Slow going for Stanley start

While there was surely some relief at the outlook for Bass Strait before the race, with no heavy weather expected, the light weather has put up challenges of its own,

Seven Entries for Stanley

!It is always fantastic to see some new faces amongst the entries for our offshore races .David Croke and Amanda Malin have been out doing the hard yards in the Helly Hansen Winter Series and have joined the entrants for Stanley.“Carrera is an Elan 37 that we are getting ready to take ocean racing.

Stanley-Here we come!

Notice of Race and Entry is now available online for the first race of the Offshore Series commencing on Friday 2nd November 2012.Stanley is a qualifier for the Hobart East and Westcoast races at Christmas, so don’t miss out.

Click HERE for more information.

The TopYacht online entry system has been enhanced and has some exciting new features. 

ORCV Hutchwilco Melbourne to Stanley (M2S).

BP.

It is nowhere near as popular as, 'Not happy, Jan!', for instance, but BP Player is still a decent enough premise that the quote certainly made the journey over in to common parlance. True. You do have to be a tad older to remember the particular campaign, which is 'BP. The Quiet Achiever...'

In the recent Hutchwilco Melbourne to Stanley race, our Quiet Achiever is one Susan Haliwell. She's been a gem for getting great little snippets popping through and certainly some wonderful pics, like the one from Joint Venture, during the 2011 Melbourne to Geelong race (below).

"I thought I'd just drop you a line about my experience in the recent M2S race", said Sue. "Drs Marnie and Lou Irving are the proud owners of Cavarlo, which is a Cavalier 395. After having successfully campaigned and won the 2010-2011 Women In Sailing Challenge and enjoying twilight and other weekend races, decided to go the next step...... Ocean Racing." Ed. The Irvings won the Predictwind prize (RRP $500) at the last weather course, BTW....

"Their good friend and sailing mentor, Bill Westerbeek, was called upon to assist in preparations and with putting together a team. Bill and Lou made a list of the required work on Cavarlo, with the team mainly coming from Joint Venture, which Bill sails on regularly. It consisted of Dave Holter as sailing master,  Meg O'Shannessy in the cockpit, Bruno Coretto as an all-rounder, me on the foredeck or office, and to complete the team, Sally Williams from the ORCV as a specialist helmer. Bill, Marnie and Lou shared the helming duties filled other roles, as required."

Bill on the helm.

"Our pre-race preparation was brought down to one team meeting and one practice together on the Wednesday of race week, as the contractors took longer than expected to put Cavarlo back in the water. An EXTRAORDINARY amount of emailing, texting and phone calls, saw the sub-groups well prepared, as well as some crew having the few days prior to the event to do any final touches to Cavarlo." Sounds like a pretty normal scenario, to me....

"So. On Friday, October 28, our campaign began in earnest. We had eight crew members - Four female and four male - Two who have a huge wealth of experience (Bill and Sally) - Five who had no ocean racing experience - Only one practice on the yacht, as a crew - And a weather forecast for the cruise down to Queenscliff at 1500 that would test our sailing gear and our mettle, before the race even began", reflects Sue.

"After drying off and a delicious chicken dinner, another team chat ensued. At 2130hrs, we bedded down for a few hours kip and thence back up at 0200 for the final pre-race preparations. Our start at 0500hrs was excellent, and we were in the front of the field for a few hours. The weather gradually deteriorated, however, and Bass Straight lived up to its reputation, by throwing yet more spectacular sailing conditions to those who dare to venture out of the Heads. Sleeting, stinging rain; changes in wind direction; confused seas, which caused even the most hardy to succumb to sea sickness (four souls or half our crew, in fact). Finally, though, we made it!!!!!!!!!!!! In 31 hours and 37 minutes. The 14th yacht in to port. Of the 36 starters,  only 21 finished and we were the first RBYC yacht over the finish line......... Pinch me!"

Those celebratory drinks... Perhaps that's why it's a bit blurry???!!!

"We incurred no damage to the yacht, except a dent in the cooktop and the whistle off the kettle which went AWOL somewhere along the way. Such an achievement made pulling into the marina at Stanley, with all the sails and ropes squared away, a moment to be proud of and one which is indelibly cemented in my brain. Blood was spilt during the race, with Meg sustaining a gash below her lower lip. On the cruise home, which we did in 28 hours, Marnie sustained a gash to her right temple.......... I suggested buying souvenirs, next time", said Sue.

"The weather for the cruise home, proved to be just as challenging, but you know, with the team we had it wasn't a problem. We worked well together; all enthusiastic, willing, cheery, very well fed and mindful of each others needs. The veterans willing and encouraging to teach the novices and give everyone the chance to enjoy all the positions around the vessel, sealed the experience for me."

The Nut of Stanley.

"Finally then, many thanks to Marnie and Lou for inviting us onto Cavarlo and giving us the opportunity to participate in this race. To the ORCV for organising the race and being so helpful with the entry process. To the sailing contingent at Stanley, along with the people, caravan park owners and retailers of Stanley, who treated us like kings and Queens. Finally to the sponsors, Hutchwilco, and their amazing generosity."

Well done and thank you to our BP Player, for all her efforts and ability to share - It is appreciated.

Full results for the 2011 Hutchwilco Melbourne to Stanley race are HERE.

ORCV Land also extends on to the ORCV Facebook page, so make sure you go and "Like" the page, now. 264 souls already have and thank you to each and every one of you.

© John Curnow, ORCV Media

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