ORCV Melbourne Winter Series (MWS)

 

Yazz Flute.

Go Ron Burgundy!

We had a wonderful section of images on Jazz Player, including a great gybe, so Yazz Flute, it was to be!

We start this, our second batch from Race Three, with Beyond Outrageous. Our friend Ian Lindsay could not be a board on the day, but "I'm really excited and looking forward to August 1st." Excellent. Make it so, Mr Sulu.

Magazan 53 just in front of them.

Kite got up quickly, now just time to sort the pole out.

Jazz Player, Calm and Melbourne's CBD.

Time to get stuff arranged.

Magnificent image.

Pole up!

Schuss, Ninety Seven and Wicked all in behind Jazz Player.

Prep for the gybe, Audacious also part of this gathering.

Boom coming back in - Clockwork also in this party.

Kite over, having stayed full the whole time.

Pole going back up and main just about to cross.

And there we go. All done.

Challenge, a 'Steb' trademark and the CBD. Classic work.

Schuss, probably Ninety Seven in deep, Challenge, Wicked, Audacious in front of them and Clockwork on the right. Close racing indeed. The Bay's best are waiting for you, should you wish to get the crew organised and the boat out of the pen. You can enter one race at a time, too. Next is on August 1st.

Truly gifted with what he captures for us. One Sam Chandler at the front there... She certainly knows what the pointy end of a Colt is all about. The last Scarlet Runner was one.

Still awesome and Ice Fire say, "We'll be a part of that, thank you."

This was a complete LDM for hero pic. Challenge and Ice Fire. No question or correspondence will be entered into....

Cannot work out who was driving, let me know and I'll amend this caption...

Wicked goes in and Challenge about to go around.

Pole goes up and Swordfish Trombone also keen a for a piece of this hotly contested segment...

All happening as it should, we see.

Love a Naviguesser who knows what they want.

You did see the big grey thing, yes?

Lifting specs - time to see the optometrist.

This is in because of the stern wave.

Lisa Hammond-Batson trimming for the day.

That's a lot of daylight between the blue and the yellow. OK. Who didn't look when the did the wooling?!!!!!!

Bring it in, bring it in....

Still going.

Don't want to be picky, but in the grey jacket there, you could have got you knees and given Sim a little more help, no?!

Alibi looked to be doing the Hush and going short-handed...

Oh. OK. Here's some more souls. That Jazzy is starting to get a taste of the camera... Almost subliminal now...

Mille Sabords getting to know their new vessel.

Fade 2 Grey with Spirit of Freya in behind.

Fade 2 Grey again with another Beneteau in behind. Possibly Rogue Trader.

 

And there's still more Race Three joy to follow...

 

The full MWS results to date are HERE.

You can still enter individual MWS races HERE and the M2G is HERE - remember that Cruising Divisions will be offered for the latter event.

 

 

By John Curnow

Thank you to David Judge and Tony Dawson from Hoobo's for ensuring Steb had a ride and we, therefore, had imagery.
The Colts (Sydney 38s) are having their own fight within the battle - many thanks to Ullman Sails for providing the prize.

 

ORCV Melbourne Winter Series (MWS)

 

Bachman Turner Overdrive.

Now we might have gone Overboard with the volume of images chosen to display after Races Two and Three of the MWS, but all that meant was we had to go into Overdrive for the delivery of said images. We got to BTO, becuase of you ain't seen nothing yet at the tail of the last piece, Where's Col?

It also seemed terribly appropriate given the strong music theme of late. So here they are, then, now and those 70s graphics...

As they were, Then.

As they are, Now.

Just had to lead off with this image, as that looks like a Telecom Business Directories jacket (it was the big orange T at that stage) on our friend at the shrouds and they were from the middle 90s. True. It's not as along ago as BTO, but how the hell as that jacket survived until now???

We are in Race Three now and this is Magazan 53 with Beyond Outrageous heading into the hitch, which is just on the left of frame.

"All set to go, who's calling it????? C'mon!!!!"

Spirit of Freya and if I didn't know better, I would swear that is Brian Slater in the red on the rail. Brian works for APC Logistics and they sent the container to Vanuatu for us. They also threw in 15 PCs and Screens. Good work and thanks!

Choosing not to hammer when the owner was not onboard.

Cloud IX to get around and hoist. Change of kite appears to be underway here...

Tricky, tricky. May be going the gybe set. Very sexy stuff.

"OK. So it's blue on here, red on there and why have I got one left?????"

This is Ninety Seven, Swordfish Trombone and Horizon Sprint in the background.

Clockwork and Wicked in front.

And also Audacious. No wonder Mark Welsh talked about it all being so close and enjoyable. Especially as everyone got home unscathed!!!

Alan Saunders on the wheel.

Calm goes over the top of Jazzy. Different angles too!

Challenge just entering the party, with Schuss, Wicked, Audacious and Orange already there and waiting for them.

Jazzy makes a dash to the bottom, while Second to None continues the journey uphill.

Bombora, Clockwork, Horizon Sprint about to launch, Swordfish and Second to None still under headsail. Oh yeah. And Melbourne.

Fantastic sequence here of Challenge, Schuss and Ninety Seven all making for the top mark. No paint off, either!

All line up, poles at the ready!

Three bows.

And around you go!

Pre-feed on the brace for the kite of Ninety Seven, now evident.

Swing the wheel - you're outta here!

Challenge's helmer now very keen to get down and heading in the right direction, too!

Extasea going into the top with Jazzy astern.

Terribly civilised here - hand over mouth while he coughed...

Bombora. Swordy, Horizon and Second to None in this lot.

Bombora and most likely, Ninety Seven.

Bombora on her own. Must be staged, she's always in the thick of it.

All perched up, maybe just hike that bit more for the camera next time - please.

Swordfish Trombone playing with Schuss, Wicked, Clockwork and deep into the horizon, Calm.

Truly classic Steb work.

Surpassed only by something like this.

Ice Fire getting ready for the hitch mark.

Challenge coming up the other way as the driver gets a lovely cup of tea in. Very civilised...

On the left is Tony Dawson and on the right is new HBYC Club Captain, Kevin LeNepveu. Without them, Steb would not have a had a ride and we wouldn't have had any images... QED. Thank you, lads.

 

There's more Race Three joy to follow, shortly.

 

The full MWS results to date are HERE.

You can still enter individual MWS races HERE and the M2G is HERE - remember that Cruising Divisions will be offered for the latter event.

 

 

By John Curnow

Thank you to David Judge and Tony Dawson from Hoobo's for ensuring Steb had a ride and we, therefore, had imagery.
The Colts (Sydney 38s) are having their own fight within the battle - many thanks to Ullman Sails for providing the prize.

 

ORCV Melbourne Winter Series (MWS)

 

Where's Col?

Not Wally. Col. As in Col Anderson.

Back in Overboard, we said look out for the man in yellow wet weather gear. Now here he is. Col is known for many, many things, but one of the things I like, is that he was on a certain Challenge 12, back when country of origin meant something (there were no Black Hearts back then) and the amount of beer involved, directly influenced your salary structure.

We're with Tim Olding's, Swordfish Trombone.

Love this one for the rig in the background.

Voila! One Col Anderson.

That's one sly little expression. Would love to know...

BTW, Swordy is a former Chutzpah, just not sure how many ago...

Dark sky, actually, foreboding sky and a little sun on sails etc. Sensational.

With the Channel Marker it's great.

And there was just something about the sky patterns that made this truly magnificent...

Very similar style with Magazan53.

Well heeled. Argh, argh, argh.

Spirit of Freya and Allegresse in the background.

I'm thinking we're looking in towards the shore at Willy. Freya looks great in magnificent contrast to the gloomy day ashore.

Cpt Sally Williams disappears downstairs and let's some other lug have a go! How was it? Yes. Trainspotters will have seen that kite sheet had been with them for a while...

They're on....

Challenge and Ninety Seven on converging tacks.

Two bows - well shot, Steb.

Still don't think they're through.

Ah huh. The old lee-bow trick. The best I ever saw this done was Jim Close driving the 12m Kiwi against the other 12, Kookaburra I. Put Kooka onto the other board - 'spose he had 25tonne displacement to play with...

And then through.

Bombora - If you didn't spot the wet weather gear, well, you may think it was a pleasant little jaunt...

New to the Bay and thrilled they've come out to mix it with Port Phillip's best, is Halcyon.

Lovely shot.

How's it all going at Team BO, Ian. Actually, Janina sails on there too. Any comments?

Just fantastic with the bowman's head peaking around the forestay.

Now here's the whole crew.

Jazzy goes over.

This is Wicked.

Think tank ensuring they are on the money.

Almost over...

And then run away...

Audacious in there and keeping the whole gang fighting for the prizes and scoreboard positions. With all the close racing around, I asked Mark Welsh what he thought of it all, "From a Wicked perspective, last Sunday was another sensational day of yacht racing on Port Phillip and Wicked's crew were absolutely pumped with our result in Race Three. In Race Two, we just could not hold onto the big guys in the stronger breeze and in hindsight, we probably went a bit soft in flying the fractional kite, rather than the masthead, but this just shows how strong the competition is! You have to push it hard, at all times."

"We enjoyed some incredibly close racing all day, playing with the leading Colts, our bigger Brother (the B45, Schuss), Ninety Seven, Swordy, Jazzy and Bombora. I recall one leeward mark rounding, in particular, when we had five or maybe even six of us from the group all approaching the leeward gate and overlapped with each other! To everyone's credit, all went smoothly and without any carnage, although there were some nervous moments. We enjoyed another day when just about everything went right for us. Our crew work was spot-on, which always helps in the stronger wind. Thoroughly enjoying the MWS, the intense competition, the coverage on the ORCV web site. I'm particularly getting a giggle from the photos and one-liners that go with them."

Thank you, very much, Mark. The Committee, Steb and I are very appreciative. Glad you get to enjoy the racing on the day and reviewing it all a bit later...

Glamour shot of Horizon Sprint.

Point Ormond behind Alibi.

More glamour for Alibi.

A boat out for a cruise (yes, in that weather) wondered through the course and fleet.

This is Mille Sabords.

Mille Sabords in the foreground with Phil Bedlington driving Rogue Trader in the background.

Fade 2 Grey.

You do not see many better pictures in terms of composition, contrasting of colour and a little bit of splash to add some action or intensity. ie. Nice.

Look. Add a simple little mark and it gets even better...

This is the Nutcracker and this is her finishing.

Clockwork with most likely, Bombora, as they both make their approach to the finish.

Hush may have been quietly going about her business, but lots of people saw how quick they were...

As mentioned previously, they went three-up for the day.

Marissa McManus ran the foredeck and mast on her own, based on the pics I have seen.

Here's the team. Bet they did not feel the cold!

Now originally, I thought the image below may have Peter Chalkley, but Pete now tells me he is the one in the yellow cap, above. "Nice work with the photos and commentary - also allows the non-sailing family etc to see what we do. That photo of Hush where you thought it was me - nope. The big guy is Andrew (also goes by the name Brian Griffin) - I'm the other one." Fantastic that you are getting something from it all Pete and thanks for letting us know. Look forward to meeting you along the way. Cheers.

I have never met the man, but I think this is Peter Chalkley. People with handicap issues take heed. He is the man you need to see!

This is INSX, now.

Action and a wave.

They know how to sail and are getting the most from their boat. Short odds for them on the Lord Warden Trophy, I would imagine...

Rob Sill driving his INSX last Sunday.

 

Oh yes Oliver. You can have more... very soon. You ain't seen nothing yet.

The full MWS results to date are HERE.

You can still enter individual MWS races HERE and the M2G is HERE - remember that Cruising Divisions will be offered for the latter event.

 

 

By John Curnow

Thank you to David Judge and Tony Dawson from Hoobo's for ensuring Steb had a ride and we, therefore, had imagery.
The Colts (Sydney 38s) are having their own fight within the battle - many thanks to Ullman Sails for providing the prize.

 

ORCV Melbourne Winter Series (MWS)

 

Taking a battering.

There were three things that seemed to be recurring themes of the blustery ol' day. Close racing. Interesting kite work and crews taking a bit of a hammering. One poor sod even went the dislocated finger to prove it. I mean, that really hurts!

So whilst some with large hangovers powered themselves on Mars Bars for the day, I don't think this soul was up to a whole a lot. Perhaps some fine ballast, indeed.

Yep. That's not exactly where it's meant to be. "The distal phalanx of the left fifth digit is subluxed anterolaterally with an associated avulsion fragment of the distal phalanx at the distal interphalangeal joint" - or so I am told. OK. It would hurt.

Early on in Race Two, as there is a slab in that main, which is how they started, but not finished the race!

That man Chris Furey on the bow. Wonder how many Mars Bars he'd had by now. Slept on the way to the start, so it cannot be many.

Somehow I don't think he's asking how many sugars you'd like in your tea, Chris!

YeeHaaa. Kite makes it fun.

Dark sky, colourful sails... You get it.

Couldn't work out if I liked it more with the boat in background or without, so went with both.

Not sure who is just in front. Alibi?

I think there is an element of PT Boat/MTB in the way the TPs look? Comments anyone?

Another MWS Poster Shot - perhaps.

Hey Russel (Russel Tyson, trimming) - good to see you on South Road recently. Understand you may have received RBYC's Phil Bedlington Award in the last little while for international representation in Etchells and TPs. Nice work, lad.

Stu, hand on lifeline in the back corner, looking very pensive. What's up, man????? Cyclone. That's you under Russel's hands I see. Hughey wins the best beannie/glasses combo of the day. Very retro - 60s skiing, perhaps?

Wedge 'em into the back corner and think heavy!

Where did that sun come from?

Looks marvellous, but not as close as it would seem.

This image just had to get another airing.

Willow driving and Brett Avery airing the head out in the afterguard.

Hush went three-up and 'flew', as one opposition crewmember said to me.

That's Tigris popping in for a look at it all.

A good 'Steb' there.

You can see the wind was up at this point due to the wisp off the top of the wave.

Right party going on here. Spirit of Freya and Cloud IX come for a drink or two and maybe some hors d'oeuvres...

INSX here and the two pins.

We had a very, very similar shot from last year with Stephen 'Jamboy' Hill on the mast. Don't think this is him, however.

You cannot say these guys are the BP crew, given Deep Horizon, but if that had not occurred, this crew certainly would be The Quiet Achievers.

See you again soon, INSX.

The Finger was another boat to get the mucho, mucho applause for going the big Bag on the day. So up it went.

And then it latched into the breeze. BTW, Steb would like to apologise for the fact that the camera settings changed right when this sequence unfolded.

Next was PLENTY of Larry!

Followed by a boom dunking!

And then a trip across the face of the breeze.

Ironic how a downhill sail just cannot wait to take you back uphill, now isn't it!

Nose may be finally answering the water-born rudder

Down a few more degrees, but air-rudder still thinking about the other direction.

Boom does the stock-in-skiing trick again.

She thinks about the view to windward one last time...

And then as if it did not happen at all, stands up and charges back towards the bottom mark.

That's Scot Esler, right where the tweaker meets the kite sheet, as Swordfish Trombone goes the other way.

Adam is still smiling, even after his rocket. Note to self. Launch bigger one!!!

That famous and new competition pic. See HERE for details.

Always a thank you to officials and volunteers for making the racing possible.

 

The full MWS results to date are HERE.

You can still enter individual MWS races HERE and the M2G is HERE - remember that Cruising Divisions will be offered for the latter event.

 

 

By John Curnow

Thank you to David Judge and Tony Dawson from Hoobo's for ensuring Steb had a ride and we, therefore, had imagery.
The Colts (Sydney 38s) are having their own fight within the battle - many thanks to Ullman Sails for providing the prize.