to bottom of tide on a big out, I was windy about sailing up reaching with full sail, so I went up slowly, bare headed at about two knots. Not so, Guy, The Black Prince went up fully rigged beating me home by a half hour. On each mark the top of the cunjevoi was nearly a metre out of the water – the tide was low but I don't think either of us touched bottom in the channels.
What a great weekend, I'd like to Thank or sponsors this year, Yacht Domain Brokers and Beta Marine Diesel, and then I'd like to thank you, our members and especially all those who were able to participate at the BBQ or race. Next year we are hoping the 5.5 Titles at VYC move back to February.
We will draw the Compass Yacht Register Prize for those unable to attend the Regatta, in the next few weeks (other commitments)
Until then, Happy sailing
Geoff & Lynne Raebel