Ocean Racing Club of Victoria
Steb Fisher
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True Colours celebrate first ORCV offshore race with a win

John Strahan’s and his True Colours crew are celebrating after winning both AMS and ORCc divisions in the season-opening Ocean Racing Club of Victoria offshore race. The 55 nautical mile Bass Strait race starting off Queenscliff was a real test for crew and equipment in windy and choppy conditions.

Sailing an easterly course to Cape Schanck with a 25 knot south easterly the fleet set sail with reefed mainsails. It was a quick refresher course of sailing into the wind in Bass Strait. “The conditions were challenging, with a swell in one direction and chop in the other, with gusts of up to 30 knots,” said Strahan. “The first leg took four hours of sailing close to the wind to the virtual mark off Cape Shank, but once we turned, it was a reach most of the way to the finish, which our Bavaria 44 performs well. In” said a very happy Stahan.

True Colours crew

You guessed it, True Colours crew about to celebrate their win.

Winning PHS division double-handed sailing duo Rod Smallman and Leeton Hulley on Maverick, a Sunfast 3600. “We were slower getting out through the heads and had always planned to stay left on the upwind leg. Our research indicated that with our course we would get more wind and it offered the best angles and would also take advantage of the onshore breeze. It was a gamble which paid off with Maverick making ground and leading the fleet at the first mark”

“It was a challenging race having not sailed a lot in the past year, with extra care taken with each maneuver, sail changes and tacks, reminding ourselves of the things you need to do to go ocean sailing,” said Hulley.

Start of CS1 Photo Neville Rose

Audere settling into the race.  Photo Neville Rose

Having owned for close on two years the Beneteau First 45 Audere, skipper Joshua Thring finished third on ORCc and explained “It was a good run for the crew to control the boat and not allow it to get overpowered with the sea state and a great chance for the three helms to practice in preparation for the upcoming ‘Westcoaster’ (Melbourne to Hobart) race. Thring went on to explain “We started out with one reef and number three headsail and were still a little overpowered. We talked about changing to the number 4 jib but concentrated on flattening the boat. We had been with Ruyjin in the early part of the day and on the reaching leg, Ruyjin took off. It took us a few nautical miles to get the courage to pop the kite which gave us a quick run home with 17knots seen at times.”

Thoroughly excited with their win, Strahan summed up the race “Whilst the race had its moments, we like the sprint series, it’s format and daylight starts allows to make a weekend of it with a pub meal on Friday, good breakfast before we start and a celebration at the Queenscliff pub again after the race on Saturday.”

Crowned Club of the Year by Australian Sailing last week, the ORCV looks to continue its celebrations with entries to the milestone races, 50th Melbourne to King Island and 50th Melbourne to Hobart (Westcoaster) due to open in the next week.

Summary of results:

AMS 1st True Colours, 2nd Archie, 3rd Ruyjin
ORCc 1st True Colours, 2nd Maverick, 3rd Audere
PHS 1st Maverick, 2nd True Colours, 3rd Blue Water Tracks
DH 1st Maverick
Line Honours Extasea

For full results click here https://www.orcv.org.au/results/2021-22/2021CostalSprint/series.htm?ty=04975

West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Race 1 Updates

 

Results

Results are in for the first race of the season, the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint. Congratulations to all who raced today in Bass Strait in some challenging conditions.
AMS 1st True Colours, 2nd Archie, 3rd Ruyjin
ORCc 1st True Colours, 2nd Maverick, 3rd Audere
PHS 1st Maverick, 2nd True Colours, 3rd Blue Water Tracks
DH 1st Maverick
Line Honours Extasea

True Colours crew

12 noon Race Director Update

Soon after the start, with all the fleet bunched up and heading South, we saw Maverick take a different strategy turning back towards the coastline towards Portsea Back Beach.   By 12 noon, the fleet has spread out a little with Extasea and Hartbreaker rounding the first mark and leading the fleet.   

It's a magnificent day on Bass Strait with sunshine and a good amount of breeze giving the crews heading offshore at Christmas on a Hobart or Devonport race the opportunity to settle back into ocean racing for the upcoming season.

We say goodbye to Jaffa and Ca Bouge who retired due to gear failure and Foxy Lady retiring with some crew suffering sea sickness but all OK otherwise.

Looks like some of the Foxy Lady crew will be attending the next ORCV Webinar on Sea sickness this Tuesday 29th November at 8pm  (Register for the webinar here)

Photo on Faster Forward Photo Nadine Tabak

Onboard Faster Forward Photo Nadine Tabak 


Just After the Start at 9am

Another ocean season has begun at 8.20am with 23 starters in the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint 1.

As the fleet head towards Cape Shanck on the Easterly course, they have 20 knots SE and 2m seas with clear skies. You can follow the fleet on marine traffic today for this sprint race and the 55nm. Jaffa has retired just after starting, all onboard OK.

Start of CS1 Photo Neville Rose

Just after the start Photo Neville Rose

Variation Approval 

Special Regulations 2.02.1 for the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint on November 27th 2021.

Where recent covid related constraints make it impractical for Skippers to arrange an the independent Safety Equipment Audit by the due date for submission of entry documentation for Coastal Sprint Race 1, the ORCV may accept Self Audit using the standard  Australian Sailing Cat 3 Equipment Audit form.

Skippers who are having difficulty arranging for inspection by an Australian Sailing Accredited Auditor should contact Vanessa in the ORCV office who will provide more details .  Please note, you must still carry the equipment as this dispensation does not waive equipment requirements, it merely waives the requirement for the equipment to be checked by an AS auditor.

Copy of Australian Sailing Variation can be found  here

The Magic Bullet for what was 'Paradise' in Melbourne

Melbourne turned on the perfect weather for the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s (ORCV) “Return to Racing Celebration” race with Leo Cantwell’s Cavalier 350 Sl, Magic Bullet taking 1st place on AMS, and the overall win. A fleet of 21 yachts from six Port Phillip Bay clubs sailing in perfect conditions participated in the race.

And theyre off and racing Photo Dave HewisonA little rusty but they are off and racing.  Photo Dave Hewison

I’ve been lucky enough to be out on my boat in the past few weeks but “I’m not great at just cruising, it's just not the same as racing, where there’s a bit of a challenge” explained Cantwell. “We made some mistakes gybing the symmetrical and things didn’t go so well so we lost some minutes sorting ourselves out.” Cantwell finished off with “We’re just so happy to get out in the fresh air and shake off the cobwebs”.

Overall winner Magic Bullet Photo Dave HewisonA magic day for this little bullet Photo Dave Hewison

It was the smallest boat in the fleet, Elan 310 Wild Child skippered by Marg Neeson who led the fleet across the start line in 10 knots of breeze from the West.

Through the first gate, Peter Davison’s Archambault 40, Arcadia set a cracking pace and was the first to hoist a kite on the 2nd leg of a 20nm course in hot pursuit of the Damien King’s Frers 61, MRV and Tony Walton’s Reichel/Pugh 46, Hartbreaker.

With fifteen nautical miles sailed, the wind built and shifted to SW, creating the perfect conditions for a hot pursuit of Arcadia with Sal Balharrie’s Sydney 38 No Man’s Land and Chris Gendala’s Elliot 15.50 Tourer, Stampede all finishing within twenty seconds of each other.

Bundaberg holding their own photo Dave HewisonTesting the new sails onboard Bundaberg.  Photo Dave Hewison

John Kint, skipper of the Adams Radford, Bundaberg who travelled from Royal Geelong Yacht Club to join the race said “with new sails and only an opportunity to train for the past month, I saw this race as my first chance in a competitive fleet to test and try the sails and crew. We need more practice but we thoroughly enjoyed the race” with Bundaberg claiming PHS 1st place.

“We’d normally see fleets of at least 40 plus boats join us,” said ORCV Commodore Grant Dunoon and “many of our members taking today to test and train rather than race on the first day of allowed racing.” Dunoon went on to say “For those who chose to race, it was smiles all around with sunshine and the perfect amount of wind.”

Mark Turnball and Eliza Solly on MRV Photo Damien KingThe Champion team on MRV Photo Damien King

WIth many crews now rushing to prepare for a season of Offshore Racing, Damien King skipper of MRV, added “it was great to have had an opportunity to test out a few of the new improvements we’ve added. We’re not quite ready but I’m super lucky to have an outstanding crew of Olympians, National and World Champions on the crew and pleased to take 1st on ORCc, the first win since purchasing the boat recently.”

Having suffered through another 112 days with lockdown six, we’re back racing on what felt like “Paradise in Melbourne.”

Results

AMS 1st Magic Bullet, 2nd Onyx, 3rd Arcadia

ORCc 1st MRV, 2nd Foggy Dew 3rd 2Up

PHS 1st Bundaberg 2nd Hartbreaker 3rd Magic Bullet

Line Honours Hartbreaker

Full results here https://www.orcv.org.au/results/2021-22/2021RTSCR/series.htm?ty=04654

Entries are open for the first ocean race of the season on November 27th West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint more here www.orcv.org.au

 

Return to Racing Celebration 

With restrictions easing early, it's time to celebrate and what better way to do that than to create a spectacle of yachts right here on the bay.  We can't go to Stanley but we can still come together and race this weekend.

The ORCV invites all category 5 boats to come join in the race with entry being complimentary.  Spread the word and let's make this a spectacle. 

Notice of Race is  Here

Enter the race Here

Shore Support Boat Emergency Contact Form  here

Sailing Instructions  here 

Race Results here 

 

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