Saturday 17th Novermber 2018

A secondary self steering system was fitted on Yolo. It needed to be commissioned with the swinging of the compass and various tests... This was done in the Granger bay area. Winds were not suitable for this, so it was kept short. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger and Antoinio.

Friday 22 Novmember 2018

IN preparation for the Cape to St Helena Race, Yolo did her dry fit on her cradle... Work was done on her cradle and therefore a dry fit was done to make sure the fit was snug. All went well. This also gave us the opportunity to inspect the bottom of the boat.

Wednesday night Race 13 November 2018

With a nice SE, nothing too strong, Yolo got off to a great start.. again having a 50 footer sail over her, but with enough wind she was able to sail over much quicker. Yolo then went on to lead her class over the line and holding a good position wining her class overall. A nice evening on the bay. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Antonio, Arran, Willem.

WEDNESDAY 7th November 2018

Prior to the start there was no wind or a Northerly blowing in the start area.. just before the Start the SE started to be felt on the Start line.. Yolo got a fair start but there was a lot of East in the breeze which was still filtering down the course.. so could not make the weather mark.. topping that a 50 footer slowly sailed over Yolo and kept her stuck in the dirty wind far too long.. with the result that Yolo needed another two tacks to make the weather mark way back in her fleet... by this time the wind had started to filter through... but Yolo needed to do a lot of catching up.. Working her way back up the fleet... on the final leg to the finish there was a wind convergence zone with some light breeze making it tricky to trasit.. Yolo worked her way through this and finished second overall in class. It was a great evening to be on the water.
Aboard were:Dale, Ian, Sieger, Antonio, Arran and Willem

WEDNESDAY NITE RACE 31 October 2018

With a bit more of a South in the Breeze.. winds gusting from mid teens to mid twenties.. the water was flat... IN the prestart a large Class A boat came across on port and did a slow tack using their powerful momentum and only going through the wind well after we had too dip them. Ordinarily we would suffer as one cannot be to lee in this situation, but as it happened this boat stalled as it used all it's momentum up.. Disappointing to have to share a line with fifty footers in a cans race.. not very safe if things go wrong..
Yolo got a fair start well within the CLass A boats.. and made for the First mark.. winds were gusting, but good easy sailing. Around the mark and a reach.. Yolo opted to set pole.. but not sure it added to performance due to the angle... At this point Yolo was well ahead of class..
Downwind followed by a beam reach and a good beat and reach to finish.
The crew as usual kept eeking what they could out of the boat..
Sailign was enjoyable with the flat water.
Yolo maintained her class lead on line and eventually won on corrected time.
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath and Antoinio.

Wednesday Night Race 24 October 2018

A hot balmy evening in Cape Town.. Indications were that there might be no wind on the water... but there was.. For the start there was a NW.. The pin being favored... Our start was Class A and B sharing the line so much faster boats and even some 50 footers were jockeying among 30 footers.. not ideal and with stronger breeze not safe.. With this in mind, it did not make sense to fight it out with a bigger boat so tried to go down the line a bit... the problem is that a much larger boat below gives an easy leebow and to weather takes the wind... so either way, we needed to let the fast boats move away from the line as quick as possible... Notwithstanding that, Yolo got a mediocre start but in our class one of the better ones.. nice flat water making sailing easy... got the boat going and found a nice lane to tack into with only the Class A boats to worry about... Then a couple of well planned tacks using the wind shifts and setting ourselves up for a slight windshift we could see closer to the top part of the course... Getting to the weather mark among the class A boats and well ahead of Class B boats... then a downwind Sail to Number 2 mark... and what started as a fetch to the finish.. .with us sailing into the convergence zone where a ESE was making its presence known.. while in this zone the bigger boats had more momentum and those behind were still on the tail end of the breeze which allowed some of them to catch up... and two were able to pass us on this leg.. fortunately the breeze slowly came in.. and we were able to finish just behind them giving us the first place on corrected time.
This was one of those great evenings to be sailing in Cape Town.. warm breeze and flat water..
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Antoinio and Arran.

WED Nite Racing 17th October 2018

Nice SE on the bay, not too strong.. Getting a slow start squashed between Class one boats.. a good leg to Paarden Island hanging in just behind the Class one boats... Followed by a downwind leg, perhaps a bit underpowered with the configuration and passed by a Simonis 35 and keeping the inside on a Farr 38.. good gybe at Milnerton.. and gave chase.. then breaking for a lower line and after catching a puff at the right angle got ahead and held that the the leeward mark, good rounding and sailed a good beat back to the weather mark.. followed by a reach to the finish.. Finishing first on line in class and first on corrected time. Aboard were : Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Antoinio and Arran.

ROUND ROBBEN ISLAND RACE 13 October 2018

A firm favourite on the program which always brings a good entry. Perfect weather, with a SW and flat water.. around 14 knots for most of the race.. ideal sailing...
This race had a pursuit start and you could round the island going either way.
Yolo got a good start.... well actually too good... and got recalled for being over the line early.. fortunately was able to do this without losing too much ground.. A mid line start and manged to stay in the breeze till it started to lift.. fast sailing around 2/3 the way to the island, the wind freed enough to hoist the kite and sail very tight in the hope of a bit more of a lift.. this lift came and gave us good speed to catch up to those ahead... Squaring off around the island, keeping the inner lane and getting the perfect gybe angle sailed down the North side of the island and then hoisted jib and dropped kite for a fetch to the finish... playing the oscillations..
A great day on the water, not often one gets to sail in Cape Town with flat water with a steady breeze... making this a quick race.
Overall a second and first in class.
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Denis and Willem.

Wednesday Night Race 10 October 2018

With lots of wind forecast... all were happy.. Nice flat seas, wind.. fresh air. Yolo got a cracker start... and hung in with the Class one boats on the first leg. Nice downwind followed by a fetch and then a beat back to weather and a reach to the finish.. Nice conditions, nice sailing, We were very light on the rail with only 5 aboard... but we worked the boat and managed. Came first in class. Aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Antonio.

RCYC Opening Cruise 6 October 2018

As always a festive day at RCYC. Yolo took to the water and joined the procession under motor to do the sailpast in the V&A... dipping burgee and three cheers.. and then straight back to club. Good time was had. Aboard: Kushner Family, Ian, Sieger and Cath.

Delivery MB to CT 3/4 October 2018

With a crew member having flown in from overseas for the race it was decided to give him a quick experience of the Garden route.. namely a quick visit to Knysna and tghe Cango Caves in Oudshoorn.. The boat was then left in MB and Daniel Frieslaar was engaged to Deliver the boat back to Cape Town..  Daniel and his crew departed Mossel Bay around 2am and motored the first 12 hours after which they got the SE and was able to sail most of the rest of the way back at good speed, only motoring the last section when the wind dropped. They docked at around 2pm on Thursday 4th October.. giving them a very respectable 36 hour passage.

MBR 2018 27th September 2018

The Start was in 12-15knot breeze at 9am on the 27^th September. Quite sublime with Yolo getting a good start, kite up and off looking for wind and trying to sail a good VMG. Getting close to Hangklip the winds started to increase with speeds picking up, more then expected. Eventually deciding to be conservative and drop the kite. Then poling out the jib. Occasionally gybing to ensure best VMG to Agulhas. Speeds were good and sailing was great. When in the Agulhas area we heard on the Radio the MOB incident on Silver Girl. Dale spent time thereafter on and off the phone trying to follow and make sure everything kicked in as it should.

After Agulhas the winds died for a while with some two sail fetching on a comfortable seas with a rising moon. Around 3am a cloud/front was noticed in the west and soon after it started drizzling and the winds increased.. For a short while it rained and we had the strongest wind of the race from behind. After this we spend the rest of the race gybing to maintain VMG with us rounding St Blaize and sailing hard on the wind the final mile on flat water.

In summary, we enjoyed the race and the conditions. The sea and wind were what one could expect given the conditions.. .the forecast was better then what was experienced

.

Boat performed well. No issues.

Yolo finished at  13h23 with a total elapsed time of: 28h 23m.

Second Overall, First under ORC.

Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Cath and Hans.

Delivery CT to Simonstown 9 September 2019

On Sunday 9th September, Ian and Cath delivered Yolo around the point to Simons Town where she will stay until the Mossel Bay Race.

We cast off at RCYC at 7:10am. It was a fairly average day for a delivery with a South Westerly wind between 2-8 knots and a fairly calm sea. At least the sun was shining. South West reefs were cooking so we had to detour around the kelp beds and seemed to be running 1 hour behind schedule. Once we reached the point however, the wind picked up to 15 knots so we made up the time averaging 6,5 knots. While soaking up the sunshine, we chatted, laughed and ate plenty snacks with the radio blaring some throw back tunes from the early 90’s. Just outside of the Harbour, we were treated to 2 South African Navy Ships and 2 Argentinian Ships as well as the South African Navy submarine. We had docked at FBYC by 4:30pm, ahead of schedule. An acceptable 9 and a half hour trip completed successfully under motor. Not a single sail was hoisted. 

Double Handed Race 8 September 2018

With a Southerly cold wind racing got going on a longer course. Yolo getting a good start and hanging in to the first mark.. Kite Hoist and a gybe planning to take a lower lane hoping for a better breeze line. In the end a SW came through while nearing the line requiring a kite strike and all advantage gone.. around mark and armed with the new wind pattern knowledge we had just sailed through, now took a higher line able VMG to allow for the shift which came halfway up the leg... in the end just making Woodbridge and a nice sail over the rest of the legs. Wining the race overall. Aboard: Dale and Ian.

Open Course Racing 18 September 2018

Open course racing is one off races at RCYC which spans over longer legs of differing angles.. Normally around 3 hours or so of racing.. Just what the Yolo team likes.

Very light winds, not exactly idea for Yolo. Getting a fair start and working to the West where the laid weather mark was. Doing faily well but unfortunately hooked into two headers in succession which pulled one back a bit. Once around the weather mark a light wind shy reach to Landfall where Yolo held her own and then a tight reach to Woodbridge where for a while the wind picked up a bit. It was tight with some boats opting to drop their kites, but Yolo managed the full leg with the kite. Then a fetch to the leeward mark followed a beat to the finish in a dying breeze.
Not exactly ideal conditions for Yolo, but still managed a first on corrected time.
Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Antonio and Lucas.

SOCIAL SAIL 11 August 2018

Following all the work for the winter layover.. Time to get back to a routine again on Yolo. This means where possible to sail the boat at least once per weekend, be it racing or just a social sail in the bay.
The crew who were available met up for a social sail. It was also a good opportunity to check that everything was working properly.
In the end, a comfortable sail in the bay... with winds slowly freshening with comfortable seaway.. winds topping out at 17 knots..  Boat performed well and everything working A1.
Aboard were: Dale, Sieger, Antonio and Lucas.

Double handed Race 28 July 2018

With Ian being the one who was keen on getting all the work completed from the winter lay up, the pressure was on. Literally the final items were completed on the morning of the race. The sails being the last item as they were reloaded onto the boat. Winds were light but Yolo got a good start.. The conditions did not suit Yolo. Eventually the expected wind transition moved over the course.. and Yolo took advantage but still unable to make up all the time lost on corrected time. After rounding Landfall and sailing to Woodbridge, there was some boats asking something about a shortened course, but we had heard nothing. Eventually we called up to find out our course had been shortened so we altered course and had to make back ground again to the finish line. In the end, Yolo came 2nd on corrected time, but it is important to note that some boats did not hear the Shortened course. If they did, Yolo would likely have come third.

Boating World

A Compliment where a Compliment is due:

As part of the winter maintenance program, it was decided to remove the saloon table in order to make more space in the interior(and declare for ORC and reweigh etc..)

IN order to do this, we had to remove the mast, which we had work attended to in the process..

Once the mast was out, we had a technical query relating to the mast step.. We referred this query to Boating World the official Jenneau Dealers for South Africa.

They in turn, took it upon themselves to do the work under warranty and managed the whole process.. their chosen contractor was Action Yachting.

So Well done to Boating World and Jenneau… No wonder Jenneau owners are so loyal to the brand.

WINTER LAY UP

YOLO is 6.5 years old and has done some serious mileage including two Atlantic crossings and has some more distance sailing planned on the horizon.

With this in mind it was time to give the boat a once over to bring her back to tip top shape again.

The following has been done:

·         Boat fully emptied

·         Mast service which included new caps, spreader reinforcement, sheaves, new VHF aerial and a separate AIS aerial fitted.

·         Mast step was beefed up with Solid Wood and Epoxies.

·         Replaced Electric bilge pump.

·         Replaced Exterior Bilge Pump.

·         Revarnish interior wood work.

·         Removed interior table.

·         Polish “fall out” off deck.

·         All Gel coat chips repaired

·         Full re-antifoul

·         Replace prop and leg anodes

·         New Lee cloth’s for centre berths

·         A mast wrap made.

·         New padding for the life lines.

·         ORC reweigh.

·         The boat repacked.

·         Plus lots of smaller jobs done in-between.

As we had removed the interior table we had to declare this to ORC.. besides this, the boat had not been weighed for 6.5 years.. over this time various items had been added so an ideal opportunity to update this.

So the winter projects ended up with a lot of work being done on Yolo… freshening her up for the next 6.5 years of sailing.

The contractors used:

·         Associated Rigging

·         Action Yachting

·         Ian and Dale

Work in Progress

Progress is going slow on Yolo.. The mast is out and has been stripped... work done, new VHF aerial, a dedicated AIS aerial fitted, new conduit, sheaves, backstay, new cap stays, reinforcing etc..

It is important to have confidence in the mast.. Yolo has done a lot of miles, so it was time.

See pic taken of boat at sunset, sans mast.

Winter Lay Up

With the Racing Season now at an end.. and Winter upon us.. Yolo will be having a few maintenance jobs attended to, to keep her in tip top shape.

The biggest job will be the mast being removed, which should happen later this week. The mast is being removed for a full check and service and an additional Aerial for the AIS will be fitted vs. Using a splitter.

We will keep all posted with progress.

Portugal Day Race 2 June 2018

A firm favourite on the calendar..
This was a blistery NW with a big sea left over from the previous night.. Most of the wind was in the early 20's.. Given the sea state and wind density Yolo opted to sail with a J4 and one slab.. This was a pursuit race, making starting that much easier.. so getting a good start, worked out way to the first mark, Land Fall.. With a bit of slamming and lots and lots of kelp that required constant look out and course adjustments to try and stay clear.. not always being successful requiring effort to try and dislodge what we caught.. Fortunately with the bigger seas.. that part was probably a bit easier. On the first beat made good progress... followed by a Fetch to Blouberg mark holding out own. The big boats were starting to make gains at this point... then a gybe at Blouberg followed by a nice kite run down to Woodbridge mark.. A nice angle with a good seaway.. if anything the sea and wind was moderating.. Good rounding at the leeward mark and then a beat to Landfall again.. making good progress with lots of work to keep the boat going well over the waves. about 80% up the beat, we decided to drop the reef.. in readiness for the next downwind... Rounding the next mark, a big boat was sailing above us.. but struggling to get their kite organized.. so were sailing downwind very deeply and slowly, with us on the inside we could not pass.. and were stuck in this configuration for some time.. till they broached which gave us the opportunity to move ahead... a great dowind leg reaching good speeds. We left the final gybe to the finish a bit late.. costing us second overall and first in our class (a few seconds).
A great sail aboard.

Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath. Shane and Antoinio.

Social Sail 19 May 2018

In overcast conditions with a light Westerly and flat water.. and idealistic sail sailing towards Robben Island, as the sail progressed the wind started to die necessitating motoring towards the harbour to pick up the breeze. A good sail on the water. Aboard: Dale, Ian. Sieger and Guests Derek Levy and his cousin.

SOCIAL SAIL 5th May 2018

Keeping up the routine of trying to use the boat at least once per week..
Heading out with a NW on the bay and a bit of a chop.. but basically 12-14 knots.. ideal conditions for sailing. Headed out to the stern of a Russian Icebreaker and then back to port. Sailing was pleasant. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Antonio and Daniel K and Ori K.

Social Sail 21 April 2018

With a SW blowing and a flat sea with the occasional ocean swell as we went into deeper water.. Sailing was great. First to sail around the sailing ship Europa which was anchored in the bay.. then onto a great sail... nicely powered up fetching for Robben Island where we sailed past the Island Harbor and then back to CT.. with the breeze dropping a bit. It was an excellent day on the water and a good opportunity to "blow the cobwebs off".. Aboard were: Dale, Ian and Iain jnr.

RCYC SENIORS RACE 7th April 2018

A firm favourite on the calendar and not one might imagine. the talent that comes out of the woodwork for this one is big.. with some very well known and highly experienced sailors showing their faces.
Sieger was to be our "senior"for the day taking command. this year we were relegated to the next class.. ie. Seniors refers to over 60.. the next class is over 70..  Sieger had to remind us.. as he did not look the part.
Racing was good with a bit of confusion on start times.. either we lost a minute or the bridge did.. albeit the rest of those starting with us on the first go were spot on with us.. so we lost on the second start. Once going we had some ground to make up.. with Sieger getting the feel of the boat he soon had her going well for the conditions... with us looking to stay in the puffs making up some distance we had lost right at the weather mark, then a sublime run/reach and a fetch to the finish.
Overall we came 11th out of a big fleet.. but second in our age category... We were more interested in racing age category so were very pleased at the outcome.

Aboard were: Sieger, Dale, Antoinio and guest Louise(sailor from Aus)

SOCIAL SAIL 31 March 2018

Yolo likes to keep up a level of being used.. whether it be racing or cruising. So Saturday sailing starts to happen over the Winter period when there are no events or unable to participate.
Headed out to the Woodstock corner to pick up the SE.. en route saw a large sunfish doing it's thing.. then into the breeze and started to reach down the coast line.. with the wind quickly touching 26 knots it was decided rather to go to Granger Bay and anchor there for a while to avoid a long beat back in strong breeze.. a comfortable sail and motor to Granger bay where we anchored and spent some time.. followed by a motor back to the marina. Aboard were: Dale, Ian and Sieger.

Fin De La Saison 24 March 2018

This is a new event on the calendar.. originally a full two day regatta.. now converted to a one day medium distance race which I think hits the spot... Numbers would likely have been even higher if it was scheduled originally as such.. but well done to the organizers for reading the mood.
AS it turned out, a NW start but as soon as nearing Granger Bay, there were wind patches on the water... after two hours of sailing light fog came in.. and we could see that the wind had sucked away and realized that it would be at east an hour before any reasonable wind would come through, so retired from the race. As things would have it, the race organizers abandoned the race an hour later in any event. We still have a good day out. Aboard: Dale, Sieger, Cath, Antoinio, Mark and DeWalt.

WED NIGHT RACE 15 March 2018

Last race of the Wednesday night series... With what started out in a light rain with reduced visibility of around ten knots and once past the breakwater a lumpy sea.. and eventually wind reducing further.. coming back towards the end of the race... Yolo got a good start and managed to stay out of the fray... and worked her way windward watching the wind and trying to keep moving through the lighter patches... managing to get well ahead on line in her class to round the weather mark first.. and then managed to maintain this right through to the end resulting in a first in our class.. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath ,Arran, Antonio and Manda.

Double Handed Race -10 March 2018

With a light W- on the water... ranging between 5-12 knots.. with flat seas.. Start took place in good breeze with Yolo getting a reasonable start,  but after the breakwater lost our tacking back in, once around the weather mark(laid mark) a downwind to Milnerton... necessitating a few gybes with the kite as there were fluctuations and the breeze died in our lane.. with wind both sides which we could not get to... winds dropped to 5 knots for a while.. but started to fill in properly just before the leeward mark with a slow rounding while sorting out a tangled halyard.. and then beat back to the weather mark with the rest of the race in reasonable breeze on flat water.. In the end finishing second on corrected time. Aboard were: Dale and Ian.

Wed Nite Race 7 March 2018

With typical Wednesday night conditions.. in fact probably less then what would be considered a normal Summer evenings sail... With a SE with a bit more South in it then normal as the seasons change.  But water was flat and the gusts were mainly in the Paarden Island Mark area... So in fact, it meant a good evening of sailing was to be had. 

Yolo got a good start, but lost a bit of ground on the downwind and fetch legs due to water line. Nice rounding at the lee and a good beat back up to weather mark and a beam reach to the finish where there were a few lighter wind areas which we had to sail through.. in the end scoring a second in our class... Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Arran, Antonio and Manda.

Wed Night Race 28th February 2018

A usual Wednesday evening breeze on the bay.. winds mainly in the early 20’s with the odd puff.. highest recorded was 31 knots… but most of the time well below that.

Yolo got off to a good start nicely positioned and for a change was not rolled by the bigger boats… giving a good leg to the first mark.. then sailed for the leeward mark winking the boat in the puffs… took it conservatively around Milnerton which was to be a gybe followed by a beam reach to the offset. There were a few boats struggling with the gybe and managed to sail around them all, the boats behind us seemed to be pushing the rules at the mark making for some exciting spectator stuff… once on the beam reached we were quickly being hauled in by a bigger boat which necessitating us sailing higher to clear our breeze.. eventually soaking down to the mark with a boat length or two to spare.. good beat with the crew working hard for max speed all the way to the weather mark and then a sublime reach to the finish. It was good to be back aboard. YOLO’s first Wednesday race this year. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Arran, Antonio and Manda.

DELIVERY Mykonos to CT 11 Feb 2018

The delivery team departed Mykonos at 6am... Hoisted mainsail, but found largely a 11 knot SE initially with lumpy seas which smoothed out as the trip progressed.. But opted to motor sail in order to make reasonable time.. Eventually making the CT breakwater at 5pm. Aboard: Ian, Cath and Antonio.

MYKONOS RACE 9/10 February 2018

Race: CT- Mykonos
With a NW/Northerly foretasted we were in for an upwind sail with plenty of wind. As it turned out we had wind the whole way.. a bit light and flukey the first 1.5 hours... and as the race progressed a chop built which made for the occasionally slamming.. but otherwise a reasonable upwind. Unfortunately Yolo got caught in Kelp twice and had to back up which cost us time, not just in the maneuver but time lost in sailing with the kelp before finally doing the back up.. this probably cost us a better result, plus later in the race going on the wrong tack for too long.. In all a good race.

Race: Bay Race.. A firm favourite and weren't disappointed, with breeze throughout the course.. nice sailing and a excellent view.. Getting a reasonable result in our class..

Summary: We had a great event... Everyone enjoyed themselves.. Boat performed well. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Hans and Denis.

Double Handed Race 3 February 2018

With a good old Summer South Easter on the bay, Yolo set upto start.. getting a good position on the start line, but still a little under powered and then sandwiched between two bigger boats which quickly had Yolo out the exhaust..  With a fetch to Paarden Island the bigger boats quickly pulled away.. Once around the mark a kite hoist and the chase to the leeward mark... It was a good angle which Yolo enjoyed and the wind was up giving good consistent speeds. A good strike and rounding at the leeward mark, hardening up onto a beat.. Wind was in the low to mid 20's with the highest recorded at 31 knots. Seas were relatively flat so a comfortable beat to Milnerton and a fetch to the finish, crossing the line second and winning on handicap. A good sail was had.. Aboard were: Dale and Ian.

ROUND ROBBEN ISLAND RACE 13th Jan 2018

Although a Southerly forecasted, the wind had not yet set in.. Firstly misjudging the line and hedging on the wrong side.. and then being well away from the line.. nearly 5min... gave YOLO a terrible start... at the wrong side of the line... with a separation in the fleet.. Yolo was forced to work the right side of the course which started to look good for a while, until a SW started to fill through, giving the advantage back to most of the fleet which were at the West side of the course.. with Yolo sailing up the East side.. With the rest of the race just sailed trying to catch up as best we can, but knowing we were out in the big picture. In the end finishing over line and handical well down the fleet.. but a good day was had on the water.. and to add to this after the finish, we backed up to find we had kelp on the Keel as well.... Oh well... Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Antonio and Dennis.

FIRST SAIL 2018 6th January

First Sail of the year.. a Nice Westerly with a flat sea.. Departing harbour with a few puffs at 25knots but quickly settling down to 14 or so knots... a great sail to Blouberg and back to the harbour, Sail fish and dolphins aplenty.  Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Cath, Antonio and guest: Marc.

LAST SAIL OF THE YEAR 30th Dec 2017

2pm, Saturday afternoon sail planned on the bay.. Nice weather flat sea.. headed out to a light ten knot South Wester.. and headed in the Granger Bay Area.. Decided to re calibrate the wind instruments(This is a process to ensure that the wind angle is 100% correct on both tacks).. Winds eventually started to die off, so headed towards the Paarden Island area where one could see the beginnings of a South Easter starting to build.. Eventually in the South Easter and spent some time fetching with Yolo returning to port around 5:30. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Antonio and Guest Alan Hughes.

CTRW 16-19 Dec

The annual main event of the year... With a good crew and a nice sized fleet in our class for a change, the crew were looking forward to the event... a 4 days hard racing regatta.
Lady Luck had other plans.. with a typical South Easter that blows at this time of year that persisted throughout the regatta.. With daily winds in the 40 knots region.. the race committee wisely assessed the weather daily and had no option but to abandon racing daily.. ON the last day of the event, the rules were even changed to allow one race for the event to stand.. and everyone headed out.. but as the bridge readied themselves to start the breeze was already in the mid thirties and gusting.. leaving them no option but to abandon racing for the day... With the result, 4 days and all 4 days the winds were too strong to sail.. It sometimes happens... Kudos to the sponsors (SAP) who were fully understanding... The Crew for the event were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, James, Antonio and Daniel F.

Wed Nite training Sail 13th December 2017

With a light drizzle and light winds, the decision was still taken to try and get some training in. A long motor out on the water to an area where there was a little bit of wind.. A few other boats were training... Yolo did a beat, tack, kite hoist and around 4 gybes and a drop... by which time the wind had dissipated with the cloud action... So motor on and back to the harbour. Pleased with the session though, albeit everyone wet from the rain. Abaord: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, Daniel(Foredeck for the upcoming regatta) and guest: Sennur

VOLVO OCEAN RACE START 10th December 2017

With the Volvo Race in town, a great opportunity to see these boats in action and give them a send off on their next leg. Yolo went out under motor.. There was no point in sailing, the winds were around 25knots and for the most part, specator boats needed to stay in a certain area.. sailing would have made that difficult and unsafe to do...  Team Yolo watched the start and then positioned themselves near the Radisson to see the boats come back fully powered up, which allowed us to be closer.
A great opportunity to see these boats and be part of it...  Aboard: Dale, Sieger, Cath, Shane, James, Antoinio, Arran.

VOR ProAm 7th December 2017

Ian Coward was fortunate to sail the ProAm Race aboard Brunel. 

YOLO West Coast Race 2017

YOLO West Coast Race 2017

DELIVERY : Saldhana to CT 27th November 2017

With prior knowledge of the weather forecast and time constraints Ian and Dale were unable to do the delivery personally but were fortunate to secure Mark Devit and Thore Berg to bring the boat back. Due to the weather they had planned to do the delivery on the Monday following the event when the best weather window was available. As it happened they departed Saldhana at around 07h30 and headed for CT, with a light Westerly blowing seldom over 8 knots... necessitating motor sailing the whole way. with the seas flattening out as they closed in on CT. Arriving just after 6pm. Aboard: Mark and Thore.

West Coast Offshore Race 24/25 November 2017

This race, new on the Offshore calendar and promises to be a success... The starting format had the class's going off 3 hours apart.. with a progressing South Easter, the last start would benefit more with stronger winds.. nonetheless Yolo's start still had breeze in the early 20's.. starting with the kite up.. and a nice sail down to Robben Island sailing a good VMG... opting not to gybe in the shadow but rather to sail the VMG and break through it.. which we did.. and then had a quick sail down to Dassen passing in record time... winds were up just before and after the island touching in the early thirties.. still holding the kite.. eventually going to the small kite and then later back to the larger one... We over stood the gybe angle into the Bay and direct for Elands.. so soon after the Gybe, we realized that we could not hold the angle as it was tight and we were only sailing 2 up, so did not have the rail weight... so eventually dropped the kite and two sail reached in for Elands.. as we got closer the wind went a bit lighter... conditions were comfortable.. .Around the mark, hardened up for a few minutes and then tacked to beat out of the bay... there was around 13 knots if breeze at this time, going down... sailing into a slop which had the boat slamming into it from time to time... but making really good progress and quite an enjoyable beat.. taking turns to catch a short rest at dawn approached the wind started to lessen as forecasted.. but fortunately we were almost out of the bay, we worked the puffs and shifts and tacked our way out of the bay past Britannia

and Columbine and got a good lane for the heads, followed by a kite hoist to sail down the shipping channel and into Saldhana were we dropped the kite for the last half a mile as the angle went tight. IN all a great race, boat was great. Elapsed time of 26 Hours and Eleven minutes and won our class. Aboard were Ian and Dale

Wednesday 22nd November 2017

With a SW breeze on the water, not too strong.. around 9-10 knots with puffs at around 12 knots for the greater part.. Opting for a wall start... We had to duck below a larger class one boat as they fought amongst themselves... still giving us a reasonable lane.. once around the main breakwater the wind dropped off and the sea was a bit lumpy making it difficult to make good way dodging the kelp.. our main competitor was breathing down our necks.. we played a few shifts but it took us into lighter conditions and then we had to dip below a few larger boats in the process... at which point our main competition skillfully worked their way around this... and was able to pass and make good distance ahead of us rounding the weather mark well before us.. giving them a good gap.. the rest of the race was sublime... with us finishing second on corrected time, which we were still happy with. A pleasant evening sailing on the bay.. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Arran, Antonio and guess Di...

Double Handed Racing -11 November 2017

A Westerly breeze with fluctuations on the water... gusty in the start area with the upper 20's.. so opted for a J4 for the start... Another cracker of a start, allowing Yolo to tack and sail straight over the fleet..  A good first beat to the weather mark, second only to a much faster boat.... around the mark and kite up.. as it was breezy we went with our heavy kite.. which turned out to be the wrong call as the winds started to lighten up... two gybes on the downwind leg..  around Milnerton mark and a fetch to the next mark.. where we realized the breeze had dropped further... around the mark and a beat back to the weather mark, a bit under powered, fortunately the sea was very flat... but we were still not on the numbers.... but opted not to change on the leg. but set up for a larger kite for the last downwind... around the weather mark and off to Paarden Island.. on this leg we changed to our largest genoa..  and again put in two gybes.. with a rusty drop at the leeward mark which cost us.. and a final beat to the finish.. In the end, we got a second place losing first place by twenty seconds to the larger boat... Sailing was great on the water.. and with a flat sea.. a joy to sail. Aboard were: Dale and Ian.

SOCIAL SAIL -Sat 4th November 2017

Yolo tries to sail regulary on a Saturday Afternoon where possible. with a nice Westerly of around 12 knots on the bay, the ideal conditions.. There was a nice Westerly swell, other then that some nice sailing, with Yolo going to Robben Island and back. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the afternoon on the bay.. Aboard: Dale, Sieger, Cath, Arran and guest Amie.

Wed Nite -1 Nov

As foretasted, a SE on the bay, perhaps a bit stronger but that is local effect.
Yolo did not get a good start, getting herself tucked away to the lee of competition with a Class one boat to the lee.. so eventually got spat out and needed to sail in dirty air for much of the leg.. Winds were gusting 25.. Once around Paarden Island a reach to Milnerton, a Fetch to the offset and a Beat to  the weather mark where we perhaps made up some time and a reach down to the finish. A nice race... giving us first in our class. Aboard: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Cath, James, Arran and Shane,

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.