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Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au

P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478

Newsletter Items, Idle Gossip, etc to [email protected] (deadline midnight Monday)

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Club Newsletter 11/12/18

Race Reports for December 9th

Catamaran Report (Jonathon Horsley)

A fleet of 9 cats faced the starting line with ‘2 FOOT Extra’ and ‘Finely Tuned’ arriving just prior to the one-minute signal. The easterly wind was gusty and tended to shift from east to northeast. As usual ‘2 FOOT Extra’ opted for the pin end of the line on starboard, just making it inside the starting mark as

‘Shore Thing’ was just to leeward. ‘First Strike’ was following ‘2 FOOT Extra’ but came from above the mark and tried to slip between the mark and ‘2 FOOT Extra’, but misjudged the speed of his Taipan. The resulting glancing strike on ‘2 FOOT Extra’, minor scratches but no broken skin (the old Nacra’s were built tough), left ‘First Strike’ with a broken fang and was forced to retire after nearly sinking.

Meanwhile the race proceeded with the first work being a bit of a lottery in shifting winds. The long downwind against the strong outgoing tide lead to plenty of lead changes. The race had plenty of twists and turns as wind changed in strength and direction. One minute the wind would be below 10 knots and the next a gust would hit near 20 knots, and from a different direction. This kept all the cats on their toes. As the race proceeded 2 boats made a break from the rest of the fleet with ‘A’ and ‘2 FOOT Extra’ duelling for the lead with ‘A’ finally winning but not before a last-minute

Commodore Phill Robbins 0466668541 Vice Commodore Jonathan Horsley 0412798505 Rear Commodore Chris Hallett 0414866998 Secretary Nola Hallett 0414866999 Treasurer Norm Hunt 66291366 Class Reps Gennakers – Duncan Dey Catamarans – Col Woodbry Trailers – Ian Michie Monos – Graham Hams Rowing Officer Gerald Anderson Webmaster Mark Pierce Training team Graeme Turner

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CORRESPONDENCE TO: [email protected]

http://www.rrsrc.com.au/

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chase through the narrows. ‘Finely Tuned’, ‘Ozspray’ and ‘Wokat’ tussled throughout the race and finished in that order.

For most it was enjoyable day’s sailing in wonderful summer weather.

Many thanks to the club members who volunteered to do the duty and man the rescue boat. Special mention to Colin Woodbry for his excellent work in undertaking the recovery of ‘First Strike’. Colin parked his own boat beside the rescue boat and swam to Tony’s boat to assist. Geoff Benson also assisted by picking up Colin and returning him to the rescue boat with Tony’s sails. More in the Rescue boat report




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Gennaker Report (Michael Wiley)

With the line only able to be crossed on starboard tack and a ripping outgoing tide, the start was always going to be pandemonium as everyone wanted to start right on the starboard end buoy. When a cat lost its bow on the buoy after a t bone on the previous start and circled back around the buoy just at the moment of start, pandemonium turned to something much worse. Most boats that were early and pushed across the line by the tide, started to run it. ‘Secret’, ‘Numero Uno’, ‘Interceptor’ and ‘Sachi’ were all found over the line at the gun, but without a promptly displayed individual recall, escaped having to return or having an OCS recorded (although to their great credit Dan and Francine in ‘Numero Uno’ returned voluntarily). Michael and Tara in ‘Mr Bond’ circled around and hung back long enough to hit the line near the starboard buoy just after the gun and got away cleanly; soon leading the fleet, including Liam and




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Ewan in the 49er. It held this position until the first mark. Barry and Anna in ‘Secret’ then managed a better spinnaker set and first gybe, handing it the lead. Around the next lap, ‘Secret’ and the 49er tussled for the lead, the 49er pulling ahead until a capsize let ‘Secret’ sneak through again. On the second run, ‘Secret’ and the 49er carried a gust down much of the leg, on a course that set them straight at the mark, while the following boats struggled to maintain speed while gybing against the strong tide in variable winds, giving those two boats a significant lead. They held that to the finish, with the 49er eventually pulling ahead of ‘Secret’, although not by enough to keep ‘Secret’ from a handicap win. Next up, Bill in ‘Sachi’ and Vincent in ‘hoRuS’ and Brendan and Tom in ‘Interceptor’ all had a close race, finishing within a minute of each other, with Vincent taking out third spot in the handicap placings. After a number of capsizes, Dan and Francine in ‘Numero Uno’ recorded a DNF to let the patrol boat go home.




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Monohull Reports (Mark Pierce and Graham Hams)

Mark Pierce

"Eight Monos left the beach for the start of the race - but only seven made it to the start line. The spring-shackle on Des' side stay decided that it would stick to boating tradition, and undo itself, just five minutes before the start of the race. After a fleeting moment of genius/madness, where he considered attempting to put the mast back up, single-handed, ON THE WATER, Des floated (slowly) to a nearby beach. Time was against him, and he got a DNS, despite getting the mast back up, and sailing home, aided only by a brief tow to the beach. Graham Hams lead the pack, over the start line, and lead most of the race, to take line honours. The usual suspects battled it out for the minor placings, with Trent and Daisy doing a fine job on ‘Puddleduck’. BUT WAIT! Was that that a WHITE beard on’ Puddleduck’?? Surely Trent didn't have his Father Xmas costume on, this early in December??? A check of the Results revealed that it was that old sea-dog Peter Bond, and his crew, racing ‘RIVERSONG’ using ‘Puddleduck’s’ second set of sails! It was a spectacular day on the river, with a moderate East North Southerly blowing. The Mono fleet just continues to expand, with one sailor exclaiming "Yes, it's great that there are so many of us - But we're running out of room to rig up!" After half the Handicap Series, Graham Hams, in an NS 14 so dated that most people would put it in a museum, is still the man to beat........but Roy's high-tech, state-of-the-art, featherweight RS Aero is nipping at his heels................watch this space in 2019 :-)"




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Graham Hams

Another good fleet this week on the upstream/ebb tide course complete with the mandatory gusty shifting ENE breeze. Mark and Julie went looking for ‘Alter Ego's’ scratch result scalp and almost pulled it off..... ‘Alter Ego’ hung on to a few boat lengths of lead until touching the wing mark the last time around. Positions reversed for the long beat to the line, ‘Fling’ stayed handily in front until being caught port and starboard just short of the line. ‘Alter Ego’ sneaked across for a 30 second win. Last season’s back markers are still on a mission to shed handicap. The rapidly improving ‘Retro’ had a great tussle with ‘Ham'in it up’ over the whole race to come in a well-deserved second behind ‘Fling’. Grace and Graeme were all over the course and sometimes under it (?) apparently still trying to work out how to heat up without then getting quite cool in the pond. Paul in ‘Raver’ finally got around a course without mishap or requirement for skin grafting and was seen with a nice broad smile on board - well done! ‘River Song’ the pacer, with ‘Puddleduck’s’ second set of sails went a bit off-piste as well and decided that they should try the long course, but Peter reported that they had a good sail anyway.

The seamanship award (at least the recovery bit!) goes to ‘Olde Golde’ that had a shroud pin come loose resulting in a dropped rig before the start. Des was seen cleaning up the mess and then paddling to shore where the rig was re-erected and off he went again for a short cruise - that's self-reliance for you!!




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Trailer Sailor Report (Colin Hinwood)

Geez .. sunny Summer’s day .. sparkling blue water ..hot Northerlies ..boats everywhere .. pretty good.

Run out tide & a Northerly put us down to the Trawler Harbour course .. & a great course with the wind straight down the track, so tack.. tack .. tack.. & gybe ..gybe .. gybe.

Start Line was a biased SB Start, & only 3 boats again .. ‘Shades’ [of course] ‘Treasure Isle’, & Matt Cartwright’s newly acquired restored RL24 race boat called ‘Spudgun’… say it again … get used to it ..




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So it was day 1 for ‘Spudgun’, with the usual .. what goes where dramas .. like a kite has 3 corners, so offers 3 ways to tie on sheets .. we selected one way, then discarded that way for the pointy end up. We were still trying different ways to sheet the jib up to the gun, but we were there at the start. ‘Shades’ also drives ‘Mr. Squiggles’, so was having a good giggle at the mugs on the new boat trying to sort it out.

A momentary lapse of reason [ ok so I am a Floyd fan ..] meant the top mark was a ‘2 go try’ for ‘Spudgun’, missing the second clearance mark .. must be why we have to pay attention at briefing ?? with some rude suggestions as to our competence by ‘Treasure Isle’.

‘Treasure Isle’ .. the gun boat with the crack crew, flew a new spinnaker variation .. might be called the air vent kite ..? Patent pending? Not sure .. but had one half down near the deck, & the other up top with a huge air vent in the middle – couldn’t have worked for them as they soon pulled it down & replaced it with a normal looking kite.

The breeze was maybe to 15, but was shifty enough to cause quite a few capsizes in cats & skiffs & dinghies ... chicane .. ha .. get that one back .. Nice breeze tho .. hiking upwind & planing downwind. Last day for the year next Sunday … jus sayin ..




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Rescue Boat Report (Trent Morgan)

‘All in a daze’ work With the extra help of Daisy on board the rescue boat with Ric and Trent, a course was set up river, plenty of breeze and plenty of boats. A slight delay in starting due to late arrivals to the start area (need to allow for the extra time to get down there). After the start boat had been set there was a shift more to the north in wind direction which meant anchor up and set again. This time the line was definitely starboard in preference, the rescue boat anchor may have dragged, but as circumstances unfolded there was little time to rectify this starboard bias, which more than likely contributed to some of the following events. Just prior to the start sequence Trent casually gazed over towards the northern shore to see Des’s mast falling over. ‘Is that actually happening’? was the thought process. With Des seemingly OK, gathering his rig in with the boat upright, Ric asked Brendan and Tom to go over to check Des to make sure he was OK. Thank you to Brendan and Tom. With Des in no immediate danger Ric decided that rather than hold the fleet up, it was best to get the race under way. The Cats lined up at the buoy end and all looked clean over the line except (from our perspective) the aftermath, which had Tony in ‘First Strike’ almost not moving, seemingly sluggish in the water. The mono flag was up, mass swarming around the buoy end, Des still gathering his gear, drifting up river slightly, gun went and four boats over the line by about a length and a half – not even close to being just over the line. Two F15’s involved, an RS100 and an MG. Full kudos to ‘Numero Uno’ for coming back to the start line to pay their penalty. All should have but without a reprimanding toot from the start boat ignorance was bliss. Future start line breaks will not be treated so leniently – from an order from higher above. Meanwhile Tony in his Taipan, like a fallen runner before the running of the bulls in Spain was still lingering just beyond the start line. It looked as if (like Daisy’s and Kirah’s sinking Bic adventures in the morning) a bung had not been put in the hull, or a hull in




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this case. Things were looking a bit dire – a definite listing to one side, one hull almost under. So with two boats needing assistance and the Trailer Sailors in the countdown sequence it was all a bit tense on the start/rescue boat – the dual duties of the boat being required simultaneously an impossibility. Nonetheless Des and Tony looked safe, so on with the races. The Trailer Sailors were very well behaved – starting well behind the line. As soon as the gun went, it was anchor up immediately and full steam to Des. Des was OK, just floating in the river wrestling his gear. Apparently a pin had come out from his stay, toppling the mast. He felt he could have had a hand to put the mast up right there but looking to Tony things were getting worse. One hull had disappeared, the good hull sitting on the surface, mast thankfully not under the boat. His situation looked dire, we took off, promising to return to Des. Tony had started behind the front line apparently and had optimistically hoped Jonathon was going to speed up in front of him, not counting on or realising that Jonathon and Seamus in ‘Two Foot Extra’ were being pinched into a snail pace from another boat below, between it and the buoy, with no way of packing on the pace. Living up to its name ‘First Strike’ struck ‘Two Foot Extra’ a glancing blow, completely sheering about two foot off the nose of Tony’s starboard hull – ‘clean off’ in the vernacular of Dirty Harry. As one can see in the photo, it wasn’t going to take long for the hull to fill. The question was, what were we going to be able to do from the rescue boat in terms of getting the boat to safety? Then, like a whirlwind of bravado in a catamaran cowboy flurry, in comes Col Woodbry who parked his Cat next to the rescue boat with a ‘here take this!’. ‘Sure thing” should have been the call. A bemused Trent grabbed the forestay, Daisy grabbed a stay in the middle. Col did a quick foil tidy, then like Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club’s very own super hero – maybe Cat-Man? - leapt into the Richmond and swam about twenty to thirty metres to the aid of Tony, leaving a bemused rescue boat crew holding his boat and thinking ‘what are we doing?’. Well, what we did was hold onto Col’s boat grimly, arms steadily getting longer. Ric decided we should throw down the anchor, which we did. However, a large catamaran fully rigged in a strong breeze and a ripping outgoing tide is not a passive beast and it wanted to play, so unbelievably Daisy and Trent held onto the thing while the rescue boat did two full circles – full on gybes included. Ric did his best to keep the rafted beasts steady, with ample vocal aid flying across the gap between us and Tony’s boat from Col who had advice aplenty! What powerful voices super heroes have! An agreement must have been reached on Tony’s boat between rescuer and rescuee, because Col (Cat-Man) had suddenly leapt onto to Geoff Benson’s Cat and got a lift to us and thankfully he took possession of his caged beast and sailed off back to the club – the intention, to get the second rescue dinghy and place it under Tony’s mast while we towed the hull towards the sand island. So, a blast back to Des, Trent and Daisy trying to put their arms back in their sockets. Des hadn’t been idle, in fact he’d been downright inventive, probably wondering what you had to do to get a rescue he had tidied his rig to the point where he could position himself at the front of his boat lying down and was paddling himself to the northern shore. He was probably only a hundred metres from shore so he’d done very well. We grabbed his gunwale and slowly towed him to….. a small, remote, isolated beach with some bikini clad women sun bathing. Had Des planned this all along? It seemed Des felt a lot more at ease now, he could re rig his boat from here and so we left him to embark on another chapter of the Tony salvage. Courageous Col hadn’t wasted time getting back to the club – a very fast sail indeed, he beat us there and was just starting the other rescue boat and had enlisted a sidekick in the form of Greg




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who had been test driving Charlie’s NS14. We unloaded Tony’s sails at this point, somehow removed in the previous chapter of the rescue, Col blasted off and we picked up Greg and followed. Tony by this stage had drifted a long way down river and we thought if left alone he would eventually have made it up to the club. By the time we had arrived super Col already had ‘First Strike’s’ mast across his boat. We tied a tow line and with both rescue boats slowly heading towards the sand island we dragged the stricken Cat to land. The last stretch being achieved with Greg, Col and Trent heaving the tow line from the island as if they were involved in a giant tug of war. Mission accomplished, and with Tony’s foils on board, we took off to make sure Des was actually attempting to leave the beach, only to find he was sailing perfectly well, heading for home – good on you Des, you have a heart of Golde! Blasting back to the stricken Cat we were pleased to see Super-Col motoring off with Tony’s Cat towards the club, broken hull upon the rescue boat, Tony and Greg assisting. Amazing stuff – well done Col, Greg and Tony! The whole thing was certainly a learning experience and a real eye opener for rescue boat debutant Daisy who was starting to feel the tension – literally, holding onto Col’s boat. Trent nursing a spectacular collection of bruises on one arm – it was that sort of day. During these comings and goings we witnessed Paul’s spinnaker rip beautifully in half along a seam line, all symmetrically in nature – horizontally, starting in the middle, so that there was still some pull in it – sort of like two spinnakers connected at the side. Other than a few capsizes from F15 ‘Numero Uno’, beautifully brought back up, and one ‘Interceptor’ capsize it was all smooth sailing! Thanks to all who helped, in their communication with us and their concern with the troubled vessels. Other than that it was a pleasure to watch everyone sailing! Many thanks to Jane and May for their work in the clubhouse, Meredith for setting up in the kitchen, Gunter and May in the tower, Tara for uncalled-for help packing up, Ric, Daisy and Trent in the rescue boat, Col, Greg and Geoff for spur-of-the-moment rescue assistance, Norm for being there with general assistance, Jonathon and Chris for their rescue boat parking, Graeme Turner (with Trent) for running intermediate sailing, all the volunteers who helped out with learn to sail, and Phill for fielding countless emails, phone calls and general enquiries.

Col Woodbry relaxing with a cold refresher and having a yarn at the end of a tough day. Thanks Col.




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Check Your Bungs!

A reminder to all sailors to check that all bungs and buoyancy caps in every boat you are about to sail are in! Even if you are jumping into a boat that has been out for learn-to-sail in the morning, check that they are in! Ever tried sailing a boat whose hull is full of water? Ask Tony who sails ‘First Strike’ the catamaran, how easy it is to sail a catamaran even with only one hull full – impossible! Tony didn’t forget his bung or buoyancy cap, he lost part of his hull. Daisy and Kirah brought a Bic each to the water to sail in the intermediate class last Sunday after the Bics had been used in learn-to-sail. They were doing well, sailing to Mobb’s Bay and back smoothly, when out of nowhere Daisy capsized and couldn’t keep it upright, capsizing again and again. Graeme Turner finally asked whether the bung was in the hull and it wasn’t! Not only did this mean Daisy’s sail was over for the day, it also meant it was a difficult effort to bring the boat back to the club. Trent tried to sail it and found it impossible, it kept on capsizing. Graeme attempted to tow the boat back in with Trent in the Bic but the Bic kept on capsizing. So, all the rigging (sail, mast and boom) had to be taken off the hull and Graeme took all of it to shore while Trent sat in the hull trying to keep it balanced. Next, the hull had to be lifted out of the water across the rescue boat to get it back to shore. Next, Kirah was having similar problems. Her boat was also missing its bung. Thankfully her hull was less full and she was able to get it back to the beach with assistance. Both hulls were full of water and took a long time to drain. Imagine being caught out on the river with a hull full of water, with no rescue boat to help. There would be no way to get the boat to shore without assistance. This highlights how crucial it is to check EVERY TIME YOU GET IN A BOAT that the bungs and buoyancy caps are in. THIS IS A:

GOLDEN RULE!




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IMPORTANT INFO FOR USERS OF CLUB LASERS

Laser top and bottom sections need to be assembled in a particular way, or the top-section can snap. (See pic) All club Laser mast sections have a blue arrow on them (see pic). For correct assembly, the arrow on the top-section should meet the arrow on the bottom section (see pic). If the arrows on your two mast sections meet, but the sections don’t slot in together, you’ve selected either two top-sections, or two bottom-sections. While the club encourages innovation, this mast

configuration will probably not work! Happy Laser sailing, cheers Mark




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Learn to Sail

A reminder that learn to sail is on again this Sunday! Please arrive by 9am for a 9:30 start. Another reminder:

What to wear –

• Swim wear + rash shirt

• Secure hat (tie on)

• Sunscreen

• Light waterproof jacket if cool day

• Long hair should be tied back.

• Don’t wear jewellery that could get tangled whilst sailing. Life Jackets will be supplied by the club.




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Intermediate sailing with Graeme Turner

Anyone interested in sailing in the intermediate sailing class with Graeme Turner is advised that the class starts at 11am but you must be there at 10:30am so that Graeme knows who is going to be sailing and to allow for enough time to get boats ready. The class goes for one hour. Last week it all started very late because most people interested arrived late. It is very generous of Graeme to share his sailing knowledge and much energy prior to his own race later in the day so it would really help him to be ready by 10:30am please. Cost each person, each day is $10.

Club Shirts

(As worn by Secretary Nola and Commodore Phill –

reflective safety vest optional)

Here’s your chance to wear the colours of your club, to proudly display what you do every Sunday – wear a club shirt! Royal Blue Club shirts payment required at time of order into RRSRC account with your name as reference BSB: 728728 ACC: 22288328 Email or text Nola with size [email protected] or 0414 866999

Mens Long sleeve polo - $37 Short sleeve polo - $35 Cotton T-shirt - $20 Ladies Short sleeve polo - $31 Kids Cotton T-shirt - $17





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Idle Gossip – Please send anything interesting sailing or club related to [email protected].

Whilst on the rescue boat, Ric pointed out a feature on the end of the main tow line called a Monkey’s Fist knot, or ball. On the end of a tow line thrown to someone needing towing it travels through the air well and due to its shape makes it easier to catch. Ric said that Roy, the club’s Aero sailor, made the one used on the club boat. Thanks Roy! It came in handy in the process of dragging Tony’s Cat to the sandy island.





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Upcoming Away Events

• 29th December - 5th January - Nacra Nationals

• 23rd February 2019 – ‘The Great Race’ – Southport Yacht Club Hollywell Sailing Squadron to Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron

• 16th/17th March – BRSC (Harwood) Annual Regatta Sat/Sun

• 4th/5th May – Bay to Bay If anyone knows of any more events or would like an event posted please let me know – [email protected]





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Wotif Offer to our Club!

Book your next travel or accommodation with Wotif and quote this code: ASF043153 and we will receive a donation from Wotif. Support our club when you or your family or friends travel.

Crew Available/Crew

Wanted

If you need some crew or are wanting to have a sail in a race please make your intentions known here by contacting [email protected]

For Sale/Wanted/Free to a Good Home

If you have any sailing related items for sale or if you want to buy something sailing related and want it put in the newsletter please let me know – [email protected]

Gill Boot I can bring them to the club on Sunday so people can try them on pre or post-race - Laura [email protected] Barely worn Size 39 (UK/Australia 5.5) $80 (down from $110) • best trapeze boot out there! • 5mm neoprene for warmth

• wrap around super grip sole natural rubber (non-marking) • and reinforcements on toes and heels and sides for protection • non-ferrous zip with Velcro to keep it in place • unisex colours







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More photos from last Sunday

Des heading home after a difficult day at the office.




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Run Rabbit Run! One of six living in the yard apparently

This is Frank of ‘course’ Must be a friend of Kirah’s!


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