Cape Town Race Week 11/12/13/16

Race 1 -Being a late afternoon race, winds were a bit light for the first part of the race which had Yolo hanging in, but sailed the side with the slightly lighter breeze for the first half.. which relegated us to the back of the fleet...

Race 2- Light breeze with a nice swell to work. SW.. Yolo did well to manage a second place in this race.

Race 3-A "middle distance" race using Barker rock as a rounding mark.. Yolo started well and was looking good, while playing the shifts... but got caught on the wrong side of a shift.. which cost distance.. on the downwind though, saw the change in the winds and optimised on this after the roudnign mark and kept it up for the next leg.. giving Yolo a first in this race.

Race 4- The medium distance race.. down to Koeberg and back... perhaps a wait of 15 minutes would have allowed the winds to settle down.. resulting in there being lots of shifts and "whirlies" till half way up the beat when the breeze settled down.. by then Yolo was not in the best position.. but still hanging in there... a downwind leg to Koeberg which was pleasant.. and then a beat back.. on route back the wind shifted to SE and picked up to very strong.. this allowed the bigger boats to benefit

as they were much further up on the course when this happened.. so they needed to sail less distance in the harder breeze.. and were better suited to it...

WED NITE 2nd December 2015

With almost no wind on the start line, coming from the East and a SE windline to the South, the race was started. A struggle to get any speed.. Boats on the bridge(opposite to us) side of the line seemed to have gained an advantage as they had slightly more wind and first to the wind line.. with Yolo struggling in the initial stages, once in the wind, it was game on.. Nice firm SE.. warm wind, flat seas.. great.. Got up to the early 20's before Paarden Island.. On the downwind to Milnerton the wind picked up and touched in the early 30's and then died down to around 20 for the rest of the race.. Yolo made up some distance on the downwind with the freshening breeze, Clean gybe at Milnerton and a fast fetch to a laid mark, followed by a good well played beat back to Harken mark where lots of gains were made... and then final leg to the finish with the finish line on the wind line.. but we had enough speed to make it.. Yolo came second in the race and overall 3rd in the series... which is probably quite concerning as she did not sail three races of which only one was counted as a discard, yet came third.. Which means other boats weren't regular and the fleet size is to small... Hopefully this will be sorted out for the second half of the season. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT 25 November 2015

Initially ones thinking was that the race would be blown out, with strong winds throughout the day in Cape Town.. even at arrival in the port area there were strong winds, but at the yacht club, all was well.. So racing took place. Conditions were near perfect, with a nice strong breeze topping out a few times in the mid twenties, but with very flat water making for easy sailing. Getting a good clear start and holding this for the first leg to Paarden Island, then downwind to Milnerton with the jib poled out.. Initially doing well, but the boats behind caught up with fresh breeze, fortunately a good mark rounding on the inside allowed us to control the rest of the race with a upwind sail to harken mark with us rounding to starboard while the class one boats were rounding to port, not exactly what one expects on a race course....... then off to the finish. Overall Yolo won her class.. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane and Cath. All well aboard.

WED NITE RACE 11 November 2015

Nice weather.. with a SSW blowing between 12-knots.. with a flat sea. Yolo got a ace start and sailed together with the class 1 boats.. only to realize they were going to a different mark, so had to find a gap to work to leeward.. not exactly safe when there are 50 footers nearby.. once around the mark.. pole up and a downwind sail to Milnerton, the boats behind making ground in the puffs... nice gybe at Milnerton and a fetch to a laid mark followed by a beat to Harken mark which was quite interesting with a few wind shifts.. and one of our opposition making ground, which we had to cover. in the end, we won the race. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane, Cath.

IRC NATIONALS 6,7,8 Nov

THis regatta turned out not to be one for YOLO.. with the IRC class breakdown different with the previous year.. this year grouping the smaller lesser powered boats with much bigger boats.. it became evident with the big gaps that formed... together with the very light conditions which don't bode well for YOLO... Notwithstanding this, the YOLO team were positive throughout, giving of their best.. Boat handling was good, tactics were good.. but the conditions did not suit.
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane, Cath, Ryno, JC with Mark Substituting

for Ryno on the Saturday.

RISA SA Regatta 23/24 October

This event is put on jointly between RCYC and the RISK SA magazine, predominately for the insurance and allied industry. This focus's on all boats having a percentage of those aboard from the industry. YOLO was teamed up with Altech Netstar.. and a good bunch they were too.
Friday night consisted of a normal Wed night format.. But the breeze was gusting 30 at times.. making for conservative sailing.. It was a one class start.. which had all the big boats sailing over Yolo's head... making for a frustrating leg... Once around Harken.. a comfortable downwind with the pole.. getting a good gybe at Milnerton and then off to Landfall.. on a reach.. which was a reasonable leg.. and then a beat to the finish..
Yolo came 5th in this race.
The evening was capped of with a cocktail function..

Saturday Race was in better conditions where kites were allowed. Yolo got out of the blocks nicely, but had to wait for the stb tackers to tack first.. they tend to hold on a lot longer then they needed to, costing them lots of time. Then a nice fetch to Landfall followed by a reach to a laid mark at Table View and then a beat to Landfall again. Yolo was having a great beat, till the winds went lighter and headed.. and then lost out some.. once around the mark, a nice tight reach with the kite to the finish. Yolo came 4th in this Race.

Overall a 3rd place.. and in the prizes.. yay.. Prize to be used to crew entertainment etc...
Aboard: Dale, Ian, Shane and Cath plus 4 guests from Altech Netstar.

Photo's to follow once available.

MINI WORK PARTY -21 Oct

With IRC Nationals around the corner and Wednesday night racing cancelled due to the strong winds.. the crew met aboard to do some odd jobs in preparation:

• Cleaned boat.
• Removed any unnecessary items.
• Repacked interior
• Removed all sails not required for IRC Nationals.

See pic of sails being taken off the boat for storage.

ROUND ROBBEN ISLAND RACE 17 October 2015

As a crew, we were unsure as to whether to race this race. We were aware of the weather conditions and the potential to be played with by the winds.. making for a frustrating day. Eventually Cath made the call to race.. stating that we will still have fun sailing and so right she is. Almost no wind on the start line, making for a slow crossing and trying to pick up the wisps of wind coming through, putting in a few tacks to get into the clear.. The decision was taken to round the island to Port.. One in the wind, Yolo set of for a Soldiers course.. working to keep as much speed in the boat as possible... hoisting a downwind sail when getting closer the the island. A bit less wind in the lee of the island and then perhpas a early shift back to the jib, only to find the wind shifting around the island. a few tacks and then around the island, after which the winds shifted and when getting close the the coast again the winds started dropping.. Up till this time we were set for a second over the line.. winds were coming from all sides.. with some of the smaller boats picking up a SE and making their way over the line.. On Yolo we could see NW puffs on the water... and had to just sit and wait for it.. which came with other boats behind us who were able to ride it in.. then we got going again.. and crossed the line. IN the end we scored a 3rd in our class. Nice sailing.. Perhaps the last 30 minutes were a bit frustrating. Aboard: Dale, Shane, Cath and  two guests.. Wesley and Luke supplied by the club.

WED NITE RACE -14 October 2015

First Wed night race of the season. Conditions were blustery with gusts and shifts.. We opted to take things conservatively using our J4 for the racing which was about right. A good start with Yolo working hard to try and hang in with the Class one boats as long as possible. Around PAarden Island and a downwind leg, which was quite mundane.. A gybe at Milnerton and then a superb fetch across the bay to Number 4 mark, with YOLO really holding her ground.. Lots of trimming and hiking happening... Winds ranged between 12-25 knots during the race. Nice rounding of Number 4, cleared our air and tacked to lay the finish. YOLO won the race in her class. Aboard were: Dale, Sieger, Shane, Cath and Guests from the UK Army and Royal Navy, TIM and Steve. All well aboard.

RCYC Opening Cruise 10 October 2015

The biggest event of the Sailing Social calendar every year is the RCYC opening cruise. This year the chosen theme was Oktober Fest... with the usual formalities, followed by the sailpast which was in good attendance and then back to the club for a proper Oktober party.. Bratwurst and all. These events continue to draw numbers.. with the Yolo crew having a good time. This year under the leadership of Cath, the boat went full swing to dress up, with her and Shane working till midnight the previous night to "wrap" the boat... unfortunately overnight winds destroyed all their efforts.. Aboard were: Dale, Sieger, Shane, Cath, Guests Sophie and Jimmy Melville.

IRC NATIONALS

Check out www.ircsa.co.za for info on the upcoming IRC nationals.

DELIVERY -Simonstown to Cape Town.

On Team Yolo, everyone takes their turn on getting involved with Deliveries. This time it was Dale, Cath and Shane's turn....(or volunteered) on this occasion it was Shane's birthday, so kudo's to him for giving up his special day. Morning started with Sieger who had volunteered to assist with the lifting getting all to Simonstown... Immediately aboard and casting off lines at around 06h45 with a really great Motor to Cape Point with Glassy flat seas.. and the sun making itself known.. Around Cape Point and a gentle 5-6knots SW with a SW swell, so continued motoring with the Mainsail up.. and cutting in over SW reefs as the conditions allowed... once over the winds picked up a bit, but because of the direction and the worsening sea state the decision was taken to continue to motor sail in order to make good progress... motor sailing as close to the wind as possible. Vulcan and Rockstar were also out with us all rounding Cape Point within minutes of each other.  The clouds were overcast with rain from time to time... Around the Slagkop area the winds increased to 25knots for a short while.. and then gradually started to taper down.. with the last hour in under 6 knots.... with the final good winds coming at Green Point Lighthouse to the harbour.. With Yolo docking at around 4:45pm.. making for quite a long crossing. Aboard were: Dale, Shane and Cath. All went well aboard.

SPRING REGATTA -FBYC 24,26,27 September 2015

Spring Regatta in the first regatta of the Season... Normally getting a good turn out.. but it seemed that some were just caught unawares with the timing.. and others chose to sail Club or Cruising class where there would be less competition. Our goal this season was to stick to IRC racing in order to improve our skills.. and even though the few IRC boats that there was were all 40 foot or over.. we remained with IRC..

Racing was good, well run, courses were true.. the only gripe, because you are so much slower the the rest of the fleet you have no idea how you are doing as you are just chasing the clock. Saying that, Team YOLO put their best effort in.. and was able to push the boat as hard as possible.

Overall ending 3rd overall, which considering the size difference was very good.
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane, Cathleen, Rian Turner and Anthony Cassar.

Pics, Courtesy of Trevor Wilkins

SPRING REGATTA TRAINING SESSION -20 September 2015

With the full crew and Dave Rae from the Sailmaker, we went out sailing and sail testing. With a light fickle breeze we ended up motoring eastward to pick up the new breeze.. Once in the breeze it was hard on the wind sailing.. with the crew bedding in with some basic training while we were checking the new sails.. with 23 knots wind speed on the upwind, the boat felt great.. eventually bearing away for a kite ride back. We tested a new kite for this with the wind topping at 25 knots. All went well with a positive debriefing. Aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane, Cath, Tony, Rian, and Dave from the loft.

SPRING REGATTA CREW ANNOUNCED

Spring Regatta Crew on Xtra-Link YOLO for the 2015 Spring regatta as follows:

1. Ian Coward - Foredeck (must be one o the oldest foredecks currently in the game)
2. Sieger Smink -VAccum and Halyard Second
3. Anthony Cassar -Halyards
4. Rian Turner -Cockpit/Trim
5. Shane Hendrickse -Cockpit/Trip
6. Dale Kushner -Skipper/Helm
7. Cathleen Hughes -Traveler/Navigation

Albeit, under the SA IRC rules an additional crew member can be taken aboard, the final decision has yet to be taken if it is required for this event.

DELIVERY -CT to Simonstown Sunday 13 September

As planned, the intention was to get YOLO to Simonstown two weeks before Spring regatta so as not to put pressure on time to deliver and possible adverse weather conditions... It also allows the opportunity to have a training session in Simonstown.

Due to the weather conditons, departure was planned for 08h30.. following the rounding of the breakwater, a motor sail till just past Llandadno where a SE was picked up, with a good beat in 16knots of wind to Slangkop where the breeze died away and back to motor for a while an then back on the beat in 12-16 knots till just short of the point when it started to increase. It topped out at 29 knots...
Once around the point, good downwind sailing, topping out at just over 15knots of boat speed.. Eventually the wind died out in the Millers Point area with a motor sail the rest of the way.. Arriving at 17h30.
Given the amount of upwind sailing, a reasonable sail.. The boat is now ready for the training session.

Aboard were: Ian(skipper) Sieger, Shane and guest-Ian's father in law..

YOLO Bar

As one is aware, from time to time it seems that the YOLO way is growing with others taking our lead.. Yet again another one has been spotted.. This time When the YOLO  skipper was on a visit to Shanghai.. this YOLO bar was seen just off Nanjing Road(Nanjing Road is the big hub of social)

Saturday 29th August 2015 -Work Party

With the Racing Season Close by, it is time to do the odd jobs aboard in preparation. The most important being: Realignment of the rudders. Being a Twin ruddered boat, it is vital to have the rudder alignments correct for the the anticipated conditions. Time was also spent trying to solve a problem on one of the winches aboard

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Saturday 22 August 2015

With no racing planned for this weekend, Yolo still goes sailing. Ideal conditions, flat sea and a warm 18 knot south eater, one of the great sailing days, with fast sailing, no water over the deck.. Just good to be on the water.. Most of the sail was spent chasing Tenacity around the bay

.. Aboard were:Dale, Ian and Sieger. Pics, courtesy:Marc Bloch

SOCIAL SAIL - 10 August 2015

Yolo had not been out sailing for some time, some two months. Winter, family and work commitments etc.. In the interim,Various jobs had been done on Yolo. Conditions were varied, initially making to a Strong Southerly on the South Side of the bay blowing in the Mid 20's, but quite cold, so opted to sail to the Granger Bay Area where a gentle SW was blowing and a nice relaxing sail was had. Discussion ensued about the upcoming season. Aboard were: Dale, Ian and Sieger. Boat performed well.

PORTUGAL DAY RACE 13 June 2015

Always a favourite event.... with a medium distance course and a Pursuit Race.. Always a winner as all types re happy to enter. Winds were light but the seas were relatively flat. Yolo had not been raced for a while so good to be back on the water with a full crew. Getting a good start at full speed where we wanted to be.. giving us a nice quick leg fetching to Landfall nearing Landfall the fog set in, so a bit of navigation was required, Once around and hard on the wind and we passed the first boat... Soon after that the fog thinned as we closed in on the shoreline. We rthen started to play the shifts upwind as we weaved our way through the fleet, the winds had died down at BArket Rock with a big surge. We rounded nicely in the lead of our class.. Hoisted the kite and gybed immediately but struggled to set thre kite as we were in the backwash of the rock.. eventually gybing back and started getting going, alas this maneuver cost us our lead.. The rest of the race was a mundane downwind leg with a few gybes, while always trying to ensure we were in the breeze. Yolo came second in our class.. All had a great Time. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Mark, Cath and Sarel

SATURDAY SAIL -30 May 2015

With no racing on the program, it was felt that a sail was still in order to keep the boat active etc...
Starting with the traditional lunch in the club house.. followed a sail on the bay. Unfortunately winds were light and the sea very lumpy so not much excitement to be had.. Eventually working our way back to the harbour and a motor through the Waterfront and back to the club for a pack away. Boat performed well. Aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger and guest Antonio.

Double Handed Race -Sat 17th May 2015

Last Race of the Double handed Series.. Conditions were light with a SW slop.. Conditions not ideal for Yolo.. with lots of Kelp in the vicinity.
Course was a Start at Granger Bay, Barker to Stb and finish off Green Point Light.
A conservative start was had.. with a few tacks on the upwind, which dodging some of the kelp.. everyone trying to best position themselves. About halfway there we noted a shift which kept us in the game and then later noted the fog on the horizon and wind on the water to sea.. so split from the fleet to these conditions which paid.. with a nice fast leg into the rock.. as we arrived at the rock, the fog had filled in, we also had to give the rock a healthy clearance as there was a lot of wash.. Once round, kite up.. we were in full fog.. but still had the boats ahead in visual.. eventually putting in two gybes on the downwind as we caught puffs so we could hold for longer.. the wind filled in and we started to make ground.. The fog cleared just short of the finish line.. and then filled in again..
In the end we won the race and won the series. Aboard were: Dale and Ian. Boat performed well.

TLC for Yolo

Things have been quite on the Yolo front with not much racing on the calendar….

It was decided to give YOLO some TLC and have a few jobs done on the hard.

Diving and Yachting were commissioned to attend to a few tasks, namely:

·         Both rudders were removed, stripped, reshaped and faired, treated and antifouled.

·         Rudders refitted and calibrated(twin rudders) to designer spec.

·         Prop to be replaced(Top racing prop to be used only for the offshore racing, otherwise the original prop)

·         New anode.

·         Spray touch up antifouling.

·         Buff top sides..

Boat then returned to the water.. work was executed on time, great quality and the rudder reshaping was done with precision. We are very happy with the work.

Double Handed Race 18 April 2015

With a SW on the water and lighter winds for the start, Yolo started a bit off the line, which inhibited an immediate tack as there were star boarders, eventually tacking and making one's way to Barker Rock. Sailing was good on the upwind leg, with Yolo playing shifts to slowly claw back into the game. Once at the rock, a Quick set of the Kite, soon after a gybe on a wind shift... while playing the advantage on the downwind.. Followed by another two gybes till reaching Landfall, where Yolo hardened up for a tight reach for Woodbridge mark.. but there was a convergence zone with the late afternoon SE filtering in.. So Yolo Stopped and lost the advantage as a boat behind caught up, once the new wind was in, we were off again, but Yolo was to lee so a bit lost there as well.. Once Around the mark, Another downwind sail set, and powered to #8, but there was another convergence zone, so jib up, sail down.. and we struggled through.. eventually rounding the mark and hoisting a downwind sail again and worked on the final leg to the finish in near no breeze.. In the end, Yolo came first over the line and a few seconds off line honours... so not a bad day on the water. Boat was going well. One of those idyllic days to be on the water...Aboard were: Dale and Ian.

Double Handed Race 14 March 2015

With Ian off to the UK on a business trip, Yolo was fortunate to get Clarence Hendricks who was on holiday in Cape Town(He lives and works in Dubai). Having done some sailing before with Clarence it was easy.. and things worked very well. The racing was good, but the winds were a bit fickle and during the course of one leg, the lead boat managed to pick a few puffs that the rest of the fleet did not get which gave them a separation to the fleet, they used this well and played a good race thereafter. The bay was flat, so the sailing was a pleasure, if not a bit light. On the last leg to the finish, Yolo was doing well and then picked up a piece of kelp on the keel which immediately affected performance.. with the kite up, it was decided not to backwater as it would cost more... In the end Yolo came second in her class. Aboard: Dale and Clarence.

WED NITE RACE-11 MArch Flag Officers Race

The last Wednesday night race of the season. Boats are randomly allocated into teams headed by the flag officers. Walm balmy evening with almost no wind at the start area... On Yolo, as it was the last Wed night race of the season... we did it a bit differently and allocated a new helmsperson. Cath took up the challenge... A good start was had, with the boat making a very good leg to the first mark overhauling some of the division one boats as Yolo managed to maintain way. Good kite hoist and kite leg but winds were fickle, so eventually a gybe and a peel to a Codey... and then later to a J2 as Yolo entered the light SE. Around the mark and a nice kite run to Woodbridge and then a beat back upto top mark and a kite back to the transition zone.. where Yolo lost her lead as the boats behind came in on the breeze while Yolo was stuck without wind. they entered in a different space and managed to pass. Yolo struggled in the almost non existant winds... But before one complains, it was a fantastic night to be on the water.. and one must realize, it was the last Wed night race of the season.. so nice to get some finishers. In the end, one needs to be accepting it was a fun event and fun was had out on the water. Yolo managed a 3rd in this Race. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Mark, Shane and Cath.

WED NITE RACE- 4 March 2015

The last race of the series. 4 Races had been sailed(rest had been cancelled due to weather conditions) with Yolo scoring three firsts and one DNC.. With the 5th race, it would mean a discard and the opportunity to discard the DNC.. Yolo would need a 4th place or better to win the series. Jut prior to the start a nice NW of about 12 knots was blowing.. but at the five minute gun the wind had died and the sea had gone flat.. On the gun Yolo was still not making anyway.. It took about seven minutes before any breeze came through.. Coming from the SW... it gradually built up to 11 knots.. and gave for a nice, if not patchy sail to the laid mark off three anchor bay. Yolo was able to get nicely ahead of her class.. and consolidate her lead... Round the mark and kite up... with Yolo trying to stay in the breeze as it looked as if it was dying, it started dying at the leeward mark and once round way was very difficult to make.. and soard... Aboard won afterwards the race was abandoned. So there we have it... IN the end, mainly due to the poor size fleet Class 2 is having, Yolo still came third in the series.. having had to carry a discard: Dale, Ian, Mark, Ross, Shane and Cath.

MYKONOS RACE 20/21 February 2015

A popular Race amongst Cape Sailors.. and last Race of the IRC series. For some peculiar reason they did not seperate IRC into it's class's as normal, that meant Yolo had to square up to to boats some 60 foot long which perform totally differently and therfore not normally paired up in terms of international IRC reccomendations.

The races were split up as follows:
Race 1- Cape Town to Dassen Island Gate
Race 2-Dassen Island GAte to Mykonos
Race 3-Total of Cape Town to Mykonos.

This means, that if you have a bad leg one or two.. it will carry forward into Race 3. A different way of calucuating.

Race 4- A Popular Pursuit Race in the Saldhana Bay.

FRI:
The start in Cape Town was in very light conditions with perhaps the odd NW puff carrying the boats till they met with the SE just before the first mark(Paarden Eiland) Once round this mark, it was kites up and a easy sail down the coastline... minding that one did not fall back into the lighter conditions again to the West. At some point the SE started to run out with a very light Westerly meeting the fleet at the convergence. Yolo transitioned well... but later while passing Robben Island Yolo ran out of wind, with the boats ahead just manaing to hang on a bit longer and pulling dramatically away. Yolo then spent well over an hour drifiting slowly with the boats ahead getting close to the horizon.. Eventually a Southerly filtered through.. and progressively increased with Yolo using the kite and managing some really good fast sailing.. just before Dassen, dropping the kite for about 15 minutes to lay the GAte and thereafter kite up again and a fast sail to South Head.. Knowing the conditions we changed to a J4 in anticipation.. A good gybe angle for South HEad was found and a fast sail between South head and Jutten Island.. with gusts in the 30's and Yolo managing the kite. A kite strike and rounding close to the landsend... and a fast sail across the bay to the finish. This was a good race and Yolo would have done well if not for the light patch which Yolo got stuck in.. but hey... that that is what yacht racing is about.. Race 1-15th, Race 2-4th, Race 3-11.

Saturday:
This was the Pursuit Race. As race rules disctate that you cannot change crew numbers each day.. we sailed with the same 5 as we did no the Friday which meant for the conditions the Yolo crew were a bit light.. Full main and a J4. A perfect start, good first beat raplidly hauling the smaller boats... round the first mark, up with the Kite and a blast off to the next mark.. getting good speeds on the way with the wind gusting. A kite strike at the mark and a beat to Number two mark just laying it on one tack, then a fetch to North Bay where the winds were a bit lighter and Yolo feeling a bit underpowered again, beating out of the bay, Yolo optioed to sail to the puffs working her way upto Jutten Island where the winds were better... Once roudn Jutten Island, Kite up and a fantastic blast down to the next mark with the boat getting some super speeds.. behind us, some of the boats were struggling with their kites.. 33 knots of wind was recorded.. Then around the mark on the last beat the big boats started to come through... but Yolo managed to pass a boat on the last beat.. and only a 49 footer and a 40 footer from IRC passed Yolo on this leg.. round the weather mark and a good downwind kite run to the finish.. Great race.. 3rd in this race.

Overall Yolo got a 7th in this event, which the crew are satisfied with... such is this event.

Ashore crew stayed at the Farmhouse Hotel in Langabaan... and meals were taken there.

The race crew as follows: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane and HAns(from Dubai)

The boat was delivered back departing at 11pm on the Saturday evening. Reports were of high winds on departing and head winds of around 21 knots till close to Dassen after which it progressively reduced to 8knots towards the end.. Boat arrived late morning on the Sunday. Aboard were: Ian, Sieger, Shane and Newby aboard Warwick Strutt.

Day 2 and 3 Fling Regatta 2015

Day 2

Race 3, 4, 5

Races were well run, with Yolo managing to sail as optimally as possible. In Race 4 which Yolo won, Yolo was protested by another boat which resulted in a DSQ for Yolo. The crew were a bit disappointed as the protesting boat were in our opinion misleading in their facts in the room and as they had retired from that race in any event as they did not sail the proper course their protest could be considered by some an act of malice. Either way.. Yolo crew does not dwell on these things.

Overall Yolo had a good day on the water with the following results:

Race: 2  -4^th Place

Race: 3  -1^st Place –Later a DSQ

Race: 4  -2^nd Place

Day 3

Last day of the event. The  Bridge was out early as there was fog on the water and they were preparing for it to lift.. Kudo’s to the bridge for being ahead of the game.. They did a magnificent job.. and the point that really stood out was their crystal clear communication to the fleet.. leaving us without doubt on what was happening and when….

Yolo was the first boat out and in the race area.. to acclimatize to the conditions. Again three races were had.. and Yolo was on form for all the races. The crew who are by now are used to the boat having done some miles on her.. a few adjustments here and there helped… together with some very good tactical calls from the afterguard… allowed Yolo to keep the pace up.. and keep Yolo up with boats that are well above her weight band..

Results of the day as follows:

Race 5:  3^rd

Race 6: 1st

Race 7: 1^st

Overall Yolo would have come first in this event.. but for the DSQ.. which relegated Yolo to second place.

Boat is now under preparation for the Mykonos Offshore Race..

FLING REGATTA 2015 Friday

Race One:
With a 5pm start and a mild South Easter forecast.. we were all set. With a few changes aboard we were keen on a couple of good days racing and we weren't disappointed.. We set the boat up conservatively for the conditions. Yolo got away to a clean start and made good progress on the upwinds.. and maximized on the downwind legs getting good speed in the puffs. Perhaps sailing a bit too deep and on the first downwind calling they gybe early which necessitated an extra gybe.. The rest of the race was good with us making good calls and working the breeze as best as possible.
Yolo won this race. CREW: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane, Ma

rk, Simon.

Wednesday night Race -4 February 2015

A warm Cape Town Summers evening. A real joy to be on the water. Breeze was from a S Westerly direction. Yolo stayed out of the frey and got a good start. With Yolo sailing well to the weather mark which was positioned offshore of the Raddisson. With winds being slightly switchy, Yolo was fortunate to position on the right side of each shift. Good kite work on the downwinds and a good upwind again followed by a kite leg to the finish. Boat performing well. We attained First Place in our Class.. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Mark, Shane, Simon..

Double Handed Race Sat 17th Jan 2015

A good breeze on the bay, with a W blowing at the start. Yolo getting a good start and quickly away. The first leg was a fast fetch making for Daeyang Family.. Rounding in a good position, a gybe at the mark and off to Milnerton.. The leg was very tight with all the boats opting not to put their kites up.. Winds were touching 20plus on a few occations. Halfway down Yolo opted to give the kite a go.. Good hoist and went tearing off at good speeds. Unfortunately could not lay the full angle so needed to drop early and tight reach in to the mark.. which meant no real advantage but fun was to be had anyway. After Milnerton a tight leg to Woodbridge then around Woodbridge for another leg to Landfall,  Then back to Woodbringe.. Wind was much lighter, used the Zero.. again probably did not make much of a difference on this leg.. We could See a SE ahead and transitioned nicely.. Then around Woodbridge and kept with the SE as long as we could.. boats behind us would be able to stay on it longer.. We rounded the NO:8 mark in a good position but the convergence was a slow one, with puffs coming through which would get you to the next position.. In the end, we got going and got a second on corrected time, which we were happy with. The race was almost three hours which was great as we got to spend a good time sailing on the bay. Aboard Were: Dale and Ian.

WED Night Race -14 Jan 2015

First race of the new year.. A perfect Summers evening in Cape Town.. Around 30 degrees.. with the breeze ranging between 8-14 knots. Normally we don't bother with spinnaker class on a Wed, but it would seem that our normal class this season has watered down giving us very few other boats to sail against, so we decided to sail Spinnaker Class...
Spinnaker Class has all the Spinnaker boats starting together, but with each class sailing a different course.
Yolo opted to start further down the line on the hope of stronger breeze and a lift being found.. It lifted but not enough.. with Yolo having to try and sail a shift or two to make the weather mark still in the range. Quick kite hoist and a nice reach off to Milnerton mark keeping us within range. A nice beat back to Paarden Island followed by a gybe and a hoist with us making for Woodbridge. Winds in the meantime were around 12-13 knots with a flat sea making for some great sailing. From Woodbridge a beat up.. With Yolo taking it conservatively as essentially it is handicap sailing and we were just sailing for time... Round Paarden Island and kite to the finish.. With us finishing around 40 seconds behind the lead boat giving us a win in the class. Aboard we had: Ian, Dale, Sieger, Shane, Mark, Guest:Simon(who we will try and make a regular) and visiting SA from Australia, Walter Page who was a regular member of the team till he emigrated. Boat performed well.

Saturday Sail 20th December 2014

With our regular Saturday sailing, boat had been cleaned up following the recent Summer Regatta with her spic and span again. At the regatta we noted some wear on our mainsail.. We had to retire from that race... (which cost us a podium as there were insufficient races to allow for a discard). We repaired the damage ourselves and the sail was fime for the rest of the regatta...

But to put the sail into proper context... the sail is a membrane sail, with internal taffeta on the one side and film on the other.. it is three years old.. well over 10 000nm on it.. putting that into perspective that can be 10-15years of normal club usage.. the sail is still going strong but the usage is starting to show.. the amazing detail is that the shape is virtually unchanged...

So, before sailing, we decided to go through the sail patching here and there.. to give the sail some extra life... However we will start to look at options of replacing this sail.

Once finished with the sail... we went out for a sail... conditions were ideal with a SW on the bay, a nice flat seaway... with winds between 16-21knots... Yolo broad reached to the Western Side of Robben Island and back. Boat was reveling in those conditions...

It was good to have Yolo out for a social sail.. where everyone gets a chance at everything.

Boat performed well. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Evan, and guest Antoinio.

SUMMER REGATTA-16 December 2014-Day 3

We needed a discard to bring us back into the game as we retired from the previous race with sail damage. So two races were needed for the day to make this happen.
Good SE blowing, gusting just over 30 in the start area. Good start with Yolo hanging in there.. and able to blow off a main competitor. First mark being Harken, round the mark, gybe and hoist of the kite and a nice blast downwind. Boat handled well. We could see the transition zones ahead.. no way around it.. just stalling the inevitable... so we transitioned on the lay line.. and caught a early SW. We managed to keep the boat going and stayed within range. The breeze had died near the mark itself.. holding the big boats back and with us, coming in with new breeze, we managed to keep moving all the time and rounded the mark and started to make for the SE again, but we still had to transition. We kited, then J2'd and then as we got close to the SE did a change to the J4. With hanks it takes longer and it a bare head maneuver.. so it lost us some time, but the right sail choice. Once in the SE.. the winds were between 23-25 knots for most of the beat, hotting upto early 30's towards the finish line.
We rounded two more marks before the finish..
We came second in our class in this race. Giving us good results for the past two races... Unfortunately no second race for the day.. and therefore no chance of a discard to us, keeping us off the podium. Boat performed well. Great to have races in strong breeze again.
Aboard were: dale, Ian, Mark, Ross, Shane, Daphne, Mornay, Catherine.

Pic.. of the boat at the V&A with the crew relaxing before racing.

Summer Regatta 14 December 2014- Day 2

This was the Medium distance race. One could see a SE trying to hold on.. but it was not going very deep in the bay..  A reasonable start.. and a quick kite hoist to transit the light areas to the SE.. Which Yolo entered reasonably...Around the weather mark where around 20 knots was blowing, and a good kite hoist and a fast kite leg to the area where we chose to transition.. We did not want to break too far from our main competition as we were expecting a Westerly. Successfully transitioning and then into the Westerly.. giving good sailing conditions to the rounding mark.. We again had to transition a few times more in the race, but the transition was a lot quicker as the winds had settled down. The crew kept working the boat quite hard.. with us hanging in with the bigger boats for a percentage of the race.. Eventually having us win our class.
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Mark, Shane, Ross, Daphne, Catherine, Mornay.

SUMMER REGATTA 13th Dec DAY 1

Race 1:
First race was in a SW conditions.. Wind was light, not exactly YOLO's conditions. Unfortunately we were shut out by a weather boat at the start line who did not give way as they should.. causing us to stall. Unfortunately our protest flag was down below having forgotten to have in position. It took some time to get going after the slow start.. but we managed to chose the right end of the course and stayed in range of the bigger boats.. followed by a good downwind leg.. keeping us in range. The next weather leg had the start of a wind shift.. with us probably being not so optimally positioned which meant that the fleet that were ahead was able to make distance. Then on the downwind the breeze started to soften.. so those ahead held it longer or were on a beat making better apparent out of a light breeze. This gave us a bad leg.. In the end we had a poor result of a 6th Place.

Race: 2:\
There was a race in a SW which started, but soon after the start the winds started to die.. in the interim were were catching up nicely with the fleet.. The race was abandoned... and a new course was set for the "now building SE"

We could see it was going to be strong breeze... We put up the correct jib in readiness.. the crew were looking forward to a good breezy race. Breeze was in the upper 20's... Yolo managed a good start.. and was hanging in where we wanted to be... when we look up and saw a little tear in the mainsail.. near the batten.. We decided that the mainsail would be damaged further if we continued.. so we had no choice but to retire from the race. This giving us a RTD on the scorecard.  We repaired the mainsail ourselves with Kevlar sticky back.

Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Daphne, Shane, Mornay, Catherine, Ross.

Pic: Courtesy of Trevor Wilkins

Rudder Calibrations

HAving done rudder calibrations in the water... it is very difficult to measure up accurately, so this time it was decided to remove the boat from the water and do the job with the boat hanging in the slings.

A great experience. On arriving at the hard early to check if they were still on time, they advised that they were ahead of time and we could bring the boat to the crane. This we did. On arrival, club staff were waiting to sling and hoist her..

After lifting her, we immediately got to work, measured up rudders, made some adjustments, locked it off.. We then put the boat back in the water.

From water to water, it was less then 30 minutes.. Well done to the club staff who made it a great experience.

We will now see how the calibrations fare in the upcoming Summer regatta this weekend.

DOUBLE HANDED RACE -Sat 6th December 2014

With a nice SE breeze building on the bay, typical summer conditions with a freshening SE. Yolo got a good start and was able to hang onto the big boats to the weather mark.. On the bear away immediately hoisted the kite and sailed through the larger boats quite quickly as they had not yet decided on using the kite.. We kept on opening our gap between us and the fleet making good speeds downwind.. The highest gusts on the downwind was in the early thirties. Some of the boats behind us tried using their kites, to varying degrees of success.. or broaches. Yolo made the Leeward mark struck kite and began the beat to weather, well ahead of the larger boats. The larger boats were quite a bit faster on the beat but only managed to pass Yolo just before the weather mark.. then two short legs to the finish. Yolo won this race. After the race, Yolo took a sail across the sail and back as it was still quite early. Hopefully we will get longer races in the future. Aboard Were: Dale and Ian. Boat performed well.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RACE/PRIZE GIVING 3 December 2014

With the last race of the series being cancelled due to strong South Easters, the Club held the Prizergiving for the first series of Wednesday night races(first half of season).
Yolo came third in her division...

See pic of Ian Coward at the presentations.. Pic -Courtesy of Trevor Wilkins

Saturday Sail 27th November 2014

A glorious day in Cape Town.. With a light breeze, clear sky, flat seas and warm conditions.. One of those days that make sailing great.
Onboard we had some guests... experienced sailors.. so we let them take control... and the regulars could sit back and enjoy... On departing the harbour, it was felt that a SE might build and went to what looked like the wind line, instead a SW/NW was found.. so sailed in this to just past Daeyang where Yolo tacked and was planing on heading up a bit further and then a bear away and a kite hoist.. but soon after the tack the winds started to head and the SE filled in over the bay at a nice steady 15 knots.. making for great sailing. Nice sail back to the harbour. Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Sieger and guests: John, Noel, Rob. Boat performed well..

Wed nite racing -26th November

Great sailing conditions, with a nice technical sea.. 18- 20 knots at the start.. with it becoming 15 or so during the race. Yolo was 4 up, so a bit light.. With all the big boats "bullying their way" on the start line, Yolo took a conservative approach.. and ended up sailing from the back.... followed by a good upwind beat.. which kept us in range and a nice downwind leg... if not a bit too square for our liking.
IN the end, we came in second in our class...
That being said.. we are very dissapointed that there were only 3 boats in our class.. and if one notes the overall results, only one boat has actually sailed all the races.. So for all intended purposes, a bit of a disappointment, the class numbers have dwindled . the top three are those that have raced the most races in the series...
Boat performed well... Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Evan.

Pics Courtesy: Dave Mabin

VOLVO PRO AM RACE

Yolo Skipper was fortunate to have received an invite from Xtra-Link and Cobham to sail aboard on the Pro-Am Race scheduled for Friday the 14th November.
Weather was cloudy, with winds blowing in the late 20's.. touching 30 at times. The sea was bumpy as the sea built up in the NW breeze.
The bridge decided no racing, but the Boats went sailing anyway.
Boat speeds were maintained easily between 17-22knots.. just beam reaching across the bay.. with one reef and a J2 set.

Sailing was wet with the boat punching through the chop.. with the additional water from the bow spray.

Pic. Dale Kushner at Helm of SCA, with Sam Davies.(pic Courtesy of Team:SCA)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RACE- 12th November 2014

A Nice NW on the bay with about 20knots blowing and a lumpy seaway, Overcast conditions with the odd raincloud..
Yolo had aboard some guests.. so took it conservatively... and ended up being very late for the start.. Being at the back, we could see ahead a ship making it's final approach for port and realized that this would be an obstacle later tacked off early and made the long beat for Landfall, Nicely powered up and working the waves, Yolo caught up.. together with reading the shifts... Coming onto the mark there was a 40 footer on starboard to our lee that was pinching and a Simonis on Port.. The 40 footer could not lay the mark and tacked with very little speed and essentially stalled on the new tack and the Simonis came through just below them... Although on Starboard, we needed to avoid a collision.. and quickly depowered and sailed below them.. and immediately rounded the mark.. In a proper race.. they would have to do a penalty each.. Thereafter a downwind.. and a beat to Number 4 and finish.. Yolo had worked to the front of her class...
Aboard were: Dale, Sieger, Evan, Guests Loauy HAbib, Geoff Grills, Yuri(the Russian, but not that one).,
Boat performed well.