CLASSIC YACHT ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF MEMBERS

To be held at

ROYAL YACHT CLUB OF VICTORIA
6:30pm Dining Room

FRIDAY 25th NOVEMBER 2011

ORDINARY BUSINESS

• Minutes of previous Annual General Meeting 2010 and
  Financial Report for year ended 30th June 2011
• To Elect Office Bearers
• Membership / Yacht Register Report
• Interstate Representatives Report
• Sailing Program and Handicapping Report
• Sponsorship Report
• Newsletter Report
• General Business

Please support your Association by attending and considering joining the executive team.
We are growing for the benefit of members, fine yachts and great classic activities.

Please note the Guineas Cup has been postponed today (28.10.11) due to high wind strength.

Dear Skippers and Crew,

Attached are the Sailing Instructions and entries for the 3 2011 Cup Regatta events.

The instructions have been posted on the Royals web site.

Prior to the passage race a briefing session will be held on Royals concourse at 9.00am

Vessel allocations of the visiting NZ Classic Yacht Association will be announced.

The passage race course has been modified. RBYC are conducting Etchell Selection Trial for their World Cup team.

We’ve been requested to keep clear of their club sailing area.

I received a message from Jim Woods that Windward II is in need of additional sailing hands for the Regatta.

Here’s an opportunity to experience how sailing on a Classic Yacht was done 80 years ago.

Jim can be contacted at jwoods@ecollect.com.au

The present weather forecast looks to be in a favour for once.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe

Please see Cup Regatta page for sailing instructions.

A short status note to skippers and crew of Cup Regatta entries.

Below are the current entries and handicaps.

The Sailing Instructions for the races have been prepared. They are presently being reviewed by Royals race director.

Unlike previous Cup Regattas, the 2011 SI’s allow the Royals race director flexibility to use Royals courses for the passage and pursuit races if wind conditions deem this necessary.

Expect SI’s publication this coming Thursday am.

Regards

Peter

Dear CYAA Vic Members

Our Cup Regatta Cocktail Session at Royals on Friday Oct 28 has to be a ticketed social event.

Pip Todd is our Royals contact for this event.

To help Pip make our Cup Regatta welcoming and opening event a well run show we need to provide Pip with intending numbers.

Take a look at the attached form from Pip, fill out the requested numbers and payment details and fire it off pronto to Pip at piptodd@excite.com

At the after Series Seafood BBQ, apart from lashing of prawns and calamari and so on with salad, those brilliant sausages provided by Richard Gates for our end of Winter Series BBQ will again be served up. Pip has indicated in the attachment the BBQ is a pay on the weekend process.

Regards

Peter Costolloe

CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Cup Regatta Cocktail Party Request

Dear Skippers and Crews

Disappointment with the high winds causing the postponement of our first summer Series.

There’s always next time.

Because Sunday’s race was postponed by the conducting club, the next Summer Series race will need to be documented as Race 1. November 13.

The next Classics Race will be our Cup Regatta Passage Race, Scheduled for Oct 29 with a start time of 10.00 am. Still time for entries.

This race will be a rare opportunity for skippers to compare their own yachts performance against Tim Phillips with his Storm Bay. Although her prime purpose was a fishing boat, she was designed for racing. She scored a second place in the 1926 Hobart Regatta 1st Class Fishing Boat Division. Flying her jackyard topsail, Storm Bay is now the only representative of her type left from that era when working yachts raced and raced seriously.

To complete our Regatta social activities Pip Todd would like to provide the RYCV caterers a numbers indication of those whose wish to have dinners at Royals after the Classic Cocktail Session. The dinner is a pay for yourself function. Last year we had 40 stay on for Dinner.

Pips will provide a mail out with details of the various Regatta Social functions

More Regatta news activity and SI’s will be released shortly.

Remember the Passage Race is a 10.00am start.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe
CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Dear Skippers and Crew of the Melbourne racing Classic Yacht fleet.

Those thoughts of lee gunn’el down and that stern quarter wave slipping away, while in serious conversation with other mere mortals, have finally arrived.

This Sunday is the beginning for another season of Sea Fever.

The Classics Yacht Series races for the 2011/2012 summer season is now on.

To the business of this Sunday’s race. The SI’s and list of entries with their handicaps are attached.

The handicaps allocated for this race are those allocated for the abandoned Race 8 of the immediate past Winter Series. Although Race 8 was a pursuit start, handicaps are still allocated. They were used to calculate start times.

As stated in the “Sailing Instructions”, no racing if the forecast wind strength is 25 or + knots. The current forecast for Sunday indicates there’s every chance of an N over A signal being flown from the Royals signal mast.  The weather numbers are sure not rolling our way these days.

The overall fleet number entered for the Classics Summer series is 26. Fleet numbers of this size indicate a strong and cohesive Association. Essential indicators required to maintain our association’s high credibility status with Yachting Victoria and the home Yachts Clubs of our members.

The heritage, quality and elegance of our Melbourne fleet of Classic Yachts is enhanced with the return of Rod Fuller’s racing H 28 “Shamrock”, with the ghost of Jock Sturrock on board, Bil Johnson’s Corio Bay netboat from 1895 “Lily Guy”, named in memory of Bils grandmothers dreams of going to sea, the monumental effort of Sayonara syndicate headed up by Doug Shields to return that definition of 100 years of Sailing elegance and power from the board of William Fife, “Sayonara” and James Woods with Windward II, a 1929 high end example of that golden era of Classic Yachting from the board of Norman Dallimore. “Windward II’s” mast will be stepped at Seaworks next week. This task will complete the James’s long makeover for “Windward II’s” Cup Regatta campaign.

Maybe this point about the living history of our Melbourne Classic Yacht Fleet is not well known.

We have 3 Australian Registered Historic Vessels racing with us this series, “Avian”, “Windward II” and “Sayonara”. Two more will be added when yours truly brings “Alwyn” out for the Cup Regatta and likewise when Tim Phillips brings “Storm Bay” up from Sorrento for the Cup Regatta. These yachts have been placed on the Register by the Australian Maritime Museum for their contribution to Australia’s Maritime history. Damien Purcell, our past CYAA Victoria President sits on the council that makes the Register inclusion decisions.

A small Cup Regatta note.

Keep in mind our Friday Classic Cocktail session, 6:30pm, drinks and finger food after the Guineas with the Kiwi’s and Sorrento Couta Boat people at Royals, and our Monday BBQ and Trophy presentation on the Royals lawn. Pip Todd will be managing the processes involved. The invite notice asking for numbers and payments will be out next week.

If this Sunday is blown out, there’s no time for the sads. We have the Regatta and 3 days succumbing to the tender mercies of Sea Fever in two weeks time. To those yet to enter their yachts in the Cup Regatta. There’s still time.

To those how woke in fright at 1:30am this morning, my apologies.

To the Classic Skippers and Crews

See you on the water

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe

CYAA(Vic) Handicapper

Sailing Instructions

Entries and Handicaps

Hello Classic Yacht Association of Australia,

Please download and read our new Cruising Newsletter for the 2012 Kent Group, Bass Strait cruise.
Included is the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival weekend.

Best Regards,

Tim Phillips

Cruising2011-DealIsland.pdf

Classic Yacht Activity Update

Lot’s to say and it’s all happening now.

First up is thanks to all those believers who have renewed their Association Subscriptions. The constitution deadline for subs renewal is the end of this Sept and then 30 days after. Our boats expect their skippers and crew to “do the right thing by them.”

Next is the big event of our sailing year. The 2011 Cup Regatta for Classic Yachts and Couta Boats on Port Phillip Bay.

I’ve attached the Regatta Notice of Race and Entry Form. These docs have been waiting patiently on our web site for a couple of weeks for this announcement. We have entries already.

There’s a social program. To date we have organised a Friday Cocktail Session 6:30pm at Royals to met up with our kindred Kiwis from the NZ Classic Yacht Association. There’s also the Regatta Wrap up BBQ and Trophy presentation on the Royals lawn on the Monday. Cost last year was $20 and $25 pp respectively. Maybe a bit more as the latest CPI increase finally killed beer over the bar prices. Royals catering looks after both events.

Our Regatta wouldn’t be half the affair without the NZ contingent. There’s 15 of them coming over. Besides Regatta sailing discussions, the opportunity to meet with and discuss your ideas and queries with the leading players of the NZ Classic Yacht world is an opportunity not to be missed.

Be aware, the Kiwis are not here for their good looks. They are here to win. Similar to what happens at Flemington on that 1st Tuesday in November. They are all competing for the Trans Tasman Trophy. This trophy goes to the visiting sailor that accumulates the lowest point score based on the yachts performance they are allocated for each race. So to our yacht skippers who score a Kiwi you’ll be under the gun. This trophy is currently in the possession of Cameron Dorrough. Cameron took part in the last Feb. NZ Regatta helming Waitangi.

The Regatta’s other colour bonus is the participation of the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Fleet. We have already received Couta Boat entries before the formal release of Regatta documentation. Once again, they are not here for their good looks either. Sailing the 30 NM’s to Williamstown and back to Sorrento for the fun is not on. They are sailing up to take our Silver back with them. To be on the safe side our Classic fleet of couta and net boats will sail with them. To be fair about it, our handicapper will run his ruler over the lot of them with assistance from the SSCBC.

We have a new Regatta Trophy. The Stradbroke II Ships Bell Trophy.  This Perpetual Trophy will mounted in the Royals dining room. The name of the best overall boat of the Regatta and her skipper will be engraved on its associated plaques. The trophy and its provenance story is detailed in the NOR’s.

Suitable trophies for all regatta races has been arranged through Martin Ryan. Great Stuff. And look out, that Col Bandy special, the Frozen Moment is back

The Regatta events kick off on Friday afternoon with a speed sailing match race between two Classics and two Couta Boats, otherwise known as the Guineas Cup. The gestation of this match (grudge) race is still happening. Martin Ryan had to hand the Cup over to Nigel Abbot at the March Queenscliff Maritime Festival. He wants it back. Whose putting their hand up to help him?

The NOR’s detail the Regatta Racing Program. I’ll discuss the regatta program in more detail after the first race of the Summer Series on Oct 16. That’s right Oct 16, 2.5 weeks away.

Let’s talk about the 2011/2012 Summer Series.

The NOR’s and entry form was published some weeks ago and are now on our web site.

To date 9 entries. The Handicapper is looking for more to run his sharpened pencil over.

1st Race is at Royals. I’ll publish the SI’s and entries on the Weds before the race.

I cannot believe we will cop 3 abandoned races as we did in the Winter Series.

So, there’s lot’s to say, but no more for the moment. Don’t forget your boats need their skippers and crew to renew their subs.

Regards to all

Peter Costolloe

CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Cup Regatta Information

Summer Series NoR

Summer Series Entry

CYAA Renewal

CYAA New Member

A series closing message with inspiration from Col Bandy

“Speed, bonny boat, like a bird on the wing”.

The first line from that legendry Scottish melody, the “Skye Boat Song,” bought to us by the pipes of David McKenzie from Mercedes, was the closing line for our 2011 winter racing. Words put to the dreams of those skippers and crews of our beloved classic yachts.

Three abandoned races over the series, disappointment.

The decision to abandoned yesterdays race was a hard call. Flat water seen from the Royals club house lawn beckoned us. Just like those sirens tried to with Homer’s Odysseus. Phone calls from the home clubs of George Fischer of Boambillee, Jim Hutchison of Dingo and Kent Bacon of Renene and the sight of Kingurra, the only yacht of the 98 Syd/Hobart whose full rig survived a turnover, sailing to the race start area with a reefed main, broke the spell of the sirens song. An SMS message to all skippers would not be a bad idea. A process that needs to be worked on.

To be sure, people that needed to relieve that “must go sailing twitch”, Martini’s skipper and crew plus a passenger from Bungoona, ‘ the Lord be good to them,’ had to test the waters. 31 apparent over the deck, close to 10:30 our scheduled start time.

Pictures from on board Martini from Cameron Dorrough

Reviewing the commentary from the five races sailed in this series, our yachts did provide us with sailing experiences that will make up for the loss of those 3 racing days.

“The Rusty Shackle” trophy for the best performing yacht of the season was no disappointment. Three cheers went up for Bob Munro and his crew of that “Swift Flying Bird” “Tandanya.” Consistently, Tandanya featured in the results of every race of the series. Tandanya has rewarded Bob for his serious rebuild of her by featuring in the collection of Association Trophies many years now. The Issue 20, April 2005 of our News Letter on the web site, provides the story how Tandanya received a new life.

Bungoona with Cameron Dorrough and Zephyr with Anne Batson were all set to make Bob earn his series trophy. Again disappointment, second and third in the series performance stakes respectively was accepted with cheerful resignation.

I’ve attached a summary of the series races and overall results.

The series had significant highlights. Kingurra, that powerful performer, is now with us. The re-appearance of Jean with John Raff and Dingo with Jim Hutchison after extensive rework programs, was a demonstration of our boats rewarding effort put into them. The series also saw number of competing Tumlarens increase. A couple more will help revive the Tum Association Trophy racing. The question will be handicapping. Don’t worry, complaints keep the handicapper happy.

No disappointment either with our end of series BBQ. To the stern efforts by Martin Ryan’s family to provide our salads and Richards Gates, in spite of flu, to provision us. A serious thank you. This effort was rewarded with the sight of our members for once, having the time to enjoy the social company of fellow members, particularly those members who came over from their home clubs.

As always you are never too old to learn. And learn we did. This time the learning was, never let ex Alter boys loose with lighted tapers. Particularly near plastic garbage bins. No names no pack drill, but we are expecting a great ticketing system for our Cup Regatta entry and social program.

So that’s the end of our 2011 Winter Series.

To our members, skippers and crews with the hopes their Bonny Boat will fly like a bird on the wing, our 2011/2012 Summer Series and our 2012 Cup Regatta beckons with your renewed association membership.

Kind Regards to all

Peter Costolloe

CYAA (Vic) Handicapper

Series Results available on here.