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Play safe with ('Beaufort) ~ inflatable litel'afts - OFFSHORE Number 50 October/November 1979 Contents OFFSHORE I ·~~- ·-- "1 The Admiral's Cup; the Fastnet 2 Fastnet '79 8 Man overboard 11 The loss of Cmdr. S.S. Brooks, DSC 16 Legal agreements between skipper and crew 18 Legal agreements; comment 20 Capsize 21 Stability in small craft 25 Cover: A ction aboard Apollo in the 1979 Montagu Island Race. Gretel was first to fin ish, Graham Freeman in his now IOR Series 1200 Regulations 27 familiar act winning this year's Montagu at the helm of Margaret Rintoul II . Relentless The Saga of the Navigator's Apprentice 30 (Peter Hankin) and D eception (John Bleakley) were second and third. Cover photograph by Sandy Peacock. Safety is a frame of mind 32 Tacking the elusive Cranse 33 Southern Cross Spit Roast 1980 34 Biggies column 35 OFFSHORE SIGNALS 37 'Offshore' is published every two months by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, New Beach Road, AROUND THE SLIPWAY 40 Darling Point, N.S.W. 2027. T elephone 32 9731, Cables " SEAWYSEA" Advertising and Editorial material : The Editor, 'Offshore', Cl C.Y.C.A. Subscriptions: Australia $5.50. Overseas $7.00. A ir Mail rate on application. Editor: David J . Colfelt Printer: Wymond Morell (Printers) Pty. Ltd. 160 Parramatta Road, Camperdown, N .S.W. 2050 *Recommended price only Registered for posting as a publication - Category (B) OFFSHORE, October-November 1979 - 1 We have recently had the joy of welcoming home Editor's note victorious Australian Admiral's Cup team after some With the publication of the October-November 1979 12 frustrating years of trying to recapture this issue 'Offshore' has reached the half-century mark, elusive trophy. This win will be a shot in the arm for and we of the CYCA Publications Committee hope Australian ocean racing. The victory of 1979 is one you will find this particular number worthy of a of which to be especially proud because of the 'birthday issue'. tremendous challenge to seamanship faced by the entire fleet in the final event, the Fastnet Race, The theme of this 'Offshore' - safety - was planned which has for the past few years belied its reputation back in April; the intervening Fastnet Race has made as one of the world's toughest. the choice seem almost visionary. On the pages that follow I think you will find a tremendous Our elation is overshadowed by the tragedy of the amount of really absorbing reading. We have : some 1979 Fastnet, the loss of lives of 15 fellow yachts penetrating commentary on the Admiral's Cup, men and the devastating toll of yachts which for one and the F astnet; a provocative discussion of legal reason or another were not able to be brought back agreements between skipper and crew; some more on to Plymouth. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia stability; Hedley Watson has re-cast his Knaviguess wishes to express its deepest sympathy to those who ing Know-h ow and in this issue commences the first have suffered this terrible loss. instalment of a navigating narrative; no matter how confident you are about your safety procedures, Once again we have been given a sombre reminder don't fail to read the 'Man Overboard' article, which that the sea has respect for no man. I think each and is a chilling account of how easily things can go every one of us who engages in ocean racing knows wrong, and it is followed by a real-life story that this, and we pursue our sport with the knowledge just proves the point. that if we are unprepared, or unlucky, the stakes are high. We shall all go to sea again, perhaps with 'Offshore' is your magazine and is what you make it. greater humility, greater preparation, greater care, I am very happy that lately we seem to be getting but we shall go out again for the same enjoyment of greater and greater participation from Members. challenge and of meeting challenge that has always Please keep your contributions (and your comments) been the I u re of the sea. coming. 'Offshore' is probably the most ambitious club publication in Australia and is almost certainly Some good comes out of all ill, however hard it may the most ambitious yacht club publication in the be to discern at the time. It is only the fool who does world. It is quite widely read beyond the CYCA not learn from experience. membership, particularly overseas, and we can all be Tony Pearson, justly proud of it. Commodore, CYCA David J. Colfelt, Editor 2 - OFFSHORE, October-November 1979 Hillary 81aln Bowen The 1979 Admiral's Cup was, as usual, the most competitive big-boat racing in the world . Teams from 19 countries jostled for the a/I-importan t starts; in unusually blustery conditions this year, the competing yachts frequently converged on downwind marks amid a chaos of extras and bluff. THE ADMIRACS CUP; THE FASTNET Sandy Peacock talks to three crewmembers and gets a 'view from the deck' One perspective on the Admiral's Cup on 'Ragamuffin'). All three are Starting with the Fastnet, at what comes from the skippers, navigators from Sydney, and it's interesting to point in the race did you become and tacticians, and some of them have note where they sail: Rob Brown aware that the storm was going to be already had their say. Another pers skippers the 18-footer 'Steelstocks'; more than an ordinary blow, and that pective comes from the crews which, Peter Cowman is a sail maker who other boats were in trouble? as Syd Fischer has noted, this year comes from the 12-footers and 18- Cowman: The first thing we heard included a lot of young sailors who footers; and Tony Hearder is sailing over the radio on the way to F astnet were newcomers to Admiral's Cup for'ard 'this season on the 18-footer Rock was that (Irish team yacht) racing. 'KB'. o ' Regardless' had lost her rudder, and after that there was a steady stream Here three of them give their thoughts of reports of boats losing rudders or on a grim Fastnet and a successful retiring for other reasons. It wasn't Admiral's Cup challenge. Sandy Pea until a few hours after rounding the cock interviewed Rob Brown (fore Rock that we heard that crews had deck and helm on 'Impetuous'), Peter been lost. Cowman (mainsheet on 'Impetuous') When did the storm hit you? and To ny Hearder (worked the mast Brown: It bui lt up from m id-afternoon OFFSHORE, Oct ober-November 1979 - 3 Admiral's Cup '79 Letter to David Kellett from John Mulderig, crewmember on its salt unless there is some danger, Admiral's Cup yacht 'Aries' however slight? What woman anxiously (U.S.A.) awaits the croquet champion?" • Dear David, The Admiral's Cup was fantastic - Admiral's Cup Results certainly the best racing I've ever 1. Australia 1088 seen. Very much enjoyed Cowes, 2. USA 1013 the Solent and the whole show. Too 3. Italy 944 bad the F astnet turned into such a 4. Hong Kong 944 catastrophe. Have to hand it to the 5. Argentina 861 Aussies. They went out and won it. 6. Britain 854 I guess those annual tune-up trips 7. France 840 to Hobart pay off. Considering there 8. Ireland 727 were over 100 retirements, 25 boats 9. Switzerland 629 lost and 15 fatalities, I suppose it was 10. Spain 606 reward enough to finish safely. 11 . Germany 587 12. Japan 583 We were son:iewhat discouraged, 13. Holland 572 though, because the RORC sked con 14. Belgium 540 trol and spotters had 'Aries' winning 15. Sweden 452 the Admiral's Cup Division when we 16. Singapore 439 turned F astnet. 17 . Poland 401 18. Canada 391 The storm hit while we were still 19. Brazil 268 enroute to the rock. We lost a lot of time between Fastnet and the Bishop as we had a cracked spreader base and Australian team a jury rigged lower running· backstay, individual results so we had to be conservative in the TOTAL amount of sail carried and we couldn't POINTS get a chute up until around the Bishop 1. 'Pol ice Car' 409 on the other gybe. 2. ' Impetuous' 360 3. ' Ragamuffin' 319 Even more costly, our navigation gear Placings: got wet and our DR took us an extra 1. 7;3;8; 17; 4. 35-40 minutes. However in those con 2. 30; 4; 19; 23; 2. ditions I would prefer to be wide of 3. 13;9;31;22;13. The Bishop than get to leeward and into a lee shore predicament on The Scillys and have to beat out - no box of chocolates.