A Great Blog

Hobie 18's Return To Bolster The Fleet

2012-04-01T02:22:00.006-07:00

With the sun shining and a light SE breeze at the top mark and a SW at the bottom mark, eleven boats greeted the starters gun. Quinny was back, as was Jeremy on the 18's & two Waves were mixing with the large 16 fleet. Egbert on the Taipan was showing that these were his conditions in race 1 while MB took the gun in race 2.

Safe travels to those heading away for easter and good luck to the Tyler, Nick, Patrick and Will competing in the school boys regatta.

Gilby

Media Attraction at Vincentia Sailing Club

2012-03-26T03:03:00.004-07:00

The enthusiasm of the six Hobie 16, one Taipan and two Hobie Wave sailors was a little light on as the morning presented itself a bit overcast and with little to no wind. Finally, after our Commodore taking well in excess of his normal time to rig, due to the media wanting to record his every movement for the day, one race was held in a light south easterly breeze. However, as this was such a slow race, all adjourned to the club house for our usual bbq lunch. The short break was just what the wind gods needed as the three races after lunch on the same course as the morning, saw the race times increase with each race. Was that the increasing wind, the improving skill of the sailors or had we all woken up. All races were seemly uneventful however each start provided entertainment for those on the start boat as some of the crews got tangled with each other after running out of start line. The day finished with an appearance from our playful pod of dolphins and Jervis Bay bathed in bright sunshine from blue skies.

John

Fun Day on a Sunday

2012-03-13T02:18:00.003-07:00

After a few weekends of wet weather, the sun popped it's head out for our march fun and recreation day. In a light easterly, the fleet took to a cruise in the bay until the breeze dropped in time for lunch. After lunch a nor-easter began to build and a short course was set. Without the start boat, a variation on the start line was adopted, which we caught on to after a while.

From all reports, it looks like fun over in the Philippines with Mick and Worsty representing Hobie at the 12th Philippine Hobie Challenge, Good luck for the rest of the week boys. Good luck also to Ebgert and Siebren who are competing at the Taipan National Titles this coming weekend.

For those not travelling away sailing, we are helping out with the Shark Bait Swim this Sunday morning. It's an early start so the more hands the merrier.

Dolphins on Cue

2012-02-26T01:40:00.004-08:00

After a season of spot on weather forecasts from seabreeze, we missed out on the predicted strong nor-easter on Sunday. The day started a promising breeze but faded during the afternoon as a misty rain set in. Dobbo and Fiona, keen to take the season clean-sweep, took line and handicap honours in both races 1 and 2. In between races, a pod of dolphins cruised through the starting area, riding bow-waves of hobie's and the dolphin watch boat.

After lunch, the breeze dropped and from a lucky port tack of the start, James and sailing debutante Emily, took out line honours in race 3. Looking comfortable with the tiller, Patrick guided Mick around the course all day and took out line honours in a one lap blast to finish racing off for the day.

Many New Hobie Faces Share The Bay

2012-02-13T22:56:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, our magnificent bay was shared between our club racing and a large range of Hobie kayaks at Hobie's 'Big Day Out'. About 50 kayaks took to the water in the morning and many new faces were welcomed to our beach. Whether it was the new faces, the pod of dolphins swimming around, or the ideal conditions for some single handed sailing but some showboating was going on amongst the Hobie 16's.

Play of the day goes to Mick for capsizing his 16 whilst sailing one up. Not to be outdone, Will and Patrick thought Mick's boat needed a second swim and Di and Meg joined in on the capsize action. Race 1 and 2 were held close to shore, giving spectators a great view of the racing. Egbert and Siebren took line honours in both races before lunch and Howard performed well with supercrew Andrew onboard to lead the Autumn pointscore. Your storyteller headed off early and missed out on the afternoon session so what happened in race 3, stays in race 3.

Watch this space for any updates on this weekends camping trip.

Directions to One Tree Camp Site

2012-02-09T01:20:00.000-08:00

Three Series in a Row for the Dobinator

2012-02-06T00:12:00.002-08:00

Racing on Sunday wrapped up the summer pointscore series with Peter Dobson and Fiona McCue taking out their third straight pointscore series win. In the hotly competitive series, only 3 points separated Dobbo from James 2^nd and Andrew 3^rd with Mick only 7 points behind. Three races were run with a nor-easter building during the afternoon. Andrew’s course made for exciting finishes with the finish line on the end of a couple of lengthy reaches. Line honours in both race 1 and 2 were taken by Egbert and Siebren on their Tiapan. After lunch, if the building nor-easter wasn’t enough excitement for everyone, John showed us all how to un-intentionally abandon ship, but skipper, crew and boat were quickly picked up and returned to shore. Race 3 got underway and showcased a couple of capsizes from Dobbo and James. The autumn poinstscore series begins next weekend so see you all on water then.

Gloomy start - Sunny finish

2012-01-23T03:07:00.000-08:00

The day started out rather gloomy, but the die hard still arrived and started rigging. This was a good move as after the early showers the day slowly cleared and turned on some great sailing. The course for the day was set with a gate to leeward and the start/finish line half way up the work, which doubled as a gate through which the fleet was required to sail on each windward leg. This gave duty team Peate and Bailey opportunity to get some great photos of our sailors in action!

Race 1.
Seven boats hit the start line in a 12-14 knot sou-easter. The breeze held fairly steady until the last downwind, when the wind kicked in to close to 20 knots. Egbert/Siebren held a slim lead, with Mick/Pat and Andrew/Will - there was only 30 seconds between 1st and 3rd. For added excitement, a visiting H16 had a Man Overboard moment over near Plantation Point, which lead to most of the fleet and the finish boat heading over to assist. All ended well, with the visitors sailing back to the beach intact.

Race 2.
On what was a rather short start line, Mick, Andrew and Dobbo all broke the start, with only Andrew/Will restarting! The breeze faded a little in this race and was a little flakey, but James and fill in crew Eva were the first 16 home, but couldn't get close to Egbert and Siebren on the flying Taipan 4.9! Andrew and Will did well to fight back and finished only 15 seconds behind James.

Race 3.
After a long leisurely lunch, prepared by VSC'c own masterchef Ofer, The fleet set out with a steady breeze, a clearing sky and a couple of crew changes. Lachy Crittle jumped on board with James, and a visitor, Andrew, joined Egbert on the Taipan. After a clean start (and a longer start line) Andre and Mick fought hard for the win, with Andre and Will coming out on top 15 seconds ahead of the Butlers. Egbert was only 30 seconds behing, and the just 30 seconds behind hime cam James and Dobbo separated by less than 9 seconds! Scott and Meg rounded out the fleet only a minute later.

Race 4.
A beautiful steady 14-15 knot sou-easter and clear blue sky made the last race of the day near perfect sailing. James took advantage of a nice little puff and sailed a masterful first downwind to take the lead with the rest of the fleet close behind through the leeward gate. The racing was so close that most of the sailors were unaware that the shark patrol plane was circling Nelsons Beach with the shark siren blaring for quite some time! Experience prevailed, and Mick managed to snatch the lead and took line honours in the final race. Scott and Meg finished well, but then chose to have a dip on the sail home - hmmm, I didn't think it was that hot...........

Mick Butler said at the end of the day "there is something wrong with you of you didn't enjoy your sailing today!"

Crews Take The Tillers

2012-01-14T23:46:00.001-08:00

Sunday saw a return to racing in 2012 at Vincentia Sailing Club. After a busy Christmas and new years break, a small fleet took to the water for one race in some shifty and rainy conditions. A new race format had skippers take the sheets and hand the tiller over to the crews. A sou-east course was set, but glimpses of a nor-east bought about a course change. By the time the fleet were at the top mark, a westerly finished off the race. Rachael and James took out line honours with Will and Andrew snapping at their rudders.

Jake and Rohan - Australian Champions

2012-01-09T03:22:00.000-08:00

The Hobie Cat Australian Championships held in Mooloolaba last week attracted a fleet of 69 hobie 16's and 7 hobie 18's. The Vincentia Sailing Club was represented with 7 crews and a big Congratulations to Jake and Rohan who won the Hobie 18 Australian Title. In celebrating their success, Jake commented that it came down to their rigorous training schedule and flying his specialist crew in from Vietnam. Richard and Rachael took out third place. In the Hobie 16 divisions, Mick Butler and Worsty won the Masters title and took out second place in the open division. Glen and Ashley, Andrew and Georgii, James and Rachael, Dobbo and Fiona showcased the depth of sailing talent at VSC with good performances throughout the regatta. For the full results and some more photos, check out the nationals website, www.hobiecatnationals.com.au

Waiting For The Wind

2011-12-11T00:35:00.000-08:00

The final race weekend of the calendar year was a bit of a waiting game. A good fleet of boats made it to the rigging area but only half made it to the water as waiting for the wind dulled the enthusiasm. The best of the breeze was just before the start of two races. Just enough to fly a hull while double trapping and just enough for someone to bury the bows a bit deep on a reach, now who was that. Egbert and Siebren smashed the opposition in race 1 and everyone had a good start in race 2. Next Sunday is the club's Christmas party so bring along your own lunch for a bit of a feast. There is no racing scheduled but the Nationals bound Hobie's will probably be on the water practising so bring along your boats as well.

Congratulations Quinny

2011-12-05T23:51:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Richard and Rachael who have successfully defended their Hobie 18 NSW State Title over the weekend. In the Hobie 16 fleet, Andrew and Georgii brought home 2nd place in the masters division. Conditions were varied with a moderate easterly on the Saturday before a honking southerly pushed crews and boats to the limit on Sunday. Seabreeze charts showed gusts reaching 30 knots on Sydney Harbour and at North Head, added to the lightening and hail that kept the fleet on their toes. Results can be found at the NSW Hobie Class website and some pretty awesome photos were taken by Sailing Images Global

Ready, Set, States

2011-11-27T23:08:00.000-08:00

Sailing began on Sunday with a fairly solid westerly breeze, gusting over 20 knots. Only the brave ventured out on the Hobie Waves and Patrick and Will took to a new sport, something a mix of sailing, surfing and waterskiing. Spot on to the forecast, the breeze dropped and swung to the south east and four races were held with 9 Hobie 16's on the water. New to the club, Rudy and Helen tested out their boat righting skills before performing well on the water. There was very close racing across the whole fleet, but Mick and Patrick were in top form to take out each race. There will be a fun & recreation day at the club this coming weekend as team Vincentia travel to Pittwater to compete in the NSW Hobie State Titles.

Outrageously Variable Winds

2011-11-20T02:47:00.000-08:00

After being spoilt with constant nor-easters the last few weeks, sailors were greeted with an undecided forecast on Sunday. A total of 14 boats were on the water including Rohan and his family from Bathurst and Simon and Roe from Canberra. As boats left the beach, many were seen paddling to find breeze, only to find a lot of breeze as a gusty westerly set in. The course was adjusted for the new breeze and 2 hot dog races were held in a smoke haze. Gilby took out race one and Egbert claimed race two. During lunch, a solid southerly dropped the temperatures and brought some rain. Race 3 was won by Simon before Andrew took out race 4.

Another Great Day on the Bay

2011-11-13T01:56:00.000-08:00

And yet another great day on the bay was had by one and all. Egbert started the day with terrifying Taipan speed to take the first two races. Mick was reliving his youth on an 18 (And loving it), scaring Quinny off in the process (he was a no show). Andrew's teabag and capsize in race 2 was the stand out for the day. With the increasing north easter after lunch, the Anderson's and John kept the duty crew nervous for races 3 and 4. Plenty of spray and catamaran speed topped off another great day of sailing.

Gilby

Terrific Conditions to Welcome New Sailors

2011-11-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

The NSW Boating Industry's Association's annual try sailing day was held on Sunday with an estimated 80 people attending the Vincentia Sailing Club to give sailing a try. Conditions were ideal with a light nor-easter before lunch which gave the opportunity for beginners to get out on the water. After lunch the breeze strengthened giving the thrill seekers some face paced and enjoyable joy ride opportunities. Visitors to the club were treated to a variety of sailing craft to take rides on, with Hobie 16's, Taipan 4.9, Hobie Getaway, Wave & Bravo, Hobie Adventure Sailing Kayaks and a few Hobie Stand-Up paddle boards for good measure. We hope our visitors enjoyed the experience.

Jervis Bay, Cat Sailing & VSC At Their Best

2011-10-31T00:17:00.000-07:00

An abundance of smiles, happy faces, kids having fun on the beach, great food and exhilarating sailing is what it was all about on Sunday. Surely the surprisingly good weather conditions contributed to those smiles on everyone's faces, sailors and beach gatherers, young and adults alike. Even Andrew came close to having a glimpse of a smile on his face, although not until after the sailing was over. Quinny and Rachael taking the gap at the start of race 2 and stealing Andrew's clean air may have had something to do with that. Helen and Dobbo were unquestioningly the duo on the water who had the most fun, even though they weren't the couple to beat. You can only do so much chatting Dobbo before it starts having an impact on your sailing!

Overall, the sailors were treated to excellent conditions with an all day long 10-15 knots Easterly. Of course some extra puffs and shifts, resulting in a few capsizes also (Rachael & James, Di). After lunch most of the sailors seemed more keen on spotting a whale in the middle of the race course rather than getting ready for race #3. Just as well Siebren, the race duty assistant for the day, had brought his fishing gear along on the start boat, stopping him from nagging his dad to get the races underway!

Race 3 was exhilarating and very fast paced, with Quinny and Rachael completing the two triangles and taking line honours in no more than 12 mins 34 secs, and with Mick & Patrick, Andrew & Georgii, Glen & Will not far behind. See the results, both Spring Handicap and overall Yardstick for more details. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, from where I was standing the Hobie fleet looked like a glorious and rather thrilling spectacle, being a Taipan sailor that should say something. Lastly thank you Chemene and assisting ladies for serving a yummy lunch to us all.

Egbert

Hobie 16's Rule In The Seasons First Nor-easter

2011-10-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

The first nor-easter of the season began light but strengthened to about 15 knots by the afternoon. 4 races were held with 8 sixteen's on the water and all had a blast particularly on the reach leg, thanks Dobbo. After teaming up for the last couple of weeks, John and Howard skippered their own boats and enjoyed a close battle on the water. Di and Julia showed great speed on the water taking line honours in race 4.

Andrew and Will claimed bragging rights over Mick and Patrick as the breeze strengthened and Peter visiting from Pittwater got the fleet thinking about the upcoming NSW state titles. So that leaves one question, where were the 18's and taipans?

Club Championship Starts

2011-10-16T01:46:00.000-07:00

After a wash out of the first championship weekend, the club championship got underway in a sou-easterly breeze. Race 1 finished the way it started with Quinny first followed by Mick. Dobbo had a good race coming third. In race 2, James got a good start while Quinny dragged his arse in the cold water but after the first lap made the right decision to tack towards the beach and came through with the line honours just in front of Mick.

After taking another dip in the water on the way back to lunch, Quinny took another dip in the 3rd. The winter weight proving too much for his trapeze wire. James almost had the best start of the season but arrived early by 25 thousandths of a second. Race 4 was a quick single lapper with only 3 minutes across the entire fleet.

Blair

Pleasant Westerly

2011-10-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

The halfway weekend of the spring series was 4 races in varying conditions. Races 1 and 2 were held in a 10-15kt westerly. Dobbo welcomed a new crew Julia to the sixteen in race 1 and the start boat crew nearly abandoned ship after James buried the bows on the finish line. In race 2 James got a great start and John, teaming up with Howard, decided to impersonate a teabag.

After lunch races 3 and 4 required a paddle out to the start line but then a light sou-westerly gave good racing while the V8 fans missed out. Egbert was happy with the start line all to himself for race 3 while the sixteen's were playing bumper boats. Rachael had taken the tiller for races 3 and 4 and took out line honours in the sixteen fleet in race 4. How often does James do this?

Wet and Woolly Weekend

2011-09-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

The first weekend set down for club championship races was a wild and woolly one. No races were held and only Quinny braved the conditions to test out some new gear. Next weekend will see team Vincentia competing at the 40th Anniversary Forster Wild Cat Regatta and the Callala Bay Regatta. Good luck to those competing and safe travelling to everyone who are driving over the long weekend.

Cheers

James

A Light Sou-Easterly

2011-09-18T03:58:00.000-07:00

Racing on Sunday began in a light sou-easterly, with 4 sixteens and 2 eighteens. Race 1 was taken out by Glen and Michelle and they continued there good form in race 2 after nailing a port start only having to duck Quinny. After lunch, only the sixteens braved the disappearing breeze and Andrew's starboard hand course with Di and Meg taking out the race on handicap.

The Season Opener

2011-09-11T01:53:00.000-07:00

The season opened with a light westerly on flat water with Quinny and Rachael on duty. Race 1 had a few clouds and the wind stayed consistently light. The course was 2 sausages with a downwind finish. James and Rachael took the lead over Glen and Michelle on the last downwind leg to take the seasons first line honours. Race 2 was a single lapper before lunch and Glen and Michelle shot away getting to the breeze first. Glen and Michelle took race easily and James and Rachael scored a lucky wind shift to sneak second from Andrew and Georgii. Race 4 was a single lap getting us off the water before the breeze dropped.

What event was this?

2011-09-11T00:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so who knows when this photo was taken?
Can you remember who some of the boats belonged to?
Were you there?
How did you go?
Throughout the season we'll be showing photos from years gone by at Vincentia Sailing Club, and will put together a page that will include details to accompany the images.
So click on the image for a bigger view, put your thinking hats on, and use the "comments" button below (on the NEWS page) to share your memories.

Season 2011-12

2011-09-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone to the start of a new sailing season. After a rollercoaster of a 2010 – 11 season, let’s hope the off-season has been a relaxing time for everyone. Over the off season, we have welcomed Mick Butler into the Commodore’s role and we thank Egbert for his many years of hard work.

Before we brush the cobwebs off our boats, we’ll need to dust the cobwebs out of the club house with a working bee planned for 10am on Saturday the 10th.