Um, I'm back.....

Believe it or not we made it around Tasman Island and into some building breeze for a blast up Storm Bay, past the Iron Pot and into the Dewent River.

We managed to pass a number of yachts that got becalmed in Strom bay and then held off some others under a two sail reach to the finish line.

In the end it was a very exciting days sail. That last post was written at about 7am from memory and we finished the race just after 4pm that afternoon.

Our final result was a win in PHS division 2.

This is no mean feat. The whole race is divided up into divisions and to win our category is somewhat of a major thing. We were pretty chuffed and partied accordingly.

Crossing the line and tying up amongst all the colour and people is enough to erase any of the hardship of the race and chase the weariness from your bones. By the time we finished I had been working solidly (we all had really) since about 3am and then partied on in the docks and Customs House until about 3am again.

There was still enough adrenaline to keep me going but with New Years eve around the corner I had to keep some go juice for later.

In all the excitement I forgot all about this blog and failed to tell the rest of the world - except for the 50 or so people I drunk dialled from Constitution Dock.

I have put up some of the various photos from the race onto Picasa web.

So what was next?

Well after the race I had a holiday in Tassie with a good friend then it was back to the grind stone at work and that is where I have been ever since!

The kite surfing is going well right up until a sprained ankle last night. I am so hooked it is not funny. I could easily become a kite surfing bum and just cruise the worlds best kitting spots. Ballooning is fun but this is great fun!

I have been dancing my heart out and doing aerials and all sorts of crazy stuff with my little dance partner Charlie. There is plans to do a routine for the Ceroc ball this year so I will be working on that starting in May. It was demoed the other weekend at the Hunter Valley and looks so nice and smooth.

The Hunter Valley was another dance camp thing with two and a half days of workshops and dance parties at Cypress Lakes resort and Tamburlaine winery. I managed about 28 hours dancing in a 42 hour period which was not a bad effort.

Next weekend I am off to Kenya to do some maintenance on a fleet of our balloons in the Masai Mara. I have not been to Kenya for about five years now so I am really looking forward to getting back over there. Expect some good pictures from that little trip!

Becalmed

Well, we have not yet rounded Tasman Island and we have been becalmed before entering the dreaded Derwent river.

For the second time this race we have the lightweight "Drifter" head sail up. This sail was made at the Kavanagh Balloons factory from balloon cloth and is a very light weight number 1 head sail for use in under 4 knots of true breeze.

It is slowly pulling us along at about 1 knot of boat speed when we get the occasional zephyr or breeze.

With some luck we will get a sea breeze start to fill in but we will be working against the out going tide once into Storm Bay and the Derwent. The tide is due to turn in the next 1.5 hours and the few boats in out division ahead of us will cop it on the nose helping to park them for longer as we catch up....well that is the plan if you can call it that.

Yesterday afternoons predicted front arrived and turned the nice calm and rolling sea under the 15 knot Northerly to white maelstrom of wind swept waves and over 30 knots of wind from the south east. We were ready but were expecting a slightly more moderate change and as such were caught with the wrong head sail on deck. As the change came in we dropped the spinnaker and hoisted the number 1 head sail for all of 10 minutes before it became obvious we were in for more wind.

As the wind built we changed down to the number 2 with a clockwork head sail peel. Unfortunately this was still not enough and with a rushed change into full wet weather gear and safety harnesses it was back onto the foredeck to peel to the number 3.

By now it was really blowing a gale and we were in large sea and getting pounded. While three of us worked on the foredeck, the rest of the crew were working to get two reefs into the main.
A solid 14 hours of hard on the nose sailing ensued with a change back to the number 2 and then number 1 earlier this morning before it glassed out on us.

Meanwhile the tension is high as we wait for this to all unfold. Cold beer, a steak and a hot shower await us in Hobart but it is painfully far away right now.

Mid Race

This may be my only mid race post so this is what is happening so far...

We are currently about 3 days into the race and are now screaming down the east coast of Tasmania. We have had every sort of condition so far from a fast afternoon of spinnaker runs after leaving Sydney Harbour to hard on the nose during and back to a fast 24 hours of spinnaker work.


A calm period before entering Bass Strait was followed by the most fantastic crossing of the Strait. We have switched spinnakers a few times now but have held a good 8 to 12 knots of boat speed for some 200 miles.

Currently we are well placed to win our division but it is still early days.

As I type this we are awaiting a change from the south east to head us. This will put an end to the fast trip south but the angle will work well for the final run to Tasman Island then into Storm Bay.

Yee Haaaa!

Sydney to Hobart race

Wow, this has really snuck up on me. It is Christmas day and I am about to walk out the door to head down to the CYC for the 2007 Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

By this time tomorrow we will be two and a half hours into the race. the start is at 1pm on Boxing Day so tonight we are having dinner as a team and staying on the yacht.

Dad and I will be part of the same team that sailed Namadgi, a 44 foot Bavaria to a PHS division win in the Sydney to Gold Coast race.

The weather is looking good for us at this time so fingers crossed for a good race this year.

Anyone interested can track the yachts on the website linked above.

Have a great Christmas and happy New Year - with some luck mine will be spent celebrating down at Constitution dock in Hobart!

Next adventures

So I am back from Japan and have even had some sleep. Pity it probably won't be enough to get me through the next month or two.

This weekend I have got what I am expecting to be a fantastic workshop with Jordan Frisbee & Tatiana Mollmann, two of the best West Coast Swing dancers from the USA.

Check out this video from one of their recent competition wins and you might have an idea of why I am looking forward to it.



Along with a bit of dancing I am also now locked in to do the Rolex Sydney to Hobart on Namadgi.

Over the coming weeks I have some training to do and race preparation. I am a late entry for the team but after doing the Sydney to Gold Coast race a few months back I am sure I can jump back into the team and contribute.

While I am looking forward to the actual race, the party and New Years celebrations in Hobart will be just that bit more fun as one of the race crew.

Winners are grinners..

Back to the real world after 2 days 11 hours and 15minutes of fun.

One word to describe the race. Fun. The weather for the sail could not have been much better. We spent most of the time under spinnaker blasting along at between 7 and 9 knots with a few slow periods of lighter air that bought our average speed for the 384 mile race back to 6.5 knots. This is fast for our boat as it is a cruiser not a light weight racer.

The start with 72 boats was fantastic. We were all under spinnaker on port tack in Sydney harbour, the bright yellow Kavanagh Balloons branded kite flying along with all the big names in Australian racing. A quick gybe just after sow'n'pigs reef got us out of the heads and then a gybe back to port to head up to coast. From there until midnight we were running with the Kav kite until wind speeds got up over 30knots and we pulled it down before it broke something. Maximum boat speed was 12.2 knots on the first night.

Sunday morning and the breeze had eased slightly and the Kav kite went back up until we pulled a swift little gybe and set a bigger and lighter kite around 10am. During the day we passed a few whales and even got to see a large humpback breech a few times. No photos - too busy racing!

We held the big kite all day in lighter winds. That night the light weight kite suffered a small tear during a gybe and soon blew out leaving us with the kite torn in two pieces.

A quick drop of the damaged sail and the heavier Kav kite went back up with little fuss and we were under way.

Lighter winds on Monday morning made for a few tense moments as boats we had passed or been holding off started to creep up around us. It kept everyone focussed and made for some jovial exchanges at change of watch as to who had done a better job keeping boat speed and course. We also got to see more whales and a few dolphins.

Sunrise on Monday morning

By sunset Monday we were at Byron Bay and the winds were back up above 20knots and the boat humming along in the high 7 to 8 knot range again. We were visited by some more dolphins having a play in our bow wave.

We had calculated we needed a run rate of 5.6knots to beat UBS Wild Thing but it was all depending on the finish time for Stampede as to whether we would get 1st or 2nd.

After rounding Point Danger we gybed back to port for the line, passing behind Tartan who we had been in close contact with all day. Soon after the sea breeze flipped to the westerly and we were able to drop out kite and hoist the number 2 head sail for a reach into the finish line. In the change of direction and our timing of the gybe we ended up in front of Tartan and they followed us over the line about 200m behind and in 4th place.

For us, we had done enough to finish in first place on corrected time and in doing so had some very sporty boats behind us. Wild Thing had finished 15 hours ahead but with the performance handy cap system that put them 3 hours behind us on corrected time.

Not bad for my first big ocean race. The skipper summed it up perfectly. "We are out to have fun and winning is the best sort of fun."

We pulled into a berth at the Southport Yacht club at about 2am and could hear the party at the club going strong. A quick change from full race gear into the appropriate onshore sailing gear and we were in there drinking Bundy and Coke from jugs like the rest and best of them. A little after 4.30 am it was time to sleep for a few hours before breakfast and the presentation.

The talk at a yacht club after a race is as bad or worse than a ballooning championship. Lots of hand signals describing manoeuvres, rules and tactics. Back slapping for a job well done and commiserations over wrong decisions. The biggest difference is the drinking - I am yet to see rum and coke being sold by the jug at a balloon meet. It might get more people into ballooning if we did...

There is also the uniform. You have to look salty and wind/sun burned with the right shirt (name of your boat or a famous race is mandatory) and beer or rum in hand (a jug is good for extra or instant friends).

A great quote overheard while sitting below decks at the yacht club: "Oh thats Namadgi.....we were beaten by that? Oh no!"

Highlights for me have to be helming for about 8 hours in the race, at speed and under spinnaker. Overtaking a few boats while on the helm only to have the crew ooh and ahh at the whales! Getting the met right and seeing it all unfold more or less as I expected. Getting to share a race with dad, that was cool. Winning but I suppose that is a little obvious.

It was a great honour to sail and share in the win with Rick (Skipper), Gath (Nav), Jack, Brad Susan and dad. Thanks for having me along for the ride.


Balina nearing Sunset


Dad & Susan near North Solitary Island


Me on the helm during happy hour

Audi Sydney to Gold Coast Race

40 hours to go until the Audi Sydney to Gold Coast yacht race.

Things have been very busy since getting back from the Nationals. Dealing with the post event depression that falls like a fog after a week of great flying has been no fun but work has made sure I didn't have time to think about it too much. Second place still stings a little but I have the bonus of at least knowing I am off to Austria in September 2008 for the Worlds without having to worry about second round invitations etc...

So this weekend it off to the Gold Coast. This will be my first ocean race with dad on Namadgi. It will be fun and an interesting way to spend time together outside of work. We have done lots of sailing together but only one race and that was with him as a guest on my regular boat, not his.

The other fun thing will be that my regular skipper, Mark Harding, is also in the race but on another Yacht, Zen. They will be a lot quicker than us and worth watching out for on the yacht tracker.

The weather is looking great with a spinnaker start in Sydney and light to moderate west to south west winds for the entire race. Just to add to the pressure, our fearless leader Rick, seems to have put dad and I in it when interviewed for the race website. You can read the article here and see what I mean....Very flattering but bloody hell, what a load of bollocks.

Not sure I will be able to update this form the deep blue sea so see you all when I get back.

Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta

There are some things about Sydney that are hard to beat. Yacht racing on the harbour is one of them.

I have the great pleasure of racing an Elan 40 called Poets Day, with a bunch of guys every now and again. We don't get out as often as we should which is a shame because the crew and the boat seem quite competitive in our class.

Last weekend was the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta. In total some 277 yachts took to the harbour to dodge the ferries and each other while racing for a new Audi A4 from the sponsor. I still have not got to the bottom of how that was going to be given away considering there were 21 different divisions racing on 7 different course areas.

We were in PHS Division 2 which basically means we are in for hard racing with handicaps based on previous performance. While fast, we are not as fast as some but that is the boats fault... By comparison IRC Division 1 is the glory race with all the big, fast and very expensive dedicated race boats that are handicapped based on a set of measurement rules and predicted performance. Well thats the simple version.

In either case, you end up with close racing and the main person to beat is yourself because it is really your handicap you are sailing against. The other boats are just there to get in the way and make it look exciting.

Anyhow, Saturday was perfect. The sun was out, the wind was a nice 12 knot Nor Easter for Race 1 and a good 20knots for the 2nd race.

I got to run the bow as the foredeck monkey which basically means setting, jybing and dropping spinnakers as well as setting and changing head sails. All very energetic stuff and a bit wetter than I am used to. Normally I run the pit and trim headsail (down the back of the boat in a nice dry cockpit). It was a fun change and always good to keep on top of all the different jobs.

Race one was really a warm up for us as we had not all raced together and in the end we were 5th on corrected time. Technically it all went well, we just needed to push a bit harder in the second race.

Race two was more like it for the boat with closer to 20knots of breeze. We made a good change down to the number 3 headsail just before the start which made for perfect trim in the strengthening breeze. The fun thing in strong breezes though are the spinnaker legs. We had two to sail in each race and they ran half the length of the harbour with a jybe about half of the way down the leg. At the top mark it was a classic bear away set with a port pole and we were off like a shot out of a gun.

I just had time to catch my breath, gulp down some water and move the headsail over to the port side ready for the next windward leg before it was time for the jybe.

Now jybing a spinnaker is where it can get ugly. The whole team has to work in time and the foredeck team needs to get the job done in a few brief moments before tonnes of wind power rip it all out of our hands. When it works to plan it is a sweet thing. When it goes wrong there is a good chance of injury and lots of swearing. Good news was, every jybe we did was good.

Even better, every spinnaker drop was good - another critical moment in a race and a great place to make time if you can drop later than the other guys and still get around the mark clean.

In the end, it was a great race giving us 3rd over the line and 2nd on corrected time. At the end of day 1 we were in 3rd place.

The sad news was that this was a two day event with a total of four races and not every one had leave passes for the two days of racing.

Being a single guy, I was ready for as much racing as was available! So on Sunday I was all depressed knowing that we should have been on the water and kicking some butt and figuring out how to split an Audi A4 8 ways.

As fate would have it, Sunday was also calm. The races had a two hour time limit and all most all races were abandoned with no one likely to get around the course in time.

The end result? A podium finish for us, some good bruises and my first rope burn in many years on the water. Can't wait to do it again.

PS: Sorry no really good action photos - the camera gets put away at the 5 minute gun...The above pictures are all pre-start which is why everyone looks so relaxed.

Ho Ho Hum

Christmas is done and it now time to relax for a few days.

I was lucky enough to spend the last week on the yacht with a nice late night sail from Pitwater to Sydney on Christmas night followed by the start of the Sydney to Hobart on Boxing day.

The start is always fun and as we were positioned near the first mark at the heads, we got great views as the big boats steamed past in the brisk South Easterly wind. A few attempted a spinnaker run up the harbour which made for some extra excitement as they attempted to drop them at the mark before coming on the breeze to exit the heads.

Wild Oats 11 was the first out and was absolutely flying along. It amazing what 98ft and 14million dollars of Yacht can do. Currently they look on target to get line honours for the second year running.

All the results are online at : http://rolexsydneyhobart.com