Monday 30th October 2017

With a few new crew members, it was decided to do a training session for Wednesday night type events.. Although everyone can sail, we started with the basics.. so everyone could be in sync on how it is done aboard Yolo.  From boat preparation, to leaving the dock and getting underway.. to the final crew work, maneuvers, crew movement etc... The evening was spectacular on the water, flat water, warm breeze around 13 knots... fantastic.. which enabled could training conditions. Eventually sailing back to the harbour and did a proper pack away and debrief. Aboard

: Dale, Sieger, Cath, James, Arran, Antonio.

Double Hander Race- 28 October

Sadly Class A seems to be continually plagued by poor starting numbers... Sad that with the introduction of ORC the class split could not have been better resolved... using the Class A and B to sail under A for Double handed events.. which would have slightly helped numbers... and at the same time giving the Class B Double handed guys a more even fleet... We note that Class B also struggles to get regular starters.. with the score sheets peppered with DNC's in both class's. We hope that this will improve. Nonetheless Team Yolo were there for some sailing.

Although out of our control, we knew that later in the day there would be a wind shift as forecasted and that the course should not have been set where it was as that was in the transition zone. The finish line was also set outside normal World Sailing recommendations... ie. you finish in the direction of sailing from the last mark.. in this case we had to finish withe the Finish boat to port and then technically bear away around the anchor chain to finish.. the wind transition made this slightly better to accomplish..

And onto the Race:
This would be the first Double handed race in a while to have a bridge start... a refreshing change...
Getting what can only be described as a cracker of a start.. best start of the season... sailing over the entire fleet seconds later... and onto the beat to Barker Rock... a nice breeze setting in with a flat sea... nicely powered up.. trying to find the correct switches, but there was few to be had... often losing out in the process... tacking up the coast to Barker rock, rounding a bit behind the lead boat, a much faster 42 footer... then kite up.. and settled down.. but the breeze was already dying, which had us attempting to find the puffs putting in the odd gybe.. to no avail... eventually getting a nice puff which took us to Landfall, the leeward mark.. and around this and a few hundred meters where the breeze died off... leaving us there for around 40 minutes crawling.... and tacking on the odd shift without any dividend... all this while the lead boat eeeked out the last of the breeze and finished... Eventually the Southerly started to push in.. and we were able to hook onto it... and sail down the wind line to the finish in a rapidly increasing breeze...  Overall a Second.. Really great sailing on the water.. for the most part, some nice conditions.. Aboard: Dale and Ian.

Wed 25th Oct 2017

A SSW breeze at the start area.. with puffs on the water.. wind range 6-12knots. First start was a General Recal.. then a bit of confusion in the fleet as to whether the next start would be the restart of whether our class would be relegated to the back of the starting order... Some boats got this wrong. In the end we got an OK start and raced off to the first mark of the Raddison.. relying on the puffs to keep going, with the faster boats in our class rounding ahead of us.. Immediately set of for Number 1 harbour mark with a bit of fresh breeze behind and a slight windshift which allowed us to catch some distance on the lead boats, then around the mark and to the finish, we noted two wind patterns on the water so made our selection to try and stay in our existing one, which allowed us to catch up more distance on the lead boats.. ending with just crossing the finish line just after them. Overall we got a first  in our class. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Arran, James and Antonio

WED NITE RACE 18 October 2017

With a Sw wind on the bay, around 12 knots.. with light patches in between.. Getting a fair start and managing to hold onto the back of the Class one boats for the first beat rounding the weather mark not far behind them, but having made up good way on our own fleet after playing a few shifts. Dead downwind to the next mark and a soldiers course for the rest of the race.. Sailing was good. In the end, first in our class. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Arran and new aboard, James.

ROUND ROBBEN ISLAND RACE 14th Oct 2017

A NW breeze blowing, but had not been blowing long enough for a sea to build.. winds were in the range of 16-20knots for most of the racing. Being a bit light on the rail sailing with only 4 aboard, making upwind a bit more technical... Working our way up the beat, watching and playing the shifts, eventually rounding the island behind a well known sailor who seemingly kept pinching to hold us... we allowed this... and then a big bear away from Yolo blasting 4 boat lengths ahead through their lee in 30 seconds before they figured it out. a fetch around the island and once sure we were clear a kite hoist... the swell was perfect giving the odd surf... with us slowly catching those ahead except the lead boat who was matching our speeds so we were unable to close in meaningfully.. We gybed twice on the downwind. The sailing was great, both upwind and downwind for the day.. Overall 2nd.. which we were very happy with. Aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Denis.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT 12 October 2017

First Wednesday night of the season.. sentiment onboard is that we race Non Spinnaker Class for the moment.. the rationale is that we do not always have sufficient crew to race properly with a spinnaker on a Wednesday night.. We also consider Wednesday racing a bit more light hearted and a way of introducing people to sailing and fun..

Conditions were SW, flat seas making sailing really nice.. from around  9 knots to 20 in the puffs..
Yolo started in what we thought was a good position, but the puffs came through higher on the line, propelling those boats forward... Oh well... We spent the rest of the race working our way back to the fleet and then to get through them.. with a few shifts being played on the 2 upwind legs..
In the end, we crossed the line first in our class and first on corrected time..

Abaord were: Dale, Ian, Cath, Sieger and Arran.

....

RCYC Opening Cruise 7 October 2017

Always a firm favourite on the calendar onboard YOLO. With some of the crew getting into the spirit of the day.. this years theme being "Pirates".. which is perhaps not exactly in keeping with the issues that yachtman are currently being subjected to on the East Coast and the West Coast of Africa with the related pirate issues.. nonetheless.. a good day to be had. The day went off well, with a well supported sail past which was enjoyed by all on YOLO. Aboard were: The Kushner Family, Cath, Shane, Sieger, Arran, Misha, Milan.

Gansbaai to Cape Town. 23 September 2017

After a comfortable night at moorings, breakfast aboard and then departed Gansbaai at 7am to head for Cape Town. Motoring the first hour allowing the SE to settle in.. thereafter motor off, taking it easy poled out the Genoa.. and started sailing in breeze which was in the late teens. The wind eventually went into the mid twenties but very comfortable sailing.. with good speeds. MArk Managed 15 plus knots in this configuration. A Gybe was called for Cape Town, Pole other side.. and with winds touching 30 at times a nice sail to the coast and down the coast where the wind started to drop off.. eventually starting the motor in the Llandando region where the pack up of the started.. Arriving at RCYC just before 6. A fast passage and a definite highlight of the weekend. Aboard were: Dale, Ian and Mark(DWD)

MOSSEL BAY RACE 22 September 2017

With a light NW at the start giving a downwind start... Yolo set up for a pin start, gybeing on the pin and blocking Nitro from taking the inside. Immediate Kite set and off Yolo went in around 10 knots of breeze.. sailing to the mid bay region. winds were dying and coming in with puffs.. allowing those behind to make a bit of ground as the race progressed. A gybe was called a few miles into the race... and perhaps a mistake of not gybing back later to cover the fleet instead sailing into a no wind zone till the wind came from behind.. when it did it eventually settled down with a SW.. which came in squalls, the highest was aroudn 30 knots.. which had Yolo flying along quite happily towards Hangklip... nearing Hangklip the wind started to die down.. and an Early shift in the breeze to a Southerly started to happen. Once the breeze settled down, it became a nice fast fetch to Agulhas.. with the boat taking it quite well. Aboard the boat we had a big collection of previous race experience and lots of sailing in this region... and were aware that the Southerly shift happened earlier then expected.. giving concern to a potential longer then planned upwind leg and the related confused sea state.. After much debate aboard and taking into account that the boat would likely need to stay in Mossel Bay for a Week until the next weather window came through to bring the boat back.. the decision was taken to abort the race and head for Gansbaai to spend the night.. with the intention of sailing back the following morning. A nice quick sail to Gansbaai.. Arriving at 5pm.. There were breaks at the one side of the harbour.. but an easy entry... we entered the main harbour first.. then decided to enter the smaller harbour as it was closer to the town.. The breakers were in this area.. we entered the harbour but realized that the surge was too big and potential draft problems once the tide went down.. so went back to the main harbour and rafted up on one of the moored vessels giving us the most comfortable way of mooring vs... being pushed around in the surge near the wall... We had a good curry and spent a good night aboard.... and left the following day on a good weather window for CT. Aboard Were: Dale, Ian and Mark D(DWD) Start Pics by Nic Bothma

DELIVERY CT to Simonstown 9 Sept 2017

Due to time constraints and commitments, the duo of Mark Devit and Thore delivered Yolo to Simonstown. By all accounts a routine delivery, with a bumpy sea to start.. with light winds which necessitating motoring, winds then up to the mid teens with good reaching with a wide berth at SW reefs due to the big break and then reaching into False Bay, where halfway up the winds started to die and back to the engine.. with a respectable time of under 9 hours for a 32 footer. Boat now in False Bay in readiness for the Mossel Bay Race. Abaord were: MArk D and Thore.

Double handed Race 26 August 2017

With a few adjustments on the boat... Yolo set out for another Double handed race... With an obvious SE line forming it was a matter of time before the line would fill in over the start area.... Yolo got a fair start and held in with the faster boats... rounding the first mark in first place, immediately hoisting the kite and set in for a long downwind leg... Wind was less then expected on this leg with the odd puff but nothing too strong. Only one other boat in Yolo's class put up a Assym for 2/3 of the leg... Yolo managed to get to the leeward mark just ahead of this boat.... with a good strike and rounding settled down for a good beat to Milnerton.. This boat quickly passed Yolo and the race was on.. with them pulling out good distance on the next two legs. Sailing was comfortable... waves weren't too big.. and the biggest gusts were around 25 knots during the race, with the average around 19 knots. So it was good sailing on the water. Yolo ended up second over the line and first on corrected time..

WORK COMPLETE 25 August 2017

All work completed on time. Boat relaunched. Unfortunately we could not get new decals made up in time.. so top sides were just polished. Thanks to Diving and Yachting services who took care of the boat while on the hard and did all the work.

ANNUAL HAUL OUT 21 August 2017

With the Season almost upon us, Yolo is being hauled out of the water for a few days, the following tasks will be attended to: -Bottom cleaned, prepared and antifouled -New Anodes fitted -New Propeller Fitted -Decals removed and hull buffed -Rudder switch -Fit B&G Vulcan. All things going to plan, the boat should be back in the water later in the week.

Sat 12th August

With Lipton Cup around the corner, RCYC has asked all the boats moored in the front of the club to relocate temporary to the Cape Grace in the V&A in order to make room for the Lipton boats and to give them some profile. Thus the boat was motored around to the V&A and moored there for likely the next two week. Dale was assisted by Tony C and Marc B.

Double Handed Race -31 July 2017

With a Strange SE on the water, with lots of gusts and if it were not chilly could easily have been considered summer conditions. The course set was not of the conventional type.. The bridge trying to reduce the upwind sailing on the course in the strong winds... but reality is that it is easy for a boat to depower when going upwind, the when fetching.. which creates more flogging and hard helm.. But sailing is sailing.. Yolo got a cracker start... and settled down doing the first leg from Number ten to Milnerton.. The wind was gusting in the upper twenties.. and the lows early twenties... a quick leg rouding Milnerton first and in a quandary of whether to set the kite, so opted conservative and poled out the jib.. The rest of the fleet did the same... a nice downwind leg to a laid mark followed by a gybe and a beat upto the next laid mark. At this point the larger J11.1 started to pull though being able to point higher.. and the JPK 10.10 slowly started closing the gap, also pointing higher with a touch more speed. the J11.1 was first at the next mark soon after by Yolo and the JPK a few boat lengths behind.. Next mark was Milnerton, Yolo was holding her gap off, but at Milnerton did a bad tack with a mainsheet tangle and stalled the boat in irons, which closed the gap.. the next leg was another fetch to Milnerton, the JPK 10.10 took a slightly higher angle while Yolo went direct. slowly the JPK inched forward with a bit more speed and eventually bore away for the final drag to the finish which gave them a turn of speed allowing her to pass to weather of Yolo and finish just ahead. All in all, great to be out on the water and a first place in the race.. Aboard: Dale and Ian.

SOCIAL SAIL -22 July 2017

With very few crew available and a dirty bottom on the boat.. Yolo did not take part in the racing but still managed a sail on the bay.. with a crisp SE on the bay gusting to 18knots... with flat water, gave for some nice sailing conditions, putting in a few legs up and down the bay enjoying the conditions.. and watching the racing going on. Eventually returning to port.. Aboard: Dale, Ian and Sieger.

SOCIAL SAIL 24 June 2017

With very little on the sailing calendar, the only sailing available to team YOLO is to do the odd social sail. So following a Crew lunch at RCYC, headed out into the bay. a Southerly blowing between 10-14knots, flat seas with a slight Westerly ground swell pushing against. Air temp was quite chilly.. Headed out under full sail.. in the bay was the Youth regatta happening.. so when in proximity decided to watch.. and dropped the jib, option to sail around the course watching the racing with he main only. We watched two races and then hoisted jib and headed back to harbour sailing up the full harbour in the process.. Good to be on the boat.. and great to have the core crew aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane and Cath.

SOCIAL SAIL 17 June 2017

With the weather and the lack of inclination, finally we were able to make up and take a sail on the bay again. Weather was a Light NW going SW with around 8-10knots... and a left over swell on the Bay. Sailing was pleasant... but headed over the the Lipton Sail off which was happening near the Woodbridge mark..(The Sail off on who will represent RCYC), we spent out time watching the racing sailing up and down the course while making sure that we kept well clear of the competitors.. (In the end Dre won this challenge.. Well done to him and his team, I think good for Lipton to have him back on the course) Then leisurely back to Port.. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Arran and Amy(Arran's Significant other)

Social Sail -20th May 2017

A perfect winters day in CT.. Chilly, clear skies and a little wind on the bay... finding a SE coming through for the afternoon, Yolo headed for the South Side of the Bay to pick up the breeze, followed by some great sailing in flat water down the coastline and then back up. At one stage considering anchoring for a while.. but reminded by Sieger, we were out to sail... and that we did. eventually returning to harbour close to 5pm. Good to be out and using the boat.. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Ian jnr.

PINTO RUSSEL CRUISE 27th April 2017

A firm favourite, a fun day, not exactly a racing theme.. just about spending some time on the water.. There were race’s with different scoring. On Yolo it was decided to not be too serious with this event and just enjoy it. Getting a good start, we sailed the most direct course to Murray Bay, Robben Island getting there first. As we knew there would be quite a few boats planning to anchor, we decided to pick a position slightly outside the bay.. so as not to have too many boats trying to get into the small bay, which could have some snaring up if anyone’s anchor dragged. Eventually all the boats were anchored in the area with most enjoying themselves. Aboard Yolo we were able to enjoy ourselves relaxing while taking in the great view.. phase 2 of this event involved a second race and other activities which was planned to be set off at 5pm.. We decided to rather sail back to CT earlier forgoing the final phase. We had a great sail back in idealic conditions on flat water. A great day was had. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Cath

SOCIAL SAIL - 22 April 2017

Boats area meant to be used and enjoyed.. not just raced.. and in this spirit YOLO is always used.. This past Saturday had some fo the crew meeting for their customary lunch at the club followed by a sail on the bay. Conditions were warm for late April, which just made it that much more pleasant.. departing the port, sailing to the SE side of the bay as one noted a afternoon SE forming.. something that is classic for this time of the year.. with flat water and a steady 14knots on the bay.. Yolo reached up and down enjoying it.. A lot of other yachts ended up doing the same.. with great sailing to be had.. At one poin t discussions aboard were about anchoring at one of the teams favourite anchorages in the SE part of the bay, but opted to rather keep enjoying the sailing conditions. It was one of those idealistic sailing days.. Great sailing to be had.. Aboard were: Dale, Sieger, Ian and Iian Jnr...(Ian brought his son for a sail.. See pic)

SENIORS RACE 1 April 2017

No Jokes(1 April) Seniors race.. This event is always a gathering of some of the most notable sailing names.. It is a short course, no spinnakers and a pursuit start.. always getting good numbers. This was was a true Yolo affair... with Sieger taking up the top spot aboard. Sieger not being much in practice for some time took a while to get into the feel of things.. The day started with us hitting a submerged log in the harbour. Getting a very good start and a reasonable first beat, Yolo starting cathcing some of the smaller boats ahead... once around the weather mark a good reach to Milnerton followed by a Gybe to the offset where the pole was hoisted... taking back a position on this leg.. rounding inside another boat.. A tricky upwind.. with Yolo making contact with a Sunfish on the beat which effectively stopped the boat.. and soon after picking up kelp on the keel... This kelp stayed with the boat for the rest of the race costing around 1 knot of boat speed thereafter and some drift. In the end, Yolo got a credible mid fleet placing.. Next year, besides competing in the overall's, we will also be able to compete on the over 70's category.. A well organized prizegiving was held. Aboard were: Sieger, Dale and IAn.

FAMILY SAIL 26 March 2017

A stunning day on the water, with a very light NW blowing, warm breeze and super flat conditions, this made for a great sail on the bay. As good weather does, there were lots of other yachts out enjoying the conditions.. real G&T conditions... spending longer then intended on the bay. Aboard were the: Kushner Family and Cath.

Flag Officers Race and Overall Wednesday night Series Prize Giving

Last Wednesday night Race of the Season, this being a fun event.. the flag officers race.. According to the bridge we were over the start line, so we had to go back.. then worked towards new breeze on the water, reaching this breeze second, while most of the fleet stuck to rhumb line.. followed by a quick fetch to the first mark, with the Zero being hoisted... Gybing with the Zero at the mark, but it was clear to see that we would sail out of the wind again.. and the reality that if we continued racing we would be out on the water till late at night.. but the bridge realized this as well and decided to Abandon the race.. so back to the club. Aboard Were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Cath. OVERALL PRIZE GIVING FOR THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT SERIES: XL Yolo came first in our division.. representing the team at prizegiving: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Cath.

Mykonos to CT delivery 4 MArch 2017

After the Mykonos offshore last weekend, the team made a decision to forego the Sunday delivery, as the winds weren’t too favourable. As a result, we had to make time this past weekend(4/5 March) to bring YOLO back to its homeport in Cape Town. We met at RCYC from where Dale drove the delivery crew up to Club Mykonos. After a quick pit stop to get food for the journey and a short mishap with the entry gate on the marina(was locked and had to find someone with a tag), we got ourselves onto the boat and set off for Cape Town around 18h15. With the engine humming away, we left the lagoon mouth and made a straight-line course for Cape Town. The aim was to get there as fast as possible with minimum effort. The weather seemed to be in agreement as she served up a light North Westerly with only a mild South Westerly swell. This gave us the perfect opportunity to abandon the sailing idea and stay under motor the whole way home. After a quick supper, a bit of attempted GoPro footage and some tunes to put us in a good mood, we sorted out the watch system and settled in for the night. A simple 2 hours on and 4 off sufficed for each person to get a single dogwatch in. The night was fairly uneventful from here on, good news for us. We moored up at Royal Cape around 04h30, meaning we managed a semi decent 10 hours and 15 minute delivery. This beat the 16 and 14 hours had by fellow racing teams that delivered on the Sunday when we resorted to driving home, a somewhat more comfortable decision from what we hear. After a quick flake of the main and a tidy up, we locked the boat and headed home to squeeze in a few more hours of sleep before first light. Aboard: Ian, Shane and Cath.

Mykonos Race 23/25 Feb 2017

Day 1: Getting a good start in light winds, the fleet quickly tacked off with the leeward boats managing to stay in slightly stronger breeze allowing them to pull away.. and Yolo hanging on.. Closing on Robben Island a deciison was made as the forecast indicated that a Westerly would arrive early afternoon so Yolo made the tack out to sea to incercept the new conditions... knowing full well, that if the forecast was wrong, it would hurt as the boats going down the shoreline would get better conditions. As it turned out, the shift did not happen as expected so Yolo eventually had to consolidate and make for the Dassen Island gate.. the second leg Yolo did much better with the winds eventually shifting on the final approach to South Head... and then kite up and a good sail to the finish.. just missing the win for that leg... IN all a pleasant day onm the water with flat conditions... but a poor overall result in our class. Day 2: The expected conditions were for it to be strong... so set the boat up.. and got a good stsrt and first leg... on the downwind the boats behind were able to get fresh puffs which quickly brought them into range... and the leg back upto Jutten was light... with Yolo opting to hold onto her heavy weather jib... consting valuable distance.. a great downwind thereafter.. followed by a good beat and downwind to the finish.. this race is probbably one of the more enjoyaable races on the circuit, sailing in scenic interesting waters... Getting a third in our class for this race. Overall scoring a 4th place in our class.. Aboard were: Dale,Ian,Sieger,Cath,Hans(Dubai) and Shane.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RACE 22 February 2017

With a firm SE on the water.. Yolo got a fair start and hung in with the bigger boats to the first mark(Paarden Eiland) followed by a downwind to Milnerton, with the longer boats slowly overhauling Yolo, a gybe at Milnerton and a fast beam reach to the offset mark.. overhauling a boat in our class on the process... good rounding and a good solid beat to Harken followed by a final reach to the finish... making good time on corrected in our class with a win... Crew very pleased.. one the races we got right. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane and Cath.

MYKONOS RACE 2017

Yolo has entered the Mykonos Race which starts this Friday, the 24th February. Although the race will be tracked as part of the event, they will be using 3G tracking(cell phone towers etc...) meaning there will be blind spots which only get filled in when a update is received. So in addition to the race tracking, YOLO will have Xtra-Link tracking aboard... WHich is Satalite tracking, which is capable of working anywhere on the Globe.. YOu can follow us during the Race on www.xtra-track.com and just find us in the drop box.

WED Nite Race 18 Feb 2017

With a light breeze on the water it was crucial to get a good start.. Yolo all set for a great start with time in hand, with just under a minute to go, a boat bore down on the boat racked to our weather to try and get space and T boned him(40 footers) although the boat in the rights, to avoid getting caught up, the only escape for us was forwards.. sailing us prematurely over the line.. Oh well.. a fun race.. Yolo worked back and restarted.. and then went on the catch up, initially making good ground having split from the fleet.. hanging in there till nearing the weather mark, where Yolo stayed on the wrong tack a bit too long.. then going on the wrong tack downwind for a period.. So in the end scoring a second last place.. But all abaord had a good race, with pleasant condfitions. Abaord were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane, Cath, Arran and guests Sophie and one other.

Double handed race 4 Feb 2017

With a capzied harbour vessel(and to find out later a fatality) near the starting area.. the bridge made a quick call to make a course change just before start with a downwind start.. this was a refreshing change.. Yolo got a fair start and soon got going under kite.. Doing a peel just before Harken mark, then aroiund and off to Milneerton.. tight angle, but just holding, then rounding Milnerton and with a dying breeze the call made to immediately tack again to try and stay in the breeze.. with a few more tacks on the beat to Landfall, but the wind died away to nothing leaving most of the fleet without wind... condiitons were pleasant though... eventually the bridge decided to abandon the race.. Calling into Port Control for entry, they advised us to wait outside as the port was closed while they complete the salvage process of their vessel.. with us waiting off the breakwater for around an hour.. Abaord were: Dale and Ian.

WED Night Race 25th Jan 2017

With a nice SE on the water, not too strong, allowing for some good sailing. Yolo got away with a fair start but closing in at the weather mark the competions was ahead.. going on a downwind going on a different track to them to try and get ahead from PE to Milnerton mark, but to no avail, even losing another position on the downwind leg.. then around milnerton and the chase to the öffset mark"where we maintaned, a good rouidng of the offset allowed us to get on the inside of the competition and with a lot of working of the boat, managed to inch a bit ahead forcing them to tack to clear their air... at one stage it looked like Yolo was pulling on it's competition, but nearing Woddbridge, it was apparent that they had held onto their lead.. around woodbridge... and the final chase to the finish. Again it was looking good at one stage but they managed to finish ahead.. With a lucky puff near the finish which allowed YOLO to win on corrected time by twelve seconds. Aboard were: Dale, Ian and Sieger.

Double handed Race 21 JAn 2017

Nice conditions at the club, but once out on the water, a very strong SSE wind... A quick test beat confirmed this, so a reef put in and a smaller jib selected, Getting a fair start, but very overpowered going to Paarden Island, ONce around a bear waway for Blouberg Mark, all set up for a kite hoist, but the wind was in the thirties, so decided as no one else had hoisted, not to hoist the kite. Poled out the jib and worked the boat on the downwind... whiole clearing away all the kite gear... The highest wind was 41 knots in a gust.. Managed to get to the leeward mark first, hardened up and sailed closer to the beach, then tacked, the larger boat in our class slowly pulled away on the long upwind... winds were in the uppoer 20's and early 30's.. and there was a steep chop on the bay, making it wet, bumpy sailing... once around the weather mark and a beam reach to the finish. First place in Class. Aboard: Dale

Wed 18th Jan 2017

With a good breeze on the bay, it looked like some nice sailing to be had... realizing there was a wind line sperating the start line.. YOLO ensured she was at the wind end, but with a minute to go, the wind died and in fact was coming from the opposite direction, causing YOLO to put in some quick manouvers, but was still late on the line.. Once away, quickly got back intot he SE without having lost too much on the fleet. Once rounded the weather mark sailed to seperate us from our competition and keep our wind clear.. and poled the leg... managing to end the leg on the inside at the gybe mark. getting a good gybe which made some more distance. a quick fetch leg to the laid mark and then a beat to harken mark and then to the finish. Good distance was made up on the beat as we secured a good lane and used the shifts to advantage allowing us to pull out a bit more distance. Overall First in Class. Aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Arran.

WED 11th Jan 2017

First Wednesday nigth race of the year.. and weather looked good at the club, but Fog in the bay.. Forwever hopefull the fleet made thei way out to the start area on the hope of putting in a race, but the fig thickened and rightly so, the fleet abandoned racing for the day.. So back to the marina. Abaord: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Arran.

C2R Race start 1Jan 2017

With Dale and Ian, having withdrawn from this event some 2.5 months prior, their hearts were still very much in it.. So Yolo went out to watch the start and wish the YOLO crew, namely Shane on Regardless and Cath on Black Cat well for a safe pasage. THe start took place in a strong SE making it pointless trying to keep up with the fleet as we went out under motor... the fleet very quickly sailed away... but good to be out watching and giivng them our support. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and guests: Des plus an Australian and an American who joined us.

Maserati Week 2016

Maserati Week Day One, Race One. A nice SW on the water, around 12 knots at the start. Good start, with a good get away.. but due to some confusion aboard we ended up sailing to a different mark. Once we realized our mistake there was no point in continuing the race as we were too far behind the entire fleet, so we retired from this race. Day Two, Race Two: This Race took place in a freshening SE. An OK start, we tacked to clear and to use the shift and came out tops at the next mark, the next leg was a fetch, with us holding a low lane and our competition holding a high lane slowly closing in so we sailed up to their lane to ensure there would be no overlap, with them luffing, then bore away with about 7 boat lengths to spare to the mark with them falling down much later which gave us a nice gap between.. and rounded the mark ahead of them. After we rounded they shouted protest.. we weren’t totally sure of why.. We managed to stay ahead to the weather mark, but lost our lead on the downwind, but through a good shift caught up to within a few seconds at the finish. We scored a first in this Race. Later there was a protest hearing, where Yolo even had supporting GPS evidence, but was DSQ’d anyway.. that is yacht racing. Day Three, Race Three. Great commanding start, and lead our main competition to the first mark buy a good distance, on the downwind to WB they were able to reel in the distance quite quickly and pass and make good distance ahead, on the next upwind Yolo made good on a few shifts which enabled her to make up a lot of distance and go back into the lead with some distance to spare, around the weather mark with lots of breeze blowing and a long distance downwind. Our main competition started reeling in the distance slowly, but a helpful shift towards the end kept us ahead a fair bit. Once on the beat to the finish, our competition was slowly reeling us in, but with not enough available distance, Yolo was first over the line.. Winning this race… Day Four, Race Four. Race was sailed, but abandoned as the wind had died as a transition zone materialized. Day Five: Race Four. A nice SW, different sort of course with a tight reach and a fetch.. A good start, but rolled by the faster class one boats, so tacked to clear and sailed a good leg, followed by a good reach and fetch and then a beat to the laid mark… we even had a Class one boat who, while ahead of us, tried to pinch well above the mark for some reason, losing them valueble time in the process.. then a fast downwind final leg. We got a first place in this race. In summary we were very pleased with our performance on the water, the boat was going well, over time we have perfected the set up and our regatta race crew is virtually unchanged for the past few years, with them really knowing the boat and how to keep her going… this all helps, as almost all the time the boat is being worked, adjusted, hiked, trimmed etc… non stop. Crew enjoyed this event on the water, perhaps felt that the 3.5 days would have been sufficient without another day… The regatta crew as follows: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Shane, Mark, Thore, Howard and Arran relieving Shane for the Thursday Race. The next big event is likely to be Mykonos Race.. Although Fling regatta takes place two weeks before Mykonos, it is a busy time of the year so likely Team YOLO will forego Fling in favour of racing Mykonos.

WED NITE SERIES 2016

Xtra-Link YOLO wins her division in the Wednesday night series which ended in December 2016. Representing the crew to collect the wares.. are regular crew: Sieger Smink, Ian Coward and Cathleen Hughes. Pic Courtesy: A Smith

WED NITE RACE 7 December 2016

A nice SW on a flat sea, around 15 knots, making for very pleasant sailing. It was a fun race with Class one and two grouped, so YOLO took it conservatively, staying away from the Class one boats.. nice fetch to Landfall, slick rounding and then although could have used the full kite, used the Codey to Woodbrdige, with a good line, Good rounded and a nice beat, playing the shift and getting right side of the new breeze... around number two and another fetch to the finish, involving sail changes... IN the end we scored a first place. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Shane and William.

Double Handed Race 3 December 2016

A South Wester was foretasted with varied wind speed prediction. Getting a good start, on speed, it was clear that the breeze would be stronger then set up for.. so a few adjustments on the beat to keep the boat going through the chop... with us being able ot hang in with a larger boat, playing the shifts where possible as we headed to Barker rock as the first mark.. Halfway up the beat, the winds softened, so gear changing.. and on the look for fresher breeze and shifts eventually rounding the mark in second place, but a problematic hoist relegated us to third. a nice downwind leg down the Sea Point coastline, putting in a early gybe.. as we got past Moullie Point the winds freshened... and then started gusting in the late 20's and once 30 knot range.. giving us nice speeds, we put in a gybe for the lay, but the gusts kept coming with shifts... the boats in front had already dropped their kites due to this, we decided to take the conservative approach and also strike.. with us goose swinging the remainder of the leg.. followed by rounding up just behind the second boat for the beat... which started in winds in the high 20's.. Fortunately the seas were flat.. Next to Number 2 and then the finish.. Nice race, flat seas and good breeze.. Came first in class. Aboard were: Dale and Ian.

SOCIAL SAIL 26th November 2016

HAving not sailed for a while and the last few Wednesday night races blown out.. at short notice it was decided to take the boat for a short sail.. partly social sail, partly a sail test. Sorted out the sail test and then a quick sail across the bay.. with the winds soon reaching 30 knots so decided to head back rather then a wet sail.. packed the boat in the lee of the harbour wall and then a motor back to the marina.. All well aboard. Aboard Were: Dale, Sieger, Marc and Ant.

WED Nite Race 3 November 2016

With the implementation of water shortages and new rules.. without clarity on the impact on the harbour, Yolo decided to make out of the harbour early, to bucket the boat with clean sea water.. Albeit, while motoring out, one noted a few boats hosing their decks in the marina.. Hopefully a clear dirdctive for the harbout in this regard will be issued so there is clarity. There was a Commercial Vessel on wharf that had been battling a fire aboard for the full afternoon, which risked issues within the harbour. This in turn restricted the bridge crew from going to the bridge. The bridge crew quickly got underway on one of the club launches to run a bridge on the water. IN the interim, the wind was switching... and frankly no clear decisive decisions were being made, with a race eventually set on a "fetch, reach course... which lasted all of under 40 minutes. Nice flat seas, variable winds, but good to be on the water. Yolo getting a first in class. Aboard were: Dale,Ian, Sieger and Cath.

Wednesday Night Race 26 October 2016

Forecast was for good Westerlies... at the start line, we could recognize the wind pattern forming... So set up to start and approach accordingly.. Getting a good start and immediately tried to build way in a dying breeze.. to ensure we got to the puffs as quick as possible. slowly entering the light breeze area and then more breeze and so on... till we were in more solid breeze.. (while most of the fleet were still struggling in the light breeze in the start area) Yolo made a few tacks on the upwind to compensate for wind shifts and got the the weather mark with Class one boats.. A downwind leg with the pole.. which required a gybe... and then around number 2 mark and a fetch for the finish.. the wind died right at the finish area which slowed the race.. Overall Yolo got a first place.. having scored in the early part of the race. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Cath.

RISK SA REGATTA 21/22 October

This event is more of a corporate event with the sailing crews teaming up with corporate to race this event. Yolo had the good people of Altech Netstar aboard... A great bunch with lots of enthusiasm. The Friday evening race was held in a nice 15 knots breeze.. sailing was idealic... with nice spinnaker legs. Yolo managed to hang in there with the bigger boats, while playing the shifts a bit more actively.. and got a second place in this race. For the Saturday Race, the decision was that there won't be spinnakers as the breeze was building(suits the larger boats).. It was a pursuit race so from the start, Yolo went on the chase and rapidly pulled in the boats ahead.. but still needed to make distance on the rest of the fleet.. As it turned out, Yolo went into the leeward mark in second place and was overtaken by a few boats on the final leg, giving Yolo a 6th place.. So still on the podium.. with a 3rd place overall.. so everyone was happy. The Race Crew aboard were: Dale, Ian, Cath and Dale S.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RACE 19 October 2016

Good Breeze on the bay., gusting to 30 in the starting area, but sea was flat.. Full mainsail and a J4.. only 4 aboard so a bit light.. Good start, but as the Class one yachts were starting with us. we slowly got rolled by a few.. we had our competition well placed though. Nicely around Paarden Island in a good pack, pole up and a fair run/reach to next mark managing to retain the inside at the mark, a smart rounding and a reach to the leeward mark fighting off a larger vessel trying to pass, eventually the two larger vessels ended up having their own tussle, approaching the mark Yolo took it conservative and did not fight for the inside with a Muira who was guarding it.. rounding on the outside and in their dirties so went off a bit of speed to clear the zone, then hardened up but was in a lower lane From behind came a larger boat who came up to the stern and started shouting weather boat and started pushing up, forcing Yolo to stall out to avoid contact.. Although this boat was not even racing in our class but was tail ending their class they felt that this was a good match... tsk tsk. As it was this incident cost us first place in our class on corrected time.. After this incident Yolo had to tack away to clear air, which was the header tack and did a short leg and then tacked back, but had to start dipping behind boats on the tack back.. which would not have been the case if the incident had not happened.... putting us in a different lane. we even lost placings with our competition in the process.. tacking back for Harken Mark, then around Harken and to the finish. 2nd in Class, Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Cath.

Wednesday Night Race 12 October 2016

Wednesday 12/102016 was our first Wednesday evening race for the 2017 season. On board for the race was Ian, on helm, Cath in the cockpit and foredeck, Sieger on Halyards, and we had two foreign guests, Roddy and Sharon, from the UK. Dale sent his apologies as he was unavailable and Shane on Regardless as he will be doing the Cape to Rio Race aboard Regardless, so he needs to start partaking in all the Regardless events to get fully upto speed with the Rio crew. The race conditions on the day – Southerly wind in the 8 to 21 knot range, flat water mostly, with a bit of wind chop. The wind was quite shifty at times on the second beat, form the Laid mark back to the Harken mark. We started the race at 18H00, with the Club Class 1 non spinnaker fleet, 5 minutes behind the IRC class, Class 1 & 2 spinnaker fleets(Yolo sailing Class 2, non spinnaker). Approaching the line on port, below the rest of the fleet, we tack on to starboard at the gun, to get a clean start. However it was not long before we were overhauled by the Fast 42, of Richard Stubbs. And so ended up picking our way through some dirty air, up the first beat as the bigger class one boats slowly sailed over us, one by one. None the less, we managed to round the Paarden Island mark, first in our class, hot on the tail of the Class 1 boats. A little further back was Regardless in second position. We tried to keep her there, but eventually we were passed by the faster Simonis 35, on the way down to Milnerton. We managed to get the J2 out on the pole, after some coaching from the back of the boat, and some effort from the front end. This allowed us to stay in striking distance of Regardless, who rounded Milnerton and the offset laid mark, around 100m ahead of us. We had two good roundings, considering the manoeuvres required by our small crew. The beat back to Harken was in a very shifty 21 knot Southerly breeze. But we managed to keep up the boat speed with good trimming by Cath on the main traveller. Regardless crossed ahead of us, by a few boat lengths, about a third of the way up the beat, as he headed inshore. We decided to continue on towards the mountain on port tack, weaving our way through the shifting breeze until we were just short of the lay line. Taking inshore on starboard, we crossed ahead of Regardless by around 10 boat lengths. We also passed the Fast 42, Skitzo, the Simonis 35, Scattering ( Spin. Class 2 ). The reach back to the finish was a smooth ride, as we kept Skitzo and Regardless, at bay, to finish 45 seconds ahead of William. 2.06minutes on corrected time. Not bad for our very depleted crew and two guests, against the full Regardless Rio crew.

RCYC OPENING CRUISE 8 October 2016

A firm favourite on the calendar which everyone seems to enjoy.. Nice conditions on the water with a nice breeze and very flat conditions.. but as it was just a short spell on the water before back to club, Yolo chose to motor the sailpast... The opening cruise signifying the start of the season and hopefully some summer weather... Aboard were: The Kushner Family, Ori, Sieger, Shane and Cath.

DELIVERY Mossel Bay to Cape Town 1st October.

Team Yolo spent the day in Mossel Bay, waiting for the intended wind shift.. as soon as the shift was noted in the early evening on Saturday the 1st October, Team Yolo made to sea.. once around St Blaize, there was good winds and reaching to be had with good speeds making progress through the night. In the morning rounding Cape Agulhas and then the “home leg”.. with the breeze getting stronger and stronger as one got closer to Cape Point, which is normal in a South Easterly pattern.. Yolo chose to sail Some 30 NM South Of Cape Point, where a final gybe was executed to lay final approach to Cape Town.. winds at this point were peaking at 36knots and top speeds were around 18knots.. so sailing was fast and wet in the night hours.. A good sail to Cape Town.. with the delivery taking some 31 or so Hours.. Aboard were Dale and Ian.

MBR 2016 (Mossel Bay Race)

With the original course, now back into play.. it was to prove some great racing. Start was on time, YOLO getting a good start on the downwind start line, followed by a few gybes as one tried to wend one’s way out of False Bay while still maintaining the breeze. The breeze eventually shifting and leaving Yolo in a dead wind patch for a period.. then down the coast.. the sea state was up with a fair amount of slop requiring one to sail higher then intended in order to keep the downwind sails filled to maximum. Perfect for A Sails.. Generally a rhumb line was sailed to Agulhas changing sails to suit the wind shifts, the plan was to sail offshore for a while after Agulhas and then gybe on the expected windshift and then make rhumbline for Mossel Bay, gybing again on the next shift.. this worked out according to plan. There was never a moment that we were not in range of another boat, so it kept one on one’s toes.. and the race was short enough to be in rough range of the faster boats. Yolo completed the race in 35 hours, fifty three minutes. Mossel Bay went out of their way to ensure a seamless arrival and opened their facilities to all.. All went well aboard. Aboard were: Dale and Ian. No problems aboard.

DELIVERY TO SIMONSTOWN 15 Sept 16

The 15th looked like the best weather window for a while and the boat needed to get to Simonstown for the MBR. Departed RCYC rounding the breakwater at 7h45.. two sail reached to Moullie Point light and then hoisted the Kite. The breeze was filling in nicely with the boat settling down to some nice sailing, eventually picking upto around 18 knots, with a few shifts which necessitated putting in two gybes.. with the wind increasing the kite was changed to the heavy weather kite. Seas were flattish, but there was still a comfortable SW swell which we were pushing into. Breeze kept on picking up with the boat maintaining good speeds sailing down the coastline.. Nearing SW reefs, the wind was gusting 25 plus, so went conservative and dropped the kite and poled out jib for a while.. then reached upto SW reefs in breeze that had picked upto 28 steady for a while.. Went very wide at the reefs then heading for Cape Point and around. took a long tack into the bay, hoping for a favorable shift, unfortunately it went the other way.. so tacked inshore where the water was flatter and sailed up the coastline.. rounding the bullnose at 15h45, exactly 8 hours after starting.. We could have made up more time cutting in on SW reefs and not going so deep into the bay.. Boat went well.. Aboard was: Dale.

Sat 10th Sept 2016..

The goal of this sail was to attend to a number of small items and testing.. A nice day with a S, SE blowing.. Picking up nicely through the afternoon.. Off moorings and first order of business was to do some calibration work on the rudders. The initial work was done in the harbour.. with a noted adjustment been made. Then hoist sails and off into the bay. First order of business was to put a reef in and see that everything was sized up, then the second reef… Once completed, reefs out.. and a nice beam reach across the bay to Milnerton. This leg was used to compare the calibrations, which was found to be much improved… then a sail back to the harbour wall.. Dale wanted to change the calibration further… so boat was depowered and the adjustments were made.. then a sail across the bay.. the sentiment now was that the rudders seemed to be operating at efficiency. Then a sail back to the harbour… where some spinlock jammers were replaced and certain fittings were removed and resealed on refitment as they had been leaking. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Shane and Cath.

SAIL TESTING Saturday 20th August

Once in a while, one needs to go out.. to mark up the sails and make any necessary adjustments.. This was the day... and what luck.. light conditions between 7-10 knots.. exactly what we needed. It was one of those days on the water, with flat seas that one can truly say, what a great day for sailing.. and the conditions made it easy to send someone aloft to do some of the necessary.. Good progress was made with the inventory and a great sail was had.. Aboard were: Dale, Sieger, Ian, Shane and Cathleen with special guests, Carrigan and Iian.

DOUBLE HANDED RACE 13 August 2016

With a solid NW blowing and some chop and a ground swell in the bay, it looked like it would be a good race.. For most of the race winds were in the 21/22 knot range with the highest being 31 knots. Yolo did not start particularly well, but hung in there with he faster boats on the leg to Number 4. Around number 4 and off to WB... a solid fetch... Yolo passed the leading class 2 boat... and was overhauled by a larger boat on this leg, but hung in with this boat.. rounding WB just behind, but got the inside lane.. and settled down for a long bumpy beat to Daeyang Family... with the chop, the conditions required lots of rudder and playing of the mainsheet and occasionally the jib the whole of the beat .. Tacking on the inside of a lift helped as well. Eventually at Daeyang just behind AL.. Winds were up at the mark, making it difficult for some to round.. Around the mark, immediately preparing for a kite hoist.. the rest of the Class did not bother or had their issues... Up kite, unfortunately the sheet came undone... drop kite, sorted it out, repacked, reconnected and another hoist.. during this time the Farr 38 has made a big gain.. with the kite it helped to reel some of it in.. Kite down and a tight reach to Number 10, around number ten a few boat lengths behind the Farr and a beat to Number 2. The Farr pulled away again, around number two and kite up.. allowing us to slowly catch up as they were not flying theirs.. nice puffs were coming though.. doing the final gybe with the kite in 27 knots and a final drag to the finish.. Second over the line and first on handicap.. A good satisfying, if not physical sail on the water. Boat went well. Aboard, Dale and Ian.

ON HARD

Time for some maintenance for YOLO.. with her coming out of the water for a few days to attend to a couple of jobs.. namely, remove spare rudder and replace with racing faired rudder, refit Racing Gori Prop, light antifoul.. All work completed and boat returned to water 4 days later.

SOCIAL SAIL -7 August 2016

Being the most available date... Time for a social sail with the full crew of YOLO.. Most having not been aboard for some time. Weather was a bit chilly.. with Flukey winds.. ranging from 20 knots to 3 knots. One was still able to get the bag up in the strong area.. do some maneuvers.. and some sail testing. After sailing, discussed the seasons program. Aboard were: dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath and Shane.