On a wet and windy Wednesday there were only three starters in the Division 1s and five in the Division 1 who braved the conditions. We were not alone on the harbour as Prince Harry and assorted local dignitaries braved the awful conditions to promote the Invictus games and full credit to every one of them.
I had hoped that the 20 knot forecast breeze would swing to the east and give us a tight reach home but it was not to be so for another week we had a broad reach to the mark off Cannai Point and a solid slog home in wind and waves. With only a J133 and a TP 52 for competition it could have been a lonely trip but we held close to the J133 on the downwind leg and then let them get away another seven minutes on the windward leg home. We had some very nice tacking angles on the way home due in part to feathering the rig with the No 3 genoa and a reefed main into the breeze and in part to tacking on the knocks. We were hemmed in on the north side of the Sow and Pigs for a while but had a reasonable leg back to the southern shore.
While we always expected to be last on handicap the surprise was how close were the results. Passion X was only 45 seconds behind the second placed Duende. I had thought out on the water that we did well relative to them on the downwind leg and perhaps leaving the full main up until the turn was a good move so our 1.04 handicap is not too far off the mark and will be better next week at 1.035.
We are also closer to getting our ORCi Club rating adjusted and an IRC ratings as a weigh in is scheduled for the next fortnight. This might be a bitter sweet experience as a confirmation of the 1.11 rating will tell us we need to lift our game a lot and a much lower rating will tell us that our speed potential is not so stellar. During the construction of Passion X and tweaking of the design parameters with Dudley Dix I was aiming for a performance close to J122 yacht of 1.05 which is what the then fastest 40 ft yacht at Greenwich Flying Squadron was rated at. Since then Dump Truck came along with a 1.08 rating.
the best of both worlds would be a 1.08 rating and we crew on Passion X learning to sail at that level. It is also the rating of the Sydney 38 Blue Chip and its ilk and we have not beaten then yet.

Nice tacking angles in circa 20 knots kept us close to the fleet on handicap

What a beautiful day to go sailing! Sunny skies and a light breeze made for a most enjoyable afternoon for the West Harbour Winter Series. After the last scheduled race two weeks ago was abandoned for lack of wind the starter took the precaution to set the short courses so we had just over 100 minutes on the course.
We lined up for a start at the boat end and a long way back so when a big header came we had to tack back to preserve our position. Then the breeze died and left us a minute short of the line. At least we were free to tack at the line and make up half of our deficit by the first mark. Most of the legs of the course were tight reaches or hard on the wind but we set the big yellow spinnaker on the two short square legs and held out the genoa on another short square leg.
On the first tight reach we caught lot of yachts whose skippers were trying to fly spinnakers while we chose to two sail reach. This was the pattern for the rest of the race so that by the finish we had moved up to second fastest but a long way behind the MD 35. Our eighth place on handicap out of a fleet or 15 finishers was encouraging and we were not last on ORC scoring.
There is room for improvement. The one minute lost at the start could be avoided and we can be faster with the spinnaker hoists. One drop we left until we had gybed and that made it harder to control and pull down the sock. A Quick drop on the square run would have saved a few more seconds. Potentially there was one place we could have saved on ORC and two places on PHS.

There was a few short windward works and the angles on two of these were something spectacular so perhaps there is also ground to lose a few places.

Some very good tacking angles on two of the short windward works

We scored a fourth place in the windy RANSA Winter Wednesday race this week due to the non appearance of the larger yachts in the fleet and gear trouble on Blue Chip. I would like to say that we went faster for this result and to some extent that is true. With a reef in the main and the No3 genoa set we were first of the small trio in the fleet to the bottom mark. We don’t expect to keep pace with a TP52 in any conditions and we did not but we did beat Blue Chip and Sorcerer on the windy running leg. At the turn for the beat home we put a second reef in the main and settled down for the long slog. Even with two reefs we were overpowered and the X-Yachts 442 Sorcerer which is twice our weight and had twice as much ballast was just too powerful into the wind and waves. Blue Chip looked to draw away well but had trouble with a genoa and changed down to a nice No 4 jib. After the change they were quick and so quick that we failed to catch them. Their delay did however put a big enough dent in their elapsed time for us to beat them on handicap.
I thought we sailed well for our weight and would be happy if it was not for the ORCi velocity predictions which say we should match Sorcerer and Blue Chip to windward. Perhaps we are still too overpowered with the No 3 genoa and as a result have the main flogging too much and creating too much drag but if anything Blue Chip with one reef and Sorcerer with none did better in the light area around Shark Island.
Looking at our performance against Blue Chip over five races and Sorcerer over four races we appear to be averaging about 1.03 rating compared to our ORCi of 1.11.
We did well in the one light air race and could easily add a light air No 1 Genoa to the wardrobe to improve that performance and a heavy air No 4 jib might give us a couple of minutes in the stronger breeze but I struggle to see where we can make up 8 minutes to sail to our rating.

We had our first win at the Balmain Friday afternoon race today. It helped that the early starters in the pursuit format had little breeze but by the time we started the breeze had filled in. The light air with not a lot of hard windward work suited us and we sailed to about a 1.05 to 1.06 rating. It is still a long way off the 1.11 ORCi rating but it is reassuring to beat the Sydney 36 Cr.
Without the pressure of a lot of tacking it was a good day to introduce a new crew member to the boat. There was however enough wind at the finish to get the leeward rail into the water and give the new crew member a proper baptism.

Our fourth race in the Division 1s at RANSA was disappointing as after our first place last week we were back to our usual place of last this week. It was the second race of the series where the breeze was strong enough to use the No 3 genoa and we stacked the rails with all the crew available but were still outclassed on the windward works.
In these conditions where we are the lightest and shortest water line length in the fleet we cannot expect to be as fast to windward but we did improve a little on our first race of the series with the same genoa.
Relative to the fleet in that first race we picked up two minutes on Marloo and four minutes on Blue Chip around the course.
At the finish we were three minutes behind Sorcerer and over the three races they have contested we are on average only 10 seconds per race behind so we will have to hope for more light air races.
To be honest I would prefer more heavy air races so we can work out how to get the most out of Passion X in heavy air beating and I am still looking forward to a good 25 knot breeze where we can see if the light weight works down wind.
Today’s race was inside out as we had the light airs on the run to Cannai Point and the fresher breeze on the work home.

Today was the West Harbour Winter series so a large fleet of yachts of all sizes assembled for the start only to be caught between breezes. After a long delay the starters called it a day so we decided to do some spinnaker drill. Our decision to stay on the water and practice was rewarded when the southerly winds prevailed and filled in across what would have been our course.
In very pleasant sunny conditions we practiced three hoists and drops of the spinnaker using the spinnaker sock or snuffer. We managed to stuff it down the front hatch and rehoist without any twists and at the end of the day I was able to fold the spinnaker inside the sock into the bag ready for relaunch. In the one day we doubled our experience with the spinnaker snuffer and found a few points we need to observe for effective operations.
In the very light breeze there was not enough wind to blow the snuffer mouth to leeward so we had to be careful it did not catch between the mast and the forestay. Also the friction between the genoa and the snuffer mouth is significant and we had to raise the sock with the sock aft of the genoa. A few simple things like these made light of the work and built our confidence for stronger winds.
In the relaxed non racing mode we tried different roles on the boat and enjoyed and early finish for the afternoon.

Practising hoisting the spinnaker snuffer

The speed generated by the spinnaker brought the apparent wind well forward

A close look at the big yellow spinnaker

The Friday afternoon race at Balmain Yacht Club is a good time to practice boat handling skills and sail setting. The small fleet and pursuit format means we can concentrate on sail trim and boat handling.
Today the winds were under ten knots which seems to be our sweet spot. We set the halyards a little softer so the flow was further back in the sails and on reaches sheeted the genoa to the rail. These small changes seemed to work and I estimate we sailed to around a rating of 1.07 similar to Wednesday.
The rain held off for the afternoon and only a light drizzle appeared after we crossed the finish line.
It was another good practice day and a pleasing result but we did not get the forecast stronger winds that we need for stronger wind practice.

Today in ideal, for us, conditions we clawed our way out of the trenches and made a few yards into enemy territory. The upside of the more competitive position was a win on handicap by a few seconds.
The breeze for today’s RANSA Winter Wednesday race was a six to ten knot from the North East and the excitement started right at the beginning. We lined up in almost perfect position on the wind angle aiming off the transom of the start boat and crossed the line powered up and in clear air. Blue Chip started too high and had no where to go but stall and go behind our stern which put then in dirty air from the start.
The tactics for working the long starboard boards and short port ones to the top mark was to sail into the headers and do short tacks back. As I was keen to test our boat speed against Blue Chip I tried to stay between her and the windward mark. Marloo broke ranks and took a long port tack out where they picked up stronger lifting wind so they appeared to be well ahead. We were however able to point up into the lifting breeze while they had to bear away so we arrived at the same time but ahead of Blue Chip and Sorcerer.
On the reach back to Steele Point we sailed alongside Marloo all the way to the Rose Bay mark.
Blue Chip went wider around Steele Point and made up a bit of ground and on the run to Point Piper they brought fresh wind down with them so that we were three wide at the turn at Point Piper to the shortened course finish line to windward.
We took their sterns and their dirty air and let them slip away from us at the finish. At this stage I think the wind was fresher and that accounted for their better performance to windward on the last short beat.
I was pleased with out windward working in the lighter breezes and need to work out how to remain competitive as the wind strength picks up. We were not overpowered on the beat to the finish but we seemed to be a bit slower and lower in that fresher breeze. It would have been nice to have had clear air and sail in the same breeze as we had on the first beat.
It was a close win on handicap but a win is a win and we take it graciously and hope the handicap gods are kind to us.

Post race I received two photos from a crew member who joined the ship in Walsh Bay. One shows how sensitive Passion X is to crew weight as with all the crew in the cockpit the bow is out of the water.

Thankfully this big yacht was just passing through and not joining the race

Long starboard beats and short port ones to the top mark.

Passion X with bow out of the water. We need to watch the crew weight distribution.

Passion X reversing in to pick up crew in Walsh Bay

In the past week I have sailed four times and enjoyed the time on the water as well as the fine Autumn weather that is characteristic of Sydney. On the four days we had enough breeze for to sail the full courses but not enough to tax the skill of the crews. Last Sunday was the West Harbour Winter series, Wednesday was the RANSA Winter Wednesday Series, Friday was the Balmain Friday afternoon series and today was the Gosford Sailing Club Winter series. The first three were sailed on Passion X while the Gosford race today was sailed on Kevin’s Avanti a speedy Ross 780. In these mixed fleet races it is great to see a wide range of designs do well and boats of the 1980’s beating modern designs. Our visit to Balmain for their Friday afternoon series was our first but hopefully not our last. For the day the crew was Elaine, Ron and myself with an average age over 70 so we were quite pleased to keep close to Another Planet with five on board. They pulled away a bit on the works but we managed to pull back the deficit on the run down Snails Bay. We were able to sail by the lee with the genoa poled out to windward and then gybe the main leaving the genoa poled to leeward and later gybe the main back again with the genoa now back out to windward. With the small crew and with out speed better at a higher angle this was quicker than trying to pole out to windward on each gybe. We have done this to advantage on twilight races and I am inclined to use this technique more often now that we have a hull that enjoys higher angles. We were pretty well side by side until the last run when we were pinned by leeward yachts into the wind shadow of the islands while Another Planet was ahead and able to sail a wider course. It was a good afternoon and some much needed time on the helm. Today at Gosford Kevin’s boat is well sorted out with a nice square topped main and with the overlapping genoa it enjoys a good turn of speed with just a light breeze. It felt good to finish ahead of a Match 38 and an Adams 10.

Sunset on a Sydney Autumn day

Avanti after the race waiting for high tide

Passion X seems to be stuck in no man’s land in the RANSA Winter Wednesday Series between the yachts in Division 1s and the yachts in Division 1.
On some dodgy back of the envelope calculations we would have been at or very near the front of Div 1 yesterday while we were four minuted adrift of the second last fastest yacht in Div 1s. We might have enjoyed a good race at the front of Div 1 while in Div 1s it was a different matter. Passion X has a good turn of speed off the breeze so we stayed with Marloo and Sorcerer from the start to the leeward mark. Once on the breeze the more powerful and larger boats powered away. We were pleasantly surprised we managed with the No 1 Genoa and the full mainsail in the 15 knots of breeze but it was right at the top end of our range. When we turned Blue Chip was already a couple of minutes in front but close enough for us to try to follow her tacking angle. We went for speed rather than height and yesterday that might not have been the optimum angle as we had to go West of the Sow and Pigs and tack to the mark while Blue Chip, Marloo and Sorcerer picked up a lift ahead and above to clear the mark without needing to tack.
The larger genoa compared to last week helped in the light air around Point Piper but we were still four minutes behind the tail as they rounded Point Piper. We had a good run around Shark Island and did not lose a lot of ground for the rest of the race so we were closer at the finish than last week but still lonely out the back.
We had the optimum sails up for the race and made few mistakes so that is about as fast as we can go give or take a couple of minutes. We will do a couple of minutes better on the rare occasions the angle to the top mark is tighter and the leg back to Steel Point is broader but that wind angle is not common. Windward leeward races are not our strong point so any lucky shifts would be negated by our slower overall performance on the downwind leg.

Winter Wednesday race 2 tracks took us West of the Sow and Pigs and we needed a short tack to clear the mark.

The truth is we are sailing pretty well as expected but I expected a rating of 1.05 at most based on the lighter Didi 38 version. I added a bit more sail area and righting moment to compensate for our heavier hull but was surprised that our club rating came out at 1.11 with spinnakers and 1.02 without spinnakers.  I was looking forward to sailing against Amante and Allegro and Agrovation and Izzi and it will be interesting to see how much the rating comes down when the hull is officially weighted and we lower the default crew weight.

We managed to stay with Marloo and Sorcerer on the reach.

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When it comes to round the buoys yacht racing we Laser sailors have a lot to learn. In the yacht we do mostly non spinnaker racing except for Sail Port Stephens and the West Harbour Winter Series. In Sail Port Stephens there are usually long legs so slow spinnaker setting is not a big handicap but the West Harbour Winter Series has a lot of short legs where sail handling proficiency pays big dividends.
Today was our first time with the 140 m2 symmetric kite in the spinnaker snuffer. Apart from watching a lot of videos I had not hoisted a snuffer before and both Elaine and I are delighted with how it worked. It went up and down as expected and there was no need to repack the kite after every hoist. On subsequent hoists it came out of the sock as it should and we even had it hoisted in the sock before the mark on the last lap.
Our lack of river yacht racing experience showed when we dropped the spinnaker at Clarke Point after the first run while the experienced racers carried theirs shy to Goat Island. It this stage of the race the Second Division leaders caught up the five minutes gap we had on them from the start times but fortunately only Pistol Dawn stayed ahead. We pulled away from the rest of the second fleet and were six minutes in front at the finish.
In the trip around Goat Island we made a break on the tail end of our fleet while the front end disappeared into the distance. It was quite demoralizing to see the lead boats far away in the distance and not see where they were making gains on our time.
We did get caught on the wrong side of a couple of shifts and did pick up a couple of good lifts but on balance I think we had to tack away from good lifts more often than not. The second windward work up the South side of Cockatoo Island was better than the first but the good guys were long gone and we have no idea how they fared on this passage. Next Light seen overtaking Passion X in the photo finished 15 minutes ahead.

It was an odd day as we finished in a puff of strong breeze while around the corner of Cockatoo Island we could see the tail end of the fleets drifting down the Parramatta River in glassy conditions.

The second trip around the south side of Cockatoo Island was much better than the first

Passion X with spinnaker dropped being overtaken by Next Light with spinnaker still flying. Phil Hare photo

Some of the crew of Passion posing with the perpetual trophy and the very nice one to keep.

A close up of the trophy for first place in Division 1

Some of the crew of Passion picked up the trophy for the first place in the 2016 RANSA Winter Wednesday series last night. It was an good series for Passion as we won the Division 1 by a large margin. What made it particularly pleasing was that RANSA had initially relegated us to Div 2 for the slower yachts but reinstated us in Div 1 on request. We wanted to keep sailing against our familiar competitors, the Northshore 38’s, Rainbow, Izzi and others and the same sentiment is on play this coming season with Passion X.
it was the second time we had won the series and for the third year in a row it was a Greenwich Flying Squadron yacht. Izzi had won for the past two years and as they had been improving over this time it was no reflection on the handicappers. From memory, because we cannot keep the perpetual trophy, Greenwich Flying Squadron yachts had won for four of the last six seasons and we will be trying to make that five out of seven this year.

It is quite an honor to have the name of Passion engraved twice on the perpetual trophy alongside some of the legends of Sydney Harbour and we will try hard to add Passion X to the list.