Roll Tacks - eight steps plus the tiller exchange

I was recently  searching around on YouTube for tips on roll tacks. I am also interested in  the tiller exchange which is a move that I need to refresh since I last raced a dinghy in the 1970's. This video by Ian Eliot and friends does a great job of breaking down of light air roll tacks into eight steps and right at the end gives us with one extra step - the tiller exchange  They use video from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club Race Team.   The Salientian channel also has other videos including one on light wind jibing, using the tiller extension to get hold of the main sheet.

Transit of Venus and the Unknown Southern Land

On June 6 we  will have the opportunity to witness the transit of Venus when the planet passes between the Earth and the Sun.  There have been only six Transits of Venus since first predicted by the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler in the 17th Century.

This is a bit of history for those us who sail Sydney Harbour. James Cook, crew and scientists were the first Europeans to reach the east coast of Australia, They made landfall at Botany Bay just south of Sydney Harbour in April 1770. Eighteen years later the British established a penal colony at Sydney Cove.

Cook sailed to the south Pacific ocean on HMS Endeavour,  to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus across the Sun and to seek evidence of the postulated Terra Australis Incognita the "unknown southern land".

Route of the first voyage of James Cook 1768 to 1771

Staring at the brilliant disk of the Sun with the unprotected eye can quickly cause serious and often permanent eye damage.The safest way to observe a transit is to project the image of the Sun through a telescope, binoculars, or pinhole.

50 km Around Sydney Harbour

Over breakfast this morning I read in the local paper (SMH) about Murray Cox who has been swimming a 50 km circuit around Sydney Harbour, taking photographs with his waterproof camera and writing a little bit about the history of coves, bays and beaches along the way.  The last leg  was today from North Head to Sound Head.

My Saturday bike ride takes me on a circuit to the forts at Middle Head, Georges Heights lookout and  Bradley's Head which all have great views of the harbour.  I usually spend more time looking at the view and studying the wind patterns than riding.

Murray Cox

First stop today on the bike, the forts at the end of Middle Head.  The views are extraordinary and way in the distance with the sun rising behind them were three support boats, some kayaks and  half a dozen  swimmers heading for South Head, the light shining through their splashes. And just to make it spooky, coming up the harbour a huge oil tanker. But they had it worked out  and were safely near South Head when the tanker steamed out to sea. The rule on Sydney Harbour is you must stay 500 metres from the bow of tankers, not easy for vessels/swimmers doing 1.5 knots.

You can read about Murray Cox's adventures on his blog.
http://www.swimsydney.com/swimsydney/Harbour_Blog/Harbour_Blog.html

My own modest quest proceeds well. I am sticking to the exercise plan most weeks, sailed three times this week to make up for last week single effort. It is harder to find the ideal practice winds with our winter patterns being either 5 knots or 20 knots West to South winds, with not many ideal days in between.  Made contact with the local Laser club to get my membership process started. Still looking for a second hand full rig sail.

One Month In

So far my blog has been about the first Australians, British naval map makers and  a recent squall and misadventure on Sydney Harbour.  Time to report on Laser training.

It has been one month since I purchased my first club racing standard Laser and I am almost a quarter of my way towards the goal  to be ready to race in September 2012.
Regular web trawling  for advice about Laser racing is filling the blog tabs with notes and quotes. Proper Course, Improper Course, How to Sail a Laser, Reaching Broadly, Butterfly Course, Centre of Effort and the many other are all fantastic.  If you are on the same journey, I hope some of the notes, quotes and links are helpful.

I recently found a free Laser Training Manual on the Web which I am still reading it and filling  more gaps in my knowledge.  Other reading includes Frank Bethwaite's book High Performance Sailing has changed the way I look at the wind and I am now actively sailing with my head out of the boat looking for the best wind on the course.  Bethwaite  is a  hard read but its worth persevering.. Michael Blackburn's book 'Sailing Fitness and Training' has given me confidence to set my own training and fitness program.

I am still thinking of a  name for Laser 176894.  I know its is meant to bad luck to change boat names but there is no name on the  hull so I feel I have some naming rights.   I found a name written on the sail bag 'Smell My Speed", yo Bart Simpson. The quest goes on for a new name.

Expect major and unpredictable changes in speed and direction. Assume no prediction possible"

It has been more than two weeks since I had a sail.  The forecast - a sunny day  8 to 10 knots gradient Westerly wind  Sea water temp 23 C. Air temp  lower for most of the day.  20 knot expected around 5 pm.  I plan to go at about 12.30 and get in well before the 20 knots..  I worked out the stability index before going. The stability index is a creation of Frank Bethwaite, explained in his book "High Performance Sailing", as a way of try to predict the kind of winds we sail in. So before going out I made this calculation.

Stability index 

• low dominant   1 pt
• colder wind over warm water 1pt
• gradient wind 1 pt

score 3 pts

For the lowest possible score of three points, Bethwaite  says "Expect major and unpredictable changes in speed and direction. Assume no prediction possible".  In other words highly unstable.

I launched at Sirius Cove and sailed out into the harbour  in 5 knots ready to do some practice. But before I could settle into it,  a huge black thunder cloud started forming in the NW,  lighting was flashing inside the cloud, dark rain streaming out, high in the sky.  I needed to get to a beach. The nearest, Syringe Cove the one next to the zoo was about 500 metres away. I was about 40 metres off the beach when the storm approached. The trees on the high hill above the beach just went crazy. The squalls arrived 15 seconds later, the gusts swinging side to side. When the boom went in the water there was no hope and the boat went over.I never stood a chance.  It seemed unwise to try to get back up again, so I swam pulling the bow of the laser on its side towards the shore. If I had been out in the main harbour, I would have sat on the upturned hull, turtle style hoping the commercial vessels would dodge me.


It was slow going and took about 10 minutes to do the 30 metres to get my feet  touching the ground,  thinking all the while about bull sharks.


This is the Seabreeze record, gust peaking at 30 knots at Fort Denison, 35 in the main harbour.

It was a lucky escape. The harbour was a white out, the wind gale force. So I held the boat in the shallows on its side for 20 minutes or so, wet but safe -  ate an apple from my pocket.


With the storm passed I went back out to do some practice. I was a little shaken  but determined to make the best of the day. After only  20 minutes of practice  another storm cloud starts developing in the NW. Not again -  and so reluctantly we (me and Laser 176894) head back to Sirius Cove. I made it up the bay as the next squall came through. The trees went crazy again along the shore, I kept the boom very loose, ducking lots and keeping the boat level. We inched the last 20 metres and  got to beach unscathed. That's the second peak on the chart.


In my experience this is quite unusual weather I have only been caught in this kind of squall half a dozen times in 50 years of sailing on Sydney Harbour. Any way that's what I am telling myself. The boat is safe, I am not hurt and I got home for a hot shower and cup of tea by 3.00pm.

The Frank Bethwaite told me before I went out, "Expect major and unpredictable changes in speed and direction. Assume no prediction possible". 5 knots to 35 knot squalls, that's major and unpredictable.

There is more information on the stability index in the wind tab.




Time lapse video

The First Map of Sydney Harbour

Within days of the first fleet entering Sydney Harbour in 1788, Captain John Hunter and First Lieutenant William Bradley of the Sirius started mapping Sydney Harbour.  This is an extract of the eastern portion of their map.  The map in full is in the Maps Tab along with links to modern day maritime maps.

First Post - Acknowledgement of Country

We sail on the beautiful and complex Sydney Harbour.  The harbour was created after the last ice age 10,000 years ago when the sea rose,  advancing fifteen km inland to fill the valleys that now form Sydney Harbour. 
The traditional owners of the land and water are the  Eora  people  of the Sydney area, south to the Georges River, north to the Hawkesbury River, and west to Parramatta. The indigenous people used this word to describe where they came from to the British. "Eora" was then used by the British to refer to those Aboriginal people. The Eora people are made up of separate family groups or clans. 
The Cadigal clan lived to the south west of the Balmain peninsula, the Wanegal to the northwest, and the Cammeraygal on the present-day lower North Shore.
Radio carbon dating indicates that the Sydney region has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years.

(source wikipedia April 2012)