It never pays to be too happy or too pleased with life. Something will come along and bite you in the bum immediately.
The Balmain Sailing Club has revised its Winter Series results. We are now not only not 2nd but have slid to 5th!
So we now have a DNS (did not sail), a DNF (did not finish), a 1st, a 4th and two 7ths. Bummer.
Maybe we should have stuck with the ASCC after all!
I am waiting to hear from the handicap person what happened as it is a bit odd that we seem to be the only boat affected. I don't want to be paranoid but....
Friday, August 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Blogs I Like
There are a few blogs I check regularly. One is Berrimilla sails on...
Alex Whitworth and Peter Crozier have sailed Berrimilla twice around the world doing Sydney-Hobart and Fastnet races at either end. One circumnavigation was via the North West passage. Berri is a 33 ft Brolga. The guys, both in their 60s, are interested in so many things and write funny and fascinating stories about their travels. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy features for fans of those books. So do bird and flora pictures, ruminations of the world and the vagaries of people, the weather and life in general. Alex is presently on his way home from visiting the Mars Institute research base in the Arctic very close to the path of Berri on her northern journey. They are both so interested in everything that their blog is a continuing joy.
Sailing Leapfrog is fun at the moment as friends of Scott and Tony's sail Leapfrog to Cairns for them. The naked bottom is a bit scary but.
I liked Junk and the read is still pertinent even though the voyage is long over. It was a precursor to Plastiki and a catamaran really made of flotsam and jetsam rather than the much more highly engineered Plastiki made from carbon dioxide filled water bottles.
Alex Whitworth and Peter Crozier have sailed Berrimilla twice around the world doing Sydney-Hobart and Fastnet races at either end. One circumnavigation was via the North West passage. Berri is a 33 ft Brolga. The guys, both in their 60s, are interested in so many things and write funny and fascinating stories about their travels. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy features for fans of those books. So do bird and flora pictures, ruminations of the world and the vagaries of people, the weather and life in general. Alex is presently on his way home from visiting the Mars Institute research base in the Arctic very close to the path of Berri on her northern journey. They are both so interested in everything that their blog is a continuing joy.
Sailing Leapfrog is fun at the moment as friends of Scott and Tony's sail Leapfrog to Cairns for them. The naked bottom is a bit scary but.
I liked Junk and the read is still pertinent even though the voyage is long over. It was a precursor to Plastiki and a catamaran really made of flotsam and jetsam rather than the much more highly engineered Plastiki made from carbon dioxide filled water bottles.
Photo Competition
Now I have your attention.... I thought some pictures would be good.
This picture did not win the ASCC's competition but got an honourable mention.
I submitted this picture as well but it was not so successful.
I thought it did a great job of epitomising the ASCC. Sparkling water, rainbow flags, Sydney Harbour in all her glory, very relaxed crew ....
This picture did not win the ASCC's competition but got an honourable mention.
I submitted this picture as well but it was not so successful.
I thought it did a great job of epitomising the ASCC. Sparkling water, rainbow flags, Sydney Harbour in all her glory, very relaxed crew ....
Three Wins In Two Days - Priceless
Well it's official, we won the two races we sailed in the ASCC Winter Series.
The Vice Commodore is confident we would have taken out the series but Balmain was the sweeter win this year.
The Vice Commodore is confident we would have taken out the series but Balmain was the sweeter win this year.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Rock Stars
Yes we have had another win!
We had a big weekend. Two races with the ASCC on Saturday, a night sleeping over in Blackwattle Bay and then the final Balmain Winter series race on Sunday.
Blackwattle Bay
Saturday was ideal conditions with bright sunshine and northerly winds 10 - 15 knots - Cheshire Cat's favourite conditions. And the crew feels the same. We blitzed both starts leaving even Jo's 36ft Bavaria in our wake. She caught us both times eventually but we finished within a minute of her both times which is pretty amazing. In race 2 we passed her on the run with ease. But upwind she is faster, and points a bit better as well. It was fun to be so close and so competitive and even better to find out selves so close to a boat that was bigger, newer and one we would have though was a faster boat. Laine and Costa were sailing very close races behind us with only minutes between them.
After stopping off at Cobblers for very delicious mulled wine and some nibbles, and losing Terina to Jo's boat briefly, we headed for Blackwattle to rendezvous with Helen and Deirdre coming by car and Charlie and Ange in their boat. With the two boats secured to the public pontoon, if not exactly legally (except that we were picking up and dropping off people as allowed) we had a very lovely BBQ dinner and way too much wine. After dinner Deirdre offered to take all the dishes back to her place and put them in the dishwasher which was a great relief to us all.
We went to bed very tired but hoping to be pumped for the big race on Sunday. That didn't go quite to plan as a few sore heads were had in the a.m. Julie's alarm went off around 6 which was a bit of a shock but we all went back to sleep til closer to 9am when Jenni started cooking bacon and eggs and hash browns. And it was another sunny morning so we ate on deck, still nicely tied up to the pontoon. Eventually a dog walker came and told us we weren't supposed to be there so long. Other than that no-one came near us or the pontoon until a couple of boys in a little yacht pulled up, picked up another couple of boys and cruised away.
And so did we, to collect Jen and Nicki from the Balmain Sailing Club ready for the race. As we were a bit early we picked up a rather skanky empty mooring. And just as well. There was a nasty looking black cloud headed our way. As it passed there was thunder, lightening, hail and 30+ knot winds. It was very close to the start of the race and next thing we knew the cancellation/postponement light came on at the club. The crew all disappeared below but I was worried that the mooring might not hold so stayed on deck with the motor running just in case.
As you can see from the Seabreeze graph (seabreeze.com.au) it passed as fast as it came and we hoisted the main sail, but cautiously with a reef in it, ready for the start. As the wind dropped away we realised we needed to shake out the reef. This made us slow off the start but was a good call. We had a great race, again close to some other boats which always makes it more interesting. A few big gusts around Goat Island, along with a ferry in the way, slowed us a bit. And with bigger winds we reefed the headsail a bit to keep some control. Even then we broached a couple of times but not too badly. And the boats around us got away from us.
We were last across the finish line and we weren't hopeful of a decent place. We dropped off the crew at the club with all the luggage and took Cheshire Cat to our mooring. By then the wind was back up to 20 knots and gusting more so it was a struggle to get secure. I couldn't see or hear what Jen and Jen were saying and stupidly came up to the mooring from the wrong side which made it even harder for them. But eventually we were sorted and I rowed ashore as penance.
Back at the club we were having a beer and a sausage as they read the results. As the other boats close to us in the point score were read out the tension was palpable. Again we thought they'd forgotten us. But no - we won! Again.
The blokes from Ambitious, who we passed and who retired to the bar instead of finishing the race (not very ambitious of them) were fulsome in praise of us all girl crew. Rather too fulsome in a couple of cases!
We were all exhausted but stoked at what a great weekend it had been. But we also wanted very badly to get home for a hot shower and a lie down.
We had a big weekend. Two races with the ASCC on Saturday, a night sleeping over in Blackwattle Bay and then the final Balmain Winter series race on Sunday.
Blackwattle BaySaturday was ideal conditions with bright sunshine and northerly winds 10 - 15 knots - Cheshire Cat's favourite conditions. And the crew feels the same. We blitzed both starts leaving even Jo's 36ft Bavaria in our wake. She caught us both times eventually but we finished within a minute of her both times which is pretty amazing. In race 2 we passed her on the run with ease. But upwind she is faster, and points a bit better as well. It was fun to be so close and so competitive and even better to find out selves so close to a boat that was bigger, newer and one we would have though was a faster boat. Laine and Costa were sailing very close races behind us with only minutes between them.
After stopping off at Cobblers for very delicious mulled wine and some nibbles, and losing Terina to Jo's boat briefly, we headed for Blackwattle to rendezvous with Helen and Deirdre coming by car and Charlie and Ange in their boat. With the two boats secured to the public pontoon, if not exactly legally (except that we were picking up and dropping off people as allowed) we had a very lovely BBQ dinner and way too much wine. After dinner Deirdre offered to take all the dishes back to her place and put them in the dishwasher which was a great relief to us all.
We went to bed very tired but hoping to be pumped for the big race on Sunday. That didn't go quite to plan as a few sore heads were had in the a.m. Julie's alarm went off around 6 which was a bit of a shock but we all went back to sleep til closer to 9am when Jenni started cooking bacon and eggs and hash browns. And it was another sunny morning so we ate on deck, still nicely tied up to the pontoon. Eventually a dog walker came and told us we weren't supposed to be there so long. Other than that no-one came near us or the pontoon until a couple of boys in a little yacht pulled up, picked up another couple of boys and cruised away.
And so did we, to collect Jen and Nicki from the Balmain Sailing Club ready for the race. As we were a bit early we picked up a rather skanky empty mooring. And just as well. There was a nasty looking black cloud headed our way. As it passed there was thunder, lightening, hail and 30+ knot winds. It was very close to the start of the race and next thing we knew the cancellation/postponement light came on at the club. The crew all disappeared below but I was worried that the mooring might not hold so stayed on deck with the motor running just in case.
As you can see from the Seabreeze graph (seabreeze.com.au) it passed as fast as it came and we hoisted the main sail, but cautiously with a reef in it, ready for the start. As the wind dropped away we realised we needed to shake out the reef. This made us slow off the start but was a good call. We had a great race, again close to some other boats which always makes it more interesting. A few big gusts around Goat Island, along with a ferry in the way, slowed us a bit. And with bigger winds we reefed the headsail a bit to keep some control. Even then we broached a couple of times but not too badly. And the boats around us got away from us.
We were last across the finish line and we weren't hopeful of a decent place. We dropped off the crew at the club with all the luggage and took Cheshire Cat to our mooring. By then the wind was back up to 20 knots and gusting more so it was a struggle to get secure. I couldn't see or hear what Jen and Jen were saying and stupidly came up to the mooring from the wrong side which made it even harder for them. But eventually we were sorted and I rowed ashore as penance.
Back at the club we were having a beer and a sausage as they read the results. As the other boats close to us in the point score were read out the tension was palpable. Again we thought they'd forgotten us. But no - we won! Again.
The blokes from Ambitious, who we passed and who retired to the bar instead of finishing the race (not very ambitious of them) were fulsome in praise of us all girl crew. Rather too fulsome in a couple of cases!
We were all exhausted but stoked at what a great weekend it had been. But we also wanted very badly to get home for a hot shower and a lie down.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Another First! Now it's serious
Last Sunday the wind was forecast at between 10 and 30 knots depending on which web site I looked at. But it was gorgeously sunny.
With Jenni on the helm and Julie, Terina, Nikki and I poised on the winches we made a great start and pointed perfectly to the first mark in Balls Head Bay. It is great to be among the fleet these days instead of bringing up the rear. We sped around the islands and off towards the bridge to round Goat Island. While expecting big gusts the wind didn't ever get much over 15 knots which suits Cheshire Cat just fine. We had the headsail furled a bit making the tacks easier right up til the run to Goat Island where we let out the full stretch giving us lots of power. As the wind still hadn't increased we left the heady out for the tack back up the harbour making it more work for the girls grinding but they did a fab job and kept us up ahead of Coppelia, Rogate and Umbakumba and just seconds behind Amon Re. The final stretch home was made in one tack. We were pleased but not expecting the final result. As the Commodore announced the results we thought they had left us out. But no - we were first again! Fabulous. And the sausage sizzle was free because it was Tommy's birthday! What more can a girl ask.
With Jenni on the helm and Julie, Terina, Nikki and I poised on the winches we made a great start and pointed perfectly to the first mark in Balls Head Bay. It is great to be among the fleet these days instead of bringing up the rear. We sped around the islands and off towards the bridge to round Goat Island. While expecting big gusts the wind didn't ever get much over 15 knots which suits Cheshire Cat just fine. We had the headsail furled a bit making the tacks easier right up til the run to Goat Island where we let out the full stretch giving us lots of power. As the wind still hadn't increased we left the heady out for the tack back up the harbour making it more work for the girls grinding but they did a fab job and kept us up ahead of Coppelia, Rogate and Umbakumba and just seconds behind Amon Re. The final stretch home was made in one tack. We were pleased but not expecting the final result. As the Commodore announced the results we thought they had left us out. But no - we were first again! Fabulous. And the sausage sizzle was free because it was Tommy's birthday! What more can a girl ask.
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