ORCV Melbourne to Apollo Bay (M2AB (not))

Chief Measurer.

He of the Countdown Timer, Jeremy Walton, is kind of going to be the Chief Measurer. 

At the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron on Friday May 20 at 1900hrs, he'll make the Gill OS1 Jacket presentation to Bruce Hawken. Bruce was the Naviguesser onboard Team Beyond Outrageous when they took out the PHS Division of the not to Apollo Bay race last weekend. So if you're at the Squadron or nearby at the time, pop in to see Bruce get the great prize from Gill Australia - his OS1 Offshore Smoking Jacket - which is pictured below.

This great jacket valued at RRP of $649 has some great features: • 5 Dot waterproof and breathable 3 layer fabric • Ocean height collar with high wrap around face guard. Fold down face flap positioned over mouth • Active-fit rollaway hood with 2-way volume adjustment and fleece lined channel for comfort • Double front storm flap • Adjustable cuffs with PU inner seals for watertight comfort • Gridded thermal inner collar and chin guard • Adjustable shock cord hem with adjusters that tuck up into the seam • Two sets of chest hand warmer pockets  • Cargo pockets for storing bulky objects • Internal chest pocket protected by a water resistant zipper • 360 degree reflective piping • SOLAS approved, prismatic reflectors on chest, shoulders cuffs and hood

The next measure may be a tad long, but it does serve to give us some insight into the day that race leader and subsequent winner, eXtasea, had out there. Another of the Naviguessers out there was Stu Addison and he did read and smile (eventually) about the reference to knowing where P2 was. He says of the whole day, "A bit ugly, but with the desired result in the end!"

"The ORCV's decision to go for the inside course was a great example of old school seamanship. Conditions outside were downright dangerous, with high winds, big seas and cold temperatures, both in the atmosphere and the water. In short, it was boat breaking weather; something you never want to experience and in our case, even more so without the boss aboard! It was a pretty challenging race for all concerned and a credit to all that started and finished. There were zero retirements, which is pretty amazing considering the conditions."

"Heading to the start, we were pounding heavily into 45 plus knots with a short chop. I noticed that the floorboards were awash, which is not normal operating procedure for Eccy and worse still, it seemed to be coming up quickly! 'All hands' was called by Tony Bull and we started pumping and stripping the sails from the cabin, pulling up floorboards and looking for the leak. You try and look for the obvious ones first and sure enough, the log had let go and the resulting hole was letting in a huge amount of water. The hole was quickly plugged and later we repaired the offending log, so that we could have boat speed for the race. That left six guys working flat out for an hour pumping, sponging and bucketing, until she was dry, which happened about 20 minutes before the start", Stu explained.

"I plotted the inside course and quietly celebrated the good news that it had been shortened by nearly 40 miles, then I rued the fact it was 75% downhill, which is not great for a displacement boat optimised for uphill performance. At that point I knew the Gill Jacket for PHS wasn't going my way, without some sort of divine intervention, which was a pity, as I always like new stuff. Having said that, current Gill jacket is five years old and is still as good as new."

"Now Eccy is a great boat, but she's a bit of a handful in a blow with the wind aft of the beam. We had it cut out for us to keep her on her feet, let alone post any significant results. The start went well, about 4 seconds late according to our Expedition Nav software, but being careful was the catch cry and at least we hit it at full speed. Our first test was flying a chute dead square in the narrow West Channel. It started well, we were on course and averaging 12's and then, BANG! The brace blows from the beak; quickly we got onto the Kicker, with Damo and Marty getting the brace back into the pole, whilst Carny and the team struggle to float the big blue beast. The narrow channel gave helmsman 'Bully' almost no wiggle-room on the helm to assist in our efforts to float the chute. We only a few metres to windward, before we ran out of water!. With the brace back in we were trucking again. Unfortunately, a look astern determines that it is Beyond Outrageous us with a small Bag up and they're matching our speed."

"The time had come to gybe and the team nail it, on a wave doing 13 knots and as smooth as silk. A textbook heavy air gybe. Then, when everyone is back at the stern again, yes, there was the BANG!  The brace went again and once more, the crew sort it out in record time. This scene repeats itself three more times, with a couple of high quality/high speed wipeouts thrown in for good measure. Eventually we threw in a gybe to lay P2 (Pipeline # 2) from about 10 miles out, when the beak refuses to play ball at all. As a result, big blue comes down and we fly the masthead A3. That's it for us then. There'll be no more symmetrical chutes today. As the Naviguesser, I know this means travelling higher angles, at the same speeds, over longer distances - ouch!  Time to look at our routing and adjust accordingly", Stu comments.

"Still we soldier on, watching Spirit of Downunder and BO catch us hand over fist, as they surf down the course having a great time. Coming into the last couple of miles to P2, we go to gybe onto the port layline when a gust hits us, resulting in a massively tangled spinnaker around the forestay and us sailing 90 degrees off course. Now when it comes to yacht racing, I've always believed it’s not the bugger-up that matters, but how you deal with it. In this case it was brilliant, the boat was pointed straight downhill, halyard was let go and the foredeck team coaxed the chute down the forestay quickly before it wrapped so tightly that it would have required a knife to get it off."

"That was great and we were back on track, just slipping around the mark all but a few boat-lengths in front of SoD and BO. Finally we are on a point of sail where we can extend a little - and we did - a little. Our pursuers now had a taste of blood and weren't going to let us go easily. We got around Prince George 15 to 20 minutes ahead of them, respectively. I think to myself, 'Everything seems straight forward now. VMG run to Sandringham with the big A3 up, a couple of gybes on the shifts and we are fine'. However, the Gods had a final couple of tests for us. In the last big puff of the day, the clew of the A3 parted company with the rest of the chute. This made for a retrieval requiring "only" nine of the 13 crew aboard to be either on, in or within about two metres above the bow. Once down, our last chute onboard goes up, which is the A5. Aside from a clip letting go, requiring another drop and set, it was straight forward from thereon in!"

"Congratulations again to BO winning AMS and PHD, to the ORCV for getting a great race in and to Bully and The Crew, who showed some amazing calm and professionalism in the face of a series of tests. Now bring on Winter Series....."

Thanks for the segue Stu, interested parties can go to the Winter Series, HERE.

Now also being measured after their red sails race, were Spirit of Freya and Ingénue's storm sails. Pictured below are the Trisails and the larger one belongs to the smaller boat! So their day had been worthwhile, for that Trisail is of to the loft for a trim and the storm jib has in fact been replaced by a smaller version. Always good to use and know them before you're in 50+...

Pictured here are our very good friend Rosie Colahan, newish Skipper Joanne Harpur and Leanne Doherty. Now Leanne is in fact the most newest of Skippers. I think she and Husband, Tom, have just bought Ingénue. Here's a pic of them at the helm.

They have been crewing for our Sally Williams aboard Adams Rib and also for Joanne Harpur aboard Spirit of Freya. Leanne plans to enter the BLISS event before the Australian Women's Keel Boat Regatta, which is in June at the Squadron. This year, that event will mark its 21st Birthday and I hear rumblings of some very serious crews going after the silverware... Should be good. 

Moving on then and by any measure, those that did take it on and then finish, well, you are hardened souls and you all deserve the accolades due to you. One such soul is Leeton, the foredecky on Second to None, whose picture you see below. Many thanks to Susan Haliwell for getting it to us.

So there it is. Everyone measured up in one way or another...

Go HERE for the overall M2AB (not) results.

Keep loving it and we'll keep covering it.

© John Curnow, ORCV Media

Please contact me for re-issue rights.

Below is Tony Bull's shot from  onboard eXtasea during the  2010 event.
	Not a place to go into  in an Easterly or if you  draw too much. Plenty of souls around to ask  about that and there's also  the bombora out the front. Supertramp above looks bad,  but had storm boards in etc. Port was closed thereafter,  though... Don't even attempt to go in  with an Easterly blowing,  however...