ORCV Official Business

CYCA Flinders Islet Inquiry.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has published the report of their Internal Inquiry into the Flinders Islet Yacht Race Incident, which occurred in their race of october 9/10, 2009.

The specific incident investigated, occurred at about 2.35am on Saturday 10 October 2009, when the Pricewaterhouse Coopers was lost, after running aground on Flinders Islet. (PWC was the former 80foot 'Shockwave' and renamed Andrew Short Marine, before becoming PWC.) CYCA Club Members, Andrew Short and Sally Gordon perished in the loss of the vessel. The remaining crew members were rescued and some had to be treated for exposure and minor injuries.

You can download the Flinders Islet report HERE.

We recommend all members read the report. The ORCV Committee will also be pleased to hear of any questions or suggestions from members that may arise from the studying of this report.

Donald Fraser

Vice Commodore.

ORCV Safety at Sea

Parks Victoria - Notice to Mariners

Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park

Repositioning of Mid-boundary Marker Buoys.

Parks Victoria have issued the following Notice to Mariners, regarding the repositioning of mid-boundary marker buoys for the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park.

It is important that you read this information prior to the start of the 2010 M2KI race on 06/03/10. It will also be valid, hence forth, for M2PF and M2AB etc.

You certainly would not want to be in that part of the Heads, but it will be important to know what the lights are, given there are a million of them in the general area.

Number: Parks Victoria NTM No: 019-2010

Description: PORT PHILLIP HEADS MARINE NATIONAL PARK REPOSITIONING OF MID BOUNDARY MARKER BUOYS

Click HERE to download the Parks Victoria NTM document.

The ORCV's offshore starts are in the vicinity of Shortland Bluff, which is just up the road a tad from the area in question. Shortland Bluff is home to three of the four towers that go together to form the famous 'Four Fingers West', which you can see right here, albeit that they are not correctly aligned, however. Also visible is the new Queenscliff Harbour tower appearing over the top of the pier and just at the end of Shortland Bluff. Below is what the new harbour and all the facilities look like.

By John Curnow

Stability Requirements

ORCV Safety - Cat1 and Cat2 Stability

Which way is up?

The regulations require you to provide a proof of stability by one of the following methods for,

Category 1 Races:

• ORCI Stability Index of 115 or greater, OR
• ISO 12217-2 Design Category A STIX minimum of 35

Category 2 races:

• ORCi stability index of 110 or greater, OR
• ISO 12217-2 Design Category A (which requires a minimum STIX value of 32)

Please note that for an ORCi certificate to be a valid proof of stability, it generally needs to meet the following requirements:
  • The boat is still owned by the holder of the certificate

  • The certificate has been issued in the last five years

  • The boat has not been modified in any way that impacts stability (this may need to be verified by confirming the current freeboard measurements are consistent with the certificate)

If a boat has an old IMS certificate and the boat has not been modified, the ORCV may consider it in part towards satisfying the stability requirements on a case by case basis.

What do I need to do if my boat does not currently comply?
The first step is to find out if your boat has one of the following:
  • ISO Category A statement from the designer or other appropriately qualified person (typically a naval architect) issued in accordance with ISO 12217-2. This should be sufficient for Cat2 races however for Cat 1 races, each individual boat needs to actually be inclined whether or not the designer has certified ISO Category A status for your boat.

   • IRC SSS assessment shown on IRC certificate (this can be found on most IRC certificates, and added by way of an application) which is useful only for Cat 3 races and above

  • ORCi certificate in your name that is less than five years old.

  • An old IMS certificate may be helpful and will be considered by the ORCV on a case by case basis.

  • Screening Value, a number derived in accordance with Appendix B, Section B5 of the Special Regulations but is only applicable to Cat3 races or above.

If you have one of the above and you are happy to declare that no changes have been made to your boat which will affect stability by submitting the ORCV Stability Declaration, then you will meet the new requirements.

NB: A GZ curve provided by the yacht designer is shown on an ORCi Stability & Hydrostatic Datasheet and is produced as part of the ISO 12217-2 calculations. By itself, for a Cat 1 race, a GZ curve does not meet the YA Special Regs for stability!!! In other words, the ORCV will not accept a GZ curve provided by a yacht designer on its own. Supporting documentation or calculations, typically requiring an inclination test will need to be provided to demonstrate that the boat's resistance to capsize matches the designer’s data provided.

A good video showing an inclination test is available HERE.

Next steps (Should you not have one of the above):
1. Engage a suitably qualified Inclination tester and Measurer (the ORCV can provide the contact details of locally qualified people). In order to interpret the inclination test results you will need to know the exact underwater shape of the hull which is provided in an electronic hull profile. This is usually be available from the yacht designer and if necessary can be determined by a local measurer which will involve additional time and cost.

2. Revalidate your boat's ORCi certificate, by contacting Australian Sailing on 02 8424 7441 to discuss the process required.

3. To have STIX information added to your IRC certificate, please visit the RORC Rating Office website to see if your boat has an assigned STIX Rating that can be in turn added to your IRC certificate by contacting the IRC Rating Office. This alone is generally sufficient to meet the requirements of Cat2 racing.

4. Send copies to the ORCV and upload into Topyacht

What will it cost me?

• Inclination and freeboard measurements typically a few hundred dollars. Keep in mind that this is a measurer determined fee and it may change depending on how much time it takes the measurer.

• Crane costs if weighing is required - note there are group weigh days organised by AS and/or clubs which is a cost effective way to obtain your boat's weight.

• Australia Sailing revalidation fee of about $250 (contact Australian Sailing for the exact fee).

Visit the Australian Sailing website for further information on stability.

Stability Curve.

The GZ or stability curve is a graphic presentation of a boats static stability and is produced during ORCi or STIX analysis. As the boat heels, it develops a righting moment, which is the force created by the ballast and hull buoyancy that works to resist the heeling. The stability curve shows this righting arm (righting moment divided by displacement) as a function of heel angle. When the righting arm turns negative (at 152 degree for this diagram) the boat will no longer resist the heeling force and will capsize. An important measurement on the righting curve is the relative areas under the positive and negative parts of the curve. In this curve the positive is 31 times greater than the negative. That means it takes 31 times as much energy to turn the boat from upright to capsize as from capsize to upright.

How can the ORCV help you?

Meteorology Course

The one constant that's always changing -

you NEED to know the weather!

No matter whether you're an old sea dog or a newbie, the weather will treat you the same. The ORCV leads the way with training for all offshore racers and cruisers. The upcoming Weather Course is just one such example. The key educator will be the informative and entertaining Kenn Batt. Kenn grew up around yachts in Tasmania and has completed many significant ocean races. Kenn's name pops up at several yachting events around Australia and as a job he works for the BoM as a Senior Bureau Officer in the Aviation Section in Canberra (so he knows his stuff).

There are three ways to get some of his expertise:
1. All About The Weather. This is the basic understanding of weather and it will run for one day on Saturday 25/7/09 at a cost of $75.00 for financial ORCV members and $90 for non-members and non-financial members.
2. Yet More Weather. This is all about advanced weather understanding, including long distance ocean racing and tropics. It too runs for one day on Sunday 26/7/09 at a cost of $75.00 for financial ORCV members and $90 for non-members and non-financial members.
3. From Becalmed to Force 12. The complete synoptic picture, it combines both the Basic and Advanced curriculum over both days at a cost of $130.00 for financial ORCV members and $160 for non-members and non-financial members.

Sound interesting (and why wouldn't it). Click here for additional information including Course Outline and Enrolment. For any queries, plese contact the office.

By John Curnow

ORCV - Running our club

Got a minute?

Well if you have, then you might want to ponder that the ORCV is a volunteer organisation. We’d be lost without the efforts of a group of very special people.

Ready! Set! Go! As an ORCV volunteer you might even get to do this.

Well if you have, then you might want to ponder that the ORCV is a volunteer organisation. We’d be lost without the efforts of a group of very special people. Now it's your turn. We need assistance in the following areas to take the whole programme to the next level:

• Training
• Presenting
• IT
• Video
• Race Directors
• Graphic Design
• Copywriters
• Marketing

You don't need to be a yachty, just willing to help. You will not have to give up a million hours, it's good fun and rewarding, so why not try it? Go on. Volunteer now! Contact Simon Dryden on 0418 145 909 today.

By John Curnow