ORCV Melbourne to Hobart Fleet Safely Across Bass Strait

The fleet is approaching north west Tasmania after the yachts safely crossed Bass Strait in light conditions on their way to Hobart. Overnight, northerly winds kept the fleet heading slightly west of the rhumb line that passes between King Island and Tasmania.

During the night the yachts experienced changeable weather conditions, including rain fronts and no wind ‘holes’ that have been predicted to plague these race. How you manage low wind is often the difference between winning and losing the race. Sail selection becomes crucial and even keeping crew movement around the boat to a minimum can make a big difference to the boatspeed.

Overnight, the ORCV tracker showed the fleet spread out to the west of the rhumb line to benefit from the morning's westerly winds, with leader Oskana being chased by Tevake II (Angus Fletcher) but by daybreak Fletcher has been surrounded by Alien (Justin Brenan) and Addiction (Richard McGarvie) along with Whistler (David Aplin).

Taking up the rear is Escapade (Robert Bradley) who had more boat speed on his nearest rival, Maverick, sailed by double-handers Rod Smallman. Favourite and race leader, the canting keel Cookson 50 Oskana is currently past King Island and nearing the mandatory declaration point at 41 degrees south. This is a declaration by HF radio to say that all is well onboard and they are fit and able to enter the west coast and continue racing. The rest of the fleet is bunched up behind Oskana abeam of King Island.

Their 435 mile “West Coaster” course will take them south to experience the swells of the Southern Ocean as they pass few places of refuge – only the infamous Hells Gate entrance to Macquarie Harbour at Strahan and then further south the beautiful wilderness of Port Davey before rounding SW Cape and the east coast of Tasmania for what is arguably Australia's most challenging yacht race.

Follow the race on BlueWater Race Tracker: https://race.bluewatertracks.com/2018-melbourne-to-hobart-yacht-race

Members and Guests BBQ This Friday Evening at Albert Park, commencing at 5:30pm.

As another calendar enters its final phase of count down and the festive season fast approaches, and as our keen offshore racing skippers and crew prepare for the annual conquest of yet another race south to the Apple Isle, we invite all of our members and their guests, and the dozens of valued volunteers who assist us every year with our extensive calendar of training and racing events, to join us at the beautiful setting of our ORCV Office at the State Sailing Centre in Albert Park.

We will have a variety of Steak, Sausages and salads for purchase, as well as beer, wine and soft drinks, as we come together to catch up and reflect on the year that has been, and our anticipation of the end of year races ahead of us.

If you can join us, we request that you register HERE, to assist us with numbers for catering.

For more information contact the ORCV Office on 03 9088 7210 or Matt Fahey on 0457 797 675.

ORCV TWILIGHT BARBEQUE

Come and join the ORCV for our final Club Barbeque for 2018, at the ORCV and Australian Sailing Offices on Albert Park Lake. Visit our office, meet your fellow club members, and hear about what the ORCV has is store for the coming year. Kick off will be at 5.30pm on Friday, December 7th, with sausages,steak sandwiches and salads available for purchase. We will also have beer, wine and soft drinks for purchase. Hope you can make it!

Register here (free event) so we know how many of you are coming: ORCV Club BBQ

2018 - 2019 Offshore Championship

The NOR for this season's Offshore Championship is now published in the Races section of the main Sailing Menu. As announced at the AGM, a revised scoring system has been introduced to address the diversity of ORCV's offshore courses and fleet sizes. The new system includes a modified high point scoring system for each race and application of Race Weights when calculating a yacht's Championship Score. See http://www.orcv.org.au/sailing/races/offshore-championship for full details. There will also be a new perpetrual trophy awarded to the owner-skipper of the best performed Double Handed Yacht.

Westcoaster – The Cruise Home

For crew on fixed timelines, flights are cheap……  but for those in the know it’s the west coast cruise. Its not the “trip of a life time” but only because those who do it nearly always come back again.

After a boisterous 5 or five days in Hobart its best to start with a leisurely sail down the Derwent, into the D’entrecasteaux Channel and a sheltered anchorage along Bruny Island or perhaps Kettering which offers visitor berths and an excellent hotel. One could dawdle “in the channel” on the Huon River or perhaps at Dover, but the wilderness beckons and the real stepping off point is Recherche Bay some 37 miles from Kettering. Beyond that point its World Heritage country.

Arriving at Recherche Bay the main anchorage is not obvious. There is a small, picturesque lagoon at the eastern end of the Bay - its unceremoniously known as “the Pigsties” an is entered with care on the starboard side of Shag Rock. However, most of the fleet and the local fishermen are usually found in Rocky Bay with its pristine beaches at the Southern side of the Bay.

Recherche Bay

The next leg of the cruise, 65 miles, offers spectacular scenery – past  SE Cape, either around or to the North of Maatsuyker Island, past SW Cape , the Pyramids and into Port Davey, usually stopping before sunset at one of the numerous anchorages at the start of Bathurst Channel.  

South West Cape on a calm day	Approach to Port Davey

......... where extra supplies are sometimes available

The trip down the Channel to Bathurst Harbour must be seen to be believed ….  expect to stay a few days before heading North for a little civilisation.

Bathurst Channel	Bathurst Harbour

Port Davey to Macquarie Harbour is a full day’s sail (90nm) so its up anchor at first light.  Hell’s Gates, the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, was named to reflect the conditions at the Penal Settlements and Sarah Island in particular. Nonetheless the entrance is not suitable for yachts in all conditions so before heading North check the weather – S, SW or West are fine, but the entrance should not be attempted when there is a large swell running from the west (ie over 5m) or when the wind is from the North. Conditions are available on the web.

Cape Sorrell Shelters the entrance Macquarie Harbour from South and West	Hell’s gates – the entrance to Macquarie

 Once in Macquarie Harbour its Straughn for “fuel and refreshment” then across Macquarie Harbour to the Gordon River for a few days of rejuvenation. The Gordon is navigable without difficulty all the way up to the St John’s Falls (30 odd miles) – and the commercial tourist boats are not permitted beyond the lower reaches. A greenies and photographer’s paradise – Huon and Celery Top pine, tranquillity and the best reflections known to man.    

Leaving the river and Macquarie Harbour, one heads north  - perhaps the Hunter Islands if the wind is fair, or overnight to King Island (140nm) and then on to Port Phillip -  hopefully at 8kn–10kn with the prevailing South westerly breeze.

Allow 10 - 12 days for the trip if you want to do it in style