TheThree Peaks Race has a new home!

Transcription

1 Newsletter of the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club Kemps Parade, Beauty Point, Tasmania P.O Box 361 Beauty Point, 7270 Phone: Fax: Greg Rowsell & Jesse Chippindall at the Crown Series, see report on page 8 TheThree Peaks Race has a new home! See Page 5 NEW CONTACT NUMBER Issue 4 Season Please note the new mobile telephone number for our caretaker Adrian: New Merchandise available See Page 10 1

2 Commodore The exciting news is the Clubs involvement with the Three Peeks Race. This will bring benefits to both Port Dalrymple and help the Three Peaks Race with its excessive annual insurance costs. Those of you that have been up in the clubrooms over the last two weeks would have noticed a new range of club regalia. We have available a selection of shirts,vests and jackets. If you wish to place an order there is a list at the bar or see me. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Easter and fair winds for those sailing south. Good Luck Jack Wells Rear-Commodore Things have been quiet on the works front since our last working bee. Thanks to those who attended in my absence. Our main focus for this winter will be renewing the Club s main slipway cradle and traverse rails, more on this at a later date. Some of you may have noticed a reduction in our works programme this year. The reason behind this is financial as we are endeavouring to save money for a re-organisation of our pontoon mooring piles early next season. All essential maintenance will continue as normal but we have put some of our projects on the back burner until we get the piling completed. The next working bee will be announced in the near future and notices posted. Errol O'Toole Images from the Trailable titles CONTENTS Commodore s Report Page 2 Rear Commodore s Report Page 2 Vice-Commodore s Report Page 3 Social Report Page 5 Hydro Three Peaks Race Page 5 NS14 Update Page 6 Sabot Championships Page 7 Crown Series Report Page 8 Pelagic Australis Update Page 10 Point Score Winners Page 11 New Members Page 11 Up-coming Events Page 12 2

3 Vice-Commodore It s been a busy eight weeks since the February newsletter with the J. Boag and Son Blockbuster Weekend, PDYC Regatta and the Trailable Champs all being run in quick succession. All three events were outstanding successes due to the tireless work put in by members. Entries for the J. Boag and Son Blockbuster Weekend, matched last year with 55 entrants racing across 8 classes, providing a great spectacle on the bay in the heavier conditions. Full results for all classes are on the Club s web page along with up to date results for all other series. Boag and Son State Titles across 2 divisions. The weekend s weather provided a full combination of conditions from a drifter, to a 25 knot plus westerly to finish the regatta. In the Sportsboats Richard Fisher and David Shepherd resumed battle, with Fisher coming out on top in one of Tamar s Elliott 5.9s, 3 points clear on the final tally. Team Widdowson came back from a disastrous race 1, to take third in Hat Trick just 1 point clear of Malcolm Steven s Ellusive. The PDYC Regatta saw a fantastic turn out with 29 dinghies and 14 division 1 & 2 boats contesting the silverware, lightening conditions saw a couple DNFs but the bulk of the fleet got home in good time. Big winners for the day were David Shepherd s Shaw Contracting taking out the King of the Tamar, Cock of the Tamar and the Port of Launceston Schooner America Trophy. In the dinghy fleet Richard Fisher was crowned the new Princess of the Tamar. The State s Trailable fleet descended on the Club for the Long weekend with 15 entrants contesting the J. Some of the hardworking committee boat team The trailable fleet saw the unofficial Castle 650 championships sailed with the four Castles providing some spectacular close racing; the battle went right down to the wire with the last race deciding the Championship. Second in the final heat was enough to secure Steve Beams his first State Championship in White Fellas Magic, 1 point clear of Ron Shepherds Thiswayup on 7 points with regular Wynyard entrant Brian Lohrey third in Piggy Malone on 9 points. Make sure you are on the water to cheer on the Clubs entrants in this years Hydro Tasmania 3 Peaks race, Nick Edmunds is back for his 18 th, going fully (Continued on page 4) 3

4 Vice-Commodore (Continued (Continued from page 3) crewed for the first time, Greg Hall is lining up for his second crack at the Easter challenge in the cruising division and Ross Clark is lining up in the Racing division for a second run in a quality field of sixteen entries. Cole & Rani Dabner As you will have already read, this year s race will be an important event in the Clubs history, as we take over the running of this fantastic event. Having sat in on the last two meetings of the race committee, I can report that the race is run by the most dedicated and enthusiastic group of volunteers you will ever come across, volunteers that run a very complex event, extremely professionally. As a member of Port Dalrymple, I am very proud, as all members should be, that our Club has reached a stature in the Tasmanian yachting community, that it was approached ahead of others, to run such an iconic Tasmanian event. Peter Sluce Blockbuster weekend images Nick McElwee B14 Start 4

5 Canteen/catering/social functions report Much water has gone under yachts since my last report. We have catered for a number of functions since November last year and, apart from the Blockbuster Spit Roast when we had approximately 100, the numbers have been well down on last season. We have still been able to make a profit, which assists in improving facilities around the Club. The fleet and number of people around the Club for the PDYC Regatta far exceeded expectations, thank goodness for bread to make sandwiches and microwaves to thaw and heat Hot Dogs. Other Sunday Canteens have been variable, but thanks to those who continually volunteer their time. Some profit is made with all this being ploughed back into the Club. The catering crew have been busy getting organised for the Three Peaks Welcome Cocktail function on Thursday 13 th April. This has always been a success, so we are hoping that our reputation will continue this year, particularly now that PDYC is the controlling body. Many thanks must go to Pete Sluce who undertook the bulk of the coordination, so that the Three Peaks new home would be PDYC. Have a safe and Happy Easter and as the season gradually winds down, we still look forward to seeing many of you around the Club. Di The Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race has a new home, the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club You may have seen that headline in the paper or heard mentation of it on the radio, that this year s eighteenth running of the ultimate endurance challenge, the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race, will be the first under its new controlling body, the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club. With the future of the Three Peaks Race continuing to be threatened by increasingly large insurance costs, the Australian Three Peaks Race Committee, approached Port Dalrymple Yacht Club in October 2005, with a proposal that the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race be run by the Club. After several months of negotiations, with the Three Peaks Race Committee the PDYC General Committee are pleased to announce, that an agreement has been signed, that will see the Australian Three Peaks Race become a Port Dalrymple Yacht Club sanctioned event, organised and run be the Club. There will not be an increased financial burden on the Club with the race being well supported by a number of premium sponsors, including Hydro Tasmania, Tas Ports, Tamar Marine and the Examiner. On the Insurance side, the Club s existing Yachting Australian policy will cover the race, with out any extra cost to the Club. The Committee sees this as a great opportunity for the Club to raise its profile both in Tasmania and interstate while securing the future of this classic event, and allowing it to grow, as it closes on its twentieth anniversary. The skills of the existing highly experienced race committee, that have guided the event through seventeen races to date, will be maintained with all the existing committee, becoming members of PDYC. They along with existing PDYC members Jack Wells, Steve Beams & Peter Sluce have been formed into a new race sub-committee that will undertake the running of the race under the Club s Banner. The Club is especially pleased that current Race Director Alastair Douglas will continue in this role and chair the new sub-committee. The Club has had a long association with the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race over a number of years, hosting a pre race function and providing all the starting equipment for the spectacular wharf start on Good Friday. Club members have had considerable success in the event taking outright honours in five races. Hazadatas Nick Edmunds 1992, Haphazard Nick Edmunds 1994, Wild Card Richard Edmunds 1995, Business Post Naiad Bruce Guy 1998, Haphazard Nick Edmunds Club members Nick Edmunds and David Wright are the only people to have contested every Australian Three Peaks Race since its inception in

6 NS14 SCENE 2006 State Championships The 2006 State Championships were held at Lindisfarne Sailing Club over the March long weekend. PDYC was represented by: Rat Attack Thomas & Elliott Hextall Jim Andrew Crisp & Emma Commander Alaska - Greg Rowsell & Jesse Chippindall The series attracted 21 entries and was keenly contested in a variety of conditions with a nice sea breeze day on Saturday, variable Northerly conditions on Sunday and strong frontal conditions on Monday. In the last race the wind reached 35 knots in the latter stages. The championships were dominated by Hobart crews who were race hardened from competing in the National championships at Lake Macquarie in early January. The PDYC boats finished mid- fleet but were not disgraced. Although top 5 results were achieved in various races, overall consistency was problem. However, a lot was learned from competing in larger fleets, in sometimes tricky conditions against top crews. Next season will be huge! With a couple of new boats being purchased into the Club during March, PDYC should have in excess of 10 NS14 s on the register next season. This will really build the momentum of the class in the North. The major NS14 events for next season will be: National Championships at Lindisfarne over the Xmas/New Year period. Blockbuster Weekend at PDYC in mid-february 2007 State Championships at PDYC in mid- March 2007 The class is now one of the biggest in the State and caters for a variety of ages, weight ranges and both genders. A highlight of this years State Championships was the strong performances of some well sailed older boats. If you wish to know more about the class or how to get involved the please contact either Greg Rowsell or Alan Hextall. 6

7 2006 State Sabot Championship Report We had seven of our Junior members sailing in the Championship at Kingston Beach Sailing Club over the March Long Weekend, out of total entries of 44. The weather was quite varied, from light to almost blown off the water. Penelope Hextall put in her usual consistent performance (best 4 th, worst 16 th ) to finish 8 th on 52 points, followed quite closely by Matthew Connelly on 63 points 11 th. This was a great performance by Matthew in really only his 2 nd season of sailing, and I think he will be one of the state s best Sabot sailors in a season or two. Briar Lemberg also put in a consistent performance to finish 15 th on 74 points, with Lauren Haworth a bit further back on 120 points for 21 st. James Erwin had some boat problems which prevented him from finishing a race and starting the next 2, resulting in him amassing 152 points for 26 th position. Matthew was our best performer on Handicap, and finished 2 nd, with Briar 6 th. The final race was a real tester, starting in lighter conditions after the rain had cleared, but came in very strong and gusty in the later stages of the race, making even finishing quite a challenge. Our sole entrants in the 2 ups were Brianna McElwee and Nicole Erwin who acquitted themselves very well in the 3 races they finished, to come in 4 th overall on 34 points. The experience will no doubt help them well into the future. The Sabot State Championship will again be at Port Dalrymple over the March long weekend next year, so we will be on home waters, and I d like to see all our junior sailors lining up for the championships. To that end we ll tailor our intermediate training next year towards all our junior sailors competing if possible, so Jake, Harry, Julian, Jack and Brynn, look out, we ll get you all fired up ready for the champs. We took the rubber ducky to Kingston Beach to help us support our sailors, and this again proved to be a very valuable asset to the club. Sailing at a beach venue like Kingston, does however, make us really appreciate the facilities, equipment and sailing water we have at Port Dalrymple. Watching Penelope, Briar, Matthew, Lauren and James in the recently sailed 2 Pennant races certainly demonstrated the value that our young sailors get from competing in championships. Probably no more than 30 metres separated 1 st from 5 th in both of these races, showing they are all pushing each other hard to get the best boat speed and hopefully chose the right tactics and course. They will all be vying for a spot in the Tasmanian Team for the next Nationals, to be held at Sandringham next Christmas, so I can see this competitiveness being increased by trips to Hobart during the winter period, and to all the Team Selection events in the lead up to Christmas. Whilst I think we do a great job with our September Sail School, the RYCT / DSS Dinghy Group 4 day school during the same holidays is just brilliant, as their greater participant numbers allow them to tailor training to appropriate levels, and they usually have top flight coaches helping out with the advanced sailors, so if you can get there, I d highly recommend it of course if you can do both schools, then you ll have a great kick start for next season. Again on training, our formal sessions have finished for the season, with our next sessions being the annual Sail School to be held during the September school holidays. We tried a slightly different format this year, with having training virtually every Sunday in the period up to Christmas, dropping back to once a month after Christmas. I d like some feedback from parents and participants as to whether you thought this was better or worse, effective or not etc, so please ring me on AH or with your feedback so we can start our planning for next year. Peter Haworth 7

8 Several of our members and their yachts hit the road in February, venturing south to attend the Crown Series hosted by Bellerive Yacht Club and Lindisfarne Sailing Club. Representing our Club were Jason Walker with his 29er, Richard Fisher/Stuart McDonnell, Richard Wells/Callum Cecil, Cole and Rani Dabner in the B14s, Greg Rowsell/Jesse Chippindall in the NS14s, Steve Beams/Jack Wells/Dave Hall in White Fellas Magic, David Macfarlane and crew in Rager and Malcolm Stevens/ Errol O Toole/James Andrewartha/Rick Chippindall/ Chris Holmberg in Ellusive. They were joined at the Regatta by a number of faces familiar to us from other Clubs around the State The regatta was run out of BYC over the weekend of 25th & 26th February. It attracted 170 entrants over 17 divisions with 80 keelboats and 90 dinghies & catamarans taking part. This made it one of the largest regattas on the Derwent in recent years. Divisions catered for included Sabot, NS14, Heron, International Cadet, B14, Flying 11 & Sabre, Laser & 420, 29er & 49er & Sharpie (Division 7) and Catamaran. In the Keelboats there was Division 1 (including a separate IRC division), Division 2, Division 3, 9 metre, Half Ton, Cruising Red and Cruising Green. For the Keelboats the regatta kicked off with a t wil i g ht no n - spinnaker race on the Friday evening, requiring an early get away for the trip south. This was a combined start for all boats from the start line off Victoria Esplanade (just outside Bellerive bay) giving our sailors an uncommon taste of big fleet Crown Series Report racing. On Saturday and Sunday all the keelboats started the first race of the day from mid-river positions. Div 1, 9 metre & Half Ton finished and re-started in mid-river, sailing windward/leeward courses all the time. Div 2 (Ellusive & Rager), Div 3 (White Fellas Magic) and Cruising finished off Victoria Esplanade which meant that they were intersecting with the dinghy fleets. They then re-started from there for the second race of each day and also finished back there. These divisions sailed a variety of courses around the Derwent. The dinghies sailed an extensive programme of back to back races and also took a lunch break returning to the Clubhouse. This made for difficulties for some in being able to return up the bay in fluky sailing conditions, getting out of the water, getting lunch, launching and returning to the race areas. The courses were sailed off Victoria Esplanade which allowed spectators and support crews to follow the racing. Jason Walker Richard Fisher & Stuart McDonnell For both keelboat and dinghy sailors the large number of divisions and differences in performance meant that the back to back race format lead to some extended waiting periods between races which some found tedious. On the racing side conditions were varied with lighter pleasant conditions on the Saturday followed by a cold fresh breeze and lumpy conditions for Sunday morning which eased as the day went on. Our members acquitted themselves well in their respective divisions. The standout performances came from Jason Walker who won his division as did Richard Fisher/Stuart McDonnell in the B14s. Other good performances came from the team on White 8

9 Fellas Magic who came 4th in Division Three and Greg Rowsell/Jesse Chippindall 8th in the NS14s. In addition to the overall trophies numerous prizes were given away for heat place-getters and handicap place-getters as well as for those drawn out of the hat (this explains the number of orange caps and shirts seen around the Club recently. Crown Series Report (cont d) BYC provided a full social function on both Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. In addition the regatta was timed to coincide with the Clarence on the Water Jazz Festival. This was adjacent to the Clubhouse on the Bellerive boardwalk with live jazz being played and various food stalls in operation. A number of our members attended and enjoyed (apparently dancing at Jazz concerts is frowned upon but excessive consumption of red wine is not). In addition there were a number of restaurants nearby which the more sober members enjoyed. While most members stayed around the area at motels or caravan parks the White Fellas Magic team stayed on their boat making use of the BYC facilities. Our Commodore was however forced by his team-mates to find an alternative vessel to sleep on due to an alleged snoring issue. Overall an interesting and enjoyable time was had by most with the opportunity for some to take in new experiences. Once again it was an interesting to see how other Yacht Clubs operate at this level with professional catering teams. From some points of view there were area of the organisation that could be improved. Richard Wells & Callum Cecil Steve Beams & Crew Malcolm Stevens Ellusive 9

10 Readers of the last issue of Semaphore for season will recall the contribution provided by member and neighbour Stephen Wilkins about the voyages of Pelagic Australis. Stephen has been skippering Pelagic Australis through Antarctic and sub-antarctic waters. The vessel is a seventy foot Skip Novak design. Here Stephen provides us with an update: Hi everyone, thought that a special needed to go out as we have reached the Antarctic circle at 1900 GMT this day the 14th of February 2006, 66 degrees south, 66 degrees West For me its a little bit more of a special event, after being with this girl since birth she has taken us to so many varied and wonderful places over the last 3 years, Skip designed and put so much thought into her and I am so so proud to have been the lucky skipper to have been running her all this time. The conditions are calm here, we have medium to heavy ice around, but we are able to Pelagic Australis move around reasonably well. Tonight we will head over to Watkins island which is just north of Adelaide island which we can see in the distance, to find a anchorage for the night before heading back north to less ice bound surrounds. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon in the not too distant future, ice permitting!!! Stephen Wilkins Proud Skipper of Pelagic Australis Pelagic Australis Update CLUB MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE AT THE BAR & CANTEEN CLUB POLOS (plain blue) CLUB POLOS (yellow piping) $28.00 $32.00 CLUB VEST $42.00 CLUB JACKET $55.00 CLUB CAPS $15.00 CLUB BURGEE $27.50 B14 POLOS (1 XL ONLY) $15.00 B14 T-SHIRTS (M & XL ONLY) $10.00 POST CARDS 3 for 1.00 AYF BLUE BOOKS $

11 NEW MEMBERS CLUB POINTSCORES Congratulations to the following winners of recently completed Club series. Full details are available on the Club s website at CLASS PENNANT Corsairs Junior Sabot NS14 B14 Senior Sabot District Dinghy RIVIERA POINT SERIES Corsairs Junior Sabot NS14 B14 Senior Sabot District Dinghy MID-WEEK SERIES Thiswayup Paul Bernal Brianna McElwee Thomas Hextall Richard Fisher Briar Lemberg Johno Merry Anita Denholm Jake Beams Margot Tidey Richard Wells Briar Lemberg David Woods Ron Shepherd RIVIERA POST CHRISTMAS SERIES Division One Division Two David Shepherd Ron Shepherd We extend our traditional PDYC welcome to the following recent additions to our membership. Please make them feel welcome and a part of our great Club. David and Dmitri Allan, sailing a trailable out of the trailer park Max Hillier Alan Eastoe Bill Wilson David Harding Tony Lyall, well known to many, rejoins us with his etchell Michael, John Snr, John Jnr, Andrew and Robert Widdowson, collectively they form the new crew of Hat-Trick Daniel O Doherty Joining us for the Three Peaks Race are: Alastair Douglas Paul Scambler Raoul Stow Terry Travers Eric Graudins Don Napier Joshua Ey Robyn Dilger Chris Holloway John Behrens 11

12 SEMAPHORE UPCOMING EVENTS SAILING Friday 14th April Three Peaks Race Start Sunday 23rd April Trophy Race, all classes Sunday 30th April Bokprint Winter Series Rounds 1 & 2 (crew spots for dinghy sailors) Sunday 14th May Bokprint Winter Series Rounds 3 & 4 Sunday 28th May Bokprint Winter Series Rounds 5 & 6 SOCIAL Saturday 24th June Dinner and Trophy Night PLEASE SEND US YOUR ADDRESS If you have an address(es) please send a brief message to the Club at pdyc@bigpond. com so that we can record it. If you receive a message from the Club asking you to confirm your address please respond as this will help with this process. The club aims to speed up the delivery of Semaphore and other information through the use of where possible CONTRIBUTIONS TO SEMAPHORE We are always looking for contributions, articles, pictures, news items etc for Semaphore. Share some of your stories, highlights and lowlights with your fwellow members. Contributions can be ed to semaphore@iprimus.com.au 12