Not Queensland for the Nautilus Marine Winter Series.

by John Curnow on 31 Aug 2013 Usually at this time of year, sailors tend to reiterate the advertising slogan, 'Where else but Queensland?' Today, with balmy winds of 12 through to 20 knots in the gusts, slight to non-existent seas and beaming, even warm sunshine, the crews were saying to themselves, 'Where else but Melbourne?' Yes. There were even shorts and people swimming at the iconic St Kilda beach!

Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS) General Manger, Rod Austin said, 'It’s been great to get a full series of races in for this the second running of the Nautilus Marine Winter Series. All the crews had a great time out there on Port Phillip from June to August, in a range of conditions from mild and benign to fresh and cool. We really appreciate having Nautilus Marine on board for this regatta. The prizes (vouchers for Nautilus Marine insurance) are a major benefit to the club, the regatta and, of course, those lucky winners. Today all participants is a winner for Nautilus Marine are shouting everyone their first drink, so cheers to that!'

'With our new, floating marina to be finished by Christmas this year, we’ll be in an even better position to offer members and guests exactly the right kind of accommodation when they come to race here. This is bound to make the 2014 Nautilus Marine Winter Series even more popular again', Austin finished with.

Tim Wagland, the PRO for the series, set a range of 1.4nm on an axis of 345?, with Divisions One and Two doing six laps and Three and Four, just the four windward/leewards. A hitch mark about 140m from the top mark was there for the first rounding and a bottom gate, 75m above the start/finish line, were the major elements.

'Always good to get a full series of six races in and this is certainly a perfect day on the Bay. Race Four was abandoned that day due to the gale warning, so we got two great, if a little shorter, races in on day five. A growing series is always something positive, too and many thanks to Nautilus Marine for making it happen. A range of conditions has put the crews through their paces and our Race Management team has been marvellous throughout, too. It has been a good time for all', said Tim.

The breeze flicked through 335? to 352?, with the right hand side of the course in on the bricks of St Kilda favoured early. However, after say the second lap, anyone keen on winning had to stay down the centre of the track, where it was far more consistent and solid. Over towards the main shipping channel was just as soft as it was inshore. This is pretty normal with the way the buildings of the CBD drive the wind over this top part of the Bay.

The Division One start was well timed by Tigris, who could not have been more on the line if they had tried. Matador was nearly as sharp, but Primitive Cool was to be squeezed out and have to go around again, so as to avoid the Committee Vessel. The trimmers did not do so well either and put a lovely twist in the headsail during the manoeuvre. Gienah and Ellipse slipped over the line momentarily after the gun.

Portofino had to slice and dice their way through to clear air at the boat end, with Archimedes arriving mid-line with speed for the Division Two start. The Adams 10, Longshot, was low and slow, but her sistership, Salamander III, was at the pin end and on song. Take Five and Take One dominated the next start, with Chardonnay and Dalliance on a more leisurely trajectory to the top mark.

Ellipse first around and went the gybe set with daylight completed in second place. Gienah was next, Tigris came in and tacked in very much just below Primitive Cool, so they had to run off a little to gather more speed. Primitive Cool did not have a good day and set the kite inside the topping lift and Tigris got their big bag out as they marched off on their angles, but today, with such a narrow breeze line would not be the day to go and punch the corners.

Heading down for the first time, Ellipse was back in on the beach, whereas Gienah was more intent on going straight down the centre. Blake Anderson from Doyle’s was on board and was happy to point out from the water that they had set kite inside out. This was probably about as bad as it got for Gienah, as they set about taking the lead.

Portofino would lead Div2 around the top with Archimedes in second and opting for no specials. Gybing in under Portofino and following Ellipse may well have been the better option for them at this juncture. Chardonnay retired at this point with a crewmember who had back issues. The Ambulance would take him off to hospital a bit later, but it did all seem to be OK and not permanently damaged. Hopefully that remains the case.

As the breeze set about becoming more centre oriented, the top of the course became a little soft, but there was still plenty of lovely warm breeze down the bottom of the track. Gienah took and kept their lead over Ellipse and heading in to the bottom again, issues would prevail aboard Primitive Cool who sailed past the mark with the kite still up.
So the procession did not alter too much after the first couple of laps and the gaps grew in most cases, primarily due to things like over-stepping the mark and dropping the kite too early. It was at this point, and by way of example, that Matador did a lovely inside drop and took swags out of Tigris who had exhausted the ‘chute some 15-boat lengths before the mark. Flat water, long sun angles and smiling crews did make the media team feel like all were having the best time of the regatta, however. Pretty as a picture seemed to be an appropriate cliché.

So now to the all-important, Willy Wonka Golden Tickets for $1000 off your Nautilus Marine insurance policy. There were also winners in IRC and PHS, but we’re going to talk with the three divisional winners from the Australian Measurement System (AMS). In Division One it was Ellipse. Jack Setton said, 'Did not do it all entirely well today and chose the wrong side, but overall this regatta we have been improving the whole way along. Predominantly we’ve had the same crew, albeit today we had a few new souls, but very pleased and many thanks to Nautilus Marine Insurance and RMYS.'

Jurgen Pfeiffer from Take Five were the Div3 winners. They have been regular racers and podium finishers at many Port Phillip regattas. 'We try really hard and had a good and very enjoyable series this year. We changed to Nautilus Insurance this year and the big ticket has been even more of an added bonus to us. Very worthwhile and why we hope we never have to use it, but thank Nautilus Marine so, so much for backing the club and the regatta. On board we have a fun first policy and this seems to really help with doing well. When I was crew, I used to say that when it goes well the skipper has to thank the crew and when it goes badly, the skipper has to take the medicine. Of course, the shoe is on the other foot now, which often does not sit well, like when I did not gybe the boat well during one instance today.'

Stuart Tait from Portofino, the vessel that took out Div2 AMS said, 'Had a good day today and the boat goes well in these sorts of stronger breezes. It’s been mainly from the North this season, so the boat goes well in the flat water and I think the crew does too when it’s smooth sailing. Really delighted and very appreciative of Nautilus Marine for backing us all like this. It makes for a tremendous series.'

See rmys.com.au for more information about racing on Port Phillip and their new marina.