A Shifty Significant Wind Shift Wednesday Wonders Summer Series 2015-16 Race 24

(23 March 2016)

It wasn’t until CAVALIER (David Lynch) crossed the line in 17th place that a yacht with a handicap of 30 minutes or less finished the race. The first 10 yachts across the finish line all had handicaps of 31 minutes or more and the first 5 started the race from a position between 15 and 23 place. Nevertheless, 27 of 38 yachts finished within 10 minutes of the winner. Arguably the cause of this unusual result was the wind shift, which commenced about 1330 moving from the north to the south and increasing from about 4 knots to 11 knots at Fawkner Beacon. The wind shift had been predicted but the exact timing of the change came as something of a surprise.

WW Summer Series 2015-16

Race 24 Wind Speed & Direction

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Wind Speed 6 4 11 10 12 11 9 7 7 9

Gusts 8 7 15 12 14 12 12 8 8 12

Direction 0 0 180 157.5 157.5 135 135 157.5 157.5 180

1300 1330 1400 1430 1500 1530 1600 1630 1700 1730

The race saw a strong fleet of 38 yachts sail the 7 legs, 9.8 nautical mile course 7 selected for the first time. LEBROK (Theo Korbel) won her second Start of the Day; BABYDOLL (Brendan Kruger) won her second race of the series; it was the first occasion CARPE DIEM (Paul Commins) recorded the fastest elapsed time; and PIPPA (Jeffrey Woolhouse) recorded the second slowest elapsed time of the series with 3:13:50.

The 40-foot Hanse BABYDOLL started the series with a win in her first race of the series. She started that race from a 28-minute handicap. For her second win of the series she started from a 38-minute handicap. It was a good start, only 7 seconds late from 23rd place. BABYDOLL made very good progress around the first 4 legs of the course gaining 20 places to be 3rd around number 4 for the first time. She sailed the entire course in 1:46:43 - the 11th fastest time of the day and was first across the finish line at 15:54:43 only 14 seconds ahead of the Farr 1020 FAST COMPANY (Albert Doggett). BABYDOLL has completed 16 races this series and moved into 6th place in the aggregate up from 11th the previous week.

FAST COMPANY has completed 18 races this series recording 7 top ten finishes including 2 podium finishes. She started this race from 20th place only 4 seconds late for her 34-minute handicap. She led the fleet around number 4 for the first time, which she rounded at 15:15:20. FAST COMPANY had sailed the first 4 legs of the course in 1:11:16. The remaining three legs of the course were sailed in 39 minutes 37 seconds before crossing the finish line at 15:54:57 in 2nd place. FAST COMPANY moved up three places in the aggregate from 8th to 5th place.

Following her first podium finish in race 23 (which she won by 6 minutes 6 seconds) MY WAY (Magdy Iskander) received a 7 minute increase to her handicap but was still able to make this race another podium finish. MY WAY started from 16th place 20 seconds late for a 33 minute handicap. At the first rounding of number 4 she was in 7th place after sailing for 1:14:21. Her final 3 legs of the course were sailed in 37 minutes 22 seconds. MY WAY recorded the 17th fastest elapsed time of the race and crossed the finish line in 3rd place at 15:55:06. After sailing 12 races MY WAY has moved into 38th place in the aggregate.

The light breeze at the start of the race made judging the start difficult. Only 2 of the first 8 yachts to start crossed the start line in less than 60 seconds. As time went by start times improved dramatically with LEBROK winning Start of the Day with a 2 second start followed by INSX (Rob Sill) and DÉJÀ VU (Peter Dransfield) both with 3-second starts. The median start time was 21 seconds – 5 seconds above the average for the series.

The 38 yacht fleet started the race 47 minutes 55 seconds apart. At the first rounding of number 4 the difference had reduced to 25 minutes 56 seconds. However, by the end of the race the difference between the first and last yacht had become 54 minues 42 seconds – greater than the difference at the start. Nevertheless, there were some close contests with a tie for 13th place between VANTAGE (Darren Hunter) and BARNSTORMER (Brian Barnes). One second

separated MORE NOISE (Jason Close) from CARPE DIEM (Paul Commins) who finished 9th and 10th respectively.

Of the first 14 yachts to start only one finished among the first 20 yachts to cross the finish line. The best placed yachts started from mid fleet.

In her 16th race of the series it was CARPE DIEM that completed the course in the shortest elapsed time of 1:39:24. This was 1 minute 48 seconds faster than her closest rival WIND SPEED (Les Browne). The average time to sail the course was 2:00:46. This is not the longest average elapsed time this series but it was increased by two yachts sailing in excess of 3 hours. The time difference between the fastest and slowest yachts was 1:37:01. That is the widest margin this series.

Last week was the race closest to Saint Patrick’s Day for which there is the Jaffa Trophy. The Jaffa Trophy was donated by the family in memory of Patrick Johnston-Bell who raced a Northsore 38 - JAFFA. This year the trophy was won by MY WAY with the biggest winning margin of the series. Congratulations to the skipper and crew. (This important event was not mentioned in last weeks report and the person responsible for this oversight has been counselled and is expected to make a full recovery after the wounds have healed). Mark understands the sailors on Jaffa were known to Magdy, so even though I don’t think he is Irish, he is a fitting winner and knows the background of the trophy. Sorry this is a week late Magdy. Fortunately the winner is still smiling this week, with a third place. MW It is not over yet… Race 25 on 30th March 2016 is the last scheduled race for this summer series. The last race will determine: 1 The winner of the Summer 2015 aggregate, 2 The winner of the Misty Blue Trophy, 3 The Century Class Trophy (Five possible winners just 6 points apart with no drops) 4 The Shebassa Shield (with only one point separating the leaders).

Answer to the last Question

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read” The question was asked by Mark where does this quote come from? It would have to be a brave sailor to question a statement by Kapt Harpo (who may be related to Groucho) but it was not Groucho Marx contrary to popular belief. The earliest attribution to giving credit to Groucho Marx occurred in 1974 at a museum exhibit celebrating words and reading. The earliest known instance of this joke is in an issue of Boys’ Life magazine dated 1954. In this initial appearance the quip is credited to Jim Brewer and not to Groucho Marx. The wording is permuted slightly: A book is man’s best friend outside of a dog, and inside of a dog it’s

too dark to read. Information taken from Quote Investigator CLICK for full text

Yacht Names and Numbers. Ever noticed when a white yacht is in front of you how difficult it is

to identify, as few yachts have their number displayed on their bow. Is it legal for a yacht to only

have its number displayed on the stern?

Emily Close: There is a great interview in the 2015 copy of Off the Wind about Emily, (Jason’s

daughter). The quote I like is about her ambition to sail with her dad in a Sydney to Hobart.

From her success and experience this does not seem to be very far away… Jason might have

to move over! The new Off the Wind is coming out soon but there are lots of old copies around

the club of last year’s edition. See page 36 Gen Z’s Challenge in the Latitude Ocean race.

Advice from Sailing World THREE SIMPLE GO-FAST RULES - to read CLICK 1 - Sail in more wind, 2 - Sail to the mark, 3 - Keep it simple A new yacht? Looking for a new yacht? Boatadvice offers a very comprehensive overview of the Beneteau First 35 Carbon Edition To read the Review Click By James Dumergue Some races are lost in the first five or ten mins. Once again there was only a feeble breeze at the start of the race that made a mockery of the handicaps. First Start yacht in the first 10 mins travelled 0.3nm at 2.00 knots Second 10 mins 0.02 nm at 1.00knt They kept trying to keep the wind in their sails and avoid getting close in to the shore. (For the “orange man’s” information they were never closer than 153 meters away from No. 7. Then, too late, they averaged 5knts travelling from 2 to 5. One-day (maybe be in dream time) summer races will start just 20 or 30 mins later at 14:00 when the wind arrives. It would not add much time onto the finish time for the early yachts.

Predictions for the final race. Mark made it clear last week that it was possible for Paul to win the series in SECOND NATURE. It has been pointed out to Mark (by the tower) that coming 15th has now made it impossible. Just so Mark can’t be accused of putting a Mo Jo on any other yacht Mark is not making any predictions this week. Thanks to Windward Buoy, Karen and Andrew. Andrew has an idea for next season of using Go Pros, handing them out to a couple of different yachts each week. That would make interesting viewing. “We could put together a video compilation... so we can see what its like being aboard

each and every WW yacht”. Andy

Enjoy the last race of Summer - a lot of results will be decided during the race but for some results you will have to wait until Presentation Night. It would be an excellent idea to book “just in case”. Hope you enjoyed Easter. Be great to hear any comments, feedback, details from your yacht’s experience of a race, and any advice for other yachts.

Please send to MARK WINDWARD Jacquie Hope: Report from Marine Traffic. Shanti was tucked inside the southern end of Jervis Bay 23/3/2016. Averaging 6.6knts max 9.3… Monday she had left Jervis Bay.

Some quotes from British Military Annual Staff Appraisals with thanks to Bob Crozier.

He has the wisdom of youth and the energy of old age.

Couldn’t organise 50% leave in a 2-man submarine.

The only ship I would recommend for this man is citizenship

A new book is being printed titled “Yoga positions for Yachties”. Just a few examples by some people you may know. If you would like to contribute to this publication send your information to

MARK WINDWARD

Get ready, they are charging! ..but they passed like ships in the night Port to Port “I am sure those rocks were not that close last time. Glad it is not worrying my crew.”

I think there are extra people on my yacht !

Thanks go to Karen on Cavalier for the photos from this race.