Next Passion
With at least three days a week gained from not being able to move more than 5km from home there is a lot of time to be filled with new activity.
Like many in the same situation Elaine and I have been exploring every street and detour in our district. In the process we are passing neighbours doing the same circuits in reverse. We are very fortunate that we live in a leafy suburb which up to now has been free of the virus and we hope it stays that way.
The daily walks are an opportunity do the permitted shopping and to get the take away coffee so the cars are getting very little use, the yard is getting cleaned up and the house is getting a little attention.
Outside of these limited activities I have been negotiating the design of the new yacht and attending doing a little boatbuilding.
On Passion X the winch bases were formed inside your standard household bucket and then glassed into the cockpit coamings. Punting on a similar arrangement I have laminated up four winch bases out of epoxy glass. The epoxy is more difficult to work than the polyester used on Passion X but with a little patience it lays up well. On the positive side the working time is longer but not by a huge margin. Each winch base has ten layers of glass adding up to 6 mm solid laminate with the base reinforced with a 9 mm plywood insert. Each base weighs 1.45 kg and will be heavier once laminated to the 12 mm plywood coaming.
The first winch base was done to completion so that I could check the finished product before mass production. The production three took three hours a day over four days to complete excluding the time waxing the buckets with mould release. It is a bit like baking a cake and there is quite a bit of satisfaction seeing the finished product come out of the mould.
One of our household jobs was getting a Council clean up and in the clean up out went the moulds from the wings on the original Passion. They were beautifully finished and gleaming with mould release wax but they had to go to make room for the next Passion.
On the new yacht I expect the cabin profile will be similar to Passion X and while the Naval architect has told me to wait I have pressed ahead with laminating beams.
Like taking laminates out of moulds, laminating beams has its own pleasure. The meranti layers of the beam have been cut from two different planks and then end for ended to ensure that any variability in the quality is not concentrated in one place. Then the formwork for the clamping has to be adjusted for the spring back that occurs when release from the clamps. In my case an extra 10 mm of deflection had to be built into the approximately 2 metre arc of the beams. By trial and error I found a radius that gave the required extra deflection over the 2 metre length and look forward to seeing if the spring back does bring it back to the exact designed curvature. The other trick with laminating beams is that the ends will not conform to the arc so the beam has to be formed over a longer arc than the finished product and the straight at the end lopped off.
When all these things work out well the beams are a sight to behold as well as being incredibly strong.
What a disaster for New South Wales today with another record number of Covid Delta cases and no sign of a tempering in the transmission rate. I don’t blame anyone but the virus itself as it has skillfully mutated from a manageable infection to an insidious sneaky version. One could not think of a more sinister plot than to mutate in this way so that all the lessons learn from the first wave prove useless in the second. Who would have thought that the Hermit Kingdom of Western Australia would prove to have the best strategy and all the compassionate jurisdictions proved to have a failed approach. Now I think the old adage that you have to be cruel to be kind is reasserting itself and will be etched in the minds of the citizenry after this is all over.
In this new age of isolation I need a new hobby to take my mind off the world as there has to be more than life than waking up late in the morning and waiting for Gladys to deliver the daily dose of bad news. In the absence of a new hobby I have turned to an old one and committed to building another yacht. This had been a thought lurking in the back of my mind and I was actively exploring ways to supercharge Passion X. After professional advice we settled on a new deeper keel at 2.7 metres draft and 300 kg heavier. That needed a larger fat head main to push it along in the light breeze and a plumb bow for more waterline length. Thinking of the cost of those options I decided that a new boat was a better option.
My initial thinking was for a leisurely design development and a phased construction so that when Passion X was ten years old I would have a new yacht to launch.
The Covid 19 Delta variety has changed all that and I am now looking to lurch headlong into a building process for something to do if this pandemic proves to be an enduring phenomena.
The specification for a new build was to be within the 40 ft limit for Greenwich Flying Squadron but with longer water line, wider beam, deeper draft and more weight on the keel. The original idea for the rig was to have something like the Sydney 38 but after the design consultation process I have opted for a taller genoa and slightly taller mast to avoid the need for a fat head main.
Initially I wanted to keep the draft to 2.6 metres with the extra beam providing more stability but that did not work out so I think it will be the same specification as the keel proposed to be added to Passion X. That is 2.7 metres draft and 2300 kg weight.
It is early in the design process with version D or is it E under development. Unlike Passion X the radius chine will have a variable radius and give an appearance even more like a production yacht. The V of the bottom will taper off at the transom where the wide boarding platform of Passion X will be sacrificed to the speed gods and added in front of the bow for the same overall length and longer J.
It is too early to share shapes with you but I am getting excited about the project which under the circumstances is a very good thing. Last time I had a boat to build it was great for my general level of fitness and weight control so I am hoping to shed some Covid Kilos in the next few years.
In anticipation of the project starting soon I have ordered almost the whole Australian supply of high quality marine plywood which is in transit as we speak but I cannot start anything until the design is finalised. Perhaps I will see something in a few weeks
In the meantime you can wonder at my stupidity or envy my determination. It’s your choice.
After an incredibly long run of good luck with the Covid 19 virus in Sydney our luck seems to have come to an abrupt stop with the announcement of 44 local cases today and an increase in isolation measures. So while I usually look at the weather forecast to see how the sailing will be now I am not sure where to look.
After a disappointing result sailing ultra light in Wednesday I loaded Passion X up with at least 400 litres of fresh drinking water to establish a decent bow down trim and provide some low down weight in lieu of a lot of crew on the rail. The aim was to set the full genoa and reef the main if the winds blew up but pre race it blew up to over 20 knots and not a little cowardice crept in. For sure the crew were willing accomplices in this public show of reserve as we hanked on the No 3 genoa for the day.
Pre race the breeze held up so as we started a minute in front of Maxishambles we handled the windward beat well, not losing any ground and claiming our first victim racing with a reefed main at Snapper Island.
Presently the breeze dropped out to seven knots with the very occasional puff up to eleven and the little poled out No 3 genoa was doing her best.
Deliciously we had eight more minutes of the strong breeze than Avalon but suffered from three minutes less wind than Odyssey so Maxishambles and Passion X had a large part of the western harbour all to ourselves.
At this point Maxishambles did a pretty decent change up to a big light air genoa without losing much ground and then proceeded to draw away for a good half minute lead around Goat Island.
We did not negotiate Goat Island well and I put that down to both being under canvassed and under height compared to Maxishambles. Despite these drawbacks we stayed in touch all the way back to Spectacle Island .
The last run home was pretty quiet and so much so that Odyssey and a group of yachts were stationary at the ferry wharf looking like they could be our next victims. Luckily for them the breeze picked up before we arrived and they had a clear finish some four minutes ahead and almost a minute faster around the course.
So we did about three minutes better on Avalon than usual and three minutes worse than usual on Odyssey but what does that prove. Our trial of the extra weight in the water tanks was completely destroyed by the cruel breeze that sprung up pre race and then died mid race. Only Avalon could claim to be more sorely done by and we sympathise with them trailing the fleet for the day.
In response to a fairly large increase in handicap I opted to remove all the surplus sails from Passion X before the Winter Wednesday race at RANSA.
If you ask me “How did that go?” I would have to reply “Not so good.”
I had observed a characteristic of sailing Passion X that she seems to like to have her bow down and her flat, fat stern out of the water in light air but I have yet to work out what is the transition wind strength.
Today we started well in nine knots but dropped off the pace at one stage when the breeze died. That had repercussions as we dropped back into dirty air and never recovered. At the top mark we were a couple of minutes behind our usual pacemakers but not too damaged so we went of in chase of Allegro, Amante, Crosshaven, Monkey Magic, Leeward and Meridian with our genoa poled out. By Steele Point we were right on Allegro’s stern but had Philosopher and all the above mentioned yachts outside. For a brief moment we pulled level and even got ahead but on the approach to Rose Bay Philosopher got her bow inside our stern and Leeward inside Philosopher. We had to go so wide that by the time we had room to gybe Allegro, Crosshaven, Meridian and Amante were well gone and we were in the dirty air of Leeward and Philosopher. We reached away from Philosopher only to have her steam up at the Point Piper mark and get another inside overlap.
The reach home was no less painful as we were in the slipstream of Leeward and Philosopher and despite going low for clear air could not break the cover and Monkey Magic also held us out to the finish.
Apart from Joli and Agrovation, Britannia had a good day beating us on scratch and pulling off second on handicap while Amante also suffering from the handicappers wrath from last week just managed to finish in front of Passion X so we both had a drop.
What made the day even more disappointing was the time gap to Agrovation and Joli who had charmed results. With a 2, 1, 3 out of the last four races Agrovation must be in the handicappers frame for next week.
Fidelis must have been disappointed that the promised reach to the top mark turned into a hard beat and Crackerjack must be wondering where all the winter fresh breezes in which she revels went.
So now all the gear in back on board stuffed under the V berth where it keeps the bow down and I will not be trying that again for a while.
Saturday was a miserable day in Sydney with winds on the harbour gusting to 40 knots. Even inland at Gosford the conditions were inclement so we pulled the plug on the Saturday racing and hoped for the best for Sunday.
Considering the forecasts we did get the best. The rain mostly cleared and the wind abated so much that we set the No 1 heavy genoa and a full main. Near the start the wind picked up but as no other yacht had a reef we decided to soldier on.
Elaine is away in Perth having just escaped from the latest Covid 19 restrictions and Kevin was off sailing Lasers at the 50th year celebration at Double Bay. For the West Harbour Winter Series I could not afford another drop so we sailed with just four on board with the objective of having a safe sail first, finishing and perhaps getting a little way up the fleet.
On the beat to Snapper Island we chose to go all the way to the Balmain shore to avoid the tacking duels out mid stream but that did not work and they were not about to give an inch. As a result we were forced to tack into the moored yachts and wait for the starboard tackers to tack away. While it cost us a lot of time we did manage to back out of the hole without starting the motor and resume racing even it meant taking more sterns as we had lost so much ground.
Having achieved no 1 objective of having a safe race we set off to see if we could go better than just that.
A gust of wind from behind on the reach past Spectacle Island brought us up to Odyssey but no further and as she unfurled her masthead Code Zero right on the mark we thought it was goodbye. Without a spinnaker we reached down the course until we cleared Clarke Point and squared away. With the genoa held out to windward we did surprisingly well on the short leg and rounded the Woolwich mark heading off to Goat Island.
Ahead we could see Maxishambles suffering light air off of Long Nose so we opted to go even wider and thus passed Odyssey.
To our surprise the speedy MD35 was behind having either had spinnaker troubles of missed a mark but whatever the cause we were pleased for such speedy company and to have a good yardstick to gauge or performance.
The next leg of interest was rounding Long Nose and beating to the mark off of Cockatoo Island. At least that is where the mark was until Balmain Tiger decided it was in the wrong place and relocated it down the course half way to Woolwich. As we had already worked up to the line of the yachts we gained nothing while it was another thing for Another Planet who avoided a tack or two and rounded ahead along with a group of fleet 2 yachts. With superior boat speed, or was it just the wind direction, we passed the lower fleet and rounded the Woolwich mark for a beat into the unknown. We read the course in the sailing instructions while the fleet read the course in the attached map diagram but we opted to follow the fleet around Cockatoo Island to Snapper mark. This was a challenging work with the MD 35 getting a break and clear air while Another Planet picked out a lift along the Cockatoo Island shore and caught and passed us. Now that was disappointing but it gave us a target to get back that lost ground.
All the while Bear Necessity was threatening from behind and as the fleet in front rounded the mark off Spectacle Island for the last run we could see spinnakers popping out everywhere. We did not have the crew or the courage to fly one and were pleased that Another Planet was equally cautious. In a master move we held out the genoa to windward and ran hard to the Hunters Hill shore so that we could come back on a tighter angle and it worked a treat. Getting clear air of Another Planet was a bonus as the breeze shifted around to nullify their blanketing attempts.
From Woolwich it was home to the finish line and here we had Another Planet tucked away so well that they tacked away.
At the finish the Far East 28 with the courage to set spinnakers and the Flying Tiger, not the one that dragged the mark, took first and second from Another Planet 30 seconds of corrected time in front of Passion X. In between was Maxishambles and Magic who both gained considerably from our troubles on the first windward work.
Our sixth place was a very pleasing result for the crew of four on a challenging day and we finished only 3 seconds in front of Bear Necessities so were well rewarded for our efforts.
On the progress scores we are two points behind the leader Ophir and one point behind equal second Another Planet and Magic
The breeze from the North East came in over an hour earlier than forecast so pre race we were enjoying 7 knots. Right on the start the breeze faded and shifted north so that the pin was favoured but so short was the line the pin advantage was marginal. Opting for room to tack we started on the boat end and tacked away as soon as we had room. That was a good move as the fleet was pinching up the line and seemed not to have dropped back to a close haul course on the start gun. On port and with freedom to sail a fast lane we were soom pulling ahead of the fleet. Agrovation tacked over to starboard crossed our bow and went to the windward side from where she eventually worked out ahead. Amanti tried to go over the top but I moved into height mode and managed to sail out from under until they too tacked away on starboard. Once we were headed we too tacked away to be careful to stay with the fleet and stay we did.
Back and forth up the windward work we took our gains and tacked back to cover. Perhaps the one mistake we made was to cross Crosshaven and Amanti at the top mark and then have to reach down to the mark when we could have tacked under and been clear ahead.
Agrovation had stretched her legs well out in front of the fleet while Amanti, Crosshaven, Passion X and Meridian followed in a tight group down the course to Steele Point. Meridian and Amante did best going either side of the course with Amante out wide and Meridian along the shore. We kept taking pressure when we could and managed to round Steele Point alongside Crosshaven. Initially we went low to clear the wind shadow of a bit Div 1s monster and once clear came up a little. Crosshaven in close died a painful death in the wind shadow of the hill while Meridian went even wider than Passion X and reached up from further out to be ahead at Rose Bay. That was possibly pay back from us running past them on the same leg last week so I guess that settles a score.
Over the radio the race officials announced a shortened course at Point Piper and as we crawled along that leg we began to realise why. Crosshaven had fallen further behind as the breeze died and she took the rest of the fleet with her.
Now we were chasing Meridian to keep the gap under our handicap allowance and that we did to the tune of 8 seconds.
So close were the first four yacht on handicap that only 37 seconds separated us but then there was a gap of three minutes to the less fortunate ones who had suffered the dead patch in Rose Bay.
Monkey Magic held on for a fifth place to protect her position at the top of the leader board while Agrovation with a second and Amante with a third pulled further ahead of Meridian and Passion X tied for fourth. Then there is a break of ten points back to Britannia and the consistent Allegro.
For our part we are pleased to pull off a fourth fastest and third on handicap on a day when it was mostly windward working and a quiet run home.
The title is a synopsis of today’s Winter Wedneday race at RANSA and despite the results everyone should be happy for a fresh breeze on a sunny day with a finish before the storm clouds arrived. Indeed at the finish the black clouds over North Sydney looked threatening so we stowed the sails as quickly as possible only to have big bright white cotton wool clouds appear from the South.
Fidelis won the reaching duel to the top mark followed by the Sydney 38 Agrovation or the First 40 Navy One or Amante. We had started on the boat with a better reaching angle but the wind shadow of the fleet was impenetrable. We ran away for clear air when we could and courtesy of ISuper going high we got a bit of clear air and pulled away from Philosopher and Joli. At the mark we were intent on establishing an inside overlap on Monkey Magic and not running up the backside of Meridian or Foreign Affairs. At the turn we were delighted to have pulled clear of ISuper, Philosopher and Joli who all had a share of our wind shadow. Overtaking lanes on the way back to Steele Point were very rare. We went up to get some clear air on Meridian and to stop Allegro running over the top and we did achieve both of these objectives. Despite the clear air Meridian rounded Steele Point ahead and only our tactic of holding out the genoa to windward and running deep into Rose Bay allowed us to reach back just clear ahead of Meridian.
On the work to Point Piper we had Meridian tucked away below and were chasing Foreign Affairs when our only mishap of the day happened. On the tack back to the Point Piper lay line we caught the genoa sheets around the end of the spinnaker pole and had to mark time until the tangle was untangled.
In the delay Meridian popped out ahead but fortunately the delay was not long enough for anyone else to overtake us.
Now we had to follow Foreign Affairs and Meridian around Shark Island. This time the trick of holding out the genoa to windward was not as effective so we turned for home half a minute behind Meridian.
The leg back to the finish line was tight but with a few lifts available most of the fleet did it on one board. Fidelis was an exception and we could see her tack back on port way past the lay line to the finish.
We pinched a lot on this leg thinking that the yachts in front knew something we did not know and were expecting a big header. A really big header did not come so we might have given away a few seconds but when we headed down to fast mode we saw over 8 knots to windward and a VMG of 5.1.
Despite this good speed Joli was gaining from behind and Meridian was pulling away a little.
At the finish we drew with Meridian on handicap and beat Joli by a few seconds.
The silver lining in the results was the different yachts that did well in the conditions. Amante did exceptionally well on fastest times and won on handicap from Fidelis, Navy One and Leeward.
Passion X was back in equal eighth with Meridian just 20 seconds behind Agrovation. Reve was a further eight seconds in front of Agrovation.
Depending on how much time we lost with the genoa sheets tangle around the spinnaker pole we might have been a few places further up the ladder but I am sure everyone had similar issues on the course.
Overall Monkey magic with their big drop for today are in the lead from Amante, Agrovation, Meridian and Passion X. No feasible result would have had us further up the ladder than one place so we are pleased with our day’s work.
We had one of our better West Harbour Winter Series races today in a breeze that started at seven knots and faded to nothing. The results always look better when your competition is becalmed after you have crossed the finish line but nevertheless we were in front of most of the fleet with a fifth fastest out of thirteen starters.
Our start was particularly good except for the rampaging First 40 that tried to run down the line on top of a fleet of yachts half her weight and size. It took a while for them to acknowledge their sins and tack away but once we had clear air we picked the breeze better than most and were third to the top mark.
At this point the big spinnakers come out and while we were contemplating our next move the breeze headed too much for the spinnakers that were already hoisted on the yachts behind. The front of the fleet had already charged down the leg with spinnakers up so they pulled away while we with no spinnaker pulled away from those behind struggling to get up to the mark.
The next leg was pretty square where our oversized big yellow spinnaker works well until the same rampaging First 40 with a giant masthead asymmetric decides to reach at right angles to the course direction.
As leeward boat they have a pretty wide range of options for sailing a proper course but any course at right angles to the next mark would be moot. To be fair the breeze had swung behind so to keep their asymmetric filled they had to sail higher and so we were stuck on starboard with the pole out the port side and the spinnaker pulling us over until they bore away.
At this point the breeze was now square behind and pulling Passion X down the course as fast as the First 40 and the Pogo 36. in the photo you can see Passion X appearing to be squeezed between the above two yachts but it was not that close. The First 40 went deep to have good reaching angles for their asymmetric spinnaker while the Pogo 36 reached up to our line.
With weapons (spinnakers) away we proceeded onto the long work back to Spectacle Island in a fickle breeze. As the breeze faded we worked forwards in the light air relatively better than the Pogo 36 and for the leg held our position or worked out further on the fleet. The exception was Avalon who we held out until we reached the turn mark off Spectacle Island. As Avalon rounded the mark behind Passion X they had their spinnaker flying sooner and promptly caught us well before the next mark off Birkenhead.
With another switch in the breeze what on the last lap was a square run now became a tight two sail reach and a follow the leader home.
After the finish we could take time to look back at the fleet becoming progressively more becalmed ensuring we had a good result for the day.
The forecast fading north west breeze went AWOL well before the start and allowed a sea breeze to settle in at about six knots. The favoured end was switching around in the pre race preparation so we opted for a start on starboard towards the boat but away from the pack. At the start the starboard tack was tending to lift and as we had good boat speed with the rig powered up we held on for as long as possible. Below Philosopher tacked to port and tried to cross where there was insufficient room. The result of us avoiding contact was that we ended in their dirty air needing a bear away to get clear air. Eventually Philosopher tacked away from Bradley Heads so we could follow but on port we drifted down into their dirty air.
Crosshaven went for the Steele Point side and mindful that we had lost out to that side a few weeks ago we followed suite as the shifts allowed. Over on the Vauclause shore we trades places with Philosopher, Meridian, Joli and Crosshaven and on the way passed Monkey Magic, Foreign Affairs and Agrovation who were already running home.
We were the last of our little group to round the top mark and head back to Steele Point. To windward Meridian and Joli had run out of breeze so we stayed square behind Philosopher for the run home. Meridian gybed out to the north and when we took her stern we did wonder how it would work out. Well it did not work out well as the breeze died mid stream and filled in from the Vauclause shore.
Along the run back to Steele Point we kept watching the following fleet for signs of freshening wind. Allegro and Amante were a good guide and we were pleased that they did not make up ground.
Joli rounded Steele Point the first of our group followed by Crosshaven and Philosopher. We went widest of the group and passed Crosshaven but could not get past Philosopher until the mark in Rose Bay. To our good fortune Philosopher stopped just beyond the mark allowing Passion X to pass to windward and from there keep a few metres ahead. Joli pulled out for a small lead amongst our group of four while we had trouble passing a lower division yacht around the Point Piper mark. Learning from past mistakes we kept on heading north from the Point Piper mark to clear the disturbed air as soon as possible. Crosshaven tacked along the shore behind us and allowed us to get a mini break and hold out Philosopher, Crosshaven and Meridian to the finish.
In the dying breeze the front runners took all the silver while the tail enders fell further and further behind in the handicap places.
The first six places went to Monkey Magic, Agrovation, Foreign Affairs, Joli, Passion X and Philosopher while Crackerjack, ISuper, Larrikin and Leeward retired gracefully from the twenty two boat fleet.
At this stage Monkey Magic is blitzing the fleet on points score followed by Britannia, Agrovation and Meridian. Our fifth place brought us up one point behind Meridian into fifth place.
On scratch we are equal sixth with Monkey Magic well behind Agrovation and Foreign Affairs.
For Passion X it was a good race as we concentrated hard all day on keeping moving and at the same time picking the right side of the course. It was a long work from the start to the heads and a shorter run home to the finish line a windward work from Point Piper to the top of Shark Island. While we could not keep up with Agrovation, Monkey Magic and Foreign Affairs in the windward working stakes we did hold our own with the rest of the fleet.
The fickle westerly breeze toyed with the fleet for the first half of the RANSA Winter Wednesday race today before the forecast southerly arrived.
Except for Meridian who established an early lead on the downwind and retained it through all the lulls and puffs the rest of the fleet was tightly bunched. As soon as we were accelerated by a puff we ran into a quiet patch and the fleet from behind caught up. At first the windward yachts did well but eventually those who went hard for the Steele Point shore lifted under the fleet and gained a significant break. Chief amongst those were Crosshaven and Britannia who went on to win the day on handicap.
Almost everyone had a nibble at our heels and Foreign Affairs did more than nibble and sailed straight past.
At the turn we were in company with Navy One, Allegro and ISuper with Larrikin hard on our heels and ready for the long work back to the finish line. At Steele Point we were too close the the rocks requiring two quick tacks to clear the point but we came back clear astern of another division competitor and still had to pinch. In this manoeuvre Allegro, ISuper and Navy One drew ahead enough to be clear in front at the Rose Bay turning mark. As we had a big gap behind we tacked on the mark for clear air but lost on the wind angle which favoured those who held on.
That is about the story of the day. Being back in the fleet because of the downwind leg we never had a clear run at the wind shifts . Around Shark Island we made one last attempt to go wide and catch Allegro and ISuper but could not bridge the gap.
The work to the finish did not present any opportunity to overtake so we ended the day with 10 points for scratch and 12 for handicap. On the progress points we drop to 6th on scratch and 7th on handicap.
While we were disappointed that we did not get the fresh downwind leg we need to have a gap for the beat home we nevertheless pulled out four minutes on Larrikin and finished in the middle of the two First 40’s. Fidelis too must have been disappointed with the anemic downwind leg as they managed to beat only Crackerjack who likes it much fresher upwind and down.
Today we sailed our first race of the West Harbour Winter Series having forsaken the first of the series for a Mothers Day get together. As if to be rewarded for our homage to mothers we started on the pin end and worked into clear air while Avalon behind was stuck in traffic. Far off to windward Odyssey picked up a huge lift and was first into it so she steamed ahead. On our side we enjoyed a tussle with Another Planet at first and then Irukandji next and for our careful wind picking we were rewarded with a spot close to the front of the fleet at the first mark.
Now for the second act of this play we were pretty well becalmed for the run down from Spectacle to Snapper Island and while at first slow with the spinnaker held our own with the ones we would expect to while the slicker crews like Avalon sailed past. At Snapper Island the breeze headed so we were flogging the big mast head symmetrical spinnaker trying to point up above the moored yachts. While we missed the moored yachts the fleet in front which did the leg in more free conditions sailed away into the distance with a huge and somewhat demoralizing lead.
Eventually we capitulated and pulled the sock down over the spinnaker until we reached Long Nose and could bear away.
On the square we went over square for a while to good effect as the wind was so light the mainsail seemed useless while the poled out masthead symmetric spinnaker was doing a good job of pulling us back up the fleet.
Act three was one for redemption as we rounded the mark and after a short flop around in no breeze lifted up from under Omnishambles and took off. From here it was all catching as we had our own fresh southerly breeze that kept trying to fill in to reach the fleet in front but kept getting pushed back. We rode the front of the new breeze all the way up the Hunters Hill shore neither going too close to the Cockatoo Island wind shadow not too low to the old breeze. To our surprise we now close reached past Irukandji and then tightened up for the last stage into the mark.
The final leg to the shortened course finish line was a work up the Drummoyne shore when the last lap had been a run. In this third act we picked every shift to perfection and pulled away a couple of minutes from Irukandji and closed the gap on the front runners by a greatly undeserved margin.
So great was our fortune in this last act of the three act play that we scored fourth on handicap.
As much as I enjoyed the catch up in this race this was the sort of good fortune I would rather save for a heat of the World Laser Masters championships. I hope I don’t sound ungrateful in saying it seems a waste to use up this good fortune on a West Harbour Winter Series
The title says it all but despite that major problem we did manage 11 points for the day out of the regular fleet of 17 starters.
At the start we were squeezed out at the pin by Meridian shooting the mark which slowed us and let the yacht above carry over the top. Despite this set back we went as fast as possible for clear air and seemed to be doing something right as we worked into clear air and were pointing up on Allegro and Joli. Out ahead we could see Foreign Affairs leading the fleet and picking all the right shifts while we were bogged down in a large group. A quick tack to port meant we had to take a few sterns and each time a boat length was lost so that when we came back we had lost a few places. Now we carried on on starboard tack chasing Mr Mojo and watching his lifts and knocks. Allegro had tacked to the Steele Point shore along with a group which included Crosshaven, Agrovation, Amante, Monkey Magic and Meridian. Where we were we could see that we were working out from under Joli and felt that was a good guide so we hung on realising that the race was lost to the Steele Point side fleet. At the Sow and Pigs we opted to tack back to the shore which looks to have been a poor choice as we were headed on port and just managed to clear Joli. However to our surprise we were not far behind Allegro and did manage to keep in front of Joli.
For the run home we had some traffic including Britannia,Rum Jungle and Senta whom we had to avoid. Just ahead Allegro was holding a slim lead and behind Joli and ISuper were threatening. At Steele Point I wanted to cover the fleet while going as far to away from the wind shadow as the fleet would allow. That meant a fairly close rounding into the same doldrums as Allegro where we all flopped around for a moment or two. To aid with wind flow in the very light conditions I hauled on the backstay to flatten the head of the main and twist off the leach and with the main looking more like a reaching spinnaker we pulled out from the group of Allegro an ISuper.
At the Rose Bay mark we rounded behind Britannia but Joli came in with a late overlap and took our wind.
Now we had a group of yacht including ISuper and Star Ferry come around the mark behind and gybe away above us. With few options we followed Britannia out to port and clear air. When Britannia gybed back to the fleet we continued in our own wind all the way to Point Piper and only gybed back close to the moored yachts along the shore and with speed approached the mark.
This one leg allowed us to establish a lead on Allegro, Joli and I Super, Senta and Britannia which we were able to carry home to the shortened course finish line at the bottom of Shark Island.
At the finish we were four minutes behind Crosshaven who was four minutes behind Agrovation which is understandable given the huge persistent shift we were sailed on the way up. What is less understandable is the result showing Star Ferry two minutes in front as we thought he was back with Allegro and the group of yacht that went right on the run to Point Piper. If the recorded result is right then John deserves first place on handicap and equal second with Passion X on the progress scores.
On the progress scratch scores Amante moves to the lead from Meridian and Passion X but we are waiting for those faster yachts with DNS in their scores to reach enough races for their first drop and a return to the normal order of places.
Winter is Sydney can be finer than summer in parts of the world and Sydney is one of the few places where one can sail year round in relative comfort. Friday was a case in point where the temperature never got below 10 C rising to 17 C in time for our start in the Balmain Winter series. The wind however was gusting to 20 knots and the chill factor would have made the conditions feel much colder were it not for the physical work rate required to tame the beast called Passion X in the gusty winter conditions. Yes the winter westerly breeze is off the land and the only thing predictable about it is that it is capricious.
We set the carbon No 3 jib for the ease of tacking in the windy conditions and started with a full mainsail flattened out for the conditions. We calculated correctly that we could manage the sail area for the short work to the first island rounding mark and then carry the sail downwind. Depending on the wind strength we could reef at the turn or struggle home with full sail.
As the afternoon progressed the wind abated a little and apart from the occasional gust we managed the course without the optional reef. Indeed as the day progressed we caught the reefed yachts but with a crew of just three we could not hold the more crewed up Avalon who as usual executed flawlessly to beat us by a couple of places.
One of the regular crew took a short video from Birkenhead Point showing our rounding of Snapper Island. The video shows a snappy tack which was one of our best for the day and also shows the amount of mast bend. Given the amount of backstay I had wound in for the windy conditions the mast bend looks modest at best. Perhaps I need to try harder but now that I have seen the real life evidence I will pay more attention to this control.
A good 5th place on handicap backing up from our 2nd place last week puts Passion X into the lead on the progress scores by one point from the nimble little Monkey Magic.
Meridian blitzed the fleet and with Crosshaven and Monkey Magic took first, second and third places respectively. This was a big turn around by Meridian from last week and probably no coincidence that they started at the pin end and managed to get clear air ahead of the fleet.
We watched the Division 1S start where the windward yachts did better and opted for that end. It was a good choice given the short start line and as soon as we cleared the Committee boat we went high for clear air.
soon Britannia was urging us to hurry up as the used our stern wave to good effect. Amante tried to go higher but we pulled away and only conceded places at the turn mark to Agrovation and Foreign Affairs.
the first tack on the windward work gave us a small gain on Crosshaven and in hindsight we should have tacked with her as she and Foreign Affairs proceeded to lift inside us all the way to Steele Point. Ahead Meridian was charging on in clear air and behind Amante and ISuper were pressing hard.
At the top of the tight reach to Point Piper the wind died leaving us wallowing in the disturbed air. Eventually wind returned but not before Amante and ISuper had passed us never to be caught again.
Around Shark Island Monkey Magic put in an appearance but once we were on the tight reach to the finish line we pulled clear again.
At the finish there was a long gap back to Allegro and Joli but the time difference was not so much which shows we were all moving at good speeds along the course.
Luckily we held Agrovation to less than a two minute lead which gave us a small margin in handicap. We will need that once the course turns to their favour.