2015 Women Skippers and Navigators Race

Meet your female race managment team!

The Ocean Girls from the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) are gearing up for the third edition of the Women Skippers & Navigators Race (WSNR) with the passage race from Geelong to Melbourne to be conducted on Sunday 13 September 2015. Not only will all participating yachts have women at the helm, nav station and making the radio calls, but this year will also see an all female team taking up the reins of Race Management for the event.

Christie Alberts hails from Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC) and is excited about taking on the role of Race Director for race, especially with experienced Race Officer Amanda Wakeham on hand as her mentor. It is also a chance for Christie, who is relatively new to the ocean to get to know the Ocean Girls - ocean racing is on the list for Christie Alberts.

Christie Alberts	Winning crew aboard Phoenix

Christie began sailing as a 16 year old, invited to the club by her next door neighbour, a member of RGYC. Sailing on an Adam’s 10 with experienced senior members gave her the confidence to take on more challenges including club racing, Lady Helms Racing, Hamilton Island Race Week, Etchells and one design regattas, as well as participating in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR).

Two years ago, Christie was invited via communication on social media to sail with RGYC members Jen and Brenton Carnell. She recommends this forum especially to new sailors to gain contacts for sailing opportunities. The Carnells own the Sydney 38 Phoenix and were looking for crew who would commit to a racing program. A well planned and brilliantly executed sailing program saw the Phoenix team on top of the podium in all four major regattas for the season including Morris Finance, Festival of Sails, Victorian State Titles and National Titles. Christie was part of the racing team and delivery crew for the 1000 nautical mile round trip to Pittwater for the National Title. “This last year on Phoenix has been the highlight of my sailing - competitive one design racing has been a blast” she said.

When RGYC started Pacer Racing for Women two years ago, Christie saw this as a great chance to get into dinghy sailing and became involved to support the new program. She loved the Pacer racing so much that the first day she competed, she went out and bought her first boat - a Tasar. “I simply love spending time on the water whether it’s racing or cruising, in the bay or the ocean – it’s my passion”.

And now there is the chance to see the other side of racing from the race management view. “It was easy to say yes to this role knowing I have Amanda to guide me - it’s a fresh challenge and one I am excited about”.

For Amanda Wakeham, Club Race Officer and Judge, this is her second year mentoring a female Race Director, having mentored Robyn Brooke for the Ocean Girls race from Geelong to Melbourne in 2014. Amanda’s recollections of the last race - “Alas, the wind Gods were not looking after us and we had to abandon the race – I hope we have some wind for the race this year!”

Amanda Wakeham	Christie sailing her Tasar

Amanda’s sailing career started around 1994 at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS). “I sailed every weekend, sometimes both Saturday and Sunday and never missed a Wednesday twilight sail. We were a very competitive crew. I also did a lot of ocean racing, including one Sydney to Hobart and four Melbourne to Hobart WestCoasters with a win in 2003. Sailing has provided lots of lasting friendships, not only from RMYS but from around the Bay”.

Amanda’s transition to the other side of sailing followed.

“I first became involved in race management assisting RMYS legend Dennis Livingston in club races and undertook Race Officer training complete with Power Boat Handling and First Aid courses with Yachting Victoria becoming a club Race Officer in 2007. Since qualifying, I have officiated in many club races and have been Principal Race Officer (PRO) for AWKR for three years and recently became a Club Judge”.

Amanda’s advice to those thinking about getting involved - “Race Management is a great area for women to get into. There are many jobs on the management team and you learn a lot about sailing from the Tower or the Committee Boat - amazing the clever things and the mistakes you see. It is a very different perspective.”

“I look forward to seeing lots of ladies competing in this year’s WSNR and I’m looking forward to working with Christie Alberts, this event being her first time as Race Director. There will also be a race management boat on the water this year if we need to start the race further up Corio Bay to ensure the fleet gets a good race home”.

And at the Melbourne end of the passage race, Margaret Whitbread will be counting the yachts across the finish line from the SYC Tower, a place where she feels very much at home. "My husband bought the Bounty 35 Chequemate in 2001 and as we were spending a lot of time at SYC, I joined in 2005. I tried racing but got too nervous with the other yachts being too close, so left the racing to Ian. I have a theory that happiness is an upright mast! I did enjoy social sailing and my favourite summer sail is an after dinner rounding of Fawkner Beacon and back to SYC.

Margaret Whitbread

 approached me about helping out with the Tower for Wednesday Wonders, it took me a while to say "yes" and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made, I enjoyed it so much that I have since done the Race Management course and gained my radio licence. Now my job has extended to organising the weekly raffles and the two presentation nights a year and having lots of fun making table decorations. I am also in the Tower for Thursday Twilights and Sunday Sailors and on the Social Committee"

Margaret at the helm of Chequemate

From the Ocean Girls group, a heartfelt thank you to Christie, Amanda and Margaret for volunteering your time, expertise and enthusiasm to make the Women Skippers & Navigators Race a celebration of women and girls across the various facets of sailing and racing. We wish Christie all the best for her first time as Race Director of the WSNR 2015.

Thanks also to our female sponsor, sister sailor Sue Bumstead of Custom Yacht Covers for her generous ongoing sponsorship for the event.

So girls, get yourselves and your crews organised now to take advantage of this great opportunity to extend your skills and experience. Notice of Race and Online Entry now available on the ORCV website.

For those of you who are keen to improve your racing tactics and passage planning for the event, it is not too late to register for the ORCV Weather Course Module 1&2 to commence on Sunday 16 August 2015.

We look forward to seeing you all on and about the water.

2015 ORCV Women Skippers and Navigators race- Jobs for the Girls.

by Rosie Colahan

The third annual Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) Women Skipper’s & Navigators Race (WSNR) is shaping up to be a fabulous celebration of women in sailing. The passage race from Geelong to Melbourne (G2M) on Sunday 13 September 2015 runs back-to-back with the final race of the ORCV Winter Series the Melbourne to Geelong (M2G) race on Saturday 12 September, providing a festive weekend with a mix of passage racing and partying in the lead up to the 2015-16 sailing season.
The ORCV Ocean Girls group are looking forward to the passage race to stretch their sealegs and test out their skills. Amongst the line up of our wonderful sailing women, will be ORCV Office Manager Sally Williams swapping her desk for the helm of her Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40 Odysseus for the weekend and handing over the race management team responsibilities to a stellar team of girls from various clubs - Christie Alberts from Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC), Amanda Wakeham from Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron and Robyn Brooke from Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC). Our sponsor, passionate and dedicated sailor Sue Bumstead of Custom Yacht Covers is also back on board and is adding a Novice Skipper Award to the WSNR cache for 2015.

With the running of the event in excellent hands, Sally is looking forward to getting away for a great weekend of racing on the water. Here she talks about her how the sport of sailing became her career.
So how did Sally get into sailing and make her passion her job?
‘I followed my two older sisters into sailing the family sabot at aged 5 years, then a progression of off-the-beach dinghies and long distance races aboard dad’s trailable Timpenny 670 Sunburnt Snowflake. After time away from sailing, as mother to three young boys, I started keelboat racing on Murray Smitheram’s Adams 12 Adams Rib at Royal Brighton Yacht Club (RBYC) becoming the sailing master and helmsperson for several years. Murray generously gave me free rein to recruit an all female crew to participate in women’s keelboat events on the bay and we had a lot of fun. The highlight was our victory in 2006 taking out the much coveted Queensland Yacht Charters Women prize for the Women in Sail Challenge series conducted by SYC which gave the crew an ‘absolutely fabulous’ one week charter in the Whitsundays. ‘
How did Sally get into Ocean Racing?
‘In January 2004, I jumped on board sister Rosie and brother-in-law David’s Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 40 Ingenue in Airlie Beach for the delivery to Melbourne- that was the experience that got me hooked on ocean passages and into ocean racing.’
What have been your sailing career highlights?
‘Since then I have done multiple Bass Strait races on different boats but I count the Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster (M2HW) as a highlight for taking eight years to complete! My first attempt was in 2004 on Farr IMS 38 Escapade. It was not until 2012 on board Lou and Marnie Irving’s Cavalier 395 Cavarlo with sister Rosie, we completed the race - four attempts for her and two attempts for myself!
I have also raced offshore on Ingenue in the Mackay to Vanuatu race in 2006 and cruised from Saipan to Cairns following the 2007 Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Race. In 2014, I rallied and cruised aboard The Secretary from Melbourne to Vanuatu and back.
An indelible memory is of the Melbourne to Port Fairy Race in April 2012 on board The Secretary celebrating a significant birthday for owner George Shaw. With his crew of ‘fairies’ – ocean girls Robyn Brooke, Lynda Brayton, Rosie and myself, we were off the shipwreck coast when the fleet was lashed with a violent storm which saw one boat sink and their crew retrieved from the maelstrom by a fellow competitor. We suffered rig damage which required cutting away and jettisoning the main and a quick turn around for a hairy ride back to Port Phillip. In the wake of the event, my role as sailing administrator at the ORCV saw me seconded to the ORCV Internal Inquiry as secretary. The combined experiences of the race and the review have been invaluable learnings.
My most recent adventure has been the purchase with my husband Nick of Odysseus, a sistership to Ingenue. Since the delivery from Brisbane to Melbourne, she has been set up for long distance cruising and earlier this year, we completed the Van Dieman’s Land Circumnavigation (VDL-C) cruise-in-company which was a fantastic experience.’

The Port "Fairies- Sally, George, Lynda, Rosie.

Sally, Mavis Sheedy, Leanne Doherty at Melaleuca Inlet, TAS. -in summer!

You have had some challenging experiences ocean racing. Why do you do it?
‘I love being on the water especially the ocean - the adventure, the sense of achievement, the testing of your limits and being surprised how much further you can go. The camaraderie of participating with like-minded sailors and the great friendships you make. And there is always the challenge of the weather and navigation wherever you go.
There is nothing too bad about sailing- even cleaning the bilge or the dead prawn shells out of the dinghy. Most of the worst events that occur give you another challenge to rise to!’
Sally, you have had a career change along the way since you started keelboat sailing?
‘I was working as a physiotherapist when I started sailing on keelboats and then progressed to Practice Manager. But as I spent more time on and around boats, I was drawn to take up the role of Sailing Administrator at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron and for the last few years as Office Manager at the ORCV. I have also worked as a charter skipper around Port Phillip and hold Coxswain and Yachtmaster certificates.
An interesting parallel is with Sue Bumstead and her career in the sailing industry. I first met Sue racing at Port Douglas years ago, when she was mother of four and prior to undertaking her sailmaking apprenticeship. We reconnected when she moved back to Melbourne to live after a period working in Spain and we share many excellent memories of sailing on various boats in various destinations from Tassie to Far North Queensland. We have both taken a ‘tack’ in our careers - changing our course to pursue our passion for sailing – we do what we love and we love what we do!’
So where to next?
‘Heading west to Robe, Adelaide, Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island and then heading north - lots of destinations on the bucket list!’
Any advice for the aspiring crews for the Women Skippers & Navigators Race?
‘Longer distance events are a different beast to short windward-return racing and provide an excellent opportunity to consolidate lots of skills for all girls who participate whatever their role maybe, including those on our female race management team. Speak to your skipper/owner - take the helm and take the plunge – a great learning curve for your sailing career to go another step forward on your voyage.
And for those who are looking to expand their horizons, the ORCV provide excellent training courses throughout the year. The forthcoming Weather course http://orcv.org.au/index.php/training/weather-courses on Sunday 16 August 2015, covering Weather Terminology and how to read the weather Sailing in Enclosed Waters is highly recommended to give you a head start for the WSNR. Further information about all ORCV training and events http://orcv.org.au/index.php/calendar/event-registration are available on the website.
Thank you to our sponsor Custom Yacht Covers for continued support, to our race management team and a special thank you to the boat owners, skippers and mentors who support the Ocean Girls. Good luck to all the participants for the third ORCV Women Skippers & Navigators Race. I look forward to seeing you all on the water.’

Women Skippers & Navigators Race 2015 returns for Spring

by Rosie Colahan

The Ocean Girls group at the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) are pleased to announce the Women Skippers & Navigators Race (WSNR) is back again for its third running on 13 September 2015, proudly sponsored by one of our keenest women sailors Sue Bumstead of Custom Yacht Covers.

With the final race of the ORCV Winter Series, the Melbourne to Geelong (M2G) passage race on Saturday 12 September delivering boats and crews to Royal Geelong Yacht Club for the end of the Winter Series presentation and party, the WSNR return race from Geelong to Melbourne (G2M) on Sunday will see the girls bringing the boats home, creating a ‘mini’ festival of sails.

Everyone is invited to come and join in this great passage race event. Only requirement for participation in the WSNR is for females to occupy the roles of helm, navigator and radio operator and these roles can be shared.

For women who would love to step up to these roles but are lacking confidence or skills, the ORCV is running training sessions in the lead up to the event.

There are also new initiatives planned for WSNR 2015.

A non-spinnaker division will be added to the existing IRC,AMS,PHS and Double Handed divisions.

Provisions will also be made for alternative start lines and courses in the event of lack of wind on Corio Bay at the start.

A briefing from the Race Officer for all competitors in WSNR will be offered at RGYC on Saturday evening following the Presentations for the Winter Series

So time to pull out the thermals and get out on the relatively warm waters of Port Phillip for a winter shakedown to polish up your on water skills and get race ready.

The ORCV Winter Series kicks off this Sunday 28 June with a spectacular and practical, legal annual Flare Shoot marking the occasion before the serious business of racing starts. The series is conducted on Sundays with racing divisions contesting five races and cruising division three races, with both series and casual entry available for all races.

ORCV Committee member Lynda Brayton has rallied the rascals aboard Samskara to join the rest of the fleet and RBYC boat owner Marg Neeson will be at the helm of her Elan 31 Wild Child. So come out and get the jump on the rest of the Geelong fleets with these great training and racing opportunities.

For more information and dates for the Winter Racing and Cruising Series click HERE

2015 Port Phillip Womens Championship Presentation.

You are invited to attend the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series Presentation on Friday, 29th May 2015.
The presentation night is to be held at Royal Brighton Yacht Club starting at 6 pm. There will be canapés and your first drink will be ‘on the house’.

Click for the INVITATION and circulate it to anyone who may be interested.

DATE: 29th May
TIME: 6pm
VENUE: Royal Brighton Yacht Club
COST: $20
RSVP: online at www.womenandgirlsinsailing.com.au