|
Sail-World.com : Swansea Channel - good for 2010 Heaven Can Wait 24 hour charity race
Swansea Channel - good for 2010 Heaven Can Wait 24 hour charity race
|
|
|
'Swansea Channel and Lake Macquarie'
|
A sustained dredging program of the Swansea Channel over the 2009-10 summer means that boats looking to participate in the 2010 Heaven Can Wait 24 hour charity yacht race on Lake Macquarie on the October long weekend (October 2-3) should have no problems coming up the coast and getting into the lake.
The dredging program, administered through the NSW Land and Property Management Authority, (LPMA) began in late September 2009, and is expected to conclude in April 2010.
As a result, approximately 40m to 50m wide channels will have been cut through two problem areas adjacent to Swan Bay and The Dropover into the lake itself.
At completion of the current work, these channels will provide 2.5 m to 3 m of water depth, depending on tides and weather conditions
A spokesperson from LPMA said that the behaviour of the channel upstream of Pelican is unpredictable and therefore it is difficult to predict navigation conditions this far out from the event.
However, the NSW Government through LPMA and NSW Maritime will continue with its monitoring program following the work. This program includes routine hydrographic surveys carried out approximately every four months by NSW Maritime.
The next NSW Maritime survey is due to be conducted on completion of the current project. The latest hydrographic chart can be found by visiting the NSW Maritime's web site at: http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/publications/hydro.html.
Now that the channel is wider, there is a much better prospect of 2 to 2.5m draft vessels being able to take part in this year's event, said Shaun Lewicki, commodore of the Heaven Can Wait Yacht Club.
'Previous monitoring of the channel has shown that, under worst-case conditions, the channel silts up at about 650 mm over 12 months,' he said.
'So with six months to go before this year's event, we can be reasonably confident that boats with a draft up to 2.3 m should have no problems getting into the lake.'
Funds for 'emergency dredging' of the Swansea Channel were allocated in the NSW Government's 2009 budget, and dredging started a few weeks before the 2009 HCW race.
However, poor weather in that period meant that dredging could not be carried out to the hoped-for extent, and a number of boats planning to participate in the event decided not to risk the channel, Lewicki said.
'We lost 10-15 boats who were planning on coming up for the 2009 event, but decided not to due to the state of the channel,' he said.
'A number of out-of-lake boats did come up, and some of these required assistance from the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (now Marine Rescue) Lake Macquarie in getting through the channel.
'But now that the dredging program has been completed, and we are set to have adequate depths until well after the 2010 HCW in October, we are confident of having many more out-of-lake boats attending this year,' said Lewicki.
'In the next few weeks, the HCW YC will be writing to all sailing clubs in the greater Sydney area, from Broken Bay/Pittwater to Port Hacking, inviting them to attend this year's race.
'Last year, we raised nearly $23,000 for our charities, the NSW Cancer Council Hunter Division and the RVCP Lake Macquarie division, and we are looking at raising substantially more amounts this year.'
The HCW regatta, which is co-hosted by the Royal Motor Yacht Club Toronto, consists of a 24 hour race, in which yachts race around Lake Macquarie as many times as they can in 24 hours.
A 'One Lap Dash' race is held in conjunction with this (with the same start time and course) for those boats, skippers and crew who do not wish to sail a full 24 hour race.
More information about the HCW 24 hour charity yacht race, including the Provisional Notice of Race for the 2010 event, plus 'war stories' from some of the 2009 entrants, are on the website at www.heavencanwait.com.au.
by HCW Media
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=67342
4:03 AM Fri 12 Mar 2010 GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
Click for further information on
2011 Heaven Can Wait 24-hour Yacht Race
Related News Stories:
MORE STORIES ...
|
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact Sail-World.com as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com or Marinebusiness-world.com
Contact us
.
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our Sail-World news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
| | |
