The 2016 Solo series at the South of Perth Yacht Club
This year we are going to do it slightly differently. Rather than have individual pages and having to click away to each of the days; one click will get you the complete page and you can move around the series as you wish. But remember..... the latest event will always be on top.
The fifth of the Solo Series
Sunday the 11th of September
I felt very sorry for the sailors who were participating. As my compatriots in the keelboats are wont to say. If you're not enjoying it ... why bother.
I saw a bunch of masochists out on the water today and from the young to the old it was the same story... 20 degree shifts and moments when the breeze dropped right out. However with a mean of 15 knots and gusts up to 25, it was hard work for all. Good to see some familiar faces back on the water amongst the younger sailors and the new pairings that are coming up for the season. We joined the dinghies for their first race and they were just outside the club close to the start line. Great viewing for the mums if they could take the cold. RO Bernie had them underway and the Opti's led off with the Minnows following them three minutes later. The Pelicans were next and I had great fun with the skipper and crew of Tasty Taddy as they made their way around the course. Big smiles and a hefty thumbs up from the skipper as they scooted down a puff of breeze with the spinnaker straining mightily.
After giving the first race full attention we slipped over to the other course where the F15's, 29ers, Lasers, 125's, 420's and a sole Flying Ant were already into their second race and we joined as the F15's roared off the start line.
A chance to see the new pairings on the 15's and then catch up with the 125 fleet where Alex Thomson was pairing up with Nick Mariani in preparation for the Nationals next year. Nia Jerwood and Monica deVries were sailing well and although there were only two 420's out on the water the girls were still preparing for their step into the 470 class. ( we've got the 470's at Freo coming up ). Dave Luketina has more people to worry about in the Radial class with Hailey Johnson stepping up from the 4.7's and Zac, Zoe, Caelin and Ethan all piling in top of him during the racing. Even more interesting when you send the radials away with the full rigs where Dave Whait has been holding court recently and did so again today. And then the 29ers where Emillia and Madison held sway on EM and M.
Many thanks to the club for getting me onto the water again and to Tim Putt who was happy to cart me around on the water today. Good sailor too... and he was able to find the spots to be for good shots.
I saw a bunch of masochists out on the water today and from the young to the old it was the same story... 20 degree shifts and moments when the breeze dropped right out. However with a mean of 15 knots and gusts up to 25, it was hard work for all. Good to see some familiar faces back on the water amongst the younger sailors and the new pairings that are coming up for the season. We joined the dinghies for their first race and they were just outside the club close to the start line. Great viewing for the mums if they could take the cold. RO Bernie had them underway and the Opti's led off with the Minnows following them three minutes later. The Pelicans were next and I had great fun with the skipper and crew of Tasty Taddy as they made their way around the course. Big smiles and a hefty thumbs up from the skipper as they scooted down a puff of breeze with the spinnaker straining mightily.
After giving the first race full attention we slipped over to the other course where the F15's, 29ers, Lasers, 125's, 420's and a sole Flying Ant were already into their second race and we joined as the F15's roared off the start line.
A chance to see the new pairings on the 15's and then catch up with the 125 fleet where Alex Thomson was pairing up with Nick Mariani in preparation for the Nationals next year. Nia Jerwood and Monica deVries were sailing well and although there were only two 420's out on the water the girls were still preparing for their step into the 470 class. ( we've got the 470's at Freo coming up ). Dave Luketina has more people to worry about in the Radial class with Hailey Johnson stepping up from the 4.7's and Zac, Zoe, Caelin and Ethan all piling in top of him during the racing. Even more interesting when you send the radials away with the full rigs where Dave Whait has been holding court recently and did so again today. And then the 29ers where Emillia and Madison held sway on EM and M.
Many thanks to the club for getting me onto the water again and to Tim Putt who was happy to cart me around on the water today. Good sailor too... and he was able to find the spots to be for good shots.
The Morning Session
Got to be crazy to be up at this time of the morning. And the wind chill factor was worse. But the breeze was in and a chance to race was on. We had 7 Vipers and a good fleet of multihulls with the youngest of the fleet trying out the new Nacra 15 under the eye of their coach. Apart from them, a couple of F18's, Hobie Cats, and some Tornados.
To sum it up, there were wind shifts of 20deg with either end of the line coming into play as the morning wore on. The two fleets had their own battles happening so I won't go into the details, but I will record the fact that the Vipers were wiping out occasionally with John Park's Fizz falling over a couple of times and then eventually wrapping himself around the bow of the start boat and to add insult to injury ( after we had pried his spinnaker sheets off the bow) slammed his prodder into the stern of the start boat and broke that as well. Incidental damage included some fiberglass work and a halyard that had to be cut to get the spinnaker down. John wasn't even driving having turned the tiller over to a friend for the session. The only shot I got was that of the mainsail up against the bow of the boat before the camera was put down and the Viper was freed from the bow. All in all... a good look at the twin hulls and I noticed a few faces from other disciplines who were feeling out the cats for further knowledge of these craft. Enjoy the photo's
Got to be crazy to be up at this time of the morning. And the wind chill factor was worse. But the breeze was in and a chance to race was on. We had 7 Vipers and a good fleet of multihulls with the youngest of the fleet trying out the new Nacra 15 under the eye of their coach. Apart from them, a couple of F18's, Hobie Cats, and some Tornados.
To sum it up, there were wind shifts of 20deg with either end of the line coming into play as the morning wore on. The two fleets had their own battles happening so I won't go into the details, but I will record the fact that the Vipers were wiping out occasionally with John Park's Fizz falling over a couple of times and then eventually wrapping himself around the bow of the start boat and to add insult to injury ( after we had pried his spinnaker sheets off the bow) slammed his prodder into the stern of the start boat and broke that as well. Incidental damage included some fiberglass work and a halyard that had to be cut to get the spinnaker down. John wasn't even driving having turned the tiller over to a friend for the session. The only shot I got was that of the mainsail up against the bow of the boat before the camera was put down and the Viper was freed from the bow. All in all... a good look at the twin hulls and I noticed a few faces from other disciplines who were feeling out the cats for further knowledge of these craft. Enjoy the photo's
The fourth of the Solo Series
Sunday the 14th of August
A bonus day ! I was invited by Mikael to come down and watch paint dry when the multihulls and the Vipers went out for their Sunday am sail. Be there at 8am he said.
It was already going to be a warm day and the sun was burning off the water by 9 when we started to get going. Mikael already had 4 on board so I wandered over to the Start boat and was offered a ride by the starter Les Swinton and as a good spot for all the action in windward/leeward sailing I did so.
A test of the breeze had us over near the city to begin and finally we popped up near the mouth of the Canning where some sort of nor easter was trying to come through. Drop the marks and the start/finish buoy and get the on station flag up.
There seemed to be a number of youngsters trying out the multi hulls and it was interesting to see Annabelle Davies and Hailey Johnson piloting these beasts in the light wind but I've no doubt they could cope with a lot more. But a learning day, yes! Also amongst the Viper Fleet was noted one Tess Parkinson..... the last time I saw her on a Viper was one mad bad day at the Rumble in the Reach. She, her bro and Fang were not so much as "in control" but skirting on the edges of disaster as they roared across the wind on a fearsome reach. Awesome in the true meaning.
However, with a slow day on the water, getting clean air was the trick and some resorted to going out wide chasing puffs and others sought to catch the freeway special that is known to come in on an easterly. Most entertaining was the number of Vipers that came out for a sail in the morning. Clearly church attendance was down in South Perth this Sunday.
After three races, every one gave up and the fleet made their way home to have a bite to eat and possibly a frosty as you de rigged the boat. As for me... catch up on lunch and find out what I was going out on for the afternoon.
A westerly breeze began to sneak its way across the river around 1 pm and by then most of the fleet was out on the water, split up into the two groups of fleets with Bernie Kaaks taking the dinghies and Les Swinton the Lasers, 420's the 125's, the F15's and a solitary Flying Ant. With numbers down in the Laser fleet, Les had them all away together and a fine start was had in the 1st race except for a couple of OCS, one of whom did not return. The 420's followed with the 125 's in hot pursuit. The 15's took off in a fine fleet with Brad Sheridan on board with Carl Pettersson testing his new sails and his daughter Emily and Kristine his wife took the other 15 out and gave chase. Of interest, young Grant Box seems to be spreading his wings and took to the water with Ben Roodhouse. I've been told he's just trying things out, but if he is... good on him. And Ethan Prieto Low was crewing on the winning boat... all the youngsters coming through. Great!
Over on the other course, it was clear that the Pelicans were having a good day and Tim Cross who had very kindly volunteered to drive for me was chatting animatedly to the young sailors encouraging them and helping them with sail trim and the such. Happened to notice young Steely Green who has been sailing with his uncle David Locke in the H28 fleet over the school holidays. He was crewing with Lachlan Putt and they had a good mid fleet day. Of course the Opti's were out and they were led by young Axel Fleet ( again ). The Minnows were there as well and the 4 strong fleet had their own battles to deal with. All of this in breezes that were under 10 knots at the very best.
I look forward to the next round in a months time. Thanks to SoPYC for getting me onto the water.
And Happy Birthday Les :-)
The first lot of images are from the morning, the second are from the Solo series in the afternoon.
It was already going to be a warm day and the sun was burning off the water by 9 when we started to get going. Mikael already had 4 on board so I wandered over to the Start boat and was offered a ride by the starter Les Swinton and as a good spot for all the action in windward/leeward sailing I did so.
A test of the breeze had us over near the city to begin and finally we popped up near the mouth of the Canning where some sort of nor easter was trying to come through. Drop the marks and the start/finish buoy and get the on station flag up.
There seemed to be a number of youngsters trying out the multi hulls and it was interesting to see Annabelle Davies and Hailey Johnson piloting these beasts in the light wind but I've no doubt they could cope with a lot more. But a learning day, yes! Also amongst the Viper Fleet was noted one Tess Parkinson..... the last time I saw her on a Viper was one mad bad day at the Rumble in the Reach. She, her bro and Fang were not so much as "in control" but skirting on the edges of disaster as they roared across the wind on a fearsome reach. Awesome in the true meaning.
However, with a slow day on the water, getting clean air was the trick and some resorted to going out wide chasing puffs and others sought to catch the freeway special that is known to come in on an easterly. Most entertaining was the number of Vipers that came out for a sail in the morning. Clearly church attendance was down in South Perth this Sunday.
After three races, every one gave up and the fleet made their way home to have a bite to eat and possibly a frosty as you de rigged the boat. As for me... catch up on lunch and find out what I was going out on for the afternoon.
A westerly breeze began to sneak its way across the river around 1 pm and by then most of the fleet was out on the water, split up into the two groups of fleets with Bernie Kaaks taking the dinghies and Les Swinton the Lasers, 420's the 125's, the F15's and a solitary Flying Ant. With numbers down in the Laser fleet, Les had them all away together and a fine start was had in the 1st race except for a couple of OCS, one of whom did not return. The 420's followed with the 125 's in hot pursuit. The 15's took off in a fine fleet with Brad Sheridan on board with Carl Pettersson testing his new sails and his daughter Emily and Kristine his wife took the other 15 out and gave chase. Of interest, young Grant Box seems to be spreading his wings and took to the water with Ben Roodhouse. I've been told he's just trying things out, but if he is... good on him. And Ethan Prieto Low was crewing on the winning boat... all the youngsters coming through. Great!
Over on the other course, it was clear that the Pelicans were having a good day and Tim Cross who had very kindly volunteered to drive for me was chatting animatedly to the young sailors encouraging them and helping them with sail trim and the such. Happened to notice young Steely Green who has been sailing with his uncle David Locke in the H28 fleet over the school holidays. He was crewing with Lachlan Putt and they had a good mid fleet day. Of course the Opti's were out and they were led by young Axel Fleet ( again ). The Minnows were there as well and the 4 strong fleet had their own battles to deal with. All of this in breezes that were under 10 knots at the very best.
I look forward to the next round in a months time. Thanks to SoPYC for getting me onto the water.
And Happy Birthday Les :-)
The first lot of images are from the morning, the second are from the Solo series in the afternoon.
The third of the Solo Series
Sunday the 17th of July
Blown out of the water on Saturday! Everyone gave up on sailing, but the longboard riders had a tournament on at Cotts so I went down there to see what the surf was like. On the way there I called past North Mole and noticed three Lasers out with a coach boat and they were well out to sea. Turns out that Ben and Zoe were on the rib (I may be wrong) and Swifto, Zac and A.N. other were testing their skills against the elements. Just got in before the 40 knot front hit and were very happy to have some cover behind the groyne at FSC. Zac has a short vid up on his FB page...take a look.
Anyway the Solo series swung into action again on Sunday and the regatta has changed format a little in that only three races would be sailed, making it a bit easier on the younger sailors. And they split the racing into two components. The smaller boats.. Pelicans, 125's, Minnows, Opti's and Flying Ants were given a race track a little closer to the club ( good for the parents to view ). The larger boats; F 15's , 29ers, 420's and all the Laser ranks went out to the middle of Melville Water East to enjoy the racing.
Not a busy day though. With the cold weather and school holidays in place numbers were down and perhaps 60 boats were on the water. However we had a lot of satisfied customers with the racing and though a couple of rain showers came through, it was a good day on the water for most. I was fortunate enough to get to the small boat fleet first and followed them for a race and a half with a couple of Dads who were volunteering as mark layers for the day. I then grabbed a ride on one of the yellow mark laying boats and hooked up with Luke Elliott (aka Swifto ) who was coaching for RP. Great, some one knows about sailing and could put me in the right spot at the right time. So many thanks to Swifto and RP for the ride.
All fleet numbers were short, but it was pleasing to see Zac Littlewood out there, working hard as usual with Elyse hot on his tail. Just as interesting was the battle in the full rig fleets with the old rams hard on the heels of the youngsters "Look out Lachie". It was noted that Conor was on the water coaching, sounds like he's getting better and should regain the water shortly. The Flying 15's put on a brave face and launched 5 boats and despite the showery weather had some daunting downwind rides in the sou westerly gusts that covered the course. I did feel sorry for the smaller fleets, but I do realize that school holidays take precedence in most things and the 125's and the 420's were down in numbers as were the 29ers, but the sole 29er out on the water gave me a couple of great photo's. Thanks guys.
And last but not least the collision between the two lasers at the finish line must have caused some mirth on the start boat as both were old enough to know better. Ah well, there's always the next Solo.
Good luck to Zac in Ireland for the Youth Worlds! Sail like there's no tomorrow.
Anyway the Solo series swung into action again on Sunday and the regatta has changed format a little in that only three races would be sailed, making it a bit easier on the younger sailors. And they split the racing into two components. The smaller boats.. Pelicans, 125's, Minnows, Opti's and Flying Ants were given a race track a little closer to the club ( good for the parents to view ). The larger boats; F 15's , 29ers, 420's and all the Laser ranks went out to the middle of Melville Water East to enjoy the racing.
Not a busy day though. With the cold weather and school holidays in place numbers were down and perhaps 60 boats were on the water. However we had a lot of satisfied customers with the racing and though a couple of rain showers came through, it was a good day on the water for most. I was fortunate enough to get to the small boat fleet first and followed them for a race and a half with a couple of Dads who were volunteering as mark layers for the day. I then grabbed a ride on one of the yellow mark laying boats and hooked up with Luke Elliott (aka Swifto ) who was coaching for RP. Great, some one knows about sailing and could put me in the right spot at the right time. So many thanks to Swifto and RP for the ride.
All fleet numbers were short, but it was pleasing to see Zac Littlewood out there, working hard as usual with Elyse hot on his tail. Just as interesting was the battle in the full rig fleets with the old rams hard on the heels of the youngsters "Look out Lachie". It was noted that Conor was on the water coaching, sounds like he's getting better and should regain the water shortly. The Flying 15's put on a brave face and launched 5 boats and despite the showery weather had some daunting downwind rides in the sou westerly gusts that covered the course. I did feel sorry for the smaller fleets, but I do realize that school holidays take precedence in most things and the 125's and the 420's were down in numbers as were the 29ers, but the sole 29er out on the water gave me a couple of great photo's. Thanks guys.
And last but not least the collision between the two lasers at the finish line must have caused some mirth on the start boat as both were old enough to know better. Ah well, there's always the next Solo.
Good luck to Zac in Ireland for the Youth Worlds! Sail like there's no tomorrow.
The second of the Solo Series
Sunday the 12th of June
Due to a breakdown in communications a boat was unavailable on the day. Sorry guys. Next time!
The First of the Solo Series
Sunday the 21st of May
On a brilliant day for sailing, the first of the Solo series swung into action. Numbers were good for the series with nominations getting into the high 90's. As usual PC Les Swinton in his capacity as RO for the series had his briefing at the Centreboard club house and kept it short and sweet. "Not bad" he was heard to murmur as he stepped away from the briefing. "Under 90 seconds". Lets face it, he knows the ropes and most of the sailors do too. So without further ado, he was onto the water and had the marks out ready for the racing to commence on time, with a flotilla of support boats and mark layers ready to offer assistance when needed.
For my part I had to cool my heels until Mark arrived to pilot the big rescue boat Check Point from whence I would be both volunteer and photographer. Young photographer Joe Cross joined us for the day to try his skills out on the water.
We caught up with the fleet as the second race was beginning and we began to work the corners and the start line in a breeze that had a lot west in it. The wind speed was reasonable and while not as bad as it was on the Saturday, the gusts were coming through at 18 to 20 knots with a base of about 14 knots. This means exciting sailing for the small fry and plenty of power for the boats flying spinnakers or asymmetrics. Down river the giant cats, the M32's were doing some training and they had plenty to play with. The gusts were coming down both sides of the course and in one of the races the Minnows ( who have recently joined the regatta ) all took off to the right on port , instead of a start on starboard. They must have seen a big gust coming through on the right hand side and wanted it.
Ok, who was there. There were half a dozen Pelicans with a few new faces, but I did notice Grant Box crewing for Lachlan Putt until he gets his feet under him. The Optimists are always churning and turning out great young sailors so I will thanks them all for fronting up and can't blame most of them for disappearing after the 4th race as it was pretty blowy out there. I've already spoken of the Minnows but I did notice a few TCYC markings on their transoms so well done the Cruising Yacht Club people for coming up for the day. The one to watch from the day is M. Mcleod with Stardust Mini. Did very well with 4 of the 5 races as bullets.
Amongst the 420's and the 125's it was a moot point, as the 125's were sharing skippers and crew and I don't think I recognized a pairing from the recent States. With the 420's, Monica DeVries is crewing for Nia Jerwood for a crack at the 470 circuit I understand and of course young Shannon Dalton is ripping up the water with Josh Pang hard on his heels.
In the Lasers, it's wonderful to see a strong 4.7 fleet with lots of talent. The next wave of Opti sailors has arrived into the Lasers and the start line was jam packed with talent. Its easy to see Rome Featherstone, the Pabbruwe twins and Hailey Johnson getting the action, but I'm sure that the others won't take it lying down for the rest of the series. The radial fleet was jam packed with talent with Zac Littlewood, Elyse Ainsworth, Zoe Thomson,Richard Maher and Caelin Winchcombe on show, and everyone battling for the front. The full rigs was Lachie Gilhams day as he clean swept the days racing and he was up against some seasoned veterans as well.
The Flying Fifteens were in moderate numbers, but the racing was hard for them as Peter Rooke was taking advantage of the Jerwoods absence and everyone else was working to stop him. But all in vain as he took the day with 5 bullets.
Many thanks to SoPYC for the day and here are the images.
For my part I had to cool my heels until Mark arrived to pilot the big rescue boat Check Point from whence I would be both volunteer and photographer. Young photographer Joe Cross joined us for the day to try his skills out on the water.
We caught up with the fleet as the second race was beginning and we began to work the corners and the start line in a breeze that had a lot west in it. The wind speed was reasonable and while not as bad as it was on the Saturday, the gusts were coming through at 18 to 20 knots with a base of about 14 knots. This means exciting sailing for the small fry and plenty of power for the boats flying spinnakers or asymmetrics. Down river the giant cats, the M32's were doing some training and they had plenty to play with. The gusts were coming down both sides of the course and in one of the races the Minnows ( who have recently joined the regatta ) all took off to the right on port , instead of a start on starboard. They must have seen a big gust coming through on the right hand side and wanted it.
Ok, who was there. There were half a dozen Pelicans with a few new faces, but I did notice Grant Box crewing for Lachlan Putt until he gets his feet under him. The Optimists are always churning and turning out great young sailors so I will thanks them all for fronting up and can't blame most of them for disappearing after the 4th race as it was pretty blowy out there. I've already spoken of the Minnows but I did notice a few TCYC markings on their transoms so well done the Cruising Yacht Club people for coming up for the day. The one to watch from the day is M. Mcleod with Stardust Mini. Did very well with 4 of the 5 races as bullets.
Amongst the 420's and the 125's it was a moot point, as the 125's were sharing skippers and crew and I don't think I recognized a pairing from the recent States. With the 420's, Monica DeVries is crewing for Nia Jerwood for a crack at the 470 circuit I understand and of course young Shannon Dalton is ripping up the water with Josh Pang hard on his heels.
In the Lasers, it's wonderful to see a strong 4.7 fleet with lots of talent. The next wave of Opti sailors has arrived into the Lasers and the start line was jam packed with talent. Its easy to see Rome Featherstone, the Pabbruwe twins and Hailey Johnson getting the action, but I'm sure that the others won't take it lying down for the rest of the series. The radial fleet was jam packed with talent with Zac Littlewood, Elyse Ainsworth, Zoe Thomson,Richard Maher and Caelin Winchcombe on show, and everyone battling for the front. The full rigs was Lachie Gilhams day as he clean swept the days racing and he was up against some seasoned veterans as well.
The Flying Fifteens were in moderate numbers, but the racing was hard for them as Peter Rooke was taking advantage of the Jerwoods absence and everyone else was working to stop him. But all in vain as he took the day with 5 bullets.
Many thanks to SoPYC for the day and here are the images.