Spring Series Results

So we came 7th out of 12 in the Balmain Sailing Club Spring Series spite of only doing three races.

Southerly Buster

We raced on Sunday (me, Julie, Roberta, John and Paul - Terina piked after a BIG night). We started in warm, light breeze and lovely blue skies. We stated well and headed for Long Nose Point where the mark was in place this time, then west towards Gladesville and back around the islands towards Goat. The clouds were building, the south west was black and we could see the rain coming and the lightening flashes advancing towards us. Storm a'comin'

Undeterred, although Paul did keep predicting mayhem, we rounded Goat, tried and sometimes failed to fall into windless holes, and then the wind hit. Gusts of 20 knots just as a ferry was bearing down on us heading for East Balmain. But having managed to bear away we benefitted from the following wind as we headed home. North of Cockatoo we reefed the headsail and the main without mishap thanks to John's dexterity and skill and then rounded the island to find the wind had dropped off. But we decided not to risk losing time by shaking out the reef as we had so little distance left to cover.

You can see the wind spike just in the middle of the race which started at noon

Southern Aura 11 that was near us got stuck north of Goat Island and eventually decided to retire. Amon Re also retired when they ripped their headsail before the storm arrived. We got soaked but had a good race and eventually came 4th. We still don't know what the flashing blue light on the club house means. The flashing yellow was for a shortened course but was posted too late to mean anything.

Race Cancelled

It turns out that people must have complained about the missing mark off Long Nose Point. The race has been cancelled from the pointscore. Maybe there were protests against the committee. Doesn't make any difference to us as we haven't sailed enough races for it to count. But it will no doubt help someone. I am told that the buoy was laid but went missing, either run over by a power boat or washed away in the wind.

Feather Dusters

Yesterday cock of the walk, tomorrow a feather duster. Cheshire Cat's winning streak came to an abrupt end with yesterday's race when we came 8th!! from 12 boats. A windy day so we furled the headsail a bit to make the winch wenches life a bit easier. We completely missed the start, unable to hear or see the signals but managed to start a slow catch up until we fell in a hole while rounding a non existent mark near Long Nose Point. Amon Re turned before us thereby getting ahead and then our windless hole compounded the damage. Still, it was a lovely day and we enjoyed the sail. Worst part was that when we got to the Balmain Sailing Club the sausages had run out. Julie and I shared the last one. Bummer!

You can see how it was a bit windy in the middle of the day, right at race time.

Balmain Regatta Pictures

Here is the proof that Cheshire Cat rocks! We leave boats in our wake. By Goat Island we were five abreast but then we took off!




Jenny Gill's pictures.

Another Win - Who Knew

Don't you love the handicap system!

We won the race last Sunday in spite of coming second last and generally not having a great race. When my start clock stopped we had to guess the time, wimped out and tacked just as the horn blew, losing our rather commanding position. But our new crew valiantly learnt the terror of the winches and we sailed the course without any major mishaps. It was a lovely day and we did enjoy everything except the winching bit. And we decided not to go back to the clubhouse but to stay on the boat and have a beer, which was very pleasant.

And then the results were posted on the web site and there we were - winners again!

The Cat's Whiskers

We won the Balmain Regatta! at least we won our division, open yachts B, a non-spinnaker division.
No one was more surprised than me. Very surprised skipper with the trophy

I had been complaining that it was the single worst race I had ever sailed. In very light winds we were overtaken by a bigger boat on the start line as we crossed just after the gun, and we lost all our wind. That combined with a tide running out against us meant we came to a complete stop then drifted backwards "kissing" the start boat. Fortunately they were not fussed and just reminded us about the 360 rule. So we set off again, we managed to cross the line and tack up towards Birkenhead, Cheshire Cat finally gets past the start line

watching poor Solveig struggling to get moving. Solveig struggling against the tide

Then we battled fickle winds, outgoing tide and predatory boats around the islands including Goat where thankfully there was some wind. At one point there were five boats all in a line side by side between Goat and Mort Bay but good old Cheshire Cat pulled ahead aided by some excellent sail handling by the crew.
We then headed towards the Hunters Hill mark and rounded it then fell straight into irons. Thanks to some very poor helming. We then hit the mark but managed to avoid several other boats rounding behind us. So another 360 turn was made quickly while we had some wind and the crew were running on adrenaline. Finally away again we rounded the final mark and had a neck an neck race to the line with another boat, eventually pulling ahead to cross first. We were about 13th across but WINNERS on handicap!
Lucky Jenny has cemented her nickname.
Some of the old gaffers racing
Pictures are by Barbara Hamilton at BSC

Yes we have sailed again

We went out twice in three days! First was the Friday twilight at Balmain Sailing Club. The breeze was OK but as we did our second lap of the islands we discussed how long the course was given the supposed cut off finish time. We also wondered why so many boats were taking a short cut between Cockatoo and Snapper/Spectacle. We later discovered that the course had been shortened! Next time we will take more notice of the big flashing yellow light on the clubhouse roof.
We came 13th out of 15 finishers.

Then we went out for the Sunday race. Another beautiful day but a few technical fixes meant we started late. And we never caught up. A dirty boat bottom doesn't help and neither do those bloody winches.

Time for a service I think. Or replacement if a lottery win comes our way. We came last, both over the line and on handicap. At least our handicap will be lower next race.

Too long ashore

This is what happens if you neglect your boat.

I hadn't been out to the boat for a long time and we hadn't sailed since before Christmas. So stuff started growing. I expect that on the bottom and had a diver clean the hull before the race which obviously helped our result, but I was not expecting a vege patch on the deck!

And this is a better shot of the trophy showing the nice three bridges detail on the sails.

The Cat Rules!

Cheshire Cat rocks! We won the Balmain Sailing Club 3 Bridges Race on Sunday. The race is a handicap start and the course goes past the Iron Cove Bridge, under the Gladesville Bridge
Coming up to the Gladesville Bridge

and up the Parramatta River to within sight of the Ryde Bridge. And back.
Julie on the foredeck
Julie and Terina discussing tactics - not!
Rooky crew and winch wench in training, Jenny

The skipper trying to concentrate

It was a tricky, tactical race with some luck thrown in. We had light winds but managed mostly to stay in the breeze, both passes of the Mortlake Ferry it was safely on the shore as when its in mid river it isn't safe to pass over the cables, and our tacking duel with Amon Re on the last leg saw several really excellent winching efforts by the crew so we held our lead position to finish 10 seconds ahead. Nail biting stuff. The winning team, happy at the bar!

The race is a handicap start and we were the third boat to cross the line but we quickly passed the others and held the lead all the way. Exhilarating.

And what was especially nice was that as we motored back to the mooring all the boats behind us clapped and cheered for us. Sweet.
The handsome trophy!