Newsletter Sunday November 10th- Race No3 Black Cat Cruises Series

After a challenging start  to our racing so far this season Race 3   finally gave us  some better  conditions and a keen  race fleet of seven  boats. The race started in 5-8 knots of southerly with a coarse round Green Point, Lushingtons, Wainui &  Lushingtons again.

Gabriella got a jump  on the fleet at the start but unfortunately they also had a jump on the start  line and they were called back. The rest of the fleet were left with the familiar sight of Snatch taking a lead round the first  mark  before a spinnaker run to Lushingtons.  Astruso & Transition were in  close pursuit.  Before long the Southerly died and a Nor-West replaced it so we ended up sailing a reaching leg out the harbour to Wainui.

Meltdown heading to Wainui

Regardless & Transition lost the   wind near the Wainui side of the harbour , letting Meltdown , One Way  & Gabriella catch up down the centre of the harbour. Yet another wind change saw a Nor –easter spring up as Snatch,  Astruso ,Regardless & Meltdown led the fleet back to mark 9 (Green Point)

One Way sailing to Mark9
It  was a day of big wind changes and the southerly returned for the final short run from mark 9 to the finish.
For the second week in a row it was Snatch  who  crossed the line  first ,  followed by Astruso. In a race within a race Meltdown & Regardless had a close final tussle for the line under spinnaker before Meltdown edged ahead. Further back in the fleet Gabriella , One Way & Transition all crossed the line within 15 seconds of each other.

Photo of Transition taken from One Way nearing the finish line- courtesy Tim Richardson

Snatch again took out the double with handicap honours as well this week, followed by Meltdown , with One Way third. Full &  overall results listed below.

Sailing Sunday 17 November
The fourth race in the Blackcat Series is scheduled for this weekend with a 1300hr scheduled start and a long harbour race.

Bar Duty Roster
The bar duty roster for the first part of the 2019-2020 season is below. If you are unable to undertake your duty on the day selected please arrange with another boat to swop days

YACHT                                                           DUTY OFFICER
OCT 27^th Committee                                     Committee
NOV 3^rd Melt Down                                      Gil Smith
NOV 10^th Transition                                      Patsy Little
NOV 17^th Regardless                                     David Maloney
NOV 24^th One Way                                        Tim Anderson
NOV 30^th Afterglow                                       Bill McSweeney
DEC 1^st Future One                                        Keith Molloy
DEC 7^th Committee (Xmas Party)                Committee
DEC 8^th Hyper Active                                     Charl Chaney
Dec 15^th Armalite                                           Peter Gluyas
DEC 22^ND Penzance                                        Alex Aitken
DEC 27^th Gabriella                                          Stephen Horton
JAN 1^st Astruso                                                John Macdonald
JAN 4^th Snatch                                                 Phil Narbey
JAN 5^th Lightly Oiled                                        Ali Chaney
JAN 12^th Transition                                          Brian Little
JAN 18^th Regardless                                         Peter Zwart
Jan 19^th Melt Down                                         Gil Smith

Subscriptions
Thank you to all who have paid their 2019/2020 subscription.  Don’t forget to collect your membership card and sailing programme book from the Club rooms.
A reminder subscriptions are due and you have up until 30 November 2019 to take advantage of the early payment discount.
Subscriptions paid after 30 November 2019 will cost you more i.e. another $25.00.
If you have not received a subscription invoice or require another one to be sent please contact me:  secretary@akaroayachtclub.com

Newsletter Sunday November 3rd

– Race No2 Black Cat Cruises Series

Summer arrived in Akaroa this weekend. Blue skies, warm temperatures, lots of sun…..and very little wind!  The fleet of 8 boats sat round at the start line in the heat for well over an hour waiting for the wind to arrive. We   got puffs from the Nor-east, from the south and from the Nor-west but nothing steady.

One Way with Shore Crew prior to race

Racing finally got under way later in the afternoon with a light breeze from the south.  A short course took the boats to Green Point, Lushingtons, back to Green Point and then home. Snatch pulled away to be at the top mark first, followed by Astruso and then Gabriella. By the next mark the wind was up its old tricks with a 180 degree swing to the Nor-east. Snatch managed to stay in the breeze and build a commanding lead. The rest of the fleet were left drifting between breezes and testing the patience of all the sailors on the water.

Snatch were the star performers of the day finishing almost an hour ahead of Regardless who were second over the line with One Way and Gabriella recording the same time about a minute further back. Race rules state that boats must finish in a time within 150% of the winners time and on a day of fickle and frustrating wind no one managed this.
So both Line and handicaps honours go to the crew of Snatch.
Full results listed below.

We will all be hoping for something better from the weather gods next weekend.

Sailing Sunday 10 November
The third race in the Blackcat Series is scheduled for this weekend with a 1400hr scheduled start and a harbour race.
 

AYC 2019-2020 Season Opening Saturday 26th October The opening function on Saturday night was well attended and enjoyed by all. Thanks are due to Ali Chaney and the club members who helped with the catering which was enjoyed by all. The mood of the evening rapidly fell away later as the WRC Semi-final disaster unfolded. Opening Day Race A good fleet of 9 boats were entered but with the wind swinging from NE to NW and between 5 and 20kts sailing conditions were not ideal for the opening Day Race, nor even the Commodore’s sailpast. The first short leg was to mark2 in Childrens Bay followed by a reach to Green Point mark9. The wind was moderate for these legs, and the front runners included Racing Car, Astruso, Gabriella, Regardless and Penzance with a gap back to Meltdown, Transition, One Way and Armalite. The next leg was a beat to Mark3 in Lushingtons Bay with the wind strength now climbing to gust over 30kts, and conditions became testing. Boats such as One Way, which had selected smaller headsails, started to gain. However, halfway to Mark3 a major collision occurred between Racing Car and Gabriella which resulted in Racing Car rapidly sinking and the crew jumping clear. Racing Car resting on the seabed Racing was immediately abandoned and Racing Car’s crew were pulled onto the nearest boats. Most importantly all crew were picked up quickly and without injury. We offer our condolences to Sam Cowdy on Racing Car’s sinking and hope that a successful salvage is possible . Health and Safety Peter Zwart has provided the following report Health and Safety Report 27 October 2019 Incident Report The incident on 27 October 2019 that resulted in the sinking of Racing Car has provided a timely opportunity for us to review AYC procedures and deal with any perceived weaknesses.  This will take a while and any proposed changes will need to go through the full committee. In the meantime we will adopt the following changes in racing procedures on a temporary basis: 1.  Skippers signing in on all races, will need to provide the total number of crew on Board (including Skipper), at the time of signing in. Any subsequent changes should be radioed in to the Starters. In addition for coastal races all crew names are to be listed on the entry form. 2. In any serious incident, including loss of a boat, the Racing Officer of the day will be responsible for communication of the incident back to the Clubhouse. The Clubhouse/Starters will communicate where necessary with emergency services. 3.  All school aged children on boats during races must be wearing an appropriate fitting life jacket. As above these are temporary changes which will take effect immediately and continue to apply until we can review all the findings from this incident. Thanks Peter Zwart H & S Officer Sailing Sunday 3 November The second race in the Blackcat Series is scheduled for this weekend with a 1400hr scheduled start and a harbour race.

2019-2020 Season Opening
It’s only 3 weeks until Labour weekend and the AYC opening. I wont mention winter boat maintenance, which will now be all but complete.

Social Function
26^th October -the opening function will be held at the clubrooms commencing 1800hrs. This will include a BBQ meal organised by Ali Chaney who has taken over as social convenor. All AYC members are most welcome to join in a celebration of the new season
Annual Sailpast
27^th October- 1300hrs sail-past- once again our Commodore, Charl Chaney, will be on station at the end of the AYC jetty ready to salute the fleet and receive ‘greetings’ from the yacht crews. Non racing yachts, dinghies and launches are welcome to join in the fun.
Opening Day Race
27^th October- The opening day race start is scheduled for 1400hrs. This will be a harbour course and is also the first race in the Blackcat series.

Handbook 2019-2020
The new seasons handbook will be available at the AYC during the weekend (providing subs are paid)
There are a number of changes in the Handbook including revised courses and sailing instructions so the 2019-2020 version is a must have on board during races.
A change to the start-line has been made to allow that a substitute mark1a can be placed on the day in order to decrease the bias that occurs with the existing startline in northerly winds. This is described in detail in SI 10.0

Sailing Programme
The racing programme for this season is below.
Changes include increased numbers of 2-Handed Races, and a Mark Foy invitation series of 2 races that will be held over the weekends when the Young88 and Canterbury Keelboat Championships are being held in Lyttelton

Handicaps
PHRF has been retained as the handicap system for the coming season, and it will be necessary to have a current PHRF certificate to get a result. Renewal of the PHRF certificate is a straightforward process online at the following link https://www.yachtingnz.org.nz/shop/phrf.

Safety
As a reminder all boats are required to comply with the YNZ safety regulations Category 5 for Harbour Races and Category 4 for Coastal Races. Entry in a race confirms acceptance by the Skipper of responsibility for safety compliance.
Peter Zwart has been appointed Health and Safety Officer for 2019-2020 and should be approached with any queries.

Finally best wishes from the Race Committee for an enjoyable, and successful 2019-2020 sailing  season