BBSC  - Sailing Report    4 August 2018

Simply the best !  The warm and breezy weather conditions enticed a fleet of ten yachts to cross the bar for the last race of the Sailing the Bay winter series conducted by the Batemans Bay Sailing Club.
The day provided the best sailing of the eight race series with yachts duelling around the course and then culminating in an exciting close finish for four yachts which would determine the final placings of the series.

The handicap start race welcomed new  entrants “Lollipop” a Spencer 27 skippered by Deb Keeley and “Motion” a Bounty 35  with Paul Knaap at the helm. “Lollipop” joined “Horizon”  (Michelle Grybaitis) as the scratch boats for the noon start and it wasn’t long before she took her eyes off the horizon and sailed an unofficial leg to Chain Bay ! “Motion” with experienced crew Hugh Brown sailed her maiden race impressively under a genoa only as the main halyard shackle was out of reach at the top of the mast and the mainsail remained flaked !
Theses incidents do happen.

The race was sailed fast in two groups with front runners ” Eirene “ (John McCloskey) and “Hobo“ (Peter Withington) enjoying the gusting north west wind varying 8-22 knots. These boats were beating towards Yellow Rock from the Toll Gates mark when the fleet back markers were rounding only the first mark at Square Head and were never passed thereafter.
Sailing between these groups was “Charlie Barr 3”  ( Mel Knowles and Col Stone) putting in another improved performance in her maiden race series then followed by “Motion”.

Meanwhile, it was all happening within the second group , a race within a race. The second leg of the course from Square Head to the Toll Gates saw “Ghoster”     flying her big black spinnaker taking advantage of the wind direction and sailing directly towards the next mark. Others flying gennakers were adjusting to the varying wind strengths, angles and adding extra distances to sail.

The penultimate leg from Yellow Rock to Square Head before finishing at Caseys Beach  revealed different strategies with boats either hugging the north side of the Bay as did “North Star” and “Ghoster” or tacking down the middle like “Attitude“ and “Xanthia”.

The final leg to Caseys Beach saw boats trying to improve their positions by either  tacking close to the rocks of Snapper Island or “winging” it further out in the Bay before the reach to the finish line. However, incidents do happen. “Attitude“ who was threatening to be first of this group experienced a spinnaker mishap which allowed others to close the gap. The four boats finished within a few minutes of one another with “Ghoster” leading this group over the line.
 
Results - Race 8:  1 Eirene ;2 Hobo ;3 Ghoster ;4 Attitude ;5  Xanthia;
 6 North Star;7 Charlie Barr 3; 8 Horizon; 9 Motion ; DNF Lollipop.


The Winter Series Presentation was held afterwards at JJS at the Marina.
Another successful series and over thirty people saw local skipper James Gardiner of “Xanthia” win the Shield trophy with second place to “Ghoster” (Dion Perrins) and a tie between “Attitude”  (John Reed) and “North Star” (John Drummond).
Everyone present acknowledged the great support from sponsors – JJs, Batemans Bay Marina Management, King Bros Marine, Power & Sail and Revolution Sails whose prizes were presented to the place getters.

For details of the Club’s coming activities please see www.bbsc.org.au .
The Summer sailing season starts on 29 September – so be there.

BBSC – Sailing Report 25 July  2018

An exciting series finale is looming for Race 8 of Sailing the Bay , Winter Series of the Batemans Bay Sailing Club, to be sailed on Saturday 4 August.
After an emphatic win in Race 7 by “Attitude” an Adams 10.6 Off Shore , the placings for the series are wide open to five yachts all vying for first place and with it  the Club’s Winners Shield and the Batemans Bay Marina Management prize. This eight race series has so far produced five different winners with all races closely contested.

Last Saturday Race 7, attracted seven of the ten registered boats with “Hobo” a trimaran , skippered by Peter Withington joining the race and an additional two Club boats “Farreal” and “ Aminee 3” shadowing the fleet and adding to this series increasing popularity.

 The Bay delivered the weather forecast of a fine sunny day with light winds from the south west then moving in an easterly direction. At noon the horn blast saw “Horizon”  cross the start line with Michelle at the helm and crew John, Jane and Pam keen to take advantage of the course and her handicap start.

The course to be sailed was Caseys Beach to Square Head to Yellow Rock to Toll Gate then finish at Caseys Beach within the 4:30pm time limit. The idea of the handicap starts is to produce a close and  exciting finish for all boats. However in a light breeze where the wind vane often did a 360 degrees spin all boats were converging at the same time on the first rounding mark at Square Head. At this stage with boats laying the mark from different angles , crew were seen delving into the Rules – “right of way” !

“Eirene” and “North Star” were first around the Square Head mark then sailed to opposite sides of the course to reach the wind change from the north east that was spreading down the bay. At this point “Attitude” settled into a good beating run to Yellow Rock with “Xanthia” and “Ghoster” close astern. As the Yellow Rock rounding mark was not reached within the time limit the course was shortened. The final leg of the race was now Yellow Rock to Caseys Beach.

The Bay became a colourful scene of spinnakers and gennakers as the fleet sailed the final leg. “Hobo” with new sails held off “Eirene” the previous race winner and “Horizon” battling with an oversized spinnaker while the front runners positions stayed the same with “Attitude” in the lead from the back marker “Xanthia” then “Ghoster” and “North Star”.

The winning boat “Attitude” superbly sailed in the challenging wind conditions by skipper Patrice de Caritat with crew John Reed and Jonathan “Peter” Claoue-Long won the JJs – at the Marina, prize and put their boat in contention for a series win. But there is an X-factor and a spirit to deal with !!

The next and final race of the Series is on 4 August with a pre-race Briefing at 10am at the Batemans Bay Marina . People wanting to crew are to attend this Briefing when a position will be allocated on a boat if available.
Boat entry for a single race is offered and visiting skippers and crew are most welcome. For further details please go to www.bbsc.org.au or the Notice Board at the Marina.

Only two races left to be sailed in the Sailing the Bay Winter Series organised by the Batemans Bay Sailing Club. The results of Race 6 sailed on 7 July in strong winds not only rattled the rigging but also the current standings in this series.
There are at least four yachts vying for first placing in this competitive series with the last race and presentation set for Saturday 4 August.

Race 6 was a day of heroics when the forecast for the Bay was a westerly wind of about 25 knots. At the pre-race briefing an opinion was that the expected front had just passed so the scheduled Course B could be sailed with an optional course agreed should conditions worsen.

Seven yachts left the Marina for the start line at Caseys Beach with the official start time at 1pm. The two scratch boats in this handicap race,  “Horizon” and “Eirene” were reaching at a good speed under a 12 knot breeze. However, conditions changed once rounding Snapper Island and beating into the increasing westerly  towards Square Head  mark presenting a real challenge to the fleet. “Charlie Barr 111” starting 17 minutes later also experienced the strong gusts at Square Head and with only two crew on board decided to withdraw from the race as did “Horizon”. It was at this location that the 45 footer X-boat “Xanthia” decided to “pull the pin” due to difficulties in changing headsails.

“Eirene” skippered by John McCloskey with now seasoned crew Antoinette and Herman Karsten were sailing the Square Head to Wimbie Beach leg when the four remaining boats  started at their various handicap starting times. She held this position to the finish and a maiden win in this series. “Ghoster” a Farr 9.2 skippered by Dion Perrins with Kathie Blankley and who won the previous race again sailed brilliantly  and were catching the lead boat. Meanwhile “Attitude” an Adams Offshore 10.6 skippered by Simon Byrne and sailing her second race of the series  reefed her main and overtook “North Star” near the finishing line at Caseys Beach.

The average time for the race was one and a half hours being twice as quick as the previous race sailed in light winds. The  day’s conditions provided exhilarating sailing for the crews.

The final placings :     “ 1. Eirene; 2. Ghoster; 3. Attitude; 4. North Star
and DNF – Horizon; Charlie Barr 111;  Xanthia”.

Next race is on 21 July with a pre-race Briefing at the Batemans Bay Marina at 10am.

Crew availability . People wanting to crew are to attend the Briefing when a position will be allocated on a boat if available.

Boat entry for a single race is available and visiting skippers and crew are most welcome. For further details please go to www.bbsc.org.au.

The wind forecast for Race 5 of the Batemans Bay Sailing Club – Winter Series was depressing to keen yachties – only one or two knots at best. This forecast reduced the number of starters to five.

Over the past month race day has either been next to no wind or a gale force. However, by the start of this race a light wind of about 7 knots arrived from the North West then shifted to the East for the remainder of the race enabling the fleet to sail the course within the time limit.  This was totally different to the previous race when there was no wind at the start resulting in a “did not finish” for all eight yachts. The vagaries of sailing conditions !

 

The Course sailed started at Caseys Beach then north to Chain Bay, south to Wimbie Beach , north west to Square Head then finishing at Caseys Beach. The average time taken for this course was about three hours ( where else would you want to be ?). The Bay was now enticing with smooth waters, sunshine and the usual marine life – seals and dolphins. But this race was different – a whale joined the fleet off Chain Bay where on the beach about a hundred spectators gathered. The sailing gods were with us …another magic day on the Bay.

 

The horn blast at 1pm saw “Eirene “ the 37 ft Hanse design cross the line with Herman Karsten at the wheel . Herman and wife Antoinette are new but keen crew who keep skipper John McCloskey on course ( not under usual cruise mode).These races have different starting times for the individual yachts based on handicap determinations. Next to start was Mel and Col Stone’s “Charlie Barr 111” followed by “Ghoster” a Farr 9.2 with Dion Perrins at the helm and ably crewed by Kathie Blandley.

Rounding the first mark in Chain Bay there was a new leader with “Ghoster” overtaking the Bavaria 33 “Charlie Barr 111 “ and then “Eirene”.  Gaining on the last two boats were the back markers “North Star” and “Xanthia”.

The spinnaker/gennaker  flown leg to Wimbie Beach saw “Ghoster” maintain her lead with “North Star” settling into second place and “Xanthia” with her new carbon sails glistening in the sun and spreading a dark shadow over the yachts passed, taking third position. These positions were held to the finishing line at Caseys Beach .

The sailing conditions turned out far better than first forecasted and all crew gathered afterwards at JJs at the Marina – sponsor of each of the races. “Ghoster” received the winner’s gift voucher, a deserved winner .

Next race is on 7 July with a pre-race briefing at the Batemans Bay Marina at 10am. The following races are on 21 July and 4 August.

If you would like to crew please attend the briefing  when a position will be allocated on a boat if available. Visiting skippers are most welcome to join the race.

For further details regarding the Club please go to www.bbsc.org.au  . Winter Series “ Sailing the Bay” information is also on the Notice Board at the Marina.

Race 2 of the Sailing the Bay winter series conducted by the Batemans Bay Sailing Club was sailed last Saturday 19^th. As expected for May was the forecast of light winds and the Bay delivered accordingly, a day of two moods – one , a frustrating start and then an exhilarating  sail to the finish.

A good roll up of 7 of the 9 registered yachts gathered at Casey’s Beach with the horn blast at noon signalling the official start time from which all the boats would take their different handicap start times. However , the nightmare for skippers struck – no breeze which left the first four boats severely handicapped , drifting. In fact all four boats were still below the starting line when “North Star “ crossed at 1220 in a zephyr.

The light breeze began to build 6-13 knots from a NW-NE direction enabling all yachts to finally be under sail in improving conditions . The smooth waters changed later in the race to a covering of white caps with the wind strengthening.

In the second leg of the course, Square Head to Wimbie Beach , “Outwide” ( a Thompson 650 Sports with a sailing weight of about a tonne) sailed into the lead under a gennaker , followed by “Xanthia” ( trialling her new carbon genoa) then “North Star”. The rest of the fleet were now challenging the Bay course in the appealing autumn weather.

Maiden race entrant “ Charlie Barr III” sailed by Mel and Colin Stone were impressive and will be a threat when her new large blue and white gennaker is unfurled ! She kept in touch with the proven performer “Ghoster”  . Meanwhile “Horizon” ( skipper Michelle Grybaitis , crew John Clement and Jane Elek) were duelling with “Eirene” (the Greek Goddess of Peace) and the positions changed a number of times ( that’s enjoyable sailing!).

“Outwide” skippered by Peter Schwarz and Pip Smith with crew Neil Starmer and Rob Way were first to finish in an elapsed time of just under 2 hours. “Xanthia” crossed 12 minutes later and “North Star” another 4 minutes back ( with the starting offsets).

The final placings : “1 Outwide; 2 Xanthia; 3 North Star; 4 Ghoster; 5 Charlie Barr III; 6 Horizon; 7 Eirene.

Next race is on 2nd June with a pre-race briefing at the Batemans Bay Marina at 9am.  Race 4 is on 9th June .

Crew availability. People wanting to crew are to attend the briefing when a position will be allocated on a boat if available.

Boat entry for a single race is available and visiting skippers are most welcome.

Further details on www.bbsc.org.au - Winter series.

 

TopYacht Software: Batemans Bay Sailing Club - 15/05/2018 11:38:43 AM

RACE 2 Winter Series 2018

Race 2

Printed on : 15/05/2018 11:38:43 AM

Start Offset Times for Race 2 on 19/05/2018

BOAT	SAIL NO	CLASS	Bt Strt	SKIPPER
Horizon	10	D2	0:00	Michelle Grybaitis
Lollipop	1582	D2	0:00	Deb Keely
True North	92	D1	0:01	Steve Lake
Benny	6672	D1	0:06	Jason Yip
Hobo	63	D2	0:14	Peter Withington
Vital Spark	1475	D2	0:14	Richard Dunne
Ghoster	3693	D1	0:16	Diion Perrins
Charlie Barr 3	200	D1	0:17	Colin Stone
The Shed	3279	D1	0:18	Ron Spelman
Tradewind	608	D1	0:19	Allan Rees
Eirene	NONE	D2	0:20	John McCloskey
North Star	6803	D1	0:20	John Drummond
Sandia	4179	D1	0:20	Tish Ennis
Avior	2970	D1	0:23	Tony Sutton
Out Wide	4114	D1	0:32	Peter Schwarz
Xanthia	4536	D1	0:34	James Gardiner
Wishful Thinking	6189	D1	0:36	Andrew Bain
Accolade	M201	D1	0:37	Lachlan Brown
Shaken not Stirred	007	D1	0:37	Sonja Gasser
Houdini	073	D1	0:40	Trevor Golding
Attitude	8150	D1	0:42	Simon/John Byrne/Reed

The Bay was at its brilliant best last Saturday for the start of the Sailing the Bay winter series. The fleet had a perfect 22 degrees day with a light but increasing N/E breeze that settled to a constant wind range 6-13 knots for the 7 yachts , including “Simi” which shadowed the fleet.

The course for the first race of the 8 race series started and finished at Casey’s Beach with rounding marks at Chain Bay, Whimbie Beach and Square Head.
Skippers and crew enjoyed the sailing conditions which also attracted a spectator pod of dolphins. Could it get better ?

First away in this Handicap start race was the Magnum 28 “True North” crewed by Steve, Donna and Dave. Unfortunately they started in the lightest breeze of the day which enable the the later starts in an increasing breeze to haul them in before the Whimbie Beach mark.

The leg from Chain Bay to Whimbie Beach saw the yachts hoist an array of colourful spinnakers and genakers. The ‘swoosh’ of the enormous genaker on the 45 foot “Xanthia “ was its way of laying down the gauntlet to the others in challenging for first place. “Xanthia” skippered by James Gardiner plus 4 crew took the lead from “North Star” a Northshore 310 ( with John, Steve and Sara aboard) and the positions were held to the finish.
The black spinnaker of “Ghoster” – a Farr9.2  ( crewed by Dion, Kathie and Steve) was holding on to 3rd position after overtaking “True North”” which was looking for a stronger breeze towards Toll Gates. John McCloskey’s “Eirene “ a 37 foot Hanse with new crew Phil was at the end of the fleet  enjoying the race without the use of a spinnaker.

A close tussel was unfolding between a faster Adams 10.5 “Attitude” ( crewed by Patrice, Damian, John P and Simon) and “Ghoster”. Racing at close quarters over the last 2 legs of the course  near the rocks of Snapper Island to Square Head where “Attidude” gave “Ghoster “a reprieve.  It had to recover from going around the port mark the wrong way. However they hauled in “Ghoster “ just before the finish.

The final placings were : “1 Xanthia;  2 North Star ; 3 Attitude ; 4 Ghoster; 5 True North; 6 Eirene”.

Next race is on 19 May with 2 additional entrants – Horizon (a Cavalier 26) and Charlie Barr 3 ( a Bavaria 33).  A pre-race briefing will be held at JJs – The Shack at the Batemans Bay Marina at 10am.
People who would like to crew are to attend this briefing when a position will be allocated on a boat if available.

Boat entry for a single race is available and visiting skippers and crew are most welcome .

TopYacht Software: Batemans Bay Sailing Club - 3/05/2018 6:28:41 PM

RACE 1 Winter Series 2018

Winter Series Race 1 for Offsets

Printed on : 3/05/2018 6:28:41 PM

Start Offset Times for Race 1 on 5/05/2018

BOAT	SAIL NO	CLASS	Bt Strt	SKIPPER
Horizon	10	D2	0:00	Michelle Grybaitis
Lollipop	1582	D2	0:00	Deb Keely
True North	92	D1	0:01	Steve Lake
Benny	6672	D1	0:06	Jason Yip
North Star	6803	D1	0:11	John Drummond
Hobo	63	D2	0:14	Peter Withington
Vital Spark	1475	D2	0:14	Richard Dunne
Ghoster	3693	D1	0:16	Diion Perrins
Charlie Barr 3	200	D1	0:17	Colin Stone
The Shed	3279	D1	0:18	Ron Spelman
Tradewind	608	D1	0:19	Allan Rees
Sandia	4179	D1	0:20	Tish Ennis
Xanthia	4536	D1	0:22	James Gardiner
Avior	2970	D1	0:23	Tony Sutton
Out Wide	4114	D1	0:32	Peter Schwarz
Attitude	8150	D1	0:36	Simon/John Byrne/Reed
Wishful Thinking	6189	D1	0:36	Andrew Bain
Accolade	M201	D1	0:37	Lachlan Brown
Shaken not Stirred	007	D1	0:37	Sonja Gasser
Houdini	073	D1	0:40	Trevor Golding

Last Saturday was a great day for sailing, especially as Batemans Bay Sailing Club was holding the McAsh Oysters Race, which was the final keelboat race of the sailing season. A total of eight yachts headed out. There was a light sea breeze blowing which averaged around 5 knots. Race officer Dave Magill and his trusty crew of Terry Paton and Roger Rowe set a pin end favoured start line. It was a handicap start race where the faster boats gave the slower boats a headstart based on past performances. The course consisted of a one tack work to the Toll Gates mark, a square run to the Wimbie Beach Mark then a fetch to a laid mark in the middle of the Bay. The Division 1 boats then did a windward and return leg to the Toll Gates and back.

“North Star” (John Drummond) in Division 1 and “Lollipop” (Deb Keeley) in Division 2 were away first and never relinquished their leads. Drummond and his crew deployed their new gennaker to perfection on the downwind legs. The all female crew on “Lollipop” deployed skill and tenacity in the tricky conditions, even as Deb took a bucket load of photos during the race. 

Further back there was a race within a race as the three Adams 10.6 yachts “Accolade” (Lachlan Brown), “Attitude” (Simon Byrne) and “Wishful Thinking” (Andrew Bain) had the club championship on the line. “Accolade” and “Attitude” were able to get port tack starts ahead of “Wishful Thinking”. “Accolade” got away on the run down to Wimbie when “Attitude” and “Wishful” sailed out of breeze on either side of the course. Later “Attitude” and “Wishful” both retired as they were well behind and in danger of being unable to get back in over the bar on a falling tide. “Ghoster” (Dion Perrins) ghosted to third place on PHS in Division 1 behind “North Star” and “Accolade”. In Division 2 “Vital Spark” (Richard Dunne) was second on PHS to “Lollipop”. Div 2 yacht “Horizon” (Michelle Grybaitis) couldn’t get going in the light stuff and eventually retired as well. 

Next weekend it will be all hands on deck for the Beyond Bank Regatta, the largest annual sailing regatta on the South Coast, which Batemans Bay Sailing Club has been running for over 40 years.

7 yachts headed for the Batemans Bay Sailing Club Bay Cup Race on Saturday. It was a great day for sailing. The committee boat crew of Dave Magill, Terry Paton and Roger Rowe set a very appropriate course for the NNE breeze. This consisted of two laps around a triangular course between the Wimbie Beach mark, the Marine Park Middle mark and a laid mark near Square Head. “Accolade” (Lachlan Brown) led most of the way around but had to retire after misreading the course and heading off in the wrong direction. “Attitude” (Simon Byrne) inherited the lead and went onto win the race on AMS from “Wishful Thinking” (Andrew Bain) and “North Star” (John Drummond). On PHS “Xanthia” (James Gardiner) stayed close enough to the race leaders to score a clear victory from “Attitude” and “Avior” (Tony Sutton and Celia Davey). 

Sadly the day was marred by the tragic drowning of a 13 year old girl when a power boat capsized at the Moruya River entrance earlier in the morning. The subsequent news that this occurred on a strong run out tide serves as a reminder of Alan Lucas’ aphorism “when in doubt about conditions on the bar, wait until the fourth hour of a rising tide.” Please stay safe on the water everyone.