What’s there not to like?

Dave — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:40:23 +0000

Today was another sunny day with a breeze fluctuating from six to ten knots and adding a slight wind chill to the otherwise perfect sailing day. Ian supplied a cake of the highest culinary quality and with time to spare we enjoyed the pre race refreshments.
We approached the start line on starboard and to leeward of the fleet with the perfect plan to reach up to the start boat end. The only flaw in the logic was the almighty header that left us down to leeward and a few seconds late to the line. Soon the breeze steadied and we reached away to the top mark. Fidelis started to leeward of us but this is the course that she loves and soon she was a distant spec on the horizon.
In the end Fidelis beat us home by 17 minutes and won the race on handicap so it was their day.
We tagged along behind Rainbow for much of the day. She maintained a few seconds lead from the start along the first reach and we matched her for speed and height all the work back to Rose Bay. I was intent on staying with her but missed seeing her tack away and by the time I notices she was well to windward enjoying a nice lift and extending her lead. Around Shark Island we made some ground, possibly with better wind, and were once more in touch with Rainbow. Around the turning mark Rainbow tacked immediately while we held on in a lift but to my dismay it was a progressive lift and Rainbow lifted along the Shark Island shore up to the mark and again beat us on tactics.
For the day we finished a disappointing ninth out of eleven yachts. The problem was not so much the distance by which we were beaten or the time between us and our competitors. Britannia for example finished only a few seconds further in front than last week and I thought we would have had her on handicap. No the problem was it was a very quick race so the time correction factor gave us less time handicap. In these circumstances Rainbow managed only sixth place despite beating us by the largest margin of the series.
So the answer to the question in the headline is .. nothing but the result.

A Tax on Pleasure

Dave — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:47:30 +0000

In the aftermath of a soft Australian budget delivered the night before we spent a glorious day on Sydney Harbour. Under a cloudless sky with a warm 26 degree light breeze we pitted our sailing skills against the best Sydney has to offer. With this much pleasure it won’t be long before Australia’s treasurer introduces a pleasure tax.

The picture from Seabreeze.com.au shows the light winds we enjoyed and the little tick up late in the afternoon that got us across the shortened course finish line in perhaps a better position than we deserved. Still a fifth is a fifth and we appreciate the good fortune.
Without delving too much into the minutia of the race we did try the genoa tacked down to the new deck eye fitting under the furler to get the end plate effect. The genoa looked spectacular and we will certainly persevere with this idea.
The other innovation for the day had little to do with sailing and much to do with putting Passion back on the mooring in a howling southerly. A new line was spliced into the main mooring line eye and the free end tied to the top of the mooring buoy. With this change the new line can be picked up and put straight onto the mooring cleat without having to pick up the mooring buoy. The new line can then be hauled in, by winch if necessary, until the mooring line eye can be dropped on the mooring cleat. With Passion secured on the mooring line the buoy can be picked up at leisure and the dinghy transferred to the transom. The first test was in a drift but it seems to work well and I am happy that Saturdays mooring drama has motivated me to devise a safer mooring pick up method.

Greenwich Drama, Gosford Delight

Dave — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:30:47 +0000

With great anticipation I looked forward to the first winter series race at Greenwich Flying Squadron for this was to be Passion’s first spinnaker race and on board were four hardy volunteers keen to see the new asymmetric spinnaker flying in all its glory. Ha! That was the dream and the reality was a little different. The 15 knot forecast was at the top end of the comfortable range for the full main and large genoa on Passion and on the windward works a few knock downs should have been warning enough but I was keen to see the new asymmetric flying for the first time and I had been assured it was a task that I could do almost single handed. On the second rounding of Goat Island and in the wind shadow of the lee shore I saw chance to get it flying. On went the furler and to that the rotating tack fitting. On went the genoa sheet and on went the halyard. Up she goes and then we pull on the sheet. Hmm! Why is she only half unfurled? Well apparently it does not need much system resistance to stop the furler rolling out and the rope was lead under the spinnaker pole on the deck and that was enough friction. With a pop the spinnaker is flying but now it is time to take it down. No time to look and admire it or to trim it to the best. No time to check the boat speed. It must come down now. Hmm! It won’t furl. Pull as we might on the furling line nothing is happening and we are dangerously close to the lee shore and the moored yachts. Darn! we have run out of room to square away so that the spinnaker is protected behind the mainsail so we take it down the old fashioned way through the hatch. In the process we get closer to the moored yachts so it is on with the motor and the end of our days racing. It is back to the drawing boards with that idea. A quick review of the instruction videos on the internet showed up a couple of points. The torsion line must be very tight to transmit the turning moment, the clew need to be let right out and the sail must be blanketed behind the mainsail. One video did show a very large powered winch being used to wind the furler so perhaps the winch and handle are a must. A big thank you to the crew who took all the action in good spirit.
The day’s dramas did not end with the crew dropped off at Greenwich Flying Squadron. An unexpected period of fresh wind make the mooring pick up quite a task and one at which I failed the first, second, third, and fourth exams and in the process swamped the dinghy and also turned it upside down. Being used to disappointment I anticipate it but all the same I hate it. Wouldn’t you? So all those days of tying the oars to the dinghy paid off and I could leave the dinghy to its own devices while attending to the more pressing issue of securing the mooring line. There is a certain satisfaction from overcoming adversity and in a measured sequence of events I hooked the mooring buoy handle to the forward fairlead long enough to motor forward and pull the buoy aboard. That secured a line was connected to the light mooring buoy line and that was winched aboard. Then the line was transferred to the mooring line proper and that was winched aboard and finally hooked over the mooring cleat. Next attention was directed to the flooded inverted dinghy which was stubbornly refusing to be lifted clear or the water. Here the winch came in handy again as I attached a line to the painter and winched the dinghy close enough to the transom to push one side down and right it. Next task was to bail it out from the safety of Passions boarding platform, tidy up Passion from the day’s sailing and head home. There appears no point to a day of drama other than to have stories to recall and lessons to learn.
On Sunday we have coffee after church and our friend tells of his weird dream of sailing a giant trimaran that somehow comes apart in sections so perhaps he has had a vision of the next America’s Cup where the yachts are getting weirder and weirder. Then it is off to Gosford to sail with Kevin on the Ross 780. Kevin’s boat is well sorted out and the spinnaker sits in a sock along the side deck. The yacht is a light weather flyer and we have very light conditions. The start is on a reach and Kevin gets the spinnaker flying in a few moments and we are away. Brisbane waters are a mill pond for most of the afternoon but we carry the breeze all the way to Saratoga. Our company is a Melges 32, a Northshore 369 and a One Design so how good is that? On the beat back to the club we find a few fortunate patches of breeze that keeps us in touch with the NS 369 and the One Design and leave the rest of the fleet becalmed at Saratoga. Then it is a quiet tidy up alongside the Gosford dock. The two days of sailing could not be more different and both satisfying in their own way.

Sunny Skies

Dave — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:54:57 +0000

The first day of the RANSA Winter Wednesday series brought sunny skies and a fine north east breeze. While there were a few shifts in the breeze it was for the most part steady and the day was a good test of relative boat speed in which we did relatively average.

A new yacht in the fleet, Ellipse II, an Elan 350 lived up to the promotional material on the Elan web site and gave us a lesson in how to impress the handicapper on the first day out. Her owner may come to regret the stellar performance when next weeks handicaps are published. Amongst last years fleet Rainbow was the stand out blitzing us by over two minutes and coming second on handicap.

Rainbow in Watsons Bay

Our sixth place was enhanced by the last minute problems Britannia had on the final reach so we slipped ahead of her and also gave the slip to Viva and Enigma.
All in all a very pleasant day on the water with good company. Next week Martin leaves us for five weeks of trekking around the UK and doing first hand research into the state of the British economy. We wish him a good holiday and a safe return.

RANSA Presentation 2012

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:56:05 +0000

Dave and Rear Admiral Barrett

The Royal Naval Sailing Association RANSA presentation was held at the “old shed” on Rushcutters Bay on Friday 27th April 2012.

Dave was presented with the trophy for Passion’s win in the Division One Winter Wednesday series. Passion actually won the first half second half and overall so a clean sweep for the Winter Wednesday season.

There was a full roll up at the RANSA club for the presentation with prizes given out by Rear Admiral Tim Barrett AM Commander Australian Fleet. The photo above shows Dave receiving the trophies from the Admiral.

The 2012 Winter Wednesday Series start on Wednesday 2nd May so everyone needs to shake out the sailing winter woolies.

Oh! My aching arms

Dave — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:32:41 +0000

As Passion has been stranded on the hard stand at Noakes at North Sydney I took the opportunity to clean the water line and the hull above it with the electric polisher. While mechanical appliances are meant to make life easier they are also heavier and the task of holding the polisher above head height for a day has taken its toll.
Spending a day at the Noakes yard is entertaining, watching the tradesmen with their unique characters interacting.
Passion should be ready to go back in the water on Tuesday and Elaine and I will pick her up on Anzac day. The forecast is for a very pleasant day on the water and we might try that new asymmetric spinnaker.

Wow Factor

Dave — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 05:36:58 +0000

The new asymmetric spinnaker is taking shape on the floor of Gemmell Sails loft. The body is sewn together and now the reinforcement patches and tapes need to be added. Walking into the loft with the grandchildren today all we could say was “Wow!”

Passion's new asymmetric spinnaker

Pitted prop shaft and more

Dave — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:20:53 +0000

What a glorious day to take the yacht to the yard at North Sydney for the annual antifouling! I arrived at 8am an hour ahead of schedule and why not? The choice was an early quick run down the M2 and an extra hour on the yacht or an extra hour in the traffic later in the day. The early start meant that there was still parking at Valentia Street and a short walk the tender.
On board Passion and with time to spare I entered the 9 digit MMSI code into the VHF radio so that in future we can be tracked and located if we need to use the distress function on the VHF radio. I was a bit wary of this task as you get only two chances to get it right and then it has to go back to the factory. The entering was child’s play and with that done it was off to North Sydney.
Alongside the pontoon at Noakes I spent an hour polishing parts of the topside as I waited for the scheduled lift time. Right on 9 the lift arrived and in a few minutes I was locking up Passion and stepping from the elevated deck onto the wharf.
The fun started later in the day with a call from the yard about a pitted prop shaft. Now there had been quite a bit of traffic on the Jeanneau Owners forum about pitted shafts and I had thought I was one of the lucky ones. Alas it was not to be as a quick trip back to the yard revealed large and deep pits in the shaft and a bit of play in the bearing. So Passion will be out of the water a bit longer than expected while the rudder is dropped so that the shaft can be extracted and replaces with hopefully better quality stainless steel.
On the new asymmetric spinnaker front the cloth has arrived at Gemmell Sails ready for sticky back and stitching. All the panels are computer cut by the cloth supplier so it is now just a jig saw puzzle to get all the shapes and colours into the right position. The new sail may be finished before the prop shaft replacement is completed so there is much to look forward to.

Down time

Dave — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:26:18 +0000

In the break between summer twilights and winter wednesdays we are visiting family in Perth and enjoying the summer that we missed in Sydney this year.
Today the Swan River between South of Perth Yacht Clun and Royal Perth was alive with cruisers enjoying the balmy conditions but alas it was just a glimpse as we weaved through the lanes of traffic on the Kwinana freeway than runs along the Como foreshore.
Back home the furler for the asymmetric spinnaker has been delivered and inspected from swivelling head to furling line tack and all parts between. We await the completion of the asymmetric so that we can furl it on and hit the water.
Next event is the annual antifouling, prop speed coating and prop anode replacement all scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday. So far the weather forecast looks acceptable if not quite the perfect sunny no wind conditions we loathe for sailing but love for antifouling. Next week we will be able to give an update on the antifouling.

Film stars at last

Dave — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:06:23 +0000

The Greenwich Flying Squadron web site has a link to the following video of the last twilight race of the 2011 2012 season. In the 9 minute video there is quite a few shots of Passion.
Perhaps fortunately for us the video stops at the stage we are alongside the camera man so our conversation is not picked recorded.
Link is here