Club Marine Series – 33,000 feet and still soaring.

by John Curnow on 22 Mar 2015 Since the early 2000’s, the penultimate round of Melbourne’s Club Marine Series has been all about supporting kids with cancer. Specifically, it is about assisting both them and their families through a very challenging time. To that very end, all the race fees of the day and the resources of the host, Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), are given freely and proudly to the kids cancer charity, Challenge.

Ian Coutts from Challenge said, whilst being part of the heavily frequented, gold coin donation sausage sizzle, “Many thanks to Sandringham for making this all possible and for ensuring that every year we are welcomed back and this event keeps its place in everyone’s calendar. These sorts of days are really important to us, because we do not get any government funding. All funds received go straight into our services and programmes.”

“Challenge makes a difference by not just focussing on the child living with cancer, but also the parents and siblings, who are also very deeply affected by it. Our non-medical programmes are all about looking after that child with things like art therapy, reading, iPads, DVDs and so on whilst they are in hospital, together with camps for them and their brothers and sisters when they are out. These range for children from as young as four years of age through to 18.”

“We aim to get people back to living, so we also look after the parents with things such as date nights and little escapes to help them continue their lives and not be constantly surrounded by the issues around cancer. Separation and divorce rates are prevalent amongst these families. Other items include our regular playgroup on Wednesday’s for kids under six, where not only the kids benefit from a few hours of enjoyment, but the parents can interact, share and learn from others going through similar circumstances and experiences”, said Challenge’s General Manager Marketing, Communications and Fundraising. Anyone interested in finding out more can visit their website at challenge.org.au

Genesis.

Now to the man who is most directly responsible for making it happen in the first place, John Chatham. He is the one who had an idea, whilst being a captive audience, flying well above the Pacific Ocean in a jet liner. “I thought to myself that I would really like to do something for people with cancer, specifically kids, as a way to honour my wife’s battle with the disease and how she had survived. At the time, this was paired with a request for opportunities that had come in to Yachting Victoria from Challenge’s CEO, David Rogers. I ran with this and together we worked out the Keeping Cancer at Bay programme that has evolved to what you see today, which is automatic, and viable in the long term.”

“Challenge itself is a fantastic organisation and garners magnificent support from all sectors, including sport. The great Shane Warne is a marvellous ambassador and has even lead groups of children on overseas trips to places like Disneyland. I’m thrilled that sailing is doing its part.”

So then, over to the yacht racing of the day... The PRO for the Club Marine Series is David LeRoy, who was administering the Division Two and Three racetrack in the Northern sector of the Bay. “A perfect day for racing and it was simply terrific out there. We got the first one away to 135° and then changed the course on the first run to 330° (reciprocal 150°). Two laps for everyone were put done for this race. An axis of 160° was applied to the second race, but the Division Two boats did three laps and Div3 stuck with the two. The highest the wind got to was 17 knots and there was a little tide running down the Bay, which did cause a few to arrive earlier to the start line than they may have anticipated.”

“In terms of the closeness of it, today’s racing was the standout of this season’s Club Marine Series. We had seven boats finish within in seconds of each other and it does stick in your mind. This is what it is all about and to have so much racing on offer on the day and have the crews be so competitive with it does make it all worthwhile. I came away from it thinking that this is proper racing, especially to have so many of the 35-footers within such close proximity of each other.”

Frank Hammond’s Horizon Sprint revelled in the fresh conditions with relatively flat water for some great results, including a resounding Line Honours win in the second race. In Div2, others placing themselves well were Executive Decision, Moneypenny, Top Gun and More Noise. Many of these will have to race well to hold onto or improve their current overall standings and a bad day on April 14 could see you leapfrogged to a better or worse outcome, depending on who you are. Nothing’s a total shoe-in, but turning up and getting around cleanly will mean Horizon Sprint should grab the Australian Measurement System (AMS) prize and if they don’t, there’s the handicapper’s trophy, which they almost cannot lose. Almost…

Sailing, trees and food.

Observations from out on the track indicate that many are still coming to grasps with the finer points of correct spinnaker use. Round ups, Chinese gybes, wraps and wine glasses have nothing to do with pesticides or culinary delights.
OK. Division Three is often a bit like the battle of S80s and it was great to see the Diamonds, such as Lucy in the Sky, do well today. Intrusion, Skipjack and Gravitas get mentions, as too Johnny Be Goode and Magazan 53, but overall Intrusion and JBG should take out the measurement categories, with Lucy in the Sky the likely Performance Handicap System (PHS) winner. The minor places could end up being a six-way affair, but look to Footloose to have more than a foothold on second place after the last race.

The Blue Division also enjoyed some wonderful racing and not only flew around their fixed mark course, but did so with great colour from their interesting array of spinnakers. The latter point is particularly evident when they cross through the White Divisions, where many of the larger craft only carry pure white kites. Philip McLean’s, True Colours, got the nod on the day, ahead of Zardos and Aquarius. True, Next Moment was the clear Line Honours winner, but special mention goes to Marg Neeson’s, Wild Child, which punched well above her weight for a fourth. Overall, the diminutive Aquarius still holds a commanding lead from all others.

Glen Taylor was the RO on the Southern Course that had the White Divisions Zero and One racing today. “The first race was a little difficult with the oscillating breeze, but the second one, where it had settled to 155-160° was just wonderful. For the first one we started at 120° to account for some observations of 080° at the top, but ultimately we did a change of course to 140°. The second race was set to an axis of 160° and again two laps for all was the requirement, with the same 1.5nm and 2nm range for Divisions One and Zero respectively.”

“This was a good distance for the strength on offer and they finished in a nice tight bunch, as well. The lead boats covered their respective courses in about an hour for both races. Cadibarra 8 got the start of the day, getting off the line in the second start, right on the gun. Blink of an eye kind of stuff and terrific to see.”

Here too the Sou’easter just kept on building, making the high teens as the racing unfolded and had gusts into the low 20s. All of this meant that the once flat water allowed for the seaway to quickly get to a metre. Again there was very close racing on offer, as is evidenced by the five seconds that separated Terra Firma from Scarlet Runner in the second race of the day. Some forgot to clearly identify the differing marks for Divisions Zero and One, just like the previous Round, but it did not change the high intensity with Div0 going flying through the Div1 craft who were turning at their leeward gate to go back up to the windward mark.

Thems the rules, man!

In terms of the rules, an International Race Officer who was observing today did comment that being On Course Side means that once X-Ray is hoisted after the start, the onus is squarely on you to return. Radio calls are not obligatory and merely a courtesy. Equally, boards at the top mark displaying bow numbers or other identification are only used at the Olympics and World Championships so as to remove offending boats from the track, thereby not impinging on other craft or creating an opportunity for redress.

It was great to see Rush back out and she had immediate impact on the scoreboard, but the day was probably Simply Fun’s, even if their carbon wheels are now off to assess the cracks in them. She goes into the last Round with a significant lead in IRC and Veloce’s OCS sees them slip into third, but a better result today would have seen them have a chance at getting the top gig. The latter should collect the PHS trophy, no matter what.

The very accomplished David Ellis was sailing today in Division One on Pete Jackson’s Beneteau First 40, Niche. “The gybe set worked well for us in today. In the first race, you could have taken an extra 30 seconds to go for a hoist of the gybe set and still be in front, such was the skew in the breeze from the land effect right in close to shore. We deployed the manoeuvre on the second run and gybed before everyone else, as well.”

“In the second race we had the spinnaker come out of its bag came whilst still approaching the top mark, so it was ‘all hands’ to pull the handbrake back in as quickly as we could. It was a bit of shame, but the boat was going well and the racing was really close with us, JAMHU, the Sydney 38s and the Farr40, Double Black. All in all it was a fun day.”

Just A Minor Hick Up

On the day, Ikon prevailed once more, but it was also good to see BKT JAMHU continue to improve on the new to them Hick 39t. Ikon will take both measurement categories and Niche in their first season with the boat will take second, but their aim of being second in all three would seem to be scuppered. Dream will deservedly be the PHS winner, with Schüss in second seemingly too far in front of Niche, even if they can leapfrog over the top of Soirée Bleu.

So it would seem that today’s racing is best summed up by an extending a rhetorical question over an old sailing truism. If any day sailing is better than a good day in the office, what could possibly beat it? Well, sunshine, a fresh breeze and benefitting a sensational cause would have to be it!

To illustrate this, SYC’s Commodore, Kate Mitchell said, “It’s just a fantastic cause and I really don’t see how we could not do it. Our long commitment to it means that people simply join in to get the job done each year to make sure the event happens with the least effort required by the team here, and ultimately this means that the maximum benefit is delivered to Challenge. Keeping Cancer at Bay is part of our framework and commitment to the greater community.”

Now if you're based in Melbourne or nearby and think the Club Marine Series sounds like great fun, then you’d be right. To go racing on some of the most interesting water there is, head to www.clubmarineseries.com.au for all your race documentation and online entry. As some have shown previously, you can also mix it up between Blue and White Divisions, depending on your crew. You can also enter for all of the rounds or go casual and enlist as you so choose.

The final round (seven) of the 2014/15 Club Marine Series is on April 11. Immediately after racing on that day, presentations will be made at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club. So head straight in to RBYC from your course area and have a chat with your compatriots.

Many, many thanks to RBYC for hosting that and also to their General Manager, Eric Wegman, for providing today’s media vessel, Sue Leaper, on extremely short notice. Sincere appreciation also to Club Marine, the proud sponsor of the regatta and Australia's largest provider of recreational boat insurance - details and full information about the series can be found at www.clubmarineseries.com.au or follow it @cmseries and join in the conversation via #cmseries.