Newsletter - May 2012

Newsletter in printable format (pdf - 79kb)

Hi Everyone,

Race 4 was almost a repeat of race 3. It was once again a beautiful warm clear sunny day. Another great day to be out on the water. However we could have done with a little more breeze. I carefully watched all the weather forecasts on Saturday and Sunday morning. The BOM forecast was for W to SW 10 to 15 knots. The SEABREEZE forecast was for WNW of 7 knots at 1 pm decreasing to 4 knots SSW at 4 pm. Selecting an appropriate course and getting all the boats home was again going to be challenging. At the start we had a variable breeze from the NNE and selected course 1 which is the course for breeze from the north. This was a brave call in the face of the forecast. Sometimes you get lucky as the breeze stayed northerly and then became NE. There were some frustrating moments during the race with little or no breeze at times. Shortening the course at Stokes enabled all the boats to get home.

Thanks to Jim Gordon and the crew from ADDICTION for the start boat. Jim was a great help in deciding the course and also the shortening of the course at Stokes and drawing every ones attention to the finish with the horn.

We had a total fleet of 15 boats starting with 9 in YELLOW and 6 in BLUE. The first 3 boats in the YELLOW fleet were CATCH 22, RICHOCHET and CHI-2. The conditions favored the Careels. The first 3 boats in the BLUE fleet were NICKERLYN, VINTAGE PORT and ROBARA. Congratulations to the skippers and crew.

We had some close finishes with CATCH 22 and RICHOCHET coming home 9 seconds apart and ROBARA and ATALANTA coming home 6 seconds apart. That big headsail on VINTAGE PORT did its job on the day. MAGIC and JUST MAGIC had a great match race over the last two legs with JUST MAGIC just not having enough magic at the finish.

The BLUE fleet finished in 12 minutes and most of the YELLOW fleet finished in 18 minutes. A good result considering the conditions. We had one retirement from YELLOW.

The PAC now has a limited liquor licence that allows it to serve alcohol at social and work functions. I have obtained an RSA (Responsible Serving of Alcohol) certificate and will be the licensee for the club. The really good news is that cask wine and beer will again be served starting at the June BBQ at the same cost of $10 during 2012. If you wish to still bring your favorite bottle of wine please do so. Also there are new BBQ’s being installed under the clubhouse creating a very nice social environment for all to enjoy.   

Once again we had a very enjoyable meal. Congratulations and thanks to the catering team and the band of willing helpers with the BBQ. Please keep on assisting the catering team especially with the clean up after the BBQ. Please let John Hammond know your attendance/non attendance at the BBQ by the Wednesday before the race. John can be contacted on 9997 1664 or 0438 906 903 or jhammond@me.com. We need accurate numbers to ensure we have enough food for all.

See you out on the water and later at the BBQ.

Cheers
Noel