Take A ‘Virtual’ Walk on the Wild Side
by Rosie Colahan

Heading offshore this Christmas? The Ocean Girls group of the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) are hosting an evening on Thursday 4 December 2014 for a social get together and information session and everyone is invited.

Whether you will be on a keelboat racing, delivering or cruising or sitting at home sailing the ‘virtual’ voyage, come and ‘take a walk on the wild side’ with Maureen Dickins and Dee Colledge, both ocean racing veterans of ten Melbourne to Hobart (M2H) Westcoaster races.

Hear about how to prepare for your adventure and how to look after yourself along the way to get the most out of your opportunity.

Everyone is welcome - crew, friends, partners, male and female to come along and join in. Registration fee includes dinner. For further information and to register for the event, go HERE

P.S. Dress code - Wet weather gear is not required!

2014 Latitude Series- Women Take the Lead Beyond the Bay

The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) completed their 2014 ‘Beyond the Bay’(BTB) program over the weekend of 22-23 November 2014 with the Latitude Series of races, giving many the opportunity for their first experience of transitting Port Phillip Heads. The program run over the winter provided a series of educational evening sessions, on board mentoring support, an overnight challenge inside the bay and finally the Latitude Series of weekend racing encompassing the Latitude Ocean Race into Bass Strait on Saturday and the Latitude Pursuit Race inside Port Phillip on Sunday.

Twenty three boats, six with female skippers and 127 crew of which 38 were female, departed Queenscliff on Saturday morning for the Latitude Ocean Race. A gentle northerly and flat seas made for perfect conditions for the start off Draper’s Reef at 0830hrs where the Queenscliff Coastguard boat was stationed. A green flare signalled the start and saw spinnakers rapidly deployed creating a spectacular sight as the fleet headed to transit Port Phillip Heads. Outside, the building northerly clocking east made for exhilarating kite flying with the majority of boats punting for an easterly turning point on their assigned latitude line. Rapidly changing cloud formations and a falling barometer alerted the predicted trough from the west was on its way. The fleet experienced everything from zero knots to 35knots and building swells before the wind settled back into the northeast for the run back to the heads. Boats converged and filed back into Port Phillip and several closely contested battles ensued as the fleet made their final dash to the finish at Portsea pier.

And it was the women who took the lead. Congratulations to Angela Woodman from Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC) skippering the Bavaria 44 Summer Wind who took out Line Honours for the race. RBYC were well represented with four female skippers out of a total of six participating in the event. Sue Slater, winner of the Non-spinnaker division of the Beyond the Bay Overnight Challenge back in October was back on the helm of her X-yacht Foxy Lady and this time pulled out a brand new kite to place sixth. ORCV Sailing Administrator Sally Williams escaped her desk after a massive week finalising the BTB Latitude event and chilled out at the helm of her Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40 Odysseus placing 11th. The Cavalier 395 Cavarlo helmed by Marnie Irving was travelling well until she experienced steering problems on the way back from her turning latitude, forcing her to motor home and incurring a scoring penalty but still finishing in 16th place.

The ocean racing legendary boat Yoko from Royal Yacht Club of Victoria (RYCV) saw owner Robin Hewitt move to the foredeck and new skipper Jo Morley take the helm, putting in a great performance to place tenth. Beneteau 40 First Dry White from Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) had Sue Bumstead move from the foredeck to the helm for her first ocean race as skipper and placed 12th. Sue is a passionate and accomplished ocean racer who over the last season has taken the helm for all the women’s sailing events on Port Phillip including winning the Novice Skipper Award at the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR).

Across the sea of faces amongst all the crews, it was fantastic to see the youth sailors embracing the challenge and stepping up. With his father Martin Vaughan a key driver of the Beyond the Bay program and mentor to one of the new boats to the fleet out of the driving seat, 18 year old son Tom Vaughan took on the skipper role on the family's Sydney 36CR Wild Side, recruiting two passionate young female sailors in Emily Close (17yo) and Mikhalla Arthur (16yo) to the crew and putting in a sterling performance to place third for the ocean race.

Cavarlo also hosted a youth sailor – 17 year old exchange student Tomasso Massone who had a taste of Bass Strait in 'dolce vita' mode before heading back to Italy.

Back at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron (BYS) at the end of a great day on the water, the success of both the Latitude Ocean race and the graduation of all participants in the Beyond the Bay program was celebrated. Many of the sailors commented on their sense of achievement for having safely experienced their ‘Bass Strait baptism’ either as skippers or crews. All praised the BTB as a fantastic program where they had learnt and achieved more than they had ever dreamed of and all felt confident to further pursue their dreams.

In the wake of Saturday evening’s cold front, Sunday dawned gently with clear skies but alas - no wind!
Race Officer Robert Bradley pondered the prospect of running a pursuit race from Blairgowrie to Sandringham with a very diverse fleet from small cruisers to large racing boats in the forecast light and variable conditions and called an early abandonment. The day warmed under sunny skies, a pleasant afternoon sea breeze kicked in, the armada swapped motors for kites and sailed north to their home clubs having had a fabulous fun weekend - a fitting finish to the Beyond the Bay program.

Congratulations to all BTB graduates, mentors and other sailors who joined in for the weekend. A huge thank you to the ORCV for putting together a first class program which has given everyone involved the opportunity to 'live the dream'. Further information about the Beyond the Bay program and the Ocean Girls activities are available on the ORCV website. www.orcv.org.au

2014 Ocean Girls -Are you prepared for the Tassie Trio Races?

Deanne Colledge and Maureen Dickins are long standing members of the ORCV and have both completed 10 Westcoast Races to Hobart.
We welcome you to come and hear them relate their experiences and share their pearls of wisdom of preparing for races. What to pack, how to keep on track…….

You may be off sailing in another direction this Christmas, so bring along a friend or two 

Everyone Welcome!

Join us for a meal beforehand and perhaps a refreshment for the Festive season.

Venue: The Exchange Hotel, 39 Bay St., Port Melbourne.
Date: Thursday 4th December 2014
Time: 6pm for Dinner and 7.30pm to hear Maureen and Deanne relate their experiences and share their pearls of wisdom.
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT HERE

Beyond the Bay gives Nicole "Latitude

Meet a newbie keelboat sailor who has become hooked on sailing and is now hurdling over every sailing challenge thrown at her and having a ball. Here Nicole reflects on her pathway in sailing as she prepares for the forthcoming ORCV Beyond the Bay (BTB) Latitude Series event to be run on 21-22 Nov 2014.

Sailing - I tried it about thirty years ago on the lake in Canberra in a Laser and all I remember was ‘she’s gybing!’ having fits of laughter and swimming a lot. Evidently the wind is hard to read on the lake. Now I realise, you may, but preferably may not be - Chinese while you Gybe. I have come a long way.

I never really got into sailing on Lake Burley Griffin, probably because I did not like the taste of the water, so I bought a bike and rode around it instead. Sensible. Then I travelled around Europe for a few years, moved to Melbourne and did not think about sailing for a long time.

In 2005 I joined the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS) as a social member and socialised my way around the club, enjoyed the Friday night sunset cruises but never sailed regularly enough to be useful to anyone. Then I started studying again whilst working, so I gave sailing away again.

I cruised on and off for a few years sailing the Whitsundays on a rental from Sundance, Auckland to Bay of Islands on a tall ship, and from Woy Woy to Pittwater on a catamaran many times. We burnt the boat in the Whitsundays and sunk the cat at Palm Beach! Good times.

In October 2012 I went to a women’s networking lunch at Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) and discovered a flyer for Women’s Only Sailing - two for one. So I rallied up three of my girlfriends and we hit the water with the lovely gents who train at SYC. Two of the girls said ‘thanks but no thanks’ while Sarah and I got hooked.

Sarah and I then went on to complete the Start Crewing weekend course in Jan 2013 and the Start Helming course in April 2013 – a ‘Baptism of Fire’. Not sure you should be allowed to Start Helming after one weekend of crewing but thankfully neither Sarah nor I have been interested in helming since.

At the end of the twilight series 2013, Sarah and I were fortunate enough to get on board Dry White with a boat full of lovely people. We became enamoured by the sunset, pizza, beer and hot chips afterwards. We decided that night to get on board for the ORCV Winter Series. So we bought our matching pair of wet weather pants, sat at the back of the boat for a lot of winter and made it safely to Geelong.

Then over a few jugs of beer and countless bottles of red wine we convinced very accomplished ocean racer Dee College to helm for the inaugural ORCV Women Skippers & Navigators Race from Geelong back to Melbourne the following day with Sarah and I as female crew and ‘hitchhikers’ Mark and Andy teaching Sarah and I the ropes. That was the first time either of us felt like things started to click - a tiny step for women kind - but for us that day was memorable. I also learnt you should sleep on the boat provided you are not too tipsy to crawl over all the other boats rafted up beside you - a great incentive to do better in the incoming race to ensure a berth against the wharf.

Since then Sarah and I have turned up to every twilight race, the ORCV summer series, the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series (PPWCS) and I also competed in the 2014 Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR). Sarah had other plans for the long weekend.

The ladies’ Dry White team did well in PPWCS placing 3rd in IRC and repeated the performance in AWKR - a testament to mentor Rosie Colahan and skipper Sue Bumstead who also won the Novice Skipper Award for AWKR. We won wine, massages, a couple of trophies and I won the raffle sky dive over St Kilda Beach! Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS) put on a fantastic regatta and it could not have been more fun or friendly. It was definitely the best Queen’s Birthday weekend I have ever had and totally worth giving up sleeping in for three days in a row. I cannot wait for next year for the 25th anniversary party.

D

Aboard Dry White

With the start of the ORCV Winter Series in July 2014, the flare shoot was a celebration for Sarah and I of our first year anniversary crewing on Dry White. We have not looked back since.

Next challenge, I signed up to the ORCV Beyond the Bay course, just to find out how uncomfortable, yet rewarding, sailing can be. And I also signed on for the Safety & Sea Survival course (SSSC),a very hands-on learning experience I highly recommend to everyone, even if they have no intention of going outside the bay. It was a great challenge to jump into the pool in full wet weather gear and experience getting in and out of a life raft. I personally found the weather component fascinating and I will definitely be signing up for the next weather course.

August was spent crewing in Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island race weeks so I could see how social and enjoyable racing can be. Airlie Beach unfortunately had atrocious weather conditions so I did not get to appreciate as much rum and dry on the grounds of the Sailing Club as I anticipated. But the following week, Hamilton Island had perfect weather and sailing conditions and was the most fun holiday I have ever had. Everyone was in such good spirits, the sun was shining, the daily Audi Tug of War in front of the bar, the street eats kept everyone fed who had not booked a restaurant table, the media coverage and daily updates were fabulous. It was the most professionally run event I have ever participated in and I cannot wait to go again.

I made it back to Melbourne in time for the last race of the ORCV Winter Series and jumped on board Dry White for the passage race Melbourne to Geelong, placing third in all categories and third in IRC for the 2014Winter Series. Unfortunately, Sunday’s race home- the ORCV Women Skippers & Navigators Race - was abandoned due to a glass out and we all ended up motoring home.

I have now completed the BTB theory program a really relaxed and friendly environment to learn and meet new people whilst covering a huge range and depth of information about boat preparation, radio skills, emergency drills, food preparation, what to wear, what to expect on night watch, how to deal with sea sickness, weather forecasts and cloud formations and of course how to navigate. This program is backed up with the provision of experienced seafaring mentors to assist skippers and crews for preparing their boats to participate in the on water components of the program.

Both the BTB and the SSSC courses were fantastic and it is great to have so many inspirational sailors willing to share their experience and knowledge with us. Everyone at ORCV work tirelessly to impart their wisdom and get people involved in ocean racing and cruising, I really cannot speak highly enough about their generosity and dedication to the cause.
The more I learn about sailing the more I realise how much there is to know. I am very happy to have met and made some fantastic new friends and contacts over the last year and have access to a wealth of knowledge and experience through ORCV.

And the next big challenge, the ORCV Latitude Series coming up on the weekend of 21-22 Nov will be my first foray beyond the bay into Bass Strait. I’m looking forward to spending the entire weekend sailing and sleeping on the boat with a new group of people and will also get to experience Queenscliff and Blairgowrie yacht clubs. I assume from people’s experience I might end up sea sick. That’s okay, I will take the medications I’ve been advised to take and see how I feel out there. I’m more curious than nervous about that and it will be good to know whether I can handle the seas beyond the bay. I won’t be racing to Hobart this year, but I will be down at the docks when the boats come in and I plan on sailing in The King of the Derwent.

Going out the heads might give me the interest to do the shorter ORCV races next year. I won’t know until I get out there, but that’s the plan.

I have been thoroughly infused with everyone’s enthusiasm for the sport. I love being out on the water always learning. I have met fantastic people and I intend to get better and better and bring many more fabulous people into the sailing fold. It is just too good not to share!

For further information about ORCV programs –
Beyond the Bay
Safety and Sea Survival Course