The 2020 Rumble in the Reach
Saturday the 18th of January
There's no time like a Saturday in January when the Doctor is in and Blackwall Reach is fired up.
This year we had plenty of action and sports boats and the Vipers for once were outnumbered by the other sports boats. Everyone was there and the balcony was dripping with crowds as the people settled in for a great afternoon on the water with the golden voice of Ed Fethers caressing our ears as the commentator for the day. Of course he had Johnno Fullerton and Tony Pugh for company and the two of them did a fine job. :-}
The river was already about 10 to 13 knots and RO Helen Suriano had no hesitation in throwing them in the deep end with a 3 lap race first up. The breeze complied with a nice little lift and they had 12 to 15 knots and those bullets that come off the eastern side of the river were in evidence with the boats heeling spectacularly as they drove their way up from the bottom mark. It wasn't long before the first boats were trying to fall over at the bottom mark and by the second lap, the SB 20's were seriously getting flat.
About this time the first retirement occurred when a Viper lost his rudder. Oh dear and tow him into the jetty where he could retire gracefully. Back onto the course and it was clear that the gusts coming through had some of the skippers working hard if they hadn't done the Reach for a while. The first race ended reasonably elegantly and the support boats swapped ends. Bingo. I was on the bottom marks.
Already the breeze was whistling through with the best of 15 to 20 knots and a few gusts above that. The OUN boats were practicing falling over and there were a few similar efforts from the Vipers as we all know how they have lots of sail up all of the time. The odd tear in a spinnaker was noticed and where we were; some of the skippers were losing control and they were making determined dashes through the moorings where we were hiding to avoid becoming target practice. So much for that theory.
So with great faith in the boat we were on, we ventured a little further out and were immediately bombarded by boats on both the down wind and return as the breeze had changed and essentially the quickest way was back where you came from. No running up the western side, just not a viable option. Another victim.. busted spinnaker halyard on a Viper and a few of the crew were starting to count the beers they had the night before. May be one or two too many? On the third lap ( I think ) one of the SB 20's threw two of the crew overboard. This left the remaining crewman to douse the spinnaker and bring the boat back. The other support boat moved in and picked up the two in the water, but that was the end of the race for them. A few minutes later and the lead boat crossed the line followed by the rest of the sports boats and then a long wait while a protest was heard on the water.
Around 4 pm, the line fired up again and the third three lapper was put in place. Numbers were a little down by now as other boats had sustained damage in wipe outs during the second race. So perhaps 13 or 14 boats were left with the breeze a lot lighter by now. But the gusts could still flatten you and the crews were tired. And we know that tired people could make mistakes and unfortunately one of the SB20's fouled a spinnaker and just kept on going over to river bank on the eastern side downwind. Assisted back to the race area, they quietly retired.
To finish off the day, the arrival of the sailing ship, Duyfken ready to make her way back down the breeze added a nice touch to the day, hi lighting herself briefly between two of the Vipers before returning to the South of Perth Yacht club.
The boats slid over the finish line for the final time and the crews were in a hurry to get a good spot to moor up and head into the bar for a sustaining beverage. So were we and I jumped off to get the photos up and onto the TV screens.
Many thanks to Commodore Mike Honer and the EFYC for the invitation to photograph the event and to Louise Back who made sure I was on board. To Paul van Bilsen who drove for me, many thanks and to all the volunteers who made the event such a resounding success. And of course the Beurteaux family for their support of the day.
Enjoy the photos and yes they are for sail. Special for this event. 3 for $50 in an E-file format. Printable up to A 3 .
This year we had plenty of action and sports boats and the Vipers for once were outnumbered by the other sports boats. Everyone was there and the balcony was dripping with crowds as the people settled in for a great afternoon on the water with the golden voice of Ed Fethers caressing our ears as the commentator for the day. Of course he had Johnno Fullerton and Tony Pugh for company and the two of them did a fine job. :-}
The river was already about 10 to 13 knots and RO Helen Suriano had no hesitation in throwing them in the deep end with a 3 lap race first up. The breeze complied with a nice little lift and they had 12 to 15 knots and those bullets that come off the eastern side of the river were in evidence with the boats heeling spectacularly as they drove their way up from the bottom mark. It wasn't long before the first boats were trying to fall over at the bottom mark and by the second lap, the SB 20's were seriously getting flat.
About this time the first retirement occurred when a Viper lost his rudder. Oh dear and tow him into the jetty where he could retire gracefully. Back onto the course and it was clear that the gusts coming through had some of the skippers working hard if they hadn't done the Reach for a while. The first race ended reasonably elegantly and the support boats swapped ends. Bingo. I was on the bottom marks.
Already the breeze was whistling through with the best of 15 to 20 knots and a few gusts above that. The OUN boats were practicing falling over and there were a few similar efforts from the Vipers as we all know how they have lots of sail up all of the time. The odd tear in a spinnaker was noticed and where we were; some of the skippers were losing control and they were making determined dashes through the moorings where we were hiding to avoid becoming target practice. So much for that theory.
So with great faith in the boat we were on, we ventured a little further out and were immediately bombarded by boats on both the down wind and return as the breeze had changed and essentially the quickest way was back where you came from. No running up the western side, just not a viable option. Another victim.. busted spinnaker halyard on a Viper and a few of the crew were starting to count the beers they had the night before. May be one or two too many? On the third lap ( I think ) one of the SB 20's threw two of the crew overboard. This left the remaining crewman to douse the spinnaker and bring the boat back. The other support boat moved in and picked up the two in the water, but that was the end of the race for them. A few minutes later and the lead boat crossed the line followed by the rest of the sports boats and then a long wait while a protest was heard on the water.
Around 4 pm, the line fired up again and the third three lapper was put in place. Numbers were a little down by now as other boats had sustained damage in wipe outs during the second race. So perhaps 13 or 14 boats were left with the breeze a lot lighter by now. But the gusts could still flatten you and the crews were tired. And we know that tired people could make mistakes and unfortunately one of the SB20's fouled a spinnaker and just kept on going over to river bank on the eastern side downwind. Assisted back to the race area, they quietly retired.
To finish off the day, the arrival of the sailing ship, Duyfken ready to make her way back down the breeze added a nice touch to the day, hi lighting herself briefly between two of the Vipers before returning to the South of Perth Yacht club.
The boats slid over the finish line for the final time and the crews were in a hurry to get a good spot to moor up and head into the bar for a sustaining beverage. So were we and I jumped off to get the photos up and onto the TV screens.
Many thanks to Commodore Mike Honer and the EFYC for the invitation to photograph the event and to Louise Back who made sure I was on board. To Paul van Bilsen who drove for me, many thanks and to all the volunteers who made the event such a resounding success. And of course the Beurteaux family for their support of the day.
Enjoy the photos and yes they are for sail. Special for this event. 3 for $50 in an E-file format. Printable up to A 3 .