ORCV Melbourne to Stanley (M2S)

Getting there for the glory - and prizes.

As there were only 11 boats to arrive from the fleet of 32, the gathering for presentations may have been a little smaller than anticipated, but the enthusiasm and smiles well and truly made it seem like the full size crowd was there.

Andrew Burggraaff, front and centre, went down to Stanley on Gusto. He was happy - usually is...

Tony Bull from Ullman Sails in Geelong went to Stanley aboard ORCV Committee Member, Paul Buchholz's eXtasea and this is his take on the event. "Well the 2010 Melbourne to Stanley race was approached with high expectations. The weather routing showed a fast trip and early evening finish. You Beauty! Come the start time, however, it was apparent that a big fat high pressure system was going to dominate the race, with little wind and plenty of rain. In the lead up to the start, the wind was very fickle and on Paul Buchholz’s eXtasea, we kept the foredeck busy with calls for various spinnakers to be set up and then removed, as the wind swung around through all the points of the compass. However, we did get away in a light 6-7 knot headwind. Those choosing to start at the boat end got away well, with Icefire the best, closely followed by Chikara Outlaw, Mille Sabords and us, aboard eXtasea."

eXtasea (in the background, behind the breakwater) departs Stanley, in very different conditions to when it arrived!

"It was the perfect conditions for the DK46 design and we moved quickly into the lead, which we held going out through a very sublime Rip at Port Phillip Heads. Settling down, we were slowly overtaken by a couple of the larger boats, which we assumed were Goldfinger and Calm, by virtue of their roach profiles. The mizzle had settled in and stayed for the bulk of the race, making life a bit miserable for all."

"With the coming of the dawn, the breeze had backed to the Northeast, spinnakers were flying and we had Gusto abeam and slowly drawing past us. This was about the best of it; the following 24 hours was a mishmash of windless holes, with the occasional light zephyr and a constant light rain. The radio sked showed most boats struggling along, although Goldfinger had a blinder and were out to 25 miles ahead of us."

"It was pretty obvious that a second nights’ sailing was ahead of us, as we kept changing sails and angles in the forlorn hope of keeping the boat moving. Is there anything more frustrating than sitting in the rain with flapping sails and no progress? I doubt it. The evening sked showed we had made good ground back on Goldfinger, who were now only seven miles ahead. Race on! A touch of enthusiasm was regained as a result, with Slinky Malinky, Alien and Jazz Player very much in the picture, as well. The same sked showed a lot of boats had retired and who could blame them! The second night was even more frustrating than the first, with our log showing only 17 miles in 7 hours!!!?? Finally and after a few flirtatious puffs, a steady breeze built in from the ESE and we scurried into Stanley under Jib Top and hounded by driving rain, getting a third across the line, behind Gusto and  then Goldfinger."

"Sailing around 'The Nut' and spying the ORCV Race Van certainly was a relief! We were done! The building breeze brought the smaller boats home and Slinky Malinky (must enquire about that name?) was the boat of the race, with a first in both IRC and PHS, along with a second in AMS behind Escapade. Congratulations to all the competitors and especially all the finishers, it was character building! A big thanks to the ORCV, Stanley Lion’s Club and the folk at Stanley for all their hospitality."

Ed: - also a very special thanks to Sheryl Robson and her team, which included Tony and Dave. A big thanks to Gaby and Richard from the Smithton Scout Troop and of course Mark Hursey who puts the buoy out for us and even went back out to change the lights, so we could finish the first two in the dark and most of the others in the haze, mist, cloud, fog and driving rain that came on their own or as a bunch for each finisher, bar the last few after lunch.

Stanley's super famous basalt massif - The Nut.

Drying gear aboard Mille Sabords, after the wet, wet, wet ride down....

The dear old ORCV Race Van beside the picturesque harbour.

Once again, back to the important stuff, then.

Line Honours Placings:

Gusto over Goldfinger and then eXtasea.

Brian Pattinson from Gusto, with his friend, ORCV Committee Member, aka He of the Countdown Timer, Jeremy Walton.

Handicap Rankings for:

IRC

Slinky Malinky, Alien and then eXtasea.

The ORCV's Tanya Stanford with Jeremy and Eric Marsh from Slinky Malinky. Eric and gang are the Seamanship Poster Crew after being marvellous in the 2010 M2V.

AMS

Escapade, Slinky Malinky and Alien in third place.

Our man Vladimir, I mean Robert Bradley, had the crowd in stitches...

PHS

Slinky Malinky, Escapade and Alien.

Justin Brennan from Alien, who featured in IRC, AMS and PHS - no wonder he is smiling.

To see the results, click HERE.

Oh yes - we've got plenty!!!

© John Curnow, ORCV Media

Please contact me for re-issue rights.