Passion
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
Passion X seems to be stuck in no man’s land in the RANSA Winter Wednesday Series between the yachts in Division 1s and the yachts in Division 1.
On some dodgy back of the envelope calculations we would have been at or very near the front of Div 1 yesterday while we were four minuted adrift of the second last fastest yacht in Div 1s. We might have enjoyed a good race at the front of Div 1 while in Div 1s it was a different matter. Passion X has a good turn of speed off the breeze so we stayed with Marloo and Sorcerer from the start to the leeward mark. Once on the breeze the more powerful and larger boats powered away. We were pleasantly surprised we managed with the No 1 Genoa and the full mainsail in the 15 knots of breeze but it was right at the top end of our range. When we turned Blue Chip was already a couple of minutes in front but close enough for us to try to follow her tacking angle. We went for speed rather than height and yesterday that might not have been the optimum angle as we had to go West of the Sow and Pigs and tack to the mark while Blue Chip, Marloo and Sorcerer picked up a lift ahead and above to clear the mark without needing to tack.
The larger genoa compared to last week helped in the light air around Point Piper but we were still four minutes behind the tail as they rounded Point Piper. We had a good run around Shark Island and did not lose a lot of ground for the rest of the race so we were closer at the finish than last week but still lonely out the back.
We had the optimum sails up for the race and made few mistakes so that is about as fast as we can go give or take a couple of minutes. We will do a couple of minutes better on the rare occasions the angle to the top mark is tighter and the leg back to Steel Point is broader but that wind angle is not common. Windward leeward races are not our strong point so any lucky shifts would be negated by our slower overall performance on the downwind leg.
Winter Wednesday race 2 tracks took us West of the Sow and Pigs and we needed a short tack to clear the mark.
The truth is we are sailing pretty well as expected but I expected a rating of 1.05 at most based on the lighter Didi 38 version. I added a bit more sail area and righting moment to compensate for our heavier hull but was surprised that our club rating came out at 1.11 with spinnakers and 1.02 without spinnakers. I was looking forward to sailing against Amante and Allegro and Agrovation and Izzi and it will be interesting to see how much the rating comes down when the hull is officially weighted and we lower the default crew weight.
We managed to stay with Marloo and Sorcerer on the reach.
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When it comes to round the buoys yacht racing we Laser sailors have a lot to learn. In the yacht we do mostly non spinnaker racing except for Sail Port Stephens and the West Harbour Winter Series. In Sail Port Stephens there are usually long legs so slow spinnaker setting is not a big handicap but the West Harbour Winter Series has a lot of short legs where sail handling proficiency pays big dividends.
Today was our first time with the 140 m2 symmetric kite in the spinnaker snuffer. Apart from watching a lot of videos I had not hoisted a snuffer before and both Elaine and I are delighted with how it worked. It went up and down as expected and there was no need to repack the kite after every hoist. On subsequent hoists it came out of the sock as it should and we even had it hoisted in the sock before the mark on the last lap.
Our lack of river yacht racing experience showed when we dropped the spinnaker at Clarke Point after the first run while the experienced racers carried theirs shy to Goat Island. It this stage of the race the Second Division leaders caught up the five minutes gap we had on them from the start times but fortunately only Pistol Dawn stayed ahead. We pulled away from the rest of the second fleet and were six minutes in front at the finish.
In the trip around Goat Island we made a break on the tail end of our fleet while the front end disappeared into the distance. It was quite demoralizing to see the lead boats far away in the distance and not see where they were making gains on our time.
We did get caught on the wrong side of a couple of shifts and did pick up a couple of good lifts but on balance I think we had to tack away from good lifts more often than not. The second windward work up the South side of Cockatoo Island was better than the first but the good guys were long gone and we have no idea how they fared on this passage. Next Light seen overtaking Passion X in the photo finished 15 minutes ahead.
It was an odd day as we finished in a puff of strong breeze while around the corner of Cockatoo Island we could see the tail end of the fleets drifting down the Parramatta River in glassy conditions.
The second trip around the south side of Cockatoo Island was much better than the first
Passion X with spinnaker dropped being overtaken by Next Light with spinnaker still flying. Phil Hare photo
Some of the crew of Passion posing with the perpetual trophy and the very nice one to keep.
A close up of the trophy for first place in Division 1
Some of the crew of Passion picked up the trophy for the first place in the 2016 RANSA Winter Wednesday series last night. It was an good series for Passion as we won the Division 1 by a large margin. What made it particularly pleasing was that RANSA had initially relegated us to Div 2 for the slower yachts but reinstated us in Div 1 on request. We wanted to keep sailing against our familiar competitors, the Northshore 38’s, Rainbow, Izzi and others and the same sentiment is on play this coming season with Passion X.
it was the second time we had won the series and for the third year in a row it was a Greenwich Flying Squadron yacht. Izzi had won for the past two years and as they had been improving over this time it was no reflection on the handicappers. From memory, because we cannot keep the perpetual trophy, Greenwich Flying Squadron yachts had won for four of the last six seasons and we will be trying to make that five out of seven this year.
It is quite an honor to have the name of Passion engraved twice on the perpetual trophy alongside some of the legends of Sydney Harbour and we will try hard to add Passion X to the list.
After taking the grand children for a sail on the harbour I realised that there is more good ideas on our Didi 40 Cr, Passion X, that I should write about.
Cabin top hand hold and jack lines as well as conventional webbing deck level jack lines. Also a good view of the mainsheet bridle system and the narrow deck that needed the smaller diameter deck organizers.
While the hull was level on land I was skeptical about the angle of the cockpit coamings. On the level the body seemed to slide outwards to the safety lines and it seemed difficult to get back into the cockpit. In practice the angle is excellent as the yacht heels a little more than our previous craft and with the heel angle the coamings are ideal.
On the cabin top instead of timber handrails I have installed jacklines that double as hand holds. This is in addition to the traditional webbing jack lines that run from the stern to the bow and with a double harness the short line can be attached to the cabin top lines while the long tether is attached to the jack line on the deck. I gave the system a good try out on the trip back from Port Stephens in 35 knots and at all times I felt very secure. The shorter jack line on the cabin top does not deflect much and I felt particularly secure attached to this by the short tether.
The lighting has worked out well, especially the option for red or white light and the different lighting levels available for both colours. On the mooring I left one of the cabin lights on red at low level as a night light and that was particularly practical. I have already forgotten that these were very expensive and now just enjoy the style and functionality.
I did put lights inside the engine compartment and in the deck locker to save having to search for a torch any time I needed to look inside. These are LED lights and I tend to leave them on all the time for the convenience.
The cushions too have worked out well and the idea of side cushions in the V berth that I copied from MOJO has been very practical. I went one step further and hinged the V berth tops so that I can fold up the berth tops for better access to the large storage area underneath. This did require a lot of extra carpentry as there is a narrow section of the berth top bonded to the hull and stiffened with for and aft stringers but result was well worth the extra effort both in terms of a solid reinforcement for the hull and for access to the storage area.
Before I completed the engine compartment I did a trial alignment of the engine to ensure that All the mounts could be accessed. After much frustration I increased the size of the side access door to make the mounting bolts very easy to access and I appreciated this modification when doing the alignment. My electrician also suggested an access door to the solenoid in case the 12 volt cabling came loose and I did need to tighten the connection after or 14 hours of shaking in the ocean. I will modify this connection so that there is room on the stud for a nut and a nylock lock nut just to be sure.
I am learning every day to appreciate the thought that Dudley put into the yacht design and the extra time and attention to detail that we put into the construction.
Big engine access hatch with fixed LED light inside
Side cushions in the V berth copied from the Turkish built MOJO
Red or white LED options in the deck locker. Dudley’s detail for the locker has been outstanding.
Detail showing the fixed edges to the V berth tops so that the lids can be hinged to swing up.
The red glow from the cabin lights on the red setting is easy on the eyes. I have still to master the variable light level on the instruments and wish the manufacturers has a light level sensor to adjust the levels automatically.
Peter Walsh has submitted our IRC measurements and forwarded some photos from the day. The photos show how calm the conditions were for the measuring so we were very lucky with the weather.
A calm day for hull measurements.
It was so calm we swung the boom over onto the pontoon to take the mainsail off for measuring
Sydney has had wave after wave of rain squalls passing through this last few days leaving very unpredictable weather conditions and some nasty bullets out on the course. Yesterday we chanced the weather and had Passion X measured for IRC to establish a benchmark for us to sail to. In the rain periods we measured sails and by mid afternoon the rain cleared and wind disappeared so we had perfect conditions for measuring the hull.
Today there was less rain in the intermittent showers but more wind in between. We set the No 1 genoa in anticipation of the breeze lightening and had plenty to contend with at the start. The first leg was square running which seems to be our least competitive angle but we were fast enough to overhaul Soundtrack and a Sydney 36 R visiting for the evening. Our success was short lived as they both passed us on the work to Goat Island. I realised that we did not have enough mainsail luff tension to hold the gaff batten on the square head in position. In this mode Soundtrack pointed out from under us where in previous races where the tension had been enough we had outpointed her for most of the racing.
The tacking angles on the chartplotter from that point show very good angles but we had lost too much ground against the very well sailed J35 to make it up. The big Beneteau 44.7 also revelled in the stronger winds and the return reaches were in too light winds to make up the difference.
By the end of the race the sails were setting well and we soon steamed past our old rivals in the Blue fleet as we sailed up Humbug chasing the Black fleet leaders.
The fresher conditions showed we need more time on the water doing the things we used to do on Passion. Things like moving the genoa cars forward for the reaches and adjusting the main luff tension for the different conditions up wind and down wind.
We have not yet perfected the tacking and gybing with the running backstays and again we need some time on the water in non race conditions to hone our skills.
Tonight there were three retirements. Two due to sailing accidents and one who went to the aid of a dismasted competitor. It was not our best race but then we stayed out of trouble.
Passion sails well with a specialist heavy air No 3 genoa in 20 knots of breeze. Wednesday Twilight at Greenwich Flying Squadron was no exception. We were a bit timid and reefed the main before the start. Izzi and Tartan, both fast reaching Northshore 28’s, had full mainsails for the reach down to Spectacle Island and rounded first. Surprisingly Worlds Apart with a double reef also rounded in front for the tight reach to Schnapper Island. Once on the work to Goat Island Passion showed how a short footed headsail helped to keep the yacht under control and allowed for short tacking on the many shifts. By the end of Cockatoo Island we had a good lead and were covering both sides of the course. It was just as well we were as Izzi picked up a big lift on the North side of the course and almost caught us. We tacked just above her line and managed to shave the point at Long Nose by the smallest of margins while the whole fleet had to tack away for a 200 meters drop on our position. For the reach back to Humbug we shook out the reef and managed to hold of the fast reaching Northshore 38 duo. A tidy work through Humbug ensured our third fastest time result in four races and a tidy third on handicap. This may be our last Twilight race in Passion as on Wednesday morning we launched Passion X and are scrambling to have her racing next week.
Tacking angles on the work to Goat Island. Guess on which one Izzi caught up.
This week Passion X has been introduced to its keel manufactured at Complete Steelworx at Somersby and lovingly faired by Dave.
Passion X is sitting alongside Wild Oats XI in her massive boatshed at Woolwich Dock. Yesterday as well the rudder was fitted with very little fuss. Photos below show the progress.
The rest of this week are scheduled for underwater painting and antifouling.
Keel Alignment – very accurate fit
Simon Smith directing the operation
Keel on with Nick the Dock operations man in the foreground
Keel being craned into position
The rudder and prop shaft in place
Today Monday 13th February Passion was lifted from its construction cradle through the trees and onto the semi which transported it to Greenwich Dock to meet up with its keel and subsequently its mast and rigging.
With much interest from the support crew and the neighbours the lift went without a hitch in the hands of true professionals JPM Cranes and Mark Anderson’s Boat Transport.
You can see the almost finished interior of Passion just prior to take off and the flight over Dave and Elaine’s house and onto the semi in the photos HERE.
Tomorrow the work of fitting the keel and rudder followed by spray painting and antifouling begins.
Tacking angles from today’s race
Tonight we set our No 2 genoa for the forecast 15 knots and established an early lead in the fresh conditions but then had to hang on as the breeze died later in the race.
We started lower on the line than the fleet and managed to keep our nose in front of Agrovation up to Onion Point. The run trough Humbug was tricky as to go low would have put is in the considerable wind shadow of Agrovation. The breeze went oversquare and caused an involuntary gybe which left us blanketed by the fleet Saoirse went low and we followed them until they decided to head up under the fleet leaving us as the sandwich in the middle. Somehow we picked up a bit of breeze from around Greenwich Point which was just enough to sail over Saoirse and under Agrovation. Ahead the crew spotted a patch of breeze which we sailed up to and then bore away to the corner of Cockatoo. Tashtego followed us out of Humbug and in a short space of time we had broken away from the fleet with Saoirse chasing us. Around Cockatoo Island Tashtego and Saoirse had a close race some 20 metres off our stern. On the work to Goat Island we were intent on not letting the fleet get to one side or the other or our position as the shifts were pretty big. With the smaller No 2 Genoa we could tack on the knocks and by Long Nose had a lead on the fleet. Agrovation was making her way through the fleet and by Goat Island she was on our heels.
The breeze had move light patches now and every time it went light we could feel Agrovation gaining. Fortunately there were enough gust coming through to keep us moving and we covered them through Humbug to get fastest time by a boat length.
We also scored a first on handicap with Agrovation third.
I like our No 2 genoa in 15 knots of breeze but once it gets below 12 knots we need more power. To compensate we move the mainsail draft through a very wide range of depths through the course of the race. I am hoping the new Passion X will have enough power to weight so that we can use a smaller easier tacking genoa more often. We will have to wait and see.
Our friends on Izzi sailed the Wednesday twilight race remarkable well. By good luck or canny choices thy carried a larger genoa while we had our smaller No 3 up for the windy conditions at the start. We still had the reef in the mainsail from last week and opted to leave it there for the gusty trip through Humbug. We were a bit under powered in the sheltered area around the start line but once into Humbug we managed to match Worlds Apart and take an early lead. Saoirse was sailing fast in the stronger winds and having a great battle with Worlds Apart but they both overstood the turn to Cockatoo Island and we stretched out our lead a little. We probably lost a little on the corner as we had to pinch hard and slow to clear the dock by an arms with. This was the first of three close shaves on the evening and we were considering renaming Passion after one of those razor brands. The next close shave was at the navigation mark on Balls Head. Tana and two Etchells were below us and we could see that they would need to tack onto port to avoid running aground. We had a Young 88 just ahead so it was quite crowded conditions. When Tana and the two Etchells tacked we opted to take their sterns and try to clear the point on starboard tack but Tana stalled and we were forced to make a big deviation around her stern which took us below the point. We hung on and pinched to just clear the point but the deviation and slow sailing brought Izzi right up to us. In the light conditions around Balls Head Izzi was powering along and had now passed Worlds Apart and Saoirse who were having a very close battle to leeward as we approached the Navigation mark at Goat Island. We took out the reef for the run back to Long Nose as the wind was moderating. We lead around Goat Island but once into the clear air Izzi poled out their large Genoa and powered past. The carried the poled out Genoa very high and managed to sail through our lee and from there with more sail area sailed faster to the finish.
We could see Worlds Apart and Saoirse not far behind as we crossed the line. We were happy with our result considering the condition and were pleased that Izzi had sailed so well for a first and fastest.
Back at the club ML and her team put on another great BBQ and the light drizzle could not dampen the spirits on the deck. With the first three handicap place getters opting not to stay for the BBQ and presentation we were the first to the prize table for another bottle of wind from one of our sponsors.
Tracks from a windy Wednesday with awful tacking angles on the way out off Onions Point
The weather patterns seem to have gone missing as we had one very mild regatta sailing Lasers in Adelaide. Not that I minded as the ribs are still healing from the fall down the companionway and I needed a rest from the boat building.
Our first sailing outing on return was the twilight at Greenwich Flying Squadron where for a third lucky week we scored a fastest time. It was lucky because we set the small No 3 genoa in anticipation of 20 knots of breeze and seemed to get a lot more. I don’t know for sure as we had the speed sensor out but the SOG went up to over 9 knots in one gust. The other lucky break was being too late at the start to put in a reef so we sailed full main through Humbug at a time when there was a lull in the breeze. Despite the awful tacking angles we emerged with a good lead and had overtaken the last of the bigger black fleet through Humbug. On the work to Cockatoo Island we put in the first reef and seemed to miss not one bit in the process to have out biggest lead of the night around Cockatoo. On the way to Goat Island we lost a bit of ground when a red fleet port tacker rounded up so we bore away to go below her only to have her bear away as well. There was no room to go back so we just had to bear away harder until they could stop. I think that was the end of the sloppy bits for the evening but by now Saoirse and Izzi were in sight. Fortunately for us they seemed to have a slow trip around Goat while we had a good rounding and hit our top speed of 9.3 knots approaching Long Nose. We left our reef in for the run back through Humbug as we had a good lead but it was a bit quiet for our passage and I suspect it was a bit windier for the following yachts.
We did not deserve to win on handicap and we did not but a third to Saoirse and Izzi was fair enough reward.
For the last two weeks we have managed to achieve fastest times in our Blue Division at Greenwich due to good starts and a clear run through Humbug. Last week our seeming race winning lead was extinguished by a new breeze coming down the course and only a lucky gust at the finish saved us. This week we escaped Humbug on the way out in a similar fashion and managed to hold onto a two minute lead all the way. At the start the breeze was a bit more East than last week and we could not make the start line of starboard if we sailed up the Lane Cove River. We had to run back to the fleet and gybe before the line of moored yachts so that we sat higher than all the fleet. With the bias on the line we had a good lead and could tack onto starboard at will. Even with freedom to tack we just shaved Onion Point of the way out which saved us a few more seconds. On the work back to Goat Island we were on the wrong side of two shifts off Greenwich and did not get back into phase with the changes until we settled into a longer leg along Snails Bay. I begged for wind to get above the concrete dolphins and we got just enough angle so that Frank, putting in a welcome guest appearance, could not reach out and touch it. A timely involuntary round up turned into a tack and had us back in phase. Worlds Apart was no longer steaming up to our stern as she had been coming into Long Nose.
We sort of held our own for the run back around Cockatoo Island with the only real excitement being a late swerve to windward to avoid the protruding yard arm of the monster moored at the South East corner of Cockatoo. I heard another yacht in the fleet made contact so I am grateful for the advance warning I had from the crew.
Back into Humbug we could see the earlier starters becalmed so we went below all the fleet and managed to shave Onions Point on the way back in.
So all was well on the last race of the season and we won the handicap as well.
The Christmas BBQ back at Greenwich was well attended by and well enjoyed by all with some very excellent prizes for the raffle donated by the generous sponsors. As much as I willed it Keith did not pull one of my numbers out of the hat and I had to go home without the Helly Hansen wet weather gear or the Back Vintage wind selection or the Wild Oats bags but we did win one of Back Vintage wines for our handicap win.
Last week we struggled all around the course buried mid fleet and without any lucky breaks. An involuntary gybe at the corner of Cockatoo Island caused be a wind eddy forced us too close along the shore from where we never recovered. We were too close in at the West end of Cockatoo Island and caught in the wind shadow. Tacking back through Humbug we could not get into phase with the shifts and had a pretty average result.
This week was a different story. We set the No 2 genoa in anticipation of a southerly front which came through just as the fleet was starting. The smaller overlap and more comfortable sail area meant we were quick to windward and tidy in the tacks. From the first tack we had Worlds Apart covered with Agrovation behind her. With clear air we could pick our course and at the same time keep a loose cover on Worlds Apart and an eye on Agrovation.
We did not see the rest of the fleet after we rounded Cockatoo Island and were enjoying our time at the lead. Agrovation sailed into the wind shadow off Long Nose and around Goat Island we managed to stretch out the lead on Worlds Apart when they were caught in a light spot in the lee of Goat.
The breeze had dropped away to seven knots as we approached Greenwich when it freshened from the South bringing Worlds Apart charging up to us and past us. There was little we could do as the breeze we were in was lighter and tighter and until the fresh breeze arrived we could not pole the genoa out to windward. Once Worlds Apart was past us we managed to get the genoa drawing and sat on their stern blanketing them as much as possible as we entered Humbug. Luck was back on our side as a fresh gust from behind gave us an inside overlap at Onions Point and with a dead square run to the finish we all had clear air. Being to leeward boat the angle of the finish line favoured us and we reclaimed the fastest times win by a quarter of a boat length. While we could see only Worlds Apart and Agrovation at the finish the freshening breeze brought all the fleet home and despite that we managed a third on handicap.