Canberra Yacht ClubSailing News

ContentsB14 World & National Titles – Hobart January 2009 1

Commodore’s Column 3

Safe Sunscreen Guide 3

2009 Magic 25 Nationals 4

In the Backyard of Eden 5

Escapade’s Marlay Point Overnight Race 2009 6

Australian Youth Championships: Mandurah, WA 8

Elliott 7 Sydney Regatta 9

From the Manager 10

It was a fun regatta! 10

CYC Sailor’s Centrefold 15

CYC Executive Contact list 16

ACT Sailing Inc Mariner Place Yarralumla ACT 2600 PO Box 7169 Yarralumla ACT 2600

The Canberra Yacht Club acknowledges the generous assistance of the Canberra Southern Cross Club

March – April 2009

B14 World & National Titles – Hobart January 2009Dad and I attended the B14 National and World Titles for the B14’s over the Christmas Holidays. The National Titles consisted of seven races over three days. Day one was very windy with gusts over 25 knots. Only 22 boats out of the 52 starters finished the first race (we finished 13th) with three boats breaking masts. The rest of the day was abandoned due to the wind strength.

Two races were run on day two in a shifty westerly wind of 8- 15 knots. We finished 13th and 8th. Four racers were sailed on the last day in a building south easterly sea breeze. Our results were 8, 12, 14, 15 and we finished 15th overall. The Nationals were won by Guy Bancroft from Melbourne with Nic Richardson from Hobart finishing second.

After a lay day the World Titles got underway with the wind. The first couple of days were sailed in very shifty and variable westerly winds with the black flag being used very regularly on the starts. For the last couple of days of the regatta we had very pleasant sailing conditions with sea breezes and wind against the tide making big waves. We had some very fast rides down wind, getting airborne on a number of occasions.

Our results were 19, 27, 26, 20, 15, 36, 20, 21, 20, DNF finishing 25th overall. Guy Bancroft won the World Titles becoming the first Australian to do so, with Mark Barnes from England second and Nic Richardson third.

Jake Webster

2008-2009 HomeBuYerS INSpeCTIoNS TWIlIgHT DINNer

AmerICAS mug

09 • Mar–Apr • 3

Commodore’s ColumnI think we should all feel a great deal of satisfaction at the completion of an excellent summer season, in this the 50th year of the Club’s operation.

All indicators are positive, including record fleet sizes and strong competition in the pointscore, championship and twilight series, good growth in the number of youth sailors and in the quality of their sailing, a number of very successful regattas being conducted and attracting good numbers of visitors, significant numbers of seniors and juniors travelling to regattas and championships and performing well, sailing school activities stretched to the full limit of our growing capacity, membership exceeding 600, boat hire attracting an excellent amount of custom, and the boat shop proving a very pleasing success in terms of both services to members and commercially. This hasn’t happened only because of the great efforts of Club staff, committees, volunteers and parents, but is also due to the strong enthusiasm and support evident across the Club membership, and the fantastic support we get from our sponsors. It is a nice time to be sitting in my position.

However, we can’t just assume that this success and growth will continue, and as we pause for a less intensive period of sailing over winter the Club will be looking to the future, seeking to ensure that we maintain and try to improve the standard of the things we do well, and to find ways to pick up in areas where we are wanting. Development of next year’s program is under way, and we will be looking to ensure a most enjoyable combination of events is provided, within the established framework. As part of this we are very happy to have been accepted to host the Australian Spiral Dinghy Championships over 23rd to 26th January next year. This has resulted very significantly from the strong participation of our Club in the class at all levels, facilitated by the dedicated efforts of Craig Davidson.

I hope to see many of you at our Annual Presentation Dinner on 16th May, when we will be able to recognise and congratulate those members who have been successful over the summer. However, at this point I simply want to say, congratulations to everyone for a great 2008-09 season.

graham giles

Safe Sunscreen guideThe latest Choice Magazine reveals that Friends of the Earth is investigating how some manufacturers are using new technology and including “nanoparticles” in their sunscreens. Friends of the Earth believe the nanoparticles can penetrate the skin and produce free radicals and damage DNA. Studies show that nanoparticles are more likely to penetrate sun burnt, damaged or flexed skin (as during exercise) and people with eczema or acne. A Parliamentary Inquiry in NSW has recommended that the use of nanoparticles be regulated.

Friends of the Earth has obtained the assurances of the manufacturers of 23 brands of sunscreen that their product is safe and ‘nano-free’ while 45 brands failed to respond to questioning. Details can be found at www.nano.foe.org.au

I am not an authority on sunscreens, but bring the issue to your attention for your consideration. Personally I find the argument against the use of nanoparticles to be persuasive and my favorite sunscreen of 20 years has been binned and I am now using a ‘nano-free’ product selected from www.nano.foe.org.au

John Tracey Rear Commodore Sailing

Donations from CYC members for the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal have so far reached $1073. If receipts are required, complete the form in the office and the Australian red Cross will forward receipts direct to you as soon as possible.

4 • Mar–Apr • 09

CYC Sailing News

2009 magic 25 NationalsOn 31 January and 1 February 2009, The Australian Magic 25 association held their first National Titles in a decade at St Georges Basin/Sussex Inlet, NSW. The titles were hosted by Sussex Inlet & Basin Yacht Club.

The aim of the Nationals was to have a fun event as well as re-introduce the class to the sailing fraternity. There were only two races, the Saturday race was a passage race while Sunday was a regular triangle race.

On Saturday the race started at 1pm with winds blowing consistently 25 knots with gusts over 35 knots. The race was started in a comfortable 20 knot breeze. Unfortunately only two magic’s were able to make the start as the waves were breaking at the mouth of the river. Houdini bent their dudgeons when the motor got flooded and the boat drifted back on its rudder. This was unfortunate as they were one of the highly rated boats in the fleet.

The race was a wild ride for the two magic’s with Hit-n-Run leading on the first work when Rum an Racing’s jib halyard let go. They recovered by using the spinnaker halyard to raise the jib. Hit-n-Run decided to set the large spinnaker on the first downwind leg when the boat was flattened by a gust. It took a while to recover the crew and clear the mess but the boat and crew sailed on. The race took 1.5 hours to complete with Hit-n-Run extending its lead over Rum & Racin to 11 minutes at the finish.

With a final run to the finish Hit-n-Run decided put up the smaller kite. The boat was doing 16 knots, with all of the crew as far back as humanly possible, the boat again got hit by a gust and took off for a few seconds before ploughing into back of a wave. This all ended in a spectacular nose dive and a broach, the bulb ended up clear of the water. Eventually the boat righted itself and the crew sailed over the finishing line to get the gun.

When the skipper of Hit-n-Run was asked what speed they were doing after being hit by the gust, Fred Kasparek’s reply was “How should I know I had my eyes closed”.

Unfortunately for Hit-n-Run that evening they were informed that they received a DNF as there was a clearance mark 100m off one of the cardinal marks they were supposed to go around.

This gave Rum an Racing first place for the day and an unbeatable lead in the event. The crew of Rum an Racing deserved first place for just surviving the conditions. It is a testament to the strength and rigidity of the Magic 25 that the boat could be pushed to its limit in such severe wind and wave conditions and still return with no major damage.

Sunday’s race was far less exciting with winds averaging 5 knots and the water being perfectly flat. The fleet of magics all made the start with Houdini having the best start of the fleet. The race was close with Hit-n-Run coming first, Houdini second and Hillis Rum an Racin.

The overall results for the nationals were; Rum an Racin awarded first place, Hit-n-Run second and Houdini third.

It was agreed that the event was a success with a lot of fun and laughter on and off the water.

The Magic 25 class has had resurgence in the past 18 months with many boats being brought out of moth balls. The Canberra Yacht Club has one of the strongest fleets seven in its membership with all of them sailing at sometime in the season.

One of the reasons for the class re-birth is that they are relatively cheap to buy. A second hand magic in good condition with good sails, carbon fibre mast, boom and tiller on trailer can be bought for $25,000. For such a small purchase price the magic is competitive against boats that are 2-4 times more expensive.

The Magic 25 is attractive to the sailors who like to go fast and may have outgrown their skiff, dingy or cat but are not yet ready to hang up there trapeze harnesses. The boats are fast, on Saturday off the wind they were hitting 16-17 knots regularly in choppy water without a spinnaker! While up wind going into the chop Hit-n-Run was averaging 6.5-7.1 knots.

The Magic 25 is also versatile, you can sail it competitively with 4-7 people and with variety of age groups.

Hit-n-Run likes to sail four up with all on the wire, while Hillis Ford and Houdini prefer to sail 5 up with the skipper sitting inboard and the crew of four on the wire.

The ages of the sailors on the boats also vary from 14 to over 50 years of age. Many of the sailing parents tell of difficulty getting their kids to come sailing prior to getting the magic 25. Now they have difficulty getting the kids off the wire, trapezing is very addictive. It is not uncommon to see five kids, ages ranging from 4-10 hanging off trapeze and 3 adults racing and having fun on a twilight race.

The Australia Magic 25 Association would like to thank Sussex Inlet & Basin Yacht Club for holding a fantastic event.

The association would recommend the regatta and venue to anyone who loves sailing and having fun. There are not many venues where you can moor you boat in front of your cabin and everything is in walking distance. The Australian Magic 25 Association would like to also thank our sponsor Andrew Wilson of ‘Padme Yachts’ who provided the biggest and shiniest trophy on the planet. Rumour has it is one of the few manmade objects that can be seen from outer space.

To contact the class go to www.magic25.yachting.org.au

Fred Kasparek

09 • Mar–Apr • 5

In the Backyard of edenEden: the word conjures images of idyllic, pristine settings and perfect conditions. Sailing at the recent Twofold Bay Regatta definitely didn’t fail to meet expectations!

It all started with the journey down. A very pleasant drive on a very pleasant afternoon. A relaxing evening with the crew once we reached Eden was in order. A barbecue and a beer or two overlooking the wharf and surrounds delivered.

Saturday morning didn’t suggest that it would be a day on which any sailing would be conducted…it began with a decent rain and absolutely no wind. We were resolved to see a silver lining – after all, the boat got a good wash!

But, as the rain eased up and the sun shone through the committee called for sailing to begin. Well, for boats to get on the water, anyway – there still wasn’t much wind about. At best there would have been 5 knots in patches. Yet the weather had turned it on after the early morning rain shower and as the sun shone we sat and enjoyed the beautiful Twofold Bay.

The 1st race got underway and after the 1st leg or so it was shortened. It had taken an hour or more to do that alone, and we can only assume that the committee decided that if the fleet didn’t have timely access to their lunch there might be uproar. Thankfully, the wind picked up in the afternoon with a fresh soueaster blowing in at about 10-12 knots. With it came a slight increase in swell. The 2nd race for the day was a cracker, with all of the fleet enjoying great rides. The Magic in particular enjoyed the fresher breeze and we found ourselves jumping ahead sooner than we thought we might.

Sunday morning brought with it another breathless and oil slick-like sea. As enjoyable as it was to be out on the water, it was somewhat less enjoyable to take around half an hour to move perhaps one hundred metres.

“We could have done this in Canberra” was a common cry. Although it did allow some time for the ‘Hit n Run’ crew to practice their hand-stands.

It is pretty fair to assume that not 1 of the skippers or crew in the fleet was upset when the race was abandoned. In fact some cheers could be heard across the bay. Once again the committee exercised perfect wisdom (that’s right – there was lunch to be considered!).

Eden made good when the breeze came up again for the last race of the regatta on Sunday afternoon. A slightly stronger breeze than Saturday afternoon saw the crew of ‘Hit n Run’ out on the wire for the 1st time (for a purpose other than mucking about, anyway).

The favourable conditions meant that we were able to make it home a full half hour before the next boat in our division. We also managed to pass some of the tail-enders of the Flying Fifteens, who started 3 divisions 15 minutes before us. All in all, the not-too-light and not-too-heavy winds suited the Magic down to the ground (or perhaps we should say ‘down to the waterline’!).

The final result was Hit-n-Run and its crew of Fred Kasparek, Russell Hunter, Tony Whipp and Brent Freestone won the division 5 perpetual trophy. This was a major achievement as the magic had to compete against Castles, Sonatas and Farrs. On average the magic had to beat the 2nd boat by approximately 20-30 minutes to get a place, this in a light 1.5 hour race is not easy to do.

The Twofold Bay Yacht Club must be commended for putting on an absolutely spectacular regatta. Professional, organised, friendly and welcoming are just some of the words you might use to describe their club. From the straight forward sailing instructions to the delicious lunches – they definitely know how to put on a great regatta. Canberra Yacht Club was well represented in the fleet and the prizes.

russell Hunter

6 • Mar–Apr • 09

CYC Sailing News

escapade’s marlay point overnight race 2009Having sailed an Elliott 7 Sports Boat for 5 seasons I wanted to push the envelope a bit further to compete with the top boats. In 2008 I purchased my second Elliott 7 from Yachting Siam in Thailand. The guys in Thailand had bought E64 ‘Ice Bucket’ 2 ½ years ago from Steve Brajkovic the original owner, who had previously campaigned the boat for several years with good results.

The container arrived in Sydney in December and my cousin (also Peter, alias Ditto) traveled with me to witness the container unpacking, and Quarantine Inspection. We were worried about the little Thai refugee that had stowed away in E64 might complicate matters. The AQUIS Inspectors took away the little Gecko and returned some 40 minutes later to declare that the Gecko’s presence would not necessitate the additional expense of fumigation and a wash down. After his little escapade, the Gecko will be immortalized as our mascot on future crew uniforms.

It was fortunate that I towed a car trailer to Sydney as the trailer that was declared to have a bit of rust proved to be a worthless hulk. We managed to get the trailer and the boat on top of the car trailer and traveled a maximum 80 KPH to Canberra.

The first job was to get a new trailer. No one was particularly interested in building a custom trailer, and certainly not for less than $5,000. With help from my cousin I drew on my long lost skills of welding from 40 yrs ago to build a new trailer. Fellow E7 sailor Shane Russell-Smith kindly donated a set of E7 Cradles he had had for some years. My first welds showed that I needed plenty of practice but with patience and many hours the trailer took shape.

Quite a deal of refurbishment was necessary to bring the boat back to an acceptable standard, and I was in touch with Steve to take advantage of his expertise during this process. As we were now related by boat, Steve suggested that we do the 40th. Marlay Point Overnight Race together. This was an opportunity to get the boat, as well me, a muchneeded tune up. Steve recruited two of his young hot shots Murray Gordon and Tim Byford from RPAYC, while I busied myself making the boat race ready.

The trailer still has to be registered and hot dip galvanized, but in the interim I swapped my old E7 on the new trailer so I can use the registered one to get us to Marlay Point. Explaining to Club Marine that I had two boats and two trailers insured with them but different boats and trailers were undergoing the trip and race was interesting. Fortunately they were supportive and the trip and race were covered.

New sails were sourced from David Eickmeyer of Quantum in Melbourne, Sydney Rigging produced new stays, and the CYC Boat shop thought I would take up residence, while getting bits and pieces along with advice from Matt and Craig. Neil Primrose donated a set of Jib Cars as only one was delivered with the boat. Kenn Batt from the Bureau of Meteorology in Canberra freely gave us the wisdom of his knowledge about the winds to expect on the Gippsland Lakes.

Steve, Murray and Tim called in to Canberra on Friday before the race and to pick up the boat and tow it to Marley Point for me. I followed later in the day when I could get away. Leaving four hours later, I caught them just outside Cann River. Steve, trusting his GPS to find the way had taken a long detour and was very embarrassed to declare that he had ended up in Delegate. It was a good thing that Tim was to be our navigator for the race. A good night was spent in Bairnsdale socializing with my crew for the race over a meal and a few drinks. The next day was spent getting to Marlay Point, Rigging the boat and taking the vehicles to Paynesville before retuning on the 4 PM bus back to the LWYC at Marlay Point. I was suspicious about Steve’s claim to have found a Ping Pong ball in the boat. When he claimed to have found a second I knew he was having a go.escapade ready for the Start lWYC. photo by peter Craig

Steve gets his hands on the tiller pre start. photo by peter Craig

09 • Mar–Apr • 7

We started mid line in clear air off the Lake Wellington Yacht Club along with 141 other starters. It was a dream run, with the SW providing a spinnaker start at 8:45 PM and beautiful reach across Lake Wellington. Murray spotted a shift to the South and increased pressure shortly before the narrows so we dropped the kite and two sailed toward the entrance. Hard on the breeze into the first section of the McLennan Straight we sailed past a Magic 25 that showed us where the shallow bit was before we overtook two indignant trimarans that could not point as high as the E7. Around the bend in the narrows we bore away a set the kite all the way to Holland’s Landing. With kite still flying we entered Lake Victoria in the moonlight with a Thompson 7 on our tail. We were running square with pole back gaining ground on boats in front while the Thompson 7 was gybing down the lake passing off our stern each time.

Coming to the start finish line at the Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club for the first time we were close on the tail of another tri, and the Thompson 7 was overlapped with us. The land affected breeze lightened and swung forward as we ghosted along the McMillan Straight heading for moored boats on the Raymond Island shoreline but still holding the kite and playing the lifts that coincided with every street that ran down to the waterfront from Paynesville. We quickly pulled away from the T7 and the tri. Toward the mark a Lake King the breeze went SW and we poled back before gybing to carry the kite around the top of Raymond Island. On reaching our Waypoint for clear water we dropped the kite and hard on the breeze headed south slightly footed off in a long dig until we went hard on the breeze at Point Scott. Clearing the Green Mark we tightened up before making a couple of tacks to clear Point Montague. Two trimarans that had been shadowing us, failed to catch us before we came across the line at 2:04 AM along with many of the slower boats completing their race without the requirement to lap Raymond Island.

In Division D for Sports Boats the Thompson 8 crossed the line first followed by two Elliott 780s and our little E7. We were ahead of the T7 the Magic 25, an SB3, an E7, a Young Rocket 780 and an Elliott 5.9. The initial handicap results showed the SB3 in first place but they corrected the officials that had put their first pass of the line down as their final time. The T8 won the division with Escapade 3.25 minutes behind on corrected time. (For results courtesy LWYC

In the wee hours of the morning and after derigging the boat, tired but satisfied with our result I went to the boot of my vehicle to get a celebratory beer for the crew. After closing to boot I discovered I had locked my keys and phone in the boot. After a few hours sleep the crew departed to Sydney. While I waited for the RACV to turn up Murray’s parents, Angus and Julie, who are holidaying in Victoria, waited patiently with me for two hours for the RACV man only to find he could not to get into the X5. Angus and Julie helped me find the last room in Paynesville at the Old Hotel while my wife Denise arranged for a courier to get spare keys sent from Canberra a considerable expense. The Keys arrived at 11:30 PM Sunday night just as I was settling down for the night. Going back to the truck I retrieved a change of clothes and my toiletries and returned to the hotel a crashed into bed.

I left Paynesville at 8:00 AM Monday to tow Escapade back to Canberra, satisfied with our result, and mindful of the lessons I had learned both on and off the water.

Thanks are due to my wife for putting up with my obsession, and to all those who lent a hand.

I will now push to sell E44, the first Escapade. Anyone looking for sailing adventures with a very competitive edge please apply.

Peter Barter

marley point start. photo by Ian Brokenshire

8 • Mar–Apr • 09

CYC Sailing News

Australian Youth Championships: Mandurah, WABetween the 6–11 January 2009 the OAMPS Australian Youth Championships were held at the Mandurah Offshore Fishing & Sailing Club in WA. Mandurah is located about 70km south of Perth, and the sailing area is about 5km offshore. After months of training on Lake Burley Griffin here in Canberra and competing in some major Laser competitions in NSW, Andrea Garvey and I, both members of the CYC Youth Racing Squad, travelled over to Mandurah to compete in the Youth Championships. Having arrived a couple of days early we spent a lot of time at the club trying to decipher differences between inland lake sailing and the open sea, where the wind blows uninterrupted across the Indian Ocean from Africa, guaranteeing a sea breeze of 20+knots at about 12 noon every day.

Once my chartered Laser Radial had arrived from the recent National Laser Championships in Fremantle, registration and measurement formalities completed, and our feeble attempts to affix the huge sponsor stickers on straight, Andy and I decided we were just about ready for the sailing. With an invitation race being held the day before the first competition race, at about 11am the fleet headed out the 3-5km offshore to the racing area. After an hour of floating around, and feeling very much at home, but with too many large waves around, the race was shortened. While Andy and I sat out on the water as the rest of the fleet headed home, we watched the line of guaranteed sea breeze arrive very quickly and we took the opportunity to get a taste of the kind of conditions we would be sailing in the for the remainder of the championships. It was half an hour of exhausting upwind works and downwind wave riding - then we realised that it was going to take about another forty minutes just to get back to the beach.

As day one racing started on the 8th, Andy and I quickly realised that the standard of racing in the Laser fleet was very high and at close quarter, with one little mistake having the potential to cost up to eight places. This regatta was the final selection event for the Australian Youth Sailing Team, so nearly all competitors were there for some serious sailing. The start line was assured to be full by the two minute signal, and just in case keeping your place was not challenging enough, keeping clear air at the same time definitely made sure you were concentrating one hundred percent.

During the course of the championships, with racing becoming more competitive as skippers started to chase positions, Andy and I gradually worked our way further up the fleet. The racing schedule of 3 back-to-back races per day, and the distance we had to travel to and from the race course, meant that we were on the water for 5-6 hrs a day. This made endurance a key determinant for success. Every day brought new experiences and lessons for us, both physically and mentally. These included everything from close quarter downwind tactics, to sailing around with the knowledge that a 21/2 metre shark was on the course.

Being billeted out to one of the volunteer local families allowed me time after racing to get to know some of the local youth sailors, as well as some of the other sailors from the east coast. These important connections made it possible to undertake some other activities while I was over there, including sailing in their twilight cruises on a Beneteau yacht.

The lessons which Andy and I were learning at the Australian Youth Championships put us both on massive learning and improvement curves. The experience and skills that we were able to take away from these titles are those which could not be achieved in years of club racing and have greatly improved our abilities to complete in large, highly skilled and very competitive fleets. Our overall results in the Laser Radial Division were for me 24th and Andy 28th.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors; Yachting ACT, the Canberra Southern Cross Club, the CYC Board, and everyone at the CYC, for the support that they have given us. In particular, we would like to give special thanks to Matthew Owen for all his organisational assistance and sourcing of financial support, and to our coach, Craig Davidson, who gave up much of his own time to coach and assist us to prepare for the on-water side of the championships. Without their dedication, opportunities like this would never be possible.

Chris eddes

09 • Mar–Apr • 9

elliott 7 Sydney regattaWT on its way to manly

The venue was perfect, but what about that weather?

The Elliott 7 Sydney Regatta run from Drummoyne Sailing Club was an interesting weekend. The weather certainly played its hand in things and Huey served us up the best and worst he has to offer.

Saturday saw the fleet of 7 boats engage in 5 back to back 2 lap windward leeward races. The course was set off the eastern side of the famous Cockatoo Island heading towards Waverly to the north east. The top mark was moved by the water police because a very large freighter was coming down the harbour and our mark was in the main channel at the time. The water police came alongside the start boat to tell them with about 30 seconds to go just as we were all racking up for the 1st start.

As usual, the starts were keenly contested and there were a few occasions the recall flag went up and WT was pinged for OCS in heat 1 and I think the whole fleet was over in heat 3. The startline was moved to the northern side of the habour as the breeze clocked to the south more and the startline was tucked just off moored boats which the rules prevent us from sailing amongst. This caused the fleet to behave differently at the start of the last 2 heats as there was not enough room to sail up to the line with any speed - so the fleet hung in irons like a pack of lasers - only the E7 doesn’t quite jump away like a dinghy when asked to.

Saturday night was spent by most at the very nice Drummoyne Sailing Club at Birkenhead Point discussing the goings on of the day and the quiet sepulchral tones of Stevie Cartwright and Andrew Stewart could be heard debating all sorts of rubbish as the medicine kicked in....

Sunday was a miserable day weather wise, though the fleet rugged up in their offshore gear and headed out for the inaugural Manly Harbour Cruise (by name only - actually worth double points!).

The start was just off the club and only six of us headed out around Cockatoo Island as Walshy broke his rudder box just after the start (ain’t Kharma a bitch! - check your welds!!) and headed east down the harbour to Shark Island through the Farr 40 fleet and then up to Manly, back to Shark Island through the 505 Nationals being held off the heads and the Lighweight Sharpie State Titles (that’s when Bruce Hollis in his chase boat snapped the photo), back to Manly, back to Shark Island for another look and to mix it up with the 18 footers and then back down the harbour, past the Opera House, under the Harbour Bridge around Cockatoo Island and through the finish line at the club. Phew... 21 Knm of good racing at times and views to die for (if only I could have seen them from under my wet weather gear!!

At the end, the winner of the Sydney to Hobart (sporting his shiny new Rolex) was too good and chalked up some great wins in the tight fleet racing to take the regatta.

Well done to Mike Green and the crew of Evergreen! WT managed to carry their 8 points to finish in 2nd and a special mention has to go out to the renamed P Plater (ex Go Go Mango) and their young, enthusiastic crew who took out 3rd place in their first regatta - no mean feat in this class - so look out for them at Nationals!

Many thanks to Jimmy Walsh and Andrew Stewart for organising the regatta, to the Drummoyne Sailing Club for hosting us, and to Dimension Polyant and Gemmel Sails for sponsoring the event.

It was a great format for both fleet racing, socialising and passage racing that we hope to make a permanent fixture on the E7 calendar. Ed.

greg Breen

10 • Mar–Apr • 09

CYC Sailing News

It was a fun regatta!The Syfa Solutions Spring Cup was held in “Fall” this year and the numbers were down from previous years with only 4 boats contesting the 5 heat sprint series on the Saturday and the club race on the Sunday. The racing was very close and the short start line made things very interesting at times. The conditions were perfect for racing with big changes in the wind shifts kept the tacticians keeping a close eye on the phases.

Mike Green travelled down with Jack and Justin to helm the new Escapade. Peter Barter is pulling some family duties and hasn’t been able to spend as much time on the water as he would normally like to.

Greeny managed a swim pre-start and broke Peter’s brand new CST tiller extension with a ping-pong ball at the end (there’s a story in there).

It was a great tune up for Nationals and Humungus and Casper are looking in fine form for the titles which we are all looking forward to.

greg Breen

From the managerThe end is near……… our white board in the office is starting to have blank days in it for the first time since Sept 27, 2008 and the phone is not ringing at three calls a minute means the end of the season is near. Craig and I start looking at having a break but knowing the season starts again in 130 days. It’s only a brief pause as we have our start boat Crusader earmarked for its long awaited refurbishment, five other powerboat and eighty odd club boats to maintain over winter.

Each year we have a strategic debrief of what happened over the season, the good, the bad and what can we do better.

On reflection it has been a frantic year with the Sailing School having a bumper year in the number of kids and adults going through the school. It has been very successful with the results of our young sailors competing at the highest levels this sport produces.

I would like to thank many people for the support to make these achievements possible, the support from the Canberra Southern Cross Club, the boards and committees of the CYC, our sponsors and most importantly the members of the Canberra Yacht Club. Thankyou all again

Next year’s calendar is already filling up quickly with the CYC asked to conduct regattas for the OK dinghies, MJ’s, Trailable Yachts, ACT Sprint Series, Tasars and of course our premiere regatta the Over the Moon 2010 Spiral Nationals to be held over the Australia Day holidays in January.

I had the pleasure to sail in the annual Americas Mug held for the champions of each division, the event was great fun with commentators Fred Kasparek and Russel Hunter kept the crowd laughing from their vantage point on the tower.

On the water Craig Davidson sailed a fantastic series to edge out Chris Eddes and Rick Longbottom in this highly competitive regatta. The dark horse was Rohan Armstrong who normally crews on Kim Barrett’s Farr 6 ruffled the feathers of the top three with a great win in race 3. I have not had so much fun coming 7th in a regatta for many years, the fun banter and the challenge of who would be the first to capsize ( thanks Al Green) for the non dinghies sailors.

Thanks to all who made this a great event again.

See you at the Results Consulting Winter Series.

Happy sailing matt

CYC Sailor’s Centrefold

Twilight racing 4th march

matt owen

John Tracey and Craig

Andy g giving it a go

martin linsey

Craig Davidson

Americas mug

Americas mug

CYC executive Contact list Commodore Graham Giles (m) 0412 507061 (h) 62886990 ggiles@cyberone.com.au

Vice Commodore Anita Faulks (m) 0407 934 492 (h) 6262 4759 hfaulks@bigpond.net.au

Treasurer Trevor Hippisley (w) 6242 8499 (h) 6254 9102 tldjh@bigpond.com

rear Commodore member Services Trish Gleeson (m) 0407 541 656 (h) 6254 1656 pgleeson@velocitynet.com.au

rear Commodore Communications Angela Cumming (m) 0412 11 23 23 angela.cumming@act.gov.au

rear Commodore racing John Tracey (m) 0411 750 069 (h) 6286 2390 jandet@grapevine.com.au

rear Commodore operations Sue Hart (m) 0419 995 724 (h) 6285 2888 sue_hart@iinet.net.au

CYC manager Matthew Owen (w) 6273 4777 matt.owen@ canberrayachtclub.com.au

CYC Office Manager Carolin Dasey w 6273 7177 admin@canberrayachtclub.com.au

Please forward articles for future newsletters to matt.owen@canberrayachtclub.com.au or angela.cumming@act.gov.au

Designed by Angela Cumming

For advertising contact: matt.owen@canberrayachtclub.com.au If undeliverable return to Canberra Yacht Club, PO Box 7169,Yarralumla ACT 2600.

For all your boat repair bits and pieces, or simply because you can’t help yourself, come and check out the new shop.

Weekdays: 9.30am – 4.30pm Weekends: 9.30am – 12.30pm

pHoNe: 6273 4777

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