Fast Handling Technique

This time last year I borrowed from the library Frank Bethwaite, "High Performance Sailing", It was a big book and at times a difficult read. But I have no regrets putting the time into reading it carefully. Many of his observations and theories have stayed with me and since influenced the way I think about sailing.

Frank Bethwaites new book Fast Handling Technique is a far easier book to read, and and I am looking forward to picking it up a second time to find the things I missed.

As a keen intermediate level sailor, I am constantly looking for the answer to the next stage of my development. At this time its my quest is for better boat speed and handling, minimising the use of the rudder, using boat heal and sail trim. This was the lesson for me from Steve Cockerill's boat whisperer videos.

Bethwaite’s theoretical and practical analysis reinforces the point. He argues there are two kinds of boat handling the original and outdated ‘natural’, ‘one handed’ method of using the rudder to steer up in gusts resulting in slow speed and capsizes and the ‘fast’ two handed method of coordinating easing sheets, steering and body movement.

The book is loaded with theoretical and practical observations that apply to all sorts of sailing. I sail a Laser and crew on yachts. I found the setup guides are particularly relevant to yachts and the section contributed by Brett Bayer on Laser setups is invaluable. While I will probably never experience them, it was fun to read about the apparent wind techniques for the foiling Moth, 49er and ice yachts. 

You only need to get one important tip to make a book or talk worth the time and money and this book delivers many. You also get to experience the intellectual approach of a highly acclaimed sailor, trainer and designer.

Take your sailing gloves on holiday

Sometime this year I am planning to take a break from sailing and go traveling with the family. I have been thinking about how to stay fit as I won't have access to my bike or local pool or the ultimate exercise machine the laser dinghy.

There is a growing trend to exercise with your own body weight and I just found this article in the online version of the UK's Guardian newspaper.

It about  Spartanfam started by Chaka Clarke who learned his way of working out in the army. With mortar alarms and camp excursions in Iraq constantly interrupting his fitness regime, he developed a more flexible approach: "I started doing pushups in my tent, pullups on the tank barrel and on the side of the bulldogs, the armoured fighting vehicles that we had, doing squat jumps, just messing about."

Now living in London Clarke started Spartanfam.
Their motto is go hard or go home, sounds a lot like laser sailing.

One of their stunts is hanging sideways off whatever comes to hand – lampposts, scaffolding, his friends – performing a bodyweight exercise called the "human flag" that entails gripping a pole and holding yourself parallel to the ground.  I will pass on this one.

The military seems to a source of these kindhs of excercise routines, probably out of necessity. I remember my parents generation in the 1960's getting into 5BX an exercise program developed for the Royal Canadian Air Force, which also essentially relied on the principle of exercising without gym equipment.

Spartanfam has a series of videos on youtube demonstrating their exercises.  I like this video because it uses the kind of facilities found in hotel rooms like doorways and couches.

They also wear gloves, similar to my laser sailing gloves, so I will now need to put them on the packing list.

Great Regatta - And Back To Bad Public Policy

Martin Brady in 25 knots

The NSW/ACT Laser Masters was last weekend at the Great Lakes Sailing Club. The club is located in the Booti Booti National Park where many of us camped.

It was a great event and a really good roll up with 124 entries, 57 standard, 59 radial and 8 4.7's.

MHASC was very well represented at the regatta and on the podium.

Congratulations to Sean Atherton-Feeney, Venessa Dudley, Rob Lowndes and Martin Brady. 

Full Results 

Meanwhile one of the local causes that I care about is starting to hot up.

Hunting in our National Parks is due to start in March.

Our state Premier Barry O'Farrell has broken his pre-election promise that there will never be hunting in National Parks and made a deal with the Shooters Party.

The National Parks Association of NSW, the Public Service Association of NSW, WIRES and Wild Walks have been campaigning over the last two years to stop shooting in NSW National Parks.

Getup has now joined the cause and is raising funds to run an ad in the Sun Herald.

This is the ad and if you would like to know more or help click here.

New Zealand knows all too well how hunting and recreation is a recipe for disaster. In late 2010, a 25-year-old New Zealand school teacher, Rosemary Ives, was shot dead while brushing her teeth at a camp site in a conservation park on the North Island. The amateur hunter responsible mistook her for a deer. Then in 2011, another bushwalker -- 23 year old Dougal Fyfe -- was shot and killed by his best friend.

News Items

SMH 18 Feb 2013 Plan to let minors shoot in parks

ABC News 20 Feb 2013 - Former Shooters party Exec opposes shooting in parks

SMH 26 Feb 2013 Hunters to use silencers to hunt in national parks

SMH 1 March 2013  Investigation found evidence of alleged illegal activity by a senior executive of the Game Council NSW



The Other Side

Pro Hunting Blog http://thehunterstand.blogspot.com.au/

Shooter and Fisher Party

Too Hot To Sail - The Planet Is Warming so is Australia

Yesterday Sydney broke the hottest day record with a top temperature of 45.8 degrees Celsius (114.4 F).  For those of us acclimatised to the mild temperatures of sub tropical Sydney, it was far too hot to be on a Laser.

On Monday and Tuesday last week  the Australian-averaged maximum daily temperature rose to over 40°C. Monday’s temperature of 40.33°C set a new record, beating the previous highest Australian daily maximum of 40.17°C set in 1972.

This is according to the Australian  Bureau of Meteorology which recently published an article in the on-line publication  The Conversation.

They say it is just not an Australian phenomenon, the summer just gone in the US was the warmest on record, with extreme heat records broken at a rate never previously seen before. Studies here and overseas are now showing that many of the recent extreme summer heat events around the world — such as the European heat wave of 2003, the Russian heat wave of 2010, and US heat waves during 2011 and 2012 — would have been very, very unlikely without the influence of global warming.

Read the full article at The Conversation”

Not a Private Millpond

Some heavy hitters are weighing in over the State Government's extraordinary decision to approve a helipad in the middle of Sydney Harbour. The line up includes Malcom Turnbull Liberal frontbencher and pollsters favourite to be Australia’s next prime minister, Dick Smith entrepreneur and former CASA chairman, Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive John Lee, Ian Kiernan Clean Up Australia, local state members of parliament and local mayors.

The story was  flagged in July 2012  in the Sydney Morning Herald which reported that The Federal Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson had granted Harbourside Helicopters Pty Ltd $65,000 to part-fund a study on the best location from which to operate tourism flights over the harbour and to other tourist locations. Tourist organisations have been lobbying for harbour based heliport for some time.

Then in late November the NSW Government's Roads and Maritime Services Agencies approved Newcastle Helicopters to run a floating heliport on a moveable barge in the harbour. The SMH reported that it had obtained documents that showed the NSW government had approved the controversial floating heliport in Sydney Harbour before it had asked about air safety or air traffic control regulations.

Protests started to happening in the affluent suburbs on the harbour. Local members claimed to have known nothing about the decision. The federal Liberal front bencher Malcolm Turnbull labelled the decision ''reckless and undemocratic'' and called for it to be rescinded.

 'The nightmare I've got in my mind is a combination of a summer's afternoon, many hundreds of boats out on the harbour, most of them sailing skiffs, a strong nor-easter, sailing races under way, and these helicopters landing. Seaplanes have to find somewhere with no boats. The problem for the helicopter is he has to land on the barge,'' says Turnbull. ''Who's going to be responsible the first time there is an accident ?''

Naturally, one of the concerns is noise. Newcastle Helicopters commissioned a consultant to test and report the noise levels of helicopters. The report was posted on their website but later taken down perhaps as a result of the SHM which reported that their consultant had admitted he was not an acoustic engineer and had never previously produced a report on helicopter noise. The consultant, a director of the noise testing company, Airport Friendly Solutions, also conceded that he had been wrong to describe himself as a member of the Australian Acoustics [sic] Society. The peak body, which is actually called the Australian Acoustical Society, told Fairfax Media Mr Holden has never been a member, although he used to subscribe to its magazine. A principal of another acoustic consultancy  who examined the initial noise assessment, said ''it has so many errors in it that it says they can't be acoustic consultants''.

Wild Oats near the helipad location

Ian Kiernan, the founder of Clean Up Australia, is quoted in the SMH as saying

 'Wild Oats has got a 40-metre mast,'' ‘'We'll be putting yachts right around it, I tell you. Vertical spears - that will make it pretty hard for them.''

Dick Smith, helicopter pilot and former chair of Chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has taken the other side he is quoted in the Daily Telegraph saying

"There was no problem with downdraft  People in other boats would just move a bit away, let the helicopter land or take-off, then move back again."

Perhaps the silliest quote is from Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive John Lee, who proposed the floating heliport as part of The Daily Telegraph's People's Plan, said it was still a working harbour "not a private millpond".

I give the last quote to a sailor, the Commodore of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Malcolm Levy.

''The area I see designated on a plan shows quite a large part of the harbour … used continuously in yacht races and by recreational users. If there's going to be a barge stuck in the harbour, does that mean we are to stop what we've been doing?''

The SMH says for now, the government seems determined to tough out the backlash against the project.

 photo - helicopter hovering over dinghies kindly referred by Doug (Improper Course)

Update 23/12/12
Newcastle Helicopters PR agency  issued a press statement yesterday.

''Effective immediately, Newcastle Helicopters has put the project of the Sydney Harbour Floating Heliport on hold until further notice, in order to consider the feasibility of the operation going forward,'' ''It is Newcastle Helicopters' intention to address the relevant concerns … with thoroughly considered and accurate information, and is taking the appropriate steps to do so.''

Asked what he thought about the heliport announcement, Mr Turnbull said: ''I am not sure what this announcement really means. But our position remains that the government should revoke the licence and if Newcastle Helicopters want to have a floating heliport in the harbour they should make an application that goes through proper planning processes.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nofly-zone-helipad-plan-grounded-20121222-2bsk3.html#ixzz2FpAFHOiH


In the meantime Sydney Ports has issued a Notice to Mariners effective 26 December, coincidently the start of the Sydney to Horbart yacht race.

Notice is hereby given that areas that can be used for vessel based 

helicopter operations have been established within Sydney Harbour, and 

will become available to operators on Monday 26  December 2012. 

   

Area 1  Seaplane area in Rose Bay 

Area 2  Between Shark Island and an arc of a circle radius 250m centred on 

position 33º51.374’S 151º15.496’E 

Area 3  Within a circle radius 250m centred on position 33º 51.068'S 151º 

14.327'E off Athol No 4 Buoy 

Area 4  Within the area bounded by 33º 51.2407'S 151º 13.7208’E, 33º 51.2792'S 

151º 14.3650’E, 33º51.3486'S 151º 13.7115’E, 33º51.3872'S 151º 

14.3557’E – between Fort Denison and Bradley’s Head 

Vessel based helicopter operations involve helicopters landing onto, or 

taking off from, a vessel underway.   Such vessels will indicate that 

helicopter operations are underway by displaying a high intensity 

flashing magenta light. 

By direction of the Harbour Master, helicopter operations will be 

suspended whilst there are vessels within 100m of a vessel engaged in 

helicopter operations. 

A notification on which area is in use will be included in the hourly 

information message broadcast by Sydney Ports VTS on VHF Channel 13. 

Philip Holliday                    30 November 2012                                        

Harbour Master      www.sydneyports.com.au                             

Sydney Ports Corporation

Read more:

 http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/chopper-plan-in-tailspin-as-harbour-anger-grows-20121220-2bpen.html#ixzz2FkDgml5s

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/funding-to-find-harbour-heliport-20110727-1i04x.html#ixzz2Fj1jST5r

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/sorry-premier-not-in-my-pad/story-e6frfq80-1226540720124#ixzz2Fixy8z4K

http://www.newcastlehelicopters.com.au/sydney-harbour-floating-heliport.html

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/miranda-devine-chopper-plan-snuck-under-the-radar/story-e6frezz0-1226545044129

Ministers Media Release

Wentworth Courier 10 Jan 2013

SMH 25 Jan 2013

SMH 25 Jan 2013 Op Ed

End of Year Report

I started this blog in 2012 as an easy way of storing and retrieving web based stuff about how to sail a Laser. I left the blog settings on public because I knew no better. Anyway, there were no visitors other than some weird web trawlers from strange parts of the world. I made some early posts and for a while kept a diary in one of the tabs. The collection grew, albeit randomly, being mostly web based material. Then the Tillerman kindly put me on his blog roll and there are now a modest 1000 hits a month. So I have have to keep the blog tidy and think about a post every now and then.

The back story is that at age 60 I decided to take up single person dinghy sailing after a 40 year break. But this is not a new thing, all over the world baby boomers are finding ways to keep active and rediscover interests. So there is no point banging on about it .

Here is an end of year report on 100 Races attempts to learn how to sail a laser. I am adopting Wikipedia’s ‘Minimum Information Standards and Reporting Guidelines’.

It has been 9 months since I purchased Laser 176894 for $1,500, a lifestyle changing event.

Stats
race days - 12
regattas - 1
failed to finish - once
failed to start - twice
races won - 1
usual fleet position mid to rear
practice days  - 64
weight loss - 6 kilos
club handicap - 5 minutes on club champions

Good Times
camping in the Budgewoi caravan park for the Coast regatta.
first over the line on club fun race mini marathon around the harbour
watching the AUS sailing team train out of Middle Harbour
being able to sail my Laser all year round
weight loss - 6 kilos

Funny Events
breaking a mast and walking the boat home along rocky shore line
heading out in 25 knots checking out the start line and heading straight back to the club (twice)

Looking forward to
14 remaining race days this season
masters regatta in February

Thanks to
my club for the regular training sessions by Rob and Sean, the well organised race days and the encouraging  environment.

TracTrac Coverage of Sail Melbourne

The first round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup is now on at Sail Melbourne and the Sandringham Yacht Club,  2-8 December.

I have been following the Men's Laser races with TracTrac. The Australian Olympic Laser Squad, Ryan Palk, Jared West, Matthew Wearn, Tom Burton and Ash Brunning are competing and at the top of the fleet with only three points separating them after day one.  Palk currently in the lead. Ash Brunning has an account of the racing on his blog. 

I see these guys most days of the week out on the water as they train out of Middle Harbour Yacht Club Olympic Sailing Team HQ. My second hand Laser is currently sporting a couple of Ryan Palk’s used regatta  sails. One for practice and the other club racing. Maybe I will get a replacement soon.

The TracTrac system is great for reviewing the race, watch at normal or up to 10 times speed, zoom in and out, pause, replay.  There is no sound so you have to make your own commentary.

You can pick up the link at
http://www.tractrac.com/index.php?page=eventpage&id=268

This is Sail Melbourne results page
http://sailmelbourne.com.au/website/results.html