Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 Newsletter Items, Idle Gossip, etc to [email protected] (deadline midnight Monday) Commodore Phill Robbins 0466668541 Club Newsletter Vice Commodore Jonathan Horsley 0412798505 16/4/19 Rear Commodore Chris Hallett 0414866998 Secretary Nola Hallett 0414866999 Treasurer Norm Hunt 66291366 Class Reps Gennakers – Duncan Dey Catamarans – Col Woodbry Trailers – Ian Michie Monos – Graham Hams Rowing Officer Gerald Anderson Website Admin Mark Pierce Race Reports for April 14th Instagram/Facebook Admin Trent Morgan Trailer Sailor Report (Colin Hinwood) Training team Graeme Turner ALL EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE TO: [email protected] CONTENTS 1. Trailer Sailor report 6. Gennaker report 11. Monohull report 17. Catamaran report 24. Interview 32. Club weather station 33. Drone footage 33. Bird box 34. Reminder 34. Book launch – Peter Warner 35. Race Q’s 36. Use of club tractor 37. Club shirts ‘ 38. Wotif offer 38. Idle gossip 39. Upcoming away events The Trailers begin 40. Crew available/crew wanted 40. For sale/wanted/free 1 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 So what’s changed …. Autumn is officially here, with winds that stuff up race courses. 2 weeks ago .. same scenario .. SW wind at Briefing .. RC set SE Course .. good call .. sure enough wind swung to SE for the racing on an excellent Course. This time .. the wind doggedly hung in at SSW, turning the Course to absolute crap. 2 weeks apart ..and sea breezes are officially finished. That’s racing .. in Autumn. Each Lap we would try to get a kite up, and it was possible by reaching up to the first Red Buoy, setting and sailing to next Red Buoy and dropping. But that did not equate to any gains, not for us or even the skiffs .. the time to set and drop not making up time, over a boat 2 sail reaching efficiently over in the tide…. Oh well .. Really dreadful sailing .. close reaching upwind.. overpowered in the windy bits, and 2 sail reaching back. In theory, in a One Design Fleet, a course turned to a reach- reach does not favour one boat over another .. no kites means no kites .. but in our mixed fleet, with as 2 sail, plus kiteless Spiders which still plane readily plus heavier boats like RLs that do not plane as well when winds drops down .. gives a total uneven mix. Obviously smashed the results as it does not carry a spinnaker handicap, and sailed a perfect 4 laps. Incy ‘smashing the results’ 2 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 Crossed the Line right behind , who had to match race all day to prevent from overtaking on an -favourable stretch, - which would have allowed control over . Then no way would be allowed to pass and would have gotten the Gun as well as the CBH win. Interesting to see how efficient that hull is in reaching conditions. was definitely faster than on certain reach angles .. that’s an 18’ boat outreaching a 23’ boat. Treasure Isle flanked by No Waiting adding some colour to the day Desperate attempts to ease the frustration by setting a kite when it just wasn’t on .. by and .. [and other Classes as well ] did not help in trying to match the specialist 2 sail boat So round and round we went [reached], the fleet led by the match race then , then and then 3 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 A kite setting by Run Rabbit Run in an attempt to get further ahead on the course Casual banter between Spudgun and Shades 4 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 But wait .. there’s more .. the fleet was split in half .. the lightweight reachers and the traditional TS’s, right? .. but the wind which had got up to maybe 20 in sections, now dropped out .. like zero .. in between the 2 types of boats finishing .. so and crossed the Finish Line, but the wind then zeroed ..preventing the RLs and Ian from finishing .. sat there and sat there … Crazy day. What else could go wrong .. Well … bit of a kerfuffle as the Rescue Boat went round to dinghies and cats to ask if they wanted a tow home in the zero wind, and started removing Marks as it appeared the wind had gone for the day so ..it’s over .. but .. in the confusion, the right of some boats to still race to the Finish – inside the SIs Time Limit .. was overlooked .. oh dear .. when something stuffs up it .. stuffs up .. It has to be said .. South West wind is a morning wind. The wind then either zeroes out or swings into another direction. For the SW wind at Briefing to hold thru the Sunday race to stuff up the Course, was unusual and no way a fault of the RC. The wind was actually SSW mostly .. a perfect stuff up wind .. like no way our river can handle that wind. Also we share the Course with other Divisions, and funny little short leg zig-zags to try to get a windward/Leeward section, like they do for the dinghies at Harwood, is just not possible at Ballina in mixed fleets. Next CC is after Easter .. and .. the RC is determined to somehow force the unforgiving winds into a magic Course, and we will get revenge on Sunday’s little reach-around. Serenity when the going was good 5 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 Gennaker Report (Duncan Dey and Michael Wiley) Moments after the start With a Southerly breeze the committee was never going to be able to set a windward-return course. We were left to sail in a soldier’s course of alternative port and starboard reaching legs. The line up at the reaching start was a little ragged, but the fleet got away quickly with Formula Fifteens (Barry and Francine), (Tom and Brendan) and (Michael and Tara) breaking away from the rest to turn the first mark in a tight group. F15 (Daniel and Steffen) was trapped behind RS100 (Duncan) for the whole reach to the first mark, as can happen on a reach. 6 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 and elected to sail under jib and mainsail towards the next mark while thought the spinnaker was worth a go. It turns out chose poorly as a gust drove them towards the Northern shore, losing time and dropping them behind the lead pack. Half way down the Ramada narrows had a go at the kite, followed quickly by , the latter wanting to defend its lead. This turned out to be a better choice as both boats took off and powered towards the bottom mark. Trade Secret powering up Although they were driven to the North by gusts, by the time the kites came down to avoid t-boning the rocks they were close to the mark. Toxic finished up with a third 7 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 With Garry out of town, the RS100 race was a dual between and (Vince). led for the first lap, holding out by covering it for the second tight reach south to Mobbs Bay entrance. Vince took the lead on the second loose reach to The Residence (blue clad 18m-high building under construction on River Street). Vince in a two horse race Duncan on the move 8 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 Vince expanded the gap on Duncan by about a minute per lap for two laps, ie 4 reaches. The wind dropped out for the last lap and the RS100 gap remained fixed till the finish. For three laps, the F15 race became a procession; with leading by a mere stone’s throw. The crews worked furiously to keep the boats flat and going fast with the knowledge the slightest error would change the lead and, with the boats constantly sailing in the power zone (or as the more dramatic cat sailors call it – the death zone), bring on a probable capsize. On the second lap was seen to once again make a poor spinnaker choice and was driven towards the Ballina wharf where it capsized and took a while to recover. At the front, the race’s defining moment occurred at the start of the last upriver leg. rounded just ahead of , but while easing the vang, was hit by a gust and capsized; following that with another capsize as it negotiated the leg. When rode out the gust, that left it clear ahead and able to sail a conservative race to the finish, followed by Michael and Tara back in Mr Bond 9 Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club website: www.rrsrc.com.au P.O. Box 963 Ballina 2478 Further back in the F15's, managed to hang on to be the third boat, with coming fourth. Dan and Steffen in Numero Uno Wind failures favour the front of the fleet and reaching favours the F15's so, despite sailing well on the day and not capsizing like a couple of the F15's, the RS100's came in last (fifth and sixth) places on yardstick.