We are the ORCV !!

Spotlight shines on Women at ORCV Awards Night 2024

The 2024 ORCV Awards night at the Sandringham Yacht Club on Saturday 15 June we celebrated excellence in racing, community, training and new pathways to progress inclusion, diversity and growth.

Several women from the KISS Class of 2024 took up the invitation from ORCV Commodore Cyrus Allan to join the celebrations, meeting up with other KISS participants and discovering more about opportunities provided by the KISS partner club.

A stellar cast of women, from volunteers to sailors shone at the Awards Night.

The evening led off with ORCV General Committee member, Melissa Warren in her Marketing and Media role as MC steering the ship for the evening.

Mel

Melissa Warren with ORCV Commodore Cyrus Allen

A trio of women took out “non-Racing Awards” across the group of five awards.

The Crew Encouragement Award 2024, was taken out by Irama Navarro.

Irama Crew encouragement ORCV awardsnight sandyyachtclub LWP 24 0425

New to the sport and embracing it wholeheartedly, Irama is an active bay racer sailing weekly at RMYS, recently competing in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta and having competed in the ORCV offshore program as foredeck on Kioni this season.

From her skipper - “She's a tough, brave and committed foredeck who also plays a role in navigation, tactics and helming when called on. Not fazed or fearful of mishaps. She can sail.

Always willing to help, off deck, she's appreciative of the effort put in to get a racing boat out there and takes on maintenance, catering and general chores. A common refrain in the skipper’s debriefing is "C'mon guys - don't let Irama do everything".

We are all in awe of her efforts on Kioni - Irama is a truly valuable team member.”

The Youth Sailor of the Year Award 2024 went to Maddie Scambary Speller aged 22 years, who has immersed herself in the sport of sailing as her passion, recreation and now her profession as she starts out on her rigging apprenticeship with Wilksie Marine.

Maddie

From her skipper, Clare Olding, winner of the 2023 Youth Sailor of the Year Award -

“Maddie is by far the most consistent crew member on Vertigo, with an unwavering commitment to ocean racing that is truly first-class, competing in the ORCV winter series, coastal sprints and destination races.

Maddie consistently punches above her weight, excelling on the bow and mentoring newcomers to expand their skill sets and build confidence beyond the cockpit, teaching technique over brute strength and size. Her ability to inspire and lead the race crew with positivity and constructive problem-solving, all delivered with her friendly demeanour leaves a lasting impact on everyone she encounters.

Maddie embodies the true spirit of sailing, and her contributions to the sailing community are thoroughly deserving of the award.”

A special new award, bestowed as recognition of exceptional service, saw the 2023 winner of the ORCV Volunteer of the Year, Delma Dunoon, take out the first-ever ORCV Distinguished Service Award, with all present endorsing the recognition with a rousing standing ovation.

The KISS Program was given a cameo spot to present the program to the audience and were excited by the immediate positive feedback and commitment from four boat owners to provide their boats for KISS 2025 and the opportunity to progress to offshore racing for those wanting to go further.

Congratulations to our women for their leadership and outstanding achievements.

With new ORCV programs coming onboard, including NextGen encouraging more youth sailors and the KISS program collaboration with QCYC increasing access and inspiring female sailors to go further, there is no better time to get onboard! If you are looking to be the first to know about the next KISS program, sign up for our Wait List to be a priority booking as places filled very quickly this year.

Waitlist for the next KISS program here

Skipper's Survey Results

From a skippers survey came the decision to run a Cat 2 race next February instead of the traditional Easter weekend.

The survey extended to all yachts participating in ORCV offshore races in the past 3 seasons with an effective response rate of 75%.

In planning the proposed event, the ability to start races early was a key issue. We asked skippers to review their experience in the 2022-23 King Island and Devonport races, which started at 5pm and 6pm respectively. The responses indicated that the early starts had not been a constraint on entries in those 2 events.

64% preferred the early start,
95% of the boats who planned to race were able to do so, albeit with the absence of some of their regular crew on 3 yachts.
86% of the skippers advised that the late afternoon starts had not caused crew constraints
Only 2 boats advised that the earlier start times had led then to decide not to race.

Forty-seven of the surveyed skippers advised that they are planning to race in Cat 2 races next season. We asked this group to indicate their start time preference. The result was a clear preference for late afternoon starts-

Late afternoon - 68%
Early evening (after 7pm) -13%
Traditional night Starts (first suitable tide after midnight) - 19%

The level of interest for the proposed Cat 2 race in February was high. 72% of the boats reported that they would seriously consider participating and a further 11% supported the idea although they would not participate in 2025.

Importantly, more than 80% Skippers who would seriously consider entering the February race advised that their participation would be in addition to their currently planned races.

Port Fairy and Stanley were equally weighted by skippers as the preferred destination but if the race was run to Port Fairy, they would be more likely to continue to Adelaide and participate in the Port Lincoln Regatta.

The New Race

The Club has decided to run a race to Port Fairy starting at 1630 hrs on Friday 14 February 2025, thirty minutes before the start of the ebb.

Port Fairy was chosen as the destination in 2025 partly because of its role as a feeder race for the 75th anniversary of the Port Lincoln races (which start one week later) but also due to the need to reliably meet two key design parameters for the race:-

The ability for some crew members to return to Melbourne on Sunday night if required
The ability for the remaining delivery crew to be back at their clubs on Monday night.

Strong support from the Port Fairy Club and Community for the race and the availability of scheduled coach-rail service leaving late afternoon for the return to Melbourne are additional elements in the decision.

We hope to attract a large fleet and look forward to seeing you on the water next February.

Paul Roberts
Rear Commodore & Sailing Captain

We’ve been weird, wonderful and winners

Casting our gaze over the recent offshore season, the Clean Oceans team are incredibly proud of the efforts and enthusiasm exhibited by the club and members to deliver initiatives in the name of sustainability. The ocean racing community is one of great passion, and a vote for protecting our oceans is a vote for the longevity of the sport we know and love. Let‘s look back over some of the highlights so far:

Sustainabiltiy 5

The ORCV’s destination races saw the introduction of the Species Showcase, a corner that shines the light on unique marine species, iconic to the area our fleet are visiting. Beginning in Hobart with the 2023 Westcoaster, the Handfish became the star of the show, with one species, the critically endangered Red Handfish, found ONLY in the Derwent River. These abstract looking creatures have also attracted the nickname of the world’s rarest fish as their numbers continue to be heavily impacted by habitat change, ocean warming and pollution; and are the focus of a dedicated research conservation team.

Shifting our focus to the Melbourne to King Island, our fleet was greeted by the unmissable chorus of Little Penguins, our next showcased species. For a bird only 30cm in size, these little fellas are truly impressive with their long-distance deep diving, spanning tens of kilometers each day. Recent research investigating growing levels of chemical pollution recorded in the penguins’ blood is a stark reminder that at the end of the day, our land-based actions are intrinsically linked to like above and below the water.

Finally, we wrapped up the season with the crowd favorite, the Nudies! The Apollo Bay race featured the Vercos Nudibranch, a flamboyant and almost fictional looking creature, that inhabits the local marina and coastal reefs along southern Australia. Nudies are the dazzling jewels in the crown of our marine fauna. Like a neon sign, they remind us just how intricate and interconnected the ocean and its life is, and what wonders lay beneath the surface.

Sustainabiltiy 4

As well as showcasing marine wildlife, we have also collaborated with some fantastic organisations working to conserve, educate, create and inspire meaningful change in the ocean community. The ORCV are incredibly grateful to have engaged with the Handfish Conservation project and Otway Ocean Care to promote conservation work, and Recolab and Castaway Textiles, for the work they do to divert waste from landfill while creating stylish and unique produce to be enjoyed by the yachting community and beyond.

Sustainabiltiy 3

We are always looking for innovative ways to engage the ocean racing community with the ocean beyond racing. Over the last 12 months we have worked to further develop the microplastics water sampling initiative for the return legs of major offshore races. Often times, in the science space, deploying teams of researchers at sea can be costly and difficult, and so the idea to create a citizen science program with our fleet, was born. In classic scientific style, we are working through trial and error to optimize and refine the method and data generation process. We look forward to reigniting this program in the new season and thank all the crews who have been part of this process so far!

Sustainabiltiy 2

In recognition of the ORCV’s efforts in the sustainability space, we have been awarded silver medals by the Sailors for The Sea Clean Regatta’s Program for our destination races, a brilliant outcome that we aim to build on with the oncoming season – going for gold! This internationally recognised certification framework is a great way to demonstrate effort over time, and nurture continuous improvement, innovation and creativity. We can’t wait to build on the already strong foundation of the 2023-24 season, so let our team know if you have any ideas or connections you think could add value in the sustainability space!

Sustainability 1

Lasty, a huge thank you goes to our members who continuously show interest and enthusiasm in the Clean Oceans Program. Our members are what bring our initiatives to life and ensure continued stewardship of our oceans

Fundamentals of Navigation - Student Resources

Join the Instructor lead session - 2025 update click here

We look forward to you joining us online. To Join, please click on the above Teams Link, which will be open 30 mins ahead of the training session.

Student Notes

Night 1 Student Notes

Night 2 Student Notes

Exercises used on both sessions.

Resources

Hydrographic Office AHP Edition 4

Hydrographic Office AHP Edition 5

Pre Learning

To maximise learning and provide more comprehensive content, we have redesigned the course by providing pre course self-paced eLearning.

The key content item is “Navigation foundations”, a short 45min eLearning module designed to bring all participants up to a baseline level of navigation knowledge. Our Instructor led online training sessions will assume this knowledge as we move into more intermediate and advanced content. You may already know this content, so feel free to skip through it if you wish. If not, please work through and watch the embedded videos and listen to the content. Come to us with any questions in the first Instructor led session. We hope it proves enjoyable and informative. Be on the lookout for an email from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. which has your login and will connect you to this content. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you can't locate this login.

Apps to Assist You

We will be teaching you the fundamentals of navigation which you can apply to your software on your boat, tablet or computer, whether that be Navionics, Expedition, Raymarine etc. If you do not have a navigation system, please consider paying for the Navionics App which is $49.00 USD annually to have access to all the features. The resources below, will help you use Navionics.

Resources

Navionics How to Youtube Videos

Introduction to Navionics Click here
How to add a known waypoint into the Navionics app Click here
How to add a route using waypoints in the Navionics app Click here

Homework

Online Navigation Exercise

Fundamentals of Navigation - Student Resources

Join the Instructor-led session on Teams - click here

We look forward to you joining us online. To Join, please click on the Teams Link above, which will be open 30 mins ahead of the training session.

Student Notes

Night 1 Student Notes

Night 2 Student Notes

Exercises used during both sessions.

Resources

Hydrographic Office AHP Edition 4

Hydrographic Office AHP Edition 5

Pre-Learning

To maximise learning and provide more comprehensive content, we have redesigned the course by providing pre course self-paced eLearning.

Pre-Learning Slides

Apps to Assist You

We will be teaching you the fundamentals of navigation which you can apply to your software on your boat, tablet or computer, whether that be Navionics, Expedition, Raymarine etc. If you do not have a navigation system, please consider paying for the Navionics App to have access to all the features. The resources below, will help you use Navionics.

Resources

Navionics How to Youtube Videos

Introduction to Navionics Click here
How to add a known waypoint into the Navionics app Click here
How to add a route using waypoints in the Navionics app Click here

Homework

Online Navigation Exercise - to be completed before the first session please

2025

Weather for Sailors

Module 1, Fundamentals and planning for a 3+day Coastal Passage.

This is a resource page for those enrolled into the Weather for Sailors. Please bookmark this page as additional resources will be added throughout the course. For course dates, please click here

Teams Link

Join the course via this Team link which will be open 30 mins before the starting time of 7pm on each night of the course. Join early via this link

Pre Course Learning

We ask all students to complete some pre-learning prior to attending the instructor led sessions or alternative before the start on night 2 on June 18th. The ORCV uses Learnupon for delivery of this content with an email sent on how to login. Completing this online content is estimated to take roughly 3 - 4 hours.