Records Galore Race 19 Wednesday Wonders Winter Series August 2015

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1 Records Galore Race 19 Wednesday Wonders Winter Series August 2015 With all 22 yachts starting within 43 seconds of their handicaps, sixteen within 10 seconds and with a median start time of 6 seconds this was the best start of the series to date. The best start was followed by the fastest average elapsed time of the series of 1:31:44. The fleet recorded an average speed of 6 knots for the first time without the presence of some of the faster yachts. With the last yacht crossing the finish line at 15:37:15 this was the earliest finish for a race this series. Six yachts finished within 10 minutes of the winner and within 20 minutes 43 seconds of each other. It was the first occasion the 7 leg, 9.1 nautical mile course Number 63 had been selected and successfully sailed by all the fleet. Winning for the second time this series was the Armitage 30 PHOENIX (Alex Tseberg) beating the rest of the fleet by 4 minutes 37 seconds the widest margin of the race. Somewhat disappointingly this was the smallest fleet of the series. Maybe this was influenced by the forecast of low temperatures and high probability of rain. WW Winter Series 2015 Race 19 Wind Speed & Direction wind speed (knots) direction (degrees) Wind Speed Gusts Direction time Observations from Fawkner Beacon indicated the breeze ranging from 12 to 19 knots averaging around 15 knots for the race. There was a shift from southwest to south-southwest near the start, which was reversed following completion of the race.

2 PHOENIX has sailed 12 races so far this series and recorded 2 wins and a total of 5 top ten finishes. She had a very good start to race 19, only 1 second late for her 16-minute handicap from 3 rd place. After sailing for 57 minutes 46 seconds she led the fleet at the first rounding of number 4, a position she held for the remainder of the race. PHOENIX sailed the course in 1:30:32 and won the race when she crossed the finish line at 15:16:32. Prior to race 19 she was 13 th in the aggregate and this win has helped her into 5 th place on 60.5 points. With 11 completed races the Mottle 33 CASSANDRA of MELBOURNE (Bob Reeves) lies 16 th in the aggregate with a total of 79 points. She moved up 5 places following her 2 nd place in this race. CASSANDRA was the 2 nd yacht to start the race, 2 nd to round number 4 for the first time and 2 nd yacht to finish the race. She was 42 seconds late for her 13- minute handicap. She sailed the first 4 legs of the course in 1:02:44 and completed all 7 legs in 1:38:09. She crossed the finish line at 15:21:09 1 minute 49 seconds ahead of the Oceanis 34 SURI (Rick Blanck). This was the second podium finish for CASSANDRA and her 5 th top ten place in the series. With a perfect start SURI won Start of the Day and finished 3 rd to record her 2 nd podium finish in 15 completed races. When the average breeze has been less than 15 knots SURI has, on average, finished 23 rd. In a breeze above 15 knots she has finished, on average, 7 th. She was the 9 th yacht to start and at the first rounding of number 4 she had moved up into 4 th place. SURI moved up another place on the last 3 legs of the course and after sailing for 1:29:58 crossed the finish line in 3 rd place at 15:22:58. SURI is now 2 nd in the aggregate on 50 points.

3 It was a close contest for start of the day with 19 yachts starting within 12 seconds or less of their handicaps. As mentioned earlier this was arguably the best start to any race this series. The fleet started the race 38 minutes 34 seconds apart and by the first rounding of nuber 4 this gap had narrowed and become 20 minutes and 57 seconds. By the end of the race the gap had narrowed very slightly to be 20 minutes and 43 seconds. There was a tie for 18 th place between WHITE NOISE (Daniel Edwards) and INSX (Rob Sill).

4 The trend line on the chart below indicates that there was not a lot of change between the start and finish position. Although there are exceptions. Of the 7 late starters (handicaps of 34 minutes or more) 5 were amongst the late finishers. The remaining 2 finished mid fleet.

5 The Bavaria 49 ULUWATU (Mal Billings & Peter Geary) sailed the course in the shortest time. She was only 4 seconds faster than INSX. The average elapsed time was 1:31:44 with a range 31 minutes and 59 second

6 The chart below plots the average wind speed per race against the average yacht speed. The values are taken from data collected from this winter series. The trend line shows yacht speed increasing as wind speed increases particularly at wind speeds below 15 knots. However, as the wind speed goes beyond 15 knots the increase in yacht speed is less and looks to flatten out at 16 knots. This effect could be the result of reducing sail as wind speed increases. Marking Time How to improve your sailing - Lesson 6 Always check your outhaul adjustment. If you trim like P BAR you could be the fastest footed yacht in the WW fleet. (See next page)

7 Wednesday Wonders Winter 2015 race 15~19 Fast Footed yachts Competition FAST FEET AVERAGE SPEED YACHT AVERAGE Race Number PUBLIC BAR WIND SPEED FORZADO WHITE POINTER MAGIC INSX SURI WHITE NOISE PHOENIX CAVALIER FOGGY DEW MOANA WICKED CONQUEST ULUWATU THE SECRETARY SALT WHISTLE SECOND NATURE PIPPA ALIBI BABYDOLL JOHNNY B. GOODE MYUNA GUN BOAT BARNSTORMER PIZAZZ ESPRIT SALTSHAKER FAST COMPANY PRIMO MIDNIGHT MAGIC MY WAY TEQUILA STAMPEDE UPBEAT CASSANDRA MELBOURNE LEBROK VANTAGE CARPE DIEM WILLARIE FUN AND GAMES MORE NOISE BACARDI BELLABLU FIREFOX BON VIVANT ADAGIO The speed of each yacht is the rhumb line distance of the race, divided by the elapsed time. A yacht not sailing is allocated 0 speed. Average speed is the average of the speed per race.

8 Improving your sailing - Lesson 7 Always try to ensure that this is the only view that other yachts get of your craft. Improving your sailing - Lesson 8 Always take great care of your crew. This yacht seems to have lost its crew. Has any one seen them lately? Improving your sailing - Lesson 10 Ducking behind loses less boat speed, and most of the time puts you in a better position after crossing. It also allows for better photos, an essential part of sailing.

9 Handy Capps Mark considers that the handicapper should not get the blame for factors that happen in a race which he or she does not know about. To improve this situation the following DIY table has been drawn up for skippers to administer in the next race. Skippers should take some responsibility for their own handicap adjustments. This is particularly important if you are doing well in the series or might win a race. Which yacht is named after Con the fruiterer? Mark heard a rumour that there is a yacht named after Con the fruiter. Can you advise Mark which yacht this is. He Has Fallen in the Water! Is it true that only sailors who are old enough to have listened to the GOON Show would not take Paul s story of a WW sailor calling out He has fallen in the Water as a serious matter? Where is the closest place to your yacht in the marina where could you climb out of the water? There have been a few cases of sailors falling off their yacht in a marina and only just surviving. While you are doing a safety check: Do you know where the Heart Defibulators are located around the club? To hear about a few cases in Victoria where they have saved lives visit St Johns site CLICK. You have to be in it to win it! This was a race that counted. For 92% of yachts, the result from Race 19 counted in their overall score. The exceptions were INSX, Rob Sill (note the spelling), Second Nature and White Noise.

10 Happy Birthday Sm 3434 Pizazz the Beneteau Oceanis 34 It s her 4 th birthday. Phillip Martyn & Russell Kemp purchased her four years ago August The crew (well some of them) who will be celebrating their own 70 th something Birthdays are Ken Chapman, Tony Durant, Bruce Fraser and Pat Phillips. Pizazz was the winner of the Wednesday Wonders Summer 2013 series. With a score of 56 points, which was, 15 points clear of second place. In eight races she finished 7 th or better. When the wind is a bit over 13knts and the smaller cruising rig (Furling jib and main) is fully powered up she really lefts her skirts up and gets going. Phillip credits the stronger winds partly helped her win the Summer Series. Pizazz in sailed on Port Phillip Bay and Western Port for cruising and is also a member of QCYC. Currently she is in tenth position on 72 points. However, has missed about 4 races. She has to be a possible contender for another series win this season. Like a birthday greeting for your yacht? Just send your details to Mark Windward ANSWER to Question 18 Is this statement true? Port Phillip Bay has remained largely unchanged since forming 10,000 years ago No, the 10,000-year bay theory doesn't hold water. Just 1,000 years ago the bay entrance became blocked with sand and silt cutting it off from Bass Strait. Without the sea water the bay evaporated and what was left was a small lake. Evidence for this are the little channels that were left and are still there on the bay floor today. This explains, in part, why the flow from the Yarra after rain is a major factor, in that the current flows past the SYC No 4 in the same direction and why there is very little tidal effect. For more information read a short summary in the Age CLICK or the ABC CLICK Question Race 19 Where is this Lighthouse? First lit on 1 st May 1882 with kerosene. It was attended by lightkeepers until 1980 when it was automated. Height 17.1 Elevation 44.8 It is painted white with a red band. Range 23 Nm. The lighthouse keeper s daughters were able to attend the local school. There are only two lighthouses in this state where this is possible. In 1990 it was demanned. This new lighthouse replaced an early lighthouse built just 400meters away. The original lighthouse built in 1858 commenced in It has 3 faces White Red and Green. It was built on an exposed site and too close to the cliff edge. After 23 years it had to be demolished, as there was a danger that it could collapse due to being undermined by the wind and sea. The ruins can still be seen. The photo below is the original lighthouse.

11 Diary Dates Thursday 27 August 2015 Peter Dransfield Recreational Boating & Sail night Wednesday Wonders Presentation Night - Friday 9th October 2015 Send your final top ten predictions to Mark plus any sailing or racing tips, items of interest, answers or photos to Mark Windward Thanks to the assistance with this report to Papa Razzi, Windward Buoy, Phillip Martyn, and the Wayward Wind. It does help to have assistance in time of need close at hand. In this case provided by our Sandringham On Site locals. A special thanks from the skipper of a little red yacht for the assistance provided to get his yacht back racing quickly. To Macca - Marine & Industrial Rigging for coming down to the jetty to check out the rigging, and to Dean - Sandringham Marine for a quick repair while Macca was off skiing this week. Thanks Gentlemen. The newest member of the crew for Pippa has not arrived yet but is very close, maybe by the time you read this. I hope it is before Wednesday! No matter how much you push the envelope, it ll still be stationery. I wondered why the cricket bat kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. Mark Windward