ORCV Melbourne Winter Series – It’s a beautiful day

17-Aug-2010
Goldfinger got the gun in Race Five of the Melbourne Winter Series to add to her one a fortnight ago. The Reichel-Pugh penned, Gienah, took out Division Two, which also raced the approximately 21nm passage-race course.

"A lovely sail, flatter than anticipated with the breeze staying mostly out of the North at the 20knot mark, but by 1300hrs it had actually slid back down to 10kn. They sailed Course Two, so it was a short beat up to the Recreational Mark #2, then a kite run down to the Spoilground Mark and a long beat back up to Pipeline #3. Gellibrand in near Williamstown was next, Recreational Mark #4, followed by a quick jaunt out to a laid mark and then back in to the finish line in the direction of R2. Mostly windward/leewards for the day, with a small reach in towards the top of the Bay", was how Rear Commodore, Simon Dryden, put it.

There was some rain and a few squirts about, however the only casualty was a black jacket that stepped off for a swim from Extasea and it’s now available for collection from Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club.

It may have been a day of a gale warning, but the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s Race Management team had been examining the information for the preceding few days and with the assistance of information from our friends at PredictWind, it became apparent that the real blow would be during the small hours of the night before and most likely, the second front would be on the Sunday night. This left the gap in the middle that models would show to be around the 15-20kn mark. Alas, this was to be the case, as the observations from Fawkner Beacon, in the middle of the top section of Port Phillip show.

In the end it actually went very quiet just before the remainder of Division Two and the Cruising with Spinnakers Division made it home. They had to wait for the new Westerly to arrive to kick them along. Interestingly, some 1200km away, in Newcastle, there was some serious blow occurring with 120% hikes during the gusts, as the observations from Nobbys demonstrate. Now that’s what I call bullets! Australia – land of contrasts, huh.

One boat very happy with the day was Wicked, the Beneteau First 40 that was second overall in the 2009 SydneyHobart. She currently leads the Melbourne Winter Series in both IRC and the Australian Measurement System (AMS). One of her owners, Mark Welsh said, “Another magnificent day's racing for Race Five, despite the cold and sometimes wet conditions. Well done to the ORCV for the constant vigilance, in closely monitoring the weather conditions, which have changed considerably over the past 24-48 hours. This resulted in the correct decision being made to run today's race. It was also great to do a course with some long legs, as a bit of variety.”

“Out on Wicked, we had another great race today, with yet more close racing with Challenge and Chutzpah38 around the track. Minor crew work errors could cost dearly in this type of racing, so everyone on board was really on their game. With the ordinary and aforementioned changing forecast, we may have been a little too conservative again today, in going again with our ocean main. We did not want to make it another ‘CVD’ (Commercially Viable Day) for the sailmakers!!! Pete Williams joined us today (he usually drives the TP52 Cougar II), to call the tactics and he did a sensational job. Our regular afterguard hero, Graeme Smith, had better watch out! We also borrowed Stuey Schafer from Calm (Farr GenIV TP52) for uphill trimming. Our regular foredecky, Aaron, was away, so I made a comeback to ‘Adventure Land’ and thankfully, did not screw anything up! Just like riding a bike, hey??!! Overall, we are very happy with our result, but congratulations to Goldfinger and Jazz Player (Bakewell-White Z39) on their wins today.”

So it certainly was a completely Auric day out there. Peter Blake and Kate Mitchell's Goldfinger led the fleet around the course, got the Gun, first in IRC and third in the Performance Handicap System (PHS). Wicked and Lou Abraham’s Challenge got the minor IRC placings on the day. As mentioned, Wicked leads the field in the race for the series win with the DK46 Extasea in the hunt, along with Challenge and Goldfinger can still factor in for a podium spot.

Melbourne has a marvelous collection of well-sailed 40somethings and they own the AMS category. Boy, are they making it interesting. It was Jazz Player's turn today, but Wicked, Challenge and the MBD 36, Swordfish Trombone are going to keep that particular category alive all the way to the final race to Geelong on September 11.

The Performance Handicap System may not be talked about as much, but it is hotly contested. Jazz Player, Goldfinger, XLR8, Ninety Seven and Extasea make sure of it. The 2010 MWS also has a special division for the Sydney 38s. The Ullman Sails S38 category has Challenge with a handy lead, but Audacious, Clockwork and the rapidly improving Chutzpah38 are going to make it an interesting preparation for their National Titles…

It may have been black all around Melbourne today, but as the last boat finished, the Committee Boat was actually bathed in sunlight. Go figure, maybe, but that last finisher, Pretty Young Thing, had also had to contend with the worst of the changes, as the breeze went in below five knots for a short spell. Importantly, PYT represents part of the Cruising with Spinnakers division that was out for a trial before the Melbourne to Geelong event on September 11. Today, the Division was won on the day by Biddy Hu II, who went to Hobart last year, where as Pretty Woman broke a heady halyard and retired, so better to do that on a day like today, than for the all-important longer race.

Gienah may have got the Division Two gun today, but Alibi and INSX placed higher than her in IRC. Those latter two and Hush are always about, so as to spoil any party, which is why Division Two remains such a strong contest. Another boat that joins the regulars list in both AMS and PHS, is Nutcracker and she also did well today. PHS actually goes all the way down to about position number seven, with Spirit of Freya, Beyond Outrageous and Fade 2 Grey all keen to scramble onto the leader board.

There have now been five races in the 2010 Melbourne Winter Series, with the next one the final set of windward/returns before the grand finale at Geelong. Entry is still available for both of these events are still available.
For more information:
orcv.org.au