Guest Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Circumstances have conspired such that I will be doing the Nelson Race on Ran Tan II. A full post race Bardytome report is expected, and it could be a good one... Big booming South Easterlies (25 - 35 knots), 2 - 3 metre southerly swell, and even some "easing" in the forecast too. Hoo-HAR! Stay tuned. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Take your camera!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
smithy09 50 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Excellent. Looking forward to another report as the last couple were brilliant. Gotta be worth Rum at some stage Squid?? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 problem is I am promising rum at the moment but waiting till the end of the month to get supplies. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Two cameras are packed, including a waterproof one, as the forecast is: Coastal Forecast: Cook Issued by MetService at: 4:31am 21 January 2011 Valid to: 12:00am 22 January 2011 Forecast: *** GALE WARNING IN FORCE ***Southeast 35 knots. Sea very rough. Southerly swell 3 metres easing. Fair visibility in drizzle, at times. Outlook: Outlook following 3 days: Southeast rising Saturday morning to 40 knots with very rough sea, easing late Sunday to 25 knots. Moderate southeast swell easing Monday. Coastal Forecast: Abel Issued by MetService at: 4:38am 21 January 2011 Valid to: 12:00am 22 January 2011 Forecast: *** GALE WARNING IN FORCE *** Southeast 25 knots, but 35 knots north of Separation Point. Very rough sea in the north. Outlook: Outlook following 3 days: Southeast 20 knots but 35 knots north of Separation Point with very rough sea, easing late Sunday variable 10 knots but southeast 20 knots in north. So there should be some spray flying. 18 boats in the fleet, including Jive Talking across from Waikawa and Revs making her RPNYC Offshore debut after recently relocating from Auckland. Rum promises are almost as good as actual rum. Always good to have some incoming up your sleeve I reckon. Link to post Share on other sites
smithy09 50 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 problem is I am promising rum at the moment but waiting till the end of the month to get supplies. The reports are so good... My promise to pay for the courier to Wgtn stands... Kiwi Bardy (Where does the name come from?? You a legend with guitar or something??) That forecast looks wicked for a boat like Ran Tan 2. You should get some good video/photos. I hope the camera is waterproof!! Link to post Share on other sites
NevP 0 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Have just hitched a ride on Bootlegger, so see ya on the start line Bardy. Hoo HARR! being the operative words with that forecast. Link to post Share on other sites
Murky 1 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Glad to see that forecast is promising plenty of "easing" in both sea state and breeze. Have fun and looking forward to the report. Link to post Share on other sites
PeteG 13 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Sat morning 7.45am Fine morning here in Nelson. Wind 10-15 from SE and looks very shifty. Apparently dead calm at Stoke. The guys a bit off the boulder bank tacking quite a bit rather than a nice reach along. Andiamo just short of the lighthouse should finish next half hour. Two more each about a mile back- assume Nedax/Guarantee?? Will identify soon. That all to report from the front window of the grandstand at moment Pete Link to post Share on other sites
PeteG 13 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Andiamo has just reported finish as 0803 02. Certain it is Nedax next close to finish now, then about a mile back to The Guarantee? and a mile back Jive Talking is just appearing past the gum trees and out to sea a bit. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Tony and Vesna and the bulk of the Clear Vision inshore crew were taking CV north to Gisborne this weekend as leg one of their delivery to Auckland for the start of the Round North Island 2-handed race. That left me without a ride for the Nelson Race. I was concerned about this. Dean Stanley was concerned about this too. He emailed me eager to know whether he could expect another race report from me for the Nelson Race.... Communication was thus initiated, but it got a bit more complex: BGP sent out a Flying Circus crew call for the Rum Race on Friday and the At Home Series on Saturday. So I emailed Dave Roberts to find out if Airship was doing the Rum Race and/or the At Home Series. Dave contacted Jim Gordon to find out if there were any spaces on Ran Tan for the Nelson Race. There were. One for Dave, and one for me. Hoo-HAR! Bex Davies had txted me earlier in the week to see if there was a space for her on Clear Vision for the Nelson Race. I had advised her CV was going to Gisborne, but remembering she was keen, I emailed Dave and asked him if there was room for Bex. He emailed Jim, who replied to Dave to say there was room for Bex. Dave emailed me, and I emailed Bex, telling her to email Jim to confirm. I then emailed Jim to give him my Offshore crew details, and Jim emailed John Mead to pass them along. Then I emailed BGP to tell him that I couldn't do the Rum Race or the At Home Series on Flying Circus because I was doing the Nelson Race on Ran Tan, but could he feed my cat, Vader? He emailed me back to say he couldn't feed Vader because he wouldn't have a car this weekend. I emailed him back offering him my car, and what do you know, ride for the race sorted, cat feeding organised, Bex organised. I emailed Dean Stanley to tell him I was going to Nelson on Ran Tan - and he replied "Excellent!". Everyone was happy. By Friday morning the forecast was as follows: Coastal Forecast: Cook Issued by MetService at: 4:31am 21 January 2011 Valid to: 12:00am 22 January 2011 Forecast: *** GALE WARNING IN FORCE *** Southeast 35 knots. Sea very rough. Southerly swell 3 metres easing. Fair visibility in drizzle, at times. Outlook: Outlook following 3 days: Southeast rising Saturday morning to 40 knots with very rough sea, easing late Sunday to 25 knots. Moderate southeast swell easing Monday. Coastal Forecast: Abel Issued by MetService at: 4:38am 21 January 2011 Valid to: 12:00am 22 January 2011 Forecast: *** GALE WARNING IN FORCE *** Southeast 25 knots, but 35 knots north of Separation Point. Very rough sea in the north. Outlook: Outlook following 3 days: Southeast 20 knots but 35 knots north of Separation Point with very rough sea, easing late Sunday variable 10 knots but southeast 20 knots in north. So a bit of wind then. And the traditional "easing" getting a mention too. South Easterlies, eh? Boom Shanka! With any luck there will be too much spray flying to get many pictures. I visited Barton Marine at lunchtime Thursday to get a new pair of leggings and pick up a crotch strap Dave had ordered for his PFD. Elliot smiled, bobbed and weaved like an experienced snake-oil salesman, and before I knew it I was leaving happily in the possession of TWO $15.00 crotch straps (Dave's one, plus one for me), a pair of new Musto leggings and a brand new Musto MPX jacket. Lovely. Oh, and a MUCH lighter wallet too. Less weight for the race, which should make the boat faster. Thursday evening saw the Boardroom at RPNYC bursting at the seams with people for the briefing. Karen Vause said hello, with her bottom lip hanging out. She was suffering cruising-in-the-Marlborough-Sounds-withdrawals having just arrived back in Wellington this week. Before the briefing started I got to meet John Mead, the owner of Ran Tan, and introduced him to Bex, and we sorted out the outstanding details of all the crew details for the safety forms. There was a boat roll call, and there turned out to be a total of 18 boats were entered, Including Jive Talking from Waikawa and Revs making her debut after recently relocating from Auckland. A nice sized fleet. Neville Dimock then presented the brand new Dimock Cup, which will be presented as the perpetual trophy for the line honours winner of the Nelson Race from now on. He explained in a short speech that the race has now been run for 30 years and people had often asked during the post race celebrations in Nelson what you got for winning line honours, and that until now the answer had always been "It's just a handicap event". Now there is the Dimock Cup. He also commented on the 'willing' forecast, but noted that there were always 2 races, one to the top of D'Urville Island, and then another race from there to Nelson. Woody charitably pointed out that he needed to have presented two cups then, and it was clarified that the cup would be presented for the first to Nelson, not the first to D'Urville. Andrew Morrison, Commodore of the RPNYC, then thanked Neville for his generous provision of the newest trophy in the RPNYC trophy list, and wished everyone well for what should be an exciting race. He was not wrong. Paul Atkins then took us through the briefing, covering off all the safety stuff, the fact that the forecast was for the wind to "ease" and that there was a 4.3 metre tide in Tasman Bay expected. The course was described in detail - "Go out of the harbour, and go to Nelson." It turns out you have to leave Stephens Island to port, unless that is that you choose to go around the southern end of the South Island to hook into the good surfing conditions up the West Coast. But that would, it seems be a bit of a flier. There was the mention of recent reports of quite a few sizable "woodfish" in Tasman Bay, and the fact that they don't tend to scatter when approached. There was also some mention of a large Russian sailing ship due in Nelson at 2300 hours on Saturday night. No promises were made about the Russian sailors' sobriety levels. Finally there was some ambitious talk of trying to get prize giving done about 3pm on Saturday afternoon, if possible, although Illusions' planned arrival time on Sunday morning was tabled as a possible constraint. During question time there was another round of the scintillating repartee that ensues when Wade offers well thought out advice to the Offshore Committee on just how they could improve the way they run offshore events, and Timmy replies that yes, they would take that on board, run the races just the way they saw fit and that they reserved the right to protest boats who did not comply with the sailing instructions. Somewhere in the middle of the briefing hilarity Paul Atkins asked me to "Get Nick-o to "give Bob one"." Okaaaay. I had to check which Paul it was... Race day saw me arrive at the boat to find the crew working on getting the main set up. Jim introduced me to Simon Kidd, who was ten feet above the deck in the bosun's chair sorting out getting the main attached to the main track cars. I also met Paul Beaker and Phil Jamieson who were crewing with us and helping Simon at the mast, and John from Nelson, who was manning the keyboards. Dave was at the supermarket getting supplies which we then stowed. Bex, and then John Mead arrived and then everyone sorted out their lifejackets and tethers and then we shared some pizzas before casting off and heading out for the start. Despite the forecast it was reasonably light in Lambton harbour. We set up with a full main and a number 2 headsail, and agreed that we just wanted a conservative start, if we were within 30 seconds of the gun, we'd be okay and in clear air soon enough. We briefly considered setting up for a gennaker but agreed that it would be too shy, and likely get even shier as we crossed Evans Bay. Bex got elected as main trimmer, and Jim and Dave were looking after the foredeck and mast respectively. John Mead steered us to a nicely timed start mid line, with Nedax Racing going for a Code Zero just to windward of us. By Point Halswell we had the lead, with Andiamo, The Guarantee, Midnight Express and Nedax Racing all closely bunched just behind us, and Jive Talking skirting Kau Bay out wide. It was a beat out to the harbour entrance, and the wind was easing all the way. Really easing too, not 'Cook Strait easing'. In fact just after Steeple Light we we almost totally becalmed and down to under 2 knots of boatspeed. For me it was the first time on Ran Tan II and the first time on a canting keeler. The sensation of the boat heeling to windward when sailing out of the puff was eerie, and took a bit of getting used to. The hole had us worried... from having had a lead of over half a mile things were getting close. Nedax was in a puff and doing 8 or 9 knots to our 1.5. Thankfully, when they were around 150 metres behind us, they, followed by Midnight Express, Jive Talking, The Guarantee and Andiamo in quick succession all ground to a halt in the same hole. Gradually we eeked our way out of the hole and were working hard to lay Moaning Mini. Barrett's Reef was a very close neighbour of ours and every puff was crucial. In the puffs we gained height and were JUST laying the buoy, but in the lulls we were falling off badly. A final puff at just the right time saw the bow lift up and we scooched our way around Moaning Mini, and bore of and set the masthead A2 on a pretty tight angle. Nedax was second around, with Midnight Express 3rd. There were a number of grumbles about how 10 knots was NOT what was in the brochure. The nowcasting on channel 23 did however assure us there was 30 knots at The Brothers, and with the wind slowly easing Cook Strait style as we approached Sinclair Head we dropped the A2 and put the number 2 headsail up to get out and get the right angle for some exciting rides in the Strait. The call for the A3 was made and just as Jim was getting it set to go we encountered the Karori Rip. I went up as second bowman to keep the A3 and the bag in the same place. That place was considerably under water for significant portions of the time, and not just because I was pushing the bow down either. Jim was out on the prod either platting or unplatting tack lines. Actually I think much of the time he was hanging the hell on. Both of us saw a lot of green and a lot of bubbles rising past our faces too. We later heard that in a similar spot Jive Talking was happily doing 12 knots when they hit a whale... We did pop the A3, and with the wind at an annoyingly 'not quite windy enough' 17 to 18 knots we were doing 11s to 14s. The light was fading, and it seemed that any chance of spectacular footage might have to wait till the next morning. With the sun setting I did get this one though... The discussion in that video continued. We were tossing up over peeling to the A2 or sticking with the A3 on the basis that we didn't want to get caught with the A2 up in too much air in the dark. Just as the discussion was leaning towards changing to the A2 we got into just 5 knots more breeze, and my eyes opened slightly wider. Ran Tan literally got up and just WENT. All muttering about this not being what was in the brochure was forgotten... this was the brochure on steroids. The sail from The Brothers to Stevens Island was just stunning sailing. The boat was sitting on 20 - 22 knots most of the time, with the top speed being 25.0 and the biggest gust being 33 knots true. We had a 2 metre following sea which gave Simon, Phil and Paul some exciting and fun shifts on the wheel. The thing that really hit me was how easily the boat charged along in those conditions. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that the guys doing the driving know a thing or two and are damn good sailors. But as a more than interested observer talking to John Mead at the back of the boat, the lack of stress required to make the boat fly was pretty impressive. John commented that when he asked Greg Elliot to design Ran Tan he'd said "No" to the complicating factors that Sportivo had, like a rotating wing mast, because he wanted the boat to be clean and simple to sail. It was surely that, with just two minor round ups in two and a half hours of sending it. The painfulness of the spray from the bow punching little craters into my eyelids was a small price to pay for looking forward under a full moon at the wall of white water being spat up and outwards from the bow and the heart pumping exhilaration of romping along grinning like kids in a candy store. As I said to John Mead, if you didn't get excited by sailing like this, then you would know for sure that sailing was not your gig. John smiled and said that the fact he wasn't down below in his bunk at that time of the night was a testament to just how exhilarating a ride it was. Bex earned Phil's endearing friendship when she observed that she thought it was getting warmer... or maybe it was just that Phil was better at not driving into the waves than Simon was. We dropped the A3 at Stephens Island and put a reef in the main and put the number 3 headsail up, and turned the corner with around 30 knots of air on the beam. With the keel canted and the crew on the rail all facing backwards to avoid being blinded by the spray curtain Ran Tan well and truly went 'On the Ran Tan'. The few times I did manage to peer forward there were 17s and 18s on the speedo. This was not exhilarating sailing like under the A3. This was eyeball rattling power reaching. Half way down D'Urville Island the wind backed off and we settled down to a steady 10 - 11 - 12 regime. Calculations were the main topic of discussion now. We had rounded Stephens Island at midnight and had to finish in Nelson by 5.48 am to take the race record. At the current pace we were right on track, but we were wary of a park up just before the finish as we got closer to Nelson which could snatch the record away from us. Dave Roberts is not only a good guy to sail with, he's also a really good cook. I am sure the fish in Tasman Bay appreciated his culinary skills as he fed them a very nice broth-a-la-Roberts at around 2am. As we got further into Tasman Bay the wind began to build again and our speeds were up to 13 and 14 knots. Suddenly we remembered we needed to contact Doug McKee who was going to man the finish box. At 3.10am Simon went below to firstly radio on Channel 77 - (no answer) and then ring Doug on his cell phone. He emerged laughing his head off. What did he say we asked? Simon said the conversation went something like this... "Hi this is Ran Tan II. We are about 40 minutes from finishing..." "You F***** WHAT!? Where are you?" Simon told him we were about 9 miles from the finish... "How fast are you going!?" "13 or 14 knots" "Jesus Christ! I better get my skates on and get down to the club!" Unfortunately about 4 miles from the finish we sailed into another hole. We stopped dead, shook out the reef and changed to the light number 1 headsail. There was some agitated muttering in the personpit as the foredeck crew pulled off what felt like a painfully slow change, but soon we were hard on the wind in 5, no wait, 7, no 10 knots of breeze and making 7 and 8 knots again. Not quite in the right direction, although the 50 degree shifts made picking when to tack as the water got shallower rather tricky. But we rounded the the beacon and turned to the line, and heard the hooter at 4.51am, having taken just under an hour off the race record. I've gotta say that when Dave McKenzie on Reckless set that time in 1998-99 they must have had an absolutely incredible ride. We really reeled off some incredible speeds for sustained periods of time in a bigger, more modern boat with a canting keel on it, and despite that we only bettered their time by around 10%. They really must have been hanging it ALL the way and sailed like demons. We dropped the headsail, and then just as we discovered we were going to have draft issues getting up to the marina at low tide the engine and the electrics decided they didn't really want to keep playing the game. This lead to a complicated 720-while-dropping-the-main manoeuvre with the wind pushing us onto the overseas boats pontoon. The knot in the main halyard increased the difficulty of the manoeuvre somewhat, but not nearly as much as the open boot hatch increased the difficulty for Dave in running from the starboard to port side of the back of the boat. It took him a lot longer than usual to get across the boat, due in no small part to falling down the boot hatch and munting his left leg and right hand in the process. We got tied up alright in the end, laid the A3 out to dry and did a bit of tidying up. Paul really began to relax and enjoy himself once we had finished the serious business of racing and started the serious business of beer and then rum drinking. The sun was rising and we lay on the A3 eating cheese and salami rolls, laughing, and winding down after a very intense night's sailing. We had one eye on the clock too, waiting to see how long it would be before the other boats got in. Andiamo finished around 8.30am, followed by Nedax Racing in a very well sailed 3rd place and then The Guarantee 4th. It turned out that this meant we collected the Dimock Cup for line honours and won on PHRF and Club Offshore handicap aswell. Simon and the two Johns conducted remedial surgery on the engine while Phil Jamieson and I had a game of poo-sticks and Bex went in search of a ladies toilet. The engine spluttered back into life and we cleared up and headed around to the marina, where we got a crew photo and then eagerly headed onwards to the Tasman Cruising Club's club room, hoping it would be open. It wasn't just open, it was set up and ready to go. They welcomed us in not just with open arms but with hugs and slaps on the back, and then sat us down and opened a bottle of Mount Gay to celebrate a new race record. Tony Phillips and I got talking and we discovered that Nedax Racing had only been half an hour behind us at Stephens Island after a very thrilling ride from The Brothers. That meant Ran Tan II had put around 3 hours on her from Stephens Island to Nelson! Things became very warm and fuzzy from then on in, with several more bottles of Mount Gay being opened and strangely seeming to just evaporate. I did notice that the team behind the bar had to make a run out for 40 more bottles of Bundaberg Ginger beer. John Mead very generously bought the crew breakfasts from the yacht club kitchen, and not long after the end of breakfast Paul was asleep on the floor under a Mount Gay flag, Jim had a lie-down for a short rest behind a table and I was fading fast but managed to stagger back to the boat where I collapsed into a kite on the deck and got my first sleep in 30 hours. Rumour has it Simon was having difficulty standing when his dad came back down to the yacht club to pick him up. Bex's dad very kindly came and picked up Bex, Dave, Jim and I and drove us back to Picton. During the low level flight back to Picton there was some discussion of fast boats, large multihulls, race record attempts, and how SAAB get their cars to smell of old people and then as we waited in the Interislander departure lounge for the Aratere I had to have a nap. Ran Tan has now done 7 RPNYC offshore races and has set race records in 4 of those 7 races. That is a pretty notable record. It was a privilege to have had John Mead invite me to be part of the team that put this one into the books. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Kiwi Bardy (Where does the name come from?? You a legend with guitar or something??) That forecast looks wicked for a boat like Ran Tan 2. You should get some good video/photos. I hope the camera is waterproof!! Bardy has been my nickname since I was learning to talk and couldn't pronounce Brandon right. It came out as 'Bardy' and my family have called me Bardy ever since. Since I grew up sailing it's also my yachting nickname. The camera was indeed waterproof. Link to post Share on other sites
smithy09 50 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Great write up Bardy, with linked photos and videos even. A new high level, well done. Sounds like a great race. Nice job Ran Tan. Link to post Share on other sites
floatsome 0 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Agreed Smithy. Where are the results for this race? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Results are posted on the RPNYC website now. See http://www.rpnyc.org.nz//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=985&Itemid=384 Link to post Share on other sites
cam 0 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Sheez this was a good read, cheers for the excellent write up bardy. Blimin heck what a great mix of conditions, some close results too after all that, less than a minute between Blue Magic and Gucci. Nice one guys, great result Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The proof of Nedax's (Thompson 30) max speed, taken in the marina at Nelson. Photo sent through by Tony Phillips. Link to post Share on other sites
WarLord 0 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I've gotta say that when Dave McKenzie on Reckless set that time in 1998-99 they must have had an absolutely incredible ride. We really reeled off some incredible speeds for sustained periods of time in a bigger, more modern boat with a canting keel on it, and despite that we only bettered their time by around 10%. They really must have been hanging it ALL the way and sailed like demons Hey Kiwi Bardy "Hanging It and sailing like Demons " - Yes I suppose we did, When you have the same 5 friends that crew with you for nearly 10 years, you dont mind living on the edge - Whenever these guys turned up at the boat, At the dock to go racing or on the hard to sand, paint or build and fit the new rudders or keel, They were committed 100% - 87% of the time I read your Nelson report - A great job on all your race reports, Well done and congrats on being part of the Nelson Race record effort . Its kinda sad to see that Spencer boats have finally been knocked off the Nelson Record books after ruling that race and The Straits for 40 years Savant (Spencer 40) Kem Cox - !972 ish set a time of about 15 hours Reckless (Spencer 45) Dave Mckenzie - 1995 new record 13 hours ?? ?? Reckless (Spencer 45) Dave Mckenzie - 1999 new record 11: 48: 43 Ran Tan (Elliot 50) Mr Meade -2011 new record 10: 50: ?? "If Youre Not Living On The Edge, Youre Taking Up Too Much Room" PS .. You cant let The Nelson Race fade from the RPNYC calander, If this race is dropped like the other classics it could very well be the end of a great offshore series out of Wellington Just maybe "The Tide Is Turning" Link to post Share on other sites
WarLord 0 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Lets Do The Chine Walk Again Link to post Share on other sites
WarLord 0 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Cook Strait at its Finest .. Get the kite up on this wave Link to post Share on other sites
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