The Executive Committee and members would like to welcome the following new members to Safety Beach SC. We look forward to meeting you at the club or on the water in the very near future.

 

Howdy Gang.

Well, wasn't it nice to get a sail in finally? After all the weather catastrophes and days off due to regattas, I was about to propose a change to the sailing instructions to move racing to Mondays! I gave up checking the wind apps prior to Saturday, but things were looking good at last. Even Sunday morning looked good, with 5 to 10 knots offshore predicted for most of the day, then building to over 15 by 5.00 o'clock. 

 

A really good fleet of 20 boats showed up for the day, even Norm K hit the water, as it was within his over 20 degrees and under 20 knots rule. Even before we left the beach things weren't going exactly to plan. The wind was definitely around 5 knots, but in the completely opposite direction to 'offshore'. Nonetheless, out we all went with grins from ear to ear ( well most of us anyway ), and with the course laid and the flags set, race one got away right on time. Almost flawlessly too I might add, except for the old 'broke the line' hooter. I was in the second start sequence and saw a couple of boats dip back and restart, but apparently not the actual offender, bummer.

 

The race was chugging along nicely for the first lap or so, with the fleet spreading out, or bunching up, as per the usual style. With eight Sabres out there, all on the same leg for the second beat, it was fairly tight for the first three spots. Fiona M in front, went left and got stuck on a bad knock and let Rick 'The Maestro' P and James 'The Flash' T past on the opposite tack lift. Katrina M, myself and a few others including some Lasers were running 100 metres or so back, and I thought, " Hmm, never going to catch them now", only to look up and see Rick and James completely stationary and Fiona roaring straight to the mark! Ah, that fickle wind, time to tack. A really big shift to the left and suddenly we'd overlaid the mark, what's going on? Tack again ( straight in front of Dave B on his A Class, sorry Dave, luckily HE knew what he was doing ). Around the top mark onto a dead run to the wing , and there up ahead, about 100 metres from the mark was all three Sabres and Muzza M in his Laser, all camped, sails flapping. Katrina, Paul M and myself were running nicely on port towards them, thinking "The breeze will pass through us and take them away before we get there". Not to be, we sailed right through them towards the mark, only to be knocked again for a beat to the mark, strange omens here! The wind had finally gone around to offshore so it was a nice starboard reach to the finish. Rick, of course, had gotten around the wing first and Fiona, of course, snuck past on the way to the finish, which left Katrina on the left, myself in the middle and James on the right, all line abreast heading for the Start boat. We literally crossed the line, bumping uglies and the Start boat for a photo finish.

 

The rest of the fleet finished a lot more sedately and then the juggle of whipping up the marks and trying to figure out where to put them for race two. Easy from a sailor who hasn't had a sail for weeks' point of view, " Just chuck 'em in and let's get going!" Not so easy from the RO's chair with the wind still shifting and dying out as well, and as it was a Club Championship race, things had to be by the book. Sadly, Geoff put up the old AP over A and we had a really nice sail back to the Club. Ah well, one race is still more than we got for the whole three days of the Tasar, 420, FD titles two weeks ago!

 

Thanks to whole race team, who did a sterling job of getting us on the water. Geoff, Super D and Gregg W on Start, Nick B and Ben G in Woodsy and Simon H and Tony the Boat Builder ( AKA Taipan Tony / A Class Anthony ). More name changes than a Government department that boy!

 

Now, I'm sorry for leaning heavily on Sabre / Laser battle in the second lap, but it was so I could raise a couple of questions re: the rules. On the run to the wing mark it was KM on the left, PM in the middle and myself on the right (nowhere near the mark at this stage). We were all on port tack and KM was insisting PM head up to give her room. It was said so convincingly that I moved over to give PM room, but He was not budging. It wasn't until later that I thought " Hang on, KM was the windward boat". Was a penalty required? Then on the starboard reach over the finish line, all boats side by side, KM on the left again, myself in the middle and JT on the right. KM forced us all over so we were touching sides with JT rubbing the Start boat. Should we all do penalty turns? Should the RO have disqualified us all or at least protest JT, then he protest me then me protest KM for not giving mark room as overlap had been established? All these questions and more will be answered at the FREE Racing Rules Trivia Night to be held at the Club on Saturday 3rd of May ( that's the night before the last day of sailing for this season). Come one, come all and test your knowledge against International Judge, Rob Ware, who is donating his time for free. Even if you think you know all the rules, I'll bet you don't ! See the Enews for all the details.

 

That's about all for this week, see you next Sunday ( or Monday ), the weather will be PERFECT ! Cheers,

Pete Chippy

1st	Rawhide	C. Barwick & G. Sergeant
2nd	2Xtreme	Andrew CLark
3rd	Marrakesh	Neil Hawker

 

1st	Rawhide	C. Barwick & G. Sergeant
2nd	2Xtreme	Andrew Clark
3rd	Vamonos	Fiona Jones

 

1st	Mr Bojangles	Linda Wooley
2nd	2Xtreme	Andrew Clark
3rd	Shimmer	Steve Twentyman

 

1st	Mr Bojangles	Linda Wooley
2nd	Shimmer	Steve Twentyman
3rd	2Xtreme	Andrew Clark

As the nights get shorter and balmy champagne sailing weather forecasted, it's all about choosing the shortest course and hoping you all make it in before sunset!  Thank you very much to the Friday night tower crew of Dianne Jackson (RO) assisted by Lynlee Coutts and Jann Wilson, and then Jeff Savage (RO), duty boat Tumi and Dianne Jackson for Sunday's race management. 

 

 

Race Start Time (AEDT)	17:30H Pursuit Start
Race Officer	Ross Martin
Duty Boat	The Office
Tower Assistant	Elaine Nicholas

 

This weekend the club is hosting the Adams 10 Victorian State Championships and three SBSC boats are competing.  Best of luck to Organised Chaos, Rawhide and Vamonos!  And a big 'THANK YOU' to the members who have volunteered to help out both on and off the water.  On Saturday the SBSC bar will be open for drinks from 4.30pm and there is a dinner as soon as is practical after racing (around 6-6.30ish).  All club members are very welcome to join the competitors for this dinner.  Please book your tickets through this Trybooking linkand come and join the fun - we'd love to see you there!  The club is also open Sunday afternoon, with 'Sunday Sounds' and prizegiving.  

   

We are excited to announce that registration for the "Beyond the Bay" 2025 program is now open! 

This program is tailored to enhance the skills and confidence of sailors preparing for offshore adventures, ensuring they are well-prepared for the challenges and joys of offshore sailing. 

In your marina, you possibly have a yacht that has a dream of sailing the Whitsunday’s, heading to Flinders Island, and having more confidence to take that step. The ORCV’s Beyond the Bay complements many programs that run within your club as a program that focuses on ocean sailing with ORCV mentors onboard guiding with the ultimate and final event being a sailing exercise out and back through Port Phillip Heads. 

Why "Beyond the Bay" is Ideal: 

• Comprehensive training from seasoned ORCV instructors. 
• Practical and theoretical sessions designed to build expertise. 
• A great way to foster team confidence and camaraderie. 

Register Today: https://www.orcv.org.au/training/beyond-the-bay

Lake Boga Yacht Club Easter Regatta is just around the corner.

As you may already know, our club have a huge contingent that make the journey to this regatta each year. It is a fun weekend away and a very welcoming regatta. More details can be found HERE.

And here is a photo of last years crew, if you have ever wondered who actually goes from our club.........

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