A Winning combination

The Winter Series from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron has so far demonstrated how varied winter on Sydney Harbour can be, and also how differently One O Nine performs with different winds. From perfect, warm sunny days without a breath of wind to gusty, pouring rain, the past 4 weeks of racing have provided many challenges.

We have had as many as 8 and as few as 4 crew in the races to date, yet our performance has increased consistently....

Race 1 - No wind at all. The race was essentially a drift up one windward leg to the finish. At almost 20 tonnes the best we could manage there was 8th over the line (8th handicap).

Race 2 - Almost no wind. Slightly better than the week before, we raced a shortened SW course with just one downwind leg. Again, in the light conditions it was hard to get One O Nine moving, and 8th on both handicap and scratch was the result.

Race 3 - 10 to 15 knots SW, sunny and a fleet of thousands to watch the return of Jessica Watson. The course was again shortened to be able to have some chance of avoiding running into the vast spectator fleet. With a run down to the Eastern Channel, back up around the naval buoys, we finished under a full masthead spinnaker in a respectable 4th over the line. This gave us 3rd on handicap (which takes into account that the 3 boats ahead of us are much, much lighter and faster in light winds).

Race 4 - Pouring rain (pre race) and about 15 to 20 knots S/SE wind. This was the first full course that we have sailed for the series, and it was all hands on deck to get the most out of One O Nine, so sorry about the lack of photos! I will try harder in Race 5. With a small error in determining which course we were racing, we gradually gained on the race leaders over the initial 2 legs. There is no problem if you are not in the lead an unsure of the course - follow the leaders! But as you get to the front, other people expect you to know where you're going!! No... It wasn't that bad! Flying a 1.5oz spinnaker with a full main and self tacking headsail, One O Nine was able to over-power the smaller yachts that begin to struggle in heavier air. We crossed the finish in 2nd position, which provided a clear 1st on handicap.

Race 5 - Stay tuned..... or jump on board and find out how things go, first hand!

We're Back!

Welcome back to One O Nine's blog! Things have been quiet over summer, but as we are racing in the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron Winter Series on the habour, time has come to once again share photos and reports of our progress.There are 11 races in the series, and Race 3 has just been completed last Saturday (15th May). For the first 2 races, wind conditions were really light - kind of like Hamilton Race Week last year. Still in each race we managed to come 8th (both over the line and on handicap).

Race 3 preceded the return of Jessica Watson, meaning a harbour full of spectator craft and well wishers. We had a very small crew of 4, but a great building SW wind for the race. After some initial errors (missed a great start, spinnaker hoisting issues....) we got our act together and with some good tactical decisions came home in a respectable 4th position over the line and 3rd on handicap! With wind strength from 15 to 20 knots, One O Nine was in her element, powering through swell and sailing well. Our new 'secret weapon' - a 195 square metre masthead asymmetric spinnaker was revealed on the final leg, taking us quickly to almost 10 knots as we crossed the finish line.

Images in this post are of the new spinnaker and also of the chaos that surrounded Jessica's return - we went out and participated in her escourt down the harbour following the race.

You can just see Jessica's boat in the middle of this one... the small pink blur in the middle.
It will all be ok if you don't look back!

Looking through the fleet.....