It might appear to be fairly quiet on the Nationals front, but rest assured, a lot has been happening behind the scenes.

Frostbite Series at MAC

This has been going pretty well with some tight competition. The first event saw Markus, Rick and myself tied for first with Stephen getting boned by shift in the last race to end 4^th. FYI, the only reason I got a first was because everyone else sailed to the wrong mark… Gabriel wasn’t having much luck in the light stuff, but we’ve tweaked his jib setup and he should hopefully be a bit quicker now.

It was good to see Nicholas and Dre join us for the second event. Markus & Dre decided it was a good time to test each other in the starting procedure which generally left the rest of us with an early get away but it wasn’t long before we were reeled in!

Unfortunately, I missed the last event (which featured perfect wind conditions for Extras) and will be missing this Sunday too as we’ll be in Mossel Bay, preparing for Lipton. Gabriel will be there, Darryl can sail now that his knee is getting better after his operation (which is good news) …and Nicholas…?

Extra Fleet

Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Entries: 7, Scoring system: Appendix A

Pre-Nationals Prep

Check your strings, fittings, screws, slot tape, foils and sails. North is doing a special on jibs so contact Markus (082 957 2841 ormarkus@za.northsails.com) or Rick (082 830 9892 or rick@za.northsails.com). The sail design has been optimised and standardised, so now, with your new jib, you can just copy the settings off the fast guys… For any boatwork or touchups that you need done contact Stephen (083 658 2659 orzeekoei@iafrica.com). Please try to do this all in good time (like now)..!

How’s your trailer? Do you have one? The Extra transports very nicely on roof racks – and even better on someone else’s trailer. Try to organise a trailer now or at least a spot on someone’s double. If you are really in trouble, you can contact me (082 9200 924 or ian@gybeset.co.za). I’ll see what I can do…

Remember to put in leave for the Friday.

Nationals

Frank Stuyck from Port Owen and Admiral Island (that’s the housing estate/accommodation in the Promo Vid) has been putting in a lot of work.

Accommodation facilities to be finalised but there are guest houses available. We’re trying to book 1 or 2 big houses (hopefully in the Admiral Islnd estate) that can accommodate big groups. Camping is available on the grass outside the club.

POYC will be providing breakfasts, lunches at the launching area and a snoek braai on the Saturday night. Friday night will be a bring and braai. This will cost a bit extra and is unfortunately not included in the Entry Fee. Meal pricing to be finalised closer to the time.

We’ll be launching off a beach, right at the river mouth (between the breakwaters). This means that you don’t need to battle the current before and after racing. The area is easily accessible and loading and rigging can be done right there in the car park. A security guard will be on duty at night.

Event Sponsors so far: Garmin (2x online store discount vouchers), North Sails (jib discounts), Second Skins (sunblock sachets), Admiral Island(various). Without these guys the event would not be possible, so take note & support them where you can! (ie buy stuff).

On the sponsorship note, “Does anyone want to contribute in any way?” Now’s your chance!

We’d like to get some rash vests made but we need to pay for them – amongst other things. The idea is that they fit over your lifejacket etc, keeping windage down and all your loose clothing in check to stop it snagging on things (like the mainsheet). Sponsor logos will go on the back. Here’s a prelim:

Check out the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/login/setashome.php?ref=login#!/event.php?eid=213585068681579

Almost everyone who has a boat has committed to attending (verbally). Hopefully we’ll all be there! It does make it difficult to find boats for potential new class members, so if anything has changed and if you can’t make the Nationals anymore, please consider lending out your boat and contact either myself, Markus or Stephen.

On the boat movement front, James Largier is seriously considering Alex Runciman’s boat while Mike Robb is trying to figure out how he can get Rodney’s old hull on the water with a tight budget. Stephen will hopefully get an order for 2 boats to go to the UK. Mark Sadler’s boat went to Durban. Rob Foreman has just bought a boat which adds to the fleet at IYC. I was able to get hold of some guys at Fisherhaven – they have 3 boats there and are considering joining us for the Nationals.

So, that’s about where we are right now.

More to follow!

Cheers,
Ian.

Catering will be taken care of by POYC, including lunchpacks – more details to follow.

Check the Facebook event for more details.

• Notice of Race
• Sailing Instructions
• Entry Form

At the meeting last night it was decided that the Extra Nationals will be held at Port Owen from 14-16 October (Friday to Sunday). We’ve got the “YES” from POYC. We just need to finalise a bunch of details. Port Owen has loads of potential and after sailing in the bay and up the river recently, it is certainly a prime regatta venue.

Some of the main motivating factors were:

1. Really helpful and accommodating club members.
2. It’s a different venue.
3. Camping availability.
4. Housing accommodation availability (to be further investigated).
5. Flat, semi-protected water in the bay.
6. Bridge boat available.
7. Some rescue boats available.
8. Possible spectator vessels.
9. Option of more sheltered water on the river, if the wind picks up a lot.
10. …BOKKOMS!!

Any thoughts or feedback, appreciated.

Kind regards,
Ian MacRobert

Take a look at photos from the Port Owen River Race here.

Extra Class Results:
1^st: Stephen du Toit
2^nd: Markus Progli
3^rd: Ian MacRobert
4^th: Kevin Webb
5^th: Alan Everett
6^th: Keith Coleman
Wakeboarding: Steve Rogers…

The event was actually an interclub team event with the results worked out on a handicap system. The top 3 finishers per club were taken into account & in the end it was ZVYC, with 3 Extras (Stephen, Markus & Alan), beating VYC with 2 Extras & a Sonnet (Ian, Kevin, Jac van Ryswyk & Laurel Bramley), by 4 points.

Andrew Heathcote writes with news from the Durban fleet.

On the fourth Saturday of January we finally had some Extra sailing in Durban. Unfortunately due to numerous other commitments it wants only the third time this summer that we have managed to get the majority of our fleet out. Three of our four boats were on water.

We had four sailors though with Jof out from the UK for a bit of sun so we did a bit of boat swapping. As you can see from the pictures it was a scintillating day on the water with about 4 to 6 knots of wind and about 32° of temperature not to mention the humidity! Some new innovations we tested, most notably Andrew Tarboton’s new ‘Tarbofoils’ (patent pending). It is not clear to us if the foils are new or just a new colour, but it is clear that they are orange! It is also clear that although they are not necessarily any faster through the water they will ensure that the rescue boat sees and gets to you quickly, which leads us wonder what it is that Tarboton is worried about?

For the third and final race of the day Tarboton lent his boat to one of our Laser sailors with a view to converting him. The end result was a gybe mark tangle between the potential convert and other Laser resulting in a reasonably large hole in the side of Tarboton’s boat. The ‘Tarbofoils’ were however undamaged. Apparently the hole will be fixed by next Saturday when we hope to have more on the water action.

Extra Nationals is a go!

5-7 February, along with the 420’s. Most of us will need to take leave on the Friday as racing is scheduled to start at 10h30. Entry is R100 with an additional R70 for those who haven’t paid their subs yet…! We will be doing a phone around – it will be great to see everyone on the water again! If you guys won’t be sailing, please think about lending your boats out to guys who can.

The AGM will be held on the Friday after sailing.

See you on the water!

Ian MacRobert

All the boats have been worked on during the off season, ensuring they are in tip top condition for the racing that promises to be fierce and fun. The season officially started on Saturday 3rd October. However, due to prior commitments, none of the sailors took part. All boats aim to be on the water on the 18th Oct.

We will keep you further updated with information as the season progresses.

Andrew Tarboton

Just a bit of news about what has been going on in the Extra class recently…

The Southern Spars Spring regatta kicked the season off with 14 entries. It was mainly a light wind regatta which mixed things up a bit. Sunday morning came with a bit of breeze which meant that by lunch time some of us were pretty tired. Luckily, the wind eased & the afternoon race was quite manageable.

The weekend after that, three Extra teams entered the MAC 12hr event. Once again , the wind was light which allowed two Lasers to get away & about a lap ahead. When the breeze did eventually fill in, the Extras were definitely the fastest boats on the water – apart from the Moth! It would have been really interesting to see an overall standing, but unfortunately, the results were split up into classes.

Next on the calendar is the Voelvlei Points Series (17 & 18 October) – 2 weeks time! We will be doing a phone around again – please say “Yes, I will be there..!” Here is a weather link: http://www.yr.no/place/South_Africa/Western_Cape/Voëlvlei_Dam/ for those interested. Cheap camping, cheap food, cheap… umm…beer & of course, good sailing.

The next sponsored event at ZVYC is on the 1rst of November (North Sails Regatta) – another date to diarise…!

Thursday evening sailing is also back on the cards, now that the evenings are getting longer. Generally, there will be some of us down there if the weather is good enough – another link: http://www.trax.co.za/zeekoevlei_weather.htm

Keep an eye on it!

& Lastly, welcome to Thomas Sutherland who has bought Stephen’s X845. Also, Francois Korver (X829) who was sailing the MAC 12hr, Albert Geiger (X864) at TSC & Dave Oldham (X897) in the Eastern Cape.

Cheers~

Ian MacRobert