It’s back to the future with the 505’s

by Clarissa Flockart on 22 Dec 2011 Victoria’s favourite weekend for horse racing, is fast becoming a feature weekend for sailing, while the keelboats headed to Stanley the focus shifted to off the beach boats, with Royal Brighton hosting both the 505 and Sports Boats Victorian State Championships.

Cars were out and dinghies were in as the yard filled with boats, rigging and trailers along with a hive of activity as crews prepared for some serious racing. Saturday delivered ideal conditions, while Sunday was a blow out and even when the wind subsided the seas did not.

The welcome re-emergence of the 505s at Royal Brighton continues to gain momentum with the club hosting the Entire Victorian Championships.

Popular at the club in the 60’s and 70s the International 505 was designed by Englishman John Westall, originally an 18’ boat called a 'Coronet' and later modified at the request of the Caneton Association (a French small boat racing authority), to become the current 16’ 6'. The 505 is a high performance dinghy, which sails well in 15-25 knots with the crew out on the wire and complex rigging, teamwork is critical.

A seven race series was scheduled, with three races on Saturday and four on Sunday, eight boats were on the race course for the first day of racing.

The racing was tight and the fleet competitive, even the old seadog Brett Bowden, who in his 60s and having sailed 505s since the 60s put in a very creditable series, thus proving age is no barrier to competing.

Using a gate start, where a boat is nominated as the 'rabbit' and starts on port tack and sails from the start boat for a predetermined length of time. A power boat, known as the guard boat, follows the rabbit to offer protection from starboard tack boats. All other boats must cross between the stern of the guard boat and the starting boat. There are no recalls in this type of start. Any boat that comes in contact with the rabbit or guard boat is DSQ with appeal.

Paul Greenwood and John Paterson were nominated as the rabbit for the first race. Starting in 12-14 knots of wind and a lumpy sea, the right hand side of the course was favoured and Greenwood and Paterson were first to the top mark, closely followed by James Ryssenbeck and Andrew McCole in second with Paul Mitchell and Sam Haines third.

Gear failure on Greenwood and Paterson’s boat saw Mitchell and Haines move into first place followed by Ryssenbeck and McCole in second, with Paterson and Greenwood third. Mitchell and Haines went on to win the race by a comfortable margin.

The second race started in slightly more pressure with less favour to the right. The boats that gated late did best with Mitchell and Haines first around the top mark and Greenwood and Paterson in second.

Downwind with good pressure saw the 5oh’s flying and Mitchell and Haines extended their lead from the rest of the fleet.

The second lap of the course was a triangle. The leg to the wing mark was tight, Mitchell and Haines had little difficulty getting to the wing mark; the same can’t be said for the rest of the fleet! Greenwood and Paterson capsized trying to carry a spinnaker, while others in the fleet opted to sail a lower course and then two sail reach to the mark. It was another win for Mitchell and Haines.

The third race started in good pressure but the breeze started to fade as the race progressed. The Race Committee was forced to shorten course to ensure that the race finished.

Mitchell and Haines again dominated with Ian Taylor and Rob Bath in second closely followed by Greenwood and Paterson.

At the end of the first day Queensland based Paul Mitchell and Victorian Sam Haines, had stamped their authority on the series with three convincing wins. The New South Wales team of Cronin and Whitbread were second and the first Victorians Taylor and Bath were third.

The day ended with a BBQ and refreshments sponsored by Rob Bath of In-Property Valuations. It was enjoyed by all and there were certainly plenty of discussion about the day’s racing with excuses galore.

Everyone was pumped for Sunday’s racing but Huey had other plans, with the winds gusting to mid 30’s and a heavy sea, the Race Committee wisely called off sailing for the day. This meant the series results stayed the same from the previous day’s racing.

The 505’s would like to thank Peter Coleman and the Entire Group for sponsoring the state championships. It lifted the profile of the event and enabled prize money to be offered. The support and generosity of people like Peter will help classes like the 505’s to develop and grow. Thanks again Pete.

Introduced to the club by Gordon Stooke in the 60’s, RBYC was the first fleet in Australia and some highly accomplished club members have sailed 505’s including; John Bagshaw, Ian Pitt, Ken McColl, Greg Mellody, Roger Jepson, Allan Woodward, Dave Prest and Jeff (Tuna) Smith.

Upcoming events for the 505s are the Nationals in Mandurah, WA in April 2012, with the Worlds in La Rochelle, France in July August 2012.

The 505’s sail most Sunday afternoons with a start time of 13:00. If you are interested in being part of the action or would like to help out, contact Brett Bowden (brett(at)absales.com.au) or John Paterson (johnpaterson4(at)me.com) for more information.