Passion X

To be fair the thirty knots was post race as we were providing a water taxi service for one of the crew and the thirty degrees was on the way from West Pennant Hills to the water but all the same it was a warm and windy session.
For today we had two of my sons crewing and that added firepower for the windy conditions. In deference to the wind we set our new Carbon No 3 and put in one reef in the main. This appeared to be the rig of choice as Odyssey and Avalon seemed to have the same set up.

For some odd reason I clicked on the wrong link to the start times and gave away a minute at the start. We did think Odyssey started early but it was Passion X starting a full minute late. That minute gap to Odyssey varied very little for the work to Goat and the long run back to Spectacle Island but once on the work we slowly pegged them back to about 30 seconds.

Avalon with shiney new antifouling was not so close for the work to Goat and around Balls Head we picked up a strong gust which seemed to keep the distance fairly static. Along the Balmain shore to Cockatoo Island Odyssey managed to pole out their genoa and drew away and it was only a set of strong gusts along the Cockatoo shore that kept us in touch.

Around the eastern end of Cockatoo island Odyssey did some rounding up in the gusts which allowed us to peg back a few more boat lengths and at Spectacle Island we were right on their tail.

It was quiet around Spectacle Island and Avalon with genoa poled out was cutting into our lead at alarming speed.

Not wanting to take any chances in the 24 knot gusts we followed Odyssey around Snapper island and settled in for a drag race to the finish. Today the shifts went our way and we passed on front of Odyssey on the second last leg into the finish. Avalon was now charging up to our position but a header at the finish allowed us to flip to port and clear the line .

Allowing for our starting mistake we finished four and a half minutes slower that Avalon and that is a good result for us.

What a difference a week makes as the contrast with last weeks wet cold race could not be more stark. Tonight we had around ten knots and warm sunny conditions making for a most enjoyable evening. Our prospect had already improved when the divers removed the large plastic bag from the feathering propellor on Passion X. I am certain we picked this up half way through last Wednesday’s race as we were performing well and mid race dropped off the pace.
We set the same sails as last week in part because the genoa was still dripping wet and in need of a good airing and the breeze was almost in the right range for our No 1 heavy genoa.
The start was a bit tricky as we had limited room between the moored yachts in Gore Creek and the fleet running back towards the port tackers making for the line. Dump Truck left no room between the moored yachts and Sweet Chariot was left circling in a very confined space off of the wharf and doing a fine job too. Some of the fleet opted for a starboard beat down the line and depending on the wind shifts they were looking good or bad. We opted to start on port mid line and would have taken sterns but for the fleet bearing away giving the appearance we were going to cross easily. As it was Jackpot graciously took our stern as the breeze left us almost stationary in their path. That allowed us to pull away from the header and still clear the rest of the starboard tackers.
Infotrack and Dump Truck were playing out in front in Humbug pushing up into the moored yachts and then Infotrack turned 90 degrees and headed back to clear air away from the Greenwich Point wind shadow. While this was going on Jackpot forced us up towards Dump Truck and while we pulled away as soon as we could clear their stern we were passed from below by Meridian and left in Jackpot’s dirty air. The only bright spot was that Utopia and Agrovation seemed to follow into the wind shadow of the point and take just as long to emerge. The gain that Jackpot made in this phase was shocking. In a matter of minutes she was three minutes ahead and seeming to be having a great race.
We were sailing well enough but in the fresher breeze approaching Goat Island Ausreo was trucking up to our position and almost passed as at the red navigation mark. We did manage to bear away around the island with our nose in front only to be run over on the exit as we were blanketed by their rather large sails. We drifted through the gap in tandem but once the breeze came on the nose we had clear air again and took off after the fleet.
As the breeze faded a little we drew away from Ausreo and had a rather lonely race chasing Meridian on the long work from Spectacle Island back to Goat. Our boat speed and height was fine and we frequently saw over 5 knots VMG but did not always have the best wind direction. Meridian on the other hand picked some nice angles going into Goat the second time and drew further ahead.
On the reach back to Humbug we could see two Sydney 38’s moving slowly through the gap and Meridian with better breeze making some progress from behind.
We followed Meridian’s path with the extra bonus of breeze a bit further aft so we could carry the genoa poled out quite a long way down the broad reach to the Valentia street Wharf. Mid way it became too shy so we lowered the pole and stayed wide. Luckily for us we lifted along the Onion Point shore and had to tack only at the point to clear some early fleet yachts that looked to be about to run aground. The time lost in this was immaterial as it did not affect the fastest times or handicap places.

With a clean prop and some clear air sailing we managed third place on handicap behind Dump Truck and Infotrack. We were a minute behind Infotrack, a minute and a half in front of Jackpot and two minutes in front of Fireball. The two Sydney 38’s had a close race with Utopia prevailing on time but Agrovation on handicap.

In the series we picked up six points on Utopia who are still 5 points ahead but we have broken out of the tight pack for second place if only for a short reign.

The weather forecast overshot the wind strength by 10 knots and undershot the rainfall by lots. Consequently the supposedly quick trip to Goat Island, around Snapper and Spectacle Islands and back to Goat and home took a lot longer than expected and produced a dripping wet crew.
The worst part was the tell tales sticking to the wet sails making steering to the breeze and sail trimming very difficult.
We did get some things right. The most important was choosing a large genoa in spite of the forecast. Without the No 1 genoa we would have struggled around the course as many patches were very light and certainly less than five knots. After a respectable start and work out of Humbug we found some 12 knots of steady breeze for the work up to Goat Island. In this early stage of the race we settled in well and drew away from Lisdillon, Ausreo, Fireball and Sweet Chariot while limiting the lead Utopia was creating out in front.
Some choices are debatable and we did debate it a lot on board. From Goat we were running quite square to Long Nose and could see Utopia in light air off the point. At least the air at the water level was light as there were few ripples to be seen. Out wider there was ripples on the water but the breeze was quite light.
One half of the crew wanted to keep running across the course and try to pick up breeze on the other side out wide while the other half wanted to reach across the light patch and follow Utopia.

Ausreo, Lisdillon and Fireball from quite far behind adopted the cut the corner approach and gained a lot of Passion X who was running quite slowly to the wind on the other side of the point.
At six knots of wind speed our boat speed downwind is at most 3 knots while on a beam reach it is twice that at 6 knots so apart from a shorter distance the speed is twice as high as long as you don’t fall into zero breeze.
At 12 knots of wind strength the difference is less dramatic going from 6 knots running to 8.5 beam reaching. So paradoxically it is more important to take a conservative wide berth in light airs than in heavy.

We did manage to keep our nose in front of Lisdillon and Ausreo for the trip to Snapper Island with some patches quite tight and a rather nasty header going into Snapper which left us quite close to the shallows off the western end.

Around the end of Spectacle Island Ausreo carried her speed through the wind shadow well and tried to pinch up above us but we kept our nose in clear air and started to work out in front again.

Now the wet tell tales were making steering to the breeze and sail trimming close to impossible and that is important on a relatively light boat. Ausreo kept up momentum through the shifts and pulled ahead giving Passion X a good dose of dirty air to boot.

This time being wider of Cockatoo Island paid off as we managed to creep ahead of Ausreo along the Hunters Hill shore only to again be passed and gassed off of Balls Head. Once Ausreo drew away and we had clear air we began to work to windward and that paid dividends as we were able to reach into the mark in lifts and pinch up in the knocks to cross Ausreo and tack for the run home. Fortunately the light air in the lee of Goat was not so light as to kill our boat speed and on the east side of Goat we picked up a nice lift to assist with the overtake.

At some stage in the run home Lisdillon put in a guest appearance or pun intended a gust appearance but once the breeze reached Passion X we pulled ahead again.

At the finish we were 6 minutes behind Utopia which left us 40 seconds shy of their corrected time but the big winner was Sweet Chariot then Utopia followed by Fireball just 6 seconds in front of Passion X and then Lisdillon 7 seconds further adrift and Ausreo just another 7 seconds behind.

Apart from Sweet Chariot it could have been anyone’s race and it is a credit to the handicap system.

Out of interest I recalculated the results based on the handicaps from last week and Sweet Chariot would have still won but Passion X would have been second followed by Fireball, Lisdillon, Utopia and Ausreo. This confirms how well the handicap system is working.

Next week it is back to the Twilight series where we pick up the handicaps from the Spring series where my forecast is we will all be cleaned up by Infotrack.

For the 8 knots forecast we set our largest, lightest genoa and planned to deploy our longest whisker pole. With that in mind for later in the race we made a good start and were well up with the fleet after the run through Humbug and down the side of Cockatoo island. We were going so well we were just astern of Dump Truck and Agrovation and looked to be in for a close race all night. We went wide around the end of Cockatoo hoping to stay clear of the wind shadow while Sweet Chariot took the inner line and emerged well in front. For a while we could not pick a lift and so worked our way to the back of the fleet with Fireball and Ausreo who was not enjoying the lighter conditions. Being wide started to pay dividends off of the Balmain Sailing Club when we lifted along the shore for a period and long enough to make inroads on Utopia but eventually the breeze knocked and we headed back towards the tail of a group including Utopia, Joli and Meridian.
In the changed of the wind direction Fireball caught us on port twice in the work and enjoyed sending us tacking. We did find a lift of our own to recover most of the lost ground and round in front of Fireball but like last week they had a very good run around Goat Island and just shaved our transom but we were already on starboard gybe and had all the rights for a change. Not far ahead we could see most of our fleet although Infotrack and Much Ado V seemed to be missing somewhere out front. We could see Jackpot, Utopia, Joli and Meridian reaching to the concrete dolphins in Snails Bay and then poling out their genoas so we prepared our long pole.
At the dolphin we whipped up the pole and held the genoa out to windward with good effect. By going low we kept well to leeward of the big blue fleet yachts and snuck through. Sweet Chariot went high for the freshening breeze and we followed and then were able to run away in the puff for good effect. All the while Fireball was threatening from close astern and looking to take our breeze at the first opportunity.
This last gust which we bore away on persisted for long enough to take us to leeward of Meridian who was becalmed off of Greenwich Point. To leeward at least ten boat lengths was Joli doing much better than any of the higher yachts and sailing through the lee of big brother Jackpot so it seemed like a good line to take.
Sweet Chariot opted to take the short cut but on this occasion it was a very slow trip through the doldrums and a very expensive one handicap place wise.
We kept hugging the Onion Point shore and could see Utopia out wider pick up some breeze but we now had bow ahead for the same breeze and it kept us moving up to a flotilla of becalmed yachts off of Onion Point. We correctly guessed that by the time we arrived at the distance mark off of Onion Point the tail of this pack would have just cleared it and so we were able to run deep away from the point and get a safe leeward position on a fleet of a dozen yacht including some big Blue division competitors like Worlds Apart. In this passing maneuver we eclipsed Utopia, Meridian and Jackpot. We pulled away from Fireball for the first time of the evening and finally broke free of Sweet Chariot. Ausreo enjoyed the fading breeze even less than the earlier light start but she has had some good breezes and even Passion X deserves a turn.

For a second week in a row the finishers took an hour off of some results and with such abbreviated elapsed time the published handicap results are up the creek. Some quick manual calculations with the correct elapsed time suggest that Passion X will finish fourth again just ahead of Fireball and Joli.

Without doing the calculations I estimate that Infotrack will win from Agrovation and Much Ado V which suits our case as these three for one reason or another have missed much of the Summer series.

If I am correct in these estimates Passion X will remain on top of the leader board and pull away a couple more points from Joli. Fourth place suits us nicely as our handicap stays pretty much the same while and we live to fight another day.

There are some photos on the Greenwich Flying Squadron facebook page for the evening and when I get a chance I will see if the GoPro feed has anything to offer.

We are just home from a most enjoyable Friday sprint around the islands in the Balmain Sailing Club Friday afternoon series. The 15 knot breeze took the heat off the day and provided ideal conditions for a quick race. The A team was Elaine and our Grandson Otis and between the three of us we kept Passion X moving in good fashion. To make life easier for the small crew we vanged down the boom hard and left it on all day. That let us drop the boom to leeward so we could power through the gusts without playing the main. Quite frequently the genoa was backwinding the bottom half of the main but this seemed to have no adverse effect on the height or speed. With the vang on hard the top of the mainsail was controlled and providing lift. With the boom angled out I let some depth creep back into the foot which seemed fast up to the 18 knot wind range after which we did flatten it out.

For the day I had the GoPro camera mounted on the stern facing aft to capture some of the yachts that we might pass or catch us. What is most noticeable from the video is that we sailed on a consistently large angle of heel without rounding up.

So ideal were the conditions that we consistently saw over 5 knots VMG to windward and the rare 6 knot pointing up into the stronger patches to stop the yacht heeling too far.

With only one helmsman on board I was not about to abandon the helm to pole out the genoa on the downwind legs but we sailed the wind shift to keep it flying to windward and while not as quick as properly poled out the conditions helped to keep it flying

In the conditions no one was going to catch Riders of the Storm but we did make up 12 minutes over the course of the race and did stay in front of Avalon who gave us a 6 minute start. It must have been one of our better days as they typically take 7 minutes out of us around the course and today it was just under 5 minutes so we are pretty pleased with that effort by our little A team.

The Greenwich Flying Squadron fleet was greeted by warm gusty conditions for the Wednesday twilight race which made for interesting if stressful sailing.
The black fleet bunched up at the exit to Humbug with Fireball taking the risky inside track but escaping unharmed from this tactic. Passion X was widest hoping to see the inside fleet becalmed but it was not to be and so we had a tightly bunched group tacking at very close quarters in very gusty conditions.
Eventually Dump Truck and Much Ado V worked out ahead using every gram of their 2.5 tonne keels to punch into the strengthening conditions. Utopia also drew away while Fireball, Joli, Meridian, Ausreo and Passion X had an absorbing trip to Goat Island. By the reach and run down to Snapper Island only Fireball had slipped behind this tight group and we were feeling pretty pleased with our position. We were still pleased on the work back to Goat except for the impressive windward performance of Ausreo who left Joli and Meridian behind with Passion X slipping back due to some heavy traffic off of Spectacle Island. We were still happy until the last 100 metres into Goat where the timing of the lifts did not go to plan allowing Joli and Meridian to slip away. Our run around Goat was disastrous as the light patches followed us around the island allowing Fireball to gain minutes and come up within cooee.
When we did get going Meridian and Joli were reaching away at high speed already well past the concrete dolphins in Snails Bay.
At this point wind decided it needed to give the crew of Passion X some encouragement so it hotted up for the reach past Long Nose drawing us away from Fireball and up much closer to Meridian and Joli than we deserved.

The wise move would have been to tack and follow the J112 twins but we headed hard into the Valencia Street Ferry wharf and had to tack away from a very big, very late lift while Meridian and Joli out mid stream were able to use the lift to advantage and recover some of their lead over Passion X.

The very last set of lifts were also unkind as we were headed well below the finish line and were forced into two more tacks before we crossed the line. Compounding the problems was the nature of the gusts which were short and sharp rounding us up repeatedly on the way to the line.

Despite these setbacks the early part of the race when we matched it with Ausreo, Meridian and Joli was enough to give us fourth on handicap behind Infotrack, Ausreo and Fireball. Fireball did well from cutting the corner off of Greenwich point and from the second rounding of Goat and hung on for the well deserved third place.

Infotrack completed the course in record time but the time of 6 minutes 57 seconds is slightly suspicious and may catch the eye of the race committee for review. Nevertheless the relative positions of the rest of the fleet will stay the same and Passion X should move up the leader board until the discards kick in when Ausreo will be able to drop their DNS and take over the crown. Meanwhile we escape with a good place and our handicap unsullied ready for another race

After the short Christmas break it was good to be back on the water and with a respectable breeze. The forecast was in the fifteen to eighteen knot range which has been a a tricky one for sail genoa selection on Passion X. It is a bit light for our No3 jibs and a bit heavy for our No 1s so we tried the old No 1 from the original Passion. Now the old No 1 from Passion must be at least seven years old and has seen a lot of races. We retrieved it from storage when the Covid 19 virus struck as it is high clewed, slightly smaller in area and we can sail more easily short handed. This is the genoa we have been using for the Balmain Friday afternoon races in most conditions so I thought it worth a try this evening.
One way or another we missed the start. Lets say it was a huge shift in the wind direction than let Ausreo on starboard lift to our line on port. That left us tacking below Ausreo along the line all the way to the inner distance mark off the club and stuck there until Ausreo tacked. That hurt and as a result we were last into and out of Humbug except for Fireball. On the way to Cockatoo we had to take a stern of one of the early fleet and that wasted quite a bit of windward height and cost at the corner where we had to slow pinch around the end. Once away we took off after Sweet Chariot and the rest of the fleet further ahead down the run to Drummoyne.
Sweet Chariot was still ahead at Snapper Island but once we held out the genoa to windward we raced down the alley between the islands and the ever encroaching moored yachts for a handy lead on Sweet Chariot at Spectacle Island. Now there was a long tight reach to Long Nose and then a work to Goat ahead. From behind we could see the gusts lifting and knocking the fleet and from this vantage point we worked well to windward. On the tight reach we were consistently over eight knots of boat speed although we had little time for watching the dials. Most of the time was taken up by working the main vigorously sharing the load between three crew.

To our surprise we managed to do more than hold the fleet along the windward work and by Goat Island we were close to Joli and Ausreo while Meridian was a small gap further ahead. John Ewing has a great photo of the fleet on the way to Goat on the Greenwich Flying Squadron facebook page and the different angles are quite evident. Alas we had to pinch to clear the corner of Goat and that cost a lot of time. Indeed the yachts in the earlier fleet further out from the shore than Passion X were knocked right down to the piles so we were lucky to get through when we did. The next chance for some time recovery was off of Long Nose but here Meridian went well wide and Joli worked some magic to get past Ausreo while we came out about the same distance back as we went in.

The reach around Cockatoo and back to Humbug was uneventful but very enjoyable with over 9 knots of boat speed in the gusts and with the hope that Humbug might have some surprises in store. Alas there was no Christmas present under the Humbug tree for Passion X and while we were closer to Ausreo than at any other point since the start it was not close enough.

Ausreo took the handicap honours from Passion X which is a much better result than we have had when we have been first into Humbug. Perhaps Ausreo got us all fired up for the race but whatever it was we did work well to Goat and would like to bottle whatever it was we had tonight to serve up on another evening.

The strong wind on the harbour pre race and the forecast for the breeze to freshen all evening was enough for us to set our new No3 jib. It has a little more area than the old No 3 and is fuller off the wire for a more forgiving steering angle but that was not enough to off set the lighter conditions that prevailed through the race.

While the winds were fresh on the work to Goat Island we kept with the pack or rather dropped back less than usual. This was aided by a very well timed start low on the line and a first into Humbug and second out of Humbug. Utopia did a great job with their whisker pole on the short run through Humbug and carried it high around Greenwich point to lead the fleet. Dump Truck and Much Ado V suffered from overly aggressive competition on the line and a clear break from which they were recalled so they were late to the party on the work to Goat.

Eventually Joli and Ausreo went below Passion X and lead us into the mark but the gap was small and I was unconcerned given the forecast. From Goat the breeze faded and the fleet drew away on the long run to Cockatoo and the work back to Goat Island. We were 2 minutes 11 seconds behind Meridian and 1 minute 20 seconds behind Ausreo at the second rounding of Goat Island but after that the breeze faded more and we fell further behind on the run back to Cockatoo.

It was most apparent as we rounded Long Nose that the fleet had drawn well away in the second transit of Goat Island and the reach back through Snails Bay. When the race results are out I will know how far behind but for now it seemed like a very long way. Indeed on the last run Fireball came charging up from behind in close company with Lisdillon so we were more intent on staying in front than worrying about the ones that had got away. Around Cockatoo we held Fireball well but tacked for Humbug too soon. Fireball went further and tacked onto a nice lift to pass Passion X.

Our next move was to be to take the stern of Passion X but the wind had other ideas and a gust prevented us bearing away enough so we tacked back below Fireball to avoid contact and they tacked away. For the next pass I aimed below their stern from a long way out and successfully tacked for Starboard rights. Fireball tacked below aiming to come up from leeward but the wind had other ideas and to make matters worse Lisdillon was getting a nice lift from behind.

At the end we managed to keep in front of Lisdillon and Fireball while Sweet Chariot had the benefit of some late stronger breeze to catch up somewhat through Humbug.

In the tricky conditions we struggled to find a comfortable setting between too much heel and not enough helm to keep high. A larger genoa may well have helped and it would have helped on the downwind legs where we suffered tonight.

After a couple of weeks of sailing into wind shadows we went wide on the corners and skirted the worst of the doldrums to claim third place on handicap just three seconds in front of Joli.

Joli also skirted the corner into Humbug by going on a great circle and all we had to do was go a bit wider, stay in the wind and get through Humbug as fast as we could to take advantage of our more generous handicap.

As generous as our handicap is it was not enough to overcome the elapsed time lead of between eleven to twelve minutes of Dump Truck and Much Ado V and they must be cock a hoop at beating the MC38 over the line.

We enjoyed the beat to Goat Island and did not lose too much time on the short work. With a reasonable reach to Long Nose we would have been among Joli and Meridian but a ferry on the corner came between us and cost us some distance. We did make up some time on the fleet on the run to Snapper Island but on the long work back they extended their lead and so it was quite a lonely beat back to Goat. By the time we reached the rounding mark at Goat the fleet was out of sight around the corner and the tail of Sweet Chariot and Fireball was quite some way off in the distance. To be precise Joli was 2 minutes 30 ahead at Goat and 2 minutes 40 seconds at the finish. Ausreo looked to be half a minute in front of Joli and but for breaking the line on the way to another handicap victory.

Ausreo who had broken the line was still sailing on and was a good guide to how we were performing on the beat to Goat but it did seem that the leaders all pulled away substantially on the beat. It was fitting then that they all fell into a hole off of Greenwich Point at the entry to Humbug and waited for us to catch up a little.

At the finish we were happy with our choice of sails for the evening, with our crew work and how we found our way around the course.

A new face on the course was the Xp38 Solveig II who slotted in in front off Meridian and Joli on a night where I imagine they enjoyed the conditions. Time will tell.

It was a long race tonight and the longer the race the more time allowance we receive which resulted in a surprise sixth place on handicap.
At times the sailing was satisfying with good boat speed in the ten knot conditions and then there were times when a favourable lift brought a smile to our faces only to be wiped away by the next self inflicted wound. In true Python fashion it was only a flesh wound but at the time the distance lost was disappointing.

From the start we reached Humbug in good company only to have the fleet sail through to leeward just a boat width or two below. That would be ok if they did not then point up from under and take off in clear air while we languished in disturbed air waiting for the breeze that never came. The only consolation was that Dump Truck was stuck behind us in the same disturbed air and was making just as little progress. So disadvantaged were they by this unpredictable lack of air that it half way to Goat Island before they finally passed us and went off chasing their peers.

We were generally sailing well in the fresh conditions with the No1 heavy genoa and satisfied with boat speed and position until the last dig into Goat Island for the second rounding. As we tacked away from Goat we were knocked badly and should have tacked back in a few boat lengths. Alas we held on sailing at right angles to the rounding mark only to be also knocked on the way back and lost time pinching to clear the red navigation mark.
That indiscretion let Joli slip away at least a minute and put Ausreo right on our tail.

From there Ausreo did their best to blanket us but we held them off all the way back to Cockatoo Island where the wheels fell off. For some inexplicable reason we languished alongside Cockatoo while Ausreo, Fireball, Sweet Chariot and Lisdillon made up ground.
Around the end of Cockatoo we picked up some pressure and charged off towards Humbug and the stern of Joli who was becalmed off of Onion Point. At this stage we were happy that we had recovered almost all of our previous mistake when we too ran into nothing and the big Ausreo sailed through our lee possibly using momentum. While we wallowed in the eddy off of Onion Point Fireball, Sweet Chariot and Lisdillon enjoyed some of the pressure we had earlier and closed the gap.

At the finish Ausreo was the winner by three and a half minutes from Sweet Chariot and Fireball. The came the two Sydney 38’s Agrovation and Utopia followed by Passion X. We would have moved up only one place with a minute less elapsed time so our sixth place was meant to be. Next was Jackpot, Lisdillon and Joli. Bringing up the tail end was the fast end of the fleet Much Ado V, Dump Truck and Infotrack. Still the two Ker 11.3s had a very close tussle with the two Sydney 38’s all finishing within 30 seconds. now that would have been nice to see.

Finally the course was too long for the forecast conditions and it did not get any better as there was plenty of light patches as there always is. Sure we finished before 8 pm but the club was locked and alarmed before half of the Black fleet were back to discharge crew. It takes the edge of an otherwise enjoyable evening to have to unlock and disarm the club alarm to be able to discharge the loyal crew.

What a fine way to spend an afternoon. Had a very pleasant pursuit race around Goat Island, Spectacle Island, Cockatoo Island etc and just finished a few seconds in front of the Sydney 38 Avalon.

As a bonus a GFS sailing friend snapped some great shots of Passion X on the water.

Infotrack politely came up from leeward and blasted off ahead

Clear skies and a refreshing 12 knot sea breeze promised a great evening sailing but a failing breeze disappointed leaving the back of the fleet limping home with ever lengthening finish times.

Team Beck or Infotrack Inc demonstrated the advantage of superior boat speed with Much Ado V taking the gold and Dump Truck the silver. Jackpot and Utopia held on to the leaders well but then there was a gap to Joli, Passion X and Lisdillon who were having a good battle until the breeze finally ran out of puff off Long Nose and the finishing times expanded to embarrassing levels.

On Passion X we had the right gear up for the night, a clean bottom and no excuses but at best could have finished mid fleet but finally managed only 9th out of 11 starters.

We started well but not as well as Jackpot and Utopia. In fact the breeze died at the start and we were probably too slow to power up. Soon were run over by the fleet taking our wind. Infotrack did the sporting thing and reached up from below before pulling away and scooting clear ahead. Then Much Ado V took our wind then Dump Truck and Joli in turn gave us dirty air. We managed to keep clear air below Joli but to leeward of a fleet that lifted strongly. We stayed with Joli but low on the course and did not recover as the lift was a progressive one which only reached us as we tacked away from the earlier fleet on starboard around Long Nose.

On the beat to Goat Island we crossed tacks with Lisdillon who was enjoying the earlier fresher breeze and kept chasing Joli who was half a minute ahead at the navigation mark off of Goat Island.

Around the island we held out our larger genoa and picked up Lisdillon while negotiating a gap between the ferry and the fleet. The reach back to Cockatoo seemed promising as Utopia was just a minute 20 seconds ahead at the concrete dolphin in Snails Bay but the breeze now started to play tricks. Lisdillon ran up along the Balmain shore to our stern but then fell into a hole so that we could reestablish the prior gap. Joli drifted into the wind shadow of the earlier fleet heading for Snapper Island which allowed us to run down to their stern but no further. At this stage it appears that Utopia and jackpot had a better run as they were by now nowhere in sight.

We did the long work back to Goat Island keeping pace with Joli and keeping an eye on Lisdillon and were pleased to be just 35 seconds behind Jolia at the Goat island mark the second time however this is where the wheels fell off. By the concrete dolphin in Snails Bay, Joli had extended her lead to a minute 20 seconds before finally pulling away to a four minute lead at the finish and eclipsing our corrected time by four seconds.

The wheels really fell of our wagon on the way from Long Nose to Humbug where we languished with no breeze. A shift northward in the wind left us pointing at the Woolwich wharf on starboard while ahead already on port Joli was sailing straight up Humbug.

Once in Humbug the mood improved as we had a very safe passage with the Blue Fleet being particularly careful with port and starboard crossings and we had some breeze to keep moving. Our mood got darker again off of Onion Point where we needed to tack away from the rocks but were prevented from doing so by a port handed yacht motoring past after the finish. We were forced to stall off the point until the yacht passed and then had to tack into the path of Salty Sea Dog. The tack to port and back to starboard took 35 seconds during which we made almost no progress other than to slip down the handicap place rankings behind Joli, Lisdillon and Fireball. Sweet Chariot and Ausreo could not overcome the effects of the dying breeze on the elapsed times and drew up the rear.

The dying breeze is a characteristic of sailing in Sydney and gets worse further inland and it is tough when the difference between promise and disappointment is 43 seconds.

Much Ado V goes over the top

This is getting boring. Dump Truck and Joli go over the top

The lift finally arrives and Joli lifts ahead

Lisdillon opts to give us their dirty air. Thanks Andrew.

Overtaking Lisdillon around the back of Goat Island

Very careful Blue fleet yachts through Humbug. Thank you.

Last tack to the finish line in almost no breeze.

After last Friday’s chaos it was a return to a steadier conditions and an uneventful chase around the islands. A later forecast change to windier conditions caught me with the big genoa hanked on and after feeling the full brunt of the breeze out mid stream we motored post haste to the mooring for a change down to the No 3 headsail. There was a big drop in wind strength the further inland you were so we were nicely powered up for the work to Goat Island but underpowered for the two runs around Cockatoo Spectacle and Snapper Islands.

By the second circuit Guwara with a larger headsail was holding us out and Avalon gaining quickly but we held on for second place in the diminished fleet. Perhaps last weeks blow out kept them at home or perhaps the warmer weather did it but for sure it was a better breeze than they will have enjoyed for the twilight race.

The wind direction for the afternoon was very consistent and out chart plotter tracks for the two laps of the islands show an identical path leaving little room for Avalon to show their wind picking and fast tacking skills.

Having farewelled John last week we welcomed back Mal to the team for the Wednesday Twilight at Greenwich Flying Squadron. Expecting 12 knots I hanked on the No 1 heavy genoa and was surprised when the breeze blew in at 18 knots.

Not surprisingly we did well downwind with the sail area set and as the breeze backed off a little we opted to continue the windward leg with a full main. We watched as Utopia, Jackpot and Joli sailed past to windward and watched as Much Ado V powered away to leeward and tacked to cross us by a good margin. Working along the Hunters Hill shore we settled into a routine and were well ahead of Sweet Chariot, Caliban and Fireball. A knock as we approached the ferry wharf at the end of Cockatoo forced us to tack away and that is where the knot brought us undone. The genoa sheet tangled into a tight bunch preventing us from continuing on starboard tack. Now we were forced to tack away from the lift so we could work on undoing the knot which took considerable time and manpower. By the time the knot was sorted we were ready to tack away from the next lift as we were approaching the Balmain shore.

Our chart plotter tracks show what awful angles we sailed while undoing the knot and on the water we were passed by Sweet Chariot and Caliban or should I say Ausreo as she is shown on our results sheets. Fireball having shaken out the reef from the mainsail was also making up ground on Passion X.

For the rest of the work to Goat we recovered our lead on Sweet Chariot and Caliban but could see the rest of the fleet way ahead on the distance. The next time we got a good look at Joli and Meridian was on the work back into Humbug. They were clearly having a tight match race some four minutes ahead of Passion X and in no danger of being overtaken.

Now we were drawing away from Ausreo and Sweet Chariot and Fireball but not by enough for the handicap result. Despite a good set of shifts and some ideal windward working wind speeds on the way through Humbug we were relegated to 10 on handicap in front of only the late starting Dump Truck. That becomes our drop and we hang onto 3rd place on the progress scores now well adrift of Utopia who scored a second and Joli who scored a fifth. Also the rest of the fleet is closing in on our points.

Joli Crosses along the Cockatoo shore

Oops that’s what knot to do

The late starting Dump Truck powers by

Ausreo crosses

We catch Ausreo again

We catch Sweet Chariot

Some of our best windworking of the night sailing towards Humbug

Nice shot of Much Ado V powering past to leeward around the end of Cockatoo Island the first time

After drifting around Goat Island in the Balmain Friday afternoon series we had a minute of chaos when a 40 knot gust came out of the storm clouds and flattened us. The one saving grace was that Avalon had already passed us and was directly ahead so I could see them lay flat with the breeze and prepare by having the novice sheet hand dump the main ahead of the gust. Dumping the main was not enough to stop us laying on our side so we had to dump the genoa. That got us back on our feet but heading for the rocks on the Balmain shore. Prudence called for a start of the motor to have steerage to get away from the shore which we did all within a minute of the gust hitting.
From 3:30 pm to 4 10 pm the breeze at Sydney Airport was above 19 knots peaking at 43 knots at 3:40 pm but it hit us much faster with no time to prepare by dropping the genoa. I had to do this once we cleared the Balmain shore under motor and while the wind was still blowing 30 knots.
Fortunately all was captured on the Gopro camera and so the minute of chaos is accurate. From the time the 40 knots hit to motoring into the wind safe from the Balmain shore was just one minute and the only damage was a single eyelet on one of the genoa piston hanks.

There was some damage to my pride as I had thought Avalon had taken down their genoa and retired also but alas they just soldiered on around the course under main and completed a shortened course while the rest of us retired. I am quietly hoping they get no wind for their twilight tonight but don’t blame me if that happens that is what is forecast.

There were quite a few firsts this afternoon. Our Grandson had his first yacht race and first as mainsheet trimmer at which he did a great job including handling the storm well. The second first is to be laid the flattest on record since Passion X was launched. Also a first was to start the motor in a race for safety reasons and the last first was to retire from a race for other than lack of wind.

Short and furious storm

In the thick of the storm

More of the one minute of the storm

Calm before the storm

About to hit

More water over the Gopro