The Mainsheet

Royal Australian Naval Sailing Association

The Mainsheet

Table of Contents Page

Editorial 2

News from the Commodore 3 Profile of Doug Murchison 5

News from the Vice Commodore 12 Bay to Bay Race 2015 15 Techo Night Presentation 18

News from the Rear Commodore 23

News from the BEM Committee Working Bee February 2015 26 History of Club Renovation 27

August 2015

Editorial

Welcome to RANSA’s newsletter, “The Mainsheet” which was named by our very own Vice Commodore, Dave Giddings. I believe he came up with this name after a brainstorming session with a few members one afternoon after a hard day’s sailing. Great name!

In this edition, we have the latest news from the main Flag Officers and the Building & Maintenance Committee, attaching some interesting articles relating to each news section. All I can say is that there is something for everyone.

In the next edition we will be introducing a Q&A section which will answer your technical questions about sailing, racing, boat repair and maintenance. So, email Janet all those questions that you have stewed over for ages and we’ll ask the RANSA experts to answer them. Now that’s a challenge!

Let me know your views on the newsletter and what you would like to see in future editions. Please send your feedback to Janet at [email protected].

Now, get your favourite drink, sit back, relax, open “The Mainsheet” and enjoy.

Anna Shepherd 3

News from the Commodore

Dear Members

We have so much news to share with you that space does not allow a lengthy report.

Renovations: We are proceeding with the long overdue stage II of our renovations which were approved and commenced in 2011 with the galley, storage, start boat locker and other areas. The Rushcutter Room will be refurbished to a high and attractive standard for use as a multifunction venue. Conformably with our eco-friendly approach to our heritage tin shed, there will be no air conditioning, but we are looking at the best technology to allow the heat to escape from the west facing roof. We have obtained the necessary approvals, tendered the work and let the contract. You will see now that work has started and we plan for the work to be completed before the Trafalgar Day Celebrations on Saturday 17th October.

Legacy Marina (LMC): The LMC continues to suffer inconvenience and damage from especially heavy yachts being left by owners unattended. Please remember to seek permission from a LMC Director if, for good reason, a yacht is to be left alongside. LMC is a joint venture with Sailability, and RANSA does not have control. LMC may issue invoices for unauthorised berthing, or have yachts towed away by RMS. I suggest you contact the Secretary initially, who can put you through to the relevant person at LMC.

Risk Warning: It is timely to remind members to read the risk warning notices on the premises, and to remind crew and extras of the provisions of the Civil Liability Act, and ensure that your insurance is current.

Security: We have had a recent incident where an Aquapro inflatable dinghy was removed in the early hours (0320) on Wednesday 24th June. Police are still on the hunt for the two offenders who were plainly captured on our remote recording video system. This has IR cameras which see in the dark, the recordings go back to a base, and are then passed on to Police.

New Smoke-Free Regulations: All outdoor dining areas, and within 4 metres of a pedestrian access point, have become smoke-free from 6th July 2015 under new Regulations (see RANSA website for more details). That unfortunately has required more signage which we hope to keep unobtrusive but compliant with the requirements for such signage. This will be policed by NSW Health Inspectors.

Dinghy Etiquette: Notices about the use of RANSA dinghies are in place. Please read them. We are always looking for volunteers for the Dinghy maintenance sub- committee.

Website: We have a number of members on whose membership application forms state their occupation as "IT". We are looking at the possibility of an assistant to our Webmaster, Prof Cyril Latimer, to further develop our website.

Venue Hire: Our facilities are available for all types of functions on non-sailing days or evenings. We have a unique and beautiful waterfront venue for all celebrations, functions and corporate events. Closing time is strictly 2300 at which time guests are requested to respect our neighbours, and move away quietly (see RANSA website for more details).

New Members: We are delighted to be able to welcome 68 new members this year which is probably a record, and bodes well for the future. We will do this formally at our Drop in for a Drink session for 2015, Friday 25th September. Many of these new members are younger than the average age. I would ask the senior members to mentor the younger members and “show them the ropes” in the best traditions of our organisation.

Fees: RANSA has increased most of our fees in line with CPI rounded a bit to keep pace with our ever-increasing costs. We are looking at ways of increasing our efficiency and the solar panels on the roof are paying their way. Rent, which is one of our largest expenses, increases every year. Increased venue hire will help defray our costs by using our otherwise underutilised assets. Yachting NSW (YNSW) has reformulated its charges and adopted a banding system. RANSA is in band 5 and is charged $22,500 per annum, payable in one tranche. That cost has to be passed on to members and equates to about $50 per member per annum. YNSW also charges us for maintenance of harbour marks.

Outstanding RANSA Member: RANSA is a volunteer organisation, apart from Janet Doyle, who is part-time Assistant Secretary and Principal Race Officer. We exist, and keep our wonderful ambiance, because of the volunteers who willingly give up their time and apply their skills to make RANSA what it is, for the enjoyment of others. I would like to introduce to you in the next article Doug Murchison, a former Rear Commodore, chair of the BEM, and a tireless worker in the interests of RANSA.

Sponsors: I would like to take this opportunity of thanking our sponsors who support our functions and sailing events – they all give generously to RANSA and contribute to the special spirit and camaraderie for which RANSA is renowned. Please support our sponsors.

Keep flying the Flag and Burgee.

Adrian Gruzman Commodore

ATTACHMENT ARTICLE - RANSA’s “Known and Notable”

Profile of Doug Murchison – RANSA Life Member

Doug is a strong advocate for volunteer organisations where volunteers have the ability to unlock the potential of a host of services to the community. Doug’s hope for the future is to see more involvement by volunteers in their community organisations, in particular RANSA.

Here is a brief overview of Doug’s background in sailing, his involvement with RANSA and some personal insights. He is a treasured member of the RANSA community and I’m sure you will find his story very interesting.

HISTORY OF DOUG’S SAILING AND RANSA ACTIVITIES

Doug started sailing and racing as an 8 year old with his older brother Ian (10 years old) on a Manly Junior boat called “Saltcoat”, 8 feet 6 inches, 3 sails including spinnaker. At that time, he was a member of Woollahra Sailing Club.

As a 13 year old, Doug began working on the rescue boats at Woollahra Sailing Club until he was 17 years old. He obtained his boat licence at 15 years of age which he has held it since.

Doug also sailed a Moth for 1 year, a 12 foot Cherub with his younger brother James for 1 year and then took to yacht racing in the short off-shore ocean races and around the buoys on Sydney Harbour on board “Seonna” owned by Harry Long, “Calypso” then owned by Ross Butler and “Sayonara” owned by Dr Jim Molesworth.

In the late 1970s, Doug tried out for Olympic Selection in the B Class Tornado Catamaran class with Scott Anderson as helmsman, held at Moreton Bay, Queensland. Doug suffered an injury to his thigh, which affected his performance and consequently he was not selected. Scott and his new sailing partner went on to win a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics.

Doug and his younger brother bought a yacht, in partnership, named “Maroota Too”, a Hutton 24 named after their last joint venture in the Cherubs. Following the purchase of “Maroota Too”, Doug’s father, a Major General in the Australian Military and a member of RANSA, introduced him to RANSA.

Doug became a member of RANSA in 1978, being one of the first Local Members.

Doug saw that RANSA’s slipway needed immediate attention as it was incapable of operating safely. With the help of other members, he repaired and replaced the faulty parts, enabling him and other members to use the on-site slipway for their yachts’ 6 maintenance. This was the first of numerous times that Doug was instrumental in the refurbishment of the RANSA slipway over the past 35 years.

RANSA recognised Doug’s actions by inviting him to become a member of RANSA for “services beyond the call of duty”. He has since been the recipient of the Captain R. J. Scrivener Trophy twice as the RANSA Member who provides “invaluable service to the Club”.

Doug has been racing from RANSA since 1978. He has also raced with CYCA, RPEYC, RSYS, RPAYC, DBSC and Gosford Sailing Club.

Doug raced in his boat “Maroota Too” until 2002, although there was a hiatus between 1981-86 when he moved to Jindabyne for work purposes. During his years at Jindabyne he regularly entered in the Twilight and Saturday races on Sydney Harbour and Pittwater.

Doug bought “Rough Justice”, a Farr 1020, which he races regularly and still continues to race.

Doug has also sailed and raced offshore on other boats. In 1988 he raced in “Tara II”, a 40 ft. custom built boat. “Tara II” and the current RANSA Commodore Adrian Gruzman’s, “Anthanta VI”, made a bet as to who would beat the other out of 3 offshore races: • 1989 Sydney to Coffs Harbour – Tara II won • 1990 Sydney to Lord Howe Island – Anthanta VI won • 1991 Sydney to Hobart – Tara II won

As “Tara II” won the bet, Adrian, in the long standing tradition of Ocean Racing, lined the bar with rum and colas. This was softened by the fact that “Anthanta VI” also had the Bollinger sponsorship for that year’s Sydney to Hobart race. It was interesting to note that “Atara”, (the Irish yacht that won that year’s Hobart race) sounds like “Tara II”. Therefore, you can imagine the confusion caused to the female Irish tourists who came on board “Tara II” for celebrations.

Doug sailed major offshore races from Sydney including: • 1990 Sydney to Hobart and return in “Tara II” • 1994 Sydney to Hobart in “Mistress Mercy” and return. • 1995 Sydney to Noumea in “Tara II” and return. • 1997 Sydney to Hobart in “Adria” and return • 2014 Sydney to Hobart in a RANSA registered Yacht “Zora”, a Salona 45.

Photos of some of Doug’s sailing adventures: Shag Island rendezvous with Justin Atkinson; the view from Cook’s Look on Lizard Island; Captain Thunderbolt’s Cave; Anchored at Hardy’s Reef

Doug became a member of the House Committee with Bill Ford as Rear Commodore. Subsequently Doug himself became Rear Commodore for 2 years. Doug made history as the first non-service flag officer, paving the way for other committee members to follow suit (e.g. the first female Rear Commodore – Cathy Josling).

In 2006, Doug became a member and Chair of the newly formed Infrastructure Committee with RANSA's Commodore Leo Schultz. This led to the construction of the new deck, offices and toilets. In 2008, this committee evolved into the Building Engineering and Maintenance (BEM) Committee which was responsible for involving the RANSA membership in the quarterly working bees, the construction of the Rushcutter Room, the Cool Room, the Whaler Bar and the new commercial kitchen. Key personnel of the BEM Committee includes Leo Schultz, Ian Smith, Kerry Lehman, Peter Crozier, Barry Fielding, Michael Hein, Paul Mulherin, Colin Brown and Bill Watkins.

Doug was involved in the acquisition of the Olympic Marina as a member of the Olympic Marina Infrastructure Committee after the Sydney 2000 Olympics. This was a time when RANSA’s tenure at its premises at Rushcutter’s Bay was at risk. Doug worked closely with Adrian Gruzman and Prof Bob Walker on behalf of RANSA, which resulted in the establishment of the Legacy Marina Corporation with equal shareholding with RANSA and Sailability Rushcutter’s Bay. This guaranteed RANSA access to the waterfront and the marina and hardstand facilities with a 20 year lease and established the administrative framework and governance of the marina and hardstand, with the on-going support from the RAN. Doug, Adrian and Bob worked very closely with Navy, Local Council, Maritime NSW and the Minister in the tender process, ensuring the original intent of the correspondence between the NSW and Federal Governments (the then Premier Wran and Prime Minister Fraser) was enshrined. One of the key conditions reflected in the correspondence was that RANSA would retain its existing tenure at Rushcutter’s Bay. This led to the establishment of the Sir David Martin Trust, a trust established between the State and Federal Government and managed by the Local Council. (Prof) Bob Walker was instrumental in the establishment of the Legacy Marina Corporation which now leases the Marina and hardstand from NSW Waterways on behalf of RANSA and Sailability NSW. This allows RANSA to raise and accumulate funds to be able to maintain and upgrade its facilities for the future.

Doug’s latest achievement is winning the RANSA 2014 Capt. R.J. Scrivener Trophy for the member who made the most outstanding contribution to RANSA. This is the second time Doug has won this award. Doug’s contribution to RANSA has been significant over many years. Some of his achievements include all his activities in leading the construction and maintenance works of the various committees and working bees in building and restoring much of RANSA’s facilities that exist today. Doug is also RANSA’s licensee allowing RANSA to operate the Whaler Bar, a licensed bar for our nominated sports events and member functions. Doug and Bob O’Brien are also responsible for the purchase and supply of all the bar stock, including beers, wines, spirits, 9 soft drinks and snack foods. Doug continues to be a key active member of RANSA’s House Committee and Chairman of the BEM Committee.

Doug became an Honorary Life Member of RANSA in 2013.

1 Questions

What was one of your scariest episodes on the water?

In the 1994 Sydney to Hobart race, I was racing on “Mistress Mercy”. It was a large fleet of 371 boats and only about 309 boats finished, which reflected the harsh conditions particularly towards the end of the race. When we reached Bass Strait, there was a man overboard, in the extremely rough conditions. Fortunately, he was clipped on and his recovery was possible. Those words, “Man overboard” and “Mayday Mayday” are words I never want to hear again.

Unfortunately, this was not to be. Days after the finish of the 1994 Sydney to Hobart race, as we were delivering “Mistress Mercy” and battling the 78 knot winds, we became involved in the search for a soul washed overboard from “Too Impetuous”. Doug still holds vivid images of that moonless night - this incident ended in tragedy.

What was your most memorable episode on the water?

I was involved in the delivery of “Tara II” from New Caledonia after the 1995 Noumea Race. We stopped off at Middleton Reef, 29°27′28″S 159°7′7″E, a coral atoll halfway between Noumea and Sydney. The weather was perfect. We anchored in 9 metres of water and could still see everything on the sand below us. It was here we caught and served the freshest sashimi. One of the crew was blown away by the taste and freshness and related the story that on his regular visits to Japan he was served very expensive dishes at $100.00 each that were, in comparison, dry and tasteless. With the exception of a significant wreak, the “Fuku Maru” a Japanese Tuna boat, it was the most pristine environment that I have ever witnessed.

2 Other Interests

Boy Scouts:

Doug started as a Boy Scout when he was 8 years old and worked his way up to being a Senior Scout. Doug still participates in Boy Scout activities including some significant bush walks and canyoning with friends that he met in Scouts 50 years ago.

SES:

In 1977 Doug joined the State Emergency Services with the Inner Sydney Branch of the SES and quickly led a team of 20 volunteers to conduct all the activities at the Branch. Doug then set up the Woollahra Branch and become its first Controller. His duties included documenting all processes and procedures including first aid, communications, including radio, Field telephone and various visual communications, stakeholder management, technical processes and emergency procedures particularly relating to extreme weather damage, training sessions for new volunteers. This included, drills for disaster planning, such as what to do if a plane crashed into Sydney Harbour or nuclear explosion, (remember this was in the height of the Cold War).

His services with the SES ceased when he moved to Jindabyne to live and work.

Rotary:

Doug joined Rotary in 1994 and became President of the East Sydney Rotary Club in 1999. Doug became heavily involved in the operations of Rotary in the local area and became the Honorary Secretary of the Kings Cross Rotary Club. He was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in 2013 as recognition for his contributions to Rotary. Doug is famous for his BBQ s which he regularly holds to support fund raising events and other social functions for the Rotary Club. The biggest BBQ he arranged was at Garden Island for the International Fleet Review in 2013. During the Public Open Days at Garden Island his team served 5,000 sausage sandwiches, one and a half tonnes of soft drinks, 480 loaves of bread, to raise funds for The Sir David Martin Foundation’s Triple Care Farm alongside other selected charities including St Vincent’s Hospital, scholarships to St Vincent’s College and building health & education facilities in the Solomon Islands.

This photo was taken during the International Fleet Review with Lady Susan Martin, Naval Command and Rotary representatives.

Business Interests:

Doug has mostly worked in retail management and later worked in his own businesses, a Building equipment hire business and a locksmith business, both which he has now sold. Doug is currently working in his own property management business.

3 Achievements in RANSA and Rotary:

• RANSA Honorary Life Member 2013 • RANSA: 2014 Outstanding Achievement • RANSA: 2004 Outstanding Achievement • RANSA Sailing Trophies: numerous over 30 years • Rotary: 1999 President Rotary Club of East Sydney • Rotary: 2012- Honorary Secretary Kings Cross Rotary Club • Rotary: 2013 Paul Harris Fellowship for services to Rotary • “Husband and father to my very understanding wife, Linda and my children Aiden and Lauren”.

“Volunteers are Vital”

Anna Shepherd 12

News from the Vice Commodore

Dear Members

I commend the House Committee for taking the initiative to re-establish the RANSA Newsletter. I consider this is an important aspect of good communication to members at our club. I implore all members to take pen to paper or, in this era of technology, take finger to keypad or electronic gadget and contribute.

The newsletter should be about happenings of our club and what its members are up to. For example, John Dwyer and I have had two great adventures this year on his Careel 18. The first was driving to Gippsland Lakes in early March with David Pearce and doing the Marley Point overnight Race and back to Sydney in the weekend. We arrived back to Sydney at about 0600 Monday morning ready for a day’s work - what a challenge! Then in early May, I met John at Brisbane Airport and headed to Tin Can Bay for the Bay to Bay Race with a story on it in this Newsletter. These are the sort of things that are good to let other members know about RANSA members’ adventures – see the next article.

Winter sailing is going well with increased entries in the Saturday Winter Series which is a great outcome as it has been suffering from falling entries in the last few seasons. The Combined Series’ planning with the Sydney Amateurs stalled after initial discussion late in 2014. The concept took some bedding down and Janet finally took charge and pulled it together from our side. Those I have spoken to state they are really enjoying racing against the larger numbers in the short series races, the only problem is they have been experiencing really nice days, that means light breezes. You can see the final Race Results for both Long and Short Series on RANSA’s website.

The Wednesday Winter Series is going extremely well with over 60 boats fronting up weekly for their dose of mid-week de-stressing. Unfortunately, they have been experiencing the same light breezes as the Saturday series.

I am leaving it to others to provide detailed information on the winter series as I find light weather sailing very frustrating and I go sailing to de-stress.

As always, if you have any ideas on sailing matters or feed-back of any kind do not hesitate to bail me up at RANSA or touch base by email as it is important we are catering for members’ needs. Try Racing Speaking of that; I have a concept I want to give a go to see if we can entice more boats and members to participate in RANSA’s sailing program. There are heaps of boats sitting on moorings around the bays that are owned by people who always wanted to own a boat and find the concept of racing too daunting or are not sure where to start. The Double Bay Sailing Club is doing something similar in Laser Dinghies and they now have a waiting list for new members wanting give it a go.

Therefore, I am introducing a Try Racing Program, and in July the Sailing Committee is started the planning for the first mentoring session. The idea is to do some theory on how to dig up a crew, preparing your boat for racing and some basic racing rules and with how to mix it with those who are playing for sheep stations. I need members’ assistance with providing mentoring and expertise in training and ability to help the boat owners with guidance to get their boat out there racing. If you would like to help or know someone who would be a candidate to participate, let Janet know. The plan is to do the training leading up to the twilights.

RANSA Techo Nights The presentations at the Techo nights have proved very successful. It’s great to see the Rushcutter Room full of eager skippers and crew members keen to improve their skills and knowledge.

The 2nd Techo night for this winter was on Thursday 18 June and from feedback, it was a well attended night with most spare seats in the Rushcutter Room taken. Tony Dillon provided an interesting presentation on rigging and provided an informative and entertaining presentation. He had so much to pass on that he ran out of time and has offered to come back for another session. Looks like it will be next year, as we are booked out until October. By the way, these sessions are available for crew as well as skippers and I encourage you to promote the techo nights widely. If your crew are up to speed on sail technology, it may encourage them to kick in for a new sail to replace that old favourite that they all grumble about. If they were up to speed on tuning the rigging, it would enable them to offer advice to the skipper when the mast looks like a banana or worse.

The presenter for the 3rd Techo night was Paul White who has been playing with electronic gizmos for many moons and has come up with some good apps & programs to enable your phone to be more than a toy. At the presentation, he showed us how to use your phone to help get the edge on your starts, navigate, dig up real time weather and assist you to improve our performance around the race track. Paul has put pen to paper and summarised his presentation, titled “How to Win Races with your Phone” with a link to his website for the Phone addicts to gleam more info. I have also added his presentation in this newsletter.

Mark your calendar for the next 3rd Thursday of the month so that you do not miss out on the next episode of “techo stuff” this winter. Next month you have to put up with me. I will be covering converting your yacht from racing mode to cruiser and heading off to the Hawkesbury and cruising one of the best cruising areas in Australia. So keep 20th August free for this presentation which starts at 1900.

Robyn Morton has been corresponding with John Barclay of “Reverie” for a presentation on cruising the Med for our September Techo Night, that is if he can drag himself away from having fun around the Greek Isles.

We are already working on presenters for next year and Alex Whitworth has offered to provide us with a night or two of his vast experience. If you know of anyone who you think has a good story to tell or you have a subject you would like covered, let me or one of your Sailing Committee members know, so we can look at planning it in.

Finally, a reminder about the Safety Equipment Audit (30th August) and the Fire Extinguisher Service (26th August) - see RANSA website for more information.

Keep those sails flying.

Dave Giddings Vice Commodore

ATTACHMENT ARTICLE – Bay to Bay Race 2015

By John Dwyer

For a taste of adventure, Dave Giddings and John Dwyer from “Sylvara” recently headed up to Queensland to participate in the famous Bay to Bay (B2B) trailerable yacht race on 02 & 03 May 2015. It is run by the Hervey Bay & Tin Can Bay Yacht Clubs. This was the 35th anniversary of this iconic 85 km race from Tin Can Bay via the great Sandy Strait to Hervey Bay. It is a two (2) day race with an evening lay over at the beautiful Garry’s Anchorage on the Western side of Fraser Island, with over a 100 yachts of all shapes and sizes racing in 5 divisions.

If we had been timid twilighters, we would not have had such a wonderful experience at this year’s B2B. The weather forecast was discouraging with a massive 'low' forming off Fraser Island on Friday morning. The drive from Brisbane was a wet one and it absolutely bucketed down when we arrived at Tin Can Bay and cut the road between there & Gympie. Then on Friday night we watched a massive light show down Brisbane way where they experienced one hell of a storm and people lost their lives.

We raced in John’s Compass Careel 18 “Mango Madness” which is easily sailed with a crew of two. This popular trailer sailer has a strong class association facilitated by the Careel Cruising Yacht Association (CCYA). There were seven Careel 18s at the event and, as it turned out, it was worth it. When getting settled in on Friday afternoon we bumped into George Kompolthy who had trailered “MOJO” up from RANSA, driven through the deluge from Gympie and was lucky to make it. Several boats that had entered from Brisbane & surrounding areas did not make it due to the flooded roads.

These two maps show the Careel Nellie tacking duel

The marina was well organised and they berthed all of the Careels adjacent to each other. As a result, we got to know the other Careelers over dinner on Friday night with a “Red Sky at night” sunset. It was exciting to race in unknown territory against a mini fleet of 7 Careels. The other crews were from Brisbane and have sailed the 16

race before. They were very generous with providing advice to the newbies, particularly about the effect of the strong tides in the Great Sandy Strait.

We awoke to clear skies on Saturday morning with puffy clouds and a light wind blowing from the SW, and it felt cool. After the brief which was more of a sponsor’s promo, everyone was keen to leave the marina and it was like the crowd running late for a twilight. Where is the starting line? So we followed the leader and found the Start Boat but not the other end of the line. The Queenslander’s definitely do it differently and we could not follow the masses as our division was first to start. Fortunately, the Starter provides plenty of chatter on the radio and we managed a great start being one of the first Careel’s across the line.

The Careel is a great little yacht for racing in light breeze. We kept well away from Frazer Island as those who went close in copped a flogging from the tide. The below tracks of “Nellie” at left shows the dilemma of going in close to Frazer Island with a tide running out. Through good luck, “Mango Madness” was the 3rd Careel to cross the finish line.

We had a great day’s racing on the Saturday with many tacking duels with the other Careels, and were proud that we had kept up without the benefit of local knowledge and a decent chart. The race info indicated we would be provided with a chart as part of our welcome pack so we did not bother with sorting out a chart. Well this proved to be a basic A5 sketch which covered 90 kms of the Sandy Strait. Just what a pair of out-of-towners needed!!

Saturday evening, we rafted up with the other Careels with six boats hanging off one pick in a racing tide enjoying sundowners! The raft-up broke up at sunset and we headed up towards the top end of Garry’s Landing with over 100 yachts & support craft anchored in the Bay. We had been told the secret to success in the B2B race is to “be up early Sunday morning and don't be late for the start!” We were underway by 0630 and brewing up coffee heading for the start line. Our first mishap occurred with a parted keel strop after an unexpected grounding. This meant we couldn’t raise the swing keel should we go aground on the many poorly marked sandbanks. This kept us on our toes as did the close racing with our fellow Careelers.

When we reached the start line, there was not a breath of air and the current was against us. The Starter decided to move the start line several miles up the strait and under motor we joined the gaggle of 100 plus yachts to Sheridan Flats where race control set the start. As we progressed down this leg, a long line of spinnakers presented themselves and overtook us at their leisure. The wind strengthened and 17 must have been up to 15 knots at times with some great tacking duels with the other Careels.

We were having so much fun that we lost track of listening to the radio which had gone flat anyway. As a result, we missed the announcement of the shortened course that should have been apparent with the big ship “Whale Song” anchored at the mark just south of Woody Island.

Our fellow Careelers were heading straight for this mark which we needed to keep to our port side. Unfortunately, this mark and “Whale Song” was the newly defined finishing line which we over-sailed. We had the other Careels below us and one Careel way off to windward. We had to bear away and could not pick up enough hull speed to beat two Careels across the finish. Anyway, it was good for next year’s handicap.

“Mango Madness” and “Cool Change” On arrival at Hervey Bay “Mango Madness” was packed up & delivered to the caravan park for an overnight rest while we freshened up and went to the Prize Giving function. I came across George and asked him how he went - the racing was great with good results. The transit to Hervey Bay was disastrous as they struck bottom where it should have been deep water and damaged the hull – Bugger!!

Then next morning when getting our act together to head south, we came across another RANSA sailor – John Parkes who sailed on a “Noelex 25”.

We had an absolute ball participating in this wonderful event! The sailing in unfamiliar territory was quite challenging, the welcome from the Queenslanders was warm and we had our fill of adventure!

Then there was the trip home and that’s another story!!!

We look forward to catching up with many more RANSA members next year.

John Dwyer 18

ATTACHMENT ARTICLE – Techo Night Presentation How to Win Races with your Phone Presenter: Paul White

Smartphone technology now enables anyone to get the kind of advanced starting, routing and performance analysis data which was once only available to professionals who had to spend thousands of dollars to only get a fraction of what is now available with an inexpensive App.

Smartphones and Tablets are making dedicated sailing hardware obsolete – the GPS in a phone is as good as a hand-held GPS in inshore waters as it combines data from mobile networks and GPS to fix your position. Plus, you can use it for so much more than the single-function sailing hardware as you can combine apps to share/compare data - for example by comparing weather forecasts. You're no longer limited to one supplier of applications and phones and tablets can be integrated into existing systems. Weather Apps Of course one of the main uses of a phone is to be able to view the weather forecast and with a SmartPhone you're not just limited to one app or one forecast – many in Australia use SeaBreeze but if you need more in-depth analysis and routing, PredictWind can give more in-depth forecasting. SydWinds and SailFlow provide useful weather station wind information on a map so that you can see just when that Southerly is going to hit. Of course you're not just limited to weather apps: there are the repair tutorials from various suppliers, 19 animated knots from Grog and ISAF racing rules - not forgetting the Drag Queen app which sets off an alarm if your anchor starts dragging and many more. Gearing up So having seen the revolution, what technology do you need to make you a better sailor? I recommend Apple products for the "Technologically Challenged" because they are easier to use and they have more accessories and apps available. Also the polarizer in the iPhone 6 has been improved to make it easier to read when wearing polarized glasses. For the more budget conscious, Android phones are available from around $250 (Kogan) or you can import a Cube water-resistant phone from China for $225 (Banggood.com). If you need the larger display of a tablet, generally they're cheaper than phones but you either need to get one with mobile support because it includes the GPS, add an external GPS or link the tablet to the phone so it can use the GPS data from that. Integration For those who have already invested in on- board instruments, the key is to integrate them with the mobile device – and it's possible even if the systems use a proprietary communications network. Phones and tablets can obtain data from the systems you already have - wind speed, wind direction, boat speed, heading etc. NMEA is the defined standard for nautical systems communication and NMEA over Wi-

Fi is the way to get the data from your 1 NMEA Integration existing hardware into your phone/tablet. Some hardware is now available that supports NMEA Wi-Fi out of the box but if yours doesn't - you can add a NMEA/Wi-Fi Gateway to make the data available over Wife. Integration on a budget For those who want to integrate their existing systems without buying dedicated hardware, you can DIY using any PC as the Gateway device – from an old laptop to some of the new micro computers like the Raspberry Pi. Connect up your transducers via a USB Serial Hub and then use open-source software like NavMon to interpret and transmit the NMEA data over Wi-Fi via a Router. Mounting and Waterproofing Generally, you want to mount it where it's close to your line of sight and where the readout can be seen by others on board. If you have the space, it's better to mount the device below deck away from direct sunlight in a position where it can be seen in the cockpit – either on a swing arm or hinged from the cabin roof. If not, you're going to need a waterproof device.

2 Dog & Bone Topless Wetsuit Cover 20

Recent developments in waterproof phone cases that leave the screen uncovered have made it much easier to read the phone in sunlight, by reducing reflections, and also makes the device more sensitive to touch with wet hands. Racing Apps Possibly the most comprehensive is iRegatta - a tactical racing and routing product that combines a large number of different functions. It can take the data from your existing systems or it can use the built in GPS of the device. iRegatta which is a modular product costing US $12.99 for the Basic version and you then add the components you need. A free trial is available for iOS or Android. Routing & Waypoints To make best use of iRegatta you need to input your course. If you're sailing Olympic-style courses you can ping the marks as you pass them but if you're sailing more complex courses you need to enter the marks as waypoints. There's three other ways of recording the mark locations – you can enter the location from the latitude and longitude, drop a pin on a map or you can use the camera to triangulate the mark location – take a bearing using the phone camera in iRegatta, then take another bearing from a different location – iRegatta will triangulate the location of the mark.

Then all you need to do is set up the routes for your standard courses. Once you've selected your route and started the program iRegatta will track your course and give you the bearing and distance to the first mark as well as the next leg. Because marks move, and you don't actually hit them (well not often!) you need define in the set up how close you get before 3 Setting a bearing in iRegatta iRegatta automatically switches navigation to the next mark. Starting Over iRegatta supports both fleet and pursuit starts. Firstly, you need to set the location of the committee boat and pin which you can do as you pass them or you can select them from a stored waypoint (for a fixed startline). Now that iRegatta knows the startline and route it calculates the favoured end of the line. Since iRegatta records your tracks it automatically builds a Polar diagram of your optimal performance and can overlay this over the start screen to show how long it will take to get to the line on a given heading. But it also gives 21

an indication of time and distance to the line and the "Burn indicator bar on the left shows if you need to speed up (Green), Slow down (Red) or you're on time (Orange). G Startline Bias Wind Direction Indicator

Port Waypoint Starboard Waypoint Button Button Start Boat Polar overlay Button Pin Buoy Button Your Boat Laylines Burn/Gain Bar Timer Pursuit race Pause/Reset start Reduce Increase Countdown Time Countdown 4 iRegatta Start View Time Countdown Timer Race View Tap to start/sync Once you've started, iRegatta switches to Race View. The standard digital display shows 4 data readings all of which can be customised. You can select from any of the 20 built in or NMEA data sources available. There's also a digital or map mode which overlays this data on a chart of the course showing your route and the laylines.

GPS Signal Strength Lift/Header Indicator

Configurable Performance Bar Displays

VMG Trend Speed Trend Chart Chart

Steering Bars

Become a Better Sailor with RaceQs

5 iRegatta Race View

So now you've started to improve your performance during a race with the basics – starting on time, at the right end, taking on shifts, hitting laylines. But how can you analyse how you've done afterwards and how can you find out why your competitors may have done better than you during the race? Use RaceQs is the answer. 22

RaceQs is a FREE on-line service that will playback your regatta (or your individual track) recorded via a free app that runs on either your Apple or Android phone. RaceQs offers incredible 3D live tracking and replay, as well as a wealth of sailing analysis tools. For example, your tacks and gybes – how long they took, how much you oversteered, how much speed you lost and how long you took to recover. More importantly, RaceQs allows you to compare the tracks and performance of your competitors and you can even Live Stream a race so that others can watch the 3D replay online live. It's a really good way for those with expertise to be able to share that with others in the fleet so that everyone improves their performance which makes the racing closer and more enjoyable. The only thing worse than being way behind the fleet is being way out in front so you have no-one to race against. Smile you're On Camera Another major benefit of using RaceQs is that it can combine the video from an Action Camera with the 3D replay and performance analysis. Mounting a forward-facing waterproof action camera on a pole on the stern of the boat is a great way to be able to analyse your sailing race and your crew performance (and it doesn't have to be expensive – excellent cameras are available for less than $100). Even better if you share the video and RaceQs replay with the crew or an expert in your fleet to improve your abilities.

For more detailed information on using a Phone or Tablet to improve your sailing and racing, take a look at the presentation from Paul's recent Tech Talk at RANSA which you can find at www.tinyurl.com/phone- sailing which includes sample videos, links to sources of hardware and recommended apps.

News from the Rear Commodore

Dear Members

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have volunteered their time to plan and run events over the year. It is fantastic to see the commitment from both experienced and new members, and with more events coming, please feel free to contact any member of the House Committee (HC) if you would like to become more involved either via joining the HC or volunteering to assist with a specific event.

Pirates Day is RANSA’s core event with regards to providing a family fun day to members. At the same time, it is the main fund raiser for RANSA’s core charity, The Sir David Martin Foundation, which does great work with young adults with addiction and mental health issues through programs such as the Triple Care Farm. This year, despite a negative weather forecast, we saw a great turnout of boats and families who enjoyed a rare sunny day of fun and laughs, with the usual pirate hijinks. Particular thanks to Michael Hein for a wonderful job as the Pirate King and Lynn Forrester as The Pirate Mum. Congratulations to all those recipients of awards including best dressed pirate and best dressed boat. There are some great photos of the event on the RANSA website for those who have not seen them.

RANSA Regatta is one of the busiest and most enjoyable days at RANSA, which saw many members and visitors enjoying a cool drink whilst listening to a live Jazz band, after a great day of sailing on the harbour. With record sales of RANSA stubby holders I am sure most have a memento of the day in addition to the many prizes generously donated by our sponsors. Yet again we saw great interest in the meat tray raffle, which is surely one of the most coveted and elusive of prizes at RANSA.

I would like to congratulate Slip de Femme who won the best bar crew trophy at this year’s Prize Giving. A great night for all involved and one of the rare opportunities to exchange sailing gear for dress uniforms, dinner suits and evening dresses. With regard to next year’s event we have taken on board feedback regarding the event being open to more than just prize recipients and will provide more detail in due course.

With two Drop in for a Drink Friday events held so far we have seen members enjoy a social drink with friends. As always the night brings the chance for one of the attendees to win a prize, congratulations to our June winner who won a bottle of 24 champagne and our July winner who is no doubt enjoying her bottle of spirits. The cash prize has remained elusive so far, so please feel free to come down to any or all of our upcoming Friday drinks on 31st July, 21st August, and 25th September. You never know, you may be the lucky door prize winner and take home the cash.

This year marks the 210th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and to celebrate we are looking to host a themed 3 course sit down meal at the club on the 17th of October. Tickets will be on sale shortly for the event and period appropriate costume is recommended. Please follow the RANSA website or Facebook for more information as it becomes available. Tickets for this event in the past have sold out well before the date, so we are looking at limiting the tickets per member to give more members the opportunity of being part of this event.

RANSA remains a popular venue for Private Functions with over 20 functions held so far this year ranging from weddings to corporate drinks. The hire of the venue is obviously one of the great benefits of being a RANSA member and I never tire of guests commenting on what a magical spot the club holds. Full information on club hire can be found on RANSA’s website or from the office.

Over the next few months the much anticipated works to the Rushcutter Room is underway, which should not result in any significant disruption to the club’s operations. We trust members will be pleased with the final result of the renovation which should bring the space into line with the recent bar renovations.

The HC is committed to trying to ensure the club’s amenities and offerings continue to meet its members’ needs and expectations. In this regard I would like to thank all those who participated in the recent food survey which provided useful feedback and suggestions. Please also feel free to raise any ideas or concerns with me or any HC member regarding the amenities and offerings of the club.

Could I also please remind members that small bins in the eastern enclosure are for glass only, please place plastic, cardboard and general waste in the large bins in the western enclosure.

We have had great feedback on the Sunday Jazz sessions in August run by Janet and her team. This has proved to be a wonderful opportunity for members and their guests to spend some time together relaxing to some great live jazz music.

In closing I would again like to thank all those who have volunteered their time and skill to the club as your contributions are greatly appreciated and make the club the unique place it is. I would also like to take this opportunity of welcoming Bob O’Brien, who will takeover as the new Rear Commodore from next month.

Chris Irons Rear Commodore 25

News from the BEM Committee (Building Engineering and Maintenance Committee)

Dear Members

Your Club, RANSA, on behalf of all her members, would like to say thank you to the 38 members who turned out for our most recent working bee.

This was our first quarterly working bee for 2015 and timed to ensure that our Clubhouse was "Shipshape and Bristol Fashion" for another very successful RANSA regatta.

The Working Bee participants – February 2015

I would like to also extend a “thank you” to the following members (see attached) who devoted their time to this worthwhile and fun activity and also to our generous sponsors Kennards Hire (Woollahra), Mitre 10 (Paddington), Farm Fresh Foods, (Paddington) who supplied the gourmet sausages and Andreas from Uvex Safety Products for their continued support.

Look out for Janet’s email for the next working bee details. Hope to see you then.

And finally, I have also attached a short paper written by Bill Watkins for some interesting history of the BEM Committee and upgrades to the RANSA Clubhouse over the years.

Doug Murchison Chair BEM

ATTACHMENT ARTICLE - Working Bee February 2015

Members Present: Members Present:

Doug Murchison Sam Mitchell

Adrian Gruzman Peter Crozier

Adrian Trus Terry Hemmings

Michael Schneider Chris France

Hugh McCullum Barry Fielding

Lynn Forrest Peter Vincent

Bill Wylie Stephen Brooker

Gil Sher Vaughan Brooker

John Barclay Chris Warren

John Comino Steve Willis

John Box Nicki Willis

Christine Box Joe Sutton

Bernard Harper Georgie Gruzman

Dave Giddens Yshmal Nieto

Kerry Lehman Bridgette Holbach

Ian Smith Bruce Rigby

Justin Atkinson Brett Philby

Matt Bryant Cam Wayland

Chris Irons Cathy Josling

Janet Fletcher

Many thanks to Kennards Hire for the supply of power tools Andreas Dammann from Uvex for the Personal Safety Equipment Bill Wilson, Farm Fresh Foods in Paddington, for the best sausages in Sydney

ATTACHMENT ARTICLE - THE RANSA CLUB HOUSE

History of Club Renovation

Maintenance and improvement of ‘the old tin shed’, RANSA’s heritage listed 1900s clubhouse, has always posed some interesting challenges. Through the voluntary efforts of its members, some examples of what had been achieved in the earlier days include:

• slipway cradle and slipway rebuilds in 1978 and upgrades in 1989 and 2005 • boat ramp apron rebuilds in 2004 & 2008, • replacement of the Whaler bar in1986, • replacement of galley cupboards and fixtures (1992), to name just a few.

In 2005 Commodore Leo Schultz established and chaired the new Infrastructure Committee comprising Ian Smith, Bill Watkins and Doug Murchison to project manage the rebuilding of the office, amenities blocks and ‘the deck’ and liaising with Woollahra Council during construction of the footpath around the club house and the new footings to the 4 foot wide walkway.

The Infrastructure Committee morphed into the Building, Engineering and Maintenance Committee (BEM) in 2008. Whilst the creation of BEM formalised the earlier volunteer effort, it also set in place processes that would enable RANSA to get the most out of its assets with a stronger focus upon maintaining all of the club infrastructure to the highest level possible with the creation and implementation of a periodic Maintenance Schedule.

The BEM committee remit also included being available to the Squadron, House, Sailing and LMC committees to assist, assess and consult on any projects that required technical assistance.

A few hallmark projects:

• 2008 - Cool room behind the Whaler Bar. This work included demolition, the construction of an insulated concrete slab, the installation of plumbing and the 28

hydraulics for the cooling system, vents and the commission of the new cool room & bar area within a very tight timeline.

• 2010/11 - Through efforts of RANSA members led by Professor Bob Walker and Peter Edwards, RANSA obtained State Government funding to contribute to the further renovations of the club house. The Squadron and BEM Committees obtained Council’s development approval for a substantial revamp of the club house. Stage 1 works included the reconstruction of the Galley, utilities room, storage room, start locker and the mezzanine. Stage 2 will be the refurbishment of the Rushcutter Room (future task).

• 2014 - RANSA Squadron Committee was successful in influencing the Local Council to repair the structural damage to the southern wall of the Whaler Bar and to contribute to funding the cost of internal cladding and paint. RANSA established a Décor Committee which provided a user brief detailing the selections for colour, design, fittings and fixtures for the renovation of the Bar area once Council completed its work. BEM Committee commenced the construction work including electrical setup and painting the internal cladding, installing new light fittings, replacing the upholstery of the bar stools, installing new timber shelving, varnishing the wooden shelves in the bar area and the Whaler Bar counter, and recarpeting the floor with carpet tiles. A later stage of this project will be a major refurbishment of the bar working area including new plumbing, concrete floors and bar works which is scheduled for completion later this year.

A sample of some of the smaller tasks that BEM has successfully completed since 2008:

• Installed the rubbing strakes to the boat ramp, • installed the handrails around the deck, • painted the concrete boatshed floor, • repaired and refurbished the boatshed doors and the courtyard flagstaff, repaired and replaced termite damaged Rushcutter Room walls, • installed CCTV throughout the boatshed, • installed back to base smoke detectors, • replaced faulty hot water service, • installation of pedestal drill and bench grinder facilities in slip area, • installed heaters for the deck and bar and timer switches for the deck heaters and barbecue lights, • installed member keyed access to BBQ gas, • liaised with Council on the replacement of termite damaged structural timbers, • replaced the oar locker with a secure locker to include members own oars including a small bar fridge and microwave for the use of members, • designed / built / commissioned the Bill Ford library, • installed first aid kits, defibrillator and sharps repositories • as well as working with and consulting to your Squadron Committee as needed

The BEM Committee also conducts 3 - 4 working bees throughout every year to maintain club facilities to the scheduled standard and to perform further improvements wherever possible.

The BEM motto is “Volunteers are Vital” – we invite and welcome all members interest and participation in working bees and projects.

On behalf of RANSA, BEM thanks all of those that have been so generous with their time and energy in the past and would like to acknowledge the very generous assistance provided by RANSA sponsors who include Tony and John from Kennards Hire (Woollahra), Matthew from Mitre 10 Paddington, Andreas Damman UVEX and Bill Wilson from Paddington Fresh Food. The support and supply of equipment and goods from our sponsors have been a boost to BEM in particular and to RANSA in general.

2015 BEM Committee Members:

Doug Murchison (Chairman), Glen Armstrong, Matt Bryant, Colin Brown, Peter Crozier, Barry Fielding, Michael Hein, Kerry Lehman, Paul Mulherin, Leo Schultz, Ian Smith, Bill Watkins.

Bill Watkins