Leander 2009

Day 1

Worser Bay has put it on!!

Well windy Wellington it wasn’t today. A light to shifty 5-10 knot south east breeze, flat water and the shifts were harder to pick than a broken nose. It would be fair to say the 12 boys didn’t get excited about the conditions, with crews doing the in-out shuffle, spending the first part of the day in the bottom of the boat. The skinny R’s on the other hand were loving it, especially Dan and Sean in using their foils. Sorry – were the on our race track, didn’t seem them…actually, when we did see them it did your head in, coming towards us, it was like a mirage, a boat sitting on the top of the water, you can’t see their foils – I thought I’d smoked something before I went out….

You gotta hand it to these canoes, Sean and Dan, cleaning up, Chris and Chris second and the remaining battle with the other L’s. There was some pretty close and competitive racing in the middle of the fleet, which keeped the 12’s entertained.

Great day for the light ‘canoe’ type hulls, as they came into their own.

It was always going to be a interesting and exciting to see the development in the hulls, rigs and foils across the R fleet and the 12’s. Today was only one set of conditions, the weekend is going to throw some fresh excitement around, which will mix up the results somewhat.

To say the Foiling R is quick is an understatement of the year. Producing three guns, by a massive amount. Out standing! After the second race, Sean and Dan had reached the beach, and started to unrig, when the chase boat come to say we’re having another race – the rest of the fleet were just finishing…

Day 2

Hogg show’s how it’s done!

The breeze sat in the high 20s from the north for most of the day, the forecast was for the breeze to peak at 30 – it’s show time boys and girls!

Sean and Dan left the foils on the beach, Te Guru took his racks in and it was all on for the first race. Some of the R boys looking to the north with some trepidation, there were some big rides for the taking today and keeping the hull under the Rig will keep you in the race.

First race the L’s were looking fast, some great racing in the top 4, with both Dan and Skins looking fast but Simon and Hogg were really nipping at their heals. Mistakes by the L’s made way for a very fast Hogg to rip down the first run and take the lead. Simon and Hogg really putting the acid on the L’s, here, down wind, places were for the taking.

There is no doubt that both Sean and Skins boats are fast, but tacking was slowing Skins down. Hogg and Simon, bringing the Woof 12s into their own, a very convincing romp down hill put both Skins and Dan battling it out for second and third.

After the first race, Skins took off his racks. During lunch an unfortunate gust blew Te Guru’s boat down the road, breaking his spreader. That left him and Dave on the beach for the afternoon – take it from me, they are not happy spectators….

Racing started with breeze in the high end of 20s, and a great lumpy northwest sea. The first run down, it was pretty even between Hogg and Skins. From the shore, it would seem Skins gets way more air than Hogg… but the pure grunting speed of the 10 yr old Woof just mowed Skins down. However it was clear from the shore that the foot was on the throttle for all four of these guys and not an inch was going to be given. The top four boats having a great race, keeping our eyes glued for the entire race. (Some of us beached were a bit sick to the stomach that were weren’t out there, but you take the good with the bad….).

Simon can confirm that there are no prawns in Wellington harbour, and that little stint costed him; however he made some ground back up wind and got Dan in the end for third.

The mid fleet had some great racing too, however the extension of the first four boats, and the swimmers at the back created a big gap in the fleet. The boys on Exonet showing some great form – especially with a 10/10 mine – well done!!! Merde and More FM, doing it hard, still having some good racing, but with the conditions it was he who swam lest, finished in time…the other L/Type R’s choosing to either stay ashore or bail out early.

Day three promises more fun, with the ramp rumor that the foils will be out again, with the forecast for mid-high 20s from the north and a nice bouncy sea state. With Hogg leading, Dan in second and Skins third the numbers are close for the first 3 boats.

Day 3 and 4

Well done Dan and Sean !

Yes, my update is late, and yes it is Monday. This Beached Bow Chick had a bit on.
…What with things like the Z class on water mutiny (yup, that has to be the funniest thing I’ve seen in sailing – a real crew-skipper mutiny)...then our Garrick having a turf war with the Dom-Post photographer resulting in a bump in the head requiring stitches…closer to the truth could be that the one-handed-wonder driving the chase boat was going too fast, chasing down Simon and Ben on a massive downwind send….but why ruin a good story!

Back to the sailing: Conditions where all over the place, promising heaps of wind, instead we got puffy on-off 18-25s, and bigger holes than the mining pits in Ausy. There were some great rides for the taking though.

The foils broke on the way out to the start line for Dan and Sean, so the rest of their weekend was sailing old-school. Never fear there was still some fierce racing going on. Day 3 saw Simon applying Hogg’s lessons from day 2 and demonstrated some tidy work up wind and a stunning downwind performance. Actually, the Woofs showing some very nice rides. (Could it be that I’m a little biased ...noooo).

When the wind is up the Woofs seemed to take control, when the wind was down the Skinny boats took over up wind, being higher and faster, then down wind, the top 10 yr old Woofs got lower and faster, and looked more spectacular.

Throughout the regatta Skins was battling a dose of cartwheelitis, which came on without warning, making for some entertainment for us on the sidelines. The symptom did cost him, however in typical Skins style he came through in the end for a not so shabby 3rd over all.

Te Guru, in the Woof-with-anorexia Frankenskiff, is fast, and keeps his foot firmly on the throttle 100% of the time – is there another way he says? Just proving he is in fact Te Guru.

The more you looked at the difference in the hulls designs the more (for the most part) results over the line came down to the way a boat is sailed – gee, really? Yup, Dan and Sean lead all the way in the last race, until they put it in the drink at the bottom mark, leaving the opportunity for Skins to take line. Simon and Hogg came through with some smart work up wind and just do not back off down wind.

Naturally there are some distinct advantages of the newer designs, and with some tuning and practice, from the 12’s point of view, Skins and Tim are looking dangerous… you can see the down wind shots from Garrick showing the profile of the wake off the different designs...interesting. (www.studio5.co.nz)

And what of the Foils discussion? Well it works, there is some effort and time on the water required to get them sorted – much like the moths. The naysayers may just need to keep a bit mum for a while because what we saw could be the evolution to the R Class.

How the development affects the relationship with the 12’s is probably too soon to really tell, but you can’t stop the development. If one was to pull their head in a bit and see the bigger picture, it may be more beneficial to let the development take place and support it – keeping the relationship smooth. At the end of the day all we want to do is go fast within our own set of rules…. who knows what is around the corner for the 12s.

Sure, numbers participating in the R Class are not increasing year on year. And it’s a fact that the older R Class boats and sailors may not participate in playing with Foils – is that really a bad thing? I was on the chase boat with two young skiff potentials, first wowing at the fact one of the R crews went directly from a Starling to an R – a skinny R too, and she’s a girl! They thought she was a legend. They also thought that the foiling R was really cool, and then when they watch all the R’s and 12’s going downhill, alongside Z class and Sunbursts… well, they were really impressed….. isn’t that what we are looking for? Having a class that is pushing design, technology is what interest people – people don’t by an MP3 player because it ‘fits rules’ they buy an iPod – cause it’s cool, pushes technology and creates interest.

And really – why are there so many passionate opinions?
Will our 12 kit include a set of “R-Type-Foils” in the future? Maybe.
Will we shift the Leader to make it a dual event, 12’s use their big rigs in the light, where R’s use their foils, over 25knts we’re on our R gear anyway and the Foils aren’t used… so what of that?
Does the fact having Foils, lifting the boat out of the water make the different hull shape a moot point?

What’s the next step? – dinno, but at the end of the day, fun was had by all, WBBC put on another fantastic regatta, and this Beached Bow Chick is looking forward to getting on the water at the 12 nationals. (and its all about me).

On a serious note, our thoughts are with our Ausy friends affected by the awful fires.

our thanks to Mel Hargreaves for the daily reports. All Leander 2009 photos are Copyright © 2009 Garrick Cameron (www.studio5.co.nz).

See more of Garricks fantastic shots here on the R site .The complete selection are available for purchase in the R Class Leander Section of Studio5 at www.studio5.co.nz. Disk and book options are available.

Leander 2009 Final Results	2009-02-08
59th Leander Trophy R Class National Contest

Position	Boat		Invitation	Points	Race 1	Points	Race 2	Points	Race 3	Points	Race 4	Points	Race 5	Points	Race 6	Points	Race 7	Points	Race 8	Points	Race 9	Points	Total Points
1	R603	L3	1	100	1	100	1	100	DNF	15.570	4	57.143	6	44.444	3	66.667	1	100	2	80	2	80	643.824
2	R608	Franken Skiff	6	44.444	4	57.143	4	57.143	3	66.667	DNC		2	80	1	100	2	80	1	100	4	57.143	598.095
3	R611	Davie Norris Boatbuilders	4	57.143	3	66.667	3	66.667	4	57.143	2	80	7	40	8	36.364	3	66.667	4	57.143	1	100	570.649
4	R587	Dimension Polyant Sailcloth	9	33.333	8	36.364	8	36.364	2	80	3	66.667	1	100	2	80	4	57.143	5	50	5	50	556.537
5	R581	AaaRRRse	7	40	DNC		DNC		1	100	1	100	4	57.143	4	57.143	5	50	3	66.667	3	66.667	497.619
6	R589	Merde	3	66.667	7	40	5	50	5	50	5	50	5	50	7	40	6	44.444	7	40	7	40	404.444
7	R609	Massive Attack	8	36.364	5	50	7	40	DNF	15.570	DNC		3	66.667	5	50	8	36.364	6	44.444	6	44.444	347.490
8	R607	TheVirtual	5	50	2	80	6	44.444	DNF	15.570	DNF	19.091	8	36.364	6	44.444	7	40	10	30.769	9	33.333	344.016
9	R565	More FM	2	80	6	44.444	2	80	7	40	DNF	19.091	10	30.769	DNC		10	30.769	9	33.333	8	36.364	314.771
10	R579	The Cheek Part R	10	30.769	9	33.333	DNF	16.667	6	44.444	6	44.444	9	33.333	9	33.333	9	33.333	8	36.364	10	30.769	306.022
11	R612	G	11	28.571	DNF	15.385	DNC		DNF	15.570	DNC		DNC		DNC		DNC		DNC		DNS	14.286	45.241
12	R593	Liquid	DNC		DNC		DNC		DNF	15.570	DNC		DNF	14.286	DNC		DNC		DNC		DNC		29.856

Leander 2009 Results after Race 8	2009-02-07
59th Leander Trophy R Class National Contest

Position	Boat		Invitation	Points	Race 1	Points	Race 2	Points	Race 3	Points	Race 4	Points	Race 5	Points	Race 6	Points	Race 7	Points	Race 8	Points	Race 9	Points	Total Points
1	R603	L3	1	100	1	100	1	100	DNF	15.570	4	57.143	6	44.444	3	66.667	1	100	2	80			563.824
2	R608	Franken Skiff	6	44.444	4	57.143	4	57.143	3	66.667	DNC		2	80	1	100	2	80	1	100			540.952
3	R587	Dimension Polyant Sailcloth	9	33.333	8	36.364	8	36.364	2	80	3	66.667	1	100	2	80	4	57.143	5	50			506.537
4	R611	Davie Norris Boatbuilders	4	57.143	3	66.667	3	66.667	4	57.143	2	80	7	40	8	36.364	3	66.667	4	57.143			470.649
5	R581	AaaRRRse	7	40	DNC		DNC		1	100	1	100	4	57.143	4	57.143	5	50	3	66.667			430.952
6	R589	Merde	3	66.667	7	40	5	50	5	50	5	50	5	50	7	40	6	44.444	7	40			364.444
7	R607	TheVirtual	5	50	2	80	6	44.444	DNF	15.570	DNF	19.091	8	36.364	6	44.444	7	40	10	30.769			310.683
8	R609	Massive Attack	8	36.364	5	50	7	40	DNF	15.570	DNC		3	66.667	5	50	8	36.364	6	44.444			303.045
9	R565	More FM	2	80	6	44.444	2	80	7	40	DNF	19.091	10	30.769	DNC		10	30.769	9	33.333			278.407
10	R579	The Cheek Part R	10	30.769	9	33.333	DNF	16.667	6	44.444	6	44.444	9	33.333	9	33.333	9	33.333	8	36.364			275.253
11	R612	G	11	28.571	DNF	15.385	DNC		DNF	15.570	DNC		DNC		DNC		DNC		DNC				30.955
12	R593	Liquid	DNC		DNC		DNC		DNF	15.570	DNC		DNF	14.286	DNC		DNC		DNC				29.856

Leander 2009 Results after Race 4	2009-02-06
59th Leander Trophy R Class National Contest

Position	Boat		Invitation	Points	Race 1	Points	Race 2	Points	Race 3	Points	Race 4	Points	Race 5	Points	Race 6	Points	Race 7	Points	Race 8	Points	Race 9	Points	Total Points
1	R581	AaaRRRse	7	40	9	33.333	5	50	1	100	1	100											283.333
2	R603	L3	1	100	1	100	1	100	DNF	16.130	4	57.143											273.273
3	R611	Davie Norris Boatbuilders	4	57.143	3	66.667	3	66.667	4	57.143	2	80											270.476
4	R587	Dimension Polyant Sailcloth	9	33.333	8	36.364	9	33.333	2	80	3	66.667											216.364
5	R589	Merde	3	66.667	7	40	6	44.444	5	50	5	50											184.444
6	R565	More FM	2	80	6	44.444	2	80	7	40	DNF	19.091											183.535
7	R608	Franken Skiff	6	44.444	4	57.143	4	57.143	3	66.667	DNC												180.952
8	R607	TheVirtual	5	50	2	80	7	40	DNF	16.130	DNF	19.091											155.221
9	R579	The Cheek Part R	10	30.769	10	30.769	DNF	15.385	6	44.444	6	44.444											135.043
10	R609	Massive Attack	8	36.364	5	50	8	36.364	DNF	16.130	DNC												102.493
11	R612	G	11	28.571	DNF	14.286	DNC		DNF	16.130	DNC												30.415

Leander 2009 Results after Race 2	2009-02-05
59th Leander Trophy R Class National Contest

Position	Boat		Invitation	Points	Race 1	Points	Race 2	Points	Race 3	Points	Race 4	Points	Race 5	Points	Race 6	Points	Race 7	Points	Race 8	Points	Race 9	Points	Total Points
1	R603	L3	1	100	1	100	1	100															200
2	R611	Davie Norris Boatbuilders	4	57.143	3	66.667	3	66.667															133.333
3	R565	More FM	2	80	6	44.444	2	80															124.444
4	R607	TheVirtual	5	50	2	80	7	40															120
5	R608	Franken Skiff	6	44.444	4	57.143	4	57.143															114.286
6	R609	Massive Attack	8	36.364	5	50	8	36.364															86.364
7	R589	Merde	3	66.667	7	40	6	44.444															84.444
8	R581	AaaRRRse	7	40	9	33.333	5	50															83.333
9	R587	Dimension Polyant Sailcloth	9	33.333	8	36.364	9	33.333															69.697
10	R579	The Cheek Part R	10	30.769	10	30.769	DNF	15.385															46.154
11	R612	G	11	28.571	DNF	14.286	DNC																14.286
Position	Boat		Invitation	Points	Race 1	Points	Race 2	Points	Race 3	Points	Race 4	Points	Race 5	Points	Race 6	Points	Race 7	Points	Race 8	Points	Race 9	Points	Total Points

Leander 2009 Entrants

Boat	Skipper	Crew	Squadron
R612 G	Daniel Folter	David May	Canterbury
R611 Davie Norris Boatbuilders	Chris Skinner	Chris Holland	Auckland
R609 Massive Attack	Kevin Holland	Doug Gale	Canterbury
R608 Franken Skiff	Tim Bartlett	David Healey	Auckland
R607 TheVirtual	Paul Roe	Jess Hix	Canterbury
R603 L3	Sean Milner	Dan Leech	Canterbury
R593 Liquid	Mike Rhodes	Sven	Wellington
R589 Merde	Tim Allen	David Pairman	Canterbury
R587 Dimension Polyant	Simon Ganley	Ben DeFluiter	Auckland
R581 AaaRRRse	Rodger Barnes	Mel Hargreaves and Steve Hogg	Wellington
R579 The Cheek Part R	James Gordon	Julian Payne	Auckland
R565 92 MoreFM	Steve MacIntosh	Tony Park	Canterbury