Passion X

A view of The Red Hand which we saw for longer than usual.

After a couple of abandoned races in one week the wind returned in force on Wednesday and it was a pity that there was only three of the regular crew available for the day. The lure of warmer weather in Queensland and some serious Laser competition was too much for two crew and ailments kept three others off the water. Fortunately a Friday crew volunteered for double duty and made our total up to four for the RANSA race.
With a forecast of 20 knots rising to 25 late in the day we set sail with a reef in the main and the 110% jib. Strictly speaking if it is 110% it should probably be called a genoa but I will leave you to research that fine point of sailing terminology.
We started with the big boys and I do mean the big boys as we had Duende and Wild Thing in front and The Red Hand behind. We had discussed our tactics beforehand and had intended to let all the big boys zoom past to give us clear air but they would not go away. For a long time we held our own and had to change course to avoid Wild Thing’s stern ten minutes up the track. What kept us up with the faster yachts was a better path through the gusts including pulling the jib out to windward and sailing a little over square Laser style in the gusts to keep us in the wind.
Eventually when we were all on port gybe they pulled away so we could concentrate on staying in front of Blue Chip and Marloo.
We were a bit pleased with ourselves to manage to round the Cannai Point mark ahead of Blue Chip despite the reef in the main. With a full crew we might have left the reef until the downwind mark and had a bigger gap.
On the upwind leg the two genoa trimmers manned the windward rail and we set out to keep up with Blue Chip. For a short time we appeared to be be losing less ground than usual and it seemed Marloo was taking longer to catch us. I was feathering into the big gusts and the top of the main was reversing giving us noticeable righting moment but we did lay over in the gusts more than I can recall on any other occasion.
At the finish I timed Marloo across the line and thought we had a chance of beating her but a late knock and a line angled downwind from the finish boat meant a longer work to the line and a late tack to clear the pin.
With that I thought we might have been last on handicap but was pleased to find that only Blue Chip and Marloo had beaten us and we pulled back one point on the massive lead Duende has in the series.
A big thanks to the crew for one of the most exciting days on the Harbour this season.
Today the new boom was at Joe Walsh Rigging and I have unwrapped it and already cut the partial sleeve that will go inside the boom at the block hanger position. The partial sleeves fit nicely and should do the job along with the larger section higher moments. The photos show the first partial sleeve sitting inside the boom section from which it was cut. Subsequently the second partial sleeve was cut from the balance of the section leaving just the bottom track and top of the section as waste.

The partial sleeve sitting inside the remainder of the section from which it was cut.

Another view of the partial sleeve sitting inside the section from which it was cut.

We have made some progress with Passion X but in the absence of breeze on Sunday we had no excitement. First the bowsprit has been fitted and it fits well. Second we have hoisted the asymmetric spinnaker in the new sock and that works well too. Third we have gybed the asymmetric spinnaker on the outside which is a first for most of the crew and skill in this is a must for heavier breezes. That was all Sunday’s progress before and after the abandoned race.
With all my urgent household chores completed including pruning the roses the first mate agreed to help with some maintenance on Passion X. It was a sunny day and an ideal one to upgrade the remaining Spinlock pulleys on the deck organizers. The rest of the plastic ones had started to fail and last Wednesday we had to put the main halyard into the second reef slot . With 25 knots forecast for tomorrow the second reef is a must so out came the twenty bolts and the last six plastic sheaves changed to alloy. While we were tied up to the Greenwich Flying Squadron pontoon we attended to some deck leaks by withdrawing the offending bolts and refilling the holes with Sikaflex. That process uses up a lot of disposable gloves and is a good one to have finished. I am sure we will find a few more over time but for now all we could see are done.
The next big job will be replacing the boom when the new and better larger section arrives but for now it is ready for sailing including topping up the diesel and a few litres of water into the almost empty tanks.

Before closing off on this blog I want to add a bit of technical information about the network at home. Now that I have all the files stored on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) I can create the blog from any of three computers in the house. I just need to pick the cosiest spot and start typing.

The new bowsprit on Passion X looks the part

Passion X being weighed at Woolwich Dock

Passion X weighed in a little over 5,000 kg which was quite a bit more than the 4,600 kg I was expecting. Our ORCi Club certificate currently has a weight of 4,306 kg which means we will get the rating benefit of the extra 700 kg of weight and it will be interesting to see what that figure will be. So the good news is that the rating will improve quite a bit and the extra weight that has gone into the hull will ensure a long life for Passion X.
The bad new is that the speed targets on our ORCi Club certificate will be superseded with lower targets and the exciting 12.25 knots in 20 knots of breeze will not be realized.
I have a copy of a trial certificate for Black Cat, the 38 ft prototype of our Didi 40 Cr which shows a weight of 5,285 kg and a rating of 1.03. it is only a trial certificate and while the true weight of Black Cat may be 4,500 kg the trial certificate is based on the stated weight. If we plug in our 5,000 kg, increased hull overhang, more sail area and deeper keel we are going to get a figure higher than 1.03 but less than the 1.11 we have at present.
On the other hand we have to declare the larger spinnaker which may off set some of the improved handicap from the higher confirmed weight.

Of course we know that it is very hard to get all things equal especially when it comes to rating systems for yachts. Today with very helpful crew I was preparing Passion X for weighing for IRC and ORCi. To do this we needed to remove all the sails and loose items from the yacht. After two and a half hours we had removed most of the required equipment except for regulation safety gear that will be unloaded at dock side tomorrow.
The gear unloaded can be seen in the photo stacked up in the Greenwich Flying Squadron overnight. While the photo of the removed gear is impressive even more impressive is the photo showing the water line with the ship in light mode. Based on the water line I am guessing that we have removed 400 kg of sails and equipment and water. The water tanks were reading empty long before the pump stopped pumping so I guess there could have been 100 kg of water so that still leaves 300 kg for the equipment.
Again I am guessing that the sails and battens are 140 kg as we have three jibs, three spinnakers and a heavy main but that still leaves 160 kg of gear. At this stage we still have the Cat 7 anchor and rode on board and some mooring ropes.
Perhaps for the winter we should remove all the category 4 gear which included a separate set of life jackets, harnesses, tethers, man over board gear etc, etc, etc.
Now this gets back to all things being equal as the rating system only accounts for the unladen weight of the yacht so every item of comfort or safety on board is dead weight. As light as the melamine kitchen ware may be perhaps it is too heavy. Do we need so many knives and forks before the next offshore cruise? Should the spare blanket, and wet weather gear be removed for the winter?
None of this matters if we race a performance handicap system and have the same gear on the yacht from week to week. It only matters if we want to race IRC or ORCi and we get no allowance for cruising comfort or more durable (read heavier) sails.
Tomorrow is weighting day and we will see how our handicap improves.

Some of the gear removed from Passion X prior to weighing.

The water marks on the waterline show how much higher Passion X floats with the gear removed. There is probably another 40 kg to go before weighting.

A real close look at Passion X’s waterline

Last Wednesday the RANSA race was cancelled for lack of breeze. on the plus side we did get the mainsail back on Passion X and had a little beat to windward before the race was cancelled. Our three knots to windward in the light winds was not enough to convince the starters and it was a good call to send the fleet home. Our race around the islands on Friday with the Balmain Club was a slow event but we managed a lap of the course for a third place finish and managed to keep our nose in front of the Sydney 36 despite the best efforts of the Sydney Ferry to block our path to the finish line.

Saturday was a bonus sailing day with Kevin and Sue and Ian on Brisbane Waters. The light winds were enough to get us around the course but made for tricky conditions with many big gains and losses to be enjoyed or bemoaned as the case may be. Kevin’s Ross 780 beat the Adams X around the course while on Sunday in Passion X we could only beat two out of three of the Adams X’s.

Glassy water behind the crew of Kevin’s Ross 780

Sunday was a windy West Harbour Winter Series race and despite a losing a minute at the start we performed well. The 22 knots we saw before the start encouraged us to keep one reef in the main for the whole race while some of our smaller competitors braved the course with full mains. To our delight we held our ground downwind with the reef and pointed well in the flat water. A few hardy souls tried spinnakers but there were less and less on display as the race progressed.
I was pleased with the result on handicap as we had not performed so well in breeze on previous occasions. This time we finished mid fleet on PHS and were not last on ORCi. Allowing for the minute we lost at the start we would have been mid fleet on ORCi and I still expect this rating to reduce when Passion X is weighed.
I think the flat water assisted in managing the stronger breeze as I was able to feather into the gusts and still keep speed with great height. I have not been able to do this on the Wednesday races with a lot of the tacking in waves coming through the Sydney Heads.
We are on schedule to have Passion X weighed next Tuesday and will soon see what happens to our ORCi rating.
In other news Passion has been sold and while it was sad to see such a good yacht go we cannot be fleet owners. I hope the new owner gets as much pleasure as we have had from her.

On a wet and windy Wednesday there were only three starters in the Division 1s and five in the Division 1 who braved the conditions. We were not alone on the harbour as Prince Harry and assorted local dignitaries braved the awful conditions to promote the Invictus games and full credit to every one of them.
I had hoped that the 20 knot forecast breeze would swing to the east and give us a tight reach home but it was not to be so for another week we had a broad reach to the mark off Cannai Point and a solid slog home in wind and waves. With only a J133 and a TP 52 for competition it could have been a lonely trip but we held close to the J133 on the downwind leg and then let them get away another seven minutes on the windward leg home. We had some very nice tacking angles on the way home due in part to feathering the rig with the No 3 genoa and a reefed main into the breeze and in part to tacking on the knocks. We were hemmed in on the north side of the Sow and Pigs for a while but had a reasonable leg back to the southern shore.
While we always expected to be last on handicap the surprise was how close were the results. Passion X was only 45 seconds behind the second placed Duende. I had thought out on the water that we did well relative to them on the downwind leg and perhaps leaving the full main up until the turn was a good move so our 1.04 handicap is not too far off the mark and will be better next week at 1.035.
We are also closer to getting our ORCi Club rating adjusted and an IRC ratings as a weigh in is scheduled for the next fortnight. This might be a bitter sweet experience as a confirmation of the 1.11 rating will tell us we need to lift our game a lot and a much lower rating will tell us that our speed potential is not so stellar. During the construction of Passion X and tweaking of the design parameters with Dudley Dix I was aiming for a performance close to J122 yacht of 1.05 which is what the then fastest 40 ft yacht at Greenwich Flying Squadron was rated at. Since then Dump Truck came along with a 1.08 rating.
the best of both worlds would be a 1.08 rating and we crew on Passion X learning to sail at that level. It is also the rating of the Sydney 38 Blue Chip and its ilk and we have not beaten then yet.

Nice tacking angles in circa 20 knots kept us close to the fleet on handicap

What a beautiful day to go sailing! Sunny skies and a light breeze made for a most enjoyable afternoon for the West Harbour Winter Series. After the last scheduled race two weeks ago was abandoned for lack of wind the starter took the precaution to set the short courses so we had just over 100 minutes on the course.
We lined up for a start at the boat end and a long way back so when a big header came we had to tack back to preserve our position. Then the breeze died and left us a minute short of the line. At least we were free to tack at the line and make up half of our deficit by the first mark. Most of the legs of the course were tight reaches or hard on the wind but we set the big yellow spinnaker on the two short square legs and held out the genoa on another short square leg.
On the first tight reach we caught lot of yachts whose skippers were trying to fly spinnakers while we chose to two sail reach. This was the pattern for the rest of the race so that by the finish we had moved up to second fastest but a long way behind the MD 35. Our eighth place on handicap out of a fleet or 15 finishers was encouraging and we were not last on ORC scoring.
There is room for improvement. The one minute lost at the start could be avoided and we can be faster with the spinnaker hoists. One drop we left until we had gybed and that made it harder to control and pull down the sock. A Quick drop on the square run would have saved a few more seconds. Potentially there was one place we could have saved on ORC and two places on PHS.

There was a few short windward works and the angles on two of these were something spectacular so perhaps there is also ground to lose a few places.

Some very good tacking angles on two of the short windward works

We scored a fourth place in the windy RANSA Winter Wednesday race this week due to the non appearance of the larger yachts in the fleet and gear trouble on Blue Chip. I would like to say that we went faster for this result and to some extent that is true. With a reef in the main and the No3 genoa set we were first of the small trio in the fleet to the bottom mark. We don’t expect to keep pace with a TP52 in any conditions and we did not but we did beat Blue Chip and Sorcerer on the windy running leg. At the turn for the beat home we put a second reef in the main and settled down for the long slog. Even with two reefs we were overpowered and the X-Yachts 442 Sorcerer which is twice our weight and had twice as much ballast was just too powerful into the wind and waves. Blue Chip looked to draw away well but had trouble with a genoa and changed down to a nice No 4 jib. After the change they were quick and so quick that we failed to catch them. Their delay did however put a big enough dent in their elapsed time for us to beat them on handicap.
I thought we sailed well for our weight and would be happy if it was not for the ORCi velocity predictions which say we should match Sorcerer and Blue Chip to windward. Perhaps we are still too overpowered with the No 3 genoa and as a result have the main flogging too much and creating too much drag but if anything Blue Chip with one reef and Sorcerer with none did better in the light area around Shark Island.
Looking at our performance against Blue Chip over five races and Sorcerer over four races we appear to be averaging about 1.03 rating compared to our ORCi of 1.11.
We did well in the one light air race and could easily add a light air No 1 Genoa to the wardrobe to improve that performance and a heavy air No 4 jib might give us a couple of minutes in the stronger breeze but I struggle to see where we can make up 8 minutes to sail to our rating.

We had our first win at the Balmain Friday afternoon race today. It helped that the early starters in the pursuit format had little breeze but by the time we started the breeze had filled in. The light air with not a lot of hard windward work suited us and we sailed to about a 1.05 to 1.06 rating. It is still a long way off the 1.11 ORCi rating but it is reassuring to beat the Sydney 36 Cr.
Without the pressure of a lot of tacking it was a good day to introduce a new crew member to the boat. There was however enough wind at the finish to get the leeward rail into the water and give the new crew member a proper baptism.

Our fourth race in the Division 1s at RANSA was disappointing as after our first place last week we were back to our usual place of last this week. It was the second race of the series where the breeze was strong enough to use the No 3 genoa and we stacked the rails with all the crew available but were still outclassed on the windward works.
In these conditions where we are the lightest and shortest water line length in the fleet we cannot expect to be as fast to windward but we did improve a little on our first race of the series with the same genoa.
Relative to the fleet in that first race we picked up two minutes on Marloo and four minutes on Blue Chip around the course.
At the finish we were three minutes behind Sorcerer and over the three races they have contested we are on average only 10 seconds per race behind so we will have to hope for more light air races.
To be honest I would prefer more heavy air races so we can work out how to get the most out of Passion X in heavy air beating and I am still looking forward to a good 25 knot breeze where we can see if the light weight works down wind.
Today’s race was inside out as we had the light airs on the run to Cannai Point and the fresher breeze on the work home.

Today was the West Harbour Winter series so a large fleet of yachts of all sizes assembled for the start only to be caught between breezes. After a long delay the starters called it a day so we decided to do some spinnaker drill. Our decision to stay on the water and practice was rewarded when the southerly winds prevailed and filled in across what would have been our course.
In very pleasant sunny conditions we practiced three hoists and drops of the spinnaker using the spinnaker sock or snuffer. We managed to stuff it down the front hatch and rehoist without any twists and at the end of the day I was able to fold the spinnaker inside the sock into the bag ready for relaunch. In the one day we doubled our experience with the spinnaker snuffer and found a few points we need to observe for effective operations.
In the very light breeze there was not enough wind to blow the snuffer mouth to leeward so we had to be careful it did not catch between the mast and the forestay. Also the friction between the genoa and the snuffer mouth is significant and we had to raise the sock with the sock aft of the genoa. A few simple things like these made light of the work and built our confidence for stronger winds.
In the relaxed non racing mode we tried different roles on the boat and enjoyed and early finish for the afternoon.

Practising hoisting the spinnaker snuffer

The speed generated by the spinnaker brought the apparent wind well forward

A close look at the big yellow spinnaker

The Friday afternoon race at Balmain Yacht Club is a good time to practice boat handling skills and sail setting. The small fleet and pursuit format means we can concentrate on sail trim and boat handling.
Today the winds were under ten knots which seems to be our sweet spot. We set the halyards a little softer so the flow was further back in the sails and on reaches sheeted the genoa to the rail. These small changes seemed to work and I estimate we sailed to around a rating of 1.07 similar to Wednesday.
The rain held off for the afternoon and only a light drizzle appeared after we crossed the finish line.
It was another good practice day and a pleasing result but we did not get the forecast stronger winds that we need for stronger wind practice.

Today in ideal, for us, conditions we clawed our way out of the trenches and made a few yards into enemy territory. The upside of the more competitive position was a win on handicap by a few seconds.
The breeze for today’s RANSA Winter Wednesday race was a six to ten knot from the North East and the excitement started right at the beginning. We lined up in almost perfect position on the wind angle aiming off the transom of the start boat and crossed the line powered up and in clear air. Blue Chip started too high and had no where to go but stall and go behind our stern which put then in dirty air from the start.
The tactics for working the long starboard boards and short port ones to the top mark was to sail into the headers and do short tacks back. As I was keen to test our boat speed against Blue Chip I tried to stay between her and the windward mark. Marloo broke ranks and took a long port tack out where they picked up stronger lifting wind so they appeared to be well ahead. We were however able to point up into the lifting breeze while they had to bear away so we arrived at the same time but ahead of Blue Chip and Sorcerer.
On the reach back to Steele Point we sailed alongside Marloo all the way to the Rose Bay mark.
Blue Chip went wider around Steele Point and made up a bit of ground and on the run to Point Piper they brought fresh wind down with them so that we were three wide at the turn at Point Piper to the shortened course finish line to windward.
We took their sterns and their dirty air and let them slip away from us at the finish. At this stage I think the wind was fresher and that accounted for their better performance to windward on the last short beat.
I was pleased with out windward working in the lighter breezes and need to work out how to remain competitive as the wind strength picks up. We were not overpowered on the beat to the finish but we seemed to be a bit slower and lower in that fresher breeze. It would have been nice to have had clear air and sail in the same breeze as we had on the first beat.
It was a close win on handicap but a win is a win and we take it graciously and hope the handicap gods are kind to us.

Post race I received two photos from a crew member who joined the ship in Walsh Bay. One shows how sensitive Passion X is to crew weight as with all the crew in the cockpit the bow is out of the water.

Thankfully this big yacht was just passing through and not joining the race

Long starboard beats and short port ones to the top mark.

Passion X with bow out of the water. We need to watch the crew weight distribution.

Passion X reversing in to pick up crew in Walsh Bay

In the past week I have sailed four times and enjoyed the time on the water as well as the fine Autumn weather that is characteristic of Sydney. On the four days we had enough breeze for to sail the full courses but not enough to tax the skill of the crews. Last Sunday was the West Harbour Winter series, Wednesday was the RANSA Winter Wednesday Series, Friday was the Balmain Friday afternoon series and today was the Gosford Sailing Club Winter series. The first three were sailed on Passion X while the Gosford race today was sailed on Kevin’s Avanti a speedy Ross 780. In these mixed fleet races it is great to see a wide range of designs do well and boats of the 1980’s beating modern designs. Our visit to Balmain for their Friday afternoon series was our first but hopefully not our last. For the day the crew was Elaine, Ron and myself with an average age over 70 so we were quite pleased to keep close to Another Planet with five on board. They pulled away a bit on the works but we managed to pull back the deficit on the run down Snails Bay. We were able to sail by the lee with the genoa poled out to windward and then gybe the main leaving the genoa poled to leeward and later gybe the main back again with the genoa now back out to windward. With the small crew and with out speed better at a higher angle this was quicker than trying to pole out to windward on each gybe. We have done this to advantage on twilight races and I am inclined to use this technique more often now that we have a hull that enjoys higher angles. We were pretty well side by side until the last run when we were pinned by leeward yachts into the wind shadow of the islands while Another Planet was ahead and able to sail a wider course. It was a good afternoon and some much needed time on the helm. Today at Gosford Kevin’s boat is well sorted out with a nice square topped main and with the overlapping genoa it enjoys a good turn of speed with just a light breeze. It felt good to finish ahead of a Match 38 and an Adams 10.

Sunset on a Sydney Autumn day

Avanti after the race waiting for high tide