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West Headings October 2020

1 Nov 2020 10:39 AM | Anonymous

From the Editor’s Desk

Dear FYC community,

Emerging from lockdown from 5km to 25km, those of us in Melbourne are anticipating when we can once again enjoy our little paradise at Flinders. The process of opening up is happening rapidly and your committee are working hard to continue this process. Please visit the homepage to view the most up to date information on how we can enjoy a COVID safe summer. 

Enjoy this October’s edition with content from Alan Farrar, Helen Kent, Tedd Warden, Lily Fogarty and Ingrid Alexandrovics.

Lucy

Lucy aged 12 in January 2009 on the Flinders mud flats with a Melbourne friend, courtesy of Linda Barker 

From the Helm

Dear FYC Members,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to our October issue of West Headings. Packed with contributions, I know that as you read, you will learn a little more about our great club and its community.

Certainly, it is excellent news that we appear to be emerging from severe restrictions.

While the clubhouse remains closed, our sailing operations appear to be ready to go, pending an update in the next few weeks. To this end, I direct you to the home page of our website which provides more specific details.

You will note that we now have a specific phone number (0490 085 756) to which all members and visitors need to notify their attendance at the club.

I wish you and your families well and look forward to the coming season with you.

Sincerely,

Alan Farrar
Commodore

Rendezvous
Meet the Lindners with Helen Kent

Flinders Yacht Club was established as an active sailing club, however over the years we have embraced and been enhanced with a vibrant community of social members. Whilst these members are ostensibly non-sailors, they enthusiastically embrace the unique ambience that FYC offers. Some get out on the water in SUPs, kayaks, wind surfers, kite boards or occasionally crew on members’ yachts. Many go above and beyond with their active volunteer contribution to the running of the club and Dave and Mares Lindner exemplify this attribute. 

Dave was part of the Flinders sailing scene in the 1980’s, even before there was a club house. In fact, Dave’s mooring for his Shockwave 37 catamaran – Mako (which he built), was right where the club moors the safety boats. He also built a Trimaran and outfitted another.  

The years rolled on and Dave fell in love with the beautiful Mares, whom he met at MYC, establishing homes in Mornington & Mt Martha. For a short time in 2012 they had a Jeaneau 32 moored at Flinders.

Being an old mate of Tedd Warden he and Mares were lured across the hill to enjoy many a sail on Act of Faith and the ensuing drinks on the deck. They were also very welcome guests at some of the FYC social functions. So often were they part of the scene here, they not only became members of FYC in 2016 but also moved to make Flinders their permanent home in 2018. ‘We love Flinders and the welcoming and friendly feeling from everyone we meet’, states Davo.

Mares and Dave have become very familiar faces around the club as they put their hand up to assist with many of the tasks that keep our club running: tirelessly setting up, then packing away, cleaning up for social functions, part of the wedding/functions ‘meet & greet’ team and enumerable hours of weeding and hard yakka about the grounds. They are also very active members of Lions and frequently can be seen assisting with parking in rain, hail or beating sun on Red Hill Market days.

Dave still occasionally crews for Teddo with his well-seasoned seamanship, much humour and not adhering to Helen’s #1 rule of ‘no gloating on the boat’.  He is also an avid and accomplished kite boarder, now with foil, and has been seen flying across Kennon Cove during this COVID lockdown.

Top left to right: Enjoying the January 2017 “White Niight” Commodores Cocktail Party (L-R: Stan, Mares, Luisa & Davo), and at the Status 19 Working bee. Davo holding up the mast and his trusty dog Molly supervising.

Bottom left to right: Mako moored in Kennon Cove pre FYC Clubhouse and Mares, Davo & Helen Kent aboard Act of Faith.

The Sea Monster
Artistry from one of our younger members, Arabella Wright 

One day there was a little girl who saw a pur octopus
Then she sail over to the island 
She gets rope from her ship then she throws a rope to get the key 
And then the little girl saw a chest and opened it 
Inside the chest there was lots of gold. She sailed home to her family with the gold. They lived happily ever after. 

Why junior sailing at the Flinders Yacht Club is definitely worth doing
By Lily Fogarty

There have been many benefits from Junior sailing for me on many levels. There is the sailing side, the social side and the serious side. A few years ago, I had no sailing knowledge at all. I didn’t even know what a tiller was! The summer Tackers program provided an opportunity for me to start at the lowest level and literally learn the ropes. At FYC you can start off with absolutely no knowledge and end up sailing practically every day of the week during summer. The Tackers program is really good because you can start off in Tackers 1 in Optis, progress through Tackers 2 and onto Tackers 3 with the aim of sailing solo in an Opti which is a huge achievement. After Tackers 3 you begin sailing in Pacers in Start Sailing which adults can take part in as well. You progress through Better Sailing, then Start Racing, then the last level, Better Racing. All of these improve your skills and provide you with the knowledge to race competitively at club level.

The social side of the Junior sailing is super fun. I have made so many new friends over the past few years through the sailing programs at FYC. Programs like Tackers and all the junior events like the Junior Beach Party, Movie Night and Progressive dinner have created so many new friendships amongst the junior sailors.  Some of the active junior sailors who have had so much fun include Harry and Boo, Emma and Anton, Mischa and Luka, Fin, Sonny and Lewis, Max and Sam, Grace, Phoebe and Fraser, Grace, Rupert and Teddy, Adelaide and Beatrice, and Rose and I, just to name a few. Of course, none of the junior social events would be possible without all the parent helpers who organise and make all the events fun and enjoyable.

Then there is the serious side to the Junior sailing. We are lucky at FYC that there are so many adult sailors who are so generous with their time in mentoring us juniors. Even the keel boaters have been amazing such as Ted and Helen, David Campbell and the Morgans who have had me out on their keel boats. Ted has even been brave enough to let me take the tiller! In OTB, adult sailors are incredibly supportive like Ed Wright, Warren Joel, Warwick, even Big Hugh, Will, Charlie O’Hara, The Caves and Lucy Barker. And then of course there is Rick who has taught me so much and given so many great opportunities to me like racing at the Pacer States and Nationals. There is a responsible side to junior sailing and that is the opportunity to learn about safety and the role and duty of rescue boats.

I can definitely recommend sailing at Flinders Yacht Club to any other potential junior sailors. Hope to see you soon on the water!

A Note from Montalto

A reminder to members that John and Wendy Mitchell have kindly given us the opportunity to enjoy their excellent wine and support FYC.

Please shop at your convenience at www.montalto.com.au and use the discount code FYC2020 in the shopping cart as a coupon. This is will activate your 10% discount on wine, and your order will be packed for free local delivery on Fridays. If in doubt, please call the Montalto team at the Cellar Door, 7 days from 10 am – 3 pm on 0437 255 812 and they will be happy to help and process a payment over the phone while you browse online.


Adventures on the high seas of Virtual Regatta
By Tedd Warden

The COVID lockdown has given us some time to learn more on the theory of sailing, and it has been helpful to see how other pursue their sailing in practice. We are grateful for their sharing of often hard earnt experience through their video productions on YouTube.

As well, the virtual yacht racing app, Virtual Regatta, has reinforced my mantra that successful yacht racing is just: 1 Starting on time, 2 Keeping clean air, and 3 Sailing the shortest course. While that theory is simply put, in practice it is quite tricky, and Virtual Regatta throws all variables at you: skewed start lines, wind shifts, lulls and gusts. Each 5-minute race has 14 boats, with classes such as laser, J70, Star, 49er, Inshore Racer, from thousands of other racers around the world. There is no quarter given and rule breaches immediately earn a three second penalty, which quickly puts you back. In a hundred races I have made it to the first mark in front twice, and the best race result a third, and I thought I could sail!

Challenging, but great for honing tactics and strategy. My tip: if you finish a race you get credits to ‘buy’ race helpers, which I use to get VMG which steersyour boat best, while leaving me to find the favoured end, jockey for a brilliant start, get clean air, avoid other boats, make sure I am starboard at the first mark, look for the gusts, not hit marks…

Here are some like I’ve found particularly helpful, hope you do too.

Webb Chiles 6 times circumnavigator

Tom Cunliffe experienced cruiser

Virtual Regatta tutorial

Lin & Larry Pardey world travellers

Sailing Magic Carpet young couple sail France

Skip Novac extreme location sailing and survival

Patrick Childress Bluewater Cruising with practical tips

Carol Hasse master mariner walks thru her Nordic Folkboat

Sailing Uma sensible couple sail the world sharing their lessons

Skaistā Ingrīda – The Beautiful Ingrida
By Ingrid Alexandrovics

When Pete took me to view a boat he was interested in buying - I was horrified! I thought, ‘what is he thinking?!’ It was beaten up, ugly and looked so un-seaworthy. The trailer was so rusty I was sure it would fall apart if we loaded the boat onto it.

For the whole of the following year, Pete and I sanded and sanded and sanded back the many layers of paint off the boat until we got it back to the original timber. Pete made a few improvements and alterations with the seating, helm and the bespoke metal stem for rope rigging. It was a labour of love.

Finally, after a year of weekends working on the boat, we were ready to test it out. The first time we sailed, we realised the centre board wouldn't stay down, making the boat unsteady in the water. There were gusts of 20+ knots that day, so we spent that first sail running (more like throwing ourselves) from Port to Starboard to stop the boat from tipping over. There were a few other teething problems, but Pete studied and rectified any issues that revealed themselves.

On the skiff weekend in November, we took Ingrida out to test the new electric motor Pete had fitted. The day was becalmed so the Elite team were all coming in off the water while we were fitting up our boat (sails up) ready to go 'sailing'. They looked at us as if we were seriously dumb! We got in the water, turned on our electric motor and 'sailed' back and forth in view of the club for a full half hour - noiselessly. Back on land, FYC members let us know that the Elite sailors were flabbergasted, 'How can THEY be sailing in these becalmed conditions?!’

We had the boat blessed by the ‘Flinders King Neptune’ and he named the boat Ingrida (the Latvian spelling of my name), possibly to entice me to sail - it didn't work!

Regardless, I'm proud of what Pete and I achieved and love the life at the FYC.


On Watch 

Note that information about our sailing school has been released, please see our Learn to Sail page for more information. 

FYC Sailing school Dec 2008, courtesy of Linda Barker

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