The 2015 Inter-Club Youth Team Racing Championships at
East Fremantle Yacht Club
The Inter -Clubs Teams Racing at East Fremantle, home to the Blackwall Reach and the breezes that swirl through the tightened area. What a first day on the water!
The breeze was in. Not a Sou wester, though it came in later on, but a screamer of a Southerly. Humping over the back of the ridge above the club, it swirled and spat gusts down the race track and gave free rides to anyone who was canny enough to take the chance. It was a lazy breeze and didn't waste time to swirl around you.. straight through and chilled your bones, or so we thought.
A look at the racing this year gave the nod to the RFBYC squad. Fielding four teams this year they made it quite clear that they were going for the top of the tree. A team from SoPYC, two from EFYC and two from FYC made up the quorum for the weekend. It seems that international duties and year 12 has taken the sting out of their tails and one or two other expected clubs have dropped off the scene temporarily we hope. This may be the last time we'll see Lachy Gilmour and Tom Blaauw on the water in this format, but we were presented with a number of the younger sailors who are already shining and make watching team racing such a pleasure.
No matter .. the Drainpipe was in action and as the morning grew so did the breeze. From a reasonable 10 knots at 0900 hrs. it started to breathe more heavily and as it built, it swung into the South west and by midday it was a formidable sou wester that umpire Barry Glazier ( Bicton Belle ) described as "a good day for sailing". PRO Kim Peaker and his team had the course laid out and in brilliant sunshine the racing began.
From here on, I'll let the pictures tell the story but I must give my thanks to the on water group at East Fremantle YC who welcomed me to the club and to Barry and Josh ( Umpire and boat owner respectively ) who took me onto the water.
The breeze was in. Not a Sou wester, though it came in later on, but a screamer of a Southerly. Humping over the back of the ridge above the club, it swirled and spat gusts down the race track and gave free rides to anyone who was canny enough to take the chance. It was a lazy breeze and didn't waste time to swirl around you.. straight through and chilled your bones, or so we thought.
A look at the racing this year gave the nod to the RFBYC squad. Fielding four teams this year they made it quite clear that they were going for the top of the tree. A team from SoPYC, two from EFYC and two from FYC made up the quorum for the weekend. It seems that international duties and year 12 has taken the sting out of their tails and one or two other expected clubs have dropped off the scene temporarily we hope. This may be the last time we'll see Lachy Gilmour and Tom Blaauw on the water in this format, but we were presented with a number of the younger sailors who are already shining and make watching team racing such a pleasure.
No matter .. the Drainpipe was in action and as the morning grew so did the breeze. From a reasonable 10 knots at 0900 hrs. it started to breathe more heavily and as it built, it swung into the South west and by midday it was a formidable sou wester that umpire Barry Glazier ( Bicton Belle ) described as "a good day for sailing". PRO Kim Peaker and his team had the course laid out and in brilliant sunshine the racing began.
From here on, I'll let the pictures tell the story but I must give my thanks to the on water group at East Fremantle YC who welcomed me to the club and to Barry and Josh ( Umpire and boat owner respectively ) who took me onto the water.
Sunday at East Fremantle Sailing Club
The 2015 Inter Club Youth Teams Racing
The second day dawned as we yawned our way onto the river and for a moment the South Easterlies were in.
Gentle and soft , needing a different skill set with the heavier teams having to work hard to get past the lightweights. But it was all about the gusts that rolled over the top of the hill and local knowledge had it clear that going to the shore line was the done thing.
We had about 15 races required to finish the Swiss league round robins and the wind was dropping away when PRO John Taylor of RFBYC called a finish to the mornings racing and we headed in for lunch and the re-jig of the format for the afternoon. There was no doubt about it and even a guest appearance by Zac Littlewood for FSC didn't magically change the results. It was going to be a RFBYC event with three of the four teams getting up. The lone team that joined them was the other FSC team who had sailed very well so the others had lunch and then were picked up by parents ready to take their sailors home.
Then the sea breeze rolled in. The course was re laid and the racing began. Hard and fast was the rule and it was clear that the dominance of the Freshie teams was not to be shaken. However it was a delight to see Tom Blaauw and Sam Gilmour out on the water for one last time and then to watch 29er sailor Annabelle Davies keeping the boat flat and fast in the hard puffs when they came through.
Once again my thanks to East Fremantle Yacht Club and their team who ran the event very well and kept people fed and fueled for the two days. As ever Dean Caple had the event under control for YWA and was to be found around the place urging youngsters onto boats to get them onto the water ready for the next race cycle. Jack Swallow and Dad were bosuns for the event and the first day lead to a bit of work as the strong wind had the battens popping, but thankfully there was no serious damage to any one or thing.
The results may be found below and I'll have the team photo's up later on tonight.
http://www.efyc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/results.html
The 2015 Inter Club Youth Teams Racing
The second day dawned as we yawned our way onto the river and for a moment the South Easterlies were in.
Gentle and soft , needing a different skill set with the heavier teams having to work hard to get past the lightweights. But it was all about the gusts that rolled over the top of the hill and local knowledge had it clear that going to the shore line was the done thing.
We had about 15 races required to finish the Swiss league round robins and the wind was dropping away when PRO John Taylor of RFBYC called a finish to the mornings racing and we headed in for lunch and the re-jig of the format for the afternoon. There was no doubt about it and even a guest appearance by Zac Littlewood for FSC didn't magically change the results. It was going to be a RFBYC event with three of the four teams getting up. The lone team that joined them was the other FSC team who had sailed very well so the others had lunch and then were picked up by parents ready to take their sailors home.
Then the sea breeze rolled in. The course was re laid and the racing began. Hard and fast was the rule and it was clear that the dominance of the Freshie teams was not to be shaken. However it was a delight to see Tom Blaauw and Sam Gilmour out on the water for one last time and then to watch 29er sailor Annabelle Davies keeping the boat flat and fast in the hard puffs when they came through.
Once again my thanks to East Fremantle Yacht Club and their team who ran the event very well and kept people fed and fueled for the two days. As ever Dean Caple had the event under control for YWA and was to be found around the place urging youngsters onto boats to get them onto the water ready for the next race cycle. Jack Swallow and Dad were bosuns for the event and the first day lead to a bit of work as the strong wind had the battens popping, but thankfully there was no serious damage to any one or thing.
The results may be found below and I'll have the team photo's up later on tonight.
http://www.efyc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/results.html
The 2014 Inter-Club Youth Team Racing Championships at
Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club
A great first day on the water with Dean Caple of YWA very happy with both the turn up and the venue. Jenn Suffield, who's role encompasses the centerboard section had put in good work along with Debbie Blaauw and the venue was ticking over with no less than 9 teams ready to roll. Representations from SoPYC, RFBYC, FSC and EFC and MOSFC were there and the centerboard section swarmed with young sailors and their coaches.
The breeze was definitely out of the north east with the promise of going into the west and already had a good 15 knots as a base line. This breeze did change direction over the day as predicted and varied a little in strength as the bullets came over the bay from the north.
The pairings had the teams battling their way through a an optimistic three round robins and the length of the course was a little long to begin, but the course was shortened up quickly and the time for each race dropped to an acceptable level. The S shaped course had the teams working their way over the water with the closely ranked pairings in a never ending swirl of boats as they raced ahead, stymied their foes and then collected their teams together to race for the line, or more commonly settled for an acceptable 1,3,5 to get the team home with the win.
Despite the weather, only one or two capsizes were seen and only one young sailor was given a whack on the scone from an errant boom. The young man was replaced by another clubs spare team member and they sailed on after lunch. Breakages included a boom and a couple of main sheets, but nothing really considering the breeze and the commitment shown.
As I as yet do not have results from the day I cannot give the finals for the day, but I knew that FSC 1 had a good grip on the lead closely followed by SoPYC 1 and possibly RFBYC 1 would have been pressing for third.
This will be updated when I get to the venue. Sunday looks like a day of storms.
Enjoy the images.
The breeze was definitely out of the north east with the promise of going into the west and already had a good 15 knots as a base line. This breeze did change direction over the day as predicted and varied a little in strength as the bullets came over the bay from the north.
The pairings had the teams battling their way through a an optimistic three round robins and the length of the course was a little long to begin, but the course was shortened up quickly and the time for each race dropped to an acceptable level. The S shaped course had the teams working their way over the water with the closely ranked pairings in a never ending swirl of boats as they raced ahead, stymied their foes and then collected their teams together to race for the line, or more commonly settled for an acceptable 1,3,5 to get the team home with the win.
Despite the weather, only one or two capsizes were seen and only one young sailor was given a whack on the scone from an errant boom. The young man was replaced by another clubs spare team member and they sailed on after lunch. Breakages included a boom and a couple of main sheets, but nothing really considering the breeze and the commitment shown.
As I as yet do not have results from the day I cannot give the finals for the day, but I knew that FSC 1 had a good grip on the lead closely followed by SoPYC 1 and possibly RFBYC 1 would have been pressing for third.
This will be updated when I get to the venue. Sunday looks like a day of storms.
Enjoy the images.
The second day of the Inter-Clubs at RFBYC
What a different day!
We knew that we were in for a bit of wind and rain, but the heavens opened up and apart from a an hour or so while the rain gods regrouped, we were given heaps.
The day started with the report that the front was about to hit and we had the best part of the second round robin to finish before they were able to put together a semi finals list. So that's what our capable RO John Taylor and his crew set out to do. We had the briefing and then hunkered down as the front came through and dumped a good dose of rain on the course. By 10 am the RO was on the course and had the AP taken down at 10.35 am for a start at approximately 1100 hrs. The wind had switched to a south westerly and it was going to be cold and worse if it got wet.
We moved out onto the course and the second round robin re-commenced from race 4 with the rain and a breeze that had the Pacers leaning a little. All the crews knew what had to be done and there was some conjecture that Fremantle would try and get both teams into the semis, but Freshie was equally determined to hang on to their spot in the top four as was South of Perth team one. East Fremantle was just as eager to push for inclusion and there was no quarter given in the fiery exchanges that marked the top teams with even the Freo second team giving SoPYC 1 a surprise during the racing. Full marks has to be given to the Mandurah club for the effort that they put in, sailing against this group of seasoned young sailors as they weren't at the bottom over the tourney.
With a strong volunteer list of both coaches and race officials it was no surprise to get a well seasoned discussion of the possibilities during the lunch break which arrived around 1.30 pm with the wind dropping off and we only had enough time to dry out a little and then head back onto the water for the next round which finalized the round robin to the point that the semis could begin.
Late in the afternoon, with the rain still pouring down, the wind started to build and swung to the north again presaging the next front. As the gloom closed down the racing continued with the semis getting under way and Freo had two teams in with South Perth and Freshie as the opponents. After a big battle, South of Perth 1 went down to Freo 1 and took third for their troubles while Freshie disposed of Freo 2 to take the race up to Fremantle 1.
In the driving rain with the gusts beginning to blow, both teams shared the privilege of competing in the new look inter-clubs and sailed strongly despite the conditions. The fine honing of the two days of competition had put the killer edge on the Fremantle team and in two races they put the wood on the RFBYC team; though all honours need be shared by this time, with great racing by both teams and exciting battles on the water.
My thanks to RFBYC for putting me on the water and to YWA who got the new style two day event up and running with the considerable help of RFBYC. To Jenn and Debbie of RFBYC, thank you. My thanks go also to the umpires, volunteers and race crew with JT at their head. Not an easy job this weekend and the smooth operation of the event over the weekend was a credit to all.
To all the sailors --- without you I'd be photographing weddings. No thanks, I'll stick to the fun and games on the water .
Enjoy the images
We knew that we were in for a bit of wind and rain, but the heavens opened up and apart from a an hour or so while the rain gods regrouped, we were given heaps.
The day started with the report that the front was about to hit and we had the best part of the second round robin to finish before they were able to put together a semi finals list. So that's what our capable RO John Taylor and his crew set out to do. We had the briefing and then hunkered down as the front came through and dumped a good dose of rain on the course. By 10 am the RO was on the course and had the AP taken down at 10.35 am for a start at approximately 1100 hrs. The wind had switched to a south westerly and it was going to be cold and worse if it got wet.
We moved out onto the course and the second round robin re-commenced from race 4 with the rain and a breeze that had the Pacers leaning a little. All the crews knew what had to be done and there was some conjecture that Fremantle would try and get both teams into the semis, but Freshie was equally determined to hang on to their spot in the top four as was South of Perth team one. East Fremantle was just as eager to push for inclusion and there was no quarter given in the fiery exchanges that marked the top teams with even the Freo second team giving SoPYC 1 a surprise during the racing. Full marks has to be given to the Mandurah club for the effort that they put in, sailing against this group of seasoned young sailors as they weren't at the bottom over the tourney.
With a strong volunteer list of both coaches and race officials it was no surprise to get a well seasoned discussion of the possibilities during the lunch break which arrived around 1.30 pm with the wind dropping off and we only had enough time to dry out a little and then head back onto the water for the next round which finalized the round robin to the point that the semis could begin.
Late in the afternoon, with the rain still pouring down, the wind started to build and swung to the north again presaging the next front. As the gloom closed down the racing continued with the semis getting under way and Freo had two teams in with South Perth and Freshie as the opponents. After a big battle, South of Perth 1 went down to Freo 1 and took third for their troubles while Freshie disposed of Freo 2 to take the race up to Fremantle 1.
In the driving rain with the gusts beginning to blow, both teams shared the privilege of competing in the new look inter-clubs and sailed strongly despite the conditions. The fine honing of the two days of competition had put the killer edge on the Fremantle team and in two races they put the wood on the RFBYC team; though all honours need be shared by this time, with great racing by both teams and exciting battles on the water.
My thanks to RFBYC for putting me on the water and to YWA who got the new style two day event up and running with the considerable help of RFBYC. To Jenn and Debbie of RFBYC, thank you. My thanks go also to the umpires, volunteers and race crew with JT at their head. Not an easy job this weekend and the smooth operation of the event over the weekend was a credit to all.
To all the sailors --- without you I'd be photographing weddings. No thanks, I'll stick to the fun and games on the water .
Enjoy the images