Melbourne Winter Series (MWS) 

It’s your club. 

And as a result of your say, the Sailing Committee have responded and removed the M2F as the final MWS race! Yep. Gone! In its place will be a long, at least 60 odd nm, Bay race. This will finish in Geelong, so all boats can tie up and have a good time once it’s all over. We’ll even have a shorter course in case there is no real breeze. Stay tuned for amended MWS NOR, SI and details. Smile bright team.

By John Curnow

Melbourne Winter Series (MWS)

The power and the majesty.

Yes it certainly is a mighty sport that we are involved in - so this a personal note of thanks to all the owners and officials that make it all possible for us to go out and laugh, sing and yes, sometimes cry. These images, courtesy of and © to Steb Fisher, are from Races Three and Four of the 2009 MWS held on Sunday August 2. Not sure what you'll get on the 16th, but good luck and enjoy!

This is the only authorised site you can see these images at. You can view more of Steb's work here or contact him via either of these - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and mobile 0438 160 753.

Division 1 Start Line - a few trying to de-power and run down the line and then there's the likes of 'Goldfinger' at the back, fully powered up and barreling into the line - I can hear the bugels now!

'The Secretary' and 'Kingurra's Bowmen, left and right respectively, earned their pay on the day.

'Dream' have a slab in already and the fence is still going into the drink.	Roger and Michelle Wale's 'Pretty Woman' smashing in towards the top mark.

'Soiree Bleu' the Archambault 40 ensuring all is in order before going for the kite. Good move in that breeze.	The new 'Veloce' two-sail reaching, possibly in Race 4. She is getting faster and faster, so it will be good to see how it all stacks up at the end of the MWS.

I entitled this image of Audi Centre Melbourne as "Big Bag... Bit on!" - Enough said, except to add a Foxy-esque "Yahoo Baby!"   Since her latest mods, Audi Centre Melbourne is off and running, literally, as this is where she has her greatest advantage. It certainly is helping, as this purpose built IRC Racer is now all over the IRC and AMS scoreboard.

Alan tells me that Cougar II's computer recorded 32.4 knots of breeze at one stage. They were late (but not too late) for the second start, as he top batten adjuster bracket exploded and popped the batten out in the first race. They sent a crewman (no doubt the lucky bowman) up the mast to pull it clear so they could drop the main and finish the race under headsail alone. They returned to SYC to drill and fit some bolts through the sail and batten, then sailed back to the start of Race 4. They won on IRC despite these issues - well done. For their efforts they got to enjoy a maximum of 23 knots downhill, so I am sure that made all the pain and stress go away...

	This sequence shows 'Goldfinger' leading 'Calm' and then 'XLR8' around the top mark. 'Calm' gets their super huge Audi Centre Brighton bag up, goes hot and starts to gain on her older IMS colleague. These shots were taken by Scott Nunn from RBYC. Many thanks for the use of them, Scott... and stay tuned for more of the images he took.

By John Curnow

Melbourne Winter Series (MWS)

Fresh to Frightening!

'Audacious' gets into a bit of trouble behind 'Jazz Player' who would have been hoping it wasn't infectious. By the way, this pic is from a different race day, but the same weather and conditions!!!

You know, it may also have even been fantastic out there. It all depended on just where you were though! A gale warning had been issued for winds expected to reach 20 knots by lunchtime and then rise further to 25-30 knots by mid-afternoon, with yet more in the evening. No problem getting two races in then.

It was hard to say who won the start, but at the pin end ‘Rush' (John Paterson) appeared to dead heat with ‘Cougar II' (Alan Whiteley) at the Committee Boat end, with ‘Challenge' (Lou Abrahams) more to the centre. The Division 2 start was in complete contrast, with four boats over, one of which did not return. Doh! Doh! Doh! Doh! ‘Cougar II' was first around the weather mark, some 1.6 miles to windward, followed by ‘Audi Centre Melbourne' (Chris Dare) and ‘Calm' together, as too were ‘Goldfinger' (Peter Blake/Kate Mitchell) and ‘XLR8' (Ray Shaw). In Division 2, first round was ‘Inxs' INXS (Bob Sill), then ‘The Secretary' (ORCV Commodore George Shaw), ‘Kingarra' (Ian Macfarlane) and ‘Beyond Outrageous' (Stephen Parry).

Accordingly and not so very surprisingly, downwind was where the fun began. On the Committee Boat, 20-23 knots was recorded, but that is at a height of maybe 3 metres, a lot lower than what most yachts would record at their masthead. There were a few roundups, but the truly spectacular action was yet to come (see Race 4). ‘Cougar II' had opened up a lead of 3 minutes from ‘Audi Centre Melbourne' by the next windward mark, but lost out to ‘Audi Centre Melbourne' at the finish, despite showing surprising speed under jib only. There was a mainsail halyard issue on the run downhill. ‘Sea Fever' lost out badly to two starboard tackers at the windward mark and quick thinking was required for both ‘Rush' and the new ‘Veloce' (Phil Simpfendorfer), who approached with a yacht stalled at the mark. These two yachts sailed neck and neck all day, which must be beneficial for both.

The breeze rose to our recorded 27 knots maximum, with 14 knots as the lowest lull, which made for yet more fun downwind. Making the most of the day was ‘Just A Minor Hickup' (Peter Coleman) sailing well and ‘Under Capricorn' (Phil Bedlington) also making a good appearance. ‘The Secretary' overtook ‘INXS' for the finish, despite ‘INXS' having been in front for every other leg. Well done - it was their kind of weather. ‘Challenge' led the Sydney 38s all the way round.

Good day for 'The Secretary'

RACE 4 

After a hard workout in Race 3, some absences depleted the fleet a little for Race 4. From the Committee Boat point-of-view, it was fantastic entertainment, with adrenalin surges aplenty!

‘Calm' was having a rough day, wrapping the anchor chain to the pin end of the line around their keel. This, in turn, caused two postponements for the 'B' start until a new mark could be hastily laid. Division 1 started in an orderly fashion otherwise, but the race officials ‘had a bit on' with flags, marks and more shotgun shells to really notice much. ‘Cougar II' was two minutes late for the start, but still went on to win IRC for Race 4. They also picked up the Committee Boat's ‘Slickest Crew Work of the Day' award for their efforts in keeping it "noice". The Division 2 start was also orderly although the sea had built somewhat by this stage.

Good clean effort for the day was noticed by some. Pic courtesy of Terri Dodds.

On the first run downhill, one of the yachts began to look unstable, finishing with a spectacular Chinese Gybe. No-one has owned up to doing it yet, although a few think they know who it was. At any rate, when they finally did pop back up, the kite simply went "BANG" and instantly reefed itself. Robin Hewitt wishes he got the binoculars out quicker, so he could have counted the barnacles on her keel. Where is the camera when you really need it? On the second leg downwind there were a lot of poled out headies, as many had displayed a keel and rudder the first time around. It was a typical Northerly day, with extra bullets coming down the course and not a lot of warning before them.

Robin also reports that there was "An absence of vang control, coupled with tardiness in easing jib sheets noticeable throughout the fleet, which made for a few poor windward mark roundings." He also quickly added that it is "Easy to say as a spectator!" All in all however, it was a good day for experienced crew or brave souls.

'JAMHU' is having a good time of it for the 2009 ORCV MWS

Just over half of the 2009 ORCV MWS has now been completed. In AMS (DIV1), the series is been lead by ‘Just a Minor Hickup' with ‘Audi Centre Melbourne' just 2 points behind and ‘Wicked' in third place. In AMS (DIV2), ‘Can Can' leads from ‘Godzilla' with ‘Addiction' in third. In IRC (DIV 1), ‘Audi Centre Melbourne' has a massive 10 point lead and will be hard to beat from here. Peter Coleman's ‘JAMHU' is having a great series and is in second place with the Doyen and his S38 ‘Challenge' in third. For IRC (DIV 2), ‘INXS' leads from ‘Can Can' with ‘Alibi' in third.

'Audi Centre Melbourne' has a pretty handy lead and is featuring all over the scoreboard. Love that axe Chris... Well done.

In PHS Division 1, ‘Audi Centre Melbourne' leads from ‘Just A Minor Hickup' with ‘Wicked' in third. In Division 2, ‘INSX' leads from ‘Addiction' with ‘Magazan 53' in third.

You can check it all out here.

By John Curnow

Melbourne Winter Series (MWS) 

On A Clear Day... 

....You can literally see for miles, which was unfortunate for the now-for-sale F52 'Goldfinger' who was over the line at the very hotly contested Division 1 start. No worries, as co-owner Kate Mitchell said, "If you're not over every now and then, you're just not trying!" The three minutes plus they handed the fleet then sealed their fate for the day's racing, but they did manage to claw their way back to third over the line.

The breeze was from the NorNor West all day and offered anything from 16 to 26knots, which really did make for a great day's work, even if it was cold with all that air coming off the water's surface. Kites popped out at the top mark for the reaching legs of the triangle and two sausages course that was set. All was looking looking good and the leaders were soon then back to the windward mark which had been moved to accommodate a small shift from 330°M to 340°.

'Calm' led all day on their way to the Division 1 gun and the other TP52 'CougarII' retired with gear failure. They came back to go match racing, but ultimately had to go to the pen. 'Audi Centre Melbourne' was the real speedster of the day and her owner was seen to be smiling afterwards, so there must have been something going correctly. They seemed to be faster off the breeze than the TPs and that's some encouraging news indeed.

Into the bottom mark it was 'Calm' first, then just 20 seconds behind 'Audi Centre Melbourne' with 'XLR8' and Phil Simpfendorfer's new Elliott 44 'Veloce' ahead of the Melbourne Offshore Champion, the DK46 'Extasea'. 'Veloce' actually showed great speed all day, much better than Race One, so I think we can look to good things here.

In Division 2, 'INXS' was ahead of 'Alibi' and 'Gienah', then 'The Secretary', which was pretty much the way it was for the day. The Doyen, King Lou, and the 'Challenge' crew led the 38s. They had an interesting mark rounding with the fast new 'Wicked'. 'Sierra Chainsaw' and '38° South' were also there to keep it a contest until the end.

The top mark was moved and this meant the next runs were squarer. Some tried to aim at the mark with big kites and full mains. Yep there were roundups a plenty. Some even had more than their fair share of them too. No camera onboard and no batteries in the one on the Committee Boat. Doh!

As the breeze settled in more, not less as the BoM had suggested, many boats in the latter half of the fleet did not reef, so the works were often done on their ear. Sails were not let out for the roundings, so the Committee Boat reports there was many a stalled rudder and even a few keels too!

MWS Race 2 Line Honours (Div 1 and 2) Results HERE.

MWS IRC Results HERE.

 

By John Curnow with Robin Hewitt.