Issue 59, November 2018

Christmas is coming. I was accosted by a slightly deflated Santa at Bunnings last week and yesterday noticed another at our local shops. The first was 12ft tall and had a dodgy air hose connection - the second had just dealt with a vocal little so and so with a list as long as a safety audit (segway of the year...)

Sail Sydney is nearly here. Large fleets of Olympic and invited classes will offer good racing for competitors and spectators alike. Time is even shorter if you're competing at the RS Aero Nationals so get cracking.

Some would say similarities between sailing and the mule is down to the stubbornness of the helm. But these hybrids have a closer link than you may know.

How many mule facts is enough?

To find out please come along for the ride, which if you had a mule's superior endurance (mule fact #1) would be a doddle.

Boyd Newton, Da Easy Crew, Editor.

Important Info

Please look into the following as others may be relying on you to do so:

Dubious Info

It's not just our fleet that face audits. Navies around the world have a vast amount of assets to track and one in particular has a clever solution.

The Norwegian Navy paints bar codes on the sides of their ships. When they come back into port they simply Scandinavian.

New Members

We have had the following new members join the club this month:

Simon is an avid racer at national and world championship level recently back from competing overseas in a world championship. Greg is doing the free race coaching on Thursday nights at BSC and has been involved with windsurfing since 1976 in every aspect of the sport including the highest level of competition and administration. He ran windsurfing nationals 40th anniversary at Balmoral 2 years ago.

RSVP ASAP TVM

e: social@balmoralsc.com.au

Hello everyone,

As BSC members have been seeing an increasing amount of motorboat mania, I have written a letter to Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) flagging our concern (see letter below).

To their credit the Senior Boating Officer replied very quickly with an expression of concern. He asked me to encourage our members who are involved in any incident to get the registration / name of the vessel involved. They need this information to investigate incidents and to take appropriate action.

If there is no ‘incident’ per se but you witness reckless or dangerous driving, try to record the registration or name of the vessel so that we can work with RMS to ensure the waters of Hunter Bay are safe for all.

Regards,
Heather

LETTER TO RMS – 15 NOVEMBER 2018

To Whom It May Concern,

As Commodore of the Balmoral Sailing Club, I am writing to express the Club’s concern about the number of troubling incidents involving motor boats on the waters of Hunter Bay.

The Balmoral Sailing Club organises races for dinghy sailors of all ages on Saturdays from early September to the end of May. The safety of our sailors is paramount.

Over the years, and particularly in the last two to three years, our Race Committee and other members of the Club have either witnessed or experienced incidents in Hunter Bay caused by motor boats driving too fast or ‘recklessly’ given the circumstances. Whereas it used to be a rare event, now most Saturdays sailors return to shore with at least one story of a concerning event or a near miss.

Needless to say, these events and the apparent increased frequency of these stories is disconcerting.

We certainly believe there is enough room on the water for everyone, however, there is a need for increased policing in Hunter Bay to ensure that power boats are being driven in a manner that ensures the safety of other vessels and individuals.

Having sailed out of the Northbridge Sailing Club recently, I experienced how motor boats and sailors can be on the same waters and operate in a mutually respectful manner.

It is definitely possible to create an environment where all are having fun and doing so in a safe manner.

Consequently, I am asking for your assistance in ensuring safety for all who want to enjoy the waters of Hunter Bay.

Heather Forton - Commodore, Balmoral Sailing Club
m: 0422 021 057

The first round of the 2018/19 MJ State Championships was held at Port Kembla Sailing Club on Lake Illawarra. 24 boats entered from:

· Manly 16s (13 boats)
· Hornsby Ku Ring Gai Sailing Club (5 boats)
· Port Kembla Sailing Club (4 boats)
· BSC (1 boat) – the mighty Black Jack sailed by Rowan & Amit
· Queens Lake Sailing Club (1 Boat)

There were 8 boats in the novice fleet (first season skippering) and 16 in the open fleet.

PKSC is similar to Balmoral in that it has an open grassy area for rigging right on the water’s edge with easy (free!) parking. Quite a few of the families actually camped between the club and the water on the grass on some of the best real estate on Lake Illawarra. As most people were staying on site, there were always kids roaming around looking for fun.

There were 2 races on Saturday afternoon and two races on Sunday afternoon. A coach boat followed the novice fleet around and provided on the water coaching to help everyone get around the course.

Racing kicked off at 12pm on Sat with the wind blowing 12–15 knots but forecast to lighten through the afternoon. The first race got away cleanly with the open fleet starting first followed by the novice fleet 5 mins later. In the open fleet there were two clear leaders followed by 3 separate packs of boats of 4-5 boats. Competition within a pack was very close and exciting with small gaps between the packs. Everyone was constantly competing with someone leading to great racing both to watch and participate in.

By the end of the race there were some Choc Tops – Lake Illawarra is shallow and has a floor of sticky mud. Any boat that capsized and got the top of the mast in the mud came up with a brown muddy Choc Top.

After the first race the boats returned to shore for a quick lunch and then back out again. By this stage the wind had lightened to 8-10 knots. The open fleet were so keen for their second start that a couple of boats were over early but duly returned and restarted. The BSC team got a cracking start and were holding second place for part of the leg but were soon over hauled by a number of boats in a very high standard fleet. They managed to round the top mark 5th but couldn’t hang in there for the rest of the race.

That evening there was a BBQ dinner at the club that was well attended with games of touch footy and bull rush breaking out amongst the sailors while the parents watched the sun go down behind the escarpment from their tables overlooking the water.

The next morning was pancakes and bacon and egg rolls for breakfast at the club, although the BSC team were a little late with only 1 pancake left (the biggest pancake I’ve seen in a while) which was snapped up by Amit in a flash. Rowan and I had to settle for some top notch bacon and egg rolls and vowed to get there earlier next time.

A service was held at 11am attended by all the sailors and parents to mark Armistice Day. Racing got underway soon after with a building 10-15 knot NE wind. 2 back to back tightly contested races were completed with the sailors coming back to shore tired but happy with a cracking day’s sailing.

The BSC team improved through the regatta in skills, experience and confidence (all the other teams were improving as well which kept overall standings similar) and had a great time. The boys are keen for the second round at BYRA in Feb and it would be good to all the BSC boats attending. BYRA will be including a Rookie division that will sit below novice division which will be ideal for some of the BSC sailors – we should be able to field some entries in each division.

It was a great experience and well worth the effort.

Results and some great photos and videos are on the Manly Junior Facebook page and I would encourage everyone to take a look.

See you all soon.

Cullen Hughes – Shore Crew for Black Jack

MJ Facebook Page - click here
MJ Sailing Association - click here

Do you have some junior news?

Andrew Dent would love to hear from you so don't be shy. What happens to coconuts if they're shy? - click here.

You don't want that to happen to you so speak up!

Andrew Dent - Juniors Class
e: juniorsailing@balmoralsc.com.au
p: 0405 973 519

Three-up on a foiling Moth poses a few problems as you can imagine. Luckily our own 'Yenda Lee' came to the aid of one intrepid Moth sailor, as Les Thorpe writes...

I am currently in the process of slowly getting my two boys, Ben aged 10 and Ollie aged 8, into sailing. However, being a moth sailor I cannot simply take them out for a sail on my boat. I spoke to Gavin about the junior sailing programme and options for getting my boys involved. I explained that they were both new to sailing and wanted to start by sailing with me. That is when he told me of the club Mirror, the ‘Yenda Lee’ and how it was available for club members to borrow.

So the question was, could I do it? Could I, a moth sailor of over 25 years go sailing on a Mirror? What if my moth friends see me? And the biggest question of all – can I actually sail a boat with not one but THREE sails? But I came to my senses and took Gavin up on his offer.

Saturday morning came and me and two very excited boys were faced with a perfect 10kt southerly, sunny skies and the promise of a great day. Gavin came down to the club early only to help me rig and get going. Such a nice gesture and made the whole rigging experience much easier. I even learnt what a spinnaker is!

In no time at all we were on our way. The novelty of wheeling the boat gently to the water was not lost on me, in comparison to the “blind balance” of weaving a fully rigged moth on its side across a busy Balmoral beach. We set off and another novelty hit me. I only needed to get wet to just above my knees. And I am sure with more practice this could be reduced to shin height. A nice change from the up to the armpit requirement of the moth.

Soon after leaving the moorings we set the spinnaker and each of the boys had a turn at steering. We expressed frustration at the annoying “stink boats” as they went past. Soon we reached our destination of the beach near Castle Rock and we stopped for a short rest. Time to break out the snacks – yet another novelty, being able to bring food and drinks on board. Soon after we were back on the water, working back to Balmoral. Again, the boys took turns at steering and also had a go at leaning, which they loved. However, at approximately 30kgs ringing wet their leaning didn’t make much difference to the boat. This took me back to racing with my dad on an NS14, leaning my guts out when he would say “why don’t you have a little rest and sit in for a while”. At the time I was offended as surely my efforts were important, but now I understand.

What it takes to be World Class

Please take advantage of a wonderful opportunity with Greg Johns to learn what it takes to be a world class sailing/windsurfing competitor. He competed in sailing at the Olympics and was Australia’s Olympic windsurfing coach in a number of Olympic Games.

Free race coaching starts 19:30 upstairs at BSC after Balmoral twilight sailing every Thursday.

Don’t miss the action and participate in one of the best regattas in the Southern Hemisphere.

Invitations of importance include the Mirror class as it will be the pre-race event for the 2019 International Mirror Dinghy World Championships, to be held on Sydney Harbour from December 31 to January 6.

4 - 7 December: Olympic Classes
7 - 9 December: Invited Classes

More details here - Sail Sydney Mirror News

Sunday 11 November, six Balmoral Tasars made their way to the Northbridge Sailing Club (NSC) to compete in a Travellers Trophy event and the Frank Bethwaite Memorial Trophy.

Ratz, Boogie Time, Vivace and More Edge decided to combine it with weight training exercise by going over to NSC and carrying boats/gear up and down the stairs to the launch area. Southern Stars and Starlick Express decided to tempt fate by sailing to the NSC in a tide that meant they would just make it (aided by a bit of heel) under the Spit Bridge.

Overall there were 16 Tasars that competed on an absolutely glorious day; sunny but not too hot. We had some very challenging winds as there were significant changes in direction and strength. It was a different experience for BSC boats as we had to get used to having a number of land masses very close to the race area … they did provide some nice lifts!

Winners were James and Tara Burman – Little Miss Magic from GRSC with second going to Hugh and Anna Tait – Serendipity from NSC. And a huge congratulations to Ratz – Gary and Robyn Ratcliffe who provided BSC with a podium finish.

The afternoon finished off nicely with the traditional champagne and cheese (plus beer).

Before handing over the Bethwaite Memorial Trophy, Julian Bethwaite spoke of the passion that his dad had for the Tasar. He also said that he appreciated seeing the ongoing interest and commitment of the Tasar community.

Heather Forton - More Edge 2763

The 2018 RS Aero Australian Nationals are confirmed for December 6 - 9 at Port Stephens, NSW, with support from RS Sailing UK and Rooster.

The Championships will be a wonderful build up to the 2019 World Championships in Australia, taking place a year later at the same venue.

Charter RS Aeros

If you have any friends wanting to charter a boat for this years Nationals please contact:

Simon Reffold - The Life Aquatic
e - office@thelifeaquatic.com.au
p - 02 9979 1590

Transport Assistance for Sydney RS Aero owners

If you are without a trailer or roof racks, we can organise to double stack trailers. To arrange help please contact:

Nick Collis-George
e - rsaeroaus@gmail.com

Safety audits are due so please look into your requirements. For assistance or to return once completed please see your class captains.

Please make a note in your diaries of the upcoming CPR course for volunteers to be held on the 17th of February 2019 at the sailing club at 0830hrs with coffee and refreshments available.

The session will finish early enough that you can still carry on with your other weekend activities. At this stage the course is only open for volunteers of the club.

Register your interest

Shirley Matthews
e: shirley.matthews@balmoralsc.com.au

A Mule is a Hybrid

The offspring of a male donkey (Jack) and a female horse (Mare) are Mules. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids (first generation hybrids) between these two species, a Mule is easier to obtain than a Hinny, which is the offspring of a female donkey (Jenny) and a male horse (Stallion).

A female mule is called a 'Molly' or 'Molly Mule'. A male mule is properly called a 'Horse Mule', though often called a 'John Mule', which is the correct term for a gelded mule. A young male mule is called a 'Mule Colt, and a young female is called a 'Mule Filly'.

We've almost had our filly of mule facts...

Sailing Hybrids

The Americas Cup test rig from the U.S. challenger known as 'The Mule' took to Narragansett Bay for the first time recently. But what type of hybrid is she?

Perhaps an MC38 with the flailing arms of Robbie the Robot?

Rumour has it a new craft is under development by the Ministry for Silly Walks.