Note Victorian 2010/2011 Calendar is out. The results of the Owners Survey are in the Owners Area of the web site
News from Geoff Bonus July 2010
Hi All NSW Sydney 38 Owners
First of all best of luck and fair sailing to Swish,
Eleni, The Goat, J Steel and Zen for the Sydney Gold Coast yacht race starting
tomorrow. The forecast and routing shows that this could be a small boat yacht
race so do not be suprised if you see a 38 on the podium, as per the 2009
Hobart race. Staying ahead of the Archie 31 with the Tow Truck boys on board
may be the big challenge.
Some important dates...
AGM Septemeber 15 at RSYS. An agenda and resolutions for
voting will be out early next month. Get there if you can and if you cannot
please be sure and provide your proxy as we will be voting on sails, crew
weight, mastheads etc.
NSW STATE TITLES 2010
Will be hald at RSYS Fri 29/Sat 30/Sun 31 October.
Separate emails will begin late August regardinmg this event but we would like
to get an idea of entries asap to assist with planning for the regatta. Let's
make this another fabulous event. There will be free berthing in the pond from
RSYS, beers and a BBQ on the dock on after racing Friday and lots more. PLease
get organised and put this in youir sailing calendar.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011
Will be held at Geelong Race Week. Think 18-22 knots of
SW and dead flat water every afternoon and you will get the picture. The Vics
are arranging this event, the 38 Nationals are the main attraction and they
have boats coming from SA and TAS to attend. Early indications are 13 entries
PLUS any NSW boats attending.
IF YOU ARE A POSSIBLE/PROBABLE FOR THIS EVENT PLEASE LET
ME KNOW BY RETURN EMAIL ASAP SO I CAN LET THE ORGANISERS PLAN FOR THE EVENT.
This season the focus will be on a smaller number of
bigger and better attended One Design events. and a draft calendar will be
available early August.
Please forward these dates to your key crew and start
training now!
In a testing northerly wind ranging between 15 to 25 knots in what is primarily an IRC event, five Sydney 38’s faced the starter for the seven race event. The series is held each fortnight and concludes with a short ocean race to Flinders. The race configuration differs from race to race from triangular and windward leeward courses around laid marks to passage races around fixed marks.
Whilst the conditions did not suit the Sydney 38’s today and the race was dominated by the 50 footers, 'Flirt' and 'Living Doll', the Sydney 38’s enjoyed a competitive race within a race.
'Challenge' (Lou Abrahams) eventually was the first Sydney 38 across the line, followed by 'Sierra Chainsaw' (Andrew and Mel Mollison) and 'Scarlett Runner' (Rob Date). However, it was agreed that 'Scarlett Runner' had the best speed but a couple of errors were costly. 'Challenge' had its own issues with hydraulic problems and no instruments. It was great to see 'Hasta la Vista' (David Phillips) lee bow 'Challenge' off the start line. Just imagine what it could do with a clean bottom! It was a hard day for '38 Degrees South' (John Chatham) to introduce a new crew, but given time, the experience of the successful crew from 'Vapour Trial' will bring results.
Having not had a windy race for some time, the conditions were tough on crews and a wake up call that heavier air practice is necessary to improve our skills. The event also demonstrated that the Sydney 38 IRC handicap is no longer competitive against the newer designs. Whilst the Sydney 38 is primarily a One Design Class, it is now considered essential that the administrators review the class rule to maximize handicap performance.
2011 Nationals Geelong