Ocean Racing Club of Victoria
Steb Fisher

 

 

2014 PORT FAIRY RACE OUTLOOK

 

The weather pattern for the Port Fairy race seems to be stable now with forecasts from the BOM, PredictWind and UBIMET all in good agreement. Winds mostly 20-30 knots and spinnakers and reaching sails will get a good workout with no upwind  legs at all ( but of course, forecasts have been wrong before!). The PW routing shows a Beneteau 40 arriving early evening with a race time of about 15 hours ( depending on which model you prefer!). The race record is about 14.5 hours so any faster boats are in with a chance to break it. Good luck! The folks at Port Fairy are all ready to welcome the fleet into port with their usual hospitality.

EARLY UBIMET WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE 2014 THE M2PF RACE

 

Melbourne to Port Fairy Yacht Tracker

You can use Full screen Yacht Tracker page if you prefer.

A non-flash Yacht Tracker is available for non-flash capable computers, SmartPhones or Tablets, or you can follow the race on the YellowBrick iPhone/iPad or Andriod App.

 

Melbourne to Port Fairy 2014 - All Systems Are Go!

 
Following a very successful Melbourne to King Island Race in March, our hard working Race Director, Nick McGuigan, is putting the final touches to the race management preparations for this year's Melourne to Port Fairy yacht race.
 
After weeks of meticulous planning, the entire ORCV race management team has left no stone unturned to ensure that the Port Fairy Race is as well planned as any ocean race held anywhere in the world this year.
 
Part of this preparation involves detailed liaisons with key maritime and safety authorities including, Port of Melbourne Corporation, Parks Victoria, Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard, as well as co-ordination with our host, Port Fairy Yacht Club.
 
In addition, the team collects and correlates safety documentation and contact details for the eight boats and 59 competing crew, so as to ensure that all Yachting Australia Special Regulations for Category 2 races are complied with.
 
Over the next few days, these details will be reviewed and updated as each of the crew lists are refined and finalised, and all eyes in the management team will now turn to the weather and our race partner UBIMET, to ensure that all conditions are assessed carefully as the race conditions develop, and we will keep all of our skippers and crew members up to date with the latest information.
 
Stay tuned to the ORCV Website and Facebook page for up to the minute details for this years Melbourne to Port Fairy Race.

2014 PORT FAIRY RACE WEATHER

 

With the Port Fairy race fast approaching, skippers will doubtless be watching the weather forecasts with increasing interest. We all know how challenging ocean races can be when unexpected weather arrives!

 

Thanks to the generosity of long time ORCV supporter Peter Coleman (and his company Entire), the race management team for the M2PF race will have the benefit of a completely tailored weather forecast from UBIMET. UBIMET is a European company with a local presence here in Melbourne and they specialise in providing customised weather forecasts and severe weather warnings in real time using its own algorithms and models. You may have seen them featured on TV as the weather forecaster for the recent Grand Prix here in Melbourne.

 

Raw weather data provides the basis for UBIMET’s models and for each forecast. UBIMET currently has access to WMO standard compliant data from over 17,000 weather stations worldwide. This data is combined with input from lightning detectors, satellites, radars, weather buoys and radiosondes. As such, UBIMET has access to one of the largest and most advanced weather station networks in the world. The data is continuously updated on high-security servers and processed for regional and local forecasts.

 

In addition to a pre-race forecast for the race corridor from Port Phillip Heads to Port Fairy, UBIMET will be monitoring the weather during the race ( courtesy of Peter’s son Tom who is one of UBIMET’s chief forecasters) so that race management will be kept well abreast of any emerging weather concerns.

 

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3 Aquatic Drive, Albert Park VIC 3206 Ph. 0493 102 744 E. orcv@orcv.org.au