To
be held at Adelaide's Brighton and Seacliff Yacht
club on the 27th December to the 3rd of January.
Refer the South Australia state page for more
details.
Switchblade
Sail
The
Victorian Sabre Association has invested
lots of hours and fun on the water (see our youtube
video) to finalise the new junior focussed Switchblade
sail. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0IEZlCYd9g
We
are currently looking at ordering 10 sails to
get the initiative underway and are looking
at a special introductory price around
$100 below normal for the initial batch of
10. Once we have a few committed orders from sailors
we will look at progressing.
As
a summary, the sail is designed to be a cut down
version of a standards sail with fully battened
and mylar features to add to the cool element.
For those keen on securing the new sail, please
contact Callum Burns on 0419 308 599 or cburns@sghiscock.com.au
to express interest.
Callum Burns wins
the Nationals
Tricky day on the Derwent. We got 2 races in; but
both races saw variable light winds - the first
with winds from virtually every point on the compas;
and drifter conditions at times. The 2nd race
saw the race committee wanting to further keep
competitors on their toes with a change of course
that saw the top mark 0.25nm further out than
it had been, and signalled from a committee boat
100m from the bottom mark without a sound signal
! Anyway, that is now 3 years in a row where the
final race day has been a bit of a lottery - almost
now a tradition.
But
our congratulations to Callum Burns from Blairgowrie
in Victoria who scored a 2nd in the second race
of the day to sew up the championship, ahead of
second placed Chris Dance from Black Rock in Vic,
and 3rd placed Wayne Bates from Blairgowrie. In
the Juniors, local Tassie sailor Rowan Clark scored
a popular win.
The
titles were wrapped up with a fantastic Presentation
dinner at the Bellerive Yacht Club. Major class
sponsor Zihk again provided some fantastic gear
for the winners, whilst sails generously donated
by Quantum and Walker sails were auctioned on
the night following spirited bidding.
So -
we farewell a fantastic regatta. 61 boats was
an amazing fleet, and the race course with Hobart
city and Mt Wellington as a backdrop was simplly
stunning. Our hats go off to all the organisers
and volunteers for making the event possible.
We also farewell Hobart, which is just such a
great place to be at this time of year. The Sydney
- Hobart finish and the whole buzz around Constitution
Dock; NYE fireworks, all the fantastic fresh food
(particularly the berries!). Do we have to wait
5 more years ?!?
2 Jan What a day.....
Much more typical Tassie weather - low 20's, and
strong 20 - 25 knot Westerly when we left the
club. And it just went downhill from there. They
made us transit to what seemed like the mouth
of the Derwant for our start, with very confused
seas and a building breeze. We got away on time,
and it was a hard slog up to the first mark. And
then we got slammed. We could sea the clouds descending
off Mt Wellington, and before we knew it we were
in 40 knot+ winds on the reach.Keelboats in the
area recorded wind speeds of 47knots, and a nearby
weatherstation peaked at 57 knots. Boats went
everywhere. Many capsized, some cart-wheeling
for hundreds of metres as their skippers watched
helplessly from the water. Others kept going -
we downloaded Wayne Bates's GPS unit and saw he
hit 15 knots at times as he flew down the reach.
Others scurried for the beach. Sensible types
went into survival mode and plodded on. The N
over A flag went up (no more racing) and we headed
home. Fortunately no injuries, although quite
a retrieval exercise as boats were recovered from
beaches some distance from the club. Interesting
race management !
In a gusty NW wind in the15-25 knot range; Callum
Burns from Blairgowrie in Victoria wonboth heats
on 31 December - meaning he has 5 wins out of
6. Tomorrow is a lay day, and we have 3 more heats
to go.
You haven't sailed in current til you've experienced
the Derwent.....in mid-river where the top mark
was located, the current is running at several
knots. Even the marks themselves are impacted
- our 'Tack Trackers' showed that the top mark
was quietly relocated 200m upstream after the
first beat! Full results on the Tassie site.Click
here 2009/10
Sabre Nationals in Hobart
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