Another Chapter wins slow dance in Melbourne to King Island Race

Another Chapter, Neil Sargeant’s Beneteau 44.7, has won the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s slow and fluctuating Melbourne to King Island Yacht Race, while Paul Buchholz’s Extasea took line honours. 

Another Chapter (far right) won the 2023 King Island Race.  Photo Steb Fisher

Sargeant can breathe easy now after an extremely close race between the top three overall, decided under AMS. Just 11 seconds decided the winner from Scarlet Runner (Rob Date) and Solera (Stuart Richardson), which placed second and third respectively.

Sargeant, who was surprised when told Another Chapter had won, gave a good synopsis of the 114 nautical mile race that started off Queenscliff at 5pm on Friday, “The worst of it was bobbing up and down going nowhere – and backwards - for eight hours,” he said.

“The best part was coming into Grassy (where the race finishes) on the wind in a nice breeze. The crew was on the rail, we were fully powered up and going like a dream. We finished while it was still daylight (at 7.12pm).”

Another Chapter Crew in King Island Photo Melissa Fahey

Paul Buchholz from Royal Geelong Yacht Club got an early jump with his Cookson 50. Extasea increased her lead in the weak and capricious conditions to take line honours at 1.26pm on Saturday. Rob Date’s Scarlet Runner was next, at 4.14pm. Charles Meredith’s multihull, Peccadillo, was next.

Extasea’s result means Primitive Cool’s (John Newbold) now 10-year-old race record of nine hours 50 minutes 21seconds stays intact for yet another year.

“It was a bit slow and painful. We did a couple of 360s and spent an hour and a half going round in circles,” confessed Buchholz, who also won IRC and ORC overall.

“It was fine when we left the Heads, but at 10pm it started to fizz out. By 2am it was all over the place. We just kept going south in the easterly and it paid off for us, because a south-westerly breeze came in. When I say ‘came in’, it was only 3 to 4 knots.”

If you followed the Blue Water Tracks race tracker, the tracks of the yachts were a mass of contradictions, loop the loops, backwards, sideways and sometimes forward were part and parcel of this frustratingly difficult race.

Extasea took line honours Photo Steb Fisher

These conditions explain why Extasea sailed 175 nautical miles to complete the 114 nautical mile course with an average speed of 3.8 knots! The rest of the fleet had similar and even more extreme times.

The breeze finally reached some of the fleet before midday on Saturday and at least it was a beautiful sunny day in Bass Strait – and it’s not often you can say that!

Michael Culhane’s Northshore 38, Weekend Option, brought the race to a close, crossing the line at 2:37am this morning.

The King Island Race started off Queenscliff at 5pm on Friday. At the end of the difficult race, competitors received manna from heaven - sirloin steak sandwiches with the various winners also on the receiving end of prizes that comprised of crayfish and King Island cheeses. Way to go!

Some of the fleet after the start Photo Cyrus Allen

Results: (amended 16 March)

Overall Winner: Another Chapter (Neil Sargeant)

Line Honours:  Extasea (Paul Buchholz) 

Full results and all information at: https://www.orcv.org.au/

11th March 7am Race Update

 

10th March 9pm Race Update

A little over four hours into the race and it is Damien King’s, Frers 61 MRV leading the fleet, ahead of Extasea and Scarlet Runner.

Even in this early stage, the overall AMS positions are much more interesting, with Xenia in Div 2, a X4.3 skippered by Koos Theron’s leading the two RMYS boats, Weekend Option (Div 2) and Arcadia (Div 1).

 

The light conditions have prevented the large boats from getting away, and are keeping the smaller boats in the fleet well in touch in these early stages.

 

A close race in the early stages and light winds.

 

 

Friday 10th March 6pm

1 hour after the start. 32 Yachts competing in the Melbourne to King Island have got underway with blue skies, sunshine and winds 7 - 10 knots Easterly. It was Scarlet Runner, the Carkeek 43 skippered by Rob Date who led the fleet through the heads with MRV and Ryujin close behind.

Assys and Code 0 were the calling for the light air conditions at the start  Photo Neville Rose

 

Final Reminders – 2023 King Island Race

King Island has limited health resources so we ask you all to adhere to our hosts' requests as outlined below. If you are unwell prior to departure, please stay at home. If you are unwell upon arrival, as per the SI’s we ask that all the crew stay on the boat.

Tender Service

The water police are monitoring the event and the boat club have asked that everyone wears a life jacket on the tender transfer service to avoid a fine. Consider bringing a waterproof bag for your crew jackets to go into.

After you finish, please follow exactly the instructions given by the tender driver and berth where they ask you. We are using the fisherman’s moorings so please follow these instructions to preserve the mooring in good order. We ask that you follow the instructions of the tender drivers for mooring and familiarise yourself with the updated mooring instructions as outlined in the Sailing Instructions taking special note of D4.3, 4.4 and 4.5.

Best Photo Competition

Send us your photo prior to Monday 3pm to go into the draw for some new ORCV Neck warmers or some ORCV Merchandise to the value of $70. Your photos help us as volunteers, promote the race, speak about the wonderful time, hospitality and location let alone how great it is that we have these great places to race to. All photos must be taken by yourself and don’t forget to include your boat and your name with your submission. Submit via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via scanning the QR code below to join the Whatsapp group.. Don't forget too to tag #orcv on your social media too.

Cash

There is an EFTPOS machine at the King Island Boat Club but it's not reliable so they recommend bringing cash. We will have some raffles/auctions of the delicious King Island food which will require cash.

At King Island

The King Island Boat Club hospitality is what makes this race so special. For this small club, our race is their major fundraiser so please make sure you support them by staying for at least a short while and show your appreciation to Gary (Acting Commodore), Matthew (tender driver), Tanya, Niki and Linda (hospitality) plus many other volunteers who work throughout the weekend to accommodate you. We ask that you follow the instructions of the tender drivers for mooring and familiarise yourself with the updated mooring instructions as outlined in the Sailing Instructions  taking special note of D4.3, 4.4 and 4.5.

The fisherman of Grassy loaned us their moorings and one was damaged a couple of years back. So please be careful and use the moorings correctly as outlined in the sailing instructions to allow us to be invited back again.

Presentation.

The race presentations will be held at 10 am on Sunday unless otherwise notified by the Race Directors via SMS. The Race Directors work incredibly long hours, prior to and during the race and are still on watch until you get home. So please make sure you also thank them by staying and being part of the presentations. 

Keep King Island and our Oceans Clean. 

This year 2 boats (Blue Water Tracks and White Spirit) will be conducting water sampling as we test how the club can continue to support Clean Oceans and how we can roll this out on future races.

King Island has natural beauty and does not have recycling we have on the mainland, so please take your rubbish home and consider taking your own coffee cup to the island also.

Remember, reduce the use single use plastics onboard by – reusing, refilling and recycling,

Entry to Grassy Harbour

Entering Grassy Harbour for the first time can be a daunting task. Preparation is key to navigating your way through safely. I would urge all competitors to set up a route in their plotters setting out a route to follow. From the finish line, you need to move to a position that is far enough offshore so that you stay in deep water. Once you reach your first waypoint, you will turn to starboard onto the leads (298° Magnetic). Once you reach your second waypoint you will turn to starboard on the second set of leads (41° Magnetic) until you are through the entrance of the harbour. There is plenty of room inside the Harbour where you will wait for the tender to direct you to your mooring.

Bio Security

As with all Tasmanian locations, all fresh fruit and veggies cannot be brought onto King Island and can be disposed of into the Bio Security Bags at the KIBC and then tied and placed into the bio security bins..

Trackers

Don''t forget to pick up your trackers.  Trackers have been dropped to your club or in the case of Geelong and Safety Beach direction, delivered as per the ORCV Office communication. The trackers are setup ready for you to just turn them on.

Please return the trackers to the same location and let your club contact know you have returned them.

• SYC – Reception (Club contact Sally Williams)
• RBYC – boating office (Club contact Grant Dunoon)
• RMYS – Reception (Club contact Andrew McConchie)
• HBYC / RVYC – Reception (club contact Justin Brenan)
• Safety Beach – Contact Simon Dryden

Trackers are to be turned on Thursday afternoon. Please check that you can see them on Blue Water Tracks here https://race.bluewatertracks.com/2023-king-island-race Any issues, please call the starting race director. How to mount them can be found here Tracker can be found here

Return Journey

Please be careful with your trip home, be mindful to avoid possible areas that you could run aground such as Elephant Shoal etc and many other points as you head safely home.

Lastly, sked sheet and leave at home documents are on the website here. (check link)

Have fun and be safe at sea.
ORCV Media

Challenges fuel interest in 51^st King Island Race

More than 30 boats are set to start the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s 114 nautical mile King Island Race, starting at 5pm on Friday 10 March off Queenscliff, with competitors chasing overall honours and the nine-year-old race record set by John Newbold’s Primitive Cool of nine hours 50 minutes 21seconds.

Royal Geelong Yacht Club’s Paul Buchholz is prepping his canting Cookson 50, Extasea, hoping conditions are ripe for record breaking.

Prizes at the end are large crayfish and King Island cheeses. If you don’t win a cray, participants say the steak sandwiches are worth the trip. That and the warm hospitality offered by the King Island Boat Club crew.

Paul Buchholz at the helm of Extasea - Steb Fisher pic

Buchholz says, “Having crays as prizes is a great idea. They’re something you can get your teeth into that you can enjoy.”

Getting to the finish first is not a given though. “There are quite a few challengers actually,” Buchholz admits. “Hartbreaker (Antony Walton) and Scarlet Runner (Robert Date) and MRV.”

Choosing overall favourites is complex, as the weather and tides are a major factor in in deciding the outcome in such a diverse fleet. Buchholz agrees.

“It is a difficult race. Very fickle. You have to choose whether to sail close to the island or not. The tides make it hard getting around the island. Navigational wise it really is a challenge,” Buchholz says. “It’s  very hard to break the record too. You need good reaching conditions.”

Among the front runners touted for overall honours is Damien King’s Frers 61, MRV and the Scott Robinson skippered How Bizarre, a Sequest RP36.

“MRV does beautifully upwind. Medium wind would be perfect. Downwind is difficult, as old girl doesn’t surf.”

King, who is eyeing of “Ryujin (Alex Toomey) competition wise, had an unsuccessful run at  MRV’s first attempt at the race. “Last year we got caught in a weird weather pattern. There we sat for six hours in a hole. We ended up turning round and going home.”

The Victorian said his crew were “the usual suspects, but I have to mention Jon Orr – he looks after catering, trims sails, steers. He does everything. We couldn’t do without him.”

King added, “I’m so pleased the ORCV holds these races, because without them there wouldn’t be offshore races. They’re passionate about racing and keeping us sailors happy.”

On a final note, he said, “We’re looking forward to the steak sandwiches at the end. Fingers crossed for an upwind race.”

Scott Robinson agrees: “You’d die for the eye fillet steaks. They cook through the day and night. It’s a fantastic scene. The reception at King Island is fantastic  and the set-up is so good.”

He is praying for an upwind race too. “Our boat suits light weather on the wind. We don’t mind if it gets a bit heavier upwind either. It’s not a long race, so it’s a perfect. It’s nostalgic for me, I did it as a kid around 15 with my father. I did all the offshore races on Solent and Brumby, an Adams Half Tonner. Both were owned by my father and his brother.

How Bizarre up there with the contenders for overall honours.  Photo Bruno Cocozza.

“The ORCV has been doing a fantastic job of building the numbers up. It obviously makes the competition better. But at the end of the day, we just want to finish and get at those steak sandwiches – I can taste them thinking about it,” Robinson ends.

A new initiative this year comes courtesy of the ORCV’s ‘Clean Oceans’ activity. The Club will be water sample testing for micro plastics and plankton from two competing yachts. Immediate Past Commodore, Grant Dunoon (Blue Water Tracks) and present Commodore, Cyrus Allen (White Spirit), have been entrusted with this  important job.

The King Island Race starts off Queenscliff in southern Victoria, then tracks across Bass Strait and to the finish at Grassy Harbour, King Island, off the north-western tip of Tasmania.

Follow the race on the Blue Water Tracks race tracker at: https://race.bluewatertracks.com/2023-king-island-race

See who's racing on the tracker.

All information at: https://www.orcv.org.au/

ORCV media