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SSANZ 100


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Any tips for tomorrow? I'm thinking it may be a bit windy for the number one.

 

And what time for the last finisher?  Wind should hold, so could be all done by midnight hopefully...

 

Good luck to all!

 

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That would be a Bacon and Egg pie for us .. looking at the early forecast you can pick that the wind is gonna blow on your pies! 

 

Short haul course looks great:

10658718_306012576189671_347489939211427

 

An update just went up on the 88 Facebook page which includes instructions for following the fleets on the PredictWind Tracker Click here for info

 

See you out there.

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Pretty epic start conditions today - the first division got away ok but a fairly vicious squall came through soon afterwards and passed through the Shorthaul fleet before catching quite a few of the Longhaul boats.

Took a few snaps, wish I had a better camera but gives an idea of the change in conditions.

Nosaka_RB_080815 (2).JPG

Anarchy_RB_080815 (1).JPG

Anarchy_RB_080815 (2).JPG

Planet X_RB_080815.JPG

1020_RB_080815.JPG

Hard Labour_RB_080815.JPG

Hard Labour_Hard Landing_RB_0800815.JPG

Namu_RB_080815.JPG

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Great day. No rain and lots of wind.

 

Went down the mine on the first leg dropping the mast head kite, took it easy after that. 

 

Cruised passed Sailor Moon lying on its side around Gannet Rock.

 

After Shag Rock we crossed Motorboat, sending it on a large kite. They looked good, made it look very easy. Knowing that the next leg would be a challenge we wisely resisted putting up the fractional kite. Dragon cruised passed us.

 

Wind really picked up after going around  Black Rocks. Quite wild. Voom was in front of us in irons and we went down  to investigate. We thought we saw a shark circling Voom but it was the end of their broken centre board bobbing out of the water.

 

First time racing with two reefs and our smallest head sail. The inner forestay worked well. Very cool racing side by side with Voom in a haze of wind spray. The old wooden hulls flexing over the waves. We caught up to Stealth Mission who had already shaken out both reefs. Wind dropped right of again at Flat Rock and we were on the wrong side of a wind shift.

 

After that it was surprisingly light smooth, easy reach home. Well done to Voom for racing with only one board and teaching us another lesson.

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Great photos RichardB!

 

Lots more photos here: http://oceanphotography.co.nz/lightbox/index.php?module=media&pId=100&category=gallery/Ocean-photography/Marine-events/SSANZ1002015

 

Wow, what a nasty squall. Wonder how strong it was? We didn't really notice it at the time, but didn't have a kite up which must have helped. Heard a man overboard on ch77, but don't know what boat it was.  Saw 3 coastguard boats hanging about. :wtf:

 

So far I have counted 3 Chinese gybes: Nijinsky, Hard Labour, and Gale Force.  So it seems that anyone can do a Chinese - not just the old IOR ton boats! ;-)

 

We had rain clouds coming through every half hour or so, and when they hit the breeze increased by at least 10 knots, which made life interesting. We broke our spinnaker brace near Gannet rock, but it was a blessing in disguise as we got the kite down early and rounded close to Thumb point passing a lot of boats who had trouble turning the corner.

 

Was so nice to finish under starry skies in smooth water, after the monster seas, stinging rain and vicious winds out in the gulf!

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I guess we all like seeing what was going on on other boats so here's our SSANZ 100 2015 Report:

 

----------------------

Provincial Cowboy Longhaul 1.

 

It was always going to be a day of squalls and gusty conditions, forecast to slowly drop from mid afternoon.

 

Slightly late and at the boat end at the start after a minor cluster. However we were in the mix going nicely with the A4 a few hundred metres down by Browns Island when the sounds of the carnage reached us from upwind, as the squall ripped through.

 

Survived the first gust that took out a few and we started to accelerate. But the next gust just knocked us over. I was standing on the cockpit side for a bit. At that time the Tourer Elysium was coming slowly across our bow with a flogging kite that had a huge window in it. I could see Miles had a bit on trying to douse it - if we started moving and then had another round up it was going to get a bit ugly. So we sat there with the helm down on our side on a few more seconds waiting for them to clear. Eventually the bear away was surprisingly very smooth, the kite set quickly - and we were off down the channel leaving behind many boats with issues everywhere. Some great video of the sequence on our FB Page and here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCvo-T9dF-0

 

We are on our side on the far right from about 2:10 - best viewed in HQ and in a big screen.

 

Once we got going again we passed a heap of boats and followed Akatea out past Emu Point, with Krakatoa nearby. Andy had managed a quick look around and mentioned Anarchy looking to be in a bit of trouble but we had to focus on ourselves.

 

The wind eased back to comfortable levels and first Equilibrium and then Bushido passed us on the slide down to Gannet. Meanwhile we were close to our usual company from last race, Krakatoa and Nosaka with Whitebait also going well.

 

A gybe to pass inside Gannet saw us come back together with Nosaka and Krakatoa and we all dropped kites as we neared the funky stuff that always lurks under Thumb Point. One boat, think it was Waka, also had a bit on getting over Gannet.

 

Then a two sail reach to Shag Rock. Krakatoa powered away and then Bushido came flying up behind us, sailed underneath just as we got to the island but it looked like they had an issue with a gust or a stuck furler or both and didn't make it over the top of the island, having to bail out and try again.

 

The discussion on sail selection for the run down to Cow and Calf was between the masthead runner and the A3. We set up the pole and kite ready to hoist but just as we rounded the building breeze seemed to be at a good angle for the A3 so we switched. It was the safer option given the forecast but we got lifted again almost immediately down the run and we couldn't quite get deep enough with the gennaker. Nosaka and Krakatoa put a few minutes on us. We all had had a great ride as did Bushido who passed us again.

 

We 'grannied' bareheaded at the Calf, following the wise example set by those in front of us. Then the long reach to Channel Island which we sailed alone except for Skins in Truxton who slipped through our lee and then got away while we put in a second reef. This was when it smoked through just after the Black Rocks.

 

It was about this time I checked the phone was tracking after our glitch last race - and once again it had not kept working - so I restarted it. We kept expecting some of the other longer boats like Laissez Faire and the Tourers to come through but we seemed to hold our own which was good.

 

Rounding Channel Island was not the most pleasant experience, we got absolutely flattened by a gust near the island - all in all it was a fairly windy and rough place to be!

 

Then the long 20m beat, starting out in 25kn with No. 3 and 2 reefs, slowly powering the boat back up as the breeze eased. The lumpy upwind stuff is not our strong point - got some more work to do there. Laissez Faire powered over the top of us well up to windward looking very impressive.

 

Later a couple of headers south of Little Barrier led to us tacking but we really wanted to stay in the right as the forecast had indicated more N than we had - so we didn't go too far but did make a gain on a couple of boats who held on further. As we neared Flat Rock in the near darkness we got a small rain squall through and the breeze went a bit weird. We tacked off a 40 degree knock but soon tacked back just under the layline - when the breeze returned to the earlier heading we laid Flat Rock.

 

Nearing Kawau and on full main and No.3 we were not fully powered up and hoping the breeze would hang in with the odd rain cloud indicating gusts. In hindsight a change to a bigger headsail would have been worth the time loss but it's harder to commit when you don't know what's coming.

 

On the tight reach along to Motoura Island we had a lot of company. We still had the no 3 up and were underpowered in the light patches. Laissez Faire was up to windward, Josh and Chris were right behind on the Sunfast after almost rolling us in a light spot.

 

Eventually Fiction came from above and behind to roll over both of us right as we prepared to round the end of the island. But with us still only a couple of boat lengths behind they suddenly stopped in the water and before we realised what had happened we also touched what felt like a sandy bottom. We just bumped once and I headed up and over them, barely a boat width away. They soon got moving again too. We have been around that point a few times, and been closer to the shore some times - I will certainly give it a wider berth in future!!

 

Slight communication issue on board ("blue kite in grey bag") saw the fractional kite hoisted on the masthead halyard. A positive aspect was that was the one sail we have never used so good to have a look at it up - even in the dark. But we figured we needed max horsepower so did a quick change to the masthead kite ("blue striped kite in grey bag") and settled in for the run.

 

Having company down the last run through Tiri Passage and to the finish was pretty interesting. We had lights all around us and went through Tiri Passage next to Laissez Faire and the Sunfast 36. Fiction and Krakatoa were nearby and Nosaka visible just ahead.

 

As the tracker shows we had a good couple of hours run home in 8-12kn, especially after Tiri - the boat really likes those conditions. We eased away from the guys behind and passed Nosaka (maybe they had a problem?) just before Rangi Light. We were wondering where Truxton was, Skins had a glamour result, - but we didn't see her at all after dusk just before Flat Rock. At North Head we could see rain coming down the harbour so we played it safe and dropped the kite just before the finish line to avoid any issues with the Orakei wavebreak after the line.

 

A good result. a couple of new places visited and plenty of learnings as usual. Also no major dramas or breakages on a day that had some potential to cause problems. Our only bit of damage - the A4 kite bag was swept over the side leaving us just the clips - the video shows it coming away but we weren't able to get forward to secure it at the time!

 

Well done to Nosaka on a deserved win. That's SSANZ race 2 2015 done and dissected, looking forward to the last race in the series on a month or so. Thanks once again SSANZ and also the people on the RIBS who got some great photos and footage - and were able to help those who needed it..

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Report from The Entertainer:

 

Our race lasted about half an hour give or take. We hoisted our MH Spin at the start on port and snuck out from under an 88. We had great pace and were sitting pretty in the front bunch when we looked back to see the general carnage coming down the harbour towards us. Colin looked at me and said "whatdya think", I said "I reckon we'll be able to ride it out" which in hindsight was probably a bit optimistic. The squall hit a bit faster than I thought it would and she went down like devine brown. I should add we've had her out in much worse conditions, in worse sea state without a hint of stuffing it so I kept thinking she'd just pop up and we'd plane off...but she kept going down. Next I thought she'd pivot off the bow and we'd flop over and maybe the kite would get a bit of a flogging...but she kept going down. My feet by this stage were braced on the traveller and I'd lost steerage so was just waiting for whatever. Whatever came by the way of the tip shearing off the very top of the mast which meant we lost backstay tension which inverted the mast breaking and/or bending the spreaders the broken section then sheared the halyard which enabled us to gather our wits.

A good lesson in sheltered water easily recovered from where no one was hurt and we could debrief with a coffee and fruitcake (not humble pie). With a full crew at the back of the bus we may have been able to ride it out but not short handed.

 

Probably wont be ready for the next race damnit. Anyone need crew, I think Col would be keen, you might not want me on board...

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Report from Kristina  

 

Got away cleanly and headed off with a poled out #1 and full main.  Spent the run dicing with Blondie, Farrari and a couple of the big production boats, got to the back corner of Waiheke just behind the bunch, neck and neck with La Carmargue.  Breeze had built again by this stage and the gybe was a bit hairy.  Just as we were about to we set a new speed record for the boat of 14.1 knots surfing down a wave.

 

Reached in through the shifty breeze behind Waiheke to Shag rock, dropped the genoa and hoisted the jib as we did this.  Managed a faster job than Farrari and overtook them, but Blondie who'd been on small jib the whole way got away on us and the big production boats were able to use their waterline length on the reach and gain some ground too.  

 

Rounded Shag rock, had a pretty relaxed 15 minutes heading back up the back of Waiheke, debating what it would be like after rounding the corner as it had been breeze on when we came in.  Decided to put a tuck in the main before we got to the open water, and were glad we had as soon as we got clear of Waiheke.  Was the windiest part of the day for us, and there was a pretty messy sea until we got well clear of Waiheke.  

 

From there we settled in for the long close hauled trip up to Tiri. The ugly chop slowed us down a bit, at 29 feet against 40 footers we were getting bounced around a bit, and had a few issues with slipping halyards, but once we got those sorted we settled into it reasonably well.  Over the leg we had 3 or 4 big squalls with wind well up into the 30s which we seemed to cope better with than others, each time we noticed a lot of the boats ahead being blown off to leeward and losing a lot of ground.  We managed to keep holding Farrari off and put time back into Blondie and some of the bigger boats.  Coming in to Shearer we had a big shift which meant we were a little over laid, but not by as much as a lot of the others.  Enough for Farrari to sneak past though.  

 

Rounded Shearer and had a pod of dolphins come and play around the boat for 20 minutes or so as we reached towards the Haystack.  Saw another squall on its way and decided to climb up so we had some room to run down as the squall hit, but sadly it arrived too late and we'd already got to the Haystack and were back on the wind, just behind Blondie.  Had an ugly board out from Haystack and Blondie extended, but tacked back in and had a better angle on the waves and gradually started to make some ground back again on them.  From there we all lifted up and it was a straight line race to Rangi light and round to Orakei to finish.  Celebrated that by chucking bacon and egg pies in the oven as we motored up the harbour and having a well earned hot feed!

 

Thanks to SSANZ for getting us out there on a day we normally wouldn't have been.  Learned some things about what the boat likes in heavy weather, and had a lot of fun along the way.

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