New Zealand Sailing - December 06 Newsletter

M A N L Y S A I L I N G C L U B

P. O. B O X 1 2 6, W H A N G A P A R A O A

December Newsletter

Hi everyone welcome to our first E Newsletter. Please email any thoughts or contributions to mike@nzsailing.net

1. Learn to Sail BBQ this Sunday 10^th of December

A BBQ will be held at the club this Sunday starting @ 11.00 as a graduation event for the students who took part in the Level 1 courses on Monday afternoon & Sunday Morning and the Level 2 courses on Thursday afternoon & Sunday Afternoon. Drinks and a Sausage provided. Yachting New Zealand Certificates will be presented.

2. What next after Learn to Sail?

For those students finishing Level 1 courses the next step is to do a Level 2 course which will be starting in the New Year in February. Please talk to Stephen Wagstaff about the details of these on Sunday or email Mark Griffiths. Those Students that have completed the Level 2 course are ready to take the next step and join the rest of the club and come racing. We have “Learn to Race/Practice Sessions” on Thursday nights that start @ 4.30 and run to 8.00 pm so do not worry if you cannot make the 4.30 start come down when you can. These will continue until Thursday 21 December and start again in the New Year. Email mike@nzsailing.net for details. We also have club races on Tuesdays & Sundays (See Attached Schedule) and the races listed below.

3. What to Sail?

For smaller sailors under 50kg we recommend the Optimist that you have sailed in the Learn to Sail courses. You can use the club boats if they are not being used for a Learn to Sail course. The club Optimists are designed for Learn to Sail and are not as quick and as exciting as an Optimist that is designed for Racing. So as sailors’ progress they should definitely consider the purchase of a “Racing” Optimist. There are many “Racing” Optimists and purchase prices range from $400 to $5,500. There are many Optimist regatta’s inAuckland once sailors have had experience at racing with the Club at Manly. For serious competitors there are North Island, New Zealand, and World Championships to aim for. See www.optimist.org.nz for more information. There are number of Optimists for sale within the club please email mikep@nzsailing.net for details.

For larger sailors over 50kg the Manly Club recommends the Laser. Most of the racing at Manly is done sailing Lasers and we have members who have placed in the Top 3 in World Championships. The Laser has 3 different sizes of Sails which all fit into the same boat. The Standard Sail is 7.06m2 and is the Men’s Olympic single handed boat and recommended for experienced sailors over 70Kg. The Radial Sail is 5.76 m2 is the Women’s Olympic single handed boat and recommended for sailors from 55kg to 70kg and is used when its too windy to use the Standard Sail. The 4.7 Sail is 4.7m2 and is recommended for less experienced sailors weighing over 50kg. Thus the same boat can be used for all sizes of sailor, different levels of experience and different wind speeds. To change the Laser from an experienced adult boat (Standard Sail) to a less experienced youth boat (4.7 Sail) all that is needed to do is to change the sail and the lower mast section. There are many Laser’s available second hand and they hold there value very well. Rob Allsop-Smith 428 1503 robertas@xtra.co.nz has two for sale. The top picture, on page below shows three 4.7 Sail Lasers having fun next to a Learn to Sail Optimist. The bottom picture shows the same three 4.7 Sail Lasers racing against a Standard Sail Laser.

4. Manly Sailing Club has 4.7 Sails & Mast Bottom Sections.

The committee has purchased four 4.7 Sails and Mast Bottom Sections. These are stored at the Club are available for any club member to try. Many second hand Lasers will come with a Standard Sail and may have a Radial sail but will not have a 4.7 Sail as they are relatively new in NZ. The 2004 World championships for the 4.7 had 276 entries from 23 countries. So the class is very popular overseas and the committee has bought these sails for the following reasons:

1. To allow children of members to have a go in Mum’s or Dad’s boat

2. For inexperienced sailors to use after completing the level 2 course

3. To use for Adult and Youth Learn to Sail as it hard for larger sailors to sail in the Optimist

4. To promote Youth and Junior sailing at the Club

5. To increase the size of the racing fleets at the club and hopefully bring some of those Lasers that are sitting in Garages out onto the water

The Club initially bought two 4.7 Sails but these have been snapped up quickly as the kids using them are having heaps of fun so the club has bought another two and will go for funding for 4 more. So please come down to the club and have some fun with them.

5. Boxing Day Regatta

Please remember the Boxing Day Regatta. The Boxing Day Regatta is one of the biggest that we hold and as well as sailors we also need helpers. There will be five races and it is open to all classes. If you don’t want to race or if you have never been on a boat before don’t worry you can still help. Please come down for a fun day in the sun. If you are able to help please email Don Salthouse donsalt@xtra.co.nz

6. Recent Regatta Results

Congratulations to the following members for excellent sailing.

Scott Tillet Mahuarangi Form 1 to 4 Regatta Laser 4.7 Champion

Daniel Jones & Robert Pasco Mahuarangi Form 1 to 4 Regatta 420 Champions

Mark Page North Island Laser Master Champion

7. Club Racing

The end of Tuesday & Sunday racing for the year is fast approaching. Mark Tillet will organise a Fun Race Night this Tuesday the 12^th of December. The Racing Programme for next year is will sent separately, please note the Pole Race and when you are to be OOD. The Committee has agreed to provide everyone with a complementary drink in the Club house after racing and Learn to Sail courses, so please bring friends and family down to our wonderful location and enjoy a free drink overlooking the beach.

8. The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2005-2008

As fleet sizes increase more focus is required on the rules for the myriad of situations that arise on a typical Sunday or Tuesday night. As part this newsletter we will try to inform members about the rules and highlight any particular situations that may have occurred. On Tuesday there were some issues in the preparatory period in particular as to when a 2 turns penalty should be done in this period. We have attached some information from book by Bryan Willis (Chief Umpire @ 2000, 2003 & 2007 America’s Cup) “2005-2008 The Rules in Practice” published by Fernhurst books. We recommend this book to all members and they can be purchased from www.nzsailing.net Please read the pages in the word document you can magnify them so that they are easier to read.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope to see you on Boxing Day

Manly Sailing Club.