A whale tail slapped our Beneteau’s bow…
by Helen Hopcroft on 11 Sep 2007
Playstation 3 Vicsail - copyright
http://www.vicsail.com
At this year’s Audi Hamilton Island Race Week a couple of Beneteau crews came home with some wild tales to tell. Pretty Fly II, a Beneteau 47.7 owned by Colin and Gladys Woods, had been racing strongly in the Premier IRC division when an encounter with a large whale calf nearly finished their chance of completing the regatta. Vicsail’s Nick Bedggood was crewing the yacht and we asked him to describe what happened.
‘We were racing on the second last day and we were coming down from one of the legs and a baby calf appeared directly in front of the boat.’
The young whale was just as surprised to see Pretty Fly II as the crew was to see it. There was no time to change course and a collision was imminent so the entire crew tensed and braced for an impact. At the last second the calf dived under the boat. As it submerged the tail hit the bow of the speeding boat with a loud slap.
‘It was incredible’ commented Bedggood ‘the tail of the calf actually slapped our bow. We heard the dive and then the slap on the bow; it was a really loud noise. We all braced expecting that we were going to hit something. Luckily he or she slipped along the side of the boat so there was no damage to the boat or the whale.’
‘It was a really close encounter and it was one of those amazing moments that you get to experience while sailing around the Whitsundays.’
Over the years Bedggood has been a regular visitor to Hamilton Island Race Week as both a competitor and a member of the Vicsail team. He said that the number of whales and wildlife on the course this year was phenomenal. Bedggood estimates that length of the calf as being between three and four metres and certainly big enough to damage a yacht in the event of a direct impact.
Another boat that came home with a story to tell was the crew of Playstation 3, a Beneteau First 50 owned by Dean Harrigan, though this time the narrative is more of a cautionary tale. Playstation 3 was unlucky enough to lose a man overboard during a race and though the crew member was safely recovered the experience reminded everyone of the importance of regular safety drills.
‘They lost a guy overboard and got him back on in about four to four and a half minutes, but it was a bit scary for all involved.’
‘He was really exhausted because he couldn’t get his wet weather gear off, so he stopped fighting it and put all his energy into just staying afloat. With the energy he expended trying to get his gear off, he was in trouble, so it was lucky they got him in.’
The next morning at the regular race briefing that Vicsail holds for Beneteau owners veteran sailor Michael Spies talked in length about the different MOB methodologies. He was reportedly emphatic that all crews should be running regular MOB drills as part of their general training. Despite the quick recovery of their crew member, it wasn’t long before Playstation 3 was spotted practising their MOB procedures and Bedggood said that he hopes that the other Hamilton crews follow their lead.
‘It just highlighted the need for pretty solid man overboard drills before you go and do any sort of racing out in the ocean. MOB drills are great, and often you just throw a lifejacket in, but dragging someone out of the water is quite a different scenario: generally people are pretty tired and they’re heavy to get out of the water.’
The Beneteau morning briefings are something of an institution at Hamilton Island and this year the Vicsail team, with the able assistance of Michael Spies, managed to round up some very interesting guest speakers. As well as the regular information on weather, courses and tactics, there was a local sailor on hand to talk about currents and a number of high profile professionals who spoke on a variety of topics.
One speaker was an international juror who gave the penalty to team New Zealand in the last race of the America’s Cup. There were appearances by Richard Slater, an international judge who was a consultant to BMW Oracle in this year’s America’s Cup, Julian Plante from North Sails and the Hamilton Island principal race officer.
Every evening Vicsail would host drinks and prize presentations in conjunction with other marine companies including Mariner Boating, North Sails, Doyle Fraser Sails, Raymarine and the Oatleys.
Managing Director of the Vicsail brokerage network Brendan Hunt said the morning briefings and the evening social functions were part of his company’s commitment to after sales service. Vicsail have been running Club Beneteau at Hamilton Island for 13 years now and it’s proved to be a popular service with Beneteau yachts comprising about ¼ of the fleet for most years. This year the racing fleet included more than 60 Beneteaus.
‘We realised that when people buy a boat, Hamilton Island is often the biggest single thing they’ll do in their sailing careers. Think of a guy who’s got a 40ft cruising boat, who’s made a huge effort to get up there, with taking time off work and arranging crew and everything and then spending a week up there racing.’
‘And then the daunting task of getting his boat back, that’s a pretty mammoth effort to organise in amongst a busy life.’
This year the Beneteau functions moved from the traditional location at the wreck of the Hesperus to a waterfront site a short walk away. Vicsail estimates that about 100 people attended their events each day with many punters appreciating the free coffee in the mornings and wine in the evenings.
‘We’ve always tried just to be there and make our owners feel a bit special for being up there because quite often the focus is on the Gran Prix racing boats, everyone else is just supplying finishes. So that’s really the philosophy behind it’ said Hunt.
Vicsail organises a number of other functions and regattas for their owners during the year. The next major event will be the Peugeot Cup in November which is hosted in conjunction with the French Chamber of Commerce.
‘It’s very much a social event with one day of very good racing and one day of very social racing’ explained Hunt. ‘We get members of the French community and the business community sailing with us.’
For more information about the Peugeot Cup and other Vicsail events for Beneteau owners see:
http://www.vicsail.com
Contact details
Address : d’Albora Marinas, New Beach Road
City : Rushcutters Bay
State : NSW
Postcode : 2027
Country : Australia
Phone : +61 2 9327 2088
Fax : + 61 2 9362 4516
Email: info@vicsail.com
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