they be hatin'

Nationals Race Report

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)

2011 Starting UP! by Ben

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

Interdomions Final Results

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

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..!!

Top skiff regatta location

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

Blast from the Past

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

Copycats

This image was borrowed from the anarchists.


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


Enough said.

13/14 January Results

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

Candy

Skiffbuild 09/2

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.

Island Style

A shot from the Samui trip in May 2009.

Facelift

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

Wingman at 2008/2009 Interdomions