Report and Results for BPYC Autumn Race 6 (Trevor & Finn Memorial), 31 May 2020

Skippers, Crew, Club members and Supporters

After a break of more than two months due to Covid-19 restrictions preventing racing, it was liberating to be back on the water.  Considerable cloud cover and a cool wind had competitors donning warm clothing and jackets before the start, but by the time we reached North Harbour, the cloud had broken and we were treated to a lovely, sunny, Winter’s afternoon.  

Handicaps had tightened a little, and with two of the main rivals, Blue Sky and Martela on the same starting time, the scene was set for a good race.  Of the two, Blue Sky had the slightly better start, leading Martela by 5 seconds.  On Blue Sky, it looked like start to Manly would be one tack, but a wind shift and a Manly Ferry required some action by the crew, constantly trying to maintain their lead over Martela.  Meanwhile, Conquista, which had started 9 minutes before Blue Sky and Martela, was endeavouring to keep that lead.  However, it was not to be, and she was passed by both not long before the Manly West mark.

As usual, our scratch boat, Megisti, had cleared out early and maintained her lead even after the Manly East mark.  She was seen heading South again with a well-set spinnaker and Cap’n Hugh and crew Sam intently concentrating on keeping it that way, and keeping the bigger boats behind.

Blue Sky with an asymmetric spinnaker, maintained a good lead over Martela with a symmetric, squeezing her out from an attempted passing manoeuvre at Sow and Pigs.  However, the faster Martela achieved coverage and passed Blue Sky before the Eastern Channel mark.  Now it was up to Blue Sky to do the chasing, while Martela had her sights on Megisti, still with a comfortable lead even after rounding Shark Island.

Meanwhile, Conquista, which had taken a much longer course between Many West and Eastern Channel mark, had caught up considerably with her symmetric kite, and was not that far behind Blue Sky just after Steele Point.

So it was all down to the final leg from Shark Island to the finish.

However, little could be done in the lightening winds and in one of the tightest finishes in many races, first to last was only separated by 4 minutes and 16 seconds, and second to last by 1 minute and 4 seconds.

Congratulations Megisti on winning the Trevor & Finn Memorial race!

(PS, For more information on the hard-working Trevor & Finn, former stalwarts of BPYC, see “The Carpet Cleaners” at Poets’ Corner on the BPYC website).

Return to Sailing and Racing with BPYC!

Skippers, crew, Club members and supporters

Remember those days of great sailing on Sydney Harbour and especially the cut and thrust of competitive racing, followed by pleasant banter and refreshments at our favourite club house, the Blues Point Hotel?

Well, the Hotel may not yet be fully open for business, but I’m pleased to advise that after a change in NSW Government restrictions, assisted by Sailing Australia, we can return to racing and sailing (see https://www.sailing.org.au/news/nsw-may-update-relaxation-of-restrictions/).  

We must remember that Covid-19 is still present, so there are restrictions to be met.  Four square meters per person on board is no longer required, but there must be no more than 10 people per boat, and 1.5 metres distancing on board whenever reasonably practicable.  Crew lists and contact details will be required for tracing purposes, hand sanitiser must be provided and surfaces must be cleaned to minimise infection, in line with published health guidelines.

BPYC has updated its Risk Management Plan and I’ve attached our new publication “Minimising Risk of Covid-19 Infection when Sailing with BPYC".  This must be followed conscientiously so we can minimise the chance of Covid-19 infection as a result of the relaxation of some restrictions.

When Do we Resume Racing?

Our next race will be on Sunday 31 May 2020.  This is Autumn Race 6 and will be the Trevor & Finn Memorial which was previously Autumn Race 5.  

Autumn Races 3, 4 and 5 are formally abandoned and no points will be awarded for them.

A formal Notice of Race will be sent to skippers and members next week.  In the mean time, please study the attached document, take note of its requirements, send it to crew who may not yet be members of BPYC, and plan your return to racing with Blues Point Yacht Club.  

It will be great to see our burgee flying once again on Sydney Harbour! 

Chris Winston

Commodore BPYC

Here is a link to the BPYC document Minimising Risk of Covid-19 Infection when Sailing with BPYC 

Suspension of BPYC Activities

BPYC Members and Supporters

In view of the required, escalated response to Covid-19, the Committee of Blues Point Yacht Club has suspended all races and associated events until further notice.  Any racing fees already paid will be held in credit unless owners request refunds.

Due to the closure of licensed premises, our Mega Meat Tray and Cash Jackpot Raffle at the Blues Point Hotel, held each Thursday evening, has also been suspended.

I hope everyone keeps fit and well, and I know we all look forward to returning to our normal lives, including yacht racing, as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Chris Winston

Commodore, Blues Point Yacht Club

Report and Results for BPYC Autumn Race 2- Errol Hazelwood Handicap

With our usual start/finish boat, Free ‘Neasy, still out of action, Starter John borrowed a replacement, a distinctive blue and white Hood called Itchy Feet.  Hoods were competitive yachts back in the day, and it’s interesting to compare to designs today (even back then, Hoods were somewhat controversial).

We had a starting (and finishing) fleet of five yachts with even the wet-weather averse Cap’n Carl campaigning Blue Sky.  At various times, the sky was a mixture of clouds delivering rain, and clear blue.  Sail selection was a challenge for those who had alternatives, but by the second time around Course 2, all had had a chance to reflect on their choice in a wind that went from about 4 to around 15 knots.  G-Whizz was able to demonstrate the ease of its one-sheet reefing system.

The long course meant that surely some yacht would be able to pass Megisti which has had a considerable share of podium finishes this season.  This was especially the case since all yachts competing, except Megisti, had been given a reduction in their handicap after Race 1 of the Autumn Series.

As it turned out, passing Megisti wasn’t where the main action was happening.  G-Whizz, Conquista and Blue Sky were having an interesting tussle between themselves, as well as negotiating a large fleet of 18-footers racing on the Harbour.  For G-Whizz, this also involved a close encounter with a couple of large spectator boats who seemed to be concentrating on the 18-footers and not anyone else racing on the harbour.

Ultimately, no yacht passed Megisti.  Blue Sky came in second, about six minutes behind the winner, and Conquista came third, just 17 seconds ahead of G-Whizz, which she passed about half way along the last leg of the course.  That just left Martela to cross the line and allow Starter John and crew to motor home after a damp day on the water.

Report and Results for BPYC Autumn Race 1, 1 March 2020

Skippers, Crew, Club Members and Supporters

The forecast was for a warm, sunny day with a nor’easter at around 12-15 knots and little swell coming through the Heads – a perfect Sydney Harbour sailing day.  When the reality followed the forecast, it seemed all there was to do was to enjoy a beautiful sail.

Then at 1115hrs, Starter John phoned to say the start boat had no steering, so no start boat available.  No problem, Commodore Chris was prepared with a radio start script, all boats were notified and happy with this late change to starting procedure (thanks, everyone!).

All boats expected to sail did so, and some reported their start had been perfect, crossing the starting line exactly on time.  How strange it is that this only happens when there’s no start boat.

It was great to see Clonnie racing again with the fleet – let’s hope she’s a more regular competitor, with Cap’ns Ian and Jeri.  And though she wasn’t racing, Celete was also out, accompanying our fleet.  Always a good competitor, let’s also hope Cap’n Alan can soon have her in racing form.

On this day, Martela was in the capable hands of Cap’n Michael and crew.  Results show that they were only 50 seconds slower than Blue Sky in elapsed time.  Yes, they should perhaps have been faster, but they didn’t employ the special sail set used by Blue Sky.

Course 3 had been chosen, so Manly West and Manly East were the top marks.  Etesian had an Oops moment and took the Bradleys Head Safe Water Mark to Starboard rather than Port, before realising their mistake, re-tracking, and taking the SWM to Port.  There were a number of dices between G-Whizz and Etesian on the way to Manly which made for an interesting passage.

Manly Yacht Club (I think) had set the start line for their dinghy races directly across the rhumb line from the Harbour to the Manly West mark.  Within their rights to do so of course, but dodging dinghies added to the challenge for our skippers.

Megisti had a good race, leading from the start and never passed.  Cap’n Hugh and only crew, Sam, did a great job, including flying their spinnaker.

Ah, spinnakers, now there’s a mystery.  It turns out that on a J/109, the asymmetric spinnaker can be flown upside down yet still fills and gives good boat speed, so good in fact that Cap’n Carl did not politely request that it be reset, as one might have expected.  How lucky he was that another club member who wasn’t even in the race happened to be on the Harbour and captured the image for posterity.

The final result was that the race was won by the smallest boat.  The boat that had navigation problems with the SWM came second, and the boat that came third sailed with an upside-down spinnaker.  Naturally, it was presented with its bottle of wine in the same orientation!  

What a great day!

Congratulations Megisti - 2019-2020 Spring Series Winner!

Proving once again that it isn’t always the size that wins you the prize, the smallest yacht in the fleet, Megisti, won the 2019-20 BPYC Spring Series.

Congratulations to owners Hugh Babington and Joe Zahra.  Hugh is the helmsman with regular crew, Sam Bugeja and Joe.

Three wins and four seconds, plus sailing in every one of the eight races, gave Megisti its Spring Series win. 

Can’t wait for the Autumn Series to see if she can continue to keep the bigger boats further down the podium each week and claim the Club Championship at the end of the season.

Report on BPYC Spring Race 8, 12 January 2020

Recovered from their Christmas revelry, the Fab 4 (not John, Paul, George and Ringo) but Blue Sky, Martela, G-Whizz and Megisti, lined up to compete in the last race of the Spring Series.  The Series winner was probably beyond dispute given Megisti’s handy five-point lead, but with only four points between second and fourth, who would be the podium finishers?

The combination of a good SSE breeze around 15 knots and the second-longest course in the suite meant every yacht had a chance to do well, and plenty of water and time to do the opposite.

Megisti found the going tough, but after around two hours racing, the gap between the winner, Blue Sky, and second, Martela, was just over four minutes, and there was slightly less than two minutes separating second and third-placed G-Whizz.

Report on BPYC Spring Race 7, 24 November 2019

I think every one of the participants in Spring Race 7 would agree that it was an absolutely perfect day for some fun on our wonderful harbour.

The wind was just right - if anything, maybe a little light - and all boats managed to get around the course with little difficulty.

First home was Blue Sky, who oddly enough was the only boat to hoist a spinnaker, followed by the inimitable Megisti who finished just 10 seconds ahead of Martela.  Conquista and G-Whizz closely followed Martela over the line. The closeness of the race is clear in the below results table.

Some might be keen to know how the season is panning out, so below are the summarised pointscores.

Report on BPYC Spring Race 6, 3 November 2019

The Ladies Day Race is always a hotly-contested event offering not only the usual array of generous prizes but, for the winner, the honour of having one’s name engraved on the beautiful, glass, perpetual trophy.

Four yachts competed: Blue Sky (Ali Braden), Megisti (Amy Kitson), Martela (Jane Rose) and G-Whizz (Ann Davey).

Congratulations to all, but especially to Ali Braden who put her dinghy sailing expertise to good use in Dad’s J/109.

Sue Heyder Christmas Race - Pictures

The BPYC finished the year 2019 in style with a race around the western harbour, followed by a Brazilian BBQ lunch in beautiful Lavender Bay. This traditional year-end race and social get together is named in honour of Sue Heyder, a long time sailor and committee member of the BPYC.

Bram Penberthy and crew on Etesian took home the sliver-ware for the race but it was winners all round in this amicable event.

Here are some pictures.

Race 3 (postponed) Spring Series 2019/20 - Race Report and Results

Once again we were delivered a gentle SE breeze at 7 - 10 knots, leaving us little option with course selection other than our most often sailed course 3. 

Our re-scheduled Race 3 was held in a pleasant 7 to 10 knot sou easter, which was a kind welcome to the new boat Etesian, who managed a good start and making speeds just half a knot less than the fastest boat, never looked back until she crossed the line well in front of the remainder of the fleet. Clearly we need to take a look at the handicapping...

Conquista didn't fail to impress us yet again, with another very quick sail up to Manly and back, crossing the line around 4 minutes after Etesian. Once again Conquista has shown us just how fast she can be, with an average speed of 0.55 knots less than the fastest boat.

Running in 2 minutes later and taking third place, was Martela, with Megisti coming home 17 minutes later in fourth, and Blue Sky - after struggling with the hoist of a recalcitrant Code Zero - managed a credible fifth around 7 minutes later.

Race 5 Spring Series 2019/20 - Race Report and Results

It was a lovely day on Sydney Harbour with a gentle breeze around 10 knots that lightened further as the afternoon progressed.  Unfortunately our starter was late to take up position so our start time was delayed until 1345hrs which may have given some advantage to the boats starting earlier.  The other surprise was that there weren’t more boats on the Harbour.  G-whizz had to negotiate through a fleet of racing Farr 40’s, but the 18-footers were fortunately away from our track as we headed to the finish line.

In the predominantly easterly breeze, with some NE and some SE, spinnakers and code zeroes were seen relatively briefly on some boats for the trek up and down on the Manly course.

Megisti started on scratch; last yacht to start was Martela on a handicap of 43 mins.  There were no nail-biting duels along the way, with the finishing order reflecting the starting order, except Martela came in ahead of G-Whizz.  A separation of 43 minutes across five starters became a separation of only about 20 minutes from first to last at the finish, with three of the boats finishing within about 5 minutes of each other.  All reported a lovely day on the water.

Our next race is the annual Ladies Day Race on Sunday 3 November 2019.  This is one of our pointscore races.

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Race 4 Spring Series 2019/20 - Race Report and Results

Once again we were delivered a gentle SE breeze at 7 - 10 knots, leaving us little option with course selection other than our most often sailed course 3. 

However, some of us really like sailing to Manly and back, so with the sun shining and a gentle but reasonably steady light breeze we all happily completed the course with very little drama. it was in fact a perfect day to sail our beautiful harbour.

Conquista was home first, followed about 8 minutes later by Megisti. It was another 13 minutes before Martela crossed the line, just sneaking in 5 seconds ahead of G-Whizz after the only real tussle of the race, with Blue Sky wrapping up the proceedings around a minute later.