That Sinking 2010 Cadet Nationals & States - Royal Yacht Club of ...

Summer 2010
Magazine of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria
2010 Cadet
Nationals
& States
Stad
Amsterdam
That
Sinking

CONTENTS
features
6 Adelaide 2010 Cadet Nationals
14 Tall Ships
20 AVW; A volunteers story
22 Ten Too
28 The Mistake
31 Port Phillip Sea Pilots Short Course
34 Shipping Humour
36 The RIP
42 Yard and Marina
43 Sail Training
44 A40 boat review
regulars
3 From the Editor
4 Commodore’s Report
5 Club Captain’s Report
Royal Yacht Club of Victoria
120 Nelson Place
Williamstown VIC 3016
Melway Reference 56 E9
37°51.7’S, 144°54.4’E wgs
Admiral
H.R.H. Prince Philip
The Duke of Edinburgh
Commodore-in-Chief
The Governer of Victoria
Professor David de Kretser AO
Commodore
Tony Spencer
Vice Commodore
Bas Huibers
Rear Commodore
Andrew Munro
Club Captain
David Ellis
General Manager
Alex McGillivray
Front Cover
Stad Amsterdam
Troy Croft image
Advertising in Royals
Display advertising and inserts are
available in this magazine by contacting
the editor, by telephone on (03) 9397
1277, by fax on (03) 9397 8160 or
e-mail editor@rycv.asn.au
Royals Magazine Editorial
Managing Editor
David Seaman
editor@rycv.asn.au
Production Editors
Troy Croft
Paulina Hryniewiecka
editor@rycv.asn.au
General Office
Phone 03 9397 1277
Fax 03 9397 8160
Web www.rycv.com.au
Email rycv@rycv.asn.au
Postal PO Box 51
Williamstown
Vic 3016
ABN 26 311 625 307
Race Officer
David LeRoy 0417 153 378
Kitchen
03 9398 2898
This edition of Royals was published
on behalf of the Royal Yacht Club of
Victoria by the Editors. All content
and images are copyright protected
by the authors and RYCV and
may not be reproduced without
permission.
from the editor
Welcome to the March edition
of Royals.
Once again we are nearing
the end of the Summer season with the
Club Marine Series (aka Range) nearly
over, and the Association Cup upon us.
We have got through the season with
a few casualties, the sinking of a boat in
the Geelong Passage Race (see the great article by Leo Cantwell
inside), a dismasting in a Range heat, and numerous other
events(two of which involved yours truly!).
It just goes to prove that you can never have enough eyes on
the water, just listen for the ‘starboard’ calls during a Wednesday
twilight to know how crowded it gets out there.
This issue’s front cover shows the Stad Amsterdam, which
completed a visit to Melbourne in February. It was a great sight
to see her sailing under all canvas from Queenscliff. It was a pity
more people did not have the chance to see her. For those who
do not know, she is only 10 years old, and is a replica of a Dutch
Clipper. She is 30% owned by the City of Amsterdam, and 70%
by Randstad, a recruitment company. Have a look at the website
www.stadamsterdam.com and see how well she promotes
Amsterdam. Now just imagine, for one moment, that Melbourne
did not have the F1 Grand Prix, we could have two of these ships,
crewed and maintained by locals, building a viable industry, and
the promotional value would be tremendous. After the purchase
of the ships there would be plenty left over for other ventures. We
can but dream.
By the time you read this, a new Friday night promotion will
be underway. The Members Draw will now start at $400, and rise
by $50 per week if not claimed, and only one name will be drawn
per week. When it reaches $800 that draw will be stabilised, and
another started at $400, there could conceivably be three draws
running in parallel. Full rules will be published shortly.
In addition, thanks the kind sponsorship of Nautilus Marine
Insurance. On the last Friday over every month, for the next 12
months, a Boat Owners Draw will take place. The prize is a $750
voucher for use in your Nautilus Marine Insurance premium. This
is a ‘draw till you drop’, and the prize must go off each month. It
is for boat owners with boats on the Register, and must be used
for that boat. I would personally like to thank Mark Crockford of
Nautilus for setting this up. I for one will be there for that one!
Lastly, I would like to thank Troy, who does all the hard work
on the magazine.
Enough of my ranting, open up and enjoy the read.
Disclaimer
Opinions expressed in Royals are not necessarily those of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. The Club does not guarantee the accuracy or accept
any responsibility for the statements or comments made by the contributors in articles submitted. The Club reserves the right to amend, alter or
delete any items, statements or articles which it feels is not in the best interest of the Club or its members.
Registered by Australia Post Print Post
Publication No. PP 347477/0019
2 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 3

Commodores Report
Club Captains report
As the season draws towards
the end I am happy to write
that we have had another
successful season both on the water and
off. Recent events included the visit of
tall ships One and All, Young Endeavour,
Enterprise and Stad Amsterdam. The
highlight of the visit was a dinner the
club co hosted with Tall Ships Victoria
to welcome the visitors to Williamstown.
Special guests included Sarah Darwin
the great great granddaughter of
Sir Charles Darwin, Beagle Project
Biologists and the Captains of the four
vessels.
Captain Richard Sloatweg of the
Stad Amsterdam gave a very interesting
talk and Sarah Darwin showed some
footage and spoke of the visit of the
Stad Amsterdam to the Galapagos as
part of the voyage retracing the steps of
the Beagle and Charles Darwin. A great
night was had by all.
The end of February saw this year’s
Mental Health Cup with over 17 yachts
competing it was great event. This
year Mercedes III skippered by Martin
Ryan won and a great party was had
up the river with yachties and sponsors
enjoying themselves as hard as they
could to benefit mental health.
I also must thank Kerri Murrell our
General Manager who has now left us
for a new life abroad. Kerri did a great
job over the last 3 years in running the
club and we wish her every success for
the future.
With Kerri leaving we embarked on a
search to recruit a new general manager
and we appointed Alex Mc Gillivray
to the position. Alex comes to us from
Golf Australia and has extensive club
experience from his time as a manager
and a Director of Kingston Heath Golf
Club.
Alex commenced on March 1 and
has been busy getting his feet under the
desk ever since. If you see Alex around
the club introduce yourself and say
hello.
On the long weekend in March the
club hosted the International Cadet
State Championships. If you remember
the weather was a bit ordinary but
the race Committee headed by David
LeRoy and David Wallace managed to
get through the races between the wild
weather giving the over 40 competitors
a fantastic competition. It was very
encouraging to see the advanced levels
of skill some of the crews possess and
the strength of the entries shows that the
International Cadet is still a competitive
training class for our youngsters.
Looking forward we have the
Association Cup, Brass Monkey Winter
Series and I encourage everyone to enter
the Phoenix Trophy to the QCYC for a
great weekend of sailing and great fun.
I
thought I would provide you all with a rundown
on the sailing activities at the Club over the
season so far.
The race management team have been kept
busy thus far running the first three Club Marine
Series races in partnership with HBYC and RMYS.
I am pleased to see that SYC and RBYC are also
following this model of cooperation for their races
which will assist in maintaining a consistent
quality of race management for the entire series.
The Club has also provided race management at
the ISAF Sailing World Cup running the Laser
course, the S80 Class State Championships and
at Audi Victoria Week running the Melbourne
end of the multihull event and the Division 2
course on outer Corio Bay. I would like to offer
personal thanks those who assisted in running
these events Alasdair McBride, Lennie Beattie,
Sally Markham, Rod Bourke, Mal Botteril, Geoff
Klestadt, Tom Klestadt, Duncan Rasmussen,
Marshall and Jenni Gibbs.
By combining our Saturday Club racing with
HBYC and RMYS we have seen entry lists in
excess of sixty boats for a Saturday race with
between thirty and fifty starters. This is an
effective use of the resources of the three Clubs
and offers improved Club racing.
Changes to the courses and adding an extra
division to the popular Wednesday Twilight Series
have been well received although it does require
competitors to check the course signal prior to
their start. Each division has twenty to twenty
five boats sailing each week and including the
Diamonds there is typically seventy boats sailing
each week. There are also about ten boats sailing
a pursuit style race each Wednesday afternoon.
As far as sailing results go the Club again
had excellent results at Geelong with the team
of Living Doll, Shogun and Executive Decision
winning the IRC teams trophy, Swordfish
Trombone, Godzilla and Surprise winning the
AMS teams trophy and Chutzpah, Swordfish
Trombone and Godzilla placing second in the
PHD teams trophy. Individual boats won IRC or
AMS Divisions in the Audi series as well as the
Classic Yachts and the Bluebirds. Congratulations
to all those teams.
In the Club Marine Series the Club has
a substantial lead in both the IRC & AMS
team’s series. I would like to thank the owners
and crews of Swordfish Trombone, Executive
Decision, Apache, Top Gun, Godzilla, Surprise
and Footloose for
their efforts thus far.
There are only two
races remaining so
please keep up the
good work.
The cruising
group has recently
organised weekend
events to Sorrento,
Portarlington
and Club boats
participated in
QCYC organised
Bass Strait
cruises over the
Xmas period and Australia Day weekend. Ross
Anderson from Chenara is currently organising
the Cruising group and would like to hear from
any other Club members who would like to assist
in planning their activities.
Behind the scenes there has been major work
done on the Thorsen. There have been upgrades
to the race management software and we are
working on improvements to the on-line entry
system and the calendar.
Looking to the future I am looking forward to
seeing the Women’s Sailing Group run another
one of their excellent Elliott training programs.
This is not limited to women and the quality
of the coaching is first rate. There seems to be
some interest in running a match racing event so
we will advertise that and try to run something
before the end of the season. Marshall Gibbs
has an excellent concept for an event called the
Diamond Invitational which we are trying to get
off the ground. Planning is already underway for
this year’s Lipton Cup Regatta which is one of my
season highlights. The winner’s challenge was
a lot of fun and once again thanks you to Doyle
Sails and Quantum Sails for providing the prizes.
We also have in mind a Xmas coastal cruise in
Bass Strait to Phillip Island which sounds like it
could be a good event for those who do not want
to do one of the major ocean races
In closing, thank you to committee members
Justin Brenan, Cath Beaufort, Alex Gilbert and
race officer David LeRoy who has been assisted
by James Davison and Alasdair McBride.
David Ellis
4 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 5

Adelaide 2010
Cadet Nationals
Images: Emily Perkes
Words: Jacqui Prestedge
The 48th International Cadet Australian
Championship were held at Adelaide Sailing
Club, on the 10th to the 17th of January. That
was my first Nationals. 10 of our Royals cadets went
to Adelaide to compete in the Australian Nationals.
I normally crew in cadets, but because my skipper
wasn’t going, and my brother was, I decided to skipper.
After only two races back at home, I went straight
into sailing at a nationals with 82 boats, a local crew
that had never sailed cadets or used spinnakers, and
that I hadn’t met. With a mixture of wind, waves and
excitement, it was a nationals I, and many others, are
never going to forget.
The Nationals commenced with a 43° C day as all
our boats were being registered and measured. You
can imagine what we were all feeling as we stood
in a long line up a hill waiting for our turn. The heat
just kept on getting worse and worse. After coming
from Melbourne which had a 23°C heat this was a big
shock. Even though everyday it got cooler, others and I
suffered from this heat in one way or another whether
it was heatstroke, dehydration or other problems. I met
my new crew, a young 9 year old girl whose brother
was also sailing, I only go to say “Hi!” as our turn to be
measured was next. In the shed where they conducted
the measuring, there was fine and quick work. With
speed they grabbed sails, masts and booms and took
them to the various areas. They then put the boat onto
scales and as you took your boat out the door they
handed back everything and the next boat was up.
Most of the boats passed but there were problems with
boats too light, troubles with black bands and their sail
size but thanks to David Wallace all of that was under
control for the RYCV cadets.
The next day we all had to participate in the opening
ceremony where the state flags were raised, we listened
to words from the sponsors, got some information
about the event and met the people that we would
get to know for the next week. Later in the afternoon
it was the invitational race which we had perfect
6 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 7

Left:
Royal’s boat IMP
Above right:
Royal’s boat Graffiti
Below right:
Royals boat Manxman.
weather for and everyone was hoping
for the same weather throughout the
Nationals, although no one can predict
Mother Nature. Lots of people were
very excited about the regatta and
were incredibly enthusiastic. The race
committee definitely saw that in the
start line, nearly everyone had broken
the line, consequently they called a
general, but that was my best start of
the whole regatta. I was up with the
top boats but on the second start I was
down the back again. I guess I just got
lucky.
So the first day of real racing had
come upon us and the early mornings
had begun. We all got to ASC early
although when we got there the
weather was horrible and the waves
were huge. The race was scheduled
to start at 10:30 and not many people
wanted to go out in such strong winds
for the first race. And my crew and I
were thinking the exact same as we
had built no trust in each other yet after
just meeting. The weather didn’t seem
to be getting any better. One thing that
scared me was that the waves were a
lot bigger than what I was used to at
Royal’s. The temperature dropped to a
low 22°C and out on the water in 20-
25 knots it would be really cold. I just
hoped the race committee thought the
same. Code flag “P” went up and didn’t
drop until about 12pm and we were off
to sail. There were two races that day
and so many people retired or only did
one race as the wind picked up again on
the second race and no one wanted to
break any gear. The waves in Adelaide
were quite big and it took a while for
me to get used to the waves and learn
how to ride them. One minute you
would be looking at a boat and then you
could see only the top of the mast and
sail as you were on the top of a wave
and they were at the bottom. For us at
the back of the fleet the competition
was all about “who can stay upright
the longest” especially at the gybe
mark where you could see a battlefield
of many capsized and turtled boats
as a result of their failed gybes. The
feelings that go through you when you
see so many boats upside down around
you is a strange one as you pray to stay
up but also you kind of feel bad for your
friends that have gone over. It’s also
hard to think about whether to gybe
or granny tack after seeing so many
boats over and I really didn’t want to
join them. I knew that if I did capsize
then it would definitely be straight
back in to shore but as I passed many
other boats it didn’t seem like that was
going to happen but at the gybe mark
sure enough I did join the group of
boats that were also over and I quickly
discovered that this capsize recovery
would be harder than I thought. Having
a little crew and lots of waves and wind
meant that it was hard for her to point
the boat in the wind, so as soon as I
go it up it went over again. It was her
first capsize. And one of the Adelaide
rescue boats helped us and we were
on our way to land, in no time. . That
left me with DNF and a DNS, although
8 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 9

2010 CADETS
2010 CADETS
I could only improve from there. Many
other boats came in that day because of
scared crews, hurt people or being cold
but there were also many experienced
skippers looking for crews as they had
confidence but not their crews. So I
got a ride as a crew on Bullant with
Madeline Johnson, we missed the start
by 2 ½ minutes but we still managed to
finish with an alright result. Only 63 of
82 boats finished the second race and
that was an eventful day for everyone
and we were all tired but then again all
pumped to improve the next day.
While in Adelaide we all got to meet
new people and make new friends. We
met people through where we were
staying, where we placed our boats
and who we sat with at lunch. I made
friends with some New South Wales
people that were in the apartment
next to us. I know a number of people
from the South Australian team that I
was introduced to by my crew. I also
met some people that were staying
in the caravan park which seemed to
be base camp for many Royal’s boats.
As weird as it sounds I even got to
meet people while getting changed,
the conversations they had told you a
lot about them. There were the really
serious sailors that only talked about
the weather and what gear to wear
then there were other people that just
talked about nothing and everything
and I got to know a few people from
that.
Wednesday, Day 2 of racing.
Everyone was hoping today would be
better than the last. I was praying for
only one bad day and the rest of the
regatta to go smoothly, but how wrong I
was. The wind
“Sunday, the final day of the
Nationals. This day had come so fast,
it felt like only yesterday we had
stepped out of the car and landed in
the heat of Adelaide. “
had dropped
a fair bit but
the waves
were still big,
but that was
just one of the
many things
to get used to. The first race was good
there was still wind but not as much
as yesterday. The second race however
was not as good. The afternoon sea
breeze had kicked in just like the locals
had said. My crew wanted to retire
from this race but I wanted to keep on
going after bad races the previous day,
I think that was the case with others
too. On our way back in we capsized
but after yesterday my crew knew
what to do and it was successful as
we were back up and heading quite
quickly. My crew was cold but she was
really proud of herself for doing her job
towards a successful capsize recovery.
We came back in for lunch but it was
clear that there would be no racing in
the afternoon as the wind picked up
again. When the race officer called the
race off there was the loudest cheering
I have ever heard, little did I know there
was more of that to come. Although to
everyone’s dilemma with only 4 races
completed there was a chance that
they could use our lay day to do some
more races. During the afternoon
presentations were announced for 1st,
2nd and 3rd prizes, lucky bow numbers
and the plans for the next day. Everyone
waited anxiously as they decided
whether or not lay day would happen.
They finally said that they were going
to give us a lay day. That was another
loud cheer but not the loudest.
Lay Day. Everyone had been
looking forward to this day from the
very beginning. It gave us a chance to
relax and recover. Beach House is an
Amusement park in Adelaide which
seemed to be the most popular way
to spend the day off but some people
went to the Barossa wine regions,
others stayed at their accommodation
but I went along with my brother and
the Fowler family to the Adelaide Zoo
to see the giant pandas. They were so
cute and worth the wait to see. Wang
Wang the male panda was up and
playing and eating some bamboo and
they are really amazing we were so
lucky to see them. Then we went back
to where we were staying and it was
declared a family mini golf game Fowler
vs. Prestedge. GAME ON! The bet was
loser had to buy the drinks! After this
we all went back to the Caravan Park
and the kids played in the pool and the
adults talked and drunk as the families
that went to Beach House came back.
Then the free time was over back to
another few days of racing.
Friday and back to racing. Today
was a completely different day to all
the others we had experienced. For
once the wind had dropped and yet
again the postponed flag was signalled
after 1 knot gusting to 3 was reordered.
At 12pm some wind came through and
it turned out a nice day. We got 3 races
done but all in a row so everyone was
really tired afterwards. There was a
big difference in placings today as the
people better in light winds got to have
3 good races. Again in the afternoon
the wind picked up a little but still
really good winds. We got enough
races done that day so we could have
our first drop. The results were looking
better after most people got to move up
some places. The racing didn’t finish
until 5:30 and with the presentations
that always seemed to occur half an
hour after they said 5 minutes. It was
past 7 pm until we could go home;
above all they also announced the
handicap results for all the races so far.
Sarah Wallace and Aimée Allermatt on
King George scored a second position
in race 3. I found that I did quite well
in light weather, at least better than I
expected. It was nice for a change of
weather to come through and I think
nearly everyone agreed. Today was
another exhausting day but only three
more days to go and then the nationals
are over and I knew I needed to make
it worthwhile.
Saturday arrives and it was hotter
but a lot windier. Tonight was the
Victoria State Dinner but racing was
to go ahead as usual, again the winds
were strong, but they thought that it
wasn’t too windy for us so they sent
everyone out for a 10:30am start but
after only about 10 boats went out and
nearly all capsized they put up a flag
that was new to me, a flag stating it was
unsafe to leave they shore: code flag
“D” Eva Brenan and Jordan O’Driscol
on Asterix went out and capsized
around 7 times, they just kept on going
over; Eva got injured by getting hit on
the head, consequently she had a sore
head for the rest of the day and didn’t
go out to sail. We went out and had one
race in the morning and then one in the
afternoon but then the wind picked up
as the sea breeze came in. They had
the start flag up but they postponed
it and after many had capsized and
it was like dodging witches hats in a
driving test, they hoisted “H” flag and
postponed which meant go home. My
crew and other crews after getting
used to the stronger weather didn’t
really want to go in and were more
concerned about finding big waves to
ride. I was kind of glad we didn’t start
another race otherwise I may have had
a déjà vu. Many went home for a little
while after the race was cancelled
before we came to having the Victorian
State Dinner. Every state had a dinner
and ours happened to be on tonight.
Although it’s nice to meet other people
from the other Victorian clubs it was
mainly tables of people from the same
club, it was a great way to spend some
time together, not that we hadn’t spent
enough together anyway but it was
still good. The meal was nice and a
good way to spend the evening.
10 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 11

2010 CADETS
2010 CADETS
Sunday, the final day of the Nationals. This
day had come so fast, it felt like only yesterday
we had stepped out of the car and landed in
the heat of Adelaide. We had a scheduled race
today for 10:30 and another one if we could fit
it in. The weather was yucky again today and
the wind awfully strong, it was the last day,
people were worn out and frankly I didn’t want
to go out and nor did other people. I was praying
that Murphy’s Law was not going to fail me so I
rigged my boat up and hoped we weren’t going
out. Sure enough after a bit of rain and a massive
squall, a rescue boat went out and recorded wind
speeds that were too strong to start and race in,
they abandoned the race and the series, yet again
they told us to go home. So we didn’t get to have
another race and there were mixed feelings. Some
were happy they didn’t race otherwise a boat that
they were beating might beat them as they were
really close, other’s really wanted to go out to get
a second drop for the series to get them higher up
in the rankings. I had varied opinions on one side
I wanted to go out and be able to drop another
DNF from Monday but also didn’t want to go out
at all because of such a wonderful regatta I really
didn’t want it to end with a horrible day. Anyway
we didn’t go out and once again Murphy’s Law
has proven to be right. So we all went home and
came back to watch the presentation followed by
the dinner. The presentation was good although
with yucky weather we couldn’t sit on the grass
like the other nights we watched as the results
were read out and the trophies given, it was time
for it all to come to an end. We had dinner and
then people went home as it was an early morning
drive for them to come back to Melbourne and
where ever they lived.
Overall on handicap Foxy Lady, John
Wilbraham and Tessa Bajan did very well taking
18th and so did Stealth, Jack and Lucy Fowler
with a 26th. In the whole series Manxman,
Brodie Roberts and Callum Prestedge came 27th
with their top score a 9th! So they will get to
National Australia Bank Limited
67 Ashley Street
West Footscray VIC 3012
T +61 3 9396 8301
F +61 3 9396 8335
take away the cup for the best Royal’s boat at
the Nationals. Everyone at Royals seemed to
have a great time and everyone did well. I’m
really glad I skippered in the nationals because I
had so much fun made new friends but I also got
to learn so much. I placed 74th overall and on
handicap I came 42nd, I definitely improved over
the course of the week, each day getting better
and better, getting higher results and beating
other boats.
It was a great experience doing a National
Championship; it was fun meeting new people
that you will hopefully see again next year and
it was great learning new tricks and skills and
having all the help you could ever want from
parents and other sailors. I learnt so much in
the space of 7 days than I would have otherwise
learnt in months. I learnt more about sailing in
general, I got to know different flags, different
courses were used, I learnt how to ride waves
and how to control my boat better and I now
know what I am really capable of as a skipper. I
think everyone that does a big competition like
this takes away something valuable from it and
I know I did.
Untitled-1 1
3/10/2008 5:13:25 PM
Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010
13

Tall Ships
Words: Robert Vandestadt
14 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 15

Seaworks adjacent to the Club again provided a spectacular
backdrop reminiscent of the glorious days of sail for those
members who visited the Club over the days 23rd to
25th of February. Williamstown was honoured with the visit
of three tall ships during these days which took part in the
now annual event of ‘The Tall Ships Are Coming’ organized by
Tall Ships Victoria. The three ships Stad Amsterdam, One &
All and Young Endeavour were joined by Victoria’s own 1830s
replica schooner Enterprize which has its base at Seaworks.
The pride of the fleet was undoubtedly the magnificent 10 year
old replica clipper ship Stad Amsterdam from the Netherlands
which made Melbourne a stop on her round the world voyage
celebrating the historic scientific voyage made by Charles
Darwin in H.M.S. Beagle during the 1830s. The ships were
formally welcomed on arrival at Seaworks after the Newport
Folk and Fiddle band had played Waltzing Matilda while the
ships tied up along the wharf. The splendid welcome gave rise
to a very festive atmosphere on the wharf which was crowded
by hundreds of visitors.
Sarah Darwin, botanist and the great great granddaughter
of Charles Darwin, together with author Redmond O’Hanlon
and initiator of the Beagle Project Hans Fels were guest
speakers at the successful final ‘Evolution the Festival’ talk
held at Seaworks, Williamstown on 25 February. Following
their participation in this talk they joined members and guests
at a most memorable dinner
held at the Club that evening. Commodore Tony Spencer
presented Sarah Darwin with a club burgee inscribed to
acknowledge the occasion and Captain Richard Slootweg
received the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria plaque on behalf of
Stad Amsterdam.

CADET STATE TITLES
CADET STATE TITLES
The March long weekend 2010 will
go down in many peoples memories
as the weekend Melbourne was
hit by a one in a hundred year storm. On
the Saturday, while many people were
ducking for cover, “Royal’s” was hosting
the International Cadet State Titles.
There were 48 boats with crews out
doing battle, not only amongst each other
but also with the same storm lashing the
city. With winds gusting well over 40
knots combined with rain and hail that
was hitting the water like tracer bullets,
the crews and rescue boats certainly had
their hands full. At times visibility was
down to less than 20 meters due to the
driving rain and hail and trying to locate
boats in trouble was an interesting
process.
Saturday promised to be a good day
on the water with sun and light winds.
The first race was held in sensational
conditions with the fleet enjoying close
racing in the 10 knot breezes. By the
BIG WINDS,
BIG STORMS
BIG SMILES
time the second race got underway the
weather gods had conspired to ensure
there was some post race entertainment.
With the wind steadily building during
the race some of the crews found the
conditions testing and decided the best
place to be was back safely in at Royals.
Unfortunately for most they didn’t make
it before the wind and rain hit. While the
top boats were able to finish the race
about a third of the fleet were caught
short and did all they could to stay
upright and keep the boats sailing in the
right direction.
Sunday by contrast saw exceptionally
light conditions for most of the day. In
fact, racing did not get underway until
well after the planned start time due to
insufficient wind. However, three races
were successfully completed with the
crews on the water for a long testing day
due, this time, to a lack of wind.
Monday was forecast to provide the
most wind of the weekend however,
it would take a particularly large low
pressure system to develop winds
capable of beating Saturdays efforts.
What did greet the fleet was 10 to 12
knots for the first race building to over
20 by the finish of the second race. Oh,
and not to forget one last storm to ensure
everyone got wet one last time before the
series was complete.
It was a memorable series not only
for the remarkable weather but also for
the big smiles on the kids every time
they got back in after having a wonderful
day out on the water. Royals boats did
particularly well with many boats in the
top half of the fleet.
For full results see the Club web site
Royals boat overall series results
below.
Congratulations to all those who
enjoyed the racing.
5653 Manxman Brodie Roberts (10th)
4659 Foxylady John Wilbraham (17th)
9617 Bullant Madeleine Johnson (18th)
5752 Imp Ruby Altermatt (19th)
9524 King George Sarah Wallace (21st)
6969 Bridgewick Farm Kate Wallace
(23rd)
9621 Stealth Jack Fowler (28th)
5700 Sidewinder Louis Schofield (35th)
4690 Sailmaker Ben Wilson (36th)
9527 Mustang Sally
Jacqueline Prestedge (39th)
5662 Asterix Eva Brenan (40th)
9624 Need for Speed William Orr (41st)
9779 Magician Matteo Scalia (47th)
18 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 19

AVW 2010
Victoria week at Geelong
– a volunteer’s tale.
By Marshall Gibbs
Australia Day sailing week has
always been a great time to get
together with a lot of sailors from
around the bay to talk yachting and this
year appeared to be no different. This
year I decided to volunteer to help hold
the racing under the guidance of Race
Officer, David Leroy.
Friday the 22nd at Royals was a great
fun night thanks to House and Social’s
great choice of band and all our guests
had a ball. Little did they know what
was in store for them on the sail down
on Saturday, otherwise I believe they
would have not had the last several
sips. I arrived at the club at 7.30 am on
Saturday to organise Cerberus (Cerberus
is a 25’ patrol boat owned by RYCV and
used as a race support vessel) for the
start, with the assistance of James. We
headed past Breakwater Pier to find that
the swell was rather large and the trip
to Geelong wasn’t looking too flash at
all. The deck chairs and platter I had
bought for Jen (partner) and I to enjoy on
the way were getting a bit of a salt water
flavour. Anyway the anchor went down
on Cerberus to be pin boat on the start
line. Clear start and away they went.
What a view. 400 odd yachts sailing
down the bay and the weather had abated.
Things were looking up for a good trip,
so we headed in to load up with fuel and
supplies. I looked to the horizon to see
some ominous black clouds, so I thought
we had better get a move on. Gave Jen a
call, grabbed a coffee and we were away.
I gave the Thorson (Thorson is a ex pilot
boat and is our flagship for holding races)
a call at Anne Street Pier to tell Dave we
had left and asked how the sea state was.
He lied and said it was a bit lumpy. We
turned right at breakwater pier at 8 knots
boat speed and took a green one straight
over the bow. I looked at Jen and asked
our passenger Sally if she was sure she
wanted to go. Both replied all was well
and Sally went below.
About 1 hour in the rain hit and the
sea state got worse. I had to don the wet
20 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010
weather jacket because a few dribbles
of water were wetting my back, I then
thought of my 3 mates on the racing
yacht Drambuie (a Bluebird) and thought
of the horrible trip they must be having.
We continued on and the weather
improved slightly off Portarlington and
Sally popped her head out to enjoy the
view of the yachts sailing down to the
ammunition pier. Finally we arrived
and all was happy, Murray from Royal
Geelong Yacht Club gave us a great pen
and treated us really well as he always
does.
Sunday - The Royals support team
was holding division 2 racing on the
outer harbour. First race at 11.00am. We
headed off at 9.00am to drop the marks,
me on Win Brown (a 14’ rib), James and
Lenny on Cerberus and Dave, Alastair
and a Geelong lady on Thorson. Just off
Point Henry, Dave called me to go back
and pick up a man called Steve so off
I went back to the yacht club. I spent
half an hour looking for a Steve and left
frustered bound for the race track by
myself. I arrived back at the Thorson
to be told we had to have Steve and
was instructed to fly back and get him.
So back I went again (thinking at this
point can my spine take any more of this
banging and crashing). I arrived back at
the club and hunted out Murray ( knowing
that if Steve was to be found Murray was
the man to do it) to find Steve was being
delivered to Thorson on another Geelong
rib. I asked Murray if he had any plastic
explosive and he just smiled, so back out
I went.
Finally I arrived on the race track
ready to go and pretty keen to see some
racing to find there is no wind and we
are postponed. I laid back in the bow of
the rib and tried to straighten my spine
without much success, had a bite to eat
and finally we went into race mode 1.5
hours later. I was only really interested in
the performance of four boats because I
knew their crews. Swordfish had a great
day with 2 wins, Jamhu 2nd Executive
Decision and Godzilla - well not so great
but hey, there was always tomorrow.
We lifted the marks and away we went
back to the club. We arrived back and
Murray and the team helped refuel the
boats. The Royals race management
team had a chat about the plan for
tomorrow. One thing I would like you all
reading this article to understand is that
the volunteers on and off the water are
first to start and last to finish. Jen and
I then found our way to Drambuie (our
friend’s Bluebird) for some refreshments
and a chat about the sailing day. They
had won as well (mind you all being
diamond sailors I would have expected
nothing less). Then off to Cameron’s 50th
birthday at the Scottish Chief and a great
night was had by all except the parma
tasted like rubber.
Day three – Jen joins me on the rib.
Ground hog day. No wind again and
similar results. Great weather and great
sailing, although Geelong is a strange
place to sail when the wind is light, it
can come from all directions making it
very difficult to sail to. You can make
some great gains or some huge losses
very easily. We had to move the course
several times to help the yachts have a
fair race. I have raced yachts for 40 years
and it is such good practice to re-educate
myself by helping hold races. There is so
much you forget and so much to learn, ie:
when there is a course change and a race
control boat is at the mark signalling a
change in course you are obliged to signal
to them to acknowledge that you have
seen the new course change. So many
people forget this and it is such a pain
to keep sounding the horn and holding
up the direction board when they have
already seen it.
Day four - The last day. I arrive at
8.00am walking out to get my boat and a
volunteer is taking a mark out along the
pier. She sees me coming, puts the mark
in the water because there is not enough
room for both of us on the pier and says
“after you, you’re part of the Royals team
and I am just a shore volunteer. This
made me feel humble and demonstrates
what a nice bunch of people they recruit
at Geelong. Anyway off we go. Same
racetrack again, same no wind, really
feel like going home as I see Drambuie
sail by - Royals bound. The race finally
starts and now it’s windy and lumpy.
The marks are not holding so there is a
lot of work lifting them and repositioning
then. I have Jen with me so life is a bit
easer but still wet. The race finishes
and it’s home time after a trip back to
Geelong and a boat transfer.
Just as we started travelling to the
club thinking of getting dry and having
a feed, Dave calls me back for some
crew transfers. So back we go. Thought
about turning off the radio and running
for home for a moment but these are the
things you have to do as part of the race
management team. We arrive back to
make 3 transfers and on the third transfer
I arrive at the stern of a yacht to find 2
people standing waiting to board the rib
in just T shirts and shorts, no PFDs on. I
told them no PFD no transfer only to get a
cold response - what were they thinking.
Anyway they eventually donned PFDs
and all went well. We were bound for
the club finally.
I arrived back at RGYC and Murray
was there waiting to help with the re
fuelling, I went up to the volunteer office
to sign off and they were all really helpful
and thanked Jen and I for the help we
have given them for the past four days,
we tied up the rib behind the Cerberus
and we are away. The trip back was
good and we chatted about the Royals
management team and how you strike
friend ships not unlike when you are
sailing together. So all was good we
arrived a little late at Royals 6.15pm.
I drove the Cerberus into its parking
spot to find a friend of mine, Skip waiting
to tie me up. I then jumped onto the duck
to drive it to the crane to lift it out of the
water. Feeling a little tired and needing
some help I called out to the deck where
several members are sitting, to get no
For Sale
“Surprise”
R25
Designed and built in Denmark by Borresen and optimised for both IRC and AMS
racing she has an excellent race record on Port Phillip Bay.
She comes with the following
2 full sets of sails.
Tactick wireless instruments.
This boat is in outstanding condition with full boat cover and hard stand trailer.
For further details contact the owner, David Ellis on 0418 145508
response and got no reaction. I then
struggled to lift the rib out and put it on
the cradle by myself. Eventually I get
some help.
So next time you see a volunteer
getting a race boat out of or into the
water, ask them if they need help. We
need volunteers or we will not be able
to race. This is not about whether you
like me or not it is about having a strong
commitment to our club as a whole. We
as members need to stand up and be
counted and help David and his team
otherwise the racing will fall apart.
Thanks: David, Lenny, Alastair, Sally,
Jen , James and the Geelong team.
Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010
21

The Sinking of Ten Too
What really happened.
By Leo Cantwell (skipper of Magic Bullet)
This race has typically been the
highlight of the racing calendar for
us. It has everything - a big fleet
(with all the spectacle that entails),
competitive racing, a great destination
with a party to boot and a relaxing
cruise back to Williamstown the next
day. To attest to this we’ve never
had anything but a full boat for this
race. For Magic Bullet it is usually a
thoroughly enjoyable event. This year,
however, it was not to be.
22 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 23

Ten Too
Above:
Leo and the crew of Magic Bullet enjoy
a rare calm day on Port Phillip
We were pretty keen to better
our 2nd place (PHD) in the
‘Cruising with Spinnaker’
division last year and after a pin end
start into clear air we were in the hunt.
We worked our way up the left of the beat
to Portarlington and after about 1 1/2
hours racing and about 6 miles from the
Point Richards Channel entrance marker
we were pretty happy with our position
in the fleet.
Then something ridiculous happened.
What was to be a routine port - starboard
crossing became a serious collision.
In the time it took to think “Oh Shit”
the situation went from “Yes - they are
going below us..” to .......... crunch!!! Now
sometimes boats kind of bounce off of
each other and sometimes they don’t.
This was one of those “don’t” times. The
Adams Ten -”Ten Too”- was jammed
into the side of Magic Bullet. The rigs
were intact and all aboard the 2 boats
were uninjured. Both crews sprang to life
and pulled sails down. Magic Bullet was
not taking water but down below in Ten
Too it was already ankle deep and there
was a sizeable hole beneath the bow. It
was clear that when the boats separated
Ten Too would rapidly sink.
It looked like a little help might be
required so we got on the VHF and
called up Geelong Race Control. We
got little more than garbled static from
what we thought might be Race Control
– and this was the case on the 2 fixed
and 1 handheld VHF radios we had at
our disposal. We then put out a “Pan
Pan” on Ch16 and there was some kind
of response from what we think was the
Water Police but communication was
really not possible.
A few yachts came within a couple of
hundred metres of us and we managed to
wave down “Allegria” and then establish
radio contact with them. Allegria kindly
stood by to assist if required. Another
boat “Highland Fling” also stood by for
a period but then resumed their race to
Geelong.
Magic Bullet and Ten Too remained
locked together and wave action on
the hulls was causing a “sawing” type
effect whereby the damage to the hull of
Magic Bullet was extending down to the
waterline. If the boats weren’t separated
there was a risk of both yachts sinking.
After transferring some gear and crew
onto Magic Bullet the yachts were
motored apart and, assisted by a bigger
wave, Ten Too broke free. Magic Bullet
was pulled alongside by a line between
the 2 hulls so that remaining crew could
step on board as Ten Too quickly sank.
And it did sink quickly, not end on like the
Titanic, but straight down keel first with
the hull then the mast following sticking
up perfectly perpendicular. Down, down,
down it went until it was no more. A
fender tied to one of its halyards also
disappeared. The depth was 16 metres.
Without the weight of Ten Too and with
now 13 crew sitting to the stern and
starboard side of Magic Bullet we were
no longer at risk of taking water. We took
a GPS position then considered following
on with our communications.
Allegria was informed of our intent to
motor to Williamstown with a following
sea and they offered to motor in tandem
to assist if required. A further attempt
was made to contact water police on the
VHF – again there was some response
but communication was not possible.
Some of the crew already had mobile
phones out but there had not been any
reception on any of them. I checked my
mobile after a while and there was one
bar of reception so I dialled Water Police
Williamstown and gave some detailed
information before the reception dropped
out. It then wasn’t long before we had
contact on the VHF.
The cockpit of Magic Bullet was a
little more crowded than usual. The
conversation was initially a little bit
“testy” but to the credit of all there was
absolutely no hostility. A couple of the
guys knew each other through work
and there was some “nice to bump into
you” type stuff going on. All the Ten Too
crew were actually really good guys and
grateful for the lift back to Williamstown.
We had a full fridge of beer and at least
2 hours of motoring. Yes it was tempting
but No we didn’t…… and the breathalyser
came out as soon as we hit the dock at
Royals.
We were all surprised by the media
attention but I guess a collision resulting
in a sinking in a well publicised race
does sound a tad sensational. And word
does spread quickly - the crew of Ten
Too were having a beer on the deck at
Royals and one of them got a call from
a friend in Saudi who saw it on the
news! Communication technology can
swing from one extreme to another. One
moment we are thinking about smoke
signals and waving down a passer by
Above:
Magic Bullet r u n n i n g i n l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s
24 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 25

Ten Too
Below:
Magic Bullet heading home
to get some help and not long after I’m
calling Bernie Webber (boat builder
extraordinaire) as we make haste back
to Royals and having a chat with him as
he is fishing on the banks of the Murray
with his grandchildren.
Many of us still made it to Geelong
that day. It wasn’t long before I was
waiting outside the Protest Room at
RGYC. Greg (skipper of Ten Too) and I
had given our accounts of the “incident”.
We were called back in to the Room and
the Committees’ findings were read out
to us. The Committee then asked what
I’d like them to do about it. “...Um - any
chance of making me the winner of the
race” was my reply. “NO!” was theirs.
“What about a place?” I said. “NO!” they
retorted and “...Why did you protest?”.
“Um ... I was a bit upset about what had
happened .... and I thought it might be a
good idea...”. “Well there’s nothing we can
do about it if the other boat has retired”
replied the Committee as they turned
to Greg and someone said “You have
retired haven’t you?” Greg squirmed in
his seat - “Well....um.. No - I’ve been a
bit busy.... and my boat’s at the bottom
of the bay........”. “You need to formally
retire from the race...” we left the Room
somewhat relieved and quickly beers
appeared in our hands and somehow
later that night I made it home.
It’s now a month since the collision.
Magic Bullet is out of the water for the
hull repair and she’ll be back - better
than before. Insurance is a good thing
- I’m with Nautilus and so far have
nothing negative to report. Ten Too is
still somewhere down there in the murky
waters of Port Phillip. As for me - my ego
is a little bruised and I do miss my boat.
I haven’t lost any passion for sailing and
thankfully my crew still wants to sail
with me. If you happen to see me lurking
around the club ask me out for a sail I
would really appreciate it.
I would like to take this opportunity
to express my gratitude to Rob Tanner
of HBYC (Allegria) for doing the right
thing in standing by and then ensuring
our safe transit back to Williamstown.
I would also like to formally thank the
Water Police for replying to our “Pan
Pan” and motoring out to us as we made
our way home.
Update on the lost Adams Ten - “Ten
Too”
Apparently a few days ago a fisherman
in his tinnie just off Point Cook reported
that a yacht with a broken mast surfaced
from the depths then just as quickly
disappeared beneath the surface again.
On hearing the report a couple of Adams
Ten sailors from Royals rushed out to the
area hoping to salvage some of the gear.
But alas - they were too late.
The yacht “Ten Too’ has not been
found in spite of a GPS position and weeks
of looking by independent groups with
high tech sonar gear. It is speculated that
there is an air pocket within the hull and
the yacht is ghosting around just beneath
the surface at the mercy of the tides and
currents. There is concern amongst
those who understand the seas that Ten
Too is destined to roam the depths of
Port Phillip for ever more. Every now and
then there will be a report of a sighting
by some overconfident skipper. Typically
the story will go something like this... “
the Adams Tens’ got us on the start but
we saw weather coming from the left
so we broke from the fleet to catch the
fresher breeze. It paid well for us and was
clear that we had all the Adams’ licked.
We looked over at the fleet and in a smug
and kind of wishful way started thinking
about what the trophy for the Geelong
race looked like. Suddenly from the dark
depths emerged the jaws of a monster
- broken fiberglass shards glinting and
razor sharp. “Starboard!!” somebody
yelled but the Adams kept on coming...
We crash tacked dumping the starboard
stanchions and crew into the water.
The crew were clutching at the hull and
screaming desperately trying to get their
limbs out of the water and out of reach
of the terrifying beast. When eventually
the flogging headsail was brought under
control the seas were surprisingly quiet
and calm and the monster was nowhere
to be seen. We rejoined the fleet but had
somehow slipped back to last place” -
this story or a close version of it will be
told from time to time. Of course there
will never be any witnesses and a protest
against the Adams beast will never be
heard. There will of course be the odd
sighting. Some will come to speculate
that if only the monster can be caught
and brought to rest in Geelong she will
gracefully retire and stop terrorizing
those naive sailors of 35-40 ft racer
cruisers who believe they have a chance
of beating Adams tens. Hunting parties
will gather at SYC but many believe
that none of these posses’ will ever be
successful.........
26 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 27

18 foot skiff history
18 foot skiff history
A Mistake
she wasn’t
Part 1.
By Geoff Murray-Prior
Image above and page 30 from the author
Many people watch the spectacle of 18-foot skiffs almost
flying across the waters of Sydney Harbour in an exciting
exhibition of racing. These skiffs, with a crew of three,
are a far cry from the 18-footers of yesteryear.
On 26 January 1892 18-foot skiff
racing came to Sydney Harbour.
In those days the first instinct
was to carry more and more sail. This
trend continued through to its peak in
the 1920’s. During this period there were
tremendous sail carriers. Argument
amongst 18-footer supporters as to
the largest sail area ever carried will
never end, however one of the biggest
must certainly be Zanita, which in 1910
reportedly carried approximately 3,500
square feet of sail. Her mainsail was
32 feet on the boom, her sails included
mainsail, ringtail, topsail, ballooner,
water sail and spinnaker. Another
contender for largest sail area was the
famous skiff Britannia – now preserved
by the Sydney Maritime Museum – which
reputedly had a light weather boom of
around 40 feet and under full sail carried
a greater sail area than Australia’s first
12-metre yacht Gretel. This massive sail
area meant that Britannia had to carry a
crew of around 22 to 25 men, generally
deployed just to keep her upright.
However things changed, slowly
at first, and as the beam was reduced
to eight feet on newer skiffs they were
able to reduce crew sizes to around 10
to 15 men. Then a Queensland 18-foot
skiff, Aberdare, was built, and she was
the prototype of the heel-less narrower
beam 18-footers, but generally sailed in
Queensland, so was not seen as a threat
to 18-foot traditions. But this was soon to
change – and be changed dramatically.
Whilst arguments were raging about
the legality of Aberdare, word filtered
through that a newer, more radical skiff,
with an even narrower beam, had been
commissioned and was secretly being
built by Lance Watts in Brisbane. This
was also not really seen as a threat by the
Sydney Flying Squadron (SFS), as again
it was presumed that being a Queensland
skiff it would stay north of the border. At
this stage the SFS had reluctantly, and
somewhat divisively, agreed to register
the new seven foot beam skiffs, but then
closed the register to prevent any further
such skiffs being registered. At this stage
some skiffs, including Scot and Aberdare
were already racing (in Brisbane) and
were registered, and a registration was
issued for this newest skiff, still under
construction. This was The Mistake,
which indeed was not destined to race
in Queensland, but, being financed by
the Arnott Biscuit Company, was set to
race in Sydney.
The Mistake first raced in late 1933,
and its first season was somewhat
inauspicious. Although designed for
a crew of five to seven, it is believed
that the SFS required it to sail with a
crew of at least 10, somewhat reducing
it performance. But after that year she
was allowed to sail according to her
design, and her speed and performance
improved dramatically. Under skipper
Sam Monkhouse the skiff was a top
performer, and the back marker (all 18-
foot skiff racing was handicap racing)
giving away more and more start to other
skiffs.
Her sail insignia of 2 + 2 = 5 became
famous for more than just the skiff’s
sailing performance. Controversial in
design and controversially built, The
Mistake was never far from controversy.
Some was temporary, but some was long
lasting. In those days the course was
marked by harbour buoys, and often a
cargo ship would be moored to these
buoys. Having to sail around them to
round the mark was challenging as
the winds and currents to leeward of
a large ship could cause skiffs to lose
way, and often a race could be won or
lost rounding a buoy. Of course in those
days there was no rule that explicitly
stated that when rounding a mark from
which a cargo ship was moored meant
going round the cargo ship. With the
big masts, long booms, and wide beams
the traditional 18-footers just had no
option. But this all changed one fateful
day when, approaching a mark with a
large unladen cargo ship high in the
water moored to it, Monkhouse decided
that the winds were right, the heel was
right, and the speed was right. Straight
under the mooring chain. The rule was
changed with alacrity!
It was rumoured that the
handicappers did not want to just “bring
her back to even with the field” but
wanted to handicap her so she could not
win. This meant that as time progressed
The Mistake was giving the other skiffs
more and more start. Sydney Harbour
was – and is – notorious for its wind
shifts. A quiet afternoon in light breezes
could, within almost no time, become
treacherous for sailing as winds gusted.
The famous “southerly busters” spelt
disaster for many skiffs. But with the
changeable weather, back markers had a
hard job catching the lead skiffs unless
they got late favourable breezes. Sail and
rig selection was crucial, because once
capsized, that was it. No option but to
Image above from Australian Sailing February 2006
28 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 29

Port Phillip Sea Pilots
Short Course
By Andrew Munro
Rear Commodore
be towed back to land. On all the skiffs,
at least one crewman – and always the
lightest by far – was there just to bail
water from the hull. With a crew of
between five and seven on The Mistake,
one crewman was there solely to bail.
His job was to stay clear of the “working”
crew while frantically bailing water from
the open hull.
On one memorable occasion, all
crews knew that the light breezes would
not last and that a late strong wind was
forecast, and all believed that forecast.
So the fleet – with one exception – headed
for the start line under heavy weather
rig. The skipper of that one exception –
The Mistake – had decided that if they
went out under full light weather rig
they could complete the course before
the predicted storm hit. All went well,
as The Mistake soon overtook the whole
fleet and surged far into the lead. Racing
down to the finish line under full sail it
seemed that this judgement had paid off.
But – the storm hit. Unable to pull down
the sails, the order was to hang on – they
were almost there. Then, about a boat
length from the finish, with a loud bang,
the sails parted company with the hull,
and The Mistake raced across the finish
line unassisted by sails. Immediate
disqualification, for not completing the
course “under sail”. Reluctantly the crew
accepted their fate, and agreed that they
had given it their best shot. Until the
next morning, when the Sydney Morning
Herald published a remarkable photo of
the hull of The Mistake crossing the
finish line, with canvas in the air above
that hull. Their response – an appeal
was immediately lodged, on the basis
of pictorial evidence that The Mistake
indeed finished “under sail”. The appeal
was dismissed!
But these controversies were trifling
compared to her long lasting effect on
18-foot skiff racing. The supporters,
and the owners, of The Mistake, and
other similar skiffs, were angered by
apparently excessive handicapping, and
other rule discriminations and sanctions.
Ultimately its radical new design caused
the split between members of the Sydney
Flying Squadron and the creation of the
break-away club, the NSW 18-Footer
Sailing League (now the Australian
18-Footers League). This split remains
today, and could be seen to be an
unfortunate legacy from forward and
innovative skiff design.
In an article in 1941, where the
Sydney Morning Herald reported that
The Mistake had won the first race of
the season, the paper noted that she
was sailing under her new owner, J.C.
White, who had won her in a raffle. Her
previous owners had donated the skiff to
an Art Union conducted through the Lord
Mayor’s Patriotic Fund. The Mistake
continued to sail with Sam Monkhouse
as skipper, and was later bought by Billy
Dodds, who finally retired her in 1948.
But retirement did not keep The Mistake
away from controversy. A year after her
retirement, Dodds launched a new skiff.
With a sail insignia of 2 + 2 = 4, he called
her No Mistake, which reportedly sent
a message to all who had campaigned
against his old charge. Of course, the
message could also be that there could
only ever be one Mistake.
Author’s Note: My late father was a crewman on The Mistake for a number of years up to and including the 1938-9
sailing season. He is on the right in the photo of the crew in the water. Clearly of lighter build than the rest, his job was the
bailer. Also in my first years of working life I worked with an 18-footer crewman, who started sailing when The Mistake was
still competing. This story has relied heavily on their reminiscences, and reference has also been made to an excellent article,
published in October 2005, by Robin Elliott and provided to me by the Australian 18-Footers League. Apart from that, my
sole personal memories are of seeing No Mistake sailing.
The last two months have been
extremely busy at work, new job,
broader responsibilities and a lot
more travel, as my wife said yesterday,
thirty five days overseas in the first
sixty, so as a result I haven’t done much
sailing, which hurts. So the Port Phillip
Sea Pilots race is on. We have been
entering this race for 20 years, normally
the long course which is about 70 miles,
it’s a great chance to test the systems
and give some of the newer crew some
experience at passage racing before they
hit Bass Strait. But Godzilla has been
pretty busy since Christmas without me,
and raising a crew proved tough, so with
only son Sam and myself we decided to
try the short course which is about 40
miles short handed.
Godzilla does a lot of racing every
year, the Range, sorry the Club Marine
Series, a few club races, 3 or 4 ORCV
races including a West Coaster or East
Coaster, plus the Brass Monkeys and
the ORCV Winter Series, so the sails we
purchased three years ago are looking
a little tattered, to the point where the
number three is unusable. So job number
one was to pull out an old number three
and check it out (by the way, new sails
on order). That done we got the boat in
the water and ready for the start.
Time comes along for the 9.15am
radio sched for race entry confirmation –
absolute silence. Is the problem our radio
or theirs? After a phone call we decide its
theirs, VHF Channel 81’s not working so
we switch over to 73 and get that sorted,
“With 20 knots on
the clock in the
downwind section
we decided to
go down to the
number four”
30 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 31

Port Phillip Sea Pilots Short Course
Below: The Course on Google Maps
bedlam. We got a reasonable start half
way down the line and settled down to
a long beat to Prince George Bank light
into a choppy 15 knots. Problem number
one, the new headsails are cut a lot higher
in the foot than the old ones and the old
headsail looks like a proverbial you know
what, so I stuck Sam on the tiller and
fitted a couple of shackles to pull the foot
lower, the result was serviceable but not
fabulous, it would have to do. Next job
was the Navman, I hadn’t had time to
plug it all in before the start so got that
sorted, with the result that I was feeling
decidedly off colour after having my
head down for 10 minutes going upwind
in a one metre chop, great start. So we
settled into a three and a half hour beat
down to Portarlington.
We got about three quarters of the
way down the beat and I discovered we
were headed for a buoy off Portarlington
rather than the Prince George Bank Light.
Boy do I need new glasses! But luckily
we tacked over and the mark was still
25 degrees above our course. As we got
further down the bay the sea smoothed
out as we got closer to shore and we
arrived at the first mark just behind the
fully crewed Bookmaker.
The wind has been fairly constant
at around 15 knots all day so we put up
the big kite and headed off towards P2.
We had a few boats behind us, Widgeon
included, and we noticed they were
heading further east than the direct line
to P2, further on that later. An hour or
so later with the breeze reaching 20 to
22 knots we get to P2 and gybed, two
handed, and rounded P2 to port and
headed for P3. Normally on Godzilla
gybing in 20 knots is a noisy affair, lots
of advice being offered from both ends
of the boat, I was amazed at how two of
us could do it without a raised word from
either end of the boat.
With 20 knots on the clock in the
downwind section we decided to go
down to the number four and after 40
minutes across to P3 and we rounded to
port just behind Bookmaker and headed
upwind on port tack. By that time the
breeze was back down to 12 to 13 knots
so we just had to make the best of it. We
were pointing higher and climbing above
the Bookmaker and after 15 minutes she
tacked over onto starboard tack and we
had to duck her and keep going west.
When we thought we were close to the
lay line we tacked over and headed east,
we must have been doing something
right and finished making the mark in
one beat and finished up 50 metres ahead
of the Bookmaker at Outer Anchorage,
the next mark. We made it round Outer
Achcorage, hoisted the kite and headed
off to Gellibrand and then R4, the next
mark of the course before the finish.
We had an uneventful trip down to
Gellibrand managing to maintain our
distance on The Bookmaker, squared
up for the run down to R4 hitting 10-12
knots of boats speed and pulling out the
2 cans of warm rum we had on board
to celebrate a fun race. We spotted R4,
rounded to port and headed west towards
the finish line. We both had a great time,
gained experience and confidence in
running the boat short handed, a very
memorable day.
Later that night I checked the
results, after sorting out some incorrect
handicaps we finished up 1st on IRC
and the Two Handed and 2nd on AMS,
we won’t talk about PHD. A great day
out. Now here comes the rub, on the
Tuesday after the race I received a call
from Peter at HBYC stating that Widgeon
has protested us along with a number
of other boats for not sailing the proper
course. The outcome is still to be settled
at a protest later this week. The problem
was that the position of P2 in the
instructions pointed to a different yellow
buoy a mile or two further south than the
real P2, we went to the real P2 along with
bookmaker and a number of other boats
while the remainder of the fleet went
to the location indicated on the course
instructions. Sounds like a good reason
to abandon and rerun the race, time will
tell.
Simmers & Co Pty Ltd
Your Local stockist of Jotun Antifouling and Marine Finishes
SPECIAL PRICING FOR CLUB MEMBERS
Norglass, Sikkens, DeksOlje Speciality Finishes
Sanding Supplies - Paint Accessories - General Hardware
Gas Appliances & BBQs
P 9397 6234 F 9397 8401 Open 7 days
21 Ferguson Street Williamstown
32 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 33

Humour
Humour
The following report from a ships Master
is reproduced by kind permission of the
anonymous author, who appears to be
gifted with remarkable sang-froid.
It is with regret and haste that I write
this report to you: Regret that such a
small misunderstanding could lead to
the following circumstances. Haste, in
order that you will get this report before
you form your own preconceived opinions
from accounts in the world press. For I
am sure they will tend to
overdramatise the affair.
We had just picked
up the pilot, and the
apprentice had returned
from changing the G
flag for the H flag and it
being his first trip, was
having difficulty in rolling
the G flag up. I therefore
proceeded to show him
how.
At this moment the
Chief Officer appeared
from the chart room,
where he was plotting the
vesselís progress.
The Chief Officer,
thinking it was the
anchors being referred to,
repeated it to the Third
Officer on the forecastle.
The port anchor, having
being cleared away but not
walked out, was promptly
let go. The effect of letting
the anchor drop from the
pipe while the vessel was
proceeding at full harbour
speed proved too much for
the windlass brake and the
entire length of the port
cable was pulled out by the
roots. I fear that damage to
the chain locker may be extensive.
The braking effect of the port anchor
naturally caused the vessel to sheer
in that direction. Unfortunately, that
particular direction was towards the
swing bridge that spans the tributary to
the river up which we were proceeding.
The swing bridge operator showed
great presence of mind by opening the
bridge for my vessel. Unfortunately,
he did not think to stop the vehicular
traffic.
The result of this slight error saw the
bridge partly opened, resulting in the
depositing of a Volkswagen, two cyclists
and a stock-laden semi-trailer on the
foredeck.
My ship’s company are at present
rounding up the contents of the later,
which, from the noise emanating from
the sharp end, I would assume to be
pigs.
Meanwhile, in his efforts to stop the
progress of the vessel, the Third Officer
dropped the starboard anchor. This
action, though admirable for the speed of
its execution, unfortunately proved too
late to be of any practical use, for it fell
on the swing bridge operatorís cabin.
I apologise for getting a bit ahead of
myself, so if I could take you back to when
the port anchor was let go and the vessel
started to sheer. At that stage I had given
a double ring Full Astern on the Engine
Room Telegraph and personally rang the
engine room to order maximum astern
revolutions, I was informed that the sea
temperature was 53 degrees and asked if
there was a film tonight. My reply would
not add constructively to the compilation
of this report.
But, back to the matter at hand. Up to
now I have confined my report to activities
at the foreward end of the vessel. Down
after they were also
having some problems,
At the moment the port
anchor was let go, the
Second Officer was
supervising the making
fast ofthe after tug and
was lowering the shipís
towing spring down
onto the tug.
The sudden braking
effect on the port anchor
caused the tug to run
in under the stern on
my vessel, just at the
moment when the
propeller was answering
my double ring Full
Astern. The prompt
action of the Second
Officer in securing
the inboard end of the
towing spring delayed
the sinking of the tug
by some minutes,
thereby allowing the
safe abandoning of that
vessel.
In hindsight,
probably the strangest
happening occurred at
the very stage of letting
go the port anchor. At
that moment there was
a power cut ashore.
The fact that we were passing over
cable area at that time might suggest
that we may have touched something
on the river bed. It is perhaps lucky, in
retrospect, that the high tension cables
brought down by the foremast were not
live, possibly due to being replaced by
the underwater cable.
Whatever, owing to the shore
The sudden
braking effect on
the port anchor
caused the tug
to run in under
the stern on my
vessel
blackout, it is impossible to report for
certain where the pylon fell.
The actions and behaviour of
foreigners during moments of minor
crisis never fails to amaze me.
The pilot, for instance, is at the
moment in my day cabin, alternatively
crooning to himself and crying after
having consumed a bottle of gin in a time
that is worthy of inclusion in the Guiness
Book of Records.
The tug captain, on the other hand,
reacted violently (in my belief without
cause) and had to be forcibly restrained
by the Steward, who has him handcuffed
in the ships hospital, where he is telling
me to do impossible things with my ship
and crew.
I enclosed for your records the
names and addresses of the drivers and
insurance companies of the vehicles on
my foredeck, which the Third Officer
collected after his somewhat hurried
evacuation of the forecastle. These
particulars will enable you to claim for
the damage they did to the railing of No.
1 hold. I must unfortunately close this
interim report for I am finding it difficult
to concentrate with the sound of police
sirens and the confusion of their flashing
lights,
When all ís said and done it is sad to
think that had the apprentice realised
that there is no need to fly pilot flags
after dark, none of the above would have
happened.
For Weekly Accountability Report
I will assign the following Casualty
NumbersT/750101 to T/750 199
inclusive.
34 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 35

The RIP
Getting in and out through the
The RIP
By Nick McGuigan
36 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Spring 2009
Port Phillip is a vast salt water
lagoon providing relatively
safe sailing in sheltered waters
while allowing us to still sail
long races. Races such as
the Lady Nelson at 90nm are
regularly run entirely in the
Bay. For cruisers, there is a
choice of destinations within
easy reach including Geelong,
Mornington and Queenscliff,
to name a few.
However, when the pleasures
of Port Phillip pale, the ocean
in the form of Bass Strait
beckons and that is where the
trouble begins.

High Light
FOc W 15s 40m 14M
Clarkes Beacon
Front Lights
Recommended Entry
Keeps clear of shipping,
reduced tidal effects
If I could remind you for a moment of the definition of a
lagoon:
A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or brackish
water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed
sandbank, coral reef or similar feature.
In our case the “similar feature” is a narrow channel known
affectionately as the Rip. Most problems are caused by the tides
as they try to empty the Bay out through this narrow gap and
then suck it back in again. Between each of these tides is a short
RBYC members enjoying the tour Photo: Nick McGuigan
best ways to do this is through the ORCV’s much praised Rip Tour.
I went along on one recently and met up with some RBYC members
taking their first look. What I found really interesting was
after around 80 passages myself, I still found stuff I didn’t know.
Apart from picking the right time to enter and understanding
the currents and how they set, another focus of the Rip Tour
is picking the right approach channel. On top of Shortland Bluff
are a number of lighthouses and how these line up defines the
various approach channels, the Eastern Channel, the Main Shipping
Channel, the Western Channel, Four Fingers West and the
Fisherman’s Channel. The Shortland Bluff lights are organised,
looking from the
Lonsdale Light
LFl(2) WR 15s 37m 12/10M
Pt Lonsdale Reef
Fisherman’s Channel
Four Fingers West
Western Channel
Main Shipping Channel
Eastern Channel
seaward side, with three lights in front and one light at the back
(see the diagram below). The back lighthouse is a tall bluestone
structure, one of only three “dark” lighthouses in the world, called
the High Light (see the photograph on the previous page). It is
higher than the front three although this is difficult to see from
a yacht. The centre light of the front three is a white lighthouse
called the Low Light. To its left and right are two open structures
(towers), the Hume Tower, red, on the left and the Murray Tower,
Clarkes Beacon Transit
Corsair Rock
A diagram of the Rip area showing safe entry zones and the shipping channels.
Not Recommended
Main shipping channels,
maximum tidal effects
green, on the right (see the photograph below).
The front towers when combined with the High Light as a
back lead define the three major shipping channels. When the
Water Tower
Lookout House
High Light
FOc W 15s 40m 14M
The Rip arcing up Photo: Nick McGuigan
period of calm and quiet, known as the slack, when the tide is
changing direction. The time of these slacks corresponds closely
with the high and low tides at Williamstown.
It is during the slack that yachts like yours and mine make our
hurried entry and exit from Port Phillip. Between times, there is
not only the current, which can run up to 6 knots or more, to contend
with but waves, whirlpools and overfalls. When the tide runs
in the opposite direction to the wind, the waves heap up making
the Rip a very dangerous place to be. In some cases, a standing
wave can develop in the middle of the Rip. Going over this is not
recommended. I lived but swore I would never do it again.
While it is possible to make the passage in between the
slacks, I suggest getting a bit of experience first and developing
a good understanding of the Rip and all its dangers. One of the
The High Light, one of only three dark towers in the world. Photo: Nick
McGuigan
The three front lights, (l-r) Hume Tower (red), Low Light and the
Murray Tower (green).
Photo: Nick McGuigan
Fisherman’s Channel
Fort West Beacon
Dir Iso WR 2s 19m 12/10M
Hume Tower
Oc R 15s 28m 11M
Low Light
Oc WRG 15s 28m 12/6M
Murray Tower
Oc G 15s 25m 5M
A diagram of the lights on Shortland Bluff showing the various
transits.
2 RBYC Short Tacks
Four Fingers West
Western Channel
Main Shipping Channel
Eastern Channel
38 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 39

The Eastern Channel transit. The High Light can just be seen behind
the Murray Tower (green) on the right. Photo: Nick McGuigan
Low Light aligns directly in front of the High Light, you are in the
Main Shipping Channel. Similarly, when the red tower is in front
of the High Light, you are in the Western Channel and when the
green tower, the Eastern Channel (see the relevant photographs).
We are still not home as we actually need to keep clear of
these channels. Basically, ships go through them and ships and
yachts don’t mix. Ships have very little freedom of action in the
The Main Channel transit. The High Light is right behind the Low
Light.
Photo: Nick McGuigan
the four lighthouses being seen equally spaced, like four fingers
held up, with the High Light on the left (see the photograph
below).
Another useful channel is the Fisherman’s Channel which is
used by the pilot boats as they go out through the Heads to meet
ships. The Fisherman’s Channel is defined by the transit of the
High Light with another light on Shortland Bluff, the Fort West
a clearing bearing. This is shown as the green area on the large
diagram near the start of this article which is the recommend area
for a passage through the Heads.
We have mentioned Lonsdale Reef which is on the port side of
the Heads coming in. The other danger you need to keep clear of
is Corsair Rock on the east side off Pt Nepean. This little nasty sits
just under the water and is close enough to the surface to do the
average yacht quite an injury. Keep away.
Sticking to the green zone will help and of course even the
Eastern Channel bypasses it. Approaching the Rip from the east,
lining up Clarkes Beacon with the lead on Marcus Hill and staying
to the left of it will keep you off Corsair. The Marcus Hill lead is a
little hard to see (see photograph at the bottom of the previous
page) so sometimes it is better to just use a clearing bearing on
Clarkes Beacon.
Lonsdale light marks the western side of the rip and provides
the beacon marking the Heads. It can be used to organise your
approach. The best yacht approach is from the west, keeping
clear of the Pt Lonsdale Reef. Remember the effect of the Heads
is felt up to 5 nm out. Line up the Fisherman’s Channel and Four
Fingers West and come in between them, in the green sector in the
The Lonsdale Light is situated at the entrance. Photo: Nick McGuigan
diagram. Once through the Rip proper, bear off around Shortland
Bluff keeping clear of all other shipping.
Editors note;
The editor would like to thank Nick Mc Guigan, Short Tacks and RBYC for providing the story and images.
The Western Channel transit. The High Light is right behind the
Hume Tower (red) on the left.
Photo: Nick McGuigan
Rip and if we get in their way, mayhem ensues. In addition, these
channels feel the full effects of any tides if you are trying to get
through between slacks. Instead, most yachts will opt to go
through on Four Fingers West. This is the channel defined by all
Four Fingers West. The four lights are evenly spaced like four
fingers pointing up.
Photo: Nick McGuigan
Beacon. This approach runs very close to the Pt Lonsdale Reef, so
much so that in rough weather it takes a lot of nerve to stick to
it. For this reason, the recommended approach is between the
Fisherman’s Channel and Four Fingers West, using each transit as
The Fisherman’s Channel transit. The High Light is behind the
white Fort West Beacon in the car park. Photo: Nick McGuigan
Spring 2009
Clarkes Beacon/Marcus Hill transit. The Marcus Hill lead is very
hard to see.
Photo: Nick McGuigan
3
40 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 41

Yard and Marina
By Andrew Munro Rear Commodore
I
hope everyone had a wonderful
summer break out on the water;
unfortunately mine was spent
renovating the house while watching
Godzilla compete in the Melbourne to
Hobart East Coaster, better luck next
year. Yard & Marina operations have
been moving along quite nicely over
the Christmas period with the Yard on
budget for the year and marina over
budget at this point of time.
You will have seen the lovely purple
hoses around the club grounds; these are
connected to the rainwater tanks and
are available for boat washing and lawn
watering. There are hoses at each of the
hardstand cranes and also access points
over on the eastern hardstand. There are
a core of watering volunteers, including
the Commodore, who are maintaining
a vigil on the lawn to ensure it stays as
green as possible, always looking for
volunteers.
You may have noticed the new
defibrillators around the club, one
outside the men’s toilets and another on
the Marina. I attended a training course
late last year and the statistics are
interesting. The best place in Melbourne
to have a heart attack is the MCG, they
have a 70% success rate in resuscitating
heart attack sufferers, and how you may
ask, by having access to defibrillators
within minutes anywhere on the ground.
The unfortunate reality is that unless
the patient has access to a defibrillator
within 10 minutes of the attack, chances
are very slim for survival. If you are
interested in being trained up on their
use, put you name down at the office or
have a chat with Gavin Wall, our training
manager.
The major project under way is looking
at the feasibility of installing a Keel Pit at
the club. One of the challenges we have
in the yard is the OH&S issue of working
at heights on boats. Even on Godzilla, on
its hardstand cradle, standing on deck
you are at least
3 metres off the
ground, working
on 40 footers in
the yard puts you
a lot higher. Keel
pits enable you to
drop the height
of the boat by a
metre or two to
improve access to
the underwater
sections and to
the above water
sections of the hull
for maintenance
purposes. From
a financial
perspective we
should be able to
recover the costs of
the keel pit within
four years.
T h e
investigation into
keel pits has led
us to think about
how we operate
the yard and in
particular, whether
we should look at
re - e n g i n e e r i n g
the yard to a flat yard, removing the
slipway and rails and managing all boat
lifts and moves with the travel lift. The
committee is looking into the pro’s and
con’s including yard capacity, operating
procedures and safety. If you have any
views either way, please shoot me an
email (rear-commodore@rycv.asn.au) or
collar me at the club to discuss.
On a final note, the committee has
been concerned for some time about the
level of dangerous goods stored in boat
lockers, paints, flares, petrol and diesel
being a few of the chemicals that could
cause issues if there was ever a fire. In
the next few weeks we will be sending
around an audit form to all locker owners
asking for a declaration of the dangerous
goods content of your locker. The aim
is to understand what’s there, and then
take appropriate steps such as placing
the relative dangerous goods signage at
appropriate points around the club. So
when you get the form, please return it
promptly.
I wish everyone a successful end to
the season and look forward to seeing
as many of you as possible on the water
over winter.
Sail Training
By Andrew Munro Rear Commodore
The Sail Training and Development
Committee was formed late last
year to lift the level of focus within
the club on training and development.
Part of the club charter is that “The RYCV
will encourage and foster the sport of
yacht sailing in every respect and by any
means and will provide and maintain
facilities and accommodation for the
Members of the club and their guests.”
and the General Committee agreed
that Sales Training and Development
was a key component that would help
us achieve that aim. The goal of the
committee is to foster all forms of sail
training and development across all age
levels with the aim of increasing both
the skills and number of club members
participating in all forms of the sport
through the club.
Members of the committee include
Commodore Tony Spencer, Vice
Commodore Bas Huibers, Club Captain
David Ellis, Justin Brenan, David
Johnson, Mary O’Brien and myself.
This initiative has been branded
“The Royals Training Centre at RYCV” to
emphasize the initiative and demonstrate
the broader scope of the Centre.
As a consequence of the Sail Training
and Development initiative, Paul Bartley
who has served the club well over many
years under the guise of the Royals
Sailing Academy has decided to branch
out into new areas of interest. I would like
to personally thank Paul for his efforts
over this time, many of our younger
sailors learnt to sail with Paul and the
strength of our Cadet fleet is testament
to his skill and enthusiasm with the kids.
We wish Paul the best and hope to see
him involved with the club in his new
venture.
Over the past months we have
commenced a number of initiatives
including the hiring of a new training and
development manager, a review of the
Cadet and training facilities located next
to the Seaplane Base and investigations
into the possibility of a senior Off the
Beach initiative.
Gavin Wall joined us prior to
Christmas as Sail Training and
Development Manager to manage all
aspects of Royals Training Centre. Gavin
has great enthusiasm and organising
ability and had a significant impact on
our activities since he joined. If you are
interested in helping out in any way with
the Royals Training Centre, Gavin would
be very pleased to talk to you.
A review of the facilities available for
Cadets, Off the Beach and Training has
been initiated under David Johnson’s
oversight with the aim of developing a
feasibility study for upgrading the current
Cadet site next to the Seaplane Base.
David is looking at current and future
requirements with the aim of developing
some conceptual drawings and budgets
for the initiative. Clearly this initiative
will not be cheap; we are looking for any
organisations that might be interested
in sponsoring Royals Training Centre. If
you have any ideas please talk to David
or myself.
The Off the Beach initiative is aimed
at encouraging our older sailors, who
still have a passion for getting really wet
and really bruised, to fulfil that passion
through the club rather than elsewhere.
If any members are interested in helping
with this initiative, forming an Off the
Beach Committee and working in with
the Cadets to organise races please
give me a call, we are very interested in
helping get this started.
If you have any ideas around Sail
Training and Development please drop
in an email (rear-commodore@rycv.asn.
au) or give me a call to discuss on 0412
399 811.
42 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010 43

A40 Review
€42,757 inc tax, and the high modulus carbon wheels and rudder
an extra €16k approx.
ARCHAMBAULT Yachts’ Joubert
Nivelt designed A35 was one
of the stars of the last Rolex
Commodore’s Cup which was an all the
more outstanding performance given that
the top boat overall was an early model
of a stock production racer cruiser.
Since then the A35 has sold over 60
units for the company which remains a
relatively mid-scale
producer, striving
not to take on
the Beneteau and
Jeanneau giants
of the world, but to
keep their company growing steadily
and increasing their export market.
Archambault build around 160 boats
a year and are situated inland. On a line
between Paris and Bordeaux they are
about half way between the two cities.
While their success in the flourishing
IRC race boat market has given them
a growing presence in France, the
strength of IRC and the appetite for good
race boats which can sail to a published
rating has seen the A35 sell well around
the IRC world - and the growth continues
apace.
While the boats are well built by
craftsmen in a yard with an extensive
history, they do tend to be no-frills. They
are in the business of building quality
race boats with an easily kept interior.
While the interior of the A40RC is
nicely appointed however, it is still all
about necessities. They see luxurious
furniture as added cost, money and
weight, rather than added value.
The A40RC made its debut at the Paris
Boat Show in December and already the
order book is filling up. Their production
year runs to the end of July and within
that period they expect to have sold at
least a dozen.
With the A35, Bernard Nivelt was
accurate in drawing a boat to a good
“The ergonomics of the boat are excellent. It is a
proper race boat with a large, functional cockpit and
plenty of space around the twin wheels.”
rating, and the A40RC follows a broadly
similar formula. Nivelt states that they
work closely around specific DLR and
SA:D values to start with and, over
the years, have developed an accurate
picture of what IRC likes and what it
taxes.
At this year’s Rolex Commodore’s
Cup, Archambault expect to have three
A40RCs competing in the French teams
and judging by recent performances this
is a realistic objective. They have already
sold another boat into Mediterranean
France and one each to Norway and
Sweden. The Commodore’s Cup is
the ultimate shop window for the new
boat, and after that sales will really be
galvanised.
The key statement for the A40RC is
that it is a regatta boat aimed at winning.
It is an off the shelf performer, and that
means the package should be right from
the beginning.
Review from www.yachtinglife.co.uk/reviews.php?reviewnumber=121
images from Archambault website
When there are already half a dozen
boats knocking seven bells out of each
other in France in the name of trials and at
different regattas, then Archambault are
very much up to speed on what is working
in terms of rating and optimising.
It is already a refined product, unlike
say buying even a Beneteau 36.7 or an X
Yacht when the race package should be
the real deal rather than simply a starting
point to build on.
It’s a relatively moderate hull design.
In common with the A35 there is
sufficient power in the stern sections to
keep the speed rising when the breeze
and seas are up, something of an IRC
failing in many narrow range designs,
but so too they manage to keep wetted
surface to a minimum.
There are clear indications of pride
and attention to detail. The hull to deck
join is neatly executed with minimal
filler required. The hull is infusion
moulded vinylester resin over a PVC
foam core while the deck uses a modern
resin transfer system for a PVC foam
sandwich. The main internal bulkheads
are all infusion moulded to reduce weight
and add strength and stiffness.
The standard rig is a 9/10ths two
spreader alloy, but the majority of serious
racers are going for the Formula Spars rig
pack in high modulus carbon with twin
alloy spreaders swept to 20°.
Tuning controls include a hydraulic
jack, Farr 40 style. Rod rigging is
standard with the race pack option. The
high modulus carbon rig adds an extra
THE TEST
We sailed Batistyl off the Brittany coast in February with a crew
of Spanish J133 sailors who are interested in making a change.
We had about 9-12 knots of breeze, perfect spring sunshine and
pleasant temperatures.
The ergonomics of the boat are excellent. It is a proper race
boat with a large, functional cockpit and plenty of space around
the twin wheels. The rudder and the wheels are set slightly
forward in the cockpit, so there is ample space behind the helm
for a dedicated tactician, or an owner’s guest. The helm has five
simple foot braces and the mainsheet is a standard German A
style arrangement.
The boat is very much a race boat and is best suited to those
who are looking for their next challenge up from a cruiser racer.
The groove upwind is defined and rewards good, accurate steering
and sail trim, and yet it still sails to 95% for a less accomplished
helm.
In around eight knots we were making seven knots upwind
and tacking through 73-74 degrees. The boat feels fingertip light,
sensitive to trim and heel and therefore rewards good crewing
and steering with that extra few percent.
When over pressed there was ample feel on the rudder to keep
the boat on track, although it did not load especially heavily before
it would spin out. That said, we only saw the boat spin out once
BR & SM WEBBER PTY LTD
Boat Builders & Marine Services
• Timber, fibreglass & composite work including all repairs & maintenance
• Spray painting, re-finishing & anti-fouling
• Restoration work
• Insurance work
• Mast, rigging & sail furling systems
• Electrical & electronics
• Supplying yachts hardware & parts
• Surveys
Factory: 9 Orange St Williamstown 3016
(T) 9397 8071 (F) 9397 4446 (M) 0418 331 850
Email: webberbr@bigpond.net.au
Agents For:
44 Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010

A40 review
and that was when it broached under
kite with a less than attentive Spanish
tester on the wheel.
It felt quick and responsive hard on
the wind. Crew weight on the rail is
rewarded - it is not especially tender, but
neither does it feel stiff when pressed.
The few times we had her pressed
there was ample feel on the helm.
Through the tack the boat accelerated
evenly and easily and it was a delight to
build speed and height with the efficient
headsail controls. The hull form also
lends itself to a quick bow down mode
for speed off the start line, not something
that is always a virtue of narrow WL IRC
specific boats.
And downwind the boat appeared to
have a good all round performance. We
suffered a little mixing Spanish, English
and French trying to sail optimum angles
downwind, but it was certainly quick
enough to do the business, and a delight
to steer. Again, the helm is light but will
keep you ‘honest’.
At 130° AWA we made 6.45, 6.5
knots of boat speed in 11 knots TWS. On
something close to a beam reach in 10
knots we were up to 7.8 to 8.2 in 10 knots
TWS.
TEARDROP WINDOWS
The interior is pleasingly finished and
functionally simple. The semi teardrop
windows afford natural light, and there
is plenty of space.
The woodwork, in moabi mahogany,
appears good in every area and there
is no skimping or saving on finish or
attention to detail. And for those of us
from the north of Britain who will still
sleep on board at regattas, there is plenty
of bed space and ‘swinging’ room.
The sleeping complement will be
ten. At the back there are big, twin
symmetrical double cabins aft, and a
large double berth forward.
The galley is spacious with two
burner stove and oven, a 75litre icebox,
plenty of large, closed lockers and a
Lewmar hatch overhead.
The forward facing navigation station
is ideal with good, accessible space to
mount instruments, as well as ample
stowage.
The main saloon area is spacious
with good sized, comfortable linear
seating either side of a central drop leaf
table. The main heads is forward.
Overall the A40RC is a winner in every
department. It is a refined racer cruiser
which comes as close to delivering
silverware winning performance as part
of the inventory, but it is a boat which
will do best with an experienced core
crew, or a team who want to learn to take
their performance to the next level.
With a good IRC handicap it will be a
potent weapon.
Features
Overall Length: 11,98m/39’30
Overall Beam: 3,75m/12’30
Length of Water Line: 10,54m/34’50
Draft Long Keel: 2,48 m/8’13
Draft Short Keel: 2,38m/7’80
Displacement: 6650kg/14.660lb
Main Sail: 52.00m2/560sf
Genoa: 39.00m2/420sf
Spi: 133.00m2/1432s
C
C
Royal Yacht Club of Victoria Magazine • Summer 2010
47

BOAT INSURANCE
•Runabouts
•Cruisers
the
Real
alternative
boat
for
insurance
•Yachts
•Personal Water Crafts
(Jet Skis)
•Off the Beach Yachts
•Houseboats
• Fishing, water ski and dive equipment up to $1,000 for each item and $5,000 in total
• Lay-up cover including transit to and from a marine dealership for servicing and repair
• Automatic cover for 100 nautical mile full yacht racing
• Pay by the month option
• $10 million legal liability cover standard for boats and PWC’s
CALL NAUTILUS MARINE 1300 780 533
Website: www.nautilusinsurance.com.au
Email: customerservice@nautilusinsurance.com.au
Please read our PDS to make sure the cover meets your needs.
Cover arranged by Nautilus Marine Insurance Agency ABN 34 100 633 038 AFSL 227186 and underwritten by Lumley General Insurance Limited ABN 24 000 036 279 AFSL 241 461 24366