Select to expand quoteSailMark said..shaggybaxter said..Donk107 said..
Hi Shaggy
Can you use a symmetrical spinnaker on her if need be
Regards Don
Gday Donk,
No. I did have the option at the build time to get the mast built to take a pole, but for some bizarre reason I said no at the time. Not sure why, it might have been handy a few times! Now the mast has been made , I can't add/plate/drill it, so Sprit sails it is.
What a shame shaggy. I have a spare spinnaker pole and heavy 210sm kite that I'm not using over the long weekend.
Hi SM,
Aargh! Thanks very much for the offer, that would have been a nice addition indeed 
My light air kite I had made locally is 200m2, but I have to pull it down at 18 knots, a heavy air version would be interesting!
Select to expand quoteshaggybaxter said..I'm passage planning (or chook scratchings) on wind direction options to get out of the bay at the moment, trying to avoid any square running. I wish I had you gents' instinctive ability , I sadly have to draw it out to get it to stick in my head!
Jode, you mention a flatter kite for the run up the beach, I'm looking at that if the wind stays in around 120 deg TWD. If it swings 150 deg TWD, I'm tossing up to swap for a fuller kite.
I'm interested in what you think, you having done a truckload more of these than me, do you reckon it will be more ESE up the beach?
Hi Shaggy,
Even when the wind is in the SE it is still tight especially in the squalls. The only square run you will have is from break sea light to Elliot Island. From experience when it is blowing keep to the rumb line up the coast as boats that stay wide usually come off better at Indian head. Keep an eye on the AIS as to what speed other boats are doing as I have had boats only half a mile to sea doing double our speed in a different wind line or squall.
Select to expand quoteDonk107 said..
Hi Shaggy
Are there any Pogo's that you know of that have the mast ring and do they perform as well speed wise as when an Assy is used
Regards Don
Donk,
No I don't know of any, but it was offered to me by Pogo before the build started. Optimal VMG on the polars for most wind ranges is 150, but the polars of course are made for the sail wardrobe you have, so I'm not sure. I thought the hull shape would work against square running, but the flatter we get the boat when running, the easier it is to get on the plane, so that's not the negative.
Select to expand quoteJode5 said..shaggybaxter said..I'm passage planning (or chook scratchings) on wind direction options to get out of the bay at the moment, trying to avoid any square running. I wish I had you gents' instinctive ability , I sadly have to draw it out to get it to stick in my head!
Jode, you mention a flatter kite for the run up the beach, I'm looking at that if the wind stays in around 120 deg TWD. If it swings 150 deg TWD, I'm tossing up to swap for a fuller kite.
I'm interested in what you think, you having done a truckload more of these than me, do you reckon it will be more ESE up the beach?
Hi Shaggy,
Even when the wind is in the SE it is still tight especially in the squalls. The only square run you will have is from break sea light to Elliot Island. From experience when it is blowing keep to the rumb line up the coast as boats that stay wide usually come off better at Indian head. Keep an eye on the AIS as to what speed other boats are doing as I have had boats only half a mile to sea doing double our speed in a different wind line or squall.
Thanks Jode,
appreciate the advice. Forecast seems to be holding in, we may get to three sail reach up the coast which will be fantastic sailing. The weather's been pretty consistent , so I'm hoping for some ocean swell to go surfing on!
Select to expand quoteshaggybaxter said..I'm passage planning (or chook scratchings) on wind direction options to get out of the bay at the moment, trying to avoid any square running. I wish I had you gents' instinctive ability , I sadly have to draw it out to get it to stick in my head!
Jode, you mention a flatter kite for the run up the beach, I'm looking at that if the wind stays in around 120 deg TWD. If it swings 150 deg TWD, I'm tossing up to swap for a fuller kite.
I'm interested in what you think, you having done a truckload more of these than me, do you reckon it will be more ESE up the beach?
wow thats to complex for me i just make some numbers up in my head and hang as much sail as i can while staying in control with this forecast i wouldnt be surprised if you were in before sunset saturday we are thinking in for the billycart races sunday for us
teqila and laurabada on sliphaving bottom cleans also boss racings centerboads in the fore ground having a 1000 grit sand love the feeling of anticipation
We had the briefing last night, the forecast is for 10 odd knots from the SE at the start building to teens early Saturday for the run up the beach, then 20+ knots at Breaksea for the square run past Lady Elliot Island. Once past Lady Elliot it's a better angle , we may see hints of 25 knots.
The slower boats may fall off the back of the weather pattern, but the slightly worrying thing for me in relation to safety is the swell. An Easterly 3m swell on the Friday means we won't be surfing down waves, but more taking them on the beam. It is admittedly easing to 1-2mtrs on Saturday and Sunday, but managing crew fatigue and seasickness is occupying most of my head space at the moment.
Breaksea can be fearsome when it wants to be, it wouldn't surprise me to see the odd 6+ mtr swells as we go round the corner, it smells like that sort of conditions this year.
I love racing and we're competitive as the next boat, and it might not fit the he-man image, but I have to look after the boat and crew first, to finish, we have to finish with everyone on board and the boat and sails intact. I don't want to be doing MoB recovery at Breaksea, it's a race and not worth major injury or worse.
To all the skippers and crews I hope you have a great race, but's let's make sure it's a safe one first and foremost.
cheers,
SB
Good luck to everyone doing the Brisbane to Gladstone have a great race, stay safe, bring back heaps of great stories.
Thx Andy,
Its a shame you and Jode can't make it, but I'm taking a GoPro hung off the starboard quarter, I'll see if we can get some interesting action shots for you guys of some overpowered broaches on a breaking swell or summink 
Hi Shaggy
Best of luck to you and your crew for the race
Stay safe and enjoy yourselves
Regards Don
Fusion is looking the goods. Only the big boys in front. The weather for the rest of the race will suit them down to the ground. If they can keep it together overnight, there is a good chance they will be in the money.
Good luck boys.
Shaggy's looking good for a win in the B2G. He will be at Breaksea light at day break. The run from Breaksea to Lady Elliott Island is dead square which he is not going to really like. As long as he can keep in touch at Elliott with the DK 46 which is a mile ahead and running 2nd to him on corrected time, he will have it in the bag.
Boty on Pagan is also looking good running 3rd in his division. Looks like the boys will be bringing home plenty of silverware.
Hi all,
What a race. That was champagne sailing, with enough wind that only a couple of boats survived without some form of breakage, mostly spinnakers thankfully.
Dekadence blew 2 kites, Coopers did 3 I think, Kerisma lost all electronics and the gooseneck, Envy snapped a bowsprit, Kerumba tore her mainsail, it was big seas and lots of wind, gusts up to 35 knots.
We had some damage too, ended up breaking the end of the boom on a nasty gybe in 30 knots halfway from Lady Elliot to Gladstone, so with some frenetic jury rigging we managed to keep the horde coming over the horizon behind us to hopefully take 1st in PHF overall.
Hope Boty had a great time, Jode and Andy would have excelled in those conditions. Great fun, and thanks to all for the best wishes!
Only the sticker holding the boom end on shaggy. That is radical. I hope you pull off the trophy.
First B to G and pulling off the trophy will be a big feather in your cap.
Are the results published yet?
Cisco,
I got a paper copy tonight, unsure if they've uploaded them yet, let me know if you're looking for specific boats and I'll look them up for you.
Fusion got 1st Div 1 PHF, 1st PHF overall, 2nd Federation Cup (team event)
Congrats to the crew, I'm chuffed for them most of all.
Boty did well too!
Shoot!!! A cheque for $5,000!!
That may cover 25% of the costs of doing the race. 
I notice the date on the cheque is 1/04/2018. Hope it is not an Arpril Fool's Joke.
You worked hard for it Greg. Enjoy the fruits of your labour. Well done.
Select to expand quoteshaggybaxter said..
Cisco,
I got a paper copy tonight, unsure if they've uploaded them yet, let me know if you're looking for specific boats and I'll look them up for you.
Fusion got 1st Div 1 PHF, 1st PHF overall, 2nd Federation Cup (team event)
Congrats to the crew, I'm chuffed for them most of all.
Boty did well too!
Well done
Well Done on the win Shaggy and Crew !! Glad you all got there with no major injuries . Looks like you had enough pressure to cause all sorts of issues .
Great work Shaggy. You should be able to get those small jobs repaired in time for Hammo......
Well Sailed Shaggy, I was out of range for most of the race but saw you tearing up past breaksea on the tracker. Hope the damage isn't too expensive!! Must be a great feeling to have done so well.
Hi All,
I threw together a quick video, this is the run from Lady Elliot Island toward Gladstone. I should have put up the A3 (deep VMG) kite up, but opted to stay with the gennaker, which is more of a reaching kite. It was a bit conservative as a sail plan, but being a wire luffed kite (furler) it meant we didn't have to be be trimming madly on every wave. We ran this kite most of the race, from the Caloundra turning mark to the finish. We just set the trim for the wind angle and then drove the boat to suit, we hardly needed to touch the sheet winch (the blue sheet on the winch under Helen's hand) except for the occasional big gust where we had to dump the sheet and grind it back on.
The seas don't look that big, but Dekadence who we were tussling with at the time had just shredded her big kite from the wave effect, as they accelerated down the waves the kite was collapsing and then filling with a bang as they fell off the wave, so the choice turned out OK in the end. You can see there is enough load on the mast from the kite to make the headsail furler all floppy, it's a weird feeling when you don't have a backstay to offset it.
Hope you like the video!
Cheers,
SB
Hi all,
I finished editing a vid of the B2G race from the perspectitve of the good ship Fusion !
Tried making it more interesting by showing some of the oopses, hope you like it,
SB
Hi Shaggy
Well done to you and the crew for the win and the video
It looks like you had a great time
Is the Sydney to Hobart still in your future plans
Regards Don
Select to expand quoteDonk107 said..
Hi Shaggy
Well done to you and the crew for the win and the video
It looks like you had a great time
Is the Sydney to Hobart still in your future plans
Regards Don
Thanks gentlemen.
Don, I'm kinda keen for this years, but realistically I'd say the year after. Probably want some race sails for that one, and that will take me a year plus of saving pennies.
