So another issue is hot off the presses with thanks to all those who sent in the myriad of words and pictures covering all the goings on at BSC and beyond. There has been plenty of sailing going on lately with news in from the Contenders, Windsurfers and Superfoiler Grand Prix, with 505, RS Aero, Mirror and Tasar reports coming in soon. Off the water there has been plenty going on too, with infrastructure improvements and skills training all helping to improve BSC's member and guest experiences. I hope you enjoyed last months edition, my first as editor. Many thanks for the positive feedback which is always welcomed and remember that criticism, while graciously accepted, will also be considered as a submission of resume for the role of editor! Boyd Newton, back half of 'Da Easy Crew, and Editor. Important Info If nothing else, please look into the following as others may be relying on you to do so: | Dubious Info Notice to all pirates on this months ear piercing special - just a buccaneer! | New Members Again this month we are delighted to announce several new members so please welcome: ▪ David & Michelle Johnson - sailing a Heron, the 1st in the club in many years
▪ Thomas, Lachlan and Henry Johnson - sailing an Optimist.
| ▪ | David & Michelle Johnson - sailing a Heron, the 1st in the club in many years | | ▪ | Thomas, Lachlan and Henry Johnson - sailing an Optimist. | In 1961 at BSC the Heron Class was adopted and by 1966 the club register reveals 93 Herons, so if history repeats they will soon be our overlords! A good reason to be especially nice, so next time you are at the club track them down and say "G'day". | Thanks to Shirley Matthews for organising the CPR Training Course. A lot of work goes into these events and it is very appreciated. Shirley also keeps our First Aid kits up to date each week, so should you ever need any help it's worth remembering that Shirley is one who makes it possible. More information on the training day plus an example of why it is so very important can be found in this month's issue. Apologies for having no portrait picture, but you may find Shirley and Phil Matthews racing their Tasar, One for the Road. As you'll see from these club shots she is quite elusive... |  Trying hard to remain anonymous... |  Very hard! | | | Know someone we should recognise? If you know someone who is quietly working away behind the scenes without due recognition please email Boyd with the details so he can mention them in Whale's Tales. | 2017/18 has been a busy one for the Contender sailors of Balmoral, starting with the NSW/ACT states held in November and brilliantly hosted by BSC, sponsored by Musto Australasia. Four club members competed in the fleet of 12, with boats travelling from as far away as Melbourne and Brisbane including the then current world champion Jason Beebe of Qld. The regatta came down to the final race with Jason beating me (Matt Mulder) by a couple of boat lengths and 1 point overall. |  (Photo: Rob Owe-Young) | BSC member results were Matt Mulder 2nd, James Meggison 10th, Andrew Hardy 11th and Keith Spencer 12th. It was a fantastic weekend on and off the water with everyone thoroughly enjoying the clubs hospitality and location. |  (Photo: Matt Mulder) | Two weeks later I travelled to Lake Coootharaba on the Sunshine Coast to compete in the Queensland state titles to see if I could get one back on Jason. Again after 5 races in a range of conditions he finished 1 point clear, though I was able to win the final race of the regatta giving him something to think about leading up to the worlds a month or so later in Melbourne. Even though Jason won the contenders, I won the regatta on yardstick and was crowned the mono master of 2017. Another great weekend was had sailing in near tropical waters and catching up with friends and family. |  (Photo: Matt Mulder) | After the Christmas period it was off to Melbourne for James Meggison and myself to compete in the Australian and World titles. The regattas were sailed from the McCrae Yacht Club on the Mornington Peninsula. For those that don’t know the Mornington Peninsula, McCrae is situated under the only mountain (hill) in southern Victoria, needless to say the place is shifty. The three days of the nationals were sailed in medium to light winds with half the races sailed in drifters. I went in to this regatta trialing different combinations (non of which worked) trying to pick up that extra point on Jason. Needless to say it wasn’t my greatest regatta. Jason won only his second nationals ever and exactly 20 years since his first. |  (Photo: Matt Mulder) | The worlds attracted a record southern hemisphere fleet of 90 boats with 6 previous world champions among them with a combined 13 titles.
Day one of the regatta was thankfully our only terrible day on the water and only one race completed in very tricky, light conditions. Day two, 3 races were scheduled in possibly the best forecast for the regatta. Unfortunately this was my worst day of the regatta after breaking my trap harness in the first race of the day. I was able to get a replacement and return for the 4th race. Nothing like getting your drops out of the way early. From here the regatta was sailed in mostly moderate conditions allowing everyone in the fleet to be competitive. One thing about sailing in a 90 boat fleet, it is super important to be able to get off the start line well and this is something I need to work on. By the final race Jason and Mark Bulka (Vic, 2 x World champ) securely in front but the race was on for third with 5 of us racing for the final podium position. In the end local sailer Mark won his third worlds with Jason second, Andrea Bonezzi (ITA/Vic 7 x worlds) third, Jono Neat (Vic 1 x worlds) 4th and me 5th. I am very proud of my result considering my day two gear problems and the super high standard of the fleet. James Meggison improved considerably throughout the regatta finishing 69th overall and having his best race on the final day finishing in the 40’s. | What a few days! The 41st Windsurfer One Design Nationals was sensational. Great racing and ripping social events. Well done Parkdale Yacht Club. There is a nice summary of the event published on Sail-World - click here - and for full results - click here | BSC Windsurfing is adding more boards and talent to the fleet, with another two racks to be occupied by Grace and Katie Webb. Grace just competed in her first nationals and got second in slalom, juniors, and freestyle and third in ladies course racing and ladies marathon. Katie will be racing the rest of the rippers youth series. Give them a wave as they go screaming by, but no getting upset if they don't wave back - it's not as easy while windsurfing. | BSC Windsurfer social and racing has resumed on Saturdays with a 12:45 briefing prior to racing at 14:00. Come and start training now for next year’s nationals. It's likely to be in Sydney! For more information contact Mel at windsurfing@balmoralsc.com.au or to join Balmoral Sailing Club windsurfing click here now. Melanie Webb
BSC Windsurfer Class Captain | Much of the stuff that seemingly happens by magic at BSC is only made possible by our teams of volunteers, one of which is the powerboat crew who set the course marks, keep an eye out as we race, pluck us out of the water should things go pear shaped, and take all those hero shots that make it appear we know what we're doing. Now for once they need our help! So how do I help? Easy. Volunteer yourself. Much, much easier is to mention volunteering to colleagues, friends and family. It can be as much as once a week or as little as once a month and as volunteers will be provided with training no experience is necessary, although those with first-aid/CPR training and/or general powerboat licence are highly desired. We have an advert on Seek Volunteer - click here - you should forward to family and friends. Go on, get involved. Next steps? Come along for a trial day to discover what it's all about, plus see how great we all are. To get the ball rolling simply contact Anita and she will take care of you. Anita Daum
Call - 0402 478 710
Email - anita.daum@balmoralsc.com.au | An Active Kids Program is being rolled out in NSW schools right now, and Balmoral Sailing Club is a registered participant and provider in the program. The objective is to get kids off the couch and active in sport. Basic info:
- Parents of all NSW school children have access to vouchers.
- To receive the e-voucher parents register online.
- The vouchers are worth $100 and can only be used once.
- Used for activities longer than 8 weeks or club membership. Links to the program: https://sport.nsw.gov.au/sectordevelopment/activekids
https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-active-kids-voucher | Kids are the future of our sport and club so get them involved. Then treat yourself to brunch on the promenade while they're someone else's problem! For more information contact: Andrew Dent
p: 0405 973 519
e: juniorsailing@balmoralsc.com.au | CPR refresher training was held on Sunday 18th February and run by Allens Training. Our thanks to all for gaining these most important skills that we hope will never be required. A job well done by the seventeen attendees: | Phil & Shirley Matthews, Laurie Hoffman, Marco Teering, Peter Nixey, Liz Kemmis, Sally Alsop, Anita Daum, Janet Macpherson, Graham Hanna, Bruce Meldrum, Ted Moors, Wes Waldock, Roly Webb, Rob Owe-young, Laurie Mrdjen & Ian Best. |  High-tech defibrillation |  Hands on CPR |  Pushed so hard limbs flew off! | | | 1st Aid training pays off From Steve at the sailing school... Hi guys,
Happy New Year.
Just wanted to touch base as yesterday I helped provide 1st Aid to a gentleman who had fallen on the carpark outside the club. He had a decent bump to the head so required some treatment from myself. We also had to call an ambulance. He popped in to the school today just to say thank you to me and wanted to make a small donation to our club ($50). He has also written an article for the Mosman Daily which may or may not get published, in which he thanks me and references Balmoral Sailing Club. All the best,
Steve | Balmoral Sailing Club is adopting technology to streamline processes and provide increased functionality. There have been two changes in the last month. We are in the process of moving across to online log books to allow remote access to the information so that we can better maintain our boats and manage our fuel. | We have moved to an online roster system for powerboat volunteers which allows volunteers to view the roster from any device and download to their electronic calendar. | Beta testing has been invaluable and led to a much better outcomes. For their involvement a huge thanks goes to Graham Hanna, Liz Kemmis, Bruce Meldrum, Rob Owe-Young, Brad Hair, Catherine Martinus, Tony Ricketts, Marco Teering, Mike Slee, Wes Waldock & Roly Webb. Watch this space; there are more developments on the way! Anita Daum
Director, BSC |  Image may have been dogtored! (Photo:tech2) | For most of us a catastrophic failure is just that, but enter the world of sponsorship and it may just be the best thing that could happen. Below is a glimpse into the marketing benefit of having the back half of a hull snap off, launching your boat and crew 4m out of the water at 60km/h. Great video here unless you're paying the bills! The following is from a friend of ours who is considered, along with Sugar the dog, part of 'Da Easy Crew... | Technology and sailing come together in the 2018 SuperFoiler Grand Prix tech2 Managing Director Glen Powys said: “Tech is what we are all about. tech2 is excited to partner with the SuperFoiler Grand Prix, to bring this cutting-edge sailing technology to Australian waters. It is thrilling to play our part in seeing these high adrenaline racing machines fly across the water and take the sailing world by storm.” The tech2 SuperFoiler, nicknamed as the “Red Flyer”, is operated by a fearless world class sailing crew including Luke Parkinson (Fremantle) – skipper, Sam Newton (Sydney) – bowman, and Ayden Menzies (Lake Macquarie) – mainsheet hand. They join other America’s Cup heavy hitters in competing for the prized Ben Lexcen Trophy in what has been repeatedly described as a true “superstars league”. The global launch of the SuperFoiler Grand Prix began in Adelaide where the teams put on an incredible show for sailing enthusiasts and sport junkies alike. Leading the action was the Red Flyer foiling over two metres above the water’s surface during the first race in Outer Harbor. But the Red Flyer suffered an unfortunate hull breach just moments before reaching the finish line. It was out of action until the Geelong leg of the Australia-wide competition, with boat builder Innovation Composites working around the clock to restore the striking red racer to glory. All eyes were on tech2 as coverage of the infamous crash appeared locally in the Adelaide Advertiser, Sunday Mail, Geelong Advertiser and Channel 7 nightly news. The incident quickly began to trend globally driven by a spectacular Red Flyer snapshot from world renown sailing photographer Andrea Francolini, which shows the vessel soaring over four metres above the sea, went viral with over 67,000 hits on social media within just a few days. Over the next few weeks, the SuperFoilers will compete in regattas in Geelong, the Gold Coast and Busselton, with the season finale in Sydney Harbour on 23 March. For more tech2 SuperFoiler news, competitions and promotions, follow tech2 on social media or visit www.tech2.com.au/superfoiler and to watch all the action live streaming visit Superfoiler.com | The theory of relativity, yep that old chestnut, states time dilation is a difference in the elapsed time measured by two observers, either due to a velocity difference relative to each other, or by being differently situated relative to a gravitational field. In addition as a result of the nature of space-time, a clock that is moving relative to an observer will be measured to tick slower than a clock that is at rest in the observer's own frame of reference. A clock that is under the influence of a stronger gravitational field than an observer's will also be measured to tick slower than the observer's own clock. The affects of the effects? We are sailing as fast as we can, and time slows as velocity increases. Plus by virtue of being on the sea we are as close to the Earth's centre of gravity as possible, and time slows as gravity increases. Difference compared to our beach dwelling onlookers? Not massive but measurable, as you're 0.00048 nanoseconds younger at the end of each race, not to mention the added gains from gravitational time dilation for those that live at elevation. Proof that dinghy racing makes you younger! So there you have it, dinghy racing makes you younger, researching makes my head hurt, and you'll never get back the time spent reading this regardless of how fast you sail. | 24-25 Feb : Mirror NSW States, Taser TT3
10 Mar : BSC Marathon, Taser TT4
11 Mar : Taser TT5
24 Mar : Easter Egg Hunt and Pizza
30 Mar : Tasar NSW States | And don't forget our post-race sausage sizzles are on every week - try the HP Sauce, it's good for you (based on that which does not kill us makes us stronger) | |
