The Cruising Awards Night will be held in January again this (next, actually) year but Debbie and I are going to need your cruising information a little earlier this year than last.  Quite a bit earlier, actually.

We would like to have your Mileage and Ports of Call information before October 15th if possible and before haulout at the latest.  Also please make note of any of the cruising trophies that you are specifically trying for (e.g. Harbourmaster's Hat).

Thanks to everyone for making this another fun season and especially thanks to our Cruise Hosts for once again going above and beyond in making our cruisers entertained and fed.
 

- from Rear Commodore Paul Brennan

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The final races of the season were held on the weekend.  Congratulations to Stephen Trevitt and the Crime Scene crew who managed to finish the Archie Walker - the only boat to do so.  We've all experienced the wind dying before, but never quite like this!

On Sunday, the Boswell Trophy Race was hosted by RCYC, the final LORC race of the season.  Several ABYC boats participated.  Unfortunately for Looney Tunes, the crew spent too long talking to Stephen Trevitt on the dock, and so was late for the start or she might have won IRC overall.  Instead, she had to settle for first in IRC 2 ahead of Starwatch sailed by the Flynn family and crew.

Michael Mead and the crew of Ohanna were first in the White Sail division, while Murray Gainer and the Lively gang were fifth in IRC 1.

In the IRC Fall Series, Looney Tunes finished second in IRC 2 and Starwatch was 3rd. Murray Gainer and the Lively crew were fourth in IRC1.

The LORC Season Championships saw several ABYC boats taking home laurels. John Gibson and his Winston Churchill crew were third in the C&C 99 fleet, while Crime Scene dominated IRC 2 with Lively 5th in that division.  Starwatch was third overall for the season in IRC 3, while Looney Tunes finished first in IRC 4.

All of the LORC results can be found at http://www.lorc.org/Results.htm.

Finally, I know that Gypsy competed in the AHMEN Series on the weekend.  Full results are at http://www.ahmen.ca/new/index.cfm.  Good luck!

That's all of the racing news (alas) for 2012.  Don't forget to mark November 17th on your calendars for the Club Racing Awards.


Editors' Note:  We want to thank Wendy for her great race reports throughout this season.  Race results would not be the same without them.

 

 Sail racing heaven!  From September 13th to 22nd the J24 World championships were being held in our backyard.  Open to any J24 that had actively participated in 2011, this was the chance of a lifetime for Humidor to participate.  But it's a big time commitment; about 10 days between travel, measurement and racing.  Our final intrepid crew complement was drawn from Humidor and the Black Pearl II.  Now to get the boat ready.  The J24 is a one design and the Class Rules for boat and sail dimensions are very strict.  Joe McDonald, the J24 National Measurer came down to the club with his box of tricks.  After a few hours, and a beer or two, we found the boat was 2kg light, the mast 3mm short, the rudder chord 2mm short and the upper spinnaker pole ring too high by a few mm.  Yes millimetres.  All of this had to be fixed before heading to New York.  Also, several years of maintenance got rolled into a month with tightening of bolts, replacement of defective hardware, overdue fiberglass work, and beautifying the teak toe rails.  Then on to wet sanding and polishing the hull for speed and appearance (of course).  Finally we added a cool "Humidor" name graphic.  

 

Thursday morning we are off and four hours later we are into the Rochester Yacht Club's very well organized and methodical measurement process.  Even with our preparations at ABYC we had to shorten the spinnaker pole, raise the forward stanchion posts and life lines, increase the rudder chord length (again!), attach sail makers labels (forgotten) and a bunch of other minor tasks.  At least we didn't get sent to the "leper colony" where boats with major deficiencies wound up.  Our rudder is a problem.  Epoxy takes time to set and it's cold overnight.  But, like any good sailors, we improvise.  We decide to keep the rudder in the oven of the cottage where we are all staying.  Overnight at 60C should do the trick.

 

What can go wrong?  Now it's 5.30am and Eriks hears sizzling sounds coming from the kitchen.  It's dark.  The rudder?  Oh no!  But it turns out that it's our wake up coffee that the machine is spilling all over the counter.  Phew!

 

Rudder sanded, we are cleared by the measurement police.  Now to sail fast.

 

96 boats from Brazil, Chile, Peru, USA, Canada are on the start line and it's a recipe for major excitement!  The line goes on for a half a kilometre with a mid line start boat.  General recalls are common but with I over Z flying that soon sorts things out.  All of the boats are aggressive and chaos at the start prevails.

 

Conditions varied tremendously in Rochester day by day to add to our challenge.  The second day was miserable.  Wet, cold and variable winds.  Race #4 is a case in point.  It finally started after a few abandoned starts, a timing error, and a flag error with a general recall on the port end committee boat and individual recalls on the other end.  By the time it began, the wind and waves were building. The last downwind leg saw a huge squall smash through, a blown spinnaker on another boat, and many boats finishing under main alone.  We got our spinnaker down just in time after we saw a boat 50m away spin out and broach!

 

Sail changing is something we need to practice.  One race later in the week saw us make a last minute sail change to the jib three and a half minutes before the start due to quickly building wind.  This resulted in us starting on main only but the sail change worked as we managed to catch and pass quite a few boats still trying to use their genoas.  In another race we started on the jib, only to have the wind die down two thirds of the way down the upwind leg.  A (not so) quick switch to the genoa and we're back.  Yet another race saw rapidly dying breeze at the finish line.  Imagine 10 to 12 boats all crowded around trying to finish in no wind.  A few boats even missed the completion time deadline.  The GPS trackers showed we were making the same speed as the leaders who had already tied up at the dock!

 

Protests abound at these things.  They are considered by an international jury who work tirelessly into the night to resolve matters.  We lodged a protest involving failure to give mark room involving four boats all coming around together.  Being the inside boat we got squeezed into the mark.  Dinnerless and after hours of waiting, at 10:30pm, the jury sided with us.

 

Damage is an ever present issue.  We were lucky, only the jenny sheets disintegrated and the screws for the topping lift cleat sheared off.  Other boats weren't; one starboard tacker had his stern pulpit stanchions and port life lines destroyed by an unobservant port tacker.  Bet that protest didn't take any time!

 

Competition with some of the best racers in the world teaches you a lot.  We wound up 86th overall but, for a first time at these things, we were not disappointed.  The Brazilian boat "Bruschetta" came in first with a number of other South American crews following.  So much for racing! Onto the rum.

 

All photos provided by Tim Connolly

 

 

Editors' Note:  Humidor's J24 Worlds campaign was partially funded by ABYC's Corinthian Fund.
 

Finally, I have completed the inspections of the wooden cradles. A number need repairs before they are fit for use. In general everyone should inspect their own cradle to ensure the bolts are tight and it is in top condition for the coming storage season. Also, please look at your cradle and make sure it is properly marked with your member number and boat name. If there are inaccurate markings on the cradle please paint over them.

 

Friday Coordinator - Emily Sawolak .. emily.sawolak@gmail.com

Saturday Coordinator - Dawn Carey .. dawn.carey@richardsongmp.com

 

If you are new to ABYC and are wondering what a "Boat Rider" does, here is a brief explanation;  Many boat owners want to have someone with them to bring the boat to the crane or railway.  Since we need everyone to do their assigned job, we can't have people leaving those jobs to help a friend so a small group of people (Boat Riders) make themselves available to assist boat owners in bringing their boat into position for haul.  The biggest benefit is that workers are not taken away from their assigned jobs and the Boat Riders get to meet a lot of people and see all types of boats.

 

Please sign up - remember your life jacket, safe shoes for getting on and off boats, warm clothes and have fun. 

 

Thank you.

 

 

 
The cradles for boats being hauled by crane will be laid out on Thursday, October 11.  The cradles will be laid out starting at 9:00 a.m..  Based on previous years' experience, the layout will be finished before 5:00 p.m..  While the cradles are being laid out, no vehicles will be admitted to the club.   All vehicles must be removed from the parking lots by 8:30 AM on the 11th.  Vehicles remaining on the grounds may be towed.

 

Boats that will be hauled on Friday are circled.  Do not assume that your boat is in the same location as it was last year:  We have many new boats in the fleet and the yard layout and haul order have been revised to accommodate them, with many other boats moving as a consequence.  Yard location is a function of displacement, draft, beam, crane capacity and overall logistics.

 
There are 20 boats being hauled with the hydraulic trailer this year.  All will be hauled on Friday, October 19 and all but one will be stored in the rail area.  Boats being hauled using the hydraulic trailer require blocking under their cradles to allow the trailer to slide under it and pick the cradle and boat up together.  Blocks should be 6 x 6 timber and a minimum of 6 (six) per cradle are recommended.  In addition, those boats whose yard position is close to the railway will be on sloping ground, so 1x2, 1x4 and 2x4 leveling wood and shims are strongly recommended.  The club has a supply of 6x6 blocks from last year and we will be cutting up Way 10 to make more.  However, owners are strongly encouraged to provide a supply for their own use.  Some cradles currently have steel "feet" made from I or square HSS shapes welded to them.  These serve the same purpose as blocks so if your cradle has 6 feet, you won't need wood blocks.
 
The boats that will be hauled by crane and moved by hydraulic trailer are as follows:
 
 
Leveling wood is strongly recommended for Fantasy, Isogon, Zephyr, Tasty Waves, Annie's Fantasea, Fat Cat, Wild Rice and Day Dream II.  If you have any questions about the requirements for this area, please contact me.
 
Haulout will start at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 19 for both the large and small cranes.  This will allow us to integrate the 20 boats being hauled by the hydraulic trailer into the overall plan and coordinate them with the crane moves.  It should mean a shorter Saturday.  The start time for the large crane is thus earlier than last year.  In addition, the small crane will start on Blue Wall rather than in the Drysail area, unlike past years.
 
Volunteers are requested for the cradle layout on October 11.  The club will provide lunch and all time counts towards club work hours.  Although the layout will take most of the day, please feel free to come out even if you can only participate for half the day:  it is a fairly physical activity and the more help, the better.
 
Please mark the lifting points for your boat either on the toe-rail or on the side of the hull immediately below it.  This is where the crews will position the slings prior to lifting your boat.  Small ABYC stickers are available for this purpose from the club office.  If you are unsure as to where the marks should go, please feel free to contact me and I will help you.  Proper identification of the lifting points for your boat will prevent damage to through-hull fittings, shafts, and propellers. Although the dock crews are very experienced and knowledgeable, and the owners will be asked to okay the lifting points at haulout, the ultimate responsibility lies with you, the owner.  Your cooperation is appreciated.


 
QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS
 
If you have any questions about the crane haulout, please feel free to contact me directly.

At the General Meeting last week, Goran Bulut presented a burgee from the La Salle Mariners Yacht Club in Windsor, Ontario to Rear Commodore Paul Brennan.  This week, we heard from former ABYC member Roger Renaud who is now a member of LMYC.  He included a photograph of the ABYC burgee hanging in the clubhouse of LMYC - Roger presented the ABYC to LMCY 3 years ago.