Queensland 12ft Skiff Association

Owned - Race Results 4th February 2011

2012-02-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

Race Report http://brisbane18footers.com/12s-4th-february-racing/

Results:
Race 1:
1st: PB Towage
2nd: Squid
3rd: Ghetto Sled
4th: Challenge
5th: Andrew Short Marine

Race 2:

1st: PB Towage
2nd: Ghetto Sled
3rd: Squid
4th: Challenge
DNS: Andrew Short Marine

Race Reporte 28th January 2011

2012-01-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

http://brisbane18footers.com/12s-28th-january-report/

The rain couldn’t keep us away from a tasty 3rd rig day.

Apparently the wind was strong early on but I wouldn’t know because I turned up late, just like skinnyman the rock star.
PB and Ghetto put in third rig, but the wind dropped leaving PB one-wiring into an easterly. The flyweights on Ghetto were still two wiring and we weren’t too keen about that.
Course was set and it was clear the pin end of the start couldn’t be laid on Starboard. And Ghetto Sled will attempt the port tack bandit as sure as night follows day. We lined ourselves up underneath them and let the game begin. Lucky for us we hit the line right on the pin with speed, closing Richard out. What I wasn’t counting on was their splash tack afterwards! It was a handy margin to have because they made plenty of ground on us up that first work. Two sail reach past ‘the best laid wing mark this year’! The wind was building and began to swing back south so we followed it.. We were comfortably on the wire now and the easterly brought a great little swell down between king and green.
The course was adjusted for the second race so this start was a bit more normal. I was starting to get the hang of the boat more and we hit the line on time again!! The clowns on the start boat made yelled out some gun noises, called something about OCS but I figured they were joking.
Second race was somewhat similiar to the first, with Ghetto hot on our tails. With a little more time Richard and Ben C will be a well oiled team – look out!

Squid’s gonna be there next weekend too, game on ladies!

Race 1: 1st PB, 2nd Ghetto Sled

Race 2: 1st PB, 2nd Ghetto Sled

BenG

Carbolicious

2012-01-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

Scrum-diddly-umptious

Rollercoaster of Love

2012-01-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

http://brisbane18footers.com/rollercoaster-of-love/

2011-01-14 Results

2012-01-15T18:57:00.001-08:00

http://brisbane18footers.com/back-into-it/

Race 1: 1st, PB Towage, 2nd, Ghetto Sled
Race 2: 1st, Ghetto Sled, PB Towage

Solve it..!!!

2012-01-12T17:06:00.001-08:00

Camberchargers in production

2012-01-11T15:17:00.001-08:00

Inters Photos

2012-01-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

Photos can be found HERE.
Such as this one of the winners

All things Interdominions

2012-01-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Go HERE to access results and some great videos of the 2012 12ft Skiff Interdominions

Christmas Race Report

2011-12-19T22:27:00.001-08:00

by Craig

Well it was a nice weekend for round 2 of the club championship and the only thing missing were...skiffs!

Only the Flying Animals crew in Challenge and the Squid boyz in a new Diet Squid (aka Allwood Sails) headed out in what was probably the best weekend of the season so far. Everyone else was getting their hair done for christmas.

It was 20-25 SE and pretty lumpy. The BMMK2 sure aren't woofs and probably aren't even boats. We hit green (not the one off Cairns) before we worked out how to turn it around and went back to find the start boat as it dragged anchor across the bay. No sign of the animals guys at this point but the flag was up and Terry sent us off for a one lap sprint. We worked our way up to the top mark (nah that's the pin end keep on going!) The skinny not boats feel strange but definitely quick through the chop upwind until...damn those tacks need a bit of work! Bow up tail down me head near foot near transom under Ben all wrong in the piss again...F*&K!!

And around the top mark and bloody hell that self launching pole is only self launching from the Skipper's point of view!! But the...WOOOT... the kite was up and we were on for our first skinny not boat ride...WOOHOOO tail skipping and yikes gybe and WOOHOOO and flag the kite a bit and FINISH!:)

Well one lap ain't an afternoons workout so up we headed again for another lap around the bay. Starting to settle in and look the tail doesn't sink as much as we thought...SPLASH we were doing pretty well...SPLASH...as we tacked and then WOOHOOO another ride but this time the SPLASH didn't go so well and then WOOHOO another ride but damn those gunnels of Brendan's are slippery and oh boy that's a HUGE mineshaft and I'm flying past something breaking a backstay oh shit Ben that is my hand where am I??

And time to head in on the death angle oooo another big mine and boy I was STUFFED when we got back in!

I think the animals guys got some good mines too but I was too knackered to remember the details

And the Skinny not boats... Well it was hard work and I'm not sure it was all exactly what I'd call fun but on Sunday all I wanted to do was...have another go!!!=D

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year Y'all...

PS Thanks heaps Brendan! (Sorry about the bits...)

NSW States Writeup

2011-12-05T19:51:00.001-08:00

Well boys..

What a sensational weekend all round..!!

I'm glad you guys got some good rides up here too.. Sydney certainly turned it on for us... The weather gods obviously looked kindly upon all 12ft skiffies..!!

I can't give a proper race report as we weren't actually officially racing.. Although I can tell you one thing.. All 3 QLD 12's are on the pace..

Saturday was forecast for a drifter with occasional showers.. Let me tell you, I was not all that enthused... That was until I woke up to sunshine and breese..!!!!

I headed to the club with both boats on the back.. Craig had PB down there already but had shot off on a date with his cousin... I know.. Weird right..??

Anyway I got down to the club and had a poke around.. Woollahra is a pretty cool little club actually.. Too many Bethwaite boats, but a great spot for harbour racing.. You're right in the middle of it..!! I knew as soon as I got there that rigging was going to be difficult with the amount of distractions walking past.. I believe the term trolling was used for said walkers...

So anyway, the Ben's and Richard arrived and we headed off for some breakfast... A few stories were told and it occurred to me pretty quickly.. This was going to be a boys weekend of epic proportions.. I went and picked up Tristan from the airport (fresh off night shift) and met everybody down the club again.. The breese was about 10kts and from the ENE... Perfect big rig... As it got time to rig, it came in to about 12kts and this certainly threw the cat amongst the pigeons.. Some boats went big rig and others went 2nd.. We went big because both Tristan and I are firm believers in the saying "big sails win big races".. So we set off for the 1500 start and it appeared that every man, dog and monkey was on the harbour.. A bit of sunshine and wind certainly got the people out there... It was pretty cool to be a part of.. Dodging Moths, Yinglings, Hysterical 18's and of course the 100ft maxi's... Finally we got the start underway.. All 3 QLD boats went second row as we decided that it being a NSW championship we should give them a fair crack.. It wasn't long before we reeled them in though..!! On board PB we hit the line at the boat end and squeezed in to high groove... Our big rig has been kind to us of late, and it seems she can climb almost anything.. We got above a few NSW boats and then once we had a bit of clear air we stretched our legs... The boat was trucking.. A bit of ease and smoking uphill.. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves.. Going tack for tack with Garde, Wolfie and DP we got to the top mark in 2nd.. Unfortunately on the hoist we had knot in the halyard and it turns out, that was the end of our race.. There are a few pics floating around of our floor.. Let me just say, Tristan should be on the Euro sports channel competing in the strong man event.. He must have ripped out every fitting on the boat at least once..!! We soldiered on and kept racing as the sea breese came in (after 4pm)..It was a pretty massive effort to lump big rig around the washing machine in a little over 15kts, and I know both of us were feeling the pinch by the end of it... Rich sailed a clean race with 2nd rig in the boat and Benny and Craig were also doing really well until some jet boat wash which sent them to their spreader breaking grave.. Moments before this crash Tristan and I saw their post card pic... They were flying along (over cooked big) with the sun low in the sky and the harbour bridge in the background... It looked sensational.. Good work boys.. Shame about the crash..

I guess the highlight for Tristan and I was probably the mighty mine on the way to the finish line which saw Richard catch us.. For some reason (Probably because we had no pulley inside the boat for the halyard) the kite had wrapped itself around the end of the pole.. We only had one downwind leg to go, so we just sailed with it.. The breese was on and we were pretty bloody over cooked.. We sent her through the last gybe to the finish and in front of us was the biggest mine shaft you've ever seen... The bow went in, I swore, she kept diving like scooba Steve.. I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd taken out a Japanese sub we went down so deep.. Both Tristan and I were well in front of the forestay by the end of it... Thank goodness Tristan is a soft landing.. I saw the pole bend in ways I'd like to forget but when she came up everything was still together.. We two sailed to the finish and then home... BIG DAY..!!

Our plans for a massive night were dashed as we had to do a bit of carbon magic.. Forbsey offered us his shed, so we picked up a carton of blue tongue and got sticky.. We then hit Balmain for some pizza and headed to our respective abodes.. Mine had a king sized bed and a view of Middle Harbour.. Ben and Ben had some Bourbon and spooned on a couch in Lane Cove..

We awoke on Sunday to a mighty Southerly. It was cold, wet and windy... Perfect day for a skiffin if you ask me..!!

We headed off to pick up PB after her surgery and then down to the club.. Did I mention it was cold..?? Well it was..!!

The breese filled in to a solid 25-30kts with the highest recorded gust at 34kts.. It was full 4th rigs all round...

We watched as Johnno broke a stick on the way to the start.. Boy it was going to be fun out there..!!

Richard and Ben decided it was going to be a bit too much out there for their slight frames and for good reason.. It was howling..

PB and Squid flew the QLD flag though and after a sporting kite ride (we borrowed Richards chicken chute) we arrived at the start line absolutely ready to go..!! The gun went and Squid nailed the start... They came in on a smoking two sail reach and smashed the line at about 15kts.. They quickly rolled Garde and that was that... Good work lads..!!

Tristan and I went left and were 5th or 6th around the top mark... Now this next ride was my highlight of the entire weekend... We narrowly avoided Barnyard as he splashed right in front of us.. We hit the corner with pace.. The baby rig loves to be thrown around so that's what we did... Richards advice as we launched "drive it like a rental" was certainly the case here... We were headed off on port when we got hit by a big one... We were absolutely flying..!!! I'm pretty sure I had urine dribbling down my inner thigh.. We were only just going to clear the moored yachts as it was... I couldn't point up, and I couldn't point down... If the wind changed at all it was going to end in tears... All we could do was keep the throttle down and hold on, well we made it... The acceleration of PB blew my mind... Even now as I write this, I'm getting goose bumps... That was one of those 12ft skiff moments I'll never forget... WOOHOO..!! Unlike the previous day the harbour was somewhat empty.. We didn't have to dodge recreational sailors, just the big green ferries... It was pretty lumpy at the bottom mark... Ferry wash at warp speed is insane..!!! PB soared like an eagle, and my grin was bigger than a black man's doodle. We did a gybe drop and let a couple of NSW guys through so as to sail clean... The long beat back up was tough.. There was a lot of wind and boy were we trucking.!! We got to the top mark and were hit by a lull and tea bagged... Although we didn't capsize, we spent a long long time in the drink and let the leaders get away... The next down wind was a little less stressful... I sat in "Bocco Style" and have the bruised butt cheeks to prove that we didn't go any slower.. We finished just ahead of DP in about 5th I think.. The Squidgee were right behind them. Waiting around for the tailenders was a battle... So much so, we ripped our jib track off the boat and had to go home..

An eventful weekend all round.. I was completely rooted driving home yesterday but we made it safe and sound. Both boats arrived unscathed.

I hope there are a few pics from the weekend... Sydney turned it up and we are very grateful..

Thanks to the NSW guys for letting us come and play.. We all had a totally rad time down there.

Cheers

Skinnyman

Gettinn Sticky with Skinny

2011-12-04T16:15:00.001-08:00

Sidanee

2011-11-23T16:37:00.001-08:00

Commence launch sequence...

Race Report 19-11-2011 by John Cole

2011-11-20T16:08:00.001-08:00

Ahh my first race report:

A beautiful day greated the 12's fleet on saturday, the forecast predicted a glorious 2nd rig out of the north east. 5 12's and one chubby were on the lawn plus 3 18's. We were also treated to a new 12 on the water, a laidback fella who introduced himself as Brendan! Skinny and Tristan were absent (not cool!), Tristan was working (fair enough) and Skinny was appently getting a manicure, getting a waxing for his lady-parts and then doing some antique shopping (nothing "man" about a manicure). Terry and wayne sailing for the first time this season got rigged first then sat down with some sports drinks and planned there attack for the afternoon.

Sailing out I think we all came to realise that we may have chosen the wrong rig, big may have been order of the day.

Race 1: Started in marginal conditions, the boatformally known as ASM, fat controller and squid went left. Squid tacked "early" whilst ASM and fat controller kept going left. We identified a top mark but it was the 18 mark, I can't say what was said on the boat when the right top mark was realised but it wasn't, well, nice. Around the top mark was Squid followed by Fat Controller and ASM. I believe terry was around next followed by the chubby and richard bringing up the rear after missing the start? Squid went on top score a well deserved first place followed by ASM after getting ahead on the run of Fat Controller in 3rd. The battle for the minor places was intense, with (correct me if I'm wrong) terry and wayne followed by richard just sneaking ahead of the chubby (that would have been interesting).

Race 2: Well the breeze didn't kick in as predicted and turned out to be as popular as a ginger-headed step kid (yeah I know, but it was funny the first time I heard it). A good clean start with everyone favouring the boat end (cept the new guy Brendan and his rockstar crew, they went home after the first race). I have to admit I'm loving the shotgun starts, sounds way better than the horn even if they do fire it a few seconds late. Everyone started going left as thats where the breeze was all day, lot of chop out there too. ASM took an early lead, squid tacked off about halfway up (bad move brother) that left terry and ASM heading left till the layline. Around the top mark was ASM followed by terry (whooooo) then squid, ghetto sled and the chubby. Finsh results were ASM, Squid and Terry, the rest of the race was about as spectacular as listening to skinny talk about the latest fashion kids are wearing and therefore not worth reporting. It was good to get a win finally, mr spies is rather pleasant when we get a win.

Ride of the day as usual was the ride back in, squid took a tumble in the channel and decided they couldn't finish on that note and went for another blast around the bay as the breeze looked like it filled in a bit.

Invasion

2011-11-15T17:45:00.001-08:00

The sled, the tuggers and the squid are heading south for some state of origin racing. 3/4 December on the Harbour. Bring it!!

East Side Wins!

2011-11-14T03:40:00.001-08:00

Saturdays race report: 8 knots, big rig. PB Towing proves that Eastsiide is the best. Twice. Ali G best sums up a pretty complicated two races for the four remaining boats!

Wazzup Warwick

2011-11-13T19:52:00.001-08:00

Took a week off "normal" racing to venture 2 hours West in search of fresh water. Leslie Dam just west of Warwick is home to the Warwick Sailing Club, a quaint little club on the edge of a big freshwater, cola-coloured dam. When we arrived there, about 8knots was flicking around from the SE to NE. The classic 10ft skiffs with their ridiculously large sail area were kicking around the course nicely. We were told the breeze would fill about 3pm, so big rigs were in for at least the first race. Start was in 3 knots and it dropped from there. Tristan and skip Cassie lead the first 2 marks, but were then overtaken by the Ghetto with fill-in crew Don Smith. A bit of time was spent going in backwards circles, but we got a ride or 2 with the kite up. Ghetto managed to beat 3 18s home, then the 2nd race was called off.
At 4pm the wind filled and Tristan, Cassie and I 'stole' an 18 and took it for a spin in about 10kts. After a nerve wrecking bearaway at the rock infested beach (first time i've steered an 18), the kite went up and we were off. 3 String up and down the lake for about 45mins. Not sure why the other 18s didn't come out as they'd left their boats rigged ready for a midnight 'sail'.

2011-11-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

Here's an automaton I've designed to suck knowledge of 12' skiff hull design from people's heads. Hopefully it hands me the answers soon-

"Squidbot"

Warwick Regatta

2011-11-02T16:07:00.001-07:00

http://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/story/2011/11/03/regatta-sets-sail-on-leslie-dam/

PB Dominates Club Championship Heat 1

2011-10-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

http://brisbane18footers.com/12s-club-championship-heat-1/

Giddy Up!

2011-10-30T04:21:00.001-07:00

$15k!! Absolute Madness..!! This boat has only sailed 1 season. It's race ready and primed to make mincemeat out of the fat boats. Someone buy it before I do.

Spectator Ferry

2011-10-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

On the 12th of November, a spectator ferry will be taking passengers out onto the course to watch the 12ft and 18ft skiffs go at it. It will be pulling into the DPSS 'ferry terminal' at about 1pm.

No 12 Racing due to St Helena Cup

2011-10-24T00:34:00.001-07:00

Race Report 15-10-2011 by Ben C

2011-10-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

Race report goes like this:

Wind surfer girls on lawn at RQ, mot much attention paid toweather.

Brad I went out with 2^nd rig plugged in….

White caps in the harbour, briefly thought about turning around.

Beat out towards Green Island with plenty on, finally decided tocall it quits. 2 sail reach back in at pace with multiple mines/capsizes.

Finally made it back in after coping an absolute hiding from asweet 3^rd rig breeze.

Moral of the story: get 3^rd rig ASAP and don’t rigup beside the wind surfer girls.

3rd rig 505

2011-10-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Crazy kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R5TIRhZ5Kos

A little vid from last week

2011-10-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

The only 12' sailing on Saturday was the Flying Animals out training.
I hear they had moments like PB Towage a couple of weekends back!

Race Report 08-10-2011

2011-10-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

N-E-S-Westerly..!!! WTF

The 8am thunderstorm scared almost everyone away from the bay but by lunchtime there was a steady 10kt NW breeze and glipses of sunshine. Terry "million dollar man" Ellis with his brand new knee took the reigns of the Ghetto Sled and Ben got out of bed on the right side after a heavy night of drinking and debauchery. A dissappointing turnout for the days races. Skinny made the call to take his RL24 "Sportz" for a gin cruise rather than pull his harness on. Rumour has it he pulled the pin on that and ended up being dragged through the shops in trendy "the valley" looking at blouses. B-Mad forgot about his formal (who holds a formal in skiff season) and had to pull out at the last minute. John and Spiesy got scared by the rain and another defeat at the hands of a skinny boat.

Down at the club, the only 18 to show up was considering abandoning and then gave in after realising the "junior" fleet were heading out. After a 30min kite ride to the start on the other side of the bay, we got underway, big rigs trying hard to get both crew on trapeze. About halfway up the long first work, the breeze battle began. The forecast SW breeze filled on the left side of the course and the NW was on the right. We were in the middle. Terry learnt that balancing a skinny 12 with big rig and no wind is quite a challenge and his knee felt the strain after a few "dives" across the boat. We got to the NW breeze eventually after trading the lead with the Squid for a couple of Nm. They snuck around the mark first and head East. We got to the mark courtesy of the SW breeze (yes it was swinging that much) and headed South. Then the breeze died again.... and came in from the EAST..!!!! The only place it hadn't come from all day. And the only place it wasn't forecast to come from.

Therefore the Squid walked away with the win and the Bert Squid remains in the fleshy tentacles of its previous title holders. The 10-12kt Easterly gave up on the way home and we de-rigged in calm. CrewBen must have felt sorry for taking such a solid, hardfought victory so bought rums for everyone. Much appreciated.

Next week the wind shall blow and the battle for supremacy of Waterloo Bay will continue.
Richard

Race Report 01-10-2011

2011-10-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of a photo of a screen so that's why it's soo blurry... Wait and see the actual footage.. It's pretty good..

The forecast was there... Did anyone listen..?? HELL NO..!! The 18's went big.. We had a delightful NE breeze blowing and we figured we could probably handle the Westerly if it came in with 2nd rig.. Hmm

So we launched.. Video footage will show Tristan and I were pretty nervous... Something crazy was going to happen... It was just a matter of when.. We slowly made our way to the leads.. That's when the wind dropped out to 0kts... Excellent... It was coming.....

We sat there for about 5 mins.. Looking behind us we could see it coming... Slowly it moved it's way towards us, a black shadow swirling up the water.. We watched as boats behind us went in to crazy round ups... It took out a few cherubs and an 18... It was coming... We watched it creep towards us at a tediously slow pace... Talk about getting your heart rate pumping... We were in no wind at all yet boats 60m behind us were upside down... We manoeuvred the boat in to a good position for when it hit... Up went out big black kite and we waited... Not for long though... The breeze hit us like a freight train... We both jumped out on the wire and took off... We shot out too fast and found ourselves ahead of the breeze... Damn... It would catch up again and we'd shoot off... After a couple of times of this happening I just sat in and let Tristan go out alone... I saw the footage from the head cam and we were absolutely smoking..!! It's really weird to see.. There were absolutely no waves yet we were hitting warp speed.. I look forward to getting the video footage edited so you can see how cool it was..

So we flew down to the start boat and dropped the kite... We sat there for a while waiting and watching the other skiffs head on down... All the 18's were on their side, so it was mainly the cherubs just coming down... Richard and Jimmy looked like they were having a sensational ride.. They went straight past the startline and were headed for king... Nice send boys..

The start was delayed.. So we pottered around.. It was getting difficult to even just sit still out there as the puffs had balls..!! We slowly crept our way up the course.. We saw the squid boys and agreed to keep racing.. We then decided to head back down to the start boat... Both of us on the wire, no jib and no main yet we were still getting smashed.. Jeebus..!! We waited for a lull and then went for the bear away... The little skiff took off like a rocket..!! She sent me flying off the back and at the same time Tristan dropped the main.. This caused the nose to dig in, I stopped flying backwards and started going forwards..!! Excellent two sail mine... The footage is not too shabby..

So we pull her up and start off sailing again.. The wind might have picked up a bit because we got blown straight over without any sails on at all... We were close to the leads and after a quick discussion we decided we probably had time to do a mega quick pit stop and change down to 3rd rig... The start boat hadn't even started moving for the new course so we figured we'd almost have enough time.. So we headed in.. Did the change and as we were launching we heard that the race was canned.. Oh well, we had come this far.. Lets go for a send..!! So we did... We waited for a lull in the breeze and then headed off... Goose swinging down the channel made me somewhat nervous, but we got through... We noticed the tackline was on the wrong side so we put it in the piss to adjust.. I quickly retied it and we were back in the game... A little squirt to settle back in, and then the bear away.. The little kite went up... She didn't actually look all that little to be honest... Tristan joined me on the wire and we took off... Boy did we take off... The boat was hauling ass..!!! She felt a little sniffy so Tristan tried to move me backwards.. I yelled at him.. I was already well off the back and holding on to him for dear life..!! We were scooting and got hit by yet another black one... The acceleration was too much and with a hop, skip and a jump we did an enormous cartwheel..!!! Tristan and I were thrown like rag dolls.. We skipped across the water like a smooth flat pebble.. Biggest crash either of us have ever had in a 12.. IT WAS AWESOME..!!!!!!!

We swam back to the boat and tidied things up.. We pulled her up and as there were no breakages we decided to not try our luck and headed in for a beer...

All in all it was a big day for not a lot of sailing... More rigging than actual sailing..

PB had a headcam onboard and once I work out how to edit the video footage I'll get it online.. We decided not to use it when we went out for the second time, so the massive crash didn't get filmed..

Next week will be better guys.. I can feel it in my waters..!!

Cheers

Skinnyman

3rd and 4th Heats - 24th September 2011

2011-09-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

http://brisbane18s.asn.au/12s-heat-3-4-report/

http://brisbane18s.asn.au/pics-110924-manly/

Good morning..!!

Have you all recovered from that epic day on the bay.??

Well wasn't it another amazing weekend for those of us ON THE WATER..!! Perfect blue skies.. 27 degrees and a solid 15kts from the North.. Wouldn't be dead for quids..!!!

The rigging lawn was chockers.. With five 12's on their side, and four 18's, it is starting to look like a real skiff club..!!

The 12's were split down the middle rig wise.. With a 15-20kt forecast Ghetto Sled and ASM went for a safety conscious 3rd rig day, while the cowboys onboard PB and Squid opted for a top end second rig..!! The tide was coming in like crazy so it was pretty flat out there.. Speedy speedy..!!

Race 1

The first race was delayed for tardy starters.. We eventually got underway and it was Squid who got the gun.. Ghetto Sled once again did their port hand bandit thing but it didn't really pay.. Squid and PB headed left straight away to get out of the tide.. Both boats were showing good speed to windward and there was not much in it.... With the wind in our hair, plenty of height and speed, spirits were high on PB.. Until that horrible sound of carbon scraping the ocean floor was heard.. We were on the bottom..!!! Squid quickly tacked off but we were stuck fast... DAMN..!! Our new Bushido c'board is a little bit longer, and I can tell you it did not just kiss the bottom, they made out like 16 year olds at a school dance..!!

We finally managed to tack her around and sail off the bank but we had been pushed back to 4th place.. Lucky for us, the starting committee set a marathon course and by the top mark we had found ourselves in second place behind Squid.. ASM and Ghetto Sled were not far behind.. Both of these boats spent time up the middle of the course, and found themselves pushing tide..

So the kites went up and Squidgee were looking famous..!! First race of the season for them and they were first to the top mark.. Woowoo..!! They gybed early so as not to run aground.. PB followed suit.. The ride was fast and the boats were flying.. The boys on Squid were having way too much fun and missed the next lay line by a mile.. PB cut inside them and sailed straight to the bottom mark.. Squid had to drop the kite to get back to the mark.. UNRUCKY..!!

So it was PB leading for the next lap.. Squidgee in second and then Grove not far behind... Trouble aboard ASM had them two sailing to the bottom mark from a long way out.. UH OH... Fortunately for them, Ghetto had a slow drop.. When I say slow, I mean the kite came down faster than the retrieval line was being pulled and the kite went under the boat... Splash.....

PB showed their class by sailing a solid second lap without hiccup to take the win by 1min 27 seconds over Squid.. ASM was next and Ghetto Sled brought up the rear. A quick debrief after the race, and the course was shortened.

Race 2

The breeze kicked in a knot or two and the boats carrying 3rd rigs were looking quick... A little bit of controversy as to whether ASM were over at the start, but as there was no individual recall issued, we can only go by the starters call.. Sorry Benny..

ASM got the gun and headed left.. They had plenty of pace and were looking pretty. Could this be the 3rd rig race they were banking on..?? Ghetto did their signature port start ducking the fleet.. PB and ASM headed North.. PB had good height and by the first tack ASM had to duck us.. PB tacked not long after.. Ghetto and Squid were having a duel of their own up the inside of us.. ASM were looking fast until they stopped for a quick tea bagging.. Not sure if someone pissed in their wetsuit and needed to rinse off, or if there was a communication breakdown.. Couldn't tell from where we were.. Either way it was enough to give PB some breathing space and we were first around the top.. ASM were not far away though.. Squidgee was next followed by Ghetto Sled. The drag race down to the bottom mark favoured the 2nd rigs, but ASM showed a super clean pair of heels and held on to us.. PB rounded quickly and kept a relatively close cover on ASM.. Squid and Ghetto were chasing but the gap was too much.. Around the top for the final time and it was PB, ASM, Squid then Ghetto... The wind was up and the fleet flew down towards the finish... Things were looking solid for PB.. We went through the final gybe with no problems and were scooting straight for the finish line.. Just another day at the office.. Or so we thought... That's when we got hit by a black one... Suddenly we were heading 15 degrees below the finish line.. Bugger me..!!! ASM had gybed a bit earlier and were charging straight at it.... We had to do a quick drop and two sail to the finish... There is no more anxious feeling than two sailing to the finish line when over your shoulder you can see the second placed boat hurtling down towards you at full noise... PB managed to scrape through with the victory making it 4 from 4 for the season, but only by 36 seconds.. ASM were 1min 4 seconds ahead of Squid and Ghetto were a couple of minutes behind them..

The exhausted crews hit the beach and shared war stories over a beer.. What an awesome day on the water.

With the cherub QLD state titles being held next weekend, we're looking for more starters.. It's a good opportunity for us to show those youngsters which skiff class they should all move in to.. Allwood Sails and Challenge came close to starting this week with both skippers coming down to the park on Saturday for a look.. The whether is getting warmer and the racing is already scorching hot.. Get excited boys and girls..!! Come out and play..!!

Heat 1&2 Results - 17-09-2011

2011-09-18T18:11:00.001-07:00

Well didn't Brisbane turn it on for the first race of the season..!!!

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and PB Towage was flying..!!

Even with the less than inspiring forecast, there was still much excitement amongst the troops.. 5-10kts increasing to 10-15kts through the afternoon was what we hoped for... The smoky haze from the farmers back burning tried to beat down the sea breeze, but it had no chance.. What we got was a perfect QLD big rig day... 28 degrees, and 10-12kts from the NE...

The rigging lawn looked a picture.. With 12 sailors grinding, drilling holes, and 18's being put together with rubber mallets..!!

It was good to see Timmy and his wife Megan make the trip from Warwick to be there.. Watching his face contort when Richard asked if he should put in second rig was priceless..!!

Once the starters arrived it was go time.. A short and sweet briefing was held, and before we knew it we were hitting the water... Aboard PB there were smiles all round when the new centreboard went down for the first time.. The familiar sounds of the water slipping along her narrow sides were somewhat comforting, and both skipper and crew were quite excited about their first sail..!!

The bay was gorgeous.. The water was crystal clear and the breeze was trying hard to keep us both on the wire.. Heading out the leads was quite the 12's procession.. Ghetto Sled and the boat formally know as ASM not far behind us, and bringing it up the rear was the Mighty Flying Animals..!! It was their first time out and what a cracker of a day it was for them..!!

By the time we got to the starting area the breeze had come in to a very comfortable two string big rig.. Tristan and I did a quick upwind beat and set the kite.. We just wanted to blow a few cob webs out.. We got to the startline and the sequence commenced... ASM were the only boat to get the timing right.. Tristan and I couldn't understand how we got our timing 30 seconds wrong but we did... Richard was even further away..!! Fortunately we were not far behind ASM and just followed their lead... Port tack bandits..!!!!

ASM and PB shot off on port tack towards the RQYS fleet.. Richard and Timmy went left... Boy did it pay.. ASM and PB tacked to join them and when we all came together it was PB, Ghetto and then ASM.. PB had played with some strings and found a magic 5 degrees of height..!! You could throw a blanket over us... The Flying Animals were there too, but missed the start due to joy riding... It was their first kite ride.. I'm not going to judge them..

So to the top mark we stormed.. Around first was PB.. Close behind was Ghetto and ASM. The big kites went up and we headed down to the bottom.. The smoke made it difficult to see the bottom flag but we managed.. The order didn't change and we rounded the bottom mark.. ASM tacked off straight away and PB covered.. Ghetto tacked once he was clear of our line and again the three skiffs were heading left.. Ghetto was first to tack again.. It was a brave move as there was definitely less air up the middle.. However he had to throw something at us as it was the last lap and PB had speed to burn..!! Unfortunately for them it didn't work out so well, and they slipped back to 3rd behind ASM. A pretty straight forward run to the finish and that was race 1... Actually there was some more drama... Ghetto snapped a back stay halfway down the last run so finished their race with white sails only. The Flying Animals were zooming around too.. They had a costume malfunction and only had one functioning trapeze harness..

Race two started with the now too familiar police siren, and once again PB had stuffed our timing..!! We were miles off this time.. I have no excuses other than we are muppets.

As Ghetto didn't want to drop their rig they headed in after the start.. The two skiffs headed straight left.. PB had given ASM a handy head start, but with the height and speed we found in the first race, we had caught them by the corner. It was PB around the top first followed closely by ASM... The Flying Animals were charging too, but with only second rig and one trapeze (cherub style) they were off the pace.. The wind had kicked up a knot or two and was super comfy.. The gybe is where ASM made their move.. They gybed first and PB over laid.. Damn..!!! ASM got the the bottom first but PB dropped quicker and came charging up from behind... We ducked ASM's transom and shot off low groove to leeward.. We cleared our air and got back to our super setting.. We tacked when ASM tacked on to starboard and by the time we got to the left corner we were well clear. Around the top again it was PB followed by ASM.. A casual run home followed.. The finish boat was MIA but we got our times.. ASM looked like they had a great ride up the leads.. With the woof on it's ear, and the kite peeling slightly it was pretty awesome to watch... Terry, you would have loved it..!!

Well done to all of you who made it out there... Sucks to be those who didn't.. What a sensational way to start back up.. The off season is over lads..

It's time to see you ON THE WATER..!!

Cheers

Skinnyman

2011-09-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

Race Report 11-09-2011

2011-09-11T16:55:00.001-07:00

Opening day on the Saturday turned out 25-35knots from the west and 10deg. A unholy mess in our bay and though 4 boats showed up ready to rumble, none decided they were prepared for a beating which may result in floating out to sea. So a day spent on maintenance ensued.

However, Sunday was a nice 15knot westerly. Still unseasonably cold, yet bearable. Only Ghetto stayed around for the DPSS race and was treated to some fantastic 3rd rig sailing, with a smaller than usual newbie crew. After a bad start, we caught the lead 13ft skiff by the first bottom mark and held it for a lap before missing the puff of the day on the second last run to be trailing by a few boat lengths at the bottom mark. Some smooth work and good boatspeed pushed us past them to secure the gun.

I think this photo says it all. More action shots to come.

they be hatin'

2011-09-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Better watch out! (edit Skinny boats rule!)

2011-09-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

2011-2012 Calendar

2011-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Who we are, what we do

2011-08-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of a repost from 2009. But considering we are moving clubs, its about time I updated it.

We're a 12ft skiff sailing association, sailing this season with the Brisbane 18s out of the Darling Point club (Trafalgar St, Manly). Below is a link to a map of manly showing where the club is.

From Queensland 12ft Skiff Association

We have been running this blog for a while, and all the images posted can be accessed by clicking on the following image.

Queensland 12ft Skiff Association

Our season starts on September the 10th, so if you're interested in the class, come along and say hi.

Presso - from a while ago

2011-08-09T20:25:00.001-07:00

Had a quasi-official presentation evening courtesy of our new club, the Brisbane 18s. PB Towage won the states, Ghetto the club championship. Photo of Tristan accepting his trophy from Terry Ellis.

Shiny Happy Carbon

2011-08-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

new rudder

New life into old Animals

2011-06-19T18:35:00.001-07:00

From this...

...to this

Nationals Video by Lachie

2011-05-24T18:51:00.001-07:00

Video

Nationals Race Report

2011-04-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

What started with a slow drift around Green Island (not the one off Cairns) ended with a crankin 3rd rig in the steep waves of Waterloo Bay. The 76th 12ft Skiff Australian Championship was won by Nick Press and Brad Yabsley on Dimension Polyant Australia with only a small margin to last year’s champs Brett Hobson and Alex Johnson on Garde. The 1 point win capped a great season for Press and Yabsley after winning the Interdominions early in the new year.

Race 1 was a round-the-island race and despite the soft big rig wind, the racing was tight with only0 5 minutes separating all 20 boats. Clear air was key and the Garde, after taking the lead from Dimension and locals Ghetto Sled about half way around, made the most of the small gap. Friday night festivities included an informal bbq at the wonderful Yachting Queensland facility and some shenanigans from the young lads with the Hobie 16 fleet under attack.

Race 2 and 3 were postponed to wait for breeze and eventually got under way in a soft 2nd rig wind with the forecast 15-20 only turning up on the last lap. With an extra wide wing mark, crew work was put to the test with extra kite hoists between bursts of 2 sail reaching. Lachie Paramor had a blinder in the first race of the day, pulling 3rd place and showing great speed. Equally impressive was the 4th to PB Towage from Queensland in the second. Dimension took the first, Garde the second, but a 5th in the second by Dimension had Garde leading the regatta after 3 races.

The forecast for Sunday was a healthy 15-20knots from the South East. 2nd rig was the call, however the breeze failed to fill and the fleet were subjected to a soft ride barely pulling 2 strings all day. Racing was tight with mistake-free sailing important to stay in touch. Dimension Polyant pulled 2 bullets in the trying conditions, followed by Gardein the first and Brendan Matthews in Allwood sails in the second. New queenslander, Michael Spies in Andrew Short Marine took a 3rd and Vantage real estate in their new boat a well earned 4th. Gemmell Sails, having a very consistent regatta with the recent teaming of Murray Press and Damian Vlotman took a 4th. Ghetto sled came into form posting a 5th.

It took until race 6 for the bay to finally prove its world class skiff venue credentials by putting on solid 20kts South East breeze. The seas were whipped up and the racing hit another level of excitement. 3rd rigs were donned and there were battles throughout the fleet. Wave ramps were set as the 12s took to the sky! Starting very sharply were the queensland boats with a 1st, 4th and 5th around the first mark. PB Towage led the charge to the wing mark, then dived underneath it after a bit of a right of way disagreement. Dimension and Garde surged on with Allwood Sails and Ghetto Sled and in pursuit. These 4 would hold their positions to the end, but further back in the fleet, battles raged. The Squid, sailed by Ben Guymer and Craig Dancer showed good pace to lead the chase pack for a while. Lincoln Crowne found a watery place to rest during a kite hoist and Cunning Stunts, Vantage Real Estate, Gemmell Sails and Foxy Lady 3 all fought for supremacy. Meanwhile, PB Towage, having swum around at the first wing mark for a long while, got back on their feet and were blasting around the course. Meanwhile, Geotherm and G Unit had a brief touch resulting in G Unit’s rudder pod being ripped in half and ending their day. Lincoln Crowne overcame their swim to fly back into 5th, with Gemmell, Squid and PB Towage following close behind.
Consistency from the top 2 boats gave them a healthy points gap to 3rd. Garde didn’t finish worse than 3rd all weekend and Dimension Polyant dropped a 5th.
After a poor start to the regatta, Allwood Sails took the most handicapped award and Gemmell Sails and Cunning Stunts took the Veterans and Juniors respectively.

A great finish to a fun regatta on the bay. Thanks to all the organisers and supporters.
Richard Billet (Ghetto Sled)

76th Australian Championships

2011-04-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

Photo by Suellen Hurling

Results
Overall:
1st: Dimension Polyant
2nd: Garde
3rd: Gemmell Sails
4th: Lincoln Crowne
5th: Andrew Short Marine
6th: Allwood Sails
7th: PB Towage
8th: Ghetto Sled
9th: Vantage Real Estate
10th: Geotherm
11th: Cunning Stunts
12th: Squid
13th: Foxy Lady III
14th: D Unit
15th: CST Composites
16th: Maersk
17th: Hey Charger
18th: Gizmo
19th: Camel Toe
20th: Snot Bloo

Handicap
1st: Allwood Sails
2nd: Ghetto Sled
3rd: Vantage Real Estate

Veterans
1st: Gemmell Sails

Juniors
1st: Cunning Stunts

Report to follow soon

Read all about it!!

2011-04-20T16:15:00.001-07:00

Moreton Bay will be cranking over Easter as the 12 ft skiffs line up to contest for the Norman Booth Trophy at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. It is a tightly contested National Championship that has been running since 1925. The skiffs are sailed in Brisbane and Sydney and about 25 skiffs are expected to be vying for the championship. A predicted southerly change arriving on Saturday will guarantee spectacular spinnaker rides and spills for the contestants & spectators alike on the choppy ramps of Waterloo Bay.

The twelves are a development class with a bare minimum of rules and the most advanced technologically of the skiff classes. No restrictions on rig number, size or sail area make the skiffs fast across a wide variety of conditions and ensure they are one of the most challenging classes to sail as the skiffs regularly become airborne sailing under their huge spinnakers.

Recently crowned Queensland Champions PB Towage (James Fleming, Tristan Hamilton) will lead a local Queensland charge against a strong fleet from NSW including current and three times Interdominion Champions Dimension Polyant (Nick Press, Brad Yabsley) and current National Champions Garde (Brett Hobson, Alex Johnson).

The six race series will take place from Friday 22 April to Monday 25 April commencing with a race around Green Island. The best place to see the racing is on the water. A spectator boat with limited capacity will leave from RQYS on Saturday. If you aren’t able to be on the water feel free to come along and check out the action from RQYS viewing platform or Darling Point.

SkiffCamp B - State titles

2011-04-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

Race Report - QLD State Titles Heat 3 & 4

The rigging lawn was like a garage sale.. 18's sprawled everywhere...
PB was the first to arrive and got the best parking spot under the tree and next to the picnic table.. Mmm picnic.. The rest of the 12's arrived and the general comments were "where the f@ck is the wind..??" The forecast was for 15-20kts but there was nothing out there but a light westerly... Damn..!!
The 18's threw in their usual little rigs and three of the five 12's put in 2nd rig.. PB and ASM grew some balls and took a chance putting in big rig... PB forgot their kite (we brought down two 2nd rig kites) but were able to use the big black Grove kite.. Ooooo

It was a slow mission out to the startline... The race was postponed and well.. There was no fricken wind... Big rig was looking like a good call..!!

The start was slow.. Squid tried a port hand bandit on us.. Rookies.. Ghetto went right with Allwood Sails.. ASM and PB trucked left... Squid were somewhere in between... I believe ASM were actually going for the wrong mark.. Because there was a lot of screaming around a random red mark... I never heard the story there..
With all boats struggling for pressure, combined with the marathon course set for the 18's, it seemed to take an eternity to get to the top mark... ASM got there first I think.. Followed by Ghetto and Allwood.. PB were next with Squid bringing it up the rear... Good effort for those with 2nd rig in..!! Tristan and I couldn't even pull two strings with big..!!
The race to the bottom was on... The boats with big rig were feeling pretty confident we could take these 2nd rig hacks.. Alas poor Yorrick Ghetto still showed superb speed with that new kite and held in.. The bottom mark rounding was ASM,Ghetto, then PB, Allwood and Squid.. The wind started to fill in a bit at the bottom mark.. Woohoo..!! 2 strings..!!! It kept filling... It was probably a comfy 2nd rig now.. We knew this because our big rig main was flagging quite a lot.. We went right trying to chase down the Ghetto Shed.. (They went left) Game on..!! Then I heard Tristan yell "Away Skinny..!!" I had no idea what he was on but then I heard a Dugong take a breath and then hit our c'board... Oops..!! We sailed on.. Thinking that was close.. The breeze had set in and it was top end big rig... We decided to pull up some board in the next tack.. We threw in the tack and Tristan couldn't budge it.. The Dugong impact had put the board through the back of the case.. Bugger..!! We stuffed around with it for a bit before giving in and going back to racing.. We lost places to Allwood and Squid so were back in 5th.. Ghetto had stretched their legs a bit and were looking solid. The top mark was Ghetto, ASM, Allwood, PB and then Squid.. Not much in it really.. We stayed in that order to the bottom mark.. Squid had a nice little swim at the bottom mark I believe.. The next windward saw Allwood Sails have a crew malfunction.. Joel blew up..!! So they had to retire.. It was a marathon course... The top mark rounding was Ghetto, ASM, PB and Squid...
We had plenty on with big rig now and the gate course was proving to be interesting.. It was tight getting from the gate to the bottom..... We had to drop a bit early.. Ghetto was around the bottom first, ASM had kite issues after their gybe drop.. Uh oh.. PB caught them and almost slipped past.. ASM just managed to squeeze up and kept their nose in front... It was a quick up and back from there so much fighting to be had... Ghetto had a handy lead now and just had to sail safe and loosely cover the fleet for victory.. The battle for second and third however was epic..!! It all came down to the last tack going in to the top mark.. ASM got there first but had a sloppy tack.. PB slid in and got around in front... We could sniff a state title victory..!! Soo close..!!! The halyard went up.. Well sort of... It was tied to my trap line..!!! I struggled with it for a while with Tristan steering.. I finally got it undone but ASM were again right on our heels... It would be a fight to the finish.. PB had enough boat speed to hang on.. Final standings were Ghetto Sled, PB, ASM, Squid and Allwood DNF...

The race took 1hr 35mins and all crew were pretty exhausted..

The second race was a sprint race with only 3 skiffs taking to the line..
Ghetto got off well as did Squid.. PB were way off.. Fools..!! We did manage to roll 2x 18's though :o)
The two boats with second rig flew to the top mark with Squidgee just edging out Ghetto for top mark honours.. They held on and just managed to get to the bottom mark in first... Ghetto tacked off early and Squid didn't cover... Ghetto got a nice little puff and took the gun.. Squid got second and PB 3rd..
A second and 3rd were enough to take the Championship.. Woohoo..!!

All in all it was a fantastic series with fantastic QLD Easter breeze.. All of the QLD boats are showing nice pace and we should all feel pretty confident going in to the Nationals..
Bring on Friday I say..!!!

SkiffCamp - State titles

2011-04-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well well well..
What a weekend of racing..!!!

The much anticipated QLD Championships saw 5 boats hit the water (even though the 5th only found their c'board halfway through the second race....) and the skiffing atmosphere was electric..!!
We all rigged at DPSS with the 18 footers.. Boy they take up some room don't they..!! There was a sensational 15kts from the SE blowing and all the 12's went 2nd rig... Well that was until Spiesoid did a quick change to 3rd... MEOW..
It was interesting to see that the 18's little masts were not much if any bigger than ours... Yet they have 3 blokes and enormous wings holding them down.. Boy they made our little 12's look small :o) UNTIL WE HIT THE WATER..!!!!

PB were first to launch..
We trucked out to the start.. It was a fantastic mid range 2nd rig out there and the water was quite flat.. You couldn't have picked a better day for it..!!! With the clouds came a bit more puff for some exhilarating kite rides.. It was going to be a great day..!! We sailed up to where the race committee were laying the top mark and threw up the kite to give an indication what our angles are... It was a cracker of a ride and after the gybe we got towed well below the bottom mark.. It was a cracker.

So the other 12's came out to join the party.. All but Brendan who had to drive out to his work to collect his c'board.. Rookie error..
The start was ok.. Ghetto and Squid all hit the line with pace.. PB was a little slower but not much.. We hit the boat end 2 seconds late.. ASM I think tried a cheeky port end bandit, but ducked the fleet.. PB had height and pushed Ghetto and Squid left.. Spiesoid went right.. The top make rounding was a classic.. ASM came in on Starboard.. Ghetto did a sneaky tack inside them on the mark.. It looked marginal from behind, but I've been assured it was well legal.. ASM were able to climb over and past them anyway... Then Squid come in barging on Grove..!! Tristan and I watched but rolled both of them whilst setting kites.. ASM did a gybe at the wing mark but were way too high to make the bottom mark... PB went a little further but with the wind easing we too were high... Ghetto saw all of this and went further still and nailed it.. Straight to the bottom mark and rounded in 1st place.. PB were second and ASM 3rd.. Squid were not far behind either.. The next windward beat was a good one too... Ghetto went right and PB tacked off and hit left chasing pressure... It came and so did a lovely lift... We tacked and rounded the top in 1st.. Grove were not far behind nor ASM and Squid... The breeze had kicked in and we all set out kites before realising we weren't going to make the wing mark.. We sent it for a while before ditching the kite and then putting it up again for the gybe.. Ghetto put it in during the drop and that was the last we saw of them.. The third and final lap was just a matter of covering the fleet and getting around clean for PB.. The real battle was ASM and Squid.. I believe there was even some bumping of boats at some stage.. Coming in to the line was so close nobody knew who had it until the starters came in at the end of the day.. Turns out it was ASM by 2 seconds.. Good close racing that's for sure..!!!

The second race was a bit of a mix up... Some people didn't hear the starters siren.. Even though it's straight off a police car.. The wind had shifted and there was a massive port end favour.. Ghetto nailed it with pace, but PB were still first across the line.. It was a drag race to the top mark with Ghetto getting there first with PB close on their heels.. ASM and Squidgee were floundering around, as fat boats do, somewhere out the back..
Ghetto shot off towards a wingmark... They saw the old course board up before the start and assumed it was the same course.. Alas poor Yorrick it was the gate course (Hence the wingmark being moved to leeward of the start boat creating a gate..) So now PB had the box seat and it was again a matter of covering the fleet.. ASM had a crack and showed good speed with their little rig.. If PB had made a mistake I'm sure ASM would have taken no prisoners.. Ghetto Shed continued around the course by rounding a random 29er training buoy as the wing mark.. I guess it was good training for you lads anyway.. I probably should have given you guys a better brief as you missed the briefing..

All in all a fantastic day to be a 12 sailor.. Boy did we show those 18's a thing or two about sailing skiffs... I'm not sure if any of them got around the course without a swim or 3... It was an 18ft skiff minefield out there..!! During the second race ASM were well and truly mixing it up with the 18's... They had one gybe right in front of them... A massive dump everything and hope of the best was in order... How they missed them I have no idea... Well done guys..!! The course was quite technical with the requirement of 3 gybes every leg... Great practice and all crew came in quite exhausted... The races were a little short, but not ridiculous.. About 35mins..
Personally I enjoyed the different courses... Certainly added another dimension.. Shame about the mix up because Ghetto were looking quick out there.. It's great to have so many evenly paced boats.. It's anyone's race out there and whoever brings their "A" game on the day brings home the bacon..!!

Well done to all and I hope next week is as much fun..!!

Race 1: 1st PB Towage, 2nd Andrew Short Marine, 3rd Squid, 4th Ghetto Sled
Race 2: 1st PB Towage, 2nd Andrew Short Marine, 3rd Squid, DNF Ghetto Sled

Nationals Sponsors

2011-04-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mike Cleveland Marine Photography
North Sails Brisbane

Driftin - Race Report 2/4/2011

2011-04-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

1st race..
Light to ridiculously light..

PB was the only 12 on the startline..
Tristan didn't get on wire once for the whole race.. ASM caught up to us on the first windward but we were still first around the top mark... They passed us downhill.. The Squid were out the back somewhere inking themselves for being late to the start.. The second lap was similar with ASM covering Tristan and I up the beat and smoking us downhill.. The finish was ASM, PB then Squidgee..

The second race was slightly better... The breeze kicked right in and Tristan and I swapped positions.. Tristan got to trapeze in the second race.. I did not. RUBBISH..!!!
The racing was a bit closer with PB around the top first followed by ASM and Squiddy.. Squiddy gybed off quite early.. PB gybed shortly after to cover.. ASM went to the lay and came out in front... Up the next windward we all sort of covered each other... PB on Squiddy.. ASM on PB... The final downwind was where it was going to happen... Squidgee gybed early again... Trisso and I backed ourselves and stayed right.. We gybed after ASM and come in to the finish hot..!! (not quite hot enough for two strings though..) We finished in that same order ASM, PB then Squiddy..

Everyone was waiting for the 20kts to come in.. Alas poor Yorrick it didn't.

Well done to Squiddy for the Summer Series win..!! WooWoo..!!

My Turn Bitches - Race Report by Tristan (the TON)

2011-03-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

My Turn Bitches,
Well it really was a blast out their on Sat with Ghetto Sled, PB Towage and the newly painted squid looking flash on the rigging lawn. True 3rd rig from the S.E about time and all 3 boats made the most of it. First race saw Ghetto take the lead early as they were the only boat on the line at the start. Benny’s left nut popped out of his mankinnie so he and craig had a voluntary swim so he could make the appropriate adjustments on the kinnie, once sorted they rejoined the race, but were further back than fullback and that is where they stayed. The real race was unfolding at the pointy end of the fleet, and with superior speed it did not take long for the senior team of Tristo and Wayne to take the lead at the top mark. Popped the chute and tried to play conservative with 1 string, but ghetto’s big orange penis was thrusted them harder and faster into the lead by the bottom mark. PB slipped futher back on the next beat but did not hold back for the next run into the finish when I said f..ck I’m coming out and Wyne said yep go hard or go home this resulted in one of those crazy radical rides with mack 10 speeds. Wayne could not stop hahooing all the way to the finish!! Ghetto did well to win the race with PB second and the squid jigging into 3rd place.

Second race breeze pumped another 4-5 knots and the ramps were still a plenty. PB had the start sorted and lead early, however with the newly adjusted left nut, the squid relishing in the conditions showing great pace on the first beat. Ghetto and PB were close behind but the ghetto had a shocker of a tack and hit the piss. PB aimed up at the squid keeping the pressure on, the ride to the bottom mark was even more radical than the first race and it was hang on!! Wayne went from yahhoooing to stone silent wondering when the crash was going to happen and how to avoid the tonne from landing on him in the process. Swim never came on PB, however the squid gissem got stage fright and Benny reportedly hit the ejection button and exited off the back leaving Craig to fend for himself! This resulted in both testicles being bisected by the mankinnie in futher surgery being required. PB stayed solid and took the bullet for the win showing why she will be crowned club champion this year! Ghetto ran out of balls “harden up men” and squid took second.

So a cracker it was and lets hope for more of that at the Nationals!

I am still recovering

Tristan

Sing when you're Winning !!! Race Report 19/3/2011

2011-03-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

Morning Ladies
Race Report from the front of the fleet.

Forecast was looking distinctly minky all week, with rain and no wind predicted. When the morning came around, we were met with a drizzly crap-looking day, but 10-15knots SE!!! I raced home to get the second rig as i only took the big rig to the club.

Race 1: The first start was a spectacle, with 4 12ft skiffs and a 49er all hitting the line with pace. nothing in it, but the ghetto blasted off the line to gain a handy lead heading out towards Green island (the one in brisbane, not Cairns). Heading up towards the top mark, Spiesy and John with their wind-streaked 3rd rig, gained some height as the wind freshened a bit, closing the gap with the sled. The tuggers, with superstar crew Robin, struggled for pace with the extra 25kg of the ton playing with little childen (at his daughter's 1st birthday party you sicko's). The Squid was in 3rd.

Around the top mark, it was the 49er by 100m, then the sled, then 50m to the Speez, then the squid, then tugger.... behind (i think there was a splashtack in there too).
The fine crew of the Ghetto Sled threw their new kite up and sent it. driving it like we stole it, a 200m gap opened up between 1st and second. John must have been swearing as pre race he was mouthing off about how it was going to fill in to 3rd rig. Round the mark another sharpish display by the sled, to maintain the lead and cruise around the next lap, barely headed by anyone. Stopping the clock at around 40mins, we waited for an eternity (8mins) for the Tuggers to limp across the line. Spisy 2nd, Squidgy 3rd.

Race 2: 15deg easterly shift between races and no-one (except the brilliantly-gifted sailors on board the Ghetto sled) picked it. Pin-end on port "BANDIT" start.!!! Crossed them all, 49er included (i thought they were training for the Olympics). 50m lead turned into 100m by the top mark. Overlayed the bottom mark as the wind shifted south and the Squid this time were right on our hammer. The wind had eased a few knots, so the Speez was back in third. Tuggers floundering back in 4th, their hopes of a Summer series wind floundering with them. Round the mark and the gap opened up again between 1st and second, though the Squid found a new high gear and were still pressing hard. Round the top mark and the Ghetto danced away from Ben and ... well Dancer. We gybed when a big southerly shift and pressure presented itself and nailed the finish line angle by luck. Sailing lower and faster, the gap opened up once again for a comfortable win to the Ghetto Sled.!!

Derig in the rain, but it was OK. 2 wins in a day makes it all good..!!! The rum (thanks to skinnyman due to the colder weather) was sweet.

Race Report 12/3/2011 by Skinny

2011-03-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

One race this week.. It was a bay race around Green Island... There were four 12's out there ready to rumble.. Good to see.. Very good to see..!!
The breeze was from the East... I was dreading another big rig day.. Uugghh.. Sooo over big rig..!!! There was a bit out there so we all threw in 2nd.. Good call I reckon.. It was a glamour day out there..!!

Here's how I saw the action
Start was a bit ordinary for Wayno and I on PB.. Squid won it with Spiesy and I on their tail.. Spiesy went really high but slow.. Richard started last but blasted through the fleet.. He passed me to leeward..!!! It was lovely 2nd rig conditions.. Team fly weights (PB) were depowering while all you other fat pr1cks were just revving it up.. We hit the NW corner or green and Wayne and I did a splash tack.. Spiesy was still high and had the box seat.. Squid was a mile away but pretty low.. Richard was in between somewhere.. We got our boat back up but I tell you what, 4th place feels a long way back these days... We tacked our way up between green an st helina.. In that same order we did a shy reach along green and Wayne and I picked up some valuable meters... We were able to go a bit lower because of our weight.. Thank goodness..!!! Grove had tried to put up the kite a bit earlier to try and catch the Spiesoid.. Alas poor Yorrick it was quite a stretch getting around the mark and after a quick kite flap they tea bagged... Oops.. The Squid boys scooted past with their new kite and PB followed not quite catching them... So we were all around the SE mark and kites were all set.. Spiesy was well in front.. He went out towards king and the squid boys followed all in the name of chasing pressure.. Rich tried the right hand side of the course back in towards green... Wayne and I kinda just played the middle and it paid off.. We caught up a lot.. One mistake from these punks and we had a podium finish... It was a cracking ride too just quietly.. Not out of control, but fast enough to be reminded why 12's are the greatest skiff of all..!!
Coming in to the finish Spiesy was in 1st followed by the Squid and then Rich and I... Grove were coming in hot on port, with Squid and I on Starboard... It was going to be close.. Team Grove didn't pick their layline right, and had to drop the kite to get to the finish.. They had an unfortunate drop and ended up prawning and going for a swim.. 3rd went to PB and Grove was 4th... I'm not sure how close exactly we finished, but it was pretty close considering it was such a long race.. Very close actually...
Well done to Spiesy and John for a solid performance..!! I look forward to sticking it to ya next week..!! Don't you worry.. We will..!!

A splendid day on the bay ended with a few beers with the boys and some serious Opti races in front of the club..

Race Report 5/3/2011 by Craig

2011-03-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

How was Mardi Gras boys?!

Saturday was cranking and Squid had plenty of space to play in!
We put in 3rd but should have gone 4th.
After a fast ride down to the start line in about 25 knots we lined up with a few etchells, the hobies, a 505 and one brave masochist in a contender.
We had one of Ben's leisurely starts (Ben was in even less of a hurry than usual...).
The upwind was chop chop choppy and it was hard to get our groove on.
Around the top mark, bear away wasn't too bad and we prayed to all the gods while we waited for the tack line to pull itself clear off the stick.

And then it was on...

We blasted off to Green via Mars two stringing with one back fruity between us, the gusts kept getting stronger and we had more on than Skinny on a Friday night.
Coming towards Green with a gust and the 5oh was starting to look like roadkill, pirates of the Carribean style. We flogged the kite for a second, tore above them on our ear and then they were yesterday.
The gybe somehow worked and we were back on the wire and the bottom mark was way over there but by now Ben was muhahahaing and shouting "Fuck the race course woooooooot" and next we mined hard like we meant it! Ouch!
Around the bottom mark and back up again and by now some of the gusts were nearly knocking us flat under jib alone. We ducked an eggshell somewhere which was seeming like it might be a little tricky but went ok and soon it was the top mark and back on the horse time! Wind was still coming in and we were really overcooked now. What better way to celebrate than pull up our new kite and send it pretty much straight off the mountain!

Ben hanging off the new rudder box...

me on the back fruitie...

balls dangling out our eye sockets...

Damn this is fast and even faster.

Swallow.

Go forward

Gybe...

Fuck me we made it again!

and here we go...

wooooooot!

Put it in dropping the kite and had a bit of mischief bearing away and then finished.

Race 2.

A big squall was coming.

We started and then headed in while we could still bear away....

Race Report 26/2/2011 by Skinny

2011-03-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

Race 1..

The breeze was once again from the East... WooWoo..!! Everybody's favourite..!!!
The rigging lawn had a few boats and boy was it a glorious day..!! The three 12's racing were Squid, PB and Ghetto Sled (Grove).. All three had their A team onboard and everyone knew it was going to be close out there on the water..!!
Timmy the rock star turned up and brought the footy.. Life was good..!!
The only rigging set backs were the two boat breakers that broke.. Both Grove and Squid broke theirs and had to use the trusty tuggers breaker.. Good one PB..!!

So we get out there.. It's light... Only just two stringing... EXCELLENT..!!
The start was good.. All three boats got away cleanly... Trisso and I wanted to do the port hand bandit but thought better of it when a starboard tacking hobie started on the pin.. Good one you catamoron..!! We started at the pin end anyway but on starboard.. Up the first work we pretty much stayed up the middle with the 29er.. Ghetto went right... For a few moments they looked like they had already walked away with the race they were looking so famous.. However coming back in to the mark on Starboard they went through a light patch and let us all catch up a bit.... Around the top was Ghetto followed by the 29er and PB then Squidgee bringing it up the rear... (You know exactly why I asked the question Benny..)
Downhill the Squid lads threw in a cheeky early gybe.. Ghetto saw this move and gybed too... Shame bro..!! Both boats sailed in to the sick easterly while PB screamed to the layline and with one gybe they were in their rightful place.. The lead..!!!
It was quite close at the mark between Ghetto and PB.. Squidgee were a bit further behind but not out of the race just yet.!! The sled was pointing like a 5o5 and making good ground on PB who were hunting air and 1 and a half stringing... However the skipper of the sled got a little excited through a tack and snapped his tiller... Rookie error... There was a capsize in there too somewhere... I wasn't really watching... I just knew they were tacking... It was left to the Squid boys and PB to bring home the bacon... We did just that, and finished in the same order... PB had an interesting final gybe under an eggshell but survived..

Race two...
The wind had picked up a bit.. Woohoo..!! Ghetto had gone home by this stage so it was just the Squid boys and PB out there.. Match race..!!!
PB started well.. We just dumped on Squid. Easy. We just kept the 29er and Squidgee in check the whole first beat.. Around the top and up went the big kahoona.. We drove her like a rental and sent her to the bottom mark... The Squid boys were like a shadow.. Just following us waiting for a mistake.. Their patience paid off when PB prawned at the bottom mark... Squid dropped their kite and rounded inside PB... The Tuggers got the kite in and got settled for the chase..
We caught up to the squid boys and Tristan and I decided that we weren't going to beat them by following .. We tacked, Squid covered.. So we tacked again.. Squid covered.. This sparked excitement onboard PB... Old school tacking duel..!!! BRING IT..!!! We played the game for a while.. It was great..!! But Benny got over it and stopped covering us... Good call. We sailed in to a hole and all that hard work we did to catch up was undone.. Bugger..
The Squid boys sailed faultlessly to victory with PB in second.. Good job boys..!!
It really shows that consistency is crucial to 12's racing... You can't win if you stuff a tack or a mark rounding.. Not in this fleet.. Well done boys, and yes it really was another fantastic weekend racing the best boats on the bay..!!

Race Report 19/2/2011 by Skinny

2011-02-20T22:34:00.001-08:00

Hi guys,

Sorry it's taken so long for this race report to come out.. I was busy here at work.. Hard to imagine I know, however the truth hurts...
So what a hyped up weekend of racing it was..!! It was the Jean Reid memorial on the line with a side of cup cakes..!!

The rigging lawn was hot hot hot, and not because there were four 12's rigging on it... The sun was out in full force and there was a sick Easterly blowing... PB rolled in last.. I rocked up to Tristan's place and he was mid way through his sports drink of choice, a Crown Lager..!! We get to the club and were rigged before any of the others... Good job Tris..!!
Suellen thought a bit of media coverage would be good for the class so Richard nominated me to wear this fancy camera thing... It was mounted on my enormous chest, and although I'm yet to see the footage, I dare say it will have pretty much just looked at the rig and the sky... I hope Suellen edits the sound as Tristan and I had some pretty interesting conversations during the day....!!

So we launch.. Spiesy and John hit the water first... The Andrew Short Marine looked fast for a fat boat.
PB were next and entered the water with style.. Squid got halfway out the channel before heading back for something.. Useless.
Team Grove were early favourites with super crew Wayne stepping in for Timmy therefore halving the combined crew weight..

The first race start was a shambles..!! Although all 4 twelves got across the line alright.. It was those pesky 5o5's pushing hard and causing a general recall... It was soft to mid range big rig so Tristan and I were not too disappointed as we figured the extra time we took to restart might bring a bit more breeze... It didn't really..
So we were off.. PB dumped on Squid but got covered by some crazy pointing contender so we tacked off with the Squid.. We hit the right hand side of the course with Andy short and Grove going left.. When we crossed, halfway up the beat it was Andy Short in front followed by PB and then Grove... By the second crossing, Grove had us but you could throw a blanket on the three of us... Squid were out the back preheating the oven.
We went around the top mark in that order.. PB did a cheeky gybe and took an inside lane with some pressure... It paid off and we picked up the Grove boys... Spiesy made the rookie mistake and started dropping his kite at the contenders gate marks... He realised quickly the error of his ways and pulled it back up... They were still ahead but only just... John dropped the kite about a thousand meters too early and PB slipped in on the inside... From 3rd to 1st in one leg.. PB were feeling pretty good..!! Just quietly..!! We sailed in to a hole and that was the end of that though..!! ASM and Grove both passed us and we were left searching for pressure... It was still very close coming in to the top mark... ASM and Grove went out to what looked to be the layline but PB got a little puff had a crack at some stupid inside layline... We were pinching like crazy with Tristan on the bow and I was half swinging.. It was slow but high.. We managed to cut the corner by enough and get in front of the others..!! BACK IN THE GAME..!!! BRING IT..!!!
So we set the kites and sent it... Boy was it intense... We covered ASM all the way home and managed to keep just enough separation to keep our breeze.. Good job to all those racing.. I think it was 27 seconds separating 1st and 3rd.. 4th placed Squid were discussing recipe's..

Race two was a good one too..
Same breeze.. Low to mid range big rig...
The start was crazy, Squidgee got caught up with the "all boats", Grove turned around and went back for an individual recall.. PB and ASM soldiered on and had an epic battle right around the track... The lead didn't really change with ASM covering PB, but there was pressure being thrown left right and centre..!! On the last up wind leg PB made some big gains with ASM struggling to stay in the groove, but it wasn't enough to get past them.. Again only seconds separating the two boats at the finishline... Unfortunately for PB there was a controversial OCS so no points for them... It's a shame because they truly did sail out of their skins on Saturday... It's a shame Grove and Squid had kite issues in the second race, however having 4 such competitive boats on the water was just brilliant and I am gagging to get back out there next weekend.. Well done to Spiesy and John for their effort and I hope you guys keep racing each week because with this level of competition the QLD fleet will just get better in leaps and bounds..
Next is to get Marc and Brendan on the water STAT..!!!
Terry hurry up and get your knee fixed.. There is lots of fun to be had out there..!! It was a perfect day on the water... Although I really really really am looking forward to a solid 3rd rig day.. We are well and truly due for one..!! Damn it..!!

Keep it real and I'll see on next week
ON THE WATER..!!

Nationals 2011

2011-02-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

Also, the Cherubs have been invited again. See link to their newsletter.

Go to RQYS regatta page for details

Race Report 12/2/2011

2011-02-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

Perfect 10-15knots and clear blue sky met us at the boat park for what was to be a great day on the water.
The tuggers and squidly put in big rig, and the Sled with guest skipper Cassie B put in #2 as we were lacking the extra 50kg required for big.
Cass nailed the first start and the Sled did what it does best... lead. a few tacks later and the extra power of the squid had us beat, but we held the tugger to the top mark.
Downwind, the squid showed us their new threads and disappeared to the bottom mark. A nervous Cass decided to do it Cherub style, so the tuggers also drove past us (after putting it in on the top mark bear-away).
Next beat and Cass drove it low and dirty, pulling us back into 2nd with blinding speed. After a shakey set, we set off to the finish with the tuggers bearing down on us. they managed to get us by 25m in the end. was a good battle. Squid was in the distance celebrating their kite purchase with champagne.

For the 2nd race, the wind kicked to 12-15 and we were started to dump quite a bit of main. the big rig boys were also shaking some cloth apparently. the heat was on. The tuggers got the best of the start and pulled away up the first leg to lead with squid close behind and Cassie drving too hard into the corner and finding out how not to bear away in a skinny 12. No kite so we were up and away quickly, kite up and then we overcooked the gybe, so had a longer splash. Onlyl just enough weight on the centreboard to get the boat back upright. Next work and we were once again in low groove, trying to make up some ground. Then... bang!! SPlash!>!!> wtf??? rig gone. forestay lashing didn't like the long christmas layover, so decided we'd had enough fun fo rthe day.
Thanks to the young kid in the rubber duck who held us and dragged the sled home. Not sure how the last lap went, but Tristan was calling the day his, so i guess they dominated.

Skinny took an early mark to head off to Mexico to see some sheila (dirty weekend report to follow shortly - skinny). The rest of us had a bbq and beers at my place.
Good times.
Richard

2011 Starting UP! by Ben

2011-02-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

The breeze was great, N/NE freshened up to top end second.
Our first race started in my usual style, about 5 minutes late... so we followed a few boats around the course, while I tried out my skinny boat legs. Everything was different and I put it in once or twice.. tried my best to execute the advice Tristan had to offer.
Second race.. hit the line on time, with pace & clear air, just down from the boat. Had to smile as we rolled the fleet off the line - compared to the 505's we were footing like bastards, and every time we came over one they'd pinch a little.. lose pace and die in the arse. heh heh.
Got to the top mark(s) well ahead, but the others and 50's decided to go around the closer etchells mark. Had an awesome run, wind had picked up nicely now and well ahead of the fleet. Misjudged the layline so had to put in three gybes. Last gybe the vang uncleated while tristan dropped the kite. My brain freaked out, (no vang + skinny boat = capsize) so I put my plan into action: had a big wobble and put it in to windward.. no room for error here!
Went around the next lap, mostly driving off the jib in the gusts. Skipping off some awesome ramps and trying to keep it flat. Coulda done with a fruity at the back.. something small happened, maybe lost footing a little and we stuck the nose in for nice mine, both landed at the forestay. Tristan's turn at the helm.. and it's nice at the front of these boats! (for starters, your nose isn't in your crew's bumcrack!)

Ben

bang !!...splash... what was that?

2011-01-30T20:31:00.001-08:00

Interdomions Final Results

2011-01-17T18:38:00.001-08:00

Inters Almost Over

2011-01-13T19:44:00.001-08:00

Inters Halfway

2011-01-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

INTERDOMINIONS!!

2011-01-06T19:49:00.001-08:00

Race Report 11/12/2010 by Ben

2010-12-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well I thought Skinny might have gotten around to a race report by now :) so you get my version.

Terry and Richard bailed so as usual it was Squid and Tuggers. Was a long morning with the weigh in (PB: 51.5kg (??? not sure about this), Squid: 46.5kg) and then I found our Board repair stopped it fitting and I'd forgotten to bolt up the rudder pod, a bit of angel grinder action etc. got us going, also had to fiddle with backstay tension again etc.

Put in third rig, strong Northerly but at least the tide was in this week. Bit anxious about what was going to happen with waves on the dropping tide..
Before the start, could have even been 4th - but dropped a little on the first leg. Neither of us got a great start, both a bit late on the line and we had a 505 right in our way. PB smashed us getting to the top mark, starboard tack was a killer against the chop running down the inside of the islands. Lucky for us, their pole launch block tore off the front bulkhead at the first hoist and we went past shortly after. Think it was fixed by the bottom mark but I wasn't waiting ;) and we were pretty happy with our race, fairly clean and didn't make any major mistakes. Except for me getting hooked up at the first gybe which tristan had full view of!

By the start of the second race the wind had dropped to barely 1-wiring and it was pretty lumpy off the start- we were on PB's lee bow after Tristan tea bagged and so they tacked off early.. We had our eye on the line of clouds coming across and stayed on starboard, another minute and the start of an awesome wind change was with us.. took the header for a long time, then tacked and reached across to the windward mark, rounded it with the Hobies who had started 5 mins earlier :) A leg of sloppiness ensued which saw us back on the wind to get to the bottom mark (and now finish line). 2 bullets for Squid, yeah!!

Just after the finish a good southerly squall (maybe maxed at 30 kt?) came through.. so we got to test our re-jigged 3rd in all conditions, running nicely now. No more 1 1/2 strings for us! Wanted to put the kite up for a blast but it went as quickly as it came..

Ben

Mantra

2010-12-02T16:14:00.002-08:00

"In our game, it's all about bullets. And Risk. And Reward. But mainly bullets" - windows

Please Explain

2010-12-02T16:14:00.001-08:00

Foxy Lady Too (Peter Pollec and Jamie McCrudden) capsized in a similar location, and in a disastrous sequence of events, was run over by a large sailing ship. The outcome was not a favourable one, with the skiff being totally cut in half, and much of the rigging not salvageable. Both skipper and crew were not injured in the accident, jumping clear of their capsized skiff second before impact. The ship continued down the harbour with Foxy Lady Too stuck on its bow, leaving witness to wonder if the skipper had even seen or notice the crash.

Race Report 27/11/2010 by Skinny plus Wolfie Photos

2010-11-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

Word up players..!!!

What a sensational weekend..!! Brisbane certainly turned it up for us.. Absolutely perfect 2nd rig conditions..!! We even had 4 boats on the water..!!!
MAGIC..!!

I'll give a race report but it wasn't really a day for the racing... Unfortunately..

Race 1.. With 4 skiffs on the rigging lawn things were looking hot..!!! The breeze was in and there was little doubt in anyone's mind that it was going to be a glamour 2nd rig day... Due to a myriad of extra curricular activities, 2 of the 4 skiffs could only do the first race... Oh it was promising to be a tight one..!!! The Grove Team were rigged and ready to go when the other 12's were just arriving.. They were ready for a big one..!!!
We all threw in our 2nd rigs and headed out to join the party.. This was when things turned ugly... The start was a shambles... The start committee changed the sequence... The all boats were starting with the contenders.. FIRST..!! All 4 skiffs missed it as we've never been first off the line... PB were closest to the line when we realised we had started but we were still a few hundred meters behind the 29ers etc... We called out to the other skiffs but Challenge was miles away and couldn't hear us, and Squid was upside down fixing a backstay... Only Grove could hear us and they were a fair way behind too... It was catch up time..!! PB went left and Grove went right... Ooooo It was on like Donkey Kong..!! Right payed and the Grove team caught up a fair distance.. The race could be interesting..!! PB rounded the top mark behind the 29er but in front of Grove.. We set the new kite and whoompa.. Off we went..!! Grove had a slight issue with their set and lost a few boat lengths.. PB sent her deep but couldn't pick a lay line to save themselves and ended up well below the bottom mark... We had to drop the kite and 2 sail up to the mark... This cost us a little bit and we rounded with the 29er.. Grrrr... Unfortunately Grove also over layed the mark and also had to two sail... That was their chance to make up the gap... The second beat was solid from PB.. We just played a few shifts up the middle and it payed.. Grove went far right and I think we put some time in to them... Bravo for trying something... It's hard to catch up by following the leader... PB got line honours but unfortunately I think the 29er will have come home with the Club Championship points...
It was disappointing that we didn't get the dream race with all 4 twelves racked up on the start line and smoking away from the other boats.. But hey I guess that's racing and the one thing we have learnt from Saturday is to pay special attention to the start boat.. If your flag goes up, you're starting... It was just a bit disappointing they didn't let us know before hand that they were changing the start sequence... Never before have we started before the etchells..!!

Anyway..

Race 2... We were ready for the start of the second race... The two remaining skiffs were on the line and on time... The Squid boys were a bit further down the line than PB but hey... On the line on time is fast.. End of story... PB started well.. We found another gear and climbed up and over a 505... It was exhilarating..!! Squid was the next target.. We sailed above them and eventually they tacked off.. We tacked not long after and well.. We rolled them again... Sorry lads.. Sometimes it's important to lay the smack down... The two 12's were out in front... By a considerable margin by the top mark... Still pacing each other it was good racing..!! Up went our new kite and well.. That was that.. We had a little issue with out jib sheet going through the kite sheet block so Tristan took the silly stick while I dived down below to clean up his mess.. I came back out and everyone was happy... The Squid may have picked up a bit on us that downhill but not a lot... Again PB, aka me, picked a terrible lay line... This new kite pulls and hard and I guess that's no excuse so I'll quit my complaining.. I just sucked at picking the lay..
The 12's got around the bottom mark in 1, 2 with plenty of daylight between us and the rest of the fleet... The second lap was much the same as the first for PB... Consistency is a precious commodity in 12's sailing and if you've got it, you're always going to be hard to beat... Unfortunately the Squid boys got a bit hot and decided a jolly good tea bagging would cool them down... It did... Big Time..!! The boat dipped to windward and both boys got swept out the back... They were too far away to save it... Splash.. There was another soft splash tack in there somewhere too.. Luckily there was enough distance between 2nd and 3rd that they were still comfortably ahead of the rest of the fleet... PB picked a champion line coming in to the finish... We were sick of over laying it so we thought we'd go early and gybe through the finish... It was the perfect lay.. THANK GOD..!! We blasted through the finish to get the gun and the cheers from the start boat.. Woot woot..!! Squid came through in second..

All in all it was a perfect day to be sailing a 12... Comfortable sailing but still with a few great exciting kite rides...

One highlight was after the first race watching Terry and Wayne showing off for the spectators (and ex skiffies) at the Trailer Boat Club by smoking in to the harbour under kite... From where we were we could see a few good leaps in the shallow water... Looked pretty exciting Terry..!!

Thanks lads for another exceptional weekend of racing..

Regards

Skinnyman..!!

Race Report 21/11/2010 by Skinny

2010-11-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

Saturday - The forecast was sensational..!! We arrived at the club and RQ had postponed the sports boat state titles already.... Tristans early morning prediction of a cancellation was looking pretty good... I went to see Suellen to persuade her to let us race but as I got to the sailing office, people were blocking their ears as the gun was already going off... She apologised to me because she knows the 12's love it when it blows... I told her that we all turned up with nothing but 4th rig and we were all pumped and ready to race... It was a good guilt trip... So good that she offered to shout all of us a rum.. I took that response back to the lads and well she came good with her promise too.. Rum is soo much sweeter when it's free..!!

We had a little pow wow on the beach and decided to race Sunday instead as the forecast was set to drop to 15-20kts... Well all of us except the Squid... I think Benny had a date on Sunday.. Something like that anyway.. Since they couldn't sail Sunday the Squidgee's threw in 4th rig and launched.. The reports were 33kts in the bay... Childs play..!!! They left the ramp with quite an audience... You nailed it boys.. Good work..!!!
They got through the harbour no problems... It was when they poked their forestay out of the harbour that it got messy... The T-ball snapped and down went the rig... What an anticlimax... They sailed her back to DPSS and we drove their trailer around... One 18ft skiff went out too... They had the ride of their life.

Sunday - The wind was up and the two 12's were at the club... It was going to be a great day..!!! We rigged at RQ as DPSS had the 16ft skiff states and we were concerned about rigging space... PB went over to DPSS to sign on and we could feel the excitement brewing... The 16's were already out there and it was only 20kts... PERFECT..!!!! Tristan and I had full 3rd in while Richard and Tim (obviously still not over their big rig disaster race last time we raced out of DPSS) opted for a 3.5 rig... Yes they put on a 4th rig jib...
We were meant to wait for the call from DPSS to say what time the race was on but Tristan and Richard were itching to get out there and we left the beach a bit early... Timmy was still trying to remember what he had done the night before, the big question he asked was why he was walking around Ascot at 0600... We launched and set off down the harbour... The gusts throwing the skinny boats forward faster and faster.. I almost fell out the back of the boat in the harbour the accelleration was so good :o)

We got out there and it was a glam 3rd rig day.. Probably on the upper end of 3rd rig but still more than managable..!! We paced a foiling moth out of the leads and I said to Tristan "Today is gonna be a good day..!!!" I was sooo right..!!! We sailed up to where the top mark was going to be and threw up the bag... There was super flat water and the ride was fantastic..!! Not scary or out of control.. Just really fun.
The Grove boys came out to boogie and they too seemed to have a good ride..

The gun went and we were off... Tristan and I won the start but Richard and Timmy were close behind... We may have had a bit of height on them off the start but the speed was pretty similar... Team Grove had a few interesting tacks up the first work and PB had a handy lead around the top mark.. We hit the gybe and all Tristan would have heard was Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k Fu&k..!! The tiller extension had skewered through my life jacket and we hit the piss... Chalk it up Tristan.. That is definitely a beer I owe you... By the time we had pulled the kite in Timmy and Rich were past us.. Dang..!! We sent it the rest of the way down the run and were quite thankful Richard and Tim had waited for us... From what I understand, they hadn't pulled the kite all the way down before the mark rounding and it got stuck on the forestay... Timmy went forward to retrieve it and splash... UNRUCKY..!!!
PB caught them again and it was GAME ON BIT,CHES..!!! We had height on them again that leg and by the top mark we had a nice lead.. By this stage the 13's had started their racing and Tristan being the Gentleman he is, had me ducking and weaving trying to stay out of their way... We two sailed for what seemed like an eternity at the top mark to clear their air... Anyway.. We set the kite and drove it like we stole it..!!! Then it came... Under a big grey cloud came the pressure of the day... Tristan and I watched it come down the track... The Grove boys were in it... We watched the storm down towards us.. There is nothing worse is there... You're chugging along ok, but there is a front coming and the back markers are flying towards you.. There is nothing you can do except wait for it to reach you... Come on wind.. Hurry the Fu&k up and get here..!!! It was in this gust that the Grove boys lowered their bow pole and drove her deep in to the mud... Timmy started giggling when the water hit the bowpole and didn't stop until the stern was 12ft in the air... Core sample was taken and the race was PB's.. The 3rd lap had the wind drop considerably and we were only one and a half stringing but we got around..

Again it was good to see the close racing between the 12's with only seconds separating 1st and 2nd place. (even if it was about 600 of them hey Rich.....)

What a fantastic day and again PB were blessed with another skiff buying the beer..!!
Shame the rest of you weren't there.. It was a glorioius day to be on a 12..!!!

Cheers

Skinnyman..!!

Race Report 13/11/2010 by Tristan

2010-11-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

O.K the truth,
Brendan pulled the pin on Fri night so I was calling anybody and everybody to get somebody to sail. Sat morning came and I was still on the blower but nobody was around. So I took the punt and went down to the club and if I was not going to find anybody I was going to get Terry and Wayne to pick up the points for the tugganaught. Then, like does Mark Mathews appeared out of the smoke and I ask if he was sailing he replied No and I said you are now. He went home and found some stinkin sailing gear… I told him he was steering and he said well I won’t need a harness in that case. It was going to be interesting!.. We did everything conservative in the first race got off the line well and blasted to the top mark first. That’s where we stayed even in front of the two moths, I was worried about the gybes, however that was his best moment, it felt safe as! I must mention the squid lips overshot the pin by 4 seconds and they had to go back! They were keen to get out of the blocks but CAME TO EARLY. Little unsatisfying.

Next race the start was pretty funny as Terry and Wayne went for the port hand start only to be buried by the rest of the stb hand fleet. I think he may have been peaking a little early also.

We were 3rd to the top mark behind one LW sharpy and a Moth. Made it to the bottom and then went to the top only to put it in the piss to windward with the kite up! We got a little untidy at this point and the fleet caught up. Terry got second on H.C in this race and tugger got 3rd over the line and 4th on H.C.

Good points for the PB for the spring point score and a funny day with Mark. He struggles to get in and out on the wire but once he has locked and loaded he is fine.Down wind he sat on the side Bocho style to keep it conservative.

The tugga is smoking to windward!

See you all next weekend

Race Report 6/11/2010

2010-11-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

Wow.. What a cracker of a weekend..!!!
Who doesn't love sick easterlies with second rig in..!!!
Oh it wasn't that bad...

Here's the weekly report..

We arrived at the club at 11:00.. The sun was shining, there were boats all over the rigging lawn and The Glee Club were singing Lady Gaga through Suellens new rigging lawn speakers... Oh it was gonna be a great day..!! Only drama was... THERE WAS NO WIND..!!!!

Tristan unfortunately had to work so Wayne got the late call up... He was keen as mustard to get onboard and try a skinny boat.. Fair enough too :o) THEY"RE AWESOME..!!
Wayne and I were busy plugging in big rig when the Ghetto Shed and Squid rolled up.. Richard looked around nervously and wanted to go second rig... The forecast was 10-15kts.. Wayne and I were dubious.. As was Craig... Ben and Richard both seemed to have flash backs to the 15kt big rig day a few weeks ago... Dry your eyes princesses..!! Anyway we decided to do the righty and do the you go I go we all go a go go thing.. So we took out big and slapped in second rig... Big call... Richard said he'd buy the beers if we got out there and it wasn't second rig...

So we hit the water.. The wind was from the west and Wayne and I went out a little earlier than usual just to get used to the boat etc... Fun times.. We blasted out of the harbour.. Wayne loved the accelleration of the BMMKII hull and it didn't stop there.. We got out of the leads and threw the kite up to head down to green... The wind started bending south and soon we were heading straight back to the channel.. We gybed to miss an etchell and were heading straight back where we were coming from.. The wind had swung to the East so we had effectivly done a 180... Awesome... We dropped the kite and worked our way up to the Northern course... There was a patch between the leads and the start boat where West meets East... We sat there patiently for... TOO LONG..!!!
We then proceeded to the start... The wind was swinging 360 degrees... It was crazy... I wasn't sure if they would ever get a race in... We were out there for 2hrs before they finally got a race started... The wind had settled in the South and it was actually quite a comfy second rig... Nice work Richard...

The Squid smashed the start... They hit the pin end and just smoked the fleet. It was awesome to see.. Wayne and I didn't have a terrible start but it wasn't great... We worked our way up the course but duffed a tack and lay line which Richard and John on board the Gettho Shed through.. Well kind of... There was a Port and Starboard incident where Ghetto miraculously got a random lift right when our tiller extensions crossed their bow........ I didn't see it myself but anyway... Meanwhile the Squidgee lads had just killed us all and were miles in front... They were right on the tail of the 49er... The barging mark was pretty square so Craig decided to sneak the tack line out.. They were bracing for the fastest set of all time.. unfortunately upon reaching the barging mark the kite didn't go up... It was stuck between the kite pole wires... OH NO..!!! Before anyone could blink, the kite was in the water collecting prawns and both Ghetto and PB had blasted past them.. Unrucky boys..!! We get halfway down the run and Ghetto dropped their kite... Wayne and I were in shock.. Surely these clowns weren't going to do it again... Yep.. Ghetto rounded the wrong bottom mark... PB continued down to the proper bottom mark and tried to catch the speedy cheatahs.. (Pun intended) There were small gains and losses throughout the second lap and we finished roughly the same distance from Ghetto.. Good quality racing.. I love that there is only seconds splitting the boats... One slow tack and or a missed layline costs you a race. Keeps you on ya toes that's for sure..!! The Squid boys brought it up the rear.. They had a small tear in their kite from the incident but finished in 3rd ahead of the millions of 505's..

The second race start was a bit better for PB.. Ghetto and Squid tacked off early and PB covered... The wind had eased a little, but we were still able to just pull two strings...
Ghetto found thge switch for the after burners and were able to point a bit higher than us... They crossed us and rounded the top mark.. It was still close.. Wayne and I rounded with a bunch of 505's.. Did I mention there were 8 of them..!! We decided that we wouldn't catch Ghetto by following them, so we did the sneaky Brendan gybe at the top mark and prayed for a line down the middle to drag us down... We didn't get it but we made up a little ground anyway due to Ghetto missing the lay line and dropping early... The wind eased some more and they worked their way up to the top mark.. Wayne and I threw everything at them but we couldn't peg them back.. We rounded the top mark in the same order.. The squid boys caught up a bit too but the hole in their kite got a bit bigger every time they threw it up, and by the last lap they had pretty much no kite left.. Just some luff tape skill dragging them to the finish boat..

Well done to all crew. It was a magic day out there..!! Well worth the horrible 2hr wait before the first race...
Again it's great to see the standard lifting each week... I love having such close racing..!!

Top skiff regatta location

2010-10-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Anyone up for a regatta in Elounda, Crete...
View from our hotel room.

Race Report 17/10/2010

2010-10-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

Yet another cracking weekend..!!
How nuts was the wind on Saturday..!! Code flag Sausage was flying high :o) Although Timmy has now been sacked from sausage coordinator... 5 sausages do not go far with skiffies... What were you thinking..!!!

So yeah for those of you who didn't turn up to the club on Saturday... It was howling... When we arrived it was 32-36kts out there... It eased a bit.. 26-32.. They were thinking long and hard about racing and I think if there were more than one 12 ft skiff on the rigging lawn they would have been swayed... However the volunteers had their meeting and the racing was cancelled...

Sunday however...............

GLORIOUS..!!!! Richard and I took out the Grove... It was a perfect second rig when we were rigging... Probably big rig if I had the Tristan the ton onboard, but it was second rig for Richard and I :o)
We rigged with half a dozen 13's.. A chubby, a 16 and an old 18 footer...

The briefing was short and sweet... 5 laps for the 16 and 4 for the rest... Ha..!! Like B-Rand and the Millers would lap us on a day like yesterday.. Hahaha Suckers..!!

So we hit the water in high spirits.. Team Grove looked the goods (I wore some fancy new wetsuit pants) and were gagging to test out Richards new c'board.... We set off to the startline and boy were we worried.. The set it up right down near Lota creek... We were a bit worried about the depth... The waves were steep and the water looked brown.. Not the sort of test we had in mind for the new fin..... Anyway we smashed the start... Full power and clear air... We were in front..!! Woot woot..!!

The chop was a bit annoying as there wasn't quite enough waterline length or power in our rig to punch through it.. However we got to the top mark not that far behind Data 3.. We sent it down hill and may have caught up a little bit but the bit we caught up was lost when the kite retrieval got knotted on the drop.. We did the next leg with no real gain but we put a bit of distance on the 13's...
The next kite ride was probably the highlight... We did a couple of gybes because we weren't under any pressure and we were "a bit bored"... We came to the drop and my enthusiasm got me in a bit of trouble.... My lovely soft skippers hands got a rude shock when I went for the big pull on the retrieval line and the kite got stuck on the forestay... My hands kept going after the rope stopped... I started bleeding from my hands and on the next windward I turned to Rich and asked.. "how many times do I have to pull that bi*ch up again" and I showed him my bleeding fingers... Richie drove us to the top mark where we did a super mega ultra elegant crew/skipper swap... Richie set the kite and the wind eased... It was definitely big rig now.. Oh well... The gap between us and the 16 didn't really change and the gap to the 13's was about the same... We were just sailing for the fun of it on our own... We could feel the victory coming but it didn't really excite us... The wind dropped under 10 kts and we were one and a half stringing for pretty much the rest of the race... On lap 4 the 13's caught up a little bit, but not enough to threaten us at all.. We sailed through the finish and got the gun.. Hip hip hooray to the flying Grove..!! It was a lovely day on the water even without the crazy rides of the previous week...

The verdict on the c'board is still undecided... It certainly doesn't feel slow... But it's hard to know without other 12's around you... Next week will be the real test..!!!

Thanks Richo for taking me out yesterday.. Enjoy the win.. They will be few and far between this season... PB is on the program.. We're in it to win it..!!!

Tristan might have a few good stories from the weekend too.. He flew to Syd for his 20 year school reunion... Missed his flight home.... Ended up at the Gold Coast...

Race Report 02/10/2010

2010-10-03T19:39:00.001-07:00

So another week goes by and another glorious Saturday of skiff racing to remember..
Finally a weekend where we didn't have to lump that crazy big rig around all day..!! Woot woot..!!
The numbers on the race track were down, but the fighting was as fierce as ever..!! The St Helena Cup looked like a fun option... HA..!!

There were only two 12's that made it to the startline.. Oh and the regular 9er sailors... Because the Northern end of the bay was being utilised by lead heads, the all boat racing was run on the Southern course... Well wasn't that exciting..!! There is nothing like running up and down the start line dodging sailboards, sabots, Sabres, lasers, puffin pacers and eggshells.. Lucky for us it was a perfect 2nd rig day so the skiffs were fairly manageable.......
There was some confusion amongst the competitors.. Ben and Craig actually started twice.. Once with the Etchels, and the other with the all boats... Tristan and I got the sequence wrong and we were a minute late..!!! What a great start to the day..!!
Since the race committee had so may different classes to race, there were two separate courses set on the same patch of water.. Gee didn't that make things interesting... I counted 11 buoys in total... Some were round and some were cylindrical... It took nerves of steel to back yourself and believe you're actually heading to the right mark...

So back to the race... The Squid boys got off the line a few seconds late, but Tristan and I on the mighty PB were way off the pace... We were too busy watching the windsurfers..... The first lap was pretty straight forward.. We just followed the leader... PB Towage made up some ground on the Squid lads and coming up the second last lap we were going gust for gust... Luckily for the Calamari clan they got their nose in to a good gust just before the lay line and were able to sneak ahead... Perhaps if our bow pole was fixed old skool it would have been a different story..... However it's not and they crossed us... Rounded the top mark and sent it.. Tristan and I got a knot in the retrieval and we thought for certain that was our day done... Thank goodness the children were racing on the outer edge of the course because the foul language coming out of our boat even made me blush.. I was just hoping those pesky 29er kids wouldn't catch up... How embarrassing! We got the knot undone and with the kite, almost at the top, we screamed down towards to the bottom mark.. That's when I heard the call from Tristan.. The Squid boys have put it in! Game on bi*ches..!!! We screamed down to the bottom mark and navigated our way around the Squid. They followed us around the final trapezoid and we finished in that order.. The Beers were on the Squid..!!!
Being gentlemen, we pulled up along side and offered a double or nothing.. Benny was quick to take us up on it, so once again we parted ways and put on our war paint.. The wind shifted East and PB took a chance.. PORT HAND BANDITS..!!! We didn't cross the Hobies but the skiffs were left in out wake.. SUCKERS..!!
The race was only two laps, so unfortunately for the Squid there were very limited passing lanes... Both boats sailed mistake free and that was that... Two bullets for PB Towage...

It was great close racing all day... The shorter courses certainly added a new dynamic.. There were gates and wing marks.. It was quite an interesting course... I don't know if I'd want to do it on a healthy 4th rig day tho... There were some great rides thrown in too.. Did I mention it was a glam 2nd rig day..?? I love it..!!
For those who cruised around the bay at 6kts in the rain.. Bravo.. But SUCKS TO BE YOU..!!!

The most promising thing I've noticed about this season so far is how close the racing is... One mistake puts you out the back of the fleet...
You have to be on your game.. But you also have to be ON THE WATER..!!! We're a month in to the season now guys.... Get your boats to the rigging lawn..!! There is fantastic racing being had, you're missing it..!!!
This weekend is shaping up to be a gem.. I can't wait to see you all out there..!!

Cheers

Skinnyman

Week 3

2010-09-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, been slack. Skinnyman has been sending emails about the racing so i've copied one here...

Hey hey.!!!

I know you all must be gagging to hear what happened on Saturday.. Well what really happened that is..

The two Mathews hulls rigged up together.. There were very few boats on the lawn with weddings and grandfinals going on that day.. It was actually kinda eerie.. Oh and there was not a breath of wind and it was looking very much like rain... PERFECT..!!!!

Before we threw a rig in, I went and had a chat with the race officials to ask if there was any wind out there.. Or if there was any on the way.. All Suellen said was better put in Big Rig...

I got back and we threw in the biggest gear we had... After Richard dusted off the Grove that is.. We sat around talking sh1t as we do and finally we left the beach.. Rich was sailing with Benny and I was taking Rory (a 12ft skiff newbie..)

Launching was uneventful.. That is all.

On the way to the startline however I noticed I had completely rigged the retrieval system incorrectly.. So for the rest of the sail out to the startline Rory and I were stuffing around rerigging it all :o) What a glorious start to the day..

By the time the start gun went there was enough breeze to pull two strings and it was building... The Grove started on the pin and PB was smashing it out with 9ers up at the boat end... Full steam ahead and the 49er carved us both a new one.. It was slightly embarrassing... However, things looked better for us when the Grove boys tacked and we were clear ahead... Happy days.. We decided to tack on top of them.. This would have made us rockstars.. Unfortunately we never made it through the tack... Yep, we were Flopstars... We followed the Grove around the track and without them making a mistake and that was that... We had been punished for making a simple error... Well done to the Grove team...

Race two was fresh... There were white caps and I was wishing my super dooper lightening fast second rig was plugged in... We had the board up and cunno cranked... The Grove boys started on port because they were worried they had left it too late to try and tack on to Starboard... This proved to be their best mistake ever..!! They ducked the fleet and the 30m we went past them was the 30m gap that cost us the race... That was until the downwind....... We had some great rides on Saturday.. Skipping along on the transom with big rig... WEIRD..!!! Rory and I picked some great angles... Grove did too.. Except their angles didn't quite correlate with the RQ course..... Richie and Ben took a short cut and went through some random gate marks... Rookie mistake..!!! Rory and I sailed the true course and if Benny hadn't bought the jug of beer when we had returned to the beach, there would have been a protest...

All in all it was a fantastic day on the water..!! Rory had a blast and I reckon he would be keen for another ride sometime.. I can't wait to put the big rig away for summer though... Bring on 3rd rig..!!!

Blast from the Past

2010-05-31T00:09:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Terry Ellis, Frank Saroch and Don Robinson. Apologies to any wives of those depicted. Yes your husbands were cool.

Australian Champs Results

2010-04-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

Photos at {http://www.rqys.com.au/index.php/12-skiff-australian-championship/}

Australian Titles

2010-03-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

If you’re interested in high performance sailing and you have some free time over Easter, head down to Manly Harbour and check out some of the best skiff racing around. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS) is playing host to up 25 skiffs hoping to take home the Norman Booth trophy for the 12 foot skiff Australian Championship.

Starting from humble beginnings, the 12ft skiff has grown and endured to become one of the last true development classes racing today. With only nine class rules limiting hull size and weight at 45kgs, sailors are free to create and race the boat that they want. The result of this is a 12ft boat that regularly becomes airborne under the power of a spinnaker the same size as most 30 foot yachts.

The Australian Championship has been held since 1925 and is the pinnacle of Aussie twelves’ racing. The current Australian team have just returned from a Interdominion contest with New Zealand held in Auckland early in the new year. The competition will be fierce with the current interdominion champion, Dimension Polyant attempting to make the double. However, there are a number of strong competitors standing in their way.

The best place to watch the spectacular spinnaker rides is on the water, but if you can’t get out there then check out the RQYS viewing platform or Darling Point. Racing commences on the 2nd until the 5th of April.

Copycats

2010-03-03T19:34:00.000-08:00

This image was borrowed from the anarchists.

They must have seen this image and thought it was a good idea.

Enough said.

Flying High

2010-03-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

13/14 January Results

2010-02-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

Nice return to club racing after the Inters (Ghetto was 20th) and the Great Race (Southport-Brisbane - Ghetto 3rd Mono). We had 10-15knots and 2nd rig in. Got some nice photos too thanks to a certain someone. Interesting points were the Wingman's kite halyard block blowing up, yet Tristan could still pull the kite up, Terry shredding his kite, but still sending it and me not doing my tank bung up and carrying 10L of water around the track.
Race 1:
1st Ghetto
DNF: Wingman
DNF: Challenger

Race 1:
1st: Wingman
2nd: Ghetto
3rd: Challenger

2010 Nationals

2010-02-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

The 12ft Skiff Australian Championship is being hosted by the Qld 12s this year. Easter is the time and RQYS is the place to be to sail or watch some great skiff racing.

While the boat's away...

2010-01-19T23:28:00.000-08:00

So we're back from the Interdoms with a 20th place to show for it. Congrats to Nick Press and Brad Yabsley for taking it out and posting their 2nd Inters win. NZ won the teams trophy with another outstanding display.
Our boatspeed was exceptional at times but once again lacked the perfect boathandling required to sail a skinny boat fast. We also suffered off the breeze with smaller slower kites and only 135kg on the wire.
Moments of potential such as 4th around the top mark in a soft big rig race and 3rd around the first wingmark of another were hacked away by the kite/chute system not working as it should and choosing the wrong side of the course. However the speed potential in all conditions was promising.

We were the 7th Aussie boat and managed to stay ahead of all the other young Aussies (except Brett and Alex in Garde). So I'm pretty happy with that and it will lead to good things at the upcoming Nationals over Easter at RQYS. NOR available shortly.

Got a few things to update on the boat when it gets back. Racing continues at RQYS this Saturday 23rd and DPSS on the Sunday 31st.

http://210.86.1.80/regattas/interdoms/inters.html
http://210.86.1.80/images/2010_inters/index.html

21/21 November Results

2009-11-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Great day on the water with ~15-20knots and lumpy seas. Challenge, Ghetto and Wingman got out there with some mixed up crews.
Tristan and Tim put the 2nd in to cart their ~200kg around the course on the Wingman and showed some seriously impressive speed. Unfortunately this was the first time together and teamwork meant they didn't finish either race. Skinny and I teamed up to get some practice for the inters. Challenge was consistent again with Terry and Wayne showing us how its done.

Race 1:
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd: Challenge
DNF: The Wingman

Race 2:
1st: Challenge (by about 50m)
2nd: Ghetto Sled
DNF: The Wingman

Highlights of the day were the carbon-rattling launches off the powerboat wash and Terry driving deep through the channel and taking home a "souvenir".

Candy

2009-11-17T19:44:00.001-08:00

Inters, Here We Come!!

2009-11-15T23:59:00.001-08:00

The 50th 12ft Skiff Interdominions are being hosted by the Auckland Sailing Club from the 9th-17th January, 2010.

12 boats are venturing across from Australia including Ghetto Sled from Qld.
I'm picking up my Koh Samui super-crew James (Skinnyman) Fleming for the event and with a combined crew weight of 130kg, we'll be pushing the limits of the narrow skiff. Here's a photo of my boat with the new Big rig last weekend. ~12-15knots and getting along pretty well for its first sail.!

Results 31st Oct, 7 Nov, 14 Nov

2009-11-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

Quick up-to-date of the results. Terry and Wayne have been out there every weekend and are consequently winning not only the 12 fleet results, but also the RQYS allboats as well.

31st October
Race 1:
1st: Challenge

Race 2:
1st: Challenge

7th November
Race 1:
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd: Challenge

Race 2:
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd: Challenge

Race 1:
1st: The Wingman
2nd: Challenge
DNC: Ghetto Sled

Race 2:
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd The Wingman
3rd: Challenge

24/25 October Results

2009-10-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

Terry Ellis 1st, 1st. Everyone else DNF. Maintenance day anyone?
The tables turned when Terry was the only boat to finish a race at RQYS on Saturday. Trapeze lines were the culprit on The Wingman and Ghetto Sled, which made sailing our skinny-ass new boats in the perfect 3rd rig weather almost impossible.
Terry didn't hang around to get his prize (probably would have been a chamois)

17/18 October

2009-10-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, RQYS
Got 3 boats on the water once again with some crew mix-n-matchin. Ghetto was there with me and Tim Willis. Allwood Sails with Tristan Hamilton steering and Brendan crewing. Challenge was there with the veteran team rejoined of Terry Ellis and Don Robinson.

Race 1: I decided that the only way to beat Tristan was to pull off the grandest of starts so we went for the pin-end-on-port "bandit" start. This type of starting maneouvre is rarely successful but a 10deg shift with a minute to go helped out a lot. We crossed a flying, starboard-tacked I14 and powered down to get a jump on the Allwood. But they had some pretty impressive speed and just caught us by the top mark. Tim and I threw the big 3nd kite up and powered down to be in front by a little bit at the bottom. A slow drop allowed them to get through, take our wind, and cause us to fall in backwards. We gained a little during the next lap but were 2nd by 1min 40secs. Terry and Don were around somewhere, sailing their own race.
1st: Allwood Sails
2nd: Ghetto Sled
3rd: Challenge

Race 2: The wind had eased a little and this allowed Tim and I, lighter by 20-odd kgs, to stay powered up better than Tristan. Once again though, they sailed fast upwind and just beat us to the top. We once again powered away off the breeze and managed to hold on for a narrow (20sec) win.
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd: Allwood Sails
DNF: Challenge

Tristan took home the Northern Allboats win and prize was a chamoise... Yay!

Sunday, DPSS
A regular club race on Sunday and once again in a very nice 12-15knot 2nd rig. Only the Sled was out there for the 12s (lots of 16s and 13s to play with) with me steering and Tristan on the pointy end. We sailed around the other fleet a bit because they were racing a state title heat, and had some good rides. It was a pretty quick with only 3 short laps, but that just made us work a bit harder. The fine tuning on the Sled continues... and a new big rig should be ready by the weekend.

Next weekend will see the return of skinnyman from his man o' mystery adventures so we should be getting 3-4 boats out there. Paulo's boat is still for sale. He's taking it to Geelong shortly, so anyone who's interested should call him asap!!

10-11 October

2009-10-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

A strange weekend weather wise that didn't really yield results. Saturday forecast was 15-18knots and blew in over 20. So the 2nd went in on Ghetto and we headed out to the start. I realised we weren't going to get around the racecourse when the first bearaway out of the leads resulted in a massive 2-sail mine!! One of those really quick ones that doesn't give you time to react. Tim went into the sidestay and came out with half his wetsuit leg missing. He got a nice bruise from that one.

So we sailed up to the top of the bay, hoisted the kite and had one insane ride and then crashed and came in. Always good to have a sail seriously overcooked occasionally.

Sunday at DPSS was overcast but the breeze came in 10-15kts when it wasn't raining. Tristan and Tim Avery went out with their new 2nd rig and gave it a trial run. The new boys in Deagon Shipyards??? (formerly the Richter Constructions) only had their big rig so splashed around a bit. Good to see some more guys keen on having fun. Tristan finished the race (that was eventually abandoned...)

For Sail 3

2009-10-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

images borrowed from www.sailingphotos.net

Giddy Up

Matthews Mk2 Design
Built December '08
Complete boat
#1, #2, #3 and #4 rigs
All sails brand new up to a few years old.
Cradle with wheels
On trailer
In Brisbane

Make me an offer.
Paul O'Malley-Jones
pkomj@optusnet.com.au

Big Boppa (formerly The Bus)

Nash 4 Hull
1/2 Carbon Mast
3 Carbon Mast
1, 2, 3 complete rigs
In Brisbane
$3000 ono trailer negotiable

call Tristan 0437 733 992

Trailerbucketing

2009-10-04T21:19:00.001-07:00

No skiff posts lately as i've been trailerbucketing in my Blazer23. Did the SYC Commodore's Cup (in 20-25 with 2.5m swell) and cracked the hull under the chain plates. Fixed it during the week so i could do the St Helena Cup out of WMYC. Didn't have it set up right and so didn't do so well.

Tristan took Big Boppa and The Wingman out last sat/sun and had a bit of fun in the big breeze apparently. This saturday we'll get back to 12ft skiff racing like we should.

3 times the fun

2009-09-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Got 3 new boats on the water on Saturday out of ROYS. There was a bit of crew mixing, but it was worthwhile to have someone to race against.
The Wingman was there... with normal crew
Ghetto Sled was there... with Terry Ellis skippering and Richard Billett crewing
The Fat Controller was there... with Brendan Matthews skippering and John Cole crewing.

We also had pretty good wind. A nice 10 gusting 15.

Race 1: We all came off the start pretty close. The Fat Controller leading slightly and Wingman going far, low left to get speed. On the way into the top mark, ghetto took a higher position to get over a fleet of Etchells going slow downwind and gained 100m on the rest. The wingman came flying in from the left and was right behind the fat controller as the kites went up. The run was pretty calm and we went round the mark in about the same positions as the top mark. Up the next work there was a 10deg right-hander and ghetto gained another 200m. The wingman and the fat controller once again got around the top together and were battling it out down the final run. The Wingman came in 2nd by about 50m to the fat controller.

1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd: The Wingman
3rd: The Fat Controller

Race 2: Only 2 left and the wind had crept up to 15kn. Once again Ghetto got off to a good start with the wingman seemingly getting stuck in irons off the line. Around the top mark with a good lead, ghetto powered away in pressure, but prawned the kite at the bottom mark and the wingman cruised past. After f&*king around trying to get 100kg of prawns into the boat, we finally got going again only to see the wingman go around the top mark. We chased for one more lap then called it a day when the race committee decided to pick up all the marks. The wingmen took home the silverware for the Northern Allboats (a teeshirt...normally get rum or wine).
1st: The Wingman
DNF: Ghetto Sled
DNS: The Fat Controller

A solid day all up and hopefully more races like the first one during the rest of the season.

Rags to Riches

2009-09-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

I took Paulo's steed for a burn on saturday with his trusty-yet-skipperless crew John. Paulo bought a new Big main before he went to GTown and wanted us to try it out.... OK. A nice little 8-12 Northerly greeted us and she bolted. I can confirm that the new main makes the boat 3.4% faster and 2.8% higher.... guaranteed. Thorpy also said its fully sick.
Oh yeah. No one else was game to take us on so we "won" both races.

Opening Day Results

2009-09-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

The RQYS opening day started with drizzle and no wind. By 10am however, the clouds had cleared and there was a shifty westerly floating around. The blazer-wearing festivities got underway, but we kept clear of that until the free sausage sizzle came wafting across the rigging lawn. The newly reddified Wingman, the newly carbonified Challenge and the newly Cassified Ghetto Sled were wearing 2nd rig and were itching to go. The kite ride to the start line off Green Island started as a nice flat-water 2-string ride and ended up as a crew-in-kitebin "situation". The wind proceeded to shift around through all 360deg for the rest of the day.

Race 1 got off to a slow 1-string start. We got away well, then Challenge caught a nice puff up the first work, but the Wingman lead around the top mark by 100m. The run saw Challenge crew Wayne fall overboard and have to swim back to the boat. During the next work a northerly shift came through and we were on the right side of it and took the win.
Race 2 got underway with a 90deg southerly shift right on the gun. The Wingman and Ghetto Sled saw it coming through the Etchell fleet so both did the pin-end-on-port (Bandit) start. A soldiers course around the next 5 buoys (with 360deg windshifts included) resulted in The Wingman packing up and going home. We took the win again.
Results:
Race 1
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd: The Wingman
DNF: Challenge

Race 2
1st: Ghetto Sled
2nd Challenge
DNF: The Wingman

For Sail 2

2009-09-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Big Boppa (formerly The Bus)

Nash 4 Hull
1/2 Carbon Mast
3 Carbon Mast
1, 2, 3 complete rigs
In Brisbane
$3000 ono trailer negotiable

call Tristan 0437 733 992

Start It Up!!!!

2009-09-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Looks like good weather for the first day of the season. Time to strap in the 2nd rig and go for a blast. Racing out of RQYS, Manly 5th September. Be there from 10am. Race 1 starts 1:30pm.

Wingman sees Red

2009-08-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tristan has put in some long hours to sand, fair and paint the Wingman for the new season. A striking red over grey makes it look almost as good as the Juicer. Looking forward to big things from these guys this season.

Skiffbuild 09/2

2009-08-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

The irreverent Paul O'Malley-Jones sent me this photo set of him building his new boat "Giddy Up!" last winter. This is the newest boat in the fleet and showed some promise at the Interdominions in Brisbane 09. Now Paulo has decided to up and live in GTown (Geelong) for a year, there is word of a new helmsman on this boat.

DPSS Winter Series 23/08/2009

2009-08-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Should be a few boats heading down for the last winter series race of the year. Sailing out of Darling Point Sailing Squadron (Trafalgar St, Manly, QLD)

Racing start at 2pm, so we'll be rigging from 12 onwards.

Island Style

2009-08-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

A shot from the Samui trip in May 2009.

09/10 Season Calendar

2009-08-05T17:10:00.001-07:00

Facelift

2009-08-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

Old Yellow getting a long overdue upgrade to carbon tube framework..!!