August 2016 Lifeline - Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron

LIFELINE
ROYAL NOVA SCOTIA YACHT SQUADRON
AUGUST 2016 EDITION
TEAM NEWPORT
DEVIATION
TO BERMUDA RACE
Winds
ON A WEDNESDAY
venetian
night
COMMODORE’S
TEA
light-hearted affair -playful high-tea attire!
CONTENTS
YOUR CLUB
IN THIS ISSUE
Greetings from the Commodore
2
Thank You to Our Members
2
Commodore’s Tea
3
Venetian Night
4
Member Services Shares What’s Happening
5
Team Deviation - Newport to Bermuda Race
7
RNSYS crew tops PHR classes in RHSP 2016
12
Winds on a Wednesday
15
Evolution of Wednesday Night Sailing Instructions
16
Lieutenant Governor’s Volunteer Award
16
Caption Contest
17
August Calendar of Events
18
YOUR CLUB
every day
all summer long
WATERFRONT DINING
OUTDOOR POOLS
LEISURE BOATING
COMPETITIVE RACING
SOCIAL EVENTS
AND SO MUCH MORE!
1
THANK YOU
COMMODORE
GREETINGS FROM THE COMMODORE
S
ummer is in full swing, and the grounds of the RNSYS are a hub of
activity. There is so much going on around the facilities that it is hard to
keep up!
The recent Olympic send off was a huge success and I extend my sincere
congratulations to all involved. We can’t wait to watch our athletes take on
the world’s best in Rio!
The 8th running of the biennial Route Halifax Saint Pierre Race has just
concluded and congratulations to all squadron sailors that represented the
Club extremely well in the grueling 350 NM Ocean race - which was one of
the more demanding races in recent years. I want to thank Past Commodore
Chisholm and his committee for organizing a wonderful start to the race
in Halifax and to Richard Hinterholler for his amazing dedication as this
year’s Race Director.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
F
irstly, thank you to all our members for their
tremendous support of our Club’s five Olympians/
Paralympians who have already left after their SendOff to train once again in Rio, Brazil.
Our Club’s sailors do us proud, both at home and
around the globe - and so do our members. It has
really been an honour to serve on your behalf! If
you would like the opportunity to contribute to
the very expensive campaigns of our Squadron 5,
please contact Lauchie Routledge in our Accounting
Department 902.477.5653. ext 116, or by visiting the
Administration building at 360 Purcell’s Cove Rd!
To support our sailors by watching on the big screen,
we plan to broadcast British Coverage (BBC Sport)
of sailing events, and show it on our new screen in
the Ward Room, as well as CBC coverage of other
events. Luckily the time zone in Rio, Brazil, is the
same as Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Suzanne Shaw
Vice Commodore Member Services
2
COMMODORE
The RNSYS Summer Cruise to Cape Breton is
underway in late July, with sailors and power boater
alike enjoying some of the finest cruising conditions in
the world. I’m looking forward to hearing some of the
stories of camaraderie and adventure.
COMMODORE’S
TEA
SAT U R DAY , S E PT E M B E R 3 ,
2 P M , C L U B H O U S E PAT I O
Our junior sailors are also continuing their winning
ways in regatta’s near and far, as are some of our
senior sailing teams. Check out the RNSYS Race Team
Facebook pages for some great photos and stories of
our athletes.
The best part all, is that we still have another couple of
months of some of the finest boating conditions ahead
of us. So get out there and enjoy the Club, enjoy the
open water, and make some wonderful memories.
Commodore Steeves.
this annual
tradition is a
light-hearted affair
that encourages
playful high-tea
attire!
3
VENETIAN
NIGHT
Saturday, September 3, beginning at
7pm, from the Club.
We invite all members and residents along the Northwest
Arm to participate in the festivities by celebrating with
family, friends, and neighbours, with sparklers, lights
and fanfare! The brighter the better, so be creative in
celebrating a sailing tradition that has been taking
place for more than a century.
VENETIAN
NIGHT
celebrate
the magic
4
MEMBER
SERVICES
MEMBER
SERVICES
Events coming up throughout
the summer include Pub Night,
Friday, August 26th, featuring
a taster tray from a local craft
brewery, which pairs well with
our specialty pub menu of small
plates of a Roast Lamb Slider,
Cajun Breaded Chicken Drums,
or a Salmon and Kimchi Taco!
Regular Ward Room Menu is also
available to accompany our trays
of taster-sized brews.
Speaking of local cocktails
to wet your whistle, we will
continue to feature our Nova
Scotian Blueberry summer drink,
throughout the season, from
our old friends the Ironworks
Distillery from Lunenburg.
5
MEMBER
SERVICES
Thinking longer term, get your finest hat ready for
the Commodore’s Tea on Saturday, September 3rd,
beginning at 2pm. This ever-popular and lovely event
will again be accompanied by the Martin Jazz Band, on
the afternoon of Venetian Night.
For those new to the Club, Venetian Night is a timehonoured, magical evening of boats decorated with
lights of all colours, parading up and down the Arm.
Plan to participate in this lovely event.
YOUR CLUB
ALL SUMMER LONG
Lastly, your calendar should be marked for an event
on Saturday, September 24th, beginning at 2pm, in the
Ward Room, to celebrate the 70 years that Life Member,
Charlie Fowler, will have been a member.
Charlie joined after returning from WWII at the age of
26. George Archibald is the host of this event, along
with the Fowler family.
In the meantime, on those blessed sunny days, don’t
forget the adult pool by the Saraguay. Overlooking the
Arm, it’s truly a beautiful spot to relax and enjoy your
summer!
Suzanne Shaw
Vice Commodore Member Services
6
RACING
TEAM DEVIATION
NEWPORT TO BERMUDA 2016
RNSYS Member, Stuart McCrea shares his 635
nautical mile experience of the Newport to
Bermuda Race, a true offshore test.
Few races test the blue water
seamanship of a crew nor are as
iconic as the Newport to Bermuda
Race. 2016 marked the 50th
anniversary of the “thrash to the
patch” and this year’s edition lived up
to its reputation, albeit the “trash”
was less then what was potentially
forecast. For the Deviation Team, we
were thrilled to be representing the
interest of Nova Scotia sailing and
our club at what now has become a
true international offshore race.
For individuals that have completed
a “Bermuda” race, they will articulate
that the race is far more than just a
sailboat race; the endeavor requires
well-defined skills linking logistics,
organizational, human resources,
budgeting, and time management
skills. But for many of the first
timers who take on the race the
output surpasses the input. For what
some may equate as their “Everest”,
the only difference being when they
reach the summit, the flag is replaced
by tasty “dark and stormies”.
7
RACING
“ FOR WHAT SOME MAY
EQUAT AS THEIR “EVEREST”,
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE
BEING WHEN THEY REACH
THE SUMMIT, THE FLAGS ARE
REPLACED BY TASTY ‘DARK
AND STORMIES’.
”
Before the start on Friday, June 17th the surreal feeling of
setting out on our 635-mile adventure was rocked by the
number of team dropping out. The adverse weather predicted
for the course was enough to have teams decide that it wasn’t
worth venturing out. At times, the forecasted weather was
gaining dockside buzzwords that included “tropical”, “forty
feet”, “60 knots”, and “Fastnet”. We undoubtedly developed
a certain level of apprehension; a final decision was made to
start the race while monitoring the weather over the next 2430 hours. The latest forecast of heavy weather coincided with
our scheduled entry into the Gulf Stream and allowed for a
bailout plan if needed.
Our class (6) was the only “one design” class for the entire
event, comprising of nine J120s. Deviation was the first to
strike on the line, winning the start and extending a small lead
as we worked toward our race plan. A great start to our long
haul ahead. However, in ocean racing, what is planned and
what is often found to be true can vary greatly. After several
hours into the race, we found ourselves having to adjust and
reconstitute our “game plan” for the race, which had been
originally set to go west of the rhumbline. This amendment
regrettably cost us some positional gauge as we went through
the early morning hours and our placing slipped in our fleet.
8
RACING
Throughout the day of the 18th, we battled with our abilities to
obtain accurate weather data. This became a bit taxing with the
impeding “storms”. Nevertheless, we found and placed faith
in one of our Grib files. We decided that we could salvage our
position with the news that the data was showing the “nasty”
weather being downgraded. An overwhelming sense of relief
emanated as that the “elephant” in the room had finally left the
building, allowing us to concentrate at the task at hand: to be
first to Bermuda.
“IN OCEAN
RACING,
WHAT IS
PLANNED
AND WHAT IS
OFTEN FOUND
TO BE TRUE
CAN VARY
GREATLY.
”
On Sunday June 19th, our game plan placed us in a “thread the
needle” approach through the Gulf Stream. For those who are
not familiar with the race, the race can be divided into three
stages: the race off the coast, Gulf Stream entry and exit, and
your approach to Bermuda. For us, our needle was a forty-milewide area adverse meander to the west that had been stationary
on the rhumbline for months prior, and another meander just
east of equal negativity, albeit smaller in size. We had a tight tenmile-wide area where we might be safe, if not we would be stuck
trying to over achieve an opposing three to four knot current.
Fortunately, we were able to get through the narrow “gut” and
were placed in a drag race with several boats. Inopportunely,
this is when we found out that our Jib Top genoa was not up to
the task, and after a mere thirty minutes decided it had enough
and blew up into an unusable piece of deadweight.
Monday we awoke to find ourselves not advancing on our
respective fleet. We were now dealing with a thirty-mile deficit to
the lead boat in our class. This created a sense urgency onboard.
We developed what we now call the “Apollo 13” move.
9
RACING
A counter clockwise low was just to the east of our
position. We decided to use this low to slingshot us
forward. It worked well, almost too well as we found
ourselves in forty knot conditions for hours (top end
was a mere fifty), with seas in the twenty to thirtyfoot range and sustain speeds sometimes reaching
eighteen knots. On the backside of the low we
had become addicted to the speeds. We decided we
needed more as the wind lessened. That turned out
to be demise of our new heavy air A5 kite. After we
set it, it decided it would rather go swimming with
the dolphins than fly in the air. Needless to say this
did not do the sail any good and it now affectionately
rests in pieces. This wasn’t the first encounter for
one of Deviation’s spinnakers with dolphins. The
previous day, a pod acting like a bunch of teenagers
decided the foot of our A2 kite was some sort of
toy of theirs and repeatedly jumped into the foot of
the sail.
As stated, the “Apollo 13” move worked well, and
as Tuesday morning progressed we found that we
had shaved a remarkable twenty-three miles out of
the lead boat. We were all riding high as the team set
a record on Deviation; covering close two hundred
and twenty-five miles in a 24hr period.
“WE WERE ALL
RIDING HIGH
AS A THE TEAM
SET A RECORD
ON DEVIATION;
COVERING
CLOSE TO TWO
HUNDRED AND
TWENTY-FIVE
MILES IN A 24
HOURS PERIOD
”
As the afternoon progressed we found ourselves in
second place with the cross hairs firmly planted on
the lead boat which was a mere three miles away. But
this is ocean racing and nothing comes easy. We were
served yet another hurdle when we were becalmed
yet again. As night started to fall, a case of the “we
can’t get there from here” became apparent as we
struggled for any zephyr we could find knowing we
had to get west for the anticipated fill. Regrettably,
the fill came in from the west later for us than two
other boats. This left us in an upwind fetch for thirty
miles with little tactical advantage left to call upon.
When we crossed the finish line around 3am
Wednesday, a major sense of accomplishment
overwhelmed the crew. As data came in, we quickly
learned of our position with respect to not only the
fleet, but our class as well. For Deviation and its team,
it was a hard fought battle; becoming third J120 to
cross the line (correcting out in Fourth in Class), an
impressive 42nd in line honors (out of 166 racers),
but more notably winning the new regional trophy
for “best performance of a Canadian yacht”. As we
reached the port of Hamilton... well let’s say we all
know what happens after that!
10
RACING
“WHEN WE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE AROUND 3AM WEDNESDAY, A MAJOR
SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT OVERWHELMED THE CREW. AS DATA CAME
IN, WE QUICKLY LEARNED OF OUR POSITION WITH RESPECT TO NOT ONLY
THE FLEET, BUT OUR CLASS AS WELL. FOR DEVIATION AND ITS TEAM, IT WAS
A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE.
”
In closing, I wish to thank the crew of Deviation for their
dedication, and hard work: Matthew Christie, Cameron Fraser,
Jason and India White, Dr. Sean Christie, Rob Maclean, and
Geoff Dalzell. As well a special thanks goes out to Sandy
MacMillan, and Andreas Josenhans for their involvement
with the team leading up to the event. The most gratitude is
owed to the love of my life, Leah. Without her support, none
of this would be possible.
Stu McCrea
A member of RNSYS since early 1980’s, has been sailing since
the age of five (5) thanks to his late father, Armour McCrea,
and Dick Rafuse. Stuart spent close to a decade campaigning
lasers as a youth, including Canada Games trials and various
regatta placements. Competing in over ten Marblehead to
Halifax races, Newport to Bermuda races, Key West races,
as well as being an active competitor in J70 class onboard
“Gone”, Stuart has received designation of top Canadian in
both North American and World regattas.
TEAM DEVIATION
11
RACING
Esprit de Corps II sets out on a winning
race to Saint-Pierre. The team won line
honours and first place in the Ocean
Class, finishing the race in 46:04:08.
RNSYS CREW TOPS
PHR CLASSES IN RHSP 2016
Skipper Scott MacLeod and his crew
on “Easy Company” raced to victory
in the performance handicap racing
R A C -fleet in the 2016 edition of Route
ING Halifax Saint-Pierre. MacLeod’s crew
of Peter Blunden, James Barkhouse,
Richard Dube, Ray Fougere, and
Virginia Hattin finished the race in a
corrected time of 2:08:49:37 on the
Oceanis 40, registered in the nonspinnaker class.
JUDEROBERTSONPHOTO.COM
Three VOR 60’s raced in a new
“Ocean Racing” class. The victor
was a veteran Quebec skipper,
Georges Leblanc on “Esprit de
Corps II”. Leblanc is part of Équipe
ATLAS, a Quebec organization that
promotes leadership skills among
business leaders through sailing
ventures. This was the team’s first
ocean race. Leblanc has a long record
of successful racing in trans-Atlantic
and other ocean racing events.
12
RACING
“Pandora” skipper Peter Bromley was awarded
the Hal Davies trophy for the first time skipper
who earned the best results. The award is made
in memory of the co-founder of the race, a longtime RNSYS member.
“Saraphie”, a Whitby 42 skippered by Bruce
Hancock was awarded the Binnacle trophy for the
best combined performance in RHSP 2016 and
the Marblehead to Halifax Race 2015.
The racing was challenging with upwind sailing
conditions for much of the 350 nm course and
reports of +30 kt. wind gusts Sunday night and
Monday. Thirteen boats entered the race, which
departed on July 10th from the Halifax waterfront,
but unfortunately three retired due to variety of
equipment problems after the start. Leaving ten
vessels to compete for the winners circle in SaintPierre.
After the tough racing, the fleet was once again
greeted with the famous friendly reception from
the people of Saint-Pierre.
“WHAT I FIND TRULY
DIFFERENTIATES
THIS OCEAN RACE
IS THE HOSPITALITY
YOU RECEIVE ON
LANDING ON THE
BEAUTIFUL SHORES
OF SAINT-PIERRE
”
ED STEEVES
COMMODORE
A crew parade through the town was led by Équipe
ATLAS, which presented a maple tree to SaintPierre’s Senator Karine Claireaux on behalf of
the racers. The Allianz Grand Prix inshore race on
Bastille Day showed the Islanders big boat racing
up close.
RNSYS Commodore Ed Steeves, who has taken
part in two past races, represented the club in SaintPierre this year. “What I find that truly differentiates
this ocean race is the hospitality you receive on
landing on the beautiful shores of Saint-Pierre.”
He points out the adventure of the race itself
provides more than enough stories for sailors to
share, but also, “the warm hospitality they receive
from the friendly people there will forever remain
in their memories.”
RHSP 2016 was chaired by George Chisholm, past
commodore of RNSYS.
Kathy Large
2016 RHSP Committee
13
RACING
Winds
ON A WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday nights, we race in the middle harbour, the area
roughly bounded by Point Pleasant Park to the north and the
breakwater on MacNabs Island to the south. This part of the
harbour is approximately 1 mile square, open to the south and
with two wind funnels to the north. Depending on the wind
direction, some fairly predictable effects can be found in our
race area.
With a northerly wind the start line is usually in the area of York
Redoubt, closer to the western shore to keep clear of the main
shipping lane. Northerlies tend to be steady and moderate and
also tend to stream in to our race area from the Northwest Arm
and from down the harbour. This creates a split as the boats
travel upwind and the windward mark is usually either Hens
and Chickens or Point Pleasant. Finding the better funnel and
choosing when to cross the middle is often the key to this race.
Easterlies are not a common wind and are one of the trickiest to
set a course for. Aside from the necessity of crossing the shipping
lanes, finding a place for the windward mark can be difficult. The
winds themselves tend to be steady but light so it’s a matter of
choosing heading in to the harbour or out of the harbour in the
hope of finding the most breeze.
Southerlies tend to be a sea breeze and so have a habit of dying
towards the end of the day. On a warm day the wind fills in nicely
and stays steady until about 7pm, at which point it dies. On a
not-so-warm day the southerly can have a hard time moving in
against whatever else is around which results in very shifty and
unpredictable conditions. The start line will usually be either close
to Hens and Chickens or on Middle ground, depending on the
wind direction. With a steady wind there will be lifts along the
shores and often the better wind is over by MacNabs Island.
14
14
RACING
With a shifty wind it can come down to who guesses right.
Playing the southerly vs. the system wind is what nets the best
results.
Westerlies are one of the more predominant winds during the
summer and are the most effected by geography. The western
shore has two dips in it, Purcells Cove and Fergusons Cove, and
the wind tends to funnel through them. Often the windward
mark will be dropped close to the shore in Fergusons Cove to
take advantage of the funneling, with the start line on Middle
ground and a leeward mark close to MacNabs Island if possible.
Westerlies are puffy and these puffs often come with minor
shifts so playing them becomes important. Figuring out whether
it’s worth going south for more pressure is another tactical
consideration.
In general the courses are windward/leeward with the start/
finish line in the middle of the course. Frequently A class will do
two laps of the longer course, C (and J/24s) will do two laps of
the shorter course and B will do one long and one short. This
usually results in all the fleets finishing together which can be a
challenge for the recorders. When conditions and traffic permit
a reach mark is often thrown in for some of the classes to keep
things fresh.
Knowing the winds on a Wednesday will help you and your
crew maximize your sailing conditions and make for a strategical
sail and a fantastic race!
Luke Porter
Race Director
15
RACING
EVOLUTION OF WEDNESDAY NIGHT SAILING
INSTRUCTIONS
RNSYS Race Director Luke Porter discusses race adjustments
based on feedback from participants and what’s happening
in the racing realm.
The RNSYS Race Committee always strives to give the best racing
in the area, whether it’s a Wednesday night or the Prince of Wales.
We continuously tweak the races and the race documents based on
feedback from the participants and ideas floating around the world
of race management. For the last Wednesday night series in 2016,
and for all Wednesday nights onwards, we have introduced two
changes to the Sailing Instructions that people should be aware of.
The first change is that boats that break a rule outside of the zone
around the mark now only have to make a single turn (one tack, one
gybe). Given the length of a Wednesday night race this is a more
suitable penalty than two turns and, hopefully, will encourage people
to acknowledge errors and do their spin. For infractions inside
the zone around the mark, except for hitting the mark itself, the
penalty is still two turns. Crowded mark roundings are complicated
situations and it pays to be cautious and correct.
The second change is the introduction of flag U as a preparatory
signal. In race management circles this is know as “black flag lite”
since OCS boats are still disqualified but the repercussions only
exist for that race. The details are in the Sailing Instructions. The
enthusiasm of some fleets (I’m looking at A fleet here) has required
the use of the black flag on a number of occasions and this gives a
slightly less onerous option should it be necessary.
As always, it pays to read the race documents!
special
notice
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia’s
Queen’s 90th Birthday
Certificate of Volunteer Service Award
In a recent letter to the Squadron,
Brigadier-General The Honourable
J.J. Grant, Lieutenant Governor
of Nova Scotia, announced that
in honour of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, he
had instituted a one-time award
program intended to recognize
outstanding volunteers who devote
themselves to the service of others.
Certificates will be presented to
volunteers who render 90 hours,
or more, of volunteer time to
organizations holding vice-regal
patronage, RNSYS being one of
those organizations.
This award is somewhat unique
inasmuch as volunteers must
nominate themselves.
16
special
notice
The role of the Board is, with input from
Management where required, to verify the
number of hours of volunteer service being
claimed by applicants from the Squadron.
This function is complicated by the fact that
the Squadron does not record in any formal
fashion the number of hours dedicated to the
numerous club activities requiring volunteers
(think of Marblehead and Route St. Pierre
races, decorating the club for social events,
spring planting, all the committee work that
goes on year-round, etc.). Nevertheless, the
Board will consider any and all applications
made by members and will, where necessary,
seek corroborative evidence for claims.
CAPTION
CONTEST
Have a funny caption for this photo?
Share it with us and we will share it with the membership in our next
edition of the Lifeline Newsletter!
All submissions must be entered by Tuesday, August 23rd, at noon.
You can submit as many captions as you like, to
[email protected]
The winner will be announced in our September edition, along with
the photo for next month’s caption contest.
Squadron members wishing to apply for this
award are invited to complete the nomination
form available on the Lieutenant Governor’s
website (www.lt.gov.ns.ca) and submit the
form to the Secretary for Board consideration.
The award runs to the end of December,
2016; however, to ensure applications are
received by the Lieutenant Governor’s office
in time to meet that deadline, applications
must be received by this office no later than 9
December, 2016.
Capt(N) Stuart D. Andrews CD RCN (Ret’d)
Club Secretary
17
AUGUST CALENDAR
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
1
Wednesday Thursday
2
SMAKR
4
WNR 6:30pm
Series II
Natal Day
7
3
Friday
8
9
10
SMAKR
Saturday
5
SMAKR
6
Saturday Series 12pm
11
12
13
CHESTER RACE WEEK
Prime Rib 5pm
14
15
16
22
23
Kennedy Cup 10am
Prime Rib 5pm
29
18
Saturday Series 12pm
19
20
Kennedy Cup 10am
Saturday Series 12pm
Steak Night 5pm
24
WNR 6:30pm
Series III
Prime Rib 5pm
28
17
WNR 6:30pm
Series III
Prime Rib 5pm
21
Steak Night 5pm
25
26
27
Steak Night 5pm
Saturday Series 12pm
Steak Night 5pm
Saturday Series 12pm
31
30
WNR 6:30pm
Series III