The Race 2 results are in.

Made to measure for Port Phillip.

Those sylphs of Port Phillip provided another lesson why our Tumlare’s still have a strong and dedicated following. Light or heavy weather, smooth or rough seas, Port Phillip is continually told, it doesn’t matter what you throw at us, we will prevail. 3 out of the first four Race 2 placings, our Tum fleet had a great day out. By half a minute on corrected time, that great man Roger Dundas bought the heritage listed Bill Gash Red Tumlare ‘Avian’ home ahead the hard working team on George Fisscher and Michael Rhodes, ‘Boambille’.

While continual windshifts played they part in Race 2, as they do in all our race’s, watching team ‘Boambille’ over take ‘Mercedes III’ as fleet leader was an eye rubbing event. The battle between ‘Boambillee’ and ‘Mercedes III’ saw the lead change 4 times with ‘Boambille’ twice passing on spinnaker runs and ‘Mercedes III’ taking back the lead each time at the leeward mark for an eventual  line honours take out over  team ‘Boambille’ by 3 minutes and 8 seconds.

Back to the Tums.

Kate Solly bought ‘Ettrick’ home to take third on corrected time placing by 40 seconds over Charlie Salter who did a single handed in the manner of Dave Allen and bought home ‘Ellida’ fourth on corrected time.

Looking over the corrected times of the all finishers after the first four it indicates any mistakes on the water will show in the results. 30 seconds between ‘Mercedes III’, ‘Martini’ and ‘Pastime II’. 30 seconds between ‘Dingo’ and ‘Sayonara’ and 45 seconds between ‘Fairwinds II’, ‘Tina of Melbourne’ and ‘Loama’ tell the story how tight our racing is.

Now to the start.

’Fairwinds’ led the charge to the start line but was battling the water flow and was forced to tack on to port along with many others. The port end of the line was the place to start and most of the fleet headed towards it on starboard tack. Although ‘Mercedes III’ was closer to the line Martin Ryan read the river outflow to the nth degree and squeaked ever so close but cleanly past the pin end marker to continue on starboard and lead to the first mark.

Moment of the race.

Perhaps the moment of the race was the rules compliant take out of the fleet by ‘Bungoona’ under the helm of Cameron Dorrough, at 19A, the first turning mark. To squeeze through ‘Zephyr’ then tack under the bow of ‘Acrospire’ and hold off ‘Sayonara’ was an example of confident and not give an inch Classic Yacht racing.

Classic Yacht Racing Action

Although light winds prevailed throughout the race, close Classic Yacht racing was still happening across the fleet. ‘Windward II’ had some brief opportunities to show off her power racing capability. Earlier in the race ‘Avalon’ was also given some wind to put her two headsails to work and make up good ground on the back markers. ‘Pastime II’ worked hard to fill their big spinnaker while ‘Tina of Melbourne’ saw the need to double the Mark 20 gate and then hold off Acrospire III in the run to the finish line. Although out of the money, time wise, Andy Indrans still completed the course to give ‘Corio Vertue’ an honest race.

Handicapper action, aka sharpening the pencil.

Included in the Race 2 results tabulations are two additional columns. The numbers in these columns are part of the process used to assign a handicap for Race 3. CHC is the changed handicap calculation that weights the assigned handicap for each finisher of Race 2 against their back calculated handicap, 2/3^rd to 1/3^rd is the mix. The back calculated handicap yard stick for Race 2 was ‘Sayonara’. The average of the last 5 back calculated handicaps, as indicated in the second additional column, is also part of the Classic formula. In combination with these two instruments, your handicapper, who you all know and love, will then apply his guillotine, to what he deems to be high and low end performance exceptions in Race 2 and assign a handicap to each Race 3 entrant.

Below is the you tube address for a 2 minute video of our fleet working hard during the evolutions of Race 2. Thanks to Scott McDonald. Great images and another story for the international stage our Classic Yacht fleet races on.

Next Race June 3

Below is the track around yesterday’s course by ‘Acrospire III’. A lesson on how to turn 5.8 NM’s into 10.1 NM’s.

The handicapper was an on board scrutineer of ‘Acrospire III’s’ performance for Race 2. The eraser on the handicapper’s pencil will be give a work out prior to Race 3.

Results Page

Great news

We’ll have ‘Windward II’ with us this weekend.

To give our Classic Yacht fleet a great show of Classic Yachting at its best, her skipper, Jim Woods is looking for additional hands to run and trim her multiple head sails in the way they’re meant to be, slowly and evenly with their max chord in the right place. Being a Royals course we expect lots of short tacks on Sunday. An additional hand to help gybe and trim the main won’t hurt either. ‘Windward II’ looks for a tight and fast sets on the main sheet to put her into that go fast lee gunnel down slot on the windward beat that will have her ready for the next tack.

Boom goes the dynamite. Who’s ready for an on water and tight Classic Yacht racing experience on one of Australia’s most significant and historic Classic Yachts, ‘Windward II’.

Contact Jim at james.woods@ecollect.com.au pronto for details on departure times, pfd’s etc.

Checkout the ‘Windward II’ story on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Attached are the entries, handicaps and Sailing Instructions for Race 2 of our 2013 Winter Series. Race 2 will be conducted by RYCV under the control of Race director, David LeRoy.

Race 2 Sailing Instructions Amendment.

After a discussion with the RYCV Race Director an amendment to the item 8 wording in the Sailing Instructions, Race Duration time, has been made. This change is on trial as a measure to help all our Classic Yacht fleet complete the race over the assigned course.

While there’s no change to the time limit for the first boat to finish, still 120 minutes, the race director will set a course that should bring the first boat home after approximately 90 minutes of racing. This means that in light conditions the race director will shorten the course earlier and give the remainder of the starting fleet 110 minutes to finish in lieu of previous 80 minutes. Analysing the Associations race results from the last 3 series of races shows 90 minutes is not far from first on elapsed time of these previous race results. Race duration of 90 minutes is also used in the group start formula for our pursuit races.

Item 8 has also been reworded to formalize the procedure that a DNF boat will be awarded points equal to the number of starters + 1. The normal rules quote DNF’s to be awarded points based on the number of entrants plus +1. This process of awarding started number points instead of series entry number points, is the process used by the Association to acknowledge the effort made by Classic Yachts to prepare for and start the race, but for whatever reason cannot complete the assigned course.

Handicaps

Looking over the handicaps, most yachts have small or no adjustments made for Race 2. These Race 2 allocated handicaps were run against the elapsed times for Race 1.  Only a tightening up of the already tight corrected times occurred with no corrected time placing changes.

Assigned handicaps for our Classic Yacht racing are based on the Yachting Victoria system. This YV process uses a calculated handicap, based on the last race performance, using 2/3rds of the last race allocated handicap and 1/3 of the last race back calculated handicap. It’s at the discretion of the handicapper to use this calculated handicap for the following race. The handicapper is also required to maintain and is allowed to use the average back calculated handicap of each Classic Yacht based on the last five races that has entered in the series. This allows the handicapper to not have to assign to a yacht, that puts shocker of a lower end performance, a lower handicap for the next race. Never mind yachts that put in an out of character upper end performance. They get it in the neck.

2014 Geelong Wooden Boat Festival

There’s also a low resolution attachment from the 2014 Geelong Wooden Boat Festival organisers. Has information about what is going to happen. The information sheet will also be attached to our web site. A Classic Yacht Association dialog has been started with the organisers on the subject of permitting Association members with open cockpit yachts, i.e. Tum’s and Couta’s, to enter the Festivals Portarlington to Geelong race.

Fife Regatta on Clyde, Scotland.

For members interested in Fife designed Classic Yachts, our Website has a link to a Fife only Regatta on the Clyde in Scotland. Your association has been in contact with the Regatta organisers informing them of our Fife family here. Bobby Barr has also alerted the Fife Regatta organisers that ‘Caraid’ is alive and well and ready for racing. A link to this Fife Regatta website will appear on our web site.

Classic Yacht Magazine activity.

Roger Dundas is actively taking in articles for the next issue. Articles or photos that feature stories of sailing or saving Classic Yachts of yesteryear or about people associated with notable events of any description are always welcome. Our magazine is treated as a document of record. It’s archived by Government and museum bodies, It’s used as a credible reference source by marine historians. Any story or documents that a member has the opinion that the information is important and needs to be preserved for posterity then our Magazine is the place for that story.

Till 10:30 am Sunday when we come alive again.

Remember no brain fades and no barging.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Sailing Instructions Race 2 May 19 (RYCV)

Entries and Handicaps (RYCV) May 14 Issue 1

2014 GWBF Press Release May 12 2013

Attached are the results of our 2013 Winter Series Race 1 plus then status of the Series points and the Marie Louise III consistency trophy.

Port Phillip tuned on conditions for another great day for Classic Yacht racing. Sailing amongst a classic fleet of 25 starters preparing for a race start was one of the many highlights of our first race of the 2013 Winter Series.  For many of us the break between series is definitely not good for our start timing. Instead of our usual pressure start we had several not too late starters but no barging problems. The fleet soon split with those taking to the river side, to use the outgoing tide, came out top at the first mark. Maybe a gentle reminder is needed  for skippers to be aware of the course bounding mark requirements when racing along the shipping channel.

The results show Kingurra taking out the race line honours from Mercedes III by 28 seconds with handicap honours going to a resurgent Mercedes III helmed by Martin Ryan and his soon to be enrolled Boy Scouts crew, for a primer on knot tying skill, rumor has it.. An excellent sail of the day by Roger Dundas and Pip Todd bought our Avian home for second overall and for a first within the Tumlare fleet, the mighty Kingurra took out a deserved third. Other notable sails were the George Fisscher and Michael Rhodes team who bought Boambillee home fourth overall and a closely watched performance, by the handicapper, from the Andy Doolan team to bring Tina of Melbourne home seventh, after her long break from Classic Yacht racing.  Our first time starter with the Classics, Leigh Norgate’s Avalon, with noted prestart manoeuvres. Like all first timers for a Classic Yacht Race start, you learn more about your boat in five minutes when racing that in five years of no stress sailing. Leigh can vouch for that. Avalon made the start, in good time, looking a picture of graceful Classic beauty.

Still showing her war wounds from the 2013 Festival of Sails passage race drama, as described in our recent Classic Yacht Magazine, with Michael Williams on the helm and Ross Clark presiding, Martini put in another consistent performance that makes the handicapper want to sharpen his pencil. Dingo with Jim Hutchinson on the helm came in for sixth overall after other notable Tumlare performance. With our two other tums racing yesterday, Kate Solly helmed Ettrick home first across the line for the Tum fleet while Anne and Karen Batson had a strong sail on Zephyr that put her well in the top mix of corrected times.

Looking over the corrected time spread for race 1 shows that any mistake on the course will be punished. No doubt your handicapper, who you all know and love, will be sharpening his pencil after analysing the race results. This doesn’t apply to cutters that don’t fly topsails.

I’m told our classic yacht fleet, headlined with the topsail cutters of Sayonara and Acrospire III along with our Australian Registered Historic vessels in the form of Mercedes III, Avian and Cameron Dorrough’s Bungoona, racing along the Beaconsfield Parade foreshore were once again, people and car stopping images.

So we’ve broken the ice for our Winter Series. All our fleet for race 1 were winners for the cause of our fleet’s world class Classic Yacht racing.

That’s it for now.

Great fleet, great racing

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe.
CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Results Page

Some addendum’s

To relive our 2013 Winter Series May 5 race 1 yesterday check out these two sites

Race start action as seen from the Race Committee boat, At this time the video is unedited.

Some race action as seen from Pastime II

Future Classic Yacht Events

To help our skippers and crews with their priorities of life below are some dates to pencil into your Classic Yachting diaries.

• Tall ships Melbourne Sun Sept 8 to Fri Sept 13
• Old Gaffers Sydney Sunday Oct 13
• Classics Regatta Mebourne Oct 31 to Nov 3
• Royal Geelong Yacht Club Festival of Sails Jan 26 2014
• Goolwa Wooden Boat Festival Feb  22 23 2014
• Geelong Wooden Boat Festival March Thurs March 6 to Sun March 9 2014
• Queenscliffe Maritime Festival March 28 2014

Winter series Race 1 – Provisional Result

Short video of the race – Click photo for link

To all Skippers and Crews of the Classics 2013 Winter Series.

The ‘Big Sleep’ is over and we re-start our Classic racing lives with the 2013 Winter Series.

Attached are the Race 1 Entries and their allocated handicaps.

For the first race of the Classics Winter Series of 2013, a fleet of 29 entries will hit the line at 10:30 am this Sunday morning, May 5, under the control of Race Director, Bob Tanner, of Hobsons Bay Yacht Club. Say no more, but what a Classic event this will be. Serious Classic racing at its best.

Some big features of the fleet for this series is the addition of Avalon, a beautiful Williams Aitkins ‘Little Dipper’ design under the helm of  Leigh Norgate from Royals and the most welcome return  of Andy Doolan’s Tina of Melbourne and Akala with David McNeice on the helm, both from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron. We also have Lindsay Holland’s Tumlare` Zea back on the water, ready to take the fleet on.

A note of reassurance, Tandanya, who has never missed a Classic series, will be joining us. That great man of our fleet, Bob Munro, will have her with us soon. So rest easy you commando’s.

Re the handicaps. They’ve been tightened up. Most are those used to calculate the abandoned race 8 pursuit start times, the last race of our previous summer series.  Don’t bother the handicapper, who you all know and love, with your suggestions. He’s already run the ruler over all the boats plus their skippers and crew. The boats and crews come up OK but those skippers look a bit shaky. Must do a rerun on them after this race.

For those who never bother reading or taking the SI’s out on the water, I suggest you think again. Four additional courses have been added. Two are out to P3 when racing conditions are suitable and two are set up with a shortened course option, to provide for light or strong wind conditions.

With the expectation of great on water battles across all our fleet at 10:30 am Sunday, with Tums to the fore, it’s Boom goes the Dynamite time. Stirring stuff, so while the blood rushes to the head, don’t forget the race start rules that say “NO BARGING”.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA Handicapper

2013 Winter Series Sailing Instructions Race 1 May 5 (HBYC)

2013 Winter Series Race 1 May 5 Entries and Handicaps (HBYC)

Attention all skippers and their attendant super numeries

Queenscliffe Maritime Festival

March 28-30

2014

The Maritime weekend at Queenscliff will be held on 28-30 March 2014 so note it in your sailing diaries. A great social and sailing event. The Classic team successfully defended the Guineas this year and Fairwinds won the Classic yacht race. More details in the next magazine.

This is a great opportunity for a cruising activity with family and friends for the Classic fleet.

To put yourself in the Queenscliffe  Maritime Festival picture check out these articles from our Classic Yacht Magazine archives.

One by Carmen Bell Ex. pres. Couta Boat Association, the other by Michael  McTavish who tells us what Ella did and how to set yourself up for the passage sail to Queenscliff

Photo: Dave Allen

Dear Skippers and Crews of our Classic Fleet

We have two weeks to go before our 2013 Winter Series starts. First race on May 5 means entries need to be in by May 1. Hobsons Bay YC will conduct our first race.

Some good entrant news already. The ever graceful Akala from the RMYS with her skipper David McNeice, is making a welcome return to our fleet. Excellent news is also heard from Andy Doolan, Tina of Melbourne is also going to be racing with us in this Winter Series. One small note about Tina that I was unable to fit into our recent issue of the CYAA Magazine. In the NZ Classic Yacht Association segment the yacht Uira was featured. The images in the article show her racing, in company with Acrospire III, on Port Phillip with the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron sail number S3. That historic sail number is still active. RMYS have awarded Tina the right to carry S3. This Winter Series will see S3 up and racing again against her ever consistent adversary, Acrospire III with Col Anderson and his hard working team. Stirring stuff.

Seeing the fleet missed out on the Summer series pursuit race, I’ll work on having our fourth race of this series conducted as a pursuit race from the Royals marina. The big challenge with pursuit races is for that handicapper, who you all know and love, to come up with start times that come in with a massed finish. It’s a challenge he likes to take on so much that  an option for future series will be a couple of pursuit races per series will be considered. Not forgetting some alternative courses as well.

Any people interested in a warm up event to our Winter Series can take on the fleet in the Hobson Bay YC passage race to St. Leonards April 27, 21 nm’s, rumb line. Entry is through the HBYC Web site. HBYC will do a Classic division if there’s sufficient starters. My Alwyn will be an entrant.

Returning to the subject of welcome returns to our Classic Fleet, there’s developments on the saga of bringing Frances into our racing fleet. Peter Lloyd has been active in attempting to make this return happen. He emailed to me a request to inform our members what’s happening with her. Below is the text of his mail. I”ve also attached a notice that elaborates on the subject plus a precis of her history and current condition. He intends to distribute this notice around the local keel boat clubs.

If this return of Frances comes about, our Classic fleet, along with Sayonara and Acrospire, will have the most prestigious yachts from all era’s of Australia’s 8 metre racing with us. The British 8 metre racing association are watching these developments with Frances. With our world class Tumlare fleet already under notice by our UK Classic Yacht acquaintances, our Classic fleet with it’s year round racing on Port Phillip is well on the way to being a world class Classic fleet. Make no mistake on this point.

So let’s get set for our Winter Series. Don’t forget our Cup Regatta, Nov 1, more news soon on that subject

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA Handicapper

Loama
Joe Tuck/Peter Denniston/ Matthew Fewster
Classic Yacht Association of Australia
2012/2013 Summer Series
Best Score Overall

Dear Skippers and Crews of the Classic 2012/2013 Summer Series

Consistent racing results throughout the series allowed Loama reward her skipper and crew with the best aggregate score overall for the series. A payoff to the dedicated effort put into Loama. From an abandoned Couta Boat to a Classic Yacht with winning ways.

From the Classic Fleet of Melbourne. Three cheers and  Salute` Loama.

Another example of what it takes to be a custodian of Classic Yachting. A story we are all personally familiar with. Keeping a Classic Yacht in full racing trim and up to scratch safety wise is no easy task. Without the Association would we do it?

We had a great Summer series. Although our starts and finishes were, occasionally,somewhat irregular for weather reasons, what isn’t irregular is our racing fleet consistently showing their dedication and enthusiasm to the Classic cause by fronting up in good numbers for each race.  This is the principle reason for the high credibility and regard the Association has with all the Port Phillip keel boat clubs and Yachting Victoria. A most important feature for us, particularly when Classic race dates are being decided on.

Although the decision to abandon Sundays Race 8 could have been made the day before, we, the Royals race director and myself put off this decision hoping sea state condition would moderate overnight. In our heart of hearts we knew it would not happen.  After an on- site discussion at Royals on Sunday, up went the Abandon Race signals at 8.00am and out went the message. Immediately after this decision , Richard Gates of Wanita called to report 2 metre seas off Kerford Road and breaking seas were seen at Prince’s Pier. At 10:30 a 33 knot gust hit the area, gear breaking conditions. Kent Bacon of Renene called in from Sandringham supporting the decision. He was all prepared for his first sail after a big break and the after series BBQ and social catch up. What can you do? Live to fight another day that’s what you do.

The Summer Series aggregate points and the points status of the Marie Louise III consistency trophy are attached. Obviously no change to the ML III Trophy since the Race 7 results. This trophy will be decided on the results of the 2014 Winter Series.

It’s goodbye to our 2012/2013 Summer Series. For awhile, the idea of completing a series with 8 races seemed a possibility, but not to be. It’s now up to the weather for our 2013 Winter Series to see if we manage 8 races.  Two great sights for our 2012/2013 Summer Series was seeing Fairwinds II  and a continually strong Tumlare fleet racing with us. The most notable feature of the series was the continual improvement in the racing quality of all our Classic fleet.

The 2013 Winter Series Notice of Race and Series entry form are attached. No entry price rise at this time.  Let’s see how you go with the PDF entry form. It will allow fields to be filled in by activation of the sign option at the top of the form.  I’ve asked people about some variations to our H series of course. All made positive comments. Let’s see what can be done within the restrictions we sail under.

Next weekend is the Queenscliff Regatta. Members wishing to sail as crew in this event on the Saturday let me know. I’m taking my Alwyn down on Friday as part of the Classic Fleet. I’m also looking for Saturday crew.

The big event on our horizon is the Cup Regatta November 1 to 4. Your exec. team is working on ways to make the Regatta a must do event.

So that’s all till our 2014 Winter Series. 1^st race May 5. I’m looking forward to seeing Tina of Melbourne racing with us.

Thanks for all the support during the 2012/2013 Summer Series.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA Handicapper

Results

2013 CYAA Winter Series NOTICE OF RACE

2013 CYAA Winter Series Entry Form

Dear Skippers and Crews of the Classics  2013 Summer Series,

Race 8, a pursuit race, to be conducted by the Race Director of Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, David LeRoy. starting from the Royals marina with Group 1 start set for a 10:30 am start.

The attachments have the group start times of all entrants and the associated Race 8 (Pursuit) sailing instructions.

A short reminder to skippers there will be no race committee radio recall if a starter is OCS.  A 10% on course elapsed time penalty will be employed in lieu.

The process used to allocate each entrant a Race 8 group start time, which in theory should have all starters arriving together at the finish, is based on a complex spread sheet formula. Handicaps based on Race 7 results plus the forecast on water conditions are part of this formula. All this is an objective challenge to the sharpened pencil of the Handicapper , who you all know and love.

With 7 races completed for the series, a worst score drop from one race will form part of the series aggregate points score.

One entrant that won’t make the Race 8 start is Scimitar. She’s again been on the receiving end of a combination of marina pen circumstances that resulted in mast damage. Identical story to what she received two years ago. Damian and Andrew Purcell, leaders the enthusiastic Scimitar team, are not happy about this unexpected challenge, but, they and their team will be back for our Winter Series.

While we have the sads with the Scimitar news, we also have the big news to look out for Tina of Melbourne taking the fleet on in Race 8. Tina, with skipper Andy Doolan, all being well on the crew availability issue, will be with us for Race 8 and our 2013 Winter Series. With Tina of Melbourne racing against Boambillee and Mercedes III, the three most important yachts from the era when Australian Offshore yachting people took on the world and won, our Classic fleet’s unique world class status is enhanced. The most successful yachts from all era’s of Australia’s Classic Yachting consistently racing together is a noted strength of the Association’s Melbourne fleet. This claim could soon be hollow. Frances is dangerously close to leaving Port Phillip.

Our friends at the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club are managing the Queenscliff Regatta Race entry process. Close of dates for race entry and off water functions very soon.

While not wanting to distract from the Race 8 count down , documentation for our 2014 Winter Series has been prepared. The Notice of Race and Entry will be sent out next week and installed on our web site.

We live in hope the Sundays weather stays on our side to allow a fair chance to all as the series points aggregate is very close.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA Handicapper

Race 8 March 17 (Pursuit) Sailing Instructions (RYCV)

Race 8 Group Start Times

Tina of Melbourne