Howdy OTB Gang.

 

Well, disappointment disappointment disappointment. Firstly with the lack of wind on the course that necessitated changing the marks before we even started. Then waiting for enough wind to even get a start. Finally it picked up to a staggering 4 knots so off we went to try and get a race in for the 26 boats that showed up. Very light and shifty all over the course, just the way Fiona M likes it. Not her day though as she was sitting near the back of the pack; more disappointment. Then as the wind fluctuated up and down, a judgement call was made to abandon the race as it seemed at the time that only Division 2 was going to finish in the 70 minute limit. I really felt for Duncan Mc as he was approaching the finish line for his first win, (I felt so bad that I gave Gingerbread Bill back the fiddy he slipped me to get the race stopped if Duncan got ahead of him).

 

Whether stopping the race was the right call or not is a matter of opinion and as there were apparently more boats that could have finished than we thought, maybe it wasn’t. And this is where the biggest disappointment of the day for me comes in. The volunteers were on the water doing their best to run a race for the sailors. Simon H is not even a sailor but he drove all the way from Hawthorne to man a rhib with Rob C, also not a sailor and not rostered on but put up his hand so others could have some practice. Erik M and myself would have preferred to sail, but hey, someone has to do it, right? And then there’s Geoff and Deirdre who are there EVERY WEEK running the race so the sailors can sail. So when I heard that some people actually sailed past the start boat and gave them a verbal spray for calling off the race prematurely, I was not my normal happy self !
   

I’m the first to put up my hand to admit that I know bugger all about the intricacies of running a race and shortening courses etc, so the way I saw the day was that it was a beautiful sunny morning with light wind and lots of boats got a good sail in, and the ones that could have finished know where they were in relation to the other boats in their division so take that as a result. And to any of the people who aren’t happy, I’d be more than grateful if they could give me a call so l can slot them in as RO so Geoff can have a well earned rest. SBSC has a zero tolerance to this sort of thing and it really does not happen often, so if you recognize yourself here please have the cojones to apologize to Geoff and Deirdre. I really enjoy writing the OTB report, but I haven’t enjoyed writing this at all and I apologize for being a downer, but I don’t apologize for standing up in defense of all the volunteers who run and make this such a great club to be a member of. To quote the great Mono Martin, “ Don’t come to us with problems, come to us with solutions.”
 

Anyways, on to brighter things. For those that stayed on for the Christmas festivities, we were treated to some truly fine seasonal fare and what a beautiful day to spend on the deck with good friends and family and surprisingly few jet skis on the water. Thanks again to David and Deirdre ( there she is again) and all of their staff for the fabulous job they do week after week.
 

Good luck to everyone that is heading off to regattas around the country, especially those in the Tasar Worlds. Do us proud. And if you are staying local, don’t forget SBSC is running the B14, Javelin and Musto Skif Nationals and I’m sure Geoff (there he is again) would love some help on the water.
 

OK, that’s definitely enough. Have a fun and safe Chrissy everyone and we’ll see you all on the 14th for a perfect day’s sailing.
 

Cheers, Peter Chippy

Big thank you to the tower volunteers Friday night – Amanda Malin and duty boat New Morning II – it ended up being a busy finish line! And to RO Tim Bardon (Cirrus) on Sunday… after a slow start, it was great to see the first boat cross the line before the 3 hour time limit! For full results please click HERE

For the final twilight of 2023, we have a Fun Friday Twilight with Spinnaker Option.

All boats that have entered the Friday Twilight Series 1 will automatically be entered into the Fun Friday Twilight Series. A boat’s PHS will be the same as the PHS it finished the Twilight Series 1 with.

As per current SI’s, boats that wish to use a spinnaker in the Fun Twilight races must add 3’ to the published start time on SailSys.

KB Captain’s Update:

Christmas is almost here and we’re finishing up with a Fun Twilight on Friday – complete with spinnakers.

Some great racing over the past 11 weeks despite three abandoned races – luckily spread with one each over the three series, so no great impact to points.

SailSys seems to have bedded itself in ok with most skippers. It’s giving some close finishes that will only get better with the growing database of results. It is certainly proving easy to use for the RO/tower crew.

Virtual Marks: Somewhat ‘less than ok’ is the VMs for 25, 23, 21, 19 marks. Lots of bar room chatter about these. The KB committee is looking at our options in conjunction with Vic Ports, and mindful of what other Bay Clubs have done in their response to this new regulation. We will have to live with them for a little while yet, but work continues behind the scenes.

BotMark: Our new robotic mark buoy is now in transit from Sydney and will be here for Xmas. This will add much flexibility to our courses to better suit the wind direction, allow windward/leeward courses more readily, and sometimes replace VM’s. More to come in the new year.

Performance Handicap System (PHS): A kindly reminder that a boat’s PHS rating is based on the boat’s performance over a period. The SailSys algorithm looks at nothing else when it works out next week’s start times. But the SailSys team is watching our weekly results closely to pick up any outliers at either the front or back of fleet, and will manually adjust if persistent and as they see needed for close competition.

Shark Bay Holiday Series: This series kicked off last Sunday and picks up again next Wednesday, 27 December through to Sunday 7 January, with the marquee Race to the Middle on Wednesday 3 January. The Race to the Middle will have the usual prize money kindly donated by Clarky. It’s a great opportunity to get some money out of Clarky and we encourage you all to go for it!

Regattas: We have a number of SBSC boats entered in the Cock of the Bay (2xtreme, Christela, Marrakesh) and Petersville (Etoile, Mr Bojangles, Vamonos, Vincitore) – best of luck to you all for some great racing.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the KB team. Keep safe

 

For all boats planning to head to Geelong for the FOS 2024 please get on board with the Passage Race from Mornington YC. 

This is part of the Festival of Sails Entry and sounds like a great fun way to get your boat and crew to Geelong.  To enter CLICK Here and select the ‘Mornington Peninsula Series’

 

 

Get you order in now to ensure that you are decked out in the latest Club Merchandise for he start of the 2023-2024 season Contact Marg Fleming on her email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your options. 

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