‘cyc word on the beach’ · canteen while you watch the race, watch the training or just enjoy a...

Chelsea Yacht Club September/October, 2019 `

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‘CYC Word on the Beach’ September/October 2019

In this edition:

Hi CYC members,

Welcome to the September-October edition of ‘CYC Word on the Beach’. If you haven’t already dusted off your

beach and sailing gear, I suggest you get onto it because you are already missing out. Even though last

weekend wasn’t great, fantastic sunny days over the past month have attracted plenty of people in for a swim,

day light savings means we have that little bit of extra daylight to play with after work and every day from here

on means nicer weather and warmer water. The dolphins have also been very regular over the past few weeks

(including a visit on our first race day).

Our CYC sailing season kicked off on Saturday 5th October with fourteen boats enjoying beautiful sunny

conditions to make the light wind for much of the second race more tolerable. The second race of the season

had eleven boats on the water plus Steve Edwards’ yellow ‘125’, which hadn’t been wet for more than ten years

taking a test run with our President Steve Fankhauser bravely crewing for Steve.

We also kicked off our CYC Discover Sailing sessions with both a Tackers and Start Sailing training program

started in fantastic learning conditions. Well done Dean Addison, our CYC Discover Sailing Centre Principal for

your hard work to get the sailing training programs started this early in the season.

And a big thank you to Annie Low who once again has the canteen and tasty fresh food ready for both our

sailors and anyone else who wants to grab an extremely good value lunch or snack. You don’t have to be

racing or sailing to come and enjoy the club on any of our race Saturdays. Come and grab a snack from the

canteen while you watch the race, watch the training or just enjoy a seat out of the sun while you spot the

dolphins and enjoy a day on the beach.

The social vibe in our CYC Members Lounge is really picking up and it’s a great time of the year to sit and have

a sip as you watch the sun set on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening – bring a snack and enjoy one of the

best spots on the bay to have a chat or a glass of wine with friends. We had a very successful ‘CYC Sunday

Music at the Beach’ Sunday session on 13th October and, in addition to the monthly Celtic Music sessions on

the last Sunday of each month, we will also be running regular Sunday CYC music at the beach bringing in a

range of great local musicians. Thanks Lyn Feigen, Roy Burnside and Deb Kerr for your help on the day.

Andrew Ford, Club Manager

Want to be the CYC

weather legend?

READ ON TO FIND

OUT HOW

Chelsea Yacht Club September/October, 2019

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Member help/action needed

Please help. CYC Volunteers

are needed – can you spare just

a few hours here and there to

help out. There are lots of

different and rewarding roles

such as occasional small

maintenance jobs around the

club, taking on a beach support

role with our Discover Sailing

Centre training, lending a

helping hand with our social

functions, delivering flyers for

key events/initiatives, helping in

the canteen. Or if you have

another skill we should know

about, please let us know. We

need everyone to help share

the load and the workload can

be tailored to your time

availability.

Email Andrew if you are willing

to help or if you are interested

in being trained up to assist one

of our DSC instructor, safety

boat crew or beach support

roles

ALL MEMBERS NEEDED for CYC COMMUNITY ‘Discover Sailing’ OPEN DAY CYC Community Discover Sailing Open Day will be held on Sunday 24th November 2019 from 10:00am onward. Read on for details.

2019/2020 CYC Membership

Fees now overdue

If you are yet to pay

membership fees for this

season, please do so as soon

as possible.

Key Dates and News

CYC SEASON OPENING DAY Sat 9th November - Don’t forget CYC Opening Day is coming up on Sat 9th Nov commencing 12 noon. This is an important opportunity to show invited guests how vibrant our club is and to formally kick the sailing season off with a bang. Please come along on the day, bring a friend. Email Andrew if you are willing to help on the day. Next Sunday session for Irish Music is SUNDAY 27th October Get along to our regular CYC Celtic music session Sunday 27th October from 4:00pm – 7:00 pm here at the club. CYC Stand Up Paddle Clinic

rescheduled to 9th November

Only a few places left so get in now if you want to join this fantastic opportunity to start enjoying SUPing.

New process for SMS alert if

Saturday racing is to be cancelled

due to unfavorable weather

Read on for detail

Mark these dates in your diaries:

• Tues 5th Nov–Melb Cup @ CYC

• Sat 9th Nov-CYC Opening Day

• Sun 24th Nov-CYC Community

‘Discover Sailing’ Open Day

• Sat 7th Dec 2019 - CYC

Christmas Dinner

• Sat 8th February 2020 - Back to

Chelsea Commodores Race

• Sat 15th February 2020 – CYC

Four Of A Kind Regatta,

please spread the news

amongst your dinghy class

• Sat 14th March 2020 – CYC

International Women’s Day

Invitational

Recent Events and Highlights

Sailing season off to a good start

Fourteen boats raced on the first

race of the season, seven

children started their Tackers 1

training and three women

commenced their Start Sailing 1

and 2. Plus another four more

people confirmed that they want

to join the program from next

Saturday – a good start to the

season.

CYC Sunday Music at the Beach

a great success

Sunday 13th October was a huge

success with more than 70

people enjoying a fantastic

afternoon of great music and

good company. By popular

demand Jared Porch will be back

for another great afternoon on

Sunday 17th Nov from 4:00pm.

Do not miss this great event.

City of Kingston approves funding

for CYC major refurbishment

CYC now has approval to

complete lift installation works

and the club major refurbishment

as one project. Planning is now

underway for a target completion

before the 2021/22 sailing

season.

At last a proper coffee at CYC is

about to become a reality

Good news for coffee drinkers!

CYC is currently finalising the

installation of a commercial

quality coffee machine and very

soon we will have the facility to

serve up a great cup of coffee –

launch date for a great barista

made cuppa is 9th November.


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Key Dates and Events

CYC Discover Sailing training has started but its not too late to join our next program Melbourne Cup Day at CYC Tuesday 5th November 12 noon onwards CYC OPENING DAY Saturday 9th November from 12:00 noon onward CYC SUP Clinic, RESCHEDULED to Sat 9th November starting at 9:45 am - for beginners and people wanting some handy improvement tips CYC Music at the Beach Next session 4:00pm Sunday 17th November CYC Community Discover Sailing OPEN day Sunday 24th November 2019,10:00am - 2:00pm

Two sailing training programs are already underway and there are already a number of people inquiring about our next programs. People interested in signing up for either Tackers1 - Having Fun (target ages 7 –12) or Start Sailing (adults - teenagers) are encouraged to contact the club ASAP, if demand continues we will start an additional program – email Andrew at [email protected]. Get your fancy threads on or come as you are. Grab your coins and come along for a great afternoon. BYO picnic food, drinks at bar prices, sweeps on every race, fashions on the field for best dressed, big screen TV showing every race. Members and non-members welcome Read details in this newsletter regarding this important event to formally open this sailing season and our refurbished CYC Discover Sailing Centre. All members are encouraged to attend Come and learn correct techniques, get coached to improve the fundamentals and enjoy a practical, fun, supervised paddle to build paddling confidence. Bookings required – book via CYC website. CYC members and newcomers welcome. Suits all ages and abilities. Cost $15 for CYC members, $20 for non-members. Light lunch included. If there is demand a second session will be held for those who miss out, [email protected] Following the huge success of our last ‘CYC Music at the Beach’ session, and due to popular demand, we have been lucky enough to book local acoustic guitarist and singer Jared Porch again for Sunday 17th November, 4:00pm – 7:30pm. BBQ available and a great afternoon is our promise. Spread the word and come along Read details in this newsletter. Help us show case CYC to the community and welcome them to our club and the joy of sailing. All members are encouraged to be here on the day

mailto:[email protected]



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Recent Events and Highlights

City of Kingston approves funding to allow major refurbishment of CYC

A highlight since our last newsletter is our successful endeavor to gain City of Kingston support to

bring forward funding to allow the major refurbishment of the club and the installation of our lift to be

completed as one project commencing immediately following the 2020/21 sailing season. Our

planning and design work for this exciting project has already started and a more detailed report will

be circulated to members following a meeting with Council to be scheduled in the coming week.

Concept options are currently being developed and tested and at the appropriate time there will be

further opportunity for members to be briefed and have input into this exciting project.

At long last a new trailer for Harry Flint

On Saturday 8th September, workboat Harry Flint was removed from its trailer so the trailer could be

taken to Dunbier Trailer Repair so it could be used as a template to manufacture a new replacement.

The bespoke trailer is designed to enable Harry Flint to drive up on it when being retrieved from the

sea. The existing trailer was very corroded and unsafe having served out a few workboats prior to the

current Harry Flint.

The new trailer was delivered on Thursday last week. Well done Commodore, Lachlan Low, for

finalising this long-awaited project and Quentin for the loan of his trailer while our old one was away

being used as a template.

Could this be the big come back?

Good on Steve Edwards for getting this beauty on the water for

the second race weekend of the season. Apparently this ‘125’

renovator’s delight hasn’t been wet for over ten years. Courage

award goes to both Steve Edwards and our President Steve

Fankhauser, who bravely crewed. The boat is apparently still

waiting to be named, word on the beach is that some are

already calling it ‘Farnsie’. Perhaps its just the first of many

great comebacks.

A ‘real’ Coffee Machine for CYC

The Club has purchased a secondhand expresso coffee

machine which should be installed at the end of October. The

purchase was made through Coffee Machine Warehouse a

company that refurbishes secondhand machines.

The intent is to provide a service to the members, but the committee hopes it will also drive increased

engagement of visitors, parents of Tackers and Start Sailing participants, and provide an incentive for

non-sailing members to use the club facilities and provide revenue to the club. It also assists the club

to meet our responsible serving of alcohol responsibilities.


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It will take a little time for us to come up to speed as we will be dependent on volunteers who have

been trained in using the machine. If you have always thought about trying your hand at being a

barista, please make yourself known to our manager Andrew.

CYC 2019 Footy Tipping Results

One of the most fiercely contested competitions on the CYC calendar with a mixed bag of competitors

from complete novices (guessers) through to the informed experts. Once again a great footy tipping

year and thank you to Russell Turnor for arranging and coordinating this throughout the year. Prize

winners were:

1st: Pete and Dominique Burnley - won $500

2nd: Campbell Simmons, Andrew Trickey - won

$250

3rd: Lindsay Simmons - won $200

Wooden Spoon: Mark Blann

Our Discover Sailing Centre Principal Dean kicks the training season off early

Well done Dean Addison for some very hard work to have our

training fleet looking better than ever and for getting the training

program kicked off so early. Both Tackers and Start Sailing

programs have already commenced and more participants are

already asking when the next programs will start. These pictures

say it all – notice the girl

power!

A big thanks to Mike Eising,

Deb Yates, Tony Quirke,

Josh Galland and Maddy

Galland, for your vital help.


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Important Membership Notifications

Process to advise of Race Cancellation due to unfavourable weather forecasts

As sailors will appreciate, CYC does not control the weather nor have a crystal ball that lets us predict

exactly how weather will turn out on any given day. There will be circumstances when weather

conditions require sailing to be abandoned and a new process will now be applied when this is to

occur. Sailing was abandoned on the last two weekends due to strong wind warning, with members

being notified for the first time via SMS. This SMS advice will be the new process to alert members

about when the club will be sailing due to ‘unfavourable weather’.

The BoM weather forecast is updated around 10 am in the morning and if the forecast predicts a

strong wind warning during the period of the afternoon race then a decision to abandon the race may

be made, in such circumstances an SMS will be sent to members. The club’s member database now

allows us to send SMS to members and this practice is common at many clubs.

The intention is to provide certainty to members and reduce the occurrence of sailors anticipating that

the club will not sail and not turn up. If an SMS is not sent the Race Committee is still intending to sail.

As with any new process it will take some refinement and sailors should provide feedback to the

Sailing Sub Committee through their class representatives. The CYC Sailing Committee is meeting on

Wednesday 30th October and will be glad to consider any feedback.

Reminder to register online if you are participating in CYC FOAK Regatta

All sailors who intend on participating in the FOAK Regatta, please register your attendance online via the CYC website. We hope to attract a very large number of boats on this day and would love for all of you to be on the water. Hopefully all club sailors will be here for this important event and if you know sailors from other clubs please spread the word and help us get a huge fleet on the water.

Register now. Not only will your registration help boost interest, it will assist for catering purposes.

Chelsea Yacht Club Community Discover Sailing Open Day SUNDAY 24th November 2019

Chelsea Yacht Club will be open to the public on Sunday 24th November from 10:00am until 2;00pm with loads of fun activities for families and people of all ages.

We are looking for support from club members to be on hand and ready to give visitors or newer members a guided tour of the fantastic club facilities, explain our on and off water activity opportunities, answer questions about the range of membership options and explain the benefits of becoming a member. We will fire up the BBQ for a sausage sizzle plus there will be snacks and great coffee available.

This is a great opportunity for existing non-sailing members as well as the general public to go for a sail with experienced sailors; try one of our Stand Up Paddle boards; have a go on a windsurfer; or get a taste of our learn to sail opportunities for children, teenagers and adults plus our new 'Out There' sessions designed specifically for teenagers and focused on having FUN.


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Tell your neighbors and come along for a great time and perhaps an introduction to one of the best decisions they will ever make.

All members are encouraged to be here on the day and to offer a helping hand for whatever part of the day you can spare. Please contact Andrew Ford [email protected] to confirm what role and time you can volunteer for – depending on you experience level, we need your help with:

• Hosting visitors on quick guided tour of the club; • BBQ duties • Joining in the Yoga or Tai Chi classes and encouraging others to give it a go • Taking visitors for a quick sail • Handing out information or car parking and directions support • Helping rig and stow boats, boards etc • Having your boat, SUP, Windsurfer, Kitesurfer, Kayak on the water showing how much fun it is • Just being here, catching up with other club members and making it a fun day

2019/2020 Memberships

There are still some members who are yet to pay 2019/2020 season membership fees. These fees

are now well overdue, and members are asked please to finalise payment quickly. If you aren’t sure

whether you are paid up for the current season please email [email protected] and

Andrew will help you.

Key CYC sailing calendar dates - have you put these in your diary?

Remember, this sailing seasons calendar includes races scheduled for January and a number of

particularly important events. Please help us achieve maximum participation at the club on and off

the water:

- Sat 9th November 2019 - CYC Opening Day commencing 1200

- Sat 9th November CYC Stand Up Paddle clinic commencing 0945am

- Sat 7th December 2019 - CYC Christmas Dinner

- Sat 8th February 2020 - Back to Chelsea Commodores Race

- Sat 5th February 2020 – CYC Four Of A Kind Regatta, please encourage anyone you know to

attend this event, spread the news amongst your dinghy class

- Sat 14th March 2020 – CYC International Womens Day Invitation

CYC Presidents report of Committee highlights – October 2019

The season has commenced and there has been plenty of activity at the club both on and off the

water. The first two race Saturdays we had light south easterlies. Unfortunately, the third and fourth

race days were blown out. Members would have received a SMS soon after 10 am that morning to

advise that racing had been abandoned for the day. This was in accordance with the process

described in an earlier email sent on 30th September by the Commodore and outlined in this

newsletter for future reference. As with any new process it will take some refinement and sailors

should provide feedback to the Sailing Sub Committee through their class representatives.

http://[email protected]



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It is also pleasing to see the Discover Sailing Centre busy running both a Tackers 1 and Start Sailing

1 and 2 programs. A decision was made to use paid qualified sailing instructors as was done last

year. The fees for each program were increased and we are very confident of securing some further

grant funding to ensure we cover our costs. The Tackers and Start Sailing program is still in need of

volunteers to help with marshalling, carrying boats, etc. Without volunteers the program cannot run.

On the 19th and 20th of October the club hosted an Australian Sailing Windsurfer Instructor

Accreditation course. Both Dean Addison and Dave Donegan participated which will enable the

Discover Sailing Centre to provide windsurfer courses. Those following our events webpage will also

see we have a Stand Up Paddle Clinic scheduled on the 9th November.

Club Refurbishment

At the City of Kingston’s September Council meeting our request to combine the lift works with the

major refurbishment of the club, and bring forward funding to enable building works to be commenced

immediately following the 2020/2021 sailing season, was unanimously supported.

We are working on the expectation that the design work and approvals will be completed in time for

building works to occur at the end of the 2020/21 sailing season. The Building sub committee will

shortly meet and is charged with arriving at a draft concept proposal to take to council to commence

the design process. The allocated council budget is $1,200,000 and the refurbishment will ensure the

building is compliant with council requirements including the installation of a lift.

We are viewing these works as an opportunity to improve the layout of the club, provide a needed

facelift and incorporate important features such as electronic access. However the budget is limited

and it will not be a total rebuild such as occurring at Edithvale LSC which is costing a total of $4.9m

(Kingston Council $3.4m and the Victorian Government $1.5m). We will have to cut our cloth

accordingly. Once we have a concept plan that the council is in agreement with this will be

disseminated to members for comment.

Opening Day

The Club’s Opening Day is Saturday 9th November. Formalities will commence at midday. Our local

state member Mr Tim Richardson will be attending as will the Mayor Councilor Oxley, Councilor

Bearsley, as well as representatives from other local organisations. It is important that the club

demonstrates that it is alive and open to the community. Irrespective of the weather on the day the

club will very much appreciate the attendance of both sailing, SUP, and social members at the

formalities / lunch commencing at midday. Family friends and guests are welcome.

The members bar will be open, food will be available, and we will have expresso coffee!

Committee Vacancy

It was with regret that the committee received Annie Low’s resignation from committee. Both myself

and committee express our gratitude for Annie’s past and ongoing efforts to support the Club. I am

pleased to advise that Annie will continue on as our Canteen Manager, arguably the most important

role in the club! Thank you Annie.

Under rule 8.7 of the constitution the committee can fill the current vacancy. We are seeking

expressions of interest from members who wish to be part of the committee. In particular we are

seeking a member who will support and contribute to the growth in activity both on and off the water

and assist us in building capability. Please contact the secretary at

[email protected]



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SailPass

At the October Committee meeting a policy to implement the Australian Sailing SailPass was

approved. By adopting SailPass we;

• access a marketing tool to attract new people to the Club,

• create a database to attract new members,

• are compliant with the clubs membership rules,

• are compliant with Australian Sailing racing rules & personal insurance requirements,

• know who is on the water and their details such as ”next of kin” When implemented the club policy to implement the SailPass will be detailed on our web page however the main points are;

• Any individual wishing to sail out of Chelsea YC is required to either be a member or obtain a SailPass,

• The SailPass will cost $10 per day however at the clubs discretion this may be waived for certain events,

• The maximum number of SailPasses that can be issued to an individual in any one season is ten however the intent is that SailPass will NOT be used as a defacto ongoing membership,

• SailPass registration will be both online and paper based and will be administered by CYC SailPass endorsed administrators,

• If a person elects to take up club sailing or SUP/Paddle/Kayak membership then the membership fee for that year will be reduced by the SailPass fees previously paid during that year,

• Social membership will include a free SailPass voucher to be used in that membership year. Club Speaker System

For some period of time the club tower has been unable to broadcast advisories and safety

instructions both within the club and onto the beach. From a safety perspective this situation was not

sustainable. Therefore the committee at the October meeting endorsed works to supply and connect

external horn speakers, associated stainless steel mounting brackets, two speakers in the boatshed,

provide associated switches etc. and repair the existing amplifier.

Storm Rhib

The October committee meeting endorsed the Discover Sailing Centre Principal to look at options to

replace the second Rhib Storm and present these at the upcoming November meeting. Chelsea

Storm has a tired 2 stroke outboard which is not suitable for on water instructing of ab initio sailors.

We are concurrently running Tackers and Start Sailing courses and we need one boat per course.

The current view is that the second Rhib needs to be small and light making it easy to get down the

beach, easy to start manually, quiet and maneuverable. High speed planing can be left to Chelsea

Tempest. It is important we provide the best possible training experience that is professional and safe

Back to Chelsea Invitation

On a Friday evening commencing at 8pm, back in May 14th 1965, well known Chelsea Yacht Club V. J. skippers, John "Ollie" Manfield, John Bertrand, Roger Sykes and Ross Augustine presented an information session at Sandringham Yacht Club on V.J. sailing including buying, building and sailing. Invited by Sandringham member John Fairfax, the Chelsea presenters used diagrams, models and


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flip cards to illustrate their presentation. There was also a Western Australian champion boat “Blue Streak’ on display that had recently been acquired by Chelsea sailor Ken Lister. John Fairfax and his crew Steve Edwards had recently upgraded to a V.J . from International Cadets and were keen for other cadet sailors at Sandringham to follow suit. Given the caliber of the presenters it goes without saying that the presentation would have been first class. However Sandringham did not adopt the V.J. class and on 23rd of February 1966 Sandringham wrote to John Fairfax requesting he remove his V.J. from the club yard as it was a non-sponsored class, and on the 15th of December the same year John attended a special meeting of the Senior Cadet Committee regarding his defiance of the rules regarding entry to Sandringham of non-sponsored boat classes. The outcome of that meeting was Chelsea gained another two members, John Fairfax and Steve Edwards who bought “Crash Hot” and “Electron” from local club members. (Steve is well known to all as a longtime member of the ‘Bowling for Burgers’ Lightweight Sharpie crew) What was Sandringham’s loss was our gain. History now records the impact that V.J. sailing at Chelsea Yacht Club was to have on the sailing in Australia with Chelsea V.J. sailors going on to win World and National championships in other classes, win an Olympic medal, win the America’s Cup, and coach our Olympic sailors. To some this is a memory from the past, many others would not have been born during those times. However after a 50 year plus absence the Club is very excited to announce that they will be back! Those heady days will be relived when the V.J.’s return on Saturday the 8th of February 2020, when we host the Back to Chelsea Invitation. The Back to Chelsea invitation will bring to life the excitement of dinghy sailing from the Club’s formation in 1938, to the post war boom in sailing through the 1950’s to 1970’s with contemporary Chelsea boats including V. J.’s Vee Esses, Skates, Payne Mortlock Canoes, GP-14’s, Rainbows and Heavyweight and timber lightweight Sharpies both sailing and on display . All other classic dinghies are also invited as guests. The day will commence with boats arriving from 9:30am and a social sail with a sail past the club at 11:00am. This will be followed by a beach display and BBQ lunch. Over lunch participants and visitors will be treated to a presentation on How to Sail a V. J. Fast from two V.J. sailing legends, past Olympic sailing coach Lex Bertrand and John Ollie Manfield. With four


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Victorian V. J. Championships between them, this is a one in 55 year chance to pick up tips from these sailing veterans.

For those game enough there will be a race in the afternoon, weather permitting. Boats that participate in the morning sail past, beach display and are present at the after race presentation will be in the draw for a brand new Gale-Rimington jib! The event will focus on classes that used to sail at Chelsea however all classic dinghies or catamarans are welcome. If members have an old boat or know of anyone who does we would like to see it down at the club on the 8th February. Boat Registrations at the club website www.chelseayachtclub.com.au Visitors welcome. Boats that may not be ready for the water are welcome for the beach display. This is a must for everyone’s diary. Saturday 8th February .

VJ Yachts presentation at Sandringham Yacht Club. Ollie Manfield (left) of Bonbeach, and John Bertrand, Roger Sykes and Ross Augustine of Edithvale. Studying a VJ in action

Chelsea News May 20, 1965

Legendary Skate La Tache to be one of the star attractions at February 8th 2020 Back To Chelsea

After nearly losing its bottom a few Inverloch Classic Wooden Dinghy Regatta ago legendary Chelsea

Skate La Tache (1975/76 National Champion)

underwent some keyhole surgery and then went

into storage while houses were knocked down and

built. With the assistance of Tony Quirke and

Nugget it has been pulled out of the racks in

September to finish stripping the old 2 pack

polyurethane (slow going) in preparation for some

new varnish so it is ready for the up-coming

season.

La Tache was owned and skippered by Ollie

Manfield and crewed by Peter Bainbridge. Both

Ollie and Peter were long standing Chelsea

members. La Tache won the 1975/76 Australian

http://www.chelseayachtclub.com.au/


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Skate Championships at Speers Point in NSW. Both Ollie and Peter had previously won the

Australian championships held at Chelsea in 1973/74 in an earlier boat Vengeance. They were the

first Victorians to win a Skate National Championship.

At the end of the 1970’s when Skates ceased to be sailed at Chelsea La Tache went into retirement.

Eventually it was purchased by Chelsea member Chris Dobbyn and became a novelty for people to

take out for a sail if they wished to indulge their thrill-seeker side. The boat subsequently followed

Chris to Tasmania and amidst rumours that it may become a coffee table it was finally rescued by

Stephen Fankhauser and Steve Edwards to participate in the Chelsea Centenary Regatta in 2006.

Launch date is still to be confirmed but it will definitely be one of the star attractions at the Back to

Chelsea Invitation on February 8th 2020.

CYC Weather legend

Despite there being no winner last month as there was no-one brave enough to have a guess, we are

not going to give in. For those of you who aren’t aware, each month a photo will be taken at random

along with a recording or the actual wind direction and speed. Look at the October photo (below),

taken from the CYC control tower during October and estimate the wind direction and wind speed?

The closest ‘guess’ each month will have bragging rights as the monthly Weather Legend and will

enter the Weather Legends ladder to compete for the 2019/20 CYC Weather Legend title.

To enter, simply email your estimate to [email protected] before Wednesday 20th

November 2019 along with your name and your most accurate estimate of wind speed in knots and

wind direction at the time the photo was taken. You can enter your wind direction either in degrees

which can give you more accuracy (e.g. 180 degrees is a direct southerly) or you can use compass

bearings (e.g. WSW or ESE etc). If you aren’t sure come down to the club and we’ll show you how

the wind reading in the tower displays – and it’s a good excuse to get down to the club.

Just to entice a few more of you to enter, there is a mystery prize for best guess this month



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News from members

Immediate past President unveils ‘a better badder Sledgehammer’

Steve Low has been hard at work on the next addition to the Chelsea Javelin fleet

I’ve been asked to scribe some notes on the next iteration of Sledge Hammer due at CYC in the

coming months. With some photos of progress and a few details, I hope you enjoy this article.

The whole idea morphed out of two events, one that happened mid-last season in Mornington, the

other a slow simmering development that has occurred over the past few seasons in Brisbane.

The latter event first, was the development of a Javelin fleet in sunny Queensland, just north of Noosa

at Lake Cootharaba, consisting at current count of about five Javelins with some demand for more.

Woo hoo, a potential Javelin Nationals with three State divisions involvement. The national fleet for a

long time has simply rested between Victoria and W.A. – growth is a good thing.

The former event was the Victorian division’s decision to rescue the Kelly Javelin molds (ala the

Sledge Hammer hull style) back from W.A. where they went a decade ago, to re-invigorate Javelin

building here in Victoria. The Mornington meeting with Matt Kelly, the original source of these hulls, to

discuss his re-involvement building new hulls as an exercise outside of his work, then with Hart

Marine a large ship manufacturing business.

Between these two events, with subsequent discussions up and down the east coast and then an

offer from a Brisbane crew to buy Sledge Hammer, a deal was done enabling funds for a replacement

boat. Roll forward in time to early this year, the mold is at Kelly’s and the first boat for the mold,

ordered by Bill Williams Jnr in Brisbane, yes son of Bill Snr, commenced build in February and was

finished mid-May. Then it was time for #2 boat, the Sledge Hammer replacement from here on called

boat “X” to begin its journey.

Some specifications for the technical geeks:

• Hull 10mm Divinycell and hull sides 8mm Divinycell,

• Outer skin 2 x 200gm carbon twill layers – first layer laid inline, second layer laid at 45 degrees to hull length,

• Inner skin 1x200gm carbon + 2x300mm Uni/ bi-axial carbon strengthening to select high tension areas,

• Frames and floor as 8mm and deck top at 10mm Divinycell all carbon lay-up,

• All lay-ups vacuum bagged to minimise resin use and achieve good bonding.

Outer skin layers bonded,

next foam and inner skin

Raw hull foam inside the

carbon outer skin

Inner foam skin and carbon

vacuum bagged


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To support this exercise and as a diversion I also did a TIG welding course earlier in the year. I did

this to allow me to weld aluminium and stainless bits and bobs both for the boat and my other yellow

diversion.

First welding practice

became a boat trolley

project for Boat X. So I’m

after welding practice and if

you have a new trolley in

mind, come and have a

chat. The welds aren’t

necessarily pretty yet but

they are strong!!

Additional strength layering to

inner skin

The same build processes for

the deck mould

Boat X hull skin completed

Black and shiny…and stiff!!

Home and final finishing and fit out begins


15

Back to the boat….and there is still a long way to go with this Javelin build.

Installation of hard points into the hull and deck for fittings placement, finishing off the floor and

mounting the deck, ordering spars, fittings, foils, sails, then rigging and perhaps then I might be able

to launch the new beast. Fortunately the Nationals were decided to be held in Queensland this

season, next Easter, but I’ll still need time on-water to tune, so the race is on to be in the race!!

So with many thanks to Annie in advance for putting up with my garage absences and to the ATO for

helping fund this exercise, you may not see me so often down at the club for a while! But Lachy and I

will be back………….

That’s it for this edition but please visit the CYC website for further information. Please don’t forget to email [email protected] with stories or suggestions for future newsletter editions.

Thanks Andrew Ford, CYC Club Manager


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