Howdy gang.

Well, yet another blow out last Sunday. This is getting to be quite a habit of the old Weather Gods and I think we should all think about changing religion. Not to the Dark Side though! Those JetSkis would be the death of us all. It kind of feels like the weather has changed already and I don’t know about you, but I looked at the clock on my phone yesterday and it got dark about an hour earlier than it did last week, weird eh?

 

We all rolled up on Sunday hoping against hope that the forecast was wrong, or that it might at least ease a bit at least. With a 20 plus knot wind blowing, it was decided that the on water start for the keelboats would be changed to a tower start rather than send out the Start boat and a RHIB when it was unlikely the OTBs would be happening.

 

When I rocked up to the yard, Muzza McNeil, (just about the coolest dude in the Club), was rigged up and ready to go! He said he was itching for a sail as he hadn’t been on the water for weeks. So, with many hands helping him on to the beach, our daring test pilot, AKA, sacrificial anode, (certainly not the ‘crash test dummy’ that some cruel bugger said), hit the water and was off like a rocket, straight for McCrae. And he kept going, straight for McCrae, no turning around for this boy. I thought he was going for the sand, as it got to the point where his sail was indistinguishable from the beach huts. Eventually he tacked around and in pretty quick time he was back with us. With a near perfect dismount, he strode up the beach to riotous applause and was met by Grace L, who said “ Well Muz, you’ve well and truly scratched that itch!”

 

In the mean time, Zac L, not to be outdone, had also gone out in his Laser. And while Muz had managed to keep upright, Zac, with a bit less discretion, went in more times than we could count. Talking to him when he came in, with a big grin on his face, he said “ It was crazy out there!” Coming from one of the craziest kids in the Club, I think our decision to abort racing for the day was justified. 

 

One more day of sailing next Sunday and then a week off for Easter. Most of the Club will be heading to Lake Boga so perhaps we should incorporate some of our series’ into those races, just sayin’.

 

That’s about it for this week, but I can’t sign off without mentioning one of the greatest losses to SBSC for a long time. Those dirty rats in Western Australia have stolen Natasha Martin! As we speak, Tash, Fiona and Jasmine are driving over there, where they will meet up with Mike to start their new life. I’ll bet any money that Fiona will be shedding so many tears on that trip that they will have to rename the Nullabor Plain the Nullabor Forest!

 

Good Luck to Tash, Mike and Jasmine. I’m sure we will see them back at the Club at some point.

 

Cheers for now, Pete Chippy

When it comes to protesting an incident that occurs during a race, there are a number of steps a competitor must take for a protest to be considered valid when it gets before a protest committee for determination. Some of the required steps occur on the water and others back onshore when actually submitting the protest. Each of these aspects is covered here.

First up, on the water, if you feel you’ve been infringed against and may want to take it further you must hail ‘PROTEST’ immediately so the other party hears it and has an opportunity to absolve themselves. Word such as ‘do your turns’ will not cut it! Secondly, if your boat length is greater than 6 metres you must display a red protest flag at the first reasonable opportunity, unless there are extenuating circumstances (see RRS 60.2). Under normal circumstances, World Sailing considers 20 seconds to be the outside. With a keelboat, you should have your protest flag to hand in the cockpit when you are racing. If someone has to go below, rummage in a drawer to find it and it takes you 2 minutes to display your protest flag, then it’s very likely when the protest gets to a hearing it will be deemed invalid.

Just because you’ve hailed ‘Protest’ and displayed your protest flag (if appropriate) does not mean you have to go ahead with it when you get ashore. If the boat that infringed against you, unless there is damage, has taken a penalty then you can generally forget about it at this stage.

Once you get ashore, if you are going to proceed with a protest it must be submitted in writing within the time limit specified in the Sailing Instructions. If no time limit is specified in the Sailing Instructions then under the RRS it is 2 hours from when the last boat finishes the race. For other protests it is 2 hours from when the protestor becomes aware of the situation. The Safety Beach Keelboat Sailing Instructions have a 2 hour time limit after the last boat in the Division finishes. The OTB Sailing Instructions are 90 minutes after the last boat in the Division finishes.

The basic contents for a valid protest are as follows:

• The protestor and protestee,
• The incident,
• Where and when the incident occurred,
• The name of the protestor’s representative.

This does not need to be on an official Protest Form. So long as it is in writing it can be on a piece of toilet paper, in an e-mail, in a text message or any other form of written communication and lodged within the time limit (see RRS 60.3).

In the case of OTB protests at a club event, this would most likely be written on a piece of paper. And in the absence of the race committee being back at the club or anyone being in the Tower, it could be handed to the OTB Captain. There are Protest Forms in the Tower.

With keelboats, submitting a protest within the time limit may be a bit more problematic though not impossible. In some cases, it may be possible to submit the protest whilst still racing if you’re sufficiently tech savvy. Probably the best method (if you can’t get back to the club) is to send the details to the keelboat e-mail address clearly stating that it is a Protest and include all the basic contents listed above. The e-mail will be date and time stamped when it is received, so that will cover the issue of when it was received regardless of when it is actually read by someone. Also remember, it does not need to be the skipper or owner who lodges the protest, so one of the crew could bring a written protest back to the club after racing if the skipper or owner are unable to.

Some of the above is being reviewed and will be specified differently in the Sailing Instructions for next season, where appropriate.

 

Regards Geoff Eldridge

  

The bi-annual Skippers and Crews is on this Sunday morning - prior to the afternoon Club Championship race.

Whether you're racing in the afternoon or not, we would really appreciate you all coming along to hear what's happening, particularly over the Winter racing season, and it is also your opportunity to provide input and feedback.  See you there!

1st	Christela	Greg Clark
2nd	Anthea	John Wemyss
3rd	Limelight	Bernard O'Hanlon

1st PHS	Rawhide	C. Barwick & G. Sergeant
1st AMS	Rawhide	C. Barwick & G. Sergeant
1st ORCc	Vamonos	Fiona Jones

Friday was a great evening to finish off the summer twilight season with a 'fun' pursuit race (optional spinnakers).  24 starters, but only a handful of boats opted to run a spinnaker (8-10kt WSW) out to SB1 with a kite run home.  Most of the fleet finished before the sunset but a few timed out unfortunately!  I'm sure they still enjoyed the sunset.  Thank you to our tower crew of Elaine Nicholas (RO), duty boat 'Amity' and our tower stalwarts Amanda Malin and Lynlee Coutts.

 

Sunday was a different story with a robust 25-30kt W, gusting 39kt at South Channel!  With no OTB boats taking to the water (except for a couple of adventure seekers), it was a Tower Start and shortened course. Thank you to Till Brauckmann (RO) and Amanda Malin for their race control.

Race Start Time (AEDT)	12:55H Boat Start
Race Officer	Rob Rainsford
Duty Boat	Easy Day
Tower Assistant	Dawn Clark

 

Shimmer and Unprecedented represented SBSC in the ORCV West Offshore Coast Sprint (Cat. 3) race on Saturday.  By all reports it was very bumpy getting out the heads but the rest was a lovely sail.  Shimmer finished 1^st PHS, 2^nd AMS and 3^rd ORCc, and Unprecedented also did well with 3^rd PHS, 3^rd AMS and 2^nd ORCc.  Not the conditions for photos, but Shimmer snapped one (below) of the happy crew! More info here.

The next Cat. 3 race is the ORCV Apollo Bay race on Saturday 24 May 2025 (see more details below).

The below photos are courtesy of Adam Stan Photography and were taken on Saturday when the ORCV West Offshore Coast Sprint was happening.

Come and join us at Queenscliff Cruising Yacht Club for our Easter Regatta, Saturday 19th April and Sunday 20th April with Monday 21st as a resail option. Something for everyone, a Cat 7 event, providing two racing divisions - Queenscliff Cup ( Division1) series with 5 races over two days and the Commodore's Female Helm Trophy Trophy ( Division 2), a two race series for female crew to take up the helm for Races 3&4.  Plus hot roast dinners and fired up pizza ovens at the end of the day for hungry sailors - not to be missed!  Enter now for the Easter 2025 Queenscliff Cup, Commodores Trophy and Celebrations as berths will fill quickly.

 

Coming up on the ORCV Calendar 

 

The ORCV Beyond The Bay program is a 20-week course designed to give boat owners, crew, and aspiring sailors essential information and practical skills to plan and complete an overnight cruising passage or participate in a race. The program includes on-water training, plus Safety & Sea Survival, Weather, and Navigation courses - all at a competitive price of $995 for ORCV members and $1,295 for non-members.  

Reserve your place here: https://www.orcv.org.au/training/beyond-the-bay 

 

The Apollo Bay Race is a Category 3 race starting at Queenscliff and leaving Port Phillip Heads before turning right along the coast to Apollo Bay. It is an ideal race for those new to ocean racing with its shorter length, 52 nautical miles, and proximity to the coast. Early bird registration is open until 3 May 2025. 

Register here: https://www.orcv.org.au/apollo-bay  

 

If you wish to contribute anything to the Enews, please submit your content to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Tuesday 8pm each week to make the deadline. Please note submissions may need to pass through Executive Committee for approval from time to time. Love photography? Submit your Photo Of The Week to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in high res, (and it does not have to be about sailing). Follow us on our socials: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok