Sailing with Skuthorp!!

[Duncan Gibbs]

Had a very nice afternoon sail in his Oughtred MacGregor on the 27th of December at Tooridin way up in Westernport Bay in Victoria.

Mate, you must've thought you'd got a cargo of dead fish on-board with me feeling subdued due to my bloody stomach bug. Thank you very much. This was the highlight of my "ill"-fated sojoun south!!

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520101.jpg

Pocahontas in action!!

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520098.jpg

Picked up from the jetty and setting off...

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520111.jpg

... with yesterday's reef still in!!

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520108.jpg

Far horizons!!

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520106.jpg

Well.... Tooradin inlet!!

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520105.jpg

[Duncan Gibbs]

And finally coming back in...

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL1913/10058894/18699499/296520103.jpg

Thanks very much mate!! It was great to meet you!! :):D:):cool:

[Lew Barrett]

That can't be Skuthorp. I've not imagined Skuthorp to be so handsome, nor so dignified from all I've read of him.

[skuthorp]

Large rasberry here Lew, and as for dignified...............
Not a lot of wind amongst the mangroves, the most southerly Mangroves in the world. Lots of jellyfish though. Tooradin is a tidal estuary, just a narrow chanel in the mud at low. Highs 6 to 10.6 ft

Thanks for posting the pix Duncan, a bit more time would have got us out in the bay proper. And HNY too.

[PeterSibley]

Gawd!! He's handsome ! :cool:

maybe if I visit ....................

[Wild Wassa]

Westernport Bay, I'm coming to Westernport Bay for Skandia race week this month. We are coming to Geelong a few days before the race week, so that I can log the marks for the passage race from Port Melbourne/Williamstown to Geelong.

I asked the Skipper, who is a Victorian from Frankston, "What is Westernport Bay like Skipper?" as I've not sailed there and I've only crossed the mouth of the bay once, on a car ferry. He said to me, "Westernport Bay is big it is very big. It is the arsehole of Australia and Melbourne is 40 miles up it." Interesting reply.

Your photos don't show it like that Skuthorp, the bay looks quite nice. I'll soon see in two weeks though, if the Skipper is telling porkies and you have doctored the photos.

The Skipper then said, "35+ knots is common on Westernport Bay." 35+ knots hey, maybe I'll change my mind if we get a sustained 35 knots for the passage race, as to whether it is nice or brilliant. The rest of the races are to be run in Corio Bay, which I'm guessing is on the other side of the bay to you Skuthorp? Maybe it is not so nice over there? ... but 35+ knots sounds very cool.

Warren.

[skuthorp]

Give me a bell, (see your messages) when you get here. Westernport is quite varied, Between Phillip and French islands quite deep, open and exposed, behind French Island where we are shallow and very tidal, the charts say 'dries' instead of depths. But often more sheltered oin a blow though it can get up a savage short chop from the SW.
http://www.coastlinks.vic.gov.au/map5.htm
We are to the right of Corinella where the coast curves.
Corio bay is in Port Phillip bay near Geelong, next one West; and 35 kts is not unusual, I've come home with 30 kts behind me in the Mac, very scary!

[Wild Wassa]

Jeff, Cool, thanks for the note Mate.

With all that movable ballast in your boat Jeff, what were you guys doing with a reef in?

In my best attempts to keep the wooden boat theme going though, the boat I'm racing on hopefully qualifies as a wooden boat ... she is 95% carbon. That low tech, old fashion type wood is also mostly carbon, I believe? Don't be too shocked when you see this high-tech-wood boat.

I'm really looking forward to racing on the big Bay. We will be in Melbourne on the Wednesday before the race week starts ... just to get the feel of the conditions.

Warren.

[seanz]

Not a lot of wind amongst the mangroves, the most southerly Mangroves in the world.

I always thought the most southerly mangroves were in the Stony Creek backwash just under the West Gate bridge but now I am better informed.
:)
Great Pics

[skuthorp]

Further south than us too, around parts of Philip Island too, don't know if they are a different species than the northern ones. The local schools have had a planting programme for some years now and are having some sucess but not everyone is so enthusiastic.

[JimD]

Looks like fun, sort of. :)

[The Bigfella]

Wouldn't set out for NZ in that one

[skuthorp]

NZ? no, but I might trail it to Tassie next year. I've taken her to 7 WB festivals in 2 states. She's a surprisingly handy craft to own for me. Anne doesn't like boating much so a single hander is good. I launch off my local beach mostly, just a stroll on the trolley. Rigged and sailing in under 10 mins, rows well, single and double paddles too and good hull speed. Good carrying capacity as a tourer, light enough to lift by myself. I've used her as a surf boat in the pre-break swells and shes very quick. She get's a lot of use, I often go down after work for a sail. Felicite is about 14 years old, maintenance is easy and cheap and she lends herself to experimentation with rigs. I've considered a bilge keeler but then I'd need a secure mooring, would have to have a bigger trailer and vehicle, would be stuck with sailing in one place mostly. Stores securely under the beach house or down my drive in the city. I'm building a rowing skiff, but I'm glad Norm Messenger persueded me that a Mac was a good option.

[seanz]

NZ? no, but I might trail it to Tassie next year

Wonder what it would cost to fit in a plane?
You could camp cruise Able Tasman and the Marlborough Sounds......
Just saying.......
:)

[skuthorp]

Think I'd rent a yacht for NZ Seanz, something with a better blue-water capacity than a canoe.

[Wild Wassa]

Jeff Skuthorp, by the time you read this, we'll almost be in Geelong Skipper.

We are leaving later this evening, to haul the boat, the Sonata 'Stress Relief'. That will give the two of us on Stress Relief three days to get used to the water before our first race and get over any sea sickness feelings that we inland sailors get from the salty slop and the chop. The third crew arrives on Thursday. We also want to watch our friends on the Elliot 7s race for their National Titles.

From the Canberra YC, 6 Elliot 7s and 2 Sonata 6.7s are heading your way. I hear there are 158+ boats in our division and the Sonatas could be the smallest boat in the fleet at 6.7 metres. They are 6.7 metres of giant killers ... win the start win the race?

I don't know what my obligations to the boat and Skipper are concerning the shore functions and there are a few dinners and luncheons to attend, so I'm told. I'm not a party animal, I'm just a boy racer but I'm going to the Elliot 7 dinner that is a must. To see our Team win the Nationals.

When I know what is happening in detail, I'll ring and say hello. I don't know if you go to Skandia race week, there sure are a lot of things to do ... and much to win.

This is the race week site ... it is abit hyped up for a country boy.

http://www.geelongweek.com/

Warren.

[hansp77]

Hey Warren,
we'll be racing down to Geelong with the pack (400+ I think) on the saturday morning in a (cough cough) Mcgregor 26. We're in the division NOT flying a kite.
Then I think it will be time to drink for a while- hang out the whole next day recovering, and then we'll be sailing back to St Kilda on the monday.
Apparantly we'll be flying a pirate flag.

Give us a hoot (or shake a fist or something:D)if you see us.
Did I read right that you will be on 'Stress Relief'?
I can't remember the name of my uncles boat- I'll add it later if I find out.

Best luck with the races- we'll be trying for what its worth, but really we're just in it for the fun.

Hans.

[Wild Wassa]

Hans, excellent.

"Stress Relief" she is and she is an all carbon boat. All white with fine blue livery, the name is on the side of the hull. We are kited up and have more special sails than we know what to do with. In fact we have three masthead kites for whatever conditions. That is why we are coming down early to set up reefing lines and tune the boat and run all of the sails up the mast to make sure they go up. Some of the sails are off my boat.

The sail confusion is really not that bad, we have spent weeks tuning and prepping the 2 Sonatas to bring them up to speed. We are expecting to do well if the wind is right up. I've seen the predictions and the wind looks a bit tame until the end of the regatta. Last year in the passage race they had 35 knot and Stress Relief came 19th in a 90+ fleet.

I'm waiting for the Skipper to turn up with the boat now, then we are off. It is 1 am.

Have a kick arse regatta Hans. I hope you sail a blinder Mate. Good luck.

Warren.

[hansp77]

Sounds good Warren.
I'll keep and eye out for you.
The weather is all over the place at the moment down here, should make for an interesting week.
Latest forecast for saturday I think is saying
"heavy rain, afternoon clouds, warm- 17-30. NNE wind (9kmh)"
looks like we'll get a bit of everything.

We'll be flying the kite on the way home, but for the way down I think the plan was that most of the serious and good sailors will all be flying kites (probably in boats kitted out like yours), so without a kite we may have a slightly better chance at nosing our way from the back of our division;)

Safe driving, and hopefully I'll see you on the water or at Geelong,
Hans.

[hansp77]

Thanks warren, we will. I'll keep an eye out during the start and see if we can get a bit of digi footage including your boat (before you sail off into the horizon:D). Sounds like a nice boat.
The name of our boat (if I could remember it) probably wouldn't be of much use anyway, it is small and on the transom. It is an older M26, before they got that whole slick sunglasses look sort of thing going. The pirate flag, or whatever other silly flag we fly will be hauled up a rather bright orange piece of line that we put up the other day.

Have a ripper, I'm sure you will.
Hans.

[skuthorp]

Don't know if I can get to Geelong yet. But I'll talk to Anne and see.

[Wild Wassa]

Where you guys sail, Jeff and Hans, is very nice. Visiting your stomping ground was cool. There was a lot to see. We trained and raced over the last 7 days, we got to see a lot. We certainly sailed a lot.

The hospitality was good, from the Geelong Club. We are most pleased with our regatta result and my friend Matt Owen won the Australian Elliot 7 Title again this week, held in Geelong, which made the Skandia regatta even better.

Where the Geelong yacht club moored us was somewhat overwhelming for 3 (mostly) dinghy sailors. We were given a pen so the big boats wouldn't crush us ... we were moored next to the super boats, in our little boat. When we were moored next to Kookaburra II on Sunday evening, our boat length fitted between Kookaburra II's bow and her splashguard. The Kookaburra II crew thought it was very funny. We did call them out as one does and challenged them to a race ... which they though was even funnier, until they were told our boat's speed and about us catching up to Hugo Boss. Then they stopped laughing.

The highlight of the week was not our overall result at the regatta, equal 4th in our division, the highlight was running 'Hugo Boss' to within 11 minutes on elapsed actual time, in the Passage Race. 'Hugo Boss' parked herself. Our speed of 11.6-11.8 kts and sometimes even doing 12+ knots when surfing was as good as sailing gets. Fantastic wind in the passage race and great courses to navigate.
Hans I hope you sailed well. Not knowing your sail number or boat name, I couldn't find your results.

Although I didn't get to see Jeff, Hi again Jeff, here are some photos.

Hopetoun Channel in Corio Bay. The boat could be the Enterprize. The Hopetoun Channel was interesting, we ran aground north of the HC12 mark ... 4 times we touched the bottom when doing a reccy heading to Melbourne.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/CorioBay.jpg


Williamstown the morning before the Passage Race.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Williamstown.jpg


Approaching Port Melbourne last Friday evening.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Lookingformarkers.jpg


Geelong Marina, a Concordia.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Concordia.jpg


All I could hear was, "Sailboat, could you leave the channel immediately?" ... they did say "could" which I thought was very friendly. The yacht is a wooden Thunderbird, in the Prince Richard Channel.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Leavethechannel.jpg


I found Port Phillip Bay and Corio Bay interesting places to race a boat. The big ships just blew me away.

Warren.

[hansp77]

Hey Warren,
I found your boat and saw where they parked you:D, but didn't manage to see you there the couple of times I dropped past.
We had our hands full anyway...

the story, on the saturday passage race-
the start was wild... and a little confusing, we may have started a little late, having confused the starting signals, and had the obligatory 'almost getting run down' by a pack of mad bastrds in very big boats:D
we played around with the sails a bit, before settling on gullwinging (or butterflying or whatever else you call it) for the downwind sail.
Absolutely beautiful sailing conditions.
About fortyfive minutes into the race, after feeling a lot of rolling, it was noticed that the top of our rudder had begun total disintegration:eek:
If it wasn't for a stainless sleeve wrapped around the top 1/3 where the bolts where atatched then we would have lost the whole thing.
The glass in the top 3-5 inches had totally cracked and fallen out, and the rudder was see-sawing around left and right and up and down (off vertical). It was all over the place and was unlikely to make it to geelong.
So I spent the next 45 minutes dragging off the back ladder and fitting more bolts, wrapping, and a long piece of wood that ran from the pushpit down into the now hollow top of the rudder:eek:
at least it was hot, so the long dunk was quite enjoyable.

So then the remaining majority of the race we didn't really know if we would have to retire or not, but as it went luckily even once we turned into the channel for the final run to gelong, the wind turned and it was downwind again:cool:
Our dogdy under way repair made it quite well.
In spite of our rudder issues and repairs we came around middle of the fleet (in our class). and considering that we saw many more in our class than the four who officially retired, MOTOR past us:rolleyes:, we felt pretty happy with our result.

Sunday I spent the entire day either in the water pulling off the rudder, or in the workshop (that the yard boys were so very generous in letting us use all day- tools and materials) and we made a repair to the rudder.
Shortened it by cutting off all the buckled cracked and hollow stainless sleeve down to where the glass was strong again, redrilled, and then had to totally reinforce the post and the rudder bracket (as this was totally buckled and cracked too) with some mild steel plate.
After a few times of thinking we were finished, jumping in the water, fitting it, and then having to pull it out to alter it again, we finally got it done, just in time to work on our hangovers for the sail back monday morning. This we did rather well indeed.
Sailing back monday was great too, aside from our hurting heads- and the rudder performed better than ever before (the rudder on this thing has been a problem for a while). Didn't wobble or shift one bit.

So all up, the weekend was fantastic. Great weather and great sailing. Just got back last night and am still knackered.
Will surely be taking our own boat down next year to race in the classic division.

btw, Warren, you may have seen us when walking by, we were parked in the very first row of boats after you walk onto the Jetty just past the European Sausage stand- we had a dodgey white tarp set up as a boom tent as the real one was left at home.
The boats name was Estreleda (I think that is the right spelling), but small lettering you probably didn't see that anyway.

Sorry I didn't bump into you- Maybe next year if your coming down for it again.

Oh yeah, and we have a few photos to come too,
either start a new thread and I will add them in, or we'll post em up here. (EDIT- I see you are posting them here so I will try to chuck a couple in)

Hans.

[Duncan Gibbs]

Great stuff guys!

Ahhh Port Phillip Bay... Memories of living in Melbourne and strolling out along St Kilda Pier.... Ahhhh the memories!! :D

[Wild Wassa]

Hans, I'm sorry to have missed you and Jeff when we visited. My photos just give a hint about where you guys sail. I'm happy to start a Skandia Geelong week race thread in 'Misc Boating' ... no worries, unless Duncan and Jeff would like photos kept here, being Jeff's sailing grounds.

Another wooden boat seen on Corio Bay. Please don't get the wrong impression that this boat was passing us ... not with that luff tension that is for sure.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/NiceBoat.jpg



http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Protest.jpg

Windward II. A 'Classic' Skippered by James Wood. Hopetoun Channel.

Warren.

[Duncan Gibbs]

Post'em anywhere you want Warren, although since you've started putting them here, you may as weel keep going mate! BTW that looks like the James Craig in the photo of Willi' Harbour. I strolled out along one of those piers on Christmas day!!

My shipwright mate in Sydney worked on the JC firstly as a boiler maker holding a dolly during the re-riveting of the hull, through to Chief Rigger and then Coxswain once she was underway again. Got sick of the political infighting within the volunteer crew as well as their competitive streek with regard to the professional crew aboard, so he left her unfortunately.

But keep posting....

Hans? You've got some shots?

[hansp77]

I got a few photos, most of them taken by my partner, so in general with more of a focus on what looked 'nice' rather than seeking to satisfy the the boat perv's;)

so, here are a couple of the start
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2207.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2210.jpg

how we set our sails for the majority of the journey (downwind), what we were calling 'gullwing' and what my partner (to the amusing pleasure of boat full of men) was calling 'gelding'
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2226.jpg

cnt'd next post

[hansp77]

this is me beginning my climb down the back to work on the rudder- we were in a lull here, that didn't last long, soon I was dragging from the ladder horizontally
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2233.jpg
and while I was hanging off the back trawling for big fish, my partner was lying around on the foredeck and taking other pretty photos
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2239.jpg

this is after our rudder issues and dragging my ass for 45 minutes, looking back to melbourne. Not many boats visable directly behind us... they must have been all off behind to port and starboard;)
But this gives a good feel to the sailing conditions and the lovely day.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2225.jpg

and this is a lovely little H28 we sailed pretty even with the whole way (beating it in by only 10 mins or so)
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2246.jpg
and this is the H28, Sallyfish up a bit closer, before we got on and checked her out. Lovely little boat.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/hansp77/IMGP2262.jpg

and thats it for the moment, I may have a few more to upload, but most of the sailing action left us after the start.
Looking forward to more of Warren's photos.

and Warren, no problem mate, I am the one who feels sorry- I found your boat, but just not the time, and then the constitution, to be able to find you there.
all the best, maybe next time.

EDIT
P.S- sorry for big images, let me know if they are annoyingly big and I will try to amend.

[Wild Wassa]

Hans cool.

We started right at the pin. We had a good start with good clean air.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Skandiastart.jpg


How do you choke a spinnaker on a beautiful boat? ... just don't let it breath.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/WesternPort.jpg


We had good air until we ran into a blockade of big boats who's Skippers were seriously abusing each other about a mile from the finish. They had either run aground or had parked themselves in the blockade.
We should have stayed high rather than try to thread our way through them at the finish. We could have been close to a divisional win if we had of stayed high. We had to drop the kite for 15 minutes a mile from home and sit on no speed for half an hour until the finish to avoid running up the transoms of the big boats, who's Skippers had really lost the plot by then from frustration. We lost the divisional race by 12 minutes. Next year we will stay further south approaching the finish. We learnt a good lesson. It was our lack of experience racing in a fleet of 400 boats?

Goldfinger, a Farr 52. Ex Ichiban.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/Goldfinger.jpg


Little 'Stress Relief' alongside the monsterous Kookaburra II. Both boats do similar speed. Kookaburra II only goes 1 knot faster on both the reach and the run ... but is 50X heavier and has a crew of 17. I shot Stress Relief from this angle to show off the three bits of wood on her.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/StressRelief.jpg


Paul and John the Skipper. The three of us are Flying Fifteen crew pretending to be yachtsmen. Hans, when we had to contact Race Control and give them our intention to race, we followed several big boats telling "Race Control, Race Control this is ... with 16 POB, ... 14 POB, ... 12 POB, several 10 POBs, a couple of 8 POBs then a 6 ... then it was our turn, "Race Control, Race Control well there is the Skipper and Paul and me, will that do? ... please confirm." There was a boat racing with only 2 POB, that we heard broadcast their intention to race, 'The League of Gentlemen'. Knowing the boat, it is the gentleman bit that has me confused not the shorthanded bit.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/PaulandJohn.jpg


We flew past one big boat near the confluence of the Prince Richard and Hopetoun Channels, that had 12 people on board. Just as we passed them their Skipper let his crew have it. "You just saw what happened, get on with it!!!" He kept at them too until we could no longer hear him. We possibly ruined their pleasure cruise.

In Geelong, owners have a good sence of humour. Wild Oats IX, is the premier racing machine here.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/WildGoats.jpg


Warren.

[hansp77]

Nice one Warren, great photos.
I remember Goldfinger from Sandringham where I bought and restored my boat. Saw a few more familiar boats from there as well.

We stuffed up in the channel big time:o we went too far south, heading for some marker boys we thought we had to go through, and almost got there when a commission boat motored up and towed them away just before we could get through them:D obviously they were the wrong boys, for another race- wasted a lot of time.

Looking through the results I just noticed that Sallyfish (pics above) the H28 who we sailed down with most of the way came first in the Classic Yachts class (under HC- not line honors). Only six boats sailed down in the Classic Yachts class, one of them some friends in a black Etchel called 'Elvis has left the building'.
Am really looking forward to doing it next year in our boat.

Any chance you guys will be coming down for it again?

[Wild Wassa]

Hans, I've been offered a ride for Skandia Race Week next year but the Flying Fifteen World Titles are being held in Melbourne in January so I'll have to see how things go, the dates might clash. We have already booked our accommodation for the Fifteen Titles im Melbourne. We have entry to the World Titles but we are going to do the qualifying rounds as well, for the practice so I'll be spending much time in Melbourne next summer. There will be no excuse for not catching up.

The Marlay Classic is happening soon. I'll be down on your beautiful Gippsland lakes a week before the Marlay. The Canberra YC is holding a racing workshop and race seminars four days before the Marlay at Metung or Paynesville it is on the CYC website. If you are going to the Marlay and you would like to come to the race training sessions that are being held, let me know.

The next regatta is in Eden in a fortnight's time, I'm a bit of a tart for going to the best of the regattas held in SE Oz. If your looking for a regatta up our way, the ANZAC Regatta at Batemans Bay has a big pentastar course around the bay and out to the Toll Gate Islands. Batemans Bay is as good as Eden to visit and sail, big winds and big swells. Eden's Twofold Bay is open to the Tasman and is the best surfing sailor's regatta going in my kneck of the woods. 2-3 metre swells are the prevailing Twofold Bay conditions and make for a great ride on big layed out courses.

A few shots of a bit of the wildlife from the Skandia race week, seen at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria at Williamstown before the race.

'Tigress' a Flying Tiger 10. That is one time consuming tape job.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/FlyingTiger10calledTigress-1.jpg


Eastern Grey Gull.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/EasternGreyGull.jpg


Jenny Wren.


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd301/WildWassa/JennyWren.jpg


Very pretty. I couldn't see a single blemish on her. She certainly has an owner well worthy of her.

Warren.

[Mike Field]

.
Harking back to Western Port for a minute, some time ago I posted some photos of Western Port, especially of the shallow northern end where Tooradin is (and Wooden Boat Fittings was) here (http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/westernport/westernport.htm). There are one or two photos of Tooradin on that page, but several more appear on this page (http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/boatshows05/tooradin.htm), showing pictures from the 2005 Tooradin Boat Show. (Jeff was supposed to have his photo included in the newspaper shot, but he ducked out at the last minute.)

While there are plenty of mangroves in Western Port -- witness this aerial shot of Sanderling (centre) in her mud berth off Rutherford Inlet --

http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/public/air7.jpg

nevertheless there are mangroves even further south than Western Port, in Corner Inlet on the east side of Wilson's Promontory (another 45 mins latitude south.)
.