Sail Captain's News - The Planning Continues

We have been busy considering options, planning and adjusting so we can get back to sailing. We will take advantage of the scheduled race dates to whatever events are permitted by Government restrictions in two-handed, "autohelm plus 4" or fully crewed formats and with alternative course options where appropriate. Some of these are discussed below.

Deferred the September Coastal Sprint and launching the Go Coastal fleet development program which includes theoretical and practical training focused on entry and exit through "the Rip" will be run when possible.

Entry into Tasmania is unlikely for the traditional Melbourne Cup weekend race to Stanley and we will now run a "Councillor Islands Race". A round trip to Councillor Island (halfway up King Island on the eastern side) is 194 NM, we will be able to start in daylight and still be back in time for the Melbourne Cup. The NOR is now being prepared.

The scheduled Coastal Sprint on 21 November will hopefully be possible and then we have the Christmas Races.

New Format Christmas Races

If we are able to race and enter Tasmania, we will be offering a revised Melbourne to Hobart as well as Melbourne - Devonport. The race to Hobart will allow skippers to select an eastern course sailing north of Flinders Island and down the East Coast or down the West Coast leaving Black Pyramid Rock to Port. The cutoff date for course selection will allow skippers to review the weather before choosing the course which best suits their boat and crew. The Heemskerk Trophy will still be awarded to the fastest Westcoast boat on Handicap but all other awards will be independent of the course sailed. The difference in course length (east or west) is approximately 10 nm and should not be the deciding factor.

If we are not able to enter Tasmania this Christmas, we have an alternative "circumnavigation of King Island" planned. This course is just under 250 nm (which may offer some benefit in terms of insurance) but will also allow boats to return in good time for New Year's Eve celebrations.

Other Sailing News

There is some good news on crew qualification requirements. Although we have had to cancel the September Safety and Sea Survival (SSS) course, we remain hopeful the 14 & 15 November session will proceed and, if all else fails, we now have a dispensation from Australian Sailing which will allow the ORCV to relax SSS requirements where course cancellation prevents crews completing their SSS renewals.

Finally, a number of changes to the Australian Sailing Special Regulations are in their final approval stage, including a group of changes relating to electronic equipment. These will be fully covered in a separate newsletter when the decisions are final approval. The new requirements will not come into place before 1 July 2021 but it is worth mentioning at this stage that new regulations relating to Sat Phones are rather more stringent than those currently applied by ORCV. If you are buying new equipment it may be appropriate to contact the Club for further information.

Ocean Racer of the Year

Nominations are called for the 2020 ORCV Shenandoah II Ocean Racer of the Year award. The award recognises individual achievement or excellence in Ocean Racing. The achievement is not limited to racing success and maybe in the form of a contribution to Ocean Racing in Victoria over a number of years in areas including, for example, sailing, navigation, boat preparation, race management, rescue or incident recovery.

Nominations in writing providing a summary of the nominee's areas of achievement and an outline the basis of the nomination should be submitted to the Sailing Captain This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before Monday 31 August 2020.

Sustainability and the ORCV

Ocean Racing Club of Victoria is a dedicated team of sailors and administrators who bring the mission of Sustainability to life. Sustainability is in the ORCV Constitution, our Vision, our Mission, and our Values both on and off the water.

To all who love the environment, particularly our oceans: Save the sea, protect your passion, and make an impact is the message from all of us at the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria.

We are an innovative sailing organisation that cares about the health of our planet and have always been interested in ways that can have an impact that scales, something that can change behavior and the value we put on our natural environment. We ask;

• What if we could get everyone to pledge not to use plastics on their boats?
• What if we could get every yacht club to recycle correctly?
• What if we could support those organisations undertaking prevention, advocacy, recycling, and education?

And what if we could spread our love for the ocean with the people closest to us who do not sail? Behind every ORCV race, a dedicated team is paying attention to essential details of keeping plastics out of the oceans.

Change only happens when organisations like ORCV get together and take action for an initiative we care about.

Five Starting Tips That Contribute to Running a More Sustainable Boat

To all who love the environment and our oceans: "Save the ocean, protect your passion, and make an impact" is the message from all of us at the ORCV.

Behind every ORCV race is a dedicated clean oceans team paying attention to essential details of keeping plastics out of the oceans. During the recent Apollo Bay Race, the ORCV team organised a fundraising activity to raise awareness of how, as a community, we all can make changes to keep plastics out of the ocean. The Club has long been interested in ocean conservation, so it was a natural fit.

Change only happens when people like us get together and act for an initiative we care about. Here are five starting tips that can contribute to running a more sustainable boat:

1. Use reusable water bottles over plastic bottles
2. Take food in reusable containers or use reusable silicone Ziplock bags (if food needs heating or re-heating)
3. Use the boat's cutlery/plates over disposable ones
4. Consider what food you take on board
5. Recycle post-race

Recognising ORCV's 'Keep plastics out of the ocean' efforts in the last Melbourne to Apollo Bay Ocean Race, the global organisation Sailors for Sea awarded a Gold Certification for the sustainability of an event to the ORCV - the only Australian entity to receive a Gold Certificate in 2019.

Sailors for Sea organisation, Co-founded by David Rockefeller Jr. and Dr. David Treadway in 2004, is headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, and works to engage the boating community in the worldwide protection of the oceans. Through its Clean Regattas, Ocean Watch programs, and Green Boating Guide, the organisation successfully motivates boaters to become environmental stewards.

ORCV - BIA Show Specials*

Port Phillip Heads Rip Tour
Safety & Sea Survival Course
Life Rafts

Port Phillip Heads Rip Tour - BIA Special* $110 per person

The ORCV’s Rip Tour is conducted on a luxury motor vessel "Moonraker" (capacity 70 persons) with expert navigators sharing navigating Port Phillip Heads. Tours depart from Sorrento Pier or Queenscliff Harbour.

The tour is for anyone with an interest in safely transiting Port Phillip Heads out to the open seas.  It is informative, truly educational and has proven to be a great day out.  

Bookings are essential. https://www.orcv.org.au/training/rip-tour-of-port-phillip-heads 

BOAT SHOW SPECIAL $110.00 per person (normally $125)  Enter promotional code BIA2020 at the checkout. 

Safety and Sea Survival Course - BIA Special*

Learn and experience the techniques for staying safe whilst being on the water.   Skippers and crew will develop practical strategies for avoiding or coping with emergencies and familiarisation with safety equipment, it’s purpose, deployment and use.  The course incorporates both theory and practical sessions.  More information on the course click herehttps://www.orcv.org.au/training/safety-sea-survival-course-sssc

Book for 19 & 20th September course here 

Book for the 14 & 15 November course here

During the BIA Show, Pay $350 for the full 2 day course, by entering "BIA2020" to receive $70 off the course.   (normally $420 per Adult person) 

Life Raft

You can buy new or join the swap n go program here 

Brand new West Life Raft

Swap-N-Go® exchange program (Annual Costs)

Please note The standard pack we use in our Rafts are AMSA Coastal (Commercial Pack which is greater than 24 hours.)

Promos - Give aways

FREE 2 x SSSC Courses

FREE 2 x Rip Tour Passes

BONUS OFFER 6 x Rip Tour Double Passes for Price of One (2 for 1 offer )

** These special price is only valid until July 26th 2020.

ORCV Commodore Update - July 2020

To all our members, volunteers and competitors,

Hello once again. I was hoping to be able to announce the commencement of racing and return to face to face training. Alas that is not to be for some time yet.

It has taken us all a little while to digest the news from the State Government that we are going into lockdown for a second time. As much as we all don’t want that to happen, we respect the Government’s decision and will do our best to adhere to it for the benefit of the community.

Rather than focusing on we cannot do, we thought we would take the chance to let you know what we have been doing, can do and plan to do over the next couple of months.

• Our upcoming online Navigation training courses led by Rod Smallman and Will Oxley have been hugely popular with two repeats of the course sold out. We are working hard to get them ready and will ensure they are valuable and enjoyable for participants.
• We revamped the membership year and aligned it with the sailing season. This included three months of membership at no additional cost to members as some offset of the Covid19 restrictions to club activities.
• We have brought forward the AGM, it will be on the evening of the 14th September, prior to the new membership year. We will be conducting it on line, with an in person option if we can. We have decided to postpone the presentation component of the AGM until later in the year when we can meet in person to celebrate achievements together.
• We have welcomed to the ORCV General Committee two new faces, Jeremy Walton and Aidan Geyson who will bring a much needed fresh perspective to the club.We have prepared a new Constitution and a set of Bylaws for members consideration at the next AGM. This brings the rules up to date and provides additional governance and flexibility improvements.
• We have held the first Organising Committee meeting for a 2022 Pacific Race. We are hopeful to firm up on a date and a destination over the next month or so once we have the second meeting.
• We published a Notice of Race for the 1st welcome back to sailing inter club race. We will still be conducting this race together with our partner clubs, we just aren’t sure when that will be.
• We will firm up on what Ocean racing we can do in the lead up to Christmas. We will run the Coastal sprints when we can and still plan to run a Cup weekend race and the races over the Christmas New Year break. If we can race, we will. Destination and format may change, we will need to remain flexible and open to new ideas. Major races will be highly dependent on Government announcements and border openings, we may need to be creative and design a new race.
• We will be launching an offshore development program for people new to Cat 3 racing and those who may wish to step up to Cat2+ racing in the near future. We were about to launch this, but will hold off for now.

Australian Sailing is being supportive, they recently announced adding an extra 18 months to recently expired SSSC certificates. The Melbourne yacht clubs are collaborating behind the scenes which is great, probably more so than usual. The discussion and sharing of information between clubs we believe will carry into the future which is great for the sport.

Meanwhile we work hard to stay connected and look after our club and our members. I must acknowledge our hard working staff, Vanessa and Jen, who continue to work hard for the club despite challenging conditions and working from home.

Thanks also to go to our wonderful volunteers who keep the club moving forward, especially people in our three key teams. Tim Boucaut and Delma Dunoon in the marketing and communications team are working hard to help us stay connected and bring you the latest information. Simon Dryden is leading the training team, who are working flat out preparing the new courses in an online format which is a first for the club as well as revamping the SSSC course. Justin Brenan and his sailing team are trying to plan the unplannable, putting together the race program and preparing the offshore development program.

Finally, thanks to the hard working General Committee. John Gordon, our Secretary, has been working on membership renewal and the constitution changes. Simon Dryden, our Treasurer, has been dealing with finances, working through grants, job keeper and rental relief while managing to balance the books. Neville Rose has been improving our IT systems, a key foundation of the club. Meanwhile the other General Committee members have been doing their bit, assisting those already mentioned or improving the club in other ways.

So the ORCV really is a wonderful community. We will be racing soon once restrictions ease, when we do its going to be great !!

Martin Vaughan
ORCV Commodore