HIGHLIGHTS - NEW MEMBERS WITH YACHTS JOINING THE FLEET in July
'Another Chapter' for Greg Clinnick, Neil Sargeant and Greg Blanch.
As soon as lockdown is over, we will see some familiar faces of Greg Clinnick (prior owner of Audacious, Sydney 38) and Neil Sargeant (Mersea, Hanse 445) together with new ORCV member Greg Blanch join together to sail “Another Chapter”.
Another Chapter Crew
Wanting to slow down from the demands of one design keelboat racing but not to buy a slow boat, they settled on ‘Christine’ a Beneteau 44.7 now residing in Hobart. Christine rates only a little slower than the Beneteau First 45 and will do 7s upwind. She is relatively light for her length and comes factory fitted with a carbon mast and deep keel. She was built specifically for the Beneteau Racing team in France to help stimulate sales when the new design was launched in 2004 and went onto win yacht of the year (2004).
Christine came with a raft that was out of survey and it was due for a major, and costly, service. A little help from the ORCV Safety Gurus on what to look for and it was clear that a new raft with better safety features and a dedicated EPRIB was the way to go. We were then introduced to Harry Lewis from West Offshore who was super obliging in locating and up-specing a second-hand, refurbished 10 man Zodiac raft for less than the cost of servicing the old raft, plus the 20% discount as an ORCV member was the icing on the cake.
The boat will be renamed to 'Another Chapter' as the door opens again for the boat and crew.We plan to compete ‘Another Chapter’ locally and interstate and sail in a mix of inshore and offshore events. The ORCV longer format of racing appeals to us after 9 years of short course racing in Audacious. Covid willing, she will return to RBYC in early September.
Another Chapter and not the last for this crew.
Photo: 'Another Chapter' for Christine and new owners. Photo Steb Fisher
No Mans Land skippered by Sal Balharrie
Sal Balharrie’s No Mans Land has been making waves in the ORCV fleet, as the all-female team grows and builds their skills together to take on ocean racing. Sal purchased No Mans Land, Bruce Taylor’s Chutzpah38, and put together a team a little over a year ago by posing a simple question to the potential crew; “Would you like to learn how to sail?” Fast forward to the recent ORCV winter series races, and No Mans Land has been pushing their Sydney 38 rivals and constantly building their ability as a tight-knit crew.
No Mans Land Crew - Photo Nadine Tabak
Purchased with the goal of bringing more women into sailing, No Mans Land has been as much about building a culture as it has been about winning races; the focus of the boat is always about doing things safely and well and setting a new personal best every time the boat heads out on the water. After finishing 23 minutes behind the next Sydney38 in the first race of the ORCV Winter Series, Sal set the mission statement to her crew for the second race – riding on their hip all day was the benchmark. Achieving this goal alongside a great mid-fleet result and a steadily growing mark of respect amongst their competitors, Sal commented that the nights away on the boat and mingling with the crew from other boats was a real highlight of the longer format races.
No Mans Land is focussed on ocean racing moving forward, as the sea miles and experience of those on board steadily increases with every race they compete in. They are looking forward to the remaining race of the ORCV Winter Series, as well as the ocean events throughout the fast-approaching summer season. The goal remains to always improve on the previous result, and edge ever ahead on the water and in the results!
No Mans Land Winter Series Racing Photo Michael Currie
