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NEXT BIG EVENT
December 6,7
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WalterTurnbull around the cans on Sunday |
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JB Challenge
Greg Breen, Thursday, 13 November 2008Wind, Whales and Brontosaurus steaks........ The JB Challenge is a bit of a lottery. Organisationally it's an enigma - they are very competent at arranging the event and getting the event going, but race management is the biggest joke in yachting. Probably sounds like sour grapes from an effected sailor - and you could excuse a misdemenaour or two, but we've been coming to JB for 5 years and they have screwed up the results every single year without fail.....AND this year they managed to screw up the start as well...
Despite all that rubbish of race management - its got to be one of the most sensational places in the world to sail . Where else can you set a chute for an hour (and not be offshore) on one leg, dodge the odd whale basking in the sun and look upon the brightest, whitest beaches in the world - that's Jervis Bay for you!.
This year we set sail an hour later than expected downwind under spinnaker (an art we practice regularly in Canberra on Wednesday nights!) heading north to Hare Bay in a light norwester. We hit the top of the bay with the breeze freshening to a moderate 8-10 knots and gybed to head off for the 10 odd nautical miles to Creswell at the southern end of JB. By the time we got there the breeze had clocked to the west and filled in to a good 15 knots.
The Melges 24 was just ahead of us and gybed at the Creswell mark and proceeded to head to New Zealand under spinnaker doing 20+ knots - not the right way to go - but they seemed to be enjoying the ride none the less. For us, it was two sail reaching back to Point Perpendicular and it was wet and cold in a building 20+knots. Pillow couldn't help himself and the WT found itself surfing some great waves when he could to hit 14+knots of boat speed - damn these are good little boats to sail!. The wind hit 25knots as we turned the PP mark heading back to Huskisson and it blasted the odd 30 knot gust at us as we worked our way back across the bay.
There were a couple of Magic 25s and the Melges in front of us that we were hauling back in - the Melges couldn't handle the extra breeze and the main was ragging bad the whole leg. The Magics were also struggling in the fresh conditions and slipping sideways under the pressure doing a good 10 degrees lower than the Elliott which just pinched higher and faster as the breeze freshened - damn they are good little boats to sail! - we made the return bouy to find most of the fleet heading in the wrong direction and when we found the next mark we had grabbed four places on the water and were sitting in fourth on line honours with a trimaran and two big 40 footers in front of us - damn these are good little boats to sail! - reminds me of the time we scored line honours at the Bay to Bay to beat all comers including Extreme Cats and Tris - damn these are good little boats to sail! - Three windward leewards later we had crossed the finished line in fourth overall with Walshy, Justin, Gus, Greeny and Bartman not far behind - We watched two Magics shred their spinnakers coming into the finsh line with busted vangs and busted hearts - depsite that the smiles at the Huski Pub that night where worth all the frustration of having our fiinsh recorded as a DNF and watching Walshy cheekily go up and collect first prize! We managed to beat him up and pinch all his booty like pirates - but somehow Walshy was still glad to beat Pillow in some obscure fashion.......
See you all at the City of Canberra when next we meet. The Fatman.
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12 E7s at Toronto see it all
Greg Breen, Wednesday, 15 October 2008NSW State Titles at Lake Macquarie 12 Yachts entered for the opening event of the 2008/2009 season and three of them made the long journey south from Brisbane to get amongst the fleet they see and hear so much about. It was great to catch up with the new owners of Quik Stix who are still sorting out the boat and settling in their crew. Barney Army's crew fitted right into the E7 scene with plenty of beer getting splashed around during animated discussions about the events that had unfolded on the race track the day before as did the animated outfit (Danger Zone - Virtual Skippers dot com) who put all that theoretical knowledge to the test and had moments of brilliance on the course and really enjoyed the experience. Many thanks to the Cane Toads for making the journey. It was a big effort and we appreciated the extra competition.
Day one of the regatta had lots of challenges with shifting winds, thunderstorms, heay rain and windward leeward courses that was more reaching than working. The forecasted Noreaster was blowing in from the south east and bent to the left heavily through the afternoon which made the courses very soldier in nature and the Race Officer had to reduce the heats to one lappers to be able to get in four heats - this all meant the opportunities to make any strategic gains were all but removed.
Race 1 was a beauty - everyone was keen to get into it and 10 of the 12 boats completely missed the general recall and sailed on regardless - we were all wondering why those other two boats were so far behind!! Furmula Pye and Nervous found themselves at tye top of the ladder with the rest of us sitting on 13 points. With only one drop for the regatta, we now all faced 6 heats that all counted..... The racing was very close amongst the fleet and there was lots of close action at the marks and on the runs. The rest of the heats pretty much relied on how good a start you managed to get as the course layout left little opportunity to make any gains afterwards.
Sunday was the complete opposite to Saturday, the rain had cleared and once the fog did, a good forecast noreaster once agin blew in from the south east (whats the BOM doing!). A class meeting in the morining saw a last minute change to the sailing instructions to drop the passage race in preference to 3 more windward leeward heats back to back along with a plea to the Race Office to get the top mark as close to windward as possible please - which he did. Thanks to the RMYC officials who seem to wear a few hats at the club, from tapping kegs, serving beers and running races!
All three heats were sailed in great breezes, clear weather and the contrast to Saturday was not missed by anyone. WalterTurnbull showed them why they are the reigning National Champs and cleared out to take all three heats and seal the regatta on 10 points after dropping the 13 from the first heat. Matt Bonser from Nervous kept it together and managed to hang on to second place overall - well done lads - you sailed very well all weekend. Justin, Ken and Sam Mitchell secured third place on Mitchell Sails from Greeny and all the old bastards on Evergreen who bumped Humungus back to fifth who had mixed results ranging from 2nd to 12th - thats gotta hurt!!
The Elliott 7 Class Association would like to thank the Mitchells and the staff of the RMYC for hosting a very hospitable regatta with great prizes on offer. This year, the fleet was divided into teams, 3 from Queensland, 3 from the ACT, 3 from Sydney and 3 from the Hunter. The team from the Hunter of Nervous, Mitchells and Formula Pye took out the Teams Event with consistent results between them - Well Done. Scratch and Handicap results can be found on the Results page.
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2008 Heaven Can Wait Report
Angus Reid (Humungus), Tuesday, 7 October 2008As seen through Gus's eyes and added comments from Walshy. What an event! This is a must do race for next year. We started with a fleet of about 40 boats ranging in size from 21 feet up to a Sydney 41. It was great fun at the start pestering the bigger boats and giving them a run for there money as we sailed for the first headland in around 10 to 15 knots of breeze. All the Elliotts were close together but Mitchell Sails came out at the first turn in front closely followed by Humungus, Woof, Nervous and Formula Pye. The next few legs were slightly cracked off the breeze with 6 to 8 knots of boat speed.
Then the rain hit and it started to get a bit colder. By now we reckoned the Woof crew would have demolished a significant quantity of the alcohol supplies (which we had - Jim) but they were right on our hammer. With the other E7s not far behind.
Mitchells Sails got to the bottom mark first with Humungus a few boat lengths behind. Woof, Nervous and Formula Pye got left behind with the changing breezes although we reckoned Woof got distracted by the lack of beer on the boat (no it was the lack of warmth and anticipated kite run -Jim) and the others followed them. Unfortunately the breeze shifted 180 degrees at this point so we couldn’t hoist the kite for the run back which became another beat.
On the beat up the lake Humungus eventually got Mitchells as they took a bad shift out to the right. We stayed in that position for the next hour until we got to the top mark. Mitchell Sails got a good gust and got past us on the reach. We touched boats and words were said in the best tradition of focused competitors ; ) They took out a good lead and carried it to the shortened finish.
Matt Bonser on Nervous continued in the 24 hour race (result not known at this time)
The five Elliott 7s all finished in the top ten boats (one lap dash) with Mitchell Sails 3rd,, Humungus 4th,,Nervous 7th, Woof 8th and very thirsty (we found one left in the Esky - Jim) , Formula Pye 10th.
The HCW race is easy to compete in and a real test of boat handling and tactics. In my opinion it is good enough take over from Marlay Point as the pre eminent long distance lake regatta. Maybe a few more of us can go next year and do the 24 hour I think we have shown the Elliott 7 to be a very competitive boat. That said the One Lap Dash takes about 5 hours and I highly recommend it.
All entry fees are donated to mens cancer research and the Coastal Patrol so some very good causes benefit greatly.
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Bay to Bay 08
It doesn't get much better than this!
Photograph:Jim Walsh
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9 Elliotts at Bay2Bay
Jim Walsh, Tuesday, 6 May 2008Regatta Report As a first time Bay to Bay virgin I had an absolute ball (most of the time) but with the crew I have it is hard not to enjoy yourself and with 9 Elliott 7's there was some great racing especially on Sunday
It was a bit of effort to get there but it was well worth it. The story went like this. Drive the boat up with a overnight stop. Get there and thankfully missed the caravan crash outside of Brisbane that delayed a lot of people. Then find that my phone doesn't get reception in Tin Can Bay and can't find the crew. Borrow one at the club to find out they were sitting 100 meters away having lunch. Rig boat over a few beers and drop it in and then Marc and I drive up to Hervey bay to await the bus trip back. A few schooners later in the club we get a six pack and the kind bus driver allows a quick stop for some of us to water the side of the road. Then down to the club for more rum and then some more. We plan a pre race discussion over some more rums at the caravan park until the manager appeared out of the night to say we were being too noisy (She moved like the penguin in the Blues brothers)
Next day a light SW breeze for the start and off we go, the breeze then died and swung to the north and the first lottery started. Some went left others right and some nowhere at all. The leading boats carried more pressure while we carried a lot less and those at the back none at all. Fruit Loop were late for the start due to Cameron sleeping in and crossed the start to then see them pull the startline up and move it further up the bay to start the other divisions so he had to then sail through them all. Then after a long time of drifting around at 1 knot and watching Nervous and Barney sail away a good 15 knot SE breeze filled in and a great kite run all the way home with a great tussle with Barney to the finish.
Garry's was amazing with 190 boats plus mother ships plus lots of booze made for a bit of a carnival atmosphere. Barney had to swim to another boat to retrieve his dinghy that had been borrowed and was quite firm when he told the bloke that he could take the dinghy because it was f***ing his. Then the two Ross's decided to drag anchor which made for fun times. A few calls of "get your tits out for the boys" Being a bit tired and emotional I fell asleep but was told that at about 4 one of the Barney Army called out if anyone is still awake and on hearing no reply shouted "yes, again I am the last one." He didn't look too healthy the next day when we had to get going at 7am for the next start.
The fleet motored up the passage to start at the run out tide point and off we went in another light SE breeze. We were happy pulling out a nice lead and managed to not run aground but then looking at the faster sportsboats wallowing around in front knew the lottery started again and watched the other come in behind us and around us then back behind again and forward again. A light breeze filled again and we finished not so well but we had the first 6 Elliotts nose to tail across the line.
Unrig and then a extremely nice sit down and read a magazine back at the hotel. Then back to the club for a feed and more rum and stop by the presentation which seemed to go forever. Then downstairs to watch the old biddies line dancing with each other
Will do it again next year if the tides are right as I would hate to have to do it against the tide.
For the E7's Sat went to Nervous, Barney Army, Woof, Omen,Go Go Mango, Froot Loop, Danger Zone, Tiger, Twister.
Sunday with 6 finishing in 1min Froot Loop, Go Go Mango, Omen, Barney Army, Nervous, Woof, Tiger, Danger Zone, Twister
Many thanks to Barney and family for allowing us to use the mothership and I agree with him that if the rules state you have to wear life jackets you have to wear them. Pain in the arse but it is the same for everyone.
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Gary's Anchorage - Fraser Island |
Woof's tracks at B2B Saturday leg |
Woof's tracks at B2B Sunday leg |
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Hat Trick to WT
Greg Breen, Monday, 10 March 2008WalterTurnbull takes the title for a third year The competition in the Elliott 7 fleet grew stronger yet again in 2007 with Taking Back Sunday and Formula Pye entering the fleet building on the Sydney and Lake Macquarie fleets which will hopefully continue to get bigger and stronger as the news of this exciting yacht builds and builds.
The Elliott 7 Nationals were held at Geelong again this year and whilst we were unable to attract any of the Victorian based yachts to the event, David Smallacombe from South Australia brought the SteepleJack Wine sponsored "Flying Doctor" across to play with the NSW and ACT fleet. Ten boats made the journey this year and the carnival atmosphere started from the first evening with a Class Association dinner at the "Scottish Chief" which became the favourite haunt for several of the crews over the coming days of the event. We basically had the upstairs of this unusual boutique brewery to ourselves and there was plenty of catching up done amongst the old campaigners as well as meeting the new faces. Humungus had scored the "Skandia Commitment" sponsorship and they all looked resplendant in their blue and grey Skandia outfits. Walshy (our El Presidente) made sure everyone had a nametag on with an explanatory note just to clarify if neccessary. Some of them were very funny and one I can recall was Neil Primrose as "Mr Burns" which was even funnier considering he'd never watched a Simpsons episode in his life!
Day 1 of the racing saw a light southerly breeze that touched 12 knots and enabled the little yachts to get fully powered up and the racing was close and tactical. There was enough happening out there to need to pick the wind shifts and shift gears as the conditions demanded. The boat handling on all the boats this year was a vast improvement over previous years and its obvious everyone is getting better and better at getting the most out of these great boats. WalterTurnbull and Mitchell Sails were constantly at each others heels while the rest of the fleet fought it out for the minor placings.
Day 2 started out badly with next to no breeze and the PRO had no option but to postpone the start of heat 3. So we waited, and waited, and waited some more, and then it came in from the North - no wait - the South now, and the poor Starters were moving anchor and replacing bouys until the condition finally settled and we had game on. Or was it..... The Starter had put up the wrong course flag for our division and once it was brought to his attention he changed it mid sequence without postponing and restarting. Need For Speed took the advantage and sailed the originally flagged course while the rest of fleet sailed the course we were intended to sail. The Speedsters took the gun and the heat win. The starter managed to do it again in the next heat, only this time they abandoned and restarted the race properly and we all went the same way for a change! Some great sailing from Elusive, Taking Back Sunday, Woof and Humungus saw the jostling for third place get very warm as they all finished the days play on equal points behind WalterTurnbull and Mitchell Sails who only really needed to show up to secure the first and second places on day 3.
Day 3 turned on the big sea breezes we had experienced on the last day last year and we were all looking forward to some great rides. These are the conditions that sort out the men from the boys and noone was left wanting out there with all the fleet staying upright and in control unlike last year where we had many roundups and crews overboard. The first two places played out as most would have expected with Matt Owen winning both of the last heats from Justin Mitchell, it just remained to be seen who would take out third place. Elusive had made a bad tactical decision and banged a corner which did not pay off, but Walshy was also playing the corners looking for some seperation and lost three placings in one beat. He managed to recover with some great sailing to regain his position and finished the regatta in third outright.
That night we had our presentation dinner at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club and there was plenty of good cheer and banter going on. One of the great strengths of the Elliott 7 class is the camaraderie on shore while maintaining a healthy level of competitiveness on the water. It's probably what the term Serious Fun (an Elliott 7 boat name) actually means and we have it in spades.
Rumour has it we won't be coming back to Geelong for the Nationals next year as we want to try and get closer to the Queensland fleet and give them a chance to match it with the southerners.
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