the tide is flooding for the next 4.5 hours down there , don't know if that will help , not sure how much current speed is associated with that ? . Ive never sailed down there .
its looking pretty light, wind wise on the BOM site !
Select to expand quoteSandS said..
the tide is flooding for the next 4.5 hours down there , don't know if that will help , not sure how much current speed is associated with that ? . Ive never sailed down there .
its looking pretty light, wind wise on the BOM site !
Yes, that is what I see as well. Speed is below 5 kts now pretty consistently with 34nm to go. They have only got about 6 hours twenty to do it in. The crew will be struggling for every puff and crying in their beer over what might have been.
A breeze has to come up very soon.
PS at 2318 4.2 kts with 31nm to go. All over I'm afraid unless something extraordinary happens. Disappointed.
That's her in the foreground just going past my place, less than 1/2 from the finish
They can see the finish, working the eastern shore to keep out of the tide.
sorry about the pics, but I've only got the phone.
A great result for Quickpoint Azzuro:
3rd IRC
1st ORCi
1st Corinthian
Just goes to show that the S2H is still relevant for the amateurs in relatively cheap boats.
Great result, but from some points of view the race is not anywhere near as relevant as it used to be for the small boat sailors. If you like a boat-on-boat competition with similar boats, it's not relevant to small-boat sailors at all anymore (as far as I can see). Azzuro had no boat anywhere near her on the water to race on corrected time, and racing boats that should be hours ahead of you is not the same sort of thing (for me and others like me, anyway). Even in her own class she was racing boats that were 13 hours ahead of her on the water, which means that it's really down to the luck of the weather. Back In The Day you could normally see your class opposition a lot of the time.
In the Fastnet there's a 6% spread of ratings in the small-boat class; in the Hobart there's a 17% spread of ratings in the small-boat class. Boats that fit into the small-boat class in the Hobart are in the 5th-fastest of the 10 classes in the Fastnet, which shows how far the Hobart has become a big-boat race compared to the Fastnet. A First 40 fits into the small class here; in Spi Ouest, one of France's biggest regattas, it's at the big-boat end of the big-boat class.
Oz has really become an outlier in terms of being all about big boats. I did the sums a couple of years ago and it was apparent that the Hobart's drop in numbers, compared to its own earlier years and to the Fastnet, was due to the drop in the numbers of small boats. I used to love the race, now it's become very exclusive in many ways.
I suppose the consolations for Azzuro's loss is that Teasing Machine arguably sailed a much better race than anyone else, but got shafted even more in the Bay and River, so Azzuro themselves only had a chance because another boat suffered even worse in the light stuff at the end. And on the upside, perhaps the brilliant race by Courier Leon will highlight the strengths of these little modern IRC boats.
Select to expand quoteChris 249 said..
Great result, but from some points of view the race is not anywhere near as relevant as it used to be for the small boat sailors. If you like a boat-on-boat competition with similar boats, it's not relevant to small-boat sailors at all anymore (as far as I can see). Azzuro had no boat anywhere near her on the water to race on corrected time, and racing boats that should be hours ahead of you is not the same sort of thing (for me and others like me, anyway). Even in her own class she was racing boats that were 13 hours ahead of her on the water, which means that it's really down to the luck of the weather. Back In The Day you could normally see your class opposition a lot of the time.
In the Fastnet there's a 6% spread of ratings in the small-boat class; in the Hobart there's a 17% spread of ratings in the small-boat class. Boats that fit into the small-boat class in the Hobart are in the 5th-fastest of the 10 classes in the Fastnet, which shows how far the Hobart has become a big-boat race compared to the Fastnet. A First 40 fits into the small class here; in Spi Ouest, one of France's biggest regattas, it's at the big-boat end of the big-boat class.
Oz has really become an outlier in terms of being all about big boats. I did the sums a couple of years ago and it was apparent that the Hobart's drop in numbers, compared to its own earlier years and to the Fastnet, was due to the drop in the numbers of small boats. I used to love the race, now it's become very exclusive in many ways.
I suppose the consolations for Azzuro's loss is that Teasing Machine arguably sailed a much better race than anyone else, but got shafted even more in the Bay and River, so Azzuro themselves only had a chance because another boat suffered even worse in the light stuff at the end. And on the upside, perhaps the brilliant race by Courier Leon will highlight the strengths of these little modern IRC boats.
Well said.
Select to expand quoteChris 249 said..
Great result, but from some points of view the race is not anywhere near as relevant as it used to be for the small boat sailors. If you like a boat-on-boat competition with similar boats, it's not relevant to small-boat sailors at all anymore (as far as I can see). Azzuro had no boat anywhere near her on the water to race on corrected time, and racing boats that should be hours ahead of you is not the same sort of thing (for me and others like me, anyway). Even in her own class she was racing boats that were 13 hours ahead of her on the water, which means that it's really down to the luck of the weather. Back In The Day you could normally see your class opposition a lot of the time.
In the Fastnet there's a 6% spread of ratings in the small-boat class; in the Hobart there's a 17% spread of ratings in the small-boat class. Boats that fit into the small-boat class in the Hobart are in the 5th-fastest of the 10 classes in the Fastnet, which shows how far the Hobart has become a big-boat race compared to the Fastnet. A First 40 fits into the small class here; in Spi Ouest, one of France's biggest regattas, it's at the big-boat end of the big-boat class.
Oz has really become an outlier in terms of being all about big boats. I did the sums a couple of years ago and it was apparent that the Hobart's drop in numbers, compared to its own earlier years and to the Fastnet, was due to the drop in the numbers of small boats. I used to love the race, now it's become very exclusive in many ways.
I suppose the consolations for Azzuro's loss is that Teasing Machine arguably sailed a much better race than anyone else, but got shafted even more in the Bay and River, so Azzuro themselves only had a chance because another boat suffered even worse in the light stuff at the end. And on the upside, perhaps the brilliant race by Courier Leon will highlight the strengths of these little modern IRC boats.
In regard to the SH these days are the entry conditions more restrictive in regard to safety ,equipment etc. compared to say 10 years ago. I know that since 98' the conditions were tightened but are they now beyond the reach / not worth the expense of smaller boat owners.
In the 70/80's the MH entry conditions were tougher than the SH in regard the LOA etc. and a couple of members used to do the SH or MD because they could not enter the MH . I had a look at the MH this year ,omg only 10 or so entrants and smallest 39 feet .
Any idea why the rating is different between the IRC and the ORC?
A few years ago in about 2007 I calculated I needed $20,000 to enter MB in the S2H. That doesn't include racing sails etc.
To give an idea of the bureaucracy running the sport when I made my inquiries.
I have a top of the line Plastimo Offshore ORC 6 person life raft I bought 2nd hand. It has an excellent service report. I can't use mine in CAT 1 races. The rules changed just before I got it and if I bought it a year earlier than I did (new or 2nd hand) I could use it in CAT 1 races. Same raft, same survey and almost same age but I couldn't use mine while others who bought the same raft a year earlier can.
I would need two very expensive first aid kits, one forard and one aft, in case it took too long to get to the kit I suppose. They would only have 6 ft between them in a 33ft long boat.
Things might have changed but I consider myself lucky I like cruising.
This was probably the last year the small boats had a chance and even then she came in well after the bulk of the fleet. Owner at the time was a school teacher.
Select to expand quoteBananabender said..Chris 249 said..
Great result, but from some points of view the race is not anywhere near as relevant as it used to be for the small boat sailors. If you like a boat-on-boat competition with similar boats, it's not relevant to small-boat sailors at all anymore (as far as I can see). Azzuro had no boat anywhere near her on the water to race on corrected time, and racing boats that should be hours ahead of you is not the same sort of thing (for me and others like me, anyway). Even in her own class she was racing boats that were 13 hours ahead of her on the water, which means that it's really down to the luck of the weather. Back In The Day you could normally see your class opposition a lot of the time.
In the Fastnet there's a 6% spread of ratings in the small-boat class; in the Hobart there's a 17% spread of ratings in the small-boat class. Boats that fit into the small-boat class in the Hobart are in the 5th-fastest of the 10 classes in the Fastnet, which shows how far the Hobart has become a big-boat race compared to the Fastnet. A First 40 fits into the small class here; in Spi Ouest, one of France's biggest regattas, it's at the big-boat end of the big-boat class.
Oz has really become an outlier in terms of being all about big boats. I did the sums a couple of years ago and it was apparent that the Hobart's drop in numbers, compared to its own earlier years and to the Fastnet, was due to the drop in the numbers of small boats. I used to love the race, now it's become very exclusive in many ways.
I suppose the consolations for Azzuro's loss is that Teasing Machine arguably sailed a much better race than anyone else, but got shafted even more in the Bay and River, so Azzuro themselves only had a chance because another boat suffered even worse in the light stuff at the end. And on the upside, perhaps the brilliant race by Courier Leon will highlight the strengths of these little modern IRC boats.
In regard to the SH these days are the entry conditions more restrictive in regard to safety ,equipment etc. compared to say 10 years ago. I know that since 98' the conditions were tightened but are they now beyond the reach / not worth the expense of smaller boat owners.
In the 70/80's the MH entry conditions were tougher than the SH in regard the LOA etc. and a couple of members used to do the SH or MD because they could not enter the MH . I had a look at the MH this year ,omg only 10 or so entrants and smallest 39 feet .
Any idea why the rating is different between the IRC and the ORC?
My last Hobart was in 2000. The safety rules had been tightened after '98 (and from what MB says they have been tightened again) but there was also a perception among the small-boat owners that they were not wanted. One skipper (in fact, if I recall correctly the former owner of Ramona's boat) said that he was doing one of the races north when the club called up the last two boats and said "we're shutting the skeds down now because the rest of the boats are in, see you when you get here". Some CYCA committee members at the time supported small boats but another decided to write to the YA and state that another club should not be running its event under Cat 3 rules - damn high handed when it is stated that the committee are to be the sole judge of such matters.
I may be over-sensitive but it does seem that the small boats are being squeezed out. The NSW IRC championship, for example, states that boats must have an IRC of more than .940 (although to give them credit this can be amended) which rules out boats like Azzuro, or the half tonner class that is so popular in Europe. The CYCA no longer allows boats under 30 feet even in Cat 4 racing, whereas they used to have a JOG class years ago. It's not just some inexorable move because the smaller boats are still popular in Europe, although the EC's "civilian" classification rules apparently discourage production cruiser/racers under about 32'.
I tried to get some half tonner racing going again in NSW years ago but without success. Ironically it's the worst place for those of us who want to do serious racing in small offshore or cruiser/racer types - WA, Tassy, Vic or SA all seem to be much friendlier.
Select to expand quoteRamona said..
This was probably the last year the small boats had a chance and even then she came in well after the bulk of the fleet. Owner at the time was a school teacher.
The little boats had a couple more years. In '97 there were still 11 old 3/4 and 1/2 tonners and similar boats, with Suraya (S & S 36, similar to an S&S 34) second in class ahead of Maris (Tasman Seabird). In 2000 there were Berrimilla, Boomaroo (S&S 34), Breakaway (Swanson 36), Grasshopper (Cole 31), Not Negotiable (UFO 34), Southerly (1938 vintage Peel 35), Take Time (Brolga 33) and Zeus II (Currawong 30), and of course a year or two after that Zeus almost won overall again. The small class was won by Sunstone, which is 39' long but a liveaboard boat designed in 1965, and close to a newish 3/4 tonner in speed and rating.
I'd forgotten which Currawong you had. We raced her in the Batemans Bay regatta, when the half ton fleet consisted of a Farr 920, my ancient modified Spencer, two Petersons, a couple of Cavalier 32s, an Endeavour 30, one or two Currawongs and (I think) a couple of others. We spent our time fighting for second with one of the Petersons; classic half ton racing with the two boats almost perfectly matched for speed overall, but very different designs that each had strong and weak points.
Looks like she's all over for another year !
Great race this year I reckon, it was a good chat going on here as well !
Select to expand quoteshoodbegood said..
Looks like she's all over for another year !
Great race this year I reckon, it was a good chat going on here as well !
+ 1 = 2 or thereabouts ! 
