Between the 4th and the 14th of January 2021
Another regatta. Just when I thought I could retire gracefully. Oh well, charge the cameras, slap on the greasepaint along with a hat and away we go again.
Lets get this out of the way now. Goolugatup...… NO its not the "place of squashed frogs" as a member in the bar stoutly avowed. Heathcote Point behind the club where the sanatorium used to be was known by the local aboriginal people by a variety of names. The paragraph below was taken from the Goolugatup/Heathcote Museums web page.
Goolugatup is an Noongar word meaning the place of the children. Also referred to as Guleegatup or Gooleegatup, Point Heathcote was a permanent lookout, fishing and camping ground for the Noongar Beeliar people particularly Midgegooroo, Yagan and Mundy because the “Moondaap” (the blackness of the riverbank) was an excellent fishing ground. Also, the Point is where the men passed through their level two initiation ceremonies. The area was also known as “Kooyagoordup” (the place of the “Kooyar”- a species of frog). (Ahah! So that's where the frog came from)
This time I'll be working with Bernie Kaaks to present the event over the 10 days with both of us covering events where and as we can. Now how did this all happen? Originally we were to have a National Youth Championships and that went by the board once the Covid 19 problems arose. But by this time the club had invested a fair whack of money in gear, redone the centreboard ablutions block and invested a lot of time in getting it right. They even replaced the wind indicator on the centreboard flag pole which had been looking bent for about a year or so.
With a lot of the youngsters looking around to see where and what they will sail on this year, the invitation went out to the bigger off the beach boats, so we have the Flying 15's, Cherubs and Javelins joining us as well. There is a bunch of foilers joining us and we have Optimists, Open Skiffs, 29ers, Lasers of all types and colours as well.
The Optimists and the 29ers are holding their state championships during the carnival so the numbers are well up and we are expecting some spirited competition during the sailing.
Keep your eyes on the web page as you may notice that I do reserve photos for my website and the social media images are about half of what I put up on line.
Look forward to seeing you on the water.
Lets get this out of the way now. Goolugatup...… NO its not the "place of squashed frogs" as a member in the bar stoutly avowed. Heathcote Point behind the club where the sanatorium used to be was known by the local aboriginal people by a variety of names. The paragraph below was taken from the Goolugatup/Heathcote Museums web page.
Goolugatup is an Noongar word meaning the place of the children. Also referred to as Guleegatup or Gooleegatup, Point Heathcote was a permanent lookout, fishing and camping ground for the Noongar Beeliar people particularly Midgegooroo, Yagan and Mundy because the “Moondaap” (the blackness of the riverbank) was an excellent fishing ground. Also, the Point is where the men passed through their level two initiation ceremonies. The area was also known as “Kooyagoordup” (the place of the “Kooyar”- a species of frog). (Ahah! So that's where the frog came from)
This time I'll be working with Bernie Kaaks to present the event over the 10 days with both of us covering events where and as we can. Now how did this all happen? Originally we were to have a National Youth Championships and that went by the board once the Covid 19 problems arose. But by this time the club had invested a fair whack of money in gear, redone the centreboard ablutions block and invested a lot of time in getting it right. They even replaced the wind indicator on the centreboard flag pole which had been looking bent for about a year or so.
With a lot of the youngsters looking around to see where and what they will sail on this year, the invitation went out to the bigger off the beach boats, so we have the Flying 15's, Cherubs and Javelins joining us as well. There is a bunch of foilers joining us and we have Optimists, Open Skiffs, 29ers, Lasers of all types and colours as well.
The Optimists and the 29ers are holding their state championships during the carnival so the numbers are well up and we are expecting some spirited competition during the sailing.
Keep your eyes on the web page as you may notice that I do reserve photos for my website and the social media images are about half of what I put up on line.
Look forward to seeing you on the water.
Day Eleven
Thursday the 14th of January
Thursday the 14th of January
The last day featured some feisty sou easterlies and it made driving the little rhib we were in challenging, to say the least. For starters to hold a boat steady pointing at the line requires the stern to be presented to the wind and this particular boat managed to swallow a sizeable greeny and flooded the back of the boat. To make things interesting the drain plug was actually below the water line. Fortunately a cut down plastic milk carton was available to act as a scoop and the rhib was emptied of most of the water.
With two race tracks available we chose to follow the Lasers and Skiffs and as we were sharing the driving, the pickings were going to be slim. But there were some nice shots to take and the fleets were well behaved for the main with the Laser Standards dominated by Matt Wearn revelling in all conditions. Just first will do. Behind him Matt’s sparring partner Luke Elliot did well enough to keep off a fast finishing Zac Littlewood who I saw piling into a plate full of pizza in an obvious attempt to put more bulk on to cope with those big days that the seabreeze presents. Well done all three and Ethan Mcaullay was only a point behind Zac, no shrinking violets here. The 4.7’s were predictable with no one shaking the ladder and Antun Janekovic took the cake with Dominic Beer doing a fine job to take second, Joshua Till was also sipping from the same cup as he had taken most of the 3rd places available, sharing a couple of seconds and a first each with Dominic.
The radials ah well. Played like a gambler on his laser “Ace of Hearts” Stefan Elliott- Shircot took the trick and held off a fast finishing Michael Compton who did very well to recover from the first day of no sailing. We then had a string of female sailors with Emma Plasschaert taking third place from Elyse Ainsworth, Mara Stansky, Zoe Thomson and Caitlin Shaw in that order.
The 29ers were led to the finish by Zachary Sprunt and Vassilis Katsaitis on EMINEM after Axel and Kierin couldn’t shake off the two no show days. That then left Rosie Hennessey and Laura Quinlivan in second and Xavier Bates and George Elms taking third place. Over to the Open Skiffs and congratulations to them for their durability in the really tough conditions on the first day. They sailed well and there wasn’t much between first and fourth with Kookaburra (Erik Van De Veire) on 13 points, Wettawilly (Kaison Puls) on 14 points, Magic (Maciek Tarasewicz) on 15 and in fourth and on 17 points Pandemonium sailed by Imogen Bates.
The foil fest was finalised in the easterlies and the winners in the kite foils were Bisschops Rose Alty Frisby followed by Alex Landwehr and Ron Groenwegan with first lady sailor Jane Taylor slipping into a fourth over all. The Windfoils were almost an exclusive event to the Joyner boys with Harry taking first and Jack taking third and sometime laser sailor Caelin Winchcombe taking second.
The presentations were a fine and feisty affair with an indigenous dance troop, a chance to hear the head of the Ron Tough foundation saying her piece and then the presentations where there was considerable difficulty in pronouncing the names of some of the winners. Did I mention Pizza? Plenty of that after the presentations and a very good choice of paella as well. We all went home suitably stuffed.
However a big thanks to all the sailors who competed and wasn't it grand to see some of the top level sailors competing on our home water. They coped with every thing that was thrown at them and so did the youngsters from the age of 9 up. I wonder how many other sports men and women would do the same.
And to the volunteers and the club staff well done and a special thanks to Amanda Watson who kept the volunteers happy with her provisions at lunch time. Even crayfish vol au vents. Too much :-)
Finally the galley in the Centreboard section. Coffee and lots of good food all the time. They were the heart of the sailing section and had people coming back for more. Thank you.
Till the 125's in Easter.
With two race tracks available we chose to follow the Lasers and Skiffs and as we were sharing the driving, the pickings were going to be slim. But there were some nice shots to take and the fleets were well behaved for the main with the Laser Standards dominated by Matt Wearn revelling in all conditions. Just first will do. Behind him Matt’s sparring partner Luke Elliot did well enough to keep off a fast finishing Zac Littlewood who I saw piling into a plate full of pizza in an obvious attempt to put more bulk on to cope with those big days that the seabreeze presents. Well done all three and Ethan Mcaullay was only a point behind Zac, no shrinking violets here. The 4.7’s were predictable with no one shaking the ladder and Antun Janekovic took the cake with Dominic Beer doing a fine job to take second, Joshua Till was also sipping from the same cup as he had taken most of the 3rd places available, sharing a couple of seconds and a first each with Dominic.
The radials ah well. Played like a gambler on his laser “Ace of Hearts” Stefan Elliott- Shircot took the trick and held off a fast finishing Michael Compton who did very well to recover from the first day of no sailing. We then had a string of female sailors with Emma Plasschaert taking third place from Elyse Ainsworth, Mara Stansky, Zoe Thomson and Caitlin Shaw in that order.
The 29ers were led to the finish by Zachary Sprunt and Vassilis Katsaitis on EMINEM after Axel and Kierin couldn’t shake off the two no show days. That then left Rosie Hennessey and Laura Quinlivan in second and Xavier Bates and George Elms taking third place. Over to the Open Skiffs and congratulations to them for their durability in the really tough conditions on the first day. They sailed well and there wasn’t much between first and fourth with Kookaburra (Erik Van De Veire) on 13 points, Wettawilly (Kaison Puls) on 14 points, Magic (Maciek Tarasewicz) on 15 and in fourth and on 17 points Pandemonium sailed by Imogen Bates.
The foil fest was finalised in the easterlies and the winners in the kite foils were Bisschops Rose Alty Frisby followed by Alex Landwehr and Ron Groenwegan with first lady sailor Jane Taylor slipping into a fourth over all. The Windfoils were almost an exclusive event to the Joyner boys with Harry taking first and Jack taking third and sometime laser sailor Caelin Winchcombe taking second.
The presentations were a fine and feisty affair with an indigenous dance troop, a chance to hear the head of the Ron Tough foundation saying her piece and then the presentations where there was considerable difficulty in pronouncing the names of some of the winners. Did I mention Pizza? Plenty of that after the presentations and a very good choice of paella as well. We all went home suitably stuffed.
However a big thanks to all the sailors who competed and wasn't it grand to see some of the top level sailors competing on our home water. They coped with every thing that was thrown at them and so did the youngsters from the age of 9 up. I wonder how many other sports men and women would do the same.
And to the volunteers and the club staff well done and a special thanks to Amanda Watson who kept the volunteers happy with her provisions at lunch time. Even crayfish vol au vents. Too much :-)
Finally the galley in the Centreboard section. Coffee and lots of good food all the time. They were the heart of the sailing section and had people coming back for more. Thank you.
Till the 125's in Easter.
Day Ten
Wednesday the 13th of January
This deep into a regatta, I can sense the need for chocolate to stay awake as I put the stories up. Enough!
Compared to yesterday, it was a walk in the park and the other sailors came out to play. Sure the champions will always move to the fore but all of a sudden the light wind gang moved up the board and while the names are similar.. they are waiting for the second drop.
It was a soft day on the water and despite our very best efforts, the dodgy sou easterly didn’t go away until we were well off the water. So slow sailing ? Yes.
To the game afoot. Well it clear that champions win. We watched as in the wandering breeze Matt Wearn built his lead and Zac Littlewood was able to show his ability in the light breezes.
Keep in mind that Luke Elliott gives nothing away so he still sits in second and Ethan Mcaullay had a crack at third. (wait until the 2nd drop). The gang in the radials still have Stefan Elliot- Shircot in front, but he wants to look out for Elyse Ainsworth who turned the light breeze to her advantage. Emma Plasschaert wasn’t too far behind either, but she has lightweight Michael Compton on her transom. He doesn’t give up either. (wait until the second drop) No changes in the 4.7s but there is always the next race.
The 29ers have Axel back on the track and while Eminem piloted by Zach Sprunt has the lead.... perhaps missing 4 races is too much, but Turbo and Tiffany are looking to stay ahead of Nia Jerwood and her boat Hank. She only missed two races. Its all a game and I understand that, but maybe things will change.
The open skiffs.. pleasing to see them performing their active phase on the reaching segment of the course, though the general consensus on the media boat was for more action. Standing up is good. Back flips are better! 😊 However the Kookaburra did well and holds the lead over Pandemonium with the media boats favourite “Wettawilly” only a point behind. After yesterday and the horrible, nasty sea breeze, the young sailors had a much better day. However a few more antics would have kept our attention on them.
The mob out there in the foilers contain a few names I know and they haven't had the best of the breezes. Either too much or too little. Alex Landwehr has the bit in his teeth and is trying to stay ahead of Alty Frisby and Jane Taylor. No pix as yet. Maybe tomorrow.
Wednesday the 13th of January
This deep into a regatta, I can sense the need for chocolate to stay awake as I put the stories up. Enough!
Compared to yesterday, it was a walk in the park and the other sailors came out to play. Sure the champions will always move to the fore but all of a sudden the light wind gang moved up the board and while the names are similar.. they are waiting for the second drop.
It was a soft day on the water and despite our very best efforts, the dodgy sou easterly didn’t go away until we were well off the water. So slow sailing ? Yes.
To the game afoot. Well it clear that champions win. We watched as in the wandering breeze Matt Wearn built his lead and Zac Littlewood was able to show his ability in the light breezes.
Keep in mind that Luke Elliott gives nothing away so he still sits in second and Ethan Mcaullay had a crack at third. (wait until the 2nd drop). The gang in the radials still have Stefan Elliot- Shircot in front, but he wants to look out for Elyse Ainsworth who turned the light breeze to her advantage. Emma Plasschaert wasn’t too far behind either, but she has lightweight Michael Compton on her transom. He doesn’t give up either. (wait until the second drop) No changes in the 4.7s but there is always the next race.
The 29ers have Axel back on the track and while Eminem piloted by Zach Sprunt has the lead.... perhaps missing 4 races is too much, but Turbo and Tiffany are looking to stay ahead of Nia Jerwood and her boat Hank. She only missed two races. Its all a game and I understand that, but maybe things will change.
The open skiffs.. pleasing to see them performing their active phase on the reaching segment of the course, though the general consensus on the media boat was for more action. Standing up is good. Back flips are better! 😊 However the Kookaburra did well and holds the lead over Pandemonium with the media boats favourite “Wettawilly” only a point behind. After yesterday and the horrible, nasty sea breeze, the young sailors had a much better day. However a few more antics would have kept our attention on them.
The mob out there in the foilers contain a few names I know and they haven't had the best of the breezes. Either too much or too little. Alex Landwehr has the bit in his teeth and is trying to stay ahead of Alty Frisby and Jane Taylor. No pix as yet. Maybe tomorrow.
Day Nine
Tuesday the 12th of January
I am somewhat gratified by the numbers hitting on the Goolugatup Carnival website. Thank you all.
Sheer brilliance or sheer lunacy. You make the choice.
The rule states that each skipper makes the choice to sail or not. And they did. In a breeze that eventually forced us off the track as the cameras were getting wetter by the minute.
However I have respect for those who sailed and those who made the decision to retire after having tasted the 20 knot base sou wester that had up to 30 knots gusts imbedded in it. I also think of the volunteers who went out and laid the courses having watched the PDSC start boat bouncing up and down at the end of an anchor chain that was possibly not long enough. However they got it set and got their marks in for the Open Skiffs. ( BICS ) Good on the kids as well and I do declare right here and now, that possibly there was no need for “tricks and stunts on the run down the breeze.” Staying upright was all that was needed but apparently they got points for doing it. ?????
On Melville Water East it was just as rocky and the top marks set away off in the distance. It was a mark too far and neither of us was interested as our little runabout was drinking lots of green. Well done Garry Morrison who can drive a boat. But reality kicks in quickly. So we watched the starts and checked out a bottom mark, then moved on to the Open Skiffs down the bottom near the Como Jetty. The waves were even higher down there.
To the results so far. Laser full rig and you need at least 80 kgs on the edge as the pressure was horrid. But watching the locals working Waylen bay to their advantage, I watched as they all aimed straight at Heathcote ( sorry Goolugatup ) and bounce out again on the way up to the top mark. The radials and the 4.7s were being overtaken by the heavies behind them and by the end of the first race Matt Wearn was doing well even though he had both Luke Elliott and Ethan Macaullay on his tail. The second race had the last two mentioned swap places , but it was a Matt day.
To the radials and staying upright was a problem. Overpowered and underweight. A number of the lighter rigs simply fell over and we had one of the younger members make the bottom mark upside down. Fortunately she recovered and sailed away. It was a learning period with a safety boat on hand. Stefan Elliot -Shircot leads the field and should take the series if he continues to hold his form. Leading the ladies and in second place is Emma Plaaschaert with miss consistency Elyse Ainsworth holding her own on this really heavy day. Shows her skills and learnt on these waters. The 4.7's Oh dear. Room for everyone here, but only one person has a picket fence in hand beside Matt and Stefan... Antun Janekovic. Welcome to the radials for Antun shortly. Dominic Beer and Joshua Till are running second and third.
With the absence of Axel Fleet & Kierin Bucktin on Steez, we have Zachary Sprunt and Vassilis Katsaitis on Eminem and Tiffany with Rosie Hennessy and Laura Quinlivan in second. Xavier Bates & George Elms driving Turbo are next, but I'm curious// what if those lurking in the wings came back to play. A couple of drops... who knows?
To the suffering Open Skiffs. They did very well and I respect each and every one. Well done to Erik van de Veire on Kookaburra, to Imogen Bates on Pandemonium in second and to Darcy Brinkmann-Grey on Mr Percival. Well sailed. You survived the day. To the rest of the fleet.. your turn tomorrow.
Tuesday the 12th of January
I am somewhat gratified by the numbers hitting on the Goolugatup Carnival website. Thank you all.
Sheer brilliance or sheer lunacy. You make the choice.
The rule states that each skipper makes the choice to sail or not. And they did. In a breeze that eventually forced us off the track as the cameras were getting wetter by the minute.
However I have respect for those who sailed and those who made the decision to retire after having tasted the 20 knot base sou wester that had up to 30 knots gusts imbedded in it. I also think of the volunteers who went out and laid the courses having watched the PDSC start boat bouncing up and down at the end of an anchor chain that was possibly not long enough. However they got it set and got their marks in for the Open Skiffs. ( BICS ) Good on the kids as well and I do declare right here and now, that possibly there was no need for “tricks and stunts on the run down the breeze.” Staying upright was all that was needed but apparently they got points for doing it. ?????
On Melville Water East it was just as rocky and the top marks set away off in the distance. It was a mark too far and neither of us was interested as our little runabout was drinking lots of green. Well done Garry Morrison who can drive a boat. But reality kicks in quickly. So we watched the starts and checked out a bottom mark, then moved on to the Open Skiffs down the bottom near the Como Jetty. The waves were even higher down there.
To the results so far. Laser full rig and you need at least 80 kgs on the edge as the pressure was horrid. But watching the locals working Waylen bay to their advantage, I watched as they all aimed straight at Heathcote ( sorry Goolugatup ) and bounce out again on the way up to the top mark. The radials and the 4.7s were being overtaken by the heavies behind them and by the end of the first race Matt Wearn was doing well even though he had both Luke Elliott and Ethan Macaullay on his tail. The second race had the last two mentioned swap places , but it was a Matt day.
To the radials and staying upright was a problem. Overpowered and underweight. A number of the lighter rigs simply fell over and we had one of the younger members make the bottom mark upside down. Fortunately she recovered and sailed away. It was a learning period with a safety boat on hand. Stefan Elliot -Shircot leads the field and should take the series if he continues to hold his form. Leading the ladies and in second place is Emma Plaaschaert with miss consistency Elyse Ainsworth holding her own on this really heavy day. Shows her skills and learnt on these waters. The 4.7's Oh dear. Room for everyone here, but only one person has a picket fence in hand beside Matt and Stefan... Antun Janekovic. Welcome to the radials for Antun shortly. Dominic Beer and Joshua Till are running second and third.
With the absence of Axel Fleet & Kierin Bucktin on Steez, we have Zachary Sprunt and Vassilis Katsaitis on Eminem and Tiffany with Rosie Hennessy and Laura Quinlivan in second. Xavier Bates & George Elms driving Turbo are next, but I'm curious// what if those lurking in the wings came back to play. A couple of drops... who knows?
To the suffering Open Skiffs. They did very well and I respect each and every one. Well done to Erik van de Veire on Kookaburra, to Imogen Bates on Pandemonium in second and to Darcy Brinkmann-Grey on Mr Percival. Well sailed. You survived the day. To the rest of the fleet.. your turn tomorrow.
Day Eight
Monday the 11th of January
It was a shame to not do the last day of the Optimist States, so with Bernie’s connivance I found myself wandering around the club at the ungodly hour of 0800 hrs only to see Jurist Christine Heydon dealing with the remnants of the big discussion in the Optimist fleet about an abandonment of a race, or was it a person timing out, or was it that some one had protested someone-else. AARRRG! Enough already. The Opti fleet “Whats app” was buzzing and apparently the word “flaming” doesn’t always mean catching on fire!
RO Rooke with a J had the course under way very nicely with top mark specialist Doug on the ball and a nicely laid course. My thanks by the way to Jack who found me a boat today, while I found a driver to keep me on the water. The day was held in light easterlies with an occasional hint of a northerly influence, but enough to keep them flowing and three races were fitted in. Very nice too. When the “Pressures On” young Aaron Teo comes to the for and he has scooped the win for another year. But Zen Salisbury with Tachyon wasn’t far behind and it was only a countback that separated them. Jasper Stay on Stay Ahead did a fine job to take third place two points behind and young Murray Duthie and Salty rounded up the 4 places with a promising finish for a under 10 year old.
In the intermediates Thomas Cooper on Light Fury took the cake. Didn’t lose a beat all through the regatta and his lowest score was a 3. Gosh and gee willekers and he’s an Under 10. Next was Storm Stalker helmed by Kasra Gripton-Mehman and Turbo Tub driven by Jack Brazier in third place. Sea Me sailed by Youri Karantonis sailed well for an Under 10 to take fourth place.
Some interesting shifts had the whole inter fleet abruptly change tack as fortune favoured those on the far left. But the breeze continued to wander into the south east and they were looking at Heathcote Point rather than the top mark. Just another day on the water with the Optimists..
A few late murmurs in the protest room were dealt with and the presentations were held in the ballroom. Many thanks to Romina our marketing lady who jumped in to photo the presentations as I didn't have a short lens with me and Bernie was already out on the water. Many thanks to the whole team of volunteers who continue to keep the carnival rolling along, fed and provisioned by Amanda Watson who is doing a sterling job in the background.
Onya 'Manda.
Enjoy the photos.
Monday the 11th of January
It was a shame to not do the last day of the Optimist States, so with Bernie’s connivance I found myself wandering around the club at the ungodly hour of 0800 hrs only to see Jurist Christine Heydon dealing with the remnants of the big discussion in the Optimist fleet about an abandonment of a race, or was it a person timing out, or was it that some one had protested someone-else. AARRRG! Enough already. The Opti fleet “Whats app” was buzzing and apparently the word “flaming” doesn’t always mean catching on fire!
RO Rooke with a J had the course under way very nicely with top mark specialist Doug on the ball and a nicely laid course. My thanks by the way to Jack who found me a boat today, while I found a driver to keep me on the water. The day was held in light easterlies with an occasional hint of a northerly influence, but enough to keep them flowing and three races were fitted in. Very nice too. When the “Pressures On” young Aaron Teo comes to the for and he has scooped the win for another year. But Zen Salisbury with Tachyon wasn’t far behind and it was only a countback that separated them. Jasper Stay on Stay Ahead did a fine job to take third place two points behind and young Murray Duthie and Salty rounded up the 4 places with a promising finish for a under 10 year old.
In the intermediates Thomas Cooper on Light Fury took the cake. Didn’t lose a beat all through the regatta and his lowest score was a 3. Gosh and gee willekers and he’s an Under 10. Next was Storm Stalker helmed by Kasra Gripton-Mehman and Turbo Tub driven by Jack Brazier in third place. Sea Me sailed by Youri Karantonis sailed well for an Under 10 to take fourth place.
Some interesting shifts had the whole inter fleet abruptly change tack as fortune favoured those on the far left. But the breeze continued to wander into the south east and they were looking at Heathcote Point rather than the top mark. Just another day on the water with the Optimists..
A few late murmurs in the protest room were dealt with and the presentations were held in the ballroom. Many thanks to Romina our marketing lady who jumped in to photo the presentations as I didn't have a short lens with me and Bernie was already out on the water. Many thanks to the whole team of volunteers who continue to keep the carnival rolling along, fed and provisioned by Amanda Watson who is doing a sterling job in the background.
Onya 'Manda.
Enjoy the photos.
Day Seven
Sunday the 10th of January
No room for the unbelievers today. Either you did or you didn't.
A visit to Melville Water West had the Laser contingent along with the 29ers fighting a solid sou westerly. Base 20 and gusts up to 25 or better with occasional lulls, but something the river can be proud of. And the gang who went out to sail were quite capable of handling it. Sure there was the occasional flipped boat, but with only two races to deal with, it wasn't too hard to finish a race.
For those who launched and sailed it was a grand day and despite the stiff breezes, it was quite clear who were the champs, though some of the adventurous laser sailors inadvertently took the wrong coloured top mark. And were photographed.
We had a champion moment in the first race on the up wind of the standard lasers when Zac might have had Matt , but Matt took one look and hooked over onto port and cleared Zac by a few meters. Damn... now if the breeze had flicked the other way? Perhaps.. but we will never know unless they are happy to tell us.
Over on the Optimist courses … its really a shame as they haven't really had a chance to put a finish to the states. I'd like to join the fleet tomorrow morning, but it a case of " if I can get a driver and a boat" as my regular ride is an afternoon special only.
See you on the water tomorrow morning . I hope.
Sunday the 10th of January
No room for the unbelievers today. Either you did or you didn't.
A visit to Melville Water West had the Laser contingent along with the 29ers fighting a solid sou westerly. Base 20 and gusts up to 25 or better with occasional lulls, but something the river can be proud of. And the gang who went out to sail were quite capable of handling it. Sure there was the occasional flipped boat, but with only two races to deal with, it wasn't too hard to finish a race.
For those who launched and sailed it was a grand day and despite the stiff breezes, it was quite clear who were the champs, though some of the adventurous laser sailors inadvertently took the wrong coloured top mark. And were photographed.
We had a champion moment in the first race on the up wind of the standard lasers when Zac might have had Matt , but Matt took one look and hooked over onto port and cleared Zac by a few meters. Damn... now if the breeze had flicked the other way? Perhaps.. but we will never know unless they are happy to tell us.
Over on the Optimist courses … its really a shame as they haven't really had a chance to put a finish to the states. I'd like to join the fleet tomorrow morning, but it a case of " if I can get a driver and a boat" as my regular ride is an afternoon special only.
See you on the water tomorrow morning . I hope.
Day Six
Saturday the 9th of January
Thank goodness for the seabreeze that came wandering in around 11 am. It got the Optimist States underway and proved to be the chance to cool things down for everyone.
RO John Rooke and his able team of mark layers, a myriad of safety boats alongside the coaches and their smart looking blue rocket ships. All of these combined to make it an interesting spectacle as they left the beach with the 40 + boats pouring onto the water. Exciting times as the sou wester built quite quickly and it was clear that we had 20 knots on several occasions with some of the intermediate skippers retiring and being coaxed back onto the course once the puff had left the course. It settled eventually and the first race of the afternoon left the blocks pretty much on time. The Intermediate fleet took the outer course of the trapezoid and the Gold fleet were on the inner course.
I wont go into the details as there were a number of individual recalls on the second and third races for the gold fleet . Some came back and others didn't and the results might show who was at fault. But it was good sailing for all and despite the variation in the breeze causing small delays between races, it was going to be the chance for these young sailors to strut their stuff.
At present the lead in the Gold fleet is taken by Jasper Stay with a lead on one point over Zen Salisbury with Jaspers brother Charlie Stay in third place. In the intermediate class Thomas Cooper has the lead over Kasra Gripton -Meham by half a point. In third place is Jack Brazier ( with that other half a point ) but at least 3 behind Kasra.
Its early days as yet, so we will wait till the championships are at least half way through before predicting the winners. There is a fairly stiff breeze forecast for the afternoons so the racing might be decided on the morning racing. But we won't know until the RO decides.
Saturday the 9th of January
Thank goodness for the seabreeze that came wandering in around 11 am. It got the Optimist States underway and proved to be the chance to cool things down for everyone.
RO John Rooke and his able team of mark layers, a myriad of safety boats alongside the coaches and their smart looking blue rocket ships. All of these combined to make it an interesting spectacle as they left the beach with the 40 + boats pouring onto the water. Exciting times as the sou wester built quite quickly and it was clear that we had 20 knots on several occasions with some of the intermediate skippers retiring and being coaxed back onto the course once the puff had left the course. It settled eventually and the first race of the afternoon left the blocks pretty much on time. The Intermediate fleet took the outer course of the trapezoid and the Gold fleet were on the inner course.
I wont go into the details as there were a number of individual recalls on the second and third races for the gold fleet . Some came back and others didn't and the results might show who was at fault. But it was good sailing for all and despite the variation in the breeze causing small delays between races, it was going to be the chance for these young sailors to strut their stuff.
At present the lead in the Gold fleet is taken by Jasper Stay with a lead on one point over Zen Salisbury with Jaspers brother Charlie Stay in third place. In the intermediate class Thomas Cooper has the lead over Kasra Gripton -Meham by half a point. In third place is Jack Brazier ( with that other half a point ) but at least 3 behind Kasra.
Its early days as yet, so we will wait till the championships are at least half way through before predicting the winners. There is a fairly stiff breeze forecast for the afternoons so the racing might be decided on the morning racing. But we won't know until the RO decides.
Day Five
Friday the 8th of January
Fry day.
Hot beyond belief .... with the welcome arrival of the seabreeze as the motivator for the skiffs to join the water during the afternoon. Well done to the beach side volunteers who were busy hosing down the launching mats to keep them cool enough to walk on. The Flying 15's wrapped up their regatta in the morning and were tucked into their beers by lunch time. While the clubs website is currently down, I can happily say that Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan took the lot having built an unassailable lead and made it clear that if there had been another four races, they would have probably won those as well. However perennial bridesmaids Greg Tonnison and Mike Dunbar made it to second and kept Mr Consistency John Hassan and Kevin Griffiths behind them.
By the same token, there were no surprises in the skiffs with the 29er leaders Axel and Kierin snapping up the gold and apparently there was a huge battle to take the minors. Zachary and Vasillis took second over the racing period with Sam Rose and Jono Everret two points behind.
The visitors from Perth Dinghy club and their Cherubs and Javelins gave it a good go, but again the winners were already ensconced and it was a matter of the minors with some boats retiring with busted bits, after the first race. We may have had a Sou Westerly of 10 to 16 knots, but to be honest I've seen better. But it was enough to keep the yachts flowing and we were off the water by 1600 hrs and most of the images processed and ready to go up.
Tomorrow is another day and we have the start of the Optimist States with three hectic days of sailing for the Oppys and some 47 boats split over two fleets. Great to watch and we will need all the support boats when the breeze picks up as it is predicted to do.
Sunday brings the youth and open racing with the Laser fleets in force and I've seen the regulars come back to give us a hard time. Welcome to Matt, Zoe, Swifto, Zac, Stefan, Elyse, Michael C and Richard Maher with many more ready to create a fine set of racing over the next few days. And the 29ers are reprising the racing with another round of torture on the water.
Enjoy the images.
Friday the 8th of January
Fry day.
Hot beyond belief .... with the welcome arrival of the seabreeze as the motivator for the skiffs to join the water during the afternoon. Well done to the beach side volunteers who were busy hosing down the launching mats to keep them cool enough to walk on. The Flying 15's wrapped up their regatta in the morning and were tucked into their beers by lunch time. While the clubs website is currently down, I can happily say that Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan took the lot having built an unassailable lead and made it clear that if there had been another four races, they would have probably won those as well. However perennial bridesmaids Greg Tonnison and Mike Dunbar made it to second and kept Mr Consistency John Hassan and Kevin Griffiths behind them.
By the same token, there were no surprises in the skiffs with the 29er leaders Axel and Kierin snapping up the gold and apparently there was a huge battle to take the minors. Zachary and Vasillis took second over the racing period with Sam Rose and Jono Everret two points behind.
The visitors from Perth Dinghy club and their Cherubs and Javelins gave it a good go, but again the winners were already ensconced and it was a matter of the minors with some boats retiring with busted bits, after the first race. We may have had a Sou Westerly of 10 to 16 knots, but to be honest I've seen better. But it was enough to keep the yachts flowing and we were off the water by 1600 hrs and most of the images processed and ready to go up.
Tomorrow is another day and we have the start of the Optimist States with three hectic days of sailing for the Oppys and some 47 boats split over two fleets. Great to watch and we will need all the support boats when the breeze picks up as it is predicted to do.
Sunday brings the youth and open racing with the Laser fleets in force and I've seen the regulars come back to give us a hard time. Welcome to Matt, Zoe, Swifto, Zac, Stefan, Elyse, Michael C and Richard Maher with many more ready to create a fine set of racing over the next few days. And the 29ers are reprising the racing with another round of torture on the water.
Enjoy the images.
Day Four
Thursday the 7th of January
In case you are wondering . . . day three was given over to a keelboat sailing day with a plethora of yachts bouncing around in a feral nor easter that gave and took away. Suffice to say..it wasn't really a good day to run a regatta.
The fourth day on the water was to accompany the F15s again on their afternoon sojourn on the water up in Melville water west. Thank goodness the westerly began to move in reasonably early and we had racing happening with RO John Rooke getting us underway in short order once the course had been reset for the 3rd time. Well done Doug and crew. Quick work. Not surprisingly with a bias you could have written a book about, the first move from the pin end boat was a quick lay onto port and he began to cross the fleet. But the heroes knew as well and they had already begun their approach to the starboard ley line. Perhaps a bit of argy bargy at the top which we observed and possibly some one did a whizzy, but predictably we didn't see everything as we concentrated on the shots. But the red spinnaker of Nick and Brad wasn't first. Someone else had the lead. Didn't matter though as by the time we were hanging around the wing for the second lap, sure enough they were doing well. But it was enough to say that there were others who can play the short game.
The long game is a different matter and who should pop up galloping down to the wing was non other but John Hassan and crew closely pursued by Nick Jerwood. However there were some glorious shots and of course Cally and Alan featured with Plonky pulling off a great hike and Cally looking pleased with herself. And then my camera died. Black and White for a while with some reasonable outcomes. And the second race was covered in B and W as well to begin and then it lurched back into a reasonably simile of Agfa colour film that was having a bad hair day. Murderous and every image from then on has been brought back from the dead. My apologies and I have taken the camera back to the basics by resetting it to the original firmware.
The second race was noted by some good racing and again the habit of Nick and Brad who made a decision (discussed on the camera boat), to take off early on the way to the line and making the mark so far in front he might as well have tucked the win under his belt then. Hard lines for every one, but good light weather sailing has improved the chances for many of the fleet.
At the moment Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan hold the lead comfortably, Greg Tonnison and Mike Dunbar are second and John Hassan and Kevin Griffiths are third.
In the skiffs... who we will be visiting tomorrow, the rows of ones are easy to come by if your names are Axel and Kierin in the 29ers, Jacques Audett and Arrik Fisk on the Cherubs and surely the older members of the Javelin fleet who are still looking for a blow, Brian Hennessy and Dan Moore.
See you tomorrow folks.
Thursday the 7th of January
In case you are wondering . . . day three was given over to a keelboat sailing day with a plethora of yachts bouncing around in a feral nor easter that gave and took away. Suffice to say..it wasn't really a good day to run a regatta.
The fourth day on the water was to accompany the F15s again on their afternoon sojourn on the water up in Melville water west. Thank goodness the westerly began to move in reasonably early and we had racing happening with RO John Rooke getting us underway in short order once the course had been reset for the 3rd time. Well done Doug and crew. Quick work. Not surprisingly with a bias you could have written a book about, the first move from the pin end boat was a quick lay onto port and he began to cross the fleet. But the heroes knew as well and they had already begun their approach to the starboard ley line. Perhaps a bit of argy bargy at the top which we observed and possibly some one did a whizzy, but predictably we didn't see everything as we concentrated on the shots. But the red spinnaker of Nick and Brad wasn't first. Someone else had the lead. Didn't matter though as by the time we were hanging around the wing for the second lap, sure enough they were doing well. But it was enough to say that there were others who can play the short game.
The long game is a different matter and who should pop up galloping down to the wing was non other but John Hassan and crew closely pursued by Nick Jerwood. However there were some glorious shots and of course Cally and Alan featured with Plonky pulling off a great hike and Cally looking pleased with herself. And then my camera died. Black and White for a while with some reasonable outcomes. And the second race was covered in B and W as well to begin and then it lurched back into a reasonably simile of Agfa colour film that was having a bad hair day. Murderous and every image from then on has been brought back from the dead. My apologies and I have taken the camera back to the basics by resetting it to the original firmware.
The second race was noted by some good racing and again the habit of Nick and Brad who made a decision (discussed on the camera boat), to take off early on the way to the line and making the mark so far in front he might as well have tucked the win under his belt then. Hard lines for every one, but good light weather sailing has improved the chances for many of the fleet.
At the moment Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan hold the lead comfortably, Greg Tonnison and Mike Dunbar are second and John Hassan and Kevin Griffiths are third.
In the skiffs... who we will be visiting tomorrow, the rows of ones are easy to come by if your names are Axel and Kierin in the 29ers, Jacques Audett and Arrik Fisk on the Cherubs and surely the older members of the Javelin fleet who are still looking for a blow, Brian Hennessy and Dan Moore.
See you tomorrow folks.
Day Two
Tuesday the 5th of January
An afternoon with the Flying 15's on Melville Water West.. two hard races.
Relentless is not a word for the easterly. Its reserved for the seabreeze, but I do feel for RO Rooke on the 15's course as he deals with the ever switching and twitching easterly that has the length and angles changing all the time. Then we had the odd boat throwing a rudder and needing a tow back.
The river had a base of 17 to 21 knots and tops of over 30 knots with some skippers reserving their pain and misery on those runs down to the wing mark. Just too risky to fly a kite and indeed there was the odd mad moment for the brave who did so. Despite this, we still had those moments at the top mark when the fellow with a blue kite on first trip to the top mark in the second race failed to make it. The air about the boat was turning sulphureous as they finally headed around the spreader mark following the rest of the fleet.
However the game was very much in hand for Nick Jerwood with Brad Sheridan keeping their boat on course, fighting off challenges from Greg Tonnison and Mike Dunbar. Neither boat led all the way around, but the masterclass was there for all to observe as time and again "Ineffable" surged over the line putting Greg and Mike back into second. However, Sandy Dunn and Greg Howell have a line ball lead over John Hassen and Kevin Griffiths thanks to an early second placing on the first day. This was the second day and the end of four races on the day with a welcome break tomorrow.
But there is the chance of lighter breezes to come where cunning and experience may play their part, though I feel that Nick and Brad have their share of that as well.
On the skiff course.. hard to beat them they say, but Axel Fleet is putting up a picket fence in the 29ers and Jacques Audet is holding onto the lead in the Cherubs. In the Javelins, its hard to knock the bloke with Dan Moore on Jo-Anne running away from the Vances sailing Valiant but they did take that first race yesterday .. may be again?
A lay day tomorrow with the carnival returning on Thursday. What the breeze will bring? Heavens knows, but it will be fun to be out there on the water.
I'll be sailing H28s tomorrow and I'll be putting some quick pix up for you to enjoy.. sure, different sailing but it will be grand to go out and test ourselves against Royal Perth. On an easterly? Probably.
Tuesday the 5th of January
An afternoon with the Flying 15's on Melville Water West.. two hard races.
Relentless is not a word for the easterly. Its reserved for the seabreeze, but I do feel for RO Rooke on the 15's course as he deals with the ever switching and twitching easterly that has the length and angles changing all the time. Then we had the odd boat throwing a rudder and needing a tow back.
The river had a base of 17 to 21 knots and tops of over 30 knots with some skippers reserving their pain and misery on those runs down to the wing mark. Just too risky to fly a kite and indeed there was the odd mad moment for the brave who did so. Despite this, we still had those moments at the top mark when the fellow with a blue kite on first trip to the top mark in the second race failed to make it. The air about the boat was turning sulphureous as they finally headed around the spreader mark following the rest of the fleet.
However the game was very much in hand for Nick Jerwood with Brad Sheridan keeping their boat on course, fighting off challenges from Greg Tonnison and Mike Dunbar. Neither boat led all the way around, but the masterclass was there for all to observe as time and again "Ineffable" surged over the line putting Greg and Mike back into second. However, Sandy Dunn and Greg Howell have a line ball lead over John Hassen and Kevin Griffiths thanks to an early second placing on the first day. This was the second day and the end of four races on the day with a welcome break tomorrow.
But there is the chance of lighter breezes to come where cunning and experience may play their part, though I feel that Nick and Brad have their share of that as well.
On the skiff course.. hard to beat them they say, but Axel Fleet is putting up a picket fence in the 29ers and Jacques Audet is holding onto the lead in the Cherubs. In the Javelins, its hard to knock the bloke with Dan Moore on Jo-Anne running away from the Vances sailing Valiant but they did take that first race yesterday .. may be again?
A lay day tomorrow with the carnival returning on Thursday. What the breeze will bring? Heavens knows, but it will be fun to be out there on the water.
I'll be sailing H28s tomorrow and I'll be putting some quick pix up for you to enjoy.. sure, different sailing but it will be grand to go out and test ourselves against Royal Perth. On an easterly? Probably.
Day One
Monday the 4th of January.
Bring out the faint hearted!
The same screaming easterly that we have had for the last four days returned. Or should I say, came back just as nasty as it has been for the last few days. But they took to the water and there were only a few boats left on beach by the time that the racing started with the Flying Fifteens heading down to Melville Water West and the skiffs hanging about on the eastern race track.
No room for the sleepy skipper as the laggards in the 29er fleet had to scoot over the line and ( I hope ) were given grace by the starters. But they presented a fine sight on the water as we watched all the fleets run away on the start line with the Captain Cook's James Stirling ploughing through the Javelins startline. Oops. May be something can be done about that? Shortly after the start we had to pick up our other photographer Bernie and we restarted our photography with a fair crack at the start again and a quick dash up to the top mark to give us falling over around the mark shots and only one or two actually did so.. so well done all.
The gusts were booming through and a couple of nice inclusions in the 29er fleet were Matt Wearn sailing with Emma Plasschaert and a well known combo sailing well below their pain level Nia Jerwood and Monique deVries took to the water on a 29er as well. However its a fact that if you know your boat you will do well and the 29ers are led by Axel Fleet and Kieran Bucktin with a pair of bullets with Nia and Monique hot on their tails. The Javelins have Dan Moore and his crewman on Jo-Anne sharing a pair of bullets as well and they have the Vance boys Tim and Greg following in second. The Cherubs.. well there's a thought as I was barracking for the Champions in Back in Black, but hey its early days and they may catch up to Jacques Audet and Arrik Fisk on Serenity Now as there were a few OS scores in the second race. I do like the shape of those hulls though. "different" and they carry a fine load of sail.
The Flying 15's will be visited tomorrow afternoon and we look forward to some excellent sailing. To quote a 15 sailor who I bumped into on the way out the gate. "We led all the way to the first mark" He grinned and said. " well you know what happened after that." Well done to Nick and Brad though as they took the first pair of races convincingly.
Monday the 4th of January.
Bring out the faint hearted!
The same screaming easterly that we have had for the last four days returned. Or should I say, came back just as nasty as it has been for the last few days. But they took to the water and there were only a few boats left on beach by the time that the racing started with the Flying Fifteens heading down to Melville Water West and the skiffs hanging about on the eastern race track.
No room for the sleepy skipper as the laggards in the 29er fleet had to scoot over the line and ( I hope ) were given grace by the starters. But they presented a fine sight on the water as we watched all the fleets run away on the start line with the Captain Cook's James Stirling ploughing through the Javelins startline. Oops. May be something can be done about that? Shortly after the start we had to pick up our other photographer Bernie and we restarted our photography with a fair crack at the start again and a quick dash up to the top mark to give us falling over around the mark shots and only one or two actually did so.. so well done all.
The gusts were booming through and a couple of nice inclusions in the 29er fleet were Matt Wearn sailing with Emma Plasschaert and a well known combo sailing well below their pain level Nia Jerwood and Monique deVries took to the water on a 29er as well. However its a fact that if you know your boat you will do well and the 29ers are led by Axel Fleet and Kieran Bucktin with a pair of bullets with Nia and Monique hot on their tails. The Javelins have Dan Moore and his crewman on Jo-Anne sharing a pair of bullets as well and they have the Vance boys Tim and Greg following in second. The Cherubs.. well there's a thought as I was barracking for the Champions in Back in Black, but hey its early days and they may catch up to Jacques Audet and Arrik Fisk on Serenity Now as there were a few OS scores in the second race. I do like the shape of those hulls though. "different" and they carry a fine load of sail.
The Flying 15's will be visited tomorrow afternoon and we look forward to some excellent sailing. To quote a 15 sailor who I bumped into on the way out the gate. "We led all the way to the first mark" He grinned and said. " well you know what happened after that." Well done to Nick and Brad though as they took the first pair of races convincingly.