ORCV Melbourne to King Island (M2KI as part of the MMOC)

First Four Chowing Down Right Now.

Magic Carpet, Jazz Player and Chikara Outlaw have all finished within about ten minutes of each other, just after 1600hrs. Ninety Seven was around half an hour after that and Geomatic Joker was yet another half hour behind them.

Well done to the Two-Handed team of Dean Coates and Steve Twentyman from Magic Carpet for their efforts. The boat looks good with it's new paint job, too.

For some of the other crews it has not all been sunnies, tans and smiles. At least three boats, Caledonia, The Secretary and Yoko watched as the others went over the horizon, while they sat and then went backwards off Naracoopa on King Island's East coast. Paul Pascoe onboard Caledonia told me they were doing 1.2 knots with just over a knot of current going the other way. Never mind - the breeze will hopefully return to you soon. At around 1530hrs the wind went to the Southwest and made a true 12-15knots before settling back to the familiar 10knots. The sea rose a little with it too, but not a lot. Interestingly, the same happened at Cape Otway, at the same time. Melbourne, however, took buckets of water and some amazingly dark skies, we understand. Just got to love Australia, eh.

By John Curnow

ORCV Melbourne to King Island (M2KI as part of the MMOC)

Soon enough it will be all about steak sandwiches.

At least for Magic Carpet, Chikara Outlaw and Jazz Player, all of whom are due in around 1500hrs. They have covered around 84% of the course and have a dozen miles or so to go.

The onions REALLY are the toughest part of these little gems.

In AMS, Jazz Player leads from Geomatic Joker, with Addiction and Beyond Outrageous with a gangway between them in third. These latter two boats are nearly identical Inglis' and really are that close!!! In IRC, Magic Carpet leads over Jazz Player and Ninety Seven. Theses leaders must be able to see each other out there, with just a couple of miles separating them. Magic Carpet looks set to claim the next McConaghy Melbourne Offshore Championship flag as they also lead PHS, with Chikara Outlaw and Jazz Player in the equation as well. At this time, our last boat, Magic, should be home around 2100hrs tonight.

Don't stop working Sally, just eat!

The all important flag that could lead you to the wheel, as pictured below. Magic Carpet are a chance to do it on their first outing. Nice work!

By John Curnow

ORCV Melbourne to King Island (M2KI as part of the MMOC)

Delightful Autumnal Sailing.

It was a fairly benign and thankfully, quite warm start for the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria fleet at 0000hrs on Friday night. At the Queenscliff start line, the winds were under 10knots and from the predicted WNW quadrant. As they stuck their noses out into Bass Strait they found waves of around just one metre rolling in gently from the SSW.

Councillor Island, which is down the East Coast of King Island, as seen from our Saab TurboProp this morning.

Sometimes the fleet pass in between. Somewhat unfortunately, Independent Endeavour did not make the start, so there will be no Swan on the menu here at King Island today. They will be doubly frustrated, as the weather would really suit the heavier boat looking to get back into it after a substantial refit.

After the first radio sked, we find that the 10knot SW they were experiencing once they got outside have pushed them all along nicely. Here on King Island, we already have a genuine Westerly of 10knots and it is magnificent. What are we doing here with the keyboard in our hands and not the helm?

Chikara Outlaw (a Sayer 44), with her Skipper, Bill Trueman, looking back at us. Pic © and with thanks to Steb Fisher.

One boat not struggling with anything at the moment is our leader, Chikara Outlaw. They have already covered 42.4% of the 114nm course and are due in around 1520hrs. John Hiscock, the Commodore of the King Island Boat Club, believes the Westerly will help kick them along and expects the leaders in for a late lunch. Just touching on food then, John is the man who made famous the much-quoted line in these parts, “The toughest thing about our steak sandwiches are the onions!” Having said all of that, I think that it’s time to go and get my first one of the day.

John Hiscock with those very handy tow ropes, Sally Williams and the Van.

Sitting in behind Chikara Outlaw is Magic Carpet, who are sailing two-handed. Dean Coates and Steve Twentyman will be in nearly an hour behind and they have ‘Ninety Seven’ right on their tale. Geomatic Joker and Jazz Player will also be in the group that will finish one to two hours behind our leader.

One of the things all crews will be keen to remember is that there is a strong Northerly tide that will run a little later in the day. Last year, many crews fared poorly, by not obeying this fact and staying in really close to the beaches and rocks.

By John Curnow

ORCV Melbourne to King Island (M2KI as part of the MMOC)

Would Sir like the Beef or the Swan?

Now King Island in the middle of our notorious Bass Strait is gastronomically famous for amazing beef, superlative crayfish and sensational cheese. This weekend, the annual Melbourne to King Island race gets underway and those culinary delights are going to be joined by Swan, which was a favourite of English Regals, not all that long ago.

'Independant Endeavour' is taking to the seas again!

Our Swan, however, is going to be a Nautor Swan 65, called Independent Endeavour and we’re delighted to be seeing her make her way out into the big blue, for the first time in a long while.

Joining her is Malcolm Mitchell’s, Caledonia, who hold one of the McConaghy Melbourne Offshore Championship flags already and are keen for another, which may well be enough to see them walk away with the McConaghy wheel at the end of the season.

Caledonia departing Port Phillip Heads for the 2009 M2L at Christmas. Pic © and with thanks to Teri Dodds.

They also seem to be ultra keen on securing another much coveted Ocean Racing Club of Victoria title: that of, ‘Happiest Crew On The Water’, which is currently held by Audacious, who also went after it with much vengeance and passion. I say this because their exceptionally well-completed entry states the following as their crew roles; -

• Malcolm Mitchell, Captain
• Paul Pascoe, Yeoman
• Paul Jenkins, Ship's Chaplain
• Kim Barnard, Purser
• Shane Davies, Cook
• Fletcher Johnson, Cabin Boy

We certainly hope the Cabin boy doesn’t suffer a whipping and all I can say is that I am glad he is not named Roger…Perhaps with a name like Fletcher we should be more worried about a mutiny, which is why ORCV Race Administrator, Dennis Livingston, reminded me that “Ship’s Chaplains preside over burials at sea and can also perform marriage ceremonies – the nuptial only valid for the duration of the voyage”, he added with a smile. With all the marriages going onboard Audacious, perhaps they should be coming to King Island, after all… Try before you buy, you know. (You can see what I mean HERE)

'Magic Carpet' is a Pacific 50, very similar to Dream, who did so well in the 2009 M2HE.

Also sticking their nose out into it for the first time in a while is the Pacific 50, Magic Carpet. She’s making the voyage two-handed and their entry states that Dean Coates is the Skipper and Steve Twentyman is the Co-Pilot, so I guess we now know who is going to be up in the clouds flying the carpet.

Roger and Michelle Wale and crew from Pretty Woman are going and they won the very first MMOC flag for the season opening Melbourne to Stanley race. As Rosie and David are not going with Ingénue, I fully expect them to rise to the culinary challenge and provide scrumptious meals for the voyage down and back. Let’s see what happens there.

Roger and Michelle Wale, standing aboard their 'Pretty Woman', proudly show off their MMOC flag, which was the first of the season.

While we remember, let's also thank our hosts at the King Island Boat Club who amongst other things, make all the amazing meals we eat down there.

In terms of winners, well ocean racing is. So thanks to all of the competitors for getting organised and being part of it. Look for Magic Carpet to be amongst it, Beyond Outrageous and Addiction to feature if the kites get an airing, last year’s Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster winner, Jazz Player, will be the dark horse and finally, Independent Endeavour to put all her waterline length to good use if there’s a strong breeze to lift her hefty skirts.

By John Curnow