No Alibi needed for Wind Speed - Sandringham Yacht Club

Wind Speed (knots)
Wind Direction
(degrees)
No Alibi needed for Wind Speed
Race 15 Wednesday Wonders Winter 2013
By Windward Buoy
Almost half the fleet of 35 yachts were treated to a pleasant surprise before the start of
the race upon discovering a reduction to their handicap. On the other hand, the surprise
wasn’t as pleasant for those that discovered a handicap increase. These wide spread
handicap changes made a difference to the relative starting and finishing order of the
fleet with some yachts starting race 15 in front of yachts they started behind in the
previous race. Depending upon which wind prediction was consulted the observations at
Fawkner Beacon may also have been a surprise.
WW Winter Series 2013
Race 15 Wind Speed & Direction
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1300 1330 1400 1430 1500 1530 1600 1630 1700 1730
Time
360
315
270
225
180
135
90
45
0
Wind speed Wind Gusts Wind Direction
As is often the case, the breeze increased as the race progressed, from about 7 knots at
the start of the race building to about 15 knots at the end. It did blow consistently from
the north.
Course 14 has now become the most frequently used course this series. It is one of the
longer of Wednesday’s courses. It is a comparatively simple 6 leg course made up of a
large triangle and a small triangle with a rhumb line distance of 9.8 nautical miles. The
course has a southerly start and the SYC Sailing Instruction does not seem to include a
similar course going anti-clockwise from a northerly start. Although a simple course it is
sometimes difficult to visually locate the various marks even on a clear day. On the
beating leg there is the option of going back inshore or continuing further out into Port
Philip.
Making good decisions this week was WIND SPEED (Les Browne) who started race 15
in 28 th place at 14:12:02 just 2 seconds late for a 42 minute handicap. After sailing the
first 3 legs of course 14 from the start to number 5 on to number 7 and back to number 4
WIND SPEED had moved into the lead and stayed there for the remainder of the race.
She sailed the course in the 4 th fastest time of the day at 1:47:13 crossing the finish line
at 16:03:11. Sister yacht ALIBI (Denis Hambleton) also had a very good race starting
from 31 st position from a handicap of 43 minutes sailing the course in 1:49:14 and
crossing the finish line at 16:02:14 in 3 rd place after rounding number 4 for the first time
in 12 th place.

Position
Position
WW Winter Series 2013
Finish Position Alibi & Wind Speed
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Race Number
Wind Speed
Alibi
On the 10 occasions these two Sydney 36 CR’s have met this series the results have
been close, with WIND SPEED leading the contest by 6 to 4. WIND SPEED has
completed 13 races this series with 3 top ten finishes, the win in race 15 her best result
so far. Although sailing fewer races than WIND SPEED, ALIBI has managed 4 top ten
finishes with a 3 rd her best result.
After 15 weeks of racing the two yachts are closely matched with only one place
separating ALIBI (20 th ) from WIND SPEED (19 th ) in the aggregate. ALIBI took the lead in
the early stages and WIND SPEED took over the later part of the series.
40
30
WW Winter Series 2013
Aggregate Position of Alibi & Wind Speed
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Race Number
Alibi
Wind Speed

Keeping the two sisters apart at the finish line and finishing in second place was PUBLIC
BAR (Clive Sondheim) who started in 32 nd place with a handicap of 45 minutes. By the
first rounding of number 4, PUBLIC BAR had moved up into 6 th position and crossed the
finish line at 16:02:04, two minutes fifty one seconds behind WIND SPEED but only ten
seconds ahead of ALIBI.
WW Winter Series 2013 Race Record Public Bar
RACE DATE POSN ELAPSED FINISH HCAP
1 10/04/2013 18 02:12:40 16:28:40 00:46:00
2 17/04/2013 28 01:24:49 15:40:49 00:46:00
3 24/04/2013 12 01:45:52 16:00:52 00:45:00
4 1/05/2013 26 01:18:03 15:33:03 00:45:00
5 8/05/2013 31 01:40:47 15:55:47 00:45:00
7 22/05/2013 13 01:07:40 15:19:40 00:42:00
8 29/05/2013 20 01:34:39 15:46:39 00:42:00
9 5/06/2013 2 01:38:50 15:49:50 00:41:00
10 12/06/2013 15 01:20:50 15:33:50 00:43:00
11 19/06/2013 17 01:27:12 15:40:12 00:43:00
12 26/06/2013 2 01:43:27 15:56:27 00:43:00
13 3/07/2013 12 01:37:58 15:53:58 00:46:00
14 10/07/2013 18 01:33:59 15:49:59 00:46:00
15 17/07/2013 2 01:47:04 16:02:04 00:45:00
PUBLIC BAR has sailed in all 14 races with three top ten finishes all 2 nd places. This
week’s second helped lift her 6 places in the aggregate from 15 th to 9 th position.
Despite all the handicap alterations for race 15 there were records created. It was the
best start for the series with no yacht starting too early and all the yachts starting under a
minute of their handicap start time. The average start time of the fleet was 13 seconds –
another record for the series.

WW Winter Series 2013
15 Start of the Day
Time (seconds)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Y
a
c
h
t
F IR EF OX
M ID N IGH T M A GIC
C H EQUEM A T E
SA LT WH IST LE
WIN D SP EED
A IR WA VES
P IZ A Z Z
SEC ON D N A T UR E
P R IM O
UP B EA T
WH IT E N OISE
T EQUILA
LEB R OK
M OA N A
WA VELEN GT H
P IP P A
F OGGY D EW
F A ST C OM P A N Y
P UB LIC B A R
A D R EN A LIN
M USKET EER
WIC KED
F OR Z A D O
A LIB I
M A GIC
H I JA C
D ION YSOS
M Y WA Y
T H E SEC R ET A R Y
JOH N N Y B . GOOD E
M IGUEL
SUR I
VA N T A GE
IN KIET O
C A SSA N D R A M ELB OUR N E
0
1
2
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
6
8
8
10
11
11
11
12
12
13
14
14
15
15
15
17
18
24
26
34
36
37
56
FIREFOX (Kim Beveridge) won Start of the Day with the perfect start, crossing the line
right on time. Close behind was MIDNIGHT MAGIC (Bernadette Moore) only 1 second
late with CHEQUEMATE (Ian Whitbread), SALTWHISTLE (Alex Hall) and WIND SPEED
just 2 seconds late for the perfect start.

Yacht Position
Number of Yachts
WW Winter Series 2013
Race 5 Where Early Mid & Late Starters Finished
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
EARLY MID LATE
FINISHERS
Early Starters Mid Starters Late Starters
Race 15 is a good example of the late starters taking control of proceedings with all but
one late starter finishing early. One late starter finished mid fleet along with 10 early and
mid fleet starters, with early and mid fleet starters finishing towards the back of the fleet..
Movements of individual yachts can be seen in the graph below:
WW Winter Series 2013
Race 5 Yacht Position at Start, No 4 & Finish
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
MIDNIGHT MAGIC
PIPPA
AIRWAVES
FOGGY DEW
CASSANDRA MELBOURNE
CHEQUEMATE
MOANA
SALT WHISTLE
MAGIC
FIREFOX
PIZAZZ
JOHNNY B. GOODE
HI JAC
SURI
DIONYSOS
MIGUEL
VANTAGE
FORZADO
MY WAY
SECOND NATURE
Yacht
Start No. 4 Finish
TEQUILA
INKIETO
WAVELENGTH
FAST COMPANY
PRIMO
UPBEAT
LEBROK
WIND SPEED
WHITE NOISE
THE SECRETARY
ALIBI
PUBLIC BAR
ADRENALIN
MUSKETEER
WICKED
In addition to WIND SPEED, PUBLIC BAR and ALIBI; MUSKETEER (Paul Jacka),
WICKED (Mike Welsh) ADRENALIN (I.Beer A.Molnar), THE SECRETARY (George
Shaw – still receiving treatment for his shock win two weeks ago), WAVELENGTH
(Brendan Kruger) and PRIMO (Steve Copley) made big improvements to their start
positions.

Number of Yachts
WIND SPEED
PUBLIC BAR
ALIBI
WAVELENGTH
MUSKETEER
PRIMO
THE SECRETARY
WICKED
ADRENALIN
UPBEAT
FAST COMPANY
WHITE NOISE
FOGGY DEW
LEBROK
INKIETO
VANTAGE
PIZAZZ
FORZADO
FIREFOX
SALT WHISTLE
MAGIC
TEQUILA
SECOND NATURE
MIGUEL
MY WAY
MIDNIGHT MAGIC
AIRWAVES
DIONYSOS
PIPPA
SURI
HI JAC
CASSANDRA MELBOURNE
CHEQUEMATE
JOHNNY B. GOODE
MOANA
Time (hh:mm:ss)
03:21:36
WW Winter Series 2013
Race 15 Results
02:52:48
02:24:00
01:55:12
01:26:24
00:57:36
00:28:48
00:00:00
Yacht
Handicap
Sail Time
MUSKETEER spent least time getting around the course the only yacht to sail in less
than 1 hour 45 minutes. There were 10 other yachts to beat the 2 hour mark including
three Beneteau 36.7’s PRIMO (Steve Copley) UPBEAT (Peter Dunne) and LEBROK
(Theo Korbel). Most yachts took over 2 hours to sail the course with four yachts enjoying
more than 2 and a half hours sailing on a very pleasant day.
WW Winter Series 2013
Race 5 Sail Time Histogram
12
10
10
9
11
8
6
4
2
0
4
1
2.5
Sail Time (hours)

WW Winter Series 2013
Race 15 Sail Time
Time (hh:mm:ss)
00:00:00 00:28:48 00:57:36 01:26:24 01:55:12 02:24:00 02:52:48
Y
a
c
h
t
M USKET EER
WIC KED
P UB LIC B A R
WIN D SP EED
A D R EN A LIN
A LIB I
T H E SEC R ET A R Y
WH IT E N OISE
P R IM O
UP B EA T
LEB R OK
WA VELEN GT H
F A ST C OM P A N Y
IN KIET O
T EQUILA
F OR Z A D O
VA N T A GE
SEC ON D N A T UR E
P IZ A Z Z
M IGUEL
F IR EF OX
M Y WA Y
M A GIC
F OGGY D EW
D ION YSOS
SA LT WH IST LE
SUR I
H I JA C
A IR WA VES
JOH N N Y B . GOOD E
C A SSA N D R A M ELB OUR N E
C H EQUEM A T E
M OA N A
P IP P A
M ID N IGH T M A GIC
01:44:31
01:46:02
01:47:04
01:47:13
01:48:35
01:49:14
01:52:57
01:54:11
01:56:43
01:58:03
01:59:33
02:01:11
02:02:05
02:06:56
02:10:50
02:12:13
02:12:19
02:12:26
02:14:26
02:15:00
02:15:14
02:15:28
02:16:37
02:17:24
02:18:16
02:18:26
02:19:22
02:19:57
02:25:12
02:27:22
02:29:56
02:30:35
02:34:24
02:38:18
02:38:57
The table below shows that after race 15 there wasn’t any change to the aggregate top
three from the previous week but MUSKETEER, WICKED and PUBLIC BAR entered the
top ten following their good results. THE SECRETARY improved her position by two
places whilst PIPPA, PIZAZZ and UPBEAT lost 1, 1 and 3 places respectively. There are
still another 10 races scheduled for this series so there is plenty of opportunity for more
changes.
AGGREGATE TOP TEN
YACHT SKIPPER RACE 14 RACE 15
CASSANDRA MELBOURNE Bob Reeves 1 1
FOGGY DEW Frank Hilliard 2 2
AIRWAVES Rob Fenton 3 3
THE SECRETARY George Shaw 6 4
PIPPA Jeffrey Woolhouse 4 5
PIZAZZ P Martyn R Kemp 5 6
MUSKETEER Paul Jacka 14 7
WICKED Mike Welsh 11 8
PUBLIC BAR Clive Sondheim 15 9
UPBEAT Peter Dunne 7 10

What was
This question and photograph was provided by Alex Hall apparently extremely keen to
discover the very latest sailing techniques.
The following response was provided by the owner and skipper of MAGIC – Phil Spry-
Bailey:
“The crew were practicing a very advanced and difficult sail operation - attempting to furl
the headsail without using a furler, a potentially useful technique which as you can see
by the photo requires more practice to achieve and then the next technique is to unfurl it
which I should add the crew achieved.
Once we are satisfied the technique is foolproof, we will patent it before its release to the
sailing fraternity, which of course will be devastating to the manufacturers of furlers but a
bonanza to the patent holders. I trust you will treat this information with discretion, as we
are fearful if the furler manufacturers find out we are well advanced in our technique that
may sabotage our endeavors.”
Although what happens at the club stays at the club (occasionally) please respect the
request for discretion. Note the yacht in the background strategically placed to prevent
the gaze of onlookers from the member’s bar.
Mark’s Mutterings

Race 15 comments
Why are yachts that sail in Port Philip Bay called Sydney?
Where are the Melbourne 36’s?
Early starters were not helped by the lighter wind at the start.
Most of them finished at the end of the fleet. I think sometimes the wind does not get
down low enough for the small yachts on warm days.
What is the tactic one yacht is using of leaving the fenders out during the race?
Does it mean keep clear I am not quite in control?
Should “L” plates accompany it on the stern? Did they get a different weather forecast to
the one we received?
I think the late starters in the fleet don’t mind going all the way out to Number 5 because
they don’t have to look to see where it is for themselves. It was not quite in the same
place as the last time we sailed out there. (According to my GPS)
Some boats were sailing for about 2 hours but the last finishes were sailing for just short
of three hours.
You do have to feel sorry for the ‘2 seconds’ starters. Maybe they should sit at the front
of their yachts and stick a leg out. I also feel for the yacht that started 56 seconds late
and finished up with the slowest start of the day. (But he did have a win the week before)
It was noticed that one yacht, that has not won for a while, spent a long time in the bar
with the handicapper after the race and is now sitting in the top ten. I think sailing with
two broken ribs just to get a better handicap is overdoing it a bit.
Coming 7 th now places him in fourth place. My maths can’t fathom out how a yacht that
always comes 10 th gets to be in fourth place? Maybe its because we don’t use fathoms
any more?
Just a note for the handicapper: I hope Barnstormer has told him that he has a brand
new mast and will be back sailing this week….. and a new forestay.
Fast Company was offered some advice about not having taken enough off the yacht for
this race. I don’t think they took the advice seriously or maybe they ran out of room on
the walk way. As a result the 1020 race was won by Wavelength 54 seconds faster than
Fast Company.
Speaking of the Magic Man….
Phil Spry-Bailey AO will give an interesting presentation on “The Krait and Operation Jay
wick”. This year is the 70 th Anniversary of Operation Jaywick, the famous raid by Z
Force on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour in WWII.
Port Phillip Room, Wednesday 14 August 7.30pm.
Phil has made it very clear to me that he did not actually take part in the raid as he was
far far too young.
In emergency do you have a Blanket Cover?
With a few recent MOB’s the tower administration want to remind you that the Thermal
Blanket you received at Presentation night is best kept on your yacht in an easy
accessible location. Do all your crew know where it is located? It will provide more heat
than a sail. They were purchased as a result of a MOB occurring in a race.

Trouble with your Anodes? Don’t see your Doctor yet.
If you can’t win start of the day, you can still save on a Hull Clean Up.
BLAIR is offering 10% off for WW skippers but just until September.
Woolhouse Marker “Nearly” Guarding Yorkies Rock
Be aware that Yorkies is just 50 meters towards the shore line from the marker ( Red &
Black.) At low tide, according to the scratch marks on Meltemi’s bottom, yachts that
draw more than 2.3 meters should take careful note unless you want to park there for a
while like Meltemi did a few weeks ago. Perhaps they had too long away on holidays
overseas in warmer places…
Halfway Prize
At 17 th place out of 35 yachts Sm3434 Pizazz
Started in 11 th position just 4 seconds late, was in 15 th place first time past No4 took
2.14.26 to sail the course
3 mins slower she would have been 25 th and three mins earlier 14 th
Current overall position 6 th .
LORD NELSON is coming to Melbourne – one of the Tall Ships
Visit web site 17 August – 31 August: Fremantle to Adelaide
1 September – 8 September: Adelaide to Melbourne
13 September – 22 September: Melbourne to Hobart
24 September – 4 October: Hobart to Sydney
8 October – 27 October: Sydney to Auckland, NZ.
STS Lord Nelson Facts and Figures
Length: 55 metres
Beam: Nine metres
Deck to fore masthead: 31 metres
Sail area: 1,024m2 Number of sails: 18
Fresh water capacity: 22 tonnes
Launched: 15 October 1985
Max speed under sail: 10 knots
Crew: 50 comprising: eight permanent crew, two bosun’s mates, one cook’s
assistant, and 1 cadet
38 voyage (paying) crew; 17 may be physically disabled and four may be
wheelchair users
More questions to answer True or False? Sourced from a saucy sailor
There are not enough courses for Wednesday Wonders.
Yachts with ladies on board get better results.
The handicapper can make your yacht go faster.
No-one at the club spreads rumours about Wednesday Wonders.
Who is this skipper? Why is she famous?
She sailed a catamaran named the Dai Long Wan, had a crew of Henry,
Coco and a few others.

Responses to MARK or any other comments, photos, stories, your exam
paper, or if you have worked out the Wednesday Wonders ‘Who am I’ sailors.
No prize contenders from the previous set exam yet!
To keep Young and fit my grandfather sailed ten nautical miles a day, he’s 92
now and we have no idea where he is.
Mark Windward