NOTICE OF
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MELBOURNE TO HOBART - WESTCOASTER
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ORCV Heemskirk Consolidated Westcoaster (27/12/2011).
And they said it could not be done...
'You cannot do it!'
That's what they cried in 1972. However, 40 years later, Stan Gibson of Melbourne and Dr Joe Cannon of Hobart created a magnificent brainchild that has certainly built a legacy. Stan had studied the weather charts for the West coast and was convinced the race could be run. Now what a journey it is. It is the only race to go down Tasmania’s rugged West coast and the only one to go into the mighty Southern Ocean, as well. It is the yachtsman’s race, conducted by yachties, specifically for the hardened sailor. The record was set by Matt Short’s former TP52 in 2008, when they took five and a half hours of the previous record. Matt’s Father, Fred Short, was a former Commodore of the ORCV and Matt, along with two of his other Brothers did the race in the early 70’s as a family. In 2008, he brought an extended cast of his own family along for the record run. Matt and Sarah Short said at the time, “It’s more challenging and exciting” (than its more famous cousin). Incidentally, they took a whole day off the time Matt took with his parents around 30 years earlier...
Alas, like any good race, it is not just about the boats at the front. In 2010, a 36-foot South Australian entry took out all three categories with their outright win of the race, which was just reward for their hard charging efforts under spinnaker on the first and second nights of the race. It was also their first foray over from SA to join us. John Muirhead not only designed his vessel, but built it too and although she's had new keel along the way, the triple planked hull with an epoxy outer shell looks as brilliant today, as it would have back then. Her crew have been on board for most of that time, as well, and exude the dedication and skill all of us hope to own.
The Cadibarra team were a close-knit outfit, knew how to sail, had a strong boat and even stronger constituions!
Over time, the start has been delayed only twice and there has been no loss during the Westcoaster’s magnificent history. Now it is true that in 1999, just the one boat, Cadibarra VII, made it in to Hobart and it had taken them way, way way way longer than normal, but that just goes to prove what Trevor Huggard said, before he undertook his own 30th Westcoaster, “I love this race because it is never the same!” You can read about Cadibarra VII in the 1999 Westcoaster, HERE.
Now it is not all 40+knots and 5m+ swells, although that's certainly my recollection. Slinky Malinky, who would go on to be our first Seamanship Poster Crew, timed their run perfectly so that they would be coming up the Derwent River, exactly when the New Year's Eve fireworks were going off! That they'd been becalmed, yes belcalmed, on the West coast had nothing to do with it... Nothing....
Slinky Malinky becalmed on the West coast! Sunhats, SPF 5000000000 shirts and all - the original item is HERE.
Glassy, glassy, glassy. They've even given up on the main!
So what of that first race then?
The first thing you note is that there were a lot of 'names' involved in it - Calvert, Kelso and Wood - but before we go further, one name who deserves thanks for his wonderful help in getting me facts is Bob Tanner. Cheers and thanks, pal.
Now in 1972, Line Honours went to Peter Riddle's Mary Blair in 2 Days, 16 Hours, 19 Minutes and 7 Seconds. The Handicap winner was John Marion's, Alisa, which was a 30-foot Philip Rhodes design launched in 1945, hailing from Hobson's Bay Yacht Club. The crew list indicates that on board were J. Marion, B Beavis, H Alderdice and a B Webber. Hhhmmmmmm. Me thinkey that could be Bernie from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. Bernie, David - Any thoughts?
As for the records from the day? Well they state, "15 yachts set off from Queenscliff on the inaugural journey to Hobart. Little did they know that ahead lay the violent weather conditions predicted by the prophets of doom. Bill Brown's 'Wendy ll' was the early leader, but Peter Riddle's 'Mary Blair' relished the huge seas built up by the 35 - 40 knot Sou'wester and held the lead to the finish. There was just the one retirement, Joma ll (M. Gill), which was dismasted off King Island, with minor injuries to one of her crew. They were able to continue under power to Grassy."
The handicap results for the 1972 fleet were:
• Ailsa - J Marion
• Boomerang Vll - A Kelso
• Huon Lass - H Calvert
• Lady Hamilton - L O'Donoghue
• Patsy of Island By - J Muir
• Mary Blair - P Riddle
• Jisuma - E Freeman
• Boambillee - G Sutcliffe
• Tawarra II - A G Croft
• Wendy ll - B Brown
• Four Winds ll - S Gibson
• Tarwuin - P Trewartha
• Ile Ola - G Wood
• Sailmaker - R Ham
• Joma ll - M Gill (DNF)
Moving on to today and somewhat ironically, the second boat booked in for the 40th Westcoaster, Hot August Night, was designed by Ben Lexcen, just like the first entrant, Yoko. However, the 35-footer was built by McConaghy Boats in 1983, which would explain why she displaces a very-light-for-the-time, 4.3 tonnes.
"We are all very excited to be heading to Melbourne this year to do the Westcoaster. We expect to see a plethora of entries for the 40th. We have been competing in all the Tasmanian offshore races, winning the Three Island Offshore Series last season in PHS and will be doing the M2HW in AMS and IRC", said Nat Morgan, skipper of the vessel that hails from our pals at the Derwent Sailing Squadron and you can see her in action above and below.
Ultimately, whether the 40th Westcoaster is your first or your tenth, you can look forward to many things. The challenges and unbelievable scenery, which you just won’t comprehend until you get there, but most importantly, a cold case of beer at the Elizabeth Street pier in Hobart.
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If you want to join Yoko and be a part of the 40th Westcoaster, Yoko certainly were the first to put their name down, and then they were joined ever so quickly by Hot August Night from Hobart. Since the original posting of this piece, our first Seamanship Poster Crew, Slinky Malinky, have made it three going down the West at Xmas. |
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ORCV Land also extends on to the ORCV Facebook page, so make sure you go and "Like" the page, now. 209 Souls already have and thank you to each and every one of you. (This has now climbed to 261 since this was first posted - so an even bigger thank you!)
© John Curnow, ORCV Media
Please contact me for re-issue rights.
![ORCV-logo_G_[OCEANSAILING]_PNG](/images/stories/ORCVLOGO/SCREEN/PNG-GradientFlag/ORCV-logo_G_%5BOCEANSAILING%5D_PNG.png){kind=logo} |
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Heemskirk are proud sponsors of the ORCV's pair of races heading to Hobart just after Christmas. Their name has strong links to Tassie with it originating from Abel Tasman's Flagship, as well as the mountain on the West coast that also shares the name. |
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ORCV Heemskirk Consolidated Westcoaster (27/12/2011).
Sailor's folly.
At the time, it was considered pure folly.
A yacht race down the scenic, but dramatic West coast of Tasmania, was just not on.
However, as you can plainly see, 40 years on, The Westcoaster is not only still going, it is still attracting countless dedicated yachties to the cause.
In the early days, there were legs of ham and upright pianos that went South just after Christmas, in a truly gentrified manner and age. As time moved on, the attire changed as radically as the boats, as the crew moved back and outside from pilothouses to tillers and wheels. Construction of vessels moved from virtually pure timber to fantastic things like epoxy, GRP, sandwich and carbon fibre. Steel got a look in, aluminium sort of flashed by, with ferrocement also having the odd foray into yacht construction and natural fibres in sails and on sailors' backs, also gave way to man-made substances, most with weird and wonderful names, too. One thing that has not changed in all that time, is the dedication to safety.
Now there is one vessel that has seen the last 30 consecutive Westcoasters - Robin Hewitt's, Yoko. Designed by Miller and Whitworth, the 50-foot steel sloop still has the same rig today, as she did then, with her Master being one of the greatest salts you will ever have the pleasure to meet. Of course, a certain Bob Miller would go on not only to change his own name, but the very shape of yachting itself in the 20th Century, with a little thing called Australia II.
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We're going to unfold it all a little bit more over the next while, but in the meantime, you've probably already seen the NoR or even the 2011 Westcoaster poster, left. There's a caption at the bottom of it - 40 +30 = 70. Hopefully, if you've got this far, you've worked out the 40 and the 30, and yes, mathematically the two add together to become 70. However, in our case the 70 also signifies a very recent, milestone birthday for Robin. Today, as always, Robin is still very much in it as an SSSC Instructor, Race Director, or collecting the loot! Just see below.... |
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So, as the 2011 Offshore Championship get's underway, and as a mark to all the sailors and race officials who've gone before, we just simply want to say;
• Well done Yoko.
• Well done Robin, and very importantly,
• Well done Westcoaster!
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If you want to join Yoko and be a part of the 40th Westcoaster, Yoko certainly were the first to put their name down, and then they were joined ever so quickly by Hot August Night from Hobart. Since the original posting of this piece, our first seamanship poster crew, Slinky Malinky, have made it three going down the West at Xmas. |
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ORCV Land also extends on to the ORCV Facebook page, so make sure you go and "Like" the page, now. 205 Souls already have and thank you to each and every one of you. (Climbed to 257 since original posting - so an even bigger thank you!)
© John Curnow, ORCV Media
Please contact me for re-issue rights.
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Heemskirk are proud sponsors of the ORCV's pair of races heading to Hobart just after Christmas. Their name has strong links to Tassie with it originating from Abel Tasman's Flagship, as well as the mountain on the West coast that also shares the name. |
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The Heemskirk Consolidated Melbourne to Hobart.
F.F.
As Lincoln Week is underway, with our friends Scarlet Runner and Calm over there to partake in the fun, it is interesting to note that one of our newest friends, Enchantress from RSAYS, is also there. Steve Jenkins, the Naviguesser onboard, has sent us this information from their blinding run in the Westcoaster last Xmas. They tell us that a run in the Eastcoaster is possible for 2011. "Yes we saw the M2H Eastcoaster hint and it’s tempting - can’t do the Westcoaster anymore can we????"
At any rate, it would be great to see you and Carpe Diem again. Bring some more pals too, if you like...
"During the race we had four up and four down. As you can see, those on deck we’re having fun, relaxing and enjoying the ride. Our kite was up from sunset on the December 28 through to dusk on the 29th, excepting for a spell at around 3pm for an hour. We dropped it at dusk, as the next front came through and we saw 40+ knots..."
"This is the data from our instruments on the December 29, 2010 for the 24 hour period; Boat Speed, True Wind Speed and Course over Ground. On the left hand side it’s 00:01 on the 29/12/10, 8nm off the coast and SW of Arthur River. Then it's 12:00pm in the middle, with 19.7 knots boat speed!!! The far right is Midnight on the same day, when we were just past The Friars, heading up Storm Bay on the outside of Bruny Island, with Audacious only half an nm in front of us. That’s a lot of Tasmanian coast to see in a day in a 36 footer." Ed. Ah, yes, that would be affirmative...
"We had the kite up for the first 18 hours until Dusk and it was running at 140 to 170 degrees apparent all day. Then just after Maatsyker we dropped the kite in 35 knots of breeze and continued to hammer along with a full main and a reacher up - still running at 140 to 170 degrees apparent", Steve finished with.
"Our Spartan accommodation – All the fun is had above decks and going fast - down below is for sleeping and listening to the water rush against the timber." This is crewmember, Roger Harrison.
They did say The Rip was an "interesting" way to begin a race...
The think tank process all the information. (Rob, John and Noel.)
A lot of the images are with the kite up and starting to having some downwind fun - this one is Chris speeding along...
John Muirhead
It's Roger in there...
Rob and Noel partaking in some of that downwind fun.
Hey. Rob does not have the tiller this time!!!
Steve Jenkins acting as the Human Preventer.
"Noel Swan smiling with Rob Large sitting in the lounge chair at the back."
"John Willoughby – with John Muirhead hiding behind him on the helm and you can just see Johns fingers on the tiller extension."
They loved seeing the West coast of Tasmania...
"We really enjoyed the race and loved the weather, which suited the boat perfectly. It's a great event, and the West coast of Tassie is a stunning part of Australia – just be ready for the wind when it comes along! Enchantress then enjoyed a cruise back via the West coast in moderate to light conditions for eight days. After a swim in the Gordon River and a night in Strahan, some of the cruising crew departed and then four of us then did a non-stop delivery from Strahan to Adelaide in three and a half days. Again a rather quick trip with 30knots from SE behind us this time, but we didn’t fly the kite, as we were cruising. We then got lots of thick fog for 36 hours and the last day was motoring most of the day", said Steve.
Enchantress has had a new keel since being launched, but she must have been a progressive design for her day and is still on the money.
"Cruising back to SA we put the 25 year old heavy weight kite up to dry it out and noticed that one leech is looking a bit stretched – but we’re not sure why?" This image is from the trip down, leading into sunset.
FF? - Ross, not that hard then. It's not Formula Ferguson (as in Jensen Interceptors), it's Femme Fatale.
Treasure Chest, I tell you...
© John Curnow, ORCV Media
Please contact me for re-issue rights.
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Our truly marvellous sponsors, the global miners whose name is that of both Abel Tasman's flagship and a mountain in Tasmania. |
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Below is what is now known as the Red Wine Cup, for first in to Hobart via either coast.... In 2008 it went to the West and in 2009 it was the East. 2010????!! |
With many thanks to our friends at 3AW for providing us with great coverage - listen in for all the fun. |
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ORCV Melbourne to Hobart (27/12/2011)
Forward thinking.
Apart from the reference to the name of our current Love Boat, which was clearly enough for this newspaper advertorial to get a run on this site, it was also Susan Haliwell's forward thinking that got us to thinking.
You see, she sent image in to us with the title, 2012 M2H. We like your plans!!!! He of the Countdown Timer let us know that as of Friday, 27/5/11, it is 214 days to go. That was pretty cool, as he was driving to Coonawarra and still managed to get the information to us. Thank you. (It was Karen who sent the text, so today, it is actually She of the Countdown Timer. Poor sods, they are trying to work out if they are to go to Wynns or Leconfield first?????)
Sue tells us, "This item was in a mid-year couse supplement in The Age on May 23. Meg O'Shannessy and I saw these guys in Hobart when we went down to enjoy the festivities and join the Magazan 53 crew after the 2010 M2H. We flew to Hobart on December 30th, 2010. The OneAndAll came in on the 31st, we saw them arrive into Hobart from our position on Constitution Dock, with kids/adults evenly spaced along all the yarn arms, singing loud and proud. Later in the night, we had a chance to chat with some of the girls at the pub opposite Princes Wharf 1 (Ed. Some of us know it as Elizabeth St Pier), before heading back to Magazan 53 and enjoying the New Year's Eve fireworks, seafood and bubbly. After all that, we then helped to bring Magazan 53 home."
MBA, MasterChef - everyone's having a go. Cool.
© John Curnow, ORCV Media
Please contact me for re-issue rights.
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The Heemskirk Consolidated Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster.
Apologetic Brass...
The Brass would very much like to apologise for an error in the results of the 2010 Sovereign Series, which comprises of the Boxing Day Dash, the mighty Westcoaster and then the King of the Derwent, in Hobart. So it is two inshore races and the offshore event, inside of just over a week. In essence, the Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster race was not correctly accounted for as the 'Gold Medal' race in the race results software, which resolves Series' ties by determining the best result in the Westcoaster, as per the NOR. Accordingly, there have been some changes to the overall 2010 Sovereign Series rankings. "Given that the Sovereign Series is such a wonderful and complete test of a crew's all-round sailing capability, it continues to be hugely popular with the faithful. This situation is very unfortunate and we are sorry for the issue and the resultant changes. Mercifully, this issue only affected the Sovereign Series", the Chairman of Sailing Committee, Simon Dryden, commented.
Right then. Just what are the changes I hear you say. Well, our very special Seamanship Poster Crew, Eric Marsh's Slinky Malinky, go to the top of the 2010 Sovereign Series IRC table. Well done team - Last over the line (as in DFL) in 2009, that very memorable run to Vanuatu in 2010 and now a Sovereign Series win at the end of 2010/beginning of 2011. "It certainly is a great success story", said Simon.
I also know that Hobbos Commodore, David Judge, is exceptionally proud of his fellow club members. "It is great to see the team get such a big credit, as a sign of their improvement over the past year. The Soveriegn Series is a tough baby to win and is well regarded by all offshore sailors. Whispers of an upgrade have been heard by the close enough to hear...", said David.
Ed: - I did not know Eric or John Owens before the 2010 M2V, but I am happy to say that I do now!
Eric receives some of the appropriate silverware from His Excellency, the Honourable Peter Underwood, Governor of Tasmania and below, the crew also happy to be a part of it all. John Owens holding the other trophy in this instance.
In IRC second place and on the same overall points, is Audacious (above) from RBYC.
Behind Audacious in third place IRC, is another Brighton vessel, Magazan 53. Amongst their achievements, Magazan also won the Easyfoods contest and boy did like that win!!!! (Just look at the empty boxes).
On to AMS then, which is another win for Magazan 53, with Audacious in second place and then Addiction, who'd only made it back in the drink not too long before Xmas, taking out third place. (Go HERE to read about when Addiction got out of Steve Campbell's Composites Constructions' yard.)
Janina Goethel, who runs the Australian Women's Keelboat Regatta cannot make her mind up between the beer or the champagne!
Driving Addiction from RMYS to Hobart was Richard McGarvie, who was happy to explain some of the in-fleet rivalry to all and sundry on the Elizabeth Street Pier! Love the emphasis on the Team BO defeat...
Moving on to PHS and the win went to Magazan 53, with Slinky in second and Laurie Ford's Spirit of Downunder from RYCV, in third. Interestingly, they all finished on 10 points, but with the Gold Medal race factor, it was two, three and four to them in that event and hence, that's the way they finished in the table!
Lozza got his beloved SoD back in the drink not too long before Xmas, either. Go HERE to see about that.
All right and there you have it. Call The Brass if you need to...
Soon!
© John Curnow, ORCV Media
Please contact me for re-issue rights.
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Our truly marvellous sponsors, the global miners whose name is that of both Abel Tasman's flagship and a mountain in Tasmania. |
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