Now is the time to nominate your choice for Club Person of the Year and Junior Club Person of the Year.

If you've ever considered giving someone the recognition that they deserve around the club, now is the best time to do this. Club Person of the Year is awarded on presentation night and the recipient/s is determined by YOUR votes. There are lots of worthy candidates, and most are very much behind the scenes.

Send your nominations and a short reason why you nominated that member to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

David is putting on a complimentary sausage sizzle for both Keelboaters and OTB'ers after racing this Sunday, 1.00pm onwards to celebrate the end of the racing season. The forecast is Sunny 23deg so it's a great chance to come together on the deck for a drink and enjoy the last of this amazing weather!!

Thank you to those who registered for the Rules Trivia Night. Unfortunately the number of people registered has not made it viable to run the event at this time so it has been postponed until a suitable time at the start of the summer season.

Sailing Committee

 

Howdy Gang.

Well, here we are nearly at the end of another season! I can't believe how fast they go. It seems like only last week we were complaining about how bad the weather was for opening day, and now here we are complaining about how it gets dark so early. What a pack of whingers! Honestly though, it has been a challenging season weather wise this year, from blowouts one week to dead calm the next. The older members have commented that they have not seen a year like it. You could say "unprecedented", if that word hadn't been done to death.

 

All that said, we have had some good days on the water, and last Sunday was definitely one of them. The prediction of sun and 10 to 15 knots offshore held true and it couldn't have been better for the last round of the Community Bank Southern Peninsula Club Championship. The day started with the juniors having a great day in the boats as a catch up lesson for some of the days missed due to the afore mentioned weather. They have been a great bunch of kids, and the time and effort put in by the trainers, Nick, James, Fi and all the rest is bound to pay off, with some great little sailors bound to become members. They are back again this week and at this stage, are likely to join in with our race in some limited format. Please make them welcome and give an encouraging word (not "STARBOARD!") as you go past.

 

After the kids packed up, it was on to the main event. Twenty keen and eager sailors were rigged up and ready to go and they weren't disappointed. RO Geoff set a nice close course that ran true to the wind from start to finish. It was the bits in the middle that had everyone guessing, with some radical lifts and knocks that were reminiscent of Lake Boga the week before. I saw some hilarious dunking of people out on trapeze when the wind took a hard left or right. I'm sure the skippers weren't doing it on purpose, but I'll bet it was tempting.

 

Normally with an offshore it's safer to sail towards the beach for the lift, but newbie Joe in a borrowed Sabre headed out to sea on his own for the second lap and went from last to first for the win, except he forgot to cross the finish line! Katrina M let him know( after she finished of course) so he was back to last. Gingerbread Bill M got such a good break and was so far in front that he thought he had started a division early. That's just rubbing the salt in Bill!

 

Race two started without having to change the course at all (a first for Geoff), moments after the last boat crossed the line in race one. A mass start of all divisions except div 4, was a bit chaotic when a knock hit and Huey turned off the fan seconds after the hooter. Pro's that they are though, they soon had it sorted and were all heading towards the beach. The second start, all Sabres, saw me miss the start (surprise,not!)so I decided to head out to sea on port,  only to have that earlier knock change to a lift and point me straight at the top mark. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! It didn't last though and a choice of going out to sea for the stronger breeze or tacking to take advantage of the 'Bill like' break I had gotten proved too much of a challenge for me. As I swapped from port to starboard, and back again, all the while watching James T riding that beach lift all the way to the top mark, I was thinking, "Perhaps I should join in with those juniors and learn a bit".

 

Geoff's plan was to try for three races, hence the two windward/return courses first, but the easing breeze and the time needed to change course, ran us out of time, sigh. So it was back to the beach for all, and one of the easiest days on the water for the RHIB crews, as there was no wing mark and no course changes for the wind, simples.

 

Speaking of the RHIB and Start crews, we had a large and varied selection this week, as I had said I would organise a swap for Greg and James as James and wife Michelle are heading off for 5 months and this would be their last sail. Then it was pointed out that Finn and Zac had already done a couple of duties, so a swap for them too, easy enough. Then Judy C, who was filling in for Super D (she was off on one of her gambling weekends), pulled up sick. Panic stations! But then as usually happens, the members stepped up, with the likes of Linda and Phil Wooley offering to help, Erik M coerced wife Jo out into the blue RHIB (to be known hereafter as 'the loveboat', (see pictures, sorry kids, cover your eyes). Grace L hopped into a RHIB, and Simon, the only original rostered member jumped onto the start boat with Geoff and Linda, phew! Thanks to you all, a great job, especially as a quick boat change was required when Sutherland's steering packed it in after launching. A mention there to Fiona L for her quick thinking to rush round the storage facility and organise the guys to tow the boat around to their dock and load it onto the trailer so Fi could tow it home to get repaired this week. 'A' for effort. 

 

This week, sadly our last for this season, is an early start, 10.27 first warning. Yes folks, it was in the program, and the roster, and it was the same last year. So don't miss out, as the weather is going to be perfect I kid you not!

 

That's about it for this week, just some housekeeping. The advertised 'Rules Trivia Night' has had to be cancelled for now due to lack of response. We will try again next season for that one as it is sorely needed (mainly by me). The other thing is as Presentation night is rapidly approaching, please put your minds to work to come up with your nominations for Club Person and Junior Club Person of Year. There are lots of worthy people so take the time to send a nomination to the secretary.

Cheers for now, Pete Chippy

Sunday 4 May  **Morning Race followed by 1.00pm Club BBQ**

Club Championship Series - Race 11

First Warning Signal:	09.55H Boat Start
Race Officer:	Elaine Nicholas
Tower Set Up / Results	Amanda Malin

Winter Racing starts on Sunday 18 May and the Program has been published on the website here

 

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  

 

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