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Terence Charles
5 years ago
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Division Yacht Report Back in the Day With one of Australia s most respected print publications consigned to history (Aus Sailing), it was left to Phillip Ross (Editor of sister publication Cruising

1 Division Yacht Report Back in the Day With one of Australia s most respected print publications consigned to history (Aus Sailing), it was left to Phillip Ross (Editor of sister publication Cruising Helmsman) to clean out the office draws. What he found of course were numerous (priceless) images, yes from back in the day, which he selectively loaded to the Facebook site or IBNA Yachting Professionals from the 60 s, 70 s and 80 s Before GPS. Attached to each was a name the people, place, event and year (or similar) challenge. Of course all challenges were answered by the throng of followers, along with many stories. If you haven t seen the site and you are aged 60+ (OK or younger), you ll enjoy the many posts which bring back some great memories. PS it s a public group so you have to ask to be admitted but entry criteria are pretty loose! Here s an example of Phillip s work with an appropriate call to action : Let's start the day with an easy one, 'specially for the Yanks. We all know the name, who has some classic stories involving him? Or even when and where this image is from? That oughta take up the day! o Quote of the Week There s always great media feeds coming from Team AzkoNobel, currently chasing the leading pack in Leg 8 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Itajai to Newport. On board reporter Brian Carlin has often taken a back seat to Nicolai Sehested and Brad Farrand who regularly review the week that was (great for a laugh). He did, however, rise to prominence with this observation about the challenge of avoiding large fields of Sargassum seaweed: I had a genuinely interesting story to tell today, one about seaweed! I know, how can you imagine such a topic can excite? But having been out here for a relatively subdued 8 days it was interesting! I've also discovered that Emily Nagel is quite the knowledgeable person, she knows way more about bio diversity and environmental issues than most sitting on the UN council! Nice one Brian! o Project Mad Jack Part 1 The decision to buy a yacht is big enough. The decision to buy a yacht and commit to a major rebuild is an even bigger decision. But if you re passionate about something, you believe in what you

2 are doing and, most importantly, you surround yourself with industry professionals that you trust, the leap of faith seems easier to take. In Greg Black s case, the result of such a project has been as close to brief as imaginable, which no doubt justifies the investment (well, as best you can with a yacht!). To his credit, Greg did his homework, identified his objectives and expectations and above all completed appropriate due diligence guaranteeing (as best you can with a yacht!) that any risk was minimised. Here s part one of Greg s story. I ll include part 2 next week: When we had the old Mad Jack we were keen to buy a bigger boat as the kids (where the Mad Jack name comes from Maddison & Jackson!!!), were getting older and I was also looking to have something I could take offshore. As my family had a Young 11 years back ( Wide Load ) and we had the Rocket 780, I was keen to buy something by a NZ designer. In 2013, whilst doing the Auckland marathon (idiot!!), I caught up with Kevin Dibley to discuss my plans and get his thoughts on what design we should look at if we wanted to turbo something. Given his experience, I thought it made sense to get a designer to help choose the hull as that would give us the best outcome. While in NZ he suggested I check out Higher Ground and Pork Chop as I wasn t really familiar with these. After seeing them it firmed up in my mind that whatever we did, it had to be with a Ross 10.66, Elliott 10.5 or Young 11 all awesome yachts!! We looked at a few boats over the years but weren t really in a position to buy and we were never really happy with what we saw. At the end of 2016 we saw the Ross 35 (10.66) ROSSCO (ex Rock n Roll ) for sale at Lake Macquarie and Andrew Turner (Ullman sails, Brisbane) and I went down to check it out and I made the decision to buy it as it ticked all of our boxes: 1) It was the design we wanted; 2) Big enough but not too big; 3) Plenty of room downstairs for family; 4) Bullet proof and finally; 5) It was an absolute Renovators Delight!! I believe this was the only Ross built in Australia and was built for the 1994 Sydney to Hobart. It is a little tank of a boat and the original owner, Kim Williams, certainly put a lot of time/effort/dollars into the build. Early Days...

Kevin has been brilliant and his service during the various stages has been incredible!

3 Kevin Dibley designed and oversaw the entire project and was consulted before I pressed go on the acquisition. He pulled together a complete redesign, which included a new rudder (& rudder position), new keel, chainplates, telescopic prod and sail plan (Kevin and Andrew worked together on this). Kevin has been brilliant and his service during the various stages has been incredible!! After talking with Kevin, Andrew and Chris Anderson from Rope Solutions, the decision was also made to also change the rig configuration. The original rig was still in the boat and although quite a strong section I was adamant that we needed to get away from runners, overlapping headsails and symmetrical spinnakers, so we took the opportunity to replace the mast, move it further aft and therefore move the chain plates. Trying to change the old mast would have been like flogging a dead horse!! No, we didn t go with carbon - I couldn t justify the expense and preferred to put the money into other areas. More next week o Acknowledgements (shout outs if you re under 30!) Doug de Vos (and his graphic design team) for the pretty stunning look on the newly launched TP52 Quantum 4. PS; gone are the days when you could smash a bottle of champagne on the bow during christening. These yachts are a bit fragile!

RQYS s Ambassadors currently in Antigua, for their choice of crew attire. Most appropriate. Obviously hard yakka Matt! Or was the head gear a product of too much rum and bitter lemon the night before?

done and dusted with Nikkolas Zenstrom s Ran VII taking the honours. Cold and overcast conditions didn t seem to detract from the event and the cream rose to the top.

4 RQYS s Ambassadors currently in Antigua, for their choice of crew attire. Most appropriate. Obviously hard yakka Matt! Or was the head gear a product of too much rum and bitter lemon the night before? o Out and About The first regatta in the 2018 Fast 40+ circuit is done and dusted with Nikkolas Zenstrom s Ran VII taking the honours. Cold and overcast conditions didn t seem to detract from the event and the cream rose to the top. With 8 yachts racing it s not hard to imagine how good it must have been on course. The Fast 40+ fleet battle it out on The Solent. Photo courtesy Alex & David Irwin / Antigua Sailing Week is officially up and running with 116 entrants racing across thirteen divisions. Typically fresh conditions have delivered some exciting racing and close encounters which is pretty normal, and the after parties have been cranking which is pretty normal!. After 5 races, Not A

5 Diamond on Lancelot II is running 4 th in CSA Racing 6 and is the lead Beneteau First 40. Nice work team! Bernard Evan-Wong s RP37 TAZ is keeping the Antiguan flag flying in a tight contest in CSA Racing 4. She currently leads by 2 points after 5 races. Photo courtesy Paul Wyeth / pwpictures.com o Diary Entries Here s a list of upcoming events that you might like to (or should) note in your diary. Your participation in all or any would be most welcomed I m sure. Note: Commodore s Ocean Classic Postponed revised dates (2nd half of the year) TBA... Saturday & Sunday 26 th & 27 th May Canaipa Cup Saturday & Sunday 7 th & 8 th June Manly Weekend, including Combined Clubs races 7 & 8 (Saturday being the Big Lap Race) Saturday 24 th June Winter Series Race 1 Sunday 8 th July Manly Combined Clubs Series Race 9 Saturday 28 th July Winter Series Race 2 Sunday 29 th July Lady Skippers Race Sunday 12 th August Manly Combined Clubs Series Race 10 Wednesday 15 th August EKKA WAGS o Inbox Remember, I ll always be looking for Division Yacht news, views, ideas and opinions worthy of publication so please feel free to or phone Tony Shaw with anything you may have. It won t fall on deaf ears psh15138@bigpond.net.au, Mobile

Australia Day BBQ. Australia Day Regatta This coming weekend

Australia Day BBQ. Australia Day Regatta This coming weekend January 2012 Important Diary Dates: 4 th Feb 11.00am TS 2 Rhyll to Rhyll 11 th Feb 10.30am CS 9&10 / SB 1&2 6.30pm Social Night 12th Feb 10.30am Beginners and Try Sailing 18th Feb 11.00am Trailable Cruise