THE WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL
The Whyte Just & Moore Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong was an outstanding success over this holiday weekend, despite the hammering that Melbourne received over the Labour Day weekend.
With a record number of 105 entries you could be excused if you thought a few would pull the pin with the news of absolutely foul weather approaching.
But when it came to the crunch, not many decided to stay home and get absolutely clobbered! Most decided to enjoy a delightful weekend in Geelong! And believe me, they did!
Beautiful yachts, some approaching 100 years old, threw their shoulders back, hoisted their sails and headed from Williamstown to that gem of a bay named Corio, to enjoy a couple of peaceful days in the sun!
The classic yacht, 'Windward II' built in 1929 accompanied by arguably the most famous classic keel yacht in Australia, 'Sayonara' of 1897 were accompanied by other absolutely classic examples of those halcyon days of sailing as they headed off in the 'Central Geelong' Classic boat race.
'Sayonara' was first across the line at Geelong but it was the classic cutter 'Anitra' who took out 1st place on handicap, followed by Kent Bacon's 55 year old Norwegian Sailing Rescue Craft, 'Renene'.
Joining them in Geelong were almost the entire Victorian fleet of Couta Boats battling out the 'Couta Cup' and the Victorian State Titles plus a plethora of beautifully maintained wooden boats of all shapes and sizes.
All sail boats? No sir! The tiny steam driven 'Firefly 2' at only 16ft entertained the crowd as it tootled and tooted around the marina using it's almost 100 year old wood-fired boiler as propulsion!
Tall ships, 'One & All' the brigantine from South Australia and the topsail schooner 'Enterprize' added to the historical atmosphere.
Even though light rain dampened spirits a little on Saturday with weather warnings galore, Sunday turned out to be a day right out of the box! Beautiful sunshine, light winds, plenty of visitors and an incredible display.
I guarantee that you 'wooden' be too pleased if you missed it!
Bob Appleton.
RGYC Racing Report follows. Saturday 27th Feb, 2010.
Good Wind, Good Sailing.
Another great afternoon on the bay with an oscillating wind both in direction and strength, giving lifts to some and knocks to others which is one of the ingredients that make for good racing!
In Division 1, 'Valiant' (Gerry O'Brien), 'Juno' (Kym Murphy) and 'Larriken 2 (Darren Pickering) sailed in company for most of the race finishing within one minute of each other while 'Ocean Skins' (Tony Fowler) and 'eXtasea' (Paul Buchholz) cleared off showing the way. Further back, 'Boundary Rider' (Kim Clarke) and 'Peregrine' (Barry Walker) fought between themselves for supremacy. At the finish it was 'Ocean Skins' ahead of 'eXtasea' by 4 minutes more than 20 minutes ahead of the next finisher. On handicap it was 'Ocean Skins' 1st, 'eXtasea' 2nd and 'Valiant' 3rd.
Division 2 had some fun before the start with a bit of a 'bingle' between 'Braveheart' and 'Cadence', spoiling the day for both of them as the fleet cleared away leaving Jack and Paul to sort out the pieces.
The 20 to 28 knot wind made spinnaker use a tad dicey but, keen to show off their new blue and white kite, 'Reverie' (Reverie Syn) hoisted it whilst boisterously singing, 'We Are Geelong!' 'Coromandel' (Roger McLennan) found new ways of getting in a mess with a spinnaker while many decided against the risk.
'Vitesse' (David Farrimond), 'Reverie', 'Spirit of Rani' (Ian Robottom) and 'French Connection' (Brian Marshman) were sailing in close competition for most of the day each trying to get the better of the others but it was 'Spirit of Rani' who got home first in that group.
Further ahead, 'Jimmy Blacksmith' (John Sykes/Bob Umhauer) got home first although, somewhere along the way, 'Jimmy' and 'Mirage' (Fergus McPherson) may have had reason for an inquiry. However, 'Gentleman Jim' decided against protesting. What a nice gesture! But, perhaps they should have as 'Mirage' came 2nd on handicap and ''Gentleman Jim' 3rd!! Never-the-less, there's a good outcome, they're still friends! The winner on handicap was 'Vitesse' after sailing a very competitive race.
In Division3, 'Fleurieu Warrior' (Trevor Brown) and 'Murphy's Law' (Harry Farnell) were within seconds of each other most of the day but it was 'Catalyst' (Shannon Dixon) who gained line honours ahead of 'Murphy's Law' and 'Fleurieu Warrior'. Aided by his diminutive crew, Val, 'Murphy's Law' ruled the roost to take 1st. place on handicap from 'Champion' (Steve Williams) and 'Lucky Lady' (Ray Goodwin) was 3rd.
Final results as follows:-
Division 1. Line honours and 1st place to 'Ocean Skins', 2nd over the line and on handicap, 'eXtasea' (Paul Buchholz) and 'Valiant' (Gerry O'Brien) was 3rd.
Division 2. Line honours once more to 'Jimmy Blacksmith' who was 3rd on handicap. 1st. place went to 'Vitesse' (David Farrimond) and 2nd place to 'Mirage' (Fergus McPherson).
Division 3. Line honours went to 'Catalyst' (Shannon Dixon) but it was 'Murphy's Law' (Harry Farnell), 2nd home taking 1st. place on handicap. 'Champion' (Steve Williams) was 2nd and 'Lucky Lady' (Ray Goodwin) was 3rd.
Etchells. 1st. 'The Archer' (Mike Kelly), 'Free Advice' (Mary Hanna), was 2nd and 'Urban Gorilla' (Michael Shanahan) was 3rd.
Senior Members Dinghy Race.
Held on Sunday and the highlights include Commodore John Kint, armed with water pistols and tastefully dressed to match his boat, ‘Starlight Express’. Past Commodore Mike Kelly, dressed in a blue and white striped sailor’s shirt with colour co-ordinated shorts, while his crew, son Will, also in a sailor’s outfit fitted the part.
The race was a pursuit event over 6 legs. Following fun and capsizes, not to mention water fights, ‘Plane Sailing’ (James & Matthew Fitzpatrick) were 1st followed by ‘Swiftsure’ (Fraser Rudland/Callum Butler) and ‘Snake Bite’ (Sue Harmon/Ian Lee) was 3rd. All proceeds went to assisting the cadet boat ‘Snake Bite’ and her crew of Ian Lee and Alex Brzoska to compete in the cadet world titles to be held in Poland later this year.
Next Weekend. Sat & Sun. Whyte, Just & Moore Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong. DO NOT MISS IT!!.
Next Race. Sat. 13th March. Early Start for Div. 1, 2, 3 & Etchells. Double header WL. First signal 1255.
Bravo Course, Cadets,
In good sailing conditions, and a wind of 15 to 18 knots, 17 boats started in the WL course. ‘Plane Sailing’ lost its mainsail with only 4 minutes to go forcing frantic efforts to rehoist!
Most of the fleet picked the committee boat end to start and ‘Snake Bite’ was wearing ‘Xciten’ like a glove! At the ‘gun’, ‘Xciten’ won the start followed by ‘Midnight Magic’, ‘Sure Thing’ and ‘White Missile’. ‘Snake Bite’ ended up being boxed in taking some time to get clear air. ‘Plane Sailing’ started in the middle of the fleet because of the mainsail problem but picked a gap, got clear air and worked into 3rd spot behind ‘Snake Bite’ and ‘White Missile’.
Further back, an interesting battle developed between ‘Hectic’, ‘Skeeta’ and ‘Midnight Magic’, all trying to be first home in red division. It was ‘Hectic’ who held on to finish ahead of ‘Skeeta’ by 18 secs and ‘Midnight Magic’ another 97 secs. Meanwhile ‘Snake Bite’ was being challenged by ‘White Missile’ closely followed by ‘Tempest’. At the finish, it was ‘Snake Bite’ who crossed the line 9 secs ahead of ‘White Missile’ and ‘Tempest’.
Race 17 was another closely sailed race. ‘Snake Bite’ continued its dominance by leading the fleet all the way to cross the line in 1st. place followed by ‘Tempest’ and ‘White Missile’.
Single Handed Race.
Conducted on Sunday and 18 boats sailed a windward leeward course in 12-18 knot breeze. Once again ‘Snake Bite’ lead away from ‘Sure Thing’, ’White Missile’ and ‘Plane Sailing’ but in the back ground, ‘Tempest’ picked the last leg to move through the fleet into second position behind ‘Snake Bite’. She worked the wind shifts and the result was: ‘Tempest’ in first place and ‘Snake Bite’ next by 1 sec. A close finish.
Bravo Course, Results, Race 16.
Cadets Blue Div. Championship. 1st, ‘Snakebite’ (Ian Lee/Alex Brzoska). 2nd 'White Missile' (James Armstrong/Olivia Neilson) and 3rd. ‘Tempest’ (Nikola Dixon/Nicola Armstrong).
Cadets Red Div. Championship. 1st, 'Hectic' (Liam Robinson/Riley Mulgrew). 2nd 'Skeeta' (Oliver Friend/Will Townson). 3rd 'Midnight Magic' (Charlie Friend/Billy Goodfellow).
Cadets Blue Div. Handicap. 1st. 'White Missile', 2nd 'Sure Thing' (William Kelly/Joel Lay) 3rd ‘Tempest’
Cadets Red Div. Handicap. 1st. 'Hectic', 2nd, 'Brothers In Arms' (Darcy Baronowski/Lachlan Hill) and 'Skeeta' was 3rd.
Race 17.
Cadets Blue Div. Championship. 1st, ‘Snakebite’. 2nd ‘Tempest’ and 3rd 'White Missile'.
Cadets Red Div. Championship. 1st, 'Midnight Magic', 2nd 'Hectic' and 'Skeeta' was 3rd.
Cadets Blue Div. Handicap. 1st. 'Black Pearl' (Ruby Altermatt/Jessica Fitzpatrick), 2nd Starlight Express' (Emma Woods/Claire Townson) and 'Sure Thing' was 3rd.
Cadets Red Div. Handicap. 1st. 'Frantic' (Sam Stephens/Jack Thornton), 2nd 'Midnight Magic' and 'Viking II' (Lucy Stephens/Georgia Crowley) was 3rd.
Miscellaneous division sailed Race 17 and 10 boats lined up for the start. ‘Magic Moments’ won the start from ‘Vires Veritas’ and ‘Bulletproof’. ‘Katana XX’ took control of the race followed by ‘Vires Veritas’ and ‘The Mach 5’.
Off The Beach Results.
Championship Race 17. 'The Mach 5' (David Warren/Michael Bagnara) 1st. ‘Magic Moments’ (James & Peter Short) 2nd and 'Katana XX' (Campbell Kennedy/Thomas Stuchbery) was 3rd.
Handicap. 1st. 'Katana XX', 2nd ‘Fly By Wire’ (Andrew Butler), and 'The Mach 5' was 3rd.
Single handed Results- Blue division. 1st ‘Tempest’ (Nikola Dixon), 2nd ‘Snake Bite’ (Ian Lee), and 3rd ‘Sure Thing’ (Will Kelly).
Red division 1st ‘Hectic’ (Liam Robinson), 2nd ‘Midnight Magic’ (Charlie Friend) and 3rd ‘Flying Dutchman’ (Lewis Butler).
Next Saturday & Sunday, Whyte, Just & Moore Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong. DO NOT MISS IT!!
Next Race. Bravo course, Sat. 13th. March. WL first signal 1355..
Bob Appleton
See race photographs in Image Gallery.
